So it's been another busy week here in London. Aside from working lots, getting a new dresser for M., and trying to enjoy every minute, the band had a decent jam on Wednesday and are really getting our sound together. It may seem like a long time, but after a few months of getting to know each other we are starting to click musically in a way that hasn't happened with anyone before, the tunes we are writing are some of the best I've ever been a part of, and it is awesome.
I've also decided that I need to pick up a smaller keyboard for jamming. I want to have my P-120 set up at home for recording all the time (I've got a new venture that I want to surprise you all with), and I am also worried about its durability as something is rattling on the inside -- it hasn't affected the sound yet, but I am concerned that too much traipsing up and down four floors twice a week just might destroy it. So I'm looking at a Juno-D. We'll see what the paycheque looks like this month before making any rash decisions though.
On Thursday, M. and I went to check out We Are Scientists. They had two bands opening for them, Oxford Collapse and Ladyhawke. Oxford Collapse were not really my cup of tea. They had a good drummer, but the vocals just sounded like crap. I don't know if it was the sound guy or the band, but either way it was not very enjoyable. Ladyhawke were good but not great. I felt I was watching Blondie without the stage presence. It didn't help that they used a lot of pre-recorded backing tracks which really takes away from the live performance. Especially for things like guitar solos. If you've got two guitarists on stage, can't one of them play the solo?
We Are Scientists stole the show though. They weren't as funny as I'd expected, but they rocked the house down and they were able to get the audience moving in a way that I haven't seen any live band do in the last 14 years. They whizzed through almost all the material from both of their albums (yes they are short records), and sonically they just had it right. The massive light show helps as well, and I'm convinced that having a visual element to the show is a necessity to increase audience attention as well as to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Today, because a friend from Canada was in town, we decided to head up to Cambridge and check out the university. It's a really neat town and was super quiet, which something that we are not used to anymore given that we live on a high street in central London. I'm going to get the photos and more details up on flickr and facebook within the week, I promise.
That's it for now!
Cheers
Heya - loving the new format. The chalkboard picture is hilarious.
Posted by: Vn | April 30, 2008 at 09:35 AM