So what have Blood Red Shoes been up to, you ask? Well, the Brighton band is currently working on their second album (follow up to Box of Secrets) and they road tested some of their new material at a couple summer festivals and on a string of dates supporting Maximo Park around Europe back in October.

To give folks a small taste of record #2, Blood Red Shoes are giving away a free download of new track “Colours Fade”. Grab the song from their official website or download it here, it’s good stuff so don’t miss outtttttttttt.

A strew of new leaked, early and preview singles have been coming out from artists which I really love, most of which are very good. But don’t get too excited, none of these albums or EPs are coming out until next year.

Audience – Cold War Kids

I adored their first album, their second not so much. Cold War Kids’ newest single is their poppiest track to date, but as usual, the vocalist really pulls the track through with those bluesy, depressing lyrics. It’s definitely a return to form.

Colours Fade - Blood Red Shoes

A perfect first release from their second album; it leaves the listener wanting so much more, but makes sure that he or she gives it five stars on their music playing device, straight away. The initial riff is still Blood Red Shoes, but it’s harsher and more raw. Dare I say, I was shocked? If the second album is anything like this single, expect something a lot darker and with a lot more experimentation (the last minute of this track is just playing with feedback), than on their basic indie rock debut. Thanks to It’s Getting Boring By The Sea for this one (no it’s not a Blood Red Shoes fansite, it’s actually a fantastic blog).

Horchata and Cousins – Vampire Weekend

Horchata didn’t blow me away, but the different sounds on it made me so excited for their second album. It’s just weird enough to make me desperate to hear what else is on the album. Fortunately, Cousins came out shortly after, and it was the complete opposite. Horchata is a slow track based around harmonious xylophones, while Cousins is like an aggressive take on A-Punk.

Blood Red Shoes – You Bring Me Down
Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes can make a hell of a lot of noise for two people. Their ‘bang – bang – sing – dance – shout’ quality means that they balance the board somewhere between The Kills and Sonic Youth.

Despite being loud and balshy there is still a danceable quality to their sound along with bags of enthusiasm, energy and a child like playfulness. You Bring Me Down sees the pair at their best. Their earliest single – shows a rawness to their sound with spidery guitar hooks, pounding drum beats and a few “whoa-oh ohs” for good measure.

Listen if you like: The Kills, The White Strips, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey
Also Listen To: ADHD, It’s Getting Boring By The Sea

DJ Enso and yours truly will perform a back-to back DJ set on Sunday Nov 8th, 8PM, between Yacht and Blood Red Shoes at Cyberport, Hong Kong. Get your tickets at www.hkticketing.com

Hello everyone
How’s your weekend going?
I’m busy working on my to-do-list which contains lots of cleaning and university-related stuff.

As the title and my last post suggested, we went to see Maxïmo Park in Frankfurt on Wednesday. They truly are my favourite band and even though the concert lasted for about an hour only, we had so much fun. (And the warm-up band were the Blood Red Shoes, really cool as well!) I made it to the fourth row and therefore was able to see Paul close-up performing. He’s such an entertainer and really professional (there were sound problems plus he said he had lost his voice this morning). Loved everything about it. So here’s a card I made (total and utter CASE of Kristina Werner’s recent autumn card) in order to thank them for this great concert. [I had trouble finding their postal address, so I don't know where to send it yet.]

Cardstock: SU!, PTI; Patterned Paper: BG Lemonade; Stickers: Cosmo Cricket; Other: Leaf Punch, Fiskars Scallop Sentiment Punch, 3D glue dots, Signo White Gel Pen.

Autumn is in full swing over here, lookit
Enjoy & have a nice Sunday!

P.S. That little innocent-looking creature “cleaned out” the fridge just one day after the cupboard incident. Oh boy.

“Clockenflap: Episode One” from Clockenflap Festival on Vimeo

Students often bemoan the lack of exciting concerts in Hong Kong. Besides the occasional Coldplay or Jason Mraz gig, there have been few opportunities since the demise of Harborfest. Rival S.A.R. Macau is now beginning to outclass Hong Kong as the international music hub of the region, having hosted headliners Lady Gaga and Linkin Park earlier this year. Quick escapades to Macau are fast becoming the norm among Hong Kongers dissatisfied with the gigs (or lack thereof) available here.

In fact, Hong Kong is witnessing the emergence of a new grassroots live music scene. Fueled by burgeoning local bands and artists from abroad looking to tap into the Asia market, this movement is putting Hong Kong on the map. Thanks to events like HK Live! and CWS Rockraiser, homegrown indie bands from around the region are coming together to make some noise. Meanwhile, Grappa’s Cellar in Central has hosted some of the hippest acts out there, including Ratatat, British Sea Power, and (next month) Owl City.

But the inaugural moment for this trend will no doubt be the upcoming Clockenflap Festival on November 7-8. The second annual grassroots “music & multimedia arts festival” promises to be one of the best music events of 2009. Last year, when the festival was first started, BBC Radio praised it for “giving the city of Hong Kong a much needed shot of culture.” The event is the brainchild of Jay Forster and Mike Hill, members of the music/art collective Robot. By bringing together local and international bands, filmmakers, and artists, Clockenflap hopes to promote a “thriving art scene… for the social well-being of [Hong Kong].”

“Clockenflap: Episode Two” from Clockenflap Festival on Vimeo

“It’s a pretty bleak landscape if you don’t have at least one outdoor festival a year,” Forster explains. Accordingly, the festival takes place out on the open lawns of Cyberport, thus emphasizing the event’s grassroots nature. And with such an eclectic yet impressive lineup, it looks like bleakness is entirely out of the question. Topping the list are razor-sharp UK garage rock duo Blood Red Shoes and Alexis Taylor, one of the founding members of catchy synthpop band Hot Chip. They will be joined by electronic duo Yacht, British singer-songwriter Fink, and Welsh indie pop septet Los Campesinos!, perhaps one of my favorite bands today.

This year’s festival also includes a number of art shows and film screenings, including local street art collective Start From Zero, selections from the I Shot Hong Kong Film Festival, and Australian installation artist Hanna Hoyne. The list doesn’t stop there – Forster and Hill hope that the event can help ”put the city on Asia’s contemporary media-arts circuit.” They’ve already committed to another five years of Clockenflap, and it can only get bigger and better. If successful, they’re also thinking of expanding the project to other Asian cities, such as Singapore.

So, where’s the music, you ask? It’s right here, in Hong Kong, at Cyberport, on November 7^th and 8^th – at Clockenflap. Get your tickets now from HK Ticketing, or check out the Clockenflap website for more details! Yes, this post was shamelessly recycled from my latest Junto article. Get over it.

follow the links below to get to this months bumper launch edition of pretty pretty (or alternately, just scroll down to find the articles).

preface

feature
[tbc]

interview
[tbc]

reviews

[bloc party - intimacy]
[kings of leon - only by the night]
[ben folds - way to normal]

in hindsight…

[tbc]

live reports
[festivals 2008 round up]

[emmy the great @ reading festival 2008]
[esser @ reading festival 2008]
[yeasayer @ reading festival 2008]

[die die die @ offset festival 2008]
[young knives @ offset festival 2008]
[blood red shoes @ offset festival 2008]

[dananananaykroyd in leicester]
[johnny foreigner in leicester]
[cocknbullkid in sheffield]
[midnight juggernauts in sheffield]

comment

- – - – - -

next month
issue-2 out 3rd november featuring live reports of kaiser cheifs, late of the pier and does it offend you, yeah?, plus much much more

Best song I’ve heard today.

Blood Red Shoes es una una banda (dueto) de indie rock, procedente de Brighton, Inglaterra. la banda goza de una democracia musical en la que ambos miembros tienen la misma voz y el control sobre la música y las actividades de la banda. Me parece interesante el hecho que el dueto ha comentado que no tiene ningún problema con compartir archivos y la descarga de música gratis que está fuera de su control, solo que lamentan que con este metodo no se pueda disfrutar del arte que acompaña a su obra musical.

Blood Red Shoes no están para muchas tonterías: con cuatro guitarrazos bien colocados entre el ritmo de una batería espasmódica ventilan sus canciones de rock primario y afilado. Quieren que la gente se mueva, que baile, que grite… y suelen conseguirlo.

Blood Red Shoes son Laura-Mary Carter (guitarra, voz) y Steven Ansell (batería, voz). Se encontraron en Brighton hace unos tres años, cuando ambos salían rebotados de sus respectivos grupos, y empezaron a improvisar. Sin apenas darse cuenta, se vieron ensayando, tocando en directo y grabando singles. Ya tienen cuatro. Y, no, no buscan bajista.

Myspace

Esta “banda” es muy representativa de nosotros No Official , ya que son tan solo dos integrantes , Steven Ansel y Laura-Mary Carter, los que hacen magia con tan solo 2 instrumentos , guitarra y bateria.

Esta banda nace a raiz que sus anteriores bandas se habian disuelto y , Laura y Steven decidieron un dia probar suerte y tocar juntos. Al parecer la magia fue instantanea. Blood Red Shoes es una banda “unica” , ya que se caracterizan porque ambos integrantes tienen el mismo nivel de participacion en la banda, es decir, ninguno destaca mas que otro. Aunque cada uno sea experto en su instrumento, Laura (guitarra) tambien toca la bateria y en algunas presentaciones podemos verla en “accion” e igualmente a Steven (bateria) tambien toca guitarra. Pero eso no es todo, ambos cantan y juegan con las voces para hacer un sonido nuevo.

Blood Red Shoes , lanzo su primer disco llamado “Box Of Secrets”. Este album fue un exito incluso antes de ser lanzado oficialmente, ya que se distrubuyo por internet algunos de los singles que la banda tenia.

En lo personal este album es increible , puesto que mezcla el punk rock con el indie rock. Ademas, ninguna cancion (como se suele hacer) es lenta o acustica , todas tienen mucha fuerza y energia.

Ahora vamos a llevarlos por la videografia de Blood Red Shoes , se sorprenderan por lo creativos que fueron al hacer estos videos con toques sencillos pero para nada aburridos y sobretodo muy innovadores.

Uno de sus primeros singles A.D.H.D , aqui comienza la historia….

No siempre los primeros videos son los mejores pero uno va mejorando con el tiempo , Blood Red Shoes , no es la excepcion.

No lo voy a negar , esta cancion que sigue es una de mis canciones favoritas, nose si es por la forma que tocan o por el juego de voces pero se las recomiendo. Disfrutenlo.

Esta cancion que sigue es increible, la agresividad del baterista y la delicada voz de Laura que acompaña al fondo . Aun asi Steven se da el tiempo para cantar “toda” la cancion.Demasiado Buena.

Blood Red Shoes tambien es considerada una banda grunge , ya que una de sus influencias mas importantes es Nirvana. Miren este video oficial de su presentacion en vivo.

El disco tiene 11 canciones oficiales ( sin considerar los B-sides) y para ser sincero este album es increiblemente bueno. Les recomiendo que lo consigan o escuchenlo por YouTube, cada cancion tiene un toque especial y veran lo creativos que son. Finalmente otra cancion buenisima.

Blood Red Shoes es una banda con demasiada creatividad , ya se daran cuenta despues de todos los videos que han visto. Pero se preguntaran , ¿dónde se inicio la magia? Aqui podran ver lo complicado y entretenido que puede ser grabar un disco.

Actualmente Blood Red Shoes , se encuentra en la grabacion de su nuevo disco (sin titulo aun) y promete ser algo espectacular. Ellos tiene un diario de lo que han estado haciendo hasta el momento , espero lo disfruten.

Espero que les haya gustado esta banda , nosotros estamos contentos de haberla escuchado y por eso la compartimos con ustedes. Sigan escuchando buena musica y compartiendola con sus amigos. Despues de escuchar esta banda seguramente muchos se pondran a tocar su guitarra o bateria y se daran cuenta que aunque paresca sencillo , Blood Red Shoes es muchisimo mas que eso.

Nosotros seguiremos compartiendo la musica que mas nos gusta y tambien seguiremos tocando porque eso nos gusta aun mas. Si tienen algo que decir, “diganlo” , aqui estaremos para escucharlos. Muchas Gracias por leernos

No Official

Luego de una muy prolongada ausencia, y no por qué esté aún lamentando la fatídica muerte de Jackson, sino porque muchos otros proyectos laborales unos y de internet otros, me tenían completamente comprometido, a un punto tal que me fue imposible buscar propuestas musicales que realmente me cautivaran, y es más, al parecer durante estos días no he visto realmente nada que me llame particularmente la atención.

Sin embargo, inspirado en un amigo bastante fanático del rock, me di a la tarea de ver las últimas propuestas británicas en la materia, y además de los ya muy conocidos Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Blur, Kaiser Chiefs y los Artic Monkeys, tratar de localizar una propuesta de rock británico con voces femeninas, y me he encontrado este excelente duo llamado Blood Red Shoes.

Este duo está formado por Steven Ansell y Laura-Mary Carter, quienes vienen tocando juntos desde el 2005, lanzan en el 2008 su trabajo debut titulado Box of Secrets, inspirados en gran medida por el rock británico, ellos tratan de distanciarse un poco de esta etiqueta y prefieren ser reconocidos como una banda punk.

A pesar de que su estilo no contiene en sí mismo ninguna novedad, ni rompe los paradigmas, se trata de un trabajo disfrutable, un dúo muy bien balanceado, que por momentos me recuerda a los americanos White Stripes, así como algo en ellos me recuerda a los The Ting Tings, especialmente el concepto del vídeo Its Getting Boring By The Sea.

Al final les recomiendo Box of Secrets, y los dejo con uno de sus videos, justamente de la canción Its Getting Boring By The Sea.

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one who can't get through

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one hey, I'm the one to blame.

I (woo ooh oo)
Can't (woo ooh oo)
See (woo ooh oo)
Past (woo ooh oo)
This (woo ooh oo)
Chance (woo ooh oo)
For us to (woo ooh oo)
Reconcile these doubts! (woo ooh oo)
They've all (woo ooh oo)
Gone on (woo ooh oo)
For far too long (woo ooh oo)
Yeah it goes on and on and on and on (woo ooh oo)
On and on and on and on (woo ooh oo)

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one who can't get through

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one hey, I'm the one to blame.

Just (woo ooh oo)
Not (woo ooh oo)
Built (woo ooh oo)
For (woo ooh oo)
This (woo ooh oo)
Role (woo ooh oo)
And all the time (woo ooh oo)
Much better spent(woo ooh oo)
But it all drags on for far too long (woo ooh oo)
And it drags on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

Made a mistake
I made a mistake
I wear the scars to show my shame

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one who can't get through

What should I do?
What should I do?
When I'm the one hey, I'm the one to blame.

I wish I was someone better x14

Made a mistake x16

Q: What’s worse than the curse of the ‘difficult second album’?

A: The ‘unreleased second album’.

Yes, surely never having the opportunity to release their much-laboured over second album is even more soul-destroying for a band than having it mercilessly torn apart by the music press. Take, for example, The Departure. Now, I liked The Departure. That statement may have immediately caused me to plummit in your estimations, but fuck it, I thought their debut album Dirty Words was fantastic – a mesh of wirey guitars and brooding emotion. Having teased their follow-up on Myspace and in live shows, I was ready to be impressed again… but then the band were unceremoniously dropped, dooming the album to remain unreleased. The band didn’t even get to keep the rights to their name for fuck’s sake!

The most recent victim of this cut-throat business are GoodBooks (or Good Books, if you prefer), who released one of my favourite albums of 2007, Control. Their demise seemed rather unexpected to the casual observer – in January they reported via Myspace that their second album, Cry Of The Hunters, was finished and due for release in summer. When summer came around, however, instead of an album, we got the news that the band’s performance at this year’s Glastonbury was to be their last. And so, another fully recorded and mixed second record now sits in limbo, owned by a major label that presumably has no intention of releasing it.

It’s not just second albums that have suffered this ignominy, and in that regard Pull Tiger Tail are surely one of the most luckless bands in recent history. Having finished their debut record in February 2007, they were then dropped by their label, B-Unique – and over two years later, the record still remains unreleased. The band’s Wikipedia page claims that the band finally have the rights to the record and intend to release it independently later this year, but I haven’t been able to find any confirmation of this – though I do hope it’s true.

There is, however, a crumb of comfort in the fact that some bands manage to survive such adversity – like Blood Red Shoes, for example. With plans to release their album in late 2007 well and truly buggered up when their record label, V2, was bought out by Universal, the album eventually saw the light of day in April 2008 – and it was certainly worth the wait.

But unfortunately, when it comes to major labels, money talks. There’s no sense of duty towards a band, and any ‘belief’ in them rarely extends beyond the belief that they’ll sell some records. And if they don’t meet up to that expectation, then it’s likely that their careers will be prematurely curtailed – no matter how good they are.

Versione Sintetica: Kraftwerk, Editors, NIN, Moby… poteva andare peggio.

Versione Estesa: partiamo come al solito dall’inizio, bello il campeggio con tanto spazio, un supermarket per le bevande, un buon equilibrio di bagni chimici che non fa mai male e anche tendone doccia gratuito.

Come sempre inserisco mappe varie giusto per orientarsi e per ricordarmi un po’ dove ero.

Stages Map

Southside Festival 2009 Stages Map

Camping Map

Southside Festival 2009 Camping Map

Venerdì

Time Table Friday

Il primo giorno si apre con pioggia che rompe le palle tutto il giorno con picco sui Fleet Foxes. Ma andando con ordine vediamo i Silversun Pickups nel Red Stage detto anche “il tendone” o come lo chiamavo io il “club stage” in ricordo del Rock Im Park, comunque l’unico stage al coperto, usciamo e c’è Lily Allen nel Green Stage AKA Mainstage, bella ragazza, un po’ di pancetta che non le sta male, canticchia e si diverte, fa un po’ la figa sul palco, musicalmente niente di che, semplice pop senza lode ne infamia.

Arriva il momento del primo vero gruppo che voglio sentire, i Fleet Foxes suonano al Blue Stage (che non si capisce perchè è più piccolo del Green pur presentando nomi nettamente migliori), e naturalmente scende il diluvio, ma stoico sto al mio posto e li sento fino all’ultimo, loro meritano, ci fosse stato il sole ne avrebbe guadagnato l’esibizione, ma nonostante il tempo è uno dei momenti migliori della giornata.

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

Si sentono un po’ i Keane in sottofondo fino a che non si torna nel Red a sentire i The Whip, e qui prima grande rivelazione perchè live ci sanno fare, tirano dentro tutti in una specie di electro punk rock a tratti molto new wave, sempre energico e ballabile, sicuramente da rivedere se è possibile.

The Whip @ Southside

The Whip – Anyway You Choose To Give It (remix of The Black Ghosts song)

Intanto il tempo passa prendono posto i Die Arzte sul Main ma si possono tranquillamente ignorare visto che fanno una canzone (niente di che) e 15 minuti di chiacchere in crucco maledetto, decido che ci sono i Friendly Fires lì e non posso non sentirli anche a costo di perdere un po’ di Nick Cave, mai scelta fu più sbagliata, lascio 30 minuti, 6 canzoni, al gruppo per riprendersi ma non ce la fanno, le canzoni sono quelle e sono eseguite anche bene, ma manca l’atmosfera è tutto molto distaccato freddo, qualcuno lancia anche bicchieri sul palco, esco il più in fretta possibile e raggiungo il Blue Stage dove Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds stanno mettendo in scena uno spettacolo al limite del teatrale dove personaggio, scrittore, interprete è solo lui, Nick Cave, voce superba, energia da vendere e pathos ogni volta che fa qualcosa. La chiusura con Lucy è qualcosa che non si descrive si può solo tentare di capire, qua un video per chi non c’era.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Lucy

Sabato

Time Table Saturday

Si inizia con The Dø seguiti a ruota dai Datarock che tanto allegri quanto innegabilmente cafoni si permettono una chiusura con Time Of My Life che è un misto tra il piegarsi dalle risate e il cantare in coro, divertenti è sicuramente il termine che più gli si addice.

Datarock – Fa-Fa-Fa

Datarock – Time Of My Life

Si continua con la pazzia con i Gogol Bordello a cui sacrifico volentieri un paio di occhiali gravemente danneggiati in un pogo, loro sono bravi e casinisti, per 1 oretta non importa più niente a nessuno solo saltare, abbracciarsi, stringersi e ridere. Ma dopo questa sfogo muscolare arriva un momento più riflessivo con una delle più belle esibizioni del Southside Festival, salgono sul Green Stage gli Editors e mettono giù una serie di canzoni che uno rimane un po’ intontito da tanta bravura tutta insieme.

Editors – An End Has A Start

Arriva il momento dei Franz Ferdinand in cui non mi dilungo, in pratica ripetono lo show fatto al Palasharp qualche mese fa, ma questa volta più convinti ed energetici sarà che suonavano davanti a 5 volte tanto la gente del Palasharp e nella cornice di un festival come il Southside, per il resto scaletta e gag sono sempre le stesse, rimane un buono spettacolo in cui ci si diverte e se si sanno le canzoni si canta tanto.

Finiti i Ferdinand si va per la chiusura della seconda serata nel Blue Stage dove c’è ad aspettare Trent Reznor con i Nine Inch Nails. Molti commenti sono superflui e da modestissimo conoscitore della band non mi allungherò molto, dico che meritano assolutamente, bravi musicisti, molta energia e ancora una volta un pezzo da brividi a concludere la serata. Se il giorno prima era Nick Cave con Lucy, questa sera è la volta di Hurt. Nei video manca l’anima più rock della band, ma quella è fin troppo scontata da sottolineare.

Nine Inch Nails – La Mer

Nine Inch Nails – Hurt (video not from Southside Festival)

Domenica

Time Table Sunday

Sentiamo un po’ Avi Geffen, non male, i Blood Red Shoes al Blue Stage che aprono ai Ting Tings e lo fanno alla grandissima, lei chitarra e voce, lui batteria e controcanto, semplici diretti.. se hai delle belle canzoni funziona, e loro hanno delle belle canzoni, direi una delle rivelazioni del festival. Arrivano i Ting Tings e portano il loro solito repertorio, forse ormai un po’ logoro ma sempre d’effetto, visti un po’ da lontano ma gustati lo stesso; poi l’occasione fa l’uomo fesso, e ci fermiamo 30 secondi a sentire Katy Perry: sto fenomeno tutto mediatico conferma la regola che vuole ragazze belle e disinibite lanciate con un tormentone, incapaci di cantare live, proviamo tanta vergogna per lei e ce ne andiamo a sentire un gruppo che ha segnato il grunge: Pixies!

Naturalmente sfiga vuole che per andare a prendere posto per l’attacco di Moby sentiamo il finale dei Pixies da lontano con l’immancabile Where Is My Mind?. Per fortuna Moby ci ripaga ampiamente con estratti dall’ultimo album e grandi classici come Go, We Are All Made Of Stars, Lift Me Up, Natural Blues.. e sul finale un pezzo che volevo sentire live da una vita: Feeling So Real! A ripensarci sto ancora male, uno dei top moment di tutto il lungo weekend.

Moby – Feeling So Real

Ed ecco che finito Moby e finite le energie in larga parte, ci si appresta alla chiusura del festival e in grandissimo stile, non ci sono parole per descrive lo show realiazzato dai Kraftwerk, visionario forse è il miglior aggettivo, graficamente e musicalmente appagante qualcuno, l’ha definito una “installazione” nel senso artistico e mi trova perfettamente d’accordo.

Si è semplicemente andati oltre la musica, la grafica, il messaggio… è un’esperienza, una sensazione, e allo stesso tempo un evento storico (per i profani, stiamo parlando dei Beatles dell’elettronica).

Per me i Kraftwerk segnano il punto più alto di tutto il festival, senza nessun dubbio. Giusto un video per dare l’idea, ma pezzi come Man Machine, Radioactivity, The Model, Numbers, Trans Europe Express, Autobahn, The Robots sono davvero il manifesto di un epoca, per chi ha la sensibilità di capirlo.

Kraftwerk – Tour De France

Se ci devono essere delle riflessioni finali sono che il Southside Festival è un evento che merita almeno una volta nella vita, ogni anno la line up è pazzesca, e quest’anno non era da meno, anzi. L’unico dispiacere è stato il tempo incerto, 3 giorni tra pioggia e nuvole non sono forse il clima ideale, ma la musica, la grande musica sentita e vissuta ha preso il sopravvento su tutto.

Verão é sinónimo de férias, lazer e também festivais, concertos, concentrações etc… O Final Encounter dá uma ajuda para decidirem, quais os festivais a que vocês querem ir, e quando é que estes se realizam.

Delta Tejo

Alto da Ajuda, Lisboa, de 3 a 5 de Julho

Bilhetes: entre 25 euros (um dia) e 40 euros (passe de três dias)

3 de Julho: Orishas, Skank, Bajofondo Tango Club, Buju Banton, Monobloco

4 de Julho: Vanessa da Mata, Deolinda, Sara Tavares, Bossa Nossa

5 de Julho: Alexandre Pires, Banda Calypso, Irmãos Verdades, NBC

Site Official:http://www.deltatejo.com/

OptimusAlive 2009

Passeio Marítimo de Oeiras, de 9 a 11 de Julho

Bilhetes: entre 50 euros (um dia) e 90 euros (passe de três dias)

PALCO OPTIMUS 9 de Julho: Metallica, Machine Head, Mastodon, Slipknot, Lamb of God

10 de Julho: Prodigy, Placebo, Eagles of Death Metal, The Kooks, Os Pontos Negros

11 de Julho: Dave Matthews Band, Chris Cornell, Black Eyed Peas

PALCO SUPER BOCK 9 de Julho: TV On The Radio, Klaxons, Crystal Castles, Erol Alkan, Delphic, Silversun Pickups, Air Traffic

10 de Julho: The Ting Tings, Late of the Pier, The Gaslight Anthem, Hadouken!, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, Fischerspooner

11 de Julho: Los Campesinos, Trouble Andrew, A Silent Film, Lykke Li, Ghostland Observatory, Deadmau5 e autoKratz

Site Official:http://www.optimusalive.com

SuperBock Super Rock

Bilhetes: entre 40 euros (um dia) 70 euros (Porto + Lisboa)

SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK PORTO Estádio do Bessa, 11 de Julho

Depeche Mode Nouvelle Vague Peter Bjorn and John Motor Soapbox (vencedores do concurso Super Bock Preload)

SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK LISBOA Estádio do Restelo, 18 de Julho

The Killers Duffy Mando Diao Brandi Carlile Walkmen Bettershell (vencedores do concurso Super Bock Preload)

Site Official:http://www.superbock.pt/SuperMusic/sbsr15/

Marés Vivas

Gaia, de 16 a 18 de Julho Bilhetes: entre 25 euros (um dia) e 38 euros (três dias)

Site Official:www.festivalmaresvivas.com/

Paredes de Coura

Alto Minho, de 29 de Julho a 1 de Agosto

Bilhetes: entre 40 euros (um dia) e 70 euros (três dias).

29 de Julho: Patrick Wolf

30 de Julho: Franz Ferdinand, Supergrass, The Rascals, Chew Lips e Holy Ghost (after hours)

31 de Julho: Nine Inch Nails, Peaches, Blood Red Shoes, Kap Bambino e Punks Jum Up (after hours)

Site Official:www.paredesdecoura.com/

Rock One

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, 5, 6, 7 e 8 de Agosto

Bilhetes:desde 15€…(240€- 4 bilhetes x 4 dias), (80€-1b x 4dias)ou 50€ (1b x 1 dia)

Site Official:http://www.rockone.pt/

Sudoeste TMN

Zambujeira do Mar, de 5 a 9 de Agosto

Bilhetes entre 40 euros (um dia) e 80 euros (três dias) Ainda sem data: Mariza Recepção ao Campista

5 de Agosto – David Guetta

6 de Agosto Palco TMN: Buraka Som Sistema, The National, Ebony Bones

Palco Planeta Sudoeste:Marcelo Camelo, Devotchka, Mallu Magalhães

Espaço Electrónico: Miss Kittin com The Hacker

7 de Agosto Palco TMN: Madcon

Espaço Electrónico: Ame Schwarz Dixon

9 de Agosto Palco TMN:Lily Allen, Basement Jaxx,Amy Macdonald

Palco Planeta Sudoeste: Caravan Palace,Amadou & Mariam

Palco Positive Vibes: Antony B,Third World

Espaço Electrónico: Dubfire

Site Official:http://www.tmn.pt/swtmn09.html

Ilha do Ermal

I Acto - de 27 a 30 de Agosto – Sepultura, Obituary, Pestilence, RAMP, Angra, Disbelief, Heavenwood, One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, Hatesphere, Textres, Desire, Korpiklaani, W.A.K.O., Pitch Black, RCA

Blog Official:http://festivalilhadoermal.blogspot.com/

Les récits de festival m’ont toujours furieusement ennuyé. D’abord parce qu’on y lit toujours des trucs du style Untel “donne le ton au festival”, “propose un set énergique” ou encore “provoque la folie chez les festivaliers”. Et maintenant c’est mon tour. Pour commencer, je tiens à préciser qu’avec tout ce que j’ai vu-fait-entendu, je pourrais écrire le scénario du prochain Irvine Welsh.

Vendredi 17 juillet, 18h, j’arrive à Angoulême, à la ferme des Vallettes pour la Garden Nef Party. Mon acolyte, ami et confrère de Radio Surf et moi arrivons légèrement à la bourre, on rate Stuck in The Sound, Izia et la moitié de Phoenix. Pas grave, je suis venu pour Sleepy Sun et pour The Jim Jones Revue. Et aussi pour Eristoff, Leffe, Dillon & Co. Je trouve une petite culotte sur le long chemin qui mène à l’entrée : “le ton est donné”. Premier enseignement, une fois sur place : rien de mieux pour la drague qu’un pass VIP. En fait, même pas besoin de draguer. Le barman de l’espace dédié comprend vite que nous serons ses meilleurs clients, et nous comprenons qu’il sera notre meilleur allié. On croise l’attachée de presse, qui nous promet une interview de Sleepy Sun après leur concert. A 20h20, ils commencent.

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Et le gros bordel aussi commence. Je ne suis déjà plus qu’un tas de viande belliqueux lorsque mes six californiens préférés débarquent sur scène en même temps que la nuit sur Angoulême, avec des traces de peinture rouge et verte sur les joues. Et je prends l’une des meilleures claques de ma vie, ils balancent un psyché comme nous l’aimons tous ou devrions tous l’aimer. Quelles chansons ont-il joué ? Pendant laquelle le chanteur a-t-il lancé son micro ? Qui diable cela intéresse-t-il ?

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Retour à l’espace VIP. Dans la salle de presse, une consœur de la Charente Libre titre son papier “La pluie s’invite à la Garden Nef Party”. On la charrie un peu en attendant l’interview de Sleepy Sun. “Annulée, ils doivent s’en aller”, m’annonce l’attachée de presse. Vers 22h, on sort pour aller voir les Blood Red Shoes, duo guitare-batterie anglais. La guitare se révèle être une authentique bombe sexuelle, du style Alison Mosshart. Et quelle fut ma surprise lorsque je croise, tranquilles, les Sleepy Sun bières à la main. On m’aurait menti ? Tant pis pour eux. Je suis impressionné par le batteur des Blood Red Shoes qui, en plus de rudoyer gaiement ses toms et cymbales, chante sur tous les morceaux.

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Dès le duo dehors, on se dirige vers l’autre scène, pour aller voir un groupe de pop anglais bas-de-gamme, vaguement dansant. J’ai nommé Franz Ferdinand. Autant le dire d’emblée : je ne supporte pas ces mecs. Incendiez-moi, violentez-moi, je ne changerai pas d’avis. Pourquoi passent-ils leur temps à sourire comme quatre vieux chats du Midlothian ? Ils réussissent quand même à reproduire douze fois la même chanson, avec le même beat, au cours du même album ce qui est, soyons honnêtes, un exploit de haute volée. Et en concert, même constat : j’ai eu l’impression d’écouter la même chanson une heure durant. Mes innombrables jaculations verbales éméchées à l’attention d’Alex Kapranos m’ont valu de multiples invectives et menaces de la part de la foule, des “casse-toi sale boulet”, et j’ai failli me faire dézinguer plusieurs fois. Le fan tout mignon de Franz Ferdinand ne peut de toute façon rien contre moi, et j’en suis ressorti indemne malgré quelques échanges de civilités.

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La nuit s’est poursuivi avec Vitalic. Le festival devient un dancefloor géant, “qui provoque la folie chez les festivaliers”. Vers 3h, retour à la voiture, un corbillard s’est garé juste à côté de nous. J’aménage le coffre, faute de tente, histoire de comater un peu.

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Samedi 18 juin, 17h, les hostilités reprennent. On négocie une interview avec The Jim Jones Revue (que vous retrouverez les jours prochains dans ces mêmes colonnes, nda), que l’on obtiendra. On file ensuite voir John & Jehn, régionaux de l’étape (on appelle les habitants d’Angoulême les “angoumoisins”). John à la guitare et Jehn au clavier, on se dit qu’une petite batterie ne serait pas de trop, merci la boite à rythme. Jehn est magnétique avec ses lunettes rondes. Je tombe amoureux. Ensuite viendront les Cold War Kids, plutôt décevants malgré “un set énergique”. Session picole jusqu’à 21h et arrive le GRAND moment du week-end : le live de Jim Jones Revue.

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Sur scène, ces cinq seigneurs made in London font passer Franz Ferdinand pour de braves chatons sous morphine. Ils puent la testostérone à deux kilomètres. Je me transforme en midinette et prends une intense leçon de “voilà comment faire pour être un homme”. Ils ont entre trente et quarante ans, et je me dis qu’indubitablement, l’âge dans le rock est une qualité première. Suivront TV On The Radio et Gossip, mais après The Jim Jones Revue, difficile de s’extasier sur autre chose. Aujourd’hui encore, je ne m’en suis pas remis.

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Étourdi, le molosse de la sécurité ne m’a pas vu me faufiler par l’entrée des artistes pendant le live électro d’Étienne de Crecy, vers trois heures du matin. Je monte sur la scène. Même si mon rôle s’est cantonné à des coucous et à quelques démonstrations de déhanché ivre à tout un public déchainé, ce fut intense. Et l’attachée de presse du festival voit rouge : “c’est un manque de respect total, et c’est interdit. Ce serait bien que tu dégages !”. C’est cela oui. Je suis resté jusqu’au bout, et De Crécy m’a même confié après coup qu’il adorait notre cher magazine.

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Dimanche 19 juillet, 4h, retour à la voiture. Fin du festival. Fin des excès et retour à la vie normale.

Article publié sur le site Internet du magazine VoxPop : http://www.voxpopmag.com