Calvin Harris @ Oxford academy 17/10/09

When the lights dimmed down on Oxford academy for many of the younger fans in the audience it was almost too much, the chants of “Calvin, Calvin”, rang out accompanied by high pitched screams and the frantic waving of glow sticks. When Harris finally jumps on stage to ‘Merrymaking at my place’ the crowd go wild, and from that point on there’s no going back. Smashing out hit after hit in the form of, ‘Ready For The Weekend’, ‘The Girls’, and number 1 single, ‘I’m Not Alone’ Calvin bobs and dances behind his keyboard as he conducts the chaos that is progressing in front of him. Finally, as he pauses for breath he gives the crowd one more opportunity to go mental. The excited and sweaty fans obviously need no encouragement as they’ve been going mental for the last 45 minutes. When he eventually leaves the stage and the young fans start to filter out, it is perfectly understood why he has become one of the biggest pop stars of 2009.

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and Chew Lips 15/10/09

The union has once again been treated to another Thursday night of musical magic. This time in the form of Camden band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and South London based Chew Lips.
First up were Ou Est. Made up of 3 very strange boys, the band managed to tear the stage apart with their dizzy mix of electro pop music combined with a massive amount of enthusiasm. Jumping into the crowd, dancing with fans and at one point, front man Andele even scaled one of the huge speakers before being pulled off by security. Not exactly the sort of set you can call boring, these boys are definitely ones to watch for the future. The stand out track for me was their next single, ‘Dance The Way I Feel’, which is available now to download on iTunes; it got the whole crowd dancing and eager for more.
Next up were indie band Chew lips. Fronted by the stunning Tigs, the electro pop trio played tune after tune of indie pop that will make you dance your legs off and stay spinning around in your head for days after. They captivated the audience who were dancing the whole way through the set, and when they’d finished the crowd were left feeling like they’d witnessed something truly special.

Recap

Hi.
I've been really busy over the past few weeks, and will update asap. I was really ill last week, to the point that I had a rash all over my face that looked like menigitis and I was convinced I was going to die...Needless to say, I didn't, and after a little 'moment', I am back to my chirpy self and ready to get on with things.
Coming up will be reviews from Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, Chew Lips, Mr Hudson and Calvin Harris. Along with previews from Kid British and Dorian Gray (Yes I do theatre now as well!) It's all good...

J x

Dinosaur Pile Up

Tonight was the night for punk rock. London based girl band Bleech kicked off the night with their fiery rock and roll that infused early 90’s grunge with modern day indie pop. Happy, rocky, and good to dance to, it’s modern day grunge that will excite young punk fans all over the UK. Next up were our headliners for the night. Yorkshire based post-grunge band Dinosaur Pile Up, who got their name when a young Matt Bigland watched King Kong and thought it was rubbish! Subsequently, a lot of kick-ass songs were written and DPU were born. “Did you see the latest remake of King Kong? It was awful,” says DPU’s lead singer Matt. “There’s this bit in it where a huge gang of Brontosauruses get ambushed and they all end up falling over each other. I joked about naming a band Dinosaur Pile-Up, and when it came to naming us now, I couldn’t get it out of my head. It’s not meaningful, just funny.” The band seems to take a more light-hearted approach when naming their material, titling their new EP ‘The Most Powerful EP in the Universe.’ Whether it is or not isn’t certain, but it does have some powerful tracks on it that are definitely worth a listen. Matt describes the band’s sound as rocky, with influences from early Foo Fighters and Nirvana, but admits there is a more pop twist to his music, “I write really catchy songs, I don’t know why,” he laughs. “Some are even quite poppy.” I asked him what fans can expect from a typical Dinosaur Pile Up show, “good, catchy music with riffs which are driven by drums.” And the night was certainly that. A loud and ferocious yet catchy and fun set meant that the heavy rockers were satisfied, and the indie kids could still have a dance to it. Stand out tracks for me were ‘My Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Cat Attack!!’ Definitely 2 tracks you should download. Or if you really liked them, then you can buy their EP, ‘The Most Powerful EP in the Universe’, which is out now. But fear not, if you missed Dinosaur Pile Up you can still catch them. The band will be touring with Pixies until the end of this month, so get tickets now! They will sell out fast.

Russell Kane @ Wycombe Town Hall

Russell Kane has undoubtedly become one of the most highly established comics in the UK. In the space of a year he has been nominated for an if.comedy award (formerly the Perrier award), had a string of sell out tours, and stole the show when he performed on ‘Live at the Apollo’. An all round performer, Russell is a regular on our TV, having presented a week long residency on Big Brothers big mouth, and appearing on various comedy panel shows. This month Russell’s ‘Human Dressage’ tour came to Wycombe, where excited fans packed out the town hall eager to see the self-confessed ‘shy pikey from Enfield’. Joined by long term girlfriend Sadie Hasler who warmed up the crowd nicely with her hilarious impressions, including a manic depressive Sylvia Plath and a Russian lady who told not-so-nice stories to small children. After a short intermission we were joined by the man himself. Russell Kane took to the stage to ask a series of questions about human nature. The audience joined in as he explained why kindness is really just a way of seeking approval; why we strut and fret, and why life is all ‘Human Dressage’, a meaningless dance. All, of course linked in with jokes, swearing and stories about getting in trouble with his Nan. At first glance, the show is fast paced, hilarious and entertaining; but delve deeper and you find the interesting comic twist that makes you feel like you’re actually learning something as you watch! Russell is undoubtedly a comic genius, and I’m confident we will be seeing a lot more of him.

Better Late Than Never

Here is my Dizzee Rascal interview (A bit late I know, I've been a busy lady). It's in the latest edition of 'The Bucks Student', so you can pick that up too. You could be in with a chance of winning a signed Dizzee T-Shirt!

J: Hi Dizzee
D: Hi
J: Ok, so your new album is out now for us to buy isn’t it?
D: Yeah, ‘Tongue ‘n’ Cheek’.
J: Can you tell me a bit about it?
D: Err, yeah. Basically it’s a crazy pop album. It’s the type of album that you can like, have a party to. That was the idea, but yeah, there’s a lot of really up tempo, quite happy sounding tracks on it. Bits of dance music elements in it, elements of hip hop and stuff like that.
J: You’ve done a few collaborations now with the likes of Armand Van Helden and Calvin Harris, are there any more on the album?
D: Nah, that’s it for now on the album, some of the tunes have been produced by Calvin Harris, but he’s not featured in them, like holiday.
J: Do you like working with Calvin?
D: Yeah definitely, he’s one of the easiest people to work with, man.
J: Is there anyone else you’d like to work with?
D: Andre 3000, The Prodigy, there’s a few.
J: Do you twitter?
D: Yeah yeah, I got a twitter. It’s nice to let people know what you’re up to. I like to get people excited about my music.
J: What can we expect from a typical Dizzee live show?
D: Just a lot of energy, we bring energy to the stage. That’s what we’re going to do tonight.
J: Cool, thanks a lot
D: Cheers