LIVE REVIEW: Comedy Lectures by Red Stag @ Future Gallery, London 16 May 2011

Comedy lectures was a celebration of the world’s first (well first in my world) cherry flavoured bourbon Red Stag from Jim Beam. Ugggh I hear you stay, I also was a little tentative but it actually tastes quite nice especially with a splash of lemonade and lime. 

Anyway, enough with the shameless plugging (and if you are reading this and you are not of legal drinking age in your environ then trust me it was truly horrible) onto the entertainment which landed in the form of Powerpoint Karaoke provided by comedy improvisation troupe Noise Next Door and the supremely hilarious man-child Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame. What is comedy karaoke? Google it people! suffice to say it is a unique and interesting take on comedy improvisation really calling for the participants to think on their feet and present incredibly random subject matters to an equally random selection of images in a slightly competitive manner. Well worth a look if such a show comes near you.

DLS

GIG REVIEW: Future of the Left @ Lexington, London 27 April 2011

FINALLY!! After waxing lyrically about pretty much every one of their releases and being disappointed by the cancellation of the previous tour I finally got to see Future of the Left LIVE and in person at one of Vainzine’s most frequented venues the Lexington in London. 

FOTL rocked big time playing a mixture of newer and older tracks from albums Curses (2007) and Travels with Myself and another(2009) as well as some well received Mclusky covers. Combined with some incredibly witty banter the gig set up one stormer of an evening. I would not hesitate in recommending any fans of the heavier side of alt rock make sure to capture this gem of a show at a venue near you ASAP. Nuff said just GO!!!!!!

6/5 – It’s possible I assure you!

DLS

GIG REVIEW: Clash presents Ja Ja Ja @ Lexington, London, with The Low Frequency in Stereo + The Deer Tracks + Rökkurró, 21 October

Ja Ja Ja's intention is to showcase the finest music from the Nordic region. previously they held a metal night and whilst I would have been exited about this in my teens metal scares me in my adulthood (something to do with the cutting of your luxurious hair perchance? - Ed) However and I quote “As is Ja Ja Ja’s way, we like to mix it up and give you something very different each month. Therefore the curator for October’s Ja Ja Ja evening is Matt Bennett, Deputy Editor of Clash magazine, who’s chosen three exceptional bands to bring you an evening of atmospheric sounds capes, electronica, rock and psych-garage drone.” Now this is definitely more up my street.

The night opened with Icelandic band Rökkurró (pictured, badly) with their heady soothing and mesmerising blend of melodic folktronica that had the crowd enraptured. I’ve rarely seen a band so happy to be performing and they were also to be spotted cavorting with the crowd in the smoking area post gig (not a bad way to build a fan base). They really prove there is a lot more coming out of Iceland than volcanic ash, Bjork and collapsing banking structures.

Second up were the Swedish high energy New Romantic/Nu Rave band The Deer Tracks. They had some truly belting tunes combining lo fi breaks with pumping full on rocking dancey beats, truly awesome and one of the lead singers was at one point playing a saw?!?!? It really doesn’t get more randomly brilliant than that. Their debut album Aurora was critically acclaimed and based upon this live performance it’s not difficult to see why.

Rounding things up were The Low Frequency in Stereo from Norway whose B-52’s/Sonic Youth inspired form of low fi prog rock has helped achieve the first No1 instrumental only single in Norway. In your face Crazy Frog…. These guys are seriously talented and truly understand the meaning of rocking out. The guitarist knows how to work those strings and the bassist made it look like he was actually the lead guitarist with his playing style!

Ja Ja Ja was a terrific evening of music showcasing some of the Nordic regions fantastic and diverse musical talents. All three bands were phenomenal and I look forward to seeing what Ja Ja Ja has of offer in the coming months.

5/5

DLS