girls who play guitar.

It’s been an incredibly busy week.

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!

way aye man!

THE NORTH EAST.

it's shit really, but my god has it brought us some wonderful bands (and me?!).

first and foremost is The Futureheads. my favourite band. ever. in the whole world. i love them more than i love my own mother, Gang Of Four, free stuff, ice cream, sunny days, lie-ins and finding money on the floor. that's a whole lot of love. i can't even explain the vastness of the soft spot in my heart for them. i have turned into a gabbering, giggling mess everytime i've met them.
the time Barry gave me a hug and a kiss nearly sent me over the edge.

they're out of the live action at the minute, and are doing the odd DJ set up and down the country. though i wish they'd knock it off and play some gigs again. i'm dying to hear some new stuff and to see them sweat their stuff in the way that they do. only do i squeal to The Futureheads. no other band has (so far!) had the ability to make me want to eat my own head out of sheer delight.
they're from Sunderland (boooo, TOOOOOON ARMY forever). now, a lot of people can't appreciate how amazing it is that they managed to form and evolve in the first place. if you knew Sunderland you would be marvelled. it's a shithole. complete and utter. until a couple of years ago there wasn't even a cinema there let alone anything remotely exciting.

here is where i digress and fail to impress you with a little bragging. my dad is actually partly responsible for setting up The (world famous) Bunker in Sunderland. he used to run a fanzine and decided that that wasn't enough. there was nowhere for the music fans (namely the punks like himself) to go and hang out or to practise (he was in a shitty band) or to see gigs. and basically they tried to get funding from every single local business they could to set up The Bunker and eventually one agreed and they were in business. it's now a renowned venue and practise space and has played host to many many famous acts! who would have thought a bunch of kids with safety pins holding up their jeans could start something so influencial?

this was and is possibly the only UN-dull thing about sunderland.
the arcades at the beach are quite good. yeah anyway.

The Futureheads - Piece Of Crap
The Futureheads - Let's Dance (David Bowie cover)

Maximo Park obviously had to come next. Paul Smith is one of the most charasmatic front men i have seen live. he oozes that special "DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM ME NOW OR YOU'LL MISS THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE" quality that 99.9% of us really just don't have.
admittedly they aren't all from the north east but i'm disregarding that for now because their new album 'Our Earthly Pleasures' is stupidly stupidly infectious. i can't decide whether it's better than the first album or not yet. it's close!

Maximo Park - The Unshockable
Maximo Park - Limassol

Field Music are one of my great loves because of their connections with The Futureheads (Peter Brewis used to be in The Futureheads and wrote 'Park Inn' which is allegedly the first ever Futureheads' track!). but i also love them because they are good. and now not splitting up haha.
the expected accent but wrapped in more fairytale-esque sounds than simply jagged guitar music.
when i saw them play 'You're So Pretty' i actually almost cried. it's immense live.

Field Music - You're So Pretty
The Futureheads (Barry Hyde, Jaff, Peter Brewis) - Park Inn

part deux tomorrow! featuring Kubichek!, Dartz! and moooore.