stag & dagger ‘09. leeds. 20.05.

stag & dagger, the one-ticket-gives-access-to-all music event, launched across london’s east end in may last year. it proved a bit of a success and is back, a year on, bigger and better and with leeds in its sight.

it’s been a bit of a busy month for leeds. the first bank holiday weekend saw live at leeds, in its third year, make everyone go a bit loopy. fun-loopy, but loopy nonetheless. i’m not so sure how many people knew quite what hit them. and, now, another one of those one-day festival things is here to take over. you ready?

in only its second year, stag & dagger has grown out of its trendy east london roots deciding to set up camp up north to include both leeds and glasgow on its second trip. and i’m glad it has. glad it’s coming to leeds at least. i can’t think why it being in glasgow would affect my levels of gladness either way, really. but anyway..

the lineup’s great. perhaps a little less (for lack of a better word) obvious than live at leeds, you get to see bands in leeds you might not have otherwise.

i love it. and i love the fact i don’t know all of the bands on it. i’ve had to google a lot of them. and glad i am, too. i’ve found a new favouritebandintheworldever about four times over and and i can’t wait to catch ‘em all. (there’s definitely room for an ash joke/pun here.. pokemon.. bad sneakers.. anyone? k.)

unlike live at leeds things don’t kick off until the late afternoon, sometime around 6pm, but the party goes on all night.

i thought i’d pick a few of the bands i’ll be trying to see. some clash and it won’t be easy choosing, but the list goes from early-to-late so i hope you get an idea as to what’s going on.

oh.. keep reading, we’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away..

knowing where to start, as always, is proving to be anything but easy. wintersleep at tj’s woodhouse club at 6.30pm, maybe?

i’ve got a bit of a softspot for canadian bands (yes, a bit like my thing for scottish bands, if you’re a regular reader). they released their oblivion ep late april and, whilst it might not be anything new to anyone who’s known the band for a while (with all three songs on their ‘07 album), it’s new to me.

i can’t wait to see them. and i’m especially looking forward to not hearing the wombats once they’ve finished. itunes and its alphabetical categorising isn’t stiching me up here.

wintersleep at tj’s woodhouse club. 6.30pm.

the lovely lady who has me torn between starting in hyde park or woodhouse is one miss beth jeans houghton.

first on at the brudenell, the geordie girl’s got a beautiful voice and happens to be a bit fit, too. just a little bit. i’m not saying i want to marry her or anything like that, innit.

at 19, beth jeans houghton’s been around for a while longer than you might think. she’s played with people like bon iver (<3), fionn regan and jeffrey lewis, and recorded her single ‘golden’, which was out in march, with adem. she played to 8,000 at last year’s green man and plays at one of my favourite places in the world on friday.

beth jeans houghton at the brudenell. 6.15pm.

two leeds shows in two days for the manhattan love suicides.

supporting the pains of being pure at heart at the cockpit on thursday, the manhattan love suicides kick things off at the library this friday.

i’ve been waiting to see the pains for months and, when i found out who was supporting them, i was happy. i like these guys a lot. i’m excited.

the manhattan love suicides at the library. 7pm.

and a band i’ve found to be a bit elusive are player piano. but that’s what i’m loving about stag & dagger. complaining, i’m not.

player piano, fronted by jeremy radway who takes up lead guitar and vocal duties, sound like bowie meets the beatles. they’re good. they make good rock music, sometimes soft and sometimes hard. have a listen.

player piano at the brudenell. 7.00pm.

california band, abe vigoda, aren’t as gangster as their name might imply.

even if they look a bit tough in the polaroid. the LA-based band, named after the old man who played sal in the godfather (apparently. i’ve never seen it.), are sooo cali. originally chino, the band has the sun, sea and surf written all over them. they’re totally tropical. a bit like lilt.

abe vigoda at tj’s woodhouse club. 7.30pm.

a bunch of guys who like curls called girls? i think so.

another band from california, and another band whose lack of information i’ve found both annoying and intriguing.

there’s not much about them on myspace, ‘cept that an album should be out soon. they said that in february, anyway. fuck it, let the music talk. something they certainly do. i love it.

girls at the library. 7.50pm.

scotsman johnny lynch, better known as the pictish trail perhaps, plays before a good friend at the brudenell.

johnny runs a “wee DIY record label” with an old friend of his called kenny anderson. the label is called fence records and you might find you know kenny yourself. king creosote, or something like that.

having just been out at SXSW playing alongside bands like slow club and the mae shi, johnny’s friendship with king creosote hasn’t much bearing on what each of them will bring to a live show. they’re different. the pictish trail is fun folk music, experimental and hard to dislike. i’ll tell you more about king creosote below..

the pictish trail at the brudenell. 7.50pm.

if you missed everything everything at the faversham in march..

..it’s because they pulled out. something like that, i don’t remember exactly what.

but they’re back in leeds and, perhaps fittingly, at the faversham. the opening act at a venue that will still be going for hours after everywhere else has shut up shop, the band release they’re new single ‘photoshop handsome’ on monday 25th.

everything everything at the faversham. 8.30pm.

i don’t just like crystal antlers because they’ve got a song named after me.

it’s actually my least favourite out the lot. ‘owl’. wasted a good title. someone call the rspca.

this long beach gang is loud. even when they’re quiet they’re loud. it’s what i’m loving about stag & dagger: good, not-to-be-fucked-with rock music.

crystal antlers at tj’s woodhouse club. 8.30pm.

already introduced, king creosote plays at the brudenell after his pal the pictish trail.

it was surprisingly hard to find a picture of man with, supposedly, between 20-40 albums. kenny anderson, known as king creosote, is a scottish label owner and all round legend. he’s like the loch ness monster. only not a monster. and not from loch ness. but from fife. but a legend he certainly is.

his latest album, flick the vs, came out in april and kenny’s currently touring promoting that. it’s such a lovely listen and, if you don’t catch him at the brudenell this time round, try and catch him in york next month. i probably will, thanks to the man i’m telling you about next..

king creosote at the brudenell. 8.40pm.

completely capitivating, miles benjamin anthony robinson isn’t to be missed.

originally from oregon, miles benjamin anthony robinson’s journey through his 24 years so far has seen him find himself in new york after years of finding himself through music, with all the trials and tribulations that come with the solitary singer-songwriter’s struggle. tales of living hard on hard-drugs and a mythically morbid recollection of life as it was come together in the most beautiful of ways, with miles’s emotionally eponymous uk debut really making you rethink your collection.

bit of a mouthful, that. miles benjamin anthony robinson is the one act on the lineup i know i won’t be missing.

miles benjamin anthony robinson at the packhorse. 9pm.

if you missed delphic at the cockpit a week ago, catch them live at the faversham on friday.

these guys are awesome. i’d love to see them and they start just after miles finishes. i wonder if i can get myself in the right state of mind to go from him to them.

they’re only going to get bigger and catching them at smaller venues, like the fav, is special. and it’s a venue they’ll fit at perfectly.

delphic at the faversham. 9.30pm.

my favourite texas trio, white denim, come to woodhouse!

i love these guys. ‘don’t look that way at it’ is one of the best starts to an album, ever! yes, i’m a bit excited. but it’s just after 6.30am and i’ve been up all night, so my emotions are a bit everywhere. but i LOVE ‘EM. like fishsticks in my mouth.

they’ve not got many dates on their current tour and their new album fits comes out on june 22nd. showcasing both new material and songs off ’08s workout holiday, i think i can add white denim to the list of bands i will not/cannot miss.

white denim at tj’s woodhouse club. 9.30pm.

shoegazey new york threesome the vivian girls are a cool bunch.

i don’t particularly like girl bands. i think i hate them. (i’m just not sure, ‘hate’ is a bit of a strong word.) but i love the vivian girls. and i love their music. shoegazey punk with a fuck you attitude. i want to be a vivian girl. i mean i want to be with a vivian girl. fuck it, either or.

vivian girls at the library. 9.50pm.

dananananananananananananananananananananananananaykroyd.

great band, slightly silly name. releasing their debut album hey everyone in april, the glasgow indie-punk 6-piece have started to built quite a name for themselves. i mean that both literally and figuratively, and every way in between.

originally scheduled to play at the library the band’s popularity’s seen them moved to the brudenell. good stuff.

dananananaykroyd at the brudenell. 9.50pm.

yet another scottish band, the twilight sad, aren’t as sombre as their name sounds.

having toured the use with mogwai in april the band is back in the uk, and, like their friends my latest novel, they’ve got a big orchestral sound and leeds is in for a treat.

the twilight sad at the brudenell. 10.50pm.

tubelord return to leeds. recognise the t-shirt?!

tubelord at the packhorse. 11pm.

headlining tj’s woodhouse club are cold war kids.

cold war kids at tj’s woodhouse club. 11.40pm.

so there are my picks. it’s a shame some of the bands i want to see will clash with one another, but that’s the nature of these events isn’t it. here’s a list of all the bands and times and their respective venues..

tj’s woodhouse club - doors at 5pm

6.30-7.00pm wintersleep
7.30-8.30pm abe vigoda
8.30-9.00pm crystal antlers
9.30-10.00pm white denim
10.30-11.00pm the mae shi
11.40-12.40am cold war kids

the library - doors at 6pm

7.00-7.30pm the manhattan love suicides
7.50-8.20pm girls
8.50-9.20pm dag for dag
9.50-10.20pm vivian girls
10.50-11.20pm telepathe
11.50-12.30am micachu & the shapes

the packhorse - doors at 6pm

8.00-9.00pm male bonding
9.00-10.00pm miles benjamin anthony robinson
10.00-11.00pm phantom band
11.00-12.00am tubelord

the brudenell - doors at 6pm

6.15-6.45pm beth jeans houghton
7.00-7.30pm player piano
7.50-8.20pm pictish trail
8.40-9.10pm king creosote
9.50-10.20pm dananananaykroyd
10.50-11.20pm the twilight sad
11.50-12.50am cursive

the faversham - doors at 8pm (close at 4am)

main room

8.30-9.00pm everything everything (live)
9.00-9.30pm youth attack
9.30-10.00pm delphic (live)
10.00-10.30pm heads up
10.30-11.00pm casio kids (live)
11.00-00.00am skull juice
00.00-01.00am casper c
01.00-02.00am tomb crew
02.00-close mumdance

conservatory

10.00-10.45pm raised by wolves
10.45-11.30pm jeuce djs
11.30-00.00am the 39 steps
00.00-01.00am tom grainger (bad robot)
01.00-02.00am haus djs

bass room

8.00pm-close hosted by new bohemia feat. kid kanevil and gilla

i’m looking forward to it. i’m waiting to hear back from a few guys and their guitars, but keep an eye out.. might have some sessions coming up with some of the guys playing stag & dagger.

tickets are still available to buy from seetickets.com priced £16.50, or in town at jumbo or crash.

remember, you need to exchange your ticket for a wristband at the faversham on friday 22nd between 12pm-6pm.

and if you’ve got this far you’re probably wondering how you can win yourself a pair of tickets. simple really, finish the sentence..

“this sentence would be sooo much better with a little bit of…”

leave your entry as a comment to this post, below, and make sure to leave a real email address. the winner will be picked at random and contacted by thursday morning. alternatively, tune in to LSRfm.com tonight (wednesday 20th) between 10-11pm. it’s my radio show and i’ll be giving out a second pair live on air.

i’ll see you friday. ’til then.. x

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