Gigs - The New Root

Allflaws/Red Vein/The New Root – 14th November 2007 – The Louisiana, Bristol

The night opened with rap-duo Allflaws, sadly not to this reviewer's taste. The second performance came from Red Vein, who provided a more inspiring set of lyrically and musically interesting tracks. They set the mood well for the main attraction; The New Root.

However, I find myself at a slight loss for words as I try to begin this review. What can I say that I have not said before? Am I a fool for having praised TNR so highly in the past? I ask that not because I have ever had any doubt that they deserved my praise, but because I find myself struggling to describe just how amazing they were on this occasion. Having given them such glowing reviews in the past there are very few more rungs on the ladder to go up to and in this case they really need more rungs.

I have always been a Rooter, I have always enjoyed their gigs; loved their songs, revelled in their performances and come away glowing with pride. But this night was different. This night they were headlining, they had a longer set and the biggest audience. There may have been nerves there, but I didn’t see them, all I saw was excitement and joy from the band. It was evident that they were enjoying themselves more than ever and that showed in their confidence and stage presence.

They opened their set with my old favourite, Cruel. This Rooter was overjoyed to see the return of this song to their set. It has been slightly rearranged, the acoustic guitar has been replaced with electric and Trish now plays the key part as well as singing, the whole song has a little more oomph than it did before, and it was always one of their more pounding songs, so that is saying something.

The treatment upon the band’s older material from newest band members Joel and Tony has brought a heavier, more edgy sound, more appropriate for moshing to than previous versions. And mosh we did. Regular Rooters took up position at the front and much vigorous dancing ensued throughout the set, with quiet pauses for Still Near and Crazy.

Other returning track Tell It Like It Is went down well as did their newest track with its irregular rhythms and slamming guitar. In a recent conversation with Dave and Trish Boothby, they said that they wanted to be able to take the audience on an emotional journey in their gigs and that certainly happened with this longer set. We were set up marvellously for the very emotive Crazy, drawing a tear from more than one audience member's eye and the set was brought to a fantastic climax with So Alive.

The Rooters weren’t going to let the band get away without playing crowd-pleaser My Truth, though and calls for an encore were, thankfully, given into by the venue, who gave the go ahead for another song.

Their would-be closing track says it all really, this gig made me feel so alive. I left the venue with friends, all bouncing merrily in the street, elated and exhausted at the same time from all the dancing. TNR have reached a new level in excellence. More confidence, I believe is the key, they pulled off a tight performance and were engaging to watch. As ever, I came away feeling very positive about the future success of the band.

Gigs - Kosheen

Andy & I have been going to a lot of gigs lately. At the nudging from a mate I am going to blog about them.

Wednesday 19th September - Kosheen - Bristol Carling Academy.

I have been a Kosheen fan for several years, since the 2nd album, Kokopelli came out and I was working at the Virgin Megastore. The band actually played there on my first day, but, having not heard of them at that point I didn't go to the gig. Afterwards everyone was talking about it and the Virgin Megastore radio station started playing Avalanche, the single at the time, with some regularity. I noticed the album creeping up the chart as I restocked it daily and realised I needed to get a copy myself - I loved the single so that was enough for me. I quickly learned that they were a Bristol band and they became a firm favourite of mine very quickly.

The band then went off to tour Eastern Europe, so I had to content myself with listening to the albums. My heart skipped a beat when I saw their gig at Aberystwyth Student Union appear on their tour dates list and I went about planning a bit of a reunion with my friends from uni there to coincide with the gig. Alas, people couldn't make it along and then the date disappeared off the list. Another opportunity lost.

I was eagerly anticipating their third album, Damage, but for whatever reason, all thoughts of them touring had slipped my mind. It didn't occur to me that they would be supporting the new album back at home... until I descovered that Darren Beal, one of the founding members of the band, would be mixing The New Root's next release. I quickly checked the tour dates and my heart leapt into my throat to see that they were playing Bristol in a few days time! I bought tickets immediately, not willing to miss another opportunity to see them.

I have to say, as impulse buys go, this was probably the best of my life. Although Andy wasn't feeling well and had to go and sit down after the two support bands finished, he wanted me to stay up front and enjoy the show. The support came in the form of Sub Line, a local band with some interesting tracks and Rochelle, an upbeat act with bouncy female vocals on a similar line to Republica. The vocals were a bit weak however, and the constant demands from the lead singer that we all dance were somewhat trying.

I was impatient for the main event and had been edging forward throughout the two support acts, managing to get myself a spot in the second row for Kosheen. After the typical build up, the crowd itching for the band to come on stage, Kosheen entered, beginning their set with the title track from their new album. From there they embarked on an impressive set; taking us back to the beginning with legendary tracks like Hide U and Hungry; through the highlights of Kokopelli: Avalanche, Crawling, Coming Home and Wish; and mixed with some great new tracks from Damage including Overkill and Guilty.

Sian worked the crowd as a pro, commanding the stage magnificently with a presence I don't think I have ever seen before. The crowd was fuelled with the energy and love coming from the band. Maybe because this was their homecoming gig, the first time they had played Bristol in several years, or maybe every set they play is like that, but the atmosphere was electric and very moving. There were screaming fans in tears from the love they felt for the music and musicians - something I haven't seen since my Boyzone days!

I got friendly with the woman I was stood next to and by the end we were dancing together with her friends and the other strangers around us. It was a shame that Andy had to pull back, as I would have loved to experience that with him, but it was interesting to be up at the front on my own. I feel like I bonded with the crowd more than I typically do at gigs, maybe that was the power of Kosheen more than anything.

I can't recomment Kosheen highly enough. Their albums are beautifully produced and packed with haunting and anthemic tracks. But live... live they shine.

A Liberal Life

In his speech at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton this week, Sir Menzies Campbell gave an inspiring speech about the future of the party. Apathy and disillusionment are severe problems in Britain today and I know that many of you reading this email will be planning to dismiss what I say. "All politicians are the same", "all the parties are the same", "nothing will ever change" - I tell you what... with attitudes like that you're damn right! Things will never change if people continue to brush off the possibilities, if people give up on hope and ambition.

I am a Liberal Democrat because I believe that we, as a nation, deserve better. We deserve a free, fair and green country to live in and more than that... I believe that we can achieve it.

Ming concluded his speech with these words:

"I will lead this party into the next election with energy, ambition and determination. Because the stakes for this party have never been higher. And liberalism has never been needed more than it is today. So whenever people ask you: “Why vote Liberal Democrat?” tell them this:
We alone are prepared to break the cosy consensus of British politics and face up to the challenges confronting our society. To create a country that is free, fair and green.

[...]

Only we can achieve that free, fair and green society. Because only we believe in it – Only we will work for it – Only we will fight for it. The Liberal Democrats versus Labour and the Tories. Today, our party is not only the real alternative: It is the only alternative. Not two against one. But one against two."

To read the full speech go here.

Please don't dismiss me out of hand. Please don't hit "delete" without a second thought. Read what Ming has to say, think about what you can do to help. Even if that doesn't mean voting Lib Dem at the next election, tell your other friends what the Lib Dems have to say, tell people you meet that the political landscape needs to change and encourage people to vote with their feet. Literally. If there is an issue you care about, even just one issue, get out there and do something about it! Shout from the rooftops "No! I will not lie down and submit to this! I demand change!"

Thanks for reading. Now go do.

Google is funny

OK, so I am faffing instead of working (see "Thank You!" below) so I thought I would try the google name game.
How it works: You put "[your name] needs" into google and post the first ten results in your blog. I did this and the very first result was some other Holly doing the same thing!! Coincidentally she was the same age as me, interested in the same things and was also married. Spooky.

My results:

1. Welcome to the Addicted To Holly gallery. It is your #1 source for up to date pictures and it will fulfill all your visual Holly needs!

2. Holly needs home in Ridgeway, Ontario

3. Holly needs help in her Olympic efforts

4. Holly needs to go bak [sic] to neighbours

5. Holly needs a home

6. Holly needs a new home

(I'm beginning to spot a theme here)

7. Holly needs something

8. Holly needs to go to obedience and learn how to walk nicely on a leash because she does a lot of "drifting" from side to side investigating things

(Finally a laugh!)

9. Holly need motorcycle

10. Holly needs identification

:-/

Not as humourous as I was led to believe. Ah well, number 8 gave me a giggle.

Language

So, language usage changes over time. This is not a mystery, it is a mundane fact of life that everyone knows. Or at least, would if they stopped to think about it for a second and compared modern English to the thees and thous of days of yore.

So how come some people don't seem able to handle the idea that people in the modern world call themselves witches and that in the modern use of the word, witches do exist? Why are some people so detirmined to piss on other people's bonfires?

Thank you!

As you all know by now, I am terrible at getting my coursework done. I put it off until I almost crack under the pressure. I can't do this all on my own, I have help and I thought I would give credit where credit's due. So here are my top 10 procrastination websites!

10. Adult Fan Fiction
For those who missed it the first time I "came out": I write smutty Harry Potter fanfic. Here it is. I used to spend hours at a time reading other people's stuff on AFF, but I don't have time any more and a lot of my favourite authors have stopped writing. To be fair, so have I.

9. Home Office Watch
Essential viewing for any Brit. Informative and occasionally shocking.

8. Flickr
Mainly I check out my friends' photos, but it's good for a browse too. You can find pictures of anywhere in the world. Excellent for procrastination material.

7. Dave Gorman
I love Dave Gorman, he writes a fantastic blog, reluctantly!

6. The Lexicon
A fantastic site for losing yourself. Anything you can think of to do with Harry Potter is on here. Any little factoid from the books that you could want to know has been catalogued and numerous essays dissecting characters and events are there to entertain.

5. ROFL Cat
Side-splitting, hilarious pictures of cats! Funny every time you go back even if you've seen the images a dozen times already.

4. 20 Sided - The GM of the Rings
Hilarious comic strip of what might happen were D&D and Lord of the Rings to be reunited now. It's a long running strip, so there's a lot of content, but it's well worth catching up on as and when you have ten minutes.

3. The Rockstar Game
I love this game, I've been playing for years on and off. It is one of those things you can immerse yourself in to whatever level you wish. There have been times (between jobs!) when I have spent hours every day playing and writing on the roleplay forum. Because of how the system works, when I came back to the game recently after a seven month absence I didn't have to put many sessions in before I got a top 100 album!

2. MySpace
Obvious maybe, but true. I spend far too much time faffing here. Although not so much lately, it seems to have gone quiet in the last month or so. I dare say that will change though.

1. BBC Religion & Ethics
Ahh, my beloved religion forum. I am mostly found on the Pagan board. This community provides by far the most time away from my coursework (and job work these days!), I can while away hours chatting with people I have come to think of as friends. Alas, the site has come upon hard times, with the mods getting very strict about staying on-topic. But hopefully they will chill out again soon.

So that's my procrastination chart - a product of yet more procrastination!! Go ahead and check some of the sites out and say "hi" if you spot me in any of my guises!

Deadlines

Technically I have until the 29th for one and 31st for the other, but I have this week off work and am going away for the weekend, so I really need to get my two projects finished by Thursday. I've done bits and pieces of reading over the last week and a half, but nowhere near the required amount and forget any kind of plan or draft...

Two lots of research and 8000 words to write in four days. And yet here I am, sat watching CSI and writing a blog. What is wrong with me right now? Why am I not feeling the panic? I feel a little like I went past panic a couple of weeks ago, now I'm just sort of resigned to the idea that it's impossible.

I am going to do some research this afternoon, I really am - I've been saying that every day for the last week. I am going to need a miracle to pull this off though.