Manics announce UK tour and Roundhouse residency
Manic Street Preachers
Welsh trio the Manic Street Preachers have released details of a short UK tour in support of their forthcoming album, Journal For Plague Lovers.
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Listen to Pete Doherty’s album for free
Grace/Wastelands
That rampant wayward Libertine, old moonface Pete Doherty, is streaming his first solo album Grace/Wastelands gratis online.
Crystal Antlers, London The Lexington
Crystal Antlers
January 28th 2009
Off the back of a much-praised, self-released EP released last summer and a record deal with Chicago label Touch & Go, the LA five-piece Crystal Antlers touched down in London last week to reward those who’d followed them since their breakthrough and give the uninitiated and curious a taste of what to expect from their debut full length record, Tentacles, due at the start of April.
Patrick Wolf announces first live gigs of 2009
Patrick Wolf
The prodigious Patrick Wolf has revealed details of a short UK tour in support of his new album Battle.
Maximo Park announce 2009 UK tour dates
Maximo Park
Everyone’s favourite North-Eastern band, Maximo Park, have released details of their long-awaited 2009 tour, with dates across the UK.
Beat the credit crunch with Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Midlands funnyman Frank Skinner has announced details of a bargainous run of stand-up shows in London’s West End – at a tenner a ticket.
Win tickets to see The View near you…
The View
Scottish indie heroes The View are heading out on a UK tour in support of their second album, the soon-to-be-unleashed Which Bitch?.
Little Boots kicks off 2009 with UK tour
Little Boots
Blackpool’s very own Little Boots, the newly-announced winner of BBC’s prestigious Sound of 2009, has released details of a headline tour which begins in February.
Morrissey tickets for UK dates on sale tomorrow
Morrissey - Years of Refusal
That lovable legend Morrissey has just announced three UK tour dates, for which tickets will be released at 10am tomorrow (Friday 5th December 2008).
The Good The Bad & The Queen, Leeds Irish Centre
Irish Centre, Leeds – 29.01.2007
Rarely has a band’s album release been so significant in the current cultural climate, and yet so overlooked because of this climate.
The Good The Bad & The Queen, Damon Albarn’s latest innovative project, brings together men from all walks of life to create music that defines today’s Britain. Albarn is now considered as an ethnomusicologist for his work with musicians in Mali and his world music mash-ups with Gorillaz. This is highlighted by his choice of bandmates: Paul Simonon, bassist for The Clash, steeped in reggae-rock rhythms; Tony Allen, an experienced Afrobeat drummer; Simon Tong, guitarist from indie stalwarts The Verve – but long time collaborator of Albarn with Blur. He considers The Good The Bad & The Queen to be the natural follow-up to Blur’s seminal Parklife album, both timely descriptors of London, its inhabitants and its hang-ups.
And so to the live shows, in which the band play the concept album in full and in its running order. In true Albarn fashion, the project has been sculpted to perfection – the support acts at tonight’s gig are a combination of circus acts, compered comedy and a Victorianesque bluesgrass group. The venue, Leeds Irish Centre, rarely holds events such as this, and the odd choice of venue is another clever Albarn choice – everything about The Good The Bad & The Queen commands attention.
As expected, TGTB&TQ sounds live exactly as it does on record – muffled bass, distant vocals and an eerie atmosphere mixed with beautiful melodies, African rhythms and lonely lyrics, on a greying landscape backdrop. It would almost have felt like being at a classical concert, if it weren’t for the applause in between songs. Albarn is the same as ever if you discount his wonky top hat, whilst Simonon is constantly active, throwing shapes and strutting just like he did in The Clash.
You get the feeling that the audience know that this project is highly intelligent and all-encompassing music – but it is music that welcomes everyone, and is probably relevant to us all, too.
In a country whose media is currently obsessed with race rows, Albarn pops up at just the right time with an album full of musical nuances that can be traced back through countless races, cultures and traditions and thousands of years of music. Clever, very clever.
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