Immortal Technique is coming to the UK for a one off date, where he will perform new material never before heard. He’ll be performing at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on July 2nd.
He’s bringing his right hand man Akir and will be supported by the UK’s very own Klashnekoff, Poisonous Poets and Moorish Delta.
Check out what was said when Abjekt caught up with Tech earlier this year by clicking here.
Leeds Cockpit
24.06.06
Notoriety follows The Brian Jonestown Massacre as surely as night follows day and Muttley follows Dastardly. Or, specifically, said notoriety follows BJM front man Anton Newcombe. Frequently feted (usually by himself, truth be told) as musical genius and genuine messiah, Mr Newcombe and his ever shifting line-up of cohorts peddle an admittedly fine take on the evergreen, West Coast psychedelic power-pop thang. Yet despite this superb aural output, it’s his ‘personality-led’ incidents that have led to a recent increase in fame, most notably in the superb ‘Dig!‘ documentary DVD (sample line: “fucking broke my sitar, motherfucker.”)
So, before packed and buzzing punters at Leeds Cockpit, it’s something of a surprise to catch Anton in an entirely affable mood. Carrying an on-stage presence part Jason Pierce (standing sideways on to the audience) and part Sherlock Holmes (must be the deerstalker hat), Newcombe is in fine form, leading his band through over 90 minutes of fine, off-kilter retro-rock. Complimented by three guitars, a bowel-rumbling, earth-quaking bass and with the curiously irritating Joel Gion on tambourine / stupid sunglasses it’s one blissed-out blast of over-driven psychedelia after another.
Pausing only for the occasional glug on what appears to be a pint of orange juice and a seriously puzzling blast at a Yorkshire accent (“cheeky monkeys,” he states – yes, really!), the evening rapidly becomes a textbook illustration of the timeless power offered by vintage guitars and fine song writing. In short – a blast.
Steve Lee
After running riot infront of adoring fans in their eventful European and UK tour, The Brian Jonestown Massacre are back to these shores for three more action packed dates:
June
Wednesday 28th – London KOKO
Thursday 29th – Birmingham Academy 2
Friday 30th – Manchester Academy 2
Make sure you get to one of the dates to see if Anton can keep himself together or if another group of band members will be fire live on stage!
Seattle’s Pretty Girls Make Graves are back with a new album called Elan Vital. The material on the album has been road tested to great responses whilst on tour with Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab For Cutie and the second single for the album, Pyrite Pedestal, will be available for download on July 5th.
The group are also touring the UK in July and the dates are:
Sat 1 – Tunnels Aberdeen
Sun 2 – Leadmill Sheffield
Mon 3 – Academy Newcastle
Thur 6 – Islington Academy London
Fri 7 – Academy Manchester
Sat 8 – T In The Park Glasgow
Sun 9 – Oxegen, Dublin Ireland
Tues 11 – Barfly, Cardiff Wales
Check out www.prettygirlsmakegraves.com or you can see Derek Fudesco’s photo blog here: www.cavesinging.blogspot.com
The remaining member of The Ramones is to star in a music based on the group’s songs. The musical, called Gabba Gabba Hey – A Punk Rock Musical, is to be performed at KOKO from July 31st to August 5th.
Some of the tracks included are Beat On The Brat, I Wanna Be Sedated and Blitzkrieg Bop, and the only surviving Ramone, Tommy, will perform every night. Some guests have been lined up also, including Angela Bowie, Hugh Cornwell and Nick Sheppard, formerly of the Clash.
Check out www.ramonesmusical.com for more.
Underoath have taken the step of streaming their entire album on MTV2’s site. Check it out and then make sure you pick up Define The Great Line when it drops on June 20th.
Point your shit to this page to hear the good stuff.
Helmet have made 3 tracks from their upcoming album Monochrome available to listen to online. If you wanna check out Page Hamilton’s new shit, then click right here.
The album is due for release on July 18th. Belting.
Abjekt’s favourite crew Doomtree are the leading lights in underground hip hop right now, but their talent knows no bounds. Lazerbeak, one of the producers in Doomtree, has been in a The Plastic Constellations since he was 14, and as they’ve grown together, from supporting Low at 15 to where they are now, releasing their third album, he’s ready to show the world he’s not just a brilliant hip hop beatsmith, he’s a great songwriter and guitarist too.
They’ve signed to Frenchkiss Records, the home of big names such as Les Savy Fav and The Hold Steady, and they’ve recieved glowing reports from all over the world. If you want to know how they’ve crossed boundaries of taste, then perhaps Slug of Atmosphere‘s opinion matters most of all, and when he said that the Twin Cities of St Paul and Minneapolis aren’t big enough to hold their energy, you know you’re onto a good thing.
This is the opening track of their new album, Crusades, and showcases their ability to pen a great tune. So now you know them and have no excuses. Get listening!
www.theplasticconstellations.com / www.myspace.com/theplasticconstellations
The DVS team are one busy lot when it comes to touring. After the 4 week Skate More world tour, the boys are back in town with their European Vacation, without forgetting the Search for Chupacabra Bro Brigade Tour that just went down South of the border in Mexico City, Leon, Guadalajara and other south American hotspots. Apparently this last tour was strictly skateboarding and left team manager Gabe feeling slightly confused as to where he was- Belgium or Buenos Aires..?
A whole lot of sick footage is getting clocked up for a future 30 minute feature show on Fuel Tv. Plus, the nice guys that they are, DVS have dedicated an entire series to their homies the photographers, because without them the myth would be nothing but words. The Photographer Series showcases work by Gabe Morford, Atiba Jefferson, Ben Colen, Giovanni Reda and Mike O’Meally. Next time you spot Giovanni, ask him to speak French – “Bonjour Guillaummmeee!”
Why we all accept mini-ramps and not their older brothers, the vert, I will never understand… The level of skating that goes on atop a 15 foot monster is just as amazing as that little combo some street skater pulled, but the adrenaline rush is ten times stronger.
If you want a taste of the action, get yourselves over to Holland for the Halfpipe Horror event that will single-handedly try and resuscitate the Dutch vert scene. A 12m wide, 3.7m high vert ramp stands tall in the centre of Rotterdam at the Westblaak Skatepark and awaits your arrival on the 25th June for a comp that can hopefully pump some young blood back into skateboarding’s roots.