Week 15: Mon 11 April - The Milk, Barfly, Camden

I finally got to see The Milk! Since meeting them during the HMV Next Big Thing and missing their gig that night, I'd been eager to see what all the hype was about surrounding The Milk and now I know.  This is a brilliant live band - they're unbelievably tight and so energetic through their set.  Between each of their songs they play recognisable ditties from other well-known songs, so they don't actually stop for the whole 60 minutes.  Listening to them on CD or online doesn't really do them justice, although their latest single has been receiving very positive reviews - but they're definitely a band who need to be seen live before being judged.  These guys are building up a strong following and everyone leaving their gig on Monday looked very happy and eager to see them again.  Who can't love a band that ends on a rocked-up version of Chemical Brothers' "Galvanise" - it was brilliant!  If only all bands were as professional and well rehearsed, the live scene could be a lot more interesting.


9/10


Listen: The Milk Myspace




The Head & The Heart played at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on Tuesday night - I may have broken my "no duplicates" rule, but it was worth it and as I saw The Milk the night before, I didn't feel too guilty.  


They're certainly gaining a following as the audience seemed much more familiar with their songs than they did when we saw them in February at the Lexington.  Their album is finally being released tomorrow so I'll be heading out to buy it.  I saw the band has retweeted a tweet earlier that said "The Head and the Heart = The Head and the Not as Good as Mumford and Sons."  Trust me, they're much better.

Week 14: Mon 4 April - Moby @ Radio 2

We popped down to one of the BBC Radio buildings to see a lunchtime performance by Moby, expecting to see him playing songs from his new album.  As it transpired he only sang 2 new songs and 3 old ones; performing all 5 on an acoustic guitar.  It was nice to see him up close and I was introduced to him afterwards (he's a very polite chap) but I thought the set was a little uninspiring.  Still, you don't get to go to the BBC for a lunchtime gig everyday, so mustn't complain.


BUG has facilitated a music video competition for Saatchi & Saatchi in partnership with Vimeo & Moby. Hello, Future: A Music Video Challenge invites up-and-coming filmmakers to make a music video for any of 3 tracks from Moby’s new album Destroyed, available to download now from the dedicated competition page on Vimeo. The submission deadline is midnight EST on Mon 9th May. www.vimeo.com/saatchiandsaatchi

Week 13: Wed 30 March - Laura Hocking & The Long Goodbye EP Launch, The Slaughtered Lamb, London

I really am getting lazy at maintaining this blog, but I'm still gigging away and attending at least one a week. 


3 weeks ago I went to see Laura Hocking at The Slaughtered Lamb, launch her debut EP.  She'd put in a lot of effort to make it a nice event - baking cupcakes in exchange for a charitable donation (they were good!) and organising a makeshift raffle in exchange for the audience's email addresses.  She seems like a very sound girl and is quite a talented lyricist.


Support came from Tristram, which was one of the reasons I was keen to go.  I saw Tristram play a support slot at the Luminaire a year or two ago and was really impressed.  This time around they played the old favourites including "Rhyme or Reason" and a few I'd not heard before.  I wasn't as blown away by them this time - their sound seems to have altered slightly since the early days and the lead singer is pretty shy, but they're writing some good songs so hopefully I'll soon be able to purchase one of their EPs soon.


Lulu & The Lampshades were the special guests.  I'd not seen them before or really given them a listen, so was curious to see what they'd be like.  I really enjoyed the set, although it went on for 45 minutes which seemed slightly too long considering it was meant to be Laura's big night.


Laura Hocking & The Long Goodbye were very good.  As I said, Laura is a clever lyricist and likes to introduce each of her songs with a bit of context to help you understand the story.  After a while it felt a bit same old, same old, it's all quite innocent folky music and there wasn't enough variation between some songs, but on the whole an enjoyable little party.


Listen: Laura Hocking Myspace
Listen: Lulu & The Lampshades Myspace
Listen: Tristram Myspace