One of those Royal Mail postcards arrived through my door last Saturday, saying that I had to sign for a piece of mail. Could be anything, so lucky really that I went to the post office to pick it up on the Monday morning. Because, inside an envelope with my address untidily scribbled onto it, was a wristband to get me into a gig the same evening by the Bravery, at HMV in Oxford Street. One of those where they close the shop and only let wristband holders in. Lucky I went to the Post Office in time.
I got to HMV for the 6pm start time, to find that the Bravery were (just about) onstage already - as I picked my way towards the front, I was struck by the immense wrongness of watching a gig in a fully lit record shop, standing in between aisles of CDs. This was a highly anticipated one, The Bravery having been tipped by both the BBC and NME for big things in 2005.
They sounded good, but it all looked surreal in a big shiny record shop. Their songs sounded unusually quiet for a gig, although louder than a normal trip to HMV, but the lead guitarist in particular sounded excellent. What I did think they lacked was some stage presence, they didn't have the air of being a rock band with any unpredictability at all - very safe and tame.
So, a good gig, the music was OK, but a very surreal expreience indeed to watch a gig in a shop.
26 February 2005
Southampton vs Arsenal - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton - Saturday 26th February 2005
An otherwise dull 1-1 draw, this game will be remembered as the game where David Prutton got sent off, and pushed the linesman in the chest. Very silly indeed.
From an Arsenal perspective, it will be remembered as the game where Arsene Wenger told Robin Van Persie at half time that the referee would be looking to even it all up by sending off an Arsenal player, and please not to give him any excuse. Then, not 10 minutes later, Van Persie made a stupid tackle, got sent off, and Wenger rightly blanked him as he walked down the tunnel.
Van Persie has looked like a great player in flashes so far this season, he shows great touch and skill on the ball, and has scored some excellent and vital goals. But you do always wonder whether his attitude is right, or whether he is another Jermaine Pennant in the making. It would be a shame if its the latter, because that means he won't make it at Arsenal, and his undoubted skill could come back to haunt us when he's playing for another club. He looks so promising that I'm praying he sorts his attitude out and can stay with us. He could be the successor to Dennis Bergkamp if he works it all out.
From an Arsenal perspective, it will be remembered as the game where Arsene Wenger told Robin Van Persie at half time that the referee would be looking to even it all up by sending off an Arsenal player, and please not to give him any excuse. Then, not 10 minutes later, Van Persie made a stupid tackle, got sent off, and Wenger rightly blanked him as he walked down the tunnel.
Van Persie has looked like a great player in flashes so far this season, he shows great touch and skill on the ball, and has scored some excellent and vital goals. But you do always wonder whether his attitude is right, or whether he is another Jermaine Pennant in the making. It would be a shame if its the latter, because that means he won't make it at Arsenal, and his undoubted skill could come back to haunt us when he's playing for another club. He looks so promising that I'm praying he sorts his attitude out and can stay with us. He could be the successor to Dennis Bergkamp if he works it all out.
24 February 2005
Willy Mason, The Magic Numbers - Barfly, London - Thursday 24th February 2005
I'm ashamed to say I bought tickets for silly money on eBay for this one. Well, silly money was actually £20 per ticket, for a £6 face value - hopefully, by the end of the year it'll seem like a bargain. Having heard a couple of Willy Mason songs, and a whole 2 minutes of a Magic Numbers song, I really wanted to be there for this gig, you can tell from not much music that both of them are special.
I arrived just at the end of the support band's set, to be greeted by the band giving out hundreds of CDs to all in the audience - a nice bonus considering I didn't even watch them play.
After a short delay, the Magic Numbers appeared, to what seemed like a largely supportive audience - I sensed that many had seen them before, and were wildly cheering their every move. When they started playing, they gave a strange feeling that all of their songs were vaguely familiar, but excitingly new at the same time. You felt like you'd known them for a while, and they were extremely tight as a band to boot. Vaguely reminiscent of the Beach Boys, with great harmonies, and sunny-sounding music, they sounded fantastic.
As their set carried on, the band's genuine enthusiasm, and happiness to be playing on stage, really came through. The quality of the songs didn't dip at all, which suggests that they have a strong album-worth to come. Well worth the £20 already, with one act still to come.
Willy Mason is 20 years old, and I had heard a few of his songs before the gig tonight. As a singer/songwriter, his lyrics seem like they came from the brain of somebody much older! His songs are about being drunk, being unhappy, and confused with the world, its just that most of us don't seem to have had all that experience at the age of 20. Really clever words, and great music with them, to make a brilliant songwriter and perfomer.
Despite some people at the back of the room talking loudly at the bar throughout Willy's acoustic set, it was excellent throughout. The album will be bought tomorrow, and I sense that it will spend a lot of time on heavy rotation for a while to come yet. Well worth the foray onto eBay, and a bargain at £20 an overpriced ticket.
I arrived just at the end of the support band's set, to be greeted by the band giving out hundreds of CDs to all in the audience - a nice bonus considering I didn't even watch them play.
After a short delay, the Magic Numbers appeared, to what seemed like a largely supportive audience - I sensed that many had seen them before, and were wildly cheering their every move. When they started playing, they gave a strange feeling that all of their songs were vaguely familiar, but excitingly new at the same time. You felt like you'd known them for a while, and they were extremely tight as a band to boot. Vaguely reminiscent of the Beach Boys, with great harmonies, and sunny-sounding music, they sounded fantastic.
As their set carried on, the band's genuine enthusiasm, and happiness to be playing on stage, really came through. The quality of the songs didn't dip at all, which suggests that they have a strong album-worth to come. Well worth the £20 already, with one act still to come.
Willy Mason is 20 years old, and I had heard a few of his songs before the gig tonight. As a singer/songwriter, his lyrics seem like they came from the brain of somebody much older! His songs are about being drunk, being unhappy, and confused with the world, its just that most of us don't seem to have had all that experience at the age of 20. Really clever words, and great music with them, to make a brilliant songwriter and perfomer.
Despite some people at the back of the room talking loudly at the bar throughout Willy's acoustic set, it was excellent throughout. The album will be bought tomorrow, and I sense that it will spend a lot of time on heavy rotation for a while to come yet. Well worth the foray onto eBay, and a bargain at £20 an overpriced ticket.
21 February 2005
Babyshambles, The Cazals - Garage, London - Monday 21st February 2005
I landed back from Tokyo to discover that Babyshambles were playing at my local gig venue. And, even better, my mate and girlfriend had conspired between them to buy me a ticket - hooray!! Pete Doherty was just out of jail, and due in court on the morning of the gig. He also had a 10pm bail curfew at home, so this was to be an unusually early gig, as a warm up for one at Brixton the following night. On an bitterly cold (even for February) night, we got into the small venue with lots of questions - would Pete show up? Would he be tempted to break his curfew? Would Kate Moss, his new girlfriend, be there? Which other NME journalists/celebrity hangers on would be in the 300-ish crowd?
Support band The Cazals were not bad at all - some standout songs in a set which maintained a high level throughout- especially as this band, like Babyshambles also seemed to create and feed off a good deal of unpredictability on stage. But, really, nobody was there for them, it was all about Babyshambles.
One of the good things about the Garage is that security are very relaxed at gigs there - they let the crowd and bands do pretty much as they wish. Which was lucky this evening, as Pete was in mental form. Having been in prison for a good deal of the previous month, he was like a caged animal that had finally been released - strutting around the stage, and (literally) climbing up the walls at many points.
The set itself was completely electric from start to finish, full of the energy and edge that makes their live sets (when Pete shows up and is on form) rightly revered by the press and fans alike. Killamangiro was played early on, Pipe Down thrown in soon after that, and the whole set seemed to bounce from one great rocky song to another. The finale song, Fuck Forever, was a drunken, riotous culmination of everything that had gone before - a true live classic, and a marvellous rock song to boot. Pete was drumming his microphone so hard against the stage roof that it broke into many small pieces - an angry performance from a talented man.
Pete ran off stage shouting "I'll be back in a minute", but really, that was his opportunity to sneak out of the back door, and into a car to make his curfew. A whirlwind performance, that really took the breath away,
Support band The Cazals were not bad at all - some standout songs in a set which maintained a high level throughout- especially as this band, like Babyshambles also seemed to create and feed off a good deal of unpredictability on stage. But, really, nobody was there for them, it was all about Babyshambles.
One of the good things about the Garage is that security are very relaxed at gigs there - they let the crowd and bands do pretty much as they wish. Which was lucky this evening, as Pete was in mental form. Having been in prison for a good deal of the previous month, he was like a caged animal that had finally been released - strutting around the stage, and (literally) climbing up the walls at many points.
The set itself was completely electric from start to finish, full of the energy and edge that makes their live sets (when Pete shows up and is on form) rightly revered by the press and fans alike. Killamangiro was played early on, Pipe Down thrown in soon after that, and the whole set seemed to bounce from one great rocky song to another. The finale song, Fuck Forever, was a drunken, riotous culmination of everything that had gone before - a true live classic, and a marvellous rock song to boot. Pete was drumming his microphone so hard against the stage roof that it broke into many small pieces - an angry performance from a talented man.
Pete ran off stage shouting "I'll be back in a minute", but really, that was his opportunity to sneak out of the back door, and into a car to make his curfew. A whirlwind performance, that really took the breath away,
19 February 2005
Arsenal vs Sheffield United - Highbury, London - Saturday 19th February 2005
A game that was intriguing on one level, and very boring on another. Arsenal had a number of players either rested or otherwise unavailable, (bearing in mind Munich away on Tuesday), but still mustered a reasonably strong lineup against one of the stronger sides in the Championship. Which was lucky really, because they very much came looking for a result rather than a day out, and they arguably got one.
For me, the game hinged on the sending off of Dennis Bergkamp after 35 minutes. It will go down in the books as violent conduct, in reality it was a ridiculous decision by a referee seemingly intent on evening the game up a bit. That decision emboldened Sheffield United, who, with 55 minutes against 10 men, were very good value for their draw. Had we had 11 men, we would almost certainly have won, but we didn't respond well to going a man down.
So, its off to Bramall Lane for a replay, in Sheffield on a cold February Wednesday night, I doubt Thierry Henry will be going to that one. Lets just hope a strong enough team does turn out there, to get us through to the next round.
For me, the game hinged on the sending off of Dennis Bergkamp after 35 minutes. It will go down in the books as violent conduct, in reality it was a ridiculous decision by a referee seemingly intent on evening the game up a bit. That decision emboldened Sheffield United, who, with 55 minutes against 10 men, were very good value for their draw. Had we had 11 men, we would almost certainly have won, but we didn't respond well to going a man down.
So, its off to Bramall Lane for a replay, in Sheffield on a cold February Wednesday night, I doubt Thierry Henry will be going to that one. Lets just hope a strong enough team does turn out there, to get us through to the next round.
17 February 2005
Sightseeing in Tokyo - 17th February 2005
A day off in Tokyo, so I went to explore the city, by day and by night. I started off in Shinjuku, which is one of the main "centres" of the city, full of shops (especially electronics shops) by day, and bars and clubs by night. The place looks amazing, with billboards and flashing lights diveerting your eyes every few seconds.
As well as playing with lots of Japanese electronics gadgets in the shops there, I went for some noodles and chicken skewers, which were fantastically good.
My next stop was the Tokyo Tower, kind of like the Eiffel Tower, but painted red and white instead.
Very good views from up here, especially of the planes coming into land at Tokyo's main airport.
By night, the city looks very different, but equally amazing. The best comparison I can think of is when one first visits Piccadilly Circus and sees the lights everywhere - except that most of central Tokyo looks like that!
As well as playing with lots of Japanese electronics gadgets in the shops there, I went for some noodles and chicken skewers, which were fantastically good.
My next stop was the Tokyo Tower, kind of like the Eiffel Tower, but painted red and white instead.
Very good views from up here, especially of the planes coming into land at Tokyo's main airport.
By night, the city looks very different, but equally amazing. The best comparison I can think of is when one first visits Piccadilly Circus and sees the lights everywhere - except that most of central Tokyo looks like that!
16 February 2005
The view from the centre of Tokyo
Tokyo is a very big place. Big to the extent that, even when you are in the centre, and up a very tall building (about the height of the London eye, so the sort where you can see for 30-40 miles on a good day), you cannot see anything that isn't just a sprawl of city laid out before you.
I went up the Tokyo city government building today, which is a twin towered building with about 70 floors. The view from the window looks like this - spot anything at all here that isn't city sprawl A seriously big place.
And, I know that's only looking in one direction, so here is the view from some other windows as well.
Even in London, up the London Eye, you can see something beyond the city sprawl, or some green space (and you even can in Los Angeles, which covers a huge area but is quite low rise) - in Tokyo its just dense city for as far as you can see. Mad, mad place.
I went up the Tokyo city government building today, which is a twin towered building with about 70 floors. The view from the window looks like this - spot anything at all here that isn't city sprawl A seriously big place.
And, I know that's only looking in one direction, so here is the view from some other windows as well.
Even in London, up the London Eye, you can see something beyond the city sprawl, or some green space (and you even can in Los Angeles, which covers a huge area but is quite low rise) - in Tokyo its just dense city for as far as you can see. Mad, mad place.
14 February 2005
Work Trip to Tokyo, Japan - 12th to 18th February
I am in Tokyo, Japan for some work this week. I flew out on Saturday 12th, and arrived in Tokyo on Sunday 13th, minus my luggage, which British Airways had contrived to leave in London for me - special thanks to them. Special thanks also for having their Tokyo flights leave from Heathrow Terminal 1, along with a load of European flights. At the start of half term, I had a departure lounge full of people taking their kids to Spain - not what you need before a 12-hour flight!
On arrival in Tokyo, I got the train then subway to my hotel in the Shibuya part. Shibuya seems like a good district, with lots of shops and bars, it is one of Tokyo's major "centres".
My hotel was a 5-star one, and my room was on the 27th floor, with a fantastic view over Tokyo, with city as far as the eye could see. A fantastic hotel room.
On my second night there, at about 5am, there was an earthquake, measuring over 5 on the Richter scale. I noticed this when I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, the bed seemed to be shaking and the room's walls were making a strange noise. In my sleepy state, it took me a while to work out what was going on, but it eventually dawned on me that it was an earthquake. Very scary, especially in the period when you didn't know if it was going to get worse or better, or whether it would stop soon or continue to real big earthquake territory. Luckily, it stopped within 10 seconds, but they were a pretty scary 10 seconds!
At work the next day, my colleagues asked if I had felt the earthquake. After some more questioning, they were most amused to discover that it was my first earthquake - apparently, quakes like that happen about once every 3-4 months in Japan. The day afterwards, it was like nothing had happened in Tokyo, they are that common an occurrence.
During my stay, I took these pictures of Shibuya, firstly of the area near Shibuya station.
Secondly, one of those mad Lost In Translation style crossroads, with billboards everywhere!
And lastly, when the lights go red, and everybody walks in every possible direction.
On arrival in Tokyo, I got the train then subway to my hotel in the Shibuya part. Shibuya seems like a good district, with lots of shops and bars, it is one of Tokyo's major "centres".
My hotel was a 5-star one, and my room was on the 27th floor, with a fantastic view over Tokyo, with city as far as the eye could see. A fantastic hotel room.
On my second night there, at about 5am, there was an earthquake, measuring over 5 on the Richter scale. I noticed this when I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, the bed seemed to be shaking and the room's walls were making a strange noise. In my sleepy state, it took me a while to work out what was going on, but it eventually dawned on me that it was an earthquake. Very scary, especially in the period when you didn't know if it was going to get worse or better, or whether it would stop soon or continue to real big earthquake territory. Luckily, it stopped within 10 seconds, but they were a pretty scary 10 seconds!
At work the next day, my colleagues asked if I had felt the earthquake. After some more questioning, they were most amused to discover that it was my first earthquake - apparently, quakes like that happen about once every 3-4 months in Japan. The day afterwards, it was like nothing had happened in Tokyo, they are that common an occurrence.
During my stay, I took these pictures of Shibuya, firstly of the area near Shibuya station.
Secondly, one of those mad Lost In Translation style crossroads, with billboards everywhere!
And lastly, when the lights go red, and everybody walks in every possible direction.
09 February 2005
The Killers, The Futureheads, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs - Brixton Academy, London - Wednesday 9th February 2005
So, a fantastic bill put together for the NME Awards Tour. The Killers, probably the most exciting live band of the moment, as they proved with their landmark gigs at the end of last year. Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs, 2 of the undoubted stars of the year to come. And The Futureheads, with 2 great singles already behind them, and one to come soon. No surprise then that the gig sold out in obscenely quick time, and that the place was rammed from very early in the evening for this one.Kaiser Chiefs were first on, and, playing to a quiet crowd, many of whom didn't know them that well, acted and played like they owned the stage. For those that knew and liked some of their songs, this went down very well, because they look and sound good enough to headline here one day. But, for the uninitiated, it probably just looked very strange.
Bloc Party were next up, and played a much more understated set, with less posturing, and more just getting on and playing music. I wasn't sure if I'd like them before I went, but their set was my surprise of the evening, in terms of how much I enjoyed it. Not a bad song in there, and some real classics that sound good on CD, but are much, much better live. If you've heard Bloc Party on CD and aren't sure, its quite likely that seeing them live will convince you 100%.
The Futureheads seem to have a wide array of similar-sounding songs - all clocking in at about 2.5 minutes, and with more than one of them on vocals at a time. Their singles, Decent Days And Nights, Meantime, and Hounds Of Love are the real highlights - the rest is passable, but unlikely to set the world on fire - I'd expect The Futureheads to do well, but not as well as the other 3 bands on tonight's bill.
And so to The Killers - who played a set that was triumphant from first minute to last. They had been slaying venues all around the country on this tour for the last 3 weeks, and tonight was no different. There literally wasn't a bad moment, the crowd frequently drowned out the band by screaming the words to the songs, in fact I don't know what could possibly have made this go wrong. For the encore, a massive version of All These Things That I've Done, all the members of all 4 bands came on stage, for a truly spectacular finale.
Stunning gig, stunning bill, all topped off by an amazing headlining set.
05 February 2005
Aston Villa vs Arsenal - Villa Park, Birmingham - Saturday 5th February 2005
We have just had to endure a full week of tabloid frenzy, over Ashley Cole's recent alleged conversations with Chelsea. No football fans, especially Arsenal fans, like reading this kind of thing about their club, especially not when the media seems to take such delight in reporting so obviously damaging stories. So, it was good to be able to play a match again, to create some football-related news reporting.
Judging by the first half hour of the game, it seemed as if the players also wanted to let their football take centre stage. 3-0 up before the half hour mark, with the third provided by Mr Chelsea himself, Ashley Cole. I'm sure the papers will now go mad, and write about how that goal "proves his commitment" to Arsenal, but lets face it, it doesn't really prove anything at all.
At 3-0 up, Arsenal eased completely off the gas, with the game well and truly won a third of the way through. The rain was teeming down, and the pitch very slippy, so understandably, the team didn't really seem up for playing in the mudbath.
Cole was cheered enthusiastically throughout by the Arsenal fans in the wet away section, I think perhaps too eagerly. We should support players that wear the Arsenal shirt, but if they are talking to our biggest rivals about moving there and breaking their contracts, then they deserve only the bare minimum of support. Whatever the eventual truth, it looks like he has been a very silly boy, and his standing amongst Arsenal fans should rightfully be badly damaged. Penance needed from our number 3.
Judging by the first half hour of the game, it seemed as if the players also wanted to let their football take centre stage. 3-0 up before the half hour mark, with the third provided by Mr Chelsea himself, Ashley Cole. I'm sure the papers will now go mad, and write about how that goal "proves his commitment" to Arsenal, but lets face it, it doesn't really prove anything at all.
At 3-0 up, Arsenal eased completely off the gas, with the game well and truly won a third of the way through. The rain was teeming down, and the pitch very slippy, so understandably, the team didn't really seem up for playing in the mudbath.
Cole was cheered enthusiastically throughout by the Arsenal fans in the wet away section, I think perhaps too eagerly. We should support players that wear the Arsenal shirt, but if they are talking to our biggest rivals about moving there and breaking their contracts, then they deserve only the bare minimum of support. Whatever the eventual truth, it looks like he has been a very silly boy, and his standing amongst Arsenal fans should rightfully be badly damaged. Penance needed from our number 3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)