Friday, January 15, 2010

2010. Technically Still The 00's

Sorry to burst your bubbles, but technically we're still in the decade known as the 00's. Yes, decades start at ___1. The 90's started on January 1st 1991. The 00's started on January 1st 2001. Heck, the millenium started on January 1st 2001.

So, this is not the beginning of the tensies (10's), this is the beginning of the end for the noughties (00's). And it has been a great decade, at least for me. Of course I've only experienced two decades so far, and the first half of the first decade was spent with diapers, babble and drool.

We're two years away from doomsday, if Rolland Emmerich is to be believed. And to clear up, the Mayans did not actually believe 2012 is the end of the world. It was, basically, just the end of their calendar. After which the calendar will just be re-set.

So what has 2010 brought me so far?

Well, I've been to a couple of gigs so far and is looking forward to some brilliant ones. Here are the gigs I went to in short:

Base Camp Rocks had their second semi-final in a place called The Monto Water Rats in London, and it featured one of my favourite duos, namely Fran & Josh. They're absolutely amazing when armed with two acoustic guitars. Absolutely mesmerising. Taking in influences as varied from Rodrigo Y Gabriela to Alice Deejay (of whom they did a cover), they come out with these lovely numbers that showcase their incredible musical talent and songwriting skills.


Fran & Josh - Days Like These

Also check out the rest of the other performances from Fran & Josh, and other bands that night, including Carrelle Mowatt, Late Clarity, Union of Glass Soldiers and Prince Charming. The two acts that got through the final were Fran & Josh (unsurprisingly) and Union of Glass Soldiers.


Base Camp Rocks Semi-Final 2: The Playlist
(click on the side-arrows to view other videos)

About a week ago, I also went to the long-awaited launch of Lost From Atlas's self-titled debut album. Supported by friend Tom Welbrock, one-off reunited Swimwear Juniors and genre-fusing Littlemores, Lost From Atlas really delivered the goods, metaphorically and literally. And when I say literally, I refer to how the album was supposed to come out last December but due to a manufacturing problem, it just didn't.


Lost From Atlas's album launch at Fibbers: The Playlist
(click on the side-arrows to view other videos)

So what do I think of their debut album?

It's quite simply ace. From the first track "The Horse You Rode In On" to the simply-titled "Fin," the whole record just oozes with quality riffs, chords, beats and groove that mesmerise and captivate and leave you completely mind-fucked. It's a complex beast, but it never gets too complicated and bogged down by unnecessary showboating. Everything works like clockwork. From the immaculate guitar skills of Danny Gallagher to the insane drumming of Liam Ledgeway via the groovy bass lines of Orlando Lloyd, the whole thing sounds like the most perfect jam session ever.

Yes, go get their album. Get their album here (yes, go on, click it) or from iTunes, all for a recession-conscious 6 pounds. I'm holding my copy right here.

If you've noticed, my videos have also gone a lot clearer than the previous 3gp-quality ones. Thanks, Flip Mino HD!

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The Drums - Let's Go Surfing

Yay, it's The Drums. They're from New York, and as you can see (and hear), they play catchy post-punk tuneage. And what's more, we're going to see them with Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees and advert-darlings, The Big Pink. Some of you will recognise this as the line up for the NME 2010 Awards tour, and yes, it is.

My feelings towards NME are mixed, to say the least. Probably between 5% amicable, 20% tolerance and 75% contempt. But those feelings won't stop me from going to see the band that wrote one of my favourite songs ever (Bombay Bicycle Club's "Always Like This"), the band that had an album cover with papier mache models of themselves and one of them looked like a friend, the band that had an xBox 360 ad, and the band that made me sing "I wanna go surfing" for the past week.

Another band from New York who I'm going to see are the people I mistakenly thought were from Oxford just because they had a song called Oxford's Comma. Yes, it's Vampire Weekend. Weey. Tickets are sold out, but I'm proud to say I got them a day before general release. Thanks, O2!

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Signing out

Over and out

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