Guillemots on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Anyone see this?

Must say I was a bit taken aback by the full-on-ness of the song they performed. Is this a change in direction or just The Guillemots expanding their repertoire? Love the fact they’re always willing to experiment with their music and don’t seem to worry too much about consequences. Sign of things to come though? Only time will tell….

A poor year for new British music

Over the last few years we’ve been spoilt with a wealth of new talent being discovered and the resurgent British music scene being particlarly strong, however, I cannot help but feel that 2007 has been a poor year.

None of the homegrown bands breaking through have inspired any real kind of excitement with their run of the mill tunes and cardboard cutout rock star personalities, perfect examples of this are Pigeon Detectives and The Twang. I blame the Arctic Monkeys! They found a format which propelled them from obscurity to stardom at such a rate that all new bands are trying to clone this success, unfortunately, they lack a number of essentials: originality and talent.

Luckily, some of the old guard have produced the goods, with Editors, Babyshambles and Super Furry Animals to name a few all releaseing excelent albums.

Radiohead In Rainbows and Illegal Downloading

How much is it acceptable to pay for In Rainbows by Radiohead?

I hold my hands up and admit I paid the scrooge-like sum of £0.00. As much as anything this was to see if I could, but before I get people ranting and raving about ripping Radiohead off, if it’s any good I’ll buy it when it gets released in a physical format on 31st December.

I tend to purchase at least 6 albums every month but often like to try before I buy, especially if it’s a band or someone I don’t know much about, so to this end I do illegally download. Also, why should it just be journalists who get to hear the latest albums before they are released, illegal downloading offers fans this same chance. Recent news reports suggesting that the music industry are going to start prosecuting individual downloader’s are a worry and it will be interesting to see if they act on this threat.

I always wondered if this situation ever arose whether the defence of “what do you mean I illegally downloaded X, Y and Z? Here they are in my CD collection” would work?

However, “ah yes, I didn’t actually bother buying that one, it was shit” might not stand up quite so well!!

Glastonbury 2007 Highlights

As a Glasto virgin I honestly didn’t really know what to expect and which bits of the hype to beleive, but the sheer scale of this festival leaves all others in the shade.

Highlights over the weekend in no particular order were:

The Blood Arm
Editors
£30 Gazeebo
Super Furry Animals
Gruff Rhys
Ghostbusters
Kasabian
Camp fires
Chemical Brothers – in particular the video/laser show
Getting out of the car park in 5 mins on Monday morning

I’ve read on many forums that the festival has lost its magic – I’ve nothing to compare it to but think it sounds like bollocks to me – these people can fucking stay at home next year and let someone else have the tickets.

Roll on Glasto 2008!

Glastonbury and TITP Tickets

Michael Eavis, could you please answer why, after allowing a full month for people to register for tickets you then go and allow an extra week?!?

Surely if you had wanted a ticket and had been told in advance when you had to register by, then you would have done so. Now we find ourselves in the position where a total of 395,000 have registered and will fight it out for the 145,000 tickets available. Only a week earlier the odds had been significantly better with a reported 290,000 registrants

Many of those who registered as they were told, the fans who truly wanted to attend, will now miss out in favour of some toss pot who decided they might as well try to get a ticket seen as there seems to be a big fuss about people wanting to go. If they had really wanted to go they should have got off their lazy arses and registered in the month they were told too.

Fucking farce!

I can only assume that following the success of T In The Park ticket sales, organizers feared they would not sell out their tickets as quickly and be considered a lesser festival.

However, festival organisers please take note, TITP may have sold out in less than 40 minutes, but look on Ebay, thousands of tickets have not ended up in the hands of fans. At least with Glastonbury this practice should be largely eliminated.

No doubt just before the TITP weekend, as is now becoming an annual announcement, the organizers will issue a threat to refuse entrance to anyone who has bought tickets from Ebay.

What a load of wank.

If they were really serious about combating ticket touts they should have taken action already, at the point of sale, and not by persecuting fans forced to buy from Ebay as a result of their failure to manage ticket sales correctly.

Rant over. Hope everyone gets the tickets they want and enjoys their summer festivals!!

Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (Album Review)

It’s seems long ago since Montreal’s finest, The Arcade Fire, wowed the festival crowds in the summer of 2005 with live renditions of their eponymously titled EP and debut long player Funeral, but finally, early 2007 sees them back with the hotly anticipated “difficult second album” Neon Bible.

Opening with the dark atmospheric rumbling and bleakness of Black Mirror, which follows on the sombre tones of Funeral, we are then surprised with a slightly more upbeat song than has ever gone before, in the form of Keep The Car Running, which is overlaid with a strong vocal, reminiscent of  Joshua Tree era Bono.
 
Obviously not wanting to get too carried away the mood quickly returns to form with the title track, and we are informed “Neon Bible, Neon Bible, Not much chance for survival”.  First single from the album, Intervention, is classic Arcade Fire, making full use of the intstumental capabilities of the band, followed up by Black Waves / Bad Vibrations a song of two distinct halves.

After The Well & The Lighthouse we are again surprised as the Arcade Fire attempt a bit of country/folk in a way only they could, (Antichrist Television Blues), which will have people reaching for their Bruce Springsteen collection with glee.  Windowsill passes by almost unnoticed before No Cars Go, a re-record of the song from their EP, probably the catchiest tune on the album.  Final track My Body Is A Cage signs off sounding like gospel sung to the tune of funeral march.

I can’t wait to see how this new album translates to their energetic live performances and that wait will not be long with the UK tour in March (See here for more information).

Beermat Rating:  4.5/5

BRIT AWARDS 2007 – Who should have won?

thebeermat says…. 

British Male Solo Artist – Jarvis Cocker
British Female Solo Artist – Amy Winehouse
British Group – Arctic Monkeys
MasterCard British Album – Arctic Monkeys (Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not)
British Single – Snow Patol (Chasing cars)
British Breakthrough Act – Kooks
British Live Act – Guillemots
International Male Solo Artist – Beck
International Female Solo Artist – Cat Power
International Group – Flaming Lips
International Album – Killers (Sam’s Town)
International Breakthrough Act – Raconteurs
Outstanding Contribution to music – Oasis

Guillemots @ Carling Academy, Newcastle – 05/02/07

Nominated for various “Live” awards, including a BRIT, an expectant crowd gathered at the Newcastle Carling Academy for Guillemots.  Even now they’ve been promoted to larger venues the stage never seems quite big enough for this collective, lead by the effervescent Fyfe Dangerfield, and all of their instruments.  The band took to the stage all dressed in white, to music belonging in a Hammer Horror film, the lunatics really had taken over the asylum.

Kicking off with a version of Made Up Love Song #43 early in the set, Guillemots endeavor to put on a show of which no two will ever be the same.  A smattering of new songs and rarities litter the evening’s entertainment, including Sea Out, an early demo that did not quite make either EP From The Cliffs or album Through The Windowpane.

A short interlude saw Fyfe playing alone before crowd pleaser Trains To Brazil brought the set to its climax.  However, the fun was not quite over as they played out with Sao Paulo accompanied by selected members of the crowd beating various kitchen implements and bubbles spewing out from the sides. 

Great band, great show – someone please give them an award!

If anyone has the set list please post it.

Arcade Fire UK Tour 2007

Following a few smaller gigs in January and February, the Arcade Fire will be returning to our shores in March for a mini tour.

Dates are:

Manchester Apollo (8,9 March)
Glasgow Barrowlands (11,12)
London Brixton Academy (14,15)

Tickets go onsale on Friday (January 12) at 9am.  If anyone has a pre-sale link for tickets please let me have it.  Email thebeermat@gmail.com

The View – Hats Off to The Buskers (Album Review)

In the latter half of 2006 The View quickly built up a loyal army of fans to enjoy relative chart success with debut single Wasted Little DJs and follow up Superstar Tradesman.  However, 2007 should see them thrust further into the limelight with the release of this album on 22nd January.

Kicking off with the raw and ready Comin’ Down, the influence of Owen Morris (Oasis Definitely Maybe Producer) is very much apparent, and as it should be no attempt is made to hide their native Dundonian accent, as lead singer Kyle Falconer wails “I hear it, do you hear that sound” – English translation!!

All the songs that fans have already grown to love are here, including Same Jeans; Skag Trendy; The Don; Face For The Radio and Wasted Little DJs, and stay true to their original demo form.  Over-Production is not something you would expect from either the band or Morris and this helps add to the whole feel of the album.

Weighing in at a hefty 14 tracks it’s not your traditional debut however the quality of the songs more than justifies, this even with The La’s sounding Street Lights, which itself isn’t actually all that bad.  You have to forgive everyone a bit of filler material.

Penultimate track Wasteland is a Jack Daniels swilling party crammed into a two and a half minute raucous sing-a-long and is bound to be a big pleaser at this year’s gigs and festivals.

If you’ve never seen The View live then I suggest you do so very soon.  If 2006 was the year of the Monkey, then fully expect 2007 to be the year of The View.

thebeermat rating:  5/5