Hey Everyone
Hey All,
More blogging to let you know that I'm still alive.
First of all, the weather here in London grows every cooler (though the weathermen tell us that some nights it is warmer than it should be... I don't notice so much, I just know that some nights I've gone to bed in four layers, only to pull them all off at three AM).
The downside to this drop in the mercury is that the skin on my hands is suffering a little. Last night I had the first Crack and Bleed of the season. Joy. Thank fuck I found my gloves last week. In any case, I've trying to think of good times for me to put on hand cream (can't do it on the tube because I'm constantly reading/adjusting ipod etc). I need to find times when I know that I won't be using my hands for anything for an hour or more.
Maybe I should start a meditation regime and work it into that. Hmm.
Anyways, the review that I wrote of the Vader/God Dethroned show is up on Morrigan's Pit. I'll edit this entry in Firefox so that I can wang a link onto it.
edit: Here's the link./edit
I guess when the next Alternative Magazine comes out I really should scan all my reviews and put them somewhere online (it makes only a little more sense than retyping them, but I'm feeling impetuous).
Last night I could have gone to see Rancid at the Brixton Academy (although it might have been sold out, I'm not sure).
Instead I decided to go see Fishbone, a band that I really dug way back in the day. As in the day that I was watching The Noise on SBS and I saw the clip for Sunless Saturday and my fifteen year-old self was blown away by the sheer energy of the song and the band.
I never got to see Fishbone when they toured Australia. They came in 1992 and played at the Funkyard, a legendary venue in the basement of the Myer Centre that was soon after turned into a Sizzler Restaurant. Marco used to DJ there, age 14.
In any case, I was too young to see them. I don't think that they ever came back to Australia after that. They might have but it might have been in my 'I Can't Be Arsed Going To Shows' years, during which I managed to completely miss the Brisbane Powerviolence Scene burn brightly before burning out.
Anyways, I always wanted to see Fishbone, partially because they were an influence on my musical philosophy (light-speed energy, intelligent irreverent approach, no rules etc) but because they were/are legendary as a live band. Which presents the question: when I saw them Last Night at the Islington Academy, were they any good?
Answer: They were bloody brilliant. Bear in mind that only two or three members from the 1991/92 lineup remain now (the rest being various other folk, including Rocky George, ex-Suicidal Tendencies). The lead singer Angelo Moore is still there, and he was always pretty much the lynchpin of the Fishbone machine.
Anyways, trying to explain what made the show good here would take me all night, so I'll just give you the whistlestop version:
Angelo Moore is one of the best frontmen I've ever seen, with stupid amounts of energy, mad dance moves, magnetic presence and a great singing voice. Plus he is capable of delivering insane solos on the various Saxophones he played on stage, not to mention being pretty damn good at playing the Theremin (an instrument which is bloody difficult).
Rocky George is still Rocky George, a guitarist with incredible range (when I saw him playing with the CroMags at Mary Street three or so years ago, between songs he would play mad jazz stuff). For reasons best known to himself, he has grown a huge Afro.
The horn section (trumpet and trombone, besides Angelo in the Sax) were fat and fantastic, Norwood on Bass and wassisname on drums were one of the best rhythm sections I have ever seen and Dre on keys and synths held his end up fantastically, even dropping into some raggamuffin toasting.
A question: I'm not sure precisely, but when Dre spoke he didn't have a West Indian Accent, so I'm guessing that Dre isn't of West Indian Extraction. True, I'll have to check more about his, but if black man who isn't actually West Indian adopts a West Indian Raggamuffin vocal delivery, is it any less of a Cultural Appropriation than if an Anglo-Saxon did the same thing?
I guess I'm on dangerous territory asking that question, so I'll just move along.
Individually, each member of Fishbone were impressive. But together they were just incredible, creating driving Ska Grooves, soulful RnB (the good kind, if such a beast exists, otherwise I have mislabelled what they did), and some incredible stuff that I just don't know how to describe. The vocal harmonies on their own nearly brought tears to my eyes, since you just don't hear harmonies like that without some RnB diva bullshit going on.
And they played Sunless Saturday as their set closer. Which was great.
This Whistlestop Tour is turning into a novel, so I'll end there.
Tonight I'm going to Dreadnought vs Strenght Through Joy (the last time it was on I missed most of the night since I had to meet Elea at the Airport, Bring her back to Leytonstone the try to remember how to get to SE1 etc).
Anyways, more news as it comes.
Over and out
- Jason
More blogging to let you know that I'm still alive.
First of all, the weather here in London grows every cooler (though the weathermen tell us that some nights it is warmer than it should be... I don't notice so much, I just know that some nights I've gone to bed in four layers, only to pull them all off at three AM).
The downside to this drop in the mercury is that the skin on my hands is suffering a little. Last night I had the first Crack and Bleed of the season. Joy. Thank fuck I found my gloves last week. In any case, I've trying to think of good times for me to put on hand cream (can't do it on the tube because I'm constantly reading/adjusting ipod etc). I need to find times when I know that I won't be using my hands for anything for an hour or more.
Maybe I should start a meditation regime and work it into that. Hmm.
Anyways, the review that I wrote of the Vader/God Dethroned show is up on Morrigan's Pit. I'll edit this entry in Firefox so that I can wang a link onto it.
edit: Here's the link./edit
I guess when the next Alternative Magazine comes out I really should scan all my reviews and put them somewhere online (it makes only a little more sense than retyping them, but I'm feeling impetuous).
Last night I could have gone to see Rancid at the Brixton Academy (although it might have been sold out, I'm not sure).
Instead I decided to go see Fishbone, a band that I really dug way back in the day. As in the day that I was watching The Noise on SBS and I saw the clip for Sunless Saturday and my fifteen year-old self was blown away by the sheer energy of the song and the band.
I never got to see Fishbone when they toured Australia. They came in 1992 and played at the Funkyard, a legendary venue in the basement of the Myer Centre that was soon after turned into a Sizzler Restaurant. Marco used to DJ there, age 14.
In any case, I was too young to see them. I don't think that they ever came back to Australia after that. They might have but it might have been in my 'I Can't Be Arsed Going To Shows' years, during which I managed to completely miss the Brisbane Powerviolence Scene burn brightly before burning out.
Anyways, I always wanted to see Fishbone, partially because they were an influence on my musical philosophy (light-speed energy, intelligent irreverent approach, no rules etc) but because they were/are legendary as a live band. Which presents the question: when I saw them Last Night at the Islington Academy, were they any good?
Answer: They were bloody brilliant. Bear in mind that only two or three members from the 1991/92 lineup remain now (the rest being various other folk, including Rocky George, ex-Suicidal Tendencies). The lead singer Angelo Moore is still there, and he was always pretty much the lynchpin of the Fishbone machine.
Anyways, trying to explain what made the show good here would take me all night, so I'll just give you the whistlestop version:
Angelo Moore is one of the best frontmen I've ever seen, with stupid amounts of energy, mad dance moves, magnetic presence and a great singing voice. Plus he is capable of delivering insane solos on the various Saxophones he played on stage, not to mention being pretty damn good at playing the Theremin (an instrument which is bloody difficult).
Rocky George is still Rocky George, a guitarist with incredible range (when I saw him playing with the CroMags at Mary Street three or so years ago, between songs he would play mad jazz stuff). For reasons best known to himself, he has grown a huge Afro.
The horn section (trumpet and trombone, besides Angelo in the Sax) were fat and fantastic, Norwood on Bass and wassisname on drums were one of the best rhythm sections I have ever seen and Dre on keys and synths held his end up fantastically, even dropping into some raggamuffin toasting.
A question: I'm not sure precisely, but when Dre spoke he didn't have a West Indian Accent, so I'm guessing that Dre isn't of West Indian Extraction. True, I'll have to check more about his, but if black man who isn't actually West Indian adopts a West Indian Raggamuffin vocal delivery, is it any less of a Cultural Appropriation than if an Anglo-Saxon did the same thing?
I guess I'm on dangerous territory asking that question, so I'll just move along.
Individually, each member of Fishbone were impressive. But together they were just incredible, creating driving Ska Grooves, soulful RnB (the good kind, if such a beast exists, otherwise I have mislabelled what they did), and some incredible stuff that I just don't know how to describe. The vocal harmonies on their own nearly brought tears to my eyes, since you just don't hear harmonies like that without some RnB diva bullshit going on.
And they played Sunless Saturday as their set closer. Which was great.
This Whistlestop Tour is turning into a novel, so I'll end there.
Tonight I'm going to Dreadnought vs Strenght Through Joy (the last time it was on I missed most of the night since I had to meet Elea at the Airport, Bring her back to Leytonstone the try to remember how to get to SE1 etc).
Anyways, more news as it comes.
Over and out
- Jason
posted by the.exile at 7:17 pm
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