And welcoming in this lovely new site is the first YouTube find.

What happens when you fuse together a late-1980s Fleetwood Mac classic with a late-2000s Indie Rock band with African influences? The result is this cover of Everywhere by Vampire Weekend. I’m a big fan of Vampire Weekend – their sound is clean, modern and interesting. Their songs are not huge anthems to be sung in arenas – they are short, quiet and energetic stories of romance, class warfare and architecture.

So, Everywhere? The bass line is a strong part of the song and the groove fits in with their set. However, they’ve stripped away most of the organ and synthesised parts, which leaves the song bare at times. The crowd know the song and sign along rapturously. When you compare to it a live performance by the Mac, it may fall a little flat but Vampire Weekend haven’t desecrated the musical history of Everywhere, they’ve just done a decent cover.

So enjoy this Upper West Side Soweto version of Christine McVie’s request for love and attention.

SITTING IN THE STANDS of the sports arena, the atmosphere emanating from the eleven thousand people present was electric. Arctic Monkeys have a certain prestige among the residents of the North East. The songs from their first two albums have become local anthems and this transpires to be the reason the audience shelled out their pennies.

The music started with a crawl, rather than a bang. Traditional red stage curtains revealed the band in full swing with The Jeweller’s Hands, from their hotly-debated album Humbug. Immediately noticeable was the lighting and stage set. Video screens, impressive lighting, smoke machines and strobes show, they haven’t taken this change upwards to arenas too lightly. Brainstorm kicked in soon after and it was easy to tell where their true talents lie. Following some well received cuts from their first album, the first epic moment came with I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. It was at this moment the vibrations from the standing pit at the front shook throughout the whole arena.

Soon after, we are traveled back to the slower world of Humbug. The three most accessible songs – Potion Approaching, My Propeller and Crying Lightning followed. The latter two tracks almost had the crowd singing and jumped along as well as any track from their latter works. The show started to loose a little direction, with one new cut following another and no one sure of whether to jump, sing or stare. When The Sun Goes Down came soon after and a beautiful mass sing along ensued. The encore of Fluorescent Adolescent and 505 brought the show to an end with 505 ending where they began – moody and atmospheric.


Regardless of whether you appreciate their new sound or direction, it was a fantastic show. With the young and energetic audience loving every moment, their enjoyment was infectious. The band nearly fell into the trap musicians teeter over by playing too many new and unknown tracks. Where Sheffield’s favourite musicians head next is anyone’s guess, but for now, they can still provide an excellent evening of rock and roll that highlights both where they can excel.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 713

This has been my first post in a long time, over a month in fact. This is due to having a ridiculously life at the moment – with a final year degree, my role as Vice President of Van Mildert College, my band and enjoying each and every day! Tonight I am working on a number of menial tasks that aren’t particularly fun for anyone and I was sifting through my music collection to find something I had not listen to in a while.

What came out was this beauty. Fire, the lead single of Kasbian’s last album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. The album has been described as “Sounds like a Frog in a Top Hat, wearing a monocle. Smoking a cigar”.

Can’t disagree really, can you? Fire begins off as a slowing ballad, that rollocks into fifth gear for a funk-inspired rock chorus, with some excellent vocal-guitar interplay. Very much a return to form of their best work.

Your Own Sweet Way (The Notting Hillbillies) – From Mark Knopfler’s side project during Dire Straits late-80s hiatus. Slower and more contemplative, this country-blues influenced project is rather reminiscent of his recent solo work. This live version strikes a good balance of staying true to the original and improvisation. The slow and laid back pace works well with Knopfler’s vocal stylings. Harmonies and tasty organ work are always a plus.

Magic (Ladyhawke) – After being introduced to Ladyhawke, I was delighted to discover you can trace each of her songs from her debut album to something that was created in the 80s. In the case of the wonderful opening track to her album, looking no further than the extended mix of The Safety Dance. Following the mantra of ‘great artists steal’, this is a wonderfully catchy track that would not be out of place in any 2980s dance floor, or 2000s for that matter.

Fool’s Gold (The Stone Roses) - Taking a more funk-orientated direction than their seminal album, this is possibly their most known song (among fans, apparently), with its bright and bouncy rhythms. Waterfall, She Bangs The Drums and Made of Stone are also contenders in my ranking of their top material. It is astonishing they managed to produce some truly great songs in only the span of one album and a few years of time.

SITTING IN A SMALL DRESSING ROOM somewhere in the bowels of The Sage, it was time for a chat about the band and the evening’s event. Normally The Sage conjures imagery of the Northern Symphonia, folk and other eclectic music styles. However, tonight was all about fast rock, a first to the venue according to the helpful sound engineer.

Billed as ‘The Futureheads and Friends Christmas Special’, the evening saw four local bands supporting The Futureheads on 19th December 2008 to round off the forty four live dates they’ve played this year. The evening didn’t turn out as the band had originally intended “It was supposed to be like a festival”, Jaff explained “The other hall was booked but we’ve managed to still get a fair few bands”. Forty Four dates may seem a lot to you and me but compared to the past hauls done by the band, it’s simply another day at work. “It certainly helped our popularity in America, we ended up touring their for nine months”, referring to when Decent Days And Nights featured on the The O.C in 2005.

We then got on to having a chat about the band itself and their record successes. Their highest rating single was a cover of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, from their debut album. “She left a message on our answer phone, saying how much she liked our version”, Jaff said with pride. “We’re doing a cover tonight, Paul McCartney” revealed Jaff. Asking about the aspirations of the band and the possibility of a number one single, Jaff was not so optimistic – “It’s hard to sell records these days, you have to sell more with downloads. “You can make £5 from an album when you sell it yourself”, which lead onto the music piracy debate.

Like most musicians, Jaff had a strong opinion. “It’s a funny one, there are two different arguments, If people only download music by the big bands, record labels don’t have the money to spend on the small bands but the other thing is, music is an art form. If people get into a band, they’ll come and see them live. Ultimately, it’s up to the fans on whether they want the band to survive”. The band founded their own record label in 2006 after being dropped by 679 Recordings, part of the Warner Brothers Group.
The ever-knowledgeable Wikipedia claimed that the Futureheads nearly broke up after the relative failure of their second album. Questioning Jaff about this, it turns out Wikipedia might not be strictly true. “Going from selling 250,000 copies to only 20,000 is hard. We were dropped by Warners but had offers from other major labels. We decided to do it ourselves.”

On asking whether this was a full record company or just for the purposes of the band (often referred to as ‘vanity labels’) – “We wouldn’t sign anyone else, maybe after the band have split up”. Posing the question, is everything well in the Futureheads camp? We discussed the contemporaries of the band, and comparisons such as Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs (“like a huge version of us”) and Maximo Park. All were founded at a similar time and have similarities in both their sound and influences. However, Franz have had the hit singles the Futureheads lacked, while Maximo have focused on albums that have climbed the charts. Listening to Ulysses and comparing it to Walking Backwards (the most recent singles from Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads), it’s clear which of the two have progressed the most.

Ferdinand realised they had to shake things up for their third album and have successfully achieved this goal, while the Futureheads have stayed with the same fast moving, guitar driven pop-punk mix that can be found on all their previous records. Later into the interview, Jaff talked about the music he was listening to: “I Don’t listen to any modern music these days – AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen. ‘70s Rock. Led Zeppelin, that sort of thing”. Picking up that this may be a fellow Springsteen enthusiast, it transpires we both saw The Boss last year in London, albeit at different performances. “I think you got the better set list”, referring to the 28 songs and three hour set The Boss and E Street Band belted out last June. (Only enthusiasts would enjoy the next part of our chat about the wide ranging set lists, members of the band and who is really important in the world of E Street.)

Arriving back at The Sage later in the day, Hall One was decked out with a simple stage. It became obvious that the chairs were still there, but some room for standing at the front was made. Throughout the main set, a small group gathered to have a mosh around to everything the band blasted through. The event team around Hall One seemed unsure what to do with this, and decided to let them get on with it. Good job that F**ked Up weren’t chosen to headline – leaving them to their own devices would result in one trashed concert hall.

The support bands were a mix from Verve-inspired pop music to the same post-punk stylings of the event’s main performers. All being local friends of the band, the continuity was obvious between sets. They did the job of building the momentum for what was coming later as the hall gradually filled up. The headliners managed to produce a storming set of seventeen songs that opened with Walking Backwards from their most recent album. The material included plenty from their album, This Is Not the World (2008) as well as smatterings from News and Tributes (2005) and The Futureheads (2004).

If you already have prior knowledge of the band, no doubt you will know Radio Heart, which according to Jaff was “written in 20 minutes and recorded in an hour just before we headed out on tour”. With a jolly sing along chorus, the topic of “a girl who likes nothing but listening to music” provided a great anthem for the audience, four songs into the gig. After this, the band continued with some of their lesser known songs, all of them in a very similar style until we suddenly hit Wonderful Christmastime. Continuing on from a previous number, and not mentioned on the set list, it took both the audience and myself by surprise. They managed to do a fine cover in their own style. Soon after, Hounds of Love arrived and this is where the band truly shone. Their musical skills were finally on show for all to see, no wonder Kate Bush left them a message.

The audience went wild and it provided the climax to the evening.
Although the support bands were the usual standard and the middle of the set became bogged down in generic pop-punk songs, the Futureheads know how the please their home crowd and they managed this successfully. They’ve become the masters of fast moving, three minute rock songs but where next? Jaff said that after all the holiday festivities were over, they would be record making once again.

Let’s see where Sunderland’s second finest export can do now.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 702

Franz are back and they’ve made a few changes. The dance element has grown and the intertwining guitars have been replaced with some classic synth work. Ulysses matches up to the catchiness of Take Me Out with a distinctive element. It’s the tight rhythm section that makes this a hit record, with a fantastic groove that keeps the pace throughout. Check out the recent live performance on ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’ to remind yourselves how stellar this band are.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 703

A USUAL TUESDAY afternoon in early November – raining, dark and cold and I find myself sitting in a booth in the infamous Techno Cafe at the Science Site. Not for the first time that day, my mobile rang and instead of the usual Purple Radio call, it was a fellow from Sony BMG records regarding an email sent several weeks ago. 24 hours later, I was zipping down the A1 to Leeds to meet, interview and see one of the most critically acclaimed bands of 2008 hitting the Carling Academy.

On their latest jaunt around the UK, MGMT managed to miss out Newcastle (and Durham, of course) on their final tour before some relaxing time and re-entering the studio. After hanging around outside the newly-rebuilt Academy, we were granted entrance and made our way up to a deserted dressing room waiting for the band to enter. A sudden panic hit me and my friend who had tagged along – would they think we were idiots? Were we cool enough? Should I have passed on the ‘Vote Bert’ T-Shirt?

These feelings passed when an assertive but friendly American entered and introduced himself as manager, and was flanked by two men barely older than myself that were instantly recognisable as Andrew Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser – the songwriters and founding members of the band. Unusually, Andrew was not sporting his typical array of bandanas and psychedelic clothing – just tight fitting jeans, duffle coat and your typical polo shirt. Ben went for a more indie look with a checkered shirt. Both were smiling and were welcoming and the chat began. Within a few minutes, it was a slight misnomer, the band didn’t seem to open up too much or expand on our questions. Maybe our credentials might have been suspect, hence why they were quite guarded with their answers – although there were a few interesting facts you may not know.

Ben uses conditioner on his hair while Andrew simply washes it – and it naturally goes frizzy for those who wonder. They have never eaten an electric eel but have eaten octopus on several occasions. Their favourite thing about this country is the weather – the depressing cold and sleet is a good thing. Maybe they should try the snow Durham has been experiencing? The original band consisted of just Ben and Andrew (who recorded the album) and they asked some of their friends to join for the tour this year to form the live line up. They are huge Pink Floyd fans and found The Piper At The Gates of Dawn to be a very influential album on their music, as well as Kraftwerk – not too surprising. They let no hints drop about their future musical direction but did reveal that the first half of their debut album was written before the band were signed and the rest was written later, with most of the hit singles on the latter half.

Ben was the quiet one while Andrew mostly picked up the answers, and disconcertingly stared at my open diary. After questioning about vintage clothing shops in Leeds, of which I had no idea and mumbling some response about turning right, we left the band in search of food. After some exploration of Leeds (which is a very nice place indeed), it was gig time. The mix of ‘indie kids’ was high in attendance and few university students like myself could be seen. Coming on stage to the sound of Funk #49, the evening kicked off with an unknown new song that no one was sure about. The frenzy caused by the arrival of the band continued but by the end, no one was really sure what was happening. Thankfully, Weekend Wars came along, sounding more lively and just as impressive as on the album and kicked everyone into shape.

The Youth managed to get a swaying audience to sing along to “and you, started to change” and lined everyone up for a great gig. However, things started to go downhill from here as the band launched into song after song of generic psychedelic-progressive hard rock; each song was almost unrecognisable from the last and the jumping and screaming subsided until people looked almost bored and only polite applause. This all changed when gentle hum and chiming guitars signalled Time To Pretend, surprisingly early in the set. It blew everyone away – just fantastic and has to be a live highlight of the year. The band just came together – the cheesy synth live, the breakdown and build up and the lyrics we know and love. As usual for a packed gig, copious amounts of beer were poured over my head, reassuring me that the T-Shirt was a good idea. The audience had time to relax until Electric Feel came literally out of nowhere – it seemed the band had given up on their song and just bashed into this to cheer us all up.

Matching the previous single, the crowd went wild and the band obviously enjoyed the stimulation of the audience but it went downhill once again. Pieces, Of What was thrown in somewhere down the line to provide the usual acoustic diversion. Eventually, the band went off stage and cheering for the encore ensued – but was this for the band After The Handshake, the distinctive drum beat of Kids began and it went mad. Crushing, bouncing, dancing and more beer throwing made this the highlight of the set but for some inexplicable reason – there were no instruments played, minus one guitar solo! Their drummer sat, looking impatient but didn’t play anything. Ben left his keyboard station to sing with Andrew. Their bassist was nowhere to be seen. Ironic that the best song of the gig was not even played with instruments? For the audience, they didn’t mind because it was what most had come to hear. Why pay £22.50 to listen to a recording that you can hear in most clubs up and down the country every week.

This may all sound rather negative – it wasn’t a bad gig – the atmosphere was electric. On the way out, the banter was “fantastic… that was raving” but I’d have to say that MGMT are a singles band. They didn’t manage to bring alive their other songs and (unusually) for a band with one album, they didn’t throw a cover in. Both The Feeling and The Last Shadow Puppets have done this in their shows and it helps to showcase their musical prowess, which leads me on to another point – their sound.

My friend commented that the ‘sound’ is very important to enjoying their music and this struck me as the main problem with the night’s entertainment. The additional members of the band are simply too heavy, with overdriven sounds that don’t suit the songs on Oracular Spectacular. Hard rock certainly isn’t what MGMT is about – their next album may expand in this direction to a new audience but it was not what I expected.

If you are thinking about making a trip to see them, wait till they gather more songs and more experience before shelling out the cash. MGMT may still prove to be one of the biggest bands of the decade, or might fade away with a poor sophomore album and mediocre live shows. Only time will tell, and hopefully they will prove us wrong and not be fated to pretend.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 702

REM: Accelerate
Every R.E.M. release that comes out is claimed as a return to form but Accelerate might have turned the band’s fortunes around. After loosing founding drummer Bill Berry in 1997, the band haven’t produced anything as hard rocking or compressed in years. Recorded in only a few months, you won’t find anything like Loosing My Religion here but songs such as Supernatural Superserious, Sing For The Submarine and the title track make up for this with fast paced overdriven riffs that remind us R.E.M. are still as important and independent as ever.

Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understated
Full of edgy indie rock music with symphonic twist, the combination of Miles Kane (of The Rascals) and Alex Turner (of the Arctic Monkeys) has produced one of the most popular albums of the year. Lots of influences from both bands and numerous James Bond soundtracks make this a youthful yet killer album, right for any mood of the day. Highlights include the title track, Calm Like You and In My Room.

Coldplay: Viva La Vida
Talk of Coldplay loosing their edge was completely unfounded. Taking a new edge with a more experimental nature but with the pop sound you know and love from their previous work. The input of super producer Brain Eno managed to let the guys expand their sonic map. Highlights include the anthemic Viva La Vida, the thumpy movements of Violet Hill and the foot stomping Lost!.

Although Chris Martin says Coldplay will disband in the near future, you haven’t seen the last of them just yet, with the recently released Prospekt March and a round of stadium gigs coming up next September.

Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul
It has been several weeks and more listening time from my initial review and my opinion has not changed in the slightest, this is their strongest offering in years and the 60s hard rock influences have worked and the translation to live performances has been made successfully, according to YouTube at least. Take a look at the current single I’m Outta Time and Bag It Up to get a taste of where Gallagher and company are headed with the latest reason.

Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid
Rivalling Coldplay with several stadium gigs in 2009, it is good to have Britain’s favourite Britpop band back in action. The more I listen to Elbow’s back catalogue, I wonder why they have not been heard of before now. Their music is so unique and they’ve been kicking around since 1990 apparently, missing out on Britpop, becoming critics choice before hitting it big time and winning the Mercury Prize this year. Grounds For Divorce has become the most popular song with continual build ups and break downs with yet another stomping beat. On Day Like This has traces of U2 but with a less commercial sound and simply down to earth. Elbow are heading out to the academies next year so catch them live if you can, the rumour goes they are phenomenal.

AC/DC: Black Ice
AC/DC are like comfort food for listeners, providing reassuring and consistent hard rock and Black Ice is no different. Stomping rock with a modern production makes this an album of bliss for any music lover. Brian Johnson’s singing may not be as high pitched as in the past but it’s lost none of its passion and Angus Young brings out those solos as viciously as ever. A short tour of UK arenas next year has sold out, too quickly for this reviewer.

Randy Newman: Harps and Angels
Most will recognise the odd voice from the soundtrack of Toy Story. Growing up to the sounds of You’ve Got A Friend In Me often makes people forget Newman is a real artist who was writing songs 20 years before the release of the ground-breaking Disney-Pixar film. Musically out of tune with the times (and only reaching #48 on the UK charts), the album is based around rather old school beats and piano heard in New Orleans records of the past, like those of Fats Domino. Potholes discusses the inevitable memory lapses of old age while A Few Words In The Defense Of Our Country reassures the rest of the world that some Americans dislike their government too. For something totally different to everything else this year, try this.

The Verve: Forth
Far surpassing anything Richard Ashcroft has done since Urban Hymns, Fourth shows the band have made a triumphant return, firing on all cylinders with their mix of rock with sampling and acoustic ballads. A headlining performance at Glastonbury brought them back to household name status, and showed they have lost none of their magic. No doubt you will have heard first single Love Is Noise, but looking at Valium Skies and Sit And Wonder shows you just how flexible they can still be.

Kings of Leon: Only by the Night
The UK’s favourite import from across the seas (apart from Kopparberg of course) have solidified their sound into plain old sound rock with their southern indie edge. Adding to their string of popular albums, the Kings are no doubt en route to the heights of super stardom over the next few years. They might have lost some of their experimentalism since the previous album, but have filled in for this with better tunes and inspiring lyrics. A testament to this is how much Use Somebody is still being played weeks later. Don’t forget the hit single Sex on Fire too.

MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
The underwhelming live experience with this band have not tainted how wonderful the album is – strong songwriting, catchy riffs and music that would not be out of place in 1975, MGMT have hit the music scene in the face and remind everyone not to take the world too seriously. Time To Pretend has been an anthem for our generation while Kids and Electric Feel have provided bouncing fun songs that everyone can enjoy. Where they can go from here is anyone’s guess, but enjoying this music is certainly not hard. Their dream producer of Barack Obama may yet happen.

David Byrne and Brian Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Their first collaboration in over 20 years is an album in tune with the times – featuring plenty of crazy sound effects, acoustic strumming and precise singing – everything you would expect from the ex-Talking Heads man and the super-producer, who gets a second mention here.
Apparently, it has gospel and electronic stylings, but you’ll have to judge this for yourself. Not getting a physical release, you can stream the album free from everythingthathappens.com to hear one of the best collaborations of the year, and one of the strongest albums Byrne has produced in a while.

Maybe the best thing from the album is the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno tour that is crisscrossing around the world as we speak, hitting the Sage, Gateshead next year. It is unfortunately without Eno, but features modern dancers and setlists ranging the 30 year career of Byrne, making it one not one to be missed

Summary
Honourable Mentions must go Duffy for Rockferry, with some of the years biggest singles from Wales’ newest hero, The Killers for another strong offering with Day & Age, The Feeling for producing more Queen-Supertramp infused pop with Join With Us and Guns’n’Roses for finally releasing Chinese Democracy, layered with guitar solos, each one out-doing the last. Over the Christmas break, why not indulge in what this year has offered in music? Happy listening!

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 702

NEWCASTLE CITY HALL is a comforting place to spend a cold Monday evening in October. Unlike the intense atmosphere of the Newcastle Academy or the soullessness of the Metro Radio Arena, the City Hall has a rich history with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Genesis having trod the boards here.

On the 27th October, it was time for one of England’s newest song writing partnerships to take their turn – The Last Shadow Puppets. With a maximum capacity of only 2,000 people, the City Hall was sold out for months prior to the event and expectations were running high for the show. It is rare for young bands to grace this venue – most will head to the Academy or simply miss out Newcastle all together – The Police, AC/DC, Coldplay and Oasis have all forgotten our favourite northern town on their recent hikes around England. Entering the grand foyer, the assembled were comprised of ‘indie kids’ and university students like myself, with the odd older person scattered here and there. The appeal of the Puppets seems to be as broad as the Arctic Monkeys before them. Alex Turner, front man and lead guitarist met Miles Kane of The Rascals on the Monkey’s last tour and the two instantly connected. Miles can be heard on the album closer 505 and has performed it several times with the band, including their bombastic set at Glastonbury 2007.

Over the course of the next few months, an album of orchestral rock music was crafted with the help of James Ford (of Simian Mobile Disco fame) and became a hit when released in April 2008. A gap ensued before their acoustic performance at Glastonbury, followed by full orchestral sets for the Leeds-Reading festivals. The Puppets have taken their show on a whistle-stop tour around England, before heading off to America to close this chapter of the story.

The last night of their UK tour began with a support set from Ipso Facto at 8:00pm. A four-piece all female act from Essex, all the members have an uncanny resemblance to Uma Thurman and managed to match the style of the evening with an off-key fusion of surf, punk and power-pop music.
Their sound and style have a resemblance to the Go-Go’s, one of the first all-female groups that wrote, produced and managed their own careers.
Ipso Facto played to a half-empty hall with an upbeat feeling and surpassed my personal expectations, as well as many of those in the audience. After a prompt 30 minute change over set, the 16 piece orchestra mounted the stage to begin their fanfare that signalled the commencement of the show.

Unusually for rock and roll, the show started more or less on time and the core Last Shadow Puppets arrived on stage, Budweisers in hand – Stephen Fretwell, James Ford, Miles Kane and Alex Turner and kicked off the show.
Beginning with In My Room, it was one of the most Bond-esque tracks (a constant theme running throughout the evening) that instantly brought the entire audience of all ages to their feet. A brooding and atmospheric song, it soon swept into the title track of the album The Age Of The Understatement. With a galloping beat, it has gone through a fantastic live transformation to become one of the obvious highlights of the musical year. Gaining one of the best responses from the audience, it was a brilliant example of the symbiosis of the core band and their orchestra.

One of the fascinating sights was the two young gentleman leading the music ensemble in such a joyful and professional way – two people who are only three years older than you and I. After wandering through the waltzy Calm Like You and string-driven Black Plant we arrived at the first surprises in the evening with Gas Dance, a non-album track in a more sinister mood that was followed by Hang The Cyst, bringing a slightly subdued atmosphere.

With a complete change of direction, Alex queried if anyone liked a certain Liverpool band that was around many years ago. The Puppets battled into I Want You (She’s So Heavy) with a version rivalling the one you know and love from Abbey Road without help from the orchestra. No doubt a future collaboration of Beatles inspired pop would be another hit, as they managed to pull off one of the hardest bands to cover.

Adding the relaxed atmosphere in the evening, Stephen Fretwell’s skills on the bass guitar were showcased proving him to be a competent member of the touring band with a solid low end. The next cover was Paris Summer, a classic collaboration of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood. Taking the female vocal role was the lead signer from Ipso Facto, still dressed and styled in her band’s uniformed way. Mournfully discussing their final performance, the band launched into a wistful story of floating down the Seine, cobbled streets and pavement cafes. Minutes later, it was back to the Shadow Puppets – another Bond-styled tune of I Don’t Like You Any More, dripping into The Chamber but managing to bounce back with the simple yet effective Time Has Come to wave goodbye to the assembled youth.

The Meeting Place became the send off the tight and well-rehearsed orchestra deserved. When the band wandered off, the yelling and floor stomping began until it became a fever pitch. Crawling back onto the stage like the troop of Rugrats, the band returned for another cover and a final send off. Miles managed to break one of the lights with his body crawling antics without any of the band noticing – they were all having such a good time.

Memories from the songbook of Leonard Cohen transformed Alex Turner into an evening singer with a tight fitted black suit. Then Standing Next To Me finally took both the band and orchestra on a final train ride home.
Throughout the evening, the entire assembly of band, orchestra, crew and audience had a fantastic time. A slightly sophisticated evening, it managed to keep that air of occasion and was still a rock concert. The orchestra looked on with fondness as the combo of Alex and Miles belted their way through the rock numbers, while the audience jigged up and down to the bouncer tunes, mainly gazing in awe at the two heroes.

Alex Turner earned many of the wolf whistles and cheers from the assembled females, while Miles entertained himself with his beer. Although the word banter is far too overused, it must be said that it was fantastic banter backwards and forwards with the Puppets and audience – discussing their album and the songs to stripping in Glasgow to The Smiths.

One of the questions I wanted this gig to answer was – is the Last Shadow Puppets an equal partnership or simply an outlet for Turner? After seeing one of the most alive, energetic and sonically enormous gigs of my life, I can say that both frontmen are equal in their contributions. Especially after listening to the debut album of the Rascals (Rascalize), the rhythmic structures came from his camp with little of the Arctic Monkeys to be heard. The Last Shadow Puppets reinvigorated my hope and passion for modern music, providing something alternative to post-punk-indie-rock that may never be seen again.

Flying off to America to showcase their wares, I can only hope that the partnership will continue in the future, when Alex and Miles take the next vacation from their day jobs.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 700

2008 has been rather a good year for rock and popular music – new records from Oasis, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs and Zutons, while some fantastic acts have broken though like MGMT, Glasvegas and The Ting Tings. MGMT seem to be quite well known in Durham and the student population but the world as a whole has not been enlightened their mix of psychedelic rock, while Glasvegas have brought a solid, simple and down to earth nature to rock music once more. However, The Ting Tings have brought something that seen for years in pop music – the male-female rock duo.

The Ting Tings are not everyone’s cup of tea – the brash, upfront attitude of lead singer and chief guitarist Katie White will ensure many potential punters will put their wallets away immediately. Simply mentioning the name in musical debates can split opinions. The drummer and other member of the band, Jules De Martino brings musical clarity to the band with some of the most powerful drumming seen in a while from an English album. Possibly the true musician behind the band, some crafty pedals provide more sounds you imagined impossible to hear from only two people. Their debut album We Started Nothing rocketed to the top of the charts in May this year and you would have a hard job missing their singles – Shut Up And Let Me Know, Great DJ and That’s Not My Name – the hits just keep on coming from a band only formed for two years. Apple also chose Shut Up and Let Me Go for one of their silhouette iPod adverts, joining the likes of U2 and Bob Dylan as the select few. Live, the Ting Tings are not as impressive. Their record sounds tight, clean and modern but this sound is not transfered live successfully, maybe a few experienced people would help to pad our their sound and provide a better experience to paying punters? Their performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend demonstrated they have the essential skill of expanding and changing songs for a live performance but something was still lacking. While pondering this, I was watching a DVD featuring another band and the similarities between the two were stark. After some digging around on the iTunes Store and my music collection, I discovered who Ting Tings have taken a great inspiration from. A band who were in their prime twenty years ago – the Tom Tom Club.

The Tom Tom Club came from a slightly different background compared to their modern counterparts – formed as a splinter from the all conquering Talking Heads. Husband and wife rhythm duo Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth admitted they needed something else to bring money to feed their family, as Talking Heads were still a niche band and their songwriting input was limited. Teaming up with some top session players of the day that support the Heads live, their self titled debut album was more successful than the Talking Heads release from that year. With hit singles Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love, they took the pop sensibilities of their other band with a 80s synth-pop infusion and some funk thrown in for good measure. The Tom Tom Club made an appearance in the groundbreaking concert film Stop Making Sense, treating the audience to a fantastic live version of Genius of Love. The Ting Tings should take a look at the movie, often described as “the Citizen Kane of concert films” for advice on giving the audience the greatest show on earth.

The similarities between the bands are numerous – both have a male drummer that provides a huge portion of their sound, both consist of a male-female duo that are the songwriting honchos behind the name, both make use of keyboards to pad out their sound (although the Tom Tom Club may have taken this a bit too far), both have a woman lead singer and guitarist, both were very successful in their own time, both infused pop with a mixture of rock and funk, both have slightly aggressive lead singers and on a more trivial note, they have a similar name.
Unfortunately, the story of the Tom Tom Club didn’t last long. After their first album, Chris and Tina blended back into Talking Heads which would go on to become one of America’s biggest bands of the decade and subsequent releases from their side project have gone unnoticed, apart from the usual die hard fans. Occasionally, they continue to perform the occasional live show, mostly in a America but have been spotted in the UK and Europe in recent years.

Whether the Ting Tings will go the same way as the Tom Tom Club is yet to be seen – their appeal is broad but will the restrictive nature of this uniqueness become their downfall? Can the aggressive Katie write another album of rocking pop songs? Will Jules support her with his drum kit and fancy pedals? Will they be able to evolve their sound, something the Tom Tom Club didn’t do? Either way, both bands have made a significant contribution to the history of popular music.

If you enjoyed making some shapes to That’s Not My Name in Studio recently, why not take a look at something similar that was lost in the pages but provides a great listen?

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 699