It’s a big (extended) weekend for fans of long-lost bands, with highly-anticipated performances from two wildly different UK legends (although it suddenly occurs to me that their music often shares similarly sludgy tempos which could possibly engender an amusing mash-up). First up, on Friday night Bristol’s reclusive trip-hop combo Portishead played their first live show in a decade at a place called, erm, Butlins Minehead, apparently some sort of “resort” or something on England’s west coast. Butlins’ website, with its big-eyed teddy bear mascot, could not be a greater contrast with the bleak sounds of the jazzy trio, and the UK Guardian‘s review found the venue disappointing, with its dinner options limited to Pizza Hut and Burger King. Not surprisingly, they also found the performance underwhelming, with the band sounding “nervous” and new material “hard to get a handle on.” The paper admitted that the band “caught fire” during the classics like “Sour Times” and “Numb,” but perhaps it’s a sign of how desperate people are for anything Portisheaddy when they say that the “highlight” of the show was notoriously dramatic singer Beth Gibbons laughing off a mistimed entry into a new song. Like, hooray, they didn’t have an emotional breakdown? The UK Telegraph was more generous, calling Gibbons’ voice “undiminished” and saying the new material seemed to be “moving in wider directions.”
Led Zeppelin’s return is set for only minutes from now and the band have already made news with their backstage demands, and they’re not of the “no green M&Ms” variety: the band’s rider requested only tea, coffee and an ironing board, although the promoters said they’d give them a bottle of wine anyway. Details of the band’s rehearsal have also hit the press, with a fan who was supposedly at the soundcheck posting on the band’s official forum that they heard “Good Times/Bad Times,” “Ramble On” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” at the rehearsal, and that “Page was on fire – completely awe inspiring!!” NME will be live-blogging the show with a song-by-song account, if you’re obsessing and weren’t lucky enough to with the ticket lottery.
So, My Bloody Valentine, any reunion plans?
