Making no secret of the plain fact that I love P.O.S. and his Never Better album, this is him rinsing a Pearl Jam tune from Ten (still their best album, @MrLukowski).
Posts Tagged ‘live’
June 15, 2009
0
Pendulum – Live at Brixton Academy (DVD)
By Ash in Movie Reviews, Music Reviews
Pendulum‘s reputation has been growing steadily since the release of their debut album, the critically acclaimed Hold your Colour. In the space of just four years they’ve shot from the drum n’ bass underground into the mainstream with In Silico which saw the band morp into a rock / dance combo. OK, some might say metal / dance act, seeing as they like to cover target=”_blank”>Metallica‘s ‘Master of Puppets’ but they also cover target=”_blank”>Coldplay‘s target=”_blank”>’Violet Hills‘ so you can argue the toss till the sheep go to sleep for all I care.
This live DVD recorded at Brixton’s prestigious venue in December 2008 clocks in at just over 90 minutes and features an amalgamation of their hits to date. It would be simple and mostly true to say that fans of In Silico who have yet to see the band in action will want to catch this, but fans of their early work should give these discs (the DVD comes with a live CD) a wide berth. But that would seem unfair to anyone with travel sickness, as there is a distinct possibility that those particular individuals might not enjoy this particular ride either.
Though Pendulum’s playing is undoubtedly precise, the DVD suffers from Paul Caslin‘s manic direction along with some deeply annoying editing. No clip rests for longer than, say, eight seconds anywhere on this film. Eager to convey the heady, MAD experience of being at a Pendulum gig, Caslin has overdone it. Zooming in on gurning members of the audience, pretty girls chewing gum, sets of mystical eyes and a rioting mosh-pit may appeal to the director or editor, but the constant cutaways render most of Live at Brixton Academy unwatchable to the casual viewer.
Though the musical content of the DVD is mostly solid (though MC Jakes is entirely ill-disposed as an MC and should retire immediately), with the absence of the thrilling ‘Axle Grinder‘ most notable, extras include fervently disagreeable fan cams agonisingly postulating and spreading their stupidity over the screen; ‘fag-break’ inserts (where you can interrupt the concert and watch some people outside the gig smoking); a ‘band-cam’ (to watch the band arrive on-stage) and a camera that focuses on the embarrassment that is the mosh-pit.
A trip to see the band would be far more entertaining, as you would get to see first-hand just how little actual stage presence they have. Which probably goes some way to explain why the camera never stays on stage for long.
Pendulum – Live at Brixton Academy is released on June 15th (Warner Bros)
| 1. Intro |
| 2. Showdown |
| 3. Fasten Your Seatbelts |
| 4. Another Planet |
| 5. Voodoo People (Pendulum remix) |
| 6. Propane Nightmares |
| 7. 9,000 Miles |
| 8. Midnight Runner |
| 9. Mutiny |
| 10. Blood Sugar |
| 11. The Other Side |
| 12. Different |
| 13. Master Of Puppets |
| 14. Slam |
| 15. Hold Your Colour |
| 16. Tarantula |
| 17. Granite |
| 18. The Tempest |
| 19. Credits |
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April 27, 2009
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Blk Jks
By Ash in Musical MurmuringsBlk Jks
Blk Jks are rapidly shaping up to be my band of the year.
Check out this startling tune off their debut EP.
The band play Bardens Boudoir, May 6, 8pm, £7.50 adv
April 17, 2009
4
AC/DC live at the O2 arena
By Ash in Music Reviews
After the worst day at work ever, my commute to the O2 arena was made particularly difficult after the spectacular failure of the deeply un-Rock N Roll tube, resulting in a quite unnecessary detour through the Lewisham badlands. So distressing was it, that I ate fried chicken.
Arriving at the O2, and completely missing support act The Answer, I was relieved to learn that the venue hadn’t been flattened by a giant mutant frog, and was still stocked with over-priced beers.
AC/DC‘s stage is beset by amplification, ramps, lights and screens. The lights dim and the animation of a runaway train thunders across the screens to announce the band’s arrival. The open chord riff to ‘Rock N Roll Train’ echoes around the arena, and clenched fists are predictably raised and pumped in time to the churning rhythm. ‘Back In Black’ arrives minutes later and any who were seated rise. If ever there was a link between hip-hop and rock, it is this song. Forget Aerosmith, forget Anthrax: when Jay-Z hit Glastonbury last year – what did he flay the crowd with? ’99 problems’ – which featured the iconic Angus Young riff.
Each song is terminated by the 54-year-old guitarist as he runs wildly across the stage and leaps to cue the song’s demise. Darkness ensues with only the glittering runway stretched out in front of the stage remaining lit. ‘Thunderstruck’ comes out of the darkness, and the word “Thunder” is bellowed by 23,000 fans as a lightning flash cracks across the giant screens. Easily one of the greatest living blues-based guitarists, Angus’s epic solo work on ‘The Jack’ (featuring daft live camera shots of women in the crowd) sees him performing a striptease before flashing AC/DC branded underpants and raising a single finger to each temple emulating his signature devil horns.
As ‘Hells Bells’ sounds, a comical, AC/DC branded, out-sized bell descends from the ceiling and lead singer Brian Johnson hurls himself down the runway reaching into the crowd to slap hands with those blessed with unnaturally long arms. Introducing us to an “old girlfriend”; a giant, inflatable Rosie rises from the floor and provocatively straddles the priapic train. Before needing to sing the intro verse, Brian finds it is already being sung directly at him.
The band return for an encore with ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘For those about to rock’, complete with pyrotechnics and cannons. AC/DC aren’t the type cool, hip band that the NME frequently spunk their load over. AC/DC play iconic rock n roll; the type that will exist as long as life does.
If you weren’t there, you can still buy the stunning No Bull live DVD.
Setlist:
Rock N Roll Train
Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be
Back In Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Shot Down In Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hells Bells
Shoot To Thrill
War Machine
Anything Goes
You Shook Me All Night Long
TNT
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Encore:
Highway To Hell
For Those About To Rock