Tagged “gigs”

My Saturday night was spent with good friends, enjoying amazing music.

There was a heavy whiff of nostalgia about this gig for me. Jeff Mills is currently on a 30th anniversary tour of his mix album Live at the Liquid Room. I bought that album on cassette tape back then and was blown away by it. I subsequently saw him DJ in 1996. Since then I’ve experienced Jeff do his thing many times and in various places around the world. His sets are the stuff of legend!

Great gig abroad for four pals who were equally excited to be there!

Highlights for me included:

• the crackling pre-gig atmosphere: lovely ambient sounds followed by a fun audiovisual performance via motorised black panels that called to mind Close Encounters of the Third Kind;
• when Thom nimbly moved from standing mic to the piano for the chords at the end of All I Need;
• how beautiful the glockenspiel parts sounded throughout;
• Thom’s atmospheric solo effort on Exit Music and the applause from Colin; and
• the amazing The Daily Mail.

Went to see BadBadNotGood with Marty, Jenni and Zippy last night, and they were fantastic.

We braved -7° conditions to meet at Tennent’s Bar on Byres Rd where we watched Argentia beat Croatia in the World Cup semi-final. Then onto the QMU, which provided a real nostalgia hit – I think the last time we were there was to see Roni Size and Reprazent in the Brown Paper Bag era.

We wangled a standing position on the balcony which was ideal as we could see the band, the visuals (lovely 16mm and 35mm film projections created specially for the music) and generally hear things much better. Each band member – drummer, bassist, saxophonist and keyboard player – are outstanding musicians, and together they’re incredibly tight. Led by drummer Alex Sowinski’s good vibes on the mic, they finished off their tour hitting all the right notes to send us into Christmas on a high.

Last thing to mention is I have BadBadNotGood to thank for introducing me to the music of Arthur Verocai, via his amazing string arrangements on Talk Memory. And for that I’m very thankful!

In second year a nice school pal introduced me to The Cure when I was on an otherwise strict diet of rave tapes. Mixed Up with its dubby extended mixes sealed the deal. Shamefully haven’t yet seen them live so I’m at fever pitch for tomorrow’s gig at Bellahouston Park. Hopefully see some of you there!