I criticise because I still care
Some people pulled back the blackout blinds to have a look at all the shouting in the street outside. I thought that was quite rude. I took notes instead. I am not denying that it was distracting — a full-on face-off between a load of… WARNING: PERSONAL BIAS… out-of-town racist wankers too cowardly to protest [ ]
Some bands sing like they want to be your friends. They dance skittishly around the floor, thump the tiles with their hands, exhort the handful still slumped at the back to please stand up and join the fun. They mix the heartfelt, the joyous and the lonely in equal measure, and make you feel so [ ]
On a night when flowers didn t suit my shoes I do not take notes. NEVER TAKE NOTES! I do not dance. NEVER DANCE! I no longer accept I have no community. NO COMMUNITY! My community exists in the cracks and the crannies, the dirty shadows, the folk too shy to go down the gym or [ ]
Call it heartland Everett True territory. Call it a cleansing ritual. I spend the next morning mainlining Northern Soul – five CDs, immaculate grooves, total devotion – trying to process what happened the previous night. Because something happened, for sure. Something magical. You can never go home anymore. And yet here I am, stood somewhere [ ]
I never go out to gigs anymore. I never take notes at gigs anymore. I never dance at gigs anymore. When it s going well, I close my eyes and drift upstream, immerse myself in the music, my safe place, hairs on my arm lit up like the lights on Sunderland bridge, gently swaying from side [ ]
Fucking worth every penny. Oh wait, I didn’t pay. Fuck it. I’m not apologising at this late stage. My love is bigger than your love. mclusky rock harder than the average band. SING IT! My love is bigger than your love. mclusky rock harder than the average band. SING IT! The finest shows are the [ ]
The best gigs are the ones where you don t even realise you re there. The best gigs are the ones that reinforce a sense of community, that feel like a homecoming, that reassure and reassert without compromise, that can cut through the flak and the grey of everyday existence and give you a reason to dance, [ ]
Above is a photo of La Mômo, from the Rose Hill on Friday. The last few nights have been crammed. There is stuff happening off-camera that needn t concern us here except to help contextualise this crammed feeling: not just crammed, super-crammed. Floating and flitting from one place to another, with only a few minutes notice. [ ]
Words: Lauren Thackray, 14Edits: Jerry Thackray, 64 Meandering along Camden High Street, I chance across a torrent of pastel and bunny ears more suited to a community Easter Egg Hunt than a rock concert. (What, lying in a heap in the street outside Camden Tube Station? Or are you referring to that surprisingly lengthy queue [ ]
So. All of us are way impressed by Robert s Swedish band, the way they move and bounce, the array of effects pedals, their sensitivity and geniality. Their vocal harmonies and guitar patterns are a delight, like synchronised swimming in musical form (or so my companion suggests later). I say all of us. I have no [ ]