Monday 22 April 2013

Hadouken!, Paul Brady, OneRepublic and Death to the Strange

Hadouken!  -  Academy 2, Wednesday 24th April, 19.00, £12.50


If raving to hard-house and snare-infused, synth-drenched beats is the language that you speak, look no further than Hadouken’s gig at the Academy 2 on Wednesday. Their live shows are frenetic, pulsating affairs, with frontman James Smith possessing a sound grasp of how to work a crowd.

Their latest album, Every Weekend, was released last month, with singles ‘Daylight’ and ‘Levitate’ immediately becoming centrepieces of their sets. Expect them to showcase further singles from the album alongside household tracks like ‘That Boy That Girl’ and ‘M.A.D.’, the video for which features a six-foot tall, Strongbow-slugging, demented mouse. It does have to be seen to be believed, so here’s a link:


Here's a live performance of Hadouken's 'Levitate':




Paul Brady  - The Lowry Centre, Wednesday 24th April, 20.00, £23.50  

Irish folk singer Paul Brady is performing at The Lowry Centre on Wednesday. Brady has been on the music circuit since 1965 with twelve studio albums to his name and a terrific legacy. His songs have been championed by no other than Bob Dylan and he has collaborated with the likes of Santana and Richard Thompson.

Brady’s songs are often of a political and romantic nature, with his rich, powerful and emotive vocal carrying his eloquent and thoughtful craftmanship terrifically. He truly is a magnificent lyricist, not to mention a criminally underrated guitarist. Brady’s stage presence always exudes charm, and a quiet, heartfelt self-assurance. Tracks such as ‘Crazy Dreams’, ‘Steel Claw’ and ‘The Island’ are classics. Keep an ear out for them at the gig.

Paul Brady’s ‘The Island’:


Paul Brady performing 'Nobody Knows' earlier this year:


  
OneRepublic - The Ritz, Thursday 25th April, 19.00, £22.50 Adv.

Remember the track ‘Apologize’? The one that everybody associates with Timbaland? Well, the original was actually written by OneRepublic. Timbo remixed it. The differences between the two versions are negligible, so if you enjoyed the remix, you’re bound to really like OneRepublic’s effort. 

You might also remember the track, ‘All The Right Moves’, the lead single from the band’s second album, Waking Up ? Frontman Ryan Tedder’s superb falsetto is at its most daringly acrobatic here, running up and down notes with a striking elasticity. His bandmates’ accompanying piercing, crashing string section and stomping drums make the song perhaps the group’s finest hour. 
 
The five piece have expressed that U2 are a major influence on their music, and this is undeniably reflected in their more anthemic, guitar-led tracks, with Zach Filkins’ licks very reminiscent of those of U2 axe-man, ‘The Edge’.

In addition to their own material, the band have been known to cover tracks ranging from ‘Mercy’ by Duffy to ‘Last Goodbye’ by Jeff Buckley, so look out for some renditions at the gig.

OneRepublic’s ‘Apologize’:

OneRepublic’s ‘All the Right Moves’:
 
Death to the Strange - Ruby Lounge, Friday 26th April, 19.30, £3.

Alternative / Electro-Acoustic act Death to the Strange are heading to Ruby Lounge on Friday for the launch of their four track EP, ‘Sign On’. The five-piece have supported the likes of Gomez, Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly, and Starsailor’s vocalist James Walsh.

Daniel Clarke’s and John Lowndes’ rising and falling harmonies are evocative of Woodface-era Crowded House, and musically the band shift between early R.E.M mysticism, the rhythmic pulse of Cast, and the introspective folk of Vashti Bunyan.

Attendees can probably afford to hedge their bets on witnessing live performances of tracks such as the menacing cautionary tale ‘Drink and the Devil’ and the waltzy ‘Openshaw Blues’, both of which can be found on the new EP.

Death to the Strange’s ‘Openshaw Blues’, live in Castlefield:


Death to the Strange's 'On the Clock', also live in Castlefield:




1 comment:

  1. Excellent blog mate. Death to the Strange actually sound awesome, maybe we should go... I can't decide!

    ReplyDelete