Man it’s tedious trying to type Röyksopp every time (the damn o haha), I’ll just copy the name one and hope it will last. Anyway, the following day after Peaches I went to see Röyksopp play an exclusive one off show in London Royal Festival Hall (Southbank) for Ether Festival 2009. It was truly a spectacular gig, Fever Ray supported which adds the extra awesomeness to it.
Fever Ray were amazing live, it was eerie and mesmerising at the same time. They all wore really fun costumes including crazy robes and badgers as hats. Twas a pity that the lights were so dark, all I got to see was lasers shining across the stage, it was impossible to really make out what the band looked like and what they were wearing. Nonetheless the light show was amazing and it really worked well with the music. A lot of folks I know really want to see them play and I can see why now. This shot was taken when the singer Karin joined up with Röyksopp to play Tricky Tricky.
I managed to do some sexy ninja seating thanks to some folks on the Muse board (who also kindly got me into the members area and gave me a spare ticket to another show, super thanks to you if you’re reading this ;)). Anyway, Röyksopp started off with Röyksopp Forever and that seemed to get the crowd going, followed by You Don’t Have a Clue in which Anelli came on stage to sing.
I can’t stress at how awesome Röyksopp are live, it’s just a totally different thing. Svein managed to mash up a laptop during the performance and Torbjorn looked ace in his top hat.
They then played Remind Me, Röyksopp’s Night Out, Vission One, Happy Up Here, The Girl and The Robot, What Else Is There, Alpha Male, This Must Be It and ended with Tricky Tricky with Karin from Fever Ray joining. There were loads of appearances from Anelli.
Robyn also appeared and sang for The Girl and the Robot which was ace. Here’s a video of her in action:
Sorry for the shortness of it, wish I had two 5d mkii’s for taking HD videos and photos at the same time but yeah, I really like the photo I took of Robyn 
Here’s a video of What Else is There, I was a bit sad that Karin didn’t sing this song as originally do vocals for this song, but nonetheless Anelli with her awesome owl mask saves the day.
They came back for several encore songs including Eple, Poor Leno and finally with Tremor Morning. The show was just as awesome as the Peaches show, it was nice when the crowd started to head to the front of the stage to dance and boogie. It just feels so weird sitting down to be honest.
At the end of the show I managed to get a drumstick so woot, I went to the Chloe Ballroom and danced around a bit but opted to just head home afterwards since I was tired from two nights of dancing! But yeah, that was about it, hope you enjoyed the photos.
The ether festival has a pretty epic lineup, but the three that struck me most are Peaches, Röyksopp and Squarepusher. I’ve seen Peaches live during a random Reading festival and it was just brilliant! She really knows how to work the stage and put on a show so there was no question in seeing her live at Royal Festival Hall (I love this venue!). It was an evening filled with filth, dancing mushroom type things, and some good old fashioned flying on stage.
Her entrance was pretty funny as she appeared from the audience dressed up as a huge peach wearing a gimp type mask. Each step she’d make would make a nice bassy giant step micro earthquake sound. She started off with Showstopper which really got the crowd going. She then played Trick or Threat, Operate, Mud and Serpentine.
She knows how to tease the crowd by playing a quick bit from her popular tracks including Shake Yer Dix and Fuck the Pain Away before actually playing the song. Shake Yer Dix got people going as the crowd advanced to the front of the stage, screwing their seats (which is good for me because my seat was alright but not in front hehe, oh and not literally “screwing” their seats, that’s just weird). Shake Yer Dix was fun due to the amount of shaking involved 
Everything was just filled with filth and awesomeness at the same time (blended with the flagship Blendtec (Will it blend?) blender). There were no boundaries that Peaches wouldn’t cross, one moment she’s climbing on top of the super tall PA amps, the next she’s dancing with her crotch flashing and then the next she’s flying up on stage singing Rock and Roll. Wasn’t expecting that one bit, mind I did notice the cables on her so that kinda gave it away.
As well as new tracks from her latest upcoming album “I feel Cream” she also graces us with some awesome oldies such as Boys Wanna Be Her and Kick it. Here’s 2 lovely videos of that in action:
At one point of the show she urges folks on stage to take their shirts off and telling us that she’s not going to stop unless someone does, knowing the crowd a few folks were happy to volunteer. Here’s another video of her, this time playing Talk to Me which is one of my favourites from her new album
After much flying and fornicating the pain away, she came back for an encore and played I Feel Cream, Take You On and Lover Tits. The show ended in quite a weird way in that some folks came to the front and kidnapped her to the Chloe Ballroom (another stage inside the Royal Festival Hall).
It was quite a funny scene which ended with some guy stripping off a bit and spraying diet coke into people (I luckily found a human shield for that occasion). It was quite a weird end because we didn’t get to clap and thank her enough for such an amazing show. Just didn’t feel like the end.
I hung around a bit afterwards and met up with Patrick Wolf, here’s a photo of him hiding under a DVD.
We later on talked about bandstocks and how I bought 3 stocks for his upcoming album the Bachelor. He was excited he kissed my hand for investing. We talked about secret gigs, how he likes to pick up loads of things (like Timeout magazines, and now my moo card ;)) and leaflets and just pile them up and eventually ended the acquaintance with a nice hug. He probably would have let me take a photo of him if he knew I was actually more of a fan then a photographer (at times :P)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums live at Puregroove and Luminaire
12.04.09
Two sittings of Wildbirds and Peacedrums = win. Can’t go wrong in seeing an awesome band more than once in a day. For those who haven’t heard their stuff, DO! Anyway, onwards to the review
I managed to sneakily use my hour lunch break to head to Farringdon to catch them playing at Pure Groove, I was definitely cutting it thin since I arrived at around 1.30 odd when the show was supposed to start at 1.15pm, Anika kept me informed of the times and whatnot and once there I was able to chillax to their soothing rhythm. They played a fairly simple set at Pure Groove, including Places and My heart, there was a bit where I just looked at Anika’s expression for the entire show, she’s been dying for this day to happen and everything!
I managed to record two videos for this gig, so here’s Places and Doubt/Hope
After the show I managed to tag along with Anika and speak with Mariam about the show and whatnot, she gave them her comics which Mariam said she’ll have framed on a wall (cute!) she quickly introduced herself to me which was ace I was a bit speechless at the time so yeah hehe. I managed to speak to Rich from TLOBF which was nice, there were quite a lot of familiar faces for this show, probably due to Anika’s constant advertising of the band.
Next up was Luminaire, that show completely blew the Pure Groove show, Anika explained that basically it’s a completely different thing when they do a proper live show (with full on set and everything), Mariam gets her hair done and has make up on as well as the fact that they’re not afraid one bit of really attacking those drums with their sticks of the drumming variety. The support Volcano! were fun, especially when the drummer did some bantering during the intervals, one in particular is his note on how he wanted some Soya milk because he was exhausted from drumming like crazy!
We met up with a lot of people we already knew, probably won’t list them but you know who you are *does a universal wink that only certain people will get*. The crowd / Anika went crazy when Wildbirds & Peacedrums finally set foot on stage, they played quite a lot of songs from their latest album The Snake. Here’s a video of them doing There is no light:
They played Chain of Steel, There is No Light, Liar Lion, So Soft, The Window, Places and Doubt/Hope. For the encore Mariam asked the audience whether they wanted an upbeat song or a ballad, we opted for ballad and was graced with My Heart (cue Anika squee’ing)
Afterwards they finished the show with Today/Tomorrow which had the most epic drum pit ever, they were definitely going at it, wish I filmed it and everything too. They came back again and played I can’t tell in his eyes. Boy this gig was simply amazing. We said bai to everyone and went home afterwards. Good times.
I’ve seen Slow Club quite a few times supporting various bands that I like, this time it was ace seeing them live at bandstand busking which has really brought home the bacon in terms of audience (assuming bacon is an appropriate word to describe humans, maybe in a world of giants or something I dont know).
Funny how I’m still writing a review for them because I was only about to catch one song, dang my timekeeping skillz! Nonetheless it was fun seeing them play live and everyone looked excited about them playing, the number of people attending the show was just.. whoa. Considering there were only 3 of us at the previous busk, there was now about 200 odd folks all crowded around to hear Slow Club and Theoretical Girl play live.
Here’s some photos:
and here’s an idea of how many people were at the show, granted that’s just inside the bandstand and not around it, loads of folks there too
Hmm, not many words for this post… probably because I’m trying to do 5-6 reviews in an hour or two haha. Anyway, check out Slow Club at Scala if you haven’t got tickets already
Haven’t really been a gig that’s local to me, I was able to check out a charity event called Oxjam where bands were playing for support on Oxfam. Good cause and you get to listen to some sweet sweet music. Most of the bands playing were keeping it solo and unplugged, this was a great time to check out Alessi do a solo set.
Upon arrival, me and Anika were instantly greeted with Alessi giving us a warm and friendly welcome to the venue, she helped us find the way into the venue and told us to check the support bands (including Sleeping Years and Josh Weller). I really liked Josh Weller during the show, he was very unique and fun, near the end he did a bit of a singalong which got everyone going. I’ll upload videos of his performance some time soon.
Next up was Alessi, she was lovely and played an amazing set, shame there were a lot of arses in the audience who thought it was appropriate to talk throughout the set. Alessi commented on the fact that performers are literally playing in front of a pillar rather than the audience so she sort of took turns on the two sides of the venue (it was kinda L shaped, and the band were in the middle of it all if that makes sense).
She turned to the side where most of the chatting originated from and sooner went back to the other side who weren’t talking nonstop and were actually hear for the music. It was a good evening and I was happy that she remembered me after the show (not to mention Anika, but they’re BFF).
But yeah, I managed to record the animals from the show (ie the dog and the horse), you can check them out and listen to how rude some of the audience were with their nonstop nattering.
Not long ago did I go see Gannets play live at Water Rats, this was literally the day after seeing Broken Records where I had to revisit the same venue. Now most folks wouldn’t recognise the experimental jazz band that is Gannets, and to be honest neither did I. I only went to see them because Fyfe Dangerfield from Guillemots was in the band too. So yeah, here’s a mini review of the show.
Anyway, I arrived at the venue slightly late and saw that the first band Mano De Dios was already playing, I instantly fell in love with them, they were like the latin version of Gogol Bordello, filled with that dancing and uptempo vibe. There was something magical about them, so I made sure I took a quick hd video of them. Check them out
Don’t trust their myspace page though, I really didn’t like their studio stuff (lacking of energy I think), they shine out so much more live, even their manager said (whom I met after their show). But yeah, check them out!
The other two bands weren’t too interesting, the next band was filled with fangirls and then the next act failed quite a bit in terms of setting up his gear (too much faffing about on stage with cables), at the end he did the right thing and just went solo in front of everyone, however by the time he started most of the crowd had vacated already, mainly because they were to check out the second band (whom I never knew of). There was like a pack of girls who constantly screamed whenever the drummer from the band did something (like show his tummy?!) it was surreal but luckily the band left the main venue area so the fan girls went away with them and left us all in peace.
Next up were Gannets, they were excellent! It was all spontaneous and improvised. The entire set was just one super nonstop jamming fest, there really wasn’t a beginning middle or end. The instruments were pretty unique ranging from a normal Roland keyboard connected to a million effects pedals, to a custom build oscillator synth that had teddy bear eyes attached to them (with light sensors that the bass clarinet guy would shine a torch onto). I’ll give up explaining their music any further, I think a video would be more appropriate
I managed to talk to the band for a wee bit, later on Fyfe posted my video on www.guillemots.com which was ace. But yeah, the show was amazing and I hope did justice to how amazing they were. Not everyone’s cup of tea mind since it obviously breaks all rules and conventions in music.
I have been recommended to go see Broken Records for quite a long time by Adam and John and finally I was able to catch them play at Mono Water Rats in Kings Cross. The 7 piece band certainly knew how to rock.
Both support bands used backing tracks played from a computer, the first band, Arthur Rigby and The Baskervylles was a two piece and featured a mac book pro for backing tracks, they were pretty neat. The second, De Rosa weren’t too interesting to be honest, I didn’t really enjoy it.
Broken Records next, they seem to have picked up a following, the guy next to me whom I shall call “THE Jelly Man” (based on the way he moves during the show) was deep into the performance, constantly voicing his approval of the band with epic shouts of praise even though he was at the front where the band could hear him clearly. I suppose it was the jelly dance that worried me more though.
The band played 12 songs; Nearly Home, If the news, And they all fell, Lover’s pacts, Until the earth, A promise, Thoughts on a picture, Wolves, A warniing, If Eilert Loevborg, A Good Reason and Slow Parade.
Here’s a video of Thoughts on a picture, he used a ukulele for this and people instantly cheered on that:
The last few songs really stood out the most and got the audience going, promising fans a reason to headbang and rock out to their more upbeat numbers. They finished on Slow Parade and thanked the audience. Here’s a video of it:
We originally assumed an encore to ensue but that never really came which was bit of an anticlimax. Nonetheless the show was definitely one worth going.
I’ve seen Laura Marling 3 times before this gig and each time they weren’t real headlines, either part of a festival or just a guest appearance playing up to 4-5 songs. This time I was able to catch her headline show at the Hoxton Bar and Grill where she’ll be playing a full setlist, supported by Six Toes and Polly Scattergood.
During the show I managed to meet up with a few photographers, one of which was Steve Asenjo who I’ve only kinda met before at the Howling Bells show (only I wasn’t too sure it was him). Another photographer I met at Owl Parliament at the Union Chapel. We had a nice chat about photography and the banes of it such as high stage and crazy lit venues, we even talked about a few gig celebrities who I’m sure most of you have met once or twice during a gig (in Lundun mind).
The support were fairly decent, I wasn’t too keen on Polly Scattergood, wasn’t really my thing. Though during the gig I did comment on the fact that their setlists were all laminated, it was either to stop people from taking them or their song order is set in stone and that’s how they roll.
At first I thought Laura was performing solo but whilst the stage was being set up I saw Marcus from Mumford & Sons on stage tuning a guitar. Laura eventually joined in and the crowd started to roar at her mighty presence (well not really, but you know). It was nicer hearing her play with additional accompaniments to the songs, the drums in particular. Certain songs like Alas I Cannot Swim felt more full with a kick drum and My Manic and I sounded more ghostly with eerie glocks in the background. Here’s a video of her doing that (might wanna click on the thing if you wanna see it in HD)
She also showcased a few new songs, some of which were written a few days before the show. She was more chatty compared to other shows and was definitely more relaxed. I think with the company of Marcus really helped a bit, not to mention their off stage banter which Marcus joked to the audience that the people round the back were missing (most of which were talks of tuning as well as that one time where Laura accidentally slipped her capo into the audience (projectile style)).
At one point you had them talking about where people were from (Marcus did a kansas related joke based on the show’s name “we’re not in kansas”) in which I cheered when Marcus mentioned where I lived.
Here’s a video of Laura playing Alas I Cannot Swim:
Other songs she played included Ghosts, Blackberry Stone, Darkness Descends, My Manic & I, Rebecca, Drinking Alone, Mama how far I’ve come, Alpha Shallows, Hope in the Air and Rambling Man. Quite a lot of the songs were new mind. She came back for an encore and as well as playing Alas I Cannot Swim, she did a cover of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
Here’s the video, fresh and in HD
Funny thing was I took the setlist before she came back to do this and she was actually trying to find it for it bit, I eventually confessed my swifty hands and handed the setlist back to Laura (since it had the lyrics to the song). Laura wasn’t mad luckily and promised to give the setlist back after she’s finished with it The overall show was amazing, I was mucho glad I’ve finally seen her do a proper headline show, Marcus helping out was an extra bonus too.
Man loads of videos and photos!
