Public Enemy will be performing It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back in its entirety on 3 live dates in the UK.
The band will play the album in Brixton, Manchester and Glasgow in May with support from Kool Keith, Anti-Pop Consortium and Edan. The full dates are:
May
23rd – Brixton Academy
26th – Manchester Academy
27th – Glasgow Academy
Scala, London.
20th January 2008.
What better way to conquer the Sunday night blues than fight fire with fire? Best known for his heart wrenching lyrics mixed with a wonderfully bitter tongue and melancholic outlook, Chris Carrabba, ex frontman of Further Seems Forever, played one of his first gigs of the 2008 with a sold out show at Scala.
Having left his band mates cooling their heels in Florida, preparing to record the new album, Carrabba’s playing on borrowed guitars in a venue that’s packed to the rafters with a crowd of all ages. In the ten years that he’s been performing under the mantle of ‘Dashboard Confessional‘ he’s attracted a cult like fan base, which is evident tonight in the word perfect sing-alongs that almost drown his voice out.
Kicking off proceeding with ‘The Swiss Army Romance‘ which we’re rarely treated to live, it becomes clear that we could be in for some old favourites. “Tonight I’m going to pay a lot of old songs” – cue cheering- “…and some new ones!” -cue booing. However Carrabba is in a jovial mood, laughing and joking with the crowd and taunting us with the opening chords of ‘Screaming Infidelities’ before pausing, laughing and throwing himself back into the track. Picking and choosing from 5 studio albums, Carrabba is open to suggestions from the crowd, and apologizes if he’s missed out anyone’s favourites, promising to just keep on coming back till he’s kept everyone happy.
Stripped of his backing band, Carrabba still exudes an amazing stage presence. He has the ability to look at home on any stage, be it at a sold out Madison Square Gardens, or in the tiny Barfly. ‘The Good Fight’ rings out loud across the audience, and ‘Don’t Fight’ is treated like an old favourite. ‘Vindicated’, usually played with crashing guitars, has a new passion and attitude, so much so that even Carrabba himself concedes that he’s never heard it so good. During ‘Where There’s Gold’ two bras are pinged onto the stage, and Carrabba seems very taken with the leopard print one, “It has rhinestones..and its says ‘Sexy’ on it…like the leopard print and rhinestones weren’t enough?” he laughs.
Tonight there is something very compelling about Chris’s performance, he has the ability to vocalize thoughts and emotions in a way rarely bettered by others. We’re treated to a new song ‘ Get Me Right’ which is sharp and exciting, proving that despite that seemingly incessant album releases, it’s clear that they have many more quality tracks waiting in the wings. Highlight of the night goes to ‘Again I Go Unnoticed’, a punchy track that always sounds so much better when it’s stripped down, the anger, the desperation pouring out some from lyrics that are shouted back from the audience.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since Dashboard Confessional took it’s first faltering steps, Carrabba’s way of coping after a particularly acrimonious breakdown. For an artist to generate such a fervent and loyal fan base over so many years proves what a talented singer/songwriter he is, and tonight he’s cements his position at the forefront of the genre.
Dee Massey
www.dashboardconfessional.com
www.myspace.com/dashboardconfessional
Crossfire favourites Doomtree will be releasing a DVD this year.
The Minneapolis hip hop crew filmed their Blowout 2 show in 2006 and will be releasing it on DVD sometime this year. Have a look at the trailer below and see if you can spot a cameo by our very own Abjekt.
Ween have announced some tour dates.
The La Cucaracha tour will see them hit Europe with dates in Paris, Cologne, Zurich and Amsterdam, kicking off with two gigs in England:
May 8th – Shepherds Bush Empire,
May 9th – All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival, Camber Sands, Rye
May 17th – Village, Dublin
A new track from Anti-Flag has been posted online.Good And Ready, from the upcoming album The Bright Lights Of America, can be heard by clicking here. Anti-Flag will be playing the Astoria in London with Gallows on February 29th.
A new incarnation of The Jam are set to release a new album this year.
From The Jam, which consists of original members Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, along with David Moore and Russell Hastings, will release a live DVD of a show they performed in London last year, this April. Foxton added:
“There will be new material, [but] it probably won’t see the light of day until the end of this year…We’ve got a few good ideas kicking around. We’ll see what we come up with. We don’t want to rush it. There’s no pressure from a record label or anybody. It’s a great position to be in.”
Sean Finnegan of Void has died.
The drummer passed away on January 30th from an apparent heart attack. Finnegan played with the band from 1980 to 1983 and was recently working on the set of TV show The Wire. RIP from all at Crossfire.
Morrissey‘s 3 postponed nights at the Roundhouse won’t be rescheduled.
Both the promoters and the man himself tried to get the three dates put on at another time but it proved impossible. Ticket holders for the abandoned show on the 25th will be automatically refunded to their credit and debit cards. Those with tickets for the shows on the 26th and 27th should return their unused tickets to point of purchase for a refund. Season tickets holders will receive a 50% refund of the cost of the six day ticket to reflect the three missing shows.
New single That’s How People Grow Up is out today [February 4th] and his Greatest Hits album follows on the 11th, check out the single video below:
Move over Winehouse, there’s a new pretender for your crown as soul queen of London.
Hailing from Brixton, Adele Adkins is blessed with a smooth, sultry tone to her voice, a deep and soulful resonance that’s enough to give you goose bumps. Following the success of her limited edition debut single ‘Hometown Glory‘, Adele is back with the Eg White co -written/produced ‘ Chasing Pavements‘.
With an understated, beautifully subtle opening the track transcends into a wonderfully full and sound, the rich and sincere vocals intertwined with spine tingling strings. Whilst a little overly sentimental in parts, the track is a smooth introduction to the maintstream for Adele, who possess real talent both with her vocal range and song writing, and an earnest sincerity to her tracks that belie her young age.
With her Jim Abbiss (Artic Monkeys, Kasabian) produced album ‘19‘ due out shortly, and the enthusiastic airplay she’s enjoying (including a slot in the Live Lounge on Radio 1) this is one UK artist who could prove worthy of the hype. With a hauntingly beautiful voice, and a plethora of emotive intelligent tracks up her sleeves, this girl could go stellar. Watch this space…and watch that crown Wino…
Dee Massey
Dead Meadow will be heading out on the road for a 3 month tour.
The tour will see them supporting their new album, Old Growth, in the States before heading out to Europe and playing the following dates in the UK in March:
2nd – Scala, London
3rd – King Tut’s, Glasgow
4th – The Cluny, Newcastle
5th – Night And Day, Manchester
6th – Fibbers, York
7th – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
8th – Freebutt, Brighton