Gigseen Blog

On Tour: Madness

2012-08-08T10:19:00.000+01:00

Following their standout rooftop performance at The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert Madness have confirmed a second London O2 Arena show just before Christmas on Saturday 22nd December as part of their biggest arena tour to date.

The tour will see the band showcase new tracks from their forthcoming album due for release at the end of October, the follow up to the critically acclaimed, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate as well playing all the hits and fan favourites.

London band Man Like Me will join Madness on the arena tour. Man Like Me's last single Squeeze gained them new fans in all the right places, including the likes of Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw at Radio 1. The band will soon release new single London Town VIP on August 20th and features The Streets' Mike Skinner who has been working closely with the band on their entire forthcoming album.

Madness' tour will start in spectacular style at the House of Fun Weekender, the Madness curated festival, now becoming a staple part of the winter music scene and will end in the band's hometown of London with the closing night at the O2.

Full tour details as follows:

Nov 23rd - House of Fun Weekender, Butlins, Minehead
Nov 28th - Dublin O2
Nov 30th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Dec 1st - Brighton Centre
Dec 3rd - Bournemouth BIC
Dec 4th - Plymouth Pavilions
Dec 6th - Nottingham Capital FM Arena
Dec 7th - Liverpool Echo Arena
Dec 8th - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Dec 10th - Glasgow SECC
Dec 11th - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Dec 13th - Birmingham LG Arena
Dec 14th - London O2 Arena
Dec 22nd - London O2 Arena - NEW DATE

Featured Music: Sebadoh

2012-08-04T11:05:00.000+01:00

With their first release in 14 years, Sebadoh last week made available a 5-track EP through Bandcamp (entitled the Secret EP) as something of a taster of their upcoming album, due in 2013. The tracks are 'stand-alone' however, and are not set to appear on the LP.

Containing five songs, three by Lou Barlow (Keep the Boy Alive, Arbitrary High and All Kinds) and two (My Drugs and I Don’t Mind) by Jason Loewenstein, with drums by Bob D’Amico, the EP makes an appropriate DIY return for the band, self-recorded, self-mixed, self-designed and made available as a digital download via Bandcamp for $5.

secret EP by sebadoh

Proceeds from sales of the EP will, in the words of Barlow,

"Help us continue working on the [upcoming] LP and remain as independent as possible."

Physical copies of the EP are to be available for now at Sebadoh gigs (the band shortly embark upon an extensive North American tour) but a general release at a later date is not ruled out.

R.E.M. Add 1987 Concert To 'Document' Reissue

2012-08-04T09:30:00.000+01:00

The new edition of R.E.M.'s classic 1987 LP Document (to see release in September), is set to feature the digitally remastered original album, plus a second disc with a previously unreleased 1987 concert from the band's 'Work' tour.

R.E.M. on Friday night teased the release on its website:

"Details and special features on the Document anniversary re-issue coming here next week!"

Multiple online retailers in Europe and Japan — including Germany’s Amazon.de — show a new 2CD anniversary edition of Document set for release on September 10th and the American outlet, Amazon.com, giving a date of the 25th. Previous album reissues from R.E.M. have included a second bonus live disc (with Murmur and Reckoning), whilst others featured studio demos (Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant).

Based on the tracklist for the bonus disc listed on Amazon, fans have suggested the live disc is the widely bootlegged September 14th, 1987, concert in Utrecht, Holland — minus the four cover songs played that night (Superman, Strange, Funtime and Harpers).

CD 1: Original album:

Finest Worksong
Welcome To The Occupation
Exhuming McCarthy
Disturbance At The Heron House
Strange
Its The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
The One I Love
Fireplace
Lightnin’ Hopkins
King Of Birds
Oddfellows Local 151

CD 2: Previously unreleased 1987 concert:

Finest Worksong
These Days
Lightnin Hopkins
Welcome To The Occupation
Driver 8
Feeling Gravitys Pull
I Believe
The One I Love
Exhuming McCarthy
Wolves, Lower
Fall On Me
Just A Touch
Oddfellows Local 151
Little America
Its the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Begin The Begin
Disturbance At The Heron House
Moral Kiosk
Life And How To Live It
So. Central Rain

Blur Play Intimate Maida Vale Show

2012-08-01T11:10:00.000+01:00

Last night (July 31st) saw Blur drop by Maida Vale to play an very cosy show, with only a handful of competition winners being allowed entry, the show having only been announced two short weeks ago. The event was split-streamed by BBC 6Music and Radio 2.

With a good few highlights on the calendar for the band in the near future (another intimate competition gig at the 100 Club tomorrow, and a performance at the Olympic closing ceremony), Blur seemed to have 'put right' whatever problems hampered their appearance at the Brit Awards earlier this year - knocking out a fine set.

Drawing on the force of their back catalogue, the band also dropped in a few curveballs: performing 13-era track Caramel which has never been aired in a live setting, while 1993 B-side Young & Lonely was also placed into the set. The BBC have compiled a near-half-hour 'highlights' selection of footage from the gig:

Full split-set listing below:

BBC Radio 6 Setlist:

Jubilee
The Puritan
Caramel
Trimm Trabb
Young & Lovely
Under The Westway

BBC Radio 2 Setlist:

Tracy Jacks
Beetlebum
Out Of Time
Young & Lovely
End Of A Century
Mr. Briggs
Tender
This Is A Low
Under The Westway
Popscene
For Tomorrow
The Universal

The 18CD/3DVD Blur box-set 21 is now available, featuring two-disc Special Edition boxes of all seven studio albums, with the first five albums now also remastered. Each album comes with an entire disc of bonus material that includes a wealth of Blur extras.

Van Halen's 'Jump' Voted Greatest Sporting Song

2012-08-01T09:30:00.000+01:00

Van Halen's only Billboard number-one single last week topped a poll of the world’s best sporting songs. Music rights body PRS for Music held a vote among its members to mark the London Olympics. The resulting top 20 also includes The Rolling Stones, Hawkwind, Queen, The Beatles, Survivor, Tina Turner and Journey.

PRS boss Guy Fletcher said,

"Music plays such a classic role for both the spectator and participant. As a Brit I would have to vote for Spaundau Ballet’s Gold – I think we might get a few of those, fingers crossed."

Jump, from Van Halen’s sixth album 1984, has a controversial history. Its heavily-featured synth riff alienated singer David Lee Roth, who’s said to have written the lyrics and performed the track under protest. The change in musical direction led to a split between the founder members and Roth’s later departure. Despite that, it remains one of the band’s most popular tracks.

PRS For Music's Top 20 Sporting Songs:

Jump - Van Halen
Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson
Gold - Spandau Ballet
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Wake Me Up! - Wham!
The Winner Takes It All - ABBA
Silver Machine - Hawkwind
We Are the Champions - Queen
Shine - Take That
Tracks of My Tears - Smokey Robinson
The Long and Winding Road - Beatles
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Simply the Best - Tina Turner
Jump Around - House of Pain
Gonna Fly Now - from Rocky
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Don’t Stop Believin’ - Journey
Chariots of Fire Theme
We Will Rock You - Queen

On Tour: Feeder

2012-07-31T13:05:00.000+01:00

Whilst gearing up for the release of their new single Idaho (due on 27th August), indie/rock institution Feeder have announced that they are to play an exclusive live show at BT London Live in Hyde Park on 10th August, as part of the London 2012 Olympic celebrations. They'll be sharing the stage with Ocean Colour Scene and The Temper Trap.

Other acts at BT London Live Hyde Park include The Enemy, Saint Etienne, McFly, Lemar, The View, The Levellers and The Beat. The celebratory concert series is hosted by BT London Live at two sites throughout the Olympic Games in London’s Hyde Park and Victoria Park. With all eyes on the UK, the free, three-week long event celebrates British music, arts and sport. For those not wanting to miss a thing, there are also to be five giant screens installed, showing the BBC’s coverage.

The Hyde Park date for Feeder comes amidst an extensive tour of city venues and festivals for the band this year, promoting their recently released eighth album, Generation Freakshow. Full Feeder UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows:

Aug 03 The Academy, Dublin
Aug 04 Indiependence Festival, Cork
Aug 10 Hyde Park, London
Aug 25 Reading Festival, Reading
Aug 26 Leeds Festival, Leeds
Nov 17 O2 Academy, Glasgow
Nov 18 Academy, Manchester
Nov 20 Guildhall, Portsmouth
Nov 21 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Nov 23 O2 Academy, Brixton

On Tour: Slash

2012-07-30T11:29:00.000+01:00

Legendary former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has as of this morning confirmed an upcoming 5-date UK tour set for October. The gigs begin in Edinburgh at the city's Corn Exchange on October 7th and run through until October 15th when the guitarist and his band headline Newcastle's O2 Academy. The run of gigs also includes shows in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

This comes following the recent release of Slash's second solo album Apocalyptic Love, plus an outstanding second stage headline performance at last month's Download Festival and a one-off show at London's Hammersmith Apollo on June 6th.

Grammy-winner Slash has stormed the charts worldwide with the release of Apocalyptic Love, registering a Number 4 chart entry in the USA and Number 2 in Canada and replicating this success in both Europe and Australasia with a further 13 Top 10 chart entries.

Performing with album vocalist Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) - collectively known as The Conspirators - Slash will deliver a set featuring tracks from latest album Apocalyptic Love, including lead single You're A Lie, as well as material from his debut solo self-titled album and a select few Guns N' Roses classics.

Slash UK Tour Dates:

Oct 7th - Edinburgh Corn Exchange
Oct 8th - Manchester O2 Apollo
Oct 9th - Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Oct 11th - London O2 Academy Brixton
Oct 15th - Newcastle O2 Academy

Slash Tickets are on sale from 9am on Friday 3rd August.

On Tour: Bat For Lashes

2012-07-29T11:13:00.000+01:00

Following the overwhelming demand for Bat For Lashes' Manchester Cathedral show scheduled for October 22nd, an extra date has been added for the following night in the same venue on the following night (Tuesday 23rd).

Earlier this week Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) unveiled the tasteful but somewhat NSFW cover art for her forthcoming album The Haunted Man as well as a video for the record's first single, Laura.

Full Tour Dates as follows:

Sun 2 Sep Electric Picnic
Sun 9 Sep Bestival
Thu 18 Oct Inverness Ironworks
Fri 19 Oct Edinburgh Picture House
Sun 21 Oct Glasgow O2 ABC
Mon 22 Oct Manchester Cathedral
Tue 23 Oct Manchester Cathedral
Thu 25 Oct Leeds Metropolitan University
Fri 26 Oct Norwich University of East Anglia
Sun 28 Oct Leicester O2 Academy
Mon 29 London Forum
Thu 1 Nov Birmingham HMV Institute
Fri 2 Nov Bristol Anson Rooms
Sat 3 Nov Portsmouth Pyramids
Sun 4 Nov Brighton Dome Concert Hall

Stone Roses Benicassim Footage Appears

2012-07-28T09:30:00.000+01:00

The first professionally-shot live footage of The Stone Roses in 16 years (performing live at Benicassim) has emerged online.

Five minutes of footage shows the band performing I Wanna Be Adored at the Spanish music festival on July 14th. The song was the opening number of the band's 16-song set, with frontman Ian Brown kicking off with a few words of Spanish before grabbing a glowstick as the band begins to play. 'Pro-shot' footage of other songs from the performance have yet to appear online. The band have been followed by a film crew led by Shane Meadows, and hence have so far been reluctant to allow their sets to be included in broadcasts.

The Stone Roses are currently taking their major 'reunion' tour through Asia, where they have shows lined up in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. They will return to Europe in August and have UK dates scheduled at V Festival on August 18th and 19th and Belfast's Vital Festival on August 22nd.

Earlier this summer, the reformed band played a trio of rapturously-received homecoming shows at Heaton Park in Manchester. A canister of "captured atmosphere" from the first date later attracted bids of over £500 on eBay.

The band also delivered a well-received set at Scotland's T in the Park on July 7th - their first performance north of the border in 17 years.

Classic Line-Up For 15th Rebellion Festival

2012-07-27T10:23:00.000+01:00

Blackpool's Rebellion Festival, scheduled to take place over the long weekend of August 2nd to 5th, has an excellent line-up this year, with the very best of the punk rock underground joined by big names including Public Image Ltd., Rancid and the Buzzcocks.

Billed as "The original Punk and Alternative Festival, over 4 Days, with 6 stages and over 200 bands", the festival takes place at the city's Winter Gardens venue, and will also see sets from Bow Wow Wow, Social Distortion, Stiff Little Fingers, the Only Ones, Agnostic Front, Goldblade, the Fits and Slaughter and the Dogs.

Allegedly the biggest punk music festival in the world, the festival will host live onstage interviews and spoken word, as well as punk art and punk fashion rooms and there will also be acoustic sessions from bands on the bill.

Weekend and Day Tickets are available now from www.rebellionfestivals.com/tickets/

Additionally, Rebellion will also be hosting a Christmas event, headed up by Rancid and Cock Sparrer, The Exploited and UK Subs to be held on December 8th at The Ballroom in Birmingham.

Skunk Anansie Announce September Show

2012-07-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

Following their recent announcement of a new studio album coming in September, Skunk Anansie are set to celebrate the album's release with an intimate show in London.

Skunk Anansie are scheduled to release their fifth album Black Traffic on 17th September and will perform a special Kerrange-sponsored show at London's Village Underground on 5th September. Black Traffic will be Skunk Anansie's second release since they reunited in 2009 and was produced by the band and Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Pixies). The album will also be the first material released on the band's own independent label.

Speaking about the show, vocalist Skin said:

"Its going to be killer. We'll play a lot of the new album and the best of the old stuff, with a few surprises too."

Skunk Anansie Tickets for 5th September at London Village Underground are on sale from 9am on Wednesday 25th July.

On Tour: The xx

2012-07-24T10:25:00.000+01:00

The xx have announced a trio of intimate UK shows for the second week of September.

The London band will take to the stage at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on September 10th - coinciding with the release or their second album Coexist. They will follow this hometown show with gigs at The Coal Exchange in Cardiff on September 11th and Edinburgh's Usher Hall on the 12th. The xx are also scheduled to perform at Bestival on the Isle of Wight the week before on September 7th.

The xx previewed material from Coexist, their follow-up to 2009's Mercury Prize-winning eponymous debut, at a trio of London shows in May. Plus, earlier this month they unveiled the album's lead single Angels.

The band unveiled the track via a message on their official website stating:

"It’s been a long time since we've played you anything new. This song is called 'Angels', it is the first single from our new album, 'Coexist'. We've been playing this song live recently, so it feels good to share with you the version we've been working on for so long. We hope you like it."

The xx play the following UK dates:

Bestival, Isle of Wight (September 7th)
London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (September 10th)
Cardiff The Coal Exchange (September 11th)
Edinburgh Usher Hall (September 12th)

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday (July 27th).

On Tour: Elbow

2012-07-23T10:34:00.000+01:00

Elbow have this morning announced a UK arena tour for November and December 2012, with 5 shows confirmed for Nottingham, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Elbow Tickets are on general sale from 9am on Friday 27th July.

For the newly announced tour dates, fans will be given a chance to buy a limited number of tickets for the November and December show in a special pre-sale which opens tomorrow morning, Tuesday 24th July, at 9.00am (via joining the band's mailing list at www.elbow.co.uk).

Elbow 2012 UK Tour Dates:

Nov 26th - Nottingham, Capital FM Arena
Nov 28th - Birmingham, NIA
Nov 29th - Liverpool, Echo Arena
Dec 1st - Manchester, Arena
Dec 2nd - London, The O2

Tickets are on general sale from 9am on Friday 27th July

Also, last week Elbow announced the release of their long-awaited B-sides album Dead In The Boot will be released on Monday 27th August. The collection — a nod to their debut album Asleep in the Back — contains 13 tracks spanning the length of the band’s 15-year career. Frontman Guy Garvey said of the compilation;

"None of our B-sides are album rejects. It’s a different space, usually just post finishing an album when all the members of Elbow are chiming and feeling very creative. This gives Dead in the Boot a real late night vibe."

Featured Music: (The Death Of) Six By Seven

2012-07-22T11:17:00.000+01:00

Third in a series of demo/lo-fi EPs from (The Death Of) Six By Seven. Presented utterly stylishly in a grooved vinyl CD format, the proceeds of sales of the EPs are set to be put back into recording the project's second full length album.

Six By Seven, after numerous breakups/reformations are now creating new releases and gigging with a core of Chris Olley and James Flower from the original band line-up of the mid nineties, plus Pete Stevenson and Martin Cooper. Having put out a superbly moody album earlier this year (review), the project moves on with this somewhat leftfield approach to funding a second release. Chris Olley explains:

"With these Vinyl CD's I want to try and capture the spirit of demo / Lo Fi recordings and won't be using any computers and record only to tape or portastudio. I love the sound of these type of recordings, they always capture something spontaneous that gets lost when the songs are 'properly' recorded."

This the third EP, came out last week and even as a comparatively recent convert to all this Six By Seven I think I can say that the tracks on this one are something special - Granted, if droney, few-chord, Spacemen 3-ish, VU's Heroin-esque tunes are not your thing then best quit reading now - If not however, listen especially to Sympathy, a wickedly beautiful track that shows just how well the maxim 'Keep It Simple, Stupid' is so often spot on. Absolutely my favourite thing of 2012.

The Death Of Six By Seven VINYL EP 3 by six by seven

What makes these releases so novel is the vinyl CD format, which totally dovetails thematically with the lo-fi mood of the sounds. Rendered is High Quality manufactured CD Vinyl, the CDs have a solid black ridged spiral running around the outside of the disc on the printed side, looking exactly like grooves in a record. The data side of the disc is also an unusual gloss black rather than silver. So grooved side up remember ... The first 50 to go are numbered limited editions, and all come with a digital download also. Bandcamp, and what it allows, just can't fault it.

And a final word from Olley:

"By buying this you are helping me to record my next album with my band in the studio and you are able to have a part in choosing the albums tracklisting when it is re recorded with the band and you will also receive a credit on the album!"

(Post image sourced from adrian4 blog.)

Liam To Perform 'Wonderwall' For Olympic Ceremony

2012-07-20T09:30:00.000+01:00

Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher will be performing their huge 1995 hit Wonderwall at the Olympics closing ceremony, after his brother Noel Gallagher has apparently turned down the opportunity.

The singer and his Beady Eye bandmates: Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock will perform a new arrangement of the hit, written by his brother Noel. According to The Sun, the chance to perform Wonderwall was originally offered to Noel, but the 'High Flying Birds' man apparently declined the chance after giving it considerable thought. A source told the newspaper:

"A couple of months back the Olympic production team got in touch with Noel about playing his part in the closing ceremony. Along with his manager, they thought long and hard about it. It was a big temptation with 650 million people expected to tune in on TV."

"But he knocked it back in the end - he has been on a great tour and he doesn't really need to do it. The organisers asked Liam if he was keen and he said yes. The Who are on the same bill so he was well up for it!"

The complete line-up for the closing ceremony, which will celebrate 50 years of British music, is being kept a closely guarded secret, but other acts lined up to appear include Kaiser Chiefs and a special performance by the Spice Girls.

Superb 'Wonderwall' image sourced from ~BigFood

London Dates and New Track From Thurston Moore

2012-07-19T09:30:00.000+01:00

Thurston Moore is set to follow up his current European tour and play two nights at London experimental hub Cafe OTO on September 22nd and 23rd 2012.

Rapidly emerging as one of the première hubs for experimental music in this country, Cafe OTO has notched up numerous highlights thus far. Now the venue has scored another exclusive, with Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore set to play two nights later this year.

The shows come after a sold out event at the venue back in March:

Thurston Moore is expected to take part in an evening of improvisational music, with the guitarist set to be accompanied by Mats Gustafsson. Mats Gustafsson is of course on fine form right now, recently working with Neneh Cherry & The Thing. A lynchpin of the Scandinavian jazz scene, his appearance will no doubt lead the music in some furiously unexpected directions.

Ever a busy chap, Moore has also just released a second track from the Chelsea Light Moving Light band project, entitled Groovy & Linda, which can be found over at the Matador Records blog.

On Tour: Lynyrd Skynyrd UK Dates

2012-07-18T10:49:00.003+01:00

Following their short run of June UK shows, iconic southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd have today announced a short November tour in the UK, calling in at Gateshead, Norwich and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Originally formed in 1964 and with a line-up consisting of original member Gary Rossington plus Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke and Michael Cartellone, Lynyrd Skynyrd are regarded as the ultimate boogie rock'n'roll survivors.

Lynyrd Skynyrd rose to worldwide fame through their driving live performances, however, in 1977 three members tragically died in an airplane crash ending the band's peak of success.

Continuing to tour across the world and still recording new material, Lynyrd Skynyrd, recognised for anthems such as Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama, will return to the UK in November for three UK shows not long after the release of their upcoming album, Last Of A Dyin' Breed.

Lynyrd Skynyrd 2012 UK Tour Dates as follows:

Nov 11th - Gateshead Sage
Nov 12th - London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Nov 14th - Norwich U.E.A

Lynyrd Skynyrd Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday 20th July.

Robert Smith's Impromptu Acoustic Set At Bilbao

2012-07-18T10:38:00.000+01:00

Technical difficulties delayed the start of The Cure's headlining performance at Spain’s Bilbao BBK Live festival on Thursday night. So rather than leave the large crowd stewing while repairs were done, Smith filled the time himself, emerging with an acoustic guitar and playing solo versions of three well-selected Cure songs, and stating "Don’t applaud too loudly or you’ll give me ideas.".

Three Imaginary Boys
Fire in Cairo
Boys Don’t Cry

This sort of thing doesn’t happen often, and as Smith said to close his performance,

"That’s why it’s The Cure and not Robert Smith."

The Cure followed that up with a marathon 35-song set, wrapping up with a full-band version of Boys Don’t Cry.

The Killers Add Leeds Date

2012-07-15T09:30:00.001+01:00

Today, american alt-rockers The Killers have announced a one-off UK headline show at Leeds' O2 Academy on Friday August 17th, which will act as a warm-up for the band's headline sets at V Festival on the following two days.

Having only last week dropped the single Runaways, the show will most likely see the band debuting further songs from their new album Battle Born, due for release on September 17th.

A series of producers worked on the album, including Madonna collaborator Stuart Price, Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor and Brendan O'Brien. Songs confirmed to appear on the album include Heart Of A Girl, Flesh And Bone, Carry Me Home as well as new single Runaways.

Speaking about the album's title, the band's frontman Brandon Flowers said:

"Whenever I needed help, lyrically, I thought of that phrase and it helped me… There's some triumphant moments."

As the band's first album for over four years, Battle Born is the follow-up to the band's 2008 effort Day & Age and is the fourth album of their career to date.

Hyde Park Organisers Pull Plug On Springsteen

2012-07-15T09:30:00.000+01:00

Hard Rock Calling has come under fire after pulling the plug on Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. The London area had suffered during last week's terrible weather, forcing the postponement of several outdoor events as the ground underneath grew increasingly unstable.

Organisers vowed that Hard Rock Calling would go ahead, with the weekend promising an array of live music. Sadly, it seems that the restrictions placed on Hyde Park have spoiled one of the festival's stand out moments.

Playing a three hour set on Saturday night, Bruce Springsteen invited Paul McCartney out onstage for the encore. Ripping through I Saw Here Standing There the pair then belted out Twist and Shout to the delight of the crowd.

Moving to thank the audience, the pair discovered that their microphones had been switched off. E Street mainstay Steven Van Zandt later took to Twitter to express his outrage:

"Is there just too much fun in the world? We would have been off by 11 if we'd done one more. On a Saturday night! Who were we disturbing?"

"One of the great gigs ever in my opinion. But seriously, when did England become a police state?"

Organisers Live Nation quickly commented:

"It was unfortunate that the three hour plus performance by Bruce Springsteen was stopped right at the very end but the curfew is laid down by the authorities in the interest of the public's health and safety. Road closures around Hyde Park are put in place at specific times to make sure everyone can exit the area in safety."

Roger Waters Leads 2012 Concert Ticket Sales

2012-07-14T10:38:00.000+01:00

Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has beaten Bruce Springsteen to the top of the concert ticket sales list so far this year. The rocker's The Wall Live show has grossed almost $160 million (£100 million) in sales globally to make Waters the biggest live act so far in 2012.

Springsteen comes in a distant second thanks to his Wrecking Ball tour ($79.9 million/£50 million).

'The Boss' is expected to overtake Waters by the end of the year, while Madonna, who comes in third with $42 million (£26 million), has yet to embark on what is sure to be a money-spinning North American tour.

Mark Campana, co-president of North American concerts for Live Nation, the world's biggest promoter comented;

"More people are touring, and the shows are doing better than last year. And in terms of the economy, I don't want anybody to think we're out of the woods, but we're definitely seeing more people spend more money beyond the tickets when they're out there."

The Top 10 Grossing tours Jan-June 2012:

1 - Roger Waters - $158.1
2 - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band - $79.9
3 - Michael Jackson: The Immortal (Cirque du Soliel) - $78.5
4 - Coldplay - $73.9
5 - Lady Gaga - $67.2
6 - Van Halen - $44.9
7 - Drake - $42.6
8 - Madonna - $42.1
9 - Paul McCartney - $40.1
10 - Cirque du Soleil 'Alegria' - $38.0

Featured Music: Kodacrome

2012-07-13T11:09:00.000+01:00

Kodacrome is Elissa Pociask (synth, vocals), Ryan Casey (drums, electronics), and Phil DaRosa (guitar/bass). Elissa designs energetic, interwoven pop melodies with haphazard structures, layered vocals, and mean lyrics. Ryan builds rich, textured soundscapes which can fall anywhere in between delicate and grimy. Easy on the head and heavy on the pretty.

Kodacrome's debut EP Perla features layered melodies, gritty rhythms, and lead lines ringing from machines and throats, alike. The result is six tracks of danceable, fragmented pop with a warm electronic pulse.

Perla EP by Kodacrome

The Perla EP was given a release back in March but since I found myself being tastefully pointed at it, it's been stuck on my playlist over and above a hell of a lot of other new stuff that I've picked up on recently. There's something sneakily addictive about the smartly crafted tunes, Robbery especially I'm not sure I could get out of my head even if I wanted to. I would call 'subliminal attractions' but ultimately that's not necessary - Kodacrome's material seems to have this effect quite naturally.

The band have stated that they are now writing for their next full-length release, to be recorded later in the year ... but also to expect some intermittent tracks to see the light of day meantime. One of these, a cover of Cake's Frank Sinatra can be found via Bandcamp/YouTube, and is certainly worth a listen.

Johnny Marr To Join Bryan Ferry At GuilFest

2012-07-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

Iconic guitarist Johnny Marr is to join Bryan Ferry onstage at this weekend’s GuilFest, it has been announced.

The former Smiths man will be along side Ferry for his entire headline appearance on Sunday, July 15th, with Ferry planning to perform a set comprising of solo material and some favourites from the Roxy Music back catalogue.

Ferry and Marr first met back in 1987 when Marr appeared on the Bete Noir album, and has also recently been in the studio with Ferry working on a new album. Ferry has said of the live hook-up;

"Johnny has previously performed with us on TV and at some smaller events but I am thrilled that he will be playing a full show with us for the very first time at GuilFest."

For a taster, check this Youtube clip of Love Is The Drug, presumably from one of the aforementioned 'smaller events':

GuilFest will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, and will be treated to performances on the Main Stage from the likes of Jools Holland and Jimmy Cliff.

Run-D.M.C. to Reunite For Texas Festival

2012-07-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hip-hop trailblazers Run-D.M.C. are set to reunite for a performance at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest, which runs from November 2nd to the 4th in Austin, Texas. The two surviving members, Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, will headline the main stage.

Festival producer James Moody said in a statement;

"We couldn’t be more excited, Run-D.M.C. is one of our favorite bands, and one of the most influential groups of all time . . . We never thought that we would get to see [them] play live, much less play in Austin at our festival."

"This is as big as it gets. We are so proud to be working with them."

The Fun Fun Fun appearance will mark the first time Run-D.M.C. has performed since 2002, when they retired the name following the tragic death of DJ and producer Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell. To honor Jay's life, Fun Fun Fun Fest is working with Run-D.M.C. to donate a portion of the proceeds to the JMJ Foundation for Music, which helps provide children and young adults with access to the arts, regardless of socio-economic status.

Now in its 7th year, the 2012 Fun Fun Fun Fest finds Run-D.M.C. performing alongside a shortlist that includes Atlas Sound, Rakim, Against Me!, The Head and the Heart, Danny Brown, Bob Mould and many more. The full lineup will be announced on July 12th.

Festival goers will also see a solo set from McDaniels previewing his upcoming album.

Pulp Announce Sheffield Arena Show

2012-07-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

English indie titans Pulp have this morning announced a home-coming show at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena on December 8th, two years after they initially announced their reformation.

Jarvis Cocker and co. have slowly been immersing themselves back into the music game since their decision to reunite and spent last year performing at festivals across the world. Now, they’re ready to perform in their hometown arena for the first time since the reunion – a show described as ‘a journey back to where it all began’.

The announcement of the show came this morning via the band’s website, and will take place on December 8th later this year. Tickets go onsale this Friday (July 13th) at 9am. The Pulp People website also posted this message with the announcement:

"The day that (almost) never happened. A journey back to where it all began. May the circle be unbroken. Tissues optional."

It’s not the first time the band have used their website to give off cryptic messages – their page previously said at the start of the year:

"You think you get off that lightly? You think this is over? There are so many questions left unanswered: Can this feeling travel across the Atlantic? Can we make the desert bloom? Can we conquer our phobias? And most fundamentally: Why me? Why you? Why here? Why now? 2012: The year we get some answers?"