Musings

If you haven’t already heard about Bandstand Busking, I would highly recommend signing up for their mailing list. It’s a series of live acoustic shows held in bandstands around London – they’re free, and the line-up/location isn’t released until a couple of days before. They’ve previously been host to breakthrough acts in the vein of Fanfarlo, Alessi’s Ark and Slow Club, to name just a few.

Hockey - Bandstand Busking

Yesterday, I was one of the about 50 people who made up the audience for a 4-song set from, among others, new wave indie-rockers from Portland, Oregon – Hockey.

To be completely honest, I hadn’t heard much of their music other than this track before yesterday’s show…but their laid-back hippy style and electronic party vibe are just infectious. A band that seem to seep ‘cool’ from every pore – I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone told me they time-travelled to our era directly from the original Woodstock lineup and sprinkled in some electronic sounds to avoid detection…

Hockey – Too Fake

I’m trying to get my hands on a recording of the acoustic version of this track from yesterday’s show – perfect for Ben Grubin’s soulful vocal, and Anthony Stassi’s über-chilled “drum” accompaniment. Guitarists Brian White and Jeremy Reynolds complete the four.

Just bought my tickets for their Scala show in September. Details on the London Gigs page (or will be in a minute once I put them up there…)