Tag Archives: Music

Katie Stelmanis/Pens (Old Blue Last, London)

0 Comments
June 6, 2009 – 2:04 pm

Kate Stellmanis

A roasting hot day in the city, and The Last’s dingy interior offers some respite from the packs of dogs and wobbling drunks outside Old Street Tube Station.It’s a Thursday, and despite things being quiet, Vice Magazine are launching a Brazilian issue, and the lure of free rum filled Caprianhas has lured a few desperate Hoxton style pirates from their holes. The entire Canadian Hipster population of London sounds like a band in it’s own right, but it’s actually the vocal crowd who’ve turned up to support Kate Stellmanis and her able percussionist Maya.

The girls look slightly scared on the tiny, crowded stage, and I’m just about to feel sorry for her when they burst into some excellent, angular electropop, Kate’s glissando vocals bringing to mind Bat for Lashes, but the close harmonies they carry out flawlessly make things sound like Gregorian chant filtered through an Atari.

A short set is broken up only by a small bout of giggles over a bum note, but by the end people are up on their feet and the room is filling up nicely. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Pens

Next up it’s clumsy all girl power trio Pens, who carry off some bouncy, Ramones influenced White Stripes action, with the neat trick of all swapping instruments every song. The heavy drumming and shouty choruses get a little lost in a muddy mix, and the Wicker Man hipster dancing jibes with some nice touches that give us the bastard offspring of Nirvana and The Monkees (an influence that goes deeper than the 60s Cher-cut), but the sheer enthusiasm carries things along nicely.

A good, fun performance from a super-kawaii Motorhead.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

By Interceptor Posted in Awesome Tagged , , , , , , ,

Tommy Sparks – Camden Barfly

0 Comments
June 6, 2009 – 1:22 pm

A pre-LadyHawke show for Tommy Sparks, and it seems that the forthcoming fame has gone to their collective heads, with a late arrival on stage and a short set. Fortunately for those braving the chilly evening and that unique toilet smell that pervades the venue, it’s a short shot of bouncing, savant-guarde pop that goes down a storm with the jaded Barfly crowd.

Early Roxy Music vocals clash with Scissor Sisters chic on opener Much Too Much To Think About, with some Franz/Kiss bass carrying things along nicely. The silver-jacketed Tommy subscibes to the Simon Le Bon school of frontmanship, making daft comments between songs, before transforming into Damon Albern for a raucous rendidtion of ‘It’s A Miracle’. Next up time for some epic pop balladry on I Feel It In My System, which may confuse glokenspeils with genuine emotion, but makes up for it with a huge chorus that screams arena as it wedges in your head.

Finally theres some theremin and a heavy nod of the head to Ian Dury on single she’s got me dancing, and we’re left with the impression that while the gay following is here for more than just the Kylie cover, Sparks is on the up and will be everywhere you look over the next year or so.

LINK

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

By Interceptor Posted in Awesome Tagged , , , , , ,

CD Review – Trippy Wicked And The Cosmic Children Of The Knight: Lowering The Tone

0 Comments
May 25, 2009 – 3:44 pm

Trippy Wicked

Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of The Knight would be a bloody Godsend if I was getting paid by the word. I’m not, however, so from now on I’m just calling them Trippy Wicked. They inhabit a strange space between stoner rock and doom, sharing a bunk with the likes of Electric Wizard, Sourvein and Orange Goblin.

It’s a pissstained, filthy bunk, filled with hot rock burns, hiding a ninebar under the mattress.

So, stoney doom. Downtuned guitars, thundering drums and riffs that move mountains. Trippy Wicked deliver on the expectations. The vocals are strained and nasty, but show some real talent, and and tracks that bring the rock, rather then the doom, like ‘Sea Shanty’ the aggression is let out and it all clicks together.

Uniquely for a stoner/doom band, Trippy Wicked have a horn section. Sparingly used, (possibly because usually members of stoner bands have traded off lung capacity for quality time spent with a bong) it works amazingly well, and adds a little jazz bar cool to the proceedings.

The one stumbling block on this album is that it is neither dopesick, dirty and tripped out, or partying out rock and roll. It sits a little too much in between. Trippy Wicked seem a little too together, and dare I say it, talented to bring the gnarly hangover dirges Electric Wizard excel at. The album shines when the music moves away from the doom and towards proper balls out rock. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen enough. This is in no way a big criticism, just my observation.

All together, this is a damn fine, and very professional demo, and a great addition the British stoner / doom scene. Light up and enjoy.

Official Site

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

By Von Posted in Awesome Tagged , , , ,

Event! – Iron Maiden Week

0 Comments
April 26, 2009 – 10:45 pm


Who are the greatest band of all time? Some might go with the Beatles, some with the Stones. Some poor misguided souls might even go on about The Smiths. This is because they haven’t been listening to Maiden.

As the Spectre likes nothing better than to open a bottle of rum and stick on ‘Somewhere In Time’ really, really fucking loud at 3am, we thought it was high time we celebrated the sheer genius that has given us..well, an awful lot of songs about airborne dogfights and swordfighting, and given the gift of confidence in spandex to 40 year old men everywhere.

So it is, in honour of their first cinema release (and Janick Gers being in the pub the other night and reminding me to do this), Electric Spectre proudly presents our very first themed event: IRON MAIDEN WEEK!

Each day this week we’ll give you a bunch of videos, facts, figures and general crap on the best band ever – and thanks to the nice people at EMI Music, maybe even the chance to win a few things too – Check the site daily for updates, and follow us on twitter to increase your chances.

LINK (official site)

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

By Interceptor Posted in Awesome Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gig Review: Pete Doherty@The Troxy, London.

5 Comments
March 30, 2009 – 7:10 pm

hot-to-trox.jpg

Sunday night, and something different for the brave staff at Spectre, as we brave both the East End and a style of music that doesn’t include a pig sacrifice, strange days indeed! But while the dodgy boozer next door doesn’t fill me with confidence for the evening, things pick up on entering the Troxy’s glorious 1930s art deco environs, complete with balcony booths and even a bloody carpeted dancefloor-god alone knows how they get the stains out…

It seems like the country air and pies are doing young Pete a world of good, as he ambles amiably onto stage in fine fettle, actually filling that suit for once, and launches into a lone acoustic version of “When the lights go out”, and sets the tone for this evening, one of shambling, good natured fun with the newly christened Peter and a few celebrity great mates.

Things build slowly over the next couple of songs, with Graham Coxon’s appearance for “Last of the English Roses” from the current Grace/Wastelands finally meaning the drums and strings can join in too, the sound bass-heavy enough to fill the cavernous roof space of the Troxy.

If there’s a major moan tonight, it’s that the sound mix is occasionally muddy, with backing vocals taking a particular hit, but the decision to seemingly slow everything down and put on a good old cockney sing-a-long-a-knees-up works well and covers a variety of sins-not least Wolfmans shambling performance during “For Lovers”.

On the plus side though, the sheer good humour of the night shines through, with foot stomping bass and a tight backline (and at one point, a birthday boy in a Native American headress banging a tambourine.) providing a great foil for Coxon’s studious noodling and pete’s wayward strumming. Things get a little luvvie when Lee Mavers pops up and gets to sing his 15 years out of date hit “There she goes” to a slightly disinterested crowd, but they soon perk up for the ubiquitous “Can’t stand me now”. Finally, a good old fashioned stage invasion is prompted by Pete, and works to his advantage as one young lady in the audience has decided that stockings, suspenders and a corset are ideal gig wear, and throws herself at the man with determination.

All in all a fun night, with none of the babyish shambling and flailing that have come to blight Pedo’s career in the past, a return to form at the end of tour that deserves to continue.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

By Interceptor Posted in Awesome Tagged , , , , , ,
Page 1 of 41234»