Sunday 31 October 2010

Whitby Goth Weekend day 4

Happy Samhain everybody!

God bless the clocks going back! You can't beat waking up at a reasonable hour and feeling full of beans and having an extra hour to play with! Coffee and a bacon sandwich a great way to kick things off!

It was a very relaxed day with bugger all happening for the morning. We then took a casual stroll to Whitby Town FC to watch Real Gothic take on Athletico Gazette. Sadly the goths were not up to scratch today and got humped 4 - 0. It was a massive giggle as usual so was a trip worth making.

We then headed back to the apartment for munching and to start packing up a bit.

Last thing to do was to prepare for the final onslaught of partying.

Alcohol and mucho preparation was the order of the evening as we all tarted ourselves up.

First stop was Resolution where we saw Devilish Presley put on an awesome show with some fantastic new numbers. Jacqui seems to have coped quite well with the transition from vocalist and bass player to vocalist only with the new bass player filling the gap nicely and giving them an added dimension. Devilish Presley are one of the few bands I never grow tired of seeing live because they always give 300% with every show.

Our WGW fun ended at Raw nightclub for Martin Oldgoth's excellent Nostalgia night where we drank, chatted and bopped to classic goth and punk tunes. Sadly we left before the end due to the need to get up early to leave apartment and not be over the limit for driving.

All in all it's been a fantastic weekend with great company and I can't wait to get back here again (hopefully in March 2011)


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Saturday 30 October 2010

Whitby Goth Weekend day 3

Slow starts are wonderful. No rush to get up today and then lots of coffee and some toast to prepare for more Whitby adventures.

The afternoon commenced with us all splitting up and going off doing our own thing, Gill & Andi departed first in search of jet, followed by Dan & Laura. Toni and I finished tarting ourselves up and then headed off in search of Pandemonium (the shop turned out to be just that so we moved on). Spent ages (and a fair amount) in Gutsy Gingers which is a lovely hippy/curios shop.

Sadly with it being Halloween weekend the streets were diluted with Joe public in fancy dress which was kind of annoying as it left us feeling like we had been downgraded to a cheap gimmick rather than living a way of life!

"GOTH IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR HALLOWEEN!"

Late lunch turned into dinner which was a return to Passage To India for more yummy food.

Andi opted to stay behind in the evening but the rest of us scooted off to The Spa to see the band. It was a fantastic night all out together with Toni and I bopping at the front during he bands and then joining Dan, Laura and Gill between sets.


THE LAST CRY
These guys were really good with a trad goth guitar sound and some Cure crossovers too. The singer was really a joy to watch as he was so expressive.


AUTUMN CANNIBALS
This mob are the side project of Jeff Diehm from The Last Cry (who appeared last night with Manuskript). It was a little bit different, a little bit mellow and a lotta bit very good. The majority of the band was members of Mercurine who also got to do a song with Jeff and the bass player taking a short break. Would love to hear more.


WAYNE HUSSEY
I love Wayne Hussey's work with the mission but sadly I was disappointed tonight. He started off doing some acoustic stuff (and Mission songs) but it all seemed a bit flat after the other bands. We decided to leave when he had trouble with the keyboard and with a long gap and some heckling Wayne told us "shut up, I'm trying to fix it"! Not what we wanted or needed to hear and was enough to make us walk out despite the promises of guest artists at some point during the set.

Went back to the apartment and nibbled on cheese and crackers before hitting the pit!

Despite the disappointment of Wayne it was an awesome night!





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Friday 29 October 2010

Whitby Goth Weekend day 2

A nice gentle wake up today (rather than waking up hellishly early) and then some lovely coffee to kick start things.

The day began at The Spa where we traded in our tickets for wristbands and then committed Dan, Laura, Gill & Andi to the care of Loki for their WGW 'virgin' talk. Toni and I had a mooch round some stall and had a catch up with Nickie & Rob on the Devolution stall.

The next few hours were spent mooching and shopping. Managed to buy some nice things but also show some restraint as it's so easy to go crazy and spend a fortune.

Lots if walking and shopping later we headed back to the apartment to chill out ready for hitting the town later.

Gill & Andi opted out of The Spa and went to the Abbey for one of the late night tours. Dan, Laura, Toni and I went to the Indian restaurant over the road and had a gorgeous meal. It was every bit as good as the last time we visited.

Sadly, Laura decided she wasn't feeling up to hitting The Spa so we took her back to the apartment before heading off.

The usual fare was on offer at The Spa, good bands and lots of drinking and and more different varieties of goth than you could ever imagine. The band part was all a bit weird as Dan isn't good with crowds so Toni stayed with him at the back while I went up front to get some photos. I have to admit I was torn as I wanted to groove at the front but it didn't feel right with Toni at the back and as she didn't want to leave Dan on his own I then felt obliged to go back and sit with them which took a bit of the fun out of things for me. We kept getting chatted to by the guy from the Devolution stall who had never been to WGW before and so he seemed to like the fact that we were people he recognised and could talk to. It was also nice to see Stephanie Bowry there who I haven't seen since the sad demise of Evolution in Southend.


PRO-JEKT
I really enjoyed these guys. They warmed up the crowd nicely with their unique sound and left me a very happy bunny.


THE STRIPPER PROJECT
This was an interesting experience. They reminded me a lot of Carter USM especially with their witty lyrics. Not really 'goth' to me but enjoyable nonetheless.


MANUSKRIPT
Celebrating 20 years, this was one big party for Manuskript. They were really enjoying themselves and the crowd were putty in their hands. Wonderful covers of Pet Shop Boys 'It's A Sin' and Falco's 'Rock Me Amadeus' brought a smile to my face. They were joined on stage by Jeff Diehm ( of The Last Dance & Autumn Cannibals) which was a nice treat.


After The Spa I wanted to go out dancing but sadly we returned to the apartment. Overall it was a good start to proceedings and hopefully things will really take off from here!

Photos will appear on my return so please check back!

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Thursday 28 October 2010

Whitby Goth Weekend day 1

Today was the start of our Whitby Goth Weekend epic.

We kicked off meeting Dan, Laura, Gill & Andi and after loading up we headed out to the 'Lightbulb Cafe' in Basildon for a big breakfast to set us up for the day!

Had a really smooth journey and arrived safely. The accommodation was absolutely gorgeous and so we settled down for a chilled night in with drinks, chips and dips and Laura's delicious gluten free cup cakes.

Photos will be posted on our return so please check back later.

Following on from the Wacken 'Bum it, burn it' motto we have come up with a mantra for WGW......

'If you cant fight, have a wank!' (just don't ask......)


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Tuesday 26 October 2010

6 new CD reviews on Glitzine.net

There are 6 new CD reviews up on Glitzine.net

Ginger - Ten
Kill Cassidy - 14.11
Left Side Brain - Rifftrospective
Mum Locked In Castle - Lions Led
Stage Dolls - Always CD
Voodoo Six - Fluke?

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Monday 25 October 2010

Sam has a job!

A big well done to Sam for getting himself a part time job that fits in with his college schedule. I am so proud of him.

He starts on Thursday at The Oakland Hotel in SWF and will be working in the kitchen and some light bar duties as well.

Go Sam!


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Sunday 24 October 2010

Gallien 'Kitty' Krueger & TGI Friday

It was a day of traveling today. We started off with a trek to Aylesbury to pick up my shiny new Gallien Krueger bass rig (now formerly named Gallien Kitty Krueger). It is gorgeous and was an absolute bargain, I am so happy with it!



Once we had picked up Kitty Krueger we then drove back to SWF to drop the rig off and spend some time with Sam. We had a good old catch up before we all headed out to Bas Vegas to enjoy the delights of TGI Friday which was a most welcome treat!

It was then back to SWF again to drop Sam off and have a cuppa before Toni and I drive back to London.

We were knackered on our return and it was a fast crash out after that!

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Saturday 23 October 2010

Throbbing Gristle @ Village Underground

Toni and I pootled off to Shoreditch to the Village Underground to go and see industrial legends Throbbing Gristle do a set.




I absolutely loved it, and it was great to see Genesis Breyer P-Orridge back on a stage again.

Here was Toni's description, "Four people sat at desks with laptops and odd looking gadgets which could have doubled as torture devices! A little weird; a lot pretentious (although that wasn't bad); a bit fun; a bit tongue in cheek; a bit shit - all wrapped up in one big cacophony of sound!"

Sound equipment or torture devices?




Apart from the "shit" bit I have to say I agree with that synopsis. It was rather unorthodox as gigs go but I really enjoyed it and it was certainly something different. There was so much that came out of the sonic assault that really showed how the paved the way for lots of modern industrial and EBM style bands.





The encore was a rendition of Discipline with a rather insane set of stage moves by Genesis. The night was capped off by a mysterious fan who climber on stage, stripped off completely and then dived into the audience. Sadly for him, nobody wanted to catch a naked man so he landed with a crash on the concrete floor. Sadly for me I was videoing the whole of Discipline so managed to capture far too much.

Here it is for your viewing "pleasure"



On the way home we bumped into Phil Armitage Smith (of The Paranoid Squirrel fame) and had a good old chin wag back on the train.

6 new CD reviews on Glitzine.net

There are 6 new CD reviews up on Glitzine.net

Dirt Box Disco - Dirt Box Disco
Michael Monroe - Another Night In The Sun
Rock Sugar - Re-Imaginator
Simon Chainsaw - Eight Times Lucky (Retrospective Best Of 1999-2010)
Traumatisme - Horrorwood Rocks 2
Treat - Coup De Grace

Thursday 21 October 2010

Busy week

It's been a busy week so far. I've been working hard at my real job and on top of that keeping on top of all things Hollywood Doll. I've been contacting venues, trying to arrange and manage gigs. It really is all go and you just can't take time out when it comes to trying to keep a band out there.

In addition to those things I have also been getting my arse into gear with Glitzine stuff too. Sorting out CDs for review, collating news, doing reviews, more CDs for review, it's another endless task!

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Last.FM listening post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Sunday 17 October 2010

A good weekend with friends

Overall it's been a fantastic weekend. The plan had been to kick off with my gig on Friday with Dren and Emma and then spend the weekend together at Toni's. I won't go into the ins and out of Dren and Emma but he buggered off back to Watford not longer after he arrived on Friday so I didn't get to see him and he never made it to the gig.

Had a great time at the gig and it was lovely to have lots of friends there and it was great to see Robin again and catch up too.

On the Dren and Emma front, the upshot was that on Saturday they both mutually decided to part ways and so we got down to enjoying the rest of the weekend.

This mainly involved doing bugger all which was nice but we did have time to pop over and see Karen which was nice as I haven't seen her for ages.

It was very nice just sitting around and chatting, and playing with make up, and just enjoying company with good friends (and of course my totally fabulous girlfriend!).

Friday 15 October 2010

Hollywood Doll @ Dirty South

Second gig this week for Hollywood Doll and a five band line up to boot.

EMBRYON
I quite enjoyed these guys. A couple of their songs sounded a little like early Danzig which was a plus point for me.





HOLLYWOOD DOLL
This was one good show tonight. Lots of people along to see us, a good crowd reaction. There was a nice loud PA and a reasonable sound on stage as well as out front. We were really well received and loads of people who we didn't know came up to us afterwards to say how much they enjoyed it. Now that is what you need for a show and we were all buzzing afterwards.







KITTY LIPS
This band were a mixed lot for me. Some songs were really rock n roll and others deviated into metally territory which left them coming across as confused and lacking direction. They were well received though but I feel they just need to focus a little more on where and what they want to be.


TRES CALAVERAS
Wow is all I have to say. Heaviest band of the night and they pulled no punches whatsoever, this was hard, in your face music and the ripped the roof off. Can't wait to play with them in Romford in November!







Silicone Bullet
Much better performance than the last time we played with them at The Gaff. They definitely have a Steel Panther style appeal! They had a lot of fans to see them as tonight was their single launch party.


Who is this mysterious person appearing on stage with Silicone Bullet?


Enjoy the video of the same!

Thursday 14 October 2010

Crashdiet @ The Underworld

After work I rushed off to North Greenwich to meet Toni. We headed off to Camdem and grabbed some Thai food en route to The Underworld.

There was a monster queue for this gig with a big SOLD OUT sign outside the venue. It was rammed inside and I am surprised they didn't try and upgrade it to a bigger venue like The Garage (as happened with Reckless Love)

So on to the proceedings............


PEEP SHOW
These Scottish rockers were back with a new line up and some kick ass songs. There were some strange effects put on Johnny Gunn's vocals which made them sound muse like at times which didn't seem to work too well for me. Not a bad band though and they seemed to be having great fun and were a good warm up for the crowd.






KING LIZARD
It's been a while since I've seen King Lizard but they were certainly back with a bang! They put on a great show, Alice and Niro bouncing around the stage like loons at times and Flash once again showing what a great front man he is with lots of audience interaction.







CRASHDIET
Crashdiet were a little disappointing. There was something that just seemed a little flat about the performance. Singer Simon Cruz just didn't seem to have a strong voice tonight (although maybe that was just a bad mix) and I think that's what did it. The songs were good though and the place was rocking and everyone was lapping it up.

Sadly no pics as we retired gracefully to the rear of the venue to save Toni's back get jostled about.

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Hollywood Doll @ The Barhouse

Hollywood Doll did our first ever gig at The Barhouse in Chelmsford tonight. Nobody had realised that there was an England game on tonight which probably explains the poor turnout. It was nice to see Steve, Paul and Mike (from work) plus Mike's son put in an appearance though. All support is always well received!

HOLLYWOOD DOLL
We had a blast tonight. Our performances are always based on a desire to put on a show and play well regardless of the crowd and tonight was no exception. We put on a good hard set and debuted a new song, Stab You In The Back which was well received. The Barhouse is a great little venue with the added novelty of all gigs being streamed live on the net as well.






See all the HOLLYWOOD DOLL pics here: 121010HollywoodDollTheBarhouse


JOHNNY GET THE GUN
I like these guys. We have played with them before (at Chinnerys). They have a good hard sound with some great melodies.





See all the JOHNNY GET THE GUN pics here: 121010JohnnyGetTheGunTheBarhouse


VERSUS THE CIRCUS
These guys were an indie band that had some very close calls with The Cure but weren't dark enough to make it convincing. They were OK but didn't really leap out and grab me.


WALK IN COMA
Serious respect to these guys. Their singer had forgotten to book time off work but the rest of the band decided to stick it out and do the gig themselves with the drummer taking on the vocal duties. OK it wasn't necessarily a fair representation of them but all credit for having the balls to do it even if they did cut their set a little short. Would love to see them with the real singer!