Minor Alps at The Islington

Minor Alps 
The Islington, 27 April 2014 

I went to see Minor Alps, Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws' new band, again tonight. Not only was the show completely free but the venue, The Islington, was even smaller and nicer too (and in a much safer neighbourhood thank god). The set list was pretty much the same as Juliana herself had warned but as she promised they were indeed wearing different (very stylish) outfits.

New Veruca Salt

The classic line-up of Veruca Salt quietly got back together last year when Louise Post and Nina Gordon finally reconciled after 15 years apart. They've since been in the studio together and have announced a US tour, which I hope will eventually reach these shores. I saw them live back in 1997 and they were super cool, it would be great to see them again after all these years especially since they have released their first new material, from a two-song 10-inch vinyl released just for Record Store Day, and they sound better than ever. Here's a video of one of the new tracks, the superbly titled Museum Of Broken Relationships, and it's everything I hoped it would be, so glad to have them back!

Minor Alps at The Shacklewell Arms

Minor Alps
LiliPut
The Shacklewell Arms, 25 April 2014

It's funny but to me Juliana Hatfield is almost mythological. For so many years she's been so huge and such an important part of my life, particularly during my teenage years, yet the world at large has rarely reflected how great she is in my mind. To me she is an iconic giant like Joni Mitchell or a pop superstar like Beyonce, yet to the mainstream she's generally unknown or considered an alternative pop leftover from the 90s. Add to that how infrequently she graces these shores and how she barely seems to age even though she's now into her late 40s, and you can see how she might seem unreal to me: some indie goddess singing just for me. That's why seeing her in the flesh (the last time for me was back in 2008), is always a surreal experience especially when it's such a tiny, tiny venue as it is tonight. How can someone as big to me as Juliana be playing the back room to some small pub on a tiny stage and close enough for me to reach out and touch her?