My Favourite Albums Of 2016

Some of the greatest albums this year were some of the saddest and certainly inspired by death: David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, all very different but heartbreaking records. I didn't include Cave on my list because I actually found his album Skeleton Tree, recorded in the aftermath of his son's death, the most difficult to listen to, proving I suppose that death is hardest for those left behind. A lot of my favourite albums this year were definitely dark, because I guess that was my mood in 2016, but I think some were hopeful too. These days I'm finding less solace in music but I am hoping that 2017 will be different.

My Favourite Movies Of 2016

1. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
2. I, Daniel Blake
3. Captain Fantastic
4. The Revenant
5. The Love Witch
6. Finding Dory
7. Mustang
8. Certain Women
9. The Witch
10. Ghostbusters

Merry Christmas!

Best Gigs Of 2016

I didn't go to as many gigs this year but there were still plenty of highlights for me from some old favourites, a few legends and some acts, new and old, who I had never seen before. Probably the most unusual was film director/composer John Carpenter at Troxy, whose mix of electronic soundtracks and visuals was pretty incredible. Meanwhile, Bat For Lashes' themed show showcasing her concept album The Bride was theatrical, warm and brilliant; Margo Price made me fall in love with her thanks to her no-frills traditional country and Low brought their Christmas record to life for me in ways I didn't expect. On top of that I got to meet Greg Dulli, one of my heroes, and to see Neil Young play with his new band, Promise Of The Real,  featuring Willie Nelson's sons. Not bad at all. I hope 2017 has lots of good things in store too.

10. Lush at the Roundhouse

9. Cyndi Lauper at Hammersmith Apollo

8. Greg Dulli at the Union Chapel

7. Neil Young & Laura Marling at the O2 Arena

6. Angel Olsen at Koko

5. Warpaint at the Roundhouse

4. John Carpenter at Troxy

3. Bat For Lashes at the Union Chapel

2. Low: A Christmas Performance at Union Chapel

1. Margo Price at The Scala

Low at the Union Chapel

Low: A Christmas Performance
Harkin
Erik Koskinen
Union Chapel, 6 December 2016

What could be better for getting into the Christmas spirit than a trip to church to hear some Christmas tunes? Of course the fact that it's the wonderful and cosy Union Chapel and the Christmas tunes in question are courtesy of the bleakly beautiful Minnesotans Low makes it all the more special. Low's 1999 Christmas EP is easily one of my favourite Christmas records ever: even better than the best of Sufjan Stevens' festive releases and right up there with Elvis' Christmas albums. Yes, it's that good. I had never seen Low before this but the location and the fact they were playing this fantastic EP just before Christmas made this show absolutely irresistible to me and one of my most anticipated of the year. And I wasn't disappointed.

David Bowie's Lazarus at King's Cross Theatre

Lazarus
King's Cross Theatre, 13 November 2016

David Bowie was certainly busy in his final days, recording his last ever album Blackstar and penning a musical sequel to his iconic role in the film The Man Who Fell To Earth. His last ever public appearance was at its premiere in New York last December and, despite leaving many critics a bit baffled, the show's short run sold out in minutes. Luckily for me it is back, this time playing in his hometown of London with Michael C. Hall (he of Dexter fame) resuming his role from the NY run.

So long Leonard Cohen

How lucky we are to have had Leonard Cohen for as long as we did and what a beautiful final album he left us with.

"Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back
They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window in the Tower of Song."

Margo Price's Hands Of Time video

Song of the year. Hands down.

John Carpenter at Troxy

John Carpenter
Troxy, 1 November 2016

Right or wrong, I grew up watching horror films. It was the era of VHS after all, and for some reason, as long as it didn't have excessive sex in it, my parents saw no harm in my brothers and I indulging in our passion of scary movies, often watching the best ones over and over. One of our absolute filmmakers quickly became John Carpenter.

Robin Hardy interview

Robin Hardy, the charming and visionary director of cult favourite, The Wicker Man, died in July. I pulled out an interview I did with Hardy for Rebeat on Halloween. You can read it here or down below:

Wicker Man Director Robin Hardy’s Inside Look at His Iconic Film

Christopher Lee considered it his best-ever film. Cinefantastisque magazine called it the “Citizen Kane of horror films.” Empire magazine said it was “Britain’s best horror film.” And both Time Out and the British Film Institute included it in their lists of the best British films of all time. (If you’ve never seen it, we highly recommend you watch it this Halloween.)

Warpaint at the Roundhouse

Warpaint
Shock Machine
Roundhouse, 27 October 2016

I didn't realise it at the time but tonight's support act, Shock Machine, is one third of the recently disbanded and once hugely popular London band the Klaxons. Not that I ever listened or took much notice of the Klaxons while they were still around, so when James Righton of the band ran on stage making his big entrance after his new band had already started playing I just figured it was a newcomer acting the big rock star. Turns out not only is he already something of a rock star he's also married to none other than Keira Knightley.

Angel Olsen at Koko

Angel Olsen
Little Wings
Koko, 17 October 2016

It's clear that in the couple of years since her last album Angel Olsen has become a little less lo-fi and a little more indie star. It's notable when her band arrive on stage wearing matching blue suits (boasting no less than two badass female musicians!) and the lights swirl like an arena show as the audience eagerly anticipate her long-awaited entrance. I sense the crowd getting excited as she emerges, all sulky pout and pointy, pin-up girl eyebrows. This is something you can only get away when you get to a certain level and judging by tonight's show (and another already booked for next year at the far bigger Roundhouse), Olsen is clearly on the up and on her way towards pop stardom.

Margo Price at Scala

Margo Price
Andrew Combs
Scala, 1 September 2016

I've seen Andrew Combs before supporting Caitlin Rose, which makes sense because one of the songs on Margo Price's superb debut album is co-written by Rose so I suppose they are part of the same group of singer-songwriting friends in Nashville. Combs, like before, stands alone with his acoustic guitar and the obligatory Nashville attire of blue jeans and cowboy shirt. He's smaller than I remember but just as baby-faced which contrasts with the world-weary gravel in his voice. I think I said this before but he reminds me a lot of Ryan Adams in his more stripped down, lonesome moments and the crowd responds well to his earthy, country style, in fact he even plays a song (Too Stoned To Cry) because someone requested it "on the way to the bathroom".

The Strange and Tragic Tale of Judee Sill

I wrote about the wonderful singer-songwriter Judee Sill, who had a fascinating but tragic life, for REBEAT Magazine. You can read it here.

Belly at The Forum

Belly,
The Forum, 21 July 2016

I have seen Belly before, back in the 1990s, during the King tour. I must admit I can't remember much about it other than it was at Shepherd's Bush Empire before they put the barriers in and you could actually sit on the edge of the stage if you wanted to. I vaguely recall Tanya Donelly being smiley and sweet and Gail Greenwood being the most talkative of them all and looking like she belonged more in L7 than a twangy, slightly twee, indie band.

Cyndi Lauper at Hammersmith Apollo

Cyndi Lauper
Matt Henry
Hammersmith Apollo, 30 June 2016

I confess, although my first music love was Madonna, I haven't seen that many pop shows over the years but Cyndi Lauper, while every inch a superstar pop star especially back in the 1980s, has always felt a little bit more punk rock to me. I wasn't really keen to see her live for the first time when she was doing her dance music and blues excursions but when she announced she was releasing a country album I knew this finally was the tour for me.

Neil Young + Promise Of The Real at the O2 Arena

Neil Young + Promise Of The Real

Laura Marling

O2 Arena, 11 June 2016

At the Graham Nash show last week I met a man who was seeing Neil Young live for the first time at this O2 Arena gig and I warned him, "don't expect him to play the hits! Neil plays what he wants and that's part of what makes him so great and exciting to watch!" Well, my words have come back to haunt me because tonight Neil played many of his best loved songs, kept it easy on the new tracks and still was exciting as ever. Even giving the audience what it wants, Neil manages to still be completely unpredictable. I was so used to Neil never pandering to those who want the old hits that when he actually does it, well, it's a huge surprise and almost as shocking as when he rolls out a 30 minute feedback-filled unknown number.

Graham Nash at the Union Chapel

Graham Nash
Union Chapel, 24 May 2016

First, this show had to have had the longest line I've ever seen at the Union Chapel before, stretching all the way back past the houses beside the old church. I guess that's what you get when you have a legend of Graham Nash's stature playing a relatively small venue for his first solo jaunt in the UK in years (in fact I'm not even sure he has toured solo here before). Secondly, the majority of the audience were of an older vintage, which I loved, it's nice to feel you are one of the young ones at a concert for once.

Goodbye Guy Clark

Yet another great gone far too soon but at the very least he and his beloved wife Susanna, who died back in 2012 and inspired his beautiful and final album, My Favorite Picture Of You, are together again, and of course his dear friend the late great Townes Van Zandt. Rest in peace dear Guy.

Bat For Lashes at the Union Chapel

Embed from Getty Images

Bat For Lashes
Union Chapel, 16 May 2016

This was a no phones show so I wasn't able to capture Natasha Khan in her striking scarlet bride attire (thankfully Getty's embed feature has come in handy here to give you a taste) but believe me she looked like an amazing cross between Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, a Hammer Horror bride and Kate Bush in that early Wuthering Heights video. All of this was due to the fact that Bat For Lashes forthcoming new LP is a concept album called The Bride, telling the story of a woman whose husband-to-be dies on the day of their wedding, and these few preview shows - all held in churches - gave us the chance to hear the story performed in a beautifully atmospheric and evocative setting.

Lush at the Roundhouse

Lush

Pixx

Roundhouse, 6 May 2016

For some reason I never listened to Lush back in the good old 90s and only really discovered their music about ten years ago. But even though I stupidly ignored their music, just the image of Lush, especially that of Miki Berenyi's postbox red hair and Emma Anderson's cute black bob (it's all about the hair for me obviously), brings back waves of nostalgia, probably because they were ever-present in the pages of my favourite music paper back then, Melody Maker.

Goodnight Sweet Prince

Can't believe the one and only Prince is gone, I'm absolutely heartbroken.
First Bowie, then Merle Haggard and now Prince: 2016 has been a truly rotten year so far. Anyway, here he is looking fabulous and playing I Wanna Be Your Lover live in 1980. Amazing. I will miss him and his eccentric ways and incredible, mind-blowing music so much - we all will. There will never be another Prince, that's for sure.

Goodbye Merle

I never got the chance to see Merle Haggard live but I grew up with his music. He was easily one of the Country Greats, up there with Johnny Cash, George Jone, Willie Nelson and, of course, Buck Owens.  Here he is with Johnny on one of his greatest songs, Sing Me Back Home. R.I.P. sweet Merle and thanks for all the beautiful songs.

In God's House

So excited for Bat For Lashes' forthcoming fourth album The Bride, out in July. It's a concept album about a woman whose groom dies on their wedding day and judging by the song above I'm sure it's going to be fantastic. I somehow managed to get a ticket for her intimate Union Chapel in May where she'll be previewing the whole album but as a "no phones" show I'll have to forget about grabbing a quick pic and instead just bask in the music and atmosphere, the good old fashioned way (I'll of course write about the whole thing on here afterwards though).

Greg Dulli at the Union Chapel

Greg Dulli

Union Chapel, 9 February 2016

So, tonight Greg Dulli told me he liked my hat. He could have been making fun of me but I like to think he was genuinely being nice. It's not often these days I do the signing thing or even want to meet the musicians I like, but I made an exception for Dulli because he's been such a huge part of my life and thankfully, he didn't disappoint: he was as charming and funny as I always suspected, and of course nice enough to at least pretend to like my hat.

Farewell David Bowie

What a terrible start to the New Year. Devastated.