Offset Festival 2010

Some of my readers may remember that Mike and I went to Offset for the first time last year after being convinced by RX Kitten, we had such a good time that despite the fact of not really knowing any of the bands playing this year (last year The Slits and The Futureheads played- The Slits was enough of a reason for me to go)! we thought we should definitely go again. The only band we actually knew any songs by was Art Brut, and some of the band names rang a bell, but couldn't think of any songs. This year for that exact reason I thought it would be a good opportunity to discover some new music, especially to play on my show. I spent some time investigating before the festival, and I did buy two albums- Thomas Tantrum and Wet Dog and a very helpful person on my facebook fanpage (add if you haven't already- just look for DJ Moonlight on facebook) gave me a long list of female fronted bands that were playing at the festival, so I had a bit of preparation beforehand!

Last year we went in our friend's Dave's car but this year we had to travel down ourselves, so we met our friend Will outside Westcliff station at about 11.30am on saturday, for some silly reason there was no one at the ticket gate so we couldn't buy a ticket from real person, one of the machines was broken and you couldn't see it really as the sunlight was beaming on it, and then we went round to the other side to the other machine that wasn't taking notes! Eventually after much running about we finally managed to get tickets to Upminister, which according to the Offset website was meant to have a shuttle bus to the site, but when we enquired with the train staff, they told us there wasn't one and we weren't the first ones to ask. Apparently we would of had to get two buses from there to get to the site, so we waited for a train to Romford and then we could get a normal bus (again, no shuttle bus) to the site. We were very relieved once we finally got there about 2.30pm! (we live in essex and the journey should have been just under an hour in total) even if we did have to join a fairly lengthy queue to get out wristbands. Luckily Dave was nice enough to have taken some of our stuff in his car.

We met Dave and our other friend Paul once we got our wristbands and then found the campsite to find a spot to pitch our tents up. The campsite was already quite full but they were expanding it as more people were arriving, it was about double the size of last year, indicating ticket sales must have been better and they were also selling tickets on the door this year. We managed to find a nice spot just in the corner. We got all pitched up, helped Will set up as it was his first time camping at a festival then had the joy of inflating our air bed! Soon after RX Kitten arrived, she hadn't been able to come sooner as she had college that day.

When we had a look at the arena we could see straight away that there was a bit more going on this year. There was a small fair this year, we didn't actually end up going on any of the rides, but at least there actually was this time, as they promised one last year and there wasn't! There was also cash points this time, and a special security van where you could store stuff or charge your phone, we didn't personally use it, but I thought it was a good idea. There was several clothes stalls including the vintage clothes tent again, this year I got a pretty necklace from there, it's silver and has a heart charm that says "You Rock and Roll" on it which cost me £5. I saw a gorgeous dress that had guitars all over it but it was £40 :( There was a stall selling Offset merchandise (we got a program from there, but they also had t shirts and bags) and another one that was selling some of the band's music and merchandise.

There was a selection of food stalls but we spent all eating time at one that was called The Wide Awake Cafe which we discovered all their food was vegan- including cheese and everything! We sampled Chili, Pasta, hot dogs, sausage sandwiches, and best of all a full vegan cooked breakfast on Sunday morning :)

Anyway, Saturday. The first band we saw was on the Loud and Quiet stage called Teeth!!! fronted by a slightly mental Japanese female singer, they were electro/punk/noise and fun to dance to.

We hung around as we wanted to see the next band on this stage, who had a interesting write up in the program comparing them to Bikini Kill and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This band was Comanechi another band that was fronted by a mental japanese woman. She was not only the singer, but also the drummer. She was awesome, the epitome of a riot grrrl. There was a small mosh pit and the security was being really over the top. The slightest movement and they were going in to tell people off but really they were just making it worse, at one point the singer/drummer was telling them to get out the way (they were standing right in the middle of the stage at one point) so she could see her fans, and she got the crowd to start putting their middle fingers up at them! At another point she was drinking straight vodka and then she gave it to someone in the audience. This band was truly the highlight of my weekend, it was very much modern day riot grrrl, I felt this may be the closest I'll ever be to what it was like to see Bikini Kill. Expect to be hearing a lot more of this band on my show soon!

The last band we saw on Saturday was Thomas Tantrum, I thought they were quite good musically but weren't anything special live really, but then again I had witnessed some really amazing bands that day so it was hard for them to compare to them!

We didn't do much else that night really, we did have a boogie in the dance tent at some point and a brief walk in the woods.

Sunday morning we went to the petting zoo type thing that was just across from the forest and got to stroke horses and goats, and look at chickens, donkeys and rabbits. The conditions were by no means perfect, but it was nice to be able to do something like that.

The first band we saw was Wet Dog on the main stage, they were pretty good although to be honest I think either being on a smaller stage or at a later time of day would have been better as there wasn't much energy. as they were first on, most people were just sitting chilling out to it.

The second band we saw on Sunday was Blue on Blue unfortanely as I had so little sleep I couldn't really enjoy them properly but I did really like them, and there was some speculation, which I've now discovered is correct- is the female vocalist was indeed the same vocalist of a band that played last year- who I enjoyed but sadly split up An Experiment on A Bird in the Air Pump


Went back to the tent for a while to attempt to get a bit of sleep, I still couldn't manage so just decided to start drinking instead! When we got back up, we went to see
Chrome Hoof as Rx Kitten had told us how awesome they were. She wasn't wrong! (not she ever is ;) ) there was about 10 of them, and they play a blend of metal and disco and somehow make a very interesting and entertaining noise! also an amazing stage presence, dressed in silver and black outfits, with the lead vocalist like a vampire Grace Jones.

The next band we saw was Anna Calvi there wasn't much of a crowd for the band but they were contending with These New Puritans on the main stage. I did quite enjoy them but again, there was no atmosphere, I'm sure this band will get bigger though...

We decided take a quick peek in the Offset Presents tent as I had a funny feeling I recognized the name The Rayographs as soon as I saw them, i remembered i think I had them on MySpace when I actually bothered to use it. I only saw a small glimpse of them but that small bit sounded great, I saw a review elsewhere giving them a glowing verdict so kinda disappointed I missed most of it now!

Anyway we wanted to have more drink at the tent (rather than paying for alcohol in the arena, as you couldn't bring it in with you) so we did that for a bit before going to the arena again. We saw a bit of Caribou (the first band we watched all weekend that wasn't female fronted)! who were quite good, wasn't too impressed with the vocals though, I preferred the instrumentals!

Even though I had heard of them, I had no idea what Atari Teenage Riot sounded like, and everyone kept going on about how great they are so had to see a bit of them. Well my apologies to the legions of fans, but I don't get it? It sounded like just a lot of noise to me, like drum and bass music with shouting over the top or something. I really didn't like it!

We wandered off and watched Gramme who were dancey fun and I loved that the lead singer didn't really fit into the traditional mould of female singer and she looked like she was having a great time!

Well that was it for another year, what great time, can't wait for next year, heres some videos of the bands-

Growl Tiger! and playlists

This Saturday (14th November) RxKitten, Mike Fisher and I are launching a club night- Growl Tiger! It will be music from the 1990s to the present day. It will be a mix of alternative, indie, rock, metal, riot grrrl and loads more. It's only £3 to get in, and it will be at The Golden Lion down Victoria Ave in southend, so hope to see some of you there! I've already filled our flight case with music!

Playlists from this weekend

Pigtails and Army Boots
Sam Brown - Can I Get A Witness
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
The Pretenders - Back On The Chain Gang
Dionne Bromfield - Mama Said
Tegan and Sara - Hell (Radio Edit)
La Roux - Bulletproof
Transvision Vamp - Baby I Don't Care
Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
The Long Blondes - Fulwood Babylon
Little Boots - Remedy
Skunk Anansie - Squander (Radio Edit)
Marina & The Diamonds - Mowgli's Road
Paramore - Brick By Boring Brick
HorrorPops - Crawl Straight Home
The Ronettes - Be My Baby
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Baby Blue
Florence & The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
The Supremes - Baby Love
Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Richard X Re-Production)
The She Creatures - Space Madness
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
No Doubt - Ex-Girlfriend
Dirty Love - Baby You Suck
Atomic Blonde - Babydoll (censored)
Kittie - What I Always Wanted
The Noisettes - Don't Give Up
Lily Allen - Not Fair (Clean Radio Edit)
The Dead Weather - Hang You From The Heavens
Heart - Barracuda
Heather Nova - I Have the Touch

New Music New Talent
I M Munroe - Fool
Whiskey Blu - Colour me Blu
Inner Voices - Survelliance State
Orphus - Facts Of Life
The Soviets - Naughty Girl
A Brokeheart Pro - Dark Red And Loud
Diarmaid O Meara - Murdering Disco (Radio Edit)
Leah DeVon - Waiting For You
Ed Winslet - Just the Same
Lana - Ruthless
Obsessive Compulsive - Perfect Wreck
Emerald - Overkill
Half Gone - Energy

Halloween gigs and playlists!

I love Halloween so this year I went to two gigs (not on same day) and both my shows were Halloween themed this weekend!
Let's start with Thursday night.

Thursday I was at Chinnerys with Rxkitten for a Southend Fringe fundraiser/Halloween Party. Rxkitten was dressed as David Bowie from Labyrinth and I was a zombie prom queen!

When we got there, we had already missed most of Greenleaf 56's set which was a shame as I play them quite often on my show. What we heard sounded really good though!

Next up was a band called Surfquake. I knew what to expect already as I had heard one track. They are a mostly instrumental surf band! It was certainly unusual to have this sort of music at a Halloween gig and they are very unique. They played an awesome version of The Munsters theme tune. We did find the set a bit samey though.

The third band was my new discovery of the night- The Fighting Cocks. I was finding them hard to catergorise but I think how they describe themselves is pretty accurate- a gyspy hardcore band. There was 5 of them, 4 girls and 1 boy. They dance a lot and they have a backing track. Rxkitten described them as a "ska Aqua"! They were really unique, I've never heard anything like them before. oh, and the girls were dressed really cool in red and black!

Finally, was Trash Monroe who looked amazing, Mel their singer as Carrie, Ken as Ziggy Stardust. They also sounded great as always, sadly we couldn't stay for all their set as we both had work the following day! If you haven't heard them before, you should really check them out. Especially if you like female fronted hard rock.

right moving on to Friday's New Music New Talent playlist..
4ft Pimp - Black Death
Zen Motel - CURSE OF THE GIRLFIEND
Sleepercurve - Robots
Devilish Presley - Halloween Queen
Leika - Silly Cow
Symptom - Roses Are Black
Dopegirl - Freaks
Thunderbird 13 - House of Sin
Weird Old America - Devil In A Dream
The Domes of Silence - Twilight
Dr. Slaggleberry - Gone Devil
The Kiara Elles - Supergroupie
Dirty Money - The Killer
A Brokeheart Pro - Keep This Devil Down
The Ropes - Kill Her Off


For the actual day of Halloween we decided (Mike Fisher and myself) to go to The Railway as Rounds were playing. This time I was Carrie (so much more blood)! and Mike was a zombie or a vampire I'm not sure which!
It was meant to be a sixties Halloween ball with ska and freakbeat music, so certainly not a traditional Halloween Party.
Rounds were great as they always are, and they even did an interesting version of Thriller, but I was quite disappointed as they only played a 20 minute set and it was £5 to get in. The music playing after them wasn't really our scene so we didn't stay much longer.

Finally, my playlist from today:
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Blondie - Rip Her To Shreds
Feist - My Moon My Man
Soho Dolls - my vampire
Ladytron - Ghosts
Heart - Magic Man
L7 - Monster
The Distillers - Coral Fang
Juliette & The Licks - Killer
PJ Harvey - Down By The Water
The Cranberries - Zombie
Portishead - Glory Box
Heather Nova - Blood Of Me
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
HorrorPops - Walk Like A Zombie
The Creepshow - Creatures Of The Night
Devilish Presley - Hammer Horror Glamour
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
Babes In Toyland - Blood
Daisy Chainsaw - Dog With Sharper Teeth
Scarling. - Baby Dracula
Metric - Monster Hospital
Garbage - Wicked Ways
No Doubt - Hella Good
Suzanne Vega - Blood Makes Noise
Ladyhawke - Magic
Tegan & Sara - Walking With A Ghost
The Patti Smith Group - Ghost Dance
Ann Wilson - Bad Moon Rising

Music in Gaming

While doing research for Pigtails and Army Boots yesterday, I came across this game
Brutal Legend. A game that stars Jack Black as a roadie who is an expert on heavy metal music. he has a collapse and somehow ends up in a world where all the heavy metal album covers come to life. As if that didn't sound good enough- Lita Ford, Lemmy from Motorhead and Rob Halford also appear in the game! Mike and I have been talking about getting an XBox, and I think this might have just swung it!

Anyway, it got me thinking about the role of music in gaming. It's much more than it ever used to be, when it once wa sonly really music/dj software on p.c's mainly, it's now branched into a serious moneyspinner for companies like Activision.

I think it all began with the "Dancemat" phenomenon. It started off in the arcades, you could go on a machine and dance in time by following the arrows on the screen. It got so popular that they made console games of it, so everyone could enjoy dancemats in their living rooms.

Then of course, we have the karaoke games such as "Singstar" and "Lips". A step forward from a karaoke machine, (for a start it's the proper track that plays normally and not some plinky plonky cover!) you can plug in your microphone and the screen will tell you if you're hitting those notes! (at least on singstar, I've never played Lips)

Finally, probably the biggest success of music in gaming is the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchises. Games where you could at least pretend to be able to play an instrument and be a rock god/dess. Some musical people claim that it's a bad thing, and puts people off wanting to play a real guitar, but personally I disagree. For one, any intelligent person knows that they way you play these fake instuments is not in anyway alike to how you would play the real thing. For another, I think it more likely encourages people to want to learn to play the real thing. And also for someone that is more into games than music, this might be a gateway to becoming a fan of rock music! Unsigned bands have been featured in these type of games meaning a massive exposure which can only be a positive thing!

Gaming and music have not always sat in harmony side by side, but now I think they are merging more and more, especially with this new game Brutal Legend featuring metal music in such a big way.

Personally I love Singstar and Guitar Hero, I'm not a huge gamer but I play on these, and find them great for socialising as well!
So music and gaming? A big thumbs up from me!

Offset Festival

On Friday night, Mike and I dug out our tent and blew the dust off as it hadn't been used since Reading 2004.

This year we went along to the young, new (it was the second year) Offset Festival which takes place in Hainult Forest in Essex, about a 45 minute drive away from where we live. Also, a much cheaper festival at only £45 for a weekend camping ticket, it seemed worthwhile despite not knowing that many bands, although The Slits being there was also a big deal for me!

Anyway we set off about 10am on Saturday, and arrived at the site about 11, the first thing we did was go to the campsite that didn't seem very big (but got expanded through the day) and set up our tents. Then it was time to crack open the beers and the rum!

We went into the arena area in the early afternoon, we were quite suprised about the security, they frisked you everytime you went in! We weren't allowed to take any alcohol in with us.

The first thing we did was buy some food, luckily for us and RxKitten, there was plenty of vegan food available. It was still pricey (as is all festival food) but didn't seem so bad when we realised the portions were massive! The first thing we had was from the Leon Lewis veggie stall, I had a very tasty chickpea curry.

We went by the main stage and the first band we watched was the female fronted An Experiment on A Bird in the Air Pump, which actually set the tone for the day, as you will read, most of the bands I saw on Saturday were female fronted!

We hung around after them to see KASMS who were amazing. I would defintley recommend them for fans of riot grrrl. The singer was also completely mental, throwing herself around the stage and trying to climb up the poles.

We all went for a bit of a look around, then when trying to find Rxkittens boyfriend we went into the Guitar hero stage where we saw a band called Berlin brides who were awesome. They were from Athens and we even got given a demo after, so expect to hear them on MTJR!

After them, Mike and I stayed at the Guitar Hero: New Bands stage to see The Duloks, the name rang a bell, I was certain I had them on MySpace friends list (I was right)! Really glad we did, as they were also awesome. All female nutters that wear gym outfits (apparently they first performed at a fancy dress party and the costumes stuck ever since). They were very punky, fun, a bit like Le Tigre, and also hilarious. They interacted with the audience loads, and joked about the Offset crew people (that they all looked like they were from a TopShop advert- which they did) amongst other things. They also did a funny song called Bad Vegetarian.

We went back to the tents for more drinks and to have a bit of a break, before going to see Bombay Bicycle Club on the main stage, the first band of the day not to be female fronted! I quite enjoyed them too.

After that was The Futureheads, we didn't see the whole set as we had something to eat (veggie chili and refried bean wraps- messy but good)! and popped our head in the Hardcore tent I wasn't too entralled by that, so we went and watched the rest of The Futureheads just around the side of the stage, where we could see Rxkitten's boyfriend Dave and our friend Paul had somehow sneaked themselves backstage and into the press pit! We even witnessed Dave dancing to them, despite being known as "Heavy Metal Dave"... The Futureheads finished with their cover of Hounds of Love and it was pretty brilliant actually.

Then we stayed right at the front ready for The Slits, inbetween the djs on the mainstage were playing awesome music like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Elastica, so we had a bit of a boogie! Then we saw Dave and Paul get kicked out from backstage- oops! So they came and joined us to watch The Slits.

The Slits were of course, my favourite band of the whole weekend, they sounded awesome, and were so funny! Girls we have make our "poon poon" happy! lol. At one point they invited two girls up to the stage but a whole load actually joined them, people were climbing over the barrier to join, I was really tempted but the barrier was quite high and I was drunk so it wasn't going to happen. Soon the security kicked them all out. It was great to watch! I can't wait for their new album.

Sunday we didn't see as many bands, and was much more chilled out. We went and had another look around the stalls, there was a vintage clothing stall where Rxkitten bought a few things and I got a dress for £10 that I'm going to wear for the Amanda Palmer gig I'm going to next weekend, as well as some earrings!

Band wise, the first one we saw were Shrag, who were male and female fronted and were quite good.

We went to the Hardcore stage to see Kong, who were bloody scary with their weird facepaint and masks, and weren't really Mike and I's thing at all, so we had a wander and ended up seeing a band called brontosaurus chorus on the new bands stage who had all sorts of instruments including violins and sounded a bit ska- ish as well.

Then we went to another stage to see someone called No Bra, who really doesn't wear a bra (in fact no top on at all), she was meant to sound a bit like Peaches but she sounded awful so we all ended up leaving, as did quite a few others sitting in that tent.

Later on in the day we visited the hardcore tent again for Rolo Tomassi, the tent was getting packed so Mike and I stayed just on the edge. Was so suprised that the female singer is so small, as she has a proper heavy metal voice! It wasn't our thing either though so went away AGAIN and this time had a look in each tent and ended up by the main stage where we caught the end of Clinic, who sounded a bit like Placebo, was a bit disappointing that we missed most of their set.

The final band we actually watched were the Horrors, we watched about half of it, but personally I can't get into them, so ended up going back to the tent. Although I am told they had a lot of sound problems and threw a hissy fit, so wasn't their finest hour in any case.

To sum up, I thought it was a great festival even though I didn't enjoy as many bands on Sunday, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than reading, there was no fires allowed so there was no trouble whatsoever in the campsite. I'm defintley planning to go again next year.
Tip though, bring a lot of cash, as there was no cashpoint on site (despite it saying so on the website) it was quite a way off the site to get to one,. Toilets a lot cleaner than other festivals, food good, and vegan food easily available. Oh and security most of the time was pretty high, I got frisked almost every time I went into the arena, so you won't sneak alcohol in that easily!

Pigtails and Army Boots competition!

If you didn't tune into the show tonight, you would have missed not only a great show, but you wouldn't know that there is no Pigtails and Army Boots next Sunday or New Music on Friday, due to me getting married to the lovely Mike Fisher!
Anyway, I've got a little competition for you. Our "First Dance" song is top secret, only the dj knows (and he can't enter)! so you have to guess which song it is, out of some songs I played on the show tonight. If you're the winner you'll get a Pigtails and Army Boots cd made just for you! If you're someone at the wedding, you'll find out on the day obviously, if not it will be the week after on Pigtails and Army Boots!
here are the options, so take your guess!

Joan Jett- Crimson and Clover
Garbage- You Look So Fine
Alisha's Attic- Air We Breathe
Guano Apes- Pretty in Scarlet
Cyndi Lauper- True Colours
Heather Nova- London Rain
Heart- Crazy on You
Goldfrapp- Number 1
Air- All I Need
Scarlet- Independent Love Song

The Golden Lion and The Lions Den, and also Rxkitten with Plan B!

Firstly, since I haven't had the chance to mention it yet, my friend Ruth AKA RxKitten has now officially started on MTJR! Her show is Plan B and is filled with art rock, indie and other such delights. It's on straight after Pigtails and Army Boots on sunday, at 7pm (but you knew that already right)? So make sure that you stay tuned in for her show! it rocks! :)

I also haven't mentioned the a previous manager of Evolution (where we were originally going to have MTJR Live and Unleashed, then it unexpectedly closed down 3 days before) has now re-opened The Golden Lion pub, down Victoria Ave in Southend, right near the football ground. He owns it himself so at least we will always know where we stand now! Anyway, The first MTJR Live and Unleashed night is taking place there on the 31st July and will be every last friday of the month afterwards. I've also been asked to book bands for every Friday!

On Saturday, they had the launch of The Lions den, which is their function room and will be used for clubs, gigs, private parties etc etc. They asked MTJR to provide the entertainment and they would be doing a BBQ to raise money for The Starlight Foundation. Myself, Mike Fisher, Chris Munday (and his family) and Rxkitten all took part on the day.

Myself, Mike and Chris were there from the start at 2pm. It was a lovely warm day and there were lots of people there the whole time. Mike and Chris both did great sets for the 2-6pm shift. I popped home for a bit with Mike to have some dinner (no vegan food :( ) then I returned and took over from Chris. he had to leave after a bit, so was on my own for a little while, then some of my friends turned up, followed by RxKitten- hooray!

I let RxKitten take a turn on the decks- then it was me again, and I was influxed with classic rock requests! I could do some, but had only brought a small selection of cds with me as I was anticpating doing less sets lol. The the last 2 hours RxKitten and I split between us.

It was an excellent day and night, the bbq raised £124!! We met lots of new people (including a fellow dj who was interested in having us at his night sometime)! and had far too much cider, I was a bit ill when I got in..oops. But anyway, great day!

I played absolutely loads of stuff- my first set was "Pigtails and Army Boots" themed, and the 2nd one was mainly requests lol. The pigtails stuff included-
Le Tigre- I'm So Excited (it's my signature dj set tune now)
Bikini Kill- Rebel Girl
Amanda Palmer- Leeds United
La Roux- In For The Kill
L7- Wargasm
Garbage- temptations waits
Goldfrapp- ooh la la
Santogold- Say Aha
Noisettes- Don't Upset The Rhythm
and soo much more!
Thank you once again to everyone that came. Remember to become a fan of The Golden Lion on facebook and add them on myspace www.myspace.com/goldenlionpubsouthend
and get down there, it's going to be a fab new venue here. They are going to be having karaoke on Wednesdays, free jukebox (it's a great jukebox too- it's the most alternative one I've ever seen) and pool on Thursdays, and of course bands and club nights.

Myself and Mike Fisher will be there this Friday, bringing you 80's! see you there!!