I went to see Sky Larkin at The Social in London (which is one of my favourite venues so far!). Supporting was Nic Nell and his unbelievable amount of energy. He definitely put on enough of a performance to make me want to see him live again. Keep Hope Inside have a track up for grabs, listen to podcast number 5! Also up was The Voom Blooms. They sounded like a shittier version of The Jam.Sky Larkin were excellent, even if they didn’t play ‘Young Lungs’ despite my many heckles for it! Well worth £4.
I caught the end of a set The Moths were doing in a club the same night and I thought they were pretty bog standard. Nothing even remotely interesting about their music or performance. I spent the two songs I saw watching the floor change colours (and not because I was on any kind of drug either).
On Wednesday I went back to Manchester and went to Headlines’ single launch and they were absolutely fantastic. I cannot get enough of this band at the minute!
On Thursday I saw The Rumble Strips do a set in Retro Bar after their gig with The Answering Machine at Club Academy. It was highly entertaining and more shows should be like that. People shouting for “one more song” got their request granted not once, not twice but three times. People chanting “Amy Amy Amy!” also got their wish made come true when the band did their version of ‘Back To Black’ live.
Saturday was what I’d been waiting for for ages and ages and ages. Maximo Park, Good Shoes and Blood Red Shoes. Although The Apollo is pretty legendary and supposedly decorated wonderfully, I’m not that big a fan of going to gigs there. It’s either, be at the front and die, or be at the back where you can’t see a fucking thing. I was, of course, at the front for this gig.Blood Red Shoes seemed a little scared of the sheer scale of things. Which is another reason why I dislike the venue. Its capacity is near to that of 2000 when the balcony upstairs is open. It’s massive basically. Although a little nervous at first, Blood Red Shoes seemed to really get into their performance and gave it everything they had.
Good Shoes declared that the Apollo was the biggest venue (minus festivals) that they had ever played. Daunting. They too were on form, commanding the stage despite the audience being mostly deadpan. New song ‘Talk’ sounds good and I can’t wait to hear more of their new stuff. Woo new material!
Maximo Park played an excellent range of material, new and old and rare. I thought they might have just rattled off their new (and fantastic) album but they didn’t. A more than energetic performance. Paul and the gang always always always know how to please.
Sky Larkin - Young Lungs
The Rumble Strips - Girls And Boys In Love
Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars
Back in London now!
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