We’ve had Silent Discos, so where next for novelty music events? Well, as we mentioned a few weeks back, Sony Ericsson has come up with the concept of a gig in the dark, and the first band to try it out? Why, only one of my favourite bands of late, Friendly Fires.

After some issues finding the secret, unmarked venue just a bit south of the Thames, I went in to find that the space under some railway arches had been turned into an amazing gig space. Not that we could see much when the lights went out though!

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think at first that FF were the best band to do a show in the dark – they’re more of a lively, carnival style bright colours sort of band. However, they pulled out all the stops, making each track in their hour long set into a celebratory fusion of funky disco tunes, complete with brass section. You are forced to listen that little bit more to the tracks, notice the little quirks, the layers you don’t hear on the radio. After plunging through “Lovesick” and “Jump on Board” in quick succession Ed welcomed everyone saying “I think this might have been one of the most surreal moments in a while… Do sing along so we know you’re there”.

It certainly was an unreal time for us in the audience too – genuinely not being able to see anything is both weird and great fun, and means that you can dance (in your seat) as bizarrely as you want. A few people even took the opportunity to sing as bizarrely as they could, seemingly forgetting that we could still hear them. Oh well.

Halfway through, the band were revealed, all looking very ghost like being lit up with only UV light, just to prove that they were actually there and not just 200 people listening to a CD very loud. Closing with the sublime double header of “Paris” and “Ex Lover”, confetti streamed from the ceiling, looking like snow with the UV light. The brilliant Eddie Temple Morris closed things out, a perfect end to a great evening.

You can catch some edited highlights of the gig on Sony Ericsson’s new Pocket TV in a few weeks time, and on their Myspace shortly.
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Over the years, the magical Glastonbury Festival has gained itself an incredible cult-like status. Annually, hoards of campers descend onto the flowing farms of Pilton, Somerset, triumphantly braving the dreaded Glasto mud and rain in order to experience perhaps the greatest performing arts festival around. However, while this 2009’s line up has received criticism from some for being a little too ‘old-school’, others have hailed the array of vintage as pure genius. So why not read on to see what you think of this year’s acts..

First up, lets talk headliners. Neil Young (Friday), Bruce Springsteen (Saturday) and recent reunionists, Blur (Sunday) are the top three acts to be taking aboard the famous ‘Pyramid Stage’ this year. Joining Neil on Friday include The Specials, Lily Allen, Fleet Foxes, Gabriella Cilmi and Bjorn Again. Meanwhile, taking to the stage Saturday along with Springsteen include Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, Eagles of Death Metal, VV Brown and Spinal Tap. Blur in the meantime are joined by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Madness, Status Quo and Tom Jones on Sunday – the final day of the festival.

However, it’s not all about the Pyramid this year. Be sure to head over to the nicely-titled ‘Other Stage’. On Friday you will be able to catch headliners, Bloc Party (pictured top right) along with The Ting Tings, Friendly Fires, White Lies and The View. Saturday offers up Franz Ferdinand, Pendulum, Maximo Park, Paolo Nutini, and Pete Doherty. Sunday, meanwhile boasts of The Prodigy, Glasvegas, Bat for Lashes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Boxer Rebellion… to name but a few.

Check out the ‘John Peel Stage’ too – for this area continues to explode with awesome artists. On Friday, Doves, Jamie T, Jack Penate and Little Boots are just a selection of artists to be hitting Glasto. Saturday meanwhile serves up an array of TGTF-favs including Jarvis Cocker, White Lies, Florence and the Machine, Passion Pit, Esser and Hockey. Echo and the Bunneymen, The Wombats, Noisettes, Ladyhawke and Twisted Wheel, meanwhile, shall be making a visit to the festival on Sunday.

Along with all the mainstream talent, Glastonbury also offers up a diverse array of alternative musical and entertainment acts. Further places of interest across the massive festival site include ‘Jazz/World Stage’, ‘Acoustic Stage’, ‘The Park Stage’, ‘Queen’s Head Stage’, ‘East Dance’, ‘West Dance’, ‘Dance Lounge’, ‘G Stage’, ‘Pussy Parlure’, ‘Silent Disco’, ‘Avalon Stage’, ‘The Glade’ and finally ‘Club Dada’ (and breath!). Here you can catch a humongous amount of dance acts, star-studded DJ sets, and underground artists to fill up your festival-fun time (that’s should you find any that needs filling).

However, Glastonbury isn’t all about the music. The festival also brims with theatrical and circus acts, a 3-D Cinema, children entertainers and craft making. Basically, the Glasto package has it all. Perhaps it’s unsurprising then, that it is still considered today to be the biggest and the best festival in the world…. and to make this all the more exciting – it’s just three weeks away!

Glastonbury Festival takes place from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June (this is not including smaller events earlier in the week). Catch coverage of the event across the BBC all weekend. Head over to the festival’s website now, to learn more

The incredibly talented Maria Taylor has announced a string of four UK tour dates for the beginning of June, supported on all dates by Wispertown 2000.

Tickets are £6.50 for London and £6 everywhere else.

Friday 5th June 2009 – Glasgow, Captain’s Rest (Ticketweb)
Sunday 7th June 2009 – London, Lexington (Ticketweb, See Tickets)
Monday 8th June 2009 – Southampton Joiners (See Tickets)
Tuesday 9th June 2009 – Bristol Cooler (See Tickets)

Today we’d like to introduce The Blizzards, an indie-pop five-piece from Mullingar, Ireland. After noticing that their press release had intriguingly described their sound as “Weezer on steroids”, I was unsurprisingly eager to hear more from this quintet.

Growing up among records injected with the soul of the sixties, ska of the seventies, and electro-pop of the eighties, The Blizzards are a mixture of all these influences with an additional modern-day twist of their own. Their energetic guitar-pop brims with catchy riffs, lively choruses and angelic harmonies, while frontman Niall Breslin’s gritty vocals perfectly rough up their otherwise sprightly sound.

They’ve already supported Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs and The Fratellis – while the band themselves are said to be speedily gaining their own cult-following at their apparently “explosive” live shows. This coming June shall see The Blizzards hit the U.K, so be sure to catch the band at the following dates if you can -

Monday 1st June 2009 – Cardiff Barfly
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 – Southampton Joiners
Saturday 6th June 2009 – Derby Rockhouse
Sunday 7th June 2009 – Hull Lamp
Monday 8th June 2009 – Liverpool Barfly
Tuesday 9th June 2009 – Glasgow Ivory Blacks
Thursday 11th June 2009 – Bristol Start The Bus
Friday 12th June 2009 – Oldham Castle
Saturday 13th June 2009 – Coventry Kasbah

Furthermore, the band will be releasing sunny indie single ‘Buy It Sell It’, through Island Records on July 6th, while their debut album, ‘Domino Effect’ is set to be released later this year in September.

To learn more about these exciting up and coming guitar-popsters, head over to The Blizzards MySpace page now.

Prize for the biggest tour of 2009 possibly goes to Athlete, who are embarking on a huge tour in just over two weeks time. For some reason I thought I’d written about this, but clearly not. Make sure you get out and check these lads out on tour – I hope to be able to make the Oxford date.

Tickets are available from WeGotTickets, Ticketweb, See Tickets and Ticketmaster.

Monday 8th June 2009 – Norwich Waterfront
Tuesday 9th June 2009 – Northampton Picturedome
Thursday 11th June 2009 – Gloucester Guildhall
Friday 12th June 2009 – Birmingham O2 Academy 2
Saturday 13th June 2009 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Tuesday 16th June 2009 – Brighton Concorde 2
Wednesday 17th June 2009 – Southampton University
Friday 19th June 2009 – Cardiff University
Tuesday 23rd June 2009 – Newcastle O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 24th June 2009 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Thursday 25th June 2009 – Inverness Ironworks
Friday 26th June 2009 – Fort William BA Club
Sunday 28th June 2009 – Dundee Fat Sams
Monday 29th June 2009 – Aberdeen Lemon Tree
Tuesday 30th June 2009 – Glasgow Oran Mor
Wednesday 1st July 2009 – Liverpool O2 Academy 2
Friday 3rd July 2009 – Wrexham Central Station
Saturday 4th July 2009 – York The Duchess
Sunday 5th July 2009 – Manchester Ruby Lounge
Monday 6th July 2009 – Leeds Cockpit
Wednesday 8th July 2009 – Bristol Fleece
Thursday 9th July 2009 – Exeter Phoenix Rooms
Friday 10th July 2009 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Saturday 11th July 2009 – Guilfest 2009
Monday 13th July 2009 – Cambridge Junction
Tuesday 14th July 2009 – Sheffield O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 15th July 2009 – Derby Rockhouse
Thursday 16th July 2009 – Oxford O2 Academy 2
Friday 17th July 2009 – London Somerset House

Having supported the likes of Girls Aloud and The Hoosiers recently, things are moving pretty quickly for Absent Elk.

Based in Shoreham on the Sussex coast, Anglo-Norwegian Absent Elk are Kjetil Morland (vocals, guitar), Ross Martin (guitar, keyboards), Mike Hillman (guitar), James Penhallow (bass), and Ric Wilson (drums). Their debut single ‘Sun And Water’ is released May 17th.

They’re about to embark on their debut headlining UK tour, playing what will sure to be some great shows – we’ll have a full interview with them shortly, but in the mean time nip on over to your favourite ticket retailer (I reccomend Ticketweb myself) and buy yourself a bunch of tickets to their shows – you’ll love ‘em, I promise!

Monday 15th June 2009 – Oxford O2 Academy 2 (Zodiac)
Tuesday 16th June 2009 – Bristol O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 17th June 2009 – Sheffield O2 Academy 2
Saturday 20th June 2009 – Newcastle O2 Academy 2
Sunday 21st June 2009 – Glasgow ABC 2
Tuesday 23rd June 2009 – Liverpool O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 24th June 2009 – Manchester Roadhouse
Thursday 2nd July 2009 – London O2 Academy Islington

Air Traffic have announced a string of tour dates for June to try out some new material etc,

Tickets are on sale now for all dates over at their shop, but are going quickly. Proper sale date is Friday at 9am (15th May) when the usual places will have tickets.

Tuesday 16th June 2009 – Coventry Kasbah Night Club
Wednesday 17th June 2009 – Bournemouth The Landmarc
Thursday 18th June 2009 – London The Borderline
Friday 19th June 2009 – Glasgow King Tuts
Saturday 20th June 2009 – Sheffield Leadmill
Sunday 21st June 2009 – Newcastle O2 Academy
Monday 22nd June 2009 – Manchester The Deaf Institute

Jamie T has announced a string of tour dates through the middle of June.

Tickets reportedly go on sale on Friday (1st May) at 10am. Catch him at:

Thursday 11th June 2009 – Leeds Cockpit
Friday 12th June 2009 – Cambridge Junction
Saturday 13th June 2009 – Northampton Roadmender
Sunday 14th June 2009 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Tuesday 16th June 2009 – Newcastle Stage 2
Wednesday 17th June 2009 – Aberdeen Moshulu
Thursday 18th June 2009 – Edinburgh Studio 24
Friday 19th June 2009 – Coventry Kasbah
Sunday 21st June 2009 – Bristol Thekla
Tuesday 23rd June 2009 – Manchester Moho Live
Wednesday 24th June 2009 – London Electric Ballroom

Lissy Trullie, who we introduced yesterday has announced a string of UK Tour dates for mid June around the UK.

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £6 and £8 each.

Monday 8th June 2009 – London ICA (See Tickets)
Wednesday 10th June 2009 – Leeds Cockpit 2 (See Tickets)
Thursday 11th June 2009 – Glasgow King Tuts (Ticketmaster)
Friday 12th June 2009 – Manchester Ruby Lounge (See Tickets)
Saturday 13th June 2009 – Brighton Freebutt (See Tickets, WeGotTickets)

One of 2009’s hottest starts, The Joy Formidable, have announced a string of dates for the end of May and early June around the UK before embarking on a huge festival offensive this summer.

We first featured the band as one of our MP3s of the Day series, and have had Austere on repeat for much of the month.

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £6 and £7 each.

Sunday 31st May 2009 – Liverpool Barfly (TicketWeb)
Monday 1st June 2009 – Newcastle Academy 2 (TicketWeb)
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 – York Fibbers (TicketWeb)
Wednesday 3rd June 2009 – The Royal Derby (Gigantic)
Friday 5th June 2009 – Manchester Ruby Lounge (Ticketline)
Sunday 7th June 2009 – Birmingham Bar Academy (TicketWeb)
Monday 8th June 2009 – London Borderline (TicketWeb)
Tuesday 9th June 2009 – Cambridge Portland (WeGotTickets)
Wednesday 10th June 2009 – Southampton Joiners Arms (See Tickets)
Thursday 11th June 2009 – Brighton Audio (WeGotTickets, TicketWeb)