Take me down to the paradise city
I’ve just spent a long weekend surround by the great and good of the music industry at the In The City conference in Manchester and boy, did I learn a lot. I’ve learned vital, important things that everyone should know. For example:
- Most “up-and-coming” bands fall into one of two categories: Franz Ferdinand clones, or Coldplay-wannabes.
- Tony Wilson likes swearing. A lot.
- Mani from Primal Scream is just as ugly in real life as on TV.
- The only way to get people to attend the Australian bands showcase is with a free bar.
It wasn’t all ugliness, profanity and dull bands though – there were some amazing rock ‘n’ roll discoveries to be made. My favourite of these was Japanese “samurai-jazz” mentalists Pe’z. They somehow managed to play dischordant math-rock with a sax and trumpet, while having 
the fastest keyboardist I’ve ever seen, who star-jumped and scissor-kicked 4 foot in the air without missing a note. Incredible.
I might well make jokes about the subsidised drinking marketing ploy, but it worked: I succumbed in the end and went to watch the bands from down under. I’m glad I did though, as another highlight of the weekend was Antipodean funk outfit Bobby Blackbird and The Bluejays. Mixed in with the danceable basslines were vintage 50s guitar licks (and haircuts to match – check out the picture). I can honestly say that I’ve never seen an audience groove as much as they did to this band – The Bluejays made me realise that Jet give the Southern hemisphere a bad name.
I’m now back home with a satchel full of CDs and a notebook full of scribblings, so I’ll be posting some reviews of unsigned demo CDs and gigs soon!
