I almost skipped watching !!! (chk chk chk) back in the middle part of 2009 and even though their set was pretty disappointing, I discovered an amazing support act from Australia called The Temper Trap.
Having never heard of them, I was genuinely impressed by their performance and their fun kind of guitar rock. Catchy beats and interesting riffs. Then there’s this song you may have heard of called Sweet Disposition which is simply brilliant. It was featured n the movie (500) Days Of Summer.
As soon as I noticed they were playing a show in Koko in December, and on a Monday as well, I bought tickets right away.
The day itself was pretty horrible.
As it was my day off, I decided to purchase advance tickets for Avatar at Odeon in Camden as it would finish a few minutes before the doors opened for the gig at Koko which was just down the road. It would be perfect.
Unfortunately, the moment I stepped out of the door, huge amounts of snow started falling. As such, the bus I needed was late by an hour which was real puzzling as other buses, including the same route going in the opposite direction, were all running. Just the one bus I needed. The world was out again to screw me over.
As a result, I arrived in Camden an hour late for the screening I already paid for and had to sit in a coffee shop alone for almost an hour and a half waiting for doors to open at Koko.
Due to the “snow storm”, there was hardly any queue really. A few minutes before 7, there were less than 10 people waiting to get in. Thankfully, they didn’t let us wait to long.
People eventually started coming in around 8 in the evening.
There was a support band whom I can’t remember at the moment and can’t be bothered looking them up now. I don’t think they didn’t mention who they were on stage and I don’t care as there was nothing special about them. The only thing they had going was the fact that they had a female bassist.
The wait was excruciatingly long especially when there is an obnoxious group of people in front of you. They started out as 3 people. Then 5 of their friends came an hour later, squeezing into the already packed front area. Later on, 7 more friends squeezed in and made things pretty damn annoying. Oh, they were from Australia.
Temper Trap probably came up on stage around 9:30. At this point, the venue was really packed up to the rafters. When I watched Jack’s Mannequin here, I was at the back so didn’t see how many levels Koko had. From the front, you could see how many levels there were. Unlike Shepherd’s Bush Empire, tickets allowed access into all areas.
They played the entirety of their album Conditions plus a new song and a cover of Bruce Springstein’s Dancing In The Dark. Highlights of the night were Sweet Disposition, Science of Fear and Drum Song which was amazing.
It was a solid show and the crowd was really into the band. Still, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected.
The magic and awe which I experienced when I saw them the first time at Electric Ballroom was lost. This could have been caused by my frustration with the obnoxious group in front of me but it was simply different.
Don’t get me wrong, the show was still pretty tight and was a great performance from the band. There was simply something missing which was present the first time and really caught my interest.
In some way, this could be attested to their sudden shot to fame which is all good for them and they were loving the cheers from the crowd and their performance was fueled by them.
They already had a 3-day show at O2 Empire set prior to the Koko gig. Two days have already sold out and my decision to purchase tickets for the last day lay on my experience on this day. Sadly, it wasn’t a brilliant one.
In my case, I still love them and would continue listening to them. As for their shows, I think I’ll take a break from them for awhile.
Last December 7, 2009, I had the chance to watch Asobi Seksu again. This time it was at Cargo in Shoreditch, London.
I noticed this gig online at the last minute and was glad there were still tickets for it as I have never been to Cargo in the past and it is always good to watch a band in a new place.
There was another gig happening on the same date for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at The Garage, Islington. If I hadn’t seen this band in this same venue back in August, I would have purchased tickets for this instead. Sometimes it is good to wait until the very last minute.
Anyway, Cargo is a nice little venue underneath a rail bridge. Unlike other venues, it has a restaurant and a bar separate from the room where the stage is. It is a nice cozy place to meet up friends (if I had any) for a few pints and some food.
There were no queues which was a welcome change in England and since I arrived early, I had a pint and relaxed on the their comfy seats. With the previous Asobi Seksu gig at ICA, I lost out of the shirt design I wanted. They had the same design here but only in women’s shirts so I bought a different shirt instead.Airship, from Manchester, was support for the evening. They were a pretty decent and interesting band. Their EP is available on Spotify if you want to have a listen. It is pretty good.
Asobi Seksu played a familiar set as to the ICA gig back in February, give or take a few songs. I have listened to the new album quite a bit since then and have come to appreciate and love it quite a lot.
It’s a good mix from Citrus and Hush but still nothing from their self-titled first album.Thursday is still my favourite song of theirs and any gig with it is good enough for me.
All in all, it was a better gig than ICA mainly cause it was a smaller venue with less people. For once, I was at a gig standing right in front of the stage. Stadium events are an experience but nothing beats smaller intimate gigs.
The first time I heard of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart was when Luna mentioned it on Plurk. Having an overall shoegaze feel, I immediately liked them and started to listen to them quite a bit.
Due to all the irregularities in my shift for the past few weeks, I had Tuesday off and had the chance to see them live at Relentless Garage in Islington.
There were two supports that evening, Veronica Falls and Hatcham Social.
First up was Veronica Falls from London and as per their MySpace page are Pop/Goth/Shoegaze. I would have to say they are more shoegaze than anything else. I love this band to bits and not only because of the lovely lead vocalist with awesome bangs. Of the bands I saw this evening, they sounded the best in that every instrument can be heard clearly with no one overpowering. The vocals were also very clear. It is a real shame though that they don’t have a record out yet and only one song is available on their MySpace page.
As for Hatcham Social, I was not too impressed. For the most part, I thought they played too loudly for a small venue and it was not the sound techs fault as they set up their own instruments and indicated they were ok with the levels. Their performance and songs were pretty much ok, nothing too special. The loudness clearly ruined it for me. It was entertaining though when they started their set by reading a piece from Lewis Caroll’s works.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart was supposed to start at 10 in the evening but did not come up on stage until 10 minutes after. However, this did not mean they started their set right away. Kip (lead) spent a few more minutes tuning his guitar which he continued to do every 3 or 4 songs.
As soon as they started playing, it was clear they had their act together. They started out with a song most likely from one of their EPs as I only have the one album. It was good though. I will not go into set details as I do not remember anything at all especially with the songs from the EP thrown in the mix.
It was a great gig though and the crowd really loved it. Most of the songs from their self-titled album were on the setlist with a few old ones from the EP and new songs as well.
Unfortunately, the instruments didn’t sound perfect. They had an additional guitarist on stage but you can barely here it.
I mentioned previously when I watched Bloc Party at this venue that I totally love it. Well, I now take this back because of one minor issue, overcrowding. The venue was packed. I know it’s a tiny venue but it is not a very good idea to pack so many people into such a small venue as it sort of spoils the whole atmosphere of having a small venue. The poor ventilation did not help either. I am pretty sure this is the hottest venue in London once filled up and I mean this literally.
This was another great evening of indie and shoegaze music which I really enjoyed quite a lot. Sadly, I am quickly disliking this venue.
As I am writing this, I am watching Bloc Party’s Glastonbury 2009 performance which is the best possible way to bring back the high I was on last night (Thursday) which was the best Bloc Party I’ve ever been to.
Third time’s a charm so they say and it was definitely the case for Bloc Party.
To kick things off, let’s talk about the venue, The Garage which is right across Highbury & Islington Station. The venue had been previously closed for major renovation and officially opened on Friday. Yes, we got in a day early and together with Bloc Party, had the chance to crack open the place.
The venue was quite small which according to their website lists the capacity at 630. There is one long bar at the end, and the stage on the other with small booths for merch and the DJ. Also, it was quite pleasant to use toilets which didn’t smell like urine but instead lingering paint fumes.
Bar service was also noticeably new as the bartenders tried to get their scanners working properly. It probably took me 15 minutes to pay after getting my drink. Then again, there was an error in the scanning and I did pay a quid less which surprised me when I ordered my next pint.
As for the sound, I am not the strictest of audiophiles, but I have to say it was pretty superb. Everything can be heard just about right and at a reasonable volume for the size of the place.
Wet Paint was the support band for the evening which was something we only found out at the last minute, ie, upon entering the door. I saw Wet Paint when they supported Bloc Party during their Olympia show. They are ok, but nothing really special about them.
At past 9:20 in the evening, Bloc Party finally took the stage and fired up the crowd with One-Month Off. This really lit up the crowd and sent everyone into a frenzy. After a few words from Kele, they then played Positive Tension followed by Hunting For Witches. Personal favourite of mine from Intimacy, Halo, came next with the now popular part were the crowd copies the riffs of the guitar which was pretty damn fun.
With 4 high energy songs, it was time to slow things down which they did with Signs. With Gordon already on the gloc, it was only fit to continue with Waiting For The 7.18. Singing the chorus “Let’s drive to Brighton on the weekend” never gets old. Note to self: This is one of the first things to do when we get a car.
Then it was time for the ever popular and epic combo of Song For Clay (Disappear Here) playing straight into Banquet.
However, a highlight for the night was played next, Two More Years, a song I’ve never seen live but one which they play quite often. It was played during the second date of their Olympia gig. This almost made me tear up.
It was back to A Weekend In The City after with Uniform followed by the heavy hitting Mercury which along with Ares are two of my least liked songs.
The crowd was given some breathing room which really meant less dancing since So Here We Are is more of an anthem for fans.
They then finished off their set with a terrific trio which included The Prayer, Helicopter, and Ares.
Of course, they weren’t done yet and came back for an encore which started of with the first ever live performance of One More Chance, a song which when I first heard puzzled me a little on how it would be played live. Surprisingly, it sounded pretty superb and clear. The crowd was pretty into it as well which is always a good thing. They coupled this with another song which was not originally included in a studio album, Flux which has become quite a popular song left for encores. A personal favorite of the band perhaps.
At this point, the lights were turned on and everyone started to move away from the stage. Heck, I decided to head to the merch stand to buy a shirt when the band came out for one finaly song which had everyone rushing back to the front. From the start of Bloc Party’s set, there was one song everyone was chanting for them to play, Skeleton, which the band did and much to the delight of everyone.
To sum up, this was the best Bloc Party gig I’ve been to. The venue was top-notch with great acoustics which made every instrument clear especially with the songs which used less guitars and instead other instruments like the gloc and keyboard. The crowd was small for a Bloc Party gig and this meant the people in the crowd were real fans, singing and dancing to pretty much every song, a very intimate gig. Being included in a few “firsts” was another, such as first gig at The Garage and first to hear One More Chance live. And let’s not forget about the playlist, Two More Years and Skeleton pretty much made the evening although they could have swapped Ares and Mercury for Trojan Horse, Talons, or This Modern Love.
**Apologies for the super blurry pictures. The setlist may be a bit mixed up but this is the best I could remember it to be.
Disclaimer: This is a post about a gig which, unfortunately, I did not get the chance to go to.
For the longest time, a friend of mine has been raving about this band led by Juliette Lewis, the actress from Natural Born Killers. According to him, it easily trumps any other actor come rock (star) artist such as 30 Seconds To Mars (Jared Leto).
The moment someone over at the London Indie Meetup list mentioned the gig at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, I immediately checked it out and after seeing the ticket price and the ticket, booked my ticket.
The gig was real cheap at 11 quid and the venue seemed quite cozy and small which means a very intimate gig. I’ve rarely been to small events which have less than 500 people, the only one would be seeing Asobi Seksu at ICA earlier this year, so this would have been quite unique. According to the website, Hoxton Bar was big enough for 450 people.
After last Friday’s Friendly Fires event, I was quite looking forward to this one.
Sadly, my mouth palate started itching whilst I was still at work on Saturday which was always a sign on a terrible cold coming up. Sure enough by the evening, I had major sniffles and stayed in for the two days I was off from work (Sunday/Monday), canceling an appointment with the hygienist as well.
A few people on Plurk mentioned there’d be a next time, and yesterday, she announced a 4 venue UK tour in November. This time though, the venue will be Shepherd’s Bush Empire which as I’ve heard, is a venue for 5000+ people. This would not be intimate at all. I am still thinking about this gig, but it is still so far away. Also, with Bloc Party and The Mars Volta gigs announced this week, I am already digging into my savings as it isn’t payday yet.
I am pretty sure I’ll end up going but in the meantime, let’s listen to some of her songs. Here’s Sticky Honey from Juliette and The Licks.
Her first band was called Juliette and The Licks. Now, it is Juliette (Lewis) and The Romantiques. Do check the links to get a taste.
It has been awhile so I have no idea where to start. Actually, I somewhat knew what I was going to say until I saw the setlist for Sunday’s show. It had Two More Years. Oh well, we had Sunday.
So here goes.
Last Saturday, I saw Bloc Party at London Olympia Grand Hall. This was the second time I’ve seen the band live with the first being last September at The Forum and if you know me at all, you would know that they are among my favorite bands, if not, the top band.
The build up to this gig was not as emotional nor problematic as the first time, but I was still looking forward to seeing them again as they know how to put on an epic show. Plus, they are Bloc Party with Foals supporting.
The venue was quite accessible as it was right next to a tube station, one end of the District Line, and included links to Overground and National Rail services. After checking with Google Maps Streetview, you really would not get lost.
The gates opened around 6 in the afternoon and the winding queue slowly subsided at this point. It is quite amusing how such a long queue from the outside seems like nothing once you get in.
As mentioned, the venue was at the London Olympia Grand Hall. They weren’t kidding by calling the place “grand” as it was pretty massive. I think it was bigger than Earl’s Court though The O2 can hold more people because it is a stadium and not a “flat” venue unlike Olympia and Earl’s Court.
The structure was a mass of steel and glass which allowed quite a bit of natural light to enter the venue which during spring is up to almost 8 in the evening.
The first order of business was to buy a shirt which was pretty easy since I was among the first in (first 200). Once this was dealt with, it was time to grab some food. Similar to Earl’s Court, they had several food establishments inside including a Pizza Express. Went for a Sloppy Guiseppe again.
Sadly, like Earl’s Court, they mostly served Carlsberg apart from cider but I needed a drink. Carlsberg is always a last resort choice for me. It was time to then sit down, enjoy the pint and wait until the support acts start.
At around 7:30, Wet Paint started playing. I have not heard them before but they had a pretty good show going which was certainly better than Esser, the support band last time. Also, watching a band in natural light and not in complete darkness was quite nice.
Next up was Foals. Now this is a band I wanted to see live the moment I first saw their video performance at Reading last year whilst at work. When I checked for upcoming gigs last year, their only London show at Brixton was already sold out.
When I learned they were to support Bloc Party, I was ecstatic. Seeing Bloc Party alone was enough but catching a glimpse of Foals was even more amazing. It is safe to say that I was looking forward to see them at the same level as of Bloc Party.
They started off their set with a long intro slowly dwindling into The French Open which is the first song I really liked from them even though I couldn’t understand it as it is French. They also played other great songs like Balloons, Cassius, Two Steps Twice, and Red Sock Pugie.
As a support band, they were limited to a very short set but it was a really great one. A nice glimpse on how energetic they are. Apparently, they are working on a new album so I’ll be eagerly awaiting that and the time they’ll be on tour again.
At around 9 in the evening, Bloc Party came up on stage and kicked off the show with One Month Off quickly followed up by Trojan Horse which really got the crowd going. From the moment I heard Intimacy, I loved the energy of these two songs as well as the guitar riffs towards the end of Trojan Horse. I hoped they’d play one during the September show, but they didn’t.
They then continued the energy levels set by the first two songs with Hunting For Witches and the classic Positive Tension. Bloc Party finally decided to slow things down with Biko but slowly built up pace yet again with Waiting For the 7.18 with Gordon on the gloc. This eventually let to the epic duo of Songs For Clay (Disappear Here) leading non-stop into Banquet.
At this point, the place was going mental so it was time to slow things down a bit with Where Is Home? and Ion Square. This “calmness” was suddenly blasted with Mercury.
Up next was a duo of lovely songs with This Modern Love and The Prayer. I was going to say favorites, but aren’t they all. This Modern Love always sounds so epic even on CD/MP3 but more so live. I am pretty sure it brought a tear to my eye. The Prayer actually closed out the first set of Bloc Party’s show.
After a few minutes, they came back on stage and started off with the dramatic and highly emotional, Sunday which had me all giddy inside as I am currently loving the song more at the moment. “I will love you in the morning, when you’re still hung over.”
The rest of the 2nd set was a trifecta of high energy anthems with Intimacy favorite Halo, Like Eating Glass and the ever popular crowd favorite Helicopter (fave Guitar Hero 2 song). This meant non-stop dancing and screaming along.
At the end of the 2nd set, the band disappeared again and most people thought this was it and started leaving. I knew it wasn’t as they did the same last time, one long set then a shorter second set and then the encore. Also, I remember Kele saying “this is our 2nd set.” Lastly, they have yet to play Ares, a song which they promoted on the Intertubes for fans to watch out and record video of and submit to then.
Sure enough, they came back up, Ares fired up and everyone started dancing to the sounds of sirens. I remember their one song encore last time, so expected this to be it. Thankfully, they had one more song left for the night. To a glorious array of lasers, they played Flux to end the night in such a high note.
It was a spectacular evening seeing Bloc Party again. They pulled off quite a show at such a massive venue though I still prefer smaller venues. This actually continued the following night with quite a different setlist which included Talons, Signs, Blue Light, Uniform and Two More Years, a song I need to see live someday. This sort of makes me regret why I didn’t just go to both venues.
Looking back, the setlist on April 12 looks almost identical to their show last September.
