Top 5 Gigs of 2010

A cracking year for gigs. Plenty of contenders for the top five and a couple of enjoyable nights watching bands of my friends (here & here).

1. youthmovies at The Borderline (26th March) - Second to last gig ever and final London appearance by the sadly overlooked Oxford based uncategorizable combo. A really special night in which they played just about everything I could have asked for. Support from Adam Gnade was excellent too.
Picture courtesy of Drowned In Sound.

2. Les Savy Fav at The Electric Ballroom (22nd November) - Second gig of the year at the Electric Ballroom. A Silver Mount Zion were a little under par, in March, but Les Savy Fav were absolutely mental. Lead singer, Tim Harrington, spent most of the night in the audience (par for the course for LSF) whilst the band played as tight a set as you could possibly ask for.

3. Japandroids at The ICA (23rd February) - First of two trips to see Japandroids who totally rip it up on stage. Crowd reaction was a little disappointing, possibly due to a "too cool for school" scenester crowd. Saw them do a similar show at the Garage in May in which the crowd got a little more involved but the band energy at the ICA made for a stunning night.
Picture courtesy of catgirl at SongKick.

4. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan at The Barbican (10th September) - After a number of sweaty "jumping up and down" style gigs it was quite pleasant to see a more sedate sit down show. I'd been wanting to see Isobel & Mark for a while and they didn't disappoint. Very little interaction with the audience (none at all from Mr Lanegan) but a brilliant set of songs taken from all three albums. Willy Mason supported and came on mid-way through the main set to do a couple of numbers with Isobel.

5. The Godfathers at The 100 Club (17th June) - Close run thing between the Godfathers and Arcade Fire at the O2 for the final place. This was a celebration of the Godfathers 25th anniversary and a chance to see them in a great venue. Having seen them a few times recently I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise but it turned out to be a cracking show and one of the best I've seen them do.
Picture courtesy of Daniel Luis Garcia at Flickr

Check out this summary of my gig year from the good folk at SongKick.

Top 5 Songs of 2010

My favourite songs of the year.

If you have Spotify there's a playlist of the contenders. HTTP version here or Spotify URI here. Not sure how well either will work but one of them should do the trick.

1. "You Won't Let Me Down Again" Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Isobel and Mark pull off the Album and Song double. There's a proper video which I can't embed here.



2. "Shoot First" Jim Jones Revue - The loudest band in the world returned with a second album as ear splittingly brilliant as their first.



3. "Art Czars" Japandroids - The 'Droids released a series of 7" singles spread over the year and this was the first. A spikey punk blast that has been a highlight of their live set this year.



4. "Let's Get Out Of Here" Les Savy Fav - Their album didn't do much for me on first few listens, but an electric live performance at the similarly named Ballroom in Camden brought the songs to life. This one's my favourite.



5. "Drunk Girls" LCD Soundsystem - Stupidly simple song and probably the first single that caught my attention this year.



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Top 5 Albums of 2010

My annual review of the year and, as is traditional, let's start with my favourite Albums.

1. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Hawk" - The third album from Ms Campbell and Mr Gravel Throat and I reckon their best yet. Debut release "Ballad of the Broken Seas" came out in 2006 and was a bit of a sleeper hit for me making my Top 5 albums of 2008. After a decent but not radically different second album I wasn't expecting a great deal from "Hawk" but it seems to combine the best elements of their previous releases and take the song writing to a new level. A couple of tracks with Willy Mason and a corking garage-blues instrumental add a bit of variety but it's the duets between Isobel and Mark that really hit home.

2. A Silver Mount Zion "Kollaps Tradixionales" - They're not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but in the year that Godspeed You! Black Emperor reformed they remain my favourite post-rock combo.

3. Burns Unit "Side Show" - An 8-piece Scottish-Canadian "supergroup" formed out of a one-week songwriting retreat called "Burnsong". It was meant to be a one off but they got on so well they decided to turn it into an ongoing project. The band consists of folk singer Karine Polwart; alt-folk royalty King Creosote and former Delgado Emma Pollock plus Indo-Caledonian pop artist Future Pilot AKA; multi-instrumentalist Kim Edgar; drummer/producer Mattie Foulds; energetic piano-man Michael Johnston and virtuosic rapper MC Soom T. Quite a mixed bag of influences but one that pulls together seamlessy.

4. Sky Larkin "Kaleide" - Had heard passing mention of Sky Larkin before seeing them support Les Savy Fav in November, but nothing to suggest I ought to be checking them out. They played an interesting half hour set, including a cover of a song by the third support that day, which intrigued me. However, it was the moment when Kate Harkin (singer & guitarist) lept on Tim Harrington's shoulders, just as Tim was about to haul himself back on stage after another typical audience walkabout, to scream the lyrics of the Les Savy Fav song that I decided I needed to check them out.

5. Arcade Fire "The Suburbs" - It's their least enjoyable album so far but the bar was set pretty high and this still manages some moments of brilliance. Seeing them perform the songs live, a thrilling performance at the O2, helped me get to grips with the album and it's been growing on me ever since.

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Top 5 New Year resolutions 2011

First a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you're still too drunk for the hangover to have kicked in yet.

I'm not one for making New Years resolutions (well, I'm not one for sticking to them at any rate) so I wasn't completely certain about the validity of doing this. However, there are a few things I really need to achieve this year and I figured if I actually publish a list, visible to the entire population of the Internet (or at the very least 6 people I know personally), I might actually stick them out.

1. Lose Weight - I've had a shocking year on the weight front. Hit 40 and suddenly everything goes south. A lack of exercise (see No. 2) hasn't helped, but my failure to adapt my diet is the main cause. I need to cut out the snacks, and reduce the portion size.

2. Get fitter - My achilles has prevented me doing most of the sports I actually enjoy, and some intense periods at work (coupled with a lack of self-motivation) have reduced my appearances in the gym. I need to take the rowing machine by the handles and start burning the fat.

3. Work off the list of jobs that need doing round the house - Procrastination is my middle name and there's a stack of things that need doing around the house I've been ignoring for far too long. Of course some of these will be beyond my fairly poor skills with DIY but I can no longer sit by and let them go unresolved.

4. Play the Guitar - Been trying to do this since I was 13 without much success. I suspect I may have left it too late to start my international rock star career, however, I'm still keen to get some sort of tune out of my acoustic.

5. Spend less time on the PC - Bit of a catch-22 as that would also mean less top fives, but I've had too many late nights when I've either begun some random Internet search marathon or found a late night documentory about bee farming to watch (that's a euphemism obviously). I plan to be in bed by 12 at the latest and turn the PC off by 11.

I'd also like to find a nice hat to wear. Not a baseball cap or a wooly one but something classic. The sort of hat that Cary Grant might have worn. Let me know if you've any ideas what sort of style might suit me.

Top 5 Christmas TV Specials

Another year has flown by and I've been a bit hit and miss with the top fives. Here's a suitably festive one to end the year, I'll be back in January with my end of year roundups. For now though, in the words of Shakin' Stevens, "Tis the season of love & understanding, Merry Christmas everyone!".

1. The Morecombe & Wise Show (1977) - The Morecombe & Wise Christmas specials were as much a part of our family Christmas ritual as having dinner an hour later than Mum planned and falling asleep in front of the Bond film. Difficult to single out one year but I suspect 1977 (which gained one of the largest audiences for a single light entertainment show and saw guest appearances from the Dad's Army cast, Penelope Keith and the usual array of unlikely candidates in the big dance finale) would have been my favourite.

2. A Christmassy Ted (1996) - In which Ted and Dougal get lost in Ireland's largest lingerie section and are desperate to find their way out before causing a scandle. Bumping into several other priests on the way, Ted eventually leads them to freedom and wins the Golden Cleric of the Year award. Some great moments along the way; Father Jack being left in the creche, Mrs Doyle trying to guess the name of Father Unctious with an ever more ridiculous list of Priest's names and Dougal's Matador outfit.

3. Only Fools and Horses (1989) - The Jolly Boys outing. Although it's set during an August Bank Holiday this was the '89 Christmas special and remains my favourite ever episode of Fools & Horses. The coach driver seeming to get drunk before they reach margate. The dodgy radio that actually causes this blowing up and destroying the coach. Rodney punching Cassandra's boss on the nose assuming he was up to mischief, only to find his wife is there as well. Classic Trotters.

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - Charlie Brown strives to come to terms with the true meaning of Christmas.

5. Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) - A parody of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" this one off special saw Blackadder in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. The plot is reversed so that Blackadder starts off as the nicest man in England but, following visions of his past and future lives, ends up the conniving and self-centered Blackadder we know and love.

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Top 5 Interlude - Do The Shuffle

Regular readers will have noticed the lack of top fives recently. Usual story, busy at work, busy at home, not enough time to spend doing trivial things that keep me happy. I'm planning to get a Christmas one up next week but in the meantime here's something a little different.

My friend Michelle recently passed this on to me via Facebook. Follow the instructions below and see what set of songs pops up. For me it was probably as good an indicator of my current taste in music as any of my Top Fives. I've tagged a few people via Facebook and will reproduce their replies in the comments section below. I reckon there is a Sony award winning radio show in this.

Most important rule - be honest. Don't keep shuffling forward for "cooler" songs.

1.) Turn on your MP3 player or the music player on your computer.
2.) Go to SHUFFLE mode. Hit the play all songs button.
3.) Write down the first 15 songs that come up - title and artist.
4.) If you're doing this on Facebook create your own note and choose 20 people (or how ever many you like) to be tagged. Please make sure to tag me! If you're just doing this via the blog let me know what you get in the comments box below.

Dave's 15 Shuffle tracks

01. Mojo Pin - Jeff Buckley
02. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
03. The City Consumes Us - The Delgados
04. Addicted - Amy Winehouse
05. Daddy, Daddy - The Birds
06. Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case
07. Let's Get Funky - Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserocker's
08. Serve The Servants - Nirvana
09. China Doll - Julian Cope
10. I Saw Her In A Mustang - The Vandals
11. Monkey Gone To Heaven - Pixies
12. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle - Nirvana
13. No Feelings - The Sex Pistols
14. Stork & Owl - TV on the Radio
15. Two Beads At The End - Minutemen

I'm really pleased with the results, in my head this makes me look cool, eccletic and informed. In reality most of you will either be thinking "what a rubbish set of songs" or "who the hell are the Minutemen".

Top 5 Sporting Injuries (that I have had)

Just when I thought I'd have to miss a week someone mentions a topic to me (cheers Al) that I reckon I can knock off pretty quick. As a 40-something, overweight and balding man, I'm starting to come to grips with my own mortality. I've never been a naturally talented athlete. I enjoy playing sport and will always give my best but there has never been any danger that I'd go on to any significant level. I reckon I'm the worst player to have featured for my work's Football first team. I've also had a long running succession of failures to win singles Tennis matches. I'm good enough to compete, but not good enough to win. Despite that I enjoy partaking in sport and for most of my life have remained injury free. I think I was probably 30 before I picked up a serious injury. Now I can't go for more than a month without something going wrong.

1. Achilles tendonotis - Annoyingly this happened as I jogged from the pavilion onto the field. Thankfully I didn't rupture it but I've been suffering with this pain in my achilles tendon for over 18 months now. Finally starting to make progress with orthotic insoles (to help correct for my flat feet) and physio.

2. Fractured Wrist - Summer 6-a-side tournament went into the knockout stages and my team's game needed penalties. I can't remember who we had in goal for the group stages but for whatever reason I decided to take over for the spot kicks. Things were even, and I'd saved at least one, when one of my skinniest and lightweight pals stepped up to have a go. The shot was high (probably going to hit the crossbar at best) but I saved it with my outstretched left hand. Hurt like heck afterwards but I went back in goal for two more pens (relying on my feet with inevitable losing consequences). I was off to Holland the next day so my then girlfriend (now wife) was less than impressed that we had to spend 3 hours in A&E, and things didn't get better when the hospital confirmed a slight fracture and sent me home fully plastered up.

3. Broken Nose - Another Football injury. I got a bit carried away and found myself up front and looking for a goal. Got my head near a great cross (which must have been quite low, as anyone who has seen me jump will testify) but just as I was about to make contact felt a sharp pain and a saw brilliant white light. Defender had caught me with his elbow right on the end of my nose. Felt fine for 5 seconds before the gush of blood began streaming out. Another trip to A&E confirmed a fairly straight break that would "probably heal itself". It did though I like to think I've added a bit of rugged character to my looks.

4. Dislocated Finger - Rugby this time and a ridiculously minor injury. Playing a game of touch I grabbed an opposing players shirt but he jinked out of reach. This caused my fingers to snap together, which briefly hurt but didn't cause me any concern until it started swelling up a few hours later. This one just sorted itself out, though has left me with a wonky middle finger.

5. Bad Back - Not entirely sports related, an inflamed vertebrae left me in absolute agony and unable to walk for a couple of weeks. Brilliantly this coincided with the early stages of the 2002 World Cup so I had a very pleasant time confined to the house on some extremely powerful anti-inflammatories.

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Top 5 episodes of The Goodies

After another ridiculously busy week at work its nice to have a few minutes to consider some ridiculous comedy. I watched the BBC tribute "The Return of the Goodies" with my boys the other day. It was not great but did bring back some happy memories of The Goodies prime time era. The boys seemed to like it too. It's not the most complex comedy but sometimes seeing a giant cat destroy London is just what you need. The Goodies were a bit like a family friendly Monty Python, who I didn't really discover until the early 80's. The Goodies did some similarly surreal things and probably don't get the recognition they deserve.

1. Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms (Series 5) - In which The Goodies strike cream in Cornwall and take part in a squeezy tomato ketchup shootout.

2. Kung-Fu Kapers (Series 5) - In which Bill displays his skills with the Lancastrian martial art of Ecky Thump. An episode so funny a man died watching it.

3. Kitten Kong (Series 2) - In which Graeme feeds Twinkle super growth mixture resulting in the kitten growing to enormous size before squashing Michael Aspel and destroying St Paul's Cathedral & the Post Office Tower.

4. Scatty Safari (Series 5) - In which The Goodies capture Rolf Harris to replace Tony Blackburn as the star attraction for their safari park. Unforgettable scenes of herds of Rolfs roaming the country and a puppet sized little Rolf.

5. The Goodies Rule O.K. (1975 Xmas Special) - In which a General Election sees entertainment ruled illegal, a puppet government is formed (headed by Sooty & Sweep) and The Goodies are chased by giant sized Magic Roundabout characters.

Series 5 is clearly where it was at, the Xmas special followed that series too so 1975 must have been the year of The Goodies.

Top 5 Films of the Nineties

The nineties has proved to be my favourite decade in film. I’m not sure why but there are enough contenders for this top 5 to make a decent top 15. It was a period that saw the arrival of a number of exciting new directors and a time when I had more say in the films I watched. Before the 90s I was mainly watching films chosen by consensus. Me and my mates would find a house to crash round after the pub, watch a crap film and have a few beers. This usually left us with a ropey comedy or a low budget horror film. Since the 2000s I’ve had children and the films have been almost exclusively animated.

1. Reservoir Dogs 1992 (Dir: Quentin Tarantino) – My favourite Tarantino film, seeing it for the first time was like witnessing the arrival of punk in music. A unique perspective, the warehouse setting, allowed the story to be gradually revealed whilst brilliant dialogue and an excellent cast kept your interest intact and provided some wonderfully comic moments. Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth provide the main focus and form an oddly loving relationship, all the more poigniant for Roth's true identity. Steve Buscemi adds some comic relief with his high energy nervous paranoia and Michael Masden combines psychotic ear slicing with a sauve sense of calm ("You're a big Lee Marvin fan, aren't you?").

2. Fargo 1996 (Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen) – The Coens get everything right with this darkly comic crime film set against the snow covered backdrop of Minnesota. Coen regular Frances McDormand is wonderful as Marge, the seven-month pregnant chief of police. But there are many impressive performances, especially William H. Macy, as the failing car salesmen trying to catch a break, and Steve Buscemi, in another fast talking east coast criminal role .

3. Pulp Fiction 1994 (Dir: Quentin Tarantino) – Probably more critically acclaimed than Dogs, Pulp Fiction is undoubtedly a brilliant piece of cinema. The three stories seamlessly intertwine though both plot development and timeline. It's packed full of memorable scenes; Vincent & Jules discussing the differences between Europe and America, Harvey Keitel's appearance as The Wolf arriving to help clear up the mess from an accidental hit and Christopher Walken telling the unintentionally humourous story of the gold watch.

4. Leon 1994 (Dir: Luc Besson) – A wonderfully subtle film that revolves around the relationship between a professional hit man, Jean Reno, and an orphaned 12 year old girl played by Natalie Portman. Besson avoids the obvious pitfalls of this relationship and creates a remarkable piece of cinema.

5. Fight Club 1999 (Dir: David Fincher) – A disorientating film that keeps its twist well hidden and leaves you with as many questions as answers come the conclusion. Reading the book helped me understand the film and watching the movie again helped me understand the book.

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Top 5 Greyhound racing colours

I'm not the biggest gambler in the world but I do enjoy the occasional flutter. Two quid on the first goalscorer or a fiver on some non-league club knocking us out of the cup. It won't make me a fortune but it can add a bit of fun to watching a game. I've been horse racing a couple of times but never yet made it to a greyhound race. The first time I watched dog racing on the telly I picked six consecutive winners. I was only about twelve but an inner voice told me I'd never come close to that again and I think I've avoided it for that very reason. Still, I like the use of uniform colours and numbers. They add something to the excitement of the race I can't quite explain.

1. Trap 6 (Black & White Stripes with Red numeral)

2. Trap 1 (Red with White numeral)

3. Trap 5 (Orange with Black numeral)

4. Trap 4 (Black with White numeral)

5. Trap 2 (Blue with White numeral)

Which leaves Trap 3 (White with Black numeral) outside my list.

And just room for a quick hat tip to Blur for using greyhound racing as the cover for their best album Parklife. They lose points though for using the American system on the back to number the tracks.

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