AH-OH-AH-AH-OH - Two Door Cinema Club rocks out the 9:30 Club

so my favourite Irish boys Two Door Cinema Club were in town last Thursday night to entertain us. along with them were Tokyo Police Club (Canadians from Ontario) and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Americans from Missouri) but for me, it was all about Two Door.

you see, I've known their music since before xmas 2009. I/TGTF was the first blog to have written about them, that I'm aware of anyway. certainly one of the earliest mentions of 'Tourist History'. I wrote previously about our first meeting in April 2010 here and here. since then they've skyrocketed to fame and it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of hard-working guys from a little town in Northern Ireland who dreamed of being massive one day.

well, they've arrived. selling out American venues is a big deal for a band from a town thousands of miles away.

PW review (I compare the whole thing to a three-course dinner, including Two Door as the best curry you've ever eaten in your life)

TGTF review

I have an announcement!

well, I have several, actually. some of them I just haven't had the time to post about until now. for my sanity, I'll put them in chronologic order:

--

1. in June I posted a letter to one of my music journo heroes, Stuart Maconie (he of 6music's Sunday programme "Freak Zone" and the copresenter of Radio2's nightly programme "Radcliffe and Maconie") . he's always been a bit of a living legend in my and my friends' eyes b/c he has interviewed Morrissey more times you can shake a stick at and, from all appearances, has somehow maintained a confidence and kinship with the man. I stuck an international reply coupon and an SASE in with my letter, thinking that if he'd have time, he'd post me a promo picture of Mark and himself or something equally nonpersonal.

so on the second week of July, I come home from a long day's work and see in my pile of mail an envelope with this in the upper right hand corner:



I bit my lip as I opened the envelope and revealed a letter Stuart himself had typed out on A4 paper using MS Word. I won't bore you with the details, but the end of the letter (right before his signature in black Sharpie) was this:

Do what you love is my advice. And take care of yourself

S
xx

the man must receive bags upon bags of mail every day from his devoted legions of fans around the UK alone, not to mention anyone outside of the UK's borders who might fancy a listen to one of his shows. and he chose to write to me. I am v. grateful.

2. interestingly, there is a sideways connection between what Stuart Mac wrote me in his letter and Ed Mac of Friendly Fires. the day Stu wrote me was the day the Phenomenal Handclap Band was scheduled to come in for a live session for Radcliffe/Maconie. as usual, I tuned in that night, not knowing that it was the v. same day Stuart was going to write a letter to me. I knew nothing about the PHB until that morning of their session, when I opened an email from the le poisson rouge mailing list - where I'm seeing the Fires on the 12th - and I see the PHB is their support act.

I dunno about you, but I find the timing of both the email and when the band were visiting the Oxford Road BBC Manchester studios, ALONG WITH the choice of opening act must be more than a coincidence! I even dashed off a reply to Stuart with what had happened - this time no IRC and SASE, b/c I figured he didn't need to be bothered further! - but I thought he might be amused with this startling set of events.

at any rate, the PHB's live session with Mark and Stu was phenomenal (no pun intended) so I am looking forward to photographing and seeing them live in 10 days. eep!

3. my Paolo Nutini/Matt Hires/Erin McCarley gig report was made a featured item at Popwreckoning. you can read it here. I wasn't too impressed with Paolo (I think he may have just been a little pissed before coming onstage) but I really enjoyed Matt and Erin's sets and would have been happy if it'd just been the two of them.

Erin McCarley with her purty acoustic


that was the third time I'd been at the 9:30 this year and definitely the worst experience of the three. Doves had been sold out, yet tall guys let me stand in front of them on the balcony. the Camera Obscura crowd was filled with relatively mellow people - just like their music - and I never once felt threatened. fast forward a month to the Paolo Nutini show. let's just say that there were totally rabid fans from age 16 to age 50 and they screamed equally as loudly and passionately for Paolo, and the older set grated on my nerves for their "I'm allowed to be a b*tch and treat you like crap" sense of entitlement. when I went to go get my press pass - which was an ordeal in itself that I don't want to relive by typing it out here - one of these women shouted at the guy at the window that Paolo's tour manager had said she could go in before everyone else, because "I have to be in the front."

lady, unless you're his mum, you line up with the rest of us. end of story.

I do not have a problem with REAL fans lining up early and taking up the front spots b/c I'd rather have a real fan in front than a posturing industry type or someone who's shoved their way to the front from the back. we're all fans and we're in this together - be kind to your fellow fan.

4. bands have been making fall tour announcements left and right. some of the blast from the past notables:

Pearl Jam
Manic Street Preachers
Muse (touring w/ U2)
Leonard Cohen
Mew

5. good lord this has gotten long. will be back in a mo' with another post to finish up...

for the love of England - series of trip highlights and snapshots from Nottingham

highlights from this past trip to blighty - specifically Nottingham, where I covered the Dot to Dot Festival for Popwreckoning this year

23 May
- 3 hours after getting off the plane, having a full English (sans bread b/c I'm allergic to wheat) and a cuppa with a view of all the activity at Victoria Station



- arriving in Nottingham after a comfy 4-hour coach ride. I say, this is the way to travel. bus drivers that call you "love" and "darling," and certainly none of that running around train platforms!

24 May
- the calm before the storm: after getting my press wristband fitted, walked around Old Market Square, bought way too many books and CDs, and then did some window shopping in the city centre



- completely, accidentally running into Patrick Wolf in the hotel lobby (sorry, no photo, I couldn't trouble him for a picture, he was too antsy to get to his room and get dressed for his performance). we exchanged pleasantries, basically him saying "hello" to me after taking off his sunglasses, and me saying, "hi Patrick, I'm so excited to see you perform later today!" (haha)

- seeing Matt Abbott and S&D perform and getting to chat with the lovely boy himself afterwards

* Skint & Demoralised at Glo Bar, Nottingham-Trent Uni



- ....followed by the tail end of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart at the Notts-Trent main room (no pics b/c I was high up above them). Q's calling them one of the 10 great new bands tho, just sayin'...from what I heard, I thought they were fab.

- interviewing 2/3 of Friendly Fires (Edd Gibson and Ed Macfarlane) on their comfy tour bus. as their name suggests, they are indeed v. friendly boys indeed. had an intellectual convo with Edd and a green tea-drinking roadie about the merits of Chris Barrie in "Red Dwarf," "Brittas Empire," and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and D.C. area gig venues.

* Friendly Fires interview: [part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

- rushing off to Rock City to stake my place for Patrick Wolf, Ladyhawke, and Friendly Fires

* Friendly Fires gig review



* Patrick Wolf and Ladyhawke gig review





25 May
- puttering around Notts to see the castle, and then of course to find the famous Robin Hood statue (which incidentally was hilariously swathed by a marquee tent, as a youth orchestra was warming up for a performance)



- saying goodbye to the fair city of Nottingham with final poppadums, mango lassi (yes, those are crushed pistachios on top of there!), and curry on the last night there



highlights and snaps from the London leg of my trip up soon I hope!

Whale watching (photos first)

link to my Popwreckoning review

now, before I give my personal thoughts on the gig last Saturday, here are the photos from the Noah and the Whale gig (Anni Rossi and Ferraby Lionheart supporting) on 2 May 2009, the last night of NATW's 2-week tour.

to save some time, I've shoved them on here, and they might not fit in the view of the browser you're using, so just click on the pic and you'll get the full version. ok?

Anni Rossi




Ferraby Lionheart and touring bandmembers










Noah and the Whale

more photos from White Lies/Friendly Fires/the Soft Pack, 24.03.2009

related to this earlier post

in addition to the photos I posted for Popwreckoning, here are some more pics from the "NME Presents" tour when it touched down in Washington on 24 March:


I need more cowbell!
Ed Mac and Rob of Friendly Fires


Ed Mac of Friendly Fires


a boy and his guitar


Edd G. shredding it


Edd (left) and Ed - most definitely not the cartoon!


so sue me, I like the shoes! ("fox"y)


sorry about the two arms in this picture. it's the only picture from the night I have of FF's drummer, Jack (middle).


Charles Cave of White Lies


Harry McVeigh of White Lies


Harry again


Harry and drummer Jack (is the name "Jack" requisite to be a drummer of a band in England?)

for those completists, here are the setlists:

t'anks for the memories (recent ticket stubs)

while I was cleaning my room today, trying to find some things for my trip to New Orleans for work next week, I found and photographed a couple of my recent ticket stubs. (for some reason, I cannot find my stub from the Morrissey gig in March, the David Byrne concert in November, or We Are Scientists's set from last summer...)


October is a good month for gigs in D.C. Patrick Wolf came with his good friend Bishi (who was awesome, especially in her duet with him on "Magpie"). Lykke Li came with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (instead of the seriously-missed Friendly Fires, who were with her for the rest of that tour of hers).


the Airborne Toxic Event, 12 March 09 (with the Henry Clay People and Alberta Cross)


White Lies and Friendly Fires, 24 March 09 (with the Soft Pack)

reflections on 14 March 09 Morrissey gig

St. George's Cross flag for Morrissey, in progress on 4 March, sitting on my duvet
sorry if it's huge! making that "S" took forever...

nearly a month after I saw "the man" in concert for the 7th time, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect back on the night before my brain loses any more of the memories.

I'd given him something at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester 3 years ago (or more accurately, chucked the necklace onstage with all the might in my left arm), and it seemed somehow appropriate for me to give him something for again gracing my hometown's stage. I've been a fan of Morrissey's since 2003 - my now ex-bf gave me a mix CD of his solo stuff and I was hooked for life. he writes lyrics that touch me deeply - and I just love intellectual lyrics. it's not enough for me to get the groove - I need to feel something in the words a performer sings. and what he's meant in his words has meant so much to me.

thanks for the people directly in front of me (equivalent to about 4 people rows), the flag made it onstage and eventually, after some stage changes, it was propped up on the bass drum. I have circled it on these pics from the delightful Mallory (a fellow MD concertgoer) so you can find it easily if it's not immediately obvious.





overall, I sang my heart out, I swayed to the music (even though the Northern bloke kept trying to put his arms around me - dodgy!), I danced - and had a really fab time. for a more technical and possibly more literary take on this gig, read my review at Popwreckoning.

some people in mozzolo land and further afield have expressed discontent in his set list for this tour - apparently he's not varying the set list, making tour stalking throughly disappointing. having only followed one tour - the Ringleader of the Tormentors tour in 2006, and only 4 dates, 3 in Manchester and 1 in London - I don't have an opinion either way. with a new multi-instrumentalist for this tour (whose name I don't know, but he replaced American Mikey V. Farrell), not varying a set list was probably smart. there is also much made about security being a beast at the Warner. well folks, you're in the Nation's Capital, what do you expect? and it's a seated venue. if he didn't want this, he should have booked the 9:30 Club.

Airborne Toxic Event at the Black Cat (D.C.), 12 March 2009

this review will be short and sweet (for me!)

first, I want you to read this msg from the band's MySpace, 'cos I thought it was sweet to us. dunno why, but many artists and fans do not like D.C. fans - they think we're too uptight - and I'd really like to change that.

From:	the airborne toxic event
Date:	Mar 13, 2009 2:00 PM
Subject:	New U.K. dates announced, Arizona dates rescheduled..
Body:	So we're on our way from Washington D.C. to Chapel Hill, NC, having played Boston, New York, West Chester, and New Jersey, and D.C. this past week. There's rain and snow and trees without leaves in every direction. Such days are a requiem, a sort of meditative echo chamber of thoughts about the show, people we've met, people we miss, places we're going and places we've been. We used to say it was surreal, but the strangest thing is how familiar the feeling is now. D.C. was INSANE last night. Thank you. We're happy to announce that we've added two new shows in the U.K. in May: Wed May 6 - Sheffield, U.K. - The Leadmill Fri May 8 - London, U.K. - Koko Tickets went on sale at 9:00 a.m. this morning (U.K. time). You can buy them for both shows HERE. We always have a blast in the U.K., and we can't wait to go back (and then back again). Also, both of our Arizona shows—Mon Mar 23 in Tucson and Tue Mar 24 in Scottsdale—have been rescheduled. The new dates are: Tue May 19 - Scottsdale, AZ - Martini Ranch (rescheduled from March 24) Wed May 20 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock (rescheduled from March 23) All tickets will be honored. If refunds are necessary, they can be made at the point of purchase We miss you, we love you, I mean, we wonder where you are, like, right now.. Anna, Daren, Mikel, Noah, and Steven the Airborne Toxic Event

--

the gig was amazing. my neck and back was getting a bit stiff and hurt while waiting, b/c if you're up front, you're basically eye level with everyone's knees (haha). I liked the Henry Clay People, TATE's friends from Los Angeles, they really engaged the audience. was less impressed by Alberta Cross, they were great technically but I wasn't a fan of Petter Stakee's singing. I feel terrible, but I'm not sure of the lead guitarist's name - the singer didn't introduce the band - so I'm at a loss, but dude, you were smoking!

then came TATE a little after 10.30. WOW. I've been to my share of gigs but this one was truly impressive. I felt bad that lead singer Mikel Jollett had to go on after only a week of convalesce (from laryngitis and a high fever) and considering he probably has a similar constitution as I do, I felt doubly bad. (have a read of this Guardian article, it made me well up. really, seeing him sweat on stage after one song made more worried b/c I wondered if he was having a feverish relapse or maybe it was the meds. my own musical aspirations were quashed by a similar diagnosis so seeing someone overcome that and succeed AND have fun? truly powerful.) but enough of this seriousness...

above all, the band wanted to make sure we were having an awesome time, and they did that. they were all over the place, jumping on the stage, leaning on each other or getting in each other's faces for their own and our amusement, and did I mention the songs were spot on as well? I was singing along as was everyone in the club. I loved every minute of it.

--

here are some photos from my excellent vantage point front and center:


the totally fierce shooz of Anna Bulbrook - you can make out her violin bow higher up in the photo. having a female violinist/keyboardist in makes their band truly unique - and I love that they have a strong, independent woman who sings like a mystical siren too. girl power!



Mikel Jollett singing "Wishing Well" - a song he says he took from real life


Mikel adjusting those pesky pegs on his electric


sorry this one's fuzzy - it's Mikel leaning on bassist Noah Harmon during one of the songs. I couldn't react fast enough and thought I better snap away than miss the moment.

I have more if anyone's interested. but in the interest of keeping this short, thought I'd post my faves.

all in all - a pretty unforgettable night! folks, if you get the chance to see them live - go! you won't be disappointed. I only wish I could go to that Koko gig in May...

but no. I am going to see one of Mikel's heroes (and one of mine!) on Saturday, Morrissey!