Reviews on Blank Slate

I've recently joined the Blank Slate team to write album and concert reviews. You can read the first three here, here and here. Next up: Colossal Squid and Dextro at The Cluny this coming Tuesday.

MONO at The Cluny, 04/10/2018 (with support from Jo Quail)

MONO setlist:

01. Flood

02. Death in Rebirth

03. Nowhere, Now Here

04. Breathe

05. Sorrow

06. Halcyon (Beautiful Days)

07. Night Ends

08. Ashes in the Snow.

Jo Quail

Review: Mogwai at Northumbria University, 01/02/2018

Mogwai played an enjoyably noisy show at Northumbria University this week. The Glasgow band played a career-spanning set, ranging from early pieces such as ‘Ithica 27/9’ and ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ to new album tracks such as ‘Party in the Dark’ and ‘Every Country’s Sun’.

Mogwai have now been around for over twenty years, and even if some of the newer tracks (such as slightly pedestrian opener ‘Crossing the Road Material’) are somewhat eclipsed by the earlier ones, they still know how to structure an entertaining live show.

Moody mid-period pieces such as ‘I’m Jim Morrison’ and ‘Rano Pano’ stood up well, and helped to bridge the gap between the slow-building majesty of ‘Helicon 1’ and the more immediate new material.

After a very brief break, 2003’s ‘I Know You Are…’ proved an effectively subtle lead-up to the noise immolation of ‘We’re No Here’. And then they were gone in a cloud of dry ice, leaving the audience to stumble out with the feedback still ringing in their ears.

Setlist:

01. Crossing the Road Material

02. I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead

03. Party in the Dark

04. New Paths to Helicon, Part 1

05. Ithica 27/9

06. Rano Pano

07. Battered at a Scramble

08. Every Country’s Sun

09. Don’t Believe the Fife

10. Remurdered

11. Mogwai Fear Satan

12. Old Poisons

Encore:

13. I Know You Are But What Am I?

14. We’re No Here.

7thSun: Resignation (Live)

Recorded at The Central last week.

7thSun Live at The Central, Gateshead, 20/08/2015

Set list:

01. 2015 Intro
02. Into the Starscape
03. Resignation
04. China Girl [Iggy Pop/David Bowie]
05. Mandragora
06. Tommysong, Part 2.

7thSun Live 2015

Nine Inch Nails in Manchester, 2014

25/05/2014
Manchester Phones 4 U Arena
NIN Europe Tour
Support from Cold Cave

 

01. The Downward Spiral/The New Flesh

02. Me, I'm Not

03. Copy Of A

04. 1,000,000

05. Letting You

06. March Of The Pigs

07. Piggy

08. Survivalism

09. Gave Up

10. Sanctified (2013 Version)

11. Closer/The Only Time

12. Find My Way

13. Disappointed

14. Came Back Haunted

15. The Great Destroyer

16. Eraser

17. Wish

18. The Hand That Feeds

19. Head Like A Hole

20. The Day The World Went Away

21. Hurt.

 

Bottom images from:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/review-nine-inch-nails--7171775

http://skinbackalley.com/2014/05/27/live-review-nine-inch-nails-manchester-arena-25th-may-2014/

http://www.nin.com/

7thSun Live at the Head of Steam, 12/12/2013

Set list:

01. Atomic [Blondie]
02. BeginAgain
03. Silent Night [Franz Xaver Gruber]
04. Purple Rain [Prince and the Revolution]
05. Beyond the Headache Zone (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Brussels Sprouts).

Download our last E.P. for free at www.7thsun.co.uk/

All Tomorrow's Parties, End of an Era Part 2

29/11/2013 - 01/12/2013
Pontins Holiday Park, Camber Sands, Rye, Sussex

We saw:
Les Colettes / Om / Shellac / Slint
A Winged Victory for the Sullen / Fennesz / The Pop Group
Michael Rother presents the music of Neu! and Harmonia /
Superchunk / Il Sogno del Marinaio feat. Mike Watt / Mogwai

Om

 Camber Sands

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

 Rye

Michael Rother presents the music of Neu! and Harmonia

Mogwai

Russian Circles in Manchester

25/10/2013
Gorilla, Manchester
Support from Chelsea Wolfe

01. 309
02. Harper Lewis
03. 1777
04. Geneva
05. Deficit
06. Carpe
07. Mlàdek

Encore:
08. Memorial (feat. Chelsea Wolfe)
09. Youngblood.

7thSun Live at Bar Loco, 29/05/2013

Thank you to the Edison Project for asking to support them. And thnak you to everyone who came.

7thSun Live 2013 #2

Tonight! At Bar Loco (formerly Barkollo). FREE entry.

7thSun Live at The Bridge Hotel, 02/05/2013

01. Into the Starscape
02. Acid Rain
03. Insight [Joy Division]
04. Pictures of the Sky*
05. Opolska*
06. Mandragora*
07. Pulse/Rust
08. Judaswiege#
09. Resignation
10. Kangaroo [Big Star]
11. A Light Fall of Snow#*
12. Little Red Corvette [Prince]*
13. Beyond the Headache Zone (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Paranoia)#*.

* Featuring John McKechnie on bass guitar
# Featuring Rich Kelly on synth/guitar

A huge thank you to:
David Newton (sound)
John and Rich (guests)
The Washy Modes and Prussian Intervals (support)
Michael Keller (compère)
Graeme J. Baty (photography)
Alistair, Kevin and John (front of house)
Pat and David (transport)
The audience for their support, patience and generous donations.

This concert was held in aid of The Stroke Association and The Lullaby Trust. We raised around £100 for each charity.

'You people out there, you are the stars!'

The next 7thSun show is on Wednesday 29th May at Bar Loco; we are performing with The Edison Project. 

7thSun Live 2013

This Thursday, 2nd May at The Bridge Hotel.

Full details available here.

7thSun Live at the HMRC Xmas Party, Madisons Bar, 10/12/2011

01. Into the Starscape
02. Psychic Hitlist Victim No. 8/ The Locomotion
[Honolulu Mountain Daffodils/ Little Eva]
03. Pulse
04. Whole Wide World [Wreckless Eric]
05. Silent Night [Franz Xaver Gruber]
06. Mandragora
07. Little Red Corvette [Prince].

Thanks to Jan for hiring us, and thanks to the audience for not throwing bottles.

A special thank you to John McKechnie who lent us two of the amps that we used.

Tusk Festival, Newcastle, 7th-9th October 2011

I went along to the first two nights of the Tusk Festival at The Cluny this weekend.


The first band I saw on Friday were Pigeons, whose songs veered from more traditional folky structures to free form psychedelic madness - with bells.


Next came Vincent Epplay and Samon Takahashi with their 'ungovernable' synths.


Drawing the biggest crowd on Friday was Grouper. It's a shame that she didn't sing a bit more, but her masterful way of merging performances together with samples and drones was still mesmerising.


The Long Lonesome Go kicked things off on Saturday Night with some inspired improvosition. You can download their music for free from their website.


The last act I caught on Saturday was Pulse Emitter, whose homemade synth wizardry brought the festival to a close for me.

I really enjoyed this festival, and will be keeping an eye out for future Tusk events. The shows were excellent value, and the programme featured an eclectic mix of international acts.

'Resignation' (Live)

Performed live in my bedroom. The track is available on the 7thSun compilation 'Fragments of Hope'.

7thSun Live at Barkollo, 08/05/2011

01. Freedom3
02. Mandragora
03. pavement. rain. 4.29 am.
04. Pulse
05. Rust
06. Lunar Twin
07. Beyond the Headache Zone.

The performance featured projected video clips from the following sources:

-Planet Earth (David Attenborough, 2006)
-Images du Monde Visionnaire (Henry Micahux, 1964)
-Solyaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
-Fire in the Sky (Robert Lieberman, 1993)
-The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicholas Roeg, 1973)
-Birdy (Alan Parker, 1984)
-The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962)
-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (John S. Robertson, 1920)
-Communion (Philippe Mora, 1989)
-Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)
-Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (Uli Edel, 1981)
-The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
-Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (Werner Herzog, 1979)
-For All Mankind (Al Reinert, 1989).

Thanks again to the Barkollo staff and to the people who came to see us play.

Gohsten | 7thSun | Totem Recall Live

TONIGHT!!!

7thSun Live

I am performing live after Gohsten in support of Totem Recall this Sunday.

The gig is at Barkollo on Leazes Park Road, opposite Barker & Stonehouse.

Entry is free, so please come along and support all of us.