Music News, Exclusive Interviews, Reviews
It’s been a bit of a mixed bag of weather this summer so far. So what could cheer up a gloomy day better than Waterfahl‘s new EP? Laying back with your chair leaning against the wall, with the cloudy/sunny weather leaking through the window and listening to the opening track “Another Story”, nice, welcoming lazy blues. Hanne Fahl‘s warm singing and harmonica weaves some inspiring patterns into the air with Finn Fahl‘s acoustic guitar orchestrating the mood.
Thursday night on the Cowley Road, Oxford. It’s drizzly outside but warm in the O2 Academy, and as we enter we’re greeted by a steward who informs us of the forthcoming entertainment and hopes we enjoy the evening. So for some ale and to find a good spot to stand to see Little Comets.
Thursday night on the Cowley Road, Oxford. It’s drizzly outside but warm in the O2 Academy, and as we enter we’re greeted by a steward who informs us of the forthcoming entertainment and hopes we enjoy the evening. So for some ale and to find a good spot to stand to see Little Comets.
It’s good to see a band self-roadieing – setting up – as well as hanging percussion instruments from a string strung above them, from one side of the stage to the other. After a short while they return to the stage, introducing themselves as coming from Newcastle and belt into their first song “Adultery” which is their new single and a damn good one to put out there.
Continue reading “Little Comets, Noisettes LIVE review, O2 Academy Oxford”
What is there to do on a Wednesday evening in Oxford? Watch TV? Go down to the pub? See the cricket? None of the above. Oh well, it’s raining in June again, constant pitter patter. But hey look! The Damned are in town and they’ve brought some friends with them …
What is there to do on a Wednesday evening in Oxford? Watch TV? Go down to the pub? See the cricket?
None of the above.
Oh well, it’s raining in June again, constant pitter patter. But hey look! The Damned are in town and they’ve brought some friends with them.
We arrive at the Oxford Academy and aim for the box office, but as we are fumbling around for money I spot this grey haired Irish chap offering us two tickets he had bought from the internet. So we buy them off him for much cheaper than the venue’s price, and proceed into the building.
It turns out that he’s friends with the first act on tonight. A Mr. Henry Cluney no less. He of Stiff Little Fingers fame. To be honest I am only here because Henry is playing. His band influenced me about as much as The Clash did when I was younger. I still have every record this lot ever made, preserved in see-through plastic bags at home.
Continue reading “The Damned, The Alarm, Henry Cluney review – LIVE at O2 Academy Oxford”
You know when you’re drinking, and you find yourself somewhere you never planned on being? Well that happens to me quite often these days. I had no idea I would end up at The Cellar Bar in Oxford last Saturday for instance …
You know when you’re drinking, and you find yourself somewhere you never planned on being? Well that happens to me quite often these days. I had no idea I would end up at The Cellar Bar in Oxford last Saturday for instance. But when you go out on the lash with Greig Stewart this is what happens. So we go down the stairs and there’s our old mate Jimmy at the sound desk and a band on stage.
“Who are this lot?” I ask. “They’re called Desert Storm” Jimmy replies. “They don’t look old enough to have stormed any deserts though.” I reply. But then I’m distracted by Greig clambering on to the stage while the band are in mid song, grabbing a spare drumstick from the drummer and starting to thrash a cymbal on the side of the stage. Fair go on the band. They carried on playing without a flinch as Greig made his way around the stage. I by now am at the front, head banging and enjoying their sound. They’re heavy but original with it, which is hard these days because there are billions of bands playing this type of music. Yeah heavy, but not heavy, if you know what I mean.
Matt Ryan has a powerful voice, growling over the music wearing a big ex army coat on stage. He says they’re from Oxford. They are doing the support slot tonight. But they must stay with it because I don’t think it will be long before they are pulling big crowds and playing high up on huge platforms.
There are twins in Desert Storm too. Twins are my next favorite thing to dwarves. There is Elliot Cole on drums and his brother Ryan on guitar. Twins must have so much fun confusing people. Sorry digression. Their bass player is very good at keeping it tight with the drums. This job goes to one Chris Benoist. Their other guitarist Chris White was absent tonight, but it didn’t distract from the sound. I look forward to seeing them in the future with full ensemble.
Desert Storm are newish to the scene, born in 2007 and should grow in confidence as they gig. You watch this space, because at this moment in time I am a fan. It takes a lot to get my toe a tapping these days. But Desert Storm managed it.
Find them at their MySpace page and say hello to them for me.
Desert Storm on MySpace
By: Dave Tommo
Photo Credit: Dave Tommo. After listening to Benjamin Taylor’s music on his website and MySpace page, I was quite interested to see him perform live. Ben is Carly Simon and James Taylor’s son, so the idea of seeing him and hearing him in person was intriguing …
Photo Credit: Dave Tommo
After listening to Benjamin Taylor‘s music on his website and MySpace page, I was quite interested to see him perform live.
Ben is Carly Simon and James Taylor‘s son, so the idea of seeing him and hearing him in person was intriguing. Also, he’s from New England (Martha’s Vineyard), which is always a treat for me – running into fellow New Englanders in England.
The intimate showcase took place last Monday night downstairs at The Social in London. The Social is a great place for an acoustic show. There’s limited seating, but the stage is always in view as the room is quite small.
Last Sunday night I went to see InLight at The Bullingdon Arms in Oxford. After watching two members of the band play an “acoustic” set last month at The Jericho Tavern when they supported Baskery, I was looking forward to seeing them as a full band …
Last Sunday night I went to see InLight at The Bullingdon Arms in Oxford. After watching two members of the band play an “acoustic” set last month at The Jericho Tavern when they supported Baskery, I was looking forward to seeing them as a full band.
It’s quite interesting hearing the stripped down version of a band first – with limited instrumentation. With InLight, when I saw them the first time, I was able to get a clear feel for their songs, and how the songs have the ability to hold their own without the need for ‘more’. Then, to go and see them as a full unit, songs colored in with drums and bass and more energy exuding from the stage, was even more of an uplifting experience. An enthralling performance.
Continue reading “InLight LIVE review + interview with Charlie Cooke”
With her upcoming tour supporting Girls Aloud and her debut album release this summer, London based singer Emma Deigman is one to watch this year – and Dave and I had the pleasure of meeting her at The Regal Room in London last week …
With her upcoming tour supporting Girls Aloud and her debut album release this summer, London based singer Emma Deigman is one to watch this year – and Dave and I had the pleasure of meeting her at The Regal Room in London last week.
We had a bit of a rocky start getting to the interview – the Oxford Tube bus broke down on the way to London. Luckily, though, the bus was able to make it to the Hillingdon stop where we conveniently got on the tube to where we were originally told to go, Studio Valbonne in Soho.
Even with the bus incident, we managed to get there early, buzzed the door, we were let in, and we waited a few minutes on one of the red couches (cool club by the way). I think it was the owner, Xavier, who let us in and after about ten minutes of waiting, with no one showing up to meet us, he came over and asked “who is it you’re here to see?”. After a quick call from Xavier’s mobile phone, yes, believe it or not I still don’t have one, we got directions to the actual location for the interview and show – The Regal Room in Hammersmith. We left Studio Valbonne after a few apologies to Xavier (lovely man), quickly got into a taxi, went to the correct location, and ended up being over 30 minutes late. The good thing though, is that Emma and her management knew that it wasn’t our fault for showing up late, and they graciously greeted us upon our arrival!
Continue reading “Emma Deigman (Edei) interview + live review (The Regal Room, London)”