2010: the Skints

Posted by jamie on Dec 31, 2009

The Skints have posted their January and February tour dates on their myspace profile.

If you don’t have myspace, by the way, you can still see the dates - all you have to do is look at the page and you don’t need to sign in.  It’s not like facebook.  So just click here to have a peek.  Happy new year :).

NYE: Bomb Ibiza

Posted by jamie on Dec 28, 2009

Our lovely friends at Bomb Ibiza have announced this year’s New Year shindig.  It looks like an absolute peach.  Oh, to be a northerner.  *sigh*

Thursday December 31st:  IGNITION NYE

at  The Retro Bar, Manchester.  Doors: 6pm, £5

The John Player Specials
Stand Out Riot
AWarAgainstSound
Kickback UK (acoustic)
Despite Everything

“This may not be the final running order”, they tell us, ”and we’ll confirm more specific times idc, but mark your diaries for this one!  We’re not doing advance tickets this year, and please also note that we’ve tried to bring the cost down which will hopefully help some of you out.” They are a lovely bunch. 

2010: Drawings

Posted by jamie on Dec 28, 2009

Matt Reynolds’ (Howard’s Alias, Skylar and SB6) project Drawings celebrate 2010 in Southampton next Friday.

Details here.

Tyrannosauras Alan: BOTB

Posted by jamie on Dec 28, 2009

Attention, Chatham: the lovely folk of Tyrannosauras Alan need your help in this battle of the bands on 9th January.  You have to turn up to vote.

Details are here.

New Riot: new merch

Posted by chips on Dec 28, 2009

Ooh.  At 6pm tonight (Monday), New Riot open pre-orders of the limited edition “Riot Squad” shirt.  It’s a special version of the tour shier that comes out in March, but only 50 of this one will be made.  Sizes are limited (whatever that means). 

See the pictures here.

2010: Big D (in the US)

Posted by jamie on Dec 26, 2009

Big D return to the USA in February to tour the East coast and the mid-west in support of Boston brothers State Radio.  Dates here as soon as they’re finalised.

URGENT: help save a man’s life.

Posted by jamie on Dec 26, 2009

Akmal Shaikh is facing imminent execution in China. There are reports that his execution has been scheduled for 29 December 2009.

Akmal, who is 53 and a father of five from north London, is believed to be mentally ill. He was sentenced to death for drug-smuggling on 29 October 2008 after an unfair trial. 

Although he appears to have suffered for many years with mental instability and is likely to have bipolar disorder, the Chinese authorities have refused to allow him to be examined by a doctor. According to Article 18 of China’s Criminal Law, a mental patient who commits a crime, and has not completely lost the ability to recognise or control his own conduct at the time, still has criminal responsibility but may be given a lighter punishment.

Get on to Gordon Brown here.

Thanks to Amnesty International for passing this on.

Mike Scott: free download.

Posted by jamie on Dec 26, 2009

2010: Pama International

Posted by jamie on Dec 25, 2009

Cassio Avenue: the Water Rats’ Theatre

Posted by jamie on Dec 22, 2009

Cassio Avenue

Water Rats’ Theatre, Kings Cross

26^th November 2009

[Jamie would like to apologise for the delay in posting this review.  It should never have taken this long, but he has been THAT busy.  Yes, really.  Phew.]

It happened on one of those days where everything was going right, and there haven’t been too many of those lately.  Today, though, that made this all the better.  Let’s face it, as well, home-time is always the best part of the day.  Especially when you’re not going home.  All of which goes to say, in a roundabout way, that I was giddily in high spirits and my little (yet masculine, thank you) chest was puffed out like a robin’s as I bobbed along Euston Road.  Like a helium balloon, but instead floating on optimism.  What a day.

The Water Rats’ Theatre, or the Monto, as it seems to call itself, is tucked away in the Pentonville Road/Scala area of Kings Cross.   Discovering it proves one of the more pleasing theories about London: that new and different venues aren’t just everywhere, but that there’s probably one right around the corner that you haven’t found yet.  On the down side, I guess, they’re still saying you’re never more than two metres from a rat.  Can’t win ‘em all..

Cassio Avenue are stoked to be playing the biggest show of their short history as a band so far, in support of They Fell From The Sky.  Apparently one of TFFTS was in Hundred Reasons and another of them was in another almost-big rock act at about the same time.  They’ve certainly pulled a crowd and brought a lot of fancy looking merch.  We didn’t stay to see them, though, as beer at the Monto is very, very expensive indeed.

Other bands had overrun and so Cassio, last before the headliners, ended up getting their set cut by two songs.  What we do see, though, is enough to be certain we’re looking at the beginnings of a really exciting band.  Their sound is a little bit electro, just enough to hint at some of the edgier indie/electro/80s style stuff that seams to be everywhere at the moment.  It’s still got the raw energy of a proper rock band, a sextet with two guitarists, a synth player and with four members on vocals.  They’re different, though, where so many bands, presumably with similar ideas, have ended up being samey and a bit boring.  A lot of what makes watching them exciting is that the song writing is so innovative and the sound so distinctive: snotty, at times disdainful, yet still immediate because it’s delivered with such a strong sense of urgency.  With samples.   So yes, it’s a bit mashed up, and pretty surreal, and it’s epic, almost prog, but with samples and quickfire exchanges of different, very different vocals stepping in and out as well.  And that makes Cassio Avenue great fun to watch. 

Here’s a tip: don’t get yourself wedged in front of a speaker.  And if you do, don’t let it be Adi’s (the synth player).  There were whirlpools in my pint while we were still standing still.  You can imagine, then, what the rest of the night was like.  Intense.  See Cassio Avenue.