COMPANY Rocks! Contributing Music Ed

Love music and want to share your passion by writing a column for our readers. Tell us about your music mix, the ones to watch, your first gig - everything!

To be in with a chance of guest editing, simply upload a recent gig review to this forum - the more creative and descriptive the better!

Good luck!

Following the release of their debut album in September, electro-pop quartet Fenech-Soler have been hectically touring the country since then, with this earning themselves a fixed following and ideal opportunity to platform fresh material.

Being known for their big love of sequins and sparkle, more so throughout their busy summer of festivals, could not of been more proven when watching the bands video for Lies, In which we genuinely see lead vocalist Ben Duffy bleeding glitter. Emerging on stage with Album starter Battlefields, the fiercely intense intermingle of beats encrusted with bass, emitted at full force amongst the lively sold out mass. Previous single Lies appeared decidedly as crowd favourite. Having already been remixed, reblogged and replayed, its catchy hints, retro buzz and fraught funk made for a iridescent track that saw the crowd vigorously echo ‘LIES’ whilst throwing various free style moves. Up and coming single Demons again a compelling number with a dynamic blend of all things electro shimmered, making for a confident prediction that the track is sure to receive big airplay once released.

Duffy’s frequent bursts of short interaction with the crowd saw his on stage presence as cool and imposing. Bringing to view his mix of vocal talent, percussion playing and soaring synths. As a unit, the band also including drummer Andrew Lindsay, bassist Daniel Soler and guitarist Ross Duffy, managed to effectively create a melodic, pop filled set emblazoning a brilliant record, and with the transition between each track being kept freely short, made for a continuous makeshift fusion of trance.

Having already entrapped the entirety of the crowd, Stone Bridge was delivered in stunning form, atmospherically the most memorable track of the night. Beginning as a more down-tempo, hushed track, trembling with Duffy’s gorgeously tender vocals and piano parts, the ability to become captive during this four-minute phase was inevitable. With the midway breakdown, an uncontrollable rapture of collaged synths hypnotised in its purest form.

Wrapping up the fifty minute set with Stop & Stare, a prior most acknowledged release, made for a fitting close. The euphoric launch, progressing drums and fizzy synths, suitably triggered a firework like motion with a beat rocketing a bracing buzz throughout the whole venue as Duffy chanted ‘I feel the fire do you feel it the same’.

Fenech Soler’s ability to embellish their shows with all things glistening was proven. If the band’s intention was anything near to converting anticipating crowds into a spell-binding frenzy, offering up the chance to overlook everything and just dance and have fun, they achieved it perfectly, unflawed.

http://www.rhythmcircus.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=695:fenech-solar&catid=46:live-reviews&Itemid=125

High ceilings, hazy lighting, walls pleached in sheens of beer and a bitter smell of antiqued tobacco. The venue definitely didn’t set up any prefigurations that this would be my ultimate gig, the one every other would be compared to before shamefully thrown into the pile labelled ‘Average and Below’. I was here at 26 Oldham Street, Manchester to see Mona, a Nashville band who were soon to permeate every ‘New for 2011’ long and short list, and gain a coveted street cred for their humbling ambition and championed 50s rock and roll sound.

Mona prove themselves to be a commanding force as soon as they climb the stage; frontman Nick Brown is captivating to watch in all his James Dean-modelled glory, and every song is gigantic, gutsy and polished. As they pass around the bumper-sized bottle of Jack Daniels, it’s hard to believe that Nick and drummer Vince Gard grew up in church listening to gospel choirs. In an interview in the Manchester Evening News, Nick mused over the influence gospel music had on him from a very young age: 'When you come out of the womb, you're used to atmospheres where there's hundreds of people singing together, and it's very much like a rock 'n' roll show. You get a sense that there's an importance and power to music.'

Screams of splendour erupted as the boys kicked off the show with their second single ‘Trouble on the Way’, which would soon become one of Fearne Cotton’s records of the week on Radio 1. With a song title that prefigures Mona’s inevitable success, ‘Trouble on the Way’ is the ideal introduction to the next big thing to come out of Nashville. The rest of the show proves just as ambitious, with future hit ‘Teenager’ going down a storm in this small venue. Fists never stopped thudding the air, and the close of the show left my music-obsessed self feeling cathartic and greedy for more.

Though they try to swerve comparisons to their Tennessee buddies, the boys are now being hailed as the Princes of Leon, but there’s a pace to their riffs and a Springsteen-esque sound to their melodies that ensure that the handsome four-piece won’t get caged into the KOL category of sound for much longer. Rock royalty if ever there was, I’m betting these boys are here to preach their sound all the way through 2011 and beyond.

http://romeoandthelonelygirl.blogspot.com

Australian songstress Sarah Blasko creates the most unique atmosphere at the Joiners in Southampton with an array of instruments and an exceptional line up of support acts, Russell Edmonds, Emma Payne and Allie Moss.

Her stage set is festive, alight with colourful illuminated bulbs on the mic and speakers. The bar empties and after I draw my attention away from the guitarists large maroon velvet bow tie I was immersed into tracks from Sarah's latest album As Day Follows Night, from a piano-led ballad to an upbeat song about heartbreak and 'dancing it out'. 'Over and Over' also expresses the good things in life with an ending inspired by Talking Heads’ 'Road To Nowhere', her favourite song.

Her stream of new songs is interrupted by the dark, low guitar notes of 'All Coming Back' from her platinum debut album The Overture and the Underscore. Watching the pianist, drummer, double bass player and guitarist all work in sync with Sarah is incredible. Their performance is flawless, graceful and magical.

Sarah puts on a pair of pink gloves for dreamy tune 'Sleeper Awake' then fills the gaps in between verses with harmonies or a subtle sway to the left. We're taken away to the fantasy world she's created with her voice and graceful movements.

'All I Wanted’s’ dominant cow bell echoes through the silent nodding crowd and the eerie high pitched piano and repetition of 'Night and Day' ends the evening. Sarah Blasko's presence on stage has cast me under a spell. Her Regina Spektor quirkiness and the delicate and graceful, yet dominant vocals of Bjork left me dumbfounded, a feeling I’ve rarely felt in the Joiners.

http://stefstevens-wade.blogspot.com/

Whilst most gigs are about the music and more often than not the fashion too, there are those few that are about much more than this. Instead, they represent a monumental moment in history and The Black Keys gig at the Birmingham o2 academy was one of those moments. Everything had seemingly come together to create a snapshot in time that would stand as a convergence of hope, music and blissfully hypnotic moody blues. The air was saturated with the sweet rumble of anticipation, excited laughter and wistful idealism. The type of overly romantic nonsense that the gig addicted come to yearn as more and more decidedly average gigs, bands and tours saturate the industries market place. The distinctly plain venue seems a far cry from the idealistic notions one would often associate with life changing gigs. The floors oozed with stale alcohol and the ‘cool kids’ were definitely out to play. The venue was a flood of skinny jeans, thick rimmed glasses and those who live their lives by the rules of ‘urban cool.’ Yet seemingly the o2 academy was the ideal platform to unleash The Black Keys latest material that has been infused with hip hop, garage rock and soulful blues elements. The Black Keys are one bad that refuse to get stuck in a rut.

Ohio born duo Dan Auerbach (guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums, keyboards) of The Black Keys create music that has more in common with art than many of their contemporaries today. They are distinct, authentic and uber hip. Since their emergence over a decade ago they have received a mass of critical acclaim, yet it is only recently that popular music has picked up on their incredible beats and eclectic tones. The Black Keys have successfully negotiated the path of musical stardom and amassed a dedicated following. In fact, it seemed like that their entire UK fan base had turned up at the small o2 academy and were attempting to negotiate the bouncers for just a momentary glimpse of the elusive band.

When The Black Keys finally entered the dimly lit stage it was in a flurry of rapid movements, they didn’t play up to the crowd and they didn’t try to win us over. They simply set about performing and the atmosphere was electric. The once booming voices fell to a sudden hypnotic appreciation as The Black Keys began to belt out tunes including Everlasting Light and set about bewitching their eager audience. The hairs on the back of my neck tingled as I stood front row and greedily appreciated the dedication and sheer concentration that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney put into each note and every single beat. There was no interaction with the audience, instead each song flowed into the other as they stood there, cool and imposing. They didn’t try to impress, they didn’t need to.

They were captivating and commanded the stage with natural ease, unleashing their gutsy performance of tracks that didn’t fail to set fireworks into the hearts of the hungry audience. The Black Keys were on top form and delivered what could be called their greatest hits with a passion that is rarely is seen. As they ended their melodic set with Brother, The Black Keys had transformed the dingy o2 academy into so much more than a stage. It was instead a moment in time where sheer love of music, melody and a hunger that goes beyond fame gripped the audience and performers alike.

As the band exited the stage in silence it suddenly dawned on me that i had probably witnessed one of the most influential gigs of the past Century. If The Black Keys had intended to change the audiences lives forever, then that aim has most definitely been achieved. The Black Keys will definitely go down in the history books as one of the greatest bands of the 21st Century.

COLE FEVER SWEEPS LONDON

On January 9th 2011, the first artist to be signed to Roc Nation, J. Cole took London by storm. J. Cole is an upcoming rapper from North Carolina also known as Fayttenam or The Ville for those who come from there. Famous for his songs "Lights please" and "Losing my balance" and performing at the Wireless festival in July 2010, a solo show was highly anticipated.

The first I got to know of J. Cole was due to a love interest introducing me to him. Though my love for that guy may have died, I found a new love for J. Cole! His music gives hope to faithful hip hop heads that claim hip-hop is dead! His music has been compared to another popular upcoming rapper, Drake, but personally I don't see the comparison between them. J. Cole's music is purely about rap. He talks about his struggles, his dreams and inspirations. He’s not a typical rapper that talks about guns, money and hoes but don't get me wrong he does like to talk about women but it doesn't stop there, as he says, "bitch if you're listening, I'm painting pictures of hope!"

I also saw J.Cole at Wireless festival and was amazed at how humble the guy is! He was shocked to find that he had "more than 5 fans" to quote his words and couldn't stop saying "Thank you"... I fell more deeply in love! So as you can imagine when I found out he was doing his first concert in London I was OVER excited!

The days before the concert were days of great anticipation and excitement. I was going to the show with my best friend who also loved J. Cole and as a true fans, or Stans as we so kindly became referred to, we waited in the queue for 5 hours in the freezing cold whilst wearing crop tops we made with his logo on it. We thought there would be no merchandise but boy were we wrong! Nonetheless we felt proud rocking it!

The atmosphere inside Koko was buzzing! It felt great to be proud part to be of a crowd that was so passionate about hip-hop that at times I didn't even need to move for the crowd were swaying me! DJ Semtex, a BBC 1xtra radio DJ was hyping us up for at least an hour, playing tune after tune! When he played Lethal Bizzle's "POW" I thought I was going die because the crowd just went crazy! The only let down of the whole night was the opening act. Apparently they were an up and coming grime group but instead of being “The Warm up” for J. Cole, it was more like a cool down after partying hard with DJ Semetex, which was disappointing. But when J. Cole came on, all that changed! The excitement was so much by then that when he came on I was pushed closer to him! He burst onto the stage, doing his track "Welcome" and long was forgotten the wait for him as he took us "Higher". He said he was going to do every track off his 3 mixtapes, but unfortunately he did not. I was happy all the same because he did a lot of songs off his new mixtape as well as classic and unreleased tracks! There was never a lag between any of his songs, that's how live it was and when it ended no one wanted to leave. It's now just a matter of time for him to "Blow up".

COLE FEVER SWEEPS LONDON

On January 9th 2011, the first artist to be signed to Roc Nation, J. Cole took London by storm. J. Cole is an upcoming rapper from North Carolina also known as Fayttenam or The Ville for those who come from there. Famous for his songs "Lights please" and "Losing my balance" and performing at the Wireless festival in July 2010, a solo show was highly anticipated.

The first I got to know of J. Cole was due to a love interest introducing me to him. Though my love for that guy may have died, I found a new love for J. Cole! His music gives hope to faithful hip hop heads that claim hip-hop is dead! His music has been compared to another popular upcoming rapper, Drake, but personally I don't see the comparison between them. J. Cole's music is purely about rap. He talks about his struggles, his dreams and inspirations. He’s not a typical rapper that talks about guns, money and hoes but don't get me wrong he does like to talk about women but it doesn't stop there, as he says, "bitch if you're listening, I'm painting pictures of hope!"

I also saw J.Cole at Wireless festival and was amazed at how humble the guy is! He was shocked to find that he had "more than 5 fans" to quote his words and couldn't stop saying "Thank you"... I fell more deeply in love! So as you can imagine when I found out he was doing his first concert in London I was OVER excited!

The days before the concert were days of great anticipation and excitement. I was going to the show with my best friend who also loved J. Cole and as a true fans, or Stans as we so kindly became referred to, we waited in the queue for 5 hours in the freezing cold whilst wearing crop tops we made with his logo on it. We thought there would be no merchandise but boy were we wrong! Nonetheless we felt proud rocking it!

The atmosphere inside Koko was buzzing! It felt great to be proud part to be of a crowd that was so passionate about hip-hop that at times I didn't even need to move for the crowd were swaying me! DJ Semtex, a BBC 1xtra radio DJ was hyping us up for at least an hour, playing tune after tune! When he played Lethal Bizzle's "POW" I thought I was going die because the crowd just went crazy! The only let down of the whole night was the opening act. Apparently they were an up and coming grime group but instead of being “The Warm up” for J. Cole, it was more like a cool down after partying hard with DJ Semetex, which was disappointing. But when J. Cole came on, all that changed! The excitement was so much by then that when he came on I was pushed closer to him! He burst onto the stage, doing his track "Welcome" and long was forgotten the wait for him as he took us "Higher". He said he was going to do every track off his 3 mixtapes, but unfortunately he did not. I was happy all the same because he did a lot of songs off his new mixtape as well as classic and unreleased tracks! There was never a lag between any of his songs, that's how live it was and when it ended no one wanted to leave. It's now just a matter of time for him to "Blow up".

"Where the lines overlap"


So 'Here We Go Again' the start of another new year, a time to look forward to the return of the sunshine, new album releases and the Great British summer of music festivals. January is also a time to reflect on the past years events, for me this included turning 21 , losing my Glastonbury virginity, owning my first pair of Wayfarers Ray Bans, Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs' becoming my 400th Cd to join my collection and spending nearly £1000 on Gigs and festivals up and down the country! But 'That's What You Get' when you have a immense passion for music, money well spent in my opinion! So as 2010 started to draw to a close one of my last gigs of the year were the punk-pop rockers from Franklin, Tennessee, at the London O2 on the 15th November, PARAMORE.

Having never seen Paramore or been to the O2 before it was a whole new experience for me but both surpassed my expectations. Fronted by the coolest chick in rock Hayley Williams, Paramore have grown to become one of the best young rock bands of today, just watching their set at Reading&Leeds made me want to 'rock-out' in my lounge like never before! For me Paramore represent my youth. Their debut album was released in 2005 just after i finished high school. The grunge rock sound of "All We Know Is Falling" became the soundtrack to my summer. Two years later just as i was finishing Sixth Form "RIOT!" was released in the June of 2007. "RIOTS" raw energy,emotion and it's rebellious,sexier,edgier sound quickly became our party album of the year. So when the deep and reflective tones of "Brand New Eye's" arrived in 2009 it felt like a retrospective musical equivalent of my life. It was an album full of heavy emotion's and insecurities but with a feisty,zest captured in Hayley Williams lyrics, Josh Farro's and Taylor Yorks outstanding guitar interplay, Jermey Davis skilful bass guitar and Zac Farro's ferocious drum beat. So when they announced their 2010 UK tour i just had to get tickets.

Arriving at the O2 my excitement levels were rising at an impressive rate. The buzz from the crowd was infection, I found myself surrounded by a sea of red, purple and orange hair coloured teens, An army of mini Miss Williams. Standing only 5 rows from the barrier and being possibly the only person in sight old enough to buy a beer, i was left wondering if i was perhaps too old? but then again Paramore themselves are all in their early 20's, so i stood my ground. As the minutes ticked by and the chants from the fans increased in volume by the second, When B.o.B took to the stage, the eruption from the crowd was incredible. B.o.B aka Bobby Ray performed hits from his album 'B.oB Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray' and showcased his talents as not only an up and coming Rap artist but as a guitarist and a singer, impressively. The moving performance of "Don't Let Me Fall" the bouncy excitement of "Magic" the big ballad style sing-a-long of "Nothin On You" could not prepare me for the intensity of the crowd when Hayley appeared to perform their hit of the year "Airplanes." The perfectly constructed "Airplanes" has it all; the haunting piano, the beautifully melancholy vocal chorus performance from Hayley Williams, which anchors the song from the start and Bobby Ray's creative and refreshing lyrical abilities are demonstrated in one of the hottest collaboration of 2010. After a breathtaking rendition of "Airplanes" i was convinced that, that would be the moment of the evening, B.O.Y was i wrong.

It was nearly time for Paramore to commence to the stage,'Hallelujah' As the stage crew scuttled about. The crowd began to heave towards the barrier,the atmosphere was electric and within minutes the lights dimmed and the audience ruptured into a frenzy, uproar had taken over the arena and Paramore had entered the building.

Paramore smashed into "Ignorance". Hayley's brutal vocal depiction of the song was beautiful and the crowd ignited with rock ecstasy. I found myself in the middle of a mosh pit but through the driving force of the song it carried me and everyone else along. "Feeling Sorry" was followed back to back by "That's What You Get" and "For A Pessimist,I'm Pretty Optimistic" then straight into their second single "Emergency" which gained the band critical acclaim. Songs from all Three albums where complied to complete the setlist, Josh Farro outstanding performance of "Decode" showcased his skills and talents as lead guitarist as every note was played with precision and timing. After "Playing God" Paramore took the tone down as the crowd had been frantic for the first 7 songs of the set. They brought a red leather sofa onto the stage, similar to the one on the cover of "All We Know Is Falling" and gathered round to play stripped down renditions of "When It Rain's" and "Let This Go" which had a intimacy that reached out to everyone in the arena and really demonstrated how individual and powerful Hayley's voice really is. They ended the acoustic section of their set with a beautiful portrayal of "Misguided Ghost's" which mesmerised the entire audience as Hayley's voice soared over the crowd. Acoustically Paramore are just as strong musically as they are when in full flow and giving the band a chance to show there outstanding versatility.

To Kick the party back into action, they launch into crowd pleasers "CrushCrushCrush" and "Pressure." With the audience singing every word of every song and the crowd jumping to the beat of Zac's immense drumming, Hayley screamed for the audience to put the devil horns up high, the crowd were ready to rock. Hayley Williams capability of controlling 20,000 strong crowd is phenomenal, with such stage presence, incredible vocal performances and outstanding ability to headband which on its own is impressive to watch. Hayley literally throws her body,heart and soul into every song, performance and tour! The arena spotlights panned across the crowd and the intro for "The Only Exception" began to take control of the audience as anything that glows is held up high in the air and the arena is lit up like the stars in the sky, stunning. "The Only Exception" has become Paramore's anthem and the crowd sing every word back to band. After an emotional and heart-felt performance of "The Only Exception" the audience brake into rapturous applause and That's it, the band exits the stage and the arena fills with chants of "we want more."
Paramore return to the stage for their encore and thunder into "Brick By Boring Brick." Hayley's stage charisma is infectious and with her signature coloured hair, this time bright pink, she rocks with the audience as Jeremy flips over Josh and the crowd sets off like wild fire, its jump or die and to go out with a bang, well thats exactly what they did. The raw energy of "Misery Business" goes off like dynamite, it is a masterclass of modern rock song writing, with it's fierce guitar riffs and thumping bass lines this is a monster of a song. The audience singing their hearts out and rocking out like never before, Paramore invite B.o.B onstage to have the audience sing him happy birthday before the crowd erupt into a frenzy and streamers of red and yellow confetti launch into the crowd from canons at the sides of the stage. As Hayley and the Guys bow out, the crowd full of voice, sing all the way out of the arena and chants of Paramore can be heard all throughout the O2.

Paramore came to rock and rock they did. The passion the crowd have for Paramore and that Paramore have for their fans was all-consuming, there was no escape, you just had to embrace the intensity of what Paramore live in concert was all about; one of the best gig's i have ever experienced. Incredible. Paramore where 'Born For This.'



Sophie Pugsley

15/02/11 The Go! Team – The O2 Academy, Oxford

Its 9:30PM, and The Go! Team kick off, bang on time, with their awesome new track ‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O’, fresh from their third album Rolling Blackouts. This track is a great start to their set; with a pounding bass and thundering drums it is really meaty, punchy and powerful, and is also a personal favourite from the new album. This impressive sonic vibe continued through their next few tracks – and indeed was prevalent in most of their numbers. The combination of thick thick bass coupled with the two drum kits and their two bass drums punching in unison created sound waves that literally moved my hair – not unlike a scene from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

The two drum kits are a huge part of The Go! Team’s live appeal – they create such an overwhelming sound, and synchronised drumming is always impressive. A strong competitor for the limelight however is Ninja, the band’s charismatic front-woman. She really worked at getting the crowd going, even though it was a dreary, wet Tuesday night in February. She somewhat succeeded too, developing a good bit of call and response with the audience. She is an incredibly boisterous and excitable singer, and the audience eventually got fully caught up in her enthusiasm, dancing around and waving their arms. Occasional front ladies Kaori Tsuchida and Chi Fukami-Taylor were also on form. They have a bit less oomph than Ninja, but both their vocal styles have a cute, pleasant, tonal quality that adds a nice reprieve from Ninja’s exuberance.

There is a nice dynamic to The Go! Team live – the equal male/female set-up gives the music (and the band’s performance of it) a rounded, unbiased quality, which is very multi-dimensional. Where the group’s records are typically sample-centric, in a live setting vocals, guitars, drums and samples all take centre stage. The samples are a vital part of The Go! Team’s music however, and their inclusion in the performance adds a post-modern depth of archive-extracted coolness. To add a further bit of intrigue to the performance the group also replicate a lot of their samples live. ‘Secretary Song’ is a particularly good example of this, which had a real old-fashioned typewriter alongside the keyboards and sample desks. The typewriter was played fantastically well, and added a quirky bit of live musique concrete to the proceedings.

Throughout their set, the band play new tracks from Rolling Blackouts with old favourites like ‘Bottle Rocket’ and the classic ‘Ladyflash’. The audience were kept on their toes with complex, frequent line-up and instrument changes, which were executed with nonchalant precision. All the individual musicians were great in their own right, but it is as a combined unit that The Go! Team’s unique, bombastic sound is truly realised. Their individual parts; the multitude of instruments, the samples, the numerous influences, from funk to noise pop to garage rock, are all strong. But combined on stage together, the band and their music develop an almost superhuman strength, much stronger than the sum of their parts.
http://www.noblegases-miatea.blogspot.com/[url]

I'd love to be company's contributing music ed! This is my review:

In the early days before the world has heard of Miss Welsh and her flaming red hair, vintage style and birdcage decorations I attended a gig at the Louisiana in Bristol. FLorence and the Machine were virtually unheard of and I had paid a very small price to see their music in the tiny area above a lovely pub near the harbourside.
The place was decorated with garlands of flowers, birdcages (with,sadly, fake birds of all sizes) and pretty, tiny lights.
Before the magic of Florence began however an even more unheard of band took to the stage to ready the audience. This band was 'The XX'. They lulled the audience with their music and even though most people left without remembering which songs they played because Florence stole the show it was the start of their already sky high success.
Florence herself took to the stage in an amazing outfit complete with her trademark red, wavy hair. She belted out well known tunes such as 'Kiss with a Fist' and also unknown tunes such as 'Ghosts' after one girl in the front row confessed that she has travelled from London just to hear that song.
I was given a poster with all her tour dates on it during the show. This became very useful when at the end of an amazing set Florence lept offstage and into the small room at the back to relax and chat to interviewers. After battling with shyness I walked up to her casually sat on a table with glitter everywhere from her eye make up and asked if she would sign my poster.
She proceeded to with a huge smile on her face and then added that 'she loved my outfit' which wasn't that special but felt like my best clothes after she said that! I had my fiance, James, with me and he had a poster signed too, on which Florence confessed that James was the name of her first boyfriend and her pianist Isabella wrote that she loved James (but her boyfriend James not mine!) All in all it was the best gig I've ever been to and one I love to refer to when people speak of how much they love Florence and the Machine's music.

contact: freksy@hotmail.co.uk