A BLOG ABOUT THINGS I LEARN. BASICALLY. I respect copyright and will be happy to remove any photo the holder wishes me to remove. Please email whatstanleysays@gmail.com if you own an image you wish removed.

Monday 24 January 2011

METRONOMY, 23rd JANUARY '11

Whilst this weekend saw me devouring enough food to sustain a baby elephant for a week [standard at Greek parties/dinners, of which I attended two], it was washed down nicely with a giant gulp of LED Formation lights and incredibly catchy synthy refrains in the form of Devon/London veterans Metronomy.

A far cry from the ten-strong dribble that attended a gig five years ago at the then Med Bar in the Custard Factory, Metronomy commanded the stage and controlled the crowd like Derren Brown on a particularly good day but with better sound effects.

Opening with an old favourite, probably Back on the Motorway or Holiday [memory loss due to Captain Morgan, you bad man], we were immediately drawn in as the band bobbed and harmonized their way through a set of past, present and future gems.  Memories such as You Could Easily Have Me made an unexpected but welcome appearance complete with saxophone solo, followed by songs from the second wave including the much loved and widely re-mixed Heatbreaker.  Interspersed with new tunes from forthcoming album The English Riviera maintaining the ever familiar electronic hum and drum of Metronomy's signature sound with hints of new-found experimental chord progressions and brilliantly daring harmonies, suffice to say everyone left the venue in a mad scurry to scour the internet for a sneak peak. Favourite new tracks include We Broke Free and She Wants; definitely justification for spending.

They don't hover on stage, but if they did I'd be pretty excited.


Support came from Birmingham's own solo 'Electronic Musician'  Seams (James Welch) who produced club-worthy tracks single-handedly on stage coming up for no air until the final button was pushed, and London/New Zealand based Connan Mockasin who sounded like mélange of late nineties Nirvana in a sixties timewarp. Surprising but incredibly contageous and well worth a listen.

METRONOMY
SEAMS
CONNAN MOCKASIN

Wednesday 12 January 2011

HAPPY NEW YOIK

GOSH.
It certainly has been a while since I have had enough new knowledge to attempt to write something interesting on this page, and since I last wrote I have seen Snow, Christmas, New Year, New York and New Years' Resolutions all fly past me in a speedy cloud of candy canes and marshmallows. [Not True]

It would seem, therefore, that I should have learnt a lot during this month of festivities;
but in all honesty I coldn't tell you whether it is enough to fill a Christmas Stocking or an entire Grotto.  Here begins my list in an attempt to reveal just what the bloody hell I've been doing all this time:

ONE] Surprises really are one of the greatest things to have been created on this earth, right up there with
         electricity and make-up remover. [except for instances like I'm actually a man. Surprise! in which case it
         moves considerably lower down the list. Thanks Jerry Springer] This is because:
               a] it flicks some 'childhood switch' in peoples' brains and reverts them to the age of five, which is
                   mostly very endearing. [It is not however OK to take this as an opportunity to squeal like a pig.]
               b] thinking you're getting speakers for Christmas and actually getting a macbook adds ten points to
                   your answer to the On a scale of one to ten, how good was your Christmas Day? question.
               c] if you're having a bad day, a surprise can make it considerably better.  If you're having a good day
                   a surprise will make you feel like that homeless man with the voiceover voice now he's a celeb, if he
                   received a cheque from Bil Gates. [that's pretty happy].


This is a pretty good 'surprise face', although I'm not sure the surprise involved sweets, or a Mac.

TWO] The limbo time after Christmas and before New Years' Eve can be horrendously boring. UNLESS YOU GO
          TO NEW YORK. [and unless you've been playing a five-day game of monopoly]  Without sounding clichéd,
           I had a brilliant time being a tourist during these days.  I had my camera in my hand twenty four hours a
           day, ordered chips with everuything and said 'wow' an awful lot.
           That being said, we had a trusty 'non-touristy' guide in the form of Julia Krivonos who took my sister and I
           round Brooklyn and other places- like American Apparrel. [1oo% not lying. I wish I was.]
           Highlights had to be walking past Backstreet Boys performing a few hits [debateable] on-stage in Times
           Square and seeing the beautiful 3D light projection show on the building opposite the Rockerfeller Centre.
          [during which time we saw a lady get knocked over by a car. Not so good. She got up though and was
          taken to hospital, whilst dancing ball-balls were singining on a skyscraper.]  I did however learn that:
                a] it is probably not a good idea to learn to ice skate in central park - in the festive season - whilst two
                    year olds are pirouetting around you.  I'd also suggest you bring your own skates if you have them. 
                    The ones I rented have left a lovely hole in my foot. Incredibly fun though!
                b] it is probably a very good idea to take a real life camera rather than a phone.  Here are some I took
                    though, quality aside:

There was a lot of snow. I didn't want to sit down anyway so..

A good example of a 'surprise!' face.
there's more HERE . [not that many really]

THREE] New Years' Resolutions are only worth aiming for if they are remotely realistic.  That's not always
             particulary fun though. [lets face it, Jude Law is getting married soon, again, to someone who is not
             any of us. IIt's time to let go.]. So I'll leave you with mine.  I'm not saying whether they are realistic
             or not. I'm just saying:

                                      Get Signed. Get luvved up. Learn to Skate.
[I can actually spell].
www.myspace.com/hearthesehearts  (plug, plug, plug)

Happy New Year.
Here's to the best summer yet.





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