How indie are you?
This seems to have turned into a news-based front page rather than a journal of rambling self-indulgence. To try and redress the balance a bit I took the 'How Indie are you?' test, here's the result!
i am a scenester!




How indie are you? test by ridethefader

You are so indie it hurts. You hang out with the coolest people in your city. It doesn't even bother
you that none of them know your name. You know lots of bands personally, you know a couple of
guys from We Hate The Mainstream Records, and you blag your way into getting almost
everything for free. That fanzine you write gives you extra kudos. You probably don't
even care that non-scenesters think you're a pretentious fuck.

(ha!)

---

[mrs thrills fared somewhat differently!.....
i am not indie at all!




How indie are you? test by ridethefader

Who are you trying to fool? Just because you own a couple of Weezer albums
doesn't mean that you're uberindie. Indie people don't hear about cutting edge
new bands from MTV. At least the ignorant don't know what they're missing...]

Cornershop statement
They're still very much an active group according to this statement released to the NME.
More news on the Hydropnic night on Sat 12th Oct at the Front Page, Donegall St, Belfast. Admission £8 / pay at the door 9:30 - 2:30
It features Cornershop: Exclusive DJ Set + Braille Acoustics (Live) + Hydroponic DJ's.
From the press release...."Cornershop main man Ben Ayres will be performing for the first time in
Northern Ireland. He will be mixing up a set of all the genres that
have influenced the band, including funk, house, breaks, dub and electro."

Should be a good one.

HOWL - back in a new venue
From 4th October, HOWL will take place in The New Orpheus (University St) on the first Friday of every month. Their press release says
The premises may have changed but the HOWL ideology remains the same. HOWL still inhabits a universe a million light years from the commercial gay scene. HOWL is a space for queer folk and their friends who get off on a different kind of beat and a much more left of centre attitude.
Our agenda is simple.
To hell with the "pink pound" sheep mentality - create your own imaginative queer culture.
The vibe will remain an eclectic mix of indie, rock, funk, hip hop and a bit of whatever, brought to you by people who love the music as much as you do. On top of that there’s the free HOWL zine, bringing you the best in avant garde nonsense with a queer bent.

HOWL - Alternative Music Queer Club
Friday 4th October
The New Orpheus, University St, Belfast
9pm - late, £4

Cornershop dropped
The NME reports that Cornershop have been dropped by Wiiija. A full statement is expected soon, but it seems this was a less than amicable split. They're still DJing at Hydroponic at the Front Page in Belfast on October 12 though.

David Grubbs, Belfast, tonight!
I can't believe I forgot to plug this during the week, but David Grubbs is playing a solo show in Auntie Annies in Belfast tonight (29th). Support comes from Barry Peak (Backwater/ Torgas Valley Reds), £4 on the door. We interviewed David Grubbs once y'know.

Radio 2 week is all over now, the highlights for me were undoubtedly Suede and James Yorkston, and the gig I wished I had gone to see would have been Somedaysbetter. A 'digested' round-up of the shows we went to see will be online on the next couple of days.

Radio 2 so far....
Halfway through Radio 2 week in Belfast, still quite a lot of shows to get though. The highlight so far was undoubtedly Suede who played a storming set on Sunday night in the Limelight. I was half expecting a showcase of new material with a few old tunes at the end, but I was proved wrong as they mixed the new tunes with old classics - even 'My Insatiable One'! The encore is available to watch on the Radio 2 site.
Also worth a mention are the Amazing Pilots, who played a fine show in Katy Dalys on Saturday.
Tonight is a bit oversubscribed with Desert Hearts, Kidd Dynamo and Corrigan in the Limelight and Indigo Fury, Go Commando and Panda Kopanda in Katys - I suspect there will be a bit of venue hopping going on. Both events start at 9pm and are free.

Weblogger doesn't post for a whole week...
I've a good excuse this time as the back bedroom (where the slowthrills computer lives) was flooded and had to be abandoned. We've since got a new ballcock and all is back to normal.
Last week's Butterflies of Love/ Desert Hearts show was a helluva good night though, and whilst I enjoyed the Butterflies, I think everyone agreed that Desert Hearts blew them offstage.
Not much else happened in the rest of the week but the next seven days are busy busy busy, largely due to BBC Radio 2's visit to Belfast. All events are free, but all the larger ('On-Air') events are sold out and only people with tickets can attend. The smaller 'fringe' events will be filled on a first come first served basis.
The bands that interest me are...
Sat 21st The Amazing Pilots, Katy Dalys, doors 9pm show 10pm
Sun 22nd Suede + Electric Soft Parade + Goldrush, Limelight, 7.30pm, free - advance tickets only
Sun 22nd Robyn Shiels (supporting Veronica Rivera), Auntie Annies, 8.30pm, free - first come first served
Tues 24th Somedaysbetter (supporting Invinyl) Katy Dalys, 9pm, free- first come first served
Wed 25th Desert Hearts + Kidd Dynamo + Corrigan, Limelight, 9pm free- first come first served
Wed 25th Go Commando (supporting Indigo Fury), Katy Dalys, 9pm, free- first come first served
Thurs 26th James Yorkston and The Athletes + Stephen Hero (ex-Kitchens of Distinction), Errigle Inn, 8.30pm, free- first come first served
All information is based on the Radio 2 official listings, and don't forget that there are a lot more events on than I've mentioned on this site.

Butterflies of Love gig
The excellent Butterflies of Love make a welcome visit to Belfast on Friday 13th September when they play the Menagerie as part of their UK and Irish tour. More details here. A old gig review from Notting Hill in 2000 is in our archives.
It looks like being a great night as Desert Hearts and the Language of Flowers are also on the bill. Desert Hearts debut is one of my most listened to records of the year, and although Language of Flowers are new to me, their website is pretty good with some MP3s which are worth a listen.

Yakuza - new split single launch night
this from Jamesy from the band....
"Yakuza will make their debut on a genuine slab of waxy vinly next week with the release of a split 7" with Scottish post-hardcore yelpers Mercury Tilt Switch through Per Piranha/1970 Recordings. Featuring two tracks from each band, the single has already received positive reviews from the Irish News and the Belfast News and will be distributed througout the UK and Ireland next sometime this month, there is a distributor I just can't remember who at the moment. Anyway, we are launching the record with a gig on Thursday 12th September at The Front Page in Donegal St, Belfast as part of the Invasion Earth club night. The line-up is:
 
Yakuza (duh!)
The Coldspoon Conspiracy (awesome lo-fi blather from Dublin)
The Killing Spree (killer screamo-core from Belfast)
Linus (from Belfast hammering their Nine Inch Nail with a giant Tool)
 
It all kicks off at about 10pm and costs £3 in."
 
If you can't make it or can't find the record in the shops it's available by mail-order through the band's website

The Feline Dream - new EP and London gig
Hot on the heels of their best release to date - the 'Fashion Music' EP - the Feline Dream return to the Fan Club at the Verge, Kentish Town on Saturday 7th September. More details on our pop-up infested message board or at the Feline Dream site. You can buy the new release from the website as well.

Bright Eyes to play Belfast!
Well, I had seen all their London gigs so far, but I thought I would have to give this tour a miss. Happily not, as Witchita Records have confirmed dates in Ireland in November.
Bright Eyes play Belfast Queens University on 8th November, Dublin Whelans on the 9th. Not to be missed!

Cinerama play Belfast
Cinerama + Tracer AMC
Belfast Empire Music Hall, Thursday 5th September, 9pm, £9.50

More Godspeed news...
Apparently Godspeed you Black Emperor! have their music used extensively in the new movie from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle. The movie, entitled 28 Days Later is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie wioth an original screenplay by Alex Garland. I'm not sure how much GYBE material is used in the movie, or even if it will be exclusive tracks, but it will receive a UK cinema release in early November. More details are found here, including some reoprts from test-screenings. One comment is The first twenty minutes are absolutely superb, including some amazing footage of an empty and ravaged London set to the music of the Canadian group Godspeed You Black Emperor. Judging from the first 20 minutes, this film has the potential to be the best British science fiction film in many, many years. Can't wait to see the whole thing!". I'm certainly looking forward to it.

News of some forthcoming albums...
Firstly, some relief for those of you who keep hitting this site when you're looking for details of the new Godspeed you Black Emperor! album. I mentioned in a recent live review that it may be called 'New York' but this was only a rumour, as the title has now been confirmed as 'Yanqui u.x.o'. Recorded with Steve Albini, and released in Europe on November 4, 2002 (coincidentally my birthday!). More information and cover art can be found at Constellation Records, as can their 'map of evil' artwork.
Secondly, the Delgados have finished recording their new album 'Hate'. It'll be out on October 14, but on Mantra Records - NOT on their own label Chemikal Underground! I realise some of our indier-than-thou readers may have fainted at that news, but for a full explanation (and track listing) read the final instalment of the Delgados diary.

The 'new content' initiative was halted by my relocation, but I'm back to regularly uploading material. In the past couple of days gig reviews of Mum, Ten Benson, Sophia and Oxbow have all been uploaded. Check the index or the links in the column to the left for more. The plan is to get things up-to-date before I switch to the new hosts.
Also, I'm introducing a CD reviews section as I've been sent a few good ones lately. I'm particularly interested in self-released stuff, and the first installment is likely to feature the Feline Dream, the Embers and Robyn G Shiels, amongst others. Email me if you want our postal address.

One thing I thought I might miss when I moved from London to Belfast was the amount of gigs happening. I've been proved wrong, as I've not only seen to great shows in one week - Go Commando and Guided By Voices - but there are tons of shows taking place in September. The best source of information on this is the gigs page at Fastfude, so go there and see for yourself.

Site migration is underway - it could take a while!
Meantime, don't forget about the following shows...
Sun 25th August Andy's Factory, Queen's Film Theatre, £5, doors 10pm
Mon 26th August Ladytron, Madison's Hotel (Botanic Avenue), £6 (more details on both these shows here
Mon 26th August The Dangerfields + Rikamandu + Abase + Star Residue, The Front Page, £3, 9pm
Tues 27th August Guided by Voices, Belfast Limelight, £10 - please note this is an early show and GBV will be on at 9pm.

Couple of shows you should know about, both FREE ADMISSION....
Wednesday 21st August, 9pm, Belfast Empire Music Hall
Some Days Better/ Leya/ Gentle Ben
Thursday 22nd August, 9pm Belfast Limelight
Creative Controle/ Astromech/ Tristen Polar
It's unlikely I'll be able to go to either, but this free thing* should be actively encouraged so get down to the shows.
(*free thing made possible by Skibunny/ NIMIC/ Across the Line I think I'm right in saying)

Thanks to the attentive people amongst you who noticed that the links page had vanished into thin air. A temporary links page is now up at geocities, although the whole site will be moving to a new pop-up free home from tomorrow (thank god!).

Another new festival is happening in Belfast next week - it's Rhythm in the City, which has a very varied programme of events between 20th-26th August. Check out their website for full details. Particularly interesting is 'Andy's Factory', which will attempt to recreate Andy Warhol's legendary Factory in the QFT, with multiplicity screenings, DJs and a Velvet Underground tribute set by Go Commando. It's on Sunday 25th August, £5, doors 10pm.