So… the Fall… um… what the fuck? The Fall, Bristol I’m still pretty much a beginner when it comes to Fall gigs – the old lags with me had racked up close to fifty caps between them – but there are certain things I’ve gathered you should expect: He’ll be drunk – he certainly was that, stumbling around (and occasionally off-) stage like, well, Mark E Smith; He’ll be incoherent – no question about that, I don’t think I caught anything he [...]
Was just using up some downloads on Emusic the other day and I came across this lot… Triptides Triptides are three guys from Bloomington, Indiana who apparently began life as the bedroom project of guitarist Glen Brigman. They have a laudable obsession with trebly surf and syrupy psychedelia which could almost make them bespoke PP fodder. I love them already… What I find particularly charming about this is that I think Indiana is a landlocked state, only having access to freshwater lakes and rivers. Call me a purist, but I [...]
Stunning night at the Exchange in Bristol yesterday... Suuns I've been looking forward to this gig for a while now. And, I'm thankful to say, there was no disappointment at all. I've got very high hopes for these boys... First saw Suuns at Green Man a couple of summers ago and was, very, very impressed by them. I loved the way they spent most of the set shrouded in dry ice and veiled in distorted feedback. I was (am, still) a chump for the way you couldn't hear any of [...]
Went to see Low in Bristol, a couple of weeks ago now. I’ve not written anything about the evening because I can’t say I really enjoyed it to be honest. I thought they were a bit one-paced and I knew fairly quickly I was going to get bored... I was definitely in a minority, mind, they went down very well with everyone else, and were generally given a massive response from the Trinity punters. I do have some recordings, though, which I’ll maybe put up some time if people are interested. When I was looking through [...]
Just finished my last drop of the bottle of La Ina that I bought in Seville, and I’m reminded of what an excellent time we had there… Was that really a month ago?
I’ll tell you something, the Prince Albert in Rodborough, just outside Stroud. is a cracking little pub. More than one of a happy band of four of us commented wistfully on what it would be like to have a place like this on your doorstep… Sweet Baboo We’d ventured out on a school night to see Welsh singer, songwriter and serial guest-spotter, Stephen Black aka Sweet Baboo doing his own thing, and promoting his new record, Ships . I’ve written about Sweet Baboo before, seen him do a couple of guest [...]
Been listening to this track from the Mojo Psych cd all week. Seems particularly apt, in the midst of the Freakbeat frenzy I Was experiencing a few weeks ago Could be straight out of the Perfumed Garden records, but apparently not. Looking forward to hearing a bit from these chaps... Dope...
I’ll admit I hadn’t given a lot of thought to Friday night’s Pere Ubu gig in Bristol, and to be honest I’m not sure I would have had particularly high expectations if I had done. The new record’s a good ‘un, for sure, although it’s one that’s an interesting listen rather than something I’m going to love for years to come. I’d also heard a bit of more recent stuff and can’t say I was particularly grabbed by it. (There was also an uncomfortable incident at Green Man a couple of years back when myself and Coleser had [...]
Just back from spending time in Spain. Had a fabulous stay (food, drink, trains, sights) and have well and truly got the Spanish bug… I will no doubt be a bit of a Spain Bore over the next few weeks. I apologise in advance for any sentences that begin “When we were in Spain…” or “Of course, in Spain…” (and you have permission to thump me, if I stray…) Against my expectations, I found a whole lot of really excellent record shops in Madrid and Seville, particularly, and spent a disproportionate amount of money on Spanish psychedelia and [...]
I'm off to see Anais Mitchell tomorrow night, and am every much looking forward to it, but it’s reminded me that I still have some lovely Richard Hawley recordings from last week to put up. It seems a while ago now, and the world has moved on apace, but last Wednesday’s evening at Colston Hall in the company of one of our favourite songwriters was a really ejoyable one. Richard Hawley Cole’s Corner in our house is, and will forever be, The Christmas Album, our go-to record for hunkering down [...]
Two gigs in a week? Sheesh! Slow down, old man…. Well, we hit the highway to Bristol, not once but twice this week (a school week, as well…), latterly to see Richard Hawley at Colston Hall (more later…), but the Monday belonged to the unstoppable Calexico… Saw Calexico a few years ago at my first Green Man, and I remember being staggered at just how good they were live, so I've been really looking forward to this month’s Academy gig, the tickets have been pinned to our board for a good while now… We [...]
I uploaded this special Freakbeat Lucky Seven a good fortnight ago and can’t believe I didn’t post it at the time… Not been listening to a lot of new music recently, but instead have spent a lot of time wallowing in the sugary mire of British psychedelia and mid-sixties freakbeat. And in the spirit of the time, I thought I’d share a little something with you… Take Her Anytime – The Longboatmen (fantastic crashing feedback guitars that gradually take over …) You’re Too Much – The Eyes (spoke [...]
Zoinks! February already? What happened to January? In truth, I’ve not listened to a lot of new music in the last month or so. Instead, I’ve been immersing myself in the exotic delights and fragrant scents of sixties freakbeat and British psychedelia. I’ve blown pretty much all of a month’s Emusic credits on the five volumes of the PerfumedGarden series of compilations and dipped into more than a few similar collections. I gather “freakbeat” is a bit of modern invention and that the term didn’t exist in the mid-sixties at all, but it works [...]
I have loafed about this Christmas - reading, drinking, watching films and generally living the life, which has been great, but now I find myself with just a few hours in which to throw this together… To be honest, it feels like I’ve already done this once already having been asked to nominate five 2012 records for the January Lpgrp session. I managed it with some difficulty (particularly as my Lpgrp line manager made me nominate one to be the best of them all – wild stab…), so seven should be a piece of (Christmas) pudding, eh? [...]
I trust you all had a decent yuletide. Time for some looking back... 2012 – Seven Woo-Hoos The Killing – Series Three I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in the previous couple of years, but it’s gratifying to know that the third series was as strong as ever (may even have been the best of the three to be honest). It’s some sort of tribute to the writers that even though the novelty of the Scandi-crime Thingie has receded somewhat, The Killing has [...]
Oh brother, I’ve got this whole Welsh scene thing wrapped round my neck… Got a message from my mate Arth the other day politely saying as much, and this evening I’ve had another one from a feller called John White (again very polite) who actually did the drumming on the Fist of the First Man release, but who’s not played with Hawkline or Cate le Bon. Shall we just establish that I clearly am not the master of my subject, I’d be better off not making any more confident statements about Welsh music and that it’s all Very [...]
OK, regular Christmas readers of this organ will remember that it often takes me a while to get into this end of year malarkey, but once I’ve warmed up… So, anyway, I’m venturing forth and starting with some great gigs I’ve been to this year. I’m always a bit sheepish about recounting my gig tally for the year – usually I can do this on the fingers of both hands, although this year I’ve had to take off my shoes and socks too. (I have buddies who talk about getting close to three figures, think about it…) [...]
I’ve a feeling that as a responsible member of the Blogging community, I probably should be working on my End of the Year lists, beavering away at reviews and making sure I’ve not missed any 2012 classics that are going to come back and haunt me. I definitely shouldn’t be using up my last Emusic credits on new stuff like this… The Limiñanas The Limiñanas are French, and are the project of Lio and Marie Limiñana . They’re also another band in an exclusive line of acts whose PP Instant Classic credentials are [...]
S ince the last week’s R Seilliog post, confidently establishing that I had a good handle on the incestuous Welsh music scene and boldly predicting that I’d squared the Hawkline-Baboo-leBon circle, well, predictably, it’s all got a bit murky again… Turns out that although R Seilliog does drum with Hawkline and Cate le Bon, and most certainly has released a cracking EP called Shuffles , it wasn’t him drumming at Green Man. My mate Arth , (henceforth known as the PP Welsh Correspondent -Gohebydd Cymru?) informs me that the drummer I saw [...]
You’ll have heard today that Ravi Shankar has died aged 92. Can’t claim to be any sort of a fan of his and have never really bothered to spend much time listening to his music, but a friend of mine pointed me towards this… wonderful…video. It’s spellbinding stuff which actually made me late for work this morning - I literally could not tear myself away from it. Apart from the playing, it’s a great video in itself, a bit like the Band [...]
Partly Porpoise
Arctic Monkeys | Do I Wanna Know? (Official Video)
Listen to Arctic Monkeys’ new single, “Do I Wanna Know?”
Arctic Monkeys Release New Song And Video ‘Do I Wanna Know?’
The Hot Five
