Gigs of GIGS pt 2.

So I says to Mabel...

I went to see N.E.R.D and Chromeo.

I think this sums it up perfectly:

Which is pretty much what it was like during the N.E.R.D set. Lots of people jumping, getting kneed in the back by tiny people (and I'm not that tall myself), and according to my friend, nearly getting into a fight because some guy misheard what I absent-mindingly said about being scared of being elbowed in the face (he thought I wanted to elbow him in the face) and then me not noticing (accidentally) when he told me "I'd like to see you try that". Luckily he "mellowed out" during the first set and stood around glassy-eyed for the rest of the concert. I only found this out the next day... when we were at the Sydney Festival!

The sound was a bit... bad. My friend and I were close to the front of the stage, and it was pretty much booming music and fuzz. Pharrell's vocal was fairly clear, but I guess it isn't that important considering he pretty much is made of Charisma. (and then some). Watching him squint as he saunters around, finding people to sing to in the front row reminded me of the way a tiger toys with its prey - it's kind of hypnotic and in a strange, perverse way - slightly seductive. I'm pretty sure a few people fainted in the front row.

All in all, it was pretty fun. I enjoyed myself immensley and jumped along and sang/shouted along with the hits. In fact, most of the set list were just their hits, with only two songs from their new album (which I have yet to obtain!).

I think the highlight of the night was CHROMEO.

No Joke. These electro-funk maestros from Montreal, Canada are awesome live.

Yeah it's kind of kitsch and kind of 80's. But the allure of sleazy, super-elecro, guitar driven, tiny-drum playing, light up  turntable dudes playing supercool, superfun music is undeniable. Definitely will be seeing them again. So funky and awesome. The dance floor was just seething and squirming and shouting "two-step!" "two-step!"

They played all their hits, including Needy Girl, Mama's Boy, Fancy Footwork.... heaps of stuff. Plus they played a fair few numbers from their latest album Business Casual, including the aforementioned "Night By Night" which I DEFINITELY recommend watching in the youtube video up there.

 Dave-one, the guitarist and P-Thugg, the keyboard player, do a myriad of things including swapping instruments, busting percussion solos on their miniature drum kits, jamming out on cymbals, playing vocoder, slapping basses, playing scorching solos... truly they are a sight to behold!

A great gig. Good set from Tinnie Tempah (he did a rap over the Far East Movement's Like a G6) and I danced for a solid hour to the beats of BoyzNoise (he chucked in some ACDC riffs and Billie Jean bass and I was like waaaaah). The Faders were also DJ-ing during the breaks, dropping a lot of RnB and Rap and Crunk hits for the increasingly pumped up crowd. Awesome!

Gigs of GIGS pt 1.

Gotta love kicking off 2011 with lots of gigs. Here's a few of my hasty impressions from a few gigs I went to the past few days (part 1)

Thursday, 6th Jan - Hipstones (pictured above) supported by ORLY and Joanna and The Dusty Floor at the Basement in Circular Quay.

What an amazing show! The main and support acts were extremely polished - we're very lucky to have such talented artists and musicians in Australia. I had a few free tickets so I took along a few music-loving friends... needless to say they dug it immensely!

Joanna and The Dusty Floor were, at least in terms of music, quite an interesting mix of genres and styles. I could pick out bits of spy-soundtrack rock n' roll, a bit of shoe-gazey love song and some slightly spooky soul. While the band looked and sounded great, I felt that Joanna lacked confidence in her performance - which is a real shame considering how lovely and operatic her voice was. However, the backing band were pretty gnarly and obviously well rehearsed. I would definitely love to see them again!

http://www.myspace.com/johannaandthedustyfloor

ORLY followed up next and I was bobbing my head furiously to her set. While a lot of it was fairly straight forward neo-soul with a summery kind of vibe, her lyrics seem to come from a really honest place and she definitely has a strong voice. The band was excellent, providing taut, yet-laid-back grooves and, when needed, slinky and sultry backing for her "baby-making-soul" number "Sit Back" ). But suffice to say, I really enjoyed it. I've always loved that kind of music and there were some really choice beats that were getting the dance floor going! I had to rush, but I'll make sure next time I'm picking up that EP. There were some great originals in that set.

http://www.myspace.com/orlymusic

Alright! Now for the piece de resistance... The Hipstones.

What can I say? Ever since I was given their first album "Something's Gotta Start", the Australian (now living in New York) singer/musician/songwriter couple, Mark Palmer and Anthea White, blew away the audience at the basement. The full band, complete with horns, delivered a supersweet, super-tight, high octane set of jazzy, soulful numbers that showcased Anthea White's AMAZING vocal. I'm not exaggerating when I say AMAZING. It's like... kind of husky, but quite high, but it's also very soulful - it's kind of hard to describe since it's quite unique - you have to check it out. Mark also has an amazing voice (such range! I can't even think that high, let alone sing those notes!) - think Stevie Wonder with a lot of Smokey Robinson thrown in for good measure. Furthermore, they harmonise beautifully - creating a bed of really luscious, emotive harmonies to support each other.

It was amazing. People were dancing, there were some really gutsy and powerful solos from the horn sections and the music hit that sweet spot where it's simple and groovy enough to dance to, but there's these really touching moments in the songwriting and a really nice honesty that shines through.

You can tell the songs mean a lot to Mark and Anthea, and the band - you can really feel the love. Plus it helps that they're both extraordinarily charismatic and nice. here's a video from a gig they did in March 2010. You can also hit up their website for full mp3 streams of their albums. (Gotta love try before you buy!) I wish they were still based in Sydney so I can watch them all the time... but I wish them all the best in the big apple!


The Hipstones - Dreamers from Raymond Toms on Vimeo.

Anyways this is but PART 1 of my GIG round up.

Coming up next:

CHROMEO AND N.E.R.D AT THE HORDEN PAVILLION ON THE 7TH.

THE SYDNEY FESTIVAL - *GASP* ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT AND *GASP* CHARLIE WILSON AND THE DYNAMITES!

THE BIG DAY OUT 2011- 27th of Janurary.

Yep I'm ALL CAPPS kind of excited. Double-P.

Over-and-out. Colin.

SWAG

Hit up Borders today. A bit of swag!

The Rhodia paper is smooth, white and thick. Massive props to Dom for the recommendation - it'll probably come in handy one day as a travel notebook (or whatever, really).

Also picked up a set of Bicycle playing cards which I've been eyeing for a while. Hopefully it'll serve as motivation for me to start practicing and learning card magic again.

I bought a few CDs too. Including some stuff by Sara Bareilles.

It's a fantastic slice of acoustic, piano driven pop. I really like it. Especially the eigth track, Love On The Rocks with a really nicely constructed chord progression played by a grand piano and a guitar that oozes the electric warmth you only get with a slightly overdriven semi-hollow-body.

I've also gotten into the Cardigans again. They're this swedish pop band that over the period of a decade played everything from jaunty, jazzy indie pop to dark brooking country rock (and did it with STYLE! I must add). While I do like their early, "happy" pop stuff like Rise and Shine - I respect their versatility and willingness to try new things! Here's hoping they create a new album (their last one was a best of compilation released in 2008).

Anyways! That's been my New Years! How's yours?

p.s. I've been writing a few songs (for fun) with my perrenial writing buddy/super guitar friend. One a young Greaser's last will and testatement before a night-time knife fight (think 50's America, rock n' roll gangs, greasy pompadours, switchblades, fast cars and "birds") and the other is about fried chicken. Go figure :D.

The "little book"

'The Elements of Style' is possibly the most no-nonsense and effective grammar and writing guide available today (despite being first published  in 1919). The book's strength lies in its brevity and clarity. Content is broken up into several chapters outlining and explaining "elementary usage" rules followed by a few chapters on style and brevity. The edition I own has painted illustrations, which lends it a certain charm.

I don't think it's for everyone. Strunk's writing, while elegant, is drily authoritative, formal and slightly old-fashioned in tone. It isn't the friendliest book to read, but sometimes the best teachers are the strictest ones.

Vibin!

It's 7am on a Sunday, I'm about to go for a run and this comes on in my headphones. It's the remix from a J Dilla orchestral  tribute by the very talented Georgia Anne Muldrow.

2011

Happy New Year peeps!

Yesterday night pretty much summed up my entire year - food, close friends, music and fireworks on TV. Had some of the best nachos I had ever eaten (it was possibly the chunky lamb mince, four beans mix, olive sauce and copious amounts of cheese that did it) and sat around mellowing out.

Anyway!

Here's to an even more awesome year in 2011! Quite exciting.

Also I've discovered the joys of Bruce Springsteen, and yep, my favourite modern rock band remains the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl should be a role model for everyone I reckon or at least the ambassador for planet Earth when we inevitably get visited by an advanced alien-race of jelly fish.

He can introduce them to the power of music and then they'll help us master intergalactic travel and usher in the first great era of human-space travel.

Like I said. 2011 is going to be awesome! Look forward to playing more music/writing more stuff/doing more space travel and talking to jellyfish.