Guardian
The Libertines are set to reform for a slot at the Reading and Leeds festival in August. The band, which centred around the songwriting partnership of Pete Doherty and Carl Barât, have not played together as the Libertines since 2004. A source told the Guardian that the group would be receiving a huge sum for their performance, rumoured to be around £1.5m.The Libertines formed in 1997, with bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell making up the lineup. The band earned themselves a devoted fanbase following the release of their debut album Up the Bracket in 2002. However, drug problems caused the band to disintegrate around the time of their second, self-titled album. Barât kicked his best friend Doherty out of the band in attempt to make him wake up to his heroin addiction, although this only served to increase antagonism between the pair.
Doherty went on to form Babyshambles while Barât became the frontman of Dirty Pretty Things, who split up in 2008. Relations between the pair have thawed considerably in recent times, however, and they have played on stage together on several occasions since the split. According to reports in the Sun, the group will consider announcing further dates and writing new material if the reunion goes well.
Don’t expect the road to be too smooth, though. Doherty was arrested last week on suspicion of supplying drugs following the death of Robin Whitehead at a flat in east London earlier this year.
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
Concert Review: Beach House
Bands: Beach House, Bachelorette
Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA)
Date: March 28, 2010
Act One – Bachelorette – Bachelorette was boring. It’s not really the music that’s boring, it’s more of the process as a whole. She plays guitar for thirty seconds, turns the loop on, records into one microphone, loops that, turns on a drum pad, and then does another round of singing. She reminded me (at her best) of High Places and at her worst like your average shitty electronically styled opening act (cough Many Mansions cough). Some dude was apparently loving it so much that he thought it was wise to shout “you boring fucks need to learn how to move your body” after her first song. Yeah, maybe if I was tripping on shrooms like you…idiot. llalallalaallalala bum allalalalalal bum. Relaxing stuff, but annoying.
Act Two – Beach House – A very kind band. Kicking off the set with “Walk in the Park,” my personal favorite, was a wise choice. I could tell the sold-out crowd was made up of a lot of Teen Dream era fans so this opener definitely resonated with all of us. Lead singer and keyboardist Victoria Legrand amazingly executed her parts and that’s not without saying guitarist and back-up singer Alex Scally wasn’t awesome. He was. Speaking of Teen Dream, somebody commented that they played every song off of that. And you know what? I think they did! They also played a few old songs that many people were able to appreciate. Legrand and Scally’s between song banter was charming as they said things like “you guys are very lovely. Thank you for having us.” They genuinely seemed happy to be playing. They ended the set with Teen Dream closer “Take Care,” but that was only a little tease. It’s a great closing track and would certainly lead one to believe that was all they had left. But no! They came back for a one song encore of “10 Mile Stereo,” another great ditty off of Teen Dream. This song is the band’s heaviest offering (at least live) and I actually can’t imagine a better choice. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to one of my favorite albums of the year (and the other songs) performed in such a relaxing and enjoyable setting. If you haven’t heard Beach House, I’d recommend giving them a try.
Grade: A-/B+
Posts Coming Soon
What a jam-packed weekend! First, Chris, John, and I went to Black Lips/Box Elders show on Thursday at Middle East Downstairs. That will be reviewed really really soon hopefully. On Saturday, Chris and I made the journey to the House of Blues to take in Strange Boys, Deerhunter, and Spoon. Also, expect a review of that soon. Last night, I went to see Beach House at Paradise. Expect a review today? I’ll also be doing a review of Dr. Dog’s Shame probably today.
A Rant Stolen From A Rant
MUSICIANS DIDN’T MAKE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!
MUSICIANS ARE BECOMING TOOLS TO THE INDUSTRY!
MUSICIANS NEED TO WEED OUT THE PEOPLE WHO AREN’T DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF CREATING AND PLAYING TUNES.
Fucked Up’s sentiments expressed in three lines.
7″ Review: Do As I Say, Not What I Do [2010]
Band: St. Dad
Release: 3/2010
Label: None
1. “Jobs And Junk” – C
2. “The Unwanted Child” – C+
3. “Money Hungry” – B-
4. “It’s Not What I Like” – B
Comments: WTF is this? Sounds like a drunken Mickey Mouse rambling over some Big Black instrumentals. So punk. You can tell this is self-released. I guess if you are really fucked up this might sound pretty good and chaotic and all that stuff that makes noise special. The last song is re-listenable. Maybe.
Grade: C+ (79)
TODAY IS THAT DAY!
I’m not going to post a link to the new gay that has Jared apologizing for using the word faggot and then making out with some hurt new gay bro-man.
Find that shit yourself.
I will offer up a link to The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s independent newspaper, who conducted an interview with Jared:
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/the-black-lips-loosens-its-tongue-1.2201114
The No Age Threesome?
LA PMA punk duo No Age played with an extra member at SXSW last weekend: Cundo Bermudez (Wrangler Brutes, Nazti Skinz), who worked as the recording engineer on some of the duo’s early 12-inches. Contrary to a report on the Los Angeles Times music blog, drummer Dean Spunt told Gossip Wolf that Bermudez is only a temporary touring member, but they are “hoping to find a permanent third.” May we suggest Craigslist’s “Casual Encounters” section?
Black Lips Interview
Select Quote:
Ian: I mean, when I was washing dishes for the man, that was a mother fucker. I used to do this (mimics dish washing), and now I do this (mimics guitar strumming). It’s a lot better!
Link: http://dcist.com/2010/03/a_few_minutes_with_black_lips.php
Animal Collective — BREAKING UP
Probably not, but that’s what all the hipster blogs, websites, and publications are hyping.
I liked Animal Collective before Merriweather so go suck it.
We Are Being Watched!
“There are many of us who don’t believe the status quo of what we’ve been told,” acknowledged former governor of the state of Minnesota, actor and TV host Jesse Ventura in an exclusive interview with RT.
Ventura, who has had explosive encounters with the American mainstream media, called it “soundbite news” and said it cannot be trusted at all.
“Major news organizations have really become almost monopolized. The media today is in creating news rather than reporting it. And that’s very dangerous,” he said.
Jesse Ventura shared that “the Internet is getting super powerful now, and that is what the government has to control next.”
The ex-governor warned that “Whenever government says ‘to keep you safe’ – get ready, because you are going to lose your freedoms.”
One needn’t be Jesse Ventura to figure this out.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 