Song of the day

Pulp - Party Hard

Song of the day

Pulp - Party Hard

This morning the legendary Britpoppers have announced 3 more live dates for 2012! The played a string of shows last year as part of a special reunion, and it was expected that nothing else would be announced. However, news broke they were to play Coachella festival, and this morning announced further dates at Radio City Music Hall in New York on April 11, and San Franciso’s Warfield venue on April 17. We await news of any UK dates, fingers crossed!

Well, what can I say, 2011 has been quite the year for music for me. I think I have tackled more gigs this year than ever before. I’ve been up and down the country, been to three festivals, and seen and heard  all sorts! So when it comes to picking my favourite of the year it is a tough decision, a very tough decision.

I think though, for my best gig of the year, I am going to have to go with Slash at Victoria Hall in Stoke. A special night for so many reasons. Not only was this Slash’s first time back in the city he was born, but he was playing a gig in a beautiful venue, and it was all being recorded for his first live dvd! It was a fantastic night. I remember the band being on top form, they all looked and sounded amazing and gave a million per cent. I will never forget the look on the crowds faces as Slash played the Godfather theme solo, and hearing everyone afterwards talking about how it was possibly the best show they have ever seen. I know I certainly felt that way. A perfect evening in the company of a guitar god and his wonderful band.

Pulp at Wireless Festival was also a great one. Pulp have been one of my favourite bands since I was a little girl, infact Different Class was the first album I ever bought. I was too young the first time to see them, and they disbanded before I was old enough, but the news this year of their reformation made me ridiculously happy. It was a very very special night. An amazing set, full of timeless classics that I sang every word to. Jarvis Cocker is a true poet, and to hear him sing some of those songs live was honestly a dream come true. The crowd and the atmosphere in Hyde Park was electric and everyone united for mass sing alongs, it was kind of mesmerising.  

Other stand out shows for me this year have been the truly fantastic Rival Sons. I managed to catch them play a very very tiny gig at The Cockpit in Leeds earlier in the year and it moved me immensely. They are the kind of band, that when they play you feel every single part of the music and it is so full of emotion, spirit and fire you cannot help but fall in love with them. Also, Michael Monroe and his band headed out on a tour back in April, and seriously, their show is one you need to see. So much energy and rock and roll attitude condensed into 90 mins, it is inspirational to see a band full of great musicians having so much fun playing music they love!

I feel like I have to also mention amazing sets from Rob Zombie, New York Dolls, Def Leppard, Duff McKagans Loaded, really there is just too many to choose from.

Now, onward to another difficult topic, album of the year. How can I pick just one when there have been many?

Rival Sons make it into this for me again. Pressure and Time is an absolute powerhouse of raw, dirty, soulful rock and roll. Nothing more, nothing less, just pure brilliance from beginning to end. Jay Buchanan’s voice is like nothing I have heard before, sure we have had some amazing frontmen in our time but Jay is something else. I first heard them back in January, Young Love was the first song to be precise and I had it on repeat for a good few days, so when Pressure and Time was released, it didn’t leave my stereo for a long time, infact it’s still in there. Honestly, if you are any kind of music fan you must listen to this band, I urge you. I know huge things will happen for them, so be a part of it too.

There have been many other fantastic releases this year, This Might Hurt by The Treatment, Sensory Overdrive by Michael Monroe, as well as offerings from Motorhead, Black Spiders and Graveyard that have kept my ears happy over the last 12 months.

Like I said 2011 has been a solid year for great music, it has been a very difficult task to try and some up just how great it has been for me, and I’m still sure I’ve forgotten some stuff, but you get the picture. Roll on 2012? I think so. 

Caris Smith

Friday

On the Friday of Leeds Festival 2011 the bands started, and so did the extremely heavy rain! Due to this a lot of bands were missed, the most important to me personally being Taking Back Sunday, but soon the rain wasn’t even an issue as everyone just had too much fun to care!

The first band was Enter Shikari, who regrettably were rather disappointing, although some factors were not the band’s fault. There was a noticeable lack of atmosphere throughout the whole set which is unusual for a Shikari gig, but favourite songs such as “Sorry, You’re Not a Winner” were definitely a crowd pleaser. Unfortunately the band’s newest songs were nothing in comparison, and it is clear that they have discovered Dubstep which is now being completely over used, and in my opinion I think Enter Shikari are going downhill. However, on a positive note it is safe to say that the band does rock the stage, and vocalist Rou Reynolds was very energetic throughout the entirety of their set.

Although I didn’t see their whole set, Panic! At The Disco were brilliant live. Brendon Urie’s stage presence and vocals really brought the band to life, and I personally was disappointed that they weren’t given a spot on the Main Stage, and instead had to settle for the NME stage which was packed with fans and many watched outside on screens for lack of room. They saved one of their biggest hits “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” for the end which sent the crowd wild, but unfortunately they then continued to perform a newer song that was clearly not recognised by many fans, and I believe it to be a mistake as they then didn’t finish on an ultimate high.

New artist Ed Sheeran has risen to fame only recently, and filled the Festival Republic Stage with fans screaming the words to his biggest hit, “A Team”, which was incredible live as his vocals really are amazing. I only caught the end of this set so heard his biggest hit followed by his new single “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” which livened the crowd up following the slow song played previously, and left the crowd buzzing and wanting more.

Now we come to Friday’s headline act, Muse, and the first word that springs to mind is simply…WOW! They have been titled ‘Best Live Band in the World’ which is definitely a lot to live up to, but I honestly have nothing negative to say about their performance, it was flawless. They had unbelievable stage presence which created an amazing crowd atmosphere, excellent instrumental playing, and Matt Bellamy delivered incredible vocals. Muse blew the crowd away with favourite songs such as ‘Starlight’, ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, ‘Knights of Cydonia’ and so many more.  I have always liked the band but have never considered myself to be a massive fan, but even I came away from their set completely blown away and still now cannot believe I’ve seen the amazing Muse live!

Saturday

The bands started for me on Saturday when I was asked to go with a friend to go see Foster The People, who I was not very familiar with. However when they played their most famous and recognisable song, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ I was definitely glad I went. They were excellent live and had a set full of brilliant songs that I’m sure will soon be big hits, and discovering them at Leeds Fest has made me really get into them and listen to their other songs, and I’d recommend them to any fans of the Indie Rock genre.

Next on the Main Stage were The Offspring, who created a really lively atmosphere amongst the crowd and were thoroughly enjoyable to watch, especially when they played some of their biggest hits. The quality of their live performances is still high even though they’ve been around for over 20 years and the crowd went wild for hits such as ‘I Want You Bad’, ‘Why Don’t You Get A Job?’, ‘Can’t Get My Head Around You’ and the biggest response was probably for ‘Pretty Fly For A White Guy’, because even people who claim not to be fans of The Offspring must like that song, it’s a classic! Their energy and top quality set made it impossible to stand still and not sing, and I’m so glad I’ve seen them live.

The next headline act 30 Seconds To Mars then followed, and although they were on top form I was rather disappointed with them live. Jared Leto’s vocals were exceptional and they gained a good response from the crowd, but there seemed to be as much talking as there was singing. Every time the crowd were buzzed after a song Jared Leto would talk for about 5 minutes each time and personally, I started not paying attention and had to hype myself up for the next song. This was unfortunate as their set was really good but I wanted to hear him singing not talking so much! Overall their set was brilliant, especially ‘The Kill’ which was excellent with Jared starting the song acoustically to get the crowd singing before a big breakdown, and I have to also give him praise for being the only frontman I saw to get off stage and get involved with the crowd!

Next I saw a band I’d been really excited to see, White Lies, who started off an amazing set with ‘Farewell to the Fairground’ and carried on being on top form throughout. The atmosphere in the crowd was unbelievable, as vocalist Harry McVeigh’s face was constantly shown on the screens looking in awe and so happy at the crowd’s response, and you couldn’t not be happy seeing a frontman who really appreciates his fans. Harry’s live vocals were outstanding, and the fans joined in singing for songs such as ‘Death’, ‘To Lose My Life’, and my personal favourite ‘Unfinished Business’, and the band left the crowd screaming for more when their set came to an end, definitely a band I’d love to go see again.

Next were the main headliners, My Chemical Romance, who to be quite honest I went to see as a bit of a laugh and to relive the good old days. However, they were really rather amazing! Frontman Gerard Way certainly knows how to work a crowd, and their set was full of their biggest and best songs starting with ‘I’m Not Okay’ and ending with ‘The Black Parade’, with other hits such as ‘Helena’, ‘Cancer’ and ‘Teenagers’ gaining a huge crowd response in between.  The only negative point that will really stick in my mind was when mid set Gerard Way announced; “I’m in the best band in the whole fucking world!”, how full of himself! All bands have influences and to basically say that you’re now better than them is a very big headed comment in my opinion, and it’s the only time during their set that MCR were booed by the crowd. However, overall I was pleasantly surprised by their incredible set which had the whole crowd moving and shouting the words, it was too hard to resist!

Sunday

On the last day of Leeds Fest the legendary Madness took to the stage, and I have to say it was great to see a few fifty year old men crowd surfing! That’s an example of how much excitement the band caused. They hyped up the crowd from the start by opening with ‘One Step Beyond’, and absolutely smashed all their classic hits such as ‘It Must Be Love’, ‘Our House’, along with ‘House of Fun’ which was accompanied by a massive conga line in the crowd, and ‘Baggy Trousers’ which had the majority of the crowd’s legs flying around in attempt to recreate the band’s famous dance moves. The band also performed some of the song ‘Stand by Me’, in memory of the recently deceased Jerry Leiber, and the thousands of people in the crowd joining in and singing along was a great show of respect for his contribution to the music industry in my opinion, and I praise the band for taking time to acknowledge him. Madness are an amazing band and they showed at Leeds Fest that their music will never get old and can be enjoyed by people of all ages!

Next were The Strokes, and to be honest they were a major let down. The majority of people I knew who were going to Leeds fest were most eager to see The Strokes, and they really didn’t live up to all the excitement. Their vocals and instrumental quality was excellent, although there were sound problems so they were quieter than other bands, and songs like ‘Last Night’ and ‘Juicebox’ were well performed, but the band really didn’t create the kind of atmosphere that was expected. All members lacked energy and didn’t get the crowd anywhere near as hyped up as they could have. Overall I’d sum them up as a huge disappointment, which is sad as they are a great band.

I then chose to go see The Midnight Beast, a comical band most famous for their parody of Kesha’s hit ‘Tik Tok’, but have now become quite well established and headlined the Festival Republic Stage, which was absolutely packed. They performed their most well-known humorous songs such as ‘Lez Be Friends’, ‘Just Another Boyband’, and their parody of Jay Sean’s ‘Down’, to an amazing response from the crowd, the majority of which knew all the lyrics. This showed how far they’ve come from becoming famous from YouTube, and the crowd went absolutely mental when they finished with their Kesha parody. I honestly think it was the best crowd I’d been involved in throughout the whole entire festival, and probably my favourite performance of the whole festival as everyone went absolutely mental and the band is just a group of funny lads who tore the place up!

I managed to catch the end of Sunday’s headliners Pulp, and their most famous song ‘Common people’, which sent the crowd wild. Jarvis Cocker’s unique style as a frontman is incredible, and I think he’s seriously one of the coolest men in the music industry. I’m hugely disappointed that I didn’t see more of their set and I’d love to go see them properly, but friends of mine who were there for all of it said they were amazing, and I believe them to be a great choice of band to end the extraordinary weekend that was Leeds festival 2011!

Charlotte Woodhead

Song of the day

This is Hardcore - Pulp

Always well known for their music videos, this has to be one of their best. This single taken from the album of the same title marked the significant change in the bands sound, and also the sound of a lot of the ‘Britpop’ bands. Kind of the end of an era. 

Its spectacular seediness and epic orchestral outlook makes this one of my favourite Pulp songs. Enjoy!!

Caris Smith

Pulp @ Wireless Festival 2011

The past couple of years has seen a resurgence in many a 90’s band, mostly of the Britpop variety, and many asked when the day would come that Pulp would be one of those bands. Jarvis Cocker would always hush any rumour or speculation, asking why would they need/want to, little did we know it would be a lot sooner that we thought. 

Sunday night saw the return of Pulp, closing this years Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, a moment i have to say, i have been waiting for forever having been a lifelong fan, and being that little bit too young to see them before their split in 2002. Having already played numerous festivals around Europe, it was time for them to come ‘home’. “Although we’re from Sheffield this feels like a hometown concert,” Jarvis says, “Its the collision between Sheffield and London and what came from that”.

Opening with ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ seems very apt, as many of us do (even if i was only little). They storm through a set of absolute classics, mainly from the ‘Different Class’ album, ‘Disco 2000’, ‘Underwear’, ‘Something Changed’ but threw in a few surprises too, notably ‘Mile End’ which the band recorded for the movie Trainspotting and which is a firm fan favourite. Absolute highlights of the evening were ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E’ and ‘This is Hardcore’, which really can only be described as an epic performance.

The atmosphere amongst the people of Hyde Park was electric, and the band looked genuinely amazed at the reaction. Jarvis was on fire and he moved around every inch of the stage, climbing and jumping and thrusting his way around. It was like nothing had changed, as if time hadn’t moved on, even if Jarvis did refer to the band as ‘old farts’. 

As the night drew to a close, only one song could end the evening, ‘Common People’. Introduced by Jarvis having a bit of a dig at the new One Hyde Park development, “We are in their back garden creating a bit of noise” he says mischievously as everyone gears up for one almighty sing along. It was a special moment, and one that they hinted maybe a last. As more confetti took to the skies Cocker said “Its like Christmas come early. We’ll see you all again….in about 15 years!”. I think we can pretty much guarantee they would still have the fans praying for that to happen. 

Although, it may come a little sooner than that as today the band announced they will be playing two special shows at Brixton Academy on the 31 August and 1st September, with tickets going on sale this Friday 8 July. This may be the last chance to see the band for some time, if again at all and its likely to be a sell out!

Full setlist from Wireless:

‘Do You Remember The First Time?’
‘Pink Glove’
‘Mile End’
‘Mis-Shapes’
‘Something Changed’
‘Disco 2000’
‘Sorted For E’s And Wizz’
‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E’
‘I Spy’
‘Babies’
‘Underwear’
‘This Is Hardcore’
‘Sunrise’
‘Bar Italia’
‘Common People’

Caris Smith

Photos courtesy of Wireless Festival

Its thats time again where we look at the best of the gigs June has to offer, and there are loads!

Anvil

First up, Canadian metallers Anvil are touring the UK, playing some of the tiniest venues possible! Promoting the release of their new album ‘Juggernaut of Justice’ they are not to be missed. All info on dates and tickets can be found here!

Whitesnake

Their latest album ‘Forevermore’ has been extremely well received since its release earlier this year, and now the band are playing a handful of dates around the UK. One of the greatest bands Britain has offered up, so go and show you’re support while Coverdale and co show you they still got it! Tickets and info here!

Kasabian

The Leicester four piece are set to release their fourth album later this year but are hitting the road now for a few dates before playing the festivals! Always a great band live, i really recommend them to anyone! Always a great show! All info here.

The Horrors

The goth pioneers from Southend are back again, this time with a completely new sound. They again release their new album later this year but are playing a couple of shows to preview new material. Always guaranteed a crazy show with these guys so check em out!

Aswell as all this there is much more going on this month in the shape of Bon Jovi back in the UK, 80s rockers Cinderella playing a one off show in London, Kerrang magazines 30th anniversary shows (including a special one from Ozzy!) and the start of the festival season with Isle of Wight, Download and Wireless Festival, which will also see the return of Britpop legends Pulp!

Like i said, June is a busy and exciting month! Get involved! 

Caris Smith