LCD Soundsystem

Brixton Academy, 23rd April 2010 - I managed to take a million of absolutely awful photos with my famous camera phone. Firstly, because at the beginning of the gig I was not sure what to do with myself, following a not so great YACHT, there came LCD Soundsystem and I was not quite sure whether to party away or just watch the show unravel. Secondly, because I firmly and perhaps naively believe one day I will take really good photos, considering that I am in the first row and have an eye for detail. Thirdly, I was eagerly anticipating the not so inconspicuous balloons. Little did I know that the balloons would fall at the very end of the gig. That was not the only suspense as the gig was built around a momentum of a total rave to bring the audience to a quiet end of a ballad to New York, sweet.

James Murphy is a talented musician, with a great voice that can go a long way up high. He is also supervising but also most appreciative of his band and he loves and individualises the cheering crowd, at least the front row. They never get used to the praise - this is not what you hear every day. The keyboard did not work during the first show so they pretended to start the gig again and played the song in full, with keyboard.

I like to think that if I was famous one and had gigs in front of huge crowds, I would be happy and never ask people to buy my records. Unless my boss told me to, that is.

Bear in Heaven

Dearest Readers, I have no idea why but I was late for the Record Store Day at Rough Trade East on Saturday, I did not go to Vashti Bunyan the previous Sunday for reasons far from unknown and far from pleasant. Unrelated to the tragic plane crash that killed the head of state together with my candidate from the left. But I am back on track, on 20th April 2010 in Rough Trade East I somehow managed to see Bear in Heaven live. I was not sure how their songs would translate into live music but I can tell you, the three men are doing a great job. First of all, it is well played and electronic parts are not a mere playback. Secondly, the drummer rocks. Thirdly, there are two moustaches - owners of which either can sing with ease or play the guitar or bass and sport an inimitable Mexican look, a classic. Dearest Readers will know by now that it was a feast for eyes and ears alike. There is some kind of longing in their music and despite of what their manager of whoever I overheard saying, it was not just a tiny promotional gig. It was a great performance, with a band that was making jokes about the ash cloud and a traditional remark about buying records. And they played one more song. I love Bear in Heaven.