London Day 8

On our last night in London it was obvious we were feeling our candles burn at both ends.

Nevertheless, Eight Legs were kind enough to let two New York bands play their On the Bus showcase at Powers Bar and we were more than happy to soldier through.

We were able to find energy in the most random places

Ambassadors went on first and killed it as always

Next The Vanguard took the stage with a little help from their friends

The Vanguard played so well that we received our first encore of the trip and they were more than happy to oblige with “Take You Out”

While the night started out with a dozen Americans on the verge of passing out, it ended up being one of the best shows of the trip.

We even made some new fans who invited us to a 3am rave party… we never showed

Greenroom:

London Day 7

We had our second day off on Friday and Jeremy took us to see Ice Black Birds. at The Macbeth.

Ice Black Birds is the second project of Sam Dennison who used to front The Matadors. According to their myspace: “IBB are a bluesy four piece from Brighton via London. They draw influence from 60s and 70s rock ‘n’ roll. They formed from the ashes of old London, Sheffield and Scottish bands and seem set to bring a fresh burst of modern blues back into the industry. The energy created on stage by this band is second to none and with catchy songs that maintain their own dignity, they are most definitely one to watch for 2009. They have already been hand picked by the likes of Golden Silvers, Joe Gideon and The Shark, Wave Machines and We Have Band to support them on tour and played various venues across the country such as Concorde 2, Club NME and Proud Galleries amongst others.”

I thought their guitar and bass play were exceptional and although Sam doesn’t have the extensive range expected of American acts, he commanded the stage like few can. I also heard some definite dance influences in many of the song breakdowns especially when they threw in a cover or two. Great band to check out if they make it here.

We called it an early night because we have one last show to play tomorrow before heading back to NYC for CMJ. Day 8 coming soon plus a full recap of the entire trip.

London Day 6

So they day finally came for the official Laissez Faire Club vs RethinkPopMusic showcase at The Legion.

The Vanguard kicked things off and despite the fact that Aaron could barely speak all day he was still able to play a terrific set… with a little help from his friends. Ambassadors took the stage next and had the crowd in hysterics despite the fact that Casey’s keyboard lost power half way through the last song of the set. Despite technical difficulties he handled it like a pro and the crowd was none the wiser.

My Tiger My Timing closed the night and then the real party began…

Jeremy was kind enough to invite the bands back to Chelsea for some after-hours fun, but didn’t exactly realize that there were thirty of us. So the entire entourage marched down the street and got onto the double-decker bus. We immediately commandeered the entire top floor and a jam session ensued.

After the INSANE jam session on the bus, which we have video evidence of, we headed to Jeremy’s. This is where things got weird… in the best way possible.

A little Eastern Europe Dance Party!

Gymnastics time?

I was confused

And then it was “chill” time

Or pass out time depending on the tolerance

London Day 5

Day 5 was relatively mild compared to the others. Everyone slept in before making the hour long trip to Brixton to play The Windmill.

The temperature dropped about 20 degrees by the time we got off the tube and none of us were too prepared. The show went great and we met some amazing people. I found out that The Windmill was the very first venue Yeasayer played in London!

Needing to rest up for tomorrow’s Laissez Faire Club show we all headed back home relatively early. However, Jeremy and I did stay up until 4am arguing about music and drinking Jim Beam with the drummer from Hoodoo Scoundrels.

London Day 4

After an insane night with the boys in Right Turn Left, we were all relieved that we didn’t have to play a show today. However, we did need to travel to Camden where The Vanguard and Ambassadors were asked to film episodes on Balcony TV.

The Vanguard played an amazing acoustic rendition of “Both Sides”

and Ambassadors played a version of “Keys” that may overshadow the original.

Performances should be online relatively soon!

After the taping we hung about Camden for a bit before heading to the White Heat party in SoHo.

We roll up to Madam JoJos 12 dudes deep and there is a line down the block. FUCK! Nevertheless, with a few “don’t you know who we are”s we miraculously go straight in and catch the end of Yacht’s performance… which was pretty much just like this:

The party itself was a good time thanks to the Absinthe and cheap Stella.

Oh, CobraSnake was there and we ended up on his website. Couple pics:

We play The Windmill in Brixton tomorrow… where Yeasayer played their first London gig and then the MASSIVE Laissez Faire Club show on Thursday at The Legion.