Live Review - Scissor Sisters and Bright Light Bright Light at The Roundhouse in London, October 23rd 2012

by Raj Rudolph

There are good gigs and then there are dream gigs.

Last night at The Roundhouse was most definitely a dream gig indeed. Scissor Sisters rocked up into Londontown last night on their Magic Hour tour for a two night sold out engagement with none other than EQ favorite Bright Light Bright Light in tow and let me tell you this, it was a pop explosion of epic proportions.

Kicking off the night at 8pm, Bright Light Bright Light took to the stage for a live PA which featured all the magnetic poignant pop hits from his debut album "Make Me Believe In Hope". This kind of exposure for Rod Thomas couldn't be more appropriate as Scissor Sisters fans packed in the house early to get a glimpse of the pop wunderkid in action and to experience what all the fuss is about in the pop blogoshere.

Not only did Rod effortlessly deliver his most notable tracks like "Love Part II", new single "Feel It" and my favorite song of last year "Disco Moment", he was later joined onstage by Del Marquis himself for the lovely track "Cry At Films" in which Scissor Sister and Bright Light came together and united on this duet which was absolute pop magic and was truly one of the best moments of last night for me.

Fresh from his appearance at the Poptronik Festival this summer, Scissor Sisters Tour DJ Sammy Jo warmed up the crowd and gave EQ readers a cheeky smile - we love Sammy Jo!

Live Review: Paloma Faith “Fall To Grace Tour” at The Regent, Ipswich, July 11th 2012-07-13

By Mandy Rogers

How did I come to find myself at a Paloma Faith concert? Well, it was kind of a mercy request from my sister whose a massive fan and wanted someone to accompany her. My knowledge of Paloma prior to this was very weak on the music front and I also thought she was too soul for me.  I can lay claim to being intrigued by Paloma’s dazzlingly candid personality and her sometimes-outlandish fashion sense. I have often seen her on TV shows and such and she has struck me as quite a hoot to be around really, so that being said the answer back to my sister was – yes.

Once committed to attending I decided I was going to go with the flow and turn myself into a Paloma-doll for the evening, just as well really, for a fair share of the female population of the audience glamour was also on their minds and there was quite a sea of prom dresses, sparkle and lots of flowers in hair amongst us.

Curtain up! Oh how we were we foxed by Miss Foxy, when she entered stage wearing a chintzy turban instead, as she majestically appeared to the epic strains of “When You’re Gone”. Infact, from the moment I set eyes upon her I have to say I was quite literally star-struck just by looking at her, which continued through next track “Blood Sweat And Tears” and practically the whole set beyond.

Live Review: The Young Professionals at La Gaite Lyrique, Paris - 22 Jun 2012

by Raj Rudolph

First of all let me preface this review by saying that there are very few live acts I would hop on a train and go to Paris to see live - The Young Professionals is easily one of them.

When I heard that TYP were making their first public show at La Gaite Lyrique in Paris, I immediately cancelled everything I was doing to make sure I was in attendance - this included my high school reunion in the States too.

Yes, a TYP show is truly are an unmissible event in my music calendar.

Having been the first music blogger to champion TYP, it's been such a joy seeing them go from strength to strength from their first two amazing videos for D.I.S.C.O and 20 Seconds, falling in love with their debut album 9am to 5pm, 5pm To Whenever and having it rule my iPod for over a year; from them getting signed to Universal in France and learning that Live Nation had scooped them up - I can easily say without a doubt that TYP are the most exciting electronic pop band of the moment.

 

TYP definitely remind me of Pet Shop Boys in their hay day if I am to make a comparitive. Their stage setup is super simple with amazing background visuals. The magic of their live set lies within the pure strength of the songs - all of which are intelligent prose that transends well over a disco beat. Their Robert Palmer-esque backing dancers shift seemlessly from sexy office workers tapping on their PCs to fierce dance divas slaying the crowed as the show crescendos into their big anthemst in D.I.S.C.O. and 20 Seconds - with the latter proving to be the biggest crowd favorite.

At the end of the show, the crowd was chanting so hard the signature chorus of 20 Seconds in such a strong fever that TYP actually came out and did the song again as a second encore. It was truly a sight to witness and quite an accomplishment for a rather new pop band to cause such a fan frenzy.