Ian Brown // Brixton Academy // 04.12.09

Visually, to watch Ian Brown perform live is to witness something iconic. He is a man that, along with the rest of the Stone Roses, helped shape the way that music sounds today. You see, without the Stone Roses then you wouldn't have bands like Oasis and The Charlatans. And without the Gallagher brothers, Kasabian wouldn't have picked up guitars in the first place - and so on.

Ian Brown has achieved so much since he first picked up the mic back in the eighties. As a result of this, when you watch him now you get the feeling that you're watching someone of great importance. You can't help but get swept up in the Brown whirlwind that surrounds him everywhere he goes. The image of the Mancunian jogging on the spot whilst looking at the world through his oversized sunglasses as he jabs a tambourine out over the audience is nothing short of legendary. And believe me, Brown deserves the title of a legend.

You see, people get labeled as a legend far too easily nowadays. For example, your mate Dave runs down the shop to grab you a pint of milk; "Cheers, Dave. You're a legend". Or your mate Dave saves you his last Rolo; "You must of known I was starving. What a legend!". Or your mate Dave can sort you out cheap flights to Magaluf as he's currently knocking off a travel agent from Thomson; "Yes Dave! Magaluf for £40... LEGEND!" Now, as much as you love Dave, he's not an actual legend. However, a man who has been crowed a God Like Genius by NME and sold albums by the millions is. And that man is Ian Brown.

Just like Dirk Diggler and Amber Waves; Brixton Academy and the former Stone Roses front man work together perfectly. Prior to the weekend just passed, Brown had sold out London's 5,000 capacity venue a massive eight times as a solo artist. And after his shows on Friday and Saturday, it's now ten.

Brixton was entertained to seven tracks off his new album, My Way. These included Stellify and Just Like You. Brown is obviously trying to move away from his Stone Roses routes by cutting his previous bands tracks to a minimum. Although it's great to hear the old Roses stuff, it's also nice to hear an established artist pushing new music; which is something I'm all for.

Now, as I stated earlier, visually Brown was epic. However, it would be wrong of me to write a review of the evening and not speak about him vocally. As we all know, Brown is not the best singer on the planet. But there were points where his voice did hit an all time low. He started well and ended well. Yet there were points in the middle where his voice was so far away from what we are so use to on our iPod that it was bordering on ridiculous. However, although Ian Brown is a singer by trade, you don't go to an Ian Brown show to just listen to him sing; you go to experience the whole Ian Brown package. The buzz and hype that surrounds the man is so addictive that it sucks you in like a Dyson.

I mean, if Brown was to audition for X Factor, Cowell & Co would laugh him out of their studio stating that he would never sell a record with a voice like that. Yet, he has sold a record. In fact, he's sold millions of the fucking things. And in addition to that, he's still selling out gigs wherever he goes 25 years after he first took the stage with The Stone Roses. It's not bad at all for a man that keep a note about as well as a Laughing Hyena.

However, once you draw a line under everything, you can't hide from the fact that this man is a true great. He's done more for music than most could ever dream of. He's been responsible for some of the most inspirational records of all time and he continues to push boundaries now. And for that you can't fault him.

Ian Brown played:

Love Like A Fountain
Golden Gaze
Time is Everything
All Ablaze
Longsight M13
Keep What Ya Got
Save Us
Crowing Of The Poor
Corpses
Laugh Now
Vanity Kills
Own brain
Marathon Man
Sister Rose
F.E.A.R
Elizabeth My Dear / Fools Gold
Stellify
Just Like You

Yeah Yeah Yeahs // Brixton Academy // 01.12.09

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen Lee Orzolek was born in New York November 22nd 1978, and rumour has it that she entered the world that day wearing some ostentatious outfit whilst doing the running man up and down the hospital ward. You see, certain people crave limelight but don’t really cope too well in it. And then on the flip side you have people that effortlessly attract the spotlight and subsequently look fucking cool in it. Karen O fits into the latter category with absolute ease.

Since forming back in early 2000, the New York based rock-trio has climbed steadily up the music ladder. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a band that has never had a defining moment that has turned them into global superstars. Instead they have simply taken it slowly conquering wherever they go step-by-step. At times their music is infectious. Their sound is like an edgy post-punk, dancefloor-friendly racket. But it works. If you were to feed the result of mixing Blondie and Siouxsie and the Banshees together in a blender to three art-rock kids from the states, the result would be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Now I understand if you’ve not heard or seen this band before that this all sounds slightly strange and very exciting. And to a degree it is. This was excitement was replicated by the people of Brixton on Tuesday. Why? Because they welcomed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, complete with Karen O’s collection of technicoloured leotards, to their beloved Academy.

Never a band not to lord it in any given situation; the three-piece started the nights proceedings playing behind an opaque curtain, they then entertained the blind crowd before dropping the veil resulting in utter hysteria from the crowd as they finally got a glimpse of who the lady they came to see.

The Brixton set was made up of five giant sinister eyeballs. As horrendous as this sounds on paper, the production accompanied the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound and Karen O’s wardrobe perfectly. The leadsinger leaped, spun and crawled across the floor in a plethora of different outfits during their 90 minute set.

Meanwhile, Nick Zinner was delivering a guitar driven tirade in an attempt to try and steal the show. For me, the wrestling match between Zinner and O was obvious. However, as good a guitarist Zinner might be, people just can’t take their eyes of the only women present. Right from the off, it seemed that there would be nothing that could stand in the way of ambiguous twirling, often masked, screaming spectacle that is Karen O.

The production remained at a high point all evening. Three oversized Y’s fell from the ceiling during Gold Lion in conjunction with confetti cannons trying their best to cover everyone in the audience. At points the crowd were dazzled with sparkles, lights and just about anything else you can think of.

Now, I’m not normally one that enjoys all the frills and spills that some bands seem to think it necessary to use when performing live. I’m much in favour of a few guitar amps, some drums a couple of guitars and a room full of people left to just get on with it. Yet this worked. And the atmosphere that they left in Brixton at the end of their third encore sound suggested that everyone else enjoyed it as well.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs played:

Runaway
Shake It
Black Tongue
Pin
10x10
Gold lion
Zero
Miles away
Skeletons
Soft Shock
Cheated Hearts
Heads Will Roll
Y Control

Encore:
Maps
Art star
Date with the Night

Kid Harpoon // Hoxton B&K // 30.11.09

Certain things are facts. For example, on Monday at approximately 8pm it was both dark and cold. The reason I could tell it was dark is because I have eyes. And the reason I knew it was cold is because the amount of air visible by my breath was enough for people in the Isle of Skye to think I’m sending out distressed smoke signals. Plus, the digital thermometer that sits within one of the huge billboards on Old Street roundabout informed passers by that it was minus 143°C; or something of that ilk.

Following on from this, just like I realised I can’t take frost bite on every part of my body, other facts also came to surface on during the ealier part of this week. And most notably was the undeniable, indisputable, unarguable fact that a certain singer songwriter, that now resides in North London, is an underground hero. And nothing showcased this more than the scenes that took place in the Hoxton B&K on Monday night.

There was an unnatural calm to the Shoreditch air on Monday. The traffic was minimal and the normal hustle and bustle of city slickers meeting East London trendies was gone. The feeling was very much reminiscent of a deserted town. It wasn’t until you made your way through the back streets of Old Street and into Hoxton Square that there was any sign of life. Here lie a congregation of likeminded individuals who had braved the arctic conditions in order to be entertained by their underground hero, Mr Kid Harpoon.

If you visit this website often then you’ll know that I am a big fan of Harpoon. The wordsmithery that Harpoon posses is far advanced to the majority. And the skill he posses to execute erudite songs live is scarily good. However, bearing in mind I am a fan, I always try to write without a weighted point of view. Yet, the performance that Harpoon delivered on Monday can’t be described in any other way than awesome. It was live music as it was meant to be listened to. It came complete with passion, intelligence, talent and a bucket load of feeling.

The live room at the Hoxton B&K is a gem. It creates a good clear sound whilst being able to pack a punch. And it's intimate whilst being big enough to create an electric atmosphere. It was here that 450 Kid Harpoon fans would witness something quite special.

By the time clock hit 10:15pm and Kid Harpoon was due onstage the venue was rammed. Spindle & Wit and Kurran & the Wolfnotes played their part in providing the entertainment early on. Individually, both bands provided a soundtrack fitting for the evening ahead. And with the atmosphere building quicker than Elvis’ cholesterol after eating 14 Big Macs whilst sitting on the toilet, the mood was set perfectly for the nights proceedings.

Harpoon then took the stage, where his band was waiting, to be welcomed by a cocktail of wolf whistles and cheers. And was at this point, before he had even picked up a guitar, that everyone knew it was going to be a memorable night. Then not a second too soon, the instantly recognisable riff of Stealing Cars reverberated around the room generating a reaction reminiscent of a seasoned great.

Kid Harpoon has appeal on many different levels. He writes good music, performs it well and is genuinely likeable. He bobs, weaves, ducks and dives his way through each song, and it interacts with the crowd between them. The energy that Harpoon whips up on stage feeds into the crowd creating a mass of people wearing nothing but smiles. And with each song being delivered with total confidence and ease, Monday was no different.

Harpoon is very much at a crossroads in his career now. If he continues on this vain, the mainstream will not be able to hide from him. Therefore meaning the people on the underground that love him will soon have to share their love with the rest of the nation.

Kid Harpoon played

Stealing Cars
Burn Down House
Don’t Cry On Me
Unknown
Back From Beyond
Flowers By The Shore
Once
Unknown
Here Comes the Milkmaid
Riverside
Late for Devil
First We Take Manhattan