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The Gigs / Concerts Review

Kanye West at Nokia Theater, LA

Kanye West

Live from Nokia Theater, Los Angeles 21 April 2008. Early reviews of Kanye West's current "Glow in the Dark" tour have ranged from glowing to the less flattering headline found in the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer: "Kanye was feeling the love -- for himself." But there was no denying West's talent, stamina and obsession for giving the audience his all as he strutted, knelt and jumped through song after song during his sold-out, hour-plus set at the Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on April 21.

New York Dolls in Argentina

New York Dolls

Live from Argentina, 17 April 2008. "Hey Buenos Aires, aquí están sus primas: ¡The New York Dolls!".("Hey Buenos Aires, here are your cousins:The New York Dolls!"). With Spanish as broken as it was endearing, David Johansen came onstage in the first of the band’s two presentations in Argentina, intent on conquering the public that had been awaiting them for so long.

"Thirty years isn’t too much or too little," yelled the leader of the group that got the glam and punk rock party started in the ’70s with lipstick, long hair, extravagant clothes and scenic cross-dressing.

Blonde Redhead at Shepherd's Bush Empire

Blonde Redhead

Live from Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 21 April 2008. The amps are to 11 for the support act Devastations' sombre, atmospheric tidal wave of sound. But lyrics get in the way of the monumental earsplitting noise; and while their music is pitched somewhere between Massive Attack and Joy Division, the live set is not half as good as that could be, coming across more like Editors. The highlight of the support set, perhaps for the wrong reasons, is when the lead singer, lost in his own creative swell, starts simulating grinding hips with his bass. Although politely received, it is clear no-one actually came to see them.

James at Shepherd's Bush Empire

James

Live from Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 17 April 2008. After a few gigs last year, in which they performed new material, the band is now doing a fully fledged tour to promote Hey Ma, their first studio album for seven years, released to critical acclaim earlier this month. The album does feel like a new start, not just a re-hash of their previous output, proving the band is still dynamic and moving in a different direction. And on stage, this seven-strong 'definitive line-up' proudly play all of the new stuff as well as some crowd-pleasing old favourites.

Björk at Hammersmith Apollo, London

Björk

Live from Hammersmith Apollo, London, 14 April 2008. Straddling these two universes, a besuited, bespectacled gentleman sits stage left, ready to render a celeste and a harpsichord useful. Björk, of course, is the only force on Earth capable of uniting such disparate elements of orga and mecha, of past and future, of outlandish and practical. As if to say so, she's dressed in a foil-like outfit of equal parts pink and silver. Atop her head is a confection of brightly coloured pom-poms. Tribal beats begin. "We are the Earth Intruders," she informs the denizens of Hammersmith. As she hop-skips across the stage, her tiny frame instantly owning it, streamers burst from her hands to add yet another visual element to the already richly decorated set. TV screens allow sight of the band's electronic wizardry in action, while around the horn section shifting light colours, smoke and ensigns mix, match and fade.

Eddie Vedder at Wiltern Theatre, LA

Eddie Vedder

Live from Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, 13 April 2008. With the opportunity to embark on his first ever solo tour now upon him, largely thanks to the positive commercial and critical response from his recent "Into the Wild" soundtrack, the man has officially done his homework. From song selection, set list pacing, stage banter and even set decoration, Vedder has come prepared for this 10-date West Coast jaunt, arming himself with the knowledge of what makes intimate shows like this work best. Accordingly, he has crafted a type of performance that some among the devoted Pearl Jam fan base might not normally go for, but will likely leave them fully satisfied nevertheless.

The Breeders at Leadmill, Sheffield

The Breeders

Live from Leadmill, Sheffield, 12 April 2008. Not only was she the coolest female bass player in the most influential alt-rock band of them all, Pixies, but she also wrote one of their greatest songs, Gigantic. That alone would be proof of her genius, but over the last 18 years her other band The Breeders has proved themselves to be pretty damn good at this indie-rock lark as well. A Breeders tour is about as rare as an album release (4 records in 18 years testifies to that) so it's unsurprising that there's a genuine sense of anticipation around Sheffield's Leadmill as the five-piece stroll onto stage.

Portishead at Hammersmith Apollo

Portishead

Live from Hammersmith Apollo, London, 10 April 2008. For many in their audience, this would also be a first chance to hear classic tracks from the Bristol band's first two records, the Mercury-nominated debut Dummy and its follow-up, Portishead. On a stage backed by three square projection screens, Portishead would afford their audience a mix of both old and new. With three helpers, the band appeared all dressed in serious-muso black. Gibbons, fragile and waif-like in centre stage, turned her back on the audience whenever she wasn't singing, one hand clutching nervously at her microphone all the while.

Holy Fuck at 100 Club, London

Holy Fuck

Live from 100 Club, London, 8 April 2008. Sometimes gig promoters throw together the most curious combinations of band and venue, and Holy Fuck in the intimate surrounds of the 100 Club promised to be something altogether different for a venue steeped in jazz and soul. Yet both band and venue have more in common than might be expected, the flouting of musical rules being toward the top of their respective lists.

White Denim and The Death Set at Barfly, London

White Denim

Live from Barfly, London, 4 April 2008. White Denim came to London this week on the back of a mini-tsunami of hype. Based in Austin, Texas, the three-piece could hardly fail to be noticed at that city's industry lash-up SXSW, and they duly were. Whoever sent them to play London the following week has some management nous about them; and by booking them for three consecutive nights in different venues, they ensured maximum exposure.