2011年 02月 17日 木曜日 06:20
NME Awards Tour 2011 - O2 Academy Bournemouth, UK - Wednesday 16th February 2011
Crystal Castles
Magnetic Man
Everything Everything
the Vaccines
What can one ask for, eh…? Four sets for the price of one, & all for under £20! Can't argue with that!!
1.The Vaccines
It's always hard to know what to expect from an opening act when there's only 2 artists playing in an evening, but 4??
I had seen the Vaccines perform on the Jools Holland Show not so long ago, & was really looking forward to seeing them "in the flesh"…
…they didn't disappoint, & I shall certainly be looking forward to their debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? next month!
I'd put money on this band going on to be HUGE!
2.Everything Everything
As the set was being changed in preparation for Everything Everything the whole dynamic of the venue changed, as more & more people headed into the crowd, & the O2 went from looking half-empty to "are they gonna get any more in"!
I've got to be honest in that I knew nothing about Everything Everything before tonight, but they duly entertained & musically were as excellent as the Vaccines before them…
…my only criticism of Everything Everything was that I couldn't understand a word that the singer was singing!
That said, I would certainly like to hear more from them in the future.
Side-note:
It'd be interesting to know who both the Vaccines & Everything Everything cite as their musical influences…
…I'd seen them tagged in various places as indie/rock &/or alternative/rock, & could certainly see where these comparisons came from. Everything Everything reminded me vocally of a short-lived act from the mid-late 90's called Geneva, & at times musically dare I say they reminded me of the House Of Love in places??
Whether or not they'd thank me for the comparisons, is another thing…
…but I enjoyed them both nonetheless.
3.Magnetic Man
This is where the music changed! I had seen Magnetic Man listed in various places as dubstep, though I'm not so sure what "dubstep" is widely regarded as, & so it wasn't how I saw the set…
…which didn't take long to set up from the previous act…
…one long/wide table, stretching the width of the stage, with 3 "DJ's" behind it with a laptop each, no doubt using the likes of traktor, & a guy with a mic to the left of the stage, shouting out all the same kind of things to the crowd that I'd seen 15-20 years ago, in my days clubbing it up in Ibiza!!
Don't get me wrong, they all did their "job" well, & as far as entertaining the crowd goes, they were spot on. I'm just not so sure, it's necessarily my thing these days…
…I must be getting old…?!
And finally, onto the main event…
…& I use the term "main event" loosely, as there seemed to be a mass exodus from the crowd following Magnetic Man…
…which made it nice & easy for me to make my way forward…
4.Crystal Castles
This was the one I was personally here to see…
…having already seen them here barely 4 months ago, on which occasion I was hooked!
I recall hearing their track Crimewave a couple of years ago, but never really looked any further, at that point…
…until that is that they played here back in October 2010, at which point, I picked up their 2 albums to "prepare" myself, & was pleasantly blown away by their whole live experience! It's kind of difficult to describe, as despite my seemingly negativity towards the DJ/Clubby venture of the previous act, Crystal Castles has this kind of feel in their live show, kind of again reminding me of those Ibiza days, but fused with the likes of an experimental electronica sound, mixed in with a Faithless-esque vibe too.
I got to hear all the tracks that I wanted to, which is always cool, from Crimewave to Baptism to Suffocation, & more…
…& once again, I was in "the thick of it" down near the front amongst all the others jumping about/up & down, etc…
…but, & I don't know if it's my lack of fitness, age catching up on me, or a combination of the two, 'coz just after about mid-way through their set, I just had to get out of the melting pot - I was shattered, to the point of feeling light-headed & dizzy!
That's an experience in itself - trying to get out of all the madness down the front! People seem to forget, that there's more people trying to get in to that part of the crowd, than there is trying to get out of it!!
I simply had to catch my breath, & chill…
…& despite being tempted to try & get back in there I was bloody knackered, & enjoyed the remainder of their set from a "safer distance".
Once again loved them, & will be back for more…!!
Crystal Castles - 9+/10
Magnetic Man - 7/10
Everything Everything - 8/10
the Vaccines - 8+/10
And finally, the anecdotes…
…yep, as always, I have a couple…
1.As the seeming "mass exodus" occurred, following Magnetic Man, I overheard a few say things like "well, let's be honest, that was the main event that everyone came for", & I kind of chuckled to myself as I thought "speak for yourselves, that was probably the only one, that I personally wasn't interested in"!
2.Just prior to Crystal Castles taking to the stage, a young lad says to me "Are you security"? "No" I replied. "But I saw you acknowledge that security bloke up there" he said, pointing up to the "wings", to which I simply said "I do happen to know people in all sorts of jobs you know. Why? You ain't carrying drugs or anything silly are ya"?!
3.This one's gotta be my fave…
There were a quite a few "crowd surfer's" at tonight's gig - more so than I had seen for quite a while - for a time they seemed endless…
…& I was extremely close to being one of them, if these two lads down there in the melting pot had gotten their way…
…"C'mon mate, get up there" they said, as they cupped their hands, to give me a bunk-up! It even drew the support of a few others around me, as they endeavoured to try & get me up there! "Oh, I'm too old for that" I said…
…but I gotta be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that I know a couple of the guys that work security at the O2, I would've been seriously tempted…!!
So… to summarize…
Yet another fantastic evening's entertainment, which left me breathless - quite literally!
Excellent!!!