ross and the wrongens – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk CREATE:COMMUNICATE:CONNECT Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:21:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-FAVICON-90x90-1-32x32.png ross and the wrongens – and so she thinks https://andsoshethinks.co.uk 32 32 November 13th https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/november-13th/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/november-13th/#respond Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:21:44 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=210 Disclaimer: Large portions of this night were completely obliterated by red wine, therefore it may not be an entirely factual account of events.
How do you measure a successful gig? Pure headcount? Number of pints sold? How many stars given in the next day’s Time Out? I prefer to use Durkheim’s measure of  a religious experience, what he coined collective effervescence, defined as ‘perceived energy formed by a gathering of people.’ Saturday November 14th at TheCuckoo’s Nest (King’s Head, Acton) was off the scale.
Openers Moustaches of Insanity were suitably insane, their quirky indie pop winning them fans across the room, and song title ‘Cheese & Freckles’ becoming the catch phrase of the night.
Local Wings of Pegasus astounded the audience for a number of reasons, amongst them the L’Oreal worthy locks of the entire band. Other reasons they are worth it include the tight execution and fearless traversing of the fret board. Easy to see why they came third in this year’s Surface Unsigned Festival.
If you ever wanted to know what John Lyden would sound like having a hoe-down, Outdoor Types let us know, with their slightly anarchic folk rock. A little bit pop, a little bit prog, ‘Devils In Horseback’ in particular went down a storm.
Then, DJ John played Pulp – ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ I was seven when this was released, so no. In fact, so far gone was I by this point I barely remember this time. I do remember a whoop of delight and a dance of joy!
Next up were The Seasiders, who in their alcohol fuelled state seemed to confirm all stereotypes about Southenders on a Saturday night. Apart from that I adore them. ‘You Only Love Me When Your Drunk’ they sung out. No guys, I always love you. I just wave my arms more energetically when drunk. Don’t take it personally. After a hip dislocating twist to the Chas’n’Dave esque ‘Pub Song’ and some enthusiastic skanking to ‘No One Needs To Know’, we were encouraged to rest our weary limbs, with singer Paul inviting the entire audience to sit down for some good old audience participation and sing the chorus of ‘Streets of Loneliness’.
In fact, the only thing better than the grin inducing fever that swept the room as The Seasiders played was Salema. Get in touch lady!
Lord knows what Ross has been doing to his Wrongens, but this last week has seen a flurry of texts and emails, with members of the band dropping like flies. Ross and a (part time) Wrongen treated us to a beautiful stripped down set, enamouring the room into a dream like state. ‘Make You Right’ was magical, and ‘Summer Sun’ strangely austere and heart warming in equal measures, its aye-aye oou-oooh chorus uniting the crowd. We’ll hopefully get them back again. (Ross, please accept my virtual handshake until we meet again!)
All in all, roll on December 11th!

]]> https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/november-13th/feed/ 0 Ones To Watch https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/ones-to-watch/ https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/ones-to-watch/#respond Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:29:06 +0000 http://itsallhappeningmusic.blog.com/?p=55 It tends to take years, or at least months, for bands to form a following, to build a reputation and to get themselves heard. The arrival of January 2011 will not suddenly create a throng of new artists that until now have been hiding away, ready to form on New Year’s Eve and take the music industry by storm. That’s why the following list of artists are not necessarily ‘new bands’. You may have heard of them, they may already be huge or you may not have a clue who they are. But, either way, we love them and hope that they get the attention they deserve in 2011.

Wolf Gang – Electro indie pop genius. Recent single ‘Lions in Cages’ is an enjoyable, upbeat track that MGMT would be proud of. Wolf Gang AKA Max McElligott has a host of dates coming up in February and March, including a tour supporting popular Kiwi’s The Naked and Famous.

Yuck – Formed out of the ashes of the beautiful Cajun Dance Party, Yuck are a different animal altogether. The band fuse together a blend of grunge and shoegaze that creates a raw, scuzzy but downright fantastic sound. Singles Georgia and Rubber are two very different track which increases anticipation about the finished album, set for release in 2011. This promises to be a huge year for Yuck.
Trophy Wife – Trophy Wife became a internet buzz band in the latter part of 2010 with the exceptional single ‘Microlite’. The trio are set to build on this momentum throughout 2011 by seeing in the year playing with fellow Oxfordians, and influence, Foals at The Forum in London. Foals’ ‘Total Life Forever’ was one of the albums of 2010: don’t be surprised if Trophy Wife’s debut album gets similar plaudits.

Boy & Bear – Australian band Boy & Bear are the sort of band that leave you standing in awe, with the hairs on the back of your neck raised and a tingle down your spine. Debut EP ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ is an exceptional 5 track collection of indie folk. Having supported Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons in 2010, Boy & Bear are set to return to UK shores in the middle of 2011 with a debut album and a set of festival appearances. Don’t miss them.
Dry The River – In a similar vein to Boy & Bear, Dry The River produce beautiful songs with sing a long qualities. Songs such as ‘New Ceremony’ and ‘Family Tree’ start slowly and build in to a bubbling pace. 2011 looks likely to be a promising year for the London based quintet.
Cosmo Jarvis – “Yo-ho Sebastian, Let’s go far away, Somewhere where the captain won’t be mad. Yo-ho Sebastian, I want to love you good. We deserve much better than we’ve had” You need to be either a genius or a fool to write a song called ‘Gay Pirates’ about a homosexual pirate who loves fellow swashbuckler Sebastian. With over 540,000 views on YouTube consensus suggests that Cosmo Jarvis is. A genius, not a homosexual pirate.

Ross and the Wrongens – Ross has to be one of the nicest guys in the music business. Events conspired against Ross that meant the usual wrongens were unable to join him on stage to headline the November It’s All Happening gig. Not to be deterred, Ross was joined on stage by a part time wrongen and cracked out a fantastic set of upbeat indie pop. If Ross and the Wrongens are at a venue near you in 2011 then you must see them: they deserve great things.
Tall Ships – Tall Ships came on to the IAH radar in 2010 having released two brilliant EPs and an energetic live show that sees the trio pass instruments around like a hot potato. Part of the fantastic roster of reliable record label Big Scary Monsters and management Idle Hands Club, Tall Ships have a lot of talent and are sure to make big waves in 2011.
The Joy Formidable – Long term readers of IAH will probably be aware of our championing of The Joy Formidable. Debut full length album ‘The Big Roar’ is to be released on January 24th 2011 and is set to be massive. The trio make an unfathomable layered sound that is so different from most bands in the current music scene. Having heard the promo copy, The Big Roar will be one of the best albums of the year.
Spring Offensive – Spring Offensive are a delightful band. They have a great ability of writing dark, but intelligent lyrics with unpredictably catchy tunes. With an EP and a mini album already under their belt, we’re expecting a full length album in 2011 from the Oxford quintet.
The Cast of Cheers – In all honesty, IAH don’t know what The Cast of Cheers have planned for 2011. New album? Tour? Split up? No idea. Hopefully it will be the former two because we have just had the joy of discovering 2010 debut album ‘Chariot’ and my gosh- it’s good! This Irish foursome have a Foals-esque brilliance about them: a calculated, jagged rock that wants you leaving more. Hopefully 2011 will be the year that everybody knows their name.

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