Archive for the 'cancelled shows' Category

My Morning Jacket Cancel European Tour

There must be something about October because this time last year The Decemberists cancelled two tours. Then it was The Hold Steady a couple of weeks ago and now, it seems, My Morning Jacket won’t be gracing our shores with their presence, due to an injury.

Rough Trade emailed the following statement from My Morning Jacket to the fans:

It is with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of My Morning Jacket’s up-coming tour to Europe due to injuries suffered by Jim James in Iowa City. For the fans who have purchased tickets, we would like to extend our gratitude for your support and understanding. Our hope was to merely postpone the tour, but as our scheduling does not allow that to happen in the immediate future, we feel it is best to cancel this tour in hopes of re-scheduling at some point. We would also like to say ‘thank you’ to all the fans who have reached out to Jim with their well-wishes as we all hope for his speedy and full recovery.

We hope that Jim’s not done too much harm to himself and he has a speedy recovery.

We also hope bad news only ever travels in threes and this will be the last October gig cancellation because somebody’s sick or injured!

Posted by JustHipper on 16th October 2008 at 6:57 pm | comments (1)
File under cancelled shows,manchester gigs,my morning jacket,News.

Gig Review: Nada Surf and Rogue Wave at Manchester Club Academy, February 22, 2008

Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave live in ManchesterBack in November or so I bought a pair of Duffy tickets for a gig at the Ruby Lounge on the back of “Rockferry” which I’d had the privilege of having about 18 months to get to really love. Subsequently she performed on Jools Holland and was, shall we say, unimpressive – not because she doesn’t have a great voice, but because the songs were such bland soul-by-numbers tripe. The Ledge immediately said he was not going to watch Duffy as he’d been iffy on the idea anyway. I still thought there was hope, I mean if she has one song the calibre of “Rockferry” then perhaps there were more. Of course, then I noticed that Rogue Wave were opening for Nada Surf. That did it. Despite only knowing one Nada Surf song – their MTV novelty hit from around 1996 called “Popular” – I told The Ledge I’d put the Duffy tickets up for sale at Scarlet Mist and we could go see Rogue Wave, who had left us both gutted when they’d cancelled their previous (and only) tour date here in Manchester, leaving us wondering if they’d ever make it to the UK.

So, I, at least, was excited to finally get to see Zach Rogue and band as their second album, Descended Like Vultures, never fails to make me smile through the soft, lilting harmonies and Shins-esque guitar lines. The first album isn’t bad either, although it is a bit more naive and simplistic. In any case, we got to the venue early and a small group of people were already clustered near the stage, at least one of them in a Rogue Wave T-shirt purchased from the merchandise stand. While The Ledge was queuing at the bar I made my way forward where a very nice bloke noticed me behind him contemplating where my best view would be and kindly moved behind his friend so I could get close enough to see the stage.

Rogue Wave live in ManchesterBy the time Rogue Wave emerged on stage there was a reasonable crowd, and the number of people singing along and the sheer volume of the shouting suggested that quite a few people had done the same thing we had – come down to see the opener. While the sound was the usual muddy mess that you get in Club Academy most nights, the band were on good form and much louder and rockier live than on record. Like many slightly twee acts, they bolstered the sound a bit live to make it louder and noisier so that it would fill the room a bit more, and it worked, for the most part. I was fascinated with bassist Patrick Abernethy’s upside down bass – he’s left-handed so he’s restrung it rather than buy a left-handed bass.

The short, 30-minute set consisted of about half new songs from an album that has yet to be released here in the UK (and which, sadly, was not on sale on the night) and older material. We were chuffed to hear “Publish My Love,” “Bird on a Wire” and the standout track from the first album, “Every Moment.” For much of the growing crowd, the highlight appeared to be the appearance of Nada Surf’s lead singer, Matthew Caws, to sing on one of the new songs. For me, though, the highlight was “Bird on a Wire” descending madly into everybody on drums and percussion, including Nada Surf’s drummer, Ira Elliot. Only 7 short songs later and with the promise they’d be back in May, Rogue Wave departed all too quickly.

Nada Surf's Matthew Caws on stage with Rogue WaveAfter Rogue Wave, The Ledge and I debated whether we should move back and let somebody more familiar with the band’s back catalogue to the front or whether my being able to actually see the gig would alter my perception that much. We decided to stay put, at least for a little while, as staring at people’s backs and getting jostled by people going to and from the bar never makes for much fun, and I am glad we did stay where I could see.

As for Nada Surf, I expected late-90’s-style American college drone rock, but they were far poppier and perkier than that and were actually pretty upbeat, chatting between songs to a crowd that (mostly) knew every note. They are, quite simply, probably a great example of the classic American indie-pop, college-radio-friendly band of the sort that I remember from my university days back in Boston, before that short period where everything sounded like Stone Tool Pearl Garden in Chains, and their sound certainly blended well with the live version of Rogue Wave. While the one song I knew I knew unsurprisingly did not make the set, I did recognise at least one other, a love song that The Ledge reckons was probably used in a film or TV show as he recognised it as well. The band chatted with the crowd and were pretty entertaining, but the set was very long – running towards two hours – and by the time they left the stage the first time, both The Ledge and I were exhausted and felt we’d had enough as listening to a band with whom you’re unfamiliar for that long becomes more of a chore than a pleasure, so we abandoned the gig and headed off for some food. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Nada Surf are more substantial than “Popular” and probably worth further exploration.

Rogue Wave – Every Moment

Rogue Wave – Publish My Love

Nada Surf – Popular

Nada Surf – See These Bones

Posted by JustHipper on 25th February 2008 at 9:57 pm | comments (1)
File under cancelled shows,Gig Reviews,gigs,mp3,nada surf,Reviews,rogue wave.

Gig Review: Devastations @ Leeds Faversham, 24th November 2007

Devastations at Leeds FavershamLast night we were headed over to Leeds to take in Devastations opening for Scout Niblett, having grown to really love the new Devastations album, Yes, U. The only thing I knew about Scout Niblett before last night is that she once opened for Shellac, as we have her name on a Shellac gig poster. That is still all I know about Scout Niblett as apparently she fell ill the previous night and has cancelled her last two performances. We were sorry to hear that because being ill is not nice and we figured if somebody had opened for Shellac they might be worth hearing. However, as the Faversham website said that Devastations would be headlining, we weren’t that sad.

Needless to say, we turned up just shy of 10pm to be told it was free to get in and that Scout Niblett would not be appearing. Nevertheless, it wasn’t a bad turnout, with the room about 1/3 full when opener Paul Marshall appeared on stage with an acoustic guitar and the most amazing indie combover I’d ever seen. He played dark, sincere acoustic songs which sounded great for about the first 15 minutes and then started to drag a bit. I think perhaps he needed some other musicians backing him up to provide more texture. It’s possible he has that normally. He wasn’t half bad though, and was very enthusiastic. He even spent most of Devastations’ set stood next to me dancing gleefully (and he told his girlfriend not to stand in front of me because she was a good half a foot taller). So he gets my vote.

By the time Devastations appeared on stage, a full 15 minutes earlier than listed, the room was looking reasonably full. There were clearly some fans in the audience, as several tall 40-something men tried to push their way in front of me, and there were clearly some people who’d come down for Scout Niblett and figured they may as well stay. It would not be an exaggeration to say that 60 minutes later, if it even took that long, the entire room was a room of Devastations fans, because they were simply stunning. Whereas at ATP earlier in the year we had been mildly disappointed that they were not as intense and moody as they sounded like they would be from the description in the program, this time they were far more intense, moody, snarling and full-on than we expected.

Conrad Standish of Devastations live in LeedsOpening with “Oh Me Oh My” from the current album, we knew within notes that the new tracks would translate beautifully live, taking on an angrier hue. In fact everything sounded more noisy, more emotional and more growling as the band positively took over the small stage and the room with three instruments, a sequencer and some shared lead vocals. On record, particularly on previous long player, Coal, I often found the tracks tended to blend together and to sound rather disconcertingly too much like the Tindersticks. Live, all comparisons went away, as only Conrad Standish’s vocal phrasing remains reminiscent of Stuart Staples. They were more of a blindingly fervent mixture of Jack and The Drones with a bit of Roxy Music thrown in at times.

They tore through a set consisting mostly of new tracks including “Black Ice,” “Mistakes” and closer “Rosa” as well as a track or two from Coal and a track off their first album (which we don’t have) that they said was the first song they ever wrote and I think is called “Previous Crimes.” On the back of it, I may be on Amazon in a few minutes trying to order the first album. This was the track that made me recall The Drones with its meandering, gritty, low-key vocal and its dark and dirty blues rock chorus.

Needless to say, Devastations put in a stunning performance which was thankfully longer than the thirty minutes they had been scheduled to play. This only begs the questions of: when are they coming to Manchester and why haven’t more people heard this band yet?

Here’s a video of “Previous Crimes” that I took at the gig:

Devastations – “Oh Me Oh My”

Devastations – “Rosa”

Posted by JustHipper on 25th November 2007 at 2:47 pm | comments (5)
File under cancelled shows,devastations,Gig Reviews,leeds faversham,mp3,paul marshall,scout niblett,video,youtube.