anika in london

I’ll Be Your Mirror at Alexandra Palace

[Beach House last November]

I walked up a really big hill to get to Ally Pally. I had not previously been.

First on, for two hours, was Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They’re technically magical and epic but the room was a little dark for me to be fully into it at midday. I mean, it was so sunny outside…

Liars were on before Beach House and they were fantastic. Full of energy. It was great.

But, who am I kidding, I was there to see BEACH HOUSE. I really love Beach House. This was the ninth time I’d seen them play. Every song was an absolute delight to hear again live. They played a couple of new ones too.

I’ve written about them a thousand times and I have nothing new to say. They’re just the greatest. There’s no band like them.

Review: Jonathan Wilson (and Jackson Brown) at the Borderline

Above: Jackson Browne, Jonathan Wilson and Dawes performing These Days.

Last Wednesday I cycled across London at the jolly safe hour known as Rush Hour. I did not die, which was fortunate. I did, however, nearly hit several pedestrians. Why do people think it’s okay to walk in the road at rush hour? It’s NOT.

Anyhoo, I met up with my old pal Caitlin Rose, on a day off from her constant touring. I hadn’t seen her for a while and it was very lovely to sit and eat dinner and talk about how great Tango In The Night is.

She was there for Dawes, openers to the show and Jonathan Wilson’s backing band. Jonathan is an artist on Bella Union and has made a beautiful album called ‘Gentle Spirit’. We’ve listened to it so many times in the office, so it was a treat to hear him do the jams live. Jonathan, and Dawes, are all incredible musicians with a lot of talent.

He’s friends with Jackson Browne (no big deal) who came on this trip with him. They performed some Jackson songs including the huge pophit These Days.

The atmosphere was incredible.

Very good show.

Peggy Sue at Dalston Roof Park

I love the Peggys. They’re brilliant. I tell it to them all the time, but it’s 100% true – they’re my favourite band in the UK right now. Their new material marks a bit of a change for them; it’s bolder, more mature, darker, intricate and very interesting. I liked their first record a lot too but this one is definitely a progression.

Olly is an amazing drummer. Rosa and Katy really sing. Like, properly. And they sound amazing. The way they use their vocals and guitar together is wonderful.

The new album is one of my favourite records this year. They’re an excellent live band.

Here is when I drew a feline in MS Paint and beamed it on them:

The low point of this gig was that Katy made a really wack playlist full of songs which are definitely NOT pophits, which resulted in me liking her 8% less than I did previously.

You can’t win ‘em all.

Two Gallants w/ Peggy Sue at Hoxton Bar & Grill

As a teenager I was so massively into anything Saddle Creek/Team Love put out. I loved Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Cursive, Neva Dinova, Azure Ray, Two Gallants, Tilly and the Wall and everything they were releasing. In all honesty I haven’t listened to What The Toll tells for well over a year, but that was always my favourite. I loved The Throes and I liked the self titled album they released in 2007; but all the pophits are on Toll Tells. It’s a brilliant record.

I saw the band play live in summer of 2008. I got the train up, by myself, from Ashford and watched them play in a pub in New Cross. I think I made friends with a stranger from Norway who came all the way to London to see them play. It was a great show.

But all went quiet in camp 2Gs. Adam did a solo album. Tyson drummed in Port O’Brien. No shows…

UNTIL NOW!

They played in Hoxton last Monday. Half a dozen corking great new tunes mixed in with pophits like Las Cruces Jail, Nothin’ To You, Steady Rollin’, and, in the encore, my old favourite Long Summer’s Day. The performance was passionate and bold. Tyson is a fantastic drummer. It was sort of nostalgic for me…

Peggy Sue opened. They’re brilliant.

Interested to see what 2Gs to next. The new songs were great and I’ll be looking forward to hearing their next LP. If you’ve not heard their old records, I’d recommend them.