A BBC Radio 1 da Inglaterra definiu Orson como “a ligação que faltava entre os Rolling Stones e o Scissor Sisters.” (via Last.fm)

Faixas do álbum:

1. Bright Idea

2. No Tomorrow

3. Happiness

4. Already Over

5. Tryin’ to Help

6. So Ahead of Me

7. Last Night

8. Look Around

9. Save the World

10. OK Song

LINK – Bright Idea

Parece com? Hard-Fi, The Zutons.

Animação com a música No Tomorrow.

Enjoy o/

Having a rought day? Feel like even your mother hates you right now? Well she might but here are some jams to help you cope with the blues.

The Zutons: Why Don’t You Give Me Love – I still haven’t figured out how they didn’t get bigger but the Zutons are a star that shines brightly. This song is relentless in groove and will have you up and dancing even if you’re in the office. They’ve made a splash overseas, and while their last CD was a bust – don’t be surprised if you hear a lot more of this band in the future.

Velvet Revolver: Let It Roll – Alright, it didn’t last long and not everyone was a big fan of this supergroup. I disagreed with its critics and thought Weiland’s vocals were a perfect complement to the music. Their second album wasn’t as strong as the first but this was one of a handful of great rock songs. I don’t care why they broke up or whose fault it is – I’m just glad they left some damn good rock and roll behind

U2 & Green Day: The Saints Are Coming (Live) – The studio version of this song is crap. The live version has an unparalleled energy to it. It’s not overproduced like the other recording and the crowd adds a huge dimension to it. You’ll have goosebumps.

Talking Heads: Blind – I think every girl I met in college hates this song because I used to sing it in my car all the time [My friend Travis can attest to this]. Doesn’t mean it’s not a classic. If you love the band or not this song belongs in your collection. They’re in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame for a reason and this is a great example of that reason.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Storm In A Teacup - If you’re one of the nay-sayers who claim the Chili Peppers have lost their soul, you need to check this song out. It’s off Stadium Arcadium, one of their best works, and it really has that raw attitude to it that makes the Chili Peppers so unique. If you haven’t gotten the double disc I recommend going out to the store now.

It’s been quite a while since my last posting. That has more to do with my schedule than anything else, but it doesn’t take more than half an hour to write an adequate entry, correct? No excuse other than sheer laziness, really.

Anyway, today marks the first day the wonderful, awe-inspiring, motivating, reinvigorating sun sets far too fucking early. Far, far, far too early.

I cannot stand the lack of sunlight. I can’t stand the darkness approaching at 3:30pm. Slowly conquering the last lingering sunlit days: first encroaching on them, then suffocating them, and finally stealing all color from their skies. Oh, but of course, it’s not actually night yet, so we don’t have any pretty stars. Just blackness. We have to endure this shitty situation for the next six months.

Darkness doesn’t matter to some people. They’re still emotionally balanced, regardless of the lighting conditions of the environment. Those people suck (but only because I wish I were one of them).

So I have to find some music that fits the early spread of darkness, the early obscuring of vision, the fact that leaving the house and entering the house is done in darkness every day. That fact that no matter how hard I concentrate, how much my imagination tries, I still can’t place the sun back in the sky. I still can’t see any light at seven o’clock. Some light should still hover around the periphery while eating dinner.

But I’ve had this problem my entire life; I just have to find a way to accept it. That acceptance will come reluctantly, indignantly, and stubbornly. But it has to come, or I won’t survive or succeed.

I find the best kind of music for these types of situations incorporates frustrated, gloomy lyrics within music with positive energy. Emphasis on positive—not just loud or angry; it can be loud, it can be angry, but the underlying tone has to be triumphant.

Good examples: THE GO STATION, Annie Lennox, Bloc Party, Civil Twilight, Guster, Pictures of Then, The Bravery, Great Northern, Ra Ra Riot, Delta Spirit, Woods, Metric, Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes, The Cloud Room, Elbow, incubus, Josh Ritter, The Killers, The Low Anthem, Matthew Good Band, Mute Math, Passion Pit, Pela (now very, very sadly broken up.  Anytown Graffiti has now reached another level, because I know I’ll never hear anything quite like it again), The Postal Service, Rage Against the Machine, The Rapture, Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, Snow Patrol, The Stills, TV on the Radio, U2, The Uglysuit, The Weakerthans, Wild Light, Wintersleep, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Zutons. Examples from aforementioned bands forthcoming:

I will not be defeated by a Hake fillet, this is not a world I want to live in.  So, in a follow-on to the Weekend Fish Disaster (When It All Goes Wrong), I rolled up my sleeves, opened the fridge and rested my steely gaze on the massive lump of Hake (still in it’s wrapping – So. Unbelievably. Arrogant.) that was the only remnant of my lunch-preparation folly.

That lump of fish was an insouciant bastard, staring at me with the condescending quality of a twelve year-old that’s just got an iPod and thinks that entitles him to respond every single question with “Who gives a fuck what you think, old man? I have The Zutons on repeat.”

And so I decided right there that I was going to make sure I cooked the damn thing, and not only that – I was determined to enjoy every last bite of whatever I ended up making, even if it killed me.

This was personal.

It seemed that what the moment called for was simplicity – and so Fish & Chips it was going to be, because not even I can fuck that up.

Well…. I mean I can, but I was determined not to.

I made a home-made tomato relish, well...because I'm wanky that way.

Ingredients

For the Batter:

Milk

Flour

1 egg

salt

pepper

juice of one lemon

a splash of white wine

What to do

Firstly, sprinkle some salt and pepper on both sides of the fish and set it aside. Then, in a bowl combine the egg, half a cup of flour, half a cup of milk, seasoned with salt and a few twists of black pepper and whisk it into a smooth batter. If it’s a little thick or of course a little too liquid, just adjust it by adding a bit more flour or milk as necessary. Squeeze in the lemon juice and the splash of wine, whisk it in and then you’re ready to go.

Add some oil to a pan, get it hot, and using a fork, dip the fish in the batter until it’s good and coated, then add to the pan – frying on both sides until golden brown. Serve with chips, tomato sauce and nasty white vinegar and RELISH IN YOUR REVENGE ON THE FISH THAT TRIED TO RUIN YOUR LIFE.

Trabalho solo do vocalista do The Clash, Joe Strummer. Pra mim esse álbum influenciou muita banda Indie.

Faixas do álbum:

1. Come Girl
2. Get Down Moses
3. Long Shadow
4. Arms Aloft
5. Ramshackle Day Parade
6. Redemption Song
7. All in a Day
8. Burnin’ Streets
9. Midnight Jam
10. Silver and Gold

LINK – Streetcore

Parece com? The Clash, The Zutons

Vídeoclipe da música Come Girl.

There’s always being something about music that inspires local pride.

Artists invariably attract strong fan bases from their home town, born in part by the fact they worked their way to stardom through playing regularly at nearby venues – a few years ago I witnessed a pre-famous Kasier Chiefs acting as a support band at the Leeds Cockpit, a regular occurrence in those days – but also due to the connections that can be felt with a band who grew up in the same part of the world, however many Ferraris they now own.

When it comes to gigs and festivals, similar local pride applies. Seeing famous bands play within a few miles of your home provides excitement that watching Hollywood stars in the latest blockbuster at the nearest cinema can never invoke. Bands of stature playing in your town help you to believe your town is a significant part of the wider world we view daily, through our TV screens and on the internet.

Which is why, despite the fact I live 13 miles away in Skipton, Bingley Music Live delivers a strong sense of goodwill within me before the year’s line up is even announced. True we have a world class festival in the Leeds Festival almost on our doorstep, but even that is on the ‘wrong side’ of Leeds and getting to and from it would involve journey times little different to crossing the border for a gig in Manchester.

It took me less than an hour from leaving my front door to entering the Myrtle Park Bingley festival site on Saturday, and even then it was because there was a 20 minute queue to get in. Hop on the train, pass a few stops and then I’m in a place where I can watch a credible festival bill. I’ve grown up in this area, so Bingley holds memories that touch childhood through to more recent visits for evenings venturing around its pubs. And as I walked around the site spotting people I know here and there, that feeling of local pride surged.

Pride which helps me to overlook the minor imperfections which continue to blight this fledgling festival. This year the capacity was increased from 6,500 to 15,000, but the already inadequate facilities were not upgraded in line. There were around 20 portaloos for the capacity crowd to queue up to use, a factor which left males and some desperate females perching by the nearby riverbank to relieve themselves – ironically avoiding p**sing in the wind. The bar was slightly better with more than one queue, but still our wait was over 30 minutes, leaving everyone with the dilemma of stocking up or facing the same long wait an hour later. Needless to say, people took the former option.

The queue left limited focus for promising Leeds band The Sunshine Underground, who had taken to the stage just as we arrived and belted out a series of indie-friendly anthems that had an already heaving-looking crowd looking suitably engaged. We had taken a dent into our pile of alcohol by the time Ocean Colour Scene came on, but it would have taken a hefty chunk more beer and cider to be able to overlook the fact this was a past-it band most people are past caring about.

Three years ago they’d taken a headline slot for this event and delighted if not enthralled, but the festival has outgrown them in terms of the size of artists it can attract. Of course ‘The day we caught the train’ is always going to guarantee a sing-a-long, but how the band must look green-eyed towards the re-birth of bands like The Verve and reflect on how the good old days now seem especially old.

The Zutons in contrast impressed with their range of poppy hits, and I probably wasn’t the only person in the crowd surprised at how many of them I knew. Once lauded as quirky and the next big thing, like with Ocean Colour Scene success hasn’t quite followed in the anticipated way. They still managed to put on a decent show as the sun began to descend away from troubling our vision, to settling behind the picturesque backdrop ready for the main event.

Doves are back after a four year break, sounding as vibrant as ever with their new album ‘Kingdom of Rust’. Known for putting on a good show, the trio treated the crowd to a near two-hour long set that waded through their strong back catalogue and recent offerings. Clearly most people have being waiting for them, with the crowd reaction turning from moderately warm to hot as each song belted out. After finishing with a rousing encore that included ‘The Cedar Room’, ‘Here it comes’ and ‘There goes the fear’ we all began to trundle home happy, only for a further surprise. Doves came on again to perform a classic, ‘Spaceface‘, from their days as rave band ‘Sub Sub’. Retro in an exciting, joyful manner that Ocean Colour Scene failed to come close to. Everyone charged forward to the front again, the reaction turned up further to scorching.

And then it was time to go home, and though the train system didn’t seem set up to cope with the masses heading back towards Leeds and Bradford, the volume of people heading Skipton way was low enough for us to get the next train back and be home within minutes. I was even back on my sofa in time for the Football League Show, still buzzing at the fact this increasingly worthy festival is growing on my doorstep and that Jimi Goodwin said ‘Bingley’.

See you at the front next year.

Alô! Tô ligando pra saber como você está… tava à toa e por isso resolvi ligar… pra contar que sonhei com você… RÁ! Pegadinha do Malandro, não vou falar de Chitãozinho e Xororó. Como no outro post que fiz rolou uma errata, resolvi falar de outra banda. Hoje de manhã, durante 1hr e 15min de trânsito (trajeto agradabilíssimo até o trabalho) vim ouvindo The Zutons. Trata-se de um grupo formado em Liverpool, Inglaterra. Basicamente, é o seguinte: Rock ácido, tijolada na cara, bigornada na unha encravada do dedão do pé, pedrada na cabeça, e é isso aí. Mix de rock clássico inglês (tipo Beatles, zuper clichê, mas no momento não estou apta à forçar minha memória e lembrar de outras, como Rolling Stones e Stereophonics) com new indie rock (The Kooks, Franz Ferdinand, etc etc). Taí o bagulho. Ops, barulho. Apreciem SEM moderação.

Poker

Anyone that was at the Beachbreaklive Festival Last month (Mostly 10,000 drunk students) would have remembered the Ruskins. Camping in the main camp site with everyone else, putting stickers on anyone that walked by, their sign on 20 foot scaffold poles & playing two very lively gigs one in the famous Chai Wallah tent & the Club Tropicana tent, they were impossible to ignore. To top it all, as the Zutons finished on the main stage, the stage shut & over to the left hand side there were The Ruskins playing on top of their van & various stacked blockeds that had been used for Parkour & they stormed through a Guerilla set as everyone quickly noticed the setup and came straight over. The Zutons thought they headlined, but the Guerilla stole the show.

If the title of this post hasn’t given the game away then I will just confirm that we have got yet more tickets to give away in another festival-themed competition! Two in two days! Doesn’t Jack treat you well?!

This time you can win a pair of tickets to the Wickerman Festival in Dundrennan, Scotland, which takes place on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th July.

Playing at this wonderous mish-mash of of sounds will be; Idlewild, The Zutons, Hot Chip, Danny Rampling, The Human League, Billy Bragg, Utah Saints, Bad Manners and my new friends We Were Promised Jetpacks (interview coming soon in Who’s Jack) Not to mention a whole plethora of clubland DJ talent with a capital T!

In order to win tickets, simply send us the best and/or funniest answer to this question:

Who would you burn in a wicker man and why?

Answers in an email addressed to jtv@whos-jack.co.uk

Good luck!

More Photos to come  - keep checking our Flickr Stream ->

Here are some more of our favourite moments so far…

Dizzee Rascal signed our Epiphone Guitar for charity – What a guy!

The awesome Abi Harding of The Zutons signing our Epiphone Guitar for Charity:

Abi Harding of the Zutons with Marco and Kieron of the TIGI Creative Team @ Beach Break Live @ Beach Break Live:

Dave McCabe & Russell Pritchard of the Zutons with Kieron of the TIGI Creative Team holding our Epiphone Guitar which they’ve kindly signed for charity. Thanks guys!

Killa Kela demonstrating some hairdressing skills on the Bed Head Bus:

LadyHawke with Kieron and Marco of the TIGI Creative Team @ Beach Break Live:

Hadouken! With Kieron outside the Bed Head Bus:

(Apaguei tudo. Esse post era idiota, mas a música continua boa)

Feriado gelado, clima de domingo prolongado por aqui. Seria uma situação meio deprimente, principalmente pra quem não vai comemorar o dia dos namorados… mas não quando há The Zutons por perto!

 


 

 


 
Acima está a fantástica parceria entre Amy Winehouse e o produtor Mark Ronson, música que ficou bastante conhecida em 2007. Porém, ela é na verdade um cover de outra canção, do The Zutons, banda inglesa de Liverpool (seeempre ela). Com três álbuns lançados, seu primeiro disco foi citado no incrível 1001 Discos Para Ouvir Antes de Morrer e com muito louvor: a característica principal da banda é sua energia, que transmite-se em sua música de modo que não conseguimos ficar parados ou pra baixo ouvindo-as. Raras excessões são suas baladas, que na voz do vocalista Dave McCabe tomam um ar tão verdadeiro que não há como não se identificar. Rago ceda mesmo, sou fã deles desde que os conheci! Fiquem com mais alguns vídeos dos garotos e até mais. (:

 

 


 


 

Liverpool Sound City Music Festival 2009

Liverpool’s Sound City Festival, still only in its second year is already being talked about as a possible future rival to Austin’s SXSW.  This year the city played host to over 400 artists performing in more than 30 venues across the city.  My mission was simple, to bend space and time and attend every show…..well not really. But I did manage to get to a few.…

One of the problems of a festival such as this is the logistics, it can be frustrating working out your itinerary only to discover in a moment of head slapping “D’oh” style clarity that two bands you really want to see clash. Couple that with the headache of a gig finishing within minutes of another starting on the other side of the city and it means you really need to be a highly organised, well oiled machine, and I was erm… certainly “well oiled” …One idea floated over a beer or eight involved looking into the feasibility of commissioning a convoy of rickshaws manned by a team of highly trained midgets, replete with Beatles masks to ferry gig-goers between venues, other brainwaves included the introduction of a flotilla of amphibious yellow submarines or the offer of  free piggyback rides  provided by members of  ever  freindly Zutons!  Funnily enough my Sound City experience began when I inadvertently bumped into Abbi Harding and ended with me staggering down Parr Street singing “Sinful” and “The Story of the Blues” with Pete Wylie…but without further ado let us proceed to the musical highlights of Sound City 2009.

TITUS ANDRONICUS & TOMMY REILLY

The first live music experience at this year’s fest came courtesy of an ear shredding sonic cacophony courtesy of New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus in Liverpool’s Barfly. Imagine The Clash colliding with Nirvana at a chainsaw expo (which is not necessarily a bad thing.) The band seem to be having quite a time in England, from being mistaken for hobos by doormen at a venue in Brighton, to sleeping on fans couches and floors around the UK. However such experiences are merely part of the rich tapestry of glamour and luxury that makes being part of a rock n roll band such a draw! At tonight’s gig none of the bands songs quite manage to catch the imagination like the noisy thrashing splendiferous roar of  their self titled single, (called, surprisingly, “Titus Andronicus”), but there’s much to admire in a set that  certainly matches energy levels with  volume ….After the performance  I  weave my way from the venue, ears still bleeding from the ferocity of the guitars and decide against seeing another loud American, in this case Hollywood actress turned rock babe,  Juliette Lewis (whom I had spotted earlier procuring what appeared to be huge feathers in the city centre, doubtless to make some sort of  rudimentary “tickling stick” in tribute to tombstone toothed  Liverpool “comedian”, Ken Dodd.)  Instead I  wander  into the nearby  Zanzibar Club to catch  Scottish singer songwriter Tommy Reilly, who I am told, is to release his Bernard Butler produced  debut album  in the none too distant future. Tommy provides a nice mix of acoustic pop with bluesy folk undertones and seems a likeable young fellow; in fact this was probably just what the doctor ordered after having my senses battered like erm… a horseshoe on um…the anvil of rock by er…the mighty sonic hammer of Andronicus.

However before the set concludes I overhear a conversation that makes the blood freeze in my veins. There  appears to be a  suggestion that  Mr Reilly is oft  inclined to slip “a really good cover” of  The Killers tuneless “dad-rock” dirge  “Mr Brightside” into his set, this instantly invokes my fight or flight response . I recoil at the mention of these trite Vegas show-band dandies and decide discretion is the better part of valour. In short I flee the premises like a modern day Kevin McCarthy à la “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” wailing “Look, you fools, you’re in danger! Can’t you see?! They’re after you! They’re after all of us! Our wives, our children, everyone! THEY’RE HERE, ALREADY! YOU’RE NEXT! “…. Still it was a nice set.

FIGHT LIKE APES

My next port of call is the Korova, Liverpool’s coolest bar/venue to see Fight Like Apes, who are possibly best described as “deliciously deranged” and they give the performance of the night. MayKay and the boys crash through a blistering set from their excellent “Fight Like Apes And The Mystery Of The Golden Medallion“ album. Despite singing along I’m still left none the wiser to what song’s such as “I’m Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverley Hills 90210 To Me” “Lumpy Dough or “Lend Me Your Face” are about, (then again who says they have to be about anything)….But the live experience proves to be a gloriously bonkers affair and hugely enjoyable as a result.  It concludes with MayKay being carried shoulder high through a delighted crowd …

The gig’s over and suddenly the room is spinning. …. I awake the next morning with a strange sense of disquiet, a sore head, and rather disturbingly I seem to be missing my understrides ( Tom Jones hadn’t made an impromptu appearance had he ? ) plus I have absolutely no recollection of how I’d arrived home …..Filled with post alcohol self loathing and disgust I take solace in the fact that I’m neither Jeremy Kylie nor David Cameron and this thought alone is enough to coax a smile back on my face. After the hair of the dog it’s time to “Ferry Cross the Mersey” to catch more live bands.

LEVELLOAD

My return to Soundcity kicks off with set by a band we have featured in recent weeks   Levelload  (interview here) , in Liverpool’s “Bumper”, a venue that to be honest, I’ve never exactly seen packed to the rafters and with so many other  bands on around the city  tonight’s no exception. However Levelload give a fine performance which features superb guitar work and plenty of attitude. The set includes goodies such as “HND in RNR”, “Yellow Fever” and ace new single “I’ve Been Thinking.”

LITTLE BOOTS

They say a pessimist is never disappointed and with this in mind I set off across town again, to the Academy 2 in order to catch an artist who, at this moment in time, is just as famous for a certain four letter word as she is for her music. The four letter word in question is “hype”, the artist, Little Boots (nee Victoria Hesketh).  Don’t get me wrong LB has some decent pop songs but her record label’s PR machine has whipped up a crescendo of hysteria which quite frankly, has reached ludicrous new levels of overstatement. Will she live up to the hype or crumble under the pressure of being given the preposterous title “the future of pop?” To be fair nobody can live up to that sort of hyperbole, but judging by the heaving swarm gathered here tonight, the PR machine has certainly garnered Miss Boots an army of loyal fans. Not bad for an artist who aside from a couple of limited promo offerings has yet to release a single, proper. Proof that hype maybe evil but it works on a short term basis at least.

Ted Striker Sweats!

Little Boots takes to the stage wearing, not little boots at all but high heels, complimented by a rather sexy, rather tiny, black dress, and in no time at all she has the assembled throng of adoring fans in the palm of her hand.  The place is rammed, the heat is stifling, and I start to resemble Ted Striker preparing for an emergency landing in Airplane. But guess what? Little Boots gives an exceptionally entertaining performance. If this is “pop” then call me the weasel, because Miss Boots really does engage with her audience, employs sharp, witty banter and doesn’t come across as some sort of big label puppet but a nice girl who really enjoys what she does.  And let’s face it if your handed a big opportunity by a record label you’d take it… wouldn’t you?  It’s a polished set and the highlights are predictably her best known songs, the hypnotic  Blondie meets Goldfrapp electro monster, “Stuck On Repeat” and  the disco-pop-tastic “Meddle”. Does the other material from her debut album “Hands” (released in June) cut the mustard? Will it help give Little Boots the legs to march to the top of the charts? Difficult to tell on first listen here, but there appears to be quite a few songs which definitely have the  potential to lodge themselves in the nations consciousness, not so sure if the slightly flaccid debut single “ New In Town” is  one of them but hey, what do I know?

What her performance at  Sound City emphatically proves is that she can certainly cut it live and has the ability to appeal to a wide cross section of music lovers if tonight’s eclectic looking crowd is anything to go by.  Let’s hope the record label ease up on the hype and give Victoria time to grow eh …of course they won’t, for they have been carefully grooming her to be launched as  England’s answer to  Lady Ga-Ga, ( although master of exploitation Simon Cowell would have you believe we already have one the shape of  Susan Boyle)

IPSO FACTO

I leave the stifling confines of Liverpool Academy, and am embraced by the cool night air but alas a sprint across the city centre to Liverpool’s Korova is required to catch a band I’ve wanted to see for an age. I arrive ruddy faced, dishevelled  and sweaty and grab a quick pint which I somehow manage to empty all over my  T-shirt,( all I need now, I  reflect,  is to loose a front tooth and nibble on an ear of corn!)When God was giving out cool I obviously overslept!  Ironic really as I am about to see a band who are the epitome of glacial sophistication.  Ipso Facto produce what could be described as brooding dark pop noir; they are a band whom we have long predicated will cast their formidable shadow over the pop landscape in the very near future. The NME (who make Jilly Goolden’s description of wine seem almost sane) have helpfully described Ipso Facto as “monochrome psychedelia”, which may be very clever but actually means bugger all. “So what’s that new band like Dave?”… “Well in essence it’s monochrome psychedelia in its purest form”…Erm Ok thanks for clearing that one up.

Samantha Valentine

Ipso Facto’s stylish, vampish image would have reduced me to a quivering wreck as a lad. I probably would have followed them from gig to gig in slavish adoration and eventually they would have thought “oh dear, it’s that northern yokel again with features that seem to have been hewn from a particularly unattractive, malformed potato.” But of course I’m far too old for that sort of shallow hero worshiping nonsense, I’m here for the music, Ipso Facto may indeed look great, but they also write tunes of dark brooding brilliance. On stage singer and guitarist Rosalie Cunningham is an impressive, sultry presence, who one imagines, can reduce a chap to dust with a menacing stare, or a disapproving arch of her eyebrow, as her rich, dark vocals and atmospheric guitar work reverberates around this intimate basement venue.  Bassist Samantha Valentine’s inability to remain vertical for more than a few minute at a time is certainly eye catching as she laconically lounges against walls in between prowling the stage with the feline grace of a catwalk model whilst wearing what appears to be  little more than spandex and underwear.  One imagines that if there was an award for being the coolest bassist in music, Samantha would be winning it hands down. Drummer Victoria Smith keeps time with military precision and even cracks a smile or two, as the band produce a set that is draped in dark, glittering beauty, “Harmonise” “Six And Three Quarters” “Queen Sophia’ and “You Don’t Own Me” all wow the crowd, who cant help but join in with the lyrically profound chorus on  the head banging “Balderdash”. If Andrew Eldritch and Siouxsie Sioux had produced triplets, they wouldn’t have been half as good as this band and that’s a Facto!  Definitely my highlight of Sound City and a band I really hope do well.

And so the night draws to a conclusion with some inevitable after show madness in Liverpool’s famous Parr Street studios  where we meet up with Pete Wylie and co. The atmosphere here is one of drunken bon’homie and the clientele includes musicians, actors, scenesters in obligatory twatty little hats, plus a smattering of folk who, if the size of their testicles was in direct proportion to the size of their egos, would have great difficulty walking …. But here I must draw a veil over proceedings as what happens on tour stays on tour (possibly, due, in no small part to the fact that people often can’t remember what the f**k actually did happen! )

Sound City has been a blast and is without doubt a festival that’s growing in stature. Maybe the organisers need to employ a little more joined up thinking, possibly add a few more outdoor gigs and stages, but that will surely come in time. There’s a definite buzz around the city when the festival’s on and music seems to be everywhere. And it’s not just for the trendy fashionistas in their skinny jeans and amusing headwear, it really is for everybody to enjoy and get involved in.  With Liverpool now able to boast some of the best conferencing facilities outside of London it appears that this is a Festival that is destined to get bigger and bigger. Hey, maybe next year “Mersey Rail” might even decide to undertake “structural works” at a time that doesn’t coincide with a major music festival.

And so this years Sound City concludes with a dynamic new take on Liverpool’s musical heritage. It sees Ringo Starr feted as a god whilst being carried shoulder high around the city centre before performing an energetic drum and bass version of his existential masterpiece “Octopus’s Garden”. This is followed by a moving recital of  “Thomas The Tank Engine’s”  finest moments, personally selected by Ringo and set to an Acid Jazz soundtrack especially commissioned by Phil Redmond and performed by  the cast of Brookside … Erm my mistake, bad acid ..Or something…… Sound City was actually wrapped up with a gig headlined by the Zutons and Sound Of Guns in one of the countries most impressive buildings, Liverpool’s majestic neo-classical, St Georges Hall and was by all accounts a triumph.  Me? Alas I was too busy recovering from the night before – sinful eh?  ………… Roll on 2010!

All Photos & Videos by Andy VP & JK.

Big love to Amy Woodhouse From Creative Cultures

A fantastic four days of music came to a close on Saturday night with one of the biggest bands to come out of the city The Zutons playing St George’s Hall in a homecoming gig that was a fitting end to another successful Liverpool Sound City festival.

The city had a real buzz about it over the course of the four days last week and I got a chance to see some great bands as well as interview one or two of them as well.

On Friday I got a chance to speak to the fantastic White Lies who are getting bigger and bigger and the highly interesting and amusing Wave Machines, an up and coming local band who have already garnered international attention.

Both interviews are now up on Jade Wright’s Liverpool Echo music blog as well as some other reviews and interviews I did.

I’ll hopefully be able to post some audio clips from both interviews later in the week.