The Day After: Paul Van Dyk – 10 years of Vandit @ O2 Brixton Academy

I will keep it short, I was expecting this night for a long time and maybe I was expecting too much. Giuseppe Ottaviani was amazing, as always, doing is stuff live, really nothing to say, just bravo Giuseppe!

Paul Van Dyk wasn’t in the night, he played well and the track selection was good (not brilliant still) but you can read it on his face it wasn’t one of the best night, and being my 6 or 7th PVD gig, I can say it wasn’t in my top 3. And it was obsessed with Home! We got it, you like the song soooo much, but playing it 3 times in a night is just too much.

The day after: Miike Snow @ HMV Forum

Sometimes good things just happens! My flatmate sunday evening came out with “I have a spare ticket for Miike Snow friday, do you wanna come?”, of course I say yes!

It really bother me that I don’t remember the name of the support band (UPDATE: Baby Monster), they were good! Think about a more electronic oriented version of Sigur Ros and you’re close. I hope to find out the name and possibly one EP or LP from them.

Miike Snow are know as a pop  band (in the indie electronic scene ok, but still is pop) so I was extremely happy to find out that live they are really into EBM bass line and trance music. It was more a disco night then an electro pop concert, and a good disco night too!

The day after: Chemical Brothers @ Roundhouse

A piece of dance history has show up yesterday at the Roundhouse in Camden Town, you may have heard of them, they go under the name of Chemical Brothers!

The day after: Crystal Castles @ Heaven

One month later then scheduled, due to the dooming ash cloud which stopped the band in the USA back at the end of april, last night I finally saw Crystal Castles, or for being completely honest, I saw Alice Glass convulsion on stage and crowd surfing, a lot of stroboscopic lights, too many people for square foot close to the fence in front of the stage.

Enough with this preamble, let’s get down to business.

The day after: Delphic @ Electric Ballroom

First concert in a long week full of gig. The Electric Ballroom is a cool place in Camden Town, medium size, right for this kind of concert (bigger venue alienate the band from the public) and seems like everyone sooner or later end up playing there.

Everything Everything open the night, indie alternative band from Manchester, they’re touring with Delphic and I think is the right support, usually supporters sucks compared with headliners but this time they leave a good impression; on my radar for the future, hopefully a album will come out soon enough.

Delphic are a great live band, no doubt about that, the only big disappointment was the vocal on Submission by frontman James Cook: it sounded more like me under the shower than a professional singer.. really disturbing. But this is the only low in a performance I can easily say it left me favorably impressed way over my expectation.

Hi, I’m Alessandro and I’m a gig-aholic

Monday, a new week starts today, here is what is going to look like for me:

- Tuesday Delphic @ Electric Ballroom
- Wednesday Crystal Castles @ Heaven
- Thursday Chemical Brothers @ Roundhouse
- Friday Miike Snow @ HMV Forum

I think I might be out of control with music related event in this moment.

London for me is like Colombia for a cocaine-addict: you can never run out of fun and is all so cheap compared to back home!

Btw, saturday night I’m going to rest.. maybe.

The day after: Chris Cunningham @ Royal Festival Hall

As I was saying in the last post, it’s more two weeks after, just because really I can’t describe the night, videos are the best way to tell this story.

This is a sequence of videos with more or less all the show!

The day after: Recoil @ O2 Islington Academy

It’s more a couple of week after, but I was just waiting for some video of the night to come out on youtube, because word can’t describe the night in itself, and because I’m lazy too.

So here we go, some videos from Recoil live at O2 Islingotn Academy, London, 25th april 2010

Want, best track of the night for me

The day after: Planet Turbo @ Coronet

Tiga, Boys Noize, Erol Alkan. Alkan opened the night, probably the best on stage, Tiga lost it a little in the middle of the set slowing too much, but still Mind Dimension, What You Need and Shoes can do a lot dropped in the right moment. Boys Noize started amazingly well with Kontact Me and then slowly flew away in some electro loop that finished almost in a minimalistic way, in the end some bass line and bpm came back.. but it could be better.

Still, great night, a lot of fun, and a lot of dancing, every set 1 & 1/2 hour… at the end of the night I was death.

The day after: We Have Band @ King’s College

What can I say? Wednesday night I downloaded the album, thursday night I was at the concert knowing pretty much every single song.. I just went obsessed with this band in 1 day!

I knew We Have Band from a couple of single they got in Kitsune Compilation, I was looking forward to listen the new album and when finally I did, it was love at first hearing. They are pretty much a more disco oriented Delphic, with some song you can easily mistaken for a The Presets rework, like Oh!. The Whole album is more complex and various then the usually “debut work”, and that’s a plus, driving away from boringland the album and giving a fresh more wide listening experience.

What about the gig?

I <3 Music + London = Insane calendar

This is what I just wrote in a facebook conversation about, of course, gigs!

! stay for ticket already bought

20.04 Crystal Castles @ Heaven (!)
23.04 Chris Cunningham @ BFI squarepusher djset (!)
24.04 Prydz + Maas @ Matter (no ! but yes)
25.04 Recoil (Alan Wilder) @ O2 Islington (!)
30.04 Digitalism, Housecat @ Coronet (maybe)
01.05 Tiga, Boys Noize, Alkan @ Coronet (no ! but yes)
07.05 Brodinsky, Juggernaut @ Fabric (no ! but yes)
08.05 Love her coz dead @ 93 (no ! but yes)
12.05 65daysofstatic @ koko (maybe)
13.05 Animal Collective movie @ ICA (very tempted)
18.05 Delphic @ Electric Ballroom (!)
20.05 Chemical Brothers @ Roundhouse (!)
30.05 Paul Van Dyk @ O2 Brixton (!)
18.06 Fisherspooner, Aoki @ Coronet (no ! but yes)
24.07 Prodigy, Pendulum @ out of london (no ! but yes)
28/29.08 SW4 @ Clapham (no ! but yes)
22.09 2 door cinema O2 Shepard (!)

This is crazy, I know.

Wrap up: Cranberries, Crookers, Pub Crawl, Easter, Burn The Negative and other things

Never spoke before about Burn The Negative, well they got out the new album In The Atmosphere for a year or more now and they are a good mix of Depeche Mode (Playing The Angel period) and Apoptygma Berzerk (Rocket Science), a good synth pop / new wave sound that stays away from the dark side of the synth and embraces some disco beats. I like them a lot!

Saw Cranberries for the first time at the Royal Albert Hall, 31 march, Sinead O’Connor has one of the most amazing voice I ever heard, probably the best female singer I saw (Karen O is there too anyway). The public was a little cold, I was expecting a more passionate fan base, and sure they deserve it.

Crookers, Annie Mac and all the other who were on stage last saturday at Koko, 3 April, got me just insane: from 11 pm to 3 am, from dubstep, drum & bass, some idm, to the unique style of Crookers in the end of the night. Maybe they weren’t in their best night (and were is Royal T? :)) ) but still is just party music, for party people on a party night, perfect mix!

Pub crawls are work of evil! Got to do one for my flatmate birthday party, and man… it was a lot of fun, for what I can remember at least! 4 different pub/bar in the center of London, 1 every hour starting from 19:30, and in the end Zoo Bar (tourist target disco club) alternative night from all the concert I have done lately.

Rapid drop in at walkabout shepard bush aussie night on easter sunday and it confirmed what I was thinking of the event from the last time I was there, if you’re not completely dumb/wasted is not funny, special point if you’re from Australia or New Zeland as the 90% of the dumb you can find there. Not really my place I think.

The day after: Editors @ O2 Academy Brixton

What can I say? It was my birthday, new in town, nothing special was gone to happen on that thursday, 25th of march, so a crazy idea started growing in my mind in the morning: got to see Editors one more time, even if it’s already sold out.

Well, mission accomplished, of course, got my ticket outside the doors for 35 £ (still thinking I can get it for less, 25£ was the original price btw), and get to see the show in the central front row too, there couldn’t be better present!

What about the music? :D They are frakkin Editors! When you start a gig with In this Light and on this Evening, it simply can’t go wrong, than you add Bones, An end as a start, Racing Rats, Smokers, Raw Meat, Papillon… all the setlist is just amazing. All the night was absolutely brilliant, ever single song was a special moment that pass too quickly.

The setlist with some videos, after the jump:

The day after: IAMX @ ULU London

What a night and what a show! There are few people in the world capable of putting out that kind of show, and just one to do it with fantastic synthpop songs: he is Chris Corner and is project/band goes by the name IAMX.

Tickets stated 7pm doors open, but we get in at 7:30 after a good hour of tiny annoying London rain, is march yes, but still pretty cold to be wet in the evening.

Support, Nemo, starts at 8 and finish for 8:40: some good tunes, some not, usually when the violinist (after she will join IAMX for some tracks) stays on stage is a good sign, but leave the guy alone and it get boring almost immediately, I was hoping for a better support (or no support at all!) but you get what you get.

IAMX makes crowd wait 10 minute, just for put out who is in control, and then is off! Two of the best hours I spend in my life till now.

In a gig with IAMX you got all:

- great music, from romantic intimate song as Mercy, to dancefloor bombs like Nightlife, to anthem as Think Of England or President.

- show, like crowd surfing, change of dress, make up, mask, projection, reflections, an incredible frontman like Chris Corner.

- social meaning, with all the songs been a window on “the failing mess you’ve made your own”, “the alternative to real world”, “you’re nothing till the weekend” or just wicked sex reference, and a fan base compose by not so common people, you just feel there’s more than simple songs in the air, it’s a gathering, a kind of ritual, a sacrifice in sweat to some obscure God with Corner as a priest who got to see the light (or the dark).

I don’t know if I made my point clear, is just that there are so many different emotions going out at the same moment, that just talking about “hang out and listen some music” doesn’t fit at all the situation. Maybe in the end is just that, I loved the night because i get emotions, many of witch I can’t get anywhere else. Probably is that the reason because I’m so into music too: it makes me feel great.

And with this revelation I leave you with the setlist and a couple of video, just for make you envious:

The day after: Together Week Two @ The Coronet

Should I say that Bloody Beetroots got insane last friday (19th march) for one+ hour in a London club know with the name of Coronet?

Or should I say that all the people in the club went crazy with them?

Because that’s exactly what happened! You got an electro phenomenon who starts touring as a band – death crew 77 – and put of bits, drums, vocals like a metal band but still in an electro taste. The result? Pogo on the dancefloor!

Just put out “Bloody Beetroots Coronet” on youtube and you will see, words can’t really describe music, all I know is that 75 minute has gone by really quickly and I found myself jumping and screaming more than any security staff in a club have ever permitted.

There were Does It Offend You, Yeah? to warm up the crowd, yes, warm up is really what they came to do. After we got to ear Kissy Sell Out, a pretty amazing guy who can teach mixing to most of the dj I saw in my life.

Next time Bloody Beetroots death crew 77 is in town get your ticket early and prepare yourself for something never heard before.

The day after: Together Week One @ The Coronet

As soon as I get in things started going the wrong way, the time table was saying Crystal Fighters (live) 11:00 – 11:30! Too soon! For God’s sake I’m just arrived!

They started more like 11:20, but still the place was desert and what a shame because they were the best on stage in the night! Some of the beat they used were more like hardcore rave music (!!) then common electro stuff, so powerful, so talented, really looking forward for the next gig they’re doing live in London. Just great, and too short!

Then the rest of the night musically was kind of a delusion, I was expecting so much more from Mylo, instead of some fantasy behind the deck, he got death boring for an hour and a half just for drop at the end of the set Drop The Pressure, anyone went crazy obviously, but still.. really? This is all you got? I know that’s not true, because the album production was way superior, but anyway we get to listen to a boring set.

I hadn’t great expectation on Zombie Nation (live) but he clearly knows his way around the controller and the set was good.

Thank God I was with party people so the night in itself was still great.

As for the organization, Together got potential and tomorrow with Bloody Beetroots (live!!!) & Does It Offend You Yeah? (live) (Hervé seems kind of good on his myspace) sure is going to be one hell of a night, but still, man.. they better put their shit together quickly and star doing better time table.

The Day After: Depeche Mode @ Royal Albert Hall

The Horrors: supporto, speravo in meglio, l’album ad un ascolto superficiale mi sembrava interessante ma live si dimostrano un gruppetto di ragazzini in balia delle droghe e di un sound check pietoso.

Royal Albert Hall: prima volta alla Royal Albert Hall e mi sono innamorato, posto stupendo, acustica forse non perfetta ma comunque sopra la media di tanti altri posti, e poi graficamente appagante con un contatto più che diretto col palco, magnifica.

Depeche Mode: senza parole, concerto della vita! Alan Wilder sul palco al piano per una versione acustica di Somebody con Martin oppure Home con tanto di sezioni d’archi… sono sole alcune delle perle regalate nella serata, come in chiusura Photographic!

Tutto il concerto è stato un regalo ai fan, e i proventi dati in beneficenza al Teenage Cancer Trust sono la ciliegina sulla torta.

Conoscendo gente che li segue dagli esordi, o che solo quest’anno anno già fatto 7 date dei Depeche e sentirli dire che è stato il miglior concerto di sempre mi da l’autorità per scrivere: è stato il miglior concerto di sempre!

Video e foto a breve quando non avrò una connessione bloccata come ora.

The Day After: Aphex Twin @ Matter London UK

… it was Aphex Twin, I can’t really say anything more.

Great! From ambient, acid house, some dark stuff, to extreme drum & bass till some really hard stuff like STRP some months ago… and windowlicker in the mix!

Here’s a megamix of the night (video is shit, audio ok)

and here the last 2 minute with some of the hard stuff I was talking before (video & audio good)

The Day After: Remix @ Matter, London UK

La serata era Venerdì 18 settembre 2009.

Mixhell: ci danno dentro di brutto, electro by kitsune con tanto di live batteria che c’ha il suo perché.

Stereo:type: fanno IL dj set, avete in mente un megamix delle più belle canzoni degli ultimi anni? Perfetto, avete capito il set allora. In scioltezza da Robot Rock a Rollin, Voodoo People, Spitfire… Incredibili, se suonano sempre così hanno un nuovo fan.

The Whip: Iniziano Divebomb, finiscono Trash, nel mezzo un po’ di noia… Bella perfomance ma poco adatta all’occasione forse.

Pendulum (dj set): prima volta che li sento dj set e.. mettono le loro song solo come dj set! :D Delirio drum & bass in mezzo alla pista dall’inizio alla fine e sei hai come Mc il frontman dei Pendulum c’è più gusto.

Matter: visti Ministry Of Sound e Fabric, per me il miglior club è il Matter per potenza dell’audio e disposizione interna.

15 £ ingesso, 4 £ gin lemon. 1 £ guardaroba.

E settimana prossima Aphex Twin @ Matter!

The Day After: Massive Attack @ O2 Academy Brixton, London UK

17th september 2009: il ritorno dei Massive Attack. Data di apertura del tour, concerto fantastico.

Martina Topley-Bird: uno dei supporti più inutili della storia, non c’è molto da dire, voce e batteria senza tono ne emozione, per dare un’idea Macy Grey con giusto una rullata ogni tanto e qualche corista, stop. Ci si chiede come mai i Massive Attack abbiamo deciso di portarla in tour con loro e lasciarle scaldare (per l’incazzatura?) il pubblico… la risposta è semplice e la si scopre poco dopo, indovinate chi canta Teardrop ora?

Massive Attack: smontano e rimontano la classica struttura della canzone per creare qualcosa ogni volta sorprendente, alcune volte psichedelico, altre estremamente potente e “rockeggiante”, e ancora ipnotici come sul nuovo singolo dal nuovo EP Splitting the Atom.

Ancora non mando giù la versione molto lo-fi di Teardrop, bella eh, però l’originale è qualcosa di più di una canzone, è un anthem, un simbolo di una certa fascia sociale/anagrafica, e mettetela come volete ma i simboli non si scherza, quindi qualche limatina qua e là è permessa ma nulla di più, non a casa più di qualche fischio s’è alzato, unica macchia di un concerto stupendo sia per la musica che per il pubblico.

Vanno ricordate anche le grafiche, complimenti a chi ci ha messo mano, tecnicamente belle, estremamente dure nel messaggio sociale: extraordinary rendition to Guantanamo & so on, i ruolo dei media nell’oscurare notizie importanti come: la banca del DNA, l’introduzione di una ID card nazionale in UK, nuovi taser per la police, nuove CCTV mentre ci vengono gettate davanti ogni giorno gossip, cronaca nera fine a se stessa. Questo è quello che passa sui led alle spalle della band durante alcune canzoni. Un impegno sociale che può far storcere il naso a qualcuno ma che per me arricchisce e non sminuisce la performance, informare e divertire allo stesso tempo senza essere mai forzati è un punto a favore e non contro.

Domani e dopo si ripete sempre a Brixton, sempre sold out. Biglietto ingresso 30£ standing.

P.S. Dimenticavo: Damon Albarn (frontman Blur, Gorillaz.. dice niente?) sul palco per un paio di pezzi, cose che succedono, per fortuna! :D