theperksofbeingahallflower:

My gig guide for 2013 (so far):

24/02 - Kanye West (Hammersmith)*

12/03 - The Lumineers (Brixton)

16/03 - The Courteeners (Brixton)

22/03 - The Jezabels (Camden Barfly)

25/03 - Beach House (Shepherds Bush)

29/03 - The Gaslight Anthem (Troxy)

19-21/04 - Coachella Festival, Weekend Two (Indio, CA, USA)

27/04 - Two Door Cinema Club (Alexandra Palace)

20/05 - Lana Del Rey (Hammersmith Apollo)

29/05 - Tribes (Roundhouse)*

31/05 - Iron & Wine (Barbican Centre)*

23/06 - The xx (Osterley Park & House)

12-14/07 - Optimus Alive Festival (Lisbon, Portugal)

18-21/07 - Latitude Festival (Henham Park, Suffolk)

23-25/08 - Reading Festival (Richfield Avenue, Reading)

* = new and updated to the 2013 gig listings.

Also as I mentioned yesterday I have spare tickets for the first Kanye West date on Saturday the 23rd. I can’t go on that date and so I’m trying to sell two tickets for it. Just wanting my money back really so will accept offers of face value (incl. trans fees etc…). Message me if you’re interested.

So back at the start of the year I wrote this post - http://theperksofbeingahallflower.tumblr.com/post/15727776712/who-to-look-out-for-in-2012  - and i figured it was about time I took a look at my 2012 picks, evaluated them and then got onto writing my tips for the music world in 2013.

My main picks for 2012 were:

• Alabama Shakes (Brit nomination, numerous sold out shows, the rise of the Shakes will continue through 2013 I am sure)
• Band Of Skulls (Played a lot of decent support slots, Festival sets but whether they can reach the next stage is still to be seen)
• Ben Howard (3 sold out dates at Brixton, nominated for two Brit Awards)
• Keaton Henson (currently on a museum tour which says a lot about how far Keaton has come. Has incredible talent, could 2013 be his breakthrough year? If he even wants that…)
• Tribes (Still going strong after the early year hype. A new album beckons in 2013 too)
• Dry The River (Played plenty of shows, and impressed me no end. Had a great album too)
• Cloud Control (Didn’t even hear from this great band in 2012. Maybe 2013?!)
• The Gaslight Anthem (Great album. Lots of sold out shows. Solid year for Gaslight, if a little unspectacular)
• The Chevin (They got on the Fifa 2013 soundtrack. But I can’t say much more for them)
• The Maccabees - (Early album release. I didn’t give it much attention to be honest despite it being my first purchase of the year. Played a big set headlining the NME Tent at Reading)
• Michael Kiwanuka (Still a critics darling. And continues to rise in stock but the true nature of his popularity will be more apparent when his new album comes out. If he can find another single like Home then he’ll do well)
• Lana Del Rey (she was everywhere in the early part of 2012, still going strong now with an album re-release and many sold out shows)
• Azealia Banks (A bit like Lana she was everywhere in the early part of the year. The question for 2013 will be how much life is there after 212)
• Spector (Made the news a lot. Fred seems to be bigger than the band in all honesty. They had a decent year though. They have come a long way since I first saw them play a very early set at Get Loaded In The Park in 2011.
• Selah Sue (Haven’t heard a thing about her in 2012 sadly!)

I’ll supply a more in-depth verdict when I get time but for now here is my list. 

25. Mount Washington - Mount Washington

24. The Maccabees - Given To The Wild

23. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

22. Diiv - Oshin

21. Beach House - Bloom

20. By The Sea - By The Sea

19. Allo Darlin’ - Europe

18. Ren Harvieu - Through The Night

17. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

16. King Charles - LoveBlood

15. The Walkmen - Heaven

14. Django Django - Django Django

13. Keaton Henson - Dear

12. Tame Impala - Lonerism

11. Glen Hansard - Rhythm And Repose

10. Childish Gambino - Camp

9. Tribes - Baby

8. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

7. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

6. Grimes - Visions

5. Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal

4. The Lumineers - The Lumineers

3. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

2. Dry The River - Shallow Bed

1. Mystery Jets - Radlands

Any of the top 8 could probably have been number one for me but as I had to order them that’s what I went for. Feel free to add any thoughts?

Last weekend I had my first (of hopefully many) experience of Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk. I’ve been excited for this Festival for a long time. Pretty much since I came back from Coachella to be quite frank and I’m glad it didn’t disappoint in the slightest.

While the line up was absolutely amazing this year the thing that impressed me most about Latitude was the amount of sheer effort they put into the Festival and trying to make it different, exciting, creative & impressive on the eye. There’s the huge Latitude sign by the lake, the spray-painted sheep, the neon lights in the woods and on the river, the waterfront stage that onlooks the river, all the messages that hang down from trees in different sized ball-balls, and even the 3D water profection that was extremely impressive and at times creepy to watch!

And not only this, the contrast in all sorts of arts that go on at the festival from music to comedy to cabaret to poetry readings. They do workshops in painting and all sorts of other bits and as I would walk around I’d feel like there was almost too much going on. Surely these tents and arenas would be empty half the time. After all, the Festival didn’t even sell out this year… And yet, every tent you walk past, whether it be Theatre, Literature or some sort of mysterious tent that was refered to by one punter as “highly disturbing but at least it entertained us”, they all seem to be full to the rafters. The crowd there seem really into their arts and music. When I was at Hop Farm recently some of the crowd were pretty dire at times for bands but here everyone seemed much more intent on getting their moneys worth and I don’t think anyone can really complain about value for money at Latitude.

And so enough about the Festival as a whole, how about my personal experience… The vast majority of it was spent watching bands (8-10 each day), hardly any of which disappointed. I was going to make a Top 5 but that seems way too hard and so I’ll try and do a top 10 instead.

First off I’ll start with those who made an impression but didn’t make the Top 10.

First Aid Kit’s set got better as it went on and while I enjoyed it greatly both visually and musically it just seems like they are still not quite clicked for me. As much as I really love some of their songs, others just leave no impression on me whatsoever. That said, the last three songs (which included my favourites Emmylou & The Lions Roar) left me in a really good mood for the day. I feel like had I of seen all of The Horrors set then I would probably have placed them somewhere in the Top 10 as I really enjoyed what I saw of them but having really failed to get into the newest album at all I have found my interest in the band has decreased somewhat in recent times. Elbow, who headlined the other stage also looked like they put on a fantastic show and I almost felt guilty for never really giving them much of a chance. They are a band I’ve always greatly dismissed though I feel like I’ll try work my way through their albums in the coming months and catch them again at a Festival one day. Tune-Yards are just incredibly strange. At times, it just sounds like a load of strange noises that don’t quite work, and then suddenly it twists and turns and it’s amazing. I’d like to go see them live at a gig, they look like they’d show you a good time and really are very unique. Michael Kiwanuka & Laura Marling gave assured sets though nothing really stood out. Had Laura Marling’s set included more of my favourites she would most likely have been up in the top 3 to be honest. Also the fact that I’ve seen her twice in recent months probably didn’t help. SBTRKT look like they’d be a fine live band if you were off your head on drink or drugs while Givers & Metronomy brought a real fun and uptempo feel to a somewhat subdued Friday. Finally before I indulge you with my top ten selection, I caught the end of We Are Augustines and they sounded like their sound had got even better than the last time I saw them. They seem to be developing a real dedicated fanbase judging on the involvement of the fans in their last two songs. It made me want to go see them again and they must definitely be a band to watch out for in the next year or so with an incredible sound like theirs.

And so from the nearly ten to the actual top ten on a weekend where I saw so many live acts it’s really quite hard to work this list out.

10. Alabama Shakes (7.8/10)

This band is all about rock and soul music and while the band are good at what they do, Alabama Shakes is really all about one person, lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard. Her voice has drawn comparisions with the legendary Janis Joplin and their music at times rolls back the years in terms of rock and roll. One of the few bands out there for me currently that really dismisses that silly notion that Rock music is a dying breed. The set itself was really pretty good. There was a bit of a mid-set lull but that can always be an issue for bands with only one album out but they (she) really killed it with the last few tracks. I sadly missed her perform Hold On at the start of the set but being the third time I’ve seen Alabama Shakes live I can’t really complain too much.

9. The Antlers (8.1/10)

The set was a little too trapped at one pace for my liking but this band really are one of my favourites these days. I wanted them to lift the tempo with Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Apart or just go crazy on Sylvia but despite the lack of those they still played some classics amongst the new stuff. I’d best get listening to the new EP. Personal highlights were the set closer Putting The Dog To Sleep and the fantastic live song Two.

8. Bon Iver (8.2/10)

His set was very similar to Coachella and when I saw him at the Hammersmith Apollo. I was glad to see some songs from For Emma and while the performance as an art piece is second to none it can get a bit same-y and dare I say it, boring when he’s not really changing up his setlists at all. Bon Iver, the self titled second album as a masterpiece and a stand off album is unbelievable. It deserves every plaudit it gets in that respect but what is loses from it’s predecessor was the down right in your face passion in Justin’s voice and just a hint of subtleness. I mean sure, it’s hard to right such a sad album and even to play it live when you’re not in that place anymore but yeah, I guess it’s depressing to sit here and think that there will never be an album like For Emma, Forever Ago made again. There will never be an album as raw and life-changing as that one from Bon Iver, and possibly from anyone. If I hadn’t of seen him before, this would be number one for sure, but having seen that exact setlist three times now it just feels a little worn out. If someone offered me tickets to see him live I’d take them in a heartbeat and a part of me is actually really excited to be going to see him in November in Glasgow. I’ll really appreciate seeing him in an actual venue again rather than at Festivals. I’m hoping that can re-ignite the flame, so to speak.

7. King Charles (8.4/10)

Surprised me as one really to watch in the upcoming year. Seems to have great mainstream appeal and put on a fine live show. The fans (myself included) were loving it and seemed to be pulling out great hit after great hit. His crazy and moustache-y appearance seems to send a lot of young girls into raptures, but his music equally is making the same waves on the rest of us.

6. Ben Howard (8.5/10)

One of the best live acts about right now I think. When he has another album or two out he’s going to be everywhere and be world famous surely. So much talent and he’s got a good band behind him too. Black Flies was a highlight for me especially seeing Elena Tonra (of Daughter) accompany him on stage. The Fear always sounds brilliant and was a fitting ending to a sub-headlining slot fully deserved. Had I of been able to enjoy all of his set up close he probably would have been in the Top 3 but I couldn’t really take in the first 3-4 songs as much as I’d wanted to watching them from really far back.

5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (8.6/10) 

The new songs sounded much better in this set than they had initially for me on record. This band is definitely one of my favourite live bands and their debut album was fantastic. Alex and Jade work so well off each other and Alex is absolutely mad. Looking like Jesus, jumping in the crowd on multiple occasions and performing in there to the adoring fans, walking up and down the barrier, giving the microphone to others to take over his role and sing (and surprisingly well). The set seems all about the fans at the front rather than the whole Festival itself but to those who love Ed Sharpe and “get it” they always put on a show that will be remembered for quite some time.

4. Glen Hansard (8.9/10)

Glen is just the most brilliant singer live. So much passion in his voice and it was a joy to finally get to see him live. I get the feeling that when I get to see him perform a full set at Union Chapel it will go down as one of my finest gigs that I’ve been to. One to rival the Gaslights, Bon Ivers & Arcade Fires… I look back on this and wonder why it wasn’t number one. I think perhaps it’s due to the fact that I feel Glen does it best when it’s just him, a guitar and he is singing his heart out and despite the pleasant surprise of numerous members of Bon Iver joining him on stage it took a little bit away from the pure emotion that Glen tends to portray. However it was a great set and he really showed that there is lots to offer after The Swell Season & The Frames.

3. Lana Del Rey (9/10)

She lit up a cigerette inside the signposted NON smoking tent, and then proceeded to sing a whole song with cigerette in hand, not taking a single pull from it (at least to my knowledge…). Only Lana Del Rey eh? She may come across as fake, she may at times come across as a copycat of previous generations but she’s an enigma. And a very interesting one at that. Not only that of course but she’s also released one of the best albums of 2012 and can actually sing live! Lana put on another great display after impressing me at Hackney Weekend. Apart from the disappointment of her not being in a red dress I loved every second of her 45 minute set. She may appeared out of pretty much nowhere like DJ Pied Piper but, yes we do really like it, and Lana is here to stay.

2. Of Monsters And Men (9.1/10)

If this band don’t take over the world then I don’t know what’s wrong with music. They’ve already got their big break hitting number 6 in the US charts. They are selling out show after show in the UK, the band buzz excites the hipsters and the lyrics are accessible for the mainstream, and choruses that are big enough to fill arenas and headline sets all over the place. Add to that a brilliant live show in general and you’ve got yourself Icelandic superstars in the making. They opened with my favourite song Dirty Paws and while that left me feeling slightly little under-whelmed the rest of their 6 song set just blew me away. They would have been my highlight of the Festival if Dirty Paws had of matched up. King & Lionheart sounded epic and when Little Talks came on the place went crazy. My favourite of the set was the final track Six Weeks. Believe the hype, the new Arcade Fire have surely arrived.

1. M83 (9.5/10)

I think M83 have to be my number one. I just had a ton of fun listening to them perform. I was pretty drunk at the time (which was rare for me last weekend!) but they do make amazing live music. I do think back and wonder if I only really enjoyed it because I hadn’t really heard any dance music in a while and had been listening to way too much depressing slow stuff throughout the weekend! Though I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case. Reunion sounded so epic I just had a massive smile on my face the whole way through. As did the amazing Wait. I can’t even remember half the stuff Anthony and co played but obviously the whole place went wild for Midnight City. I can’t wait to see them at Brixton later this year. I’m just planning to make sure I’m in a very drunken and rowdy mood for it! My favourite Festival set of the weekend and I’m sure the gig will be right up there in the gig of the year stakes.

And so overall I had a really fantastic weekend. I’d definitely recommend Latitude to anyone. They really pull out a great line up each year of up and coming bands from a mix of genres and not only that, they also offer all sorts of other arts for all you creative types. The Festival itself looks amazing and despite the crappy weather we endured throughout the weekend I still felt really sad to be leaving on the Monday. I would suggest avoiding train journeys to/from the Festival though. One very overly packed and busy train every two hours from Halesworth when you’re extremely tired and just want to get home isn’t quite what you hope for. Anyway, I’ve rambled for long enough now so I’ll leave it at that. 

OH AND IF YOU WENT TO LATITUDE SEND ME YOUR THOUGHTS AND FAVOURITES FROM THE WEEKEND!?

So excited to be heading here tomorrow morning. I wish I was there today but to save money Stevie and I have decided to catch a lift up to the Festival tomorrow morning with my friend Simon who is just going up for the day. Hoping that Chris, Emily and the others can save us a spot to pitch up our tent with them.

As much as nothing may ever beat my first experience of Coachella in terms of a Music Festival this I’m hoping will run it close. The line up is just brilliant this year, in particular on the Friday and Sunday.

I’ve been planning this morning who I’m going to see after finding the set times online. Obviously things may change and I doubt I’ll get to see them all but there is so many acts I want to see that I doubt I’ll be disappointed in the slightest.

FRIDAY

12:30-13:10 // GIVERS (Obelisk Arena)

14:25-14:55 // CATE LE BON (Lake Arena)

14:50-15:20 // KINDNESS (i Arena)

15:50-16:35 // GLEN HANSARD (Obelisk Arena)

16:55-17:40 // THE ANTLERS (Word Arena)

17:30-18:00 // DAWES (i Arena)

18:30-19:30 // JANELLE MONAE (Obelisk Arena)

19:30-20:15 // LANA DEL REY (Word Arena)

20:30-21:15 // TUNE-YARDS (i Arena)

21:30-23:00 // BON IVER (Obelisk Arena)

Bands I want to see that I’ll be most likely be missing due to complete clashes: Amadou & Mariam, Polica, Chairlift, Destroyer, The War On Drugs, Alt-J, Metronomy.

The main highlights for me are Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey & Glen Hansard. Givers and The Antlers will also be awesome on what looks like an amazing day of music.

SATURDAY

13:30-14:10 // SMOKE FAIRIES (Word Arena)

14:25-15:05 // LIANNE LA HAVAS (Word Arena)

15:20-15:50 // OF MONSTERS AND MEN (i Arena)

16:00-16:30 // THEME PARK (Lake Stage)

17:15-18:00 // MICHAEL KIWANUKA (Obelisk Arena)

19:30-20:10 // DJANGO DJANGO (i Arena)

20:00-21:00 // LAURA MARLING (Obelisk Arena)

20:25-21:25 // SBTRKT (Word Arena)

21:30-23:00 // ELBOW (Obelisk Arena)

The Saturday isn’t quite as strong for me and will probably see me having more of a chilled day overall. The only annoying thing is that Django Django, Laura Marling and SBTRKT are all crossing over. Three acts I’d want to see a lot and I will probably end up checking out bits of all three and trying to catch the majority, if not all of the SBTRKT set. I’m not sure whether I’m going to see Elbow or The Horrors headline but at the moment I’m edging towards seeing Elbow as I haven’t seen them live yet.

The biggest highlight for me on Saturday will be getting to see Of Monsters And Men live for the first time.

SUNDAY

12:00-13:00 - LANG LANG (Waterfront Stage)

13:00-14:10 - RUFUS WAINWRIGHT (Obelisk Arena)

14:30-15:15 - ALABAMA SHAKES (Obelisk Arena)

15:40-16:40 - EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS (Obelisk Arena)

16:35-17:15 - ST VINCENT (Word Arena)

17:45-18:20 - KING CHARLES (i Arena)

18:55-19:55 - M83 (Word Arena)

20:00-21:00 - BEN HOWARD (Obelisk Arena)

22:00-23:00 - WILD BEASTS (Word Arena)

On the final day of the Festival I will sadly most likely end up missing acts like Daughter, Other Lives, We Are Augustines & Perfume Genius because of clashes later in the day. However it looks like an awesome  end to the Festival with some great bands playing on the Sunday.

Highlights for me will be M83, Ed Sharpe & the amazing Ben Howard. I’m also really looking forward to seeing St Vincent & King Charles for the first time.

If you’re going to/are already at Latitude this weekend then let me know if you have any recommendations for who I could/should try to fit in and see. Open to checking out acts as long as they don’t clash with my “must-sees” (those in BOLD). I’m pretty sure my weekend won’t be completely the same as what’s listed above as there is a fair amount of us in the group but whomever I do end up seeing I’m sure it will be a brilliant weekend. Just hoping it doesn’t rain too much!

So I went to the Bbc Radio 1 Hackney Weekend yesterday and though I did leave early to catch the England game I still got to see a fair few acts. This review is just on what I saw.

Best Performance : Ben Howard

Ben can do no wrong. Fantastic half hour set included Only Love, The Wolves, The Fear and Old Pine. The crowd lapped it up and the instrumentals were as breathtaking as ever. He can take over the world this boy!

Most Suprising: Llama Del Rey

So much hype, so much criticism, and so much drama around this woman. I finally got the chance to see her live yesterday. The red dressed diva was captivating and at times completely mesmerizing. Judging by the reports she seems to be a bit hit and miss live though she was a complete hit today with a fantastic set that simply amazed everyone in the crowd. I can’t wait to see her again at Latitude.

Biggest Disappointment: Florence / The “special guest”

The sound for Florence live was just awful. Usually I am blown away by her but that ruined it for me a long with the fact she seemed to be miming a lot of it/not even bothering to sing over the backing track. I am all for putting on a show and all but yeah I just think she tried a bit too hard and her performance suffered. Still that voice is just golden and I’ll forgive her cause she blew my mind at Coachella. When I watched it back on tele it sounded great too so perhaps it was just where we were.

Other joint biggest downer was Dizzee Rascal being the special guest. I expected a world superstar and felt let down by all the hype. I genuinely like Dizzee and his music but don’t really think he warranted that billing/spot.

Who else i saw :

Bombay Bicycle Club - On good form. Always Like This was just one huge delightful party.

Santigold - I just chilled for this but she sounded really good. Would be well worth a check if you wanted to dance at a festival.

Jessie J - She writes some really crap songs and some not too bad ones too. Very over the top when performing but I enjoyed her set to be honest.

Tinie Tempah - Got the crowd pretty fired up and lively. I don’t know what music has come to sometimes when I see acts like this getting huge crazy crowds. I wonder if rock really is dying. He was alright though.

Enter Shikari - I’ve seen them live a few times over the years and enjoyed them. Perhaps it was the lack of a big crowd there but suddenly I felt like I was getting too old for this sort of music. I still don’t really understand how they have got as big as they have really but what do I know…

I also caught brief parts of Professor Green, Labrinth, Zane Lowe’s dj set and Dizzee Rascal but I can’t really judge or comment based on the few minutes I saw.

Overall it was a good day out. For free you can’t really complain. Set times for 7 pound is a bit steep and being the cheap skate I am I just took a picture of someones instead. Bit disappointed I didn’t stay to see Rihanna and Nas but it would have been so manic leaving and trying to get home it was probably wiser leaving when we did.

Managed to get back and watch the football. As much as the result pained me and I felt so disappointed after I love what effect football can have over people. As the cliche goes it really is a game of life or death. Unfortunately as an England supporter when penalties is on the agenda death is the only destination.

After looking at releases and my list last year I’m already starting to formulate what this years end of year list will look like.

There are still lots of albums to be released including from personal heavyweights in The Gaslight Anthem, The Tallest Man On Earth & The xx. I think Mumford & Sons will also be releasing their second album late this year. I’d like to know when Of Monsters and Men will release their album in the UK too. It went to number 6 in the US and sounds amazing from what I’ve heard thus far.

There are also scheduled to be releases by The Hives, Jukebox The Ghost, The Killers, Passion Pit, Lupe Fiasco, Bloc Party, MGMT, Friends, Temper Trap, Glen Hansard, Nas, Phoenix, U2, The Joy Formidable & The Walkmen (out today I think).

In terms of albums I’ve listened to thus far this year and enjoyed. Tribes would be right up there as my most listened to so far this year; Dry The River too. Others worth mentioning include Alabama Shakes, Perfume Genius, The Maccabees, Chairlift, Polica, First Aid Kit, Lana Del Rey, Fanfarlo, Beach House, Pond & The Shins - though in no particular order just yet.

Could well turn out to be a pretty good year for new music! If you have any albums in mind that have been released this calender year, or are scheduled to be, let me know and I’ll give them a listen.

Today Stevie and I had a great Domino’s at her work in her lunch break and tried to establish our Summer plans and how we are going to afford them all! I’m sure we will be fine but we do have quite a lot on.

This summer is going to be like the best ever though. I’m pretty sure of that. And to think it all started with going to LA and Coachella last month. Happy with life right now I tell you that!

Summer 2012

• Pond, Rough Trade In-Store, London - 22nd May
• Kate Mcgill, Barfly, London - 31st May (+ 2:54, Rough Trade In-Store)
• The Gaslight Anthem, Koko, London - 11th June
• Bloc Party, The Garage, Glasgow, Scotland - 19th June
• Radio 1 Hackney Weekend (Sunday) - 24th June
• Hop Farm Festival, Tonbridge, Kent - 29th June-1st July
• Morrissey, Genoa, Italy - 8th July
• Latitude Festival, Suffolk - 12th-15th July
• Paloma Faith, Somerset House, London - 17th July
• Morrissey (again!), Manchester Arena, Manchester, 28th July
• Reading Festival, Reading - 24-26th August*
• Glen Hansard, Union Chapel, London - 4th September

*I do still need to get my Reading ticket. If anyone doesn’t want to go and fancy giving me the ticket free of charge that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

It’s gonna take a lot for any of these to top The xx from last night. That really was something special and I won’t forget it in a hurry. Though I’m sure Gaslight and a few other will run it close! And Bon Iver headlining Latitude will most likely top it…

future gigs. part 2/3.

Have had to sell my Maccabees tickets for Thursday and may be selling my Maccabees/Lana Del Rey tickets for Tuesday.

However I’m going to see Dry The River tomorrow and Childish Gambino on wednesday so all is okay in the world!