119: London Gigs (part 1)

Thursday 27^th July 2017: Gig 3: New Cross Inn, London
with Red Tape Riot | Human In Bloom | Pillow Queens
The day started with coffees at The Bluebird Café in Chelsea.
“Bluebird Chelsea is a London landmark, a gleaming Art Deco icon right on the King’s Road. Made up of a chilled out Café & Courtyard on the ground floor and a more refined Restaurant & Bar on the first floor, it comes complete with its own Wine Cellar and Food Store too!”

We decided to stay in the area for lunch and shopping as the rain was pretty heavy; the thought of facing the chaos that is the London Underground more than once in a day was not overly appealing and with so much on our doorstep it was easy to have a lazy day.

First show in London of 2017….

We arrived in New Cross in what seemed to be a biblical storm, sideways rain that battered down on the rooftops so hard you could almost feel it, and we popped into the Red Lion Coffee Co. for a little refreshment before making our way to the venue.

A couple of years ago we were booked for a fab show at The New Cross Inn so we were really looking forward to the night ahead.
First up on the bill was Irish ‘girl’ band Pillow Queens; full of youthful energy and 90’s indie vibes (think Lush or Elastica) despite the group clearly being far too young to remember those bands 1^st time round.
“fast becoming Dublin’s most talked about up-and-coming pop-punk band.
Their catchy songs and upfront lyrics earned them a spot on the bill for Dublin’s top music venue Whelans’ Ones To Watch Festival earlier this year, playing one of the most crowded shows across the entire weekend.”

We were up next and seemed to just be starting when it was time to play our last song (half an hour just files when you’re having fun). The sound on stage was great and friends in the audience confirmed the quality of the set when we were done. It’s always so lovely to have friends come see us when we’re playing in London, and it was an extra nice surprise when our Edinburgh friends showed up without letting us know they were in town.

The best thing about not headlining events, is that there is time for drinking and chatting after a performance and that is just what we did.
BIG THANKS to Ewan and Steven for the wonderful company and banter!

After our set, it was time for the only London-based band on the bill, Human in Bloom
“a brand new indie-alt-rock 4 piece from East London. Psych-alt-rock-indie-electronic-experimental-folk-pop at it’s very best.”
They brought the house down – super energy on stage & once they had finished someone came around with copies of their EP for free which I thought was a nice touch.

Headliners for the night were Red Tape Riot who are on tour all the way from South Africa.
“a 5 piece indie band who produce music with a cutting contrast between heartfelt melodies and strong party grooves. Influenced by the Post-Punk sounds of the 80’s, modern Indie Rock, Brit Pop, Drum n’ Bass and Electro dance scenes, the result is a highly danceable and catchy sound.”
I’d never heard of them before booking the show the bar was full of fans singing along to their tracks, so they must have a decent fan base in the city. Their sound is epic rock similar to The Killers (catchy choruses and sing-a-long lyrics that everyone was loving).

Friday 28^th July 2017
Alexis’s Birthday
WiFi in our hotel is not great so we went out early to make use of the internet at The Bluebird café and had a lazy morning there (FaceTime with family sending ‘happy birthday’ wishes for Alexis and soaking up the ambience at the hipster spot that was at one time a car garage.

With a relaxing day planned we wandered along to Sloane Square and caught the tube to Kew. Neither Alexis nor I had been to Kew Gardens, but we both love spending time at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh so figured it would be a lovely way to spend the day; we weren’t wrong. From the treetop walk to the hot houses, Kew Gardens is full of amazing sights and sounds and it’s very easy to spend a whole day here without exhausting all the possibilities.

Afterwards we had booked a meal at the famous Sagar restaurant in Hammersmith – a vegetarian South Indian specialist; Sagar’s menu features dosa (Indian pancakes), classic curries and some of the tastiest poori (deep-fried Indian bread) that we’d ever tried. With full stomachs we walked home along Hammersmith Road to our Earl’s Court hotel for the penultimate night of this stay in London.

COMING UP
29^TH JULY BugBear Promotions presents JD Kelleher live at The Dublin Castle

 

117 – Rebels and Loners video launch

Sacre Noir Rebels & Loners Tour Summer Tour 2017
Saturday 22nd July 2017
Rebels & Loners launch Party, Bannerman’s Bar, Edinburgh
+ Very special guests CaveYear & Heart of Orion

Back in May 2017 we filmed what is set to be the final official Sacre Noir music video for Rebels & Loners (taken from the LP Nothing Falls Apart: Savage Recordings 2016) over a couple of weekends in Dunfermline & Edinburgh.
On Saturday night we held a party at Bannerman’s Bar in Edinburgh to celebrate our final release.

First up on the evening was local electronica act CaveYear. Clinical delivery of clean sounds his set is often ethereal sounding and incredibly ‘cool’. I last saw Arno live last year at our last launch night (A Rhythm Between Work & Sleep @ The Safari Lounge) and his set has developed more of an avant-pop edge, moving away from the shoegaze sounds and indie stylings.

To be kept up-to-date and receive a FREE track you can sign up to the CaveYear mailing list here.

Next up was American electro-pop duo Heart of Orion. European synth sounds and crispy disco style beats backed up Danielle’s powerful vocal delivery and poignant lyrics. They are only in the UK for a few shows and I was so glad that we were able to have them support us in Edinburgh.
They are playing at The Fiddler’s Elbow on July 31^st so if you’re in London looking for a fun Monday night gig – check them out!

After that we played all 6 videos finishing up with the launch of Rebels and Loners, before our headline set for the evening.

It was an emotional night; many tears, lots of hugs and memories and a fair amount of booze and much dancing / singing was the order of the evening.
Bringing the talents of stylist Erin Culley into the team for one last shoot, we also recruited models / actresses Lyndsey B (who has featured in each of our 6 official video releases) and Emma T (who allowed us to feature her beautiful daughter in this video too) as well as young actress Aimie M (whose mum Lorraine was our assistant stylist for this shoot) and the wonderfully talented dancer Lisa Richie.
We also worked with a fantastic young dance troupe who are based at The Alhambra Stage And Dance School and their choreographer Lauren Brown.

Musically delicate with lyrics that focus on dealing with personal difficulties; loss, depression and anxiety, this minimalist slice of down-tempo electronica is a fitting goodbye from Sacre Noir. There is a background focus within the lyrics which looks at the fear of memory loss and the difficulties of thinking, problem-solving or communication that come with Alzheimer’s disease.

Inspired by stories from those directly affected by these issues, the accompanying video leans on visual metaphors to ask, “what if there are no more goodbyes”? We were keen to drive forward our final visual work using ideas of unconsciousness and dream interpretations as is common with David Lynch’s work. The dark and mysterious films we create communicate draw upon these concepts with a modern clinical approach to discussing psychological issues, especially those around psychosis.  As Alzheimer’s progresses, problems with memory loss, communication, reasoning and orientation become more severe. Some people start to believe things that are untrue (delusions) and can see or hear things which are not actually there (hallucinations), similar to those who suffer with schizophrenia and psychosis.

People are like balloons – sometimes they pop.
Balloons pop because the air on the inside is at a higher pressure than the air on the outside; it’s skin is pulling inwards like and elastic tension.
I think sometimes we can all feel like were about to burst – the world around us brings stress and fear and uncertainty to all and the pressure can often feel like it’s too much.
In many circles balloons symbolize letting go of your worries & fears; the balloon is a focused mental state. White balloons can indicate a time of spiritual enlightenment while the black balloon is a suggestion that through hardship and depression will come a better resolution.

With the recent suicidal deaths from within our industry (Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington) there is an increased call for all areas to increase awareness surrounding mental health issues and a hope that those who feel they have nowhere else to turn will find very clear signs pointing to those who are able to offer support & comfort, if nothing else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wi3DjmsTko

Sunday 23^rd July 2017
Brunch @ Art and Vintage, Edinburgh
Last full day in Edinburgh before heading off on tour was spent as always finishing off the merchandise preparation and tour promotion, however we did find time to pop into our favourite brunch spot in Edinburgh for a coffee and a little quiet time to gather our thoughts (and finalise the kitty-sitting rota for summer).
Welcomed by the patrons Paul and Toni (who are good friends) we settled into the comfy seats with coffees in hand and remembered to breathe; filled in some bullet journal boxes, avoided buying any of the art (a new exhibition has just started and it included some interesting pieces) and started to reflect on the previous evening’s show / look forward to tomorrow’s journey south.

Monday 24^th July 2017
London part 1
This time last year we were arriving back in Edinburgh having just finished our 2016 tour – a year later we’ve only just begun.

We were pleased to have arranged an afternoon departing train to London this year as usually we end up getting cheap tickets which involves the early trains / planes but today we had loads of time to get ready and spend some extra time with the kitty before heading off for 3 weeks of gigs and promotional activities.

As our set-up is vastly reduced this year (acoustic guitar, KP3+ and VE-20 loop pedal plus mics only this year) we seem to be travelling light and getting around London feels much easier than previous years.

We had no problems with transport at all – Waverley to Euston, then across the city to our hotel in Earl’s Court (an area we fell in love with last year) before heading out for something to eat and an early night, ready to take London by storm the next day.

We decided on Franco Manca for our first meal in London this year; organic pizza and fancy juices… just what the travel doctor ordered.

COMING UP
27^TH JULY NXI presents Red Tape Riot live at The New Cross Inn
29^TH JULY BugBear Promotions presents JD Kelleher live at The Dublin Castle