Music Blogs

It's all been rather quiet on these pages in recent days. That's because Famethrowa's been on a breakneck tour-de-force of North American rock'n'roll hot-spots. Let me take you through some of the highlights thus far from a trip that has taken in punk's newest icons, the scene of John Lennon's murder and one of the globe's most infamous hotels. All of which has been played out against a backdrop of a nation gripped by election fever, with just days before its people choose a new leader and, please Lord, try not to make such a desperate hash of it as they did eight years ago.

Everyone's talking about the Obama vs McCain battle over the border in Canada too, where Toronto hardcore act F*cked Up landed in Montreal last weekend, fresh from their recent NME cover and this summer's near 20-minute breakthrough single, "Year Of The Pig". As you might expect from a group whose number include a man called Concentration Camp, this is a fierce, furious and confrontational sound, best experienced live, where you can expect to see mammoth singer Pink Eyes charging into the audience to carry fans on his shoulders and inviting people to beat on his gargantuan belly. The mildly alarmed crowd at La Sala Rosa caught something a little like this:



A few days later, F*cked Up were due to host what sounded like a madness-inspiring 12-hour show in the storefront of New York City boutique Rogan. With our ears still on fire from the last time, it was instead to Brooklyn's Masonic Temple, where the internationally acclaimed TV On The Radio played the third of a hat-trick of electric homecoming live shows. Backed by a blazing horn section and directed from the shadows by producer du jour Dave Sitek, the band are rightly tipped to head critics' end of year polls for "Dear Science", led by recent single "Golden Age".



During this sojourn in the amazing, exhausting Big Apple, Famethrowa was holed-up in the Hotel Chelsea, scene of Nancy Spungeon's death, allegedly at the hands of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, almost exactly 30 years ago. Thankfully, no such drama occurred during our stay at the mostly excellent Manhattan block, from where the Dakota building was an inevitable stop-off. There is no reference to Lennon outside his former home, that's reserved for the respectfully preserved Strawberry Fields memorial nearby, but as America looks to elect a new leader, his vision for peace remains depressingly light years away. Well, as they keep telling me over here, "Obama Rocks!", something John McCain clearly does not.