Zola Jesus

This Gothic rock singer is definitely worth checking out.

I will say however, this gig should be avoided if you dislike deep and meaningful songs, aka what many refer to as depressing music! I'm personally a huge fan of 'meaningful' music and so when I came across Zola Jesus I was certainly not deterred. I will add though that Zola Jesus is quite out there/ quirky!

Many have labeled Zola Jesus' music as Gothic, however when asked she explains her goal is to create something new and avoid the limitation of getting 'labeled.' There is no doubt however that Nika Roza Danilova (the singer of Zola Jesus) has incorporated a certain degree of darkness and horror into her songs.

When she was younger, Nika trained in Opera singing, which certainly comes across strongly in her songs through her very distinct, powerful and even haunting voice. Don't be put off however, this is by no means a bad thing. The use of her strong vocals make her songs become even more passionate and powerful to the listener. 

Zola Jesus gigs leave you with the feeling of mystery which I feel perfectly reflects the tone of her songs. Also  with her years of opera training it is clear to see why Zola Jesus has such a great voice when singing live.

Tour dates:
10th May. Solomon R. Guggenheim - NYC
12th July. Latitude Festival 2012 - Suffolk, UK

For further details regarding Zola Jesus' US and Australian tour dates check out: http://www.songkick.com/artists/2373357-zola-jesus/calendar

The Kooks

I love, love, love The Kooks!

I saw this band live last year and had a great time. The Kooks are an indie pop band from Brighton, UK and first hit the music scene in 2004. The Kooks have to date released three albums "Inside In/ Inside Out," "Konk" and "Junk of the Heart."

Popular songs by The Kooks include She Moves In Her Own Way, Shine On, Oo La, Seaside, Do Ya Wanna and Naive.

I saw this band in Hyde Park London where they were one of the main acts (other acts included The Killers) to perform at the Hard Rock Calling. Due to them playing in a Park the atmosphere was unreal. Luke Pritchard (lead singer) is not only a great singer with a sexy voice, but a great energetic performer who has the ability to get the entire crowd singing and dancing to all their songs. With their collection of feel good songs, it comes to know surprise that The Kooks have attracted a large fan base over the years. With this in mind I would therefore suggest you buy tickets to see this awesome British band soon as tickets will sell fast.

Tour dates:
27th May. Northern Lights - Clifton, NY
29th May. Rumsey Playfield - Central Park, NYC
20th May. Rumsey Playfield - Central Park, NYC
7th September. Wembley Arena - London, UK (supporting Noel Gallagher)

For more information regarding tickets and their North America and Europe tour dates check out; http://www.songkick.com/artists/349047-kooks/calendar?page=1

Coldplay

You either love them or hate them. I absolutely love this band.

Coldplay, an alternative rock band from London, are one of my all time favorite bands. They have achieved great success since they first formed together back in 1996. To date they have won 6 Brit Awards, 4 MTV awards, and 7 Grammy Awards. This band is one of the world's best selling music artists, with over 55 million records sold worldwide. 

Coldplay have released a number of albums including: 'Parachutes,' 'A Rush of Blood to the Head,' 'X&Y' and 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.' Coldplay's recently released fifth album "Mylo Xyloto" has proven to be a great success, with it being the best selling rock album in the UK, and featuring the best selling rock single "Paradise." 

Although I have never seen Coldplay live I have been fortunate enough to get tickets to one of their London shows this summer. I would certainly urge you to see them if you have the chance. Although many people complain that Coldplay try to be the next U2 I would have to disagree. Coldplay writes amazing philosophical material and perform with so much energy and attack that their live performances are truly brilliant. Although Chris Martin has been labeled in the past as too geeky and controlling, their is no question he has tremendous ability to captivate the entire audience and have them all begging to hear more.

Tour dates  
May 29th. Ricoh Arena - Coventry, UK
June 1st. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 2nd. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 4th. Emirates Stadium - London, UK
June 7th.  Stadium of Light - Sunderland,  UK
June 9th. Etihad Stadium - Manchester, UK
June 10th.  Etihad Stadium - Manchester, UK
Aug 3rd. IZOD Center - East Rotherford, NJ
Aug 4th. IZOD Center - East Rotherford, NJ


For more information regrading the rest of their European and N.Americanhttp://www.tourtracker.com/artist/coldplay/1402140 tour and tickets check out:

Alabama Shakes

I have only recently come across this band - but they are very cool.

Alabama Shakes are an American rock band from Alabama. The band consists of Brittany Howard (lead singer), Heath Fogg (guitarist), Zac Cockrell (bassist) and Steve Johnson (drummer).

In September 2011, Alabama Shakes released a four song EP Alabama Shakes which gained them a huge amount of attention. This band has been referred to as a band to watch out for in 2012 and after hearing their material I would certainly agree.

Although I have yet to see them live myself, there is huge hype for this band and their performances have received some incredible reviews. I am going to try and buy a ticket - I would encourage you to do the same.

Tour dates:
3rd May. Electric Brixton - London, UK
9th May. King Tut's Wah Hut - Glasgow, UK
10th May. Manchester Methodist Central Hall - Manchester, UK
11th May. HUMV Institute - Digbeth, UK
21st May. Roseland Ballroom - NYC
22nd May. Roseland Ballroom - NYC
6th July. T in the Park - Kinross, UK
4th September.  O2 Academy - Oxford, UK
5th  September. Concorde 2 - Brighton, UK
.
For more information regarding tickets and the rest of their N.American and European tour dates check out http://www.songkick.com/artists/4601908-alabama-shakes/calendar?page=1

Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor is an anti folk/indie singer and songwriter from New York, US.

Similar artists to Regina Spektor are Ingrid Michaelson, Kate Nash, and Marina and the Diamonds. It is not uncommon to hear Spektor's music feature in a number of movies and popular US television shows such as My Sister's Keeper, Grey's Anatomy, and How I Met Your Mother.

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to see Regina Spektor live in Birmingham when she was touring around the UK. As a big fan of her songs I was very excited to see her live. Something that stood out to me the most was her ability to use a broad vocal range. This not only separates her from other singers, but makes her songs so much more original and interesting to listen to.  

It was a very chill night of listening to live music. Although this gig didn't rank high on the list with the likes of Ben Howard and Mumford and Sons, I would still recommend seeing her live. You won't be left disappointed.

 Tour dates:
15th May. United Palace Theater - NYC.

For more information regarding tickets and her N. American tour check out: http://www.ticketmaster.com/Regina-Spektor-tickets/artist/959782

The Subways

The Subways are an indie/ alternative rock band from the UK.

Although this band has been around for a while, they have yet to really hit mainstream. Don't let this deter you from seeing them however. To date they have released three albums, "All or Nothing," "Young For Eternity" and "Money and Celebrity," and have been frequent performers at festivals such as Reading and Leeds. 

The subways, made up of Billy Lunn, Charlotte Cooper, Josh  Morgan are certainly known for their energetic gigs. This is a gig where you can be promised lots of crowd surfers, an intense mosh pit and lots of very hot and sweaty dancing fans. I would definitely suggest seeing this band live, as they can always be relied upon to put everything into their performances, whether it be for a large festival crowd or a small sold out intimate gig.

Tour dates:
27th April. Limelight - Belfast, UK
29th April. Cardiff University Students Union - Cardiff, UK
1st May. The Old Firestation - Bournemouth, UK
2nd May. Middlesbrough Empire - Middlesbrough, UK
2nd May. Kasbah - Coventry, UK
3rd May. Kasbah - Coventry, UK
6th May. The Liquid Room - Edinburgh, UK
8th May. Ritz Manchester - Manchester, UK
10th May. 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London, UK
30th May. The Forum - Hatfield, UK

For information regarding tickets and the rest of their European tour dates check out:http://www.songkick.com/artists/115847-subways/calendar?page=1

The Naked and Famous Review

 A great night overall.

I have been a huge fan of this band for quite some time, so  I was ecstatic to get tickets to their sold out show at Terminal 5 in NYC. For more information about the The Naked and Famous check out my earlier post about them. 

Supporting the Naked and Famous were Now, Now and Vacationer. Due to prior commitments I only arrived in time to see the last few tracks from Vacationer's set. I cannot deny, however good I felt this band was live, they did remind me too much of Vampire Weekend.

As hard as the support acts tried, the crowd were definitely only there to see one act; the headline. The eruption of cheers from the crowd as The Naked and Famous appeared on stage from a haze of smoke only confirmed this. By starting their set with the first track (All of This) from their debut album "Passive Me, Aggressive You," the crowd immediately leapt into an excited frenzy.

Particularly great performances from the night were "Girls Like You" and "Punching Dream." The atmosphere in the sell out venue was one of euphoria, with the entire crowd singing and dancing along to all their songs.

Although this band said very few words during the night, the crowd seemed not to care at all. Their enthusiastic and incredibly upbeat performances with intense strobe lighting proved to be the perfect combination for the crowd to 'rave.' 

The Naked and Famous performed 14 tracks during their show and ended with the popular single "Young Blood." This gig was a lot of fun and I would certainly recommend you go and check them out.

For upcoming tour dates check out: http://www.tourtracker.com/artist/the-naked-and-famous/848193/

Guest blogger: Erix Infante - Arctic Monkeys & The Black Keys Review

 Recently I saw The Black Keys in concert accompanied by the Arctic Monkeys. Both
bands are a personal favorite of mine, but I was unaware as to what kind of show both
bands would put on. Since their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm
Not the Arctic Monkeys have held priority on my itunes library. Prior to a couple of years
ago I couldn’t have told you much about The Black Keys and what they brought to the
table. Luckily with their incredibly popular Brothers album, I was able to dive head first
into their soulfully dirty Midwest rock! Entering the arena I was positively clueless as to
what I would be expecting. But as soon as the Arctic Monkeys took the stage it was
evident that I about to hear some real rock and roll! Alex Turner and his band mates
brought everything but the kitchen sink to the stage, and worked the crowd perfectly.
Fans were screaming for an encore before they even left the stage. The British rock
instantly took a hold of everyone, which created a rather rowdy concert experience, and it
was amazing! For anyone who is on the fence with this band I highly recommend
purchasing a ticket because the amount of pure excitement is worth every penny.

 

When The Black Keys took the stage here in Columbus, the Ohio natives made any last
fans jump to their feet. Since the band is only made up of Dan Auerbach (guitar and
vocals), and Patrick Carney (drums and vocals) I was interested to see if they could
produce the same great sound they do on their albums, but live. The only way I can
describe the way they played that night is to imagine yourself drinking a 5th of whiskey,
don’t shower for a couple of days, and then pick up a guitar and play until your fingers
bleed. The crowd was ecstatic from the first chord to the last. While most songs were
from their newest album El Camino, they were able to mix in a great handful of their
older bluesy songs. Both bands had me fully involved from their first song to their last.
Their stage performance was bar none, and made everyone feel as if they were playing
just from them. I highly recommend everyone go see either of these bands in concert,
because they both remind you of what real rock and roll should be and sound like! So go
to your nearest liquor store, grab a bottle of Jack, and play that music loud!

The Black Keys Tour Dates
28th July. Catalpa Festival - NY
24th August. Leeds Festival - Leeds, UK
26th August. Reading Festival - Reading, UK

For more information regarding tour dates and tickets check out: http://www.theblackkeys.com/shows

Ben Howard Review

An unbelievable performance. Ben Howard certainly lived up to expectation.

The support was Willy Mason (see link for review).

The sold out gig was held at Bowery Ballroom (NYC) which is a great venue in terms of intimacy and atmosphere. The crowd, unsurprisingly, pretty young - made up of mostly twenty/ thirty year olds - were all there to see one guy, the folk singer from Devon.

There is no doubt that Ben Howard's popularity has soared after the release of his singles "The Wolves" and "Keep Your Head Up." With the release of his album"Every Kingdom" in the US yesterday there is no doubt his fan base will continue to grow.

As soon as Howard stepped onto the stage he was an instant hit. His obvious charm and genuine shock and excitement to play in front of a sell out crowd in "The Big Apple" was clear and endearing to see. Not only were his vocals flawless but he was hilarious and had the whole crowd begging to hear more.

The highlight of the night for me was when he played "The Wolves." From the level of cheers he received when he began singing this song, it was apparent it was the crowds fav too! His ability to interact with the crowd particularly stood out during this song when he had the entire room singing back to him "love, love, love."

A definate must see. You would be mad to skip this gig. Get tickets now - its a must!!!

For tour dates check out my previous post: http://musicgigsnfestivals.blogspot.com/2011/12/ben-howard.html

Willie Nelson

 

This American singer and song writer is one of the most recognized artists in country music. 

Although I am not a huge fan of country music, I am a huge fan of Willie Nelson. Anyone who can cover Coldplays single "The Scientist" as well as he does, deserves a chance in my eyes! 

Willie Nelson has proved to have had a very long and successful career. To date, Nelson has released over 60 studio albums and been regarded as influencing the "new country, and alternative coutnry movments of the 1980s and 90s."  His first album,"And Then I Wrote" was released in 1962 and featured the songs "Touch  Me," "The Part Where I  Cry," and "Three Days." 

Despite being 78, Willie Nelson can still put on a great show. There is no question that this country singer - usually seen rocking the long braids, bandanna, and cowboy hat -  knows what he is doing. With his endless list of great tracks and incredibly strong but unique vocals, you can be sure of having a fun night. I will add though, his gigs usually sell out, so if you want to buy tickets I would do so soon. 

Tour dates:

May 13th. UPAC - Kingston, NY

May 16th. The Wellmont Theatre - Montclair, NJ

May 17th. The Wellmont Theatre - Montclar, NJ

For more details about his N. America tour, and tickets check out: http://www.tourtracker.com/artist/willie-nelson/1001454