Ok, just a quick (haha!) run through of the past week or so of music in Jumpstart World.
On Saturday night, we went to see Equus at Malvern Theatre, with Alfie Allen and Simon Callow, and it was simply breathtaking. I mean this quite literally - I was so gripped, I totally forgot to breathe through most of it. It's been a long time since I've come out of a play/film/anything and found it so hard to get back to 'normal' having been transported somewhere otherworldly for a short time. Totally brilliant.
Music wise, we went to the Shoreditch Crawl (aka Stag And Dagger) on Thursday night. This was a bad move. My decision not to take any days off straight after Big Weekend was beginning to look a little stupid as I finished my 11th day of work in a row and found that the utterly vapid people of Shoreditch were not...how should I say it?...."compatible" with my mood. Anyway, we eventually got our wristbands, found out that Dead Kids weren't on until 9pm so I managed to get some food after what felt like 7 miles of walking. Fed and, more importantly, watered, we headed to The Macbeth to see the band who have been exciting me with their catchy but spiky tunes for a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, despite being musically brilliant, it wasn't a great show in one vital and all-important way - the lead singer managed to make Donny Tourette look sophisticated. I know it makes me sound old, but he was just so pointlessly repulsive and obnoxious that even though the music was GREAT, really really GREAT, the biggest cheer of the night genuinely came when he announced that it was to be their last song. It meant we no longer had to suffer him and his ridiculous posturing ('I don't give a fuck' he informs us. Brilliant). He deliberately shattered a glass lamp as he stood on the bar, downed some poor sod's drink and then threw the cup at the crowd (hitting some poor girl on the head) and then suggested that the girls in the front row were almost certainly gagging to fornicate with him.
I'm a bit gutted if I'm honest as the songs, and the band, are still great - but that dreary little prat has ruined it a little bit. I just hope to god it was a 'bad night' - the reviews I've seen of them at the Great Escape the next day suggested that they were the darlings of the festival so fingers crossed.
We also saw The Strange Death Of Liberal England who we've seen and enjoyed before but this time they were previewing new album material and very, very tasty it was too. I know Dom, their manager - when I turned to him and said 'They really remind me of Tapes N Tapes', he just looked straight at me with a confused face and simply stated 'But they're better than Tapes N Tapes' - and he might just have a point. Think how Arcade Fire would be if they had a feisty/cool girl bass player rather than a troll faced/fingerless glove wearing accordion player ;) They have amazing beer stealing skills too.
The night before we saw Battles who were suitably brilliant in a packed out Astoria... It nearly made up for not being at ATP this weekend. Come to think of it, it was probably at the last ATP that I was surrounded by quite so much facial hair.
Then there was Big Weekend. Because I was working I didn't get to see much but I did get to see the 'next big things' Magistrates who have a mixture of straightforward (but very proficient) indie songs and funky falsetto numbers (they have been described as The Jam meets Prince which sounds a bit ewww until you hear them and it sort of makes sense). They showed a lot of promise, especially with their poster boy looks.
Sunday was a bit more slapdash but I got to see bits of absolutely monumental sets from Justice and Pendulum, plus a fair chunk of The Raconteurs' impressive performance - pure class compared to Luke Kook who was doing a great job of pleasing the crowds on the main stage but with only a millionth of the soul with which this lot played.
But it goes without saying that the highlight of the weekend was Mama. Or does it go without saying, given the negative reviews that have been floating about? I'm going to cut to the chase here and say that anyone who gave this performance a negative review really must want the moon on a sodding stick. OK, I admit that it wasn't the best Madonna performance ever seen so perhaps The Telegraph was right to give her 2 out of 5. But if that show was worth 2 out of 5, that puts The Kooks at about minus 25 out of 5.
I was lucky enough to hear, and even see, a bit of her soundcheck on Friday. She practiced for something like four hours preparing for this show, not bad for a lady of 'a certain age'. That said, I have to admit a weakness for watching her dance - I feel that the creative choreography and the obvious enjoyment she takes from performing is a refreshing change from the US soul divas who think that adding 'zest' to their shows means trying to reach increasingly higher notes for longer periods of time, whilst flicking their hair about in front of a gigantic session band.
If I'm honest, I'd rather she didn't play the guitar live, she is bloody terrible at it - and ok, I am a bit surprised at how much she mimed. But if anyone was 'let down' by the overall spectacle before them, then I think they need to take a good look at themselves and whether or not they 'have a clue'. It suddenly seems rather cool to be able to say that you saw Madonna and that you were somehow 'discerning' enough to remain unimpressed - but I can't help thinking that it actually just makes you a shallow mug. Funnily enough, I'm suddenly reminded of Shoreditch again....
