Happy birthday Gillian (mrs slowthrills)
This week's excuses for not posting....
Out a lot, I managed to see shows by the Feline Dream (a successful London debut!), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Ballboy and I've been madly busy in work - I've been technically directing a radio play believe it or not!
Internet highlights - this Onion piece has had everyone in hysterics this week, and I got to watch the video for Olympic Lifts 'International Hex'. They're on tour in England at this very moment.
Anyway, I'm off to Belfast for five days, so expect tons and tons of new stuff when I get back (cough...)

Hmmmm, my plug for the Feline Dream show should have gone up last night (note the time it was written!) but somehow didn't. Oh well, you all know now anyway. I shall be there as my dental drama went without a hitch.

I've been in such a good mood since yesterday, maybe it's due to the weather, maybe it's because I bought the Desaparecidos CD (listened to it 3 times in a row!!) AND Arthur Mathews's 'Well Remembered Days' which had me grinning away like a lunatic on the tube home last night. I'm always a bit put off when people say that books are "hilarious", but this really is a funny satire.

In case you don't know, this Saturday sees the London debut of the Feline Dream. They're playing the Fan Club at the Verge, 134 Kentish Town Road, Camden Town, NW1. More details from Feline1 himself on our discussion board. They are actually headlining I believe, though Marcel and resident band Riviera are also on the bill. Follow the links above for more info.
I hope to be there, but it depends on what happens at the dentist on Friday morning!

What looked on paper like a potential gig-of-the-year - namely Cannibal Ox and Four Tet at 93 Feet East on April 9 - has been cancelled. Does anyone know why? Please don't tell me it has anything to do with the Queen Mum's funeral!

Whilst I was at the aforementioned Diefenbach gig on Saturday, Marina from Organ sold me a copy of their latest issue. Amazingly they're up to number 73 !! I've been reading it on the tube the last couple of days and it really is brilliant to find that they're so enthusiastic after all these years. It puts me to shame for only producing 13 issues of Weedbus and it actually made me a bit nostalgic for print fanzines in general - there's nothing to stop me putting out Slow Thrills issue 1 very soon though (nothing except laziness that is!).
Anyway, Organ is fab as ever, lots of positive reviews of unknown bands (Stoopi, HHH, Percy, the Dukes of Nothing etc, etc) as well as established stuff like Bad Religion and the Cardiacs (well they have to sell copies you know!), so grab a copy if yoou can. no doubt there'll be another one along next month.
www.organart.com in case you missed the link above.

Hopefully April will see more action on these pages. Coming soon, reviews of Godspeed You Black Emperor and Diefenbach, and in the course of the next month, some new interviews - I promise! I'm still thinking about the print edition too. I may have more time towards the end of the month to put it together. more later....

A curious coincidence happened yesterday. I listened to 'Deja Vu' by Crosby Stills Nash and Young for the first time in YEARS in the morning, then went to a gig in Notting Hill Arts Club where te first band on played a decent cover of 'Almost Cut my hair' off that very album. Spoooooky. I didn't catch their name though - anyone know??

A couple of new reviews added before I take myself to Belfast for a www-free weekend. The Church of Simian and Fridge are online now.

Godspeed You Black Emperor!
I saw this lot for the first time since Nov 2000 last night at Hackney Ocean, and once again I was amazed by them. It is only the start of the tour so I won't give too much away, but if you're going to see them you may witness...
1. a 2hr 30 min set
2. a superb 30min+ new piece which starts with what sounds like guitar strings being wound in a spring, and goes into ambience and relatively straightforward rock riffs
3. some new visuals (mixed, cut and looped live as usual) - this time it's proper colour film as well
4. an experimental cut-up of a George W Bush speech
On a good night (and believe me this was yet another good night!) they are one of the best live bands in the world. Don't miss them.

I'm off to see the mighty Godspeed You Black Emperor tonight in Hackney. Although I'm a bit puzzled at them touring without any new material on release I really don't need any excuse to go and see them. Hopefully a review of that (as well as overdue reviews of Simian, Fridge and Riviera) will be up before the weekend. Some record reviews too if I really get on a roll!

I haven't posted here since I went to see Mulholland Drive last Wednesday. I know that most people who are at all interested in it have seen it by now, so I won't go at length about it even though it has haunted me all week. The guy who sold me my ticket has never heard of the movie so he asked me what it was about. Two and a half hours later I couldn't have given him a concise answer. Without wanting to spoil the plot, I would say that It's a mix of dream and nightmare which deals with the themes of loss, regret and ambition, and it also manages to be a homage to the Hollywood of old. I can see why some people think it's a mess, but I loved it and look forward it to seeing it again. Will it make more sense next time? Will it still haunt me as much as this first encounter? I don't know.

Installed a new search gizmo up at the top of the page - it seems to work! Basically I was finding that a lot of people were Googling their way here and couldn't really pick stuff out of the blogger archives that easily. The entire site has been indexed by it (300+ pages) so finding stuff is no longer a problem (let me know if it screws up though).

We visited London Zoo yesterday and in true Slow Thrills style, the Two-Toed Sloth entertained us in slow-motion. Which reminds me that I must post a few new reviews up over the next few days.

Since I got this Sitemeter gizmo on this site I've been able to see particular internet searches that have led people here. Someone even translated it into French today!
The most popular searches have been for the Ninja Tune act Fog and Northern Ireland band the Amazing Pilots, which is unfortunate as there isn't really much info on here about them - just some old gig listings.

It seems the self-created hype around the pornographic pictures on the sleeve of the forthcoming Oxes album has caused problems for online music zine Pitchfork. The zine has been taken down by its ISP for posting some of the pics. Is this for real or just a promo gimmick??
For what it's worth, the Oxes label Monitor Records would appear to have withdrawn the artwork. I smelt a rat over the whole thing when I saw this picture of the public protest!

I haven't really felt like posting much as I'm on heavy penicillin to treat a dental abcess - ewww!
Anyway, I've been to see a few things -
1) the Church of Simian last Saturday in Brixton. I should be uploading a proper review of this very soon, but suffice to say it was as good as everything they promised, with the addition of a man in a monkey suit who scared the life out of me when he was wandering through the dimly lit crowd!
2) In the Bedroom. I wasn't really in the mood for this quiet and depressing Bergmanesque movie, although I can see what the fuss is about. It is very well made (and it's the director's debut, isn't it?), and in terms of delicately creating the overall mood of the family's grief it really works.
3) Fridge at the Scala last night. Mixed reactions here. A 70 minute set which had some fine moments, but I have to say about 20 minutes of it was absolute tosh. The jazzier, dubby stuff worked well but some of it stretched the audience's patience too far. Full review very soon.

A few corrections to the Church of Simian details - this Saturday at Mass in Brixton, £7 adv.
live (the old testament) features Simian, Minotaur shock and Chinese Burn
DJs (the new testament) features David Holmes, Alison Goldfrapp, Simian mobile disco, Appliance, Corporate hospitality, Eat your own ears Djs, Foundsounds, Capitol K, Source djs
on til 3am, so I imagine they'll fit most of it in!

Well I did say get there early to avoid disappointment, but didn't take my own advice. I also didn't realise how small Cherry Jam is, so when we walked past just after 7pm and the rope was across we just assumed it wasn't open yet. Actually that meant that it was full, and although we queued until 8.15pm we were told there was little chance of getting in unless a lot of people left. So no Clientele gig for us then, and we ended up in the Coach and Horses in Soho instead!

Short notice (!) but the Clientele are playing in a few hours at the Rough Trade night at Cherry Jam, 58 Porchester Road London W2
Line up is....The Clientele + VV Hotel, DJ  11 till 2  Erol Trash £5 or free 'til 8pm, £7 after 11pm
Get there early to avoid dissappointment, nearest tubes Royal Oak, Bayswater or Paddington.

That Kidd Dynamo review is online at last - I've even given them their own page this time!

Nearly two weeks since I posted here - I've no excuses really, just laziness.
Over the last few days I have been very active though. I've been out a lot, went record shopping in Soho (which mean there'll be some reviews on here too!), and finished recording a radio drama. Which was nice.
I also installed a sitemeter on here, so I can see where you're all coming from.
Oh yeah, and I made an appointment with the dentist I met at the Kidd Dynamo show. Isn't it fantastic when a plan comes together.

Some gigs coming up in London...
Saturday 2 March - the Church of Simian - special event at Mass in Brixton featuring Simian, Minotaur Shock, Appliance, Capitol K and Dj sets from Simian, David Holmes and Alison Goldfrapp. Only £7 (shurely shome mishtake???) and open from 10pm til 3am.
Sunday 3 The Notwist 93 Feet East - £8, 7.30pm
Tuesday 5 The Walkmen Barfly at the Monarch - £5, 8.30pm
Wednesday 6 Fridge Scala - £8.50, 7.30pm

I was mildly miffed that I missed the White Stripes 'secret' show in 93 Feet East on Saturday, especially as I got an email telling me about it. Despite the fact that I was in work about 5 minutes away from the Rough Trade Shop I didn't have enough free time to get out and get a ticket (priced at the princely sum of £5 !!), and no-one else was around to get them. Oh well.

Last night I went to see Kidd Dynamo's 'proper' London debut - the first time over here with a full band. I haven't had time to add a full review, but in brief I'll tell you that it was damn good and they got a really enthusiastic reception from the decent sized crowd. The review won't be posted til Tuesday as I'll be in Belfast this weekend. (that's still pretty quick work for me though!)

One thing I was surprised by was the state of Camden High St these days. Although I don't live that far from it, I hadn't been there for a while, and I noticed it's got even more sleazy and run down than ever.
The other thing that surprised me was that I found a dentist's business card in my pocket this morning. I remember talking to her at the gig, but I'm wondering now if I've actually made an appointment. Huh?

The Dido Demographic (from the Guardian). I should dedicate it to the guy who has just moved out of the flat above me. I can't be too cheeky as I actually have 13 of the 20 CDs mentioned - although I don't play them over and over again!

Happy birthday Debbie! (and Abraham Lincoln),
Nah, fuck it, I gave Death Cab for Cutie a miss in favour of many pints in the local, but I will definitely be at Kidd Dynamo tomorrow night.

Gig-going drought nearly over! I may go and see Death Cab for Cutie at Camden Monarch on Tuesday 12, and I'll definitely be at Delta + Kidd Dynamo in the same venue the following night.
Also in London on Wednesday 13 is the return of Cornershop (at the Scala) and a Strange Fruit night featuring Electrelane and Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia at 93 Feet East.

Isn't it funny how you don't notice some things until it's too late. Last week French composer Yann Tierson played the Royal Festival Hall on the strength of his soundtrack work on Amelie and the Dream Life of Angels, and I gave it a miss. I've only realised that he also wrote 'La Dispute' on Third Eye Foundation's recent remix album, which is enough reason for going to see him on its own! Oh well, maybe next time.