Friday's Forgotten Classic - 13th August 2010

For today's forgotten classics i've plumped for a trio of 00s london punk tunes.  All three failed to get any real exposure at the time, but all of which i love.

First up is a tune released in February 2006.  'To the Ramones' by Dustin's Bar Mitzvah, is a riotous tale of an acrimonious breakup.  The tune rollocks along with an underlying emotion that is hard not too love, the ultimate breakup tune?!?  The band never really made the impact they should have in the UK, although they did get some surprising success in Japan including a sell out tour!  The band split in 2007, playing their final show at the 100 club in London (which i was there to witness).

To the Ramones - Dustin's Bar Mitzvah

This next band Kill City were fronted by Lisa Moorish, most famous for fathering children with both Liam Gallagher and Pete Doherty!  I had never heard of her or her music when i walked into the Joiners in Southampton back in 2002 to see the Libertines (for the first time).  Kill City were the support, and the energy in the room that night had true shades of the punk of the Sex Pistols or the Clash, it was alive with nervous electricity.  'New York in my pocket' (from a 2002 EP) is a great example of this energy.  They returned a few years with a slightly cleaner more indie pop sound, but it was clear she still had an ear for a tune, just listen to perfect pop gem 'Just like Bruce Lee'.

New York in my pocket - Kill City
Just like Bruce Lee - Kill City

The last is arguably the most successful of the three and is more post-punk than anything else.  'London Bridge' by Dogs was released in 2004 as a double A-side with the excellent 'End of an Era', and whilst not tearing up the charts, did get some exposure when it featured on the soundtrack to the FIFA 2006 computer game.  The twinkling, spiralling intro gives way to guitars which romp along making this a classic!

London Bridge - Dogs

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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.