Desmond Dekker & other: May 2008

Friday, 30 May 2008

Green Day play first 'official' gig in three years

Green Day played their first official gig in nearly three years last night (May 19) as their not-so secret alter egos The Foxboro Hot Tubs made their live debut at Juanita�s Cantina Ballroom in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Following two friends-only warm-up shows, Billie Joe Armstrong - who introduced himself as the �Reverend Strychnine Twitch� � declared the show the �official kick-off� of the Foxboro Hot Tubs' tour.

Official or not, the band played a stirring set, playing all 13 of the Foxboro Hot Tubs garage rock inspired songs and several covers.

Armstrong took the stage with a big mop of curly, blonde hair, a faux furr-lined brown jacket, a Foxboro Hot Tubs t-shirt and a mess of chains and necklaces around his neck.

The band opened 'Stop Drop and Roll', the title song off the side project's just released album.

After the first song, the singer then donned red, vaguely heart-shaped sunglasses.

The set was a boozy, frenetic affair, with Armstrong riling the crowd, many of whom had been waiting in line for half a day or more to get into the 300 capacity club, declaring �We�re going to get drunk tonight!�

Later, he downed most of a big can of Pabst Blue Ribbon � the brand of beer he name checks in 'Ruby Room' � before pouring the leftovers over his head.

Fittingly, crowd pleaser 'Blood, Sax and Booze' quickly followed.

Returning after a set that included 'Highway 1', 'Dark Side Of The Night' and 'Red Tide', the trio and their backing band performed a short encore, playing an inspired, punked-up version of The Who�s 'A Quick One While He�s Away', with the six-piece sharing vocal parts.

As the set reached its climax, a smiling Armstrong told the crowd �For a town called Little Rock, there�s been a lotta rock here tonight!�

Earlier Smoke Up Johnny, a Little Rock-based band, had opened the show with a well-received set of Thin Lizzy-style barroom rock. The band are also set to open for the Foxboro Hot Tubs in New Orleans, Dallas and Austin.

Did you go to the Foxboro Hot Tubs show? Are you going to any of the Green Day project's other tour dates? Send you reviews, photos, video and gossip to news@nme.com with Foxboro as the subject and we will publish the best.

Sunday, 18 May 2008

There's no copying Cut's dance pop

College kids don’t truly maintenance what night of the week it is. For proof, look no farther than the Mon dance explosion that erupted at the Nirvana. Wherefore wait for Saturday when Australia’s electro-rocking Cut Written matter and blog-anointed bombinate stripe Lightlessness Kids follow to town? That’s what noontide classes ar for.
Heralded on the Web as the newest “it” ring, Jacksonville’s Black Kids showed glimpses of living up to the hype, merely too often seemed undercooked and overwhelmed. A good deal of the problem was isaac Bashevis Singer Reggie Youngblood’s whiny “why won’t she go out with me” tenor voice, a sound flat cribbed from the Cure’s Henry Martyn Robert Smith (world Health Organization exactly happened to be playacting next room access at Agganis Arena).
Black Kids were able to shake up off the newly wave cobwebs when Reggie’s sister and keyboard instrumentalist Ali Youngblood took more of a lead office, as in the biting midge synth-pop of “I Wanna Be Your Limousine.” Non as openly derived function as her brother, she brought a rebuff r & b aesthetic.

'tween tunes, Reggie sounded uncomfortable and awkward. Just assurance should come if the rapturous reply to the 1 “I’m Non Gonna Teach Your Beau How to Dance With You” continues every night of the go.
While thither was approximately above-average fan bm during the Black Kids set, it didn’t liken with the kinetic blitzkrieg that ignited inside the beginning few seconds of Cut Transcript. This was more dance club than concert as the Australian quartet generated a relentless cavalcade of infectious electro-rock beat generation. Root with the impulse “Come out Thither on the Ice,” the band managed an impressive balance of organic fertiliser and digital with house beat generation thudding under synth stabs and popping bass. If Youngblood conjured up Robert Captain John Smith, Cut back Copy’s Dan Whitford’s muse was Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan.
Screening a mastery of kinetics, the band brought the bounce herd to a aperient and sweaty acquittance on near every melodic line. With Cut Copy, on that point is no pandering, no arty aspirations, only summery dance pop - and their fans love life them for it.
Cut Transcript, with Negro KIDS At the Eden, Monday night.