Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week or so. I'v been crazy busy at work and weekends have been spent running around. Since my last post, I attended the gorgeous Antony and the Johnsons show at St. Pauls, and the DCFC show at the Haus.

First off, I believe the Mercury Prize must have really helped sell tickets to this show, as not only was it sold out, but an hour before the doors opened, the line streched around the block. CocoRosie opened the show, who I saw back in the winter open for Bright Eyes at the Phoenix. I didn't think much of them the first time around, but their latest release Noah's Ark (Touch And Go) has been getting hordes of press and decent reviews. They sound like a cross between Joanna Newsom (yup they have a harp too) and Cat Power. The Cassidy sisters supported by their angry looking beatboxing female friend played an awe-inspiring set that seemed to capture the attention of the entire crowd. Their set consisted mainly of material from Noah's Ark, but they also played a couple tracks off their debut La Maison De Mon Reve (including an stellar verison of Jesus Loves Me). The sisters use many found objects to create their brand of trashcan folk. Sierra uses a variety of children's toys, while Bianca plays more traditional instruments such as piano, harp and acoustic guitar. The only thing missing from the set was an impromtu duet with Antony on Beautiful Boyz (Antony sings the chorus on the album). Also, I would have liked to see less from the beatboxer, her presence on stage sometimes overshadowed the brilliance of the others. If your at all intrigued, check out this site.
Antony and his Johnsons arrived on stage to a standing ovation (not the only one of the evening), and launched into the beautiful, frail My Lady's Story. From that moment on, the entire crowd hung on every note he sang, every word he said. Antony has totally come out of his shell on stage. The last time I saw him (at the Drake), he rarely looked at the audience and never spoke between songs. This is no longer the case, Antony engaged the audience between songs with stories and jokes including a funny one about playing a spanish festival after a minor-piano celebrity and feeling like a "two fingered tranny". His set consists of almost all of I Am A Bird Now, a few tracks of his debut, and two brilliant covers, Leonard Cohen's The Guests, and The Velvet Underground's Candy Says. He also did a short hilarious cover of Whitney Houston's I Want To Dance With Somebody (sooo funny). It seems that he finally accepts his new found popularity and has embraced it. His new support band compliment his stripped down arrangements very well, especially Rob Moose on guitar and violin. Antony is currently on tour in Europe. Here are the upcoming dates:

October 25,2005 Barcelona - Barcelona Teatro Musical, October 26, 2005 Palma de Mallorca - Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca. phone: +34 971735328, October 28, 2005 Huesca - Periferias Festival, October 29, 2005 Valencia - Green Space, October 31, 2005 Lisbon - Coliseum http://www.ticketline.pt/ tel: +351 210036300, November 3, 2005 WIEN – Semper Depot "From Warhol To Madonna", November 4, 2005 Lille - Aéronef http://www.fnac.com/ tel: 0892 683 622 http://www.ticketnet.fr/ tel: 0892 390100, November 6, 2005 Nantes - Olympic http://www.fnac.com/ tel: 0892 683 622 http://www.ticketnet.fr/ tel: 0892 390100, November 7, 2005 Paris - Olympia http://www.fnac.com/ tel: 0892 683 622 http://www.ticketnet.fr/ tel: 0892 390100, November 9, 2005 Antwerp - Bourla http://www.toneelhuis.be/ tel: 0032/(0)3/224 88 44, November 10, 2005 Bruxelles - Ancienne Belgique (sold out), November 13, 2005 Oslo - Rockerfeller www.ticketmaster.no, November 14, 2005 Stockolm - China Teatern tel: 077-1707070 www.ticnet.se, November 15, 2005 Copenhagen - Vega http://www.vega.dk/ tel:0045 70 263 267, November 17, 2005 Helsinki - Tavastia tel:+358-600-11616 www.tiketti.fi, November 19, 2005 Roma - Parco della Musica , November 22, 2005 Wolverhampton – Civic Hall tel: 01902 552121, November 23, 2005 York - Grand Opera House www.getlive.co.uk/york (tel.) 0870 606 3595, November 25, 2005 Dublin - Vicar (tel.) 0818 719 390, November 27, 2005 Berlin – Volksbuhne tel: +49 30 247 67 72 / 247 76 94, November 28, 2005 Berlin – Volksbuhne tel: +49 30 247 67 72 / 247 76 94, November 3-0, 2005 Glasgow - Academy (tel.) 0870 600 100, December 2, 2005 Bristol - Academy tel: 0870 771 2000, December 4, 2005 London - All Tomorrow's Parties, December 5, 2005 London - Shepherd Bush Empire (tel.) 0870 771 2000, December 6, 2005 London - Shepherd Bush Empire (tel.) 0870 771 2000, December 7, 2005 December 8, 2005 Amsterdam - Le Carre tel:0900 2525 255 -(tix on sale on Sept. 10th), December 10, 2005 REYKJAVIK - Fríkirkjan, December 11, 2005 REYKJAVIK - Fríkirkjan.

I've run out of time, so my DCFC will have to wait until tonight.

Peace Out!