Madder Rose live at the LA2 and Suede live at The Pavillion Theatre, Worthing, 19th February 1994

Sarah Kestle reviews Madder Rose live at the LA2 and Taylor Parkes reviews Suede live at The Pavillion Theatre, Worthing, 19th February 1994

Simon Reynolds reviews Neil Young live at MSG & Paul Lester reviews Slowdive live at Surrey University, 16th February 1991

So there was this one time…at a Slowdive gig…
where somehow I caught the eye of Rachel during one of the band’s more ethereal instrumental passages and for a second or two we studied each other, something intangible passing between us, and then she turned away with a coquettish smile, borne out of what exactly….embarrassment, flattery, irrepressible derision?

Reminds me of Larkin’s Wild Oats,
“I believe I met beautiful twice. She was trying Both times (so I thought) not to laugh.”

Public Enemy live at the Brixton Academy and other live reviews, 12th December 1987

Simon Reynolds reviews Public Enemy at Brixton Academy, London. Photo Richard Bellia

I happen to work with an ex NME journo from this period, who wears a Public Enemy T-Shirt around the office.

“Brilliant live” he says, talking fondly of how there were police blockades just to get into the street where you could then queue up to get into the venue.

“Rap’s shit live. It’s just shouting over a distorted PA”, I counter authoritatively without ever having been to a rap gig.

I’ll have to ask him if this is the Brixton show he went to. I’ve got Reynolds on my side now.

Elsewhere,
Paul Mathur reviews Sex Gods at Locomotive, Paris
Angie Daniell reviews Alex Konadu at The Africa Centre, London
Tom Morton reviews The James Taylor Quartet at The Rooftop, Glasgow
Phil DC reviews Red Lorry Yellow Lorry at ULU, London
Push reviews Masque at Fulham Lost Theatre, London
David Fricke reviews Marianne Faithful and her Mars Bar at The Bottom Line, New York – and
Push reviews The Icicle Works at the Town & Country Club, London

Various live reviews including The Cramps, Sheep on Drugs, Jesus Jones, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin live, 26th October 1991

Given the death of Lux Interior this week, picking this issue now seems remarkably prescient.

Simon Price reviews Minty live at Feet First, 20th January 1996

Simon Price reviews Minty live at Feet First, 20th January 1996.

Nicola Bowery née Bateman gets naked again. Yawn. But if you’ve never heard of Leigh Bowery then you should definitely read up  some more. Here’s the obligatory wikipedia link for starters. And if you find yourself in a good bookshop then there is a great book full of *amazing* pictures of Leigh and his costumes which I’d strongly urge you to take a look at.

I’ve got that Useless Man single you know.

Who the hell Googles “Moby Naked”? Who? WHO??? Freaks.

The Cure live at Wembley Arena, 19-26 December 1987

With a new Cure album (and tour?) in the pipeline this seems topical. It’s a pretty funny review as it goes. Amazing to think that more than 20 years ago The Cure were playing a 3 night residency at Wembley arena.

Never been a massive fan myself but they’ve released some absolutely killer singles time, and time again, so good luck to Bob and whoever else makes up The Cure these days.

But really, it doesn’t matter what I think, or indeed what you think. No, what matters is what Ms Dayglo thinks. She doesn’t add people willy nilly y’know and it’s that bitchin’ punk attitude of hers that just takes my breath away.

Sharon O’ Connell reviews The Telescopes live at The Powerhaus, 20th January 1990.

Sharon O’ Connell reviews The Telescopes live at The Powerhaus, 20th January 1990.

More Telescopes from the same Melody Maker as the previous interview along with an ad for a Birdland single…another ‘nearly’ band that I never got into.

The Powerhaus has been a long time out of business though. I remember going a few times as a student back in 1989/90 and then having to face the drag of a 2am night bus journey back to south London. I work in Islington now and can’t recall quite which building it was in. Before the turning to Chappel Market or just after? Robin??

Dug out Taste this evening and have ripped I fall, She screams for your listening pleasure.

Finally, the prize for today’s most bizarre Google search resulting in 2 visits to this blog goes to “lily allen dinosaur wellies”

Throwing Muses live / interview and other live reviews of The Cure, New Order, PIL, The Sugarcubes and Tom Jones, 1st July 1989

Dele Fadele interviews Throwing Muses while on tour. This is for Estantis who left a comment asking for some Throwing Muses – enjoy. Taken from NME, 1st July 1989.

Plenty of other “name” writers and bands on this page.

Barbara Ellen reviews Tom Jones at the Hammersmith Odeon. Steve Lamacq reviews The Cure and Shelleyan Orphan at France Arles Enormodome and Jane Garcia reviews the “Monsters of Alternative Rock” comprising of New Order, Public Image Limited and The Sugarcubes at Irvine Meadows Ampitheatre, California.

Andrew Mueller reviews Radiohead live at The Forum, 8th April 1995

Andrew Mueller reviews Radiohead live at The Forum, London. Photo Steve Gullick.

13 years later can we name the others in the band yet? Well there’s Johnny Greenwood and there’s another Greenwood, a brother, but I can’t think of his name off the top of my head. And then there’s an Ed something or other but the drummer, the drummer I still can’t name. Which is all the more funny because I’ve just remembered that I have actually met him at Reading Festival. 1998 I think. A friend I was with knew Radiohead from growing up in Oxford and he joined us for a drink. I am sure we were introduced but then I’m terrible with names as I’ve just proved so who knows. All I know is that I don’t know his name.

Radiohead are supposedly big on the environment aren’t they? It’s a good enough link. Please do take the time to watch this brilliant, brilliant animation about climate change and its causes. 10 minutes very, very well spent – I guarantee you that you’ll learn something. Apparently Thom Yorke employs a woman to trawl the web for him, searching out things he might like and bringing them to his attention. Well Thom – you should like this.

http://wakeupfreakout.org/film/tipping.html

Elsewhere Neil Kulkarni expresses his love for Coventry while in the process of reviewing Eat Static at Coventry University and Lisa Hoftijzer (who?…anyone?) is “moved deeply…to the bar” (drum splash) by The Mission at Rock City, Nottingham. Which reminds me of another little memory from around this time.

It’s early morning, 6am or thereabouts and I stagger, bleery eyed, into Hereford train station cafe. I don’t expect to see many people at this time of the morning but I certainly don’t expect to see the whole of the fucking Mission sat around a table playing cards, waiting for the London train. One of them has a copy of The Independent. One of them is wearing shorts. This is all I can remember. They sit on the train at the next table to me. They carry on playing cards all they way to Reading where they get out but not one of them speaks for the entire journey. I don’t know if they’d had an argument or what but it definitely felt odd, more than odd in fact, it felt grim. And tedious. It made being in a band seem like really fucking hard work, which I suppose it is, especially when you’ve been flavour of the month and are still flogging a dead horse 10 years after the adulation has faded. I suppose this is why I’ve managed to remember it. Having said that I probably never would have if I hadn’t sat down to scan this in tonight so thanks for jogging my memories Lisa, whoever and wherever you are.

Taylor Parkes reviews Underworld live at Lakota, 9th March 1996

I may as well keep scanning from this issue till it’s spent. We’ve had Simon Price’s Underworld album review a few days ago and so here’s an accompanying live review by Taylor Parkes.

I went to see Underworld when they played the Roundhouse recently. To begin with I hated it. Initially it seemed too desperate an attempt to recapture a moment from the past that could never come back. But as the evening progressed and the melodic notes of Rez began pinging around the circular venue the atmosphere changed. It began to feel more like the recognition and celebration of, what had once been present, not a doomed attempt to somehow revive the past. And from that point on everything changed for me. It turned into a brilliant show and I left elated with a huge smile on my face. No, I didn’t take drugs, but I did end up wishing I had.

Thanks for the flurry (does 4 count as a flurry?) of comments re Romo and the demise of the Melody Maker. Don’t want to start a witch hunt but I to look forward to any future blog post on the subject Taylor. Something for The Quietus perhaps?