Showing posts with label radiohead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radiohead. Show all posts

Wednesday 31 July 2019

The Best Concerts take place at Small Venues

The best concerts take place in small venues!

Many are spending ridiculous amounts of money to see the big stars of the 70s, 60s or 80s at the big venues such as the Hydro Glasgow, O2 London and others. 

This is Big Business Music! 
The issue is though that many of the best gigs are often at those intimate smaller venues. 
~Who wouldn’t want to see Arcade Fire at Glasgow’s Barrowlands or Radiohead at a small London venue? 

~Now with the master lyrical bard Bob Dylan – I have seen him play the huge dark and characterless Glasgow SECC and at a smaller Braehead arena. He was so much better at the smaller venue, there si no doubt of it.

~Also Paul Simon at the Clyde Auditorium, and he was wonderful at this smaller venue. 

A few of my best smaller venue gigs – 
~ Scots storytellers Michael Marra at the Mugdock theatre, Dick Gaughan at Milngavie folk club, 
~ The Caledonia soul of Blue Rose Code impressed also at my folk club; Rab Noaeks at a house party, Radiohead at the Edinburgh festival. 

This is not to say that I have enjoyed some incredible music experiences on the bigger venues or open air stages and tents. Its just that we don’t necessarily have to pay mega bucks to see an artist we admire. The other trick is to see emerging talent before they hit the big time and simply enjoy them in a more intimate setting. 

Or to hear the really talented songwriters and musicians who prefer to play the smaller circuits. 


Alan Raich 
“All the arts involve writing and reading, in the widest sense, writing as in composition, creation, production , publication and reading as in attentive analysis, interpretation, conversation, comparisons and contacts.”

Friday 14 July 2017

First TRNSMT festival


Great times at TRNSMT festival Glasgow this weekend! Great crowds, weather was kind, (apart from rain Sunday which did little to dampen the crowds enthusiasm!) and the setting top class. As well as the main stage, there was the King Tuts, and the Jock Rock stages.

Highlights – the unforgettable Radiohead headline Friday night, Belle & Sebastian, Blossom, The Strypes, The 1975, Rag n’ Bone Man (I’m only Human), Twin Atlantic, Charlotte and more.
The headline band final night were the Awesome Biffy Clyro.

Radiohead pleased with a mix of crowd pleasers to sing to along with and their more experimental music, wonderful escapist, and mind blowing stuff. Their music makes me escape to new horizons.... Karma Police, Fake Plastic Trees, 

Stop for a while – ‘No Surprises’ – set you free, escapes, …..



The Stages were set up to be lit up with the magic of energetic bass and drums and those wonderful melodies the crowds love to sing.  This year was the first for TRNSMT festival, replacing T in the Park which had problems with its site last year.



Has tribalism in music disappeared? With our ease of access to thousands of sounds online – many artists now mix the genres and rarely are about one. A young scots singer songwriter (Rose Code Blue for example) may be bluesy folk or a singer 'rocky soul’. In fact crossing boundaries often gives an artist that edge and something unique to say.

I happened to read of the first major Scottish festival at Loch Lomond back in 1979 – when the bands included the Jam,  Boomtown Rats and Annie Lennox. The strange thing was the audience was mixed into tribes – the mods, rockers, skinheads and punks! Each tribe had their own bands and while the bands played some tribes would stand on the mounds and throw things at the other tribes! How weird! Thank goodness there are no tribes today – that I could see! This gig was for all ages and all walks of life...Some things improve clearly.

Bringing hope to the moment. Music lifts spirits often, and certainly makes more sense than todays stupid politics!!


Friday 4 March 2011

Radiohead

It's hard to explain in mere words the feelings this wide and encapsulating music generates - that reverberates and expands and contracts and ebbs, send shivers or vibrates you soul.
Yorke has a voice that grabs your attention as it surrounds the bass, drums, guitar, and piano. It's a fluid instrument that can be scary at times, exhilarating, escapist, mesmerising, unpredictable... In fact the opposite of your average MOR sounds! So beware! Their music is not for the weak of heart - but rather those who wish the journey to challenge, surprise and inform their senses.. If I feel full of unresolved conflicts or confusions - their music heals. I'll never forget how I felt at their gig in Edinburgh 2006 - and to appreciate this band you need to hear them live. It was a warm summer August night during the festival and it felt as if their music floated us upwards into the air, the way the wind might surge and groan... Well maybe it was simply the crowds all singing along to their songs - and jumping and waving their arms in the air or was it rather Colin Greenwood's bass thudding upwards through the grass under our feet.

In February they surprised us all, yet again, with a new album- with none of the usual pre-album build up or single releases (how wonderful!) - yet everyone wants to listen. It all reminded me of the Beatles in their day- when everyone simply couldn't wait to get their hands on their next album.

On watching the new 'Lotus flower' video - I was struck how closely photography, dance and music can be as one. One of the joys of Radiohead is knowing you'll discover more and enjoy the album more over time. Radiohead released their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011) in a variety of formats.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Adele - Someone Like You (on 'Later Live with Jools Holland') - Nov 2010



I saw Adele sing this on Jools Holland last year - it gave me the chills. Give me beautiful simple piano and voice any day. Her new album '21' is predicted to be massive this year.

Also you can now pre-order RADIOHEAD's new album 'King of limbs'direct from their website! Looks like 2011 is another good year for music. http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/

QUOTE Radiohead: What have twitter and facebook ever done for us?
Obviously, keeping in touch with everyone but I have to say I have become increasingly excited over the last 3 months about the possibilities of this form of communication. Yes I am very slow out of the blocks. It's in the arena of public protest that it seems twitter and facebook are increasingly the means by which popular movements throughout the world are able to come together and mobilise.
I have been so moved by the peaceful Jasmine revolution in Tunisia; The anti-Government demonstrations centred on Tahrir Square in Cairo.. Social networking has helped facilitate the freedom to assemble peacefully and express oneself. Equally in Britain it seems to be having a similar effect in helping essential protests being organised by students and groups such as UK Uncut against the Government's ill thought out cuts ... Well done those people!


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Monday 6 August 2007

Radiohead played Meadowbank stadium August 22nd 2006

Radiohead played Meadowbank stadium August 22nd 2006
Wild, unpredictable as the wind in the trees... their music takes you on a journey across time and space with flurries, storms, hurricanes and gentle breezes. Tom York’s voice blends incoherently with the band and Johnny Greenwood lays into it all, on electric guitar. Some of their lyrics capture essences of the human spirit such as- ‘ Just cos you feel it, doesn't mean it’s there.’
Karma Police; ‘For a minute there I lost myself.’
And Just; ‘You do it to yourself’

They played their first hit Creep as their final song ; ‘I wish I was special, I’m a creep I’m a weirdo.’ Tom at one point says, Radio One used to take risks and now they play Jay-lo.’
Another moment to take away from the gig, Yorke looks straight into the monitors to sing. Several of their songs are atmospheric and catch you in the gut with beats that resonate and vibrate through you. One of their new songs creates that Last Post end of the day broodiness. Possibly my best ever gig and an unforgettable experience.