Archive for the ‘Foot Village’ Category

3 May

Foot Village and Shift-Static Head of Steam Newcastle Wednesday 11 November 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Foot Village, Shift-Static, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

A week or so after playing the same venue, Shift Static were back at the Head of Steam, this time supporting Foot Village. Now Foot Village are drums, drums, lots of noise, lots of rhythm and soaring screaming vocals! Pretty scary stuff actually and amazing in a small venue, where we were all surrounded by the sound of percussion and lots of drumming. Marie and I left the gig with our ears ringing!

foot2“Foot Village is a tribal noise rock band from Los Angeles, consisting of four drummers of which two also do the vocals. Band members Brian Miller and Grace Lee come from the band Gang Wizard, Josh Taylor was in Friends Forever. ” (Wikipedia)

I have written elsewhere about Shift-Static, this post is more an update to remind me of seeing Foot Village. A couple years later I was with Laura at the Alexandra Palace in London to see Portishead and PJ Harvey and we ran into the members of Foot Village, who were one of the support acts. Laura was quite touched that they remembered her after a couple years, as I recall. She got a signed copy of their album and was quite chuffed.

“FOOT VILLAGE are a thunderous drum-n-shout assembly from Los Angeles – a thick forest of whirling limbs beating out rhythms for whispers and hollers to leap and dive through. Featuring members of Gang Wizard, Friends Forever and the infamous International Voice of Reason, Foot Village are pure hardcore spirit without the spark of electricity. foot 1

Erecting civilisation with drums and voices alone, Foot Village are the first nation built after the foreseeable apocalypse. Don’t get this self-imposed restraint confused with some neo-luddite stance however, as Foot Village only want to inspire others with the wide potential of rock music. Anything becomes possible if you have an idea to run with.” (Upset the Rhythm)

 

24 Jul

Portishead and P J Harvey Alexandra Palace London 23 July 2011

Posted by vintagerock in Foot Village, P J Harvey, Portishead. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Portishead and P J Harvey at I’ll be your Mirror London
Laura currently declares Portishead to be her favourite band, and I’ve quite fancied seeing Polly Harvey for some years so this lineup, coupled with the All Tomorrows Parties brand (ATP were promoting this event), made this in-door festival something worth going to. We took the train to London and dropped our things off at the usual Kings Cross Travelodge, and made our way to the venue for around 7pm. First stop was the merchandise stall, where Laura bought a festival t-shirt and was also recognised by the members of Foot Village who had played earlier in the day. Shift-Static supported Foot Village at the Head of Steam in Newcastle a couple of years ago, so Laura was delighted that the band still remembered her (and her shoes!). We then made our way to the Great Hall. The Alexandra Palace is a lovely venue, and has hosted many legendary events in the past including Pink Floyd’s 1968 Technicolour Dream and Zeppelin in the 70s.
P J Harvey came on stage promptly at 7.45 and played to a tightly packed hall. We were sat on the disabled platform, which was to the left of the stage and gave us a good view of the proceedings. Her set was unfamiliar to me, and was drawn largely from her latest album. Dressed all in black, she has a strong voice, and certainly went down well with the crowd. OK but not quite as epic as I had expected. She was on stage for about one hour, and after she had finished the hall emptied while people explored the other halls.
At around 9.30 Portishead took the stage, by which time the hall had filled up again. They delivered an excellent set. Beth’s vocals were amazing, as was the guitar work. Great use of dynamics and a very crisp, loud sound with great psychedelic 60s-ish visuals.
Portishead finished at 11pm prompt and we made our way back to our hotel via the shuttle bus to Wood Green and the tube, which all worked very well. We were back watching the TV and the sad news about Amy Winehouse by midnight.
Portishead setlist: Silence – Mysterons – The Rip – Sour Times – Magic Doors – Wandering Star – Machine Gun – Nylon – Over – Glory Box Chase The Tear – Cowboys – Threads – – – Roads – We Carry On

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