Simone Felice starts his gig at Bush Hall with New York Times – it’s a haunting and gritty number which encapsulates familiar Felice territory – man’s vulnerability and cruelty, human struggle, death. But also love, finding beauty and joy in life, and the pleasure and importance of good friends. Of the grittier subject matter, Felice doesn’t shy away but tackles things head on, and…
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The 80s – a much maligned decade for music but dig deep and there was plenty to enjoy. I’m a fan of my office’s occasional “Power Ballad Thursdays”. Instead of a sea of hunched computer nerds nodding along to their own private world via their headphones, we’re all sharing the moment as Africa by Toto and Urgent by Foreigner blast out…
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Dust down the sleeping bags and camping stove, the start of festival season is only a couple of months away. These days, music festivals are working harder to attract a following, offering debating sessions and workshops, banquets and ballooning, hoping to carve out a unique and identifiable image from a sea of formulaic events. Here…
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The See See were part of a swirly psychedelia night at The Lexington on Pentonville Road two years ago, and they particularly caught my attention. (Also memorable were Canadian band Elephant Stone whose music is enriched with Rishi Dhir’s mesmerising sitar playing). Fast forward two years and we were back at The Lexington last week for The…
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The intro of a song is all that’s needed for special memories to come flooding back. Just a bar or two and you find yourself catapulted back to a particular moment in time: whether funny or joyful, romantic or melancholic, it’s the music that will take you there. Many of us possess some of our favourites as…
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The Aussie-accented, country-tinged tones of Courtney Barnett’s songs have been floating over the Radio 6 music airwaves of late. Last Thursday was her second London appearance, this time at Ace Hotel, Shoreditch. Courtney takes keeps things minimal, walking on stage to plug all the leads in before she’s joined by her bass player and drummer. With no…
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UPDATE 2019: Earl Haig Hall has now closed. Antic sold it on, it is now boarded up and its future is under review. Latest plans are for the building to become a children’s nursery. I will keep this post here as a memory of what was a much-needed and loved community bar/restaurant and venue for…
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There is a certain poignancy to the death this week of the great folk hero Pete Seeger, the singer and songwriter of protest songs who helped define the folk music landscape of the last century. There are several of his compositions that I remember from my childhood and they feel like traditional songs passed down through…
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There’s a trip-hop Dixieland jazz-loving collective based in Marseilles in the south of France who I have been a big fan of for the past couple of years. Somewhat elusive and under the radar in the UK, the intriguing posse go by the name of Chinese Man. So who are they? To quote from their website:…
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The Trades in Hebden Bridge I decided would be the right place to experience The Orb for their 25th Anniversary Show. It felt appropriate to be somewhere intimate and immediate, friendly and just a bit off the wall. The Orb are scheduled to play near me at The Forum in Kentish Town, which is a…
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