SONG OF THE DAY

Bombay Bicycle Club - Luna

You may have noticed, that I already uploaded a Bombay Bicycle Club track on the blog recently, but I just couldn't help myself, because a) their new album, So Long, See You Tomorrow is probably their best yet, and b)I'm seeing them live TONIGHT!

I'm planning on writing a live review for this gig. I know I may have said that for HAIM last week, but the dancing got a little out of hand, and normally I take notes, but I just couldnt stop my feet!
This time though, I'll have to be a lot more restrained, as I'll be seeing them on a "school night." 
My predictions for setlist:
Opening song: Overdone
Encore: Always Like This, Shuffle

SONG OF THE DAY

HAIM - Forever

I went to see HAIM live at Nottingham's Rock City on Tuesday and felt like I'd been transported to another decade, (late 70's/early 80's I'd say).

The Haim sisters did not leave their talent in L.A. Ohh noo, they took every ounce of it with them to the UK, AND some.

When you see a band like HAIM, whose popularity is growing by the download, you have to resign yourself to the fact that this may be the only time you'll see them. Unless you're at a festival or something, chances are, they'll be playing the arenas next year. 

I was planning on writing a live review for the gig, but was having far too much fun and lost myself in what seemed like, a 70s disco.

Seeing a band's first album live is the most exciting time; for the band and its fans. The fans win 'cos your favourite track is definitely going to be played at some point, and the band are still pinching themselves at the audience singing every one of their lyrics back to them.

Este Haim told us to "shake our fuckin' asses" for 'Forever,' and that, we did. It was just like one big party. Nobody cared. Everyone just wanted to dance. 

HAIM's first song of the encore was Beyonce's 'XO,' and instantly became my stand-out track of the night.

I'm suffering with some post-gig blues at the moment.

Life was so much better jumping around and screaming to 'Don't Save Me' with my pals and not having to worry about anything.

Not. A. Thing.

That's what I love most about live music. It's all in the moment.

LIVE REVIEW: Lucy Rose @ Brighton’s Coalition – 12/11/12

Set List:

First

Red Face

Lines

All I’ve Got

Shiver

Night Bus

Place Scar

*NEW SONG*

Middle Of The Bed

Watch Over

Bikes

ENCORE:

Don’t You Worry

Be Alright

Now, I’d never been to Brighton’s Coalition before. I didn’t even know it was a music venue. I’d always assumed it was mainly a club on Brighton’s seafront so didn’t know what to expect, apart from the generic sticky floor and bar. My assumptions were correct. I couldn’t decide whether it was the fact I could barely see the stage or whether my lack of change for the cloakroom meant I was stood in amongst the crowd with my winter warmers on, sweltering… but something just wasn’t right. I always believe a venue can make or break a gig and to be honest I had my doubts. I think  it was ‘cos I had been waiting so long for a chance to see Lucy Rose, I had already envisioned this really small, intimate gig but I forgot how much her fan base had expanded over the last year… Fighting for a good view in a gig is never my strong point especially if a very tall, stocky man is standing square in front of you, armed with a pint along with his three pals. Luckily, I managed to maintain a spot where I could just about see Lucy Rose’s full set.  It was a gap between two people’s heads. Perfect. That’ll do. ..

My concerns with the venue instantly vanished when Lucy Rose came on stage and performed her enchanting ‘First.’ I realised there was even more to her voice that recordings on her CD and various videos online weren’t showing us. There was something classical   about it. Now, I’m not talking about opera or anything Mozart, I mean that original, husky, dusty, soft base to her vocals that I would now always associate with her. A distinguishable voice is hard to come by nowadays (listen to me preaching away again), but Rose proves that raw and original talent still exists in amongst a field where ‘dirty bit’ and ‘gangnam style’ are the hype. Moving straight into her second song of the night, ‘Red Face,’ the singer looked so at ease on stage and she looked as though she was relishing every second of it.  I found her even more charming than I thought I would as she interacted with the crowd, especially when she performed a new song she had been working on, mentioning how nervous she had been as she still couldn’t quite get it right. Opening up to your audience is something a crowd at a gig are really eager for. Trust your fans and your fans will trust you and will show this through their confidence to sing back the artist’s lyrics right back to them. Lucy had her crowd laughing, singing, bopping, shouting out ‘We love you Lucy’ throughout.

‘Middle of the bed,’ created an excitable wave through the audience, as well as ‘Bikes’ where the crowd simultaneously cheered as Rose sang ‘Listen up, Listen hear, everybody scream out loud!’ A smile was permanently pressed on Lucy’s face as she demanded the crowd to shout scream and be merry. I’ve always loved two kinds of performers 1) who commands the stage and 2) who continually reminds their fans of how grateful they are for their support. The best part is that Lucy oozes both. She exudes stage presence but without the gimmicks or the strutting, just the music.

There was an atmospheric awe which stayed from the moment Lucy Rose walked onto the stage right through to the encore where the crowd yelled ‘ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!’ in unison, causing a rapturous ripple of applause until she came back to perform her final two songs of the night with her fellow band mates. She jokes about crowd surfing, before sailing straight into ‘Don’t you Worry.’ The gig was just a sixty-minute taster of what’s to come. The crowd were using every vocal cord they had to keep her from leaving the stage and ending yet another successful night of her UK tour.

This year has sped right past us, especially for Lucy Rose who started out strumming away in a local park hoping to release an album which is now spread on billboards across the UK’s capital.

Lucy once sang:

And you said, “Everything will be the same”

But look here, everything is gonna change

And you said, “It’s what I needed”

I don’t believe it

… But she better, ‘cos 2013 is going to be even more unbelievable.