Some support acts were just made for their main stars. They come on, like an earlier (and in this case, gawkier) version, all their talent intact and sate our musical appetites in such a way that we feel we`ve enjoyed two shows. Amy MacDonald, support for Tim Finn tonight, is a case in point. more… “Tim Finn / Amy Macdonald”
Amy and her guitar take the stage in an eerily quiet Tuts and after a reasonably sombre intro starts into `This is the Life`. She delivers her nice vocal parts from the start – a reassuringly delicate, almost Scots/Celt folk feel throughout. Quickly though, I`m just a bit bored of this song. The guitar part and lyrics are doing nothing for me. I even find myself wondering if everyone to my left is family more… “Amy MacDonald”
Don`t know who The Cribs are? Hang your head in shame, and apologise to the band that have been vying to get you attention for years now. Touring the country relentlessly, creating two amazing records and then, remember the really dull NME Awards in 2006? The Cribs lead singer was the relatively unknown bloke who flung himself onto the Kaiser Chiefs table to half inch their award, impaling himself on a glass bottle in the process.
This is the effort they put in for you, and you don`t even care more… “The Cribs”
The early start at this Venue, as it so often does, resulted in me taking my seat having missed the first act and some of Pumajaw`s. It was my loss. It did not take long to become engrossed with the rest of the set. The songs – some covers, most of them original – are tender folk ballads at the core more… “Adrian Crowley / Pumajaw”
Possibly London’s most famous indie venue resides at number 100 Oxford St. This is where the Stones would play to the those Carnaby Streeters in the London scene that didn’t dare venture west to leafy Richmond. Perhaps, more famously, the venue was host to the regular bare-pit that was a sex pistols gig in 1977 more… “New Young Pony Club”
There appears to be a majority of bands in the current music climate whose place amidst adulation is somewhat fortuitous, or frankly unmerited. On the other hand, some superior species slip under the radar, and B.R.M.C appear to be one such group more… “Black Rebel Motorcycle Club”
I have to confess to something of an ulterior motive for my attendance at Charlotte Hatherley`s show at the Oran Mor: you see a couple of years ago, with something of a dearth of indie rock heroines around (Courtney Love was back in rehab and this was before the current breed of ballsy Beth Ditto types had anything other than the sort of underground recognition an NME reader would miss out on) I was half in love with the girl more… “Charlotte Hatherley”
Versacoustic is the new Scottish music project sponsored by Tennants to promote the best in Scottish music, and their new lager: Tennants Versa. With free entry and a free pint of Versa upon entry (although I got 2 because my friend doesn`t like lager), it was already turning out to be a good night and I`d only just arrived more… “My Latest Novel / Douglas / St Jude�s Infirmary,”
Black Angels – from Austin, Texas – are on first tonight, playing to quite a few early arrivals. Their bass-heavy electro-country-rock music is distinctly unmemorable, and despite the polite whoops and cheers from the crowd, they fail to impress the majority who are here for the more gritty, blues-inspired full-on rock that is The Black Keys more… “The Black Keys / Black Angels”
Two things are immediately obvious when The Long Blondes take to the stage tonight. The first is that their live sound is driven by the rhythm section, the bass and drums surging forward in a two-pronged assault. The second is that there`s something very wrong with Dorian Cox`s guitar playing more… “The Long Blondes”