Listen to Leah Hayes’ AMAZING voice.

What’s this? !!! Go to Leah Hayes’ blog.

Listen to that song. Listen to her voice. Absolutely incredible! Wowee. SO TALENTED, that lady! SO talented. Good skills.

Review + Photos: Monotonix at Scala

Here is an illustrated run through how Monotonix’s set went down at the Scala.

It was calm…

Then this guy came and lay on the floor:

Then he started shaking around:

Then the singer came and poured water all over him and dragged him round in circles:

Uh-oes. Then they did this weird handstand thing:

They were really loud…

The singer climbed all over the drummer (who kept on drumming):

This is one frame before he pulled his shorts all the way down. YES. We saw his behind. TOO MUCH…

Then he picked up a random girl and lifted her up for a while, kissed another random girl, tried to jump into a bucket, and then fell into me. Then, he stole a guy’s hat:

They had a dance off, tossing the hat between them:

He put the hat down his shorts. Then the guy whose hat is was rubbed the hat all over his face. It was weird. Then the singer recruited people to hold his drum kit and stool:

No way was I going to help. This guy was well up for it though:

And so were these folks:

He had successfully managed to get people to hold him up. Hurrah:

Then they drummed and played guitar and sang all around the audience:

THE END.

And then I went upstairs and saw Phosphorescent after. Chuckle chuckle chuckle. What a crazy evening. I’ll review Phosphorescent later. My right side still hurts from having the singer fall into me after he tried to jump in the bucket and failed and just fell over (into me). I can’t say Monotonix are my thing musically, at all, but they really do put on a great show.

Comics

So sorry if I haven’t replied to an email. Send me a reminder if you think I might have forgotten. I’ve got so much stuff to do! How is that even possible? I have two comics here:

Emily Loizeau, last Thursday:

SEE

This one is mostly about milkshake…

SEE

SUMMARY

Oops, I just looked at that last Antlers post, and it’s stupidly long. Apologies.

The gist is:

1. The Antlers are amazing

2. The Antlers are amazing

3. Epilogue is probably the best thing ever

4. The Antlers are amazing.

Additional points:

1. The Antlers are amazing

2. I miss them already. Sob sob sob.

3. They loved Nando’s. Darby loves the wings, especially.

4. The Antlers are amazing.

Review: The Antlers at Bush Hall

So good I have to review it immediately. I was so hugely looking forward to this show, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Absolutely wonderful. So prepare yourself for a poorly structured, super excitable post about my evening of JOY.

I headed down to the Bush Hall early. The show had sold out and I was hoping for there to be a spare ticket for a friend, and there was. Epic win #1. Firstly, I think it’s amazing the band sold out Bush Hall. I’m so happy for them. They completely deserve every bit of success that comes their way, and it was such a joy to see them play to a packed out room. There’s nowhere in the world that I would’ve rather have been that evening. It just makes me happy that people are hearing this amazing band who, really, are something so special.

The doors opened and Peter and Darby where there. I can’t write enough good things about this band, really. They are such warm and welcoming people and it was so lovely to see them again. They wanted some dinner and I told them about the Nando’s down the road… they offered to take my Nando’s stamp cards to get stamps towards free chicken. How lovely is that!? They are such genuinely lovely people, and I love them hugely.

The support was Norway’s I Was A King. They were nice. I was just terribly impatient and wanted to go straight to The Antlers. I do have to say, the guitarist was incredibly fast at changing guitar strings. She was like lightning! Good work, that lady. So finally, it was actually time for The Antlers and the lights went down. I was ridiculously excited. I think anyone who has seen me this week would have had me say ‘WOOO ANTLERS!’ at them at some point.

They opened with Kettering. I’m trying to articulate just how magical everything is live, and it’s really difficult. They are such a brilliant band; it’s the whole thing. Peter’s vocals are so powerful and beautiful, everything Darby adds is spectacular, and Michael is an excellent drummer- and they all play so well together. You can’t fault them.

From Kettering they went to Sylvia. It is such a beautiful song. The loud parts are crushing, the quiet parts are heart breakingly beautiful. The way Peter sings every word with so much soul and emotion… it made me want to cry. It was so wonderful. He extends some words and screams others… it gives you chills as he howls ‘let me do my job!’. Towards the end of the song there is a pause… and then the music and vocals come back in. Peter slows all the words down and sings ‘Sylvia, I only talk when you are sleeping. That’s when I tell you everything, and imagine that somehow you’re going to hear me.’ It couldn’t be any more perfect.

Then, after Sylvia, in came the lullaby-esque introduction to Bear. The keyboard part is just so beautiful. It was SO BEAUTIFUL! (I have resorted to shouty caps, really sorry). The only word for it is ’swoon’. I was swooning. It was just overwhelming. Watching these three people make such gorgeous sounds… I felt so lucky. It really is so special. How can three people make such wonderful sounds that emote such passion and feeling, that translates and pulls the audience in like that? You can’t help but feel so connected and close to the songs. That is something truly special.

Bear led right into Thirteen. It just completely washes over you and sucks you in, and then Peter and Darby sing ‘pull me out, pull me out, can’t you stop this all from happening?‘. It killed me, I was ready to bawl. There’s such a depth to all their songs, I wonder if people could fully appreciate the power of their songs if they hadn’t heard the record. I love Thirteen. It breaks my heart. I think one of my new life goals is to hear them play it with Sharon live. So much goodness there. If you do want a taster of Thirteen with Sharon, NYC Taper has a recording of the album launch show with Sharon singing. It’s wonderful. I love the version with Peter and Darby singing too, it’s brilliant.

Next came Atrophy and Shiva. Both stunning. Shiva just sounds so powerful live. Just the crashing, raw energy is stunning. When Peter yells ‘the sensation was scissors and too much to scream‘… the way he sang it was ridiculously wonderful. Two came next… it has such a gorgeous opening. It was breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking. What I loved so much about this show is that it felt like the record, like you were on a journey. It all flowed so wonderfully. The drums in that song are particularly amazing. Yeah, I’m not going to list all my favourite parts of that song (I just tried), because I would basically be writing out the lyrics and saying how I love every single part. Perfect.

Next came two songs that I hadn’t heard the band play live before. First, it was Wake. It was such a joy to hear. Wake is so beautiful. Peter has such fantastic control of his voice. When he sang ‘when your helicopter came and tried to lift me up I put it’s rope round my neck‘ I just died. It was so beautiful. Hospice is such a special record, lyrically, it’s mind blowing. It’s written in such a powerful way, you can’t help but be sucked into this heartbreaking story. Wake is the second to last track on the record, and you feel like you’ve been there through it all, and you just want to cry. Musically, they’ve just made it so that the guitar, keys, drums, everything, reinforces the power of the words and, all the little interludes and instrumental parts really speak in their own right. It was so special to hear that song live. There’s such a glimmer of hope, as the drums picks up ‘I’m letting people in’. It touches my heart. 

After Wake they left the stage and, after lots of cheering, they returned for Epilogue. One of my favourite things ever. I had never heard them do this before. It was mind blowing. A’cappella opening. A cappella! YES! I had tears in my eyes. The drums, and when the tambourine came in… it was like someone tapping on my heart! Michael is so modest, later in the evening I said how wonderful that part was and he said thanked me and said ‘oh, I gotta do something back there’. He’s such a great drummer. Through the whole show, the single line that got me most was ‘but now it’s not a cancer ward, we’re sleeping in a morgue’. If I wasn’t actively trying not to cry like a baby, I would have. I had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, it’s so powerful. That line really got me. It’s the end of a journey, it’s over. It’s amazing that Peter could take such a destructive experience and turn it into such a powerful, special record. Then after the quiet start, when things get loud and Peter raises his voice… it just is even more devastatingly perfect.

And there you have it. Quite possibly my favourite show of 2009, no band has ever touched my heart like that.

Whatever you do, don’t miss their show on March 3rd. I love this band so much. I want everyone to get to see them. If you like the record you’d have to be insane to miss them. They are nothing less than phenomenal. Brilliant. Get Hospice if you haven’t, fall in love with it, go see them live. I think there’s some really bright things in store for The Antlers, and they truly deserve it. So much love for that band and their beautiful music.

THE ANTLERS.

Review: Lisa Hannigan at The Royal Festival Hall

What a wonderful gig! I am largely unfamiliar with Lisa Hannigan’s songs but my good friend Bobbles (who took that fine photograph) had a spare ticket and kindly invited me along to see Lisa play at the wonderful Royal Festival Hall. What a treat.

It was my first jaunt at RFC and it truly is beautiful. The sound was perfect and the balcony and boxes all looked very lovely, and the lighting! Oh, the lighting! Marvelous. I was not shooting but I still dig good lighting.

Lisa and her band played a wonderful set. Because I’m not that familiar with her work I can’t really comment in much detail- but I can most certainly say that Lisa and her band are excellent performers. They sounded fantastic, everything was spot on, and they were so charming. Lisa seemed so appreciative of the audience and it was really endearing seeing her dedicate a song to her mum, who was in the Royal Box. It was such an enjoyable show. Lisa’s voice is quite whispery and soft but she can really belt it out as well.The glock, harmonium, and violin parts were all particularly lovely touches to some great songs. Lille was absolutely beautiful, and for the encore she did a playful little snippet of the Ghostbusters theme tune as a joke. It was very sweet and I’m pretty sure it brought a smile to the face of everyone in the room. Go see Lisa Hannigan: she is brilliant. And listen to Lille- such a gorgeous song.

The Antlers at UNION CHAPEL

YES! EPIC GIANT HUGE WIN WORTHY YES YES YES!

Tickets on sale Friday from here. The Antlers’ world domination is now in full effect. Union Chapel! That’s so good! So happy for them! Yes! They deserve it. I really am so so so so so happy that they’re doing so well- people need to hear their wonderful music. 

March 3rd, 2010. MARK YOUR DIARY!

Scary Mansion

Yes! Remember Scary Mansion? That band I’ve hardly ever blogged about? The one with the singer who is also a hugely talented illustrator? Yes? YES! I am just having one of those overwhelming moments of love for this amazing band. LEAH HAYES! Look at this thing she drew:

After a good show there is always, what I like to call, “DANGER TIME”. Danger Time is when I am so swoony and joyous that I am in danger of saying stupidly hyperbolic things and getting in the ’so good’ loop (where, like a stuck record, literally all I can say is ’so good’ solidly for about 5 minutes). 

Lucky after the Paris show I managed to reign in some self control and I don’t think I did the whole Danger Time thing. Partly because I was on my own and everyone was French and probably would have been confused if I went up to them saying ’so good so good so good’.

BUT! There is a chance for more Scary Mansion Danger Time! I am hopefully going to catch them in Paris again next February. I’m working on a plan. Last time, my dad was kind enough to put me in a hotel because my original plan was to just save money by not getting a room and just strolling about Paris all night. I think it will be cold in February and thus it makes sense to get a room. It will be fun.

So, the thing that made me all excitable for Scary Mansion was this video. I guess it was filmed back in April when Scary Mansion were in France. Leah’s voice is ridiculously raspy; she had a sore throat at the Paris show. I think the raspiness works brilliantly! Her voice is so wonderful. Leah and her sister Vanessa play Mighty and New Hampshire. Mighty is from this year’s Make Me Cry and New Hampshire is from Every Joke Is Half The Truth. I love Mighty but New Hampshire is my favourite. I love that song so so so much. Leah’s fragile voice is beautiful and works so well. Look forward to seeing them again. Listen to the new record, it’s great.

Scary Mansion AHOY!

Sail Away Ladies!

Wow, everyone is being so kind about that Tristram video I made earlier. Thanks! Animation is time consuming and lots of work, but it’s really fun (!). I only made a jaunt into it the other day, because I wanted to tell the story of when some milkshake got on my shoe. Funny the things that inspire me. So here is my next project that I’ll do later this week…

My friend Alan runs the wonderful Wears The Trousers, who, along with Charlotte Richardson Andrews, have put together an album of beautiful songs. They’ve curated this fantastic album of cover songs, by artists such as: Anais Mitchell, Pepi Ginsberg, Josephine Foster, Marissa Nadler, Ane Brun and many more. What a giant epic win. The songs are all covers of songs performed by Odetta, who was apparently dubbed the “Queen of American folk music” by Martin Luther King Jr. Not bad, not bad…

The album opens with this sweet song Sail Away Ladies performed by Linda Draper. It’s so bouncy and fun. You can hear it over here. Alan and I are going to make a video for it. It will be colourful and hopefully reflect how lovely the song is.

In the mean time, be excited about the album! It’s called Beautiful Star: The Songs of Odetta and is out November 30th as a limited CD or as a download. Make your pre-orders over here. All profits are being put towards two different charities. 

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

The Tailors: Come Dig Me Up

The Tailors new record Come Dig Me Up is out imminently. I’ve caught the band play a couple of times (once on that wonderful day where Wildbirds destroyed my heart with My Heart at The Social), and you’ll often see the lovely Adam Killip at gigs about town.

The album is nine songs long, and you can hear a few of those songs on The Tailors’ Myspace. Animal Humor is my favourite. The band launch the album at The Social on November 30th,  tickets are just £5 or you can get two free when you buy the album from Rough Trade. What a steal! It’s a lovely record, well worth picking up.