Islington – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk CREATE:COMMUNICATE:CONNECT Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:38:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-FAVICON-90x90-1-32x32.png Islington – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk 32 32 Give Me The Sun, City Lightz, Red Kites & Minerva @ O2 Islington Academy https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/o2pluggedin/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/o2pluggedin/#respond Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:38:01 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=539 Jar Music Live: Plugged In Showcase

Wednesday 19th October

Reviewed by Michael baker

So I went to this gig with high hopes, my mate is in one of the bands and the others seemed promising from the minimal I had heard.

Thieves / Minerva / Just bang the drums
Thieves / Minerva / Just bang the drums

We opened with Thieves, although playing as Minerva. Although undoubtedly talented they did manage to leave me confused. It seemed a mish mash of styles, at one point we had hardcore reminiscient of Deaf Havana mixing with the pop punk of an early Panic!. I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense as I enjoyed the mix but it did make it hard to keep up as to where we were going with things. Any band that has the O2 Islington and the Barfly in its first few gigs deserves praise and I think the highest praise I can give is that I would gladly see them again to see if the mish mash of styles I noticed was a one off or a substantial part of their music.
A chilly night in London for Red Kites

They were swiftly followed by Red Kites. Now having listened to the band more since this gig I can say that they are very good and that their folk rock interests me, therefore I will be keeping an eye out for them. However, on this night, the main focus seemed to be on manufacturing an atmosphere rather than playing the music. If they keep this out of their performances in future they will do fine.
City Lightz Outside

East Kent’s own City Lightz were second to last. In terms of an overall performance they were outstanding. Leading with their latest single, More Than a U in Us, they used this opportunity to showcase their talents. Having learnt from previous mistakes they only had one cover, Jamie T’s If You Got The Money. It was electric. Sheer brilliance on their part and it set everything up beautifully for their finishing double act of Breaking Bones and the unreleased Shades of Me.
Give Me The Sun

The final act of the night was Give Me The Sun. This band have a great sound and on the night they definitely made the most of the final slot. Everyone got up close and listened whilst another band played which had full confidence in their set. The acoustics of O2 lent itself perfectly to their specific indie rock style.

]]> https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/o2pluggedin/feed/ 0 Funeral Suits + Wild Combination @ The Old Queen's Head, 3 November 2011 https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/funeral-suits-wild-combination-the-old-queens-head-3-november-2011/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/funeral-suits-wild-combination-the-old-queens-head-3-november-2011/#respond Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:32:54 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=513 You could be forgiven for thinking that the only ‘art’ coming out of Essex at the minute is those morons with the fake tans and hair product addictions soiling the TV schedules. Thankfully, Essex has plenty more to offer. Named after an Arthur Russell song and playing their first London show, Wild Combination belt out their take on the synth-indie pop that The Killers and Phoenix made so accessible. If nerves or trepidation could be expected on this landmark gig, they certainly don’t show it. Lead singer and “pre-ear removal Van Gogh” lookalike (this is according to the person standing next to me), Christian Wright, is confident and assured throughout the short set, switching between hanging off the mike to hunching over his synths with dismissive ease. Their set is full of tracks that neatly nestle between the electro sway of Friendly Fires and the punchy indie-lite of Two Door Cinema Club. Wright’s vocals most resemble that of Two Door’s Alex Trimble, especially on latest single We Are The Creatures. The nonchalance of most London gig crowds is well known, but the packed upstairs living room of the Old Queen’s Head have their heads nodding and legs tapping in approval throughout. There’s nothing too challenging about what Wild Combination do, but the choruses are big, the hooks are in abundance and if tonight’s confident showing is anything to go by, they won’t have any problems moving up to bigger venues and harvesting a legion of new fans.

 Having driven 12 hours from Ireland to play the gig tonight the 4 members of Funeral Suits look shattered, but their performance never suffers from any lack of energy. The Guardian’s new band blog describes them as “mournful and majestic”, which although certainly befitting, also seems to do them a slight disservice. The XX they are not. Constantly swapping instruments between songs, live they are intense, with the swathes of sound coming from them at times battering you in such a small venue. The drums are big, maybe too much so at points, and the guitars gritty and distorted, but underneath the bluster there’s hidden gems of melody and chorus’ that nestle in your brain. Current single Health has a Klaxons-esque punch to it, especially in the shared, slightly falsetto vocals, whilst Florida starts harmless enough before building into a brutal sonic onslaught. Colour Fade is the most interesting track tonight, with the drum machine provided beat and repeated, eerie guitar, it not only offers a chance for the audience to get their breath back, but also to get a clearer listen of the delicate and simple melodies at the heart of a lot of what Funeral Suits do. Too often tonight though this gets lost in the swirling distortion leaving you feeling slightly distracted. Although not perfect, the set is still exhilarating at times, and maybe with a slight ‘less is more’  approach live they could certainly be ‘ones to watch’ in 2012 and hopefully fill their potential.

]]> https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/funeral-suits-wild-combination-the-old-queens-head-3-november-2011/feed/ 0