November I’ve always thought was kind of okay. It’s the start of the chilly season, so short days, wrapping up warm and eating big hearty meals by the fire in my fictional country home that lives in my mind, seems all cosy and romantic. Come February you’ll find I have a rather different attitude to the colder season, which is generally one of ‘FUCK THE FUCK OFF!’. But for now, get a woolly jumper on, drink some warm cider and make the most of the insane amount of live music going on right now.
Last week (as an example of November being heavy on the live music) was insanely gigtastic for myself. It went down like this:
Flaming Lips at The Troxy
Tuesday – Flaming Lips at The Troxy: Exuberantly wonderful opening full of balloons and Wayne rolling about on a ball. Slightly less exciting middle section full of those slightly experimental new songs. Great ending. What I believe Flaming Lips are practicing here is the Primacy Recency Theory. My psychology degree was soooo not a waste of time.
Wednesday - Incredible scenes at Oh, Inverted World at the Old Queens Head. It was such a special night, so huge thanks to Player Piano, Mariners Children and Treetop Flyers. Thanks also to Dave Depares for his awesome DJing – the boy has skillz.
Thursday – The Mighty Mighty Biffy Clyro at Brixton Academy: Amazing amazing amazingness.
Friday – Tegan and Sara at Shepherds Bush Empire: Brilliant girly fun.
So all that music was nice. There’s also been a few new tunes rocking my world in these newly chilly days. First is the pretty wonderful Think About Life from Montreal. A cross between Black Kids, TV On The Radio, and, er something very pop. They’re just amazing and I’ve pretty much not stopped playing ‘Havin’ My Baby’ for the past two weeks. They released an album earlier this year called ‘Family’ that I don’t think is available in the UK, but those lucky American and Canadians can purchase away.
Some time ago a band called Venice Is Sinking from Athens, Georgia contacted us. They were nice enough to send over a copy of their new album ‘Azar’ and it’s actually really great. It’s college orchestral indie-rock, if such a genre exists, and is definitely worth some of your listening time.
So that’s it for today. We’ll hopefully have some news for you guys soon about the next Oh, Inverted World night that’s going to come and make your life worth living. We promise it won’t be long.
If you haven’t heard us harping on about this fact before, La Shark are OIW’s favourite band EVER! Their live shows are simply one of the most unmissable, incredible, disturbing and breathtaking experiences you can think of.
So we’re delighted to have an exclusive new download from those crazy cats. It’s as manic, tuneful, theatric and brilliant as always. And after you’ve had a listen you should definitely then go sign up for their mailing list at www.lashark.co.uk and you’ll get the mp3 of this for free. Woo!
La Shark – 1958
The boys are on tour with Good Shoes at the mo, look out for London dates at Proud galleries (Nov 21st) and ULU (Dec 12th) in the next few months. We recommend you get yourself out to see them, it’s something proper special. Here’s their myspace for more details and more tunes… www.myspace.com/lasharkband
Ah, so you know Wolf Gang right? Well… “who?”
It was a rhetorical question, don’t you even read the blog? “no, it’s a bit pants to be honest”
Humph. Ok, well Wolf Gang is like… “Wolf Gang as in Mozart!?”
No! Be quiet for christsakes! So Wolf Gang is a one man musical genius making machine. “A bit like Mozart then?”
Sigh, Wolf Gang is a one man POP MUSIC genius machine. The last singles Night Flying and Pieces Of Me (both out through the S.U.P.E.R. cool Neon Gold label) were more than brilliant and Max (McElligott, that’s his real name see) has just released another top tune, The King And All Of His Men (check the official vid below)
Wolf Gang – The King And All Of His Men
And if you liked that, then Wolfie will be at Hoxton Bar & Grill on Nov 18th with another of our favourites Clock Opera and Marina And The Diamonds for a Levi’s Ones To Watch show. Gonna be a very sweet night that one, there’s also a Neon Gold party on December 1st to try to blag your way into too!
In the meantime here’s a couple of tasty mixes, first up last month’s OIW headliners, the 22-piece all girl alt-choir Gaggle, and not to be outdone, those cool cats Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs have also waded in with a mix.
Player Piano doing their homework for their OIW show on Wednesday…
Yep, the lads are playing a show for us at The Old Queens Head this Wednesday (11th Nov) and are on at 8:45 so be early! You can then also catch the awesome MARINER’S CHILDREN followed by TREETOP FLYERS afterwards! It’s going to be another great night, and here’s a link to get your flyer for cheap entry too (just £5!)… LINK!
Woo, only a week to go before our great big OIW shindig down at The Old Queens Head (that’s Islington, London folks) on November 11th! We’ve already previewed our fantastic openers Player Piano, now here’s a taste of the super main support for the night… Mariner’s Children!
Mariner's Children kicking out the jams
These guys are something else, they just performed at the Roundhouse as part of the BBC Emerging Proms and are heading off for some dates with Peggie Sue following their appearance at OIW next week. Think along the lines of the dark, endearing qualities of The Decemberists with the earnest beauty of Cherbourg. Here’s a great track we’ve managed to get hold of from the guys, ‘It Carved Your Name Into the ground’.
Mariners Children – ‘It Carved Your Name Into the ground’ Download (right click, save as)
Aw, it’s going to be great! And Treetop Flyers are also along to headline with Dave Depares flying back from the US (we like to think especially for the show) to fill your ears with wonderful sounds from the DJ booth all night. More details on the Facebook event HERE and your flyer to get in for a fiver is below, woo!
Yeah, we wish we lived there, but we don’t, so sunny old London will have to do. Anyhow, SSB are led by Benjamin Curtis, formerly of Secret Machines, joined by twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza. If you haven’t had a listen to the record yet then you should really blag, steal or indeed BUY it (you can get it from the Full Time Hobby site directly HERE). The last track on the record is a dreamy, euphoric stunner, one of those that makes it feel like spring is breaking again, like the soundtrack to the climatic cinematic moment just before the credits roll. It’s called “My Cabal” and here it is along with a gorgeous alternative version of “Half Asleep”…
(There’s also an amazing early demo version of “White Elephant Coat” on the Blouse blog here that we highly recommend you check out too)
Great news then that they’re coming back over here for an ICA show on December 4th and for the My Bloody Valentine curated “Nightmare Before Christmas” ATP on December 6th too! Woop, another reason to go to Butlins this December!
Following our Oxjam exploits, OIW is back for another top show at London’s Old Queens Head on November 11th (that’s a week today kids!)!
We’ll have the wonderful Treetop Flyers and Mariners Children on the bill, and we’re also super damn excited to have Player Piano opening the night for us. These guys came under our radar very recently and we’ve fallen head over heels in love with them already!
Player Piano
We’re not the only ones though, Player Piano have already have their tunes spun on Radio 1 and 6music as well as signing to King Creosote’s Fence label. It’s hard as hell to reference them as every track seems to take in something else, but here’s a starter just for you folks, the top tune “Anything At All” along with some of the press adoration these guys are getting already. Enjoy and we’ll see you on the 11th! (facebook event here)
Now go check out some more at the Player Piano myspaz HERE!
“BREAKING ACT”, The Sunday Times:
“In most instances, a debut release’s appeal is down to a certain tentativeness and innocence — great potential, as yet only partly fulfilled. In Player Piano’s case, however, it is the completeness, the fully realised grandeur of Radway’s first EP, Into the Dark, that so impresses. Evoking solo-Lennon string arrangements, the unfettered creativity of early Bowie and the Walker Brothers, and the vocal plangency of Chris Martin and Rufus Wainwright, it tugs at the heartstrings and ensnares you with the scope of its ambition.”
“TRACK OF THE DAY”, Q Magazine Online:
Vocally, former Indiana native (now London-based) Jeremy Radway sounds like a more lazily delivered, more articulate, Julian Casablancas crossed with the baritone depth of John Grant from The Czars.
Instrument-wise by the time the piano flourishes kick in on Mad Dog there’s reminders of Ben Folds (Whatever And Ever, Amen period) and vocal harmonies/arrangements that might not sound out of place on an Ed Harcourt album.
All of these references might give you some idea or just serve to confuse, but they do illustrate the mercurial melting pot of Player Piano. As I’m writing this I’m now thinking Beck as well – probably best to just have a listen and decide for yourself…”
Q MAGAZINE Online
“However he dresses his tunes, Radway’s innate pop sensibilities and deadpan showmanship make for hugely entertaining viewing, like Eels or Ben Folds, only with better tunes.”
THE LIST:
“Indiana bred/ London based Jeremy Radway – he who plays piano – is remarkable. Bearing by no means unflattering resemblance to Mark Oliver ‘E’ Everett and Ed Harcourt, Radway combines their effortless songcraft with the sheen of Jon Brion.”
Congratulations to the organisers of the Oxjam show in Shepherd’s Bush last night (Dave, Becca and everyone else involved), it was a top night and a great atmosphere in Ginglik (who would’ve thought it used to be a victorian toilet!).
Alessi's Ark - Enjoying a well deserved cup o' tea after her Oxjam show
We were treated to sets from a bunch of wonderful folk including Alessi’s Ark, Reid Morrison of Treetop Flyers, 6 Day Riot and Run Toto Run, and we had fun DJing and crazy-dancing behind a curtain when the acts were on, plus it was damn busy and all for a charitable cause. Well done guys!
Oh, I also thought at one point that I had won tickets to Disney Land in the tombola but it turned out it was dinner for 2 at the Aldwyn. Gutted! But still, a free dinner is a free dinner. Ha, well done whoever did win those tickets!
You can keep up with the Oxfam / Oxjam goings on at their blog HERE folks, they do a lot of wonderful things so support them or get involved if you can.
Oh, and a final OIW plug in there, Reid Morrison will be playing with his top band, Treetop Flyers, at OIW in just over a week. It shall be ace, details on facebook HERE x
Hola!
tonight OIW are heading down to Ginglik (Sheps Bush) to DJ at an Oxfam event between sets from Alessis’ Ark, 6 Day Riot, Run Toto Run and Reid Morrison. Yep, it’s a charity affair for Oxjam so that’s even more reason for you to make it out! Full details on the Oxjam blog HERE folks!
Things kick off at 7pm and it will be proper busy so we recommend you getting there early! As a taster here’s one of tonight’s stars, the lovely Run Toto Run, performing their own special cover of Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead”. Nice.
A friend of ours played us a bunch of stuff recently and this was one of them, it’s those kids the gUiLLeMoTs (if you want to spell it correctly) covering Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out”. There’s a wonderful, husky, blues intro before the track frenetically kicks in and manically spirals towards it’s close.
But it was really the intro that grabbed me, and it reminded me of another track too, a live version of Wonderwall that Ryan Adams did, yep you guessed it, a husky, blues version. Here are the tracks for you folks to have a listen, if anyone knows of any other cover versions like this then drop us a line!
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