WordPress 5-22-13

Thanks to everyone who checked in from every nation on the planet to find out more about our band! Silver Laughter thanks you for your interest as we reached the 10,000 mark sometime this afternoon. Keep coming back. There is lots more to come!

Mick Orton

Original soulful, bluesy vocals, with in Indie twist.
Harmonies, guitar, bass.

Hey friends and future friends!  Today Quai and I perform our originals and covers at this relaxing outdoor venue. Come and party with us! Yay!

Key West Island (78,82,29)

Image courtesy of facebook.com/ohhellobrisbane

Brisbane

621 Ann St, Fortitude Valley

Following the close of the Monastery night club in 2011, this ode to NYC warehouse clubbing moved in and quickly made a name for itself. A member of the drinks in jars movement, Oh Hello! is now established as a chic and hipster destination and attracts some great local and international live acts like Flight Facilities, His Majesty Andre, Flume, Surkin, Russ Chimes and more.  You can even witness the odd fashion show.

ohello.com.au

Image courtesy of facebook.com/ohhellobrisbane

That being said I want to talk about ANNA ROSE formally known as Menega,Miss. She has changed up her style and sound a bit and is back in action performing her brand of pop/dance tunes with some dub step/ house flair. “But Dawn..You just said…” Yes I know I said I dont like that stuff but I like this girl.

Anna Rose puts on a great show and has an amazing voice that needs no auto-tune despite it peeking through in a song or two. Her new tracks are perfect for a DJ to spin at any weekend night club while her live shows are more stripped down but still in keeping with her upbeat, body moving vibe.

She’s a friend who I have gotten drunk with, danced with and shared  good times with. I also sang back ups for her  when she was known as Menega,Miss. Her genuine approach to her craft inspired me and her songs made me dance like a happy idiot. When performing with her I was always surrounded by a diverse crew from eclectic stylists to hilarious and fierce transvestites. It was always a god damn pleasure. I took note at how hard she works to brand herself and surround herself with committed talent. It gave me new insight on the “pop world” I usually dismiss. 

Though her new shows may not be as theatrical as her former alter ego the quality of her performance will speak for itself. Check her out Sunday June 9th at The Basment Tavern in Santa Monica. You will have a blast! and go to http://www.facebook.com/realannarose like that sexy bitches’ page!

Opened by Seams, fresh from the announcement earlier that day that they will be playing the T Break stage at T in the Park, this was the first time I (and many other members of the audience) had heard the five-piece. I was blown away by their catchy riffs, tight performance and outstanding vocals. My only niggle with this excellent support act was the lack of confidence from vocalist Katie Lynch. Her stunning voice was undermined by her apparent shyness – it seemed that she doesn’t know how good she truly is, and so her connection with the audience was hindered – utterly unecessary with such a supportive crowd behind her and such a huge talent.

In contrast, the stage presence of Vukovi singer Janine Shilstone was phenomenal. As the band came barrelling onto the stage, her immediate rapport with the audience – making everyone chuckle explaining their challenge to down a bottle of cherry lambirini before the set was up – broke the ice and got everyone to loosen up enough to dance about from the start. This was also aided by  the lack of traditional raised platform stage; the band being on the same level as the crowd gave the performance a stripped-back, down to earth feel, making it feel like a party laughing with your pals, not a performance- no easy feat for a band, but one they pulled off easily through their impressive stage presence. This was lead by Janine’s ability to strut confidently out into the crowd, mesmerizing enough to ensure that not one eye left her during the entire set.

From start to finish the audience were captivated; the moody harmonies in the opening ‘Shattered Chances’ showed the expert musicianship of the whole group. A couple more songs in and it was clear this was not just another show – Vukovi appeared to be loving performing to us just as much as we were enjoying watching them. The enthusiastic revellers were even treated to new material, which was a mix of lighter, bouncier songs and a song so new it hasn’t been named yet being possibly the darkest heaviest material we’ve heard from Vukovi yet. The new tunes even included an amusing dance routine, with guitarist Hamish Reilly’s concentration face being a very entertaining sight and bassist Jason Trotter out of sync with everyone else, causing much chuckling throughout the crowd.

Despite there being a somewhat eclectic mix of styles in the new songs, it went down a storm, with it being obvious that come the launch of the new mini album in the autumn, crowds will soon be as word perfect with Vukovi’s new material as they are with the best loved songs. Such fan dedication was shown by how intensely the audience belted out their (arguably) most popular songs – the huge sing-along reaction to ‘Target Practise’, ‘Schwagger’ and ‘Thick Skinned’ motivated the band to keep playing at an exceptionally high standard, despite being a little worse for wear due to their incessant lambirini chugging.

The entertaining breakdown of another new song (the working title of ‘Trashy Song’ gives you the right idea) into some contrasting gentle swing music as Janine encouraged some 1920′s style  dancing was a welcome surprise, especially when it suddenly morphed into a mosh pit as the band switched into a heavy cover of Labrinth’s ‘Earthquake’. After many shouts for an encore, a rocked-up cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Part of Me’ finished the evening.

With such a fun filled, party-esque set, Vukovi stripped themselves down to their core values, showing that they can truly deliver the only two things a band really needs; excellent musicianship and a true ability to perform like proffessionals, even in a more intimate gig.

In terms of enjoyment, this was arguably Vukovi’s strongest Glasgow show to date, easily proving why they’re one of Glasgow’s finest bands – and why they’re going to climb high.

You can check out Vukovi on Facebook and Twitter, & purchase their music on iTunes.

Photography by Andy Mills Photography and Media

It’s amazing when you write a song, paint a picture, tell a story in anyway, shape or form how the meaning of what you wrote the song about, how the music inspired you or what made you paint that particular picture it always will bring a smile to your face. I listen to our album all the time (That may be big headed i don’t know! i just like the songs!) and it always makes me smile thinking about the recording process, or the buzz i got after we had finished a track or come up with an amazing riff or melody and i suppose if we don’t fill Wembley we will be proud of what we have done up to now, and what we will do  

Anyhow, thats the sentimental part over! SPREAD THE LOVE  

Who? BOY Where? The Great Hall (Toronto, ON) When? May 16, 2013

As popular as it is to complain about unpaid internships, I have to admit that mine comes with some pretty cool perks too – like free tickets, and being exposed to new music. This was the case with the duo Boy, whom I had never heard of until I was given the opportunity to see them last week. It’s a mission statement of mine to always be honest, but I hope you don’t perceive the above as a source of biased opinion because I really, truly, enjoyed myself at this show.

I tried to do some reconnaissance work beforehand to acquaint myself with their music, but it’s infuriatingly difficult to Google “boy band” and not be looking for pictures of New Kids On The Block. If you’re looking for some background behind them though, I recommend this piece by Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star.

If I had to describe the vocals of Boy it would be Sara Bareilles meets Kathleen Edwards, but with their own German/Swiss (yet perfectly fluent English lyrics) charm. Valeska Steiner (lead vocals) is clearly the star of the show, often interacting with the small audience and taking advantage of the intimate setting that I love The Great Hall for. Guitarist/backing vocalist Sonja Glass on the other hand opts to take the quiet and shy route to the point where you almost forget that she’s there until she finally says introduces a song about halfway through the set. She seems to be content with letting the blonde have more fun, and Valeska is fit for the task.

This was the first time I had heard a lot of their material, and the duo (along with a third backing guitarist) managed to hold my attention and not let go for the entirely acoustic set. Stand-outs included the delicate Drive Darling, Waitress (which explores the monotony of waiting for life to start in the service industry – god how I can relate), the sinister-sounding Boris, and Skin. Boy’s songwriting and delivery is so clear and relatable you almost forget that English isn’t their first language. Their flair for storytelling is what breathes life into the relatively calm and quiet songs.

There were a couple of dancing-in-my-chair moments though, such as their North American debut-single “Little Numbers” which is the best song about giving a boy your phone number since Carly Rae Jepson pwned the topic for an entire radio summer. A stripped-down cover of The Black Keys’s “Lonely Boy” closed their encore, which at first I kind of rolled my eyes at because you simply couldn’t go to a concert in 2012 without hearing a cover of that song. However, it ended up being a successful choice as it woke people up from the dreamy, not-really-dance-conducive set, and it was nice to be able to sing along to all of the words of at least one song. The cover left a nice spring in everyone’s step as we left the venue, and that’s what every new artist should aim for.

Boy is still in that endearing phase that most new bands of their genre goes through; their banter is a little weak but they’re trying, they laughingly admit to accidentally mixing up the setlist, they’re limited on what instruments and backing musicians they can bring with them overseas (there was a rather amusing Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist moment when Valeska had to whip out the drum machine), Sonja could use a bit more courage, and most of their audience consisted of industry people and German-Canadian teens that spend a lot of time on YouTube. But the creativity and the content is there, and with a little more time it will be a lot easier to find them online.

Play their album Mutual Friends before you go to sleep one night, it’s the prettiest lullaby I’ve heard in a while.

Set List

1. (sorry I didn’t catch the title of this one, and can’t seem to find it online)
2. Drive Darling
3. Waitress
4. Boris 
5. Oh Boy 
6. Railway
7. Army
8. Skin
9. July
10. Seven Little Numbers
    Encore:
11. Zapping
12. Lonely Boy (Black Keys cover)

Find BOY on Twitter here and on iTunes here.

The Palmetto Concert Band of USC is holding a free concert on Sunday, May 26 at 4 pm at the Koger Center (1051 Greene St.)! See here for more details or call 803-777-4278.

Fall Out Boy may have just returned from a three-year music hiatus, but it’s been four years since the band’s last visit to The LC Pavilion in 2009. A fast sell-out show, the packed house of new and old fans was ready to see the band “save Rock and Roll.”

Hollywood Holt, Chicago-based rapper, was the only opening act for our stop and hand-selected by the band to play. He isn’t very well known, but he brought an interesting hip-hop performance to ready the crowd for the band everyone came to see. It’s no surprise fans enjoyed the rapper because Fall Out Boy are no strangers to linking up with famous hip-hop artists on their songs, including Jay-Z and 2 Chainz. Hollywood Holt’s performance was fun but it was only the calm before the storm.

Fall Out Boy entered to “Thriller,” the opening track to their 2008 release Infinity on High, and from there the rush of nostalgia began. It was the gratification the entire crowd had been awaiting for these long four years. The band continued to From Under the Cork Tree cuts “I Slept With Someone From Fall Out Boy…” and a crowd provoking “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More Touch Me.”

Patrick, still sporting a hat as always, hit his falsetto notes better than ever and seemed so grateful and excited to return to Ohio. Moving onto chant-friendly tracks “Disloyal Order of the Water Buffaloes” and “This Ain’t a Scene” the sold out crowd was in full participation echoing the lyrics back to the band and clapping along during the breakdowns of the songs.

Beginning to mix in songs such as riff-heavy cut “The Phoenix” and pop sounding tracks “Where Did the Party Go” and “Alone Together,” the crowd was surprisingly receptive to the band’s newer music. With the album just being released a month ago, the crowd singing the lyrics fully back to the band proved its success with the fans.

It wasn’t all new stuff though, as Fall Out Boy quickly reminded the crowd of the songs that got them hooked on the band in the first place. When Pete Wentz wasn’t swinging around his bass while performing, he was connecting with the audience during the intermissions. “We always enjoy coming through Ohio,” said Wentz. “Being from Chicago, anywhere in the Midwest really feels like home.” This transitioned into the band’s most widely known songs “Grand Theft Autumn” and “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down.”

Continuously jumping from old hits to new tracks, the band spread out a perfect set list to please everyone in the crowd. Their latest hit “Young Volcanoes” was a pavilion-wide sing-a-long that faded into the shriek-drawing bass line of “Dance, Dance.” They closed their set with powerful singles “I Don’t Care” and “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark,” which just made the sea of fans rowdy and wanting more. As a response to the chants of “F-O-B” and an amazing crowd-orchestrated call of the “Oh’s” from “My Song Knows What You Did…” Patrick returned to take a seat at a keyboard alongside the rest of the band.

“That was incredible!” Patrick stated, as he announced there were a couple of songs left to play. “This song is really the reason we are all here tonight,” he continued as he played the title track off their latest, Save Rock and Roll. From this slower ballad, the energy returned with “Thnks fr the Mmrs.” Taking a second to catch their breath, the band and crowd all knew what was next to come as the grand finale. As tradition to their live shows, the band performed “Saturday” and truly made it seem like nothing had changed at all since their hiatus. Wentz jumped into the crowd, ditching his bass during his vocals on the track and proved why they chose to always close with the track.

As the evening came to an end, Fall Out Boy left the crowd satisfied and made up for their shocking hiatus. Playing all the hits as well as seven songs from their latest album, they covered all of their bases. Seeing these songs performed live again made it seem like the band never left. Having seen the band twice before, this was definitely the best they have performed and sounded, as well as, the most excited they have been to play a show. With The LC at full capacity, it goes to show that you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone, and Fall Out Boy returning reminded fans why they fell in love with the pop-punk band in the first place.

This year saw another excellent lineup up of acts over two days.

First up was IO Earth, this was there first gig with new singer Linda Odinsen:

You can see more of my photos of IO Earth HERE.

Next up was Mark Spencer on the acoustic stage:

You see more of my Mark Spencer set HERE .

Next up on the main stage were District 97 who were making their UK concert debut:

See more of my photos of District 97 HERE .

Next on the main stage were Frost* :

See more of my Frost* photos HERE .

Headlining the festival on Saturday were Threshold:

See more of my Threshold photos HERE.

First up on day 2 of Celebr8.2 was Matt Stevens:

See more photos of Matt HERE.

First on the main stage on Sunday was Alan Reed and the daughters of expediency:

Monique Van Der Kolk from Harvest joined Alan and band for the song “Kingdom of the blind”

Playing drums for Alan was DeeExpus and Touchstone drummer Hen Rogers

See more photos of Alan and band HERE.

Next on the main stage were Harvest another band making their UK debut at Celebr8.2:

See more of my photos of Harvest HERE.

Next on the acoustic stage was Simon Godfrey, joined by Robert Ramsay and Phil the duck!

See more photos of Simon’s set HERE.

Next on the main stage were Mystery featuring former Yes singer Benoit David:

See more photos of Mystery HERE.

The final band of the festival was Arena:

You can see more photos of Arena HERE.

Hi hoped you enjoyed these photos from Celebr8.2.  If you were at the festival but didn’t pick one up or you weren’t aren’t at the festival I highly recommend getting the Limited Edition Celebr8.2 official programme.

Full colour includes 2 CD’s of rare/unreleased tracks from the bands who appeared at Celebr8.2. £10 goes to cover the costs of the programme and will help to secure the return of Celebr8 next year.

It’s available from The Merch Desk

Buy the Celebr8.2 programme from the merch desk

I had considered catching an hour or so at Lights Out before this gig, but fatigue and what felt like the return of my cold meant it was a bit of a struggle even to make this 9pm start for OST but the lure of hearing and seeing Raevennan Husbandes again was too much to resist.

First on the bill though was Dan Foden, playing a solo set. Apparently Dan usually fronts Norwich band The Deadbeats, who I have yet to see perform. Tonight he was accompanied just by his piano. An interesting set, including a song or two from a project of songs with a run time of one minute. He has a good voice and my personal favourite was the song he closed the set with, which he introduced as a track he had only written and composed some four hours earlier.

dan foden

The next act was Oliver Rudge, from Wolverhampton. He started his set with some blistering guitar work and held the attention of all present. His singing style changed several times throughout, and I was less keen when it strayed into high Ed Sheeran territory and at those times I was more impressed with his guitar style than his vocals, but when he sang in his own style was much better. He seemed humble and unassuming, thanked the audience whom he described as the most attentive he had played to.

oliver rudge

Of course the night’s headliner was the unmistakable Raevennan Husbandes. She had actually been sat at the end of the same table as me all evening so I was aware of how much she was watching and supporting the other acts on the night, which was nice to see. She eased gently into a beautiful set, with her sumptuous voice, easy style and gorgeous guitar work. Every song was just a musical caress, and her manner of speaking between songs was just deliciously charming and pleasant, for that alone one would fall for her charms but with her amazing songs it is hard to see how she will not go onto greater things. She talked easily when introducing a song that was the first she wrote after a serious illness that had left her temporarily blind and deaf, which must have been unimaginably traumatic. At another stage she mentioned that the previous night she had played a private members’ club in London, and spotted in the audience Zoe Wannamaker, “The one in Harry Potter who teaches people how to drive brooms” As I said, deliciously charming and self-effacing, a cheerful and eminently likable personality, with big hair and an even bigger talent. If you get a chance to hear her play do not miss it, I noticed many local musicians in the audience tonight to witness this event. I was delighted when she announced she has a CD coming out this summer.

raevennan husbandes

Words and photos by richard shashamane (c) 2013

https://www.facebook.com/NorwichLiveMusicPhotos

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