This week has been all sorts of horrid and ghastly. Mainly because my mom collapsed on Thurs, is still in hospital and they still don't know what is wrong with her. Plus, when I visited her again on the Friday, the bed was in a horrific state, they ignored all her questions and gave her a limp tuna sandwich for dinner. I was not a happy bunny... It's improved a bit, but you have to keep on at them all the blinking time. Oy vey. Anyway that has pretty much been my life since Thurs, other than work and a much needed night out with the Ace Gang. Prior to all that drama though were some pretty decent things in the week:
The Feeling ~ Live At The Water Rat: The Feeling are all sorts of amazingness and I continue to adore them. I'm eagerly anticipating their third album after the brilliance of 12 Stops/Join With Us, and that anticipation is reaching fever pitch after their immensicles tiny gig on Wednesday where much new material got a preview. There were some rather gorgeous ballads like the heavenly Undeniable (where he got upstaged by a 2 headed teddy bear) which builds slowly into that 70s rock anthem they are so good at, and that sound so wonderful. Mrs Jones (ie Sophie Ellis Bextor) showed up for a tremendously engaging tune called Leave Me Out Of It (above) where her and Dan sounded great together (reminding me of those vocal trade offs Beautiful South used to do) over some lovely layered instrumentation. Another Soldier was a slightly more uptempo tune with a sparse chorus and a militant chant of "another soldier, another soldier/another hit to the heart when he told ya" - however, it was the brilliant singalong feel of future hits like Say No and Seven Years that really stood out. The new album feels like a natural progression from their previous work, yet ensuring they take the brillo bits everyone loves without resting on their laurels. Bring on the new reign of The Feeling...
Simon Curtis ~ Live At The Roxy: I have to say that it's always quite hard to give an opinion on a concert that you weren't at, despite that being made a lot easier by wobbly youtube clips. It's obviously much better if you are there, in the midst of the atmosphere, enjoying the crowd reaction and losing yourself in the music, rather than trying to recreate it scrunched over your laptop. Having said that, while I would have killed (not literally) to be at Simon's big debut show, I suspect this is just a taster of what is to come. The show was Simon and his dancers showcasing tunes from his fine 8BitHeart album - much as you'd find top notch and upcoming popstars doing on a Saturday night at G-A-Y or Nightingale in Birmingham... You can find the full set list here as well as videos to the entire show so you can recreate it in your hallway if you so desire (and you probably do!) My fave (after Super Psycho Love and Beat Drop - I particularly loved the theatrical, almost puppet like choreography of the former, especially the arm moves in the first verse) of course is my top single of the year (so far) Diablo. I've been dying to see a performance of the song and I'm pleased that the dance moves were effective enough yet not overly complicated so people like me can pick them up fairly quickly :) As a teaser of what can be achieved, I'm satisfied but I suspect that given a full band and backing troupe for a solo tour this will just be the tip of the iceberg of what can be achieved. PS, does anyone know if Simon sang live? Apart from some adlibs, I couldn't quite tell...
Christophe Willem ~ Coffee Tour: Another tour I was desperate to go and see is ace French pop star Christophe Willem. A - because his album is an accomplished and exciting piece of modern pop and B - because it was put together by the always impressive Steve Anderson. Oh and because Christophe looks like he is having a rather amazing time in this video preview. The show opened in Lille this weekend and clips have started to surface on youtube, including a rather glorious version of the Kylie track Sensitized. Love love loving the bondage trousers, the riding crop and the pendulating undulating grinding hips! It's sex come alive on stage (particularly when he merges Bombe Atomique into Madonna's Erotica) and makes me so eager for Christophe to be huge in the UK so the show can come here :) He shows that there are smart, gay male popstars out there (Will Young is also phenomenal live) who understand what audiences want and are raising the standards for everyone. Bring it on :)
Top 21 songs of the week:
21 ~ Darin, You're Out Of My Life
20 ~ Alcazar, Headlines
19 ~ Neo, Human Frontier
18 ~ Ola, Unstoppable
17 ~ The Candle Thieves, We're All Gonna Die
16 ~ Gravitonas, Kites
15 ~ Donkeyboy, Sometimes
14 ~ JLS, The Club Is Alive (NE)
13 ~ Kimberley Locke, Strobelight
12 ~ Mika, KickAss
11 ~ Josh Dubovie, That Sounds Good To Me (NE/Vid link ~ where's the budget?!)
10 ~ Mariah Carey, 100%
09 ~ Scissor Sisters, Fire With Fire (NE)
08 ~ Simon Curtis, Super Psycho Love (Live vid link)
07 ~ Lovestoned, Thursdays (NE/Vid)
06 ~ DeeDee, Endure
05 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Bittersweet
04 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, On A Mission
03 ~ Maria Mena, All This Time
02 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction
01 ~ Eric Saade, Manboy (2 weeks)
Next week: new music updates from tomorrow's stars (inc Bright Light, Michaela Wright, I Am Noxious and Todd Alsup), lots of top notch Swedish albums and the next segment on Larry Flick (thurs!)PS see my participation in Pop Trash Addicts singles panel here (wk1) and here (wk2)
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Feeling song with La Bex. Also appreciate the lyrics, which I interpret as "If you are the type to run away, then don't bother with me, I don't have time for it."
ReplyDeleteHearing about the Feeling being back in action makes me smile wide. I adore this band. They have yet to make a dent in America, but I believe that they will.
ReplyDeleteAs for Simon, you are more kind than I am. I watched the clips. I wasn't impressed. I saw an artist trying HARD, but limited by his undeniable inexperience. I'm still a fan, but my 25-plus years of industry experience tells me that he's not quite ready for a major record deal just yet... nor would he get one based on what I saw in those clips. Perhaps soon, but not quite yet.
Woah, Simon Curtis has a lot to...improve upon. He's no Lady GaGa. He has time to build and work. He must remember that a sitting on stools is never glam on stage. Unless your britney spears in her stronger video. And lets face it Simon C is never going to be Britney Spears.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is....it looks so cheap. And thats because Simon doesnt have much money right now. And thats totally understandable. But that doesnt explain the complete mess which is what that performance was.
There's too much choreography. Too much hand movements. He has to keep his lines and movements clear. At the moment he's strutting around like he's having a seizure. This isn't helpful as the song is very good. As is Simon Curtis. Its just...I think sometimes popstars, especially when they're starting, can overcomplicate it. He needs to sort out his costume and seriously take the choregraphy down a notch.
Oh and it would it be nice to see/hear a male popstar breaking out and singing live when they dance. Its not a critical point. But i'd rather some smoother choreography over hectic dance moves which would thus pave the way for some live vocals.
The Feeling sound great.
As does christophe willem. Simon should take a few notes from this certain singer. For sure, Willem has a bit more money but Willem shows how its done. You dont have you jump around with lots of hectic dancers. All you need very simple lines, bondage....a bit of creativity in the music by performing Erotica....And thus you have an amazing electric show. Oh and look, mah! he's singing live. Amazing. Simon, learn from Christophe. Thats how to do it kid.
Crazy, LoveStone return with a catchy track that sounds like something straight out Miio's Swedish album. Weirdly the bookend on the right seems to be rolling his eyes throughout the song.
Christophe Willem - en francais!!
ReplyDeleteChristophe Willem ~ Coffee Tour : Un autre spectacle que je mourais d'envie d'aller voir est la popstar française Christophe Willem. A) parce que son album est un morceau accompli et passionnant de pop moderne et B) parce qu'il est associé au toujours impressionnant Steve Anderson .... et parce que Christophe semble être plutôt étonnant dans cet aperçu vidéo.
La tournée a débuté à Lille ce week-end et les vidéos ont commencé à apparaître sur Youtube, y compris une version plutôt "glorieuse" du "Sensitized" de Kylie. J'aime, j'aime le pantalon d'esclave, la cravache et les déhanchés. C'est le sexe live sur scène (particulièrement quand il mixe Bombe A(na)tomique et Erotica de Madonna). Cela me fait penser que Christophe dont le spectacle peut venir ici serait énorme au ROYAUME-UNI. Il montre qu'il y a des popstars masculin intelligents et "gay" là-bas (Will Young est aussi phénoménal en live) qui comprennent ce que les spectateurs veulent et élèvent le niveau pour chacun. Amenez-le !
Poor mum! - Hope it all improves more soon...
ReplyDeleteSimon Curtis, me thinks, would have been massive! I can not wait to see something huge from him - Very impressive!
Actually...So does the Christophe tour - Impressive!
Blimey - a french translation! Get you! The Feeling concert sounds great - am liking the SEB duet, but the 7 Years Bad Luck song is going to make a brilliant single hopefully. Please tell me they haven't abandoned that Truth Comes Out song you wrote about some months back? Simon live - i think you are right that this will just be a tiny glimpse into what he no doubt ultimately wants to achieve from his shows....
ReplyDeleteXO - i can't wait to hear the studio version of that song (and any of the songs). All rather marvelous and bodes well for a thoroughly enjoyable third album. Trouble is, I thought the second album was amazing, but the world didn't agree (at least in terms of sales!)
ReplyDeleteLarry and Bobs ~ Both of you had well thought out points with regards to Simon's performance. Clearly I've been a long term supporter of his and continue to be a huge huge fan of him music. So though it pains me to say, I struggled to write about his performance because it was the first time I haven't been wildly enthusiastic about something he has done. I think there were definite time and financial constraints that impeded what was able to be achieved, and i'd built it up in my head to be the equivalent of a Kylie greatest hits tour, so the expectations were impossibly high! Plus it must be hard to do a first show that is so scrutinised. Usually people get a fair few practices before people are starting to pay attention. But I totally accept your points and hope that - as I said - this is the start of something that will just grow in terms of impressiveness over time :)
Aaron - So after what i've just said, I think that Simon will be able to achieve major things with his live shows. The kid has got the goods, no question - just needs to continue to hone his craft. As any performer should :)
Ben - yes 7 years is immensicles :) Not sure about Truth Comes Out When Drink Goes In but I'm hopeful it will at least be a b-side!!
First off Paul, much thanks for linking those Roxy videos, because I really wouldn't have known until much later.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, what do you think of his "8Bit Heart" music video portrait? I think his vocals are just haunting there =P
As for his first show...
Well I wasn't extremely impressed or awestruck, BUT I was very very excited for Simon. Of course, no one is perfect the first time they climb onto a stage - everybody has got to start somewhere! He has loads of raw talent though, we know that for sure.
Simon is just wetting his feet for now and once he dives in, I know he will be spectacular.
hey PAUL
ReplyDeletesorry been a bit busy, been check ing the fizzy but not commenting , anyway happy mothers day to your mum, we celebrate it here 2nd sunday in May, you do it different date in the wonderful UK?
loving simon curtis and gabriella cilmi both in out top 5? well your top 10?
we should arrange them to meet together :)
chat soon..btw did u ever get my email re a debbie gibson cassette single ??
Totes - i think you sum it up most eloquently and accurately. Hopefully that's how my words came across. I watched the video for 8BitHeart quickly this morning. It's so moody! There's a hilarious review online which basically says he's acting as a hustler in the vid, which did make me (and Simon according to his twitter) titter. ooo i just rhymed. If I'm not overwhelmed by the news of Maroon 5 returning I may blog it later today :)
ReplyDeleteA1 - I did get your email and how rude of me not to reply. Forgive me? Yes, I think simon and Gabriella should duet on a new song as well as cover one of each other's songs. How wonderful that would be :)
Loving the new Feeling muzik! I thought of them over the weekend, mostly because I was hiking on Saturday and their cover of "You're So Vain" popped up on shuffle on my iPod. That first song there you have posted in video form is superb!!
ReplyDeleteDid I miss the release date for the album? Or is it not set yet?
Sophie looks great. Still feel sad about her single charting at a lowly #25 over there :(