Music Takes A Physical Form: Part II

Now, when I said that 2012 was the holy grail of music gigs, what I really meant was the next concert I had the luxury of being a part of was the epitome of 2012, and whilst we have survived the Mayan predictions, I would have died quite happily knowing I had attended this. Yes, I am talking about the ultimate collaboration of rap royalty that is Watch The Throne. Wow. This was a concert like no other, it has been a childhood dream to see any form of Kanye West perform live but to have his musical talents intertwined with someone as influential as Jay-Z was the cherry (or icing) on top of the cake. The performance itself was incredible, a minimalist set of on-screen graphics and fire was all that was needed and both Jay-Z and Kanye West had a stage presence and energy that complete captured the audience. They also featured an amazing set list mainly consisted on WTT tracks but also some classics such as Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind, 99 Problems and On To The Next One etc as well as Kanye’s Runaway, Diamonds are Forever and All Falls Down etc. No Church in the Wild was an absolute favourite and the brief appearance of Rihanna for Run this Town and All of The Lights really sealed the deal. But nothing could beat the highly anticipated Niggas in Paris which was looped a grand total of 7 times.  This was my ultimate concert to top all concerts and so far, nothing has come close to beating it proving that despite all the added extras, the talent and passion of the artist prevails through any show.

Whilst I had so far had an extremely successful run of music, I was becoming slightly penniless so when I received an email allocating tickets to Radio1’s Big Weekend situated in Hackey, I was ecstatic to say the least. I have always wanted to go to a festival, because let’s face it, what doesn’t beat a whole days’ worth of endless music acts? And this £2.50 (ticket shipping costs) festival was the perfect crash course however I did have a couple of complications (having to switch days and then losing the tickets etc). I went to the Sunday event and this is just a brief summary (as far as my memory serves me) of the day…

The day kicked off with Labrinth, we then ran due to torrential rain into the nearest tent which happened to be Zane Lowe whose DJ turn-table skills were incredible, then we had a brief montage of Plan B and one song from Santigold (we arrived at the exact moment of my favourite song – Disparate Youth) before we hopped into Ben Howard's soothing and peacefully beautiful set. We then made our way towards the main stage (started off at the back and ending the night roughly 4 rows from the front) to find Tinie Tempah who completely got the crowd high on energy which then transcended into the absolute goddess which is Florence & The Machine (who was also our reason for swapping our tickets). The mysterious and unknown guest performance then revealed himself as Dizzee Rascal who seemed to be at every possible event that entire summer and the night finished with Rihanna who put on an amazing show which definitely exceeded my expectations of her. Yeah, you can tell that after all these acts, I felt like my iTunes had come to life and completely overwhelmed me with music.

My final instalment of music for 2012 passed on the 12^th of December when I returned to the 02 arena for a very different act than what I had seen there before. The tickets were a spontaneous buy but for a band that I had really developed an increasing love for just at the end of the previous year. The Black Keys played pretty much every favourite of mine, there best performances being Ten Cent Pistol and Little Black Submarines. They offered a very laid back simplistic performance that really focused on the band whilst graphics to match their most recent album, El Camino, flickered in the background. The encore had a pretty unexpected style to it as giant disco balls were lowered down from the ceiling and an array of spotlights shone over the audience during Everlasting Light which was another highlight of the night. Initially, I had not actually been particularly excited about the supporting act, The Maccabees as my memory of their previous material of years ago told me that I wasn't really a fan but by the end of even the first song, my perception had done a complete 180. They started on Feel to Follow, which you might have seen me feature as No1 on my latest playlist, which showed had the band has matured and taken a more relaxed style that is less indie-pop and is more soft subtle rock whilst keeping their distinctiveness.

For each performance, I was able to be satisfyingly close to the front (a good balance of pure luck and hours queuing) which whilst it adds to the experience a great deal, the artists themselves were enough to fully certify my love of each of them and their songs. Its safe to say, 2012 was a vastly successful year music-wise and I hope to have a similar post next year of 2013’s concerts. This, as it stands are the artists whom I am determined to see…

Florence & The Machine, Portugal. The Man, Frank Ocean, Lupe Fiasco, and (if they finally release an album this year) The Neighbourhood. On a further note, I will be constantly checking Ticketmaster for Watch The Throne II which I am guessing will show itself up the summer of 2014.

Music Takes A Physical Form: Part I

Having lost my concert-virginity only last summer (yes, it’s shameful), I was relieved to have booked an array of concerts throughout the summer of 2012. I finished my small marathon of live music only this month ending, just as I started, with a favourite rock band of mine.

To start of the time-line, I will set the scene of 2011 summer as I, along with a group of friends, travelled to Hyde Park on what was looking like a pretty promising day. This was a first experience for the majority of us and we had numerous doubts, although we paid through Gigantic (a well-known ticket agency), that something would go wrong or our tickets would be fake. The supporting acts were a wild little band, The Zac Brown Band, who had a more chaotic Mumford and Sons farmer/banjo vibe to them and were a complete success when it came to riling up the crowd. They were followed by The White Lies, of whom I was somewhat a fan of previously, and despite sounding an exact replica of their recorded material were incredibly underrated audience-wise, possibly due to their minimalistic stage presence but whom I enjoyed nonetheless. Two supporting acts is a pretty lengthy build-up by anyone’s standard so by the time Paul Weller came on stage, the whole crowd, I included, were simply awaiting the main act.

Kings of Leon presented themselves  in a true rock’n’roll yet incredibly casual manner, just rolling up on stage, grabbing from a range of guitars, holding cans and bottles of beer and tequila and the first song soon become a catalyst along with the audiences built-up anticipation that resulting in a mosh pit. The majority of their set-list consisted of songs from Come Around Sundown, starting off with Radioactive, however they threw in a good measure of classics. Closer, Crawl and Pyro were my absolute favourite of a night that was topped off with fireworks and in all honesty, whilst it was a long wait, I am pretty proud of losing my concert-virginity to Kings of Leon.

Moving onto 2012, my personal holy grail of music gigs, I lined up some beauty’s starting with an unexpected Bombay Bicycle Club (a birthday present) who were a mellow dosage of indie rock with some amazing female supports; Lianne La Havas who brought out her debut also this year and the shy yet warming vocals of Rae Morris who has only a few pieces of EP material floating around as I am currently aware.

If there was any such evidence to the phrase “put on a show” it would straight-up be Coldplay’s 2012 Mylo Xyloto Tour. Our promise on the train home from seeing Kings of Leon the year before that we would next see Coldplay had become reality. Even before I stepped into the Emirates Stadium, I managed to spot a man in a giant elephant costume (see, Paradise music video) and was given my very own “Xylo-Band” the significance of which, apart from a small flashing light, I was yet to witness. On entrance into the stadium, I was transported into the world of their vibrant album cover for every conceivable part of the set was covered in graphitized lyrics and otherwise. The show itself was absolute genius and not to ignore the obvious talents of the band themselves, who were even greater live, let me just fill you in with a few extras: Simon Pegg graced the show displaying unknown talents with a harmonica, Rita Ora and Robin were great supports, giant bouncy ball were thrown over the crowd in a pure festival style, confetti was released and the Xylo-Bands flashed in accordance with the song lighting up the whole stadium against a dark night sky. This was pretty much the definition of magic.

2012 Highlights

Having not only began my music blog, audio-ghost, but also this general media blog only this year, I have been able to discover some true gems within music, film and otherwise. My iTunes has doubled in content and my film list is overflowing with film favourites as well as films that I am yet to see. In celebration of this as well as the beginning of a new year, I thought I would bring you on a quick trip down media-lane of the past year with a few of my 2012 favourites...

1. Bands/Collaborations: Watch The Throne, The Black Keys, Portugal The Man, The Neighbourhood, The Maccabees, Alabama Shakes, GOOD Music.
2. Male solo-artists: Frank Ocean, Ben Howard, Jack White, Lupe Fiasco, Kendrick Lemar
3. Female solo-artists: Florence & the Machine, Lana Del Rey
4. Album: Watch The Throne (indefinitely)
5. Songs: I still adore each and every song featured within my monthly playlists and since they are all fairly recent posts, I can’t really bring myself to name many others.
6. Music Video: Lost In The World – Kanye West, directed by the wonderful Ruth Hogben who is incredibility talented in portraying a sense of motion and distance within her work and allowing dance to evolve through a black and white shot.
   
7. Comedian: As you may have already read, I have been loving all of Chris Rocks past work and have become a huge fan of his.
8. Television Show: Upon the recommendation of a friend, whilst it is a show that has been on air for quite a few years now, Californication has rapidly become my 2^nd favourite show (Lost, being oceans away as the 1^st). I was worried that my previous association of David Duchovny being Mulder from The X Files would block my ability to see him as a whole new character but he took on this role with such a slickness and ease that really enhances Hank Moody as a character. Every episode, whilst only 30 minutes long which is a somewhat foreign tie frame for anything other than a sit-com, is just as humorous and light as one another and what I probably love the most about the entire show, is its head-on “yeah this is L.A., and so what?” approach that allows the characters to find themselves in ridiculous situations without appearing over dramatic nor trying to be unnecessarily in-depth.
9. Films: These are films that have not necessarily been released this year as I don’t often get the chance to go to the cinema but moreso the films that I have seen this past year (whether for the 1^st time or not) and recommend… The Devils Double (2011), Drive (2011), Oceans 11 (2001), American Gangster (2007), Reserviour Dogs (1992), Benny & Joon (1993), Funny Games U.S. (2007), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Road To Gauntanamo (2006), Sin City (2005), Life In A Day (2011) and Snatch. (2000)
10. I thought I would also add in a quick list of current film anticipations (whether DVD or Cinema releases) for 2013: Django Unchained, Looper, Frankenweenie, Gangster Squad, Seven Psychopaths, Imaginaerum, The Man With The Iron Fists, Killing Them Softly, Cloud Atlas, Now You See Me.

How Was I To Ever Believe It, It's Never Too Late

1. The Maccabees - Feel To Follow
   A complete new-found-love after having seen them live as a supporting act for The Black Keys. Wow. I remember being set against them from their previous work but their most recent album is an aboslute dream.
2. The Neighbourhood - Let It Go
3. Anais Michell - Young Man In America
   A find, courtesy of my media teacher.
4. Haim - Don't Save Me
5. Wife - Bodies
   No lyrics needed.
6. Jack Penate - Every Glance
7. Bill Withers - Use Me
   I have an undeniable love for his man and this song translates everything I love about his style.
8. The Cardigans - Please Sister
9. J. Cole - Breakdown
10. Nirvana - Come As You Are

What Is It About Black American Comedy?

I pretty much just finished watching a Chris Rock marathon of his live stand-up material and have ever since been reliving old childhood shows all of which lend a heavy focus to “Black Comedy”. Now, when I say this, I am talking about my childhood progression from the early days of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990-1996) to Kenan & Kel (1996-2000) to more recent shows such as Everybody Hates Chris (2005-2009).

One of the main selling points, aside from the humour itself, is how these shows mark a certain era, or rather encompass the whole “90’s kid” vibe in general which of course, being one myself, I hold close to heart. From the endless snap-backs and loud prints that Will Smith cultivated to the hip-hop soundtracks that circulate within each episode. And whilst Everybody Hates Chris is set in the 80's it follows the same pattern of “street-lifestyle” which completely takes you back into childhood.

Another thing that this particular subgenre of comedy achieves to perfection is catchphrases. Let me remind you of a few…

“Uh… Nah” – Michael, My Wife & Kids (2001-2005)
“Who loves Orange Soda?” – Kel, Kenan & Kel

Or even just catchphrases in the form of actions… catchactions such as Jazz being thrown out of the house by Uncle Phil or Michael, once again, slapping the back of Juniors head.

I always find that with recent comedy, it’s always a struggle between humour and relatability. With Black American Comedy, it came so naturally but the British comedy shows currently on air all advertise themselves on the “hilarity of real life situations” but seem somehow forced and too scared to become either completely outrageous in situation or completely realistic and so are stuck in an uneasy middle ground. Whereas Everybody Hates Chris knew exactly how to have episodes such as in Everybody Hates Bomb Threats, where Chris reports a so-called “bomb threat” to evacuate the school so that he doesn’t have to give a history speech, whilst still appearing relatable and absolutely hilarious.

And this doesn’t just go to television for this subgenre has also proved its ability within cinema and yes, I am talking about the classic Wayans Brothers return, White Chicks (2004). This film ticks every box from having a pool of memorable quotes that runs a close second to the ever-loved Mean Girls, to having the perfect blend of comedy and action.

Now, back to my original reason for this post… Chris Rock. All four of his shows, Bring The Pain (1996), Bigger & Blacker (1999), Never Scared (2004) and Kill The Messenger (2008) have all brought tears to my eyes in hilarity ratings. He draws a very similar comedic style to which he portrays in Everybody Hates Chris, but is able to explore topical issues such as politics and poverty in greater death. Whilst these may seem sensitive issues, even those with opposing views can’t resist finding humour in his ridicules of society. You wouldn't have to even listen or watch Chris Rock to find his stand-up completely amazing, seeing the audiences reactions is more than enough. Plus, on a final note of why I love Black American Comedy… only Chris Rock could have delivered the best “Fucks I Give” joke ever.

Thank-you, and goodnight.