Week Commencing: 8/11/04
By: Toby L
We could sit here and make yet more excuses, but we'll just give it you straight.
We're shattered, again. Oh, you may ponder, 'tis not your job to get 'shattered' - you're a self-proposed library for the seekers of new tones and aural pastures: how dare thee slacketh! Or whatever.
Well, yes, we do apologise for not having penned such a 'weekly' update as this for what must be a month. But, please, understand.
We've been celebrating parties of late. In case you hadn't seen our extensive, self-celebratory coverage (unlikely), we've been partying like it's our birthday, in order to commend The Basement Club's recent second anniversary, as well as four years of rockfeedback.com. Both events were embarrassingly sold out - in the official reviews/reports, we've apologised to those that couldn't gain attendance - yet euphoric to degrees we hadn't prior encountered. Whether viewing the likes of a debut Brit gig from The Bravery, or Hope Of The States playing to their most intimate crowd for over two years, or Rough Trade's Geoff Travis hanging and disc-spinning with the rockfeedback DJ posse to help shake our nether regions, it's been an exhaustive, very rewarding ride. We thank all those that helped with the nights and that attended. We'll be continuing the merriment for our fifth birthday in September of 2005. It'll be worth the wait. We're already planning it.
'Til then, there's the sad news that we only have one Basement Club left in '04, occurring on Thursday November 25th. Aww. But we'll go out with a bang - aside from all the regular, poach-worthy Disc Jockeys, we're having a new bands showcase to round off our year. Now, seeing as the last few months have afforded us a barrage of chart-bending, rabble-rousing, yet ultimately known pleasure - this year alone we've brought you live the likes of Keane, DJ Zane Lowe, Thirteen Senses, The Duke Spirit, about eighty sets from new Heavenly/EMI signings The Magic Numbers, 22-20s, et al - it's time to get back to the hand-picking procedure of offering what we feel are brand new hopes for the advancing year.
So, alongside the massively tipped, astounding, prog-rock-punk-pop-avant-garde-space-noise commandos Mystery Jets (fresh off the road from touring with both Bloc Party and British Sea Power), we'll give you The Pipettes (our online amigos Playlouder rightfully proclaimed: 'It would be vulgar of us to claim something as unsubstantiatable as The Pipettes being the best new band in Britain, but they're the best we've seen with our own eyes for f**king weeks. They are the Pipettes and they'll catch you in their nets.'), as well as the Gordon Raphael-produced, and past Basement faves, Satellites (watch out for their Regina Spektor support slots elsewhere in the month).
For further info, with more details to be announced, click to the official page here. But order tix before too late.
Now, an assortment of 'Editorial' regulars. Contain yourselves.
UK Chart-action, this week: No-one's buying singles, yet - alt-wise - the charts have never seemed so affluent. Eminem returns triumphantly with 'Just Lose It', at the singles top spot; former-Parva enterprise Kaiser Chiefs smash all expectations by scoring a top-30 debut (#22) with 'I Predict A Riot'; The Strokes' last from 'Room On Fire' - 'The End Has No End' - is 27; The Open re-release 'Never Enough' and still fail to receive justice, charting at a lowly 53; Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 7"-only release 'Y Control' makes 54, meanwhile; Death From Above 1979 and their second single 'Romantic Rights' barge into 57; and Poptones' Thee Unstrung grace the 59 slot. Albums - Kings Of Leon go top-three with their second LP, 'A-Ha Shake Heartbreak'; Travis' single-comp. follows in the next place; 'Lifeblood' from the Manics is an unlucky 13; and 'Singles' from The Verve charts at 15.
Gigs this week, London: Cake hit the Forum in Kentish Town to display their oft nubile-minded art-rock (Fri 12th; sold out); the legendary Cardiacs are at the Astoria the same night (£14:00); Ed Harcourt begins his four-night residency at transsexual basement-club Madame Jo Jo's (Sun 14th; sold out); ironic, folksy cover-version merchants Hayseed Dixie slay the Islington Academy on Sunday 14th (£12:50); Hell Is For Heroes return to the capital for a showing at Camden's Electric Ballroom (Thurs 11th; £11:00); Longview perform a very bizarre, intimate gig at the Prince Charles Cinema (Wed 10th; sold out); Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds plus Mercury Rev entertain around 15,000 during three nights amidst Brixton Academy (Wed 10th-Fri 12th; sold out); tonight (Mon 8th; sold out) Rufus Wainwright and his sister Martha W will compel Shepherd's Bush Empire; Soundtrack Of Our Lives play a sizeable Astoria on Thursday (11th; £12:50); The Bravery continue their Metro residency (Thurs 11th; £6:00); The Czars try out Islington, again, in the Academy (Tue 9th; £12:50); The Killers play a very sold-out Shepherd's Bush Empire on Saturday (13th; sold out); The Rakes are East End-ing it, amongst the grounds of 93 Feet East (Tue 9th; £6:50); and ex-James blokey Tim Booth promises the ICA some solo stuff (Thurs 11th; sold out). Eek.
The current rockfeedback playlist: John Lennon's 'Acoustic'; 'Outside Closer' by Mogwai faves Hood; Tom Vek and his current 45, 'If You Want'; and wildly tipped new act, the Editors - who we caught at an early London appearance last week: faultless stage-strutting, pleasing assurance and Interpol-esque dynamics, mustered with a series of onstage convulsions that keep us visually and aurally ensconced. Watch out. This could be something bright, and special. More info? Please do visit http://www.editorsofficial.com.
We're going to have a lie down. See you on the circuit later this week.