WOAH. February already? It only seems a few days since we were all glum about taking down those Yuletide decorations for another year… Well, in some cases it actually was a few days, which is possibly a lesson in arsing yourself to Actually Do Stuff. Those new year resolutions about being POSITIVE, PROACTIVE and PRODUCTIVE are evidently falling by the same wayside they disappeared down last year. The only possible solution is to ensure that our gig schedules are as full as possible for the next few weeks. And given how skint we’ve all been throughout January, it’s about time we indulged ourselves, right?
The fine folks at Harvest Sun kick off the month by bringing Canadian songstress Lindi Ortega to Leaf (1st), before hosting a free show for Patterns and their shoegazey bliss – all the way from the other end of the East Lancs Road (Mello Mello, 10th). In fact the HS promoters are as delightfully busy as ever, with a lengthy list of gigs that include High Places’ sumptuous electronic pop (Shipping Forecast, 14th), The War On Drugs’ artfully spaced-out melodicism (Kazimier, 23rd) and Fanfarlo’s folked-up elegance (Static Gallery, 25th). But wait, there’s more! We’ve not touched on their March schedule, when we’ll be completely spoiled by the grand melancholy of Cass McCombs (Leaf, 7th), splendiferous C86 stylings from Veronica Falls (Leaf, 8th) and Diagrams’ warped psych-tronica (Static Gallery, 16th). How could we possibly have any more to do?
Well, we could check in on the EVOL schedule for a start.They’er similarly busy in February, but some of their highlights include Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s day-glo indie party (O2 Academy, 3rd), We Were Promised Jetpack’ rabble-rousing racket (Shipping Forecast, 7th) and a dose of unmissable, shimmering post-electro, courtesy of Glasgow’s own Errors (Kazimier, 11th). If you’re the sort of person who likes top tips, you may also be tempted by visits from some of 2012’s hopefully-gonnabes when Django Django (Shipping Forecast, 21st) and Spector (22nd) drop by for a visit. Of course, you may well just want to save yourself for March when the O2 Academy is graced by performances from grand designers Wild Beasts (17th) and the eternally-endearing Los Campesinos! (27th).
Feeling a little dizzy with this packed schedule? There’s more to come, you know. No-one ever said this proactive thing was gonna be easy, although it certainly is fun. Yam Yam Punk celebrate a year of awesome DIY shows by bringing Cornish gruff types Bangers and Leeds legends The Dauntless Elite to Basement 20 (Feb 12th), and you’d be a damned fool to miss it. Fast-forwarding to March again, everybody’s friends at EDiLS Recordings have a great show lined up for Northampton’s Zola, whose Kinsella-styled odds’n’angles hit Mello Mello on the 10th. Behind The Wall Of Sleep, meanwhile, bring monumentally loud psych-rockers White Hills to the Kazimier on the 23rd, with support from local spacerock heroes Mugstar. Can it get much better than this? That’s a rhetorical question, which coincidentally saves us from providing an answer just in case better stuff actually does happen. We’re clever like that, see.
The only thing left to mention is that the O2 Academy will be screening Libertines documentary ‘There Are No Innocent Bystanders’ on March 22nd. This news will doubtless excite fans of twatty-hatted, unspectacular landfill indie everywhere, whilst making everyone else feel slightly more aware of the cold weather, their own mortality and the pointlessness of existence. Or ‘a bit glum’, in other words. But y’know… each to their own. In any case, there’s plenty to do and see over the next couple of months, so you’ve no excuse for staying home (that’s what we’re telling ourselves anyway). Now excuse us, we have a lounging date with a nice comfy sofa. Gah, this ‘doing stuff’ malarkey is trickier than it looks.
Words by Will Fitzpatrick
