Source: theregoesthefear.com

A half –full Zodiac at the Oxford Academy played host to up-and-comers Royworld last night as they embark on their debut full UK tour ahead of their album release next month.

Support came in the form of Oxford based band Cand Electric who were obviously nervous, having clearly just landed the biggest gig of their lives. Perfectly competent, they just lacked any oomph – they could play, but no personality or songs that grab you by the neck and say “LISTEN TO ME”. Quickly followed up by The Rushes who were much more capable of the supporting roll, dispatching hecklers with one-line put downs, and having tunes that with a bit of tweaking may get a couple of plays on late night XFM.

However, 9:15 and the main event soon rolled around, and Royworld unassumingly took to the stage. Opening up with recent single Elasticity they hammered their way through 45 minutes of material from their upcoming debut album. Usually, throwing in their new single and their old single in the first three songs would be a recipe for people walking out, having heard what they wanted. However, not tonight. Oh no. As the four of them get into their stride a bit more, it became clear that their singles are just the beginning of the road for these lads..

Smoke machines and extensive strobe lights gave the night a feel of a (slightly dodgy) 80’s pop video, however this more than complimented their rather unique brand of music – a sense of yearning for times gone by is immediately made clear, listening to their lyrics.

“Man in the Machine” was the last of the trio of songs that most of the audience had wanted to hear, before they closed with the duo of songs of “Tinman” and “Brakes”, showing off that Royworld are no one-trick ponies.

After the jump: Photos

Above: Cand Electric

Above: Cand Electric

Above: Royworld Live @ Oxford Carling Academy Zodiac

Above: Royworld Live @ Oxford Carling Academy Zodiac

Above: Royworld Live @ Oxford Carling Academy Zodiac

Source: theregoesthefear.com

“These shows are always far too short” moaned Tom McRae as he brought down the curtains on almost 3 hours of non-stop music that, frankly, would put most lesser artists to shame. In those 3 hours, we’d seen beard shaving, mass-singalongs, surprise special guests and more off-the-cuff jokes than most comedians manage in a year. All for a mere £15 too.

This was the second time that the Essex-based singer/songwriter had bought over his motley crew of artists from the US to play the Hotel Cafe tour, named after the famous venue in LA which plays host to a range of a wide range of artists for a cabaret-like performance where anything can happen. As they showed, anything really can happen when they decided to shave the beard of lead organiser Jason, live on stage towards the end.

Each playing one or two songs, Tom introduced each one with amusing tales, and before 9:30 had even swung round we’d already hurtled through three Tom McRae songs as well as songs from Catherine Feeny, Brian Wright, Jim Bianco, Cary Brothers, and Greg Laswell. Poor Greg hobbled around after spraining his ankle in Brighton whilst drunkenly chasing a fox, much to the amusement of the audience.

Part of the tradition of the Hotel Cafe shows are special guests - two years ago we got Aqualung, this time round Turin Brakes played previous single “Dark on Fire” and old favourite “Pain Killer”.

Tom then came back, joined by the rest of the performers for a rousing version of “Dose me Up”, which was quite amazing to hear everyone looping round the haunting chorus of “So dose me up / Once is not enough / I can still see the ground / And from this high rise view looking down on you / Im not the one wasting my time”. Personally, that was my highlight, but with time getting on the performers got back into the swing of things with renewed passion - Jim Bianco’s “striptease” routine provided a moment of amusement as his “smoky backroom” voice fitted the setting perfectly. Greg told us stories of his family, with tales of his Mum and Dad’s worries about him, and Catherine just played amazing songs whilst adding a sexy element to the male-dominated proceedings. Brian, well, what more can I say. The man can play. And has facial hair that would make lesser men weap, it’s so thick. Cary Brothers was the musical genius that needs more credit - amazing songs, he should be able to tour the UK more.

All too soon 11:30 had rolled around, and with one more sing along to “Silent Boulevard”, they were gone - too quickly for my liking, but still - £15 for 3 hours of brilliant entertainment - amazing.

Pictures will be added shortly.

Source: theregoesthefear.com

This review originally appeared on Hit40UK.

“Now, that’s why we played Swindon!” smirked Luke Pritchard of The Kooks as the band finished their smash-hit single “Naïve” midway through their set. He was having fun, and not afraid to show it as the Brighton four piece played the second night of their UK Tour.

Rewind two hours and Brighton co-residents The Rivers opened up the evening as the hoards of people piled into the gym of Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre for what felt like a special after-school treat. Quickly followed by the marvellous Kid Harpoon who bought their British-Decemberists sound to the masses, managing to turn a few sceptics into fans (though that may just be because of the lead singer, who looks distinctly like Mackenzie Crook from a distance!)

Whilst the support acts were good, there was no hiding who we were there for: the Kooks. Lights go down, the backdrop falls to the ground, and we have an empty stage, as a huge sign above the stage glows neon blue announcing “KOOKS”. Then, just as we though the screaming couldn’t get any louder, on swaggers Luke and co, plunging straight into their single “Always Where I Need To Be”. 3,000 people chanting the chorus of “Do do do dododo” is quite a sight to see, and came to be something we saw quite a lot of through the evening.

The first part of the set was mostly their new material, which whilst it received a good reception it was really the stuff from their first album we wanted to hear, and it showed. “We’re feeling a bit fragile, so be gentle!” commented Luke before they hurtled into “Eddies Gun”, though to be fair we’d never have guessed – their post-gig hangovers clearly not that bad on the second night of their tour. “Naïve” saw the first moment of everyone being word perfect, which showed the lads that their old material is still their best loved. All too soon it was time for them to go, soon to be replaced with a footie-style chant of “Kooks! Kooks! Kooks!”

Coming back on his own, Luke did two of the highlights of the night: acoustic versions of “Seaside” and “Jackie Big Tits”, which had us all wishing for savoured moments on Brighton Pier in the summer, and that special someone respectively. Finally, they closed with new song “Do You Wanna?” which saw things get a bit “hot ‘n’ cosy” as crowd surfers galore went over, Luke joined the crowd down the front and general last-song excitement.

Leaving the stage, we knew that Swindon had made its mark on the Kooks, and that they’ll be coming back for more.

Source: theregoesthefear.com

I was A Cub Scout have announced a new headlining tour for early June as a warm up for many of the festivals.

Tickets go on sale at varying points between now and Friday (18th) it seems.

Thursday 5th June - London Dingwalls
Friday 6th June - Sheffield Neutral Room at Plug
Saturday 7th June - Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sunday 8th June - Manchester Academy 3
Monday 9th June - Leeds Cockpit
Tuesday 10th June - Brighton Barfly
Wednesday 11th June - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

Source: theregoesthefear.com

Whilst not exactly my sort of thing, rising star Estelle has announced a string of UK dates for June.

Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but go on sale on Friday at 9am I believe. Catch her at:

Saturday 8th June - Manchester Ritz
Sunday 9th June - Glasgow ABC
Monday 10th June - Birmingham Custard Factory
Wednesday 12th June - London Shepherds Bush Empire

Source: theregoesthefear.com

I used to love them, but now they’re just grating on me. Palladium have announced another month long tour of the UK, stopping at a tonne of places I’m sure they’ve stopped at before.

Tickets are on sale now I think.

Monday 5th May - Truro Tuck Shop 14+
Tuesday 6th May – Plymouth Tuck Shop
Friday 9th May – Dublin Trinity Ball, Ireland
Monday 12th May – Hertford Marquee
Tuesday 13th May – London Bush Hall
Wednesday 14th May – Cambridge Junction 2
Friday 16th May – Peterborough Met Lounge
Saturday 17th May – Bedford Esquires
Sunday 18th May – Leicester Sumo
Monday 19th May – Birmingham Bar Academy
Wednesday 21st May – Derby The Venue
Thursday 22nd May – Liverpool Barfly
Saturday 24th May – Bristol Dot to Dot
Sunday 25th May – Nottingham Dot to Dot
Tuesday 27th May – Dundee Fat Sams, Scotland
Wednesday 28th May – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire, Scotland
Friday 30th May – Shipley PM Bar (Bradford Music Week)
Saturday 31st May – Cheltenham Wychwood

Source: theregoesthefear.com

Feeder have announced a string of dates for late May as a warm up before they release their new untitled album. All dates are quite small, so be sure to get your tickets quickly! Tickets for all dates are on sale now, priced at £15 each.

Wednesday 21st May - Newcastle, Northumbria Uni Stage 2
Thursday 22nd May - Glasgow, The Classic Grand
Saturday 24th May - Sheffield, Leadmill
Sunday 25th May - Birmingham, Barfly
Tuesday 27th May - Brighton, Concorde 2
Wednesday 28th May - Cardiff, The Point
Friday 30th May - Manchester, Academy 3
Saturday 31st May - Bristol, The Thekla

Source: theregoesthefear.com

I used to love Mull Historical Society’s quirky pop tunes, and the guy behind them, Mr. Colin MacIntyre has announced a new tour for May.

The Scottsman will play 8 shows in 8 days, calling at the following. Tickets are on sale now priced at £10 per show, except London which is £11.

Thursday 1st May - Glasgow Classic Grand
Friday 2nd May - Isle Of Mull Aros Hall
Saturday 3rd May - Aberdeen Moshulu
Sunday 4th May - Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Monday 5th May - Ripon Matrix
Tuesday 6th May - Manchester Night & Day
Wednesday 7th May - Birmingham Barfly
Thursday 8th May - London Borderline

Source: theregoesthefear.com

If I’m honest, I don’t know much about Ida Maria. I know what you’re thinking - Phil doesn’t know much about some rising stars, does he? Well, I can’t stay up to date with all your favourite acts, I just pass on the news that they’re on tour! So forgive my negligence. Though she is rather hot, agree?

Anyway, catch the Scandanavian star’s debut UK headline tour at the following dates. Tickets are £6.50 for most dates, with the exception of Brighton (unsure of ticket prices) and London (£7.50). Tickets are on sale now.

Friday 9th May - Carlisle Brick Yard
Saturday 10th May - Middlesbrough Empire
Sunday 11th May - Aberdeen Tunnels
Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May - Brighton Great Escape Festival
Monday 19th May - Leeds Cockpit
Tuesday 20th May - Oxford Jericho Tavern
Wednesday 21st May - London Kings College
Saturday 24th May - Bristol Dot-To-Dot Festival
Sunday 25th May - Nottingham Dot-To-Dot Festival
Tuesday 27th May - Birmingham Glee Club
Thursday 29th May - Sheffield Foundry
Saturday 31st May - Manchester Academy 3
Sunday 1st June - Glasgow King Tuts

Source: theregoesthefear.com

The Ting Tings have announced a new tour for May, hot off the heals of their April UK tour. Do they ever stop? Who knows.

Tickets for some dates are on sale now, priced at £12, others go on sale on Friday (4th April) at some price I’m not really sure about!

Thursday 15th May - Brighton Komedia (Great Escape Festival - Club NME)
Friday 16th May - Brighton Concorde 2 (Great Escape Festival)
Saturday 17th May - Newcastle Northumbria University
Sunday 18th May - Manchester Academy 2
Monday 19th May - Oxford Academy
Tuesday 20th May - Birmingham Irish Centre
Thursday 22nd May - London Astoria
Friday 23rd May - Sheffield Leadmill
Saturday 24th May - Glasgow QMU
Sunday 25th May - Leeds Cockpit