LIVE music photography

2007 certainly has been a brilliant year for Roisin Murphy. Finally after a decade of being regarded as Mark Brydon’s other half in Moloko Roisin has finally made her stamp on the music scene. “Overpowered” which was released earlier in the year is probably the most interesting female solo album of 2007. The album is a real grower and certainly gets better after a few plays. The record is an eloquent mix of electro pop, disco and funk however lacks the bublegum cheesyness of most other dance albums, think Electribe 101 crossed with Madonna in her “Ray of Light” phase and you are on the right track.

I bumped into Roisin at the Gareth Pugh show at London Fashion Week where she talked about her love of theatrical and quirky outfits. Based on this I was expecting something fairly outlandish however she looked more like a well heeled Parisien rather than a fashionista. That said she looked fantatic and put on a first rate performance. If you get the chance I’d recommend that you check out her live performances which are as enjoyable as her recorded work.

Written by John Rahim

2007 has been a truly amazing year for new bands. So far this year we have had debuts from The Klaxons, The Enemy,Scouting for Girls, Maccabees, Wombats as well as The Pigeon Dectective’s album “wait for me”. I saw the PD’s three months ago supporting the Rakes at the iTunes festival at the ICA and thought that they were brilliant. Fantastic catchy and radio friendly songs with an excellent live performance. Since July the band have been on the road for 8 weeks, released two singles as well as supporting their album. It’s quite unprecedented for a band in such a short space of time to sell out The Forum on three consecutive nights, the last time I can remember seeing a band doing a three night stint here less than 6 months after the release of their debut album was Oasis in 1993. A friend of mine who saw the band the previous night said that although it was a great gig at times it appeared at times that they were going through the motions. Whilst this might sound overly critical I think that the last few months has taken toll on them. I doubt that they are the sort of band to put their feet up however I think they will need a much deserved break in 2008 otherwise they may burn out.

Written by John Rahim

I saw Biffy Clyro for the first time this year performing third on the bill supporting James in April this year. It would seem that since then the band have gone strength to strength and have massively broadened their fan base especially to a much younger audience. Their last album “Puzzles” was critically acclaimed by most of the rock press who also picked up on their great live performances. The album is full of interesting, intelligent rock songs with melodic acoustic numbers. Biffy Clyro follow a strong tradition of fine Glaswegian bands, well crafted songs with great hooks and melodies. Think of a rockier Del Amitri mixed in with a singalongability of the Foo Fighters.

Simon Neil the lead singer and guitarist is probably the hairiest man in rock, very odd in an interesting kind of way. They are supporting Linkin Park in January next year whilst Linkin Park are utter crap Biffy Clyro would be well worth checking out. 8/10

Written by John Rahim

Considering BRMC have rumoured to be on the brink of splitting up all year they managed to muster up an electric performance to a packed Roundhouse. The last time I saw the band was at the iTunes Festival in July and were over an hour and a half late.

Apparently their drummer, the only English one in the band, was lost in London. The performance at Somerset House a month later was even more chaotic. Having expected this gig to follow the same shambolic route I was pleasantly surprised how punctual and tight they were. BRMC have recorded some classic records however have never received the criticism or sales that they deserve. I thought ultimately that this would have been their demise however tonight’s performance showed that they are one of the best live bands on the indie rock scene.

Written by John Rahim

To say that it’s been quite a year for the Klaxons would be a massive understatement. I can’t remember the last time I saw a band rise from formation to winning the Mercury Award and the NME’s best band of the year in the space of 24 months. Today’s gig marked the end of XFM’s 10th Birthday celebrations which has seen some of the hottest bands including Maximo Park, Babyshambles and CSS play small and intimate venues. It’s no surprise that XFM decided to end the celebrations with The Klaxtons at The Scala in Kings X which has become a favourite venue of indie bands wanting to do fanclub and private shows.

Watching the band live it’s obvious to see the impact they they have had on their peers and the live music scene. Having originally being banded as “Nu-Rave” along with bands such as CSS and Shit Disco The Klaxons have carved out an individual niche for themselves. Although their debut album has several fillers their two hit singles “Golden Sanks” and “It’s not over yet” are probably the most perfect pop songs of 2007. The gig was as riotous beer soaked climax to the longest birthday party in years!

Written by John Rahim

The National are probably the most interesting band to have have come from New York in years. Despite having just released their fourth album they are still relatively unknown in the UK. Their new album, The Boxer, is witty, intelligent and extremely well crafted and in the mould of classic songwriters like Leonard Cohen and dare I say Lloyd Cole. Other obvious comparisons would also be Coldplay however Matt Berringer’s writing talents far exceed that of Chris Martin’s, the only way to describe it would be much subtler and unassuming. As expected the gig was very enjoyable and highly memorable.

Written by John Rahim

I have to say that I have had a bit of a thing for KT Tunstall, firstly after decades of producing world class bands/male artists Scotland has finally produced it’s own bone fide female superstar. In the last few years KT Tunstall has sold millions of albums, has been nominated for a Grammy and a Mercury Prize and has won the coveted songwriters Ivor Novello award.

When I first saw KT she was still very much being moulded by Jools Holland and her naivety and inexperience made her even more enduring. How times change, gone is the innocence and inexperience hello to bravado. The Roundhouse was even by KT’s admission a bit posh and since the venue was rebuilt last year it’s become one of the smartest places to watch a gig in London. It’s no surprise that the Electric Proms were held this year at the Roundhouse and the interior feels more like the Barbican than it’s previous incarnation. Nevertheless the audience seemed keen to have a good time and KT and her band put on an extremely professional performance.

The gig was very slick however yet again the fun and games prevailed with the photographers. The three song no flash rule is pretty standard everywhere these days however being forced to stand behind lines on each side of the stage is just daft. Either way I guess you just have to put up with the situation regardless and do what you can.

The three songs that I saw were excellent and KT is obviously very talented. However over the past couple of years she seems to have lost the charm which made her so endearing in the first place. I hope that this is just me being overly critical however success can have the weirdest effect on people!

Written by John Rahim