In a Hyde Park weekend that also included sets from the rarely understated Cure and Eric Clapton, there was the surprising sight of a man for whom this vast space seemed too small for his vision. Beneath video screens twice as wide as the stage, Roger Waters performed multiple highlights from classic Pink Floyd albums as well as last year’s… Read more →
Tag: 2018
INTERPOL interview – Evening Standard, 6 July 2018
As we talk about their upcoming sixth album, Interpol are using the word “fun” a lot. This is unexpected from the perennially black-clad trio, who are about to play second on the bill in Hyde Park to those jolly jesters The Cure, and whose most enduring musical comparison is with cheery Manchester scamps Joy Division. Having emerged around the same… Read more →
TAME IMPALA interview – Evening Standard, 29 June 2018
At the beginning of this decade, Tame Impala were a beardy psychedelic rock band operating out of Perth, Australia, one of the most isolated cities in the world. Cut to this month and Kevin Parker, the frontman who it turns out was writing and recording the songs by himself all along, is unpacking his bags in his new home in… Read more →
DEMI LOVATO, O2 Arena – Evening Standard, 26 June 2018
Demi Lovato postponed this concert on June 10 with injured vocal cords, at such late notice that many fans had already set off to the venue. The LA singer and former child actress had better timing as she returned. This week she hit the UK number one spot as the voice of the latest Clean Bandit single, Solo. The lightweight… Read more →
TAYLOR SWIFT, Wembley Stadium – Evening Standard, 25 June 2018
Thirty-six hours and 90 miles distant, my wristband from Taylor Swift’s extraordinary Wembley show is still flashing. The white rubber device, given to every member of the audience, is a tireless reminder that when it comes to the maximum dazzle of stadium pop, nobody does it better. The wristband stunt was borrowed from Coldplay, but I don’t recall theirs… Read more →
TOM MISCH interview – Evening Standard, 22 June 2018
If you haven’t heard of Tom Misch yet, it’s all right by him. The 22-year-old south Londoner has already sold out major London shows at Somerset House and the Roundhouse, sent his debut album into the top 10 in the spring, and has two even bigger gigs at Brixton Academy on the way. That’s quite sufficient for a reluctant star… Read more →
DAVID BYRNE, Eventim Apollo – Evening Standard, 20 June 2018
On a bare stage, David Byrne sat at a table, holding a brain. A silver beaded curtain, floor to ceiling, hung across three sides of an empty space traditionally filled with amplifiers, microphone stands, instuments, the general rowdy clutter of a concert. Byrne, who at 66 could easily be coasting on a rich back catalogue of solo and Talking Heads… Read more →
ANNA CALVI interview – Evening Standard, 15 June 2018
It was in April that everything first turned red for Anna Calvi. The south London singer-guitarist saturated every new image on her Instagram page with the colour: bodies, her own face, models of ambiguous gender. Then, last week, she revealed that the title of her third album would be Hunter, unveiled a bright, loud new single called Don’t Beat the… Read more →
KATY PERRY, O2 Arena – Evening Standard, 15 June 2018
An international pop superstar could struggle to stand out in the crowd in London this month. June is positively awash with divas round here, with Shakira, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato and Camila Cabello all dropping in, plus Ed Sheeran bringing even more crowds and slightly less glamour. All of which meant that Katy Perry, on a mere pair of… Read more →
SHAKIRA, O2 Arena – Evening Standard, 12 June 2018
The night after Demi Lovato cancelled her O2 Arena show at the last minute due to injured vocal cords, Shakira arrived on the same stage to show her what’s hopefully in store. The Colombian star, 41, faced a bleak musical future after a vocal haemorrhage caused her to postpone this tour. Seven months later she was back and in fine… Read more →