@ the Sebright Arms. TAPIR! first time seeing them with a live drummer. lovely set. DIVORCE headlined, they were quite boring so I left half way into their set
@ the shacklewell Arms. A garage-punk night, 3 bands for about £8 or something can't go wrong. Polish band MORON'S MORONS were good energetic fun. LUCY & THE RATS were shit, sounded like they were into American pop-punk. NZ's finest THE CAVEMEN headlined and were a force of nature. About as chaotic as you can get, absolute scenes.
@ The Lexington with popular forum member KRBURG. REGRESSIVE LEFT, love this band, they've got a few real bangers. Check them out, sorta post-punk/dance-punk 3 piece. DOUBLE HELIX supported, a bit more on the dancier side, enjoyed their set will keep an eye out.
@ PRYZM in Kingston DRY CLEANING. This was for the release of the new record. They played in the disco room on a light up dancefloor with everyone stood around, was a really unique setup. Excellent set. They use their guitar tech on a few of the more atmospheric numbers from the new record, worked well. After seeing them one too many times it was great to hear a set of mostly new material.
@ heaven with popular forum members RODERICK & KEVIN, ART BRUT, they don't tour much anymore with Eddie living in Berlin but this was the delayed tour for 15 years of their debut. As always, tremendous fun. Will forever be one of my favourite bands to catch live. HOME COUNTIES supported, loved their set at Green Man last year, didn't enjoy them nearly as much here. Was still solid mind you.
@ Islington Assembly Hall with popular forum member ROD. BODEGA, their gigs at Moth club earlier in the year have been some of my favourites. This was in a bigger venue with more cunts in attendance, yet it was still great. Kinda started off a little slow but they dropped a 15-20 minute section in their set which was just banger after banger. This lineup of the band is without a doubt better than what they had for the first album. The tunes from the new record sound much superior live too. HOLIDAY GHOSTS supported, jangly pop group along the lines of Terry & The Bats, enjoyed quite a bit.
@ Village Underground with popular forum members Krburg & Forever. I had contracted the bad AIDS and was ill as fuck, was there for PVA but being in the middle of 5 gigs in 5 days decided to shoot after FOLLY GROUP (who wasn't very good) so I missed PVA. A shame, though I'll catch them at the Lexington before the year is out.
@ KOKO. CONFIDENCE MAN. I was ill as fuck the entire day, dragged my sorry arse along as I couldn't bare the thought of losing the £58 I'd spent on a pair of tickets. Felt like death until they came on stage & then they lifted my spirit. Banging set. Probably the last chance I'll get to see them in a reasonable sized venue, they've the set-up and stage show now to be doing huge shows & fair play to them. Was like a giant rave for an hour or so. I wished they'd done more from their first album, but I guess this new one has been a much bigger success so it is expected. Janet Planet is fucking hot.
@ HERE at Outernet with popular forum member ROD. Swanky new venue on Tottenham Court Road/Denmark St. I wanted to hate it, and moaned like fuck from arrival until RIDE came on stage & then completely changed my mind. Holy shit, unsure if it was just pure luck but this was one of the greatest sounding gigs I've ever been to. It was LOUD but everything was crystal clear. RIDE did GOING BLANK AGAIN in full which has always been my favourite LP of theirs. It was fucking outstanding. Seeing them do NOWHERE to a half arsed & half empty audience in Crystal Palace earlier in the summer was good but this was on another level. A perfect gig, can't wait to return to this venue to see someone else tbh. HONEYGLAZE supported, one of the dullest pieces of shit I've had to endure all year. The guitarist needs a good beating too.
@ The ICA with popular forum member KRBURG. "O" supported, 2 piece drum & sax band which are ace which me & Kev got to see some of their very first gigs during lockdown. They've got better & better and have finally brought out their first single. Nice set, as usual I think a half hour support slot is probably enough, not sure I can picture an hour set of theirs really holding my attention but who knows. BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD topped the bill. Their Green Man gig was great because I think everybody was willing them on with the loss of the singer, now they've done a load of gigs & the intrigue/good will has died off I kind of saw it for what it was. They've done a really great job of coming up with a brand new set in a short space of time & taking it on the road, respect to them for that. As an hour long set I think it's a bit patchy, there's certainly signs that there is life in the band still, but I hope the set they've been playing isn't going to be the 3rd BCNR record as it'd be a few standout moments with the rest that won't be able to match what came before.
@ The Sebright Arms with popular forum member KRBURG. Went back there to see TAPIR!, I think things will take off for them next year, just wonderful songwriting. Jules Smith supported, bloke doing very english folk music, enjoyed it for what it was tbh
@ The Roundhouse for JULIA JACKLIN. went on my own to this one as I'd infected the Swede with my AIDS so it was her time to suffer. Made the mistake of getting there too early & must have looked like some old dad that was watching over his daughter, The crowd down the front were all pretty much female 16-21
I guess it's the phoebe Bridgers crowd. Julia Jacklin was pretty damn good, her voice live really impressed me, band were tight too. Kinda a bit too much folky stuff in the set for my taste, I preferred it when the band made some noise, but still, a worthwhile gig. ERIN RAE supported, solo country/folk thing, was OK I suppose, though could do without that sort of support for larger gigs.
@ CAFE OTO with popular forum member KRBURG for ANTHONY JOSEPH. This was part of TCOTU Jazz festival. I saw Joseph earlier in the year in Woolwich and it was outstanding. This didn't quite match that gig, however, it was a completely different set. Woolwich was a more upbeat gig that had everyone out their seats dancing down the front. This was more centred on his poetry with the band mostly doing imrpov over it. The setting of cafe OTO was perfect for this. The second set they performed felt mostly more fully formed with some songs which are going to appear on an upcoming album. A wonderful night, not often you can see the same artist twice in a year do a completely different set and both be highly rewarding.
@ Milton Court with popular forum member KRBURG. This was near the Barbican, I think its used as a lecture hall mostly, never seen a gig there before but it's a great space that feels really imitate yet has a largish capacity. Saw MATANA ROBERTS, she performed her Coin Coin Chapter IV: record for the first time. Kev was a big fan of the record, yet it never really connected with me in a big way. Made much better sense, she's quite an oddball performer too. Cool gig
then last night had a really cool double bill of gigs with popular forum member KRBURG. Went to Rough Trade East to see THE COOL GREENHOUSE. They've just released their second record which is bloody wonderful. Was really worried as the gig was a buy the record and get a ticket deal, but it was switched to a free event the night before & on the way in they didn't have many records in the box ready to hand out. Was only about 30 people there after half hour of the doors opening, yet I reckon by the time they played 150 turned up so not too sad I guess. BANGING set, I love this band so much. They didn't do a huge deal from the new record, I think because they've barely played live this year so probably didn't have too long to rehearse for this gig so played plenty of the old CLASSICS. What a band, one of my favourites.
Then we went to some weird factory 4 minutes walk from Brick lane to see a secret HOTEL LUX gig at a place called State51. No security, a long walk over a slippery stairs that go up and around the building and then into a half empty room where they was selling cans for £3 a pop, can't complain. Got in there just as the band were starting which was perfect. Did a short 40 minute set, new stuff sounded encouraging plus they also did the Ballad of You & I, one of the greatest songs released in recent years. Top lads, I really hope it works out for them. A dream night, had managed two gigs and been finished before 10pm & was on the bus at North Greenwich before the N-Dubz fans had a chance to get out of the 02.
& I know you have read all of this Columbia rocks Man and no, I shall not be including number ratings.
she said she went and got a picture with him and he stuck her on the guest list. she showed us the pic and evans lip was really swollen. she told us she had asked him why and he replied he had been giving cunnilingus all night 
she said she went and got a picture with him and he stuck her on the guest list. she showed us the pic and evans lip was really swollen. she told us she had asked him why and he replied he had been giving cunnilingus all night 
I guess it's the phoebe Bridgers crowd. Julia Jacklin was pretty damn good, her voice live really impressed me, band were tight too. Kinda a bit too much folky stuff in the set for my taste, I preferred it when the band made some noise, but still, a worthwhile gig. ERIN RAE supported, solo country/folk thing, was OK I suppose, though could do without that sort of support for larger gigs. 
