Keeping Rock n' Roll Alive…
Posts tagged Alternative
Download Festival, Day Three
Aug 30th
The final day was upon us all to quickly as we were late for our opening band. But luckily for us we could hear them from about a mile away so not all was lost. Finally we arrived for some good old fashioned horse riding, Orc slaying, magical, sword bearing, evil hoard battling chain mail clad Power Metal, in the guise of an Californian band called White Wizzard (what else could they be called?). This fun set was packed with stunning guitar lines and ridiculous lyrics, but hey…it didn’t fail to raise a smile!
White Wizzard
StraightLines stood out on the lineup for being one of the only indie(ish) bands to take stage. So we checked them out and their spritely pop-punk influenced indie rock was upbeat and easy to like. No boundaries being pushed but after all that rock it was nice to listen to some possible future radio hits.
StraightLines
From new to old we travelled back in time to catch one of Britain’s veteran rock acts, the original New Wave of Brititsh Heavy Metal legends, Saxon. Silver haired and rickety bones didn’t stop them from playing in it’s entirety their Wheels of Steel album which was coincidental (as Download itself was) celebrating it’s 25th anniversary. To their credit, it still sounded great all these years later with tunes like the romper-stomper Motorcycle Man, classic era sounding 747 & the thunderous Stand Up & Be Counted. It just goes to prove that, long lives, Rock and Roll!
Saxon
We reviewed TAB the Band‘s album Zoo Noises back in February, and fell for its Rolling stones-esque swagger and rough bluesy shufflings. Live they were equally as impressive. Strong clean vocals, dual guitar attack and melodies in abundance maintained a real foot-tapper of a performance which made you wanna dance! They may yet step out of the shadow of their father (Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry), if they maintain their energy levels and keep writing great songs!
TAB the Band
Crime In Stereo was the best of a line-up lull, We left after 2 thrashed songs without hint of the English language being sung or any inventive musicality. Heavy…Yes, Tedious…Also!
Crime In Stereo
It wasn’t until we arrived at Cinderella that we regretted leaving CiS. Cinderella epitomise why 80′s rock/metal acquired such a bad reputation. Style over substance, squeaky voiced, piano tinklers with generic power chords and floating melodic guitars were the worst we’d heard all weekend!
Cinderella
Thankfully keeping the classic side of 80′s rock flag waving high and proud was the most recognisable, indistinguishable and one of all times greatest guitar hero’s Slash stepped out onstage to the collective roar of the crowds appreciation. Slash was here for all out crowd pleasing this afternoon as he arrived boasting my favourite rock vocalist of today Myles Kennedy (Altar Bridge) as his bands frontman. Despite having a new solo album out he only played a handful of tracks from it, the slash trademark riffing of Ghost, huge ballads Starlight & Back From Cali, proggy By The Sword. Seeing as Motorhead were playing later it was no great surprise to see Lemmy making a guest appearance on the cracking fast paced riff rocker Dr. Alibi.
Lemmy & Slash
It was with great elation and suprise that Slash devoted half his set to covers from his former-bands output. For me this was simply extraordinary! To see Slash playing Gun n’ Roses covers, all taken from Appetite For Destruction, was an absolute dream come true and the man has not lost a thing, plus Myles also has the perfect voice to do justice to these classic tracks. They played a double whammy of Nightrain and Rocket Queen early set to really stoke up the crowd which was already extremely excited. Not much could put into words my feelings when the first bars of the classic Gn’R song were heard! I absolutely loved every second of it! There was even time to throw the Velvet Revolver song Slither, with ex-frontman Scott Wieland now back with the Stone Temple Pilots, (incidentally) playing later…I can’t help but feel its intention.
Myles Kennedy
To round of a fantastic set of virtuoso guitar and just astounding classic rock,we all watched in awe as we were treated to yet another GnR classic, Paradise City. This performance was up there with the best of my life, let alone best of the festival.
Slash
We stuck around the main stage for a little longer, perching ourselves on the hill to see the some even more classic rock, but this time it was more of the pop variety. We were here for a greatest hit set from Billy Idol and that’s exactly what we got! all the hits were aired including Rebel Yell, Hot In The City, Dancing With Myself & White Wedding. The nice past blast was enough to keep the spirits high despite the rain which was now walling with great vengeance.
Suddenly moving between stages wasn’t quite as easy as the mud wallowed and flowed downhill turning the site into a bog in nearly 30 mins flat! The rain did not dampen my enjoyment of the end of Porpupine Tree’s majestically set of beautifully prog-rock, which can swing from astoundingly harmonious and blisteringly rawkus in one glorious sweep.
Porcupine Tree
Sticking with the Dio stage, we were treated to a right old fashioned 80′s party in the shape of Steel Panther. Their unashamedly 80′s rock was perfect for the damp souls and brought smiles and laughs galore from their outrageous stage persona’s and rampant guitar rock! This was all out fun and they even managed to bring out Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian to play on Asian Hooker as well as debuting their new single I Want It That Way (Yes…The Backstreet Boys one…). It seems also that the side screen cameras were a temporary Motley Cru style titty-cam. Seeing as soon as it flicked to a female audience member, her shirt suddenly went over her head…odd!!
Steel Panther
Enjoying a band in the rain and waiting for one in the rain are 2 very different things! The next 25 minutes of waiting dragged hugely, not helped by the fact that I could feel the water running down the inside my jacket and the cold weather taking hold of me! Still all was quickly forgotten as Ac/Dc’s homage paying countrymen Airbourne arrived onstage. These dude’s have always been a bit nuts, this show only re-inforced this view. They ran riot here in the rain, cracking beer cans open on their head and hitting a relentless barrage of power chords. New album material was good, played with the same manic vigour as their older material, plus they haven’t lost their catchy, fist pumping chorus writing talents.
Just to prove how crazy lead singer Joel O’Keefe really is, I point to the following evidence
Exhibit A) Yes, he has climbed up the stage, in the absolute pouring rain, without any safety equipment, then plays a guitar solo hanging by his legs only 30ft up!
That Really Is A Long Way Down
Exhibit B) Now getting up borderline suicidal, he really had the crowd scared for his welfare, but after more guitar solos from atop of the stage, technians turned his guitar transmitter off, forcing him to come down…vvveeerrrryyy carefully!!!
“It’s A Long Way To The Top…If You Want To Rock And Roll”
Everything after this point pales into insignificance at the stunt just witnessed, by these superb but insane Aussies!
As we headed for the final nights headline act we caught the end of the Stone Temple Pilots performance, needless to say Airbourne was a much better spectacle.
And so to the final band of the weekend, legends of rock Aerosmith, with their flamboyant lead singer Steve Tyler firmly back in the fold doing what he does best. For the third night in a row the headline act has been monumental, tonight was no exception. Tyler freshly re-united with the band after drugs problems was back at his best commanding a huge presence on stage. Joe Perry showed how to play the blues as he played some of the defining riffs of a generation.
Quite aptly the skies cleared and we recovered from the chill by being treated to Classic tracks like Sweet Emotion, Living On The Edge, Eat The Rich & Walk This Way which set the bar sky high. My songs of the night however were the genre spawning Rock-Ballad Dream On complete with perfect Tyler screams, set opener Love In An Elevator complete with Woo-Wooh sing-a-longs plus older gems Draw The Line and a rampaging version of Toys In The Attic which rounded out the show.
As the final amp was powered down with Tyler & Perry exchanging congratulations, we were left in the darkness of the damp field ready for the longest walk of the weekend…the one back home!
Download Festival, Day Two
Aug 7th
A much enhanced lineup greeted us at the start of Download Day 2, as a matter of fact so did a cute radio presenter for Download FM who interviewed us for our respected thoughts (although she was drawn to us mainly because we had beer in hand at 11:30am!). After spreading the words of the DiR.net crew to the listening public we managed to get to our main stage destination for the first band of the day.
Taking Dawn were exactly what was required to start the day. A bunch of mega-enthusiastic rockers who are obsessed with hard rock and glam metal without any of the stupid hairstyles.
Taking Dawn
Their metal infused take on Gn’R era hard rock was bright, upbeat and on the whole massively enjoyable. They played their instruments precisely with more than few catchy riffs and flashy solos, not forgetting to throw in plenty of vocal hooks and melodies to get the uninitiated singing along. The lead singers enthusiasm was unrivalled as he shouted…
“I’m coming to get the whoever goes the craziest during this next song”
True to his word he launched himself off stage and bounded over the barriers right into the midst of the ever growing crowd. Amazingly he was still playing his guitar as he ramrodded through towards the lucky one. This was a great little set which I really enjoyed and as we wandered off for the next band, we could only see the singers legs as he crowd surfed back towards the stage
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For something completely different we headed to the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage to witness one of the oddities of the weekend. The Urban Voodoo Machine are kinda like a Nashville folky-blues band who wear quirky costumes that decided to hire some circus acts to be in the band. Every member seemed to have a role/character to play which gave them a real extra appeal. Their visuals were great, from the sharp suited gravel toned singer to the green ogre drummer and a gyrating Moroccan cymbal playing dancer who was wearing very little. Sonically they were pretty catchy too with their multi instrumentalists, acoustic backbone and dual drummers (who loved to jump about on their stools)! A highly effective act for a short set which brightened up an already scorching morning!
The Urban Voodoo Machine
After a last minute alteration to the schedule we were left standing in front of Atreyu. Now not being the greatest fan of theirs I was greatly surprised to hear they sounded a great deal more impressive live. Their metal grooves were mostly melodic and were surprisingly accessible. Vocals weren’t the greatest, but none of the piercing screams from the record made an airing this afternoon. Much of their set was packed with great singles like the classic rocker Blow, emo-ish Bleeding Mascara and the rip roaring pop metal of Ex’s & Ohs. Atreyu were a real surprise package of my weekend.
Atreyu
We grabbed some lunch and decided to perch ourselves on the hill to see whether Flyleaf would actually play today given their missed slot. However, you put together Beer + Sun + Food and inevitably it = Sleep. Arising, slightly sun-dazed from a nice nap we saw something which resembles the Flyleaf singers back as she waltzed off stage. Never mind hey!
Rejuvenated we dived into the shade of the Pepsi Max stage to see whats on. The Genitorturers need no introduction. tight Dominatrix style leather catsuits, over the top make-up, S&M mentality, & punk rock music. Their most attention grabbing quality was their appearance, musically it was pretty average no brainer loudness.
We Are The Fallen
We Are The Fallen were created by Evanescence’s guitar duo so that already tells you alot about their sound. Gothic styled hard rock with female vocals and middle of the road poppy rock offerings. It was enjoyable but not breathtaking as lead singer Carly Smithson (6th in Pop Idol USA season 7) did well to hit some rather high notes. However our next Female Vocalist literally blew her out of the water!
Halestorm
The third female fronted rockers in a row were by far the most impressive. Halestorm played good ol fashioned power chords and rang out plenty of hugely catchy and melodic hard rock with a pop heart. Their strikingly beautiful lead singer had the attention of all the men in the tent even before she opened her mouth or slung a guitar over her shoulder. Her voice was one of the most powerful things I’ve heard! She had the perfect rock voice which flitted back and forth from angelic to demonic in the blink of an eye, rasping high notes and blasting lows were by far their main attraction. Given they had a superb array of damn catchy tunes like I Get Off, I’m Not An Angel & Bet You Wish You Had Me Back, leaves not doubt in my mind they were one of the finds of the festival!
Megadeth
Megadeth were up on main stage and it was great to see one of thrash metals long standing behemoths doing what they do best. They played very tight and threw in a few of their classic tunes to the rapture of the crowd such as Sweating Bullets, Hangar 18, Rust In Peace & Symphony Of Destruction. This was a lesson from the old school that metal is still alive, and judging from the amount of hair flailing around near the multiple mosh pits i can safely say this was very well received.
Y&T
We departed the main stage to head for some cheesy 80′s reviver’s Y&T. They was exactly as advertised, plenty of melodic guitar lines, flashy solo’s, pop rock chorus’ and wrinkling skin. Yet they seemed to be having such a great time it was hard to fault their performance!
Deftones
Sub-headliners Deftones I have come to realise are not my thing. Here in the huge outdoor spaces their alternative-metal was drab which lacked energy with most of the crowd appreciating as opposed to enjoying. I was not on their page tonight which is a shame as I’ve only heard good things, yet i found it a bland set to sit through.
Now we find ourselves in an almighty tussle for position as the people hurdle, push, smash and steal their way to get a better view of tonight’s headliners who are on their UK Victory Lap, after sensationally scooping the Christmas #1 slot after the public led campaign to oust Simon Cowellites from the top spot. Rage Against The Machine kicked straight into Testify as anarchy reigned in the crowd as the once still mass of people around us, went absolutely mental! Leaping around, as it turns out is best way to get in the Rage groove (plus you get a decent view for half the time). With each song bringing a heaving bomb of alternative rock with humongous riffs and instantly recognisable melodies it was easy to see why these guys are so popular.
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Rage Against The Machine
In fact the second tune of the set Bombtrack had to be halted. As worried fans and security guards looked on it was apparent not all was well! Suddenly after a considerable silence band front man Zach de la Rocha asked the crowd to take 2 big steps back, as it was getting increasingly dangerous down the front. We all took his instruction and we continued…only a little further away.
Zach de la Rocha
With a classic band on stage it is very hard to fault, Zachs raps were spot on and guitar legend Tom Morello was on top form. Tom’s array of special effects pedals and engineered sounds drawn out from his guitar were mesmerising. I especially liked his playing of the strings behind the nut and also playing with an iron nail showing that it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it! This masterclass in slow riffs and the ability to mutate his instrument to suit his needs was brilliant, there is none more creative or versatile an axe man playing today.
Tom Morello
A few more classic tracks (the Led Zeppy Wake Up, riff-mungus Bulls On Parade, funk laced Guerrilla Radio) a superb clash cover (White Riot) and a couple of political preaches (Israel’s Gaza blockade being the topic of these rants) later we all waited
Sure enough it came and passed. Not without rocking this field of baying fans with an outburst of stomping drums, huge bass, precise guitars and plenty of “F**K you I won’t do what you tell Me’s…” A fitting end to a cracking day!
Camden Crawl 2010: Day Two
May 24th
After an almighty fry-up, 3 non-stop hours of Scrapheap challenge and a bus ride from hell we stumbled back into the Roundhouse to pick up the schedule for day two of the Camden Crawl 2010. After learning from our experience the day before. We felt wiser and at ease glancing over the running order while tucking into some street food delights courtesy of Camden Market. Those Emu Burgers, Seafood Paellas, Samosas, Chow Meins, Tagine’s and Argentinian steak burgers had no chance while we were around!
Refueled ready for a long day ahead we set sail for the Outdoor stage ignoring the bitterly cold wind and the radiating warmth of the pubs. It was a pleasant surprise to find out the trip was worthwhile as we were greeted by the lively Electro Dance duo Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip.
Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip
These guys really brightened up the cold air and got people moving with their club friendly grooves. Although we were all a bit too chilly to party like its 1999 it was an energetic enough to encourage us to check out their set later in the evening.
Rolo Tomassi
One of the most intense and insane live bands I’ve ever seen were at it again on the outdoor stage as we approached, post our failure to win comedy sunglasses and an assortment of condiments at rock’n’roll bingo. These guys music can be described as a trainwreck of alternative metal ideas warped with a keyboard twist. Its brash and heavy while guitars are massively complex and slightly jazzy. Where they fail is their vocals. Their firecracker young singer, who despite being a cutesy looking girl suddenly screams nonsense with menace in her eyes, making much of the set inaccessible to most of the crowd. Their new material however brings a more electro vibe and with more angelic clean vocals this could be a turn around for these young kids.
Post having our ears pummeled by Rolo we headed up, somewhat bitterly to the Roundhouse. This is because despite paying for your ticket to the festival, what organizers leave in the small print is the fact you need to buy ‘supplement’ tickets in order to see the festival headliners! What a scam! At £7 a go and 2 headline slots per night, you could end up paying an extra £28 to see bands you thought would see for free. Anything to get more money out of the gig going public!
The Blackout
Good job then that standing in the historic roundhouse that the next band up made the entry fee worthwhile. These Welsh post-harcdore titans played a highly charged set of big riffings, semi-screamed-semi-rapped vocals, epic choruses and all round loud fun!
Their duelling lead singers were pinballing about stage and only broke off to ply some comical between song banter. Crowd participation was high on their agenda leading sing-a-longs to their ballads (Save Our Selves, Top Of The World) and sparking mospits on STFUppercut & Said & Done.
During a mid-song interlude the crowd were instructed to all crouch down…nearly everyone obliged, a rare feat. When the power chords struck the telling bar, thousands of people leaping into the air was a sight to behold. This was a highly entertaining set from a band who have risen to the top fast, on performances like this you can see why.
LostProphets
Winner of the most popular Welsh post-hardcore band though has to go to the next band this evening, LostProphets. Their uncanny knack for writing cracking pop rock tunes which are at equally at ease on the radio as they are in the mosh pits. With a huge arsenal of hits they were firing them off at all angles to the constant pleasure of the crowd. Musically they were great and you can’t fault the songs, yet I expected more.
Having seen them at Reading festival in 2007, they were the welsh band pulling the crowd interaction stunts. Their connection with their audience was not ideal but with the quality of their music it’s only a small blip on an otherwise barnstorming show. Awards for best moshpits go to Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja, the most pogo’ing goes to Last Train Home.
Here the DoesItRock.net team parted ways… as I headed upstairs at Enterprise to check out a young band by the name of Tubelord, as others went mellowly to the sweet sounds of Emily Barker.
Tubelord
As I waited at the foot of the stairs I pondered whether or not I’d be able to get in given the huge queue that was milling around. Worry ye not as I finally ascended to the smallest venue of the weekend thus far. A tiny area no bigger than a living room with a micro stage and a superbly old sound man who clearly knew his stuff. Tubelord look as if their skipped school to be here but were all the better for it as they produced wildly off kilter rock with a firm grounding in sweet pop melodies.
Their sound was warm, as was their vocals, but these really need to be ampified greatly. Being 2 steps from the stage and not being able to hear the singer isn’t ideal. However when the drummer provided backing harmonies they band were at their best.Everybody in Enterprise were bouncing along (probably because the floor was like that of a bouncy castle…slightly unnerving) having a great time watching this band of immense potential.
Gang of Four
It was with great anticipation that we stood awaiting the return of the 70′s political post-punk rockers who have countless bands claiming them as major influences. With more smoke than a pro-cigarette convention, four outlines could be seen. Lead guitar and vocalist were clearly original band members. Knocking on the door of becoming OAP’s they looked very old in comparison to their youthful dread locked bassist. Still they were the ones who were to bring the ensuing chaos.
They played plenty of their well know hits like Natural’s Not In It, Anthrax, Not Great Men and Damaged Goods each bringing back the spirit of the 70′s disco-rock they helped form. I will say that playing these live sounded much harsher and less pop than their studio albums. It felt that in the run up to the General Election they were venting anger with their performance.
The real talking point would be the antics of lead singer Jon King. He was clearly on something more than a couple of pints of bitter. His eyes were manic and his stumbling was as shambolic as his persistence to destroy both mic stands he had available to him. His roadies were constantly running after him clearing up his debris. During Anthrax he decided to bring out a stage box with a microwave duct taped to it. He proceeded to play percussion on it using a metal baseball bat! A hugely charged political statement if ever i witnessed one.
Just to remind us they were of the 70′s ilk, guitarist Andy Gill decided to do a Pete Townsend and fling his guitar across stage after a feedback heavy interlude. This made the show even more gripping and like a good movie, it was hard to take your eyes off in case you missed anything!
Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip
We ended the day back where we started it with some more clubbing tunes. This time the bass was heart pounding and the good time vibe was here in abundance. With pip dishing out some serious lyrics and le Sac turning his apple mac into a dance music workshop this really was an entertaining set. They really clicked here tonight and were rightly applauded for their efforts. Without a guitar is sight, this was very different act from my usual fodder, but no less enjoyable for it.
There was a lot of great talent on display this weekend of of that melee we can safely say that we had a great time! All that was said on the ride home was…”Who’s for next year?”
Camden Crawl 2010: Day One
May 23rd
Who ever thought that putting a music festival on in London on a May Bank holiday weekend probably thought it was a good idea? Granted that extra days recuperation was great, but with general London transport chaos even arriving in Camden would be a half day mission in itself. Luckily for myself and the team, DoesItRock Towers is handily close by. We wandered down to the Roundhouse to pick up the days schedule for day one, laughing in the face of a weather forecast that would make the Outer Hebrides look like the Caribbean.
After seeing the schedule it’s easy to get swamped under the sheer size and scope of the lineup. 17 evening venues and 27 daytime events…where do you start? This of course leads to a music fan’s worst nightmare, clashes! Then you have to filter in the venue choice, venue capacity, arrival times in order to gain entry and if you have to pay extra stealth charges to see bigger bands. So under the enormous strain of options we did what any gaggle of men would do in times of difficult decisions…head to the pub!
With opinions flying at all angles, a plan finally came together. Hence it was time to get down to the serious business of catching some bands!
Dissolved In
We arrived rather chilly and windswept to discover the new for 2010 Outdoor stage was running late. S we ended up catching the tail end of an upbeat set from this Punk-pop quartet. They sounded quite promising and they have decent enough guitar melodies and vocal harmonies, although I am only judging on their final 2 tracks, the rest could have been pants!
Dissolved In
KASMs
Talking of pants, KASMs lead singer was liberally showing off hers as she catapulted around stage in all manner of screwball methods (including powerslides & Japanese schoolgirl kooky leaps). This in fact was a glad distraction from the noise generated by her screechy adolescent vocals. Ignoring the voice the music was edgy and alternative with plenty of sound effects which were largely hit and miss. They have lots of good ideas, outstanding energy and cannot be faulted for effort but today they failed to captivate. An indoor venue would definitely improve their sound, but for the time being, you get an E…more work required!
KASMs
We had been very lucky with the weather and the rain held off as we dived from pub to pub taking in quizzes, jazz sessions and musical bingo until we were en-route to the Electric Ballroom for the first of the evening performances. When the rain finally arrived, it was ferocious! Driving rain hammered the streets, turning Camden high street into a new canal extension! Drenched like hamsters in a washing machine we gained swift entry and prepared to be rocked.
Camden Lock before the storm
Pulled Apart By Horses
This young band from Leeds are a huge part of the experimental alt-metal scene developing in the city and from watching them tonight you can see why they are at the forefront of the movement. They play with a voracious intensity and skull denting power. An ever changing time signature, stop-start melodies, plenty of epic anticipation building crescendos and technically superb massive metal riffs litter their sound which is unpredictable and compelling to behold.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Almost as precarious is their crazed stage antics which left their bassist sporting a bandaged up knee prior to this evening. Yet he still managed to ascend to stand and leap off a 2 storey stack of speakers, meanwhile the vocalist went on aimless walkabouts through the crowd knocking over fans with his wildly flailing mic/guitar leads. Put simply they are entertaining and totally bonkers!
Ready for a Fall!
Lead vocals are, as one DiRocker pointed out “A bit shouty” & other noted “quite Blood Brothers-esque”, hence not easily accessible but still drive each tune with catchy melodies which demand your attention. Their volume is deafening as is the thump of their drumming but all this combined to form a brilliant set which is not going to be forgotten for some time to come. An essential new band worthy of attention!
That Fucking Tank
Next we trotted off to The Dublin Castle for another slice of Leeds originated alternative rock, this time a little more subdued, or so we thought. That Fucking Tank are an instrumental duo (drummer and guitarist) who play in perfect harmony some of the biggest goove heavy beats of the weekend, despite their minimal stage setup.
That Fucking Tank
Monster drumming and big guitars laced each tune, each craftily setup into an instantly recognizable riff, rhythm, chorus, solo structure. They are one of those catchy bands you can’t help but dance to, no matter how hard you try to resist. Scuzzy electro riffs, progressive trip-outs, heavy muted power chords and classic rock influenced interludes were all present in this great set proving variety is key without any vocalist to liven things up.
Throwing in a couple of classic licks from the likes of Nirvana and Springsteen helped really get the party going as the stage was overtaken by stage divers leaping back into the tiny mosh gathering down front. Their success was evident as the crowd would not be settled until they played an encore. This is a band you need to see live! On record they are good but nothing can recreate the duo’s almost telepathic musical connection and raw sound which is just as ease at the disco or the rock clubs! A huge prospect to keep an eye on!
Alex Metric
While Calvin Harris was entertaining the (supplementary ticket buying) crowds at the Roundhouse we were checking out a worthy rival to his electro crown in Alex Metric. His live performance was pretty good with hard hitting bass lines, snazzy keyboards and catchy vocal led dance tracks proving very popular. However the venue was hugely overcrowded and just too tiny, for all the fans that turned up and could not get within 10 meters of the stage, this was a disappointing outing. In a club venue this would have been rocking, instead it was subdued and underwhelming.
Alex (is back there somewhere) Metric
Teenage Fanclub
Instead of providing a springboard to the wee hours Teenage Fanclub lulled the crowds packed into KoKo into a sweet harmony of blissful semi-consciousness. Majorly indebted to 60’s folks The Byrds and love for the jangly melodies and high pitched sugar coated vocals were great for about 20 minutes. From which point on the relentless floppy haired mid-tempo acoustic strum-by-numbers became monotonous, tedious and lacking in invention.
Teenage Fanclub
Mixed in their set were a few good little pop numbers, but they were only resonating well with the long term fans who seemed to know every lyric. Their performance was mediocre and so it received lukewarm appreciation from the DiR mob as we jumped back in the taxi towards HQ for the night, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
Does It Rock? Februrary Round-Up
Feb 27th
Plenty of great albums were released this month and we here at DiR.net have picked the best of the bunch to bring to you in a handy Spotify playlist! The widest variety of music in one playlist your likely to find!
Listen now >>> DoesItRock.net – Feb 10 Mix
1) Los Campesinos! – Straight In At 101 … Indie at its multi-intrument bashing best DiR? Review
2) Hot Chip – Thieves In The Night … Electro-indiers best track from their latest disappointing album DiR? Review
3) Seasick Steve – Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde… Steves gravel tones are simply stunning on this cracking blues number DiR? Review
4) The Soft Pack – Answer To Yourself … California fuzz soaked guitars make for an uplifting tune
5) Story Of The Year – To The Burial … Chest thumping rock anthem king kong would be proud of DiR? Review
6) Swanton Bombs – Who’s Asking? … Ranshakle riffing and DIY ethics from this promising bands debut LP.
7) Chow Chow – Suits Like Animals … Re-release for this superb slice of indie rock spiced with electro fun and melody
8) Priestess – Raccoon Eyes… Take the trip back to the 70′s for some scorching Sabbath riffing DiR? Review
9) Plastiscines – Bitch… Spiked garage pop from thes french youngsters, their image is one to savour!
10) Kashmir – Intruder … Beautiful melodies and subtle guitars line this laid back rocker
11) White Rabbits – Percussion Gun … Ample druming drives this near perfect understated indie rocker!
12) Fair – Disappearing World … Mid tempo pop number is as catchy as it is american.
13) Scanners – Jesus Saves … Dark poppers Scanners take a soar towards the light with this sparking tune
14) The Sunshine Underground – Spell It Out … New tangent direction produces at least one fine indie electro rocker
15) Bigelf – Madhatter … Imaging Led Zep with Pink Floyd holidaying in Wonderland, awe inspiring heavy prog rock
16) Taking Dawn – Take Me Away … Breaking band from Roadrunner Records mix metal, glam, with attitude to produce a stonking rocker!
17) Close Your Eyes – xChet Steadmanx … Post-Hardcore lads take on a pop-punk sound, suprisingly it works!
18) Fight The Empire – The Truth Is Out … New British band with some great riffing on the title track of their Debut album, watch out for these guys!
19) Wakey!Wakey! – The Oh Song … Plenty of Ohs on this piano stomper from a star of the american tv show One Tree Hill
20) Cobra Starship – Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We’re Famous … With Fallout Boy saying farewell, here’s a tribute to their enigmatic bassist on this months Pop Punk Antrhem!
DoesItRock? January 2010 Round Up
Jan 31st
It’s not typically a good month for new music, but we’ve been scouring the new releases for the best new music of the new decade to bring to you. We have thrown in a few of our favourite tracks for good measure too!
Listen now >>> DoesItRock? – Jan 10 Mix
1) OK GO – White Knuckles … One of the highlights from a pretty leftfield release: DiR? Review
2) Motion City Soundtrack – Stand Too Close … Happy sounding / saddening lyrics wrapped in perfect sugar coated acoustics wth such an immensely catchy melody: DiR Review
3) TAB The Band – Left For Dead In Hilton Hotel … Blast of infectious garagey blues rock from Joe Perrys offspring.
4) Delphic – This Momentary … Big buzz band prove they ar up to the expectation heaped upon them: DiR? Review
5) Eels – Paradise Blues … Poppiest offering on E’s latest downbeat album End Times: DiR? Review
6) Adam Green – Goblin … Short Guitar ditty from anti-folks main man. DiR? Review
7) Citay – Fortunate Sun … Folk centred classic rock with a led-zep swirtling beauty and harmonious intrumental genious.
8) Cold War Kids – Audience of One … Piano stomp taken from their Jan released EP Behave Yourself
9) Spoon – Is Love Forever? … Spiked guitar line mark this lively indie rock tune from latest album Transference
10) Brilliant Colors – Motherland … Uplifting indie guitar rocker with scrambled blurbs of vocal action
11) Laura Viers – July Flame … Beautiful melody and an angelic voice, sit back, relax and drift away…..
12) Lost Prophets – Where We Belong … Thundering pop rock single from the returning welsh rock masters.
13) You Me At Six – Playing The Blame Game … UK pop punk is in safe hands with You Me At Six at the wheel.
14) Hadouken! – Turn The Lights Out … Nu Rave isn’t so much new anymore but can still pull off a catchy pop/electro/rock/rap crossover tune.
15) Manic Street Preachers – Me And Stephen Hawkins … Classic Manics from last years incredible LP Journal For Plague Lovers
16) The Wildhearts – Jackson Whites … Ginger and co. go all mettallica style on this cracking rock number!
17) Japandroids – Rockers East Vancouver … Alternative indie rock from superb sounding canadian duo.
18) Devendra Banhart – 16th & Valencia Roxy Music … The folk stalwart returns with a surprisingly upbeat pop song.
19) The Last Vegas – Whatever Gets You Off … Motley rock and roll from these superb sleazed up hard rockers.
20) All Time Low – Weightless (Acoustic) … Uber catchy tune superbly reworked, Pop Punk Anthem of the Month!
Album Review: OK GO – Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
Jan 17th
Here we start a roundup of the best new music releases. But were doing it with a difference! Multiple reviewers with drastically different tastes tackle the same albums to overcome bias and prejudice to bring the most accurate, fun and memorable reviews possible! We are not critics after all, just music lovers! Spotify is our friend, so playlists of each weeks releases will be available here too!
Starting off with the new albums from the quirky chicago quartet OK GO and Manchesters latest upstarts Delphic following shortly.
OK GO – Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
RockOSaurus Says:
Ok Go have risked it all! They have taken a huge step forwards from their happy punk-pop and rock days into the land of psychadelia with downbeat melodies loaded with effects. Some work brilliantly like the delightfully wierd White Knuckles, but more often than not they are shooting wide of the mark. It’s a brave leap forwards but I feel they have taken a hop, skip and a jump too far this time. Alienating your fanbase is going to bring mixed reactions, lets hope for their sakes the change is a well recieved one. For me they have lost their quirkiness and alot of their funtime pop! Thumbs up for accurately spelling colour though!
Mr Flowers Says:
OK GO may have expanded their pop influences to include a bit of “The One Who Was Formerly Known As Prince And May Well Still Be Known As Prince”, particularly on WTF and White Knuckles, but unfortunately for them it doesn’t lift this album from a general sense of disappointment. It’s like they had looked what their peers were doing and decided the best way to emulate success was join them and discard their catchy pop songs for a MOR Indie-band identi-kit.
The best song on the album, Last Leaf, comes way too late to save it. There’s flashes of good songs, but sadly OK GO live up to their name on this album and are rarely more than OK.
RockOSaurus: 5.5/10
MrFlowers: 5/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 5.25
Listen to OK Go – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky now on Spotify!
