Instead, here are two great musical film moments from the end of summer. First, the band The Clash at Demonhead (well really Metric but this is the version from the film) from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Though I’m not really a Metric fan, this songs makes me wish that I was still an indie disco dj, just to hear it loud in a dark room.

The other is a film featuring Chilly Gonzales, Tiga and Peaches. Called Ivory Towers, the film features Gonzales and Tiga as brothers, both rivals in chess and fighting over the same girl, Peaches. While the love triangle is a bit unconvincing, the film is full of great one liners and Tiga pretty much steals the show.

1) Former Ghosts – Fleurs

One thing that I’ve been struggling with over the last 12 months is in the search for new bands to listen to. The old avenues of mp3 blogs don’t seem to be as great as they were during the heydays a few years ago and it takes a lot of time and effort to sift through them all to find the great songs. Meanwhile, the recommendations coming from the radio and even online magazines aren’t that interesting, much of it surrounded by hype. With gigs getting more expensive, and the effort in travelling across London, sometimes it’s not worth heading out to see something that I know nothing about. However, when I do make the effort, I am reminded that it is worth just heading to the odd random show from time to time.

One such example was the Parenthetical Girls and Former Ghosts show at the Luminare in June. Before heading to the gig, I knew almost nothing about the acts and was rewarded by one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen this year (that even includes going to see Flight of the Conchords). Whilst Parenthetical Girls were perfectly entertaining, it is the Former Ghost album that I find myself listening to every week since that gig. There’s emotion and intensity that you don’t normally experience in an album, and the live show was so emotional that at points it was quite difficult to watch. Nevertheless, even after that show I can’t wait till Former Ghost are over again later this year.

2) Chad Valley

Sometimes it seems that Hugo Manuel can just sit there and write music at any moment. From back in Oxford watching his band the Modern, through Jonquil and now Chad Valley, there really hasn’t been a bad moment. With Jonquil changing their direction over the last year or so, it now seems that Chad Valley is the route for Hugo to write those songs if Jonquil kept going down their initial path. They are dreamy, layered and the perfect thing to listen to on warm sunny days.

3) Owen Pallett – Heartland

Like the Former Ghost album, the most recent Owen Pallett album is another that just keeps pulling me back everytime. It’s one of those where I end up pressing ‘play’ again the instant the album reaches the end. This obsession is pretty bad, I should really stop soon. Or well hopefully stop by the time the next album is due.

4) TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me

The random appearance of a single TV on the Radio song from four years ago is all down to its appearance in Phonogram and making me wake up one morning just wanting to listen to this song on repeat. I listened to it for 3 or 4 times before getting on with anything else. Sadly there is no online link to show the context of the song in the comic, but I really recommend checking out Phonogram Singles Club if you have a chance.

Monday 19th April – Wegottickets 10th Birthday party with Jonquil at the Bull and Gate

Apart from those gigs I went to in the States during my trip up the West Coast, this has possibly the longest journey I’ve made for any gig. Before the weekend, I had been in Copenhagen, arriving in Denmark before the volcano cloud struck. The journey back from there to London took me two days, four trains and a ferry arriving back at St. Pancras via the Eurostar at 8pm. An hour later, I was in Kentish Town watching Jonquil. Unsurprisingly, I can’t remember much of the detail of the show now, but like their support slot a couple of weeks before at the Youthmovies gig, they played a set consisting of entirely new songs. Taking a less mellow outlook than before, it really showed the band shifting up a gear to focus on breaking through properly. It’s a shame that they don’t play songs from the Lions era anymore, but then when they moved on from Sunny Casinos I probably said the same thing. What’s interesting is to see what they do next.

Wednesday 21st April – Efterklang at the Shepherds Bush Empire

Since seeing them with at the Barbican last year, I’ve grown to like Efterklang more and more. To such an extent that I almost considered going to see them while I was in Copenhagen even though I already had tickets to see them a few days later in London. In the end my bank account won out and I only went to the London show. To start with, it was a bit of an odd show. The venue wasn’t full, the atmosphere was lacking and there were far too many drunk young Scandinavians chatting their way through the set. It took a while for the show to really get going, but when it did, it showed why Efterklang just require your full attention. Eventually everyone was under the spell, and Casper even managed to create a moment when everyone in the audience and the band were silent. I guess that doesn’t happen in the Shepherds Bush Empire very often.

Gonzales @ the Bloomsbury Ballroom, 08/04, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

No one quite does a live show like Chilly Gonzales. While last time was all about the fun and entertainment, this time with only Mocky and not the full live set up it was a lot darker, with more ‘Angry’ Gonzales.

Still no one quite entertains like Gonzales. It started with him putting on white gloves to give the air of formality of some classical performance and it ended with a short song performed by standing on the piano, playing with both feet, whilst wearing slippers. Whilst he gives off the air of a gentleman of leisure, performing in a dressing gown and slippers, the projector display showing the piano keyboard revealed his piano playing.

Throughout the show Gonzales swings from being a serious performer and improviser to adding some strangely silly bits and overacting. Rather than watching a Gonzales show just for the music, it’s the whole package, you never quite know what he might do next.

Youthmovies, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

There aren’t that many bands left from 2002 who are both still a going concern and whose music still interests me today. With the end of Youthmovies/Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies/YMSS/Youm it’s another one crossed off a very short list. Partly it’s me, over the last eight years my interests have moved on, and whilst many of those bands from 2002 haven’t moved on very much, Youthmovies were one of the few who had felt the need to constantly reinvent their sound and challenge themselves.

Thinking back to my first impressions of the band, at the Wheatsheaf in November 2002, I wasn’t entirely convinced by them. What were four guys roughly my age doing wearing nurses outfits onstage? By the second time, in December, I had already been converted. At the time I wrote ‘It’s a bit awkward jumping from one style to another, once they settle down to one they could be very interesting.’ Memories of Youthmovies phase 1 is a blur of shows (generally at the Wheatsheaf) featuring them and other kindred spirits, Cat on Form, 65daysofstatic, Edmund Fitzgerald and so on.

With the release of ‘Hurrah…’, Youthmovies phase 2 developed into a far more interesting prospect. It is from this era that I have some of my favourite memories of the band. There was the house party in Oxford in April 2007, where I made everyone drink Chinese white wine freshly brought back from a trip to Hong Kong, and the show on Brick Lane where the band played a more experimental show linking their songs with lots of improvised noise in between.

The final show downstairs at the Zodiac was never going to be a classic performance for the band, it was too emotional for that. And when Al whacked himself in the face with his guitar second song in, we knew this show was going to be remarkable in a different way. What was great about this was the atmosphere. By performing in the round, the audience were looking at each other and also cheering on the band. Everyone sang along, savouring every last moment of this remarkable live band.

As a final thought, here are some ‘What Ifs’…

-What if they were luckier, how far would they have gone?

-What if they kept going, what would they sound like in ten years’ time

Sorry to ruin the suspense, but the Koko show didn’t overtake the Union Chapel gig as the best gig of the year. Having to peek over other people’s shoulders instead of a perfect seated view put pay to that. However, in some other ways this show was better than the show in January. Having the balls to put This is the Dream of Win and Regine as the second track, surely he had peaked too soon, but amazingly, it turned out to be dream setlist of songs. Even some technical difficulties didn’t spoil the atmosphere at all.

Yes, some of the sequences of songs were familiar such as moving on from The Great Elsewhere to Lewis Takes Action and playing The Butcher straight after Flare Gun. But then in the middle of the main set he also played Independence is No Solution and finished with Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (surely this song should only be performed with an accompanying rain shower).

To top it all, the encore was what an encore really should be. Rather than keeping back a song from Heartland, it was a dive into the back catalogue including Song Song Song, and the ultimate treat of it all, his version of Mariah Carey’s Fantasy.

So, shame about not being able to watch Owen Pallett actually perform the songs but it was a great way to start what turned out to be a bit of crazy a Friday night.

Magnetic Fields played for two hours at the Barbican. For someone who hasn’t really got round to listening to their material, the live show was a great introduction to the band. Before the show, I was slightly worried whether two hours of twee would be too much, however it turned out it was a great way to explore the band’s music. There was great banter in between songs, Amelia Fletcher came on to sing a song, there was nothing else you really need more for a gentle, indie, sensible night.

Whilst the Magnetic Fields played around 20 songs in their set, at the other extreme were Silver Mt Zion the next evening, who played 6 in an hour and a half in a venue that really didn’t suit their sound. An ideal Silver Mt Zion would be one where their music surrounds the audience. In the Electric Ballroom however, the sound was a bit dead, and it certainly wasn’t helped by people at the side who spent the gig talking all the way through. It took a lot of concentration to keep on top of what the band was doing and to block out the distractions. However there were glimpses of how amazing the band would be in an ideal venue. Although there were times when the in between song banter went on just that little bit too long, it was a great contrast between the music and the entire show. Hopefully the next time they are back in London, Silver Mt Zion would play a more suitable venue.

Grizzly Bear at the Roundhouse 14/3, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

This is the critical point for Grizzly Bear. Where do they go from here? Sold out two nights at the Roundhouse, critical acclaim everywhere and even an appearance on the Twilight soundtrack. There are two options, one where they follow the popular route and end up writing beautiful, if slightly dull, 3 or 4 minute pop songs. The other, which seemed so promising from earlier live performances, is to carry on with their excellent musicianship, pushing at the rhythms and arrangements while still carrying a tune.

Sadly on the form of this weekend, there is a fear that they will go for the first option. On the performances over this weekend, the tracks off Veckatimest were a bit polished. Yes, the harmonies were beautiful, Chris Taylor did his usual thing of wrangling sounds from his various instruments and Christopher Bear played with control and did loud and soft at the various points. But it seemed that they were just going through the motions. Perhaps it was the fact that these shows are at the end of 15 months of touring, and the band just need a holiday.

Oddly, it was the songs off the earlier albums which stood out more, possibly because while they played the same few songs off the latest album, they mixed up the set list of older songs. It was difficult to choose which of the two shows were better, Saturday night had Colorado (which is always great live) and Sunday had Shift and Fix It.

It’s all summed up by an overheard comment at the end of the night ‘Ohmygod, this is one of those shows you will tell people about in the future, like Arcade Fire at the Ally Pally’. Precisely, and what happened to Arcade Fire’s music after the first album? Let’s hope Grizzly Bear have time to take a break, regroup, and keep pushing themselves.

In a year or two, Beach House might end up in a similar position too. For now, they are just about carrying on doing what they do well without having to adapt for a new audience. After seeing them last year at their tiny show at the Flea Pit in East London, it was good to see them perform again, having now heard the album. The stage shrouded by dramatic dim lights, Victoria Legrand’s voice was clearly the star of their set. It was a woozy and relaxed start to both evenings, which set the mood for the rest of the night.

Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

The last time Owen Pallett played the Union Chapel eight months ago, it was pretty much the ideal gig in the perfect venue. At the time, I thought that the show really couldn’t get that much better. Owen Pallett has set the bar high, and somehow he continues to explore and reinterpret his music in new ways.

It wasn’t even that he made it easy for himself, asking Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon to play as last minute special guests. It was great to see Nico and Sam perform in this relaxed environment, after watching Nico Muhly’s programmed show last night at the Roundhouse with the Britten Sinfonia. Whereas last night, it was all about grand arrangements and drama, with just the two of them, it was much more playful. It was an extra treat to see Beth Orton guest with them again, and performing different songs to the night before.

Having Nico Muhly on before Owen Pallett was a great opportunity to compare the two. Having not really noticed it before until these two performance, there are so many similarities between their arrangements. Both are never happy with just writing quiet harmonies, instead opting to add little flourishes everywhere in their music. There’s no other way to say it, but both their music is just very pretty.

The last two times Owen Pallett performed alone (with a projectionist) with the focus entirely on him and his looping pedals. Before the show, I was a little uncertain how it would work with an additional musician. In fact, it was great to see that Owen could work off another musician, filling out the songs with percussion and whistling. Now, instead of just watching to see how he loops and cues up sections of his songs (which he still does) it’s also a chance to focus on his technique. Until tonight, I’ve never noticed how fast he plucked his violin.

It’s a shame that with the attention that signing to Domino and the release of Heartland that it is likely that Owen Pallett might never play somewhere like the Union Chapel again (the next show is going to be at Koko). There is something about that octagonal, domed room that really suits music like this.