SO newly haloed God-like genius Dave Grohl and the rest of his Foo Fighters played a not-so-secret gig at Dingwalls on Saturday. Sadly the news missed my print deadline so best I could do was tweet it – sorry. Anyone spot Dave roaming around Camden?
On to more important things – Dave’s Them Crooked Vultures buddy Josh Homme and his Queens of the Stone Age play their debut self-titled album in its entirety at the Roundhouse (May 17) – is it wrong to prefer them to the Foo Fighters?
• Ex-Slits guitarist Viv Albertine mocked musical history at the Roundhouse’s mammoth music affair Unconvention on Saturday. In a mischievous nod to ex-boyfriend The Clash’s Mick Jones, she recorded a Clash track in 30 minutes. She told me: "I chose Train in Vain because it was written about me and I thought it would be really cheeky. Like Mick Jagger doing a cover of You're So Vain I haven't dared tell Mick as I’m not sure he would find it very amusing. It's all about what a useless girlfriend I was. We are still very fond of each other so hopefully I'll get away with it."
• One-time Cadbury’s accountant Bristol’s DJ Derek has become a bit of an icon with his patois MC skills, and choice reggae, roots and dub tunes – nevermind that he’s 68. In fact there’s a facebook page dedicated to his legendary status. Catch him at the Old Queen’s Head, Angel, (March 4).
• The Charlatans' Tim Burgess and Mark Collins play an acoustic show at the Union Chapel (March 16). Support from Blue On Blue and Joseph Coward. A low-key night out?
• Don’t forget Detroit Social Club at Monto Water Rats on Saturday (March 5).
• Ps – Does anyone have a synonyms for music for next week’s column ?
Showing posts with label The Clash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Clash. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Thursday, 16 December 2010
LOWKEY'S FRONT PAGE + THE HEARTBREAKS SPECIAL APPEARANCE + SLIMELIGHT GOES LIGHT + CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WITH THE CLASH
THE police issued a rogues gallery of wanted anti-fees protesters this week.
What, might you ask, has this to do with music?
Those who studied the pictures carefully may just have recognised one particularly vocal young rapper – Lowkey – featured on this page some time back.
Known for his eloquent campaigns for Palestinian rights – Lowkey – is a man of conviction. Last week he promised to visit occupying students and did just that – passing by our own Camden School for Girls.
But for those wondering if he had anything to do with Camilla being poked with a stick or other protest-related mischief, he had this to say on twitter: “(Lowkey ) is NOT wanted. I have already been questioned regarding these matters, so please STOP buying into the hype. Thank you. "Last night he warned: “Prepare for a smear campaign, however they attempt to discredit me, always know the only thing I stand for is equality. Peace + Love.”
Watch this space.
• Finsbury Park’s coolest club The Silver Bullet’s got a special appearance from The Heartbreaks at Ronnkie Pop’s Christmas party next week (Dec 23). Also playing, Two Wounded Birds + The Guilty Hands. These guys have been tipped for the top - get along asap.
• Angel’s Electrowerks, more usually associated with pasty-faced Goth night Slimelight is hosting an altogether more pleasant artist by the name of Lucy Rose (Dec 17). She’s a little pasty herself but in a waiflike folky ethereal kind of way. Beautiful voice too.
• Nina, Davina Lee, Rocketeer, Evryone and Olly Chamberlain all play at least one Christmas cover at The Monarch’s Christmas show (Dec 22).
• Everyone’s oh so busy Christmas shopping but duck out of the Camden Market chaos for a second and into Proud Camden to check out London Calling: TheClash by Adrian Boot, music photographer extraordinaire (ends Jan 23).
What, might you ask, has this to do with music?
Those who studied the pictures carefully may just have recognised one particularly vocal young rapper – Lowkey – featured on this page some time back.
Known for his eloquent campaigns for Palestinian rights – Lowkey – is a man of conviction. Last week he promised to visit occupying students and did just that – passing by our own Camden School for Girls.
But for those wondering if he had anything to do with Camilla being poked with a stick or other protest-related mischief, he had this to say on twitter: “(Lowkey ) is NOT wanted. I have already been questioned regarding these matters, so please STOP buying into the hype. Thank you. "Last night he warned: “Prepare for a smear campaign, however they attempt to discredit me, always know the only thing I stand for is equality. Peace + Love.”
Watch this space.
• Finsbury Park’s coolest club The Silver Bullet’s got a special appearance from The Heartbreaks at Ronnkie Pop’s Christmas party next week (Dec 23). Also playing, Two Wounded Birds + The Guilty Hands. These guys have been tipped for the top - get along asap.
• Angel’s Electrowerks, more usually associated with pasty-faced Goth night Slimelight is hosting an altogether more pleasant artist by the name of Lucy Rose (Dec 17). She’s a little pasty herself but in a waiflike folky ethereal kind of way. Beautiful voice too.
• Nina, Davina Lee, Rocketeer, Evryone and Olly Chamberlain all play at least one Christmas cover at The Monarch’s Christmas show (Dec 22).
• Everyone’s oh so busy Christmas shopping but duck out of the Camden Market chaos for a second and into Proud Camden to check out London Calling: TheClash by Adrian Boot, music photographer extraordinaire (ends Jan 23).
Thursday, 30 September 2010
THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT - FROM BLOODSTAINED CARPETS TO WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
A COUPLE of years ago LA band The Airborne Toxic Event took up residency at The Dublin Castle in Camden, staying in “skanky” hotels and living it up in Marathon Kebab house.
They played 30 UK dates, and within six months were playing to audiences of thousands.
Now, having put the finishing touches to their second album they’re about to cross the Atlantic again, this time touring of non-traditional venues like Islington’s Union Chapel (Oct 3).
They’ll also attend the premiere of their DVD All I Ever Wanted – The Airborne Toxic Event : Live From Walt Disney Concert Hall (out Oct 4), which has been accepted into the prestigious Raindance Festival.
They played 30 UK dates, and within six months were playing to audiences of thousands.
Now, having put the finishing touches to their second album they’re about to cross the Atlantic again, this time touring of non-traditional venues like Islington’s Union Chapel (Oct 3).
They’ll also attend the premiere of their DVD All I Ever Wanted – The Airborne Toxic Event : Live From Walt Disney Concert Hall (out Oct 4), which has been accepted into the prestigious Raindance Festival.
Frontman, guitarist, chief lyricist Mikel Jollett is wide awake, it’s 10 am and he’s still at home in LA thinking about packing.
He said: “I get up at like 7am. I know it’s decidedly not rock and roll of me. The last couple of weeks we’ve been finishing this record we’ve been making for about nine months.”
Don’t ask what it’s going to be called, as they’ve got ideas but they’re not letting on.
Their biggest hit to date Sometime Around Midnight, captured the attention of fans, but Mikel’s moved on from drawing too heavily on his previous break-up and says the songs have other stories to tell.
He said: “It’s definitely not a reread of the first record. It’s probably both louder and quieter. I wrote the last record when I was going through a pretty devastating break-up. It was a pretty bad time. On this record there’s some songs about my folks and one about Afghanistan – the hypocrisy of nation building in the context of war. Then there’s some ballads. It’s definitely a different kind.”
Turns out the new album was supposed to be an electro mash-up effort “but we ended up making a big rock record” Mikel confesses.
Back to their stay in Camden, Mikel said: “We got to know Camden pretty well. We stayed in this super skanky hotel that had like bloodstains on the floor. It was such a grimy place, we were sleeping three to a room because we were so broke. I like the Dublin Castle it reminded me of a lot of bars in LA. We liked the rock and roll falafel place (Marathon Kebabs), at night it becomes like a rockabilly night, people dancing and eating falafel. That was the most happening joint in London, I really liked that place.”
Mikel seems thrown by UK music journalist lines of questioning but believes it comes from the right place.
He said: “Everyone always thinks you’re scheming and trying to come up with something clever either how you dress or the aesthetic or the music, something in order to solve the equation of being like the next
huge thing. We do not think like that at all.”
He launches in to a (pantomime) English accent: “(UK critic) "I notice you’ve got your sound, you’ve got The Strokes with a bit of The Clash and Arcade Fire sort of thing, how did you come up with that equation” and we’re like uh.......we don’t know. Actually the UK Press is actually quite polite, smart and enthusiastic about us and I think people seem to understand...Where a lot of the hyperbole of the Press comes from...it’s written by people who literally don’t want to be let down, they’ve sacrificed so much in their lives to be part of it.”
He’s not likely to be found complaining about touring either.
Mikel said: “I used to be a carpenter and my hands were sore – that was work...The people who come to our shows have jobs and work. We don’t work, we travel around and play music.”
He said: “I get up at like 7am. I know it’s decidedly not rock and roll of me. The last couple of weeks we’ve been finishing this record we’ve been making for about nine months.”
Don’t ask what it’s going to be called, as they’ve got ideas but they’re not letting on.
Their biggest hit to date Sometime Around Midnight, captured the attention of fans, but Mikel’s moved on from drawing too heavily on his previous break-up and says the songs have other stories to tell.
He said: “It’s definitely not a reread of the first record. It’s probably both louder and quieter. I wrote the last record when I was going through a pretty devastating break-up. It was a pretty bad time. On this record there’s some songs about my folks and one about Afghanistan – the hypocrisy of nation building in the context of war. Then there’s some ballads. It’s definitely a different kind.”
Turns out the new album was supposed to be an electro mash-up effort “but we ended up making a big rock record” Mikel confesses.
Back to their stay in Camden, Mikel said: “We got to know Camden pretty well. We stayed in this super skanky hotel that had like bloodstains on the floor. It was such a grimy place, we were sleeping three to a room because we were so broke. I like the Dublin Castle it reminded me of a lot of bars in LA. We liked the rock and roll falafel place (Marathon Kebabs), at night it becomes like a rockabilly night, people dancing and eating falafel. That was the most happening joint in London, I really liked that place.”
Mikel seems thrown by UK music journalist lines of questioning but believes it comes from the right place.
He said: “Everyone always thinks you’re scheming and trying to come up with something clever either how you dress or the aesthetic or the music, something in order to solve the equation of being like the next
huge thing. We do not think like that at all.”
He launches in to a (pantomime) English accent: “(UK critic) "I notice you’ve got your sound, you’ve got The Strokes with a bit of The Clash and Arcade Fire sort of thing, how did you come up with that equation” and we’re like uh.......we don’t know. Actually the UK Press is actually quite polite, smart and enthusiastic about us and I think people seem to understand...Where a lot of the hyperbole of the Press comes from...it’s written by people who literally don’t want to be let down, they’ve sacrificed so much in their lives to be part of it.”
He’s not likely to be found complaining about touring either.
Mikel said: “I used to be a carpenter and my hands were sore – that was work...The people who come to our shows have jobs and work. We don’t work, we travel around and play music.”
Thursday, 18 March 2010
FOOTBALL DJS, LOS MONDO BONGO AND SUEDE
Here’s an odd one – former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland international footballer Pat Nevin is guest DJ at King’s Cross Social Club tomorrow (March 19). His music credentials are plenty: a former mate of John Peel, he plays in the same 5-a-side team as Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and singer Gordon McIntyre. Expect indie pop, post-punk, and much more. And it’s free.
• Here’s one for the musos out there. Can you name the players in Los Mondo Bongo, who play the Purple Turtle on Sunday (March 21)? Bonus point for their pedigree. Answer: Mike Peters from The Alarm on lead, Pablo Cook and Smiley of the legendary Joe Strummer’s “Mescaleros”, Derek Forbes of Simple Minds, and Steve Harris. DJ set from Ray Gange, star of the Clash film Rude Boy. It’s a celebration of Strummer so don’t be too late.
• Remember Suede? They’re back – well Brett Anderson and band, don’t expect to see Bernard Butler – and are playing an exclusive show at the 100 Club on March 20 to warm up for their Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall four days later.
• Wild Palms have covered Bjork’s Human Behaviour on the B-side to single Deep Dive out on April 19. Wonder if they’ll test it out during their Camden Crawl show. They also play Relentless Garage on March 24.
• White Mischief is celebrating its third birthday at Scala on March 27. Visit www.whitemischief.info
• Here’s one for the musos out there. Can you name the players in Los Mondo Bongo, who play the Purple Turtle on Sunday (March 21)? Bonus point for their pedigree. Answer: Mike Peters from The Alarm on lead, Pablo Cook and Smiley of the legendary Joe Strummer’s “Mescaleros”, Derek Forbes of Simple Minds, and Steve Harris. DJ set from Ray Gange, star of the Clash film Rude Boy. It’s a celebration of Strummer so don’t be too late.
• Remember Suede? They’re back – well Brett Anderson and band, don’t expect to see Bernard Butler – and are playing an exclusive show at the 100 Club on March 20 to warm up for their Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall four days later.
• Wild Palms have covered Bjork’s Human Behaviour on the B-side to single Deep Dive out on April 19. Wonder if they’ll test it out during their Camden Crawl show. They also play Relentless Garage on March 24.
• White Mischief is celebrating its third birthday at Scala on March 27. Visit www.whitemischief.info
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