Etta James

LaFarging it Up in London

What a beautiful sunny week so far eh? Perfect weather for an afternoon of drinking in the sun by the river, followed by some American roots fun in the beautiful settings of Bush Hall. 

On Monday night, myself and a few friends went to see Pokey Lafarge and the South City Three, made up of Joe Glynn on bass, Adam Hoskins on guitar, and Ryan Koenig on the harmonica and other household appliances. 

The whiskey was in full flow and the hall was packed with an eclectic crowd, ranging from middle-aged men and women who'd seen them on Jools Holland's Hootenanny last year, deep-south Americans and us, the twenty-somethings. When the band began their set, the crowd were frustratingly stagnant - but when they started playing their better known songs, like Drinkin' Whiskey Tonight (as seen on the Jools Holland clip) and La La Blues, they came to life. A fight broke out (at a country/blues/swing gig? very confusing) and the perpetrator was escorted out of the building. Rock and roll. 

Pokey calmed everyone down with a cheeky solo of Josephine (a video from the night in question) and after some heavy cheering from the crowd, the guys came back for an encore. 

As for the South City Three, what a bunch of dudes. The guitarist, Adam, knocked out some great solos,  and the bassist, Joe, rocks some rather impressive sideburns and this 'strong, silent type' demeanour. But it was Ryan, the guy on the Harmonica, who stole the show. Not only did he make me want to buy a harmonica the next day and move to the deep south, but it was his skills with a washboard that blew me away. He too was rocking some great sideburns, and a cowboy hat and waistcoat. (He reminded me of someone, and it wasn't until I watched Anchorman tonight on BBC3 that I remembered who it was..Champ Kind. I think it was the hat.)

After the gig, instead of chilling out backstage, the band wandered into the front foyer to greet their fans, sign some posters and have a few photos taken. They were happy to chat to anyone, and when we bumped into them in a bar up the road, Pokey said hello again, remembering our names and seeming genuinely pleased to be chatting to us. It was refreshing to see a band so pleased to interact with their fans without a publicist forcing them into it.

Pokey, Myself, my pal Charlie, and Adam.

All in all, what a fun and charming Monday night. They're playing there again on Thursday, so if you happen to be in West London, I would highly recommend wandering down to try and bag yourself a night of Whiskey-induced swing. 

Marvin Gaye

Vote Tempa T!

Tempz for London Mayor!

New Look

Still Bill

This week, there's been a documentary on BBC Iplayer about a singer-songwriter that was always played in my house as I was growing up. Bill Withers wrote simple, soulful songs with incredible lyrics and emotion that isn't easy to find in music today.

Below are just some of my personal favourites.

I'm Her Daddy

Grandma's Hands

I Wish You Well

You Just Can't Smile it Away

Lean On Me

Submotion Orchestra

Bestimix

So many great old songs in this mix, I think everybody should listen to it!

Bestimix 54: Greg's Greats (The Shellac Collective) by Bestimix on Mixcloud

Casino Times Remix

Hungry Frog..

The Return of The Apprentice

Lord Sugartits is back. On 21st March, The Apprentice is hitting our television screens once again. If you share the same sentiment as my Dad and think this entire show is just a clever way for good old trusty Alan to raise his profile and make more money...you would be right.

Despite this, I for one have been a fan of it since the very beginning, when the applicants all actually wanted to work for Sir Alan and had a genuine passion for business. Remember the original apprentice winner, Tim? The nice guy who smashed all the really intense questioning and scrutiny in the final interviews and beat that horrendously annoying Saira? (She went on to present a kids' programme called 'The Boss' which was shit and not helped by the fact she was a terrible Kids TV personality.)  He was the first and last winner I thought was deserving of the job. From then on, each series had your token wanker, tough-childhood-self-made success, public school boy, wannabe television personality and then the arrogant, delusional one. (Step forward Stuart Baggs - The Brand. 'I'm not a one trick pony, I'm not a ten trick pony, I've got a WHOLE FIELD OF PONIES.' Idiot.)

Throughout the years, there's been many candidates of note, like Katie Hopkins, the boardroom bitch of the third series, most notably remembered for her eclipse-inducing nose, who then went on to star in a scandalous spread in the tabloids after being photographed having sex in a country field. Sounds like the perfect candidate for sweet Sugar's company.

And before that, there was my personal favourite, Ruth Badger, or 'The Badger' to her fans. An excellent saleswoman who held her own in the boardroom, she was beaten by the good old 'I've had a shit life and look where I am now' routine from Michelle Dewberry (who, subsequently, left her job at Amstrad after only a few months.. Poor choice there Alan).

But the best bit about the Apprentice nowadays is not the brutal actions of those in a high-stress and highly-critical environment, but the half hour show on BBC2, hosted now by the amazing Dara O'Briain, which tears apart these egotistical assholes in front of a studio audience and a panel of 'experts'. Incredible. There's nothing like a bit of poetic justice. Now, not only is their cruel and cringe-worthy behaviour inflicted on the viewing public, but it is forced upon the perpetrator, who then is put in the awkward position of justifying why you 'never say never in the biscuit world'... Now that takes the... ahem, moving on.

Next Wednesday is the night where it starts all over again. I cannot bloody wait.

Pure Talent..

Since I First Met You

Alabama Shakes #2

Phony Kony?

Wow. I don't know about you, but this morning I woke up with a savage Kony hangover. My head is spinning, and I'm wondering what the hell happened yesterday.

What started out as a well-made and cleverly put together short film about hunting down a Ugandan dictator spiralled into chaos and controversy as the charity behind it, Invisible Children, had its motives called into question almost immediately.

Doubters were posting links all over Facebook, one blog in particular featuring EVERYWHERE. Even if you weren't interested in Konygate, it was forced upon you like some lecherous old man. The person behind this blog has appeared to pretty much do a U-Turn as well after IC posted this response to the critiques. (I would just like to point out that it seems a little futile to respond to a video with statistics from a website. Both have their motives, and those stats can just as easily be manipulated as the information in the original video.)

It was like one kid trying to convince the playground to buy their painted rocks for charity and the other accusing him of spending the money on sweets while the rest just want to get on with their game of stuck in the mud and marco polo. I do think the idea behind the video is special though. The fact they are using social networking to promote their cause is very clever. People said that a charity who uses Facebook to gain momentum should never be trusted, but look at what they've managed to achieve in the space of 24 hours. Their video states they want to raise awareness and get people talking about Kony and that is exactly what has happened. I think it's quite refreshing to see the online community so alive with something that is more worthwhile than discussing the next time we're all gonna get CRUNK YO.

So, as much as I think there is much to criticise about Invisible Children, I'm actually still edging towards the support side of the argument, but I'm not sure if it's myself willing and wishing them to be admirable charity workers, or whether the motive of wading into Uganda and catching the bad guy is appealing to my idealistic side. Either way, I'm all Kony'ed out. I'm never Konying again. Now, where's the paracetamol...

Young Hearts Run Free

KONY 2012

What a noble use of the power of the internet today. Please watch this video and pledge your support.

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Stevie

Latitude with Attitude

So folks, the Latitude line-up has been released, alongside tickets going on sale, and I must say it looks damn tasty. Not only am I excited by the headliners - Bon Iver and Paul 'the Modfather' Weller - but there's loads of other acts that are making me salivate.

Plenty of bands, like Alabama Shakes (previously featured on Subtle Tea), Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Buena Vista Social Club are making appearances, along with SBTRKT, Simple Minds, Michael Kiwanuka and Daryl Hall of that dynamic duo Hall and Oates. Even sexy Coxy's out of this world band, The Infinite Monkey Cage, will be treating festival-goers to some 'hard rock' interrupted by mini lectures about how much energy the sun emits using ridiculous apparatus. Who said Physics wasn't cool.

There are also some bloody excellent comedians doing their bit to contribute to the good old English festival experience. Tim Minchin, Reggie D Hunter, Jack Dee and Rich Hall are just a few fighting their corner in The Comedy Arena, and there's even a slot for that tall teacher from the Inbetweeners, Greg Davies (recently seen sporting an ill-fitted shirt on the BBC's Live At The Apollo). Rich Hall is also having a 'hoedown' in the Cabaret Arena, guaranteed to be a larf and a harf.

And yet, there's more. For those literary souls, There's Poetry and Literary Arenas, featuring guests such as Iain Banks (The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road), Benjamin Zephaniah (Refugee Boy), Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time) and even an appearance from superstar teacher/rapper/spoken poet Mark Grist, who you may remember tearing apart a 17 year old student in this rather fetching video.

You can check out the full line up here.

In other news, a huge fox was shot by a farmer in Aberdeenshire last night. Take a look at this. WHAT THE FOX.

Truth

Shimmy Shimmy Ya