Female role models

Posted by jill on July 21, 2011

It appears that the theme for this year’s gigs are revisiting bands from my youth and well loved albums. Halfway through Electrelane’s set tonight, something clicked, and I realised that the band had come along just at the right time of my life. They were around during my early 20s, when everything was hopeful and it felt like that I could do anything with my life. Just like Electrelane’s music and attutude.

They may well be the only band I can think of who have suceeded within the strict confines of the music industry. They are four girls, but they don’t need to play up their femininity. Mia’s guitar playing tonight was jawdropping, beating anything that most other guitarists would do. The layers and depth of their songs bring comfort and yet aren’t dull. They prove that who you are doesn’t really matter. All you need is the intelligence and bravery to go out there and just do it. It’s a good reminder that there are still a great number of possibilities out there.

Favourite gigs of 2007

Posted by jill on December 31, 2007

1. Daft Punk @ Wamu Theater, Seattle, WA, USA – 29th July
2. !!!, Holy Fuck, Midnight Juggernauts @ Koko, London, UK – 7th November
3. Dan Deacon @ The Dome, London UK – 7th December
4. Capitol Hill Block Party @ Seattle, WA, USA – 27th July
Girl Talk @ Bardens Boudoir, London, UK – 11th December
Matt and Kim and Jonquil @ The Barfly, London, UK – 9th November
5. Electrelane @ Koko, London, UK – 29th November
6. Acoustic Ladyland @ the Zodiac, Oxford UK – 29th April
7. Grizzly Bear @ the Scala, London, UK – 21st May
8. Silver Mt Zion and Jonquil @ the Zodiac, London, UK – 3rd May
9. Youthmovies, TTNG, Jonquil, Meet me in St Louis @ a house party, Oxford, UK 14th April
10. Beirut @ Rough Trade East, London, UK – 5th November
11. The Shins @ Bush Hall, London, UK – 26th February
12. Forward Russia @ Borderline, London, UK – 6th December

Electrelane

Posted by jill on November 29, 2007

Electrelane are one of those bands I really should have paid much more attention to. Whenever albums came out, they were too expensive and there were always other shows to go to when they played. I only bought No Shouts, No Call this summer when I was in the states, because of the exchange rate the album was finally affordable. The time I saw them play live was at Audioscope 2003, before Ros joined the band. So, with the joys of moving to London, I was finally able to catch them again tonight. By the end of the set, I was annoyed that it has take me so long just to get round to seeing them live again.

They are truly a special band, one that manages to create their own unique sound, but constantly veering away from that sound to try other things. I don’t listen to female musicians enough, but I find that most female performers tend to take their image more seriously than the music they produce. There are very few, like Electrelane, who focus on the music, and not so much on the way they look. As their second last show before an extended break, they played for nearly 2 hours. For many bands, even watching them for 1 hour is too much, but after 2, I still wanted Electrelane to play on.