1121st
Dec

I went to see the Manic Street Preachers this week, playing a very very special gig at the O2 Arena to celebrate the release of their new singles compilation ‘National Treasures’. They played the entirety of their back catalogue of singles to a sold-out crowd, along with a whole host of special guests, so it really was an incredible night! Luckily they mixed up the order of the songs, otherwise there would have been a predictable lull somewhere in the middle. Hearing some of their best tracks playing out to an adoring audience over 3 hours just confirms to me that the Manics are still one of the greatest live bands. We were left with smudged eyeliner, covered in stray feathers and smiling as we walked back to the station. What a night to remember.

The (lengthy) setlist was:

You Stole the Sun From My Heart
Love’s Sweet Exile
Motorcycle Emptiness
(It’s Not War) Just the End of Love
Everything Must Go
She Is Suffering
From Despair to Where
Autumnsong
Empty Souls
Let Robeson Sing
Faster
Life Becoming a Landslide
Kevin Carter
Little Baby Nothing
This Is the Day
The Everlasting
Indian Summer
Stay Beautiful
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
—————————
Australia
La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
Found That Soul
There by the Grace of God
Some Kind of Nothingness
You Love Us
Suicide Is Painless
Revol
The Love of Richard Nixon
Ocean Spray
The Masses Against the Classes
Roses in the Hospital
So Why So Sad
Postcards From a Young Man
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Slash ‘n’ Burn
Tsunami
Motown Junk
A Design for Life

1127th
Nov

Earlier on in the week I went to see Yuck at the Electric Ballroom. Their album has been one of my favourite things to listen to, so it was very nice to see them at their own headlining gig. It was a short but sweet set, and the songs resonated with something that doesn’t quite come across on record. Hopefully they will continue on to good things.

Last night was a bit of a different gig; Friendly Fires at Brixton Academy, the end of a triumphant four night run. It was a late night affair with the doors not opening until 9pm which gave us plenty of time to get ready and head to south London. Unfortunately my friend managed to trip up the stairs on the way in, so we missed all the support acts and DJs as we were in the medical room backstage! We got released just in time to run out and hear the first song, so thankfully nothing important was lost. Ed was on true hip-shaking form, and the whole of the venue bounced in time with him. It has already turned into a blur of singing and dancing in my head but the songs take it up to a whole new level live, pushing you higher and further. There were hula girls handing out garlands during Hawaiian Air at the end, and Kiss of Life seemed to stretch on forever in a maddening frenzy, but of course it must have ended at some point and we were left with ringing ears on the nightbus home.

The setlist for Friendly Fires was:

Lovesick
Jump In The Pool
Running Away
Blue Cassette
True Love
On Board
Chimes
Skeleton Boy
Show Me Lights
In The Hospital
Pala
Live Those Days Tonight
Hurting
Pull Me Back To Earth
Paris
———————————–
Hawaiian Air
Kiss Of Life

115th
Nov

Last night I went to see Patrick Wolf at the Roundhouse, and it was a lovely evening for a number of reasons. Firstly, I had somehow won a meet and greet for before the show, so I eschewed the queue in order to huddle with a small group of people by the entrance to be let in early and meet the man himself. It was a bit of a strange setup with Patrick standing over by the merch stand, and the rest of us stood in a nervous bunch while we waited to go up one by one. I got my ‘The City’ vinyl signed and had a quick photo before I skipped out of the venue and back into the queue. I’m not great with meeting my idols so I kept the chat to a minimum, which suited me fine really! When I got back outside, I discovered that an old friend was also there for the gig and so I joined her and we spent the evening catching up.

The gig itself was the usual audio treat I have come to expect, with a nicely varied setlist and a wonderful backing band, but the stage setup was also a nice surprise. They had made use of the large Roundhouse space with a giant hand-drawn backdrop and some eclectic props scattered amongst the varied instruments. Add in Patrick’s penchant for over the top outfits and it really was quite the spectacle! I also got quite close to the front so I have some decent compact photos for once. I think this was a very grand, fitting gig to end the Lupercalia tour, although I’m certain that I won’t have to wait long before the next Patrick Wolf gig.

Setlist:

Armistice
Time Of My Life
Time of Year
The Bluebell / Bluebells
Pigeon Song
House
The Gypsy King
The Bachelor
Tristan
Accident & Emergency
Godrevy Point
The Days
Get Lost
The Future
The Falcons
Together
——————-
Bermondsey Street
The Magic Position
The City


(I like how much he had to bend down next to me!)

113rd
Nov

I have a busy week next week as a friend is coming to stay, so we will be indulging in a lot of shopping, pubbing and museum-going. We’ve also booked tickets to the Doctor Who experience, which I am very excited about, and I’ve managed to get more tickets to see Never Mind The Buzzcocks being recorded! I’m hoping we’ll have a better guest host than last time, when we got the atrocious Tim Westwood.

I’m also very excited about tomorrow as not only am I going to see Patrick Wolf at the Roundhouse, I’ve also somehow won a meet and greet with him! I have no idea what I’ll say, but I’ll take my camera along and something to sign and hope for the best.

This week I have mostly been enjoying my new lovefilm subscription with lots of streaming films, and planning a redesign of my website. It’s looking good so far although there is still a lot of work to be done. We’ve also upgraded our broadband to 50Mb fibre optic so that’s something to be looking forward to as well.

My October gig extravaganza came to an end last night with an excellent performance by Miles Kane at the Electric Ballroom.

Before that however, was Bombay Bicycle Club at Brixton Academy last week. I am pleased to announce that the stage is back to normal, so the weird flattened out thing they had going on when I saw DFA1979 must have been temporary. Bombay Bicycle Club were supported by Dry The River, a band whom I have heard much about, but have never heard their music. They were fairly pleasant folky indie, and although I won’t be clamouring to buy their latest album they still helped the warm up the crowd and pass the time before the main act. Bombay Bicycle Club took to the stage shortly after 9pm and managed to play a staggering 20-song setlist. Considering there were only two tracks on offering from their acoustic ‘Flaws’ album, they managed to get through most of the material from their other two albums, which surely left even the most die-hard fan feeling as though they had gotten their moneys worth. Not only do they play well live, but they also really get into the music and engage with the fans, something that a lot of indie-folk bands tend not to do. It adds an extra dimension to the songs and the crowd seemed to be absolutely loving it. I was extremely pleased with the selection of songs and the closer of ‘What If’ had everyone dancing and cheering long after they had left the stage.

The setlist was:

Shuffle
Your Eyes
Dust On The Ground
Bad Timing
Open House
Leave It
Lights Out, Words Gone
Rinse Me Down
Ivy & Gold
Evening/Morning
Beggars
Cancel On Me
Lamplight
How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
Magnet
What You Want
Always Like This
The Giantess/Emergency Contraception Blues
———————————————
Still
What If

Miles Kane was performing two sold out nights at the Electric Ballroom, in support of his debut album ‘The Colour of the Trap’. The audience was largely made up of older people and so it didn’t really start to fill up until after 9pm, which meant we could get a nice spot close to the front before the support act, Folks, came on. Folks were largely forgettable and after a few tracks we found ourselves waiting impatiently for Miles Kane to take to the stage. It was a good performance, although fairly short as he only had his album and a few covers to rely on. The two covers (Jaques Dutronc and a more obscure Beatles track) mostly went over my head, but the rest of the set was more memorable. The highlights of course were ‘Come Closer’ and ‘Inhaler’ which got the biggest crowd reactions of the night and Miles proved that he is a solid performer and well worthy of all his praise.

Setlist:

Better Left Invisible
Counting Down The Days
Rearrange
Before It’s Midnight
Kingcrawler
Happenstance
Take The Night From Me
Quicksand
The Responsible (Jaques Dutronc cover)
My Fantasy
Colour Of The Trap
Telepathy
Woman’s Touch
Hey Bulldog (The Beatles cover)
Come Closer
———————————
Inhaler