Mosher

I went out with my nephews last night to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club do their thing. The real occasion was young Tom's eighteenth birthday - which makes me feel very odd whenever I think about it. Surely it was only five minutes ago when he clung onto my leg, balancing on my foot as I walked through his house...

Anyway, the gig was excellent, both because the band really know what they're doing and because the moshpit was full of eager young bloods who liked nothing more than to throw themselves at each other with large smiles on their faces. The bouncer at the front was none too pleased but this only served to fuel their enthusiasm and it was a genuine delight to witness such exuberance - except when I was showered in beer or barged forcefully into the people behind me. This bloke was particularly crazy.

Hot Chip

I love Hot Chip. Their gigs are so joyful and uncomplicated. And their music is surprisingly rewarding for something that sounds at first listen like little more than pleasant pop. According to Last.fm they're my second favourite band, after Boards of Canada, and I'm not sure that isn't what you might call an historic anomaly (do you like the AN there? I thought you would). I think they might actually be my favourites these days - and that's something I've always found it almost impossible to pin down before. At least since I was a spotty teenager madly in love with AC/DC.

But I digress. I went to the Brixton Academy last night with my brother and watched Hot Chip do their geeky, funky, soulful thing. The sound was pretty poor, but the vibe was right on the button. This shot was taken during the show's climax - an encore of Ready For The Floor. It was utterly euphoric and completely fantastic.

65daysofstatic

Good gig last night - 65daysofstatic at Digital. They were very noisy but the system at Digital is so good there were barely any after effects, thankfully. 65days are post rock or math rock or experimental or any one of a dozen other labels, but the bottom line is that they're really quite good (how's that for a new sub-genre?) I must go to more gigs during this little career hiatus of mine...

Someone described the gig thus: "...fucking phenomenal... for half an hour. Reckon they should play really short sets. It's a bit like being wanked off by someone with a death grip without achieving orgasm... feels fucking great, then a bit sore, then you wish they'd vary their grip or something. But yeah, brilliant for 30 minutes or thereabouts." Nigel liked this description so much he nicked it for his review. I like it equally so I'm nicking it for here.