Eurggh

Gastroenteritis, fun. It did cross my mind that this may be the world's longest hangover, but no, my gut's wrong. 4 days of feeling sick (amongst other things), playing champ man (before it went shit) and reading 'Long Way Round'. I'm so bored at the moment, I'm resorting to blogging about how bored I am, I'm sure it makes for fascinating reading!
What's more is, I left the notebook with all the stuff about the new Biffy Clyro album in at work, so I can't even work on that review. Pah. And didn't get to got to the cinema yesterday. Pah.
Right, rant over, back to guiding Sheffield United to mid-table mediocrity!

A whole load of stuff

Today has provided a mixed bag of musical news (not as in West Side Story kind of musical, you understand). Glassjaw, who I’ve adored since I was 17, has announced 3 headlining dates in January. I’ve bought tickets to see this band more times than I care to remember, but have never actually seen them live due to Daryl Palumbo’s ongoing battle with Crohn’s Disease. Excellent news, you may think. Not So! My good lady and I *hopefully* move house next month, and thus will be a little short of cash monies for a while, and I’ve got a distinct feeling, that as I can’t go and see them…they won’t cancel. Maybe if they ever get round to release their third album…

Whilst browsing the news section of NME.com, I noticed that ‘Midlake add extra dates to UK tour’, “sweeeet” I thought. Not So! These are the dates that had been announced last week, and that, in fact no new NEW dates had been added at all. Gits. NME, not Midlake, well, maybe Midlake a bit. No dates in Yorkshire? Gits. Yes, Midlake, you.

Onto the good news, Mr Mark ‘E’ Oliver Everett of Eels fame has released a new song, 'Little Bird' from their forthcoming 'End Times' album and it sounds sad, really sad, in a good way, of course.
Finally on the news front Queens of the Stone Age have announced they will be returning from their various side projects, Them Crooked Vultures (Anticipated!), We Fell To Earth (Intriguing!) and Dead Weather (Shit!), to the studio next summer. It took me roughly a year to succumb to the charms of both 'Lullabies to Paralyze' and 'Era Vulgaris', but Josh Homme’s involvement in Arctic Monkeys’ superb 'Humbug' and the aforementioned Them Crooked Vultures means I will be awaiting their sixth album with baited breath.

Yesterday was Wednesday, and that meant a trip to City Screen to watch ‘The Men That Stare At Goats’, based on the book of the same name by reporter Jon Ronson. The film start’s with the words “More of this is true than you might think” followed by footage of the US’s ‘shock and awe’ attacks on Iraq, soundtracked, rather bizarrely by Supergrass’ ‘We’re Alright’. The title of that song summing up, rather succinctly, the rest of the film, it wasn’t without it’s moments, George Clooney, as usual, was very very good indeed, Jeff Bridges played the dude-i-est role he’s played, since he played the dude (check out http://www.dudeism.com/ for all your Lebowski related spiritual needs) and was cleary cast in that role for that very reason. Ewan Mcgregor is…ok…as ever (surely a new trip with Mr Boorman is due soon?) but his American accent was pretty dire. The multiple reference's to "Jedi Warriors" are funny initially, but soon start to wear a little thin (and perhaps had some bearing on his casting in that role). The fact that they turned the story into a journey of self discovery for his character grated a little, and the ending! The ending was unspeakably bad. Fun enough film, but I’d suggest renting it, rather than buying.

Of the plethora of trailers shown beforehand, one stuck out as looking particually awful, Guy Ritchie’s 'Sherlock Holmes'. The clue to why it looks so cack is in that last sentence.

There a quite a few impending releases that I’m looking forward to; James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’, the Coen brothers’ ‘A Serious Man’, Ang Lee’s ‘Taking Woodstock’ and Spike Jonze’s ‘Where the Wild Things are’ being amongst them…or being them, more to the point.
Whether we’ll get to see them all or not remains to be seen, what with the impending *fingers crossed* move.

Wow…two blogs in a day.

Hopefully within the week I shall have a review of Biffy Clyro’s ‘Only Revolutions’ posted. Hmm…

Megafaun – Gather, Form and Fly.

There have of late, been an awful lot of folk revivalist bands creeping out of the woodwork, Megafaun are one such band.

In 2006, Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) left the band Deyarmond Edison, and went on to record one of the most critically lauded albums of the past few years, the remaining members former Megafaun. While Deyarmond Edison were a fairly tradition sounding alt.folk outfit, Megafaun, signed to an offshoot of experimental label Table of the Elements, are a different beast altogether.
Their's sound, whilst reminiscent of other artists, that doesn’t quite sound like anything else.

‘Bella Marie’ opens proceedings in a fairly understated manner “so far, so Fleet Foxes” I initially thought, unaware of what followed.

‘The Process’ brings together the two prevailing aspects of the band’s sound, the accessible, guitar strumming, drum thwacking alt.folk, and the inventivness and experimentalism that graces the record throughout. Their approach to percussion is a prime example of this, with much of it sounding like it could have been recorded in a barn, with whatever was lying around. Or what was coming out of a tap…During ‘Darkest Hour’ dripping water (have a toilet break before listening to this, in all seriousness) is used as percussion, the song brings to mind, as much of a cliché as it may be, the band sat out on a farm house porch, plucking away, eventually revealing themselves to be malfunctioning androids…as you do.

‘Impressions of the Past’ sounds very much like it could have been written by Tyondai Braxton (whose father Anthony, the band have cited as an influence) of Battles, had he taken a healthy dose of Ritalin beforehand.
In a similar way to Braxton Jr.’s band, Megafaun seem, at times, to change direction for the sake of it, occasionally, to the detriment of the songs. ‘Columns’ replete with it’s off-kilter drumming, and Barenaked Laides-esque quirkiness turns on it’s heels, just as it’s pulling you in, and becomes a mess of glitchy electronica.

It was clear from the first time I listened to it that ‘Longest Day’ would reduce to me a blubbering wreck forever more, the following lyrics, strike quite a chord, and I worry how I’m going to cope if they play this live next month…

“breathless in the morn…
…Almost been a year,
My love for you has grown,
And this weathered photograph is all I have to show”


‘Gather, Form and Fly’ is certainly a very interesting listen, a little self indulgent at times, but also eminently listenable, it’s the sound of a band getting into their stride, and I’ll be intrigued to see where it leads them.

Grizzly Bear & St. Vincent, Leeds Met, 5.11.09

I wouldn’t usually bother mentioning supports, but tonight’s was more than deserving of a few words. Equal parts electronica and fuzzy garage rock with a touch of folky wistfulness thrown in for good measure. St. Vincent (otherwise know as Annie Clark, sometime member of Sufjan Stevens’ touring band, and The Polyphonic Spree) fidgets continually throughout her 30 minute slot, which just adds to her charm, and any scepticism the crowd may have soon dissipates.

Grizzly Bear open tonight, as this year’s ‘Veckatimest’ does, with ‘Southern Point’, jazzed up, it’s clear from the outset that anyone expecting a replication of how they sound on record will be sorely disappointed.

Drenched in blue and green light for much of the set, with lanterns scattered around the stage, the reverb laden vocal harmonies take on an otherworldly, almost ghostly quality. On record, Grizzly Bear occasionally sound a little fragile, but live, they pack much more of a punch.

‘While You Wait For The Others’ (find the Michael Mcdonald! cover here) is utterly triumphant and would have been a fitting way to end the night, however...

They save the only song from the debut ‘Horn of Plenty’ until last, which at times recalls The Beatles’ ‘drugs and weird shit’ phase, only much, much heavier.

It took a good few minutes to find any, let alone the right words to even remotely describe how good Grizzly Bear are live…still not sure I've found them, so I’ll keep it simple… I cannot speak highly enough of this band.

Baby's first blog

So, this is my blog, I am blogging, and now a blogger, by the time I have posted this I will have blogged.
Quite.

I decided to set this up partially to spur me on to start reviewing gigs and albums again, but it'll also be somewhere for me to rant, witter and harp on about various bits and pieces.

The lovely Mac and I have membership at the local Picturehouse cinema, which, coupled with orange Wednesdays means that it costs all of £3.50 for both of us to watch summat there and as a result, we've seen some film that perhaps we wouldn't have otherwise. Last night was one of those instances, the Nick Hornby scripted 'An Education' based on the memoir's of the same name by Lynn Barber is not a film, I think, that either of us would have usually taken any notice of. But I'm incredibly glad we did. 'An Education' is both tremendously funny and incredibly poignant, a master class in independent British film making
I don't want to go into full blown review mode, suffice to say this film is incredibly well written (would you expect anything less from Nick Hornby?) the setting (early 60's, in the outskirts of London) is spot on, and the acting throughout is excellent, particularly Carey Mulligan, who plays Jenny (who I've just found out was in one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who; 'Blink').

Which leads me neatly onto…

The next Doctor Who special ('The Waters of Mars') looks a bit special, it's the start of the end for David Tennant's Doctor, and that makes me a little bit sad.

Tonight it's off to Leeds Met to see Grizzly Bear, who's third album 'Veckatimest' is one of the most charmingly odd and rewarding (if not immediately so) records that I've heard in the past year. So I'm rather excited. A review should hopefully follow shortly thereafter.

Then a month until the next gig, Megafaun in the Band Room in Farndale out in t'moors, who's album I'll be reviewing, well, when I've bought it.