Random Thoughts

A hot July in London

2018-08-01T01:36:00.001+01:00

So the numbers for a month that included England failing to exit the World Cup at their earliest opportunity and weather not seen since 1976 are in. It was musically dominated for me, by my now annual, 11 days allowing the curators of the Summer Series Gigs at Somerset House to introduced me to new acts I've not seen previously - with the exception of Ezra Collective, The month also included my 100th gig at Somerset House.

And so to the numbers:

32 gigs, one on each of the 31 days of the month plus a bonus gig on the last Saturday of the month at Canary Wharf.

90 different artists performing 96 sets in 18 different venues.

The month was topped and tailed by Yur Mum performing at The Unicorn Camden Live. I also had the privilege to see some of my regular favourites including (in X factor order - so not in any particular order):

Fetherstone, Daisy Chute, Cerian, LUCIA and The Adelaides

I also had a chance to enjoy performances from some old favourites I'd not seen in a while:

Tusks and Saint Clair

The best discovery of the month, by a clear measure, was HAWXX - hard to believe it was only their second gig together - a slick performance with great energy and stage presence. Definitely one to watch, with a great future ahead of them - I expect to see them performing at venues as big as Somerset House this time next year!

Two other notable new acts for me - KOLARS and Smoke Season - the KOLARS first entertained me supporting LP at Somerset House, then Smoke Season supported KOLARS at their own headline gig a week later at The Islington 1 Tolpuddle Street - they had their own headline show Miranda at Ace Hotel London Shoreditch, closing the month, supported by Martha Hill Music

All in all another great musical month - and despite many days of outdoor music I only got mildly damp on two occasions! Not a typical British summer.

Half Year Report

2018-07-02T16:20:00.000+01:00

So the year has reached it's mid point and the numbers for my year so far of live music are:

626 Unique artists playing 755 sets at 76 different venues in 2 cities at a total of 191 different gigs on 174 of the 180 days in the first 6 months of 2018.

My most seen artists are:

Yur Mum (9), Natalie Shay (6), Daisy Chute (5) Liv Austen (5), Anteros (4), Caswell (4), DIDI (4), Fetherstone (4) and Tilda Allie (4)

with 84 acts seen more than once.

The first half of the year has allowed me to enjoy some great live music - I'm looking forward to what the rest of the year brings - the first 2 weeks of July are mainly curated by those picking the performers for this years #SummerSeries at Somerset House - which this year included my 100th gig at that great outdoor venue - I really hope this good weather continues - and there aren't any thunderous downpours!

June’s numbers and highlights

2018-07-01T16:19:00.000+01:00

The World Cup hasn't slowed my enjoyment of live music in the world's capital of live music, and despite 4 nights out of the city, I'm keeping up my average of more than 1 gig per night on average this year: June's numbers are:

114 unique artists performing 119 sets at 27 different venues on 26 nights/days of June's 30. With 30 gigs in total.

The venue's new to me this month included The Groucho Club and The Ned London - two private members clubs, one with a long history, the other very new, but both doing their bit to support live music.

Most unique gig of the month goes to Rookes at Poplar Union for a workshop on the technique of looping. Demystifying, to some extent, some of the foot tapping on pedals I see going on in front of me at many gigs. Next on my list is learning more about what all those small boxes in front of many guitarist actually do!

My finds of the month - who I'll be seeking out to see/hear perform again, in X factor tradition, in no particular order:

Birdeatsbaby, HAIZ, Jerry Williams, Wax Chattels, Dutch Mustard, Deep Deep Water, Catgod, The Orchid Hunters

A few favourites I'd not managed to see previously this year, included at few big acts and some smaller ones:

Pumarosa, Anna Calvi, Lily Allen, Crewdson with new collaborator Cevanne, Skinny Girl Diet

Thanks also to the many bands, too numerous to name individually that I've seen regularly this year that keep me and my cameras busy of an evening.

My month of May–filled with Live Music

2018-06-11T15:03:00.001+01:00

Just finished updating my spreadsheet of gigs I've been to in May - I need one to keep track of all the great music I get to listen to live - and the numbers are in for May 2018:

130 Unique Artists, playing 136 sets at 25 different venues on 30 of the 31 days in May.

My finds for the month of May (in no particular order - to quote X Factor), who's music I'll be seeking out in future are:

Daisy Chute, Cerian, Little Water, Rookes, Diane Birch, Amaya Laucirica, London Contemporary Voices, Bugeye

and there are my favourites who I was lucky enough to hear live again:

Yur Mum, DIDI, Autumnmusic Caswell, Emma Ballantine, Fetherstone, Zkeletonz, KOATES, Tilda Allie, Natalie Shay, NOVA TWINS, Anteros

And a couple I've not seen live for a while making great returns:

Du Blonde and Grace Savage

I've probably miss some - there is so much to choose from.

Audience contracts with the Musicians performing

2018-04-30T23:49:00.001+01:00

I attend a lot of live music in small venues – I’m lucky to be in the best city in the world for live music in small venues – you can find something to meet the most people’s taste, most night of the week, somewhere in London – and much of it is free – in the smaller venues it is rarely more than £10.

What never fails to amaze me is the lack of respect some audience members pay to the performers and those around them trying to immerse themselves in the live music – the music may not be to their taste – but others are there to enjoy the music – not raised voices trying converse above the inconvenience of the live music.

There are a number of implied contracts between the audience and the musicians performing:

Contract for Free Events

If you are attending a free event – respect the fact that those performing are unlikely to be being paid to perform – or if they are it will be minimal. Your only payment is your attention to the performance, and keeping quiet to allow everyone to enjoy the live music. All the sets might not be to your tastes – but others wish to enjoy them – and they all deserve respect. If possible take you socializing away from the live music.

The worst I’ve see are musician that have performed or who are yet to perform not respecting their fellow performers. Just think how you enjoy being able to play to an attentive audience, and treat your fellow musicians as you’d like to be treated.

It would be great if those putting people on guest lists could include the the below in the message to their guest gifting them the chance to attend live music:

Contract for Guest List attendees

You’ve been granted free access to the evening by a member of the band, promoter or someone else – please appreciate that while you have not paid to be there – at least some of those around you have. They have paid to support and listen to live music, which they want to enjoy without over hearing the voice you’ve had to raise to make yourself heard above the live music. If you’ve come to socialise, please do so as far from the live music as the venue allows – maybe the outside smoking area!

Venues can also be at fault. There is one, very famous venue, in Soho where I regularly attend, where their cocktails should be stirred not shaken during the live performances. At other venues I regularly hear the crashing of glasses as bar staff are either careless, or have started clearing up before the night has ended. I know the main source of revenue is the

Contract for Venues

Provide an area away from the live music where those that wish to socialise rather than listen can take their conversations
Make sure you staff respect the music – waiting to clear glasses and clean up to between sets or after the sets. Don’t make excessive noise with a performance is taking place

At the end of the day – respect those on the stage, however small, they’ve put a lot of time preparing for their performance. Show some respect for that by giving them your attention – if you can’t manage that , don’t stop others from doing so by raising your voice in conversation.

In larger venues, close to the performers the volume is usually sufficient that you’ll find it hard to socialize without straining your voice – so it is less of an issue – but please still keep those around you in mind before being anti-social to them.

The gig photographer’s collective noun for microphone stands…

2018-04-22T16:46:00.001+01:00

…is an obstruction.

All gig photographers know microphones are a fact of life – without them there really isn’t any performance, especially in these days of loop and effects pedals. But if as a musician you want good images of your performance, unobstructed by mic stands, then it would be a step forward to move the microphone stand out from in front of you if you aren’t using it.

It takes effort and adds one more thing to remember to do – but some of the best images of singers are when they’ve got the microphone in hand, making shapes on stage, freed from the restrictions of a mic stand. That is off course if you’ve not mastered the art of wielding the mic stand still attached to the microphone like a sword.

Numbers at the end of my Instagram Postings

2018-04-22T16:32:00.001+01:00

No, I’m not marking the performance out of an increasing number of points…

…the last number is the number of days of the year so far, the first number is the number of those I’ve been to a gig on that day, the number after the plus is a count of the number of gigs beyond one that I’ve attended on a day.

So at the time of writing this post, I’ve attended gigs on 110 of the 111 days of the year – on two occasions I attended 2 gigs on a day, and on 3 I attended 3 gigs on a day.

I would have made it 111 days – but understandably, even in a city like London with an incredible number of options for live music on most days of the year – on New Year’s day there weren't an musician or probably venues really ready to be putting on a live music event.

I don’t know how long I’m going to keep the current run up – but there is not sign of it ending.

Norah Jones supported by The Candles

2017-07-06T23:24:00.011+01:00

6th July 2017, Somerset House, London, UK

Kicking off the 2017 Summer Series Gigs at Somerset House sponsored by American Express was Norah Jones supported by The Candles. Norah is one of the more established, and familiar names, performing this year during the 11 nights of the series of outdoor music events in the splendour of the open courtyard at Somerset House.

Opening for Norah were The Candles – the band appeared to grow with each of the early songs in their set. First a soloist, then a trio, then they where joined by a drummer and pianist, and finally by a bassist. It became apparent later – that most of the members of The Candles where members of Norah’s band. While I understand that having your backing band open for you, under another name, does keep the costs down and keep things simple while touring – but it really is a shame the opportunity wasn’t take for an up and coming London band to be given the opportunity to win more fans from amongst Norah’s adoring fans.

Beginning her European tour at Somerset House, the set began in a jazz mood, which would have graced Ronnie Scott’s, if you could take the roof off that venue.

A subtle touch on the ivories of the grand piano, which dominated the stage, during instrumental interludes in “I’ve got to see you again” proved Norah is more than just a great vocalist.

As the set progress the jazz mood was replace by a more electric sound – with the pedal steel contributing much to that.

Norah herself commented that she’d not been expecting hot and humid weather, which she likened to that in Texas where she’d grown up. Then she noted that having played at a number of outside venues recently – she always seam time one song on in the set to match the sunset – that being “Sunrise”.

After the gentle breeze, keeping the audience from over heating, caused the smells from the food stands to drift on to the stage Norah was prompted to comment “I smell sausages”, and then realise – “that will be the quote of the night”, the set the took a more melancholy turn with song like “She’s 22”.

“Night and day” moved the set back to a warmer sound and feeling, returning to the grand piano and the jazz vibe returns. The “Peace” brings the set to a crescendo, and then “The Long Day is Over” was a very appropriate way to approach the pre-encore pause.

The real end of the set was “Come away with me” – she couldn’t have left here fans without that hit.

The whole evening illustrates that a carefully constructed set list or album is why listening to music via a streaming service in a random order which hasn’t been curated in anyway, just isn’t the same as experiencing the music in the order the artist behind it intended . A live performance allows the artist to add careful transitions in mood, taking the listener on a musical journey. The other artists performing this year have a lot to follow to keep the standard up.

Rhiannon Giddens supported by Bhi Bhiman

2015-05-21T19:37:00.000+01:00

21st May 2015, The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, Canada

Continuing my aim to find some live music to sample in every new city I visit, I added a new City and Country to the list where I’ve done so. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a local artist to listen to. Rhiannon Gibbens was on tour in Vancouver while I was there, and her music and the prospect of a gig in a working Cinema both intrigued me.

Having managed to over come my lack of knowledge of Vancouver's transit system I was pleased to have made for the beginning of Bhi Bhiman’s set.

I’m not sure if Bhi usually plays with the support of a band – but to begin with he seams a little lost on stage – he soon overcame that – his witty lyrics and topics bring the best out of a growing audience. The highlight of the set was certainly when he was joined by Rhiannon on her fiddle.

Rhiannon, not to be confused for the more famous artist Rihanna, who may sell out stadiums, but has no more talent than the multi-instrumentalist on stage tonight, was given a rapturous welcome by an audience clearly aware of the treat they were in for.

The show included a few original numbers – but the highlights where the multitude of carefully and lovingly chosen covers of classic banjo numbers from the great history of American banjo playing – all given a modern Giddens’ twist.

One surprise was the almost entirely white audience – yet Rhiannon’s politics went down a storm – not surprising given Canada’s liberal reputation – but I’d have expected a more multi-cultural group– in London I’m sure the crowd will be much more diverse.

Unfortunately working Cinemas, complete with seats, get my thumbs down for this type of gig – I’m sure there would have been more energy coming from the audience had we been standing, and personally it would have helped me fight off the effects of jet lag to be standing – a confortable cinema seat was a little too conducive to the sleep trying to take me over – I only nodded off briefly but the music soon revived me. Rhiannon’s music urged you to get up and move – but the seating discourage it…
I will be making every effort to catch Rhiannon when she plays at the Islington Assembly Hall in London on June 30th. I can highly recommend her to anyone who enjoys traditional banjo music with a modern twist – together with her band she brings out all that is good about the instrument.

Ultraista @ Birthdays

2012-10-07T23:55:00.000+01:00

Playing their first London gig – the recently formed Ultraista brought the vocals and electronic sound of Laura Bettinson, former driving force of Dimbleby & Capper (D&C) and new incarnation Femme, together with Nigel Godrich, producer of Radiohead and Joey Waronker adding percussion and all manner of other sounds to the mix, to Birthsdays in Dalston – ending the UK leg of a short world tour having crossed the USA and circled Europe.

From Ultraista (Birthdays) 2012

Opening the evening in Dalston was Crewdson. He initially had the quickly filling venues a little confused as his musical instruments included the contents of a rather battered Tesco’s plastic bag – but soon had them enthralled as he turned sound samples from the empty can, paper and other assorted items it contained into a glorious electronic sound.

With an unconventional set of electronics as your musical tool kit technical problems are likely – but I don’t think I’ll ever hear an electronic artist apologies for a glitch with “bear with me one sec – my motorbike ain’t working….” I’d suggest Crewdson sound could be described as "Electronic via Tesco’s and the Playstation”.

Creatively showing what can be accomplished live with a laptop, assorted shopping, saxophone and Playstation controller, Crewdson put to shame those that use pre-recorded samples.

As Ultraista opened their set, the comparisons to previous celebrated incarnations of members of the band were inevitable. The Radiohead fans in the audience here to hear how the Godrich sound was moving forward, heard an up tempo mix with more pop than in the past. A clear contribution from D&C/Femme.

The D&C fans in the basement would be please that the visuals impact of that group continued – but the frog and rabbit mask for the male members of the band had been left in the dressing up box…

From Ultraista (Birthdays) 2012

Unfortunately Party Line wasn’t on the set list – so I’m still not sure if the opening backing vocals really are “northern line” or the slightly more likely “more than I” of the main lyrics… It’s very possible that the fact that the track first came on my iPhone while stuck on the listening to Northern Line announcements influenced what I think I heard – but if you list carefully I’m sure you can hear how the mix up could occur…

The evening and the tour where brought to a close with a long list of thanks to those that had assisted with getting them to the end of this first tour.

Surely if won’t be long before Nigel is moving his latest creation on to similar stages as his previous associates, Radiohead – playing the O2 the following two nights – their followers really missed out if they hadn’t had the foresight to come to town one night early for a Sunday evenings entertainment in Dalston - if they could have got hold of a ticket!

Jill Scott draws the VIPs to Somerset House

2012-07-10T23:39:00.000+01:00

9th/10th July – Somerset House Summer Series presented by American Express: Jill Scott supported by Daley

For the first year two acts will play two nights each in the Somerset House Summer Series – Jill Scott’s two gigs where in the original schedule – Paloma Faith’s second gig was added shortly after the first one sold out so quickly. Judging by the fact that more than an hour before both nights of Jill’s shows a large proportion of the audience where queuing outside this was a good decision – those there on Monday night got treated to a prolonged sound check that almost sounded like a full rehearsal, rather than a simple check of the levels…

The first night also attracted the VIPs – with Lewis Hamilton tweeting a picture from the gig and Perez Hilton, Joss Stone and Misha B amongst the music glitterati in attendance

From Jill Scott 2012 (Monday) (Somerset House)

Opening for Jill on both nights was Daley – whom I’d last seen supporting Emeli Sande at the Borderline for HMV Next Big Thing – he certainly gets to precede some special acts on stage. On both night the audience warmed to his sound – his British take on soul was a great warm up for the Philly version that was the main act – he even made a cameo appearance on the second night during the commercial intermission for “Ball Fresh”.

From Jill Scott 2012 (Monday) (Somerset House)

Jill Scott brought on stage with here a very talented 10 piece band including amongst them “the pipes” – between them they gave her incredible voice the backing it deserved, At some points the performance became almost operatic - very appropriate for the surroundings.

As promised on the first night – if you wanted to see a costume change then you needed to come to another Jill Scott gig – not that her look didn’t change – including at times a wig and a variety gazelles (glasses) – one pair refused to play ball – steaming up on both nights in the damp conditions under the heat of the stage lights.

The performances on both nights brought the courtyard in Somerset House to life – mixing soul, poetry, and a sexy sense of humour.

Sunday mini festival at Somerset House

2012-07-08T23:40:00.000+01:00

8th July – Somerset House Summer Series presented by American Express with What Next Live: Katy B supported by Devlin, Ms Dynamite and P Money and What Next Live – including Kimmy Reader, Rhea Dean and Tom Prior

Regularly giving an opportunity on one of the Sunday’s of the series for up and coming acts to take to the stage is a great innovation that Somerset House continues to provide – this year three of the act from What Next Live shone out – Kimmy Reader, Rhea Dean or Tom Prior could easily have been “headline support acts” – maybe it is time for a slight change to the presentation of these acts and simply put them on as support acts for some of the nights of the series. I’ll be looking out for and looking forward to when these acts perform again.

Katy B brought the acts from her 2011 headline tour with her to Somerset House for her only headline show of the year. I’ve never been sure if a DJ based set works in the classical surroundings of Somerset House – and P Money definitely struggled to keep up the atmosphere that the What Next acts had built up – his act had worked in an enclosed space – but in the daylight, in an open space it seamed not to fill the space sufficiently.

From Katy B 2012 (Somerset House)

When Ms Dynamite took to the stage the energy levels lifted – it was still rather strange to be experiencing this in the open air before the dark had fallen. The large separation between the audience and the stage also wasn’t helping

Devlin's addition of instruments in the form of a full band to the stage took the show up a further level.

From Katy B 2012 (Somerset House)

The sun had set by the time Katy B took to the stage, that allowed the light show on the stage to have a bigger impact, and with the venue now full the atmosphere was approaching a club – or as close as you can get surrounded by the 18th century architecture of Somerset House.

A cover of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams stood out in a set that ranged from Katy’s better known dance tracks to slower ballads showing there is more to her than just dubstep.

The 11pm curfew came far too early – and closing with Lights On seamed very appropriate as the house lights shortly followed, but the audience didn’t want to leave.

Tim Minchin – Comedy night opens Somerset House Summer Series

2012-07-07T23:28:00.000+01:00

7th July 2012 – Somerset House Summer Series presented by American Express: Tim Minchin supported by Harry Oakwood Millionaire

This will be the third year when I’ve chosen to try and get tickets to the entire series of summer gigs at Somerset House – even with access to pre-sales Tim' Minchin’s gig was already sold out! Having previously seen Tim at the Apple Cart festival in 2011, I choose to resort to GetMeIN to complete my set of tickets – and by waiting until a week or so before the event I didn’t have to pay a significant premium. It would be nice if Somerset House would consider a “season ticket” to their series of gigs – there won’t be may people that would be looking to attend all of the events given they are drawn from a wide range of musical genres – but there would be some and it might assist in filling the audience for the less main stream acts.

From Tim Minchin 2012 (Somerset House)

Finding a support act to complement Tim Minchin irreverent act was always going to be challenging – Tim selected Harry Oakwood Millionaire to fill the role having heard them himself. They did just justice to his selection – their guitar based sound reminded me of early Beatles.

By the time Tim took to the stage the miserable British summer had started to let the enthusiastic crowd down – causing umbrellas to be produced – there property of being mainly opaque generating an off the cuff line of comedy from Tim – that quickly encouraged their owners to take them down and brave the light rain without their protection. After the distraction of the easy target of the weather Tim was soon back in good form with his comedy based around a series of very clever songs – it quickly became clear Tim may have “calmed down” his set for the “family friendly” Apple Cart festival – it was certainly brave for Jonathan Ross to have invited him on to his show – a pity ITV hadn’t had the courage to go ahead with his inclusion in the show that actually went out – all the targets of Tim’s comedy are valid and his clever use of word play and innuendo highlights many serious issues.

This was a great start to the series of gigs – opening with the “comedy night”, missing from the series last year but represented the previous year by Neil Hannon in his solo performance as Divine Comedy was a brave move – I hope a comedy themed night becomes a regular in the series going forward.

Return from Round the World adventure

2012-05-04T23:41:00.000+01:00

I’ve been rather remiss in updating my blogs over the last 10 weeks or so… The reason has been my round the world adventure that has been the source of 20,000+ pictures that need proofing, and copious notes that will form the basis for many back dated entries in the coming weeks – and hopefully not months…. If you are reading this in June 2012 then hopefully there will be lots of posts that you’ve read illustrated by images of some of the sights I’ve enjoyed….

To give you a taster images from the start and end of my journey…..

Warming the freezing nights with great vocals

2012-02-02T23:30:00.000+00:00

2nd February 2012 - HMV Next Big Thing 2012: Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny supported by Kyla La Grange and Olfar

Having been spoilt for choose, my first HMV NBT gig was Upstairs at The Garage – once initial confusion about the correct queue for the upstairs gig, rather than large downstairs gig in the same series - Reckless Love supported by Jettblack and The Treatment, we where allowed in, out of the freezing cold, as winter finally arrived – the perfect excuse for spending nights listening to live music…

From HMV NBT - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny, Kyla La Grange, and Olfar

Olfar opened the night – playing without their backing band The Feral Pets – as a duet they gently warmed up the venue with a set that was more folky than their current album – available for the recession busting price of £1 from www.olfar.co.uk – great value – especially as you can listen before you commit to the download… It was a true duet – each member contributed to a great vocals to the opening of the NBT series…

The pace was then picked up by Kyla La Grange, cramming her backing band on to the ridiculously small stage. They then filled the small venue with a large sound – yet another slight British female vocalist with a surprisingly large voice. The highlight of the set, for me, was when Kyla forwent her guitar and let her vocals drive Vampire’s Smile. The set could do with the addition of a couple of more upbeat tracks as the theme is generally down beat – possibly a cover or two I’m sure Kyla’s voice would do the authors proud.

The set change before Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny could make the small stage their own had me trying to think of a “how many people does it take to” joke that was appropriate! I always look forward to bands that diverge from the standard – two or three guitars, keys and a drummer – the Hooves brought to the musical sound stage a violin and trumpet – always good additions to the standard formula.

Taking the vocals up a couple of registers from Kyla, Beth has visual hints of Gwen Stefani and isn’t vocally dissimilar – less pop more rock. Taking technical problems in her stride – her music held its own – the jokes used as fillers while she fixed her guitar didn’t! The bands debut album launched on 6th February – one look out for…

HMV may be struggling to make a success of selling recorded music – but they can clearly select good live acts and promote them well – the venue appeared to be sold out – not something that happens easily on a freezing Thursday – especially since they themselves where providing alternatives at so many venues…

Set Lists

Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny	Kyla La Grange
Atlas Dodecahedron Your Holes Night Swimmer Lilliput Humble Digs (Super Cunt) Telephone Return STB (Medley)	Been Better Courage To Be Torn Sympathy Vampire Smile Lambs Catalyst

Big Band night at XOYO – at least in size….

2012-01-25T23:30:00.000+00:00

25th January 2012 – Q Now: The Sessions – To Kill a King supported by Jamie N Commons and Jodie Marie

From Q Now - The Sessions - To Kill A King, Jamie N Commons, Jodie Marie

The night started as the previous one had ended – with a talented female vocalist from a home nation – this time from Wales. While her voice is not as powerful as Emeli Sandé, Jodie Marie’s mixes R&B with rock – and steers way from the traditional pop sound. When I last saw Marie she was supporting Nerina Pallot and her backing band only had one member – since touring Europe it has grown to three – and that added depth to the songs, although the best ones featured Marie taking the lead on her own guitar.

Jamie N Commons’ backing band numbered four – spread across the rather wide but narrow stage at XOYO… They brought up the folk level in the night’s music while maintaining the rock element – with an American twang – which brought to mind Johnny Cash or some other 60’s voice out of the west of America – possible re-enforced by his choice of a wide brimmed hat!

The theme of the night was clearly – “how many musicians can you get on the stage” – with To Kill a King supplementing their number with members of Professor Penguin to add brass to their sound, bring their number to eight at times… The sound moved more in the direction of folk, and adding elements of Jazz when the Penguins where contributing. The highlight for my was when Ralph Pelleymounter turned to his keyboard for some of the closing numbers of the set.

XOYO was a little more chilled out than it had been the previous evening with none of the stars having yet risen as high as the star of the series of gig presented by Q Magazine so far on Tuesday night….

Set Lists

To Kill a King	Jodie Marie
Cold Skin Wrecking Crew Fictional State Moon Envy Gasp Rays I Work Nights Wolves Bloody Shirt Funeral Cannibal with Cutlery Family	Numb On the Road Single Blank Canvas I Got You Greeney-Blue Remember Me

1st of 2012 Brit Award winners play XOYO

2012-01-24T23:47:00.000+00:00

24th January 2012 – Q Now: The Sessions – Emeli Sandé supported by Michael Kiwanuka

Michael Kiwanuka probably had the hardest job for a support act at this series of gigs – opening for Emeli Sandé, already highly recognised by being the Brit’s Critics Choice and nominated for the British Breakthrough Act – but his own placing of 3rd in the critics choice meant he came highly recommended. In a fairly low key set his mix of soul and folk enveloped the filling venue, preparing the audience for the upcoming vocal display.

From Q Now - The Sessions - Emeli Sanda plus Michael Kiwanuka

As the audience waited for Emeli, the anticipation built as the tempo of the tracks being played by the DJ increased… With a smooth backing band behind her and occasionally on the keys, Emeli’s vocals resonated through the venue – possibly a little too big for such a confined space – she could easily blow away a venue such as the Royal Albert Hall. The highlight of the evening, for me, was a medley of her collaborations with house hold names that has already seen Emeli in the charts for most of 2011. Surely the days of Emeli playing intimate venues such as XOYO and Borderline for the HMV Next Best Thing series in February are numbered – the larger venues that her voice demands beckon. Surely no one in the audience left without knowing they had been privileged to hear Emeli in such close proximity.

Has this series reached it’s high point? To Kill a King, Howler and the Rizzle Kicks will attempt to raise the bar again on the next three nights.

Set Lists:

Emeli Sandé	Michael Kiwanuka
Tiger Where I Sleep Suitcase Lifetime Clown Next to me Breaking The Law Hope Medley Montage! Maybe Daddy Mountain Heaven My kind of Love	I’ll Get Along I’m Getting Ready Rest Tell Me a Tale “Lasan” Home Again I Don’t Know

Subtly rocking the XOYO for Q

2012-01-23T23:30:00.000+00:00

23rd January 2012 - Q Now: The Sessions – Dry The River supported by Clock Opera & Rae Morris at XOYO, London

I returned to XOYO for the first time in 2012 – having experience a wide variety of great live music there in 2011 – as usual they were running late and the bands hadn’t finished sound checking when the doors should have opened… The cold chill of January in London wasn’t a problem as they now have a bar upstairs to wait in…

From Q Now - The Sessions - Dry The River, Clock Opera, Rae Morris

The first act on the programme was 18 year old Rae Morris – from Blackpool – offering to advise on the best places to get fish & chips in that locale should any of the audience be in the area… Rae appeared to be very nervous – but she had no need to be – it is acts like hers that are the reason to get to gigs for all the support acts. Rae opened without introduction with a new song Back to Front – then confessed she’d gone straight into that number otherwise she’d have not had the courage to perform it. Her set of six songs was perfectly formed – she filled the room with a mature sound that could have graced any venue in London and not been out of place – Q have definitely found a potential new star to join the group of great female vocalists representing the UK in the world of music.

Clock Opera certainly had a high bar set for them vocally… The foursome added guitars and drums plus a tray, tankard and what looked like a milk or sugar jar from a tea set! As you’d expect from a band who have been performing for 3+ years the wasn’t any sign of nerves caused by selection by Q as one to watch this year – they took the sound up a level and filled the basement of XOYO with an eclectic mix of rock, electronic, indie and ambient sound – really hard to pigeon hole them into one genre. It certainly warmed the audience up after the relaxing opener from Rae.

From the appearance of Dry The River, I thought I was in for another night when the promoters haven’t managed to find a set of artist all of whom would appeal to the same audience – but that impression only proved that you shouldn’t judge a book/band by its cover/appearance – I’d just expected more of a rock/metal sound from a group of 5 guys sporting tattoos and long hair! The give away should have been the presences of a violin on stage – always a good indication that you are going to get something more complex than the normal 4/5 guys with drums, guitars and a keyboard… That’s not saying that Dry The River didn’t have a number of songs in their set that would have been very at home during a night of rock/metal – they did – but they also have a repertoire songs that display subtly that you’d not expect from a “rock band” – particular impressive was when they choose to “go unplugged” – bring quiet to a venue far more used to the loud sound of a fully amped band…

Q have kicked of this short series with a great evening of music – the expectation have been set high for the other participants that follow this week – anyone looking to hear some of the likely new sounds of 2012 are highly advised to arrive early to make sure they catch the support bands as well as some of the better know headliners…

Sub Project 52

2012-01-17T00:41:00.000+00:00

As part of my Project 366 I've also joined a number of groups on Flickr which are aiming for the apparently less taxing goal of 1 photo a week rather than a day throughout 2012... I'm not entirely sure that is much less challenging - I've already spent many brain cycles selecting my submissions for the first two weeks from the two sets of 7 candidates....

Winter Get Away?

Manful @ Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen

16 days into Project 366 and I'm almost up to date with all the "process" surrounding it - without the need to scramble for a subject at 11:55pm...

Project 366 – publish one picture a day for a year…

2012-01-11T17:58:00.001+00:00

The new year brings me a new project – and possibly my first “new year’s resolution” – to take at least one photograph every day of 2012 – all 366 of them.

One challenge I’ll have to over come creatively is crossing the international date line – which means that I’ll actually only experience the normal 365 days this year, loosing the leap day to jet lag as I travel round the world….

I’ll be publishing one picture a day on a new blog I’ve created – 66photography99 – as regularly as internet access and time allows. I’m also uploading them to flickr and adding them to a number of groups on flickr.

Postcard from the home of Pele

2011-12-01T18:44:00.000+00:00

The island of Hawaii, being the youngest of the long archipelago to break the surface as the Pacific plate moves past a hot spot is the home to five volcanoes, all still classified as active, the smallest of them has been erupting for the last 26 years. The others also have a real likelihood of future activity, unlike their sister on Maui, which is highly unlikely to produce more lava as it has almost moved past the hotspot powering the production of the island chain in the middle of the Pacific plate....

Beginning by far the largest of the eight Hawaiian islands, twice the size of the other seven combined, a round island tour was always going to be a long day - add return flights from Oahu, and it was a 16+ hour tour from leaving the hotel to returning....

Landing at Kona means I've now collected the full set of the airports in these islands served by the major airlines. Kona airport is an airport of contrasts. It was built in the 1970s as an emergency landing strip for the yet to be finalised Space Shuttle programme - so the runway is one of the highest spec runways in the world, 11,000+ feet in length, and capable of withstanding the heaviest of landings... But the terminal is the most low key set of building, connected by covered walk ways I've seen make up a modern international airport, post 9/11 enhanced security checks have meant they've had to enclose the departure areas, but it was still wonderfully low key for a NASA space port.....

Kona itself is a rather small town, one of the few places outside Japan to suffer damage as a result of the tsunami earlier in the year, albeit on a minor scale compared to the devastation in Japan. Having said that on multiple occasions in living memory the island has suffered major tsunamis of its own - which makes the billions of dollars invested in the eight resort complexes just north of Kona remarkable investment with the twin risks from the sea and from the volcanoes on who's slopes they are built...

The volcano closest to the resorts has a regular pattern of major eruptions, every 200 years, and it is now 210 years since the last one, so those investments many not look so secure... Having said that these volcanoes are amongst the most closely monitor pieces of geology in the world and there will probably be years of warning if Haualalai starts to wake up, and unlike most volcanoes, the shield type, that occur at this hotspot aren't of the explosive type found on the edge of the pacific plate, some of which have some of the worlds largest cities within there range...

This was my third trip to pay homage to Pele and in particular the active Kilauea, and for the first time I'd been there she actually put on a show, albeit only of hot gases venting from the summit of Kilauea... About the time of my first visit, Kilauea had just switched from erupting from a vent on her slopes that was feeding red hot lava into the Pacific with dramatic effect, to a smaller eruption at a different location – which has been active on and off ever since. This may have been a prelude to the events, a few months later which culminated in an explosion at the summit which opened the vent in the summit caldera. By the time I returned 2 years later, that vent was relatively quiet with only a small volume of gas escaping....

That wasn't the case this time, the volume of gas being thrown into the atmosphere combined with the fickle trade winds had caused the evacuation of the National park on a number of occasion in the previous week because of the dangers the SO2 being vented represent. Luckily for us the was enough wind in a safe direction to allow us to marvel at the power of mother nature...

Another highlight of the tour was the chance to see close up Green Sea turtles on Punaluu beach, one of the many black sand beaches that occur on the coast of these islands. The sand, formed when hot lava meets the cold sea and explodes is rather more course than the more usual white/yellow sand found elsewhere – formed of small balls of glass resulting from explosions as the lava cools rather than grains of eroded stone/shell…

It was a very long day – but seeing Kilauea active and the turtles on the beach were highlights that made the effort worth it…. Having said that, any future tours I take on this island will focus on the volcano – while interesting the rest of the island is a little uniform – not having had the time to develop the character of the older islands north of it.

Post card from the House of the rising Sun

2011-11-27T09:34:00.000+00:00

I’m really not a morning person – and with hindsight I should have booked this fly away trip to Maui in the first week of my stay – while jet lag was still waking me before sunrise across Waikiki… But I managed to surface for the 5am pick up for the short flight to Maui to join the Polynesian Adventure Tour to the summit of Haleakala, Central Maui and Iao Valley … oh for the days of walking straight onto planes without the delays and early check-ins of the post 9/11 era

On my last tour of Maui, I’d taken the tour that circles the Haleakala National Park via the road to Hana and the cliff hugging track along the southern coast of Maui. While the feet of man building a road along the twisting coastline is impressive – it is nothing compared to the views of what nature has built from the top of the dormant volcano! There is another tour to the summit of the volcano that allows you to observe the sun rise – maybe on my next trip to these paradise Islands I’ll have to arrange a few days on Maui to be able to witness that sight – yet another early rise….

Haleakala has many unique species living and growing on its slopes – amongst them plants that have developed a covering of hairs that give the plants a gray/silver colour that gives them their English name – silversword – the Hawaiian is ʻāhinahina – “very gray”, the Hawaiian culture had no metals – so no silver to match to the colour of the plants to themselves…

We were lucky with the weather, clear blue skies and views as far as the two volcanoes on Big Island – however the 10,000+ foot of altitude meant the advice to bring some warm clothes for this part of the tour was good – and at that altitude the air was definitely lacking the oxygen I’d enjoyed relaxing at sea level on Waikiki beach!

Leaving the peak behind there was a long down hill drive, with a short break for lunch in the village of Makawao – which has an incredibly laid back felling to it – it felt like a place with a wonderfully slow pace of life. It could have been straight out of a western – apart from the cars lining the streets!

Then on to Iao Valley State Park, one of the many valleys of the smaller and older mount of Wailuku – which being on the windward side of the mountain was a green oasis complete with a micro climate that had us all scurrying for the tour bus as a heavy down pour filled the valley.

The tour ended in in Lahaina, and for those of us returning to Honolulu a chance to browse the local shops and enjoy the sunset over Lānaʻi, while those from local hotels were returned to them…

Random monetary questions from/about the US of A

2011-11-22T03:12:00.000+00:00

Why is the dime half the weight, and smaller than the nickel – yet worth twice as much as a token of currency? Also, why are the dollar notes of all the denominations I’ve encountered hard to distinguish – being uniform in size and colour (or color)… Yes I know they all have their value printed on them – but that requires removing them from your wallet/purse to inspect them, which is avoided in other nations by knowing the larger ones are the higher value ones – and that they all have distinctive colours – so a “the larger, purple, drinking token” will normally cover all but the largest rounds….

What is it with the practice of pricing everything without tax? This inevitably leads to people, at least tourists, not really knowing how much things are actually going to be – which is a minor inconvenience but I’d also guess it has an real economic impact, as it inevitably leads to totals even of a small number of items which aren’t nice round numbers with a few cent, nickels or dimes of change being needed – adding to the number of coins that need to be in circulation – or no longer in circulation, because they are lost down the back of the nations sofas. Judging by the state of some of the cents I’ve been give in change for my uniformly sized and coloured notes, some have been in and out of circulation for a long time…

Are these quirks driven by a nation that has almost become a cashless society? Using cash to pay for something has lead to a few funny looks – with the possible exception of tipping at the bar – which is one area I assume escapes all taxes!!!!

Bright Eyes in Honolulu

2011-11-21T23:30:00.000+00:00

21st November - Bright Eyes supported by Shopping List at Hawaii Theatre Center, Honolulu

Bright Eyes ended a year of touring with a final night in Honolulu – as I also happened to be in Honolulu and there appears to be a lack of well advertised live music in this tropical paradise, other than the clichéd performances that accompanies eating in hotels along the Waikiki strip, it gave me one of two opportunities while away from the onset of winter in London to feed my growing addiction to live music.

The Hawaii Theatre Center must have been the only venue of a suitable size available as it was far from ideal for the event; all seated venues just don’t allow the atmosphere that is possible when standing at a “rock concert”… Had they been able to remove the chairs from the stalls and make downstairs a standing area it would have worked well – but that didn’t look like it was an option. As a result the overly polite audience remained in their, admittedly very confortable, seats until cagouled into breaking out and standing at the close of the evening! The situation could have been assisted if the band had positioned themselves at the front of the enormous stage – rather than spreading themselves across the back…

From Bright Eyes 2011

The support act were the local band Shopping List. Given the small number of gigs, the opportunity to be the “local support to travelling big act” must be hard fought for – and Shopping List filled the roll well – their music matching the genre of the main act and being up beat so as to warm up an audience primarily there to support the headliners. It did appear, that beyond the usual friends and family, they also had a substantial number of their own fans in the auditorium, which was well deserved for a band that gave a polished performance.

When Bright Eyes took to the stage I was a little worried that the vast array of instruments, including two drum kits and two keyboard positions would lead them in to the trap I’ve heard others fall into of over complicating the performance with different instruments and distracting from the music itself – they neatly avoided that.

Their music had elements of two other bands from the US that I’ve recently heard live in London – Group Love and My Morning Jackets. For me the most successful parts of the evening were those where the music was stripped back to the primary members of Bright Eyes with voice, guitar, single synth and occasional brass contribution.

Included in the set where a number of anti-war songs, I’d suggest targeting the recent conflicts which the US has involved itself in in the middle east, rather that the campaigns in Asia that inspired a previous generation of song writers – war appears to inspire more musicians than most topics, possibly other than love, to write – I’ve yet to hear too many serious songs prompted by the other current trend of hating the investment banking industry – maybe because that is mainly stoked up by the political classes themselves to deflect from their duplicity in the current world wide finical troubles by pointing the finger at the investment bankers, but contrast the anti war songs were/are directed against the political elites risking the lives of the young for their own causes…

I’m sure if I hunted hard enough, I’d find the smaller venue in Hawaii where the likes of Shopping List are developing – and being 6 flying hours from anywhere must be a distinct downside to other bands adding Hawaii to their tours – but it is such a pleasant place to be that I’m surprised it isn’t on more round the world musical adventures – especially considering the place it is 6 hours flying from, LA, is such a mecha for musicals – and that so many of the most successful of musicians have made homes in the island state.

Post card from Waikiki

2011-11-21T09:39:00.000+00:00

It is easy to forget that even in Hawaii’s tropical location in the middle of the Pacific, being north of the equator – and actually not as far south as some would think – it is only just further south, for instance than Miami – so it is only just the most southerly state of the USA, November is officially “winter”… as such most of Oahu has actually been overcast most of the time since I arrived – Waikiki appears to have been fortunate to avoid this fate, and has probably benefited from the slightly cloudy sky to moderate the temperature a little…

One of my primary reasons to travel 1/3 of the way round the world at this particular time of year was to enjoy, what has been, during my previous two visits, the spectacular photographic opportunity of the worlds best surfers taming the mountainous surf on the North Shore… I’ve not been so lucky this year – apparently because of a second year of the El Niño, the surf has so far been too small at the location of Reef Hawaiian Pro for competition to begin – but the forecast is that there will be sufficient swell for a compressed event in the last 3 days of the scheduled 12 day window before the Thanksgiving break… Hopefully the winter waves will be back after Thanksgiving for the second event of the Vans Triple Crown on Sunset beach.

The lack of surfing has meant days of soaking up the sun, and the slightly less sunny conditions have given my London skin a more gentle introduction than it might otherwise have had… I’ve almost adjusted to the 10 hour time difference – but it has given me the chance to listen to the ATP World Tour finals during the day rather than into the late evening, which I’d probably have be watching in live in person if I wasn’t so far away, via the wonders of the internet and an iPhone application that appears to overcome the restrictions on listening to Radio 5 Live Extra outside the UK!