MonrozeMindfulness Of Sound Meditation Workshop [Event Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 23/7/14]
When one of your local area’s most versatile musicians comes to play at the scene’s number one venue, only a madman would turn that ticket down.
Andrew Ford is able to turn his hand to seemingly any musical situation, whether it be live drum ‘n’ bass, gypsy jazz, or meditative soundtracks. He’s also a brilliant teacher. For this event, Andrew taught an hour-long class on mindfulness of sound. Read more…
Kids Can’t Fly / Darko / The Wonder Beers / The Fail [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 22/7/14]
This kind of gig is the reason I go to gigs in the first place. There’s nothing in the world as fun as watching a bunch of bands push themselves to the limits in the name of putting on a great show. Read more…
Nothing But Thieves / Passport To Stockholm / Andy Ruddy [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 21/7/14]
Andy Ruddy
A really enjoyable acoustic-driven set showcasing plenty of great and engaging songs. Peaceful, serene, lush, and spacious new tunes hinted at serious future promise. Overall, a great start to the night. Read more…
Leftover Crack / VERSUS YOU / Ted Dibiase And The Million Dollar Punk Band / In Evil Hour [Live Review – The Underworld, Camden, 18/7/14]
Punk is all about keeping things short and to the point. So I’ll do that here. Read more…
The Xcerts / The Darling Buds / Tapestry [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 16/7/14]
Tapestry
When the opening band kicks off with a riff that transports you back to the glory days of alt-metal, you know it’s going to be a good night. Read more…
Reel Big Fish / The Magnus Puto / The Jellycats [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 11/7/14]
When viewed from the outside, alternative music venues can be easily misunderstood. Judging by the expressions of mainstream Friday night revellers heading toward Casino or Dusk or wherever, the queue of kids snaking around The Boileroom might as well have been the aliens from Mars Attacks. Some people don’t seem to understand that it’s not necessary to spray yourself orange and wear clothes so tight that you look like one of the X-Men after a Topshop makeover in order to have a good time.
Good times were definitely on the agenda last night, fastidiously trendy clothing or not. With jelly babies waiting in bowls behind the door and a mood-setting ska soundtrack engulfing those heading bar-ward, thoughts of the affluenza-ridden masses outside were quickly forgotten. Then a few bands played, and they were a bit good… Read more…
Welcome The Howling Tones / The Greasy Slicks / Psyche / Ben Longman [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 10/7/14]
If you were to walk into The Boileroom today, you wouldn’t be able to tell that said widely loved and respected venue is currently under threat of closure from a couple of local residents. The staff and management are nothing if not professional, and last night’s show – the result of a collaboration between The Boileroom, promoters Noise Theory, and local music school ACM – went off without any externally obvious hitches. Read more…
Black Dogs / BEAR / Employed To Serve / Victorian Whore Dogs [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 7/7/14]
Nothing gets you in the mood for a metal gig quite as effectively as car trouble. When reviewing gigs, you want to be like Mel Gibson’s character in We Were Soldiers – first to enter, and last to leave. For this show, I was not that.
Unfortunately I missed Victorian Whore Dogs (what a name!) and Employed To Serve entirely. Shit. Send any complaints for this omission to ibreakcarssomusicwriterscantgettogigsontime@shittymechanics.com, and be sure to check out VWD and ETS via the list of links below.
BEAR
I caught BEAR’s final three songs – and they were absolutely amazing. BEAR are a djent-ridden Belgian Dillinger Escape Plan intent on making sure their instruments barely survive the equipment-wrecking end of their set, and they’re heavier than trying to read A Brief History Of Time after staying awake for 72 hours. Read more…
Mindfulness Of Sound Meditation Workshop [Event Review – Red Hot Yoga, Guildford, 4/7/14]
This article is a real TMMP first. I’ve experienced all kinds of live music events, from punk festivals to acoustic nights, EDM shows, circle-pit-packed metal gigs, and even operas starring Japanese pop stars who don’t exist – but still, this experience was new to me. The world of music is mind-bogglingly vast; you could never hope to comprehend it in its totality, and it is crammed with all manner of treasures, large and small.
This workshop was small, humble, and unassuming – at least, it would seem so to anyone walking past and peeking through the door. But huge things can happen when you sit down and take on a formal meditation routine. This workshop – led by mindfulness teacher and professional musician Andrew Ford of Inner Pieces fame – was based around mindfulness of sound. Read more…