Glastonbury 2007 (at last)

So, I know that Glasto was a couple (or more) weeks ago, but I've only just got around to uploading my photos. They are mostly of bands, pretty boring. But hopefully this selection of some of my best will suffice.

I don't have time to do a full review of everyone I saw, but I would say that the whole weekend was amazing, despite the mud and rain (well it wouldn't be Glastonbury without it!!) Take a look at my photos, a rundown of my weekend and (hopefully soon) some videos.

Some personal highlights were sheltering from the rain on thursday in a brightly painted tipi, watching Tony Benn and co give some rousing talks on sunday in the leftfield, followed later by a brilliant set by Billy Bragg in Avalon. I thought all three Pyramid headliners were good, but not spectacular. Best other acts of the weekend were Los Campesinos!, Tokyo Police Club and the Editors, although I didn't see one bad band! The weakest was as usual the Cribs, I don't quite no why I keep bothering. Great weekend all round!!


Or at here@Flickr

Wednesday
Pear Cider, Sunshine, Wandering

Thursday
Pear Cider, Tipi's, Sunshine, Rain
King Blues @ Leftfield
Lost Boys (film)
Ghostbusters (film)

Friday
The View @ Pyramid stage
The Cribs @ Other stage
Los Campesinos! @ Park stage
Good Shoes @ John Peel
Tokyo Police Club @ John Peel
Magic Numbers @ Pyramid stage
Bloc Party @ Pyramid stage
Jack Penate @ John Peel
Kasabian @ Pyramid stage
Arctic Monkeys @ Pyramid stage

Saturday
Long Blondes @ Other stage
Dirty Pretty Things @ Pyramid stage
CSS @ Other stage
Klaxons @ Other stage
Babyshambles @ Other stage
Paul Weller @ Pyramid stage
Maximo Park @ Other stage
The Rumble Strips @ Queen's Head pub
The Editors @ Other stage
The Killers @ Pyramid stage

Sunday
The Holloways @ Other stage
Better World debate - Tony Benn et al @ Leftfield
Marley Brothers - Exodus anniversary @ Pyramid stage
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. @ Other stage
Billy Bragg @ Avalon
Shirley Bassey @ Pyramid stage
Manic Street Preachers @ Pyramid stage
Jamie T @ John Peel
The Who @ Pyramid stage

Glastonbury 2007

Glastonbury report, pictures and videos coming soon....

Muse @ Wembley

Saw Muse play at Wembley stadium last night, WOW!! As always they put on an amazing show, quite possibly their best yet. A great entrance, lights, pyrotechnics, flying dancers, what more could you want!!! Don't have time to rant on any more, work to do, and packing for Glastonbury. See the magic of Muse below, enjoy.


New...A selection of my photos are available HERE or in a nice slideshow HERE

Muse arrive...

The Entry of Muse
Uploaded by ph11be

Some pyrotechnics during Starlight...

Starlight - Muse @ Wembley
Uploaded by ph11be

Newborn...

Newborn - Muse @ Wembley
Uploaded by ph11be

Blackout...

Blackout
Uploaded by ph11be

Bliss...

Bliss - Muse @ Wembley
Uploaded by ph11be

Take a Bow...

Take a Bow - Muse @ Wembley
Uploaded by ph11be

Out with the not so old, in with the new!!

So its been a while. Been busy with work, Lost, Saints and more. Anyway what have I been doing and listening to? a lot is the answer!! Don't really know where to start. Will probably do a few posts over the next couple of days to catch up. Lets start with.......Gig reviews/preview. I'll then do some festival previews and a summary of new music I've been listening to.

The second day of the Camden Crawl didn't really happen for me:( I had to leave before all the evening fun started, but not before seeing the Rumble Strips play in the Crescent (by Mornington Crescent tube). The whole place was packed, absolutely no room to breath, let alone move (yet they were still letting people in!!). They were awesome, so despite the disappointment, I still had a brilliant couple of days.

Since then i've only managed to make it to a couple of gigs. The first was a trip to the 100 Club to see the farewell show for Dustins Bar Mitzvah, with their raw, chaotic London punk. They were a band I'd liked for a year or so after getting hold of a few of their tunes: To the Ramones, Jimmy White, BNP, Get your mood on, Lucy. I hadn't managed to see them before and so when I heard a couple of months ago that they were to split, I was mighty disappointed, until I heard about the farewell show. I certainly wasn't disappointed after. The crowd was wild, even though the place wasn't packed, the atmosphere was brilliant!!

My other live pleasure in May was the NME new music tour at Koko in Camden. Arriving to see the last song of the Blood Red Shoes, sounded ok. Then came the Little Ones, whose summery indie-pop tunes didn't blow me away, but made for a good listen. Standout track: Face the Facts. Onto the reason I was there, Pull Tiger Tail. One of my favourite new bands around, there sometimes spiky, sometimes swoony, electro-tinged indie is a winning combination! Standout tracks: Let's Lightning, Animator, Hurricanes, actually all of them. Go Pull Tiger Tail!! Headliners the Rumble Strips had a tough act to follow, but stood up to the challenge well. With bouncy indie-pop tunes like Motorcycle, No Soul and Alarm Clock, they are definitely a band for this summer. The sax and trumpet definitely give them something different over many of they're peers and I expect more from these boys.

Camden Crawl - day 1

My ears are ringing, I feel in a daze, and I'm only halfway there. One day of the Camden crawl down, one to go. Yesterday was awesome, with some memorable moments. The day started with the Fallout records pre-party at the Crescent. Reggae/ska outfit King Blues warmed everyone with a storming 35 minute-set, taking a swipe at the BNP and praising mayday protesters, finishing with a crowd sing-a-long. They were followed by a short set by Select Dance Party.

Then to Koko to see I am Kloot, who overall I thought were ok. But I really love their song Proof, so was delighted when it came round. Then after a quick dinner break it was back to Koko for Hadouken! whose electro/rock/hip-hop stylings really got the crowd going. Playing next single Liquid Lies and finishing with That Boy, That Girl.

Dublin castle was next on the list. After a 10 minute queue to get in, managed to see most of iLikeTrains set. There intense epic set reminded me of Hope of the States, although with a little less character. I'll definitely be getting some of their tunes though.

Next was my personal highlight of the evening (if not the musical year so far) was in the Camden Tup. The quiet backstreet bar was packed to bursting with a huge queue outside, the reason why......Pull Tiger Tail. And they did not disappoint. A blistering set in the tiny venue even had someone crowd surfing in the 2ft between the heads of the crowd and the ceiling. The crowd then went wild as the ended the set with Animator and Lets Lightning.

From the tight surroundings of the Tup to the sticky floor of the Electric Ballroom. Arriving just before Air Traffic took to the stage. I was expecting something pretty good. They came through with a brilliant set including recent single Charlotte. I predict big things for these boys this year.

Then there's ASH. The Irish indie-pop heroes have been going strong for about 10 years now and they have the material to prove it. The 45 minute set had 3 new songs, and the a host of old favourites. Setlist: Burn Baby Burn, Angel Interceptor, You can't have it all, Orpheus, Kung Fu, Polaris, A Life less ordinary, Oh Yeah, Girl From Mars, Twilight of the Innocents. All the old songs rocked as hard as ever, with huge crowd sing-a-longs during Oh Yeah and Girl From Mars. Of the new songs, the new single You Can't Have It All, didn't really impress. But the other two new ones bode well for the next album.

All in all a great night!! Bring on tonight!!!

Camden Crawl - 3 weeks to go

So the countdown begins in earnest for this years Camden Crawl. Its got bigger, growing to two days with even more bands and venue joining in. Last year was my first time at the crawl and one that I won't forget in a long while. I saw: Wolfmother, Dogs, Young Knives, Rumble Strips, Forward Russia, Cazals and Dirty Pretty Things. An awesome night!! This year I'm still a little behind the curve on who to see (a situation I will rectify over the coming fortnight or so). Some early tips are: Air Traffic, Example, Hadouken!, Hot Club De Paris, iLikeTrains, New Young Pony Club and Pull Tiger Tail. Plus there are loads of other bands I haven't really explored yet, and then there's always the surprise headliners!!

Tokyo Police Club

"Operator....get me the president of the world....this is an emergency"

What could this emergency be you may well ask yourself. This is probably that you don't already have a copy of A Lesson in Crime, the debut from Canadian four-piece Tokyo Police Club. TPC first came to my attention a month or so ago, and ever since getting hold of a copy of LiC I've been hooked. The raw, jittery guitars and drum beats sound like the early strokes, but from the future in a world where robots rule the earth and have enslaved humanity.

LiC clocks in at only a little over 16 minutes, but its seven songs are nuggets of pure indie perfection. Quality over quantity, just like Is this it. Unlike the strokes before they are groundbreaking, just BRILLIANT!!! Go and get a copy of this album/EP you will not regret it.

Stand-out tracks: I could decide, so all seven of them. Cheer it on, Nature of the Experiment (video below), Citizens of Tomorrow, Shoulders & Arms, If it works, Be good, La Ferrassie.

Official website: http://www.tokyopoliceclub.net/
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/tokyopoliceclub
Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Police_Club
itunes link:


Nature of the Experiment (video)

Come one, come all

If you like good music, and are on the look out for new and exciting stuff, you've come to the right place. To begin with I will give brief reviews and recommendations of a mixture of new bands, stuff I have loved from the past few months, and some of my old classic favourites. Along the way, I will whenever possible point you to where you can hear the music for yourselves. If anyone out there has any recommendation that they want to give, they would be most welcome.

(oh and that's not my vinyl collection, its just a dream. i've got about 520 and counting though)