[Watch] Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (Live Take Away Show)

Yesterday we got to enjoy Jessie Ware performing a delightful Take Away show in Paris for Pitchfork and La Blogothèque. Today we get to enjoy Cloud Nothings performing the Attack on Memory featuring track"Stay Useless" inside an abandoned bus. Again it was recorded during Pitchfork Music Festival Paris at the start of November. 

[Watch] Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" Live on Fallon

Cloud Nothings released their album Attack on Memory at the start of the year and it was a firm favourite in the SKOA camp. Last night though they made their TV debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and boy was it worth the wait. You can re-watch the mesmerizing performance of "Stay Useless" at the top via The Audio perv.

[Review] Dot 2 Dot Festival Manchester

A 4 day weekend. A rarity in anyone's yearly calendar, not this year if you're in the UK. Thanks to the Queen! God Save her and all that. What better way to spend part of it than at a must on the local gig calendar, Dot to Dot Manchester. It's is a funny event really taking place across three cities in total over three separate days. Manchester was the final stop for the bands who'd sweated their music into Nottingham and Bristol the previous two days. Manchester's gigs this year had introduced some new venues adding to previous years' fun times. Large venues like The Ritz and Sound Control were  staple but new kids on the block Zoo had been added to the mix making for a smaller more intimate feel at a few sets. It takes place across 5 venues all reasonably close together just off of Oxford Road right in the City centre, handy, Sound Control also had 3 levels which was an added bonus for ticket holders. Why? My main concern was going to be getting from place to place and then getting back into venues. What if they were too full? What if the stage I wanted to get to was unavailable?!

Turns out, the main place I wanted to be was at the aforementioned Sound Control. After picking up my wristband I was at The Ritz and heard the familiar sound of Bastille ringing through the venue so quickly headed to enjoy an albeit short but sweet set. The band actually ended up playing two sets after Summer Camp cancelled, I only caught one set but they filled the room with ease packing a large punch for a band so young.

After Bastille I headed down to the place I wanted to witness some musical magic for the majority of the day, Sound Control. First up as I walked through the ground floor and headed up to the awkwardly shaped Club room was Clock Opera who's album I absolutely loved. From the rather large crowd they'd drawn in I think a lot of people eddied too. A highlight of the set for me was "Lesson No7" as the beat kicked in the floor slowly started to bounce in time. Wonderful.

Next up was some fun from 2:54 who were playing in the loft. They'd been getting a fair bit of attention on the blogs and from the likes of Zane Lowe and radio so I was pretty giddy for the set and I wasn't disappointed. Their echoey twangs filled the loft with an ease and elegance. Next up was a really intriguing act: Pure Love. A band fronted by Frank Carter, the previous lead singer of Gallows and a man I'd seen cause carnage in the past at the likes of Sonisphere and Leeds festival. He knew how to make some noise yet this new project is a popper affair. The loft was pretty quiet for the set in all honesty which led to Frank immediately jumping the barrier and planting his mic stand right in front of me. He commanded the attention of the room with the actions of a man in a hardcore band, the music has changed but his presence has not. A great set from a band with a future if they play their cards right. Only downside was he tried to start a circle pit at one point, the crowd weren't the circle pitting type and it led to Frank hitting me in the face with his bottle of cider. Luckily, I like cider.

Finishing up a day of truly great music in Soundcontrol's Loft was Cloud Nothings, Wavves and Pulled Apart By Horses. One band I like a lot while two of those bands I adore. Cloud Nothings set was a gentle yet noisy affair and a nice little bit of relaxation from the energetic performance Pure Love had offered half an hour prior not to say these guys didn't have energy but the main event for many in the room was still to come. Nathan Williams, frontman of the surf-punk band Wavves wandered on stage to set up his kit, strat in hand a few minutes later his band joined him and without a word the intro to "King of the Beach" filled the air and damn it was loud! I don't know if previous sets had sensitised my ears to the levels but it was a wall of fuzzy goodness. I like it loud and the next 45 minutes was a joy to watch with tracks from his two albums and EP, Life Sux being played one after another.

Pulled Apart By Horses followed Wavves and after the two days prior they looked a little rough prior to the set, I spotted Lee their drummer watching Wavves contently from side of stage. The boys took to their slot on stage and bloody delivered a knock-out blow after a day of already great music. Tracks like "V.E.N.O.M." and "Punched a Lion In The Throat" were sang back at them as the crowd all bounced as one. From the rowdiness and the state of my shoes/t-shirt by the end of the set I must say I'd had a great day and the event was a well oiled machine. It managed to showcase some great new emerging talent along with some more established acts. For a music fan and avid gig goer I'd recommend the day in any of the cities to everyone. Roll on D2D2013 I say! Onwards and upwards. 

[News] Dot to Dot Festival Preview

Summer is creeping in and with that you'll of noticed a host of Festivals taking place in just about every corner of the globe. Dot to Dot Festival started back in 2005 in Nottingham bringing together some top music acts across a number of venues. Fast forward to 2012 and the event has grown to three cities, all playing host to the chosen bands over a weekend. This years event will take place over the weekend of June 2nd to 4th in Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester. It's sure to be a great way to spend the bank holiday weekend in the UK and some ridiculously good bands will take to the stages over the weekend.

Up at the top you can see some of the line-up which includes, The Drums, Pulled Apart by Horses, Wavves, Willis Earl Beal, Summer Camp, Willy Moon and countless other top artists. Over the next week or so leading up to the event we'll post up some recommendations for bands we'll most definitely be checking out and will be at the Manchester date to report on all the shows we possibly can! Keep your eyes peeled for it but in the mean time for some more info hit up the official site. The full line up can be found here while the venue guide and set times are also up for your perusal here. Tickets can be purchased for the event here so get planning and see you in the pits!

[SXSW 2012] Party Party Party: Events You Should Check Out On Wednesday, March 14

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14TH
Gary Clark Jr.
Dr. John
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Kimbra
Ed Sheeran
Punch Brothers
LP

CLICK FOR RSVPSET TIMES:

12:00 Elliot & The Ghost
12:30 Nightlife
1:00 AmericanRoyalty
1:30 Stepdad
2:00 1,2,3
2:30 Santah
3:00 Luster
3:30 Vanaprasta
4:00 Bleeding Knees Club
4:30 Stamps
5:00 Deleted Scenes
5:30 Saint Motel
6:00 The Chain Gang of 1974
6:30 PaperRoute
6:50 Ume
7:30 Harriet

 SET TIMES

11:30 am – Doors
12:00 – Future Unlimited (I)
12:30 – Princeton (O)
01:00 – The Henry Clay People (I)
01:30 – Mikal Cronin (0)
02:00 – Bleached (I)
02:30 – Mr. Dream (O)
03:00 – The Men (I)
03:30 – Screaming Females (O)
04:00 – Titus Andronicus (I)
04:45 – Cloud Nothings (O)

I = Indoor Stage O = Outdoor stage

click on flyer to RSVP

[Watch] Cloud Nothings - "No Future, No Past"

Cloud Nothings release of their third LP, the Attack on Memory, todayvia Carpark Records and to celebrate yesterday they released a visual for their track, "No Future, No Past". Directed by John Ryan Manning the video sees actor Mike Gassaway being uncomfortably dragged around a load of terrain before ending up, well, you'll have to watch the video to see where his final resting place is. A weird yet captivating visual none the less.