Daughter live at Islington Assembly Halls

Daughter are definitely a band to watch. They have been quietly gathering pace over the past year, touted by Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, supporting Ben Howard on tour and producing two beautiful EPs. The haunting vocals of Elena Tonra (joined by Igor on guitar and Remi on drums although they mix up their instruments quite a bit) lit up the Islington Assembly Halls last night as Daughter played their last live show before hitting the festivals this summer and hopefully recording a full album.

The band discreetly arrived on stage and kicked off with their song 'Run'. From the off it was obvious just how strong Elena's voice was and the venue could not have been more accommodating to her beautiful melodies. It is rare at a gig to hear the audience in stunned silence to the point where you could have heard a pin drop but such was the effect when they played 'Love' and 'Landfill' and particularly when Elena went solo on track 'The Woods'.

There was a mutual understanding in the room that we were lucky to be there and the majority of the gig found the audience gazing up in awe at the sheer talent we were witnessing. Igor was an exceptional guitarist and drove the energy on the stage. The crowd livened up on 'Youth' and I definitely saw some audience particpation when they played 'Candles' .

Even when they showcased a new song and stopped after the first verse because the key was slightly out this didn't matter. After a quick chat and a re-tune Elena set off again like a consummate professional. Pitch perfect, unnerved and so wonderful. There is a Florence Welch type innocence about Elena: shy and a tad nervous when interacting with the crowd it is obvious she can't quite believe her luck that something she likes doing so much (writing beautiful songs and singing them with her bandmates) has gathered a following and there seemed to be a sort of amazement that we were all there to see her. However the nerves subsided when the music played and this is when she seemed most at home - lost in her own little world of hauntingly beautiful songs.

If you like your music folky and mesmerising and you want to listen to something really special then check out Daughter at various festivals this summer and buy the EP's. You won't be disappointed.

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New Warpaint Song (sort of)

Warpaint tweeted a video today of band member Emily Kokal singing a new track called Hymn, live at Dilettante. Anyway it's pretty good and very Warpaint esq. Looking forward to a new album this year I hope!

**Debut Music Video by The Harlots for Be Mine**

If you haven't seen this yet then you're missing out. London's finest - The Harlots have released their debut video, filmed at Scar Studios in Camden, for new single "Be Mine" and it's good - REALLY good. Check it out below and catch them at the O2 Academy in Islington on 16th March. See http://www.theharlotsmusic.com/ for more information.

Florence + The Machine live at Alexandra Palace

Last Night was the first of three dates at Ally Pally for Flo, supported by The Horrors, on her first full UK tour since the Cosmic Love Tour in 2010 and what a night it was. I'm not going to lie, I'm a pretty hard core fan so you're unlikely to find much criticism on this blog but that aside it truly was a simply perfect evening.

Florence + The Machine brought latest album Ceremonials to the forefront on an art deco inspired stage. Usual band members were joined by a full string section and a gospel choir. The sound was big. Opening with "Only if for a Night" (my prediction) Florence floated on to the stage, hair elaborately pinned up and wearing a black cat suit covered by a large black cape. A seemingly nervous start didn't last long as she unleashed song after song, playing a good hour and a half's worth of material. She moved seamlessly in to What the Water Gave Me and then ditched the cape for the remainder of the main set. Crowd favourite Dog Days Are Over saw everyone jumping around under Florence's instruction, the live version of Rabbit Heart didn't disappoint and a more classical version of You've got the Love built up into an anthemic arms in the air festival-esq moment that was lacking nothing but some swaying lighters.

Although the new album was the main event, she kindly threw in enough from Lungs to ensure no one was disappointed. With only two albums she already has a pretty hefty repertoire. Her voice was on top form last night, with trademark long high notes held for what seemed an inhuman amount of time and pretty much pitch perfect. New tracks that stood out were Spectrum, All this and Heaven Too and of course Shake it Out. Florence seemed to be in her element twirling around the stage, engaging with her adoring audience and savouring every second of the set.

After the usual "we've finished, oh no we haven't", Florence came back on for a much wanted encore. Donning her cape again and launching in to No Light, No Light followed by final number, Never Let Me Go. A fitting finish on two counts - the new single and exactly the sentiment we all felt as the last note was played. We did not want to let her go. Not at all.






Helpfully some kind fan has made a montage of video clips from last night's gig so here's a taste of what we saw:

Cafe Prov - Herne Hill

Had dinner at a lovely little place in Herne Hill last night - Cafe Prov. A laidback and informal joint that serves delicious food in a nice relaxing atmosphere. We had a lovely two courses for £12 deal: a Moroccan lamb burger served with homemade chips followed by more cheesecake than you can shake a stick at. It definitely had the coolest decor I have seen in a while too, with old LPs and music memorabilia adorning the walls. If you like you music soulful and your food hearty and affordable then this place is definitely worth a visit. Beside the extremely friendly staff, the best thing of all was that there was no rush to leave. I'll definitely be going back.

Definitely the coolest toilet wall's I have seen for a while

Marina and The Diamonds live at Shepherd's Bush Empire

I'll be honest - up until last night I'd only really heard the singles from Marina's first album and as much as I loved "I am not a Robot" I definitely wouldn't have claimed to be her biggest fan. However, yesterday at her NME gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire, I was pleasantly surprised by the voice and song writing talents of the girl from Wales who is due to release her second album in the coming months.

Skipping on to the stage in a lovely white dress and killer heels, Marina opened the show to Radioactive - just her and a piano. Her adoring fans went wild. Bringing on the rest of her band, Marina stormed through a set of songs both old and new, debuting new tracks Homewrecker and the new single Primadonna. Despite showcasing a lot of her new material, fans were not disappointed and when she sang crowd favourites Oh My and I am not a Robot, the audience dutifully sang along and screamed lovingly at her. Her stage presence was strong and her repertoire pretty solid. She can clearly sing and although not all the material was stand out I think there is a lot to get excited about when she releases her new album Electra Heart. 

I left the gig a little bit in love with Marina and her powerful pipes. I also left in admiration that she had danced around the stage in her massive shoes without so much as a wince. What a woman.

Rumble in the Jumble for International Women's Day

Last night the humble jumble sale got a celebrity make over as a host of famous faces brought along their unwanted belongings to St Pancras Old Church for the much anticipated "Rumble in the jumble", all in aid of Oxfam and International Women's Day. Organised by the unstoppable journalist and TV presenter Dawn Porter and her mate and Radio 1 Extra DJ Gemma Cairney.

The queue was snaking out of the gate as I arrived at 6pm. An excited buzz about what awaited everyone inside the church meant this was the most patient queue I'd ever stood in. The deal was simple - £2 entry, bring a bag of jumble that they could sell and then peruse the celebrity stalls in search of a bargain and a bargain it certainly was. With jumble donated by the likes of Kate Nash, Jimmy Carr, Fearne Cotton and Sara Cox plus Caroline Flack popped in with her old X-Factor garments, it was an extremely surreal experience. My friend picked up one of Lauren Laverne's old topshop dresses at a bargain price. I was later informed on Twitter by Lauren that this particular dress is a "lucky frock". At one point Cherry Healey held aloft Gabby Logan's old trousers exclaiming "Gabby Logan's trousers, her bottom has been in these". Dawn Porter's fiancé and Bridesmaid's star Chris O'Dowd took to jumble selling like a pro, at one point clutching someone's tiny dog and offering it for a fiver...

The atmosphere in the sale was wonderful. Celebs and bargain hunters mingling and chatting excitedly, belongings flying off the tables and generosity emanating around the building. There was barely any bartering from what I observed, people were more than happy to part with their cash.

The whole event was coordinated on twitter, proving the power of social media. Dawn Porter and Gemma Cairney have spent the last couple of weeks tirelessly badgering people to donate and attend and it paid off. I hope they are both feeling pretty pleased with themselves right now. Rumours on twitter are that up to £7k was raised. A phenomenal amount for 3 hours selling. The main purpose of the event was to promote the Oxfam get together for International Woman's Day. The idea is that you get together with your friends, do something fun and raise vital funds for Oxfam. Just £46 enables Oxfam to train a midwife and save a mother and child. We can all easily raise £46!

I hope that those who attended will feel inspired to hold their own event and I hope those who didn't are experiencing a bit of FOMO (that's fear of missing out and a likely feeling right now if you weren't in St Pancras last night) and hold their own event too.

Dawn, Gemma and the long list of celebrities and Oxfam employees did a wonderful thing yesterday - they made jumble sales cool again and they raised a lot of money for charity.

The crowds at Rumble in the Jumble

 

Caroline Flack 

Get involved: Oxfam Get Together

New Florence & The Machine video - Lover to Lover

The Harlots at The Monarch

It's been a while but the blog is back for 2012 and where better to start than with my favourite Brit Pop inspired musicians - The Harlots - live at The Monarch last night. This was my first taste of the brand new line up. Still providing their audiences with tight guitar driven tunes - old faithfuls Sherwin and Kike have been joined by two new members Florent and Adam, have decked themselves out in a sharp uniform of white shirts and black ties and honed a strong setlist making them a worthy headline act. My initial impression? This is a band that knows what it wants: more gigs, more recordings and more recognition; and justifiably so.

Last night they headlined the Feed Your Head night in Camden and were a welcome relief after two disappointing support acts. They treated us to classics such as Babel, Red Dress and Ragged Rose as well as playing new tracks including latest single Be Mine. Despite a comedic interruption from an over eager fan - the group worked through their repertoire like consummate professionals - responding to the audiences enthusiasm for certain tracks and eeking out every last note; leaving us wanting more. They seemed much more together, much more engrossed and most importantly they were really enjoying themselves.

Things are certainly moving upwards for the group - a solid new line up, a 2 track demo recorded and ready for release next week, a fancy new website and PR strategy and a signature style both musically and visually emerging - it looks like 2012 is set to be a good year for The Harlots. They've come a long way from their debut acoustic gig in front of a group of friends and a couple of unsuspecting locals at The Crowne pub in Cricklewood a year ago. A year on and with a succession of gigs over the coming months the time has come to put on a skinny black tie, get yourself a front row seat and jump on the juggernaut that is The Harlots bandwagon - before it leaves you behind. This is set to be an epic 12 months for the band. You heard it here first.

Give them a chance if you like: melodic, anthemic guitar driven tunes akin to The Stone Roses, Beatles, Oasis, The Verve

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  Latest tracks by TheHarlots

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