fatwhiteoldblokes

Had a great and interesting night out at this central London students Union location close to Regents Park. In pursuit of promoting my blog made an effort and spoke to a few people over the course of the evening.

Realistically the people I spoke to are already bought into the idea of seeing new younger bands but hopefully by comparing experiences we can expand the cause a little. Met a nice couple from Walthamstow ( sorry did’nt get your names) who had pretty much come on spec, Gary from Hartlepool who had come down for the day and was following Trampolene ( the headliners) and introduced myself to a guy called Dave who I had seen the previous week at the Selfridges event. Between the bands had some good chats .

In terms of the bands on offer I had gone to see Calva Louise , who started proceedings, and were great as per my previous two viewings. Good chemistry between the band, some catchy songs and plenty of power in the delivery. Didnt really understand why they were first on as they surely deserve to be further up the bill.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/calvalouise/

Next on were Breed, who had a couple of technical difficulties ,but were quite heavy which seemed to be appreciated by the audience with plenty of respectful head nodding . They were boys with guitars with suitable swagger and attitude, encouraging the audience to come closer.

Third band were False Heads who were a three piece indie . Played a strong set and listening back it was pretty loud (now I know why my ears were ringing) Check them out at :https://www.facebook.com/FalseHeads/videos/vb.300650261291/10152651756726292/?type=2&theater . I think like Trampolene they have been supporting recent Libertines tour.

Headliners were Trampolene who I was looking forward to after sampling a fair amount of material on youtube. Played some of their what I would call more popular and anthemic tracks interspersed and introduced by some poetry. Been compared to the Arctic Monkey’s and I would say that’s an apt comparison. They also clearly associate with the Libertines in terms of style.Again a strong boys with guitars vibe with self belief and take no prisoners energy.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/trampoleneofficial/

In conclusion for an £8 ticket you got access to four really strong bands who all entertained and did a great job despite a relatively small audience (50% capacity at most) which is disappointing when music venues are under pressure. We need to spread the word and get people supporting these younger bands.

The Nova Twins (above) playing in what turned out to be a stage bordered by gauze panels( which facilitated image projection during the show) . Selfridges have spared no expense on a state of the art stage and sound. It was a little bit like those Heineken adverts ie If Heineken were building a music venue this is what it would look like. It seemed like all the bands enjoyed the novelty. First on were Animal Sons, who played some strong guitar based anthemic songs. Great vocalist who really had a strong emotional voice that came across well in the venue. They have been part of Radio One introducing this year and are a young solid band, so one to look out for.

Nova Twins up next and the reason I went. Really fantastic scuzzy bass guitar , reminiscent of Rage against the machine. Second time of seeing them and they had got their fans along which added to the atmosphere. They really smashed it and were the band of the evening. Even grabbed my wife’s attention who hadn’t heard anything by them before, which is saying they really are something slightly different.

Headliners were Yassassin who reminded me a little of Garbage in their delivery and musical heritage. In isolation they played a good 30 minute set but on the evening the Nova Twins had blown everyone else out of the park. They will be headlining Camden Assembly on the 30th November. Good chance to see them in a small venue again.

This Wednesday 13th September the Nova Twins are supporting Yassassin at a special event held in the lower ground floor of Selfridges Oxford St. Two strong bands and two free drinks in the ticket for £14.  Seen Nova twins before at Wonkfest and they make a lot of noise. Looking forward to a slightly unusual night out at a different location.

Photo taken at the the Some weird sin event . Photo credits to someweirdsin at

https://en-gb.facebook.com/SomeWeirdSinLondon/ . Loads of more great pics available on the site.

Had a great afternoon/evening out at the Windmill in Brixton. Its a great sociable venue populated by as many band members as fans/interested parties. As it started at 4pm only downside is that it becomes a bit of a marathon to stay until the end. Managed to see 6 of the 9 bands namely, Kid Slug, The Blue Carpet band, Calva Louise,White Ape, The Fiasco’s and The Empty Page.

They all had their strong points. Kid Slug were straight forward fast R and B, The Blue Carpet Band  had a strong frontman , with a nod to Freddie Mercury in his looks and a solid backing band. White Ape are edgy indie with some guitar work reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand and a great line in humerous and thoughtful lyrics. The Fiasco’s were polished power pop with a really tight sound that would translate to bigger venues. By the time the Empty page were on unfortunately the lager had dulled my senses of appreciation (sorry guys) . I remember them as quirky with again strong sound which would warrant another listen.

Stand out band were Calva Louise (who I’d seen before at Wonkfest in July). Remind me of Wolf Alice a little,they write a mixture of catchy chorused songs, mixed in with some more psychedelic rocking out numbers. They look the part , have youth on their side and have appeal to both male and female audiences. I think they could do big things (they were featured at Roundhouse rising 2016 as up and coming). So they are my new band of the week.

As the day approaches been doing a bit of band research. The Bands below are playing and I’ve been checking out on soundcloud and youtube. Looks like its going to be a great outing and I will update with my tips after hearing them live tomorrow.

This year’s roll-call…

*LOS PEPES*

“Possibly the loudest powerpop band on Earth!”

https://www.facebook.com/lospepesmusic/

*SLY PERSUADERS*

“Bad Seeds-style unhinged sounding psychedelia”

https://www.facebook.com/SlyPersuaders/

*MING CITY ROCKERS*

“Riot Rock Ruination”

https://www.facebook.com/MingCityRockers/

*THE EMPTY PAGE*

“Warm and fuzzy noises with singalong choruses and Mancunian charm”

https://www.facebook.com/Theemptypagemusic/

*THE FIASCOS*

“loud & unapologetic, like a last orders bell…”

https://www.facebook.com/thefiascosuk/

*WHITE APE*

“A musical fist-fight between Johnny Rotten Rockabilly, The Fall, big melodic choruses and enormous hooks.”

https://www.facebook.com/WhiteApeBand/

*CALVA LOUISE*

“…fuse surfy riffs to fuzzy grunge pop”

https://www.facebook.com/calvalouise/

*NICOTINE PRETTY*

“Punky 3 chord bar-room rock ‘n’ rollers from South Wales.”

https://www.facebook.com/NicotinePretty/

*KID SLUG*

“classic sounds reminiscent of Dr. Feelgood, Elvis Presley and Bo Diddley with a blisteringly fast punk rock sound and attitude.”

https://www.facebook.com/kidslugmusic/

Looking forward to the “Some Weird sin all-dayer “coming up this weekend in Brixton. 8-9 bands plus barbeque for £8. Whats not to like. The boys above will not be there and could have perhaps done with some sartorial advice or used a cooler wash.

This is the first post for a first time blogger at the tender age of 57. I have started this blog for a number of reasons. Having recently been made redundant a couple of colleagues and recruiters made me aware of a growing problem in our society. Its the creation and subsequent vilification of a new demographic- the fat white old bloke.

So here is a disclaimer.This site is not just for fwob’s. But also for those that can sympathise with the sufferers or maybe see themselves spiralling headlong towards “fwobdom”(patent pending). Welcome!

This is not intended to be the next level down to grumpy old men and my prime motivation when this idea came up was to create a forum to discuss and share information on a passion of mine- Going to see live music and enjoying it as much now as I did when I was in my mid to late teens. Over the past year I’ve see numerous bands who I truly think should be getting greater recognition. For those that share this interest get out there supporting live music. Let me know your thoughts and share.