My Vinyl Collection (Part 2)

Hey!

So for Christmas I was treated to some lovely Vinyls with a lot of sentimental value! I can’t thank my family and friends enough for them!

·        The Stone Roses (self-titled) – because me and my parents are going to see them at the Ethiad

·        The Stone Roses – The Second Coming – for the same reason

·        Ed Sheeran – X – my sister brought me this because she knows I love a bit of Ed – She didn’t realise Jordan’s funeral song was on the album

·        Bob Marley and the Wailers – because 3 Little Birds gets me through the hard times

My vinyl collection is growing into a beautiful little set and my 2016 mission is to make it expand even more!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

Courteeners Review and Set List

Hey!

As part of my 18^th Birthday present, I got Courteeners tickets for the Manchester Apollo!

Firstly, the boys came on stage to Oasis – Morning Glory, which instantly got the crowd geared up for a cracking set. Their persona as soon as they walked on stage was incredible – really rock and roll with a ‘let’s f***ing have it’ attitude – isn’t that what we love about them?

This was the set list for the night:

·        Morning Glory - Oasis

·        Are You in Love With a Notion?

·        Cavorting

·        Acrylic

·        How Good It Was

·        Please Don't

·        Kings of the New Road

·        Lose Control

·        Bide Your Time

·        You Overdid It Doll

·        Winter Wonderland

·        Take Over the World

·        Small Bones

Liam Solo

·        Hometown One

·        Yesterday, Today & Probably Tomorrow

·        No You Didn't, No You Don't

·        Smiths Disco

Full Band

·        Next Time You Call

·        Here Come the Young Men

·        Beautiful Head

·        Not Nineteen Forever

·        What Took You So Long?

The first 4 songs of the set are really well known as well as rocky and quite heavy/punchy which meant that people were able to jump around and sing their lungs out – and you could see Liam basking in the glory that is people singing your own songs at you.

In the middle of the set, Liam performed a short solo acoustic set which was absolutely beautiful. It was really quite emotional actually; and it was even lovelier that the Apollo is fairly small, so, whilst having seated tickets, it still felt like an intimate performance.

Additionally, I was kind of worried about new bassist Joe Cross playing this tour as I wasn’t sure what I was going to make of him – I’ve got to hand it to him – he smashed it. It’s made me really look forward to hearing some new stuff, because I really think he can bring something new to The Courteeners.

Highlights of the night consisted of:

·        Cavorting (because it reminds me of V Festival)

·        Lose Control

·        You Overdid It Doll

·        No You Didn’t, No You Don’t

·        Smiths Disco (which I’d not heard previously, so was nice to hear for the first time!)

·        Not Nineteen Forever (Do I even need to give a reason?!)

·        What Took You So Long (Which everyone continued to chant as we left)

I also love the bromance that Fray and Moores have on stage – everyone seems to have a laugh on the stage, but those two especially just make my heart melt when Liam goes over and plays next to him.

The lads didn’t bother going off for an encore (what’s the point in them anyway? We all know they’re going to come back, play 3 more songs, then leave again), but they did say a few heart felt words and continued the set.

The only negative I will say, is that I’m gutted they didn’t perform Fallowfield Hillbilly; I guess they can’t play everything though!

I’m going to post the photos sometime this week or next hopefully – depends on how quickly I can get them edited!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

Man Made Review

Hello!

I went to go and see The Courteeners at Manchester Apollo on Wednesday (9^th), sadly, I missed the first support act due to an absolutely ridiculous amount of traffic on arrival, but I was lucky enough to get there in time to hear Mancunian band ‘Man Made’ perform their set.

Prior to the gig, I hadn’t bothered to check out any of the support acts music – this is something I now deeply regret! I’d like to compare some of their work to The 1975; even frontman Nile Marr has a Matt Healy-esque aura in terms of both persona and tone. Despite this comparison, the band’s overall sound is contemporary and very distinctive - it was really enjoyable to listen to.

Highlights of the set included Marr’s gold glittery jacket, the performance of their single ‘TV Broke My Brain’, and Callum Rogers absolutely insane simultaneous drumming and head-banging ability – how the lad doesn’t have some form of brain damage after that show is unbeknown to me. 

I hate to discuss negatives about performances, and I do not discredit bassist Scott Strange’s talents as a musician, because frankly, he is very talented; however I was not the only one in the audience to comment on his lack of enthusiasm whilst performing. He seemed bored and somewhat vacant; his personality also became a little lost behind Marr and Rogers who, seemingly, have rather large personas.

By no means did this ruin the set though – it was still fantastic! I’ll post a few of the photos I captured and a link to their single ‘TV Broke My Brain’ below.

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

TV Broke My Brain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yslWgDnChiI

Puppet Rebellion Review and Photos

Hey!

As you may know, Puppet Rebellion let me interview and photograph them last week, which simultaneously gave me the opportunity to listen to some incredible music and hang out with some of the most amazing, down to earth guys I’ve ever been blessed enough to meet!

On twitter, the band describes themselves as ‘choppy riffs, heartfelt lyrics & a powerful live show’ and they are definitely not wrong! Ollie and Craig write the lyrics for Ollie to sing and they really are powerful, gritty and raw – there’s so much emotion and honesty behind them! Ollie’s tone can contrast beautifully from gravelly to smooth and his vocal range is also incredible – the chorus of their single ‘Life is in your hands’ certainly highlights this and was an overall highlight of the set for me too. Paul writes the music and, as stated in the interview by Jim, he has his own unique tone which is prominent in their songs – it gives them a really indie vibe – he’s an outstanding, talented guitarist and his work is so unique which gives them the edge on other bands. The lads put on a really great, energetic set! Jim and Craig in particular really move around the stage a lot which makes it difficult to get a good photo of them, however, their energy really makes the performance as you can see the passion in what they do! ‘King of the Kit’ Henry was absolutely mesmerising to watch perform as his talents are unbelievable! It was nice to be in such a small, intimate venue as it allowed me to be able to see each band member – there’s nothing worse than when the drummer gets lost behind the rest of the band! It also meant that I could get some really cool action shots of him!

All in all, it was a brilliant experience for me – the lads smashed it! I received a message from Paul this morning saying that he wants me to photograph ALL of their Stoke gigs which I am WAY more than happy to do! It’s always an exhilarating experience to photograph a band and being invited back is so exciting!

I want to thank Puppet Rebellion for having me and allowing me this experience! Many more to come hopefully!

I’ll put some links to their music below so that you can all go and check them out – you won’t regret it! Photos will be below, too!

See my previous blog post for the interview!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

Links to songs:

Life is in Your Hands - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3YbJ2pElg

Claim to Fame - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQRbZhsxsuE

Watch Me Fall - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFa-z25MMUU

Cupboards Painted Red - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtpLoddYruo

Pirouette - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNL7__dB35Y

Puppet Rebellion Interview

Hey Bloggers!

I was lucky enough to catch up with Puppet Rebellion (minus Craig who had to stay inside with the stuff) after I photographed their gig at The Full Moon in Newcastle on 4/12/15 (last Friday)! Unfortunately, part of the interview didn’t save so I had to get Jim to email me all of the information again – I’ve learned from my school boy error and will be purchasing a dictaphone for future events!

Here’s how the interview went!

How did you all meet?

Henry: match.com

Ollie: Tinder

Jim: Pretty boring really! Our original singer was looking for like-minded musicians. He was already friends with our old drummer. He put an ad up on various band websites. Craig answered, then so did Paul and I. We were very lucky to find Ollie after our old singer left, and our latest recruit is our new drummer Henry - who is awesome!

Describe your sound/influences?

Henry: loud

Paul: kind of indie/rock ish

Jim: I like to think we’re quite contemporary like, we’ve got our own style. We have quite varied tastes within the band! Like Paul’s got his own distinct tone. Some names that come up pretty often though are Bloc Party, The Strokes and Interpol

What is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Jim: I think we all enjoy playing a song off our last EP called Claim to Fame. It's great to play live and our fans seem to really enjoy it. We usually play it after one of our slower songs, so it really picks things up again!

Henry and Ollie: yeah

Paul: I also like cupboards painted red because everyone thinks it’s a love song but it’s actually about domestic violence

Jim has been voted the funniest and the fan favourite - do any other band members have a trademark or nickname?

 Jim: Everybody loves Jim - he's amazing.

Henry is 'King of the Kit'. Paul has massive feet, but that's not trademarked or anything

What are your future plans?

Jim: World domination! We hope to release our debut album in 2017 (we're not rushing and want to make it as good as it can be). Before then we'll maybe do a couple of small releases... watch this space!

I’m going to be writing a short review of the night and will include some of the photos I took for the guys!

Follow the boys on twitter @PuppetRebellion and facebook Puppet Rebellion and keep an eye out for their tracks!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

31 Day Music Challenge

Hey!

I wanted to do a 31 Day Music Challenge so that I can post frequently through December :) I'll be combining a few of the challenges that I've seen and will update this post every day of the month!

Day 1: a song from your childhood: Afternoons and Coffeespoons - Crash Test Dummies - it used to be mandatory to listen to the album on our way down to Newquay every year, but now we just put this song in the playlist

Day 2: a song that reminds you of an ex: Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

Day 3: a song that reminds you of your parents: Truly, Madly, Deeply - Savage Garden - it was the song for their first dance

Day 4: a song from today: Life is in your hands - Puppet Rebellion - because I've just been to interview and photograph them at their gig!

Day 5: a song that reminds you of this summer: Treat - Kasabian - every time I hear it, it takes me back to V Festival with all of my amazing friends when we were just singing it for the entire day before we went to see Kasabian

Day 6: first song alphabetically in your phone: Afraid - The Neighbourhood

Day 7: last song alphabetically in your phone: 505 - Arctic Monkeys

Day 8: a song from the hard times - Three Little Birds - Bob Marley - Rest in Peace Jord x

Day 9: a song you want played at your wedding - Live Forever - Oasis

Day 10: a song that reminds you of a place - Stand Tall - The Dirty Heads - their Reggae/Rock style always reminds me of being on holiday because my brother used to play it in the car

Day 11: the last CD you purchased - Hard-Fi, One Night Only and REM - brought them all for 99p

Day 12: first song on shuffle on your phone - Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night - The Fratellis

Day 13: last song you heard live - What Took You So Long - The Courteeners

Day 14: a song with food in the title - The Apple Tree - Nina Nesbitt

Day 15: a song you wouldn't have thought you'd like - Justin Bieber's new album is banging

Day 16: a song you can play on an instrument - Oasis - Wonderwall (who can't)

Day 17: a song from an unsigned band - DeLorean - The Gurus

Day 18: your favourite acoustic album - Arctic Monkeys - Straighten the Rudder

Day 19: a song that reminds you of your best friend - Ignition - R Kelly (party song)

Day 20: a cleverly written song - FEAR - Ian Brown

Day 21: a christmas song you heard today - All I Want For Christmas - Mariah Carey (singing our hearts out in Chicagos)

Day 22: song of the day - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Day 23: a song that's playing right now - There She Goes - The La's

Day 24: a song in your youtube recommendations - Fallout - Catfiish and the Bottlemen

Day 25: your favourite Christmas song - Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

Day 26: the song that was number 1 when you were born - Too Much - Spice Girls

Day 27: a song that reminds your parents of you - Strawberry Blonde - The Subways

Day 28: a song on the soundtrack of your favourite disney movie - Why Should I Worry from Oliver and Company

Day 29: TV series with the best soundtrack - This Is England

Day 30:

Day 31:
  

Keep checking back through the month for more songs!

Give me some ideas of what 'challenges' I can do e.g. a song that reminds you of.........

Also, let me know your answers to the challenges!

Bethan xx

My Wish List

Hi everyone!

I’m really writing this blog post as more of a bucket list for myself if I’m honest; I’m hoping I can tick a few of these off ASAP! So here is a list of artists/bands I’d like to see live:

*I’m not including bands I’ve already seen, however I’d see the majority of them again!*

**no particular order**

Ben Howard – I think this would be a really endearing concert, and I would probably cry

Catfish and The Bottlemen – not a bad song on The Balcony! Plus, Van’s gravelly tone is gorgeous

David Bowie – this man is an absolute music legend in my eyes; and a major style icon too

Editors – some really good tracks by these guys, check out ‘Blood’ or ‘Smokers Outside Hospital Doors’ if you’ve not heard of them!

The Fratellis – Costello Music is my feel good album, every song makes me smile and want to dance so seeing them live would be immense

The Stone Roses – my tickets already booked for Etihad Stadium 15/06/16! In my opinion Ian Brown is a Lyrical God, he goes above and beyond genius

Jake Bugg – I admit, when Jake released his single, ‘Two Fingers’, I was rather disappointed and stubbornly refused to listen to the album for a while, until I heard Dad playing ‘Taste It’ and from then on I’ve been obsessed with Jakey B – still think Shangri La is better than his self-titled debut

Last Shadow Puppets - album is out next year – I sense a tour! As a huge fan of both Turner and Kane, I think this tour would be absolutely immense

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – The Chief. The bloke is a mastermind and I’m gutted that my parents have seen him twice! Jammy so-and-so’s

Oasis - I know it’s a long shot but if they ever do a reunion tour I will sell everything I own to go

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – frontman Kiedis is a really charismatic character, that’s evident just from his videos, so I’d be expecting big things from a gig. If you ever get the chance to read his autobiography ‘Scar Tissue’, don’t hesitate! Brilliant stories on his addiction to drugs and how the band came to form!

Royal Blood – genuinely can’t believe there are only 2 of these guys! They’re talents are indescribable and their style is phenomenal. For me they tick all the boxes on what a great band should be

Stereophonics – I’m so jealous that my parents have already been!

The Subways – who also assisted in inspiring the name of this blog

You Me At Six – not my usual taste, but there’s something about them that I really like

The 1975 – their first album was my first vinyl and it’s brilliant, I’m also intrigued to see how different their second album is going to be

Foo Fighters – because Dave Grohl

Florence and The Machine – she’s absolutely mesmerising and her vocal range is insane

The Sex Pistols – rumoured that they’re having an album and comeback tour in 2016

The Sherlocks – wish I’d have gone to Leeds fest just for these guys! Really nice work and I’m expecting big things!

There are so many people that I’d love to see, and there will probably be a Wish List Part 2 in the future, but I hope you enjoyed this post!

Let me know in the comments which top 3 artists you would like to see live and why!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

My Vinyl Collection (Part 1)

Hey Bloggers!

I’ve had my record player for a year at Christmas – a lovely little Crosley Cruiser in blue. Up to now I have 13 vinyls and I can’t wait for my little collection to grow! I’m going to list them kind of in order of preference within the categories.

7” vinyls:

·    Johnny Marr – A side: Easy Money – B side: Use Me Up (The only vinyl I’ve ever purchased myself!)

·        John Lennon – A side: Imagine – B side: Working Class Hero

·        Pink Floyd – A side: Another Brick In The Wall – B side: One Of My Turns

12” vinyls:

·      1975 – Self Titled Debut (My first ever vinyl, hence why it’s a favourite – besides, Arctic Monkeys’ first album skips when it plays and annoys me – this one doesn’t)

·        Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

·        Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

·        David Bowie – Hunky Dory

·        David Bowie – Wild Is The Wind

·        The John Lennon Collection

·        Complete Madness

·        Queen – A Night At The Opera

·        U2 – The Unforgettable Fire

·        Paul McCartney – Tug Of War

Hopefully in the New Year I’ll be able to do a Vinyl Collection part 2!

Comment below what your first vinyl was!

(If you have any vinyls that you would like rehoming – feel free to send them my way J)

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

The Courteeners Statement

'We're sad to say that, due to mutual agreement, we've parted ways with Mark. We'd like to thank him for all the good times over the years & we wish him all the best in the future.
We are a close-knit family here and we will always be so with your continued love and support. Our good friend and long time collaborator Joe Cross will be on bass duties with us for the foreseeable future. Now get down the front and help us make these buildings shake.
Big love, Courteeners We Stand x'

This is the official statement that The Courteeners released today, in which it is revealed that bassist Mark Cuppello is leaving the band as part of a 'mutual agreement'. Liam's housemate - Joe - will be performing with the band on what seems to be a permanent basis. This has caused a lot of heartbreak for any fans, however some are disgusted at the decision. It has been suggested that Mark has perhaps been asked to leave the band rather than this being his decision. Facebooker, Tom Crossland, has commented on the status made by The Courteeners saying, 'A mutual agreement isn't sacking your mate and replacing them with your housemate Liam.' - a statement which many of the fans seem to agree with, and are outraged by the fact that Liam could be making a huge mistake that could have major repercussions for the future of the band.

Personally, I'm absolutely gutted that Mark is leaving the band - as I always am when a member leaves a group; it almost seems like the end of an era. However, I'd like to think that it's the beginning of a new chapter for the band. I'm just praying that Joe is able to fill Mark's role sufficiently so that the music and live performances aren't affected! I think that IF what is rumoured, with regards to Liam kicking Mark out, is true, then that's just poor quality friendship skills on Liam's part and Mark deserves better. I hope that when I go to see the band perform live in December that they are as good as when I saw them perform at V Fest; and I also hope that The Courteeners career will continue to flourish, despite the change in dynamics.

Let me know in the comments section what you think of the statement and the situation in general!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

My Playlist

Hey!

So I conducted a poll on twitter (one of my favourite things to do at the minute) to see what you guys want to see me post next. The result came back that you want to know what my current playlist is. Unfortunately, I don’t have much music on my iTunes as I’m currently putting all of the CD’s in the house onto the laptop, so I should be completing a fortnightly/monthly playlist. Here is my ‘chilled’ playlist:

If you don't know some of the songs on the playlist, go and listen to them! They're brill for when you're in the bath or just about to go to sleep!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

Maximo Park Gig Review

So on 15^th of November 2015 (last Sunday) I had the pleasure of going to see the alternative rock band Maximo Park at The Sugarmill. The gig was in honour of the 10^th anniversary of their first album ‘A Certain Trigger’, released back in May 2005, which they played in full - including some singles and rarities from other albums.

The first time I went to see Maximo, Paul had recently had an emergency operation on his eye and shouldn’t have really been performing at all exclaiming that his ‘eye might explode’ - I knew I was to expect something bigger and better this time! I was definitely not disappointed! From the minute the boys came on stage, to the minute they left I was captivated, not only because of the striking riffs, punchy drum beats and the unique Geordie vocals, but because of the extraordinary energy and stage presence they perform with - in particularly Paul, who’s entire set is choreographed beautifully! Don’t get me wrong, the dancing can look a bit odd to an unknowing onlooker, however Paul’s slinky hips, kicks and jumps are just down right fabulous, and there is a somewhat of sass about him. That’s right… I’ve just described Paul Smith as sassy.

Highlights of the evening included Books from Boxes from their second album ‘Our Earthly Pleasures’ (a personal favourite of mine due to the beautiful metaphoric lyrics); Our Velocity also from the second album – one of the more well-known songs so the buzz from crowd really added to the rock vibe; Apply Some Pressure and Going Missing (both from ‘A Certain Trigger’); and finally a hit from their fifth album ‘Too Much Information’ called ‘Give, Get, Take’ which was accompanied by some bizarre robot dancing on Smith’s part. One of the things I loved most about the show was that the size of the venue made the performance a lot more intimate which enabled Paul to relax and have a laugh on stage, making jokes comparing the song ‘The Night I Lost My Head’ to a night out in Stoke (after all, we are rated 2^nd worst place to go out drinking) and even answering questions from members in the crowd. (I’ll put links to the named songs below).

All in all I had an excellent night and will definitely be going to see the lads tour again as it is always a pleasure! Just a bit gutted that they didn’t perform Questing, Not Coasting from ‘Quicken The Heart’.

I’ll include some photos/videos from the 2014 and 2015 gigs too so you can check those out.

Think my next post will either be bands/artists I’d like to see or a playlist - let me know in the comments which you want to see!

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx

Links to songs:

Books From Boxes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jmlWcItwxc

Our Velocity – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMHHCpQ9M-Y

Apply Some Pressure – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue193sAcrE

Going Missing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YkoGvnjW7I

Give, Get, Take – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0tgjeShd8

The Night I Lost My Head – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRbn-Mab8Zc

Questing, Not Coasting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYkiZ4a1oQ

(all photos are my own, I apologise for the lack of uniformity with the watermark, I've recently changed my stamp)