Well.... The holiday season continues around here with a trip to Dublin to see Massive Attack and Goldfrapp, but Belfast is showing signs of life next week with gigs by Malcolm Middleton, Interpol, The Gossip, as well as two of the best local bands - Tracer AMC and Desert Hearts. Details of most of these on the gig previews page as the council are probably painting over the flyposters as I type.

Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon....
Well, actually I didn't because I thought Radiohead's show at the Waterfront in Belfast was pretty damn good, I just had that song stuck in my head ever since. I've since heard a few grumbles from a few people about the gig but from where I was sitting (front balcony in the centre) it looked and sounded excellent. There may have been a few occasional leaps in level when the fx pedals kicked in but I almost convinced myself that this was deliberate. The set was dominated by 'Hail to the Thief' so I was at an advantage in that I've had a copy of it for a few weeks now.
Low points? - hardly any, except for the false start on 'Airbag' and the omission of 'Pyramid Song'.
High points? many - 'There There' started the set with THREE drummers, a new version of 'Kid A', mighty versions of 'Dollars and Cents', 'Paranoid Android' and 'Idioteque' in particular, the silence in the hall at the start of 'Exit Music', and so many great new songs.
Here's the set list for those who are interested in such things....
There There/ 2+2=5/ I Might Be Wrong/ Exit Music/ Scatterbrain/ Kid A/ Airbag/ Subterranean Homesick Alien/ Backdrifts/ Sail to the Moon/ Dollars and Cents/ Go To Sleep/ Myxomatosis/ Where I End and You Begin/ Paranoid Android/ Idioteque/ Everything in its Right Place. First set of encores - The Gloaming/ A Punch up at a Wedding/ Just/ Fake Plastic Trees, second set of encores - Sit Down Stand Up/ Lucky. If that's inaccurate blame my memory!


In awe of Patti Smith again
I was amazed the first time I saw Patti Smith and her Band in 2001 (read how amazed here!), and her recent show with Oliver Ray at the Art College in Belfast was also stunning. A big thank you to Paul for the last minute ticket!
Proper review when I get it together but here's some of what she played
Piss Factory/ Hey Joe/ Redondo Beach/ Beneath the Southern Cross/ Dog Dream/ Wing/ Dancing Barefoot/ Because The Night/ Ghost Dance/ This Dead City/ Paths That Cross/ People Have the Power/ Pissing In A River/ Gloria/ Be My Baby.

Anyone got a spare Patti Smith ticket?
Yes, due to a last minute change of plan which means that I will actually be in Belfast tomorrow night, I am desperately seeking a ticket for Patti Smith's show at the Conor Hall. If you have one to sell please email me - jonathan@slowthrills.com - or reply here.
At least I have the choice of Four Tet (Menagerie), Richard Fearless (Front Page) or Howl (details on gig page) if I'm still ticketless!

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival starts today
Lots of activity in that particular part of Belfast over the next ten days or so, for more details visit the official site.
It gets underway tonight with the Blueprint event at the Art College featuring Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Drat and the Embers. Full details in our gig previews page!

Nina Simone has died
You kind of get immune to the TV news, but the archive clips of Nina Simone that resurfaced to accompany the announcements of her death, left me feeling very sad. I first saw that film of her show at Ronnie Scotts on TV late one night when I was still at school and it was something of a revelation. Most people of my age group were only aware of her hit 'My Baby Just Cares for Me' which ironically she never cared for, so the likes of 'Mississippi Goddamn' and 'Young Gifted and Black' were an unforgettable journey into perviously unchartered territory for me.
There are many lucid print and online tributes to Nina since she died so I'll just add a few words. I got interested in her work again a couple of years ago when Jacob Golden adopted a few of her songs into his solo residency at the 12 Bar in Covent Garden. 'The Other Woman' was another stunning song I had never heard until that night.
As Jacob said when I interviewed him a while back "I was really obsessed with Nina for a couple of years and I just spent a lot of time enjoying her records and exporing how she has such a beautiful way of just creating this space when she's singing. It's kind of perfect, she's just a master at what she does and I'm a massive fan of hers." (*)
I once remember her saying how she didn't listen to anyone nowadays other than Oscar Peterson because he was the only musician she considered as a 'master'. One listen her strongest material - for example, her version of Billie Holliday's 'Strange Fruit' - would make you praise her in those same terms.

(*) full interview coming soon

Amended contact details
Due to the unbelievable amount of spam I'm receiving I have been advised to alter my visible email address on the site. The address is still the same, so all it means is that if you're emailing me via the "contact" link above, you have to remove the letters "NOSPAM" from the address. Simple really!

updates piling up - sorry!
So, some stuff last week....
It seems kind of far away at the moment as the world turns its attention here, but there was a lot of good stuff going last week.  We had Vis:onic at Belfast Art College, three days of audio-visual collaborations, the highlight for me was seeing a stunning show by Manitoba - now playing as a group and doing a neat line in twin drumkits and bear masks - ably supported by a much improved Clone Quartet. 'Proper' review soon!
Friday was our first time at Howl in the Orpheus.  I had been meaning to get to this for a long time, but it took the promise of a solo set by Sarah Dougher (formerly of Cadallaca and the Crabs) to finally reel me in. What can I say? Great music, nice visuals, and a cool fanzine at the door. It may have been the first time I was there, it won't be the last.

War and Peace?
It feels so strange today as Bush and Blair are meeting in my home town (Hillsborough, Co Down) over the next two days.  My Mum was on the phone last night giving off about the helicopters, but in Belfast all I have noticed is occasionally disrupted traffic. 
First impressions suggest that this is a war summit, as Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Jack Straw are all in the gang, so our fragile peace process may not get a look in. If Northern Ireland doesn't make it to the agenda, the summit will be an even more cynical attempt to juggle war and peace than I had previously thought.
The big protest against these two did materialise - the protestors making their way along the empty dual carriageway on foot.


Protest Records
If you haven't heard of this since the war started, you should check out Protest Records, the online mp3 label run by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and New York web designer Chris Habib.  News story on the label is here