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Mainly touring the US and rarely touching her homeland, Imogen Heap defines the English Rose down to every detail, she is in a word lovely and has managed to squeeze into our iPod collections without telling us. Using technology extreamly well she really engages with her fanbase incredibly smoothly and keeps an extensive flicker photo sharing account active. The iGirl for the iAge, very creative and very innovative.

Immi, is sometimes stationed in London, perhaps-maybe, and writes and performs very cutesy, lovely, warm and friendly electronic music, however her vocals aren’t for everyone as I found out in my car once. A string of soundtrack appearences, most recently to the end credits of the fantasy film Narnia, as well as a new album, along with a very cool community focused website and iTunes sleekness has pushed Immi to almost cult status.

Immi introduced each of her instuments as the band

So last night was simply lovely. Immi waltz on stage to introduce her guest, Zoe Keating, who plays haunting music with only her chelo, making use of recording and sampling equipment to layer various sounds of the chelo into an amazingly small but big sound.

Imogen took to her set barefoot, standing upon a fluffy rug she launched into an acapella version of “Just For Now”, even without vocoda’s and computers her voice is strangely unique. If I had to plump for a genre I would have to go post modern, I dunno though it’s the kind of stuff that you wouldn’t think a 25 year old bloke would be listening to and I certainly felt a decade too old again, but what the heck she was charming and very zaney.

It was a very cute set up, stood bare foot on a fluffy rug it was mainly Imogen driving the sound almost alone. Her guest, Zoe featured on a few tracks

Oh look a closer look. This was the first time she had been back in Birmingham for 5 whole years, we loved her, she loved us, she played a Frou Frou and was very charming in between tracks, it was really great.

A Frou Frou track was sliped in there to make up for the lack of touring here, we loved her and she loved Birmingham equally. Normally the encore is something you have to wait for, but Immi told us that she didn’t want to keep us waiting. All in all a very nice night, I felt as if collectively we had made a very zaney crazy friend, you know the kind? To top it off Imogen came right out after the gig to chat with the crowd, try getting that with the X-Factor lot eh?!

Last night was truely an awsome night. It’s kinda difficult to pin Broken Social Scene down, they are a network of artists based in Canada, at their most expansive are a massive group of collaborators and a core group of artists in their compact version. When I say compact I’m talking nine people on the tiny stage of the Academy2, it was a squish in every sense of the word.

No support band left the the crowd anxious for the set that started at 9pm and finished at 11pm. I realised that I only actually know about 10% of BSS’s discography, it was the two albums “Feel Good Lost” and “You Forget It In People” that introduced me, but that didn’t matter I was seriously impressed with how tight their sound is and how well they work as a group.

Nine in number the group would rearrange to take different roles on various tracks, most tunes were full of energy and some were really blissed out and chilled. With two drum kits, various brass instruments, bass, pleanty of guitars, a little synth, many microphones with many vocals, a violin, and the cutest female vocalist ever, their sound was extremly powerful, very melodic and so beatuiful.

Everyone knew the likes of “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl”, simple in lyrcial content but quite an infectious track. Even if I didn’t know some of the tracks it was really accessible stuff. The set concluded with the lead male vocalist wading over the barrier into the crowd to hug people and he had said something along the lines of “this song will be pumping your heart while you are dying” .. which I though was an amazingly powerful thing to say

This is backdated a little bit. I went along to the NIA with LeeK, a best friend of 10 years, to see Katie Melua. The night was brillient, although we were in the quite a way up the top block of the NIA we had a great view of the entire show. If I’m honest when she first appeared I didn’t rate Katie Melua very highly, but there was something about her first album that caught me and since then I’ve been hooked. It was her influences from Eva Cassidy’s magic that really brought me close to Katie, her band though are just as amazing as she is.

Where troubles melt like lemondrops
An encore followed, but I was holding out for “Faraway Voice”, for me personally and for personal reasons this was the highlight of the night. Katie’s first song had been writen about the woman who had inspired so many people including myself with her voice. Influence cleary rubbing off on Katie as she sang about Eva’s faraway voice and smiling in unison with the entire arena as the song finished. A really enjoyable night, and one that my signed plectrum won’t let me easily forget, even if it is a copy, get’s you through the day does nights like that.

Ooooh, check out the signed Plectrum and erm well ok it’s a bracelet, but a very nice keyring, none the less

To round up a mighty fine year of gigging with my best mate Rich, the NIA last night played host to indie pianist Ben Folds, who goes from strength to strength with his solo material. Starting a UK mini tour in Birmingham no longer than your little finger, it wasn’t so much the suburbs he was rocking, it was a more soothing, charming and relaxed night.

By all acounts it was one special gig. With the audience taking part and singing along with Ben it was amazingly intimate, at times so quiet you could hear a tear drop amoungst the heartfelt lyrics and yet at times with just the piano so full of energy and humorous lyrics. You might be able to see us at the front of the crowd, to the left of centre in the photos found at this forum post.

Just with his piano and voice, Ben managed to fill the entire arena. A true talent, truely a special night, click the photo for a longer review

On Monday I headed down the A41, back to a second home of mine, the Academy. Sigur Ros were in town, I couldn’t miss this one for anything at all. I got to the front of the balcony after being quite a way back in the queue, the view was stunning and the night was enchanting.

The support came from four women who play stringed instruments for Sigur Ros, so from the get go the night was well thoughout. Ammamina were their name and they played what can only be descibed as music that would be well suited to soothing a young child to sleep … it was really nice. Sigur Ros had a powerful sound at times and a blinding lightshow, it was a special night, and here are some photos.

This gig was gonna be awsome, I had to book it. Sigur Ros are a sureal band billed as “Artistic Rock” their sound is very big yet very small, and so very beautiful.

My autumn gig calendar continued this week as both myself and Rich rushed over to the 2nd stage at the Birmingham Carling Academy for Long-View. Just as the crowd was near to overheating, the five lads from Stockport gracefully took to their repsective instruments and the Longview set kicked in with an old favourite. A perfect example of the mastery of their sound they hold is to be heard in the very popular track “Further”.

“God’s love will save our light and we’ll come shining bright, God’s love will save our sun and thy will be done”.

Hear a sample of lead singer, Rob Mcvey chatting with the audience: It’s been a year, no 2 years!

Click the image to read the full review

The LED message above the stage a must for every band. These photos taken with a 2MPix camera phone

Click on the title or photo for more details and extra photos or even use this link: full entry, but this below paragrah is a must read, I got a smile from Anneli Drecker

Texas came to town after a four year break from touring. Last time it was the NEC this time a downscaled Academy right in the city centre. It was a quality night, support act didn’t seem to go down well in the crowd though. Driving back home with the hits on the MP3 player it was a really enjoyable night with pleanty to talk about.

Sharleen Spiteri, lead member of the band, spent a lot of time interacting with the crowd which was really nice, as heard in this sound byte.

More photos and more details can be found by clicking through to the full entry

We were on the balcony overlooking the satge and for most of the night the view was pretty darn good

Last night was ace, myself Rich and Kel headed for the Glee club in Birmingham to see David play in the small room known as the studio. The Glee is such a nice venue. Anyway we took our seats as me and Rich were at the bar David came out instead of the support band, who couldn’t make it, and so the enchantment started.

We hung back at the end, I spoke to a few people I hadn’t seen since a set of Easyworld gigs a long time ago and we managed to meet Dav(id) have a chat and get the new single signed. The canvas, which Davids backing female vocalist painted while State of the Union was being performed, was offered to me, after I asked her what happens to them but I hadn’t drove into town, plus where would I have hung it?

Signed copy of the powerful debut single come protest song, “State Of The Union”

Clever men know all that and all this
And they will talk and they talk and they don’t fudging listen
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame
…

It’s no life but God, it’s a living
Come on Jesus Christ, come back all is forgiven
We are lost, we are lost, we are lost

I heard “State of The Union” this time last year, and by the time the 2004 US election was going on I was in hospital having some more surgery, delaying me getting back to work, The track is a protest to that government it was all timely, it’s a very powerful song and a year on the lyrics still hold true.

All in all a fantastic night in one of our favourite venues in the city. One of the lyrical highlights for me was certainly the last few lines in “A song for the road”. Seriously check this guy out at his website david-ford.com. Buy the single. Also if you like this guy and Badly Drawn Boy type bluesy-rock-alt-folkish-indie stuff check out The Vessels

My glands are randomly swollen right now and I have a thumping headache, they are happening at such random times now, so anyway I’m gonna stop typing, if you follow a link below you can read the lyrics that sent images rushing through my synapses plus more details of the gig including some spoilers. Truely a great night.

A full review and a few spoilers are seen in the main section of this article, click here to read more

Put simply the Turin Brakes gig was supberb. They chose Birmingham to kick off only 3 tour dates to promote the new album, it’s not quanity but quality that counts and on Thursday night we had both. The Brakes are back, the band that got lost in the Ether have found their way to the ears and hearts of far more people as the new album “Jack In A Box”, goes in the album chart at number 9