MSN Music Blog: Dancing About Architecture
Scissor Sisters @ iTunes festival
Review by Laura Wozniak
After popping into Abbey Road studios for an exclusive Roll Deep/Professor Green/Tinie Tempah showcase, I rushed off to Camden to see the mighty Scissor Sisters at the opening night of the annual iTunes festival.
During their up-beat 90 minute set, frontman Jake Shears and the gang jumped around to their hit singles Laura, I Don’t Feel Like Dancing and Filthy/Gorgeous, and tested out material from their new album – which didn’t really get the reaction I was expecting. Maybe this was because these iTunes gigs are free, so the majority of the crowd were punters like me who thought ‘free ticket – yeah why not?’.
Despite this, you couldn’t fault the band for the enthusiasm, Jake in particular was buzzing. He created a good party atmosphere and put us girls to shame with his impressive hip swinging!
Download their new album ‘Night Work’ for 10 credits (£7.99)
Kylie Minogue on MSN Xclusives
Guest Blogger: Steven Wilson-Beales: Twitter @stevewb
Today we relaunched MSN Xclusives under a brand new format. Each month we’ll be featuring a major artist, inviting them to guest edit MSN Music and, in some cases, perform tracks from their new album especially for you.
First up – Kylie Minogue!
Right now you can check out:
· Exclusive Kylie Minogue interview
· Kylie Answers MSN User Questions
· Kylie talks about Fashion
· And not forgetting our incredible KYLIE MINOGUE DEEP ZOOM!
Hope you enjoy this and let us know what you think!
Rox @ Scala, King’s Cross – 17/6/2010
Review by Tina Hart
Poor Rox. She tells us she’s had an emotional fortnight, recovering from a bad cold whilst trying to work on all the things accompanying her highly-anticipated debut album release, Memoirs. I couldn’t tell she was under the weather as I watched her headline gig at Scala, King’s Cross last night.
A 21-year-old diva in the making, the pretty, petite, pop-y soulstress, looking a little nervously into the crowd, kicked off her set with track one, No Going Back from the aforementioned album, and I was soon reminded why she caught my attention as a support act at a gig last year. What 
a voice, it almost felt like a CD wouldn’t do it justice as she sang so powerfully and made it look effortless. Telling us all to ‘get involved in the clapping’ towards the end of the song, the energy in the venue was soon buzzing.
Opening Page Unfolds with one of many notes of the night worthy of a place in opera, she sang with conviction, telling us of a ‘little boy in a big man’s frame’. Wooping and applause followed from the older-than-I-expected crowd.
Melancholy Sad Eyes was next which eased into a rockier ending. Then the first of two exceptionally brilliant choices of cover songs with an equally exceptional execution came in the form of Dream by Fleetwood Mac (or The Corrs as I remember it), fused with a touch of reggae sound, had the crowd loudly singing along.
Talking of heartbreak she experienced aged 19, Rox delved into Forever Always Wishing, then showed off her vocal repertoire again with audacious high notes in Do As I Say.
After dedicating Precious Moments to her ‘special someone’, Rox randomly brings our attention to the huge dreamcatcher (you couldn’t miss it) adorning the stage (pictured) which coordinated with her feather earring.
Previous single, the catchy, upbeat My Baby Left Me had the crowd hyped up and singing along. I’m bemused that it didn’t make a bigger impression on the mainstream chart (it got to number 91.. Re release! Re release!) Current single, the irresistibly funky I Don’t Believe, features in a make-up advert, so will hopefully place higher..
During the summery Rocksteady, Rox gets low doing the bogle dance move before moving to the keyboard and playing into album bonus track, Gallais.
A beautiful rendition of Seal’s Crazy sparks a singalong again, moving into the final song of the night, Breakfast In Bed, which I think would be great as her next single release.
The comparisons to Winehouse, Adele and Duffy were always going to come but Rox brings an ‘authentic’ earthy vibe to the UK pop/soul genre, I guess that’s helped by being signed to an independent record label and having her early musical introduction at church.
I could see tinges of Rox’s influences in her performance last night, a little Lauryn Hill, Alanis, Joni, Sade, that nice 90s soul vibe that us twenty-somethings grew up with, a little reggae, a little funky pop, with an outstanding live performance (and awesome band) and boasting great production on her album, I’m sure she’ll be making her mainstream breakthrough very soon.
You can catch Rox working the festival circuit this Summer or check out her debut album Memoirs
The Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival – 27th to 31st May
Review by Gareth Morgan
If you’re thirty something, the chances are you would have grown up with bands such as Incognito, The Brand New Heavies and Omar in your peripheral hearing. These bands were the foundation of a whole new scene called acid jazz. With labels such as Mo Wax, Talking Loud and Blue Note supporting this new scene, acid jazz became an overnight sensation and inspired artist’s such as Jamiroquai and indeed took inspiration from people like Stevie Wonder. The music had soul and warmth, unlike a lot of modern music today.
Seeing the line up for the Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival my sense of anticipation was on high alert.
Over the five days the line up looked like this: Becki Higgins, Snowboy, James Taylor Quartet, Polly & The Billets Doux, Hayseed Dixie, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Size Nine, The Deep Mo, Brand New Heavies, Adrian Edmonson & the Bad Shepherds, James Pearson Trio, Tony Hadley & his swing band, Prince Samspon, Omar and Incognito. Hmm, not bad!
I decided to cover the Saturday and Monday. As I made my way to the entrance on the Saturday, I could immediately tell this festival was going to be special. They gave you a branded glass from which to drink your beer, none of your wobbly plastic containers here. Great start organisers. Then we got an itinerary of the performances along with a beer menu of around 120 different varieties. Ok, I may not get to taste all of them, but I’ll give it a go.
So, Saturday had The Brand New Heavies headlining, along with support from Deep Mo and Size Nine. Now I must give a very deserved mention to Size Nine. I’d never heard their material before, but was in awe at their super musicianship and original music. Size Nine are an eight piece band hailing from deepest, darkest Sarfff London. Front lady Breezy Lee Althelion entertained the crowd with her energy and powerful voice and these guys absolutely rocked the afternoon crowd, including me. With a brass section that the Salvation Army would have been proud of and them touting themselves as ‘London’s number One Buttshaking Latin Funk Soul Ska Orchestra’, I for one will be listening to more of their material. Check out some of the music on their site, it really is that good.
Size Nine
After Size Nine, I wandered around various beer tents sampling delights such as chocolate beer and strawberry ale as this was also a beer festival lest we forget. But alas, I was yearning for something less exotic, so to the Budvar tent I trotted. I only intended staying there for a drink, but must admit I got talking to a group of ladies and kind of lost track of time. Suffice to say I missed Deep Mo’s performance which wasn’t the best thing to do.
I made my way back to the stage in readiness for the Brand New Heavies and was not disappointed. The music was as you would expect from the Heavies, but it was also the crowd that were making this event special. This had to be the friendliest crowd I’d seen in London for a long time, no wonder they weren’t afraid to give you a real glass at the door. The Heavies’ set included some of their well known ones such as Stay This Way, Midnight at the Oasis as well as newer material. They came back on stage to cries of ‘more’ and belted out You are the Universe which is one of my personal favourites of all time. This certainly got the crowd into a frenzy and I even found myself dancing, or wobbling in time with the music to be more accurate. What a day and I had it all to do again on Monday.
Monday saw Prince Sampson, Omar and Incognito performing, so I decided to get there mid-afternoon an hour or so before Omar was due to play. Again I must mention the friendly crowd. I go to Southport Weekender which is also known for being very friendly, but this festival was definitely as friendly as Southport, if not more so. That takes a lot for me to say but it’s true.
Omar came on to a very warm reception and stuck with a lot of newer material as well as engaging with the crowd in banter. He did play quite a few tracks from the album There’s Nothing Like This and sung the track too, which brought a little tear to my eye. Or was it down to the honey pale ale I was trying out? Incognito were on after Omar and whilst waiting, Bluey from Incognito came amongst the crowd and spoke to everyone around him. He wasn’t doing it for attention, you could tell the man felt a genuine humbleness which really touched me. I wouldn’t mind his money though, I must admit!
If Size Nine and the Heavies on Saturday were semi finalists, Incognito were winners of the World Cup. They were simply perfect. Tracks such as Still a Friend of Mine (who I defy anybody to listen to and not feel happy), Smiling Faces (see what I did there) and Brother Sister were belted out with gusto and passion. The night flew past and I was genuinely sad it had ended. What a weekend.
Incognito
If you missed the Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival, fear not! They are doing more less the same show again, this time at Hampton Court Palace in August. Obviously named the Hampton Court Beer and Jazz Festival, I for one cannot wait for this. Only this time I have booked off the relevant days from work and will be in attendance for every show. Bring it on!
Ellie Goulding @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 9/6/2010
Review by Tina Hart
After spending the week screeching the lyrics to Guns and Horses around my flat, I was relieved to be hearing it from the…errr… horse’s mouth (sorry), so off I trotted to Shepherd’s Bush to witness the current queen of Pop Folktronica and general loveliness, Ellie Goulding.
Warming up the crowd was folk rocker, Leah Mason, who was the perfect support act, winding up the atmosphere and getting toes tapping and heads nodding around the venue.
Screams met the arrival of a very slender looking Ellie as she launched into a rendition of Lights, showing off her enviable pins in pale denim shorts and toned tum in a lacy nude crop top, as her name in lights (funnily enough) graced the stage backdrop.
Kicking off the next part of the spectacular light display which changed for each song throughout the night, was Every Time You Go which had the crowd Oh-oh-oh-oh-ing with gusto. Following This Love (Will Be Your Downfall), Ellie delved into her current single Guns and Horses which was met with en-masse clapping to the catchy beat.
After a spurt on a nearby drum as part of her performance for Midlake cover Roscoe, she humbly uttered another one of many thank-yous of the night, and ‘this is a bit mental’ as she told us this was her biggest solo show to date.
Your Biggest Mistake was followed by slow-tempo The Writer which included a beautiful piano accompaniment, and then I’ll Hold My Breath speeded things up again.
Ellie’s mental thrashing of an additional drum kit during Salt Skin came prior to Under the Sheets hip-wiggling dance moves and more cymbal-bashing before disappearing offstage.
Responding to impatient claps from the audience, Ms Goulding reappeared, brought on fellow blonde folkstress, Lissie, and duetted on a brilliant song called Making Pies (containing the lyric ‘you can cry or die or just make pies all day’) to rapturous applause.
Frankmusik-produced Wish I Stayed (Ellie’s old open-mic night opening number) had her finger pointing at ‘I don’t own my clothes but I own my mind’ before propelling into the final song of the night. You guessed it, Starry Eyed was the singalong anthem of the show, complete with flicky hands, a drum that tons of glitter flew out of, and confetti from the ceiling, sealed with departing kisses to the crowd.
I hate to say it but the critics got it so right with their awards. I’ve never particularly been a fan of folk or electronica music but the Lights album grew on me and after a few listens I was converted. Coupled with Ellie’s lyrical magic, guitar and drum skills, kooky onstage performance and conveying the emotions of all of her self-penned songs, she’s my UK musical breakthrough act of 2010 (so far). And she’s endearingly modest to boot. I might just grab myself a ticket to her tour later this year…
P.S. In the wee hours she posted this on her Twitter page ‘First time I cried at the end of a gig tonight. Sweet dreams.’ Aww, bless her.
Rage Against The Machine @ Finsbury Park
Review by Laura Wozniak, written June 7
After collecting our wristbands we headed to the arena to catch the last 10 mins of the Gallows’ punkcore set.
Next up was hip-hop/dub god Roots Manuva followed by gypsy punkers Gogol Bordello who really got the diverse crowd (16 year old popsters through to die-hard tattooed metal-heads!) going. 
A hog-roast baguette, four ciders and a ‘Rage – 1 Cowell – 0’ purchased t-shirt later it was time for the mighty rap/rockers to start the celebration.
Their intro was a hilarious cartooned Simon Cowell (complete with black V neck t-shirt and ultra camp voice) gloating about how for the past five years he and his X Factor puppets have secured the Xmas no.1 but how this year ‘those t**ers’ RATM beat him to it, at which point the crowd booed, jeered and starting throwing beer. Brilliant.
They performed all the RATM classics from ‘Bombtrack’ to ’People of the Sun’ through to my fave ‘Bullet in the Head’ before inviting the founder of the ‘Rage against the X Factor campaign’ (that guy from my small rural town in Essex, strangely!) onstage to collect a cheque for Shelter.
RATM actually gave 1
00% of the proceeds from the single (over £160,000) to the charity, bless ‘em!
Then the moment we’d all been waiting for happened, that unforgettable riff kicked in and they launched themselves into ‘Killing in the Name Of’. The 40,000-strong crowd went berserk screaming the lyrics, punching the sky and genuinely uniting as one.
Last night was pretty damn special… I’m just gutted the concert took place on a Sunday night – I’m hanging today!
Bon Jovi play the roof of the 02
By Tina Hart, written 7/6/2010
I wish all my Mondays started with invites to impromptu Bon Jovi gigs. Today this wish materialised as everyone’s favourite rockers decided to grace the rooftop of the O2 Arena in North Greenwich to have a lil warm-up session before kicking off their current series of UK gigs at the venue later this evening. Rainclouds threatening, I packed my camera and umbrella and raced across London to check it out…
The overhead helicopter and windy weather didn’t put the guys off their set as fans (including myself) gathered in Peninsula Square and belted out the lyrics to ‘We Weren’t Born to Follow’, ‘Superman Tonight’, ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ and anthem ‘It’s My Life’ accompanied by the necessary air punching and foot stomping. I managed to get a few decent snaps too J
If this mini-gig is anything to go by, tonight’s concert is going to be epic!
B.o.B @ King’s College, London – 26/5/2010
Review by Tina Hart – written 27/5/2010
Sporting the lowest crotch on a pair of jeans I have ever seen in my life at the King’s College Student Nightclub in London last night was none other than the holder of the current UK number one single, B.o.B, who’s in town promoting his album B.o.B. presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. We were a bit annoyed to find there were no support acts but several special guests cropped up throughout his set…
Introduced onto the stage by his mate, Playboy Tre, B.o.B soon busted the crowd energy open with a lively rendition of Haterz Everywhere, telling us to put our middle fingers up, to which we kindly obliged. The audience clearly consisted of more than just fair-weather fans (who chanted ‘B.o.B’ throughout the evening) as he continued with more of his older tunes. Bet I was accompanied by an en-masse singalong which didn’t die down the whole night.
Erupting into what may have been the loudest cheers of the evening, we were very pleasantly surprised when massive UK talent and BET award-winning Giggs took the stage, with a chain that almost blinded me, for a performance of Don’t Go There featuring B.o.B which appears on his forthcoming album.
Other acts that weren’t present but still featured were B.o.B’s label boss T.I. and Ludacris’ On Top of the World and Paramore’s Hayley Williams on the beautiful Airplanes, which had everyone with their arms in the air. Next up, spitting a capella gave even more weight to the controversial lyrics of Generation Lost ‘Honestly I don’t even listen to rap, ‘cause when I turn the radio on out comes crap’. Ooh!
At this point the band came out and within seconds the whole venue was rocking out to Created a Monster. This was followed by Satellite with B.o.B showing off his multi-skilled repertoire on guitar, and amazing acoustic versions of No Man’s Land and B.o.B’s favourite track on the current album Don’t Let Me Fall which isn’t out yet but everyone knew the words. Rounding off this section was the poignant Letters from Vietnam..
A song that heavily lends to all the Outkast comparisons, I’ll Be In The Sky had the audience jumping up and down and belting out the lyrics. Unfortunately, I think venue curfew times (and the fact they came on late) meant the set had to be cut short, but not before bringing out bring out Ricco Barrino. (brother of American Idol winner Fantasia) for the number one smash Nothin’ On You at which point the ladies in the crowd went crazy and I think I almost went deaf. To end the night we had a rendition of one of B.o.B’s big influences, MGMT’s Kids which had the unwavering crowd finishing the night on a high.
It’s mad to think that this 21-year-old T.I. protégé has been a significant figure in the hip hop scene for a good few years. He definitely showed his flair for being an all-round performer, maintaining the 600-strong crowd’s unceasing frenzy all night. 
Online it appears that the purist hip hop community have mixed opinions about B.o.B but there are many that are saying he is one of the greatest young, new(ish) artists around. I certainly think he’s a multi-talented dude with musical skill, charisma, witty rhymes, and that genre-convention-bending boldness which actually works. I had an awesome night and think that B.o.B presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray is definitely worth dishing out a few hard-earned pennies for.
Random note: To top off my evening, a very chivalrous and dapper-looking Chris Moyles let me on the tube first at Temple, I bumped into a bloke I worked with at my Saturday job in Boots eight years ago as well as Giggs (who is very cute) in the corridor of the club, and I sat opposite Mike Atherton on the tube on the way home. You couldn’t make it up.
Stacey Solomon performs new 1940s-style single
Remember when only the winner of X Factor went on to have a recording career? Seems like a long time ago now. JLS, runners-up from the 2008 series, are arguably bigger stars than first-placed Alexandra Burke, while Diana Vickers, who didn’t even make the top three, might yet eclipse them both.
As for last year’s lot, both Jedward and Olly Murs have albums due for release before winner Joe McElderry.
All of which is but a drop in the cultural ocean compared to the news that third-placed Stacey Solomon, the oddly canine-looking Dagenham diva herself, has a single out on Monday.
It’s a cover of the Glenn Miller wartime classic At Last, which she also performed on the second live X Factor show of 2009.
Click on the video above to watch her singing it on GMTV. You might want to start the clip two minutes in though because the pre-performance interview with Lorraine Kelly is the televisual equivalent of self-administered root canal work.
Rihanna @ London 02 – Monday 10th May
By Laura Wozniak
After finishing up the spare ribs at Spurs Grill we went into the 02 arena to catch the last 20 minutes of Pixie Lott’s supporting set. She’s come far since I last saw her last year. 
Half an hour and four full-circle Mexican waves later, Rihanna bounds on stage complete with attitude and leather clobber.
This is the Last Girl On Earth tour and was partly inspired by horror film The Omega Man so in parts you felt like you’d somehow ended up in the London Dungeons.
After an intense performance of Russian Roulette on an elevated stage she jumped on a pink army tank for her 2007 hit Shut Up and Drive.
Live, she is surprisingly rocky despite being an R&B girl – a lot of the set was her jamming (pretend or real, who’s to say?) with an electric guitar.
After Rude Boy and the memorable booty shakes she resigned once again to her army tank and covered Oasis’ Wonderwall followed by Hate That I love You.
Rihanna performed no less than 27 tracks in all (including, of course, Umbrella-ella-ella) so maybe £50 for a ticket wasn’t daylight robbery after all!
Although it’s more about the celebrity than the music with these massive arena shows, it’s always a spectacular night out.
* download Good Girl Gone Bad for £5.59
