Bat for Lashes, Brighton

Just a few months ago it was the Brighton Dome’s smaller and less atmospheric neighbour, the Corn Exchange that Natasha Khan and her band, Bat for Lashes were packing out. Now, with the second album Two Suns surely high in many a critic’s “top albums of the year” lists, a second Mercury Award nomination under her belt and even more loyal followers in tow, Natasha Khan has certainly taken her band to the next level. Despite the acclaim, Natasha is the same endearing creature she’s always been. When she addresses her home crowd, it’s with her disarmingly soft, sweet voice and her dance moves remain understated and perfectly fitting for the music . . .

The set includes many songs from Two Suns, with the single Daniel causing the adoring crowd to dance and cheer their way through most recent single Pearl’s Dream and into What’s A Girl To Do from Khan’s first album, Fur and Gold . . .

On the whole, I wouldn’t say this was a gig to vent your frustrations at the world and dance and thrash around like a thing possessed, rather it was a gig to allow the audience the time, space and stimuli to take a step back from reality and enter the strange, dark, uplifting, melodic world of Bat for Lashes. Personally, I would loved to have seen the band amidst the gothic arches of Brighton's Concorde 2 venue, I feel it would have suited the mood so much more - but I fully understand that the bigger venue was needed for this stage in the career of Bat for Lashes . . .

Please check out our clip of Bat for LAshes performing Daniel at the Brighton Dome, thanks to ShoegazerVideo, and let us know what you think and if you were there!

words&photos&video: Claire B of Shoegazer

The Maccabees - Brixton Academy

The Maccabees

Brixton Academy - 3.10.2009

For those of you who don't know much about The Maccabees, a band who last Saturday played their biggest and most triumphant London show to date, allow me to fill you in. Based in Brighton but originating from South London, the five-piece consists of Orlando Weeks (vocals/guitar), Hugo White (guitar), Felix White (backing vocals and guitar, brother of Hugo), Rupert Jarvis (bass) and Sam Doyle (drums). After releasing their debut album Colour It In in 2007, the band gathered a loyal following of fans and received moderate critical acclaim thanks to songs that ranged from gentle and melodic (Toothpaste Kisses, Precious Time) to upbeat and infectious (Latchmere, X-Ray).

2009's follow-up, Wall of Arms marked serious progression for the band, and where Colour It In could have been unfairly overlooked amidst the barrage of indie releases, the band's second offering reallt made music lovers sit up and take note. Featuring the brilliantly dark and brooding No Kind Words and Love You Better, this is an album that steps forward from those of the band's contemporaries and embraces the dark side. With Arcade Fire's producer Markus Davis in tow, the band have developed their signature sound immensely and have delivered songs for almost all moods. And, just as significantly, they've produced an album that men like - an album that speaks to the boys in the crowd in a year that's been dominated by female-based music.

As proved at the Brixton gig.For the first time in a long while, we couldn't help ourselves but venture right into the heart of the throbbing crowd at the gig. We jumped, danced and sang along to song after song that the band performed with relish. Groups of guys threw their arms around each other's shoulders and cheered and grinned, their faces telling that, as far as they were concerned there and then, no ther song defined their friendship; no other other band spoke to them quite like this. Of course, this could just be the hysteria of the moment, but it was wholly refreshing to see a crowd so engaged with the band and so willing to enjoy themselves. Many a girlfriend's face expressed the look of "I didn't know you liked them this much."

But don't get me wrong, this wasn't a crowd divided. Just as many girls and women were enjoying the music and dancing and singing their hearts out. This was a gig that pulled the audience in and gave them a sense of collective euphoria.

When the crowd drowned out frontman Orlando Weeks' amplified vocals on old favourite Precious Time, the band appeared visibly moved, hugging each other in deisbelief at their triumph. Felix White declared Brixton Academy to be "the best venue in the world," and as the final shords of Love You Better rand out, Weeks was clearly overwhelmed by the reception of the crowd and left the stage in humble tears. "I think you've given us the best night of our lives," he confessed. I'm sure they gave many of the 4,000 strong crowd one of the best nights of theirs too.

words&photo: Claire B of Shoegazer

Jack Penate

Jack Penate – iTunes Festival 2009, The Roundhouse

Gig Experience: 3.7.09 Roundhouse, Camden. iTunes Festival
Album review: Everything is New

I’m loathed to call these reviews... because one person’s experience at a live show can differ dramatically from the next. So please bare in mind that whenever we write about live gigs here on Shoegazer Music, we are writing “Experiences” rather than “Reviews”. Ok? Got that? Good!

Jack’s back in London after a busy start to the year which has seen him release Everything Is New, the follow up to his 2007 debut album Matinee. There’s no sign of “difficult second album” blues here, with pretty much every song worthy of being released as catchy, infectious and heartfelt stand-alone Singles. In the run up to the release of the album we had Let’s all Die, Tonight’s Today, Be the One and others enticing us in to Planet Penate. Now, with the album’s arrival we’re treated to brilliant songs such as Everything is New, Give Yourself Away and Pull My Heart Away. The album is worth every penny with not a filler track in sight. Development is the word of the day here, with Jack Penate proving the catchy rhythms of Matinee weren’t just a lucky fluke. His song writing has developed with numbers such as Pull My Heart Away and Body Down being bluesy in a perfectly Penate way.

And so to the live show, part of this year’s iTunes Festival where fans apply for tickets via Facebook/iTunes and are awarded them for free. Taking place at Camden’s Roundhouse on a warm and hazy sunny evening, Jack was supported at the gig by the Golden Silvers (last seen by Shoegazer supporting Florence & the Machine in Brighton). Their song True Romance is catchy and well worth checking out.

Prior to taking the stage, our man Jack could be spied relaxing on the roof terrace in the evening sun as excited fans mingled with those who had applied out of curiosity, and those who had simply applied for a great night out for the price of a tube ticket.

As Jack took to the stage, the crowd greeted him with rapturous applause as he confessed at how he hadn’t played his hometown of London for a while but that it was good to be back. Bursting through a set which included old favourites such as Torn on the Platform, Spit at Stars and Run for your Life, Jack was joined on stage by Kid Harpoon half way through the set to perform Give Yourself Away (“AYA YA-YA YA YA YA YA YAAAAA YAAAAAAA,” sorry, couldn’t contain it.) It says something for the quality of the new material that it by far outshone the old favourites.
In all, a really great gig and a fantastic album.

(Images: ClaireB of Shoegazer)

Check out video footage of Jack Penate with special guest Kid Harpoon performing Give Yourself Away, thanks to ShoegazerVideo:

Florence and the Machine - Brighton

Florence and the Machine - Brighton - Concorde 2 - 2.6.09

In a venue tucked under the Brighton promenade lays a stage littered with flowers and empty bird cages. Faded bunting stretches out above the audience and tangles in amongst the gothic wrought iron arches and pillars. As the sun fades outside, its last throws of light illuminate the stained glass alcoves, throwing an eerie light across the room.

Florence and her band take to the stage in a swirl of fog and launch into a set list that includes most of the tracks from her forthcoming debut album Lungs (out July 6th). “I’ve just been singing about coffins... now I’m going to sing about cutting someone’s eye out,” giggles Florence after paying homage to the gothic splendour of the venue as she leaps from My Boy Builds Coffins in to Girl With One Eye.

It’s testament to Florence that the crowd remains transfixed despite not yet being familiar with over half of the songs. Each track is performed with powerful vocals and a dramatic stage presence which sets Florence apart from many of her contemporaries. Her enjoyment of performing each song to the maximum both in terms of vocals and movement is refreshing.

Where many bands perform their most well-known songs with tour-weary reluctance, Florence rips hers up with all the excitement of a child tearing wrapping paper off a particularly large present, and seems delighted that the gathered crowd are enjoying her work. Recent release Dog Days Are Over, new single Rabbit Heart (out June 21st) and her cover of club classic You’ve Got The Love generate a rousing response from the audience, as does a screaming rendition of Kiss With A Fist.

Maybe it’s because I’m at a gig in Brighton instead of London for the first time in ages, but there is a distinct lack of pretention to proceedings tonight which gives the gig a feel of those from the early 2000s - before the big “indie” boom. On the whole, the audience are wearing what they want rather than what they feel they should. Couple this with Florence’s disarmingly friendly banter with the crowd and it becomes crystal clear why this gig was one of the best I’ve been to in a long time.

Florence has come a very long way since I first saw her (with Dev Hynes as ‘the Machine’) at a free festival back in 2007, and I would thoroughly recommend you seek her out this summer. Do yourself a favour though, and approach her as an artist in her own right, not as one of “2009’s top tips” or as a member of the infuriating “new females” clan (female is not a genre).

Keep an eye on Shoegazer Fashion for Poppy's review of the night (and Florence's outfit!)

Review in brief:
Venue: Refreshingly un-corporate! Good size for an intimate gig. Bad toilets.
Gig expereince as a whole: A perfect end to Florence’s tour and a perfect way to introduce us to her debut album. Uplifting, dramatic and unpretentious.

Jack White forms another band

Jack White has formed a(nother) new band - this time with Alison "VV" Mosshart of The Kills.

(Photo: Third Man Records website.)

Jack White seems to be collecting bands as if they were going out of fashion. Not content with being in The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, White has now formed yet another band, this time with the aid of The Kills' Alison Mosshart.
The Dead Weather, who are signed to White's label Third Man Records, performed on March 11th to celebrate the opening of the label's new offices in downtown Nashville.
The band, which consists of it consists of Mosshart on vocals, White on drums, The Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence on bass and Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age on guitar, plan to release their debut album Horehound in June. Hear their debut single Hang You From The Heavens by clicking the link below.

Opinion piece: Another year, another Jack White band . . . How many "supergroups" does he need to be part of? Quality not quantity and all that...
Get involved: Comment and let us know your opinion of the new band and single!

Posted by CB (12.3.09)