Performances by Peaches are rare occasions and as such, elicit extreme reactions. For starters, there's the audience. Girls and boys alike dolled up to the nines in homage to the Canadian-born singer's skintight spandex look, one even sporting an outsize seethrough teapot on her head. Not for nothing, it seems, does one of her tunes declare 'Boys Want To Be Her/Girls Want To Be Her'.
Fond of the odd costume change herself, Peaches took to the stage looking like Pink's wayward little sister, after declaring from the wings through her radio mike 'we are going to murder you, slowly'. Having made her name through the electro scene before turning to AC/DC-style riff/groove debauchery...
this show was a highly effective clash of both styles, with her three piece backing band providing everything from sub-bass b-line sonics to Angus Young-style fretwank solos. Rock 'n' roll pantomine is the over-arching theme, with the hyperactive Peaches clambering on top of the towering speaker stacks, encouraging the audience to shed their clothing during 'Shirts Come Off' and most impressively of all, shooting up into the air on wires.
She had no problem filling the Festival Hall, even reserving the Royal Box for her parents - one can't help wonder what they must think of her outlandish and sexually explicit subject matter - and a show of hands revealed that many here had discovered her since her last UK show. Next stop Wembley Stadium? It's a nice thought.
Sunday 12 April 2009
Friday 10 April 2009
THE JAKES PROJECT
Just received my copy of The Jakes Project album - full report coming soon, I'm saving it up for the weekend - and must say I've not got as excited as this about a new album for quite a while.
He's one of those sickeningly talented people first known as a D&B MC, adding his unique Bristol twang to corkers like these...
TC feat Jakes: Deep
Distorted Minds: T 10
as well as heading up the dubstep crew H.E.N.C.H. as a producer...
Jakes: Rock The Bells
He's one of those sickeningly talented people first known as a D&B MC, adding his unique Bristol twang to corkers like these...
TC feat Jakes: Deep
Distorted Minds: T 10
as well as heading up the dubstep crew H.E.N.C.H. as a producer...
Jakes: Rock The Bells
Sunday 5 April 2009
REVIEW - VARIOUS: IN ORDER TO EDIT
Format: mix CD
Label: R&S
Released: June 1
Those you out there old enough to remember the early to mid 90s will recall that Belgian label R&S played a key role in the growth and development of techno and electronica. They signed early releases by Brit heroes like Aphex Twin and Mu-Ziq, brought US legends like Joey Beltram and Carl Craig to mass European audiences as well as their unique roster of European artists like CJ Bolland and many others.
'In Order To Edit' is a mix CD which zips effortlessly and efficiently through their back catalogue, concentrating on the techno element for which they're best known. The highlights, like Beltram's pulsing 'Energy Flash', Jaydee's brooding, understated 'Plastic Dreams' and Aphex's 'Digeridoo' - the track which took him from Cornish eccentric to household clubbing name - appear not to have dated at all.
It's a shock to discover they're all over 15 years old - a fact which says as much about the lack of innovation and invention of house/techno today as it does about their brilliance. They're a sheer delight to hear again, along with another all time favourite of mine, Capricorn's '20Hz',
which pits the sound of a marching band against a vicious 4/4 stomp yet somehow merges brutality with subtlety.
There is an element of filler in here too, tracks which are OK but ultimately haven't stood the test of time, but as a testament to this now all but forgotten imprint's glorious salad days, it still works a treat.
3/5
Label: R&S
Released: June 1
Those you out there old enough to remember the early to mid 90s will recall that Belgian label R&S played a key role in the growth and development of techno and electronica. They signed early releases by Brit heroes like Aphex Twin and Mu-Ziq, brought US legends like Joey Beltram and Carl Craig to mass European audiences as well as their unique roster of European artists like CJ Bolland and many others.
'In Order To Edit' is a mix CD which zips effortlessly and efficiently through their back catalogue, concentrating on the techno element for which they're best known. The highlights, like Beltram's pulsing 'Energy Flash', Jaydee's brooding, understated 'Plastic Dreams' and Aphex's 'Digeridoo' - the track which took him from Cornish eccentric to household clubbing name - appear not to have dated at all.
It's a shock to discover they're all over 15 years old - a fact which says as much about the lack of innovation and invention of house/techno today as it does about their brilliance. They're a sheer delight to hear again, along with another all time favourite of mine, Capricorn's '20Hz',
which pits the sound of a marching band against a vicious 4/4 stomp yet somehow merges brutality with subtlety.
There is an element of filler in here too, tracks which are OK but ultimately haven't stood the test of time, but as a testament to this now all but forgotten imprint's glorious salad days, it still works a treat.
3/5
Wednesday 1 April 2009
G20 PROTESTS
Understatement of the day, courtesy of CNN: 'there are several hundred people here...'
Obvious but appropriate choice... Rage Against The Machine: Take The Power Back at Glastonbury 1994 - glad to say I was there. They had that magical early evening festival slot, where it was still light when they came on, but dark by the time they finished.
Obvious but appropriate choice... Rage Against The Machine: Take The Power Back at Glastonbury 1994 - glad to say I was there. They had that magical early evening festival slot, where it was still light when they came on, but dark by the time they finished.
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