Fri 4 Sep – Blackbody Vol II EP launch

Before I get into The Lava Experiments, I'd like to say 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' to DeTrop, the support act. They're really rather good. Or were. At the end of their set they announced it was to be their last gig. Sad but I hope there's some other project round the corner. If you want to know what they sound like, think The Flowers of Hell meets God Is an Astronaut. Post-rock for the connoisseurs. Mesmerising stage performance - the way the 3 of them play their guitars is an…

Sat 6 Jun – White Rose Movement

Last night I time-warped from the early 80s through to the early 90s to the present day.

Romance's lead singer looks like Ian Astbury from his Southern Death Cult days, complete with dangly ear pieces and neck adornments.

The lean singer from Ulterior clearly is a big fan of The Cult's Electric, and all hip-shakin' rock 'n' roll from the same period. Some absolute corkers for tunes, some big thumping basslines, driving beats. Excellent! Did you know they've been around since 2006? Check out their Death of Everything video on…

Thu 9 Apr – The Sisters of Mercy

It's not often that you get to see the Sisters of Mercy perform, largely because the man's so damned elusive, arrogant and hates the UK. But when the Sisters do deign to grace our shores, you can't help but get excited.

I've now come to the conclusion that the Kentish Town Forum, the Sisters and I are a bad combination. The first time I saw them at this venue on 5th September 2000 (my birthday!), I forgot my glasses and had a cold. So I saw nothing and what I heard I…

Wed 29 Oct – Club AC30

I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I turned up to see Cranes. The last time I saw them was when they supported The Cure at the Route of Kings gig in Hyde Park in 2002. And they played a storming set back then, but that was before they started to explore their electronic side.

So now in a smaller, more intimate Hoxton Bar and Grill, and with a new eponymous album out, Cranes, on their Dadaphonic label, and with a brilliant support from Epic45, Alison and Jim Shaw took…

Mon 8 Sep – Immanu El, The Lava Experiments

I should start by declaring my conflict of interest: Fraser (man behind The Lava Experiments) is a very, very good friend of mine. There, now that's out of the way, I shall continue.

Oh and also, I won't review Immanu El. I liked them a lot. But I want to focus on The Lave Experiments.

So, I was excited to see bands play at the legendary King Tut's. That name has been cropping up throughout my life thus far on web sites, in the Melody Maker, the NME.

The Lava…

Thu 11 Sep – SPC ECO, Insect Guide, 93MillionMilesFromTheSun

I like 93MillionMilesFromTheSun - they make me very happy! Sadly I only caught the second half of their set but it blew me away. Vocals could have been stronger but the sounds they produced were astounding.

The Insect Guide kinda bored me. I think they might be one of those bands that are better on CD than live but I mean that in the nicest way. By all accounts they've had rave reviews for their album debut The Insect Guide but they lacked the vitality that a small venue like the…

Tue 5 Feb – SPC ECO, Little Death, orange yellow red

OK - so I've been a Curve fan for many-a-year and never once did I get to see them play live. I'm sorry to start this review with an obvious and probably irritating reference - this is a new band with new members, one of whom just happens to be one half of the driving force behind Curve - but the SPC ECO gig was a rare treat!

Not only did I get to see Godlike Bass Player Dean Garcia play but the one and only Debbie Smith was…

Wed 3 Oct – iLiKETRAiNS, Sennen

Quite simply beautiful. Not a great soundsystem but then the Scala has never had that.

But the band, the music, the songs were, quite simply, beautiful.

What else is there to say?

Tue 2 Oct – The Dandy Warhols, Six by Seven

Sadly, I missed Six by Seven although I was lucky enough to get a copy of Artists Cannibals Poets Thieves

A true return to form. The band was right up close and personal: crammed into the front half of the stage, waving and chatting to the audience, as well as each other. It was intimate, together and genius.

You only have to look at the venue's gig history to see that the Dandy's are another in a long line of class acts.

Some new songs were previewed and the rest…

Was She Said by Longpigs. Now I know that 13500 tracks ain't a huuuge amount but since that album is one of my favourites, I couldn't but help send a lil' love out to the random feature on my WMP… once I'd remembered to breath again.

What was everyone else's milestone tracks, and honestly, did you fudge it?