VV Brown @ ULU, 23rd November 2009

Is variety the spice of life?

London was the closing night of VV Brown’s headline UK tour – having already been to her gig in Northampton this was the second time I had the opportunity to see the show. It was, however, the first time I got to see her sister, Jay Brown, open the proceedings. Jay’s music is a lot more conventional than her sister’s, and consisted of her and her (slightly out of tune) guitar. I think there is some promise there but she really needs to work on her stage presence and interaction with the audience as it kind of felt like she was playing in her living room and she hadn’t noticed that there were actually hundreds of people there.

The Stow were still pretty good and I look forward to hearing them commercially release some material. They went down really well with the crowd (even bearing in mind that this was their home gig) and they should do really well if they can find a niche for their music,

The same comment might apply to VV Brown herself. Her set was identical to the gig in Northampton, including the Crying Blood reggae version (apparently she only played in Northampton and London) but minus the fist pumping, so I won’t delve into that here. Interestingly there was a review in The Times of her performance at ULU – while the reviewer acknowledged that she was a great live performer, they were concerned about her lack of focus in terms of genres and styles. Now, for me this is one of the strengths of VV’s music – there is such a variety that you can’t get bored of it and it really demonstrates her love of music as a whole rather than being symptomatic of any lack of clear direction. I strongly believe that this should count in VV’s favour and certainly makes her (for me) much more interesting than many of he current crop of UK artists. But the point about being difficult to classify is an interesting one as I can see that it might make the radio stations a bit unsure to do with her.

I have been lucky enough to see VV play live 9 times this year for various reasons, and this probably helped my understanding and appreciation of her different musical styles, It’s fascinating to me that an industry that all the commentators seem to agree is moving away from album sales and back towards singles still demands that artists should confirm to one single style on their records in order to succeed. Changes of musical direction from album to album or in ‘side projects' is allowed and even acclaimed (Arctic Monkeys spring to mind,) but not on one individual album. Go figure.

If you want plaudits or commercial success I suppose what it comes down to more fundamentally is defining, understanding and serving your target market – whether that be critics or radio stations or the record buying public themselves. People need to understand your product if you want it to sell. But I guess it all depends how much you want to sell and how much you want to make the music you want to make. I for one really hope that VV continues to cut her own path – if her target market is me then she is so far meeting her customer's expectations quite nicely thank you very much!

VV Brown's debut album Travelling Like The Light, is out now

Snow Patrol @ Royal Albert Hall, 24th November 2009

Paradise Lost

Snow Patrol have been around for 15 years. Who knew? Looking at the band today you can’t tell. To celebrate this fact (that they have been a band for 15 years I mean, not that they don’t look old enough be have been) they are on a somewhat unconventional tour.

It’s testament to the band’s confidence that they are touring without support – a solo show of two halves with an interval is very suited to the RAH but I can see how it might feel a little off in a conventional concert venue. The first half was very mellow, with some beautiful arrangements of their songs featuring a harp, a string section (who are apparently on loan from Elbow), brass and percussion. The lighting was amazing and really brought the venue to life in a magical way.

Shaggy dog haired lead singer Gary Lightbody‘s style really captivated the audience – he was the only constant presence on the stage, with all the others, including the rest of the actual band, coming on and off as the songs dictated. Gary joked with the audience, dealt with late comings in the same way as a stand up comedian, and burst forth with streams of consciousness about everything from his fear of burning down the RAH to Bill Oddie. He instructed the audience to sit back and relax in the all-seater venue and enjoy the mellow nature of the pre-interval music. And we did. The music was moving and the evening just felt really special. Highlights included a completely unplugged song, which was a masterclass in carrying the audience with you and we were hanging off every note.

After a very civilised interval (Haagan Daz is only £2.50 a tub at the RAH, which I for one think is a bit of a bargain) we returned to our seats in anticipation of the more upbeat anthems we had been building up to. The second section opened with the amazing pipe organ in the Hall making a really robust appearance for the opening. The impressing effect was spoilt slightly when all the other instruments came in as it just turned into a cacophony of noise (I suspect rehearsal had been with the keyboard) that just sounded a bit off. However, they brought it back with my highlight of the evening, a beautiful stripped down version of Run, which actually brought tears to my eyes. Lightbody’s voice is just so warm and true that it can wring gallons more raw emotion out of a single note than any of Leona’s vocal gymnastics can generate, however good her cover of that song is.

After that point I’m afraid that they lost me. Lightbody’s chatty style encouraged audience outbursts, culminating in a slightly embarrassing trip for him off stage into the audience to speak to a guy who had shouted out and sounded like he wanted to propose to his girlfriend. Unfortunately he was actually a fat drunk mad who didn’t make much sense. The ubiquitous James Cordon made an appearance to sing the female part of Set The Fire To The Third Bar, which the vast majority of the audience loved. I, however and probably somewhat grumpily, thought it was a bit unnecessary, Yes, he can sing OK, but so can most of the X-Factor wannabees, and I would have much rather seen a great singer performing than an OK one for comedy purposes. It probably didn’t help that I had seen (and enjoyed, I have to say) a similar “I can’t believe I’m here” routine from Cordon when he went on stage at the Concert for CARE only a couple of weeks before. I don’t mean to sound hard hearted and I’m very happy that he’s living his dreams, but you wouldn’t see me charging him £50 to watch me go up in a hot air balloon now would you. On your own time please…

That really knocked the evening off song for me, which was really a shame. A pleasant but slightly pointless sound-a-like cover version of Elbow followed, and I really felt at a disadvantage after that as I wasn’t hugely familiar with the Snow Patrol back catalogue. A great version of Chasing Cars helped towards the end but I was left with the sense of a fairly self indulgent outing for Mr. Lightbody.

All in all, good enough to make me want to invest in more of their material, but in a way I wish I had left in the interval. I must say that I was obviously in the minority – all the fans in the audience loved every single second of it and lifted the roof off the RAH with their applause. So a guess a job well done and maybe I'm being a bit overly harsh – I was just disappointed that it wasn’t quite as perfect as it was shaping up to be.

Snow Patrol’s greatest hits album, Up To Now, is out now

Mika @ Union Chapel, 18th November 2009

Little Noise, Big Impact

It seems to be the season for charity gigs at the moment. Hot on the heels of David Arnold's Concert for CARE and Gary Barlow's Children In Need extravaganza at the Royal Albert Hall comes Jo Whileys' annual series of concerts in aid of Mencap. What gives these 'Little Noise Sessions' an edge is the venue in which they take place. The Union Chapel is, as the name suggests, a church in Islington. It's quite square, has an upstairs balcony and amazing acoustics. The little noise element comes in to play as the acts all have to play unplugged.


Jo Whiley, as befitting her reputation as a champion of new music, always makes sure that there is some new talent on show as well as the big name draws (also known as 'bulking out the bill'). Tonight we were treated to the 16 year old Daisy Dares You, who was pretty good although I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to see her again (looks like Pixie Geldorf, talks like Birds of a Feather). Next up was Alex Gardner, who for reasons I can't quite fathom is part of the Xenomania stable (which includes Girls Aloud and Mini Viva). Maybe his usual sets are a bit more poppy but at the Union Chapel he came across as more of a traditional singer-songwriter, albeit accompanied by a band. He sounded pretty good to me but that's quite a crowded spot he's aiming for.


Due next to the stage was Paloma Faith, who I didn't know much about but was very intrigued to hear. Unfortunately she pulled out late on as she had apparently lost her voice, which left us with half an hour to get a cup of hot chocolate and take it back to our pew (yes really!!).

At this point you begin to wonder if the £44 (inc. booking fee) you paid for the ticket still seems like a good idea. Unlike last year, several of the Little Noise sessions haven't sold out, and I can only put that down to the relatively high cost of the ticket - yes, it's for charity but £44 is a lot of money, especially if the second biggest name on the bill doesn't turn up.

However all was not lost as it was the quire frankly astonishing MIKA who was headlining the bill. He chose to open with his biggest hit to date, in a move that was either brave or foolhardy. As it turned out it was neither but actually a stroke of full on, certified brilliance. Performing with Mika for the whole evening were a male vocal group called the King's Singers, who are an incredibly accomplished group (check out their website here) and sound like a cross between a clear-as-a-bell pipe organ and a barber shop quartet. In a good way.


Anyway, for the first half of Grace Kelly, Mika and the singers performed a capella building the mood and the tension until the res of the band kicked in. It sounded so fresh and full of life, which I think is the best description of Mika I could possibly make. He, the singers and the band performed a lovely unique set that move me seemlessly from goosebumps to dancing and back again. Mika's voice is fantastic and worked really well with the precision of the King's Singers, who incidently looked like they were having a great time. They gave special treatments to all of Mika's hits, including the new single Rain, Big Girls, Relax and We Are Golden, including an encore with the band on dustbin drums.


Mika's gigs seem to have a habit of leaving you feeling fantastic and this one was extra special, with the venue and the set up making the sound just that little more incredible. Somehow the £44 now feels like a pretty good deal.

Mika's second album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, is out now

Children in Need @ BBC TV Centre, 20th November 2009

Not really sure if this counts as a gig but as there was music and I was there, that’s good enough for me. I was lucky enough to get a spare ticket to the early evening session of Children in Need just the day before and it was very exciting to be in the same room as Sir Terry Wogan – the man is a living legend!!

Anyway, in terms of music there was actually quite a lot on offer. We had a quite turn from JLS who seemed to be singing live and seemed pretty good – the audience went a bit wild for them too. Actually, the audience probably went the most wild for John Barrowman singing and dancing around in his underwear, which was a bit more up my street too. The man can certainly sing and there’s not many guys that can jump around wearing only children in need boxers and songs without looking extremely unsexy, but he managed to pull it off. Westlife also performed and fair play to them, they can certainly sing live as well.

Taylor Swift sang Love Story, which sounded great, she has a fantastic voice. I have to say though that she is one of the thinnest people I have ever seen perform – I don’t know where she keeps her lungs, I can only assume that they are connected via see through tubes and kept somewhere back stage because there certainly isn’t enough space in her torso for them.

The newsreaders were up next, who sang a medley including Put A Ring On It, and were joined on stage by Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity. The newsreaders aren’t the best singers in the world it has to be said, but they sounded better in the studio than they did on the TV when I watched it back. Well done to them!

Unfortunately we were shuffled out when the news came on which was a shame as there were lots more bands to come, but watching it back it looks like most of them weren’t actually in the studio in London but joining from other concerts across the UK, so we didn’t do too badly. And they raised £20m for charity so I can’t really complain!

You can still donate to the 2009 Children In Need appeal here

Alesha Dixon & Elviin @ Shepherd's Bush Empire, 12th November 2009

The Boy Does Something

A day of torrential rain probably wasn’t the most auspicious start to my new part time career as a member of the Academy Street Team, but a little water never hurt anyone (much) and it meant I got to go to a gig that I wouldn’t have otherwise been to.

Elviin is a soulful singer/songwriter from London and was only confirmed in the support slot for Alesha Dixon a few days before the tour began. His music is mainly piano based (although he’s accompanied by an excellent band) and more traditional than the current 80s retro pop bandwagon, but to me anyway stands out a bit from his contemporaries because of the lyrics and the interesting beats. It difficult to have good stage presence when you’re sat behind a keyboard, but Elviin certainly interacted with the audience more confidently than when I saw him back in March supporting on the Gary Go / VV Brown co-headline tour. This is the one area I reckon he could improve on though – his songs are great and his voice is just nice to listen to (and I mean nice in a good way here, not just ‘nice’). Standout track for me is In Colour (which has been A listed on Radio 2 no less!) but Good Books, which I understand to be his next single, is also pretty hot. Things are looking bright for Elviin with his debut album due out next year, so I would urge you to catch him while you can!

I had only really come to see Elviin, so when Alesha came on it was a bit of an added extra. Although I’m not the biggest Alesha fan, the girl can certainly sing. And dance. At the same time. Impressive!

The production of her show was more akin to a larger stage, with a lot of choreography and backing dancers as well as singers. There was also a couple of costume changes (including hats – woo hoo!), and lots of sequins. I was actually surprised how much of the set I knew, including a small homage to her previous band Mis-teeq with a mega mix of their greatest hits. The venue wasn’t quite full and there was quite a lot of kids there who looked a bit tired by the end of the evening, but the crowd got really into songs like The Boy Does Nothing and Lipstick, and Alesha seemed to get a bit emotional about it all.

So a nice surprise to finish the evening off. And all for the cost of 90 minutes work giving out leaflets. Nice.

Elviin’s debut album is due out in January.

VV Brown @ The Roadmender Northampton, 6th November 2009

Travelling like the Northampton light

Having first seen VV Brown on a co-headline tour with Gary Go back in March, it was great to see her headlining her own tour, and even better to see her in her hometown of Northampton. And it was really nice to see how she has grown in confidence and performance since her sound issues at Bush Hall...

The venue in Northampton was full of friends and family, not least because the opening act (which I missed) was Jay Brown, VV's little sister. I arrived about half way through the second support act, The Stow, who won their place on tour via a competition in the Metro. The Stow seem to be a great new band in a style that I'm struggling to categorise - hip hop ska possibly? Anyway, they had 2 lead singers which in itself is quite unusual, and they complimented each other greatly. Their music was really upbeat and performed very slickly with great audience engagement - check out their myspace page and have a listen.

Anyway, it was time for the main event and after a short intro with the radio dial tuning effect VV opened with my favourite track from her album, Everybody. There's something about the beat in that song which is particularly awesome. She came onto a stage that was set as a dressing room wearing a HUGE mask covered in feathers and 'striking a pose'. The set included all the main songs from Travelling Like The Light, which is a great album that for some reason in the year of young female singers has failed to capture the imagination of the UK public in the same way as Lady Gaga, La Roux or even Little Boots. I can only put it down to a lack of radio play (shame on you Jo Wiley - support your Northampton brethren!) and that the songs are less obviously fashionable as the rest. VV's voice is pretty amazing, as she showcased with a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and miles better than any of the rest I mentioned.


VV's songs sound great on her album but really come alive in the flesh and you need to see them performed live to get the best out of them. VV herself seems to have got a whole lot more self assured since I first saw her back in March, and interacts a lot more comfortably withe the audience. It obviously meant a lot to her to be back in Northampton, which came out in an air-punching version of her biggest hit to date, Shark in the Water, when she urged the audience to believe in what they wanted to achieve. And it wasn't actually as cheesy as it sounds!

I have to make a mention of the fantastic band that VV plays with - Lewis on guitar, newcomer Charlie on the keyboard, John on drums and the magnificent music director Michael on bass. They are fantastic and also lovely people while being responsible for helping VV's songs jump up and grab you by the ears.

We were treated to the reggae version of Crying Blood as well as a fantastic cover version of Viva La Vida by Coldplay [should anyone of influence ever reads this PLEASE record it and put it on YouTube or something!!!].


It sounds like VV is off to the States in the new year so I was pleased to get my 'Quick Fix' in before she's off. From the sound of her new song Caroline, which is pretty aggressive and a slightly different sound again I have high hopes for album number 2.

VV Brown's debut album, Travelling Like The Light, is out now

Alphabeat @ Heaven, 4th November 2009

Heaven is a place on earth

This could really be known as the "not a-ha" review as I also had tickets to see a-ha at the O2 on the same evening. However, I saw a-ha play earlier in the year at the iTunes festival, so I stuck with Alphabeat who were playing at Heaven, the venue for G-A-Y now the Astoria is no more.



The Scandinavian band's second album was due to be released this month in the UK hence (I presume) this mini tour of the UK. Unfortunately, the album has been put back to next year sometime, which made the set somewhat unfamiliar as they were showcasing a lot of their new material. Heaven is one of those medium-sized venues that feels more like a club (which it is usually), and it's quite long and thin which didn't really help the atmosphere as we ended up miles from the stage.


But hits like Fascination and new song The Spell helped to lift the gig and there was certainly some dancing at the back even if the front was apparently subdued. Stine has a beautifully simple voice, and Anders' crazy dancing made for a fun evening all round.


Alphabeat's second album, The Spell, is now due out in February

Concert for CARE @ Brixton Academy, 2nd November 2009

Giving is good

Concert for CARE was arranged by the record producer David Arnold in aid of the charity CARE International. A huge number of performers supported the cause by gracing the stage of the Brixton Academy. A quick word here for the stage managers and stage hands as they had a huge number of changes to make and did a fantastic job.

Anyway, to the entertainment. There was too much to possibly cover it all here so I won’t try. My top highlights in no particular order were:

GARY BARLOW
The man is a legend!! A large proportion of the crowd were only there to see The Barlow, so the atmosphere was electric. It was interesting to compare his performance to that of Robbie Williams a couple of weeks ago at The Roundhouse. Although Robbie is a showman, Gary’s voice is so much stronger and when he sang Back For Good it was just utterly amazing. He had a great connection with the audience and was actually looking in better shape than Robbie. Gary Barlow, we salute you.

Davids Arnold and McAlmont performing ‘Yes’
I LOVE this song and McAlmont was a surprise guest who wasn't on the bill. It was a fab performance, he was wearing a fabulous flowery shirt / tie / white suit combo and his voice is absolutely clear as a bell. Him singing anything is great but that song is just amazing.

David Walliams as Des Kaye from Little Britain ripping off Mark Ronson’s trousers
They were playing 'hunt the sausage' (wicky woo!). Mark Ronson looked actually in fear for his life and had to borrow some trousers off the lead singer of the Rumble Strips to wear for his set later on. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious it was.

The Kaiser Chiefs
The Kaisers finished off the evening and dud an amazing job. To be right at the front and not be crushed to death for a set like that was brilliant in its own right. Seeing a band who are more used to playing arenas and stadiums rather than somewhere like the Brixton Academy was quite an experience. They played with such huge energy but sounded polished and just generally great. Ruby and I Predict a Riot were just 2 of the songs that made me jump around and go home happy.

Damien Rice singing a completely unplugged version of Cannonball ...
...without a mic! I don't know what it sounded like from the back but from the front it was just like heartbreak.

James Cordon and his mate Sam
James Cordon sang Nobody Does it Better and I have to say that he has a pretty good voice! The crowd got 100% behind him and we were all pretty delighted with such an unexpected treat.

I'm not sure this really captures everything as it was a fantastic evening and I think a fun time was had by all. Hopefully they raised a load of cash for a great cause!!

You can find out more about CARE International on their website - http://www.careinternational.org.uk/