Author: Crossfire

New York Dolls will play a one-off show in London next month, the band has announced.

Taking place on April 19th the band will play KOKO in support of their new album ‘Cause I Sez So’.

The band, who got back together in 2004, now consists of just two original members following the death of bassist Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane.

The Drums have announced details of a new UK tour this month.

While the band had already announced two nights at London’s Heaven in June, they will not be over at the end of the month to play a trio of low key dates.

The Drums full UK schedule now reads;

March
29th – Glasgow Classic Grand
30th – Manchester Deaf Institute
31st – London Old Blue Last
April
30th – Live At Leeds Festival
May
1st – London Camden Crawl
June
8th – London Heaven
9th – London Heaven

Mos Def has added a second show in London due to overwhelming popular demand.

The rapper will now play Shepherd’s Bush Empire on both the 13th and 14th of April, as he continues to support his 2009 record, The Ecstatic.

While the initial date on April 14th is now completely sold out, tickets for the 13th are available here.

The sad news came out today that Nujabes has passed away.

The seminal Japanese hip hop producer reportedly died in a car crash, aged just 36. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. The video below is to celebrate the music he made whilst he was still with us.

Suicidal Records

When retrospective eyes are cast back over early Eighties North American Hardcore, L.A.’s Suicidal Tendencies are usually given short thrift. Sure, as the years rolled by, and they forged a career out of it, their sound became increasingly focused on commercial success, and was a world apart from their humble Venice Beach beginnings. But what a beginning it was; Suicidal really were in there with the ‘name’ Hardcore pioneers, and their influence was huge. I remember first seeing a photo of them in a ‘zine (back in ’84) and being captivated – the flip top painter caps, bandannas, buttoned up plaid shirts, skate sneakers… it was a ‘look’ that took Europe by storm. I can think of at least one German band whose whole shtick was pretty much being ‘Suicidal’… yah!

So yeah, ST is a band who came with a big bad reputation – they were even banned from playing in the own city for a number years! I met a girl from L.A. in the mid Eighties whilst traveling who regaled me with tales of seeing ST and how insane it was, and I guess many us first got to see a glimpse of this on the Flipside # 3 Video Compilation, where they tore through “I Saw Your Mommy” and “Suicidal Failure” to a massive stage diving crowd.

Well, almost 20 years later, the atmosphere at the Olympic Auditorium, for the filming of this gig (shot in 2005) is nowhere near as raw and chaotic, but, with singer Mike Muir still firmly at the helm of a real tight band, there is no denying the power of the music, and the adoration and enthusiasm from a rabid audience who are most definitely Suicidal 4 Life!

As a message of intent they open with the epic “I Shot Reagan”, and, as the set develops, at least 50% of the material is from their first album – OG Heaven! I mean, c’mon – “Institutionalized” is easily one of the benchmark US Hardcore songs, Pepsi Cola and all! The Olympic was home to many, many big L.A. punk shows in the Eighties, but this ST set is the final gig there, as we learn it’s being taken over by a Korean-American religious group, which doesn’t escape Mike’s attention… and makes the reprise of “Send Me Your Money“, a rip at TV Evangelists, that much more poignant. And when didn’t “Possessed to Skate” make you wanna grab a stick, drain a pool, and fuck shit up… jeez, even next doors pond is looking tempting!!

Yes, enjoyed this DVD, and hopefully ST will return to these shores soon for some club show… in the meantime… “Let’s Skate”!!!

Pete Craven