Douglas Dare announces debut album "Whelm"

I'm so excited. I've mentioned Douglas Dare before and I hyped him up to the max. Time to do it again. To be released via Erased Tapes May 12th is DD's debut album, Whelm. I presume this will be ten tracks of bliss. I've seen Douglas live twice, accompanied only by a piano and I rather naively thought this would be all he'd need. You can listen to the second track, Nile, here - and it made me realise, (as if the Seven Hours EP hadn't already) that soft drums and electric piano only add to how hauntingly beautiful his sound is. Of course, I expect that songs like "Clockwork" and "Caroline" will be mainly piano with jarring chords over his lovely velvety voice - but this'll contrast well with the more electronic tracks.

I've pre-ordered and you should too. (The vinyl bundle comes with a 20-page lyric booklet and that was enough for me to break my spending ban.)

2013's shows that didn't blow.

Hello, friends. As promised, I've returned to comprise a list of my favourite gigs/concerts/shows/festival sets of 2013, all before the year's out. I also need to do it now as I'll only use it as procrastination when I need to do some real work. For now, I'm back in Cardiff, and thank God. I hope you all had a smashing Christmas too. Let's start from the beginning (or the best), it's a very good place to start. There were so many concerts I wanted to include, but again I encountered the same problem as I did for the previous post (they were late 2012-ers), so that's a bit of a shame. 

1. John Mayer - October 26th @ Wembley Arena, London

Sorry that this is the only photo I have. I spent the rest of the concert drowning in my own tears.

Who else? Only the greatest songwriter and guitar player of our generation. After a three year break, John Mayer embarked on a world tour and unsurprisingly sold out Wembley. I was slightly further away than my front row in Cardiff in 2010 but my reaction to his setlist was much more dramatic. As well as a fair few from Paradise Valley and Born and Raised, John played my favourite song ever, "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and I sort of screamed, burst out crying and blurted all the words out in one go. I was glad I took my good friend Yasmin with me as we were able to sing along together (I would have done it alone anyway), hoe-down together (to "Wildfire" and "Half of my Heart") and swoon together at this fabulous man. To top it all off, we were informed that a certain Aphrodite Lady was in Landan Tahhn, so we ventured to Heaven and saw Matt Lucas, Sharon Osborne and Lady Gaga (and her lady garden, much to my brother's fangirling dismay), and that kind of made my year (as if Mayer hadn't); even if I was hanging into my green tea the following morning.

2. City and Colour - 25th August @ Reading Festival

Second in the "I cried watching this guy" list is Dallas Green and friends on a very smelly Sunday at Reading this year. I turned down Fall Out Boy (who I'd never seen before) for this lovely man and I haven't a single regret. Apart from those in the crowd who only knew "Comin' Home" and the knobs who were heckling for Disclosure, I had a fabulous time at this set. Dallas had stated beforehand that it'd be more of a rock'n'roll set and that is certainly what we got; very few songs from Bring Me Your Love and Sometimes (I rejoiced that "As Much As I Ever Could" was included) and a load from Little Hell and this year's The Hurry and the Harm, suggesting that Dallas baby is moving on. They finished with a cover of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" and I went fucking beserk. It was one of the first songs my father taught me on the guitar and to hear this live by the one and only DG was spellbinding. 

3. Nils Frahm - 11th July @ St John-at-Hackney Church, London

Hands down the best classical concert I've attended. Ever. If there's anyone who puts their all into a set, it's Nils bloody Frahm. Making full use of the facilities, he began upstairs on the church's organ and ran downstairs to continue on piano, with the echo of the organ still resonating. The stage was placed in the middle of the audience, and my front row seat was perfect. I could see all the sweat dripping from his forehead and it was lush (somehow...). Now, if you're familiar with Nils Frahm you're familiar with the song "Said and Done". If you're not, you should be. Nils plays the same note in perfect rhythm throughout the entire song with one hand, fitting chords with the other - a tremendously hard thing to do. Frahm married his insane live capabilities with this already beautiful composition which left me rather tingly by the end. St John's was the perfect platform for this artist - brillz.

4. Daniel Johnston: 30th Anniversay of Hi, How Are You - 2nd June @ Barbican Centre, London

This show was wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. Some special guests (and fans) of Daniel Johnston performed covers of their favourite songs in the first half, followed by Johnston himself performing some others, accompanied by the performers of the first half. Some particular highlights were (Teenage Fanclub's) Norman Blake's covers of "Mountain Top" and "Story of an Artist" and Glen Hansard's cover of "Devil Town". Some argue that you can the full potential of these songs when performed by artists such as these, as Daniel Johnston's guitar playing is obviously not all-out-Hendrix-stylee, and to some extent I can agree. It's always been clear that Johnston is unwell but seeing him on-stage upset me slightly. However, it was lovely to see him come together with the special guests who really did admire him and had been influenced by him over the years.

5. The Staves and Sivu - 23rd April @ The Gate, Cardiff
These are three lovely ladies, indeed. After I saw them supporting Bon Iver in November 2012, I kind of maybe actually fell in love a little bit. The gorgeous three part harmonies sound even more gorgeous live than on the studio album, and especially in such a lovely venue. The Gate is about a ten minute walk from my little Cardiff house and to hear such fine music at a cute venue like this was nothing short of an absolute delight. Sivu, the support act, whom I'd only heard of about a week or two before the show, played a set more acoustic than that on his EP, but it was delicious and the addition of a cello made me melt. We're all a sucker for the lower register strings (I'm talking through my arse here). I got a chance to see the Staves again at the Trinity Centre in Bristol later on this year, but the venue of this gig made it just a teeny bit better.

6. Ólafur Arnalds and Douglas Dare - 5th December @ St George's, Bristol
Above is a link to my full review of the show in Bristol this year. This beat their London show in June a million to none (despite a gorgeous duet) due to the setting, the better organisation, and the fact that I prefer a smaller orchestra. I'm expecting big things from Douglas Dare in 2014.

7. Paramore - 21st September @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Come on. If you've ever seen Paramore live, you'll know why they're on the list. Belter after belter after belter. Who can beat emo-phase nostalgia, right? 

8. Deaf Havana - 24th August @ Reading Festival
There's something magical about seeing a band you've seen grow and develop work their way through the stages at Reading to a set where every person in the crowd is singing along. Yasmin sent me a link to this year's set earlier and it made me feel a bit gooey inside. Love them. (See my defensive DH rant in my previous post too).

9. letlive. - 15th October @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
letlive. are notorious for their mental shows, and this show was no exception. Having seen them twice before, I knew there'd be theatrics (chucking mics in random directions) as well as the "I hate my father" rant which always bodes well... followed by another philosophical statement. If this was Soupy or something I'd want to shove my fingers down the back of my neck but Jason hit me in his words, (spoken and sung). letlive. always mean what they do and it's something I really admire. 

10. The Story So Far, Seahaven and Save Your Breath - 17th October @ The Fleece, Bristol
Here's one for all you pop punks. FFO: hometowns, pizza, stagediving, angry finger pointing (I did a lot of this). I had to leave this show slightly damp with ruined clothes because of the fact I endured a lot of hurt from stage divers, all in the name of fist pumping "TRYING HARD, REAL HARD" as close as I could to Parker Cannon's face. Of course I'm a huge Seahaven and Save Your Breath fan and I'm partial to the angry finger point to SYB's "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy" - just for the WAYULZ love. TSSF are always loads of fun so that's why they're here. There's always too much stagediving so that's why they're no higher than double figures.
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Well, there you have it, my dears. A little top ten of sorts. I think the next post'll be some kind of "new year's musical resolutions". I don't know what that really means at the moment but wait and see. Have a glorious new year. I'll be behind a bar, crying into everyone else's half drunken double vodka lemonades. 

Ólafur Arnalds, St George's Bristol, 5th December 2013

Arnalds at his final show of the 100 date "For Now I Am Winter" Tour. (Photo from his Facebook)

If you've not heard of Ólafur Arnalds before, it might be time to take an adventure to the treasure island of modern classical music. Someone who I very briefly spoke to on a dating site a year or two ago told me I should give him a listen and I didn't really know what to expect. If he wasn't a fucking creep I'd have married this bloke for the introduction to what I've fallen asleep to, cried to, walked to work to.. et cetera.

I got to see Arnalds earlier this Summer in London, supported by Douglas Dare (also the support for this concert) and I was spellbound, as I had been by the studio recordings, the YouTube videos and live videos. The St George's show was no exception.

St George's, in the heart of Clifton in Bristol, is a spectacle in itself. My brother and I walked into some sort of vestry turned gallery/coffee shop - you know the kind of thing the yuppies lap up. Don't expect an overpriced pint of Carling served in a flimsy plastic cup here, folks. I couldn't complain though - much like the setting for his London show in St. John's at Hackney, the main auditorium/concert hall was the perfect setting for this kind of concert. Once you give his music a listen, you'll see why.

Douglas Dare, signed to the same label as Arnalds, kicked off the show with an emotional and yet reserved performance. Just his voice and the piano's sound resonated and without sounding like a prat, the acoustics were great. Douglas, bless him (I wanted to hold him a bit) explained that he doesn't really talk about the meanings of his songs, most of which start as poems. Sometimes this can detach the listener from the artists but with Douglas, I don't think it matters. The way he articulated, leaned into and away from the piano and his the keys was enough to show his emotion. "Seven Hours", the title track of his EP and "Caroline" were particular favourites. If he tours again sometime (it might not be for a while, he's been on tour with Óli for ages) then go and see him. You need to hear the voice in person. I say THE voice and not HIS voice for a reason. It's not like velvet because when you stroke velvet the wrong way it's not as smooth anymore. Douglas' voice is like swirling thick double cream around a glass or something, but with something mesmerising too, like, I dunno, the cream in question here changes colours. You get the jist. Listen to his music.

Fifteen minutes after my brother and I were done tweeting Douglas Dare and insisting that he'd been staring at us (we were in the front row) for the duration of his, the man who'd introduced me to the world of modern classical came to the stage, followed by his accompanying violinist and cellist. Arnalds is nervous, sweet and endearing and undoubtedly seriously talented. Sampling the audience aah-ing to middle C to provide a background hum, he played three songs to which I just kind of zoned out, watching the projections on the wall. It's easy to do that and just get lost in the music, to use a crappy cliché. His violinist performed an excellent rendition of 3326, my least favourite Arnalds recorded composition and one of my favourites to hear live. It goes to show how much the live experience can change your perception of a song or an artist.

Half way through the set, Arnór Dan came to the stage. Arnór features as a vocalist on Óli's latest album and if you've seen Broadchurch with David Tenant, sings on the title credits. Blimey, his falsetto goes higher than half of the Sopranos in my choir. I was even more impressed by his than of Justin Vernon's when I went to see Bon Iver last year. Old Skin is my favourite Dan/Arnalds track and its performance was perfect. It's a song aching to be remixed and played in a trendy nightclub. You know those ones where everyone is fucked but looking really sexy. The ones that don't exist, essentially.

Óli finished with the "Near Light" and the gorgeous Lag Fyrir Ömmu, meaning "Song for Grandma", written after the death of his grandmother, who had forcefed him Chopin and the like from a young age. He said without her he'd still be in that death metal band, stage-diving or something. Thanks, Grandma Arnalds.

Had it not been for our train back to Cardiff (which turned out to be delayed anyway) I'd have stuck around to take more in and tried to catch Douglas for a litte chat but instead it was a rather brisk walk across Bristol, humming to Douglas Dare's Scars and feeling very uplifted. Great show.

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On Monday I'm heading to Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach to see Owen (Mike Kinsella of American Football et al's side project). Somewhat different to modern classical twinkly piano, but I'm very excited. Kinsella is a music genius. I'll let you know how that goes.


On an aside, I'm a big fan of the Staves, and as implied, Bon Iver. They toured together in November 2012 and I managed to catch the Manchester date. Half way through writing this blog post, this happened. I had to stop for a minute and go a bit mental. So that's exciting.

Until then - have a lovely weekend. Let me know what you think. I'm not really sure how these things should go.