Motion City Soundtrack 26/03/10

Review of Motion City Soundtrack plus support @ Camden Electric Ballroom 26/03/10

Motion City Soundtrack first appeared in 2004 supporting Blink 182. Four albums later and a whole hoard of followers, the band are back for a UK wide tour, and we caught up with them in Camden’s famous Electric Ballroom.
With support from Jenny Owen Youngs and Free Energy failing to really engage the crowd from the start, expectation was high as MCS took to the stage.
With a look of excitement and confidence as they walk out onto the stage, you can really see how MCS have grown together over the years. The band really knows their audience, kicking off the set with ‘Worker Bee’, before catapulting into a fantastic performance of ‘The Future Freaks Me Out’ to enthusiastic screams from the crowd below.
Despite its early show time, (we all got chucked out at 9.45pm!) the fans were kicking, jumping and air punching their way through every single song the band played. The set was carefully constructed, and had a perfect mix of old and new material. With songs from debut release 'I Am The Movie’, ‘Commit This To Memory' and new album 'My Dinosaur Life' the show was perfectly balanced, whether you were a new MCS fan or an old one.
Without a doubt the most magical moment of the evening was when Justin Pierre delivered a stunning version of ‘Even If It Kills Me’. The ballroom was silent, except for Pierre’s beautiful vocals, and when the chorus kicked in, the crowd exploded, knowing they’d witnessed something a bit special.
Coming back on for one final encore, the band finished off the set in true form with smash hit ‘Everything is Alright’. The fans were jumping and crowd surfing all over the place, knowing quite well that the band could sell out larger venues if they wanted to. The audience left, tired and sweaty, but knowing that seeing them in such an intimate venue is part of what makes it magical.

Ellie Goulding and Passion Pit 11/03/10

Review of Ellie Goulding and Passion Pit @ HMV forum 11/03/10

It was an exciting night for all who turned up at the HMV forum, with performances from BBC’s ‘Sound of 2010’, Ellie Goulding, and Massachusetts electro band Passion Pit.
After the successful release of the bands first full-length studio album Manners, it came as no surprise to hear that the night was a total sell out.
Ellie was a fine support act; I can’t say I’m a massive fan of hers if I’m being really honest. I find her music way to overproduced, and if she doesn’t want to be categorized as another indie pop princess, then standing on stage banging a drum with one hand while dressed in skinny jeans really isn’t helping her image.
Her set was at best watchable, and I admit I did sing along slightly when she played Starry Eyed, but apart from that I was bored by the songs I didn’t know, which was unfortunately most of them. She’s a good enough artist in her own right, and her fans absolutely adored her, but putting her on before an incredibly powerful band like Passion Pit is never a good idea.
Passion Pit, taking to the stage was like a breath of fresh air. In a world of overproduced electro-pop, they somehow still manage to sound new and fresh. Their set was visually stunning, the light show, combined with Michael Angelakos’ falsetto-shrieking vocals was simply magical. The band are quite simply a party band, they’re hyperactive, full of energy as they dance around the stage, and what is most important, they look like they’re actually having fun. There are far too many indie bands that look miserable as sin all the time these days, they need to cheer up! As for the audience, there was not a single member who was sitting down, nor was there a single person who wasn’t singing when the band burst into their current single Little Secrets. And when the show was finished every last member of the crowd was left literally begging for more...Quite truly a stunning show.

Illegal Downloading

Illegal downloading...let’s face it; we all do it, some just more than others. But while the innocent fifteen year old with not much in the way of pocket money just wants to listen to her favourite band, another suited 30-something is making a fortune out of selling pirated DVD’s. Who would you say is the guiltier of the 2? Well, as figures show 6 million of us are illegally downloading our music every year, and a staggering 95% of all music downloaded in the UK is apparently pirated. In 2008 alone it’s estimated that 40 billion music files were illegally shared, which comes at a loss that runs into billions of dollars for the music business. So it’s no surprise that industry bosses are now literally shaking in their designer suits. With the problem seemingly growing each year industry professionals and artists are desperately scrambling for ways to try and stop people stealing their music.
So far punishments have ranged from the harmless warning letters to astronomically high cost lawsuits, and even the suspension of people’s internet usage. But as of yet nothing really ‘official’ has occurred, and music industry professionals are stuck in limbo, losing more and more money each year.
In September 2009 Lily Allen started her blog, and has been seen as somewhat of an industry spokesperson on the subject of illegal file-sharing. Titled 'It's Not Alright' the blog featured other artists' thoughts on the file-sharing topic and included supportive messages from artists such as Mark Ronson, Gary Barlow of Take That and Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan. A selection of bands and artists have now joined forces to create the ‘Featured Artists Coalition’ that campaign for fair rights for bands and artists. The FAC condemn illicit file-sharing websites that give away music to make a profit, but understand the need of unpaid ‘peer-to-peer’ promotion for up and coming artists. The FAC website states,
“The focus of our objection is the proposed treatment of ordinary music fans who download a few tracks so as to check out our material before they buy. For those of us who don’t get played on the radio or mentioned in the music media – artists established and emerging – peer-to-peer recommendation is an important form of promotion.
“By demanding blanket suspension powers from the Government, the industry is in danger of cutting-off a promotional tool that is of great use to fledgling artists who seek to create a buzz around themselves yet don’t have the financial support of a major label.”
But what can be done to stop 6 million people around the world. This is not the same as the ‘Home Taping Is Killing Music’ campaign of the 80’s and should not be treated as such. Music industry bosses need to stop resisting and accept that illegal downloading is a fact of 21st-century life. Researchers that analysed the downloading of Radiohead's ‘In Rainbows’ (which was made available for free through the official website) found that the majority of fans still downloaded the music from pirate websites.
The authors of the study argue that the record companies need to find new ways to generate income from their music, rather than chasing the illegal downloader’s. For example licensing agreements with YouTube or legal peer-to-peer websites. In other words, they should do the musical equivalent of giving away free sweets and sell the advertising on the wrappers.

Artist Profile: Florence Welch

Florence Welch is undoubtedly the woman of the moment. Having performed with Dizzee Rascal at the Brit Awards she went on to collect the gong for best album with her debut ‘Lungs’. And with 700,000 copies sold, a number 1 album under her belt and hundreds of sold out shows later, Florence and her mighty machine look set to surpass their outstanding 2009 achievements already. But with such an instant rise to fame, (just 12 months ago she was virtually unknown!) can Florence deal with such a drastic change from small town artist to global pop star. We only have to open the tabloids and to discover the latest on what’s going on with Britney, or what’s landed Amy Winehouse in trouble again. The music industry can be cruel when it comes to fame, and there’s no handbook telling you how to deal with it either. How does Florence deal with the pressure?
"I'm wary of the whole fame thing. I think it has a lot of negative aspects. Obviously, you've got to be prepared for people being negative about you. Hopefully it'll make me stronger.
"I'm easily hurt. I don't think this profession is any good for my sanity! I mean, do I have to talk about my weight and my spots? I'm very critical of myself. Everything I do, my inner voice never says, ‘Well done.’ It's more like, ‘Argghh!’”
Florence definitely seems switched on to the world around her, despite her most peculiar tendencies. In the same year that Lady Gaga became the biggest pop star in the world by pretending to be weird, Florence Welch actually is completely nuts! She's a kind of mystical and magical bewildering fabrication of a person turned seven-year-old, for whom life is a constant acid trip, with a voice like a hurricane. In her own words “I can get excited by a peanut!”
Florence is definitely living it up celebrity style, and from what we can see she’s loving every minute of it, reminding us (and making us jealous) of the advantages of being famous. She said,
“I was flown out to Milan to DJ at Donatella Versace's menswear after-party and it was the most insane thing. There was a roomful of male models in the Versace villa in the middle of Milan. We put on Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’ and Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z came over. Jay-Z leant over the booth and said, ‘Yeah!’ That was the best thing”.
Showing that acknowledgements from celebs like Jay Z make even the biggest pop stars starstruck.
So, our Florence is doing just fine, she’s shown us that there are some plus sides to being famous, despite the negatives, such as the amazing showbiz parties she gets to attend, and we’re happy for her, even if we’re green with envy.