Video: Dananananaykroyd live in Amsterdam

So SPINearth has finally launched and the wait was well worth it. It looks great with a big screen that can go Theatre-sized should you desire. Joining cities and their music scenes from all over the world you can jump from Toronto to Bogota and over to Paris with Hercules & the Love Affair, Gogol Bordello and Emiliana Torrini. Of course you can always stop into Amsterdam and see what I've been up to - like seeing Glaswegian lunatics Dananananaykroyd. Get involved.

As ridicululululous as their name, Dananananaykroyd play indie punk with a stutter; quick, hyperactive and erratic. If it were a math rock test they'd have got a C- because it's not quite sharp and calculated enough. They take something from the genre for sure, but only about as much as you or I took from math class.
The Glaswegians have an angular inclination but their geometry doesn't always line up, so they move into straight up and down indie thrash with one singer also lending himself to be a second drummer in case it wasn't frenetic enough.
Through shouts, hollers and wails they careened about the stage with a lot of effeminate posturing as if to offset the balls in their music.
A young band, you could tell Dananananaykroyd, all six, were stoked to be playing to a full Heineken Music Hall, even if just in support.
Their sound holds a kinetic energy but probably not the cleanest, most efficient resource, with waste in feedback and shambolic riffage. Alas it's this chaos that makes them all the more fun. A complete surprise – definitely worth catching live.

Dananananaykroyd mySpace
Dananananaykroyd blog

Video: Kaiser Chiefs Rock Amsterdam

The SPIN Earth website has launched at long last and you should all go and check it out. It's a pretty slick operation, a must for all music-loving travelers or travel-loving musos alike. You can watch the best gigs from New York, Paris, London and Sydney but also dive into the music scene of Lagos, Singapore, Bogata, Adelaide and shitloads more. Also, if you are planning to travel, scope out who's playing in your destinations in the coming months with the gig guide. Nothing sucks more than getting to Berlin to find out Kraftwerk has sold out. Anyway, Monday night I hit up the Kaiser Chiefs show at Heineken Music Hall, here's my report.


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"We are the Kaiser Chiefs and we demand perfection," announced Ricky Wilson to the sold out Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.
A boisterous frontman, a 'raise the roof' sound, an electric light show, and simple lyrics the fans love to shout en masse all make for a fun gig.
And whether you loved them when they first came out and still love them today, or feel they've lost that initial punch that had them giving relief from moppy Britpop while predicting riots back in 2005, there's no denying the Kaiser Chiefs are meant for the stadium.
Sure enough the Leeds lads brought with them their infectious yell-a-longs and it's hard to deny them, even for the most subdued Dutchie or cool kid that thought the Kaisers were 'so 2005'.
Opening with "Spanish Metal" and "Everyday I love You Less and Less" with new songs "You Want History" and "Good Days Bad Days" rounding out the middle, it gave space for crowd favourites "Ruby" and "I Predict A Riot" to close the first part of the show – fans going suitably nuts, reminding us of the urgency and freshness that rode on this post punk, new wave revival four years ago.
The encore was reserved for the likes of Kaiser classics "Modern Way" and finale "Oh My God". What is a bit of a nothing song on record in my opinion turned into a rollicking blaspheme-fest live. As Ricky sang the crowd replied, to quote the song's own line, "coming back stronger than a powered-up Pac-Man". Amidst the climax, the back wall bleachers were finally on their feet having seemed reluctant the majority of the show, while on the floor the less-reserved flung near empty beer cups, the last drops of a good session tossed in celebration, piercing the light show. The Kaiser Chiefs' last show in Europe for this tour went out with a bang, leaving a smiling, sweaty crowd.

Kaiser Chiefs website
Kaiser Chiefs mySpace