LIVE music photography

I remember buying The Trinity Sessions when it first came out in the late 80’s. At the time there was very little like it, the sparseness and emptiness of the arrangements was intriguing. At a time when Enya and Sinead O’ Conner were the epitome of cool the Cowboy Junkies occupied a strange and rather uncommercial hinterland. Twenty years later the Timms along with Ryan Adams were performing to a half filled auditorium in the Royal Albert Hall. Whilst the concert was enjoyable and it was great to reminisce listening to a classic album why on earth did their agent book them into one of London’s largest seated concert halls? If PJ Harvey and Brian Wilson could kick up a storm at the Royal Festival Hall why book an aircraft hanger? Either way if you have not heard the haunting Trintity Sessions pick up a copy however avoid seeing them live unless they are playing in somewhere more intimate.

Written by John Rahim

1940’s burlesque inspired The Puppini Sisters performed a one off show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. For one night only the Victorian theatre was transformed to it’s former glory complete with velvet drapes, glitter balls and seats! The Puppini Sisters have caused a bit of a stir recently with their sexy demur and retro chic image however there is real musical substance behind their sleek image. Their performance was highly enjoyable and their new album, The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo, is one of the surprise hits of the year. I would highly recommend checking them out live as well as picking up their new album.

Written by John Rahim

In a world of 24 hour virtual reality TV Foals are the indie equivalent of Jade Goodie. Famous for having backing tracks on Skins and the E4 show Teachers their strategy would seem to be target the couch potatoes first and hopefully they will download your songs later. Not content with being the most unmemorable band that I have seen in ages The Foals made major faux paxs of a) having your guitar so high you could be mistaken for Mark King and b) ensuring that you face the onstage mixing desk for the entire gig, either too nervous or cool to face the audience. Musically the band sounded like a rip of of Josepk K or Orange Juice however they lacked the ingenuity or originality of either of these bands. A couple of people in the audience told me that they are the next Klaxons however crucially they are lacking the songs and personality. 3/10