29th April, 2009 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Tonight was my first visit to The Bullingdon Arms - a good venue to get up close and a great gig too. Al and I both enjoyed it. Brakes were fired up from the first song. Tight and tallented with terrific tunes. Who knows what their reference points are or what their record collections must » Read More
16th February, 2009 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The Thekla is a great venue. The staff are friendly and every time I’ve been there has been a good atmosphere. The Secret Machines opened with Dreaming of Dreaming and played songs from all three albums ending with a pounding version of First Wave Intact. As always there was no chat from the band and » Read More
22nd November, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
What is more alternative? A Californian psychedelic pop band with a Cambodian chanteuse and a Super Mario look-a-like on keyboards playing whacked-out Asian surf riffs, or a boozed up devil-may-care audience of waist-coated old-Etonians and some Windsonian space cadet doing wierd slow-mo hand jiving? I’m not sure, but both were equally entertaining. Who knows what each » Read More
27th July, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Truck 2008 was good fun. The weather held out, and the bands in the Barn on Sunday, The Tambourines, and particularly The Early Years and Maps were really enjoyable. Half an hour was just too short for The Early Years, they only had time for 6 or 7 songs. They played both songs from their » Read More
14th July, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
These are my last five suggestions for Truck next weekend. If you want other peoples suggestions for must see acts, go to the Truck forum. 7. Maps. Simple, melodic but pristine synth sounds. No idea how good they will sound live, but I’m sure they’ll be worth a listen. They’re headlining the Sonic Cathedral Sunday Service » Read More
13th July, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
As a festival going experience Wireless is fairly sterile. The music is consumed along with the passive intake of corporate, mainly mobile-based, marketing. There is no opportunity for the festival goers to contribute to the festival or to make something of the shared experience above spending money. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that the » Read More
9th July, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
So here are three more suggestions for Truck 11. 4. The Tamborines. They are part of the Sonic Cathedral Sunday Service at Truck. I missed the single Sally O’Gannon first time round, but really like their ‘fuzz guitar and synth heavy indie sound’. According to their last.fm bio, they’ve supported the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the » Read More
3rd July, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
With over 100 acts listed on the Truck Myspace page where do you begin? Over the next week or so I thought I’d try and pick 11 bands that would be worth watching. So here are the first three. 1. The Early Years. They are part of Sonic Cathedral’s Sunday Service at Truck, in the Barn » Read More
22nd June, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
The Kills have been referred to as minimalist or low-fi post-punks, and as exponents of ‘punk blues’, but I don’t think any of these labels ring true when they play live. The sound is sparse, but not minimalist. Only one song was delivered without the drum machine, but more songs would have benefited from being » Read More
8th June, 2008 - Posted by jopabl - No Comments
Everything about the show is otherworldly. Visually Bat for Lashes and her band have no modern reference points. Musically the songs don’t adhere to any specific genres, and there isn’t any real banter with the audience to bring you into the present. Bat for Lashes has a clear, pitch-perfect, folkish voice with each song’s individual » Read More