News and Reviews: 1st March 2012
29 Feb 2012.The NME Awards at Brixton Academy,London.Featuring live sets by Noel Gallagher, Pulp,Kasabian,Vaccines,Florence And The Machine,The Horrors and Maccabees.
Annual awards bash for this weekly music mag.
Always a good bunch of current and up and coming indie artists here.
Downstairs are artists and music biz folks and press.Some 650 seated along with 350 standing and around 1000 paying ticket holders upstairs.Free booze all night for us downstairs.
Live acts we get a couple of tunes from Kasabian,then a track from Florence And The Machine,then The Horrors play their superb track "Still Life",then Pulp play a couple(they got Outstanding Contribution Award),then the Vaccines played a couple,then Maccabees played a track but the main act was Noel Gallagher at the end(he won The Godlike Genius Award)who played a seven song 35 mins set including "If I Had A Gun","AKA...What A Life" and the crowd perked up for Oasis gems "Half The World Away" and "Dont Look Back In Anger".A good set but not a patch on The Foo Fighters storming set last year.
Other acts/folks here i saw or were on the seating plan were Kaiser Chiefs,Johnny Marr,Noel Fielding,Feargal Sharkey,Enemy,Alexa Chung,Katy B,actors from Fresh Meat tv series,Tinchy Stryder,Wretch 32,Tim Minchin,Michael Eavis,Sir Peter Blake,Stooshe,Anna Calvi,Carl Barat, Santogold,Ladyhawke,Nick Grimshaw,Drums, Spector,Friendly Fires,Bez,Tribes,Howler,Hurts,Two Door Cinema Club,Pixie Geldof,Nat Weller,
Miles Kane,Metromony,Vince Power,John Giddings,Steve Zapp, and others.
15 awards given out.Foo Fighters and Arctic Monkeys won awards but were not here.A bit of mingling afterwards for an hour or so in the venue.A good event as usual.
See www.nme.com for full winners list etc.
Very sad news about the death of The Monkees lead singer Davy Jones aged 66.He had a heart attack in Florida.He always looked so youthful and healthy.I watched their fantastic tv series all the time in the 1970s.I was at The Monkees reunion show at The Royal Albert Hall in May 2011 which was their ever last London show.
28 Feb 2012.Randy Newman live at The Royal Festival Hall,London.
Totally sold out show for a rare visit from Randy Newman.Only British dates are London and Dublin on his European tour.On stage for two hours over two sets of 55 mins and 65 mins.Lots of clever witty lyrics and nice stage banter between songs.
An older crowd here as he was mainly popular in the 1970s.
Lots of good tracks played including "Its Money That I Love","Short People","You've Got A Friend In Me","You Can Leave Your Hat On","I'm Dead But I Dont Know It","Political Science","Louisiana 1927","Rednecks","I Love L.A" and "Sail Away".Just Randy and his piano and a distinctive voice.A good show.
Now aged 68 Randy Newman is an American singer-songwriter,arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his often satirical pop songs and for film scores.
The 1972 song "Sail Away" is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "Political Science" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution. One of his biggest hits, "Short People" was written from the perspective of "a lunatic" who hates short people. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His film scores include Ragtime, Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents, Cold Turkey, Seabiscuit and The Princess and the Frog. He has scored six Disney-Pixar films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Cars and most recently Toy Story 3.
Newman has been nominated for twenty Academy Awards, winning twice. He has also won three Emmys, five Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy.Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2007, Newman was inducted as a Disney Legend.
All four original members of Status Quo have been jamming together In London
as part of the filming for their 50th anniversary documentary film due out in October.
Guns And Roses play The 02 Arena on 31 May 2012 as part of a UK tour.
24 Feb 2012.Rammstein + Deathstars live at The 02 Arena,London.
A totally rammed sold out show here for German industrial rockers Rammstein.
Up first are Deathstars from Sweden playing some industrial goth metal.
Tracks like "Metal" and "Tongues" went down well with this crowd.
Rammstein are one of the best live bands out there.
I have seen them before at Brixton Academy and Wembley Arena and they just get more and more
popular although you will rarely hear them on radio or tv.
Pretty much all the lyrics are in German so always amazing to see an English crowd singing along to them.
Rammstein use fire and pyros as much as possible during the show .Nobody uses as much fire as this lot.
Facial contraptions that spurted fire and lots more.
The 2 hours 5 mins show was brilliant.Their entrance was amazing as they came from the middle of the
arena holding a flame and the walkway was then lowered as they made their way to the main stage from
the mixing desk area.
Great songs played included "Rammstein","Feuer Frei","Du Hast" and "Engel"
After an hour their nerdy keyboard player surfed the floor standing area in a dinghy.
There was three or four songs from the mini second stage with the first one having a great S + M theme.
Emcores included "Amerika","Ich Will" and final song "Pussy" with the singer sat astride a giant penis canon that fired foam over the folks down the front.So many visually "wow" elements tonight to this show.Superb.
Rammstein do not use any big screens.
I saw Skin from Skunk Anansie here.
Check Rammstein out on youtube and then buy one of their live dvds.
23 Feb 2012.Kaiser Chiefs + Frankie And The Heartstrings live at The Hammersmith Apollo,London.
This was the last night for K.C. month long UK tour to promote the recent album "The Future Is Medieval".Up first we have Frankie And The Heartstrings who play a decent 30 mins of indie guitar tunes.
A great atmosphere for K.C 85 mins set as the floor standing is bouncing for the entire show.A blaze of lights and strobes here as the band whizz through loads of brilliant indie pop gems.Singer Ricky Wilson is full of energy as he runs all over the stage,into the pit to meet the fans,climbs on top of the pa at each side of the stage and even sings one song from the front row of the circle.
Tracks played included "Everyday I Love You Less And Less","Never Miss A Beat","Everything Is Average Nowadays",a few songs from the new album,"Modern Way",a superb "Ruby",also "The Angry Mob","Na Na Na Na Naa" and a mental "I Predict A Riot" then encores of "Loves Not A Competition(But I'm Winning) and a great "Oh My God" to finish what was an excellent show.
The band have been a bit quiet the last couple of years but there is still plenty of life in them.
22 Feb 2012.7.15pm to 11pm.Cast live at The Hard Rock Cafe,London W1.
Invite only gig for 200 comp winners and press for Absolute Radio.Always good to be up close to name bands just feet from the stage.
Freebie cocktails here for an hour then freebie Jack Daniels,beers and wines flowing all night for all here along with Hard Rock Cafe food.
Emerging from the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s, Liverpool band Cast signed to Polydor Records and their debut album All Change (1995) was a massive selling album for the label. Further commercial success continued with the albums Mother Nature Calls (1997) and Magic Hour (1999), however the band's fourth album Beetroot (2001) was far less successful which led to the band's split soon after. Cast reunited for a UK tour in November 2010.
They have more hits than you remember.The 55 mins set ticked along nicely and the band treated it like a proper gig.They have their fifth album "Troubled Times" out on 05th March and they played a few tracks from it including the new single "Time Bomb".They played a bunch of really good Top 20 hit oldies including
"Finetime","Sandstorm","Walkaway","Free Me" and "Alright".A good show.
Cast will play a full UK tour to promote the new album that includes Shepherds Bush Empire on 06 April 2012.
21 Feb 2012.The BRIT Awards live at The 02 Arena,London.
A great atmosphere here tonight for the UKs biggest music awards.Hosted by James Corden.
Most of the acts put on massive productions apart from Ed Sheeran who keeps it simple.The roadies did a brilliant job of setting up each act so quickly.We had eight acts play a song each who were Coldplay,Florence And The Machine,Olly Murs,Ed Sheeran,Noel Gallagher,Adele,Bruno Mars,Rihanna and Blur finished with five gems "Girls And Boys","Song 2","Parklife"(with Phil Daniels),"Tender"(with choir) and "This Is A Low".We had video tributes to Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.All the winners turned up apart from Foo Fighters.
Others here presenting or hanging out included George Michael,Kylie Minogue,Nicole Scherzinger,
Jenson Button,Boy George,Paloma Faith,Elbow,
Tinie Tempah,Katie Melua,Pixie Lott,Huey Morgan,
Jessie J,Brian May,Roger Taylor,Plan B,Rob Brydon,Alan Carr,Will.i.am,James Morrison,Professor Green,JLS,The Wanted,Jo Whiley and no doubt a few more.
See aftershow page for this event.
Critics Choice Award - Emeli Sande
Outstanding Achievement Award - Blur
Best British Female – Adele
Best International Male – Bruno Mars
Best International Female - Rihanna
Best British Male - Ed Sheeran
Best British Group - Coldplay
Best International Group - Foo Fighters
British Breakthrough Act – Ed Sheeran
International Breakthrough Act – Lana Del Rey
Best British Album - Adele
Best British Single – One Direction
Paul McCartney to play The Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 29 March 2012.
I keep hearing rumours U2 are to play Hyde Park.
KISS are to play The Sonisphere Festival,
Knebworth on Friday 06 July 2012.They said it will be their only European show of 2012.
I have been told that Kasabian are soon to announce a big headline show in Hyde Park.
Adeles "21" album has now sold over 19 million copies worldwide and is expected to hit the 20 million sales mark in the next month or two.
20 Feb 2012.7pm to 9.30pm.Orion Books 20th Anniversary Party at The Natural History Museum,London SW7.
Around 500 author types here at this stunning venue that looks amazing with lights and flames all over the entrance.Nice freebie champers and canapes for all.Some faces here including Julian Fellowes,Danny Baker and the two chefs from The Hairy Bikers tv show.A good event.
19 Feb 2012.Nicole Scherzinger + Mindless Behaviour live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.
Up first are boy band Mindless Behaviour who get an amazing reception as they are quite popular in America.These were the four teenagers chosen from 600 hopefuls at the auditions a couple of years ago.Frenzied screaming here as the crowd have all turned up early to see them.Think a younger JLS.Five songs from their debut album in the 25 mins set.Lots of energetic dancing.
They will no doubt headline this venue soon.
Nicole S was the singer of Pussycat Dolls.I saw them at The 02 Arena in Jan 2009 when the support was an up and coming act called Lady Gaga.Whatever happened to her?
This was the London show of her first solo tour to promote the "Killer Love" album.As expected the 85 mins set was most of that album and a few Pussycat Dolls hits.
She is a stunning looking girl.With hair most girls would die for she tossed it and stood in front of the wind machine showing it off as often as she could.Around a dozen raunchy costume changes by Nicole.Four female dancers too.Nicole is a great dancer.Tracks played included "Poison","Killer Love" then some slower ones as Nicole sat on a stool then "I Hate This Part","Stick With You" and "When I Grow Up".Her single "Wet" and "Right There" were two more goodies and the show finished with two big tracks the monster hit by Pussycat Dolls "Dont Cha" and her own UK number one hit "Dont Hold Your Breathe".
A good visually entertaining show.That F1 driver Lewis Hamilton is a lucky chap.