amazinsuphilips's blog

BRISTOL TERROR SCRIBES 5/5/2012, a Remembrance

By Sue Phillips

The Terror Scribes have never invaded Bristol before and so the town did not really know what to expect. It decided that the safest option was to keep its head down and pretend that this was just another ordinary day. A casual observer might have been forgiven for thinking that all was as usual. The quiver of fear that ran through the streets went unseen, unfelt... but it was there.

Here's a brief round up of many (not all) things Matt Cardle over the past few months.

So the Letters album went Platinum a while ago and Matt has been touring Britain promoting it. The warm up tour took in the Highlands and Islands, culminating at the legendary Koko. I was there and his voice was as good as I'd ever heard it. He kicked off with a new version of the title track Letters that was half acoustic, half rocking out and it set the mood for the whole show where soaring falsetto interspersed some belting performances. He was thrilled when the audience sang along to what were still new songs, not yet released, and left the stage exclaiming "Thank you Koko. Best night of my life!"

James Walsh has been a busy bee in recent times. It would take a long time to list everything the former Starsailor front man has been up to, but let's look at a few of the more interesting ones before he gets on and does another half dozen.

First he has an EP out and I can recommend giving it a listen. There is also the free track Man on the Hill to download from his website www.jameswalshmusic.com

Note: This is a personal rant. It is aimed squarely at the profiteers, not at artists or venues where artists perform.

Booking tickets for concerts has become a cross between a lottery and a game of 'fastest finger first' with events apparently selling out within minutes or hours of going on sale; and yet within minutes tickets appear on reselling sites or on Ebay. On the night, entire blocks of empty seats can be seen at some events. It's so annoying.

Do you remember the thud when, across the UK jaws dropped at the sound of Matt Cardle singing The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face? Well, tissues at the ready, because he has recorded a full version of the song that made even my X Factor hating husband tune in to the singer songwriter's subsequent performances.

After spending five days in the studio recording new tracks, Degrees announced yesterday that lead guitarist Neillo had left the band.This brings their number down to three: Alex on Drums, Jon on Bass and Patrick on acoustic and vocals (though maybe he'll swap to electric guitar). Will they stay as a trio or are they looking for a new guitarist. No information has reached my ears on that, but I do know that Neillo will continue to support the band in other ways. He's also said that the new tracks are "great". From a man who never seems to overstate, this is an indication of something very special indeed.

I'm not going to say I'm happy about Neillo's departure, but I wish them all well on their newly separated journeys and am, of course, really looking forward to the new tunes.

Dead Wolf Situation is the debut album by Hysterical Injury. This is a drum and a bass, but it isn't Drum & Base. Described as Rock Noise, but the vocals are melodic. The album is so different from the music I usually listen to I had to run through the whole thing three times just to form an opinion. The sound is raw, sometimes rough around the edges. The tracks have an untampered, feel that makes me think a live performance wouldn't be so very different. To give you a flavour of what Hysterical Injury are all about, have a listen to their free download track Maths here http://bit.ly/himaths.

They've been going a good few months now and have produced a three track single and some superb live performances, including one at the Colchester Arts Centre in late 2011. 

I was at Degrees' first gig last Halloween when Alex drummed whilst covered in fake blood and Patrick had the real life horror situation of having to sing with flu and half a voice. Luckily it was the tuneful, if raspy half, and the performance went down a storm. Since then they've played in and around Chelmsford, most recently on Friday the 13th of this month at Hooga with Missing Andy. They also guested at Point Blank when Gary Powell of the Libertines headlined.

So, what's been happening with the whole Rhythmix debacle? Well, we won, didn't we.

Celebrities, MP's and all kinds of groups and individuals have been getting involved, facebook and Twitter have been working their magic, the X Factor girl group has been renamed Little Mix and seems to be doing well and Syco have been playing down the whole thing - trying to anyway. When Rizzle Kicks raised the subject on Xtra Factor live on TV, embarrassed presenters quickly glossed over his comment.

The group that raised over £100,000 for Shelter in 2009  has come up with a novel way to help another charity through a guess the baby contest. Raging for Rhythmix was set up after the charity, which helps disadvantaged youngsters through music, discovered that its name had been taken by a girl group competing in this year's X Factor. Worse still, Simco, the official body behind the show had applied for a European trademark on the name which would severely curtail the charity's work.