MUSIC: Chase & Status - Nottingham Rock City: 11/05/10

Nottingham was one of the last dates on Chase & Status’ Spring tour, though any thoughts that they could now be a bit tired of playing live can be disregarded. This tour was just the start – a warm up for the vast amount of festival dates that they are playing this summer ranging from Rockness to V Festival.

Chase & Status are predominantly a duo, but live the band expands to include a drummer and a frontman. The big screen lit up the stage, with videos and graphics beating with the music. Live, the music is bolder and harder than ever before and the mosh pit created added to the amazing atmosphere the band created. Though comparisons to Pendulum’s live productions are inevitable, Chase and Status’ songs are much more diverse.

Teasing the audience with hints of surprise guests, there was one name that was on everyone’s lips – Plan B. Chase & Status jokingly welcoming him onstage didn’t annoy anyone as ‘End Credits’ and ‘Pieces’ sound impeccable with, or in this case – without, him. Though, C&S did keep to their promise – Tenny Ten joined the stage for a new joint song which set the crowd alight.

With such a tight live show, Chase and Status have to be seen live to be totally appreciated – but once you do see them, you won’t want them to stop playing.

****

www.chaseandstatus.co.uk

MUSIC: Does It Offend You Yeah? - Nottingham Rescue Rooms: - 05/04/10

You know when you’re sitting watching a good film, quietly enjoying it and then an actor comes up who you’ve seen before and you end up trying to remember their name for the film? Well the music equivalent has been found, listening to live music and realising that that exact song is in an advert but you can’t for the life of you work out which advert…is that just me?

Hounds are three guys from Essex playing rock tunes with added synths and megaphone, the punk attitude that the band display is a massive part of the live show with lead singer Olly brashly leaning on the speakers lurching forward with his guitar. However, the vocals and the instruments’ sound levels needed a bit more perfection as it sounded as though they were fighting to be louder – this would be a compliment for a band of this type if it was possible to make out the vocals slightly better. They have headline potential in smaller venues, though being placed with the following bands seems to overshadow them.

Next came Fortune, which is where the gameshowesque guessing adverts came in; their latest single ‘Bully’ being featured in an advert for comet. This should, but doesn’t, make it a bad track – a lot of Fortune’s songs are likely to be heard around all the top clubs and dj’s this year. Live, the dancefloor beats and quirky vocals stand up forcing the audience to move their feet, imagine a less moody and more dancey French ‘Big Pink’ and you should be thinking of Fortune. Having two songs cut off due to time limits was unfortunate and the band didn’t seem to take kindly to it, but they’d left the audience enough to really understand why the French are just so damn good within the electro scene.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? started as they were to carry on, with bits of swearing and a lot of strobe within new song ‘The Wrestler’. They follow up their debut album this summer with ‘Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You’ and a lot of the show was showcasing material from it. On record, they sound immaculate but live they sound dark and heavy, making each song old or new sound different and faster – the strobe from earlier never really got a rest throughout their entire set. The audience lapped it up, and as the band got blinded by the lighting, they seemed to love the (albeit rushed) show. By the standards of the gig, their new album is definitely one to look out for in the summer.

The night was ended with the bands’ huge ‘We Are Rockstars’, and if my memory is reliable, this song was in a certain advert for Fast and Furious last year. How suiting.

****

www.houndsmusic.com // www.myspace.com/ilovefortune //www.myspace.com/doesitoffendyou

Underage Easter Special

The Underage Easter special was a couple of weeks ago, watch the video to see how cool it was!

Remember the Underage Festival is in August, get your tickets now!

MUSIC: You Me At Six - Nottingham Rock City: 17/03/10

In the good old usa, there is a widely hyped touring festival called the Warped Tour. This tour carries bands with a punkish electro rock sound and throws them at nearly every single state. So, what’s the relevance I hear you ask? Each of the bands on the bill today have played the Warped Tour and two will be playing this year. In fact, it could be regarded as an unofficial UK Warped Tour…tour curated by You Me At Six themselves. Each of the bands have a fairly big following due to their US success, so to catch them all playing on the same tour is a big gift for fans around the UK – no wonder the tour was completely sold out!

Due to the bands having roughly the same popularity, the support slot has been rotated night after night with Forever The Sickest Kids being first onstage at Nottingham. The six of them stormed the stage which was rampacked with equipment, jumping around encouraging the crowd of hyperactive teens to go mental and crowd surf as much as possible, much to the dismay of security guards. Due to the amount of equipment on the stage, there was only small space for the band and they would have had much more chance to run around, as you could see they wanted to, on a bigger stage. The sound levels were not at all perfect at the beginning of their set, but they did get better, and in no way did this affect their set – barely being noticed through the screams surrounding the stage and the atmosphere the band was creating.

We The Kings took to the stage with much of the audience holding up their hands to make a W sign. Playing mainly old songs appealed to the crowd with ‘Check Yes Juliet’ getting a fantastic reception, but the tracks from latest album ‘Smile Kid’ show that the band are capable of pulling off great records track after track. The band are confident and comfortable onstage, with the drummer pulling off impressive moves in the last song – and with so much practise touring why shouldn’t they be?

But whereas a lot of the crowd knew and loved the support bands, the majority were there for one band and one band only. You Me At Six have developed quite a following through the years since ‘Take Off Your Colours’. But they are still down to earth, they are like a family on stage laughing at each other enjoying themselves and this family spirit spreads. The whole audience felt connected with the band, singing along and creating quite a vast mosh pit. Lead singer Josh relished talking to the crowd, and although having laryngitis he sounded great during the one and a half hour set. ‘Underdog’ closed the night, giving the crowd the chance to go crazy.

With We The Kings and You Me At Six getting ready to go over and play the Warped Tour, boy are the American’s lucky!

****

www.foreverthesickestkids.com // www.myspace.com/wethekings //www.youmeatsix.co.uk

MUSIC: Chipmunk - Loughborough Students Union: 11/03/10

Chipmunk played a hit laden set of just fifteen minutes at Loughborough to celebrate the university elections. He walked casually on stage showing a shy, innocent side to him as he faced the Dj for the majority of the first song. It did not take him long to reach his comfort zone, however, as by the time he played 'Diamond Rings' he was embracing the crowd, smirking as they danced. As he lectured the crowd about staying in uni, you got the feeling that he wanted to be with them - he wanted to be a student but music somehow got in the way. Though, much of the crowd was glad it did as they sang at the top of their voices to his number one single - 'Oopsy Daisy'. 'Look For Me' was the song of the night, as Chipmunk pitted each half of the crowd against each other in their screams. Given fifteen more minutes, Chipmunk could have fully set the venue alight...maybe he'll be back and will start that fire some other time.

**

www.iamchipmunk.com

MUSIC: Stereophonics - Nottingham Arena: 5/03/10

There are people who dream of being on the guestlist for shows, who love the idea of their name being on the door and them being able to walk in for a free gig. Those people obviously haven't encountered Nottingham Arena, who leave you waiting twenty minutes into the support band's set that you are reviewing to get you into the gig. But still, shouldn't complain.

The last ten minutes of Hip Parade was all we managed to see, and they really seemed to work the crowd with their Scottish charm. First seen on Channel 4's 'Unsigned Act' programme, they are now recording their debut album. They were themselves on stage, their humour being embraced by the crowd as, on request, they chanted a sentence of profanities "just because it's cool to hear lots of people swear". The song in question was Dynamite, a pop/rock song reminiscent of The Fratellis early work, which works really well in an arena environment and will have gained the band a hefty amount of fans for the future. Hip Parade have fun as they play, allowing the audience to have fun with them, they definitely have headliner potential!

Stereophonics were preaching to the converted, their show was definitely one for the fans with a mammoth twenty two song setlist. With so many songs, the gig just seems rushed and they leave hardly any time to actually interact with the fans and create atmosphere for the crowd. However, the production of the show was impeccable - with lighting and video footage being used much to their advantage. The thing is, Stereophonics are amazing at playing music but they just seem arrogant by rushing through their songs and the audience only started getting into the mood three quarters of the way through. 'Dakota' was a highlight of the night, as confetti shot out over the crowd who sung every word, though this did not save what was a rather tedious show.

***

www.myspace.com/hipparade // www.stereophonics.com

MUSIC: 30 Seconds To Mars - Nottingham Arena: 19/02/10

The first night of a world tour for a high profile band should be amazing, it should encompass to the band the magnitude of their success and perhaps be their biggest show to date. It is fair to say Nottingham Arena was not one of those massive first nights for 30 Seconds To Mars, being one of the smallest dates they are playing on their 'Into The Wild' tour which consists of Wembley Arena and The O2 in Dublin. However, this did not stop it being awe inspiring.

Starting off proceedings were LostAlone, a Derbyshire band playing rock tunes mixing slow and fast melodies with Steven Battelle's vocal presence. However, playing to an arena full of 8000 people is hard work, and it showed. The vocals were strained and seemed at certain points out of tune. Quirky features about the band such as wearing masking tape and using certain guitar moves, which would thrive in a smaller venue, seem unimpressive and boring. Bands should conquer the intimate venues before attempting to entertain a bigger crowd.

One band that is used to those bigger crowds is the Street Drum Corps, having played the Warped Tour and other gigs classed as 'huge deals' within America and this was their first time playing in the UK. The band consists of members playing varieties of drums including bins and marching band drums, not too dissimilar from the instruments used in the musical Stomp. Though - this is not Stomp! Their set is a surreal punk rock extravaganza, perfectly performed for an arena audience as the lead singer creeps around the stage with a wide grin on his face. The acoustics throughout the venue, though, did not seem capable for this performance with the vocals being drowned out for much of the set but the atmosphere was created and as the curtain drew the audience were left ready for the band that have won many an mtv and kerrang award, and were left ready for one of the best hour and three quarters of the year so far.

The silhouettes of 30 Seconds To Mars appeared and as the curtain dropped after first song 'Escape', so too did any possible doubts about the band. This was the first time a majority of songs from their recent 'This Is War' album have been played live and Jarod Leto mentioned about flaws but noone saw them. The band created a personal experience for all fans playing on two stages, playing acoustic songs from within the crowd and walking through half the audience. They seriously couldn't get any more intimate. The audience cherished every single second, and so too did the band. As the 8000 strong audience came together singing 'Kings and Queens', the glee in each of the bands faces was shown. Their first time in Nottingham couldn't have been any better for them, 30 Seconds To Mars showed exactly what it is like to own an arena.

*****

www.myspace.com/lostalone // www.streetdrumcorps.com // www.thirtysecondstomars.com

MUSIC: NME Awards Tour - Nottingham Rock City : 09/02/10

Its that time of year! The Nme Tour has been back driving around the UK stopping at the main cities unleashing new acts upon our eardrums as well as some familiar names, and with 2010's line-up the anticipation outside the venue was immense. With The Big Pink as the main exception, the bands have hardly any wide variation between the sound of their music but put together do they leave you loving the state of the indie scene right now or will it, as The Drums put it, 'All End In Tears'.

You may or may not of heard of The Drums, though if you haven't - where have you been? They are, according to nearly every new music poll, one of the bands of 2010. Their 2009 EP 'Summertime' created a storm of excitement around the industry in the uk and in the usa (their home country). This is reflected in the publicity that has gathered around them, and rightly so. However, their live set just doesn't seem there yet. Stereotypically indie looking singer Jonathan Pierce motions the drum beats in the air with his fist, fidgeting somewhat awkwardly around the stage, as another member jumps around manically with a tambourine - it all seems slightly disorganised. But as they get used to the success and play more shows I am sure the faults will be easily ironed out leaving a great band that is a breath of fresh air to the indie scene.

The Big Pink were that fresh air tonight though, stealing the show from the indie kids with their huge electro beats. The set was amazing, and Rock City the perfect venue for the band. The problem is, without having a copy of nme to tell them what to think of the band, quite a few of the crowd just didn't appreciate the sight they were seeing, wanting to and I quote - have them "get it over with and play dominos". The Big Pink, with such a tight live presence - even having only been signed for one year, look extremely likely to be one of the massive bands of the next few years, and then and only then will those from the crowd realise how lucky they were to witness such a band on the nme tour.

Bombay Bicycle Club have not had success as quickly as The Big Pink. They have been gigging and recording ever since winning the 'Road To V' competition back in 2006, but having only left school in 2008 their debut album was released last year. The songs from it formed the basis of tonight's set and the crowd lapped them up. The problem is the band, after their experiences within the touring environment, have developed a pretentious attitude towards performing and a hint of laziness due to it. However, the music is perfect and the crowd love them so perhaps they're right to be pretentious.

The headline act of this years tour was The Maccabees who played a full set consisting of classics and a fantastic cover of Orange Juice's 'Rip It Up'. To those who have seen them before and those seeing them for the first time, they are spotless but they do not really offer something totally unique, something that shouts out We Are The Maccabees at the top of their voices...but with the Nottingham crowd they don't need it.

The crowd were won over from the moment the doors opened, the anticipation that lingered was met but instead of The Maccabees it was The Big Pink who were the stars of the show. Showing something different in such an indie based music scene, it is these that will be mentioned as the big stars who once performed on the small nme tour.

***

http://wearethedrums.com // http://www.musicfromthebigpink.com // http://www.bombaybicycleclubmusic.com // http://www.themaccabees.co.uk

MUSIC: Iglu & Hartly - Nottingham Bodega Social : 29/01/10

What I've realised with support bands is that the name normally outdoes the music. In the case of Paint This Town, this is correct. Four teenagers walked casually onto the stage, playing a mix of music situated between You Me At Six and Elliot Minor. There is promise with them but for the time being, they should stick to their school-work.

One band who had obviously done Geography when they were at their American high school were the New Politics, with their banter about Robin Hood...not at all what the audience expects (cough). Winning the crowd over with their rap rock tunes and infectious energy, they seem a lot like Cage The Elephant. The audience even attempted a mosh at one point, albeit unsuccessfully - but what do you expect within such a modest venue? Offering everyone free mp3's was the final push, and the bait was taken with crowd members gleefully singing along as much as they could. So did this audience state last within Iglu & Hartly?

Did it?!?! Iglu & Hartly set the venue alight within the first song - 'Jump', and the audience did seem to listen to the title. The floor was literally rocking as the audience bounced to the music. However, what they played was a majority of songs from their 2008 album '& Then Boom' which has already been toured twice. The big singles were still the ones getting the biggest audience reaction, and it seems some still only know them by 'In This City'. Without new material released, they will keep downgrading the venue size they can play in. The two new songs that were played were fun, but much weaker than the rest of their material. But their stage presence more than makes up for this, they seem to love every second on stage and they seem to love their fans - coming right out to sign anything and everything after the gig. You can't help but fall for the charm of Iglu & Hartly.

***

www.myspace.com/paintthistownuk www.newpoliticsrock.com www.igluandhartly.com

Gig Season

Gig season has officially started so that means my posts are going to get more and more frequent, look out for them!

This starts with a review of Iglu & Hartly going online tomorrow from the gig I am going to this very evening at Nottingham! If anyone is going, find me and say hi!

Tom

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