A little more music

I love music, not just listening but also playing it. To that end I've always wished I played a slightly more...'useful' instrument that the Tuba, bass guitar seeming a natural fit for me. Sadly I did try...and was pretty useless, I guess I didn't really give it the chance I should have. Anyway I digress, what I've really been thinking about is gigs and more specifically what gigs I've attended.

So here lies Five gigs I loved and would love to see again...

Super Furry Animals at Sesiwn Fawr, Dolgellau
I just happened to go along with a friend for this gig, I'd always liked the band but live they totally blew my mind. They played a chunk of their Welsh language music which although I didn't understand I still enjoyed. The real highlight of the show was the ending, "The Man Don't Give A Fuck" is a furries classic and it played out a brilliant night at Sesiwn for me. The visuals were great and the improv done around the central theme were fantastic. Sadly Sesiwn doesn't happen in the same way as it did back then down to money troubles but I'm really glad I got to see such a great gig in a beautiful location in the heart of Wales.

The Coral at Cardiff Students Union
I liked The Coral before the gig and had arranged for a friend to come down from London for it. It was totally worth it, they played all the songs I knew and loved and finished the set with an epic 25 minute long version of their song 'Goodbye'. You could see the band had given everything they had they looked totally ruined but they rocked the hell out of that song. I like gigs at the SU as the venue is big enough to attract good bands but small enough that you can get close to the stage and actually enjoy the music.


The Divine Comedy at The Gate, Cardiff

Simply put the Divine Comedy are my favourite band of ALL TIME so no pressure here then... The tour was in support of their (well they has become just him, Neil Hannon) latest album Bang goes the knighthood. I wasn't sure what to expect from the gig but was extremely excited to finally be seeing my favourite band. The gate was a great location for a gig of this kind, small and fairly intimate with Hannon easily able to interact with the crowd. He began on Piano and switched as the show went on between that and the Guitar. I'd pick some highlights but the whole thing was a highlight for me, best comedy moment however was him playing a rendition of Father Ted classic "My lovely horse". The set was a perfect blend of new and old, quite simply the best night of music I've ever attended. Proud to say I'm wearing my gig t-shirt from that gig right now as I write this. I am also really hoping to be able to see them again, I'm sure that wherever the gig is I won't be disappointed.



Pendulum (DJ set) at Square Festival, Borth
Okay, well I'd just been licked by the lead singer of a punk band and I was definitely on the drunker side of things but the set was awesome. I'd heard of Pendulum and heard some of their stuff and was interested to hear it live and it was better than I ever could have imagined. This was them when they first hit it big in the UK and heading epic turns like Propane Nightmares and Slam was exactly the ending to a brilliant day at a slightly random but fun local music festival. On the whole the venue added to the gig, a field in a small village in the middle of no where, the beach was within sight less than 100m away. Waking up the next day with a horrific hangover was made good by a day in the sun on the beach remembering the epic gig I'd seen the night before.

The Beach Boys at the CIA, Cardiff (they don't look quite like this anymore...)
I've got to be honest, I love old music and I'm sure most people do. They have certainly aged (I didn't see a zimmer frame but I'm sure they had them ready...) and it wasn't the proper line up at Brian Wilson was unsurprisingly absent. The really amazing thing about this gig was how it went on, they played for over two hours with no respite, there were no support acts but with so many classic songs to play they really crammed them in. It was a bit sad to be stuck in a seat when you wanted to get up and enjoy it but worth the sacrifice. I don't think I'd realised quite how many great songs the band had in their back catalogue until I saw this gig.

Today I will mostly be listening to...

I've noticed over the last few years that my taste in music has at times struggled to move forwards. With this in mind I've decided to try to listen more stuff, Kristina (my ever suffering girlfriend) has been a huge help in this. She has definitely helped me get into some of the music on this list and I think it's worth sharing. I also have to mention the influence of Rockband (the game) as I've been listening to a bit of the music from that too.

Explosions in the Sky, this is a band I was introduced to a while back but I have just gotten a copy of their new album "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care" and it's great. The introduction took place courtesy of a CD Kristina made for me, bit like mixtapes but not quite so retro. It was a great way to introduce me to some new music and I listen to it loads.

For the music there are no vocals but it's still very listenable to, I recently saw Mogwai in concert and found their music a bit samey and felt they really missed vocals but for me Explosions in the Sky have managed perfectly well with just instruments. Why not judge for yourself you can listen to the first track from the album on Youtube. If you like it then why not head to Cardiff's best record shop Spillers a grab a copy!

The Foo Fighters, there isn't much to say here really, the new album is fantastic another classic from the Foo's. I keep getting Arlandia stuck in my head but that's okay with me, it's great to see a band still rolling out the hits. I was playing a Foo's classic Everlong on rockband today which just reminded me how long these guys have been making great music. They also have a sideline in some really good video's the most memorable of these being the great learn to fly video, check it out on Youtube.

I haven't bought a copy of the album yet but thanks to Spotify I'm still getting my Foo fix, definitely one for my Christmas list.

I went to see a Friend's band about a year back and they were supporting a guy called Foy Vance, I wasn't expecting much as I knew literally nothing about him. I was instantly impressed and since haven't stopped listening to his music. It's touching, chilled and often very clever. Especially impressive is his version of the Michael Jackson classic Billie Jean, he uses looping to build the song and the result is spectacular. As good as Billy Jean is it isn't my favourite track that is a toss up between Homebird and Indiscriminate Act of Kindness. Homebird is fairly happy go lucky and chill out but Indiscriminate Act of Kindness for me is something really special. It's something about his voice in the song perhaps but it's just simply beautiful. I find the song quite chilling and it definitely puts me in a thoughtful mood. His album is a couple of years old now but it's called Hope and if you can get hold of a copy (try Spillers?) it's totally worth buying, for now check out the youtube links I've added above.

Last and by no means least are what are probably my favourite band/group EVER. The Divine Comedy, they've taken on various different forms during their time but now the name is just singer/pianist/guitarist Neil Hannon. I saw him live for the first time last year and it was simply the best gig I've ever been too, everything I'd hoped for and even more. He even played a great rendition of that Father Ted classic My Lovely Horse. I couldn't pick a favourite album I love all of them, but for now I'll direct you to his latest offering Band Goes the Knighthood, available in any good record shop! Songs worth sign posting (in general this is) include the song that first got me interested National Express and the Broadway esque master piece Here Comes the Flood to my personal favourite (at the moment) Absent Friends. Honestly I could write a whole series of blogs just on the Divine Comedy and maybe I will sometime.

To finish all I can say is... I hope you enjoy, there's some new and some old stuff there, next time perhaps I'll delve deeper into some of the real classics I love to listen to.