First Impressions

Good morning/afternoon/evening, my name is Barney Packer, and the three fellas above this are The Impressions, they're cool dudes. Now I bet you're wondering why on earth this is called 'First Impressions'? Well let me spell it out to ya, brother/sister. I'm going all over the place at the moment, watching bands i've never heard of play their music live. I then write a review of the impression they left on on me, based on how good they are live and what their music's like, thus forming the ultimate live band handbook (screenbook)! It's going to be a rollercoaster. You can also expect some general music news and thoughts.

[barneypacker-blog]

Palma Violets at The Hippodrome, Kingston

It has been a long time since i've done a first impression, but I can firmly say I saw some mighty fine talent on the returning night! I turned up for the support bands just to see what was going on, and I was actually quite surprised by how tight the very first band sounded (King Nun I believe). Dressed in checkered shirts and looking like they were in need of a good haircut, the fellas chopped out some great grungey guitar work and got the crowd going pretty well! The next band were shit. Don't listen to them. They're called Ming City Rockers and they were absolutely bloody dreadful. They sounded looser than a hooker, and looked like they were something churned out of a rubbish 2005 emo band. Poor job. And then the big event! Immediately Palma Violets proved the promotion of leagues from support bands to headline. There was a kick in the sound, a shift of gears if you like. After listening to the lot after the gig, I came to the conclusion that Palma Violets are a live band. The music sounds so much better. The crowd moves, the band dances, the room fills with a concoction of great songs and mutual love of music. On the record you simply don't get that; it feels like you're alone at a festival and no one to sing the songs with. Luckily for me and a pal, we had a whole venue's worth of singers. To say this was a great first impression would be a true understatement. Although Palma Violets are already on their second album, it still feels like they're only going to get bigger and better as time goes on. Key tracks to listen to: 'Best Of Friends' 'English Tongue' '14 'Danger In The Club' Thanks to Banquet Records for a great night, and thanks to all the bands for making it what it was.

[barneypacker-blog]

The Time Has Come Again...

It's nearly been a year since I last updated this blog. That means i've got to blow away the cobwebs, heat up the car, and get back on the scene. Starting next Thursday: Palma Violets at The Hippodrome in Kingston. It's going to be a right crack.

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Klaxons live; it looks like you can really touch them!

3D. The art of making people reach into the air in a useless effort to touch a group of intelligently formed pixels, but this isn't bad news because one of the biggest electro-pop bands to have graced the airwaves are now in members of the third dimension... sort of.

Klaxons have planned a tour of the UK using only 3D printed equiptment. Guitars, microphones, amps, and even lighting will all be printed out and with such a musically witty band as Klaxons, who knows what could happen. Needless to say, I'm definitely hoping to attend one of these to see what's going on!

Have a look at their promo video right here: http://www.nme.com/news/klaxons/77793

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Further venues...

In order to bring you all the most exciting and thrilling first impressions, I feel a duty to travel further than the lovely, local comforts of the Boileroom. The result of my musically driven thoughts is that I shall start driving! As you can then imagine, I am a poor man. More to come soon, with more bands and venues!

[barneypacker-blog]

Wolf Alice, with support from Superfood.

After telling many people that I had got myself a ticket for Wolf Alice, a certain element of excitement was starting to develop in my head as the reactions of those informed was constantly encouraging. Safe in the knowledge that I’d paid for a set of tickets for what seemed to be a top class band really got me in the mood.

The night came, I went in the venue and saw that Urban Outfitters had let all of their models, their models friends, their models friends wannabe friends and all the rest of the Urban Outfitter scene out on a gathering. High fringes, ‘mum jeans’, and Doc Martens set the mood for what genres to expect. If you guessed that it would be a modern spin off of Blur’s good songs and some greebo grunge then reward yourself with a gentle pat on the back – you’re spot on.

Honestly, Superfood were the best of the lot. Regardless of who’s tour it was, Superfood were simply a more engaging band. Melodies filled the room with a gorgeous Rickenbacker and Fender combination, which I have to say I was hugely impressed with. The drummer hit hard as all drummers in the genre should, not forgetting to mention the fact that the girl bassist suggested very similar trends in female musicians. All things said, both girls in both bands knew how to have a good time on stage by the look of things. The super four have something pretty great going, including some top songs in their arsenal. Check them out.

Before I begin about Wolf Alice, allow me to make it clear that after the show I had a look at some of their recorded stuff, and it’s not bad at all! They’ve got a great mix on the recordings and have a great look which you want to like, but when played live, it becomes difficult to do so. After having a listen, I came to the conclusion that Ellie Rowsell (lead singer and guitarist) has a very delicate voice which is hard to distinguish in a live environment competing with drums and fuzzy guitars. It was lost, which is a shame as on tracks such as ‘Blush’, it came through strong and had exactly what you expected from the band leader.

When in the heavier phases of the songs, Wolf Alice just had too much going on. There was everything and the kitchen sink in the music, which felt unnatural when going from slow, clean, reverb lead guitar verses to the thrash rock that then droned around the room. Truthfully, it felt messy, but by no means a bad first impression, just not the best.

All things said, don’t be shy to have a look at tracks such as ‘Bros’. It’s a belter and stood out live when they played it as an encore.

As ever, thanks to the Boileroom too for a great evening of live entertainment!

[barneypacker-blog]

Studying...

Sorry i've not been so active recently; exams are the metaphorical sponge to the watery substance that is time. Don't fear though, as a new First Impression will be up hopefully by Sunday! I'm off to see Wolf Alice this evening and it's safe to say i'm excited for this one. There's been Facebook page suggestions, suggesting I like them, NME, Q, and any other music mag haven't stopped about them so it's a relief to finally finding out what all the hype's about tonight.

[bow-down-to-bowie]

Lisa Robinson: You’ve written at least one really good rock’n’roll song every year.

David Bowie: Incredible sort of luck and a shred of mercenary attitude got me that far.

LR: Isn’t It hard to write good rock’n’roll songs?

DB: Not if you’re desperate enough. And not if you passionately want to be a rock’n roll star and be lionized and have eulogies written about you. Then you write a bloody good rock n’ roll song. If you don’t, you’re not going to be a rock n’ roll star.

LR: Why are you attracted to all that?

DB: Because I do what I want very well. I’m a good synthetic. I’m the first really synthetic rock star. There is no other. 

Lisa Robinson interview, 1977 from Spin Magazine. 

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He never stops, that Bowie.

[pitchfork]

Baths’ roiling single “Ocean Death” is a Best New Track.

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Never heard of these guys. I hope they're good...

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A night at the B&B: Live review of Ben Watt and Bernard Butler at the Boileroom.

Ben Watt (ex-Everything But The Girl, DJ and producer) and Bernard Butler (Suede lead guitarist, collaborator and producer) have teamed up on a handful of gigs playing through Ben Watt’s new album ‘Hendra’, and I was left wide-eyed and open jawed at what they performed that night. I never knew two fellas could sound as full and functional as they did – and I don’t think anyone else did either. Nothing was missing. At no point did I think to myself ‘a hard hitting drum fill would fit perfectly here’, because the songs were bespoke to the gig. From wall to wall, folks lent forward with an ear turned to the stage, each joyful to be listening to some simply stunning music. As far as musicianship goes, Ben and Bernard were text book examples of how genuinely talented, nice people should be. Whilst Ben did all of the talking and story-telling, Bernard was hardly silent. After the show I had a glance at their guitar setups and they were beautifully simple. There were four or so pedals to each guitarist and nothing hugely clever going on either, which made the performance feel even more honest. The tones and sounds that filled the room were pure and totally refreshing. The use of a delay pedal had never been so original. They created deep atmospheric sounds in a moment, a slow fade was simply a gentle push on the volume pedal and soft distortion was a firm hit on the string. All sounding perfectly balanced. Growing up in a world of synthesizers and fat, fuzz distortion, their utilisation of vintage Gibson/Guild/ Gretsch guitars was something to raise a glass to. Whilst the music was achingly gorgeous, the stories Ben told created an engaging prelude to the songs. Tales of American wanders and beach house getaways was not only exciting but proved that these tracks weren’t just dreams, but real accounts of his life, making the fact that he was sharing them with us feel extra special. Listen to Ben Watt’s great new album now, ‘Hendra’, I recommend it. I’d like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful Boileroom for putting on such a great show and most of all, Ben and Bernard for proving that it really does just take two.

[barneypacker-blog]

Another impression...

Off to see the mighty Ben Watts & Bernard Butler tonight. Hoping for some jazzy tones going on and beauty melodies! More to follow soon.

[barneypacker-blog]

That rock 'n' roll, eh?

[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published August 15, 2011.] ...

This is hilarious. Beautifully structured and a rare piece of text that genuinely made me smile. Top research right there!

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Looks like Peace have something exciting in store for us. 

A captionless photo of a band logo can only mean one thing... New material. Follow the blog to keep up to date with any new music releases!

[barneypacker-blog]

Brit pop is cool.

Ever listened to the Shine compilation albums? There you go then. It's the dog's kahunas! All I can say is thank god for what brit pop's provided us with. For all you post 1999 babies, check it out; then thank me once you've bought your stone wash jeans and baggy jumpers.

[thunder-thiefs]

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Saw this today and just thought how much of a talent Alex Turner is. When I say talent, I mean it in the sense that he is a musician in it's truest form. If he keeps this up with the rest of the crew, Mr Turner could be ending up with some very prestigious awards.

[barneypacker-blog]

I'm seeing this girl everywhere, so I thought to myself, 'she seems cool', however when I checked her out, it actually seemed a bit bland... What do you guys think to EMA? Funky image, but the tunes aren't up to much. Discuss

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To all the festival goers, this year's line up at Truck Festival looks magnificent. I hate to be such an opinion leader on the whole thing, but this looks like a day to remember!

[barneypacker-blog]

Been listening to Last Shadow Puppets again recently. Phenomenal album with some ingenius lyrics. Without trying to take sides, Turner is the lyrical master of observation. He'll go down in the books as an icon.