Long Time, No Blog

Because clearly I am a master of inconsistency.

Also, did I mention, I now have a REAL job?!
Or at least as real as employment will ever (hopefully) be for me.
Which has in some way contributed to my absence.

I am now working for Communion full time. And Autonomy, and Beatroute too. In a lovely office in Camden. With this view.

Communion's first release was this little lovely:



And we've had some rather nice things said about it in places like here and here.


So obviously I think you should invest in it.

And I'd recommend you then do the same with this one:



And that is about all I have to say for myself/am capable of saying after the weekend's adventures.

See you again in three months.

x

Yes, I am ashamed.

11th November 2009.

The last time I made my presence here known.

I apologise, I'm sure everyone has missed my useless ramblings.

Needless to say, the previous three months have been spent sorting my life out, to some extent at least, only to knock it back into shambles on regular occasions, particularly recently.

Further to previous posts, I still frequent The Cavendish Arms on a regular basis for employment. However, I do not class this as 'work' as such, for I have far too much fun here. You should come visit us, our venue is fabulous. We might even pay you... And obviously, the most important thing, we're all LOVELY. See:



When I'm not playing with the South London crew, Communion are putting me to use. Communion began life as a monthly night three years ago at Notting Hill Arts Club, fittingly, on the first Sunday of every month. This monthly residency still happens, so come play there too. Next week's gonna be a blinder.
As well as the nights, it's all a go-go for their first release on the label side of things. This is going to be a double 12" compilation showcasing the finest in this year's folk, released on March 1st. So you should all also go here and pre-order the album. It sounds wonderful, and it's going to look and feel as lovely. That may be my fondness for vinyl coming out there...

So that is a brief round-up on what is going on in my world at the moment. I hope you have enjoyed it.

I'm now going to run off and find some bits I wrote a rather long time ago that I've forgotten to post... Including the all important Patrick Wolf at The Palladium 'review' ('review' = Fiona's account of getting a little too emotional at a pop concert).

x

God Damn Damaris

I love Patrick Wolf.
I'm sure most people are aware of this fact by now.

I got a lovely little email t'other day spreading word that of the release of 'Damaris', the third single from Th Bachelor.

Continuing the album’s theme of lost love, ‘Damaris’ relays the tale of an 1800’s love that was never to be, which Patrick discovered whilst tracing his family’s ancestry. You get the impression that this is more than simply the telling of a story though, and can’t help but consider the similarities Wolf has drawn between himself and Lewis – the Romeo of the saga – whose perspective he takes in the track, especially given the overall subject matter of The Bachelor.

A dramatic tale of romance, voiced in a way only he is capable of, Patrick Wolf’s ‘Damaris’ is set to be released on December 14th.

The video came to light a matter of hours later. Which I was rather excited about seeing.

But, after watching the video a few times since it was let loose, I’m left feeling a little bit underwhelmed…

Now, as I’m sure you’re aware, I normally can’t fault the Wolf, but The Bachelor’s previous two videos have made much more of an impact than this, which – with Wolf as the Lewis/Romeo character, and Gwendoline Christie (what a fabulous name) as Damaris – to me this is just all a bit too art-school-project-esque...

Maybe a few more viewings’ll do it for me... Maybe not... Who knows...

See for yourselves…

Destroy/Rankin

Using my magic 'skillz', I managed to acquire an invitation to the Destroy/Rankin private launch night thanks to the lovely folks over at Youth Music.

Open from November 10th at the Phillips De Pury Gallery, London, Destroy/Rankin showcases musicians’ ‘destroyed’ versions of iconic Rankin portraits of themselves in celebration of Youth Music’s 10th birthday.

Youth Music is an organisation which focuses their efforts on young people, and provides them with the means to express themselves and realise their talents through music. Check out their website – www.youthmusic.org.uk.

The Destroy/Rankin exhibition is an attempt at showing the similar worlds in which music and art exist, and that they are essentially one of the same. Noteworthy artists featured are Debbie Harry, Little Boots (who is also performing at the event on Thursday 12th), Carl Barat, Florence Welch, Patrick Wolf, Mel C (!) and Jarvis Cocker, whose UV penned schoolboy penis drawings are well deserved of a few giggles.

Monday night wasn’t all just about the pretty pictures though, and as well as spotting Joss Stone, we were treated to some rather nice performances too. First up was Mica Townsend, Youth Music Ambassador who has been helped over the last few years by the charity, and when you hear her voice, you understand why they’ve spent the time doing so. Second up, Josh Weller. I’m quickly becoming something of a fan of this big-haired boy and his sweet sing-alongs, not to mention his mic stands covered in pink balloons. Micachu and The Shapes were next, complete with baby-milk tin and other such hand-crafted percussion... Not really my cup of tea to be honest, maybe I'm missing something, or maybe they aren't actually that good... Finally, Patrick Wolf treated us to a few ‘too much red wine on the flight back from Brazil’ influenced songs, which included a tribute to the Spice Girls in the form of a brief chorus from ‘Viva Forever’, new single ‘Damaris’, and the ever wonderful 'Magic Position'. I had to behave myself and resist singing along to everything, as I seemed to be the only person, stood dead in the centre of stage, that knew who he was... This was easier said than done after a few too many glasses of free champers too...

The event is open to the public from today, with the benefit auction taking place this weekend, as well as some prints being part of a ‘silent auction’ over on eBay. If anyone fancies buying me the Carl Barat one so I can perv over it from the comfort of my own home, feel free...

What A Shambles

The last few posts are just to prove a point really, that I have actually been writing and am (vaguely, at least) aware of what's going on.

And now I'm pretty much up to date.

So back to last night's business.

The early hours of Wednesday on a slightly tipsy bus journey home, the done thing is to check to Twitter, clearly. And once again I thank the powers that be for inventing this magical thing known as ‘social networking’.

On this occasion, I am delightfully informed that Babyshambles have been announced as, weekly club night, Smash & Grab’s* secret headliner for this week. Drunken excitement overwhelms me. And then I forget. Until the next morning when the executive decision is made to go to the gig.

Now, anyone that knows me, will know of my love for The Libertines, but, with the chances of a long-term reunion pretty slim, I have to make do.

So, to Camden I go, after spending the day feeling as excited as I used to ‘back-in-the-day’ when going to gigs would involve a three hour journey, and a two hour wait, freezing my bum off in the queue just to secure pride of place in the front row. Clearly most people weren’t quite as eager, as the place was pretty empty when I arrived.

Whilst waiting for evening’s highlight, we were ‘entertained’ by a DJ, who very much loved that people were watching her and her ridiculous ‘I’m pretending my arms are wings’, ‘interpretative dance’ MALARKY. It’s not cool, you look like a moron, go back to drama school love. And then later by two bands, whose names I can not remember, nor can I seem to find online anywhere...

So I’ll just have to get to the matter at hand then won’t I?

On rocks Pete. Denim jacket clad. Signature hat (adorned with a screwdriver this evening). Neck adorned with a tattoo reading ‘Astile’*. Looking rather chirpy. After a little bit of instrument faffing, they kick of with a new song about “a junkie from Portugal”. And the madness begins. And I know the night’s off to a good start.

The rest of the set was mostly made up of a nice selection of newbies, including a track called ‘The BNP Blues’ – played whilst things were getting even more hectic, and after a failed plea for everyone to calm down and stop pushing – and a sprinkling of older sing-alongs, including ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ and ‘Delivery’. Thrown in amongst everything, was also a rendition of ‘Billie Jean’, which managed to morph into The Pet Shop Boys’ ‘West End Girls’...Post the centre-barrier disappearing, and myself ending up bang in the middle of the front-row, Pete and co decide to step things up even more, and belt out ‘Killamangiro’. Somehow, near the end of this, I end up on-stage. Just in time for ‘Time For Heroes’. And so I stand on the front of the stage, singing my little heart out, overly content that this is happening*.

I’m eventually ‘re-directed’ to the side of the stage when ‘Fuck Forever’ kicks off the last of the night’s entertainment, and just as, amidst the mayhem, Pete falls over on-stage… He gets up, the music stops, the crowd go bloody mental.

And I can safely say it was one of the best gigs I’ve been to for a rather a long time. Not from a musical ability perspective or anything, but from, dare I say it, an ‘experience’ perspective. I have seen them before, but never anywhere quite as

sweaty as Proud, or quite so associated*, which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

Have some pictures, courtesy of me and my expert photo-taking skillZ with a 'Z':





Useless Libertines related pop facts:

*Smash & Grab – Weekly club night organised by Queens of Noize. One of whom, Tabitha, was present an DJing last night. She can also be seen in the ‘Up The Bracket’ video.

*’Astile’ – The name of Pete and Lisa Moorish’s son. His name is an amalgamation of the letters from theirs.

*As mentioned, I am a ridiculous, geeky Libertines fan. And I partly blame them for nurturing my fascination and love for London. So ultimately, it is their fault I now live here.

*Proud – When the Gallery doesn’t have a Kings Of Leon photography exhibition on, as it does now, the walls are adorned with many of Roger Sargent’s iconic images of The Libertines.

In This Light

Editors first arrived back in 2005 (when Chris, the guitarist tried to sneak me into their first ever Irish gig because I was underage. What a SWEETHEART) with their Mercury nominated debut ‘The Back Room’, a fact that is making me feel a little bit old. The album was well loved by many, and the band soon built a name for themselves and their intoxicating music and captivating live shows, namely due to front man Tom Smith’s Ian Curtis-esque stage presence where it was obvious that he lost himself in the music. 2007 saw their second release ‘And End Has a Start’. I was a rather big fan of ‘The Back Room’, but was slightly disappointed with their second offering, which came across as something of an extension of the debut.

Now, here we are in late 2009, and the boys are back with ‘In This Light and On This Evening’. And I am once again rather impressed. Third time round and the Birmingham four piece have taken a more mysterious, alt-80s direction on us. And it works magically. Tom’s trademark voice is in place, cementing a sinister view on the world, soundtracked by distorted guitars and the welcome addition of more than a few synths. Opening with the title track, the lyrics ‘I swear to God, in this light and on this evening, London’s become the most beautiful thing I’ve seen’ lyrics are enigmatically relayed and later burst into a mass of noise. A few songs in and recent single ‘Papillon’ rushes in with a heap of synth goodness, and later erupts into recent facebook-status-favourite amongst more than a few friends of mine – ‘it kicks like a sleep twitch’ securing its place as a fan favourite. Personal highlight ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ holds a later position on the album, and begins quite reminiscent of The Big Pink’s ‘Dominos’. This does however pass when Tom’s vocal once again makes an appearance proclaiming ‘I don’t wanna be ignored… When I’m a gun in a fist fight’. ‘Like Treasure’ precedes this, and the only thing I can focus on whenever I hear this are the lyrics ‘you’ll become digestives’ and the thought of someone turning into a biscuit… (Obviously, these are not the actual lyrics, it is in fact ‘digestED’… But times are tough these days, you have to find entertainment where you can).

The album overall is fast becoming a favourite, potentially even overtaking ‘The Back Room’ in my books. And all that’s left to say is that I’m rather annoyed at the fact I missed them on their last visit to London…

I could waste loads of time reviewing the new Alphabeat single ‘The Spell’ section by section, verse to chorus, chorus to bridge and right back the final chorus. But I’m not going to do that.

Basically, it’s a bit rubbish and wouldn’t go a miss on ‘Greatest Hits of the 90s’ compilation you’d pick up in a service station for £3.
A bit *too* 90s. A bit *too* cheesy. A bit *too* clean and sparkly. Dare I say it, a bit *too* pop? Now I have nothing against pop, but this just doesn’t hit the spot…



The band got dropped from their record label late last year, only to be picked up by Polydor in March of this year. But let’s face it, they’re not going to be remembered for much more than ‘Fascination’ are they? You remember, that somewhat annoying song that you can not help but sing along to which is currently being used in the Diet Coke ad.

On a complete tangent, if you still hate that song, I must urge you to, anytime you use a word ending in ‘-ation’, try and squeeze it into that song. Some personal favourites:

- You see a drunk boy/girl pathetically trying to come onto someone – “Desperation! Woah oh, woah-oh-oh-oh!”

- You spot a rather sweaty person with ever-so attractive pit marks – “Perspiration! Woah oh, woah-oh-oh-oh!”
- … You get the idea.

Long story short, Alphabeat will only be remembered, if at all, for ‘Fascination’.