Next Gig you are going to go to...........

[moonlightdribbler]

Green Man Festival ticket in the bag.


Got tickets for an all-dayer next month celebrating 25 years of the Heavenly record label, with a good line-up of some of their current crop on show - The Wytches, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Voyeurs, Hooton Tennis Club, Kid Wave, Duke Garwood (never heard of, er, 'him'), Gwenno and Stealing Sheep - a record label clearly on fire with their more recent acquisitions.

[moonlightdribbler]

Patti Smith June

Absolutely phenomenal... She's still got it, that's for sure.

Performed all of Horses and then half a dozen other tracks.

Was this the gig at the Manchester Apollo? Couple of Manchester based friends went to that and said she was brilliant.

[Zimmerman]

Yes it was. Still thinking about it/her now.

She was ace.

Expected an element of an old/ageing has been going through the motions - but went to see her regardless. Needn't have worried. She was genuinely brilliant.

You know some artists (in all fields) act cool or act like they have a presence; but she wasn't acting and has both in abundance.


Out of interest... Did your friends mention her spitting not sure if it was muscle memory from her angsty performances from yesteryear or what. Roger Waters would have been impressed!

[Spinynorman]

Just got back from The Acoustic Festival of Great Britain. Great music, laughs and beer. Poxy weather.

[moonlightdribbler]

Got tickets for an all-dayer next month celebrating 25 years of the Heavenly record label, with a good line-up of some of their current crop on show - The Wytches, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Voyeurs, Hooton Tennis Club, Kid Wave, Duke Garwood (never heard of, er, 'him'), Gwenno and Stealing Sheep - a record label clearly on fire with their more recent acquisitions.

Enjoyed Hooton Tennis Club a lot. They've certainly got more tunes in the bag than the couple of singles getting airplay on 6music and I'm looking forward to the debut album. Comfortable highlight of the day/night though were King Gizzard. Second time I've seen them in the flesh, hopefully not the last.

ZIM - promise me, non-clash permitting, you check these out at Latitude. Pencil them in, I'm begging you!

[Zimmerman]

King Gizzard?

They're on on Friday. Will check them out if i can.

On the draft clash finder, doesn't appear to clash with anything I'm interested in.

Ed Harcourt -> Black Rivers -> Nitin Sawhney -> King Gizzard

Easy

What are King Gizzard like?

[moonlightdribbler]

What are King Gizzard like?

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Aussie band, constant wall of fuzzy guitars, psychedelia & catchy riffs. Good on record but even better live. Sunday night featured harmonicas (expected) and a flute (!). There's 7 of them. They have 2 drummers. What's not to like?


They are the type of band that if you can watch/listen to without moving, you probably haven't got a pulse. It's also impossible to take your eyes off them too (well, the lead singer, mainly).

[Zimmerman]

Will have a look into them tonight.

See if they're my bag.

My 3yo wants to be a drummer... Good excuse to watch as any (if they have two)!

EDIT: I like what I've heard. Some bits are a touch heavy for my liking, but overall I like (and will be able to enjoy more live).

[unc.si.]

Saw the Specials last night. Even without Jerry Dammers they've still got it.

Tight music, Terry Hall on top form, fantastic songs and a great crowd. One huge party. Got right at the front - centre stage 2nd row. Came out soaked, bruised and i've lost my voice

Think everyone should go to a Specials gig at least once in their lives, if only to see just how much fun a gig can be

[unc.si.]

Seems not everyone was quite as friendly as I thought - apparently someone had half their ear bitten off in the moshpit a bit back from where I was. Presumably someone must have seen it. Not cool. You expect a few bruises but not some nutter biting people

[Zimmerman]

Just back from Latitude! Amazing and a million miles ahead of last year. Although, must be noted that it was the busiest of the last 3 years (or so it seemed) which made it a bit more annoying (I enjoyed being able to get where i wanted and when i wanted and usually not have to worry about getting a good vantage point.

Soak - commented on her last year (looked it up before). Last year (as a 17yo) she played a small stage and caught my ear. This year, opened up the festival on the 6Music stage. Pretty good.
Black Rivers - really good. Singing wasnt alway bang on, but a good set and a decent performance.
Nitin Sawney - was pretty decent, not sure he's festival or main stage material though. I like him, but he's definitely chilling out at home type stuff.
Wild Beasts - only saw the opening track… mrs thought they were excellent (she stayed)
Public Service Broadcasting - Superb. Was expecting a good show - but not that good. Was it moonlight who bigged up their live performances in the past? I was expecting lots of button pressing (a la Orb). But they were a full on band who happened to press buttons now and again. definitely one of the highlights.
Badly Drawn Boy - wasnt sounding great vocally, but the nostalgic part of me (and the weather and setting) made for a pleasant start to Saturday. But his set was punctuated with rants and petulance and climaxed in full on rant/breakdown. Closed his set on stage alone reading his last song without music!
Jose Gonzales - brilliant. Again, Saturday afternoon, blazing hot, nice chilled beats effortlessly (and faultlessly) performed.
Wolf Alice - not normally my bag, but liked them on the Glasto coverage. Too heavy for me, but the little one enjoyed Alice Fox!
Charlatans - another where his vocals arent the best, but a great back catalogue that always goes down a treat
Laura Marling - another that is able to do her thing effortlessly and perfectly, always likes to mix it up a bit too. Whilst enjoyable, its again not main stage festival stuff for me (and i'm a fan).
Savages - not my bag, but have seen them twice. Both times a mesmerising performance from a leading lady who captivates you and owns the stage.
Portishead - one of my favourite bands and i would have paid the ticket money to see these alone! As always an absolute perfect performace with beautifully haunting vocals. To top it off, joined on stage by Thom Yorke for one track in what was music porn. Highlight of the weekend for me.
Eaves - someone i saw supporting Phil Selway the other month. I had compared him to Jeff Buckley at the time. Went to see him in a little tent of about 100-200 (new this year). He said JB was one of his influences. You can definitely hear it. He also played a bigger stage later in the afternoon. I dare say he'll be on an even bigger stage next year.
Kwabs he was pretty good (not my normal cup of tea)
Young Fathers thought these guys were prize pricks when they picked up their mercury award. Strangely, they seem to work on a live stage. That said, I spent their set laid down outside the tent. Doubt id ever go to one of their gigs!
Seasick Steve - brilliant show. Went with little expectation, but came away with a spring in my step.
Warpaint - quite like these. But found them a bit whiney and ended up leaving before the end of their set.

Didnt stick around for the Manics or Noel Gallagher. After the Portishead set on Saturday night i had rushed over to the woods for a "secret" Thom Yorke performance. Turns out it was the worst secret in history. Me an several thousand crammed in to a small area…. waited for an hour before they bothered telling us the iArena was full So after little sleep on Saturday night i was done in!


Saw some other bits and bobs here and there. But ashamedly, absolutely zero comedy, theatre or film.
One of the drawbacks of going to a festival with a 3yo is breaking up the day with fairy hunts in the forest and riding the carousel on a flying pig.

[moonlightdribbler]

b-b-b...but where's the King Gizzard review?

Badly Drawn Boy - wasnt sounding great vocally, but the nostalgic part of me (and the weather and setting) made for a pleasant start to Saturday. But his set was punctuated with rants and petulance and climaxed in full on rant/breakdown. Closed his set on stage alone reading his last song without music!

Read about a rant of his on twitter at the weekend, but all that got mentioned was him calling the organsisers tight *insert expletive* for only paying him 5k to appear.

I enjoyed watching a clip of him on youtube a few years ago where he had a pop at the audience in LA for talking through his gig. That still stands as a thing I'd like more artists to do, but I do also wonder if he's just a whinging git at most of his shows...

[Zimmerman]

initially he screamed at someone for a jack and coke (very rock n roll) - he did look a bit parched to be fair.
then apologised a song or so later (its just because i care)
then he berated someone to turn the levels up - "how can i sing if i cant hear the *(^£%*@ band"?!
then apologised a song or so later (its just because i care)

His set contained multiple apologies, and that all our weekends would get better after his set (going for the Pop Idol sympathy vote).
At one point he referenced the great artists that were still to come (la havas and Jose Gonzales). After his final rant, i'm now not sure if this was sarcasm?

The final rant came when he was obviously over running and had been told to wrap up.

He proceeded to tell us and then told them to *(&^ off. What you gonna do? Not pay me? Keep it. £5k? Bunch of tight ladies private parts. Its a disgrace. Im one of the biggest artists of the last 20 years. Stick to doing my own gigs in future.

His band had all left the stage at this point.

BDB then went on to pulling a piece of A4 out and he read/sang his final song as a solitary and sad figure alone on stage.

My mrs felt sorry for him, saying he was unwell.

[Zimmerman]

b-b-b...but where's the King Gizzard review?

Alas… didnt make it. Think they lost out to a ride on the carousel in the kids arena

[Zimmerman]

Theres a 2hr show on tonight and another 2hrs tomorrow (Sunday) of Latitude from last week.

I dare say the lion share will be Noel Gallagher, Manics etc. but we might get some glimpses of other acts (like Moonlights King Gizzard etc).

[moonlightdribbler]

Theres a 2hr show on tonight and another 2hrs tomorrow (Sunday) of Latitude from last week.

When and where?

Green Man Festival ticket in the bag.

They've announced a few extra bands to the lineup, including the Thursday night headliner - Leftfield.


Anyone??

[Zimmerman]

Sky Arts, 21:00

Just managed to get tickets for David Gilmour in Brighton for a pre-tour warm up.
Got to be worth the 5hr drive

[murf]

It would indeed be worth a 5hr drive when Dave Gilour is playing..... but surely you could get far enough away in just half an hour?

[Beerfuelledman]

5th November. Flying to Birmingham
MOTLEY CRUE
The Farewell Tour
With support from Alice Cooper...

[unc.si.]

Think I've sorted a couple of free tickets for V

Kasabian headlining

Can't grumble if they're free. But it's unrecognisable to the festival from the early 2000s

Was a bit lightweight and corporate tbh.

Perfect for the teenage crowd (which is why I was there - took my 15yo daughter and a mate) but pretty sterile.

Having said that, Stereophonics put on a great show, Chvrches were very good, Clean Bandit, Sigma and James Bay were better than I thought they'd be and George Ezra and Sam Smith are good live singers if you can stay awake long enough to listen.

Kasabian were fantastic though.

I did have a good time though and the kids loved it - their first taste of a proper moshpit for Kasabian (daughter got right to the front and got a high 5 from Serge). Not sure I'd have been happy to shell out the £540 that the 3 tickets should have cost me, but for the price of a few bags of chips and some smuggled in alcohol it was a pretty great weekend

[Zimmerman]

Contraband booze always tastes nicer

[moonlightdribbler]

re. Green Man


What a weekend that was. Enjoyed so much musically (yeah, the weather wasn't the greatest, it got a bit muddy, but I've experienced worse!) - Slug, Teleman, Viet Cong, Hookworms, Bill(y) Ryder-Jones, Hooton Tennis Club, Slowdive, White Fence, Ultimate Painting, Waxahatchee, The Fall, Public Service Broadcasting, Courtney Barnett....in previous years some of those would've been my highlight, but the standard was high this year. For my standouts I'd go for Songhoy Blues and Goat. SUPERB! Exactly what you'd want to see live and at a festival.

Always nice to discover new artists, and this year I loved Yak, a bluesy, psych rock trio from London, and a female fronted (3 of them) band called Landshapes, signed to Bella Union, which automatically makes them cool. Both were a pleasant surprise.


Registration for early bird tickets for next year's Green Man opens September 22nd.

[Zimmerman]

Just managed to get tickets for David Gilmour in Brighton for a pre-tour warm up.
Got to be worth the 5hr drive

Loved it!
Then again Gilmour could play spoons and I'd be impressed.

A 330 mile drive down was well worth the effort.

A set of Floyd hits, couple of lesser tracks (high hopes, Astonomy Domine, Sorrow) thankfully only 1 or 2 off 'on an island' and then quite a few of his new (unreleased) album. For the large part, I liked his new tracks. Much better than OaI.

Did about 2h 45 including interval and encore.

A quick google:
Actually did 7 new tracks.
4 of the Floyd tracks he was performing for the first time (as 'David Gilmour').

His version of Money was spectacular. Must have heard it a thousand times and about 10 different live versions - this surpassed them all,

[Darbyand]

Think I've sorted a couple of free tickets for V

Kasabian headlining

Can't grumble if they're free. But it's unrecognisable to the festival from the early 2000s

Was a bit lightweight and corporate tbh.

Perfect for the teenage crowd (which is why I was there - took my 15yo daughter and a mate) but pretty sterile.

Having said that, Stereophonics put on a great show, Chvrches were very good, Clean Bandit, Sigma and James Bay were better than I thought they'd be and George Ezra and Sam Smith are good live singers if you can stay awake long enough to listen.

Kasabian were fantastic though.

I did have a good time though and the kids loved it - their first taste of a proper moshpit for Kasabian (daughter got right to the front and got a high 5 from Serge). Not sure I'd have been happy to shell out the £540 that the 3 tickets should have cost me, but for the price of a few bags of chips and some smuggled in alcohol it was a pretty great weekend

Compare and contrast the 1996 line-up!
The Cardigans Pulp Morcheeba Paul Weller Tricky Orbital The Charlatans Lamb Gary Numan Super Furry Animals Stereolab Supergrass Kula Shaker Cast Lightning Seeds Incognito The Wannadies Elastica Space Shed Seven Jonathan Richman Longpigs Mad Professor Gorky's Zygotic Mynci The Aloof The Mike Flowers Pops Menswear Tiger Denim Sleeper Heavy Stereo Pusherman Fluffy Edge Park

[llama]

Bestival this weekend

One of the best festivals out there for me. Always a great weekend regardless of who's playing. So much to do and see - I highly recommend it.

This years line-up - http://2015.bestival.net/line-up

A few acts I definitely want to catch this year:

Chemical Brothers
Slaves
Action Bronson
Sleaford Mods (Bluenosey, shall I grab you a t shirt? )
Duran Duran
Underworld
MR B The Gentleman Rhymer

The weather forecast is looking good. Bring it on!

[Zimmerman]

Eaves is very good (not sure if he's your bag).
Future Islands put on a good show too.

[llama]

Not heard of Eaves, will have to check him out.

A few people have now mentioned future islands. Will definitely add to my list.

[moonlightdribbler]

The return of Brighton's finest supergroup tonight, Brakes, at Manchester's Night & Day Cafe. Been a while since I've been there.


Saturday, Lonelady at Liverpool Central Library. Can't say I've seen anyone performing in a library before, but there appears to be a small movement to get gigs on in them, dotted around the country.

http://www.getitloudinlibraries.com/


I hate people talking at gigs when the bands are playing, and as you're not allowed to talk in libraries, this seems win-win!

[Jester]

Acoustic set tomorrow night!

[Richt]

I'm getting paid to go and see Madness tomorrow night at the County Ground in Bristol!