David Bowie 1947 - 2016

Just over a year after Lou Reed passed away, we then lose David Bowie. I remember years ago queuing for David Bowie tickets at The Brighton Dome to see the Ziggy Stardust show. The queue for tickets went right round the Brighton Dome ( it was in the days before online bookings and Ticketmaster ) and took almost half a day to get to the Box Office. The gig was on May 23rd 1973 and was a stunning show : 

THE "total theatre" of David Bowie's "outstanding" 1973 performance at Brighton Dome has lived on in the lives of fans who were there.

The Argus's review of the gig reported that 18 seats were ripped from the auditorium and four fans fainted.

The act is total theatre. The stroboscobic lighting , the weird costumes and Bowie's charisma transformed the Dome immediately into science fiction.

Hoards of fans have recalled the concert - at the height of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars fame - from the moment he stuck his head through the curtain at the start of the show to fans dragging themselves home having changed forever after.

Of course he went through many different persona's after that, and many different musical styles too, but this era was the one that made him. A true rebel, innovator and fashionista of the time ! David Bowie and Lou Reed were both great friends such a shame neither of them are here any more. 

Found this great version of Ziggy Stardust Live, sounds amazing  : 

Live on Top Of The Pops in 1977 : Heroes

Heroes Indeed !

Ben Howard

I can't believe we have gone this long without featuring Ben Howard. We went to see him at Belsonic in Belfast last year, the last date of his tour and he was excellent. His live set is so good, he crafts his songs, and they just carry you along …

This one is Keep Your Head Up and was filmed at Pinkpop in Holland in 2013 :

This track is Old Pine, it's not live but it has a great video : 

The summer in N Ireland is usually two weeks in May, but this year we have had a proper summer ! I think this music is perfect for 2014  ! 

Wake Me Up When It's All Over !

This was one of the best songs from last year, Avicii's Wake Me Up When It's All Over. Having got into a hotel at 2.30 in the morning on Monday, and 1.30 in the morning on Tuesday, it just about sums up how I feel at the moment ! There is certainly nothing glamorous about flying these days...

I feel better already ! All together now ... 

First Aid Kit - Revisited

Here is a great song to end the week, it's been almost a year since we first featured First Aid Kit on the blog ! This one is called Emmy Lou and sounds just as good as the first time we heard it :

Have a good weekend ! 

Lou Reed 1942 - 2013

Such a sad day to hear Lou Reed passed away, a great pioneer of rock through from the Velvet Underground and his time spent with the brilliant Andy Warhol to the present day. Always his own man, always an innovator, he went his own way and could never abide fools. So many great songs left behind like Sweet Jane, Heroine, Waiting For My Man, Vicious, Walk On The Wild Side, Satellite of Love, Perfect Day, and the classic album Transformer.

Tribute to Lou Reed

This song is Sweet Jane from his Velvet Underground days, it's live and sounds just as good today, it is the essence of Rock & Roll :  

He collaborated a lot with David Bowie, they made Transformer together. This is Waiting For The Man live at David Bowie's 50th Birthday Party : 

A live recording from the 80's of Lou and his band doing Walk On The Wild Side : 

Thanks for all the great music ! 

Kings Of Leon : Tennents Belfast

In spite of the looming threat of rain it was obvious this was going to be packed ! We got there early and got ourselves positioned on the crowd barrier that circled the mosh pit at the front, so it was an excellent view and not too far away from the stage. This years fashion statements are the cut off jeans or hot pants and the multi patterned welly boots ! I am sure that was last years fashion statement too, though festival goers always dress in the hope of a sunny day, rather than the reality that it IS going to rain ! The billing only named Kings Of Leon and the Vaccines but the show kicked off with an Irish band called The Minutes. The least said about them the better, and they were followed by The Undertones, reformed without Feargal Sharkey but great entertainment none the less ! They packed 22 songs into about an hour including Teenage Kicks, Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy, My Perfect Cousin, and got a lot of smiles with their Irish humour between songs. There was a lot of build up and expectation for the Vaccines, and they did play a very tight set but the sound was badly mixed, so despite all their energy and enthusiasm it came across as a bit flat. There were a few highlights and the crowd responded to two or three songs like If You Wanna, which is a real future classic.

Right from the off Kings Of Leon were stunning, this is the third time we have seen them now and this show feels like this is what they have been working towards over the years. The crowd knows most of the songs but the band still play each one like it's the first time. Even the new single Supersoaker had a lot of people singing, I am sure the new album due out next month is going to be a huge hit. It was great to see Caleb smiling, there were several moments in the set that the whole crowd were singing, and he was obviously enjoying those moments. You could see the rain coming down in the lights but no one seemed to notice, what's a little rain to a hardened Irish crowd ? It's difficult to get good photo's in conditions like these, but here are a few that came out okay :     

Tonight's the Night !

It's finally come round, Kings of Leon are playing in Belfast tonight ! Just heard that Northern Ireland are playing Russia at football this evening at Windsor Park a mile down the road, so we might have a little trouble parking. Oh and rain is forecast too, but we are used to that right, we won't let a little rain spoil our fun will we ?! The Kings have a new single out called Supersoaker :

The support band is The Vaccines, we have featured them on the blog in the past so hope they will be good live too ! 

Tennents Vital Belfast 2013 !

August is going to be a great month for music here in sunny Belfast !

Wednesday the 14th see's Kings of Leon back with The Vaccines as special guests. Thursday the 15th see's Snow Patrol with a line up of Foy Vance, Kodaline and Jason Mraz. We really enjoyed the Black Keys last year, and already have our tickets for these two shows, it should be a great couple of days !

Crooked Fingers : Your Apocalypse

While surfing some of the newer bands in Itunes, up popped Crooked Fingers ! The latest album is called Break In The Armor, and the more you play it, the more it grows on you !

This first song is a live version of Your Apocalypse :

This next song, She Tows The Line, has been used as a soundtrack on Chuck, a ©Warner Bros TV comedy : 

Enjoy and have a good weekend !  

Suede : Bloodsports !

Suede are back with a bang, and a new album too ! Bloodsports is full of great tracks and as good as any of their albums from the '90's.
They are playing in Custom Square, Belfast in August as part of the Belsonic Festival, I'm so glad we've got tickets now, never did see them the first time around.

Bloodsports

Here are a couple of tracks off Bloodsports, the first one is called It Starts And Ends With You :

This track is Sabotage from BBC 6 Music Live at Maida Vale in London :

Suede : Wild Ones

Here is a track by Suede from the mid-nineties called Wild Ones :

Hope we can get tickets ! 

Alabama Shakes Revisited

Can't believe it's been nine months since we put up any music by Alabama Shakes ! Their first album is still in the top ten on Itunes, this track is called Hang Loose :

Love it ! 

Music for 2013 - Jake Bugg

It's almost 2013, and we made it past the end of the world ! To bring in the New Year here is a singer song writer called Jake Bugg, he's only 18 and from Nottingham in the UK. He has already played at Glastonbury, and been on Later with Jools Holland, and his first self titled album went to No 1 in the UK.

This track is called Lightning Bolt :

Music For The Weekend : Little Feat

One band whose music has remained timeless, and right up there with the best is Little Feat  ! Their singer, songwriter, and guitar player Lowell George sadly died at the age of 32 back in the '70's (yes the '70's) but the band still keeps going to this day.
The sound recording back then was probably not what is is now, but this track was filmed at a festival in Holland in 1976, and sounds pretty good ! Their sound was all their own, and this track is Fat Man In The Bath Tub :

Their albums include Little Feat, Dixie Chicken, Sailing Shoes, and Feats Don't Fail Me Now, check them out ! 

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals

One band that would be great to see next year would be Ryan Adams and The Cardinals. He has had some great albums in the past like Gold, Heartbreaker, and Easy Tiger and was touring all the time before he married Mandy Moore. I guess he has a good reason to stay at home now ... there are no dates planned at the moment ...

This track is off III/IV titled Breakdown Into The Resolve :

Enjoy ! 

Masters in France : Playin' With My Friends

Here is a great tune to start the week off, and it's from the new Ikea advert. The band is Masters in France and the singer sounds just like Damon Albarn ! 

Matthew and The Atlas : Within The Rose

Such a shame these guys split up, the more you hear their songs, you realise what a great sound they had. This is Within The Rose :

Great video too ! 

Manic Mondays : U2

This is for Steph at Ric-Rac, who has been designing great artwork for the print collection as long as we have been going ! She has a very individual style, she is always so creative and has the ability to keep re-inventing herself.
I got to see U2 live back in the '80's before they had all the huge stage shows, and I remember a really exciting, full of energy gig. This track is Live at Red Rocks called I Will Follow :

Music For The Weekend : Dan Auerbach

This track sounds great on his solo album, but this is live and sounds even better, this is Trouble Weighs a Ton :

Have a good weekend ! 

Runaway Go : Delicate Man

Starting the week with an Irish theme, Runaway Go are another exciting band from Belfast, they are collectively Dave Jackson, Fiona Kane, Javed Love, Chris Jackson and James Lappin. They have been steadily conquering Ireland playing gigs all over the place, and were recently on the same bill as General Fiasco in Belfast. This track is Delicate Man :