Right so here I am again here bugging you aboutn what gigs I went to over the past weekend. Where shall I satart, well I guess Friday would be the best place to start. I spent the evening with the wonderful Chris TT and the Hoodrats at the Thekla, one of the most wonderfully approachable people I’ve ever met and he has been the longest running signing on Xtra Mile records, releasing a numerous amount of albums over a 10 year period. This was the first time I had seen him with the Hoodrats and it definitely brought out something quite David Gedge crossed with The Broken Family Band in his song writing.   Supporting that was my friend Barry who goes by the name of Oxygen Thief, a guy usually plays the acoustic post hardcore troubadour, but recently he has been playing a more electric, rock set and this is what I witnessed. Fair to say it did bring back reminicent of early noughties post hardcore like Million Dead and Hundred Reasons. Also whilst in the Thekla I bumped into legendary producer John Parish, famed for producing pretty much all of PJ Harvey’s output. I didn’t really clock quite who he was until half way through then I could feel myself welling up getting really star struck, just going wow, he was there with his wife and the artist he is currently working with, an australian girl by the name of Laura Jean. I also headed on over to the Louisiana because of the Thekla having an early curfew to see my friends in First Last Men absolutely destroy the place, with some seriously big riffs sounding like a cross between Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Queens of The Stone Age, that really had me pumping. 

Saturday saw me reviewing the Half Man Half Biscuit at the Academy, they are one of the many bands that are indebted to the great lord of the radio John Peel, a man who actively supported so many alternative acts by showing no regard for radio playlists making him a real radio renegade, helping so many bands find the perfect audience. There is one Half Man Half Biscuit have always specialised in writing satirical punk rock anthems, taking the guitar sounds of the Fall and mixing them with the poetic lyrical styling of Ivor Cuttler, left field and down right hilarious.

supporting HMHB was bristling folk punk singer JD Meatyard another artist who had been a Peel favourite over the years managing to fall somewhere between the lines of Dylan, Lou Reed and Dick Gaughan, in both being edgy and entertaining.

And then On Sunday it was the turn of the fleece to host one of the most exciting gigs of this year so far. Defeater, Caspian, More Than Life and Goodtime Boys. Defeater have got to be one of the most exciting punk bands in the US freely breaking down the borders of what conventional hardcore bands stringing together songs that really twinged on the emotions especially with their lastest album Letters Home. 

The biggest thing was the adition of Caspian as main support one of Americas fastest rising postrock bands sdounding like a cross between Maybeshewill and Explosions in The Sky, drilling atmosphgeric build ups and tension breaking explosions.