Fri 19 Jun – Pet Shop Boys: in concert

Last night was a fun show: the British institution that is Pet Shop Boys.

I got to the O2 arena in time to catch the opening act, London-based electro-pop singer Frankmusik. Ho hum. The songs were neither interesting nor well-performed. After subjecting myself to a couple of them I went back out to the concourse for a bite.

But Pet Shop Boys; well, they were great. They continue to write songs that are just as catchy, clever, and socially-minded as they did in the mid-’80s when they got big. They did…

Wed 10 Jun – Lady Sovereign

Biggest midget in the game, eh? That was the catch-phrasey promise behind last night's Lady Sovereign gig.

The London tube strike meant I had to drive down to the King's College London Student Union. It also meant that there was a fair amount of traffic to fight through to do so. I therefore missed the opening act, The Binary Kids. I'm disappointed about that, because I saw they were selling CD EPs for just £4 and bought one and played it in the car on the way home and it was really cool electro…

Mon 18 May – Nick Lowe with his band

You know, I was never a Nick Lowe fan. I’d heard the couple of hits, like “Cruel To Be Kind”, but he just never registered on my music radar. Until, that is, my mate dcule sent me a set of Lowe tunes. They were good. I read a little bit more about him: it seems that Lowe’s ’70s pub-rocking, DIY production ethic was partly responsible for British punk. That’s enough credibility for me: when I saw he was to play the Royal Albert Hall, I bought a ticket.

I was one…

Sat 25 Apr – Bob Dylan

Last night was the sixth time I’ve seen Bob Dylan perform live. If you’ve read this blog before you’ll know that I revere the man. I don’t hide the fact that I believe him to be a poet and the premiere musical genius of the last 100 years. And probably longer than that. There, my predilection laid bare.

The last two times I saw Bob were at the Brixton Academy; that was a super venue in which to see a legend. This time it was at the O2, and much less than ideal (there’s…

Sun 19 Apr – Van Morrison Plays 'Astral Weeks'

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks album is a classic. Released over 40 years ago, its acoustic guitar-led folk poems received critical acclaim right from the start. It took a while for the public to catch on, though, partly because the record company did little to promote it at the time. It took 33 years for it reach gold album status.

Last autumn Van performed the entire album live, twice, at the Hollywood Bowl. One of those performances was made into a live DVD. Morrison’s now performing that album in tour. I’m just…

Tue 14 Apr – AC/DC, The Answer
Few acts loom larger in my homeland of eastern Canada than AC/DC. Their blues-based tongue-in-cheek lech rock goes down as well with mulleted grade-9 leavers as it does with gentleman farmers. The fact that the band hasn’t changed its formula over a dozen and a half albums is a bonus, not a rut. They are adored there.

However, since I moved away from there I’ve discovered that AC/DC is massive all over. There’s always a sizable chunk of music listeners who want their rock ‘n’ roll big, loud, and cheesy, I guess. That’s…

Mon 9 Mar – Franz Ferdinand, The Soft Pack

UK indie monsters Franz Ferdinand have a new album (Tonight) out and are touring. Actually, I’m not sure they are “monsters” anymore; the last time they came through London they played the expansive Alexandra Palace, but last night they played the Hammersmith Apollo. That’s still larger than the Coronet, though, where I last saw them in 2004-ish.

The support act was The Soft Pack. They were rather boring. Their pop-punk was messy and muddled. Their singer’s voice was poor, with little excitement or interest. Their melodies were bland or - as…

Mon 2 Mar – Metallica, Machine Head, The Sword

It doesn’t matter how many indie or alt.country bands I see, sooner or later I need to rock out. I need riffery and long hair and devil horns now and again so that my Irony Meter remains properly calibrated. I got this last night at London’s O2 arena and a Metallica show.

I caught just the last thirty seconds of first support act The Sword. Too bad, since they seem to be most commonly compared with Black Sabbath.

Unfortunately I caught the entire set by Machine Head (or Machine Fucking Head,…

Thu 19 Feb – Asobi Seksu, Sennen
A few years ago my brother said - as we do to each other - “Listen to this.” What he made me listen to was a song by NYC shoegazers Asobi Seksu. It was good, and I’ve picked up a few of their tracks here and there. When I saw that they were playing the tiny Institute of Contemporary Arts for less than a tenner I thought, Count me in. I’m just back from that show.

Read the rest of my review on my blog.

Tue 10 Feb – Little lost david

Last July I went to the Roundhouse to see Alice Smith. I wrote then about being impressed by her opening act, a guy named littlelostdavid. Last night I saw him again at his first London headlining show.

It went down at The Fly, one of the Barfly chain's new venues. It was my first time in the place but it seems relaxed and funky. The downstairs room where shows take place must max out at about 50 people, though.

Read the rest of this review on my blog.