When the curtain falls, it's time to leave the stage...

Spector on the BT Vision Stage

While everyone else was going sports-mad around the time of the London Olympics, we were excited to hear about the fortnight of free gigs taking place in London’s Hyde Park. BT London Live was the name of the event where anyone and everyone had the opportunity to watch screenings of live Olympic events – and also to see a variety of live musical performances.

 

When we heard Spector were performing on 8^th August, we were curious to find out more about the band who, before the gig, we associated with their radio-played song ‘Chevy Thunder’. For those of you who’ve never heard of Spector, think of vocals similar to those of Tom Smith from Editors with a White Lies vibe; their music is characterised by their love of electric guitar-powered intros and ambiguous, thought-provoking lyrics.

L-R: Jed Cullen, Fred Macpherson, Danny Blandy, Chris Burman, Tom Shickle

Anyway, here is our review:

Spector's Fred Macpherson singing 'Celestine'

We were surprised by the number of people who turned up for the gig, especially as Spector were not playing the main stage. The band opened with the recognisable intro of ‘Celestine’ (lyrics from which are in the title), which instantly kicked off the atmosphere and had the crowd jumping. We couldn’t help but notice their pride at their debut album, Enjoy It While It Lasts, being released the following Monday, as lead singer Fred Macpherson kept reminding us to buy it!

As we mentioned earlier, we were anticipating the aforementioned Chevy Thunder, which had introduced us to the band, so when Fred made reference to giving the audience “chevrything”, we knew what to expect. With a performance impressively similar to the studio recording, Spector had the audience singing along. Last, but not least, Spector treated the audience to a memorable performance of their latest single release, ‘Never Fade Away’, throughout which the crowd’s swaying gradually turned to clapping as the song progressed and the 30-minute set came to an end.

Enjoying it while it lasted; Spector

We’d definitely recommend seeing Spector; they’re one to watch for 2012, with both a crowd-entertaining stage presence and a sound which translates very well from recording to stage. “Enjoy It While It Lasts”? We certainly did.

Isabella and Felicity, OTJ x

Tonight's The Kind Of Night (Eden Sessions Review)

Noah and The Whale, The Vaccines and Palma Violets

11/07/2012

The gig was a concert like no other – each Eden Session is a sort of one-day festival which takes place outdoors, amongst the plants from around the world which make the Eden Project the place that it is.

We joined the queue early, eager for a good place near the front, and found ourselves in a valley at the bottom of a hill, where the stage was set up.  After some warming Cornish pasties to help us get through the cold and the rain, the gate was soon opened and we happily took our places in the second row.

Palma Violets

The first band were newcomers Palma Violets, who none of the crowd knew, but, by the end of their set, had everyone smiling and cheering.  They were certainly very different to the folky headliners, Noah and The Whale, as in contrast their set was full of roaring electric guitars and singing interspersed with enthusiastic shouts, but their set made a big impression. 

The Vaccines performing Norgaard

The second act, The Vaccines,were our favourite of the night. They were the perfect band to ‘rock out to’ in such a gig in the open air and rain; the whole crowd screamed along with the memorable and catchy songs, which have made The Vaccines one of the most popular bands of the past year. Their performance was what you’d expect from a good indie rock band:  a set full of guitars, and the recognisable vocals of lead singer, Justin, who performed with an energy which had the whole crowd entertained.  A few key moments were when they played some material from their new album, including the singles “No Hope” and “Teenage Icon”, which the crowd enthusiastically sang along with; there definitely IS hope for the Vaccines to become even more successful than they have been after the release of their debut album.

Freddie from The Vaccines

The Vaccines 'rock out'!

Headliners Noah and The Whale played the final set of the evening beneath the night sky: creating an atmospheric hour in which they performed their heart-warming, optimistic songs. The greatest moment had to be when they began to play the first few notes of their most well-known song 5 Years Time, and the crowd all cheered and clapped despite the fact that not one line had yet been sung.  The audience’s excitement continued upon hearing the opening bars of Noah’s eccentric track “Love Of An Orchestra”, before soon joining in with the song’s catchy hook, “if you’re gonna run, run from hope”.  Another memorable moment was when the rain stopped and the sky coincidentally cleared in time for their performance of “Blue Skies”.

Noah And The Whale

Lead singer Charlie

A final guitar chord

       

The evening didn’t finish with Noah and The Whale’s last song, The First Days of Spring, as just as we were leaving, we saw that Arni, the bassist from the Vaccines was still hanging around. A short conversation and a photograph later, and our Eden Sessions experience was complete.  We both agree we would definitely recommend the annual event.

Us with Arni from The Vaccines

Isabella and Felicity

Ready To Start

 (Arcade Fire)

Hello!
We are Isabella and Felicity, two music fans collectively known as On The Jukebox.

Us at Snow Patrol's Fallen Empires tour in February.

We're aiming to create a blog celebrating the best of indie and alternative music - both new and old - including gig reviews and photos, our thoughts on new album releases, music recommendations and other music-related shenanigans - !

Look out for reviews of our best gigs of Summer 2012 - coming soon. Watch this space!