Dodgy phone camera and shaky point/shoot pictures aside (although these do have their place!), there’s no disputing that concert photography is something of an art. Over the years, there have been many an iconic concert photo taken and this summer, the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, are celebrating that fact with their exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present.
The collection will serve to highlight the creative and collaborative role that photographers played in the history of rock music and from what we’ve heard so far it sounds like it’s well worth checking out. There will be a showcase of 166 prints from a huge range of iconic photographers, an original documentary film featuring behind the scenes footage with the exhibit photographers plus appearances from the likes of Alice Cooper, and an installation featuring a slideshow of 80 images by Henry Diltz taken between 1966-1990 set to a soundtrack.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the gallery are also teaming up with Los Angeles radio station KCRW to host a free-entry (with RSVP!) live music series:
Today marks the 30th Anniversary of legendary Manchester venue The Haçienda. Opened in 1982, to cater for a hole in the local night-life scene, the club played host to many important acts throughout it’s life – particularly during the eighties. Madonna played her first UK performance here, and amongst many others, it was also responsible for memorable appearances from The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Happy Mondays, Oasis and Blur.
To celebrate the birthday, Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook has organised an invite-only event on the site of the old venue (in the car park of the apartment development which is now in it’s place). Attendees will celebrate the best of the Haçienda years with DJ sets from 808 State, Dave Haslam and Graeme Park.
Those not lucky enough to make the guest list for that shindig, can still experience a slice of the history, as part of the celebrations also includes an exhibition at the Manchester Photographic Gallery. ‘Haçienda 30 XXX’ is showing rare artefacts, artwork, photography and a 1:50 scale model of the venue by local artist Nick Hardy. If you’re in Manchester, make sure you check it out before it wraps up at the end of May.
There are also two other events lined up at Manchester venue Sankeys that you can still get tickets for:
Londoners are in for a treat this summer, as alt-rockers British Sea Power are set to provide musical accompaniment to two classic documentaries at BFI Southbank.
The band, know for their outlandish live performances, will provide original scores to ‘Out Of The Present’, which catalogues the life of a cosmonaut in space during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and ‘From The Sea To The Land Beyond’ – a “meditation on the British coastline”. Here at Songkick we love seeing live music performed in unique scenarios and unusual spaces – so this is right up our street! The films will be shown back to back on June 15 as part of BFI’s Sonic Cinema programme, in what promises to be an unmissable collaborative experience.
For more info on each showing go here and here. Tickets are set to go on general sale in the coming weeks, so don’t miss out!
It may be raining cats and dogs in London, but the sun is undoubtedly shining on the live music circuit this week! Check out our hand-picked selection of the hottest new shows across the globe – all on sale today. (April 27th)
The wait is officially over. It’s been three long years since Bloc Party last played a show on American soil, but Kele and co are back, and with new material to boot. A string of festival shows are already on the cards – Lollapalooza, Osheaga, Outside Lands – but news broke last week of an epic three night residency at Terminal 5, with support from The Drums. With a fourth LP on the way, music fans (us included) wait with baited breath to see what direction Bloc Party will take next. New Yorkers can buy their tickets this morning for the newly announced show on 7th August and find out first hand.
The Killers, Justice, The Kooks, Sigur Ros and more will descend on the Spanish capital in September for a knock-out two day festival, as DCODE returns for it’s second edition. Last time out saw The Hives, Sum 41 and Kasabian steal the show, and things can only get better with this bumper line-up set for 2012. Two-day passes go on sale today!
Hip-hop legends Cypress Hill have announced a one off UK show at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town. The group, who’ve been plugging away since 1988, are set to release a highly anticipated collaborative album with dub-step producer Rusko. What presence the new material will take on the live stage remains to be seen, but fans can certainly expect something special. This is the only British stop on a very brief European tour, so don’t miss out – grab your tickets this morning.
Motorhead, who have over 2400 past concerts listed on Songkick (and 56 upcoming shows for 2012!) will hit the UK later this year for a mammoth nationwide tour. The band celebrated 35 years on the road last year and show no signs of slowing down, as dates in London, Manchester, Glasgow and more have all been penned for November. Support comes from Anthrax. Tickets go on sale, today!
We love a good slice of concert history here at Songick, and today it’s been announced that a particularly exciting live moment is going to be brought back to life. The Beatles first full US concert is set to be screened in movie theatres across the States on selected dates in May.
‘The Beatles: The Lost Concert’ will show the full 1964 performance at the Washington Coliseum, where they played in front of 8,000 fans on a boxing-ring style stage set-up.
Here’s a peek at the setlist:
Roll Over Beethoven From Me to You I Saw Her Standing There This Boy All My Loving I Wanna Be Your Man Please Please Me Till There Was You She Loves You I Want to Hold Your Hand Twist and Shout Long Tall Sally
Not in the US? There’s some footage of the show kicking around on YouTube as well, worth a watch, even just to get a sense of the sheer hysteria – so. much. screaming.
For information on tickets etc head to www.lostbeatlesconcert.com and if you want more of a Beatlemania fix, check out some of the historical bits we’ve got on Songkick.
Born in the clubs of the 1980’s during the warehouse party and rave scenes, Electronic Dance Music (EDM) isn’t a revolutionary genre in itself. But in less than 5 years, what was considered a marginal and sketchy part of the music business seems to have invaded all levels of popular culture. From the striking presence of electronic music acts such as French duo Justice and Swedish DJ/producer Avicii in the Lollapalooza line-up, to the Grammy award success of American producer Skrillex, the growth of EDM has been one of the most remarkable genre success stories of recent times.
Today, acts such as Avicii, Deadmau5 and Bassnectar sell out arenas where the likes of Coldplay and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were previously drawing the crowds. Last December, Madison Square Garden was headlined by a DJ act, Swedish House Mafia, for the first time ever. And then there’s David Guetta, who collaborates with the biggest American mainstream artists, including Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and the Black Eyed Peas. It is now electronic music that primarily draws the 16-25 year olds to festivals such as Lollapalooza, or the Electric Daisy Carnival which sold out on the day of release – three hours before the headliners had even been announced.
The breakthrough of EDM is a by-product of the age of DIY. The new low-cost technologies have opened amazing opportunities to a new generation of bedroom-DJs and producers, now able to create high quality music and become global superstars. Social media such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook used as awareness tools allowed them to directly reach their fans all over the world without the middle-man label. This bottom-up phenomenon, where the artist and his/her fans become independent from the music industry and can make a project happen, is an exciting revolution.
At a time where the whole music industry – and particularly physical and digital sales – is in crisis, live performances are the main revenue source for artists. This poses a challenge and an opportunity for EDM: while the ostentatious figure of Lady Gaga on stage is as much a draw as her music; dance music, where the producer is buried under his machines, doesn’t offer much of a visual experience. To deal with this weakness, EDM artists have developed amazing tools, heavily relying on new video mapping and light technologies, for example Amon Tobin and his last ISAM light show:
Others have created mix-media events, like the stunning collaboration between legendary DJ Richie Hawtin and world acclaimed sculptor Anish Kapoor, resulting in an audiovisual project of epic scale:
EDM has become an amazing and exciting place of innovation and creation, where artists from all sides – designers, composers, performers – can share their new ideas and work together, revolutionizing the way music is performed and enjoyed.
We’re excited to see where things go next, are you?
The wait is over! Music fans across the globe will be making the sacred pilgrimage to their local record shop tomorrow (Saturday 21st April) to get their hands on limited edition vinyl and support the independent music industry.
Record Store Day (US/UK) is upon us once again, and in case you need convincing to get off the sofa, here’s our selection of the best in-store shows taking place across the globe tomorrow. Let us know where you’ll be headed / who you’ll be watching / what you’ll be buying!
Probably one of the most important moments for 90s popular music (and beyond…), today marks the day that Nirvana debuted ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ live in concert for the very first time. The show took place at the OK Hotel, Seattle – an old hotel which was reopened as a music venue in 1988 – it was an important rock venue until it was brought to a close by an earthquake in 2001, playing host to a range of local and touring artists.
Check out the full performance of the song here:
Looks pretty crazy! That’s got to be up there as one of the most awesome shows to say ‘I was there’.
Yesterday, Spotify launched 13 new music apps on its steadily growing platform. Music lovers have always delighted in discovering emerging artists, crafting mix-tapes for their friends, and following music magazines & blogs. Now, Spotify lets you do all of these things in one place.
Songkick’s app on Spotify lets you find your favorite artists’ concert tickets in the same place you are listening to music. At Songkick HQ, we’re excited about the whole slew of apps being released on Spotify, so we thought we’d share a few of our favorites.
Independent British record label Domino has created an app that allows you to explore its impressive inventory of artists, new and old. The app offers Domino playlists and updates as well.
A Music Hack Day idea, Tweetvine is an app that compiles a playlist every hour showing songs trending on Twitter, which have all been tweeted with the hash tag #NowPlaying.
Filtr really taps into the social experience of listening to music. Unlike most playlist generators, Filtr lets you make playlists based on your Facebook friend’s tastes and likes on Facebook. So, you can type in one of your favorite artists as well as a (Facebook) friend, and BOOM, you have a new personalized playlist. Play around with it – it’s good fun.
We’re always on the look-out for exciting artists playing in unchartered territories. So how about six weeks of pop-up concerts in London’s St Pancras International Station?
Taking place every weekday at the height of the afternoon rush hour, The Station Sessions are guaranteed to capture both the grandeur of the building’s stunning Victorian architecture, and the hustle and bustle of the city’s commuters. Programme highlights include The Futureheads, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Alt-J and Jethro Fox. Best of all, every show is free, which means there’s no excuse to miss out on catching some live music!
The festival starts tomorrow (March 22nd). Check out the full schedule here, and be sure to let us know about any other unusual shows taking place in your city.
Stalk Songkick right here! This is where we’ll procrastinate by posting about our latest musical obsessions, report on our concert-going, and tell you all about the cool new stuff we’re making—hopefully the last two in equal measure.
