Work It: A Mixtape

One of the things I've been trying so hard to do lately is keep fit, working out ideally 5 days a week. I love going for runs but I can't run without my music! It helps keep me motivated and gives me a rhythm to run to. As music is such an integral part of my life, this makes sense.
It also makes sense that i'd share some of my favourite workout songs with you! I hope that you'll enjoy this mixtape. It's a fun mix of genre's to keep you motivated and upbeat, plus it's got a picture of Ryan Gosling on the front!! what's not to like?!

Lessons in Gig Etiquette. Yes, really!

This might sound a little ridiculous, but yes, there are certain ways you should and should not behave at a gig. At a gig, you want to go crazy and wild. In fact, it’s probably one of the few places where this is totally acceptable. But, to be completely frank, this is not an excuse to act like a total bellend. There are things people do at gigs which can not only annoy other people in the crowd, but annoy the band. It’s important to respect the band or artist you are going to see. If you’re not going to do that, what was the point in paying for a ticket? At the same time, respect the people around you. Ok so if you’re in a mosh pit sometimes you’re going to injure other people without meaning to, not to mention yourself. But this is something that’s accepted, and is a little bit different from pushing someone and starting a fight like your drunk in a bar, or shoving through right at the beginning only to stand in front of someone who is really small. I go to see a band or artist to have a good time, so lets not hinder it by acting like d*ckheads. Here are my tips:

Gig Etiquette Lesson #1: Don’t have a massive chinwag while the band are playing.

This was something I mentioned in my previous post about a Biffy Clyro gig, and was what inspired this post. Of course, when Biffy was playing there wasn’t this problem. The problem was before, when City and Colour were playing as the support. 

I’m not saying, omg the band are playing DON’T TALK AT ALL. Obviously, communicating with people is OK. But this is the scenario I found myself in on Friday night: 

City and Colour come on stage and begin playing. If you have not heard them before, they play acoustic music. Not loud, moshy music, just nice acoustic music. Next to me was a group of 3 guys/lads/idiots, whatever you want to call them. I didn’t want to move from where I was because it was the one place I had found where I could actually see (more on that later). These blokes were chatting VERY LOUDLY about, err, football. One in particular sounded like a loud, yappy dog with a strong Welsh accent. Not exactly the sound I wanted ringing through my ears while Dallas Green was singing live just in front of us. I thought maybe they’d stop, but they really didn’t. They continued like this for the whole half hour or so of their set. It was so distracting and annoying. Not only for me, but it wasn’t respectful of the band. I know they probably didn’t know, but I also know this happens in small venues where small acoustic artists play, and they know full well about it. I found the support a bit boring, but I didn’t start chatting loudly over them. If the support band bore you, stand at the back, or don’t show up for them. I don’t want to hear your opinion on the match. I want to hear City and Colour sing ‘What Makes a Man?’ instead.

Gig Etiquette lesson #2: If you’re practically 7 foot tall, don’t stand in front of someone who is 5 foot tall.

This is a problem I constantly face. I am small. I am only 5ft. I face it at pretty much every gig I go to, unless I’m fortunate enough to be right at the front. I get that you can’t always help it. You can’t help being taller than someone and you shouldn’t be forced to stand at the back just because you’re over average height, but that doesn’t mean you should literally stand in front of a small person like a brick.

On Friday night, I was waiting for the support to come on. Just as City and Colour took to the stage, a really tall guy and his friend were barging in front. I heard them say excuse me so I presumed they would keep on going. But no. This guy stopped dead in front of me. It was so blatantly obvious it was ridiculous. I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that I now couldn’t see. He apologised, moved for about a minute, then sort of gravitated back in front of me. that’s when I moved next to the yappy guys I mentioned above. 

The point is, if you can help it, then don’t stand in front of someone small. They want to enjoy the gig too. Just be a little considerate.

Gig Etiquette lesson #3: Don’t be a brick.

Yes, you did read that right. Above, I mentioned tall people standing in front of me like a brick. To be honest, people who just stand like bricks in general annoy me. Not moving, just standing, solid. If you’re watching a nice mellow band, obviously you aren’t going to be jumping around and moshing. But Biffy Clyro can get pretty heavy at times, so at this gig there was loads of moshing, jumping, shoving, etc. You do one of two things in this situation: You go with it, you join in, you jump and shove and mosh and put your hands in the air and sing and scream along. OR, you stand somewhere you can still enjoy the gig, but don’t have to be at the hands of a mosh pit, like at the side, nearer the back, or right at the front. You might think standing near the front, in the middle is fine. Well it is, but if you are going to stand still with a dour look on your face, then it’s probably not the best place to stand when people start moshing, which they do. You just look like you’re not enjoying yourself. And if you don’t enjoy being pushed and shoved, you’re probably not. So move out the way. I hate it when I’m tryna have a little jump and dance to a band but the guy standing like a WALL in front of me is hindering it. Because they do hinder it. They bring the uplifting mood down. Life is too short. Get swept up in the moment of the gig. Either that or move out of the way of the people who do want to be swept up. 

Gig Etiquette Lesson #4: Don’t push for no reason.

So a band is playing and everyone is sort of being pushed because the entire crowd is moving. Fine. It’s gonna happen. But don’t start pushing for no reason, when no song is playing, just to be a knob. I have witnessed this. A massive, tall, hench, bloke randomly pushing people because he thinks it’s banter, not considering that not everyone is huge in every dimension and not everyone enjoys getting their ribs crushed. There’s nothing wrong with a little mosh but don’t crush people. Crushing people is so not cool. I don’t want to die. 

Gig Etiquette Lesson #5: Don’t bottle the band.

This tends to happen more at festivals, which kind of makes it even more inexcusable. I just do not understand people who bottle bands. You don’t like them? Well if you’re at a festival, go and see someone else. Instead of focusing your anger on an artist you hate, go and look at the other stages and find something you like. At the end of the day, throwing bottles won’t make you any better. They’re the ones on stage, who have carved some sort of musical success for themselves. They are still winning.

So there you have it, if you don’t want to piss everyone off at gigs, stick to the above. The biggest lesson, though, really, is to just enjoy yourself and enjoy the music, while remaining considerate. That’s all there is to it.

Is there anything I’ve missed? Any things that really grind your gears at gigs? That ruin the atmosphere or make it less enjoyable? Then comment below! I’d love to know what your gig-related pet-hates are. 

Lewis Watson Interview.

Lewis Watson is a singer/songwriter hailing from Oxfordshire. He's grown from strength to strength and is gaining popularity and success constantly! I did this interview for Quench a few weeks ago.

Your new EP ‘the wild’ comes out later this month, what can we expect from it compared to your last EP’s?

We tried to drip feed a bit of production in, purely because, when I started playing guitar i always wanted it to be in a band and always wanted it to sound big. We’re just sort of evolving the sound, just because thats never happened before, I’ve always been on my own. With my first EP it was purely on my own, and with my second EP we put a bit more production in, and with this one, we’re putting in a bit more. But it’s still very true to the first two EP’s. Theres one song which is recorded in one take with just me in a room with my guitar, like a harmonium. It still stays very true to the first 2 EP’s. We’ve just made the sound evolve a bit more.

There’s a cover of SBTRKT’s Hold On on your new EP, what inspired you to cover that song?

On my second EP I covered a Bombay Bicycle Club song and kind of changed it - their sound is a big bandy song and with me it’s just me and my guitar. I really like that process of changing a song and making it your own, and I wanted to do that with a song people would think i’d never cover.  I also saw them at Latitude and that song jumped out at me. Every time I heard that song after I was like yeah man, this is a really good song, and it put me back in that place. I was just jamming on it and just seemed to work. 

Your tour is coming up, and the Cardiff venue had to upgraded from Moon Club to Clwb Ifor Bach due to such high demand. that must feel pretty good...

It’s great. I’ve only ever been to Wales to write a couple of times. I’ve never really done any gigs there so I never expected the first venue to sell out. It’s a great thing to say oh I sold out my venue in Cardiff. I didn’t want it to be upgraded then only sell like 5 more tickets, and make the room look empty. But at the end of the day, I just wanted more people to listen, and more people to be there. And then it sold out again and it was just like, woah!

What’s it like being on tour?

It’s the best thing, it’s so cool. You’re in a different town every day, and I’ve never really been to many of these places, so it’s great to be in a new place with new food, or new weather. I get to be with the guys in the van and it’s loads of fun. We get to play a show every night and meet everybody. It’s a really cool, fun experience. I feel so lucky to be able to do it. It’s amazing. 

You’ve also played with some other great acts who are getting big like Lianne Le Havas, that must be fun!

Yeah that’s great, Lianne is fantastic. I’m supporting her this month at Shepards Bush. The first time I supported her it was so overwhelming, but they were really kind and it’s nice to be asked to support her again. And it’s great to be able to play Shepards Bush which fit’s like 3000 people. I won’t be headlining there for like 2 years time really!

It seems like you have some pretty big things in the pipeline such as playing Bestival, what else does the future hold for you?

I think if I can just continue to do this, I will be very happy. If in 5 years time I’m still touring, recording, writing, and developing as an artist - that’s what i’m looking for. But these things happening now are amazing, I never thought these kind of things would happen. I’ve only been playing guitar for 4 years, so to be playing Bestival with Elton John and Wu-Tang Clan this year is incredible. I never really expected this to happen. 

Lewis Watson's EP The Wild is out today (26th March).

Tall Ships gig review: 28/02/13

This was a review originally written for Quench.
Sorry it's taken so long to post, but it's still worth a read, if I do say so myself!!

With it’s small and shabby charm, and the lines of posters above the bars illustrating the likes of who have played there (such as The Killers and Radiohead), you can always expect The Fleece in Bristol to put on great gigs, and the latest band to play on the tiny stage and live up to that rep is Brighton based band Tall Ships. 

Before Tall Ships play their set, hoards of hipster-types fill the venue to sample the supports. First up is Oliver Wilde, who blend guitars and synths to create a mix of chilled out, relaxing music, and slightly more lively rocktronica. Only slightly more lively though... while the band were good at what they did, I had to admit, I felt myself getting slightly bored with their set filled with slow, melancholy songs. I was craving something more lively. I got that wish with next support Emperor Yes, who were joining the Tall Ships boys on their tour. Emperor Yes ditch the guitars in favour of synths and drums for an exciting new sound. While they definitely livened the place up, there was something about the band I wasn’t sure of. Perhaps it was the distortion on one of the players vocals or the fact I kept comparing their sound to something like a more alternative version of Owl City (who I’m really not fond of). Despite their overly electro sound not being for me, they did get the crowd pretty hyped for Tall Ships.

Tall Ships opened their set with 'T=0', and instantly the crowd went wild. Previously I didn’t think Tall Ships were much of a head banging band, but after seeing the die hard fans go crazy to 'T=0', I swiftly changed my mind. Tall Ships instantly electrified the stage, with an incredible stage presence. They played plenty of favourites from their album Everything Touching, as well as a few older tunes. They also played 'Books' live for the first time, which, being my favourite song on Everything Touching, made me extremely happy. Tall Ships are a band that prioritise the use of instrumentals over vocals to create a really engaging, math rock-esque sound which delivers live, however, on some songs the heavy use of instruments could drown out the vocals, which is a shame because the lead singer has an incredible voice. Having said that, other songs such as Ode to Ancestors were more vocal heavy on the live set, which balanced this out. 

 All of the band demonstrated incredible talent throughout and gave all that they had. By the end the bassist and the drummer looked like they were about to pass out. When they walked off the stage after 45 minutes, they swiftly came back for an encore, with lead singer Ric commenting ‘now I feel like we’re a proper band’. While the whole set was brilliant, the encore made it for me. After doing a little rendition of Angels by Robbie Williams, Ric started softly singing 'Vessels', before the rest of the band hopped back on stage to join him. The band ensured the whole crowd was clapping and singing along. Tall Ships finished on old favourite 'Hit The Floor', adding a slightly heavier sound to the mix. The bassist and keyboard player then got some drumsticks which seemed to magically appear and began playing the drums with the drummer. It’s fair to say that Tall Ships finished their set at The Fleece with a bang, having successfully delivered a set that was energetic, exciting and full of life. 

Biffy Clyro gig review: 22/03/13

First off, as you can tell I haven’t posted in a while. Unfortunately I have been quite busy lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t got lot’s to post. I’m going to be doing an epic load of publishing posts that need to be published in the next day or so, including a Tall Ships gig review, an album review, and an interview. But for now, I want to come on to the latest gig I went to, which was Biffy Clyro on Friday.

I’ve got a confession to make: I never used to be a big fan of biffy. 

WAIT PLEASE BEFORE YOU JUDGE ME.

I am now. it’s ok.

Until recently, I didn’t really get the whole Biffy Clyro hype. I liked Many of Horror, but the little else I’d heard, I didn’t love. Then my boyfriend got me into them, and i’m so glad he did. I fell in love with Only Revolutions and the love for the older stuff came naturally. And opposites came out and it didn’t disappoint me one bit. I’m glad I found this love because it meant that seeing them in Cardiff on Friday night was bloody awesome. Plus, City and Colour were supporting, a band I’d always wanted to see.

City and Colour came on stage in the Motorpoint Arena at about 7.15. City and Colour, a band formed by Alexisonfire lead singer Dallas Green, are acoustic, so naturally, don’t sound a lot like Biffy Clyro. While they started off ok, I have to admit, I found myself getting a bit bored. They didn’t play their best songs, in fact, they played hardly any of their older stuff. it was dry, disappointing, everything blurred in to one. I don’t think it helped that when City and Colour started, it was just Dallas Green and his guitar, but now it’s a full fledged band and a lot of that magic from the early days has gone. None-the-less, I still did not enjoy the loud football talk coming from a group of lads stood near me through the entirety of their set (see my upcoming post on gig etiquette for more on that!). 

Dallas Green/City and Colour

When City and Colour finished performing, everyone was eagerly anticipating Biffy Clyro. The entire building had filled out with people. When they eventually came on, just after half 8, I saw probably the most impressively designed stage-set I have ever seen. A curtain dropped to reveal a huge constructed tree, all branches with no leaves like the one on the Opposites album cover art, taking up the back of the stage. Simon Neil was naturally wearing no top, revealing his many tattoos and making all the girls swoon. They opened with new song ‘Different People’ followed by ‘Golden Rule’. The crowd instantly started moshing. It was a rowdy gig all the way through and by the end my light grey nikes were almost black. Biffy played plenty of older stuff which was great for the dedicated fans, and plenty off of Only Revolutions, which was awesome for people like me who saw it as their greatest album. They played a good song of heavy tunes to mosh to like 'there's no such thing as a jaggy snake', songs to feel instantly passionate about like ‘Bubbles’, and slower, sad songs like ‘Many of Horror’. They obviously played a few new songs, but without letting it rule their entire set.

They closed their main set with one of my Favourites ‘The Captain’, but then of course, did an Encore which consisted of ‘Skylight’, ‘Stingin’ Belle’ and lastly, ‘mountains’, which was a perfect song to close on. 

Biffy Clyro

All in all, it was a brilliant gig not simply in terms of the music but in terms of the stage design. I was impressed and it’s fair to say I’ve been completely converted to Biffy Clyro fandom, and I can not wait to see what they offer as a Reading festival headliner in August.