On Monday was my second of three gigs in a row, Carl Barat at Koko. Now I’ve written reviews of two of his gigs fairly recently so I won’t go into much detail, but it was possibly the best of the three. I went straight after work again and found myself right near the front of the queue, and when inside I managed to get on the barrier (and save a spot for my mum). This meant we had an awesome view and minimal crushing which is always nice! The setlist was actually slightly different for a change, and the biggest surprise was Didz Hammond coming on to sing for the Dirty Pretty Things tracks. It was a highly enjoyable night and as long as Carl keeps playing gigs, I’ll keep going to them.
The Magus
Run With The Boys
The Man Who Would Be King
Carve My Name
She’s Something
Deadwood
Shadows Fall
Je Regrette
What Have I Done
Death Fires Burn At Night
Death On The Stairs
Bang Bang, You’re Dead
——————–
Nine Lives
The Ballad of Grimaldi
Sing For My Supper
So Long My Lover
Truth Begins
Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
Tuesday night was my last gig in a while, Micachu and the Shapes performing Chopped & Screwed with the London Sinfonietta Orchestra. I’ve gotten so used to the time printed on tickets being the door opening time that I showed up just after 7:30pm to find the performance had already started. (This has happened before at various comedy shows too, although it meant we were noticed by Ross Noble as we slunk to our front row seats and got talked to all night and received a round of applause) I quickly took a spare seat at the back and let myself enjoy the performance.
The band and orchestra together recreated the entirety of the recent release ‘Chopped & Screwed’ with additional interludes to make it slightly longer and flow seamlessly. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as their previous release had been a joyful, experimental clash of pop and electronica, but this was vastly different. It was a lot mellower and a heck of a lot more experimental, with not a catchy hook in sight as Mica’s voice echoed out across the hall. I did enjoy watching and taking it all in, although I’m not sure if it’s something I would listen to on record. The loveliest moment was when the orchestra put down their instruments and played a plain 3 chord backing to a flute piece using glass bottles filled with water. It was beautiful in its simple execution and very inspiring to watch. The band also made great use of home-made and unique instruments, something that has become a bit of a trademark for them. There was a brief interval where I slipped down to my actual seat near the front, and the whole thing was over by 9:15pm. It felt quite strange to get home from a gig before half ten!
Apr
On Tuesday I went to see Patrick Wolf at Koko (my 200th gig!) as part of his Lupercalia tour. It’s supposed to be promoting his new album, but as it’s not actually due out til May this tour feels pretty much the same as the gigs at the end of last year, with the fans only being familiar with the two singles ‘Time of My Life’ and ‘The City’. Although it had an almost identical setlist to the Bloomsbury Ballroom show, I much preferred last night due to a more responsive crowd and the inclusion of the seldom-played ‘To The Lighthouse’ and ‘Godrevy Point’, the latter being dedicated to Patrick’s father who was in the audience. Patrick also revealed to us that he chose that particular venue as it was where he met his current boyfriend, and described it as “love at first sight”. It was a decent performance, not the best I’ve seen, but by no means the worst, and I particularly enjoyed the more up-tempo rendition of ‘Who Will?’ and the remixed Hard Times. I have a feeling I’ll enjoy the newer songs once the album is out and I’ve had a chance to explore them more, as at the moment they seem in stark contrast to the older, more melancholic tracks. All in all it was a good night, and I have managed to bag myself tickets for his exclusive show at the Garage in May so there are plenty more Wolf gigs in my future.
Armistice
Time of My Life
The Bachelor
Tristan
Who Will?
Together
To the Lighthouse
Godrevy Point
Accident & Emergency
House
The Bluebell
Bluebells
The Libertine
Slow Motion
Bermondsey Street
The Magic Position
——————-
Hard Times (remix version)
The City
It was my payday yesterday and I celebrated by doing what I do best, spending lots of money! I bought myself a Tate membership with a guest pass, so myself and a friend can go and check out the exhibitions and then go to the members room for a drink afterwards. It lasts for 15 months, so even if I only go and see five paid exhibitions in that time, It’s already worth the cost. We’re going to start by going to see the Gabriel Orozco exhibition at the Tate Modern next week, and then there is a Miró exhibition opening soon as well.
I also paid for a flight to France in May to go and visit my friend for a Queens of the Stone Age gig. It’s currently my only holiday this year (excluding festivals) so I’m quite looking forward to it. I’m considering going to Dublin in August for my birthday but nothing has been confirmed yet. My Glastonbury ticket got paid off too so now I just have to book the time off work and wait for June!
Finally Tatty Devine had £10 off their name necklaces for April Fools Day, so I bought one at long last. I never bothered before because I had a whole host of other (cheaper) name necklaces and I could quite easily make my own acrylic ones. I finally caved into the temptation though at the lower price and got a purple necklace spelling out ‘Evilduck’, my nickname. I figured I have so many necklaces with ‘Amy’ on them that it was time for a change!
Oct
On Wednesday I went to see of Montreal at Koko which was an interesting experience. I’ve seen them before so I knew what to expect, but it was still great fun. They have live performance art on stage, with people dressed in lycra bodysuits writhing around with skull masks. It is all very surreal but so captivating to watch. The crowd were lovely and happy and not pushy and shovey, and the setlist was really great. Quite a bit from False Priest so I think I’ll have to get around to buying that soon. She’s a Rejector and an encore consisting of the whole of The Past Is A Grotesque Animal were my highlights.
Last night I was debating going to see Blood Red Shoes but I decided against it in favour of staying inside in the warm and watching Heroes. I spent 3 bloody hours drawing buttons for the new online shop! It’s almost done now, hopefully I can finish it at the weekend.
