Flaming Nora

Last time I was at Brixton Academy was earlier this year to see this band and I was there again last night to see Editors. It was a good gig, but that's all it was - good. There was no excitement, no getting lost in the music, no hot and sweaty jumping up and down, living just to sing along to the band. Where's it gone, that missing ingredident that sets a gig on fire and gives it some spark? It was the first gig I'd been to since the smoking ban came in so there was no smoking and not much drinking going on either. While that might bode well for gig goers' livers and lungs, it did nothing for the atmosphere and made the gig seem like a well mannered if noisy middle-class school assembly. When the band did their encore it wasn't the power of clap and cheer that brought them back on, it was probably written into their contract before they went home and had a cup of tea. Which I guess is what most of the audience did too. Bring back the hot and sweaty, noisy raucous g...

To Hyde Park last weekend for the last day of the 02 Wireless Festival. The reason I wanted to go was mainly to see Editors but as the Kaiser Chiefs were headlining we watched them too and they were better than I expected. There was a young band called Ripchord who were energetic and frentically tuneful. The beer was warm, food was overpriced and nasty, weather was clement. All in all, not a bad day out.