Last night's gig was

Lovely stuff. The thinly veiled first noticed as she seemed to be playing her bass at an unusual angle to her body the whole time. I would guess…six months maybe? Whatever, she’s a fucking trooper to be rocking that hard still :+1::metal:

Carla dal Forno at the Surrey Vaults in Bristol, Friday night. Ghostly synths and Spartan beats along with a gently dubby bass and Carla’s icy and slightly detached vocals. It was ace!

Hey Colossus and Working Mans Noise Unit at the South Street Arts Centre in reading. First time I’ve been back there since it reopened after refurb. Very nice to see a big crowd there, in fact it was sold out (although there was still plenty of space in the room). First time seeing both bands and was very impressed by WMNU, always missed their previous shows but won’t be doing that again. Probably preferred them to HC, but HC were still very good - well worth a few quid out on a night out in Reading.

Saw the Art Ensemble of Chicago last week. Never been into free jazz, but they were phenomenal. Roscoe Mitchell is one of the most incredible instrumentalists I’ve ever seen perform.

Touche Amore - o2 Academy, Newcastle.

Really enjoyed this. Not a huge fan of the recorded stuff because that particular vein of emo/hardcore doesn’t do much for me, even though I do want to like it more. Didn’t know these songs were at all but it all sounded great and it felt like a short gig even though it lasted an hour. Great frontman too, really good for that sort of thing and getting the people at the front all going for it.

Ulrich Schnauss @ The Tank…

Possibly the most pretentious gig I have attended :+1: - a Resonance FM fundraiser in a converted water tower on a backstreet in Lewisham with a capacity of 50 people. Support came from a Taiwanwse ‘reductionist feedback artist’ during which I found myself corpsing somewhat. Ulrich Schnauss was his usual lush self sonically. Found a photo on Twitter of proceedings with me looking suitably serious in the background:

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This photo looks like a launch party for the new issue of Sugar Ape.

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Like you wouldn’t believe mate :open_mouth:

Pet Shop Boys @ the armadillo
Fucking brilliant. Sounding great. light/projection show immense, just really well thought out as you’d expect. Only complaint being that so many great tracks weren’t played buts that totally understandable with a back catalogue as vast and as good as theirs.
Had a huge fucking grin on my face all night and had a good wee dance as well :slight_smile:

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Saw them in Leeds last Saturday. It’s such a great show. Just leaves you smiling. The lighting at times is, like, truly amazing.

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yeah light show was fucking incredible. and if you don’t leave with a big smile on your face then you’re dead inside :slight_smile:

Mitski. Got the train through to find it sold out. Came home on the next train disappointed.

Last Sunday’s gig was … Mark Eitzel. Which I could not attend due to my girlfriend being unable to deal with her hangover from the previous night.

Last Thursday’s gig was … King Khan & the BBQ Show. I’m sure they’d sound awful on vinyl (however warm) but after a couple of pints, the spectacle of two fat, middle-aged Canadians done up like the Lord Humungous singing vile, scatological filth to an overdriven garage rock backing was pretty entertaining.

Ha. This sounds amazing.

Ryan Hamilton acoustic show at Hug N Pint in Glasgow. Really really good fun.

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Dutch Uncles instore at Rise in Bristol. Ace, and they’re back for a full gig in a fortnight!

The Dears at Village Underground. By far and away the best show I’ve seen them do- Murray even cracked some jokes!

Julia Jacklin at the Louisiana in Bristol. Whilst some of her material doesn’t quite hit the spot it’s mostly very good (including an ace cover of Someday by The Stokes). The band / arrangements complement her gorgeous countrified croon well and she is a very warm and engaging performer. Delightful.

Saw them in Cardiff. Small crowd but the band were so good… took the kids to see them do an in store in Bristol the next day

Hamilton Leithauser at Village Underground

Absolutely immense what a singer. Think his voice is starting to struggle a wee bit after so many years but always gives it large. Was really impressed with his guitar skills too seeing as he never played much when in the Walkmen. Oh and loved the story behind “the Bride’s Dad” …“the story is longer than the song!” :joy:

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They were great in Nottingham. Had a really nice chat with Murray after, who was lovely even with me accidentally drinking Natalia’s pint

Sunday night’s gig was… Ennio Morricone. I thought they were taking the piss with the earplugs in the foyer but I could see a few people wincing at the big crescendos so maybe not. Stuff from the The Mission was the highlight.

It had never really occurred to me before that professional singers are sometimes employed just to make noises instead of words. The 70+ strong choir all going “Hah-HMM! Dum-di-dum-di-di-Drrr” at the same time during The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was pretty impressive.

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