Tuesday 24 November 2009

Penguin Prison

Here's Penguin Prison, with a lovely hairdo. Looks a bit like what my guinea pig's baby looked like on its first day alive. Love it though, and love the top too.

I'm playing Penguin Prison on the show today, his debut single 'Animal Animal' came out yesterday. It sounds even better than his haircut looks!

www.xstreameast.co.uk 6-7pm The Get Up with Sarah Thompson

Friday 20 November 2009

Dragonette @ YoYo - Notting Hill






Every Thursday a wonderfully eclectic party takes place at the Notting Hill Arts Club called YoYo. It's run by DJ whizz kids Seb Chew and Leo Greenslade.


The wonderful thing about this particular party is that each week is very different. Sometimes full of Hip Hoppers, other times Indie Kids and there's always a different vibe. There have been occasions when I've enjoyed it immensely and other times not so much - you just don't know what you're going to get!


Last night though must be one of my favourite editions. I went to review the Canadian band Dragonette for my radio show. I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't heard of Dragonette before this - even though they released an album in 2007 on Mercury Records. (I must have been under a rock or in the jungle for this!)


Anyway, I found the lead singer Martina Sorbara captivating. She has this quirky confidence on stage and her voice has a sort of Karen O/Uffie quality (not that I'm comparing her to them of course.) I loved her hair too, and she was wearing these great high waist jeans. My favourite songs were Pick Up The Phone and Fixin' A Thrill which is the title of their latest album.
I love finding bands like this, makes you remember why you love music.


There was also a very peculiar severed arm hanging from the ceiling. Must have been left over from Halloween. Hope so anyway, or that's just wrong.

After the show Seb Chew and his crew cracked out some filthy music, lots of Dubby Bassy stuff and me and my good friend Sarah Palmer couldn't contain ourselves. As you can tell by these pictures.


Beautiful Sarah Palmer





My Monster Hands impression = Good Music







Tuesday 17 November 2009

My Cactus Deceived Me

Yesterday I found out that my beloved cacti has been lying to me. I am well aware that this specimin is pretty bad taste (i believe cacti went out with spider plants and tape players) but this is the whole point. To own something hilariously ugly so people can smile everytime they use my bathroom.

Anyway, my flatmate noticed a drop of glue on one of its spikes and it lead her to question the integrity of this inhospitable plant. With further inspection it turns out that these pink flowers are from a cheap packet of pot pourri and not formed by the plant. I believe Pot Pourri is also a no no when it comes to one's home decor. I feel saddened by this revelation.




Here's a picture of our family of ducks too. Equally bad taste, but funny. Quack.

Monday 16 November 2009

Babyshambles @ Proud, Camden











Two Thursdays ago I pondered over to one of my favourite venues in Camden called Proud. It was for a Babyshambles gig, whom I love.
After all of the very public incidents involving Pete Doherty and drugs, the stories of his unreliability and interviews with his shy and softly spoken mutterings I really wasn't expecting a strong performance. I thought perhaps they might not show up or be really late.

The reality was on the contrary. They were pretty much on time, the band was tight and Pete's voice wonderfully strong. The crowd were a cool and sweaty bunch, pushing and shoving to the glorious sound of 'Killamangiro.' I still have the bruises from a very large person trampling my leg.

I bit through the pain though, and the show confirmed my love for Babyshambles. They really are just brilliant. Long live the Shambles.






Tuesday 3 November 2009

Sarah Palmer Interview


Listen up! Listen up! Tonight on my radio show you can hear me chatting to Sarah Palmer. I've blogged about her before so you might be familiar with her. She's rocky, her lyrics are straight to the point and her voice is phenomenal.

You can hear the interview on The Get Up on http://www.xstreameast.co.uk/ from 6pm.

She's doing some gigs so you can see her for yourself, just check below for dates and information.