So Canterbury start the show. My band to listen to this week. These guys appeal to the more indie inclined fans out there, quite different to the other two bands of the night: Cancer Bats and of course Billy Talent. Being the first band nothing really gets going for them (except for the guy dancing in the cow costume…) but they still have a lot of energy. The fairly unsurprising drums and guitars are kept interesting, they are laced with the synthetics of a keyboard. I must say I prefer their studio work to their live performance, but that may be due to the guitarist blinding me with his shiny guitar and being distracted by my friends shouting to Cancer Bats who are on the balcony above us. Still, worth checking out. Look for “Lost In The Basement.”

Next to take the stage, the mighty Cancer Bats. A relentless band, their first song is “Hail Destroyer”. It lives up to its name. As soon as the drums are combined to the riff bodies are colliding within the crowd. The aggressive vocals and aggressive pits leave both voice and body spent, and this is only one song into the set. Thankfully water is free at the bar. Good times. The set is then just more of the same. Pits, followed by sore throats, followed by trips to the bar for water. Finally we end on “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair,” a brutal and bludgeoning song which is the perfect end to the set. Amazing that they just set the crowd alight from the first beat of a drum.

Next is what we came to see. Billy Talent. Opening straight away with a memorable riff, Ian D’Sa; the spotlight is focused on him. A song from the third album, creatively titled III, is the first we hear: “The Dead Can’t Testify”. The crowd bounces in synchronicity. The crowd is still buzzing from Cancer Bats’ performance. “Devil In A Midnight Mass” sees the crowd regain their energetic and brutal state. After this song (and some minor bruising) Ben Kowalewicz explains that the tour needed to be postponed and that it was a much better option than death. The crowd agreed. Next follows “This Is How It Goes” and my first crowdsurfing experience. I love gigs over here, the spirit of everyone is amazing and everyone looks out for each other. I’m safe. A few more songs, new and old, and all my friends take turns to follow my lead. Chants of “Yorkshire! Yorkshire!” (that’s the county we live in) ring out. The band are confused; they think we’re saying “You’re Sh**!” Laughter breaks out between the band and crowd. The band finish with the spectacular  “Devil On My Shoulder” (lots of Satan references tonight…).  They’ve finished way too soon, the crowd chants for more. We are treated to “Fallen Leaves” and, of course, “Red Flag.”  “Fallen Leaves” sees me crowdsurf again. A [...]]]> Yay for Billy Talent rescheduling! Wow. Equally good, if not better than, Does It Offend You, Yeah?

So Canterbury start the show. My band to listen to this week. These guys appeal to the more indie inclined fans out there, quite different to the other two bands of the night: Cancer Bats and of course Billy Talent. Being the first band nothing really gets going for them (except for the guy dancing in the cow costume…) but they still have a lot of energy. The fairly unsurprising drums and guitars are kept interesting, they are laced with the synthetics of a keyboard. I must say I prefer their studio work to their live performance, but that may be due to the guitarist blinding me with his shiny guitar and being distracted by my friends shouting to Cancer Bats who are on the balcony above us. Still, worth checking out. Look for “Lost In The Basement.”

Next to take the stage, the mighty Cancer Bats. A relentless band, their first song is “Hail Destroyer”. It lives up to its name. As soon as the drums are combined to the riff bodies are colliding within the crowd. The aggressive vocals and aggressive pits leave both voice and body spent, and this is only one song into the set. Thankfully water is free at the bar. Good times. The set is then just more of the same. Pits, followed by sore throats, followed by trips to the bar for water. Finally we end on “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair,” a brutal and bludgeoning song which is the perfect end to the set. Amazing that they just set the crowd alight from the first beat of a drum.

Next is what we came to see. Billy Talent. Opening straight away with a memorable riff, Ian D’Sa; the spotlight is focused on him. A song from the third album, creatively titled III, is the first we hear: “The Dead Can’t Testify”. The crowd bounces in synchronicity. The crowd is still buzzing from Cancer Bats’ performance. “Devil In A Midnight Mass” sees the crowd regain their energetic and brutal state. After this song (and some minor bruising) Ben Kowalewicz explains that the tour needed to be postponed and that it was a much better option than death. The crowd agreed. Next follows “This Is How It Goes” and my first crowdsurfing experience. I love gigs over here, the spirit of everyone is amazing and everyone looks out for each other. I’m safe. A few more songs, new and old, and all my friends take turns to follow my lead. Chants of “Yorkshire! Yorkshire!” (that’s the county we live in) ring out. The band are confused; they think we’re saying “You’re Sh**!” Laughter breaks out between the band and crowd. The band finish with the spectacular  “Devil On My Shoulder” (lots of Satan references tonight…).  They’ve finished way too soon, the crowd chants for more. We are treated to “Fallen Leaves” and, of course, “Red Flag.”  “Fallen Leaves” sees me crowdsurf again. A hole emerges in the crowd. As the song kicks in to the final chorus the biggest pit I’ve ever seen collides. It’s amazing. “Red Flag” sees the pit increase in size even further. This gig truly a spectacle and a great credit to the band.

A truly amazing gig.

Next is an artist called Trip, the only musician I know to mention a Transformers lunchbox in his lyrics. Trip raps over a fairly indie band that accompany him on stage. By the end of his set the crowd is electrified.

Finally, Does It Offend You, Yeah? take the stage. After being quiet on the studio front for quite some time, it’s good to hear some new material mixed into the proceedings. They come on stage and dive straight into things. “With A Heavy Heart” kicks things off and the crowd remains electrified. This is only the beginning of things. We are treated to the delights of “Attack Of The 60ft Lesbian Octopus,” a short but energetic song to which my girlfriend and I start a circle pit. The energy of the crowd is through the roof at this point. A new song is then played, Untitled as yet, but in the bridge warrants James Rushent to announce his hatred for Peter André, which is warmly received by the audience. “Let’s Make Out” sees the band ask for audience members to sing onstage (original vocals for this track came from Death From Above 1979 vocalist Sebastien Grainger) This is where the crowdsurfing and chaos starts (not a bad thing.) A few more songs play, until we get to the highlight of the gig: “We Are Rockstars.” An electronic explosion lights the crowd as the floor shakes underneath. Another pit is necessary for this song. The intensity of the song leaves the crowd desperate for more, but there is nothing; an amazing climax to an hour-long set, but still too soon.

The night doesn’t end there; we meet the band out back for a chat. James Rushent seems very pleased at the pits my girlfriend and I created; they are unfamiliar for this band, being so electronic. We are invited backstage, which is fairly awesome! It strikes me that after playing stadiums with NIN, they still prefer places like The Cockpit, and they’re still such normal people. We meet all the bands, language no problem for the french guys. We become so astounded that we’re backstage that we hardly talk. We’re sitting with the band that gave us the show of our lives. Then we realise we have to run for our train, bringing a swift end to an amazing night to remember.

No prizes for guessing my band to hear this week. Does It Offend You, Yeah?, a five piece electro band, likened to Daft Punk and Justice, but also Gorrilaz and The Killers. Their first and only album so far, You Don’t Know What You’re Getting [...]]]> Does It Offend You, Yeah? came to Leeds on Friday, playing the rather small Cockpit; quite a change from their stadium tour with Nine Inch Nails. One word: wow. Does It Offend You, Yeah? know how to put on a show. To start things off, an electro band from France: Housse De Racket. For two guys they make amazing music; the drums, the programming and the guitar. Fantastique!

Next is an artist called Trip, the only musician I know to mention a Transformers lunchbox in his lyrics. Trip raps over a fairly indie band that accompany him on stage. By the end of his set the crowd is electrified.

Finally, Does It Offend You, Yeah? take the stage. After being quiet on the studio front for quite some time, it’s good to hear some new material mixed into the proceedings. They come on stage and dive straight into things. “With A Heavy Heart” kicks things off and the crowd remains electrified. This is only the beginning of things. We are treated to the delights of “Attack Of The 60ft Lesbian Octopus,” a short but energetic song to which my girlfriend and I start a circle pit. The energy of the crowd is through the roof at this point. A new song is then played, Untitled as yet, but in the bridge warrants James Rushent to announce his hatred for Peter André, which is warmly received by the audience. “Let’s Make Out” sees the band ask for audience members to sing onstage (original vocals for this track came from Death From Above 1979 vocalist Sebastien Grainger) This is where the crowdsurfing and chaos starts (not a bad thing.) A few more songs play, until we get to the highlight of the gig: “We Are Rockstars.” An electronic explosion lights the crowd as the floor shakes underneath. Another pit is necessary for this song. The intensity of the song leaves the crowd desperate for more, but there is nothing; an amazing climax to an hour-long set, but still too soon.

The night doesn’t end there; we meet the band out back for a chat. James Rushent seems very pleased at the pits my girlfriend and I created; they are unfamiliar for this band, being so electronic. We are invited backstage, which is fairly awesome! It strikes me that after playing stadiums with NIN, they still prefer places like The Cockpit, and they’re still such normal people. We meet all the bands, language no problem for the french guys. We become so astounded that we’re backstage that we hardly talk. We’re sitting with the band that gave us the show of our lives. Then we realise we have to run for our train, bringing a swift end to an amazing night to remember.

No prizes for guessing my band to hear this week. Does It Offend You, Yeah?, a five piece electro band, likened to Daft Punk and Justice, but also Gorrilaz and The Killers. Their first and only album so far, You Don’t Know What You’re Getting Yourself Into, shows quite a variety of music. They have the slower, gentler songs, but also throw in the faster, more aggressive songs. Truly a masterpiece. Listen to “We Are Rockstars” and “Let’s Make Out.”

And I’ll slightly bend the rules by telling you to check out Trip (look up “Who’s That?”), and Housse De Racket. (yes, I know one of them is French but you NEED to listen to them,  especially “Synthétiseur.”)

Ahem. I digress. So I said I’d talk about the gig I’m organising at my school.  There is SO much work involved! Basically, it’s a competition, for both bands and organisation teams. We held auditions on Friday; there are some amazing bands out there! We couldn’t let ‘Barry and the Indonesian Ferret Tickler’ into the event… but they’re a new band, so it’s all good! One of the bands that auditioned were going to support All Forgotten! That’s pretty good. Now we have to sort out set lists, sound checks, painting the backdrop, merchandising, tickets and posters… lots of stuff. The music industry is hard work.

So a band to watch! Seeing as I’ve already mentioned them, check out All Forgotten! They aren’t too heavy, but they have hardcore and screamo elements. Not all of the lyrics are screams though, Jonathon Thorne has a talent for screams and singing too, with a noticeable English accent. They are great supporters of Art Is The Cure (another thing to check out on myspace with a quick search) and Jonathon practically ALWAYS wears his Art Is The Cure tee. They put on an AMAZING show live, thats why I’ve seen them 3 times. LISTEN TO: At A Guess I’m Second Best (a great showcase of the band’s music)

Thanks [...]]]> Bad news… no Billy Talent review this week. They had to postpone. BAD TIMES! They’re ill or something. SWINE FLU!!!!

Ahem. I digress.
So I said I’d talk about the gig I’m organising at my school.  There is SO much work involved! Basically, it’s a competition, for both bands and organisation teams. We held auditions on Friday; there are some amazing bands out there! We couldn’t let ‘Barry and the Indonesian Ferret Tickler’ into the event… but they’re a new band, so it’s all good! One of the bands that auditioned were going to support All Forgotten! That’s pretty good. Now we have to sort out set lists, sound checks, painting the backdrop, merchandising, tickets and posters… lots of stuff. The music industry is hard work.

So a band to watch!
Seeing as I’ve already mentioned them, check out All Forgotten! They aren’t too heavy, but they have hardcore and screamo elements. Not all of the lyrics are screams though, Jonathon Thorne has a talent for screams and singing too, with a noticeable English accent. They are great supporters of Art Is The Cure (another thing to check out on myspace with a quick search) and Jonathon practically ALWAYS wears his Art Is The Cure tee. They put on an AMAZING show live, thats why I’ve seen them 3 times.
LISTEN TO: At A Guess I’m Second Best (a great showcase of the band’s music)

Thanks for reading!

Brynmor!

Basically, it’s all about what’s going on over here (Britain) musically, every week. So that might be upcoming new artists, less famous artists, gigs I go to, interviews with artists (if i can!)… Things like that. I’ll include maybe what I’m listening to that week, people to look out for. And I apologise now if any slang confuses anyone. It happens sometimes.

So this week!

Working in Morrisons (a supermarket chain over here) , I can’t help but realise what a load of tosh* we listen to. The cheesy, awful classics, the modern pop, and the same-y indie stuff. There’s nothing that stands out on the radio, although I did hear Cobra Starship on the radio the other day, for the first time ever! We need a bit more variety. Get more music like The Auteur, All Forgotten and We Are The Ocean on the radio. Not things like “Put A Donk On It” – The Blackout Crew (Youtube that one if you fancy a laugh!)

OK, seeing as this is the first week, I can’t think what else to write.

But NEXT week, I’ll be writing a review of Billy Talent live at Leeds O2 Academy, I’ll talk about the open auditions for the music event I’m organising (with a bit of background), and I’ll tell you a band to listen to!

I’ll be off then chaps (and chapettes?) Brynmor! (yeah, that’s my real name. It’s Welsh.)

* Ruddy – Adj./Adv. An intensifier. Euphemism for ‘bloody.’

* Tosh – Adj. [...]]]> So what the ruddy* hell is this?

Basically, it’s all about what’s going on over here (Britain) musically, every week. So that might be upcoming new artists, less famous artists, gigs I go to, interviews with artists (if i can!)… Things like that. I’ll include maybe what I’m listening to that week, people to look out for. And I apologise now if any slang confuses anyone. It happens sometimes.

So this week!

Working in Morrisons (a supermarket chain over here) , I can’t help but realise what a load of tosh* we listen to. The cheesy, awful classics, the modern pop, and the same-y indie stuff. There’s nothing that stands out on the radio, although I did hear Cobra Starship on the radio the other day, for the first time ever! We need a bit more variety. Get more music like The Auteur, All Forgotten and We Are The Ocean on the radio. Not things like “Put A Donk On It” – The Blackout Crew (Youtube that one if you fancy a laugh!)

OK, seeing as this is the first week, I can’t think what else to write.

But NEXT week, I’ll be writing a review of Billy Talent live at Leeds O2 Academy, I’ll talk about the open auditions for the music event I’m organising (with a bit of background), and I’ll tell you a band to listen to!

I’ll be off then chaps (and chapettes?)
Brynmor! (yeah, that’s my real name. It’s Welsh.)

* Ruddy – Adj./Adv. An intensifier. Euphemism for ‘bloody.’

* Tosh – Adj. Rubbish, nonsense.