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

Londoners DO dance

Posted by jill on December 11, 2007

In what is likely to be my last gig of the year, it was nice to be able to bring some of my themes of the year together. Obviously there were two big events in my life this year, my round the world trip this summer and then my move (and new job) to London. Since arriving in London in September, I’ve seen a huge number of shows, and even some of my colleagues at work have worked out that I do go to an awful lot of gigs.

So as my last gig of the year, I saw Girl Talk (who I last saw in Seattle at the Capitol Hill Block Party, perform at Bardens Boudoir (a new venue for me, promoted by what might be my new favourite gig promoters – Upset The Rhythm– They also put on the Dan Deacon show on Friday).

I half went to this show wanting to relive my summer. I wasn’t expecting Gregg Gillis to top his show from the summer (which was at the end of a long day of great music – in an absolutely packed venue). To my surprise, the show tonight was just as good, and even exceeded my expectations. For one thing, with his endless gigging, I was expecting the same show as the one I saw this summer. This was not the case. The samples were about 80% the same as his previous set, but they were in a different order, and some of the new bits were even better than his old mixes (one example is the sample of Paranoid Android).

I wasn’t expecting the audience to be as mad as the show I saw in the summer. Afterall, in July he played to a completely packed venue, with people queuing out the door. Even when some of the crowd invaded the stage, the dancefloor was still completely packed. At that show, I was safely watching from the balcony. At Bardens however, there wasn’t a balcony to hide in, but it was great fun to dance with everyone else. And yes, there was a stage invasion. Rather than the chaotic crush in Neumos, Bardens really felt like a party.

The photo for this post is taken from Girl Talk’s soundcheck at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Neumos, Seattle