Ever been to a music gig? Want to go again? Want to know who is worth seeing?
Music gigs and festivals is a blog dedicated to telling you where and when the coolest bands are playing in NY and the UK. In addition to this I will also be sharing reviews about gigs and festivals I have attended which are definitely worth checking out.
Laura Marling is an English Folk singer from Hampshire. This talented young singer can not only sing beautifully, but she also plays a variety of instruments including the guitar and the piano.
Marling first hit the music scene when she was a member of original Noah and the Whale line up. Since parting with the band, Marling focused on her single career and has to date released two albums; "Alas, I cannot Swim," and "I Speak Because I Can."
Laura Marling has, over the years, accumulated quite the fan base. Don't be put off by Laura Marling's shy and timid appearance - her vocal ability and sweet melodies will have you enrapt. Winner of a Brit Award and NME Award, and a successful tour under her belt, this artist is definitely someone you should check out.
Lana Del Rey is certainly making a name for herself as an artist.
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, most notably known for her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Similar artists to Lana Del Rey are Marina and the Diamonds and Azealia Banks.
Lana Del Rey hit it big when she put a song "Video Games"onto the internet. After the song went viral, it was released as a single in October. Following the release of the single, Lana Del Rey released her debut album "Born To Die" in January 2012. This album proved to be a great success, with it reaching number one in seven countries.
Lana Del Rey has proven to be just as good live as she is on radio. Her unique and distinct voice only adds to the mysterious persona that she portrays during her shows. With the success of her album and high praise for her live performances, it comes as no surprise that tickets to her show sell out fast. I therefore urge you to move fast if you want to get hold of tickets.
Tour dates:
15th June. Victoria Park - London, UK
21st June. Seaclose Park - Isle of Wight, UK
23rd June. Hackney Marshes - London, UK
I am a huge fan of this band, however since the release of their second album "Wall Of Arms" in 2009, The Maccabees have been relatively quiet in terms of new material.
The Maccabees, a five piece indie rock band from London, UK first got noticed with their debut single "X-Ray" from their debut album "Colour It In." Although, like mentioned earlier, this band has been quiet, they have recently announced they will be releasing their third album "Given to the Wild" on 9th January 2012.
Don't let their lack of new material put you off though. The Maccabees have still been performing a lot over the last year and have been the support act for a number of bands including Bombay Bicycle Club and The Drums. The Maccabees this year have been playing a number of warm-up gigs and have thus far proven to be better than ever. Most of their warm-up gigs were sell outs, and so I would definitely suggest buying tickets for their gigs asap.
In terms of their actual gig I can tell you it will definitely be a hugely energetic show with a lot of crowd surfing, mosh pits and sweating! You have been warned!
Tour Dates
14th June. Pembrey Country Park - UK
24th August. Reading Festival - Reading, UK
25th August. Bramham Park - Leeds, UK
Gotye, otherwise known as Wouter De Backer, is originally from Belgian but grew up in Australia from the age of 2. He is both a singer and songwriter and to date has released three albums; "Boardface," "Llike Drawing Blood," and "Making Mirrors."
Although Gotye has achieved a great deal of success in Australia, he has yet to really make it mainstream in the US or UK. This will surely change however as he follows the success of his single "Somebody That I Used To Know" with his 2012 world tour.
As a live performer Gotye has received many rave reviews for his great voice and use of amazing visuals. I certainly will be looking to see Gotye live in the future, and I suggest you do too.
Tour dates:
25th September. Radio City Music Hall - NYC
27th September. Williamsburg Park - NY
12th November. HMV Hammersmith Appollo - London, UK
15th November. Manchester Appollo - Manchester, UK
Coldplay have been one of those bands that I have been desperate to see live for quite some time now. I have previously posted about this band back in April (Coldplay).
First on stage were the support acts; Robyn and Rita Ora. Although I only caught the end of Rita Ora's set I was impressed by both her onstage presence and vocal ability. The same could not be said for Robyn however. Having heard a number of Robyn's songs before, I was interested to see how she would be live. Sadly the capacity of the Emirate Stadium in North London, UK seemed to great for her. She worked the stage well but her songs did little to work the sell out crowd. Another thing I was surprised/shocked about was Robyn's choice to cover a Coldplay song. Overall I would say Robyn's performance was very disappointing and one which I would not repeat again.
Support Act: Robyn
So the crowd were ready for Coldplay. The anticipation for the bands arrival was high - the back to the future theme blared out from the speakers and the stage screens lit up - out walked the band and the crowd went wild.
The set list for the 4th June show was: Hurts Like Heaven, In My Place, Mylo Xyloto, Lovers in Japan, The Scientist, Yellow, Violet Hill, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Princess of China, Up In Flames, Warning Sign, Dont Let it Break Your Heart, Viva La Vida, Charlie Brown and Paradise.
Encore; Us Against the World, Speed of Sound (ft Simon Pegg on Harmonica), Clocks, Fix You, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.
What was great about this show was the level of interaction between the crowd and Chris Martin. His constant jumping around the stage and continual forcing of the crowd to 'sing along' seemed to make the crowd even more pumped. To say he had the entire sell out crowd in his hand would be an understatement.
In addition to Coldplay's great vocal and instrumental performance, was the stage and visual effects. Upon entry of the stadium, each person received an Xylobracelet which we were told to wear on our writs for the duration of the show. Throughout the show each Xylobracelet lit up in various colours which made the atmopshere within the stadium even more awesome and unreal. Despite the brilliance of bracelets, this was by no means all Coldplay had planned for the night. There were fireworks, confetti, inflatable balls, and even a surprise appearance from Simom Pegg who played the harmonica during the bands encore performance of Speed of Sound.
Overall I would say if you can, GO and see them live. I had an absolutely awesome night. I was fortunate enough to find a great spot on the pitch allowing me to see everything really well. However I will say this is definitely one of those gigs that whether you are seated right at the very back or at the front, you are still in for a great night.
I have seen many great bands perform over the years. For every gig that I go to I go through the same feelings of excitement and anticipation beforehand. I love to see how each gig varies by the type of crowd it attracts, who is supporting, how good the band is live, and whether they can work a crowd or not.
I have experienced many gigs, from moshing to the Fratellis, standing in an intimate gig watching The National, to standing in a crowd of 100,000 to watch Faithless. Despite all these great experiences however there are the occasional disappointments, one being when I saw Kate Nash live at Glastonbury.
I really liked Kate Nash's debut album "Made of Bricks" as it included many great songs like Birds and Foundations. After the release of this album, Kate Nash continued to release a number of great tracks and personal favorites like Merry Happy and Mouthwash. However after the tour of her first album, it was reported that Kate Nash had a "proper breakdown." Since her return at the end of 2009, Kate Nash seems to have not only changed her appearance, but the style of her songs. I am not really keen on her new songs or her second album "My Best Friend is You."
When I saw Kate Nash live she mostly sang songs from her second album which was the first disappointment for me. Next, I disliked how Kate Nash constantly swore and repeatedly told the crowd to wake up, and at one point even told us to not be so "F****** shy" - not the best way I feel to work the crowd!! In addition to this, I found her performance very uncomfortable to watch as she seemed to shout her songs, rather than sing them.
The Vaccines are an English indie rock and from London who released their debut album "What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?" in 2011. If you are unfamiliar with The Vaccines, than similar bands include the Drums, Arctic Monkeys and The Maccabees.
The Vaccines got their first big break in August 2010 when they released their demo "If You Wanna" to YouTube. The song immediately received huge praise from people, including Zane Lowe. In addition to this, the record was named "Hottest Record In the World" on August 2010.
The Vaccines announced earlier this year that their second album would be released after the summer when "we're ready." The new album has been reported to be more "intimate and close than their debut album."
This band have received great reviews for their live performances. So far, The Vaccines have toured with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, and performed at a number of festivals including Leeds and Reading. This is definitely a band to check out.
Tour Dates:
2nd June. Field Day - Victoria Park, london, UK
10th June. Civic Hall - Wolverhampton, UK
24th June. Isle Of Wight Festival - Newport
29th June. Heaton Park - Manchester, UK
7th July. T In The Park - Kinross, UK
11th July. The Eden Project - St Austell, UK
25th August. Reading Festival - Reading, UK
26th August. Leeds Festival - Leeds, UK
For more information regarding tickets and tour dates check out: the vaccines
