Sad news reaches Purple Amp Towers – the Basement Bar is to close this month. Over to Basement supremo Aimee:

“It is with a heavy hearts filled to bursting with 12 whole months of fun that we must announce that The Basement will soon be shutting its doors for good. Sad faces all round, we know.

‘The Man’ has loved having us rent his unused, unwanted basement for ramshackle, packed out, rowdy, rowdy funtimes so much that when it came to renewing our lease he has more than tripled the yearly rent, to which we cannot rise. (Maybe they can turn it into another Subway?)”

This quite frankly sucks, but also fills me with a slight guilt of not having been down there in quite some time. The Basement was not only an Oxjam venue last year, it also served as the HQ for the day and Aimee and co were incredibly hospitable hosts all the way through – especially with the Sambucas. HONK!

Still, there’s plenty more chances to enjoy the place for the next week or so with what’s basically a party-a-night philosophy. Well, if you’re gonna out, go out in style!

Check out their Facebook group for the full line-up.

I’m a fan of festivals but have never been to Glastonbury.

There’s no real reason why, I’ve just never fancied it, perhaps it’s the scale of the the thing that puts me off. But why should that bother me? I know I’d spend all of my time on my own in the forests and such like seeing weird global orchestras with vuvzelas and finding my creative side – I’d probably come back master of some quirky South American craft.

Okay, the real reason is I’ve not been able to afford it!

Anyway my good mate Andy went this year for the first time and has written a spanking good review, which you can read here. I suggest you do. NOW!

On my list for next year was to be the EXIT Festival in Serbia, for the novelty of going to a festival abroad, but perhaps I should join the Glasto ticket scrum instead. After all, if it’s good enough for Doctor Who…

Thanks to the heads-up from Created in Birmingham, I see the website for the new HMV Institute is now live. Well I say new, it is of course the old Sanctuary, refurbished by the Mean Fiddler Group and returned to its original name of the Institute.

A few years ago its cavernous rooms were home to the awesome Saturday club night PANIC! and its basement was home to the Barfly, where I DJd for a while. The Institute holds good memories for me, so I hope it’s latest reincarnation as a full-time gig venue pays off. It’s a welcome development to add to the diversity of Digbeth’s live music scene and a more than welcome challenger to the Academy monopoly on mid-size gigs.

There’s some cracking gigs on the way with The Drums, The Psychedelic Furs, Kate Nash and Sandi Thom all pencilled in. But perhaps most intriguing is the reunion of space-rock legends Gong on 20th September.

So join me as we jump in the flying teapot and zoom off to the Planet Gong!

Right, back to Birmingham!

Plans for Oxjam Brum 2010 are well underway and the preview events have begun. Yesterday I stopped by the one and only Urban Coffee Company for an evening of music and arts, supported by Oxjam Brum, INKwell Print, GotSeeN and Mostly Jazz Festival.

Live acoustic sets in a coffee shop can work really well and Urban Coffee is an ideal location. Couple that with the perfect start time, 5pm on a Friday, and you have the ingredients for a great evening.

Unfortunately it was way too hot inside, even with Urban Coffee’s fabulous new coffee ice-cream, chilled Pimms and Cofftails on offer! There was also limited seating upstairs, so I only stuck around long enough to hear Alex Moir.

You don’t expect such powerful gravelly tones from one so young and the songwriting shows real potential too. It’s definitely worth your time checking out his MySpace.

Despite having to leave, it wasn’t the end of the evening for me. The Oxjam team covered the event online with live streaming, regular tweets and photos hitting the interwebs all evening. So the remaining acts Eliza Little, Marlem and Tom Peel weren’t complete strangers to me! Good job, folks.

I hope this is something both Oxjam and Urban Coffee look to continue, but perhaps ordering slightly cooler weather next time?

Can it be true? Is California really the new home of the football song? Hot on the heels of Purple Amp’s favourite footie anthem of 2010, Eux Autres’ lo-fi wonder World Cup Fever, comes this little ditty from Weezer – REPRESENT!

Now I’ll level with you, I have a soft spot for the US team. I’d go as far as to say they’re my second team after the obvious, something i can only admit now both sides are safely though group C. And as Weezer are one of my favourite bands, there’s an obvious interest here.

Represent is typical Weezer fare and wouldn’t be out of place on Raditude. It’s simplicity – you do wonder if Rivers penned it on the back of a fag packet over a beer – is key to the song’s appeal. But the promising start is let down by the climax of the chorus. Although the lyrics read “But thats just one more reason to see that it matters whether you win or lose”, because of the way the chorus is constructed all you really hear is “whether you win or lose” – hardly the inspiring stuff of champions.

One question the song fails to answer – and places it in the same category as so many England football songs of the past – is what do you do with a football song video? The Represent video is an uncomfortable mix of clips of the US team taking on the giants of world football (like, err, Costa Rica and Turkey) and Rivers Cuomo in typical charity record “doing-my-bit-hand-on-headphones” pose.

Check it out for yourself…

I’ve long been fascinated by Kele Okereke and his attempts to drag Bloc Party kicking and screaming into the world of electronica. If he’d been allowed to make it, it’s clear this would have been their next album. Although firmly in the electronic camp, The Boxer shows similar progression from Intimacy as that did from A Weekend In The City.

It’s all a far cry from the choppy guitars of Banquet and Helicopter, but the success of Bloc Party has allowed him to make this step – and while far from polished – it does enough to suggest the Bloc Party hiatus could become permanent.

“Walk Tall” is an unusual marker to set down, a laddish electronic stomper over a warped bassline that leaves you concerned, yet intrigued, about what is to come. “On The Lam” feels very Broad Street and is destined for the remix tapes, before big single “Tenderoni” makes an appearance. I’m not sure how to describe Tenderoni, other than, well, I just don’t like it. Being transported back to 2006 with a hook remiscent of Bodyrox and Luciana’s “Yeah Yeah” doesn’t help matters, but leaving that to one side the track never betters average.

You do wonder where the album is going as “The Other Side” and “Everything You Wanted” both seem like old Bloc Party songs with extra beats and bleeps thrown over the top. In some ways that sums up The Boxer – electronic ballads with definite potential, yet unable to shake off the ghosts of the past. This feeling fades towards the end, notably on “Rise”, but there’s an overwhelming feeling that this could have been so much better.

The question mark for me is over who will listen to and buy this record. Later fans of Bloc Party yes, but as an electronic album it’s not good enough to win new followers from that genre. Without his track record, this would get absolutely nowhere. Time will tell of course, and this record does show promise, but you sense Kele needs to swing the axe for good in order to make the album he’s craving.

Kele plays Glastonbury this weekend, followed by a UK tour calling at Birmingham’s O2 Academy 2 on 14th July.

Canadian intelli-pop rockers Stars return with their long-awaited fifth album The Five Ghosts.

An apt title, as opener “Dead Hearts” has a haunting melodic quality to it, mainly down to the interchanging vocals from front duo Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan. If that sounds like Stars take it easy on this disc, far from it. Yes the summer dreaminess and haunting melodies are evident throughout the album, but well balanced with up-tempo beats and synthesized emotions.

The sound of The Five Ghosts lies somewhere between Saint Etienne, Rilo Kiley, early Cranberries and Echobelly’s Great Things. Standout track is single “Fixed”, whose speedy melody catches you by surprise and grips tightly for three and a half minutes.

Considering their long break, it’s not a knockout return. Some might say overproduced. But it’s more than enough to keep the fans happy and might even win some new ones along the way.

If you fancy checking out Stars, they’re playing London’s Heaven on 1st September.

People often ask me why I love LA so much, when it’s seen by many as the fakest place on the planet. My answer is simple – try it for yourself! It doesn’t take much to scratch the plastic surface. Once you do and open your eyes, you discover an amazing gritty world of music, fashion and alternative lifestyle that hooks you in. I spent many an evening in grimy Hollywood bars watching some incredible bands, unheard of outside the LA circuit but more talented and innovative than what I had seen anywhere else.

As anyone who knows me will agree, I’m the polar opposite to a fashionista, but even I could appreciate the boutique stores and vintage wonderlands of Abbot Kinney Blvd and Melrose. And as for Venice Beach, I can’t imagine a more diverse and exciting mix of art, culture, people and FUN anywhere!

But the thing that really inspires me to return? BREAKFASTS! Whilst the British fry-up retains the crown, there’s no denying the Americans can rustle up some awesome breakfasts. Pancakes! Ommeletes! Sausages! Oatmeal! Coffee! Juice! MY MOUTH IS DROOLING, as yours will be when you check out the menu at Santa Monica’s Bread and Porridge!

To help inspiration for my return trip to California next year, I’ve been catching up with some of my favourite Los Angeles based radio stations.

First of all some crappy news. Due to a decision made by the bigwigs at CBS, you can no longer listen to KROQ online from outside the US. BOOOOO! This really sucks. KROQ is broadly similar to our very own Kerrang, but, well, more entertaining. Thankfully you can access The Kevin and Bean Archive from these shores, which is always a giggle.

Based in Santa Monica, California, KCRW is a great example of community supported radio, a thriving success amidst these consumerist times. And you can listen online from the UK – HURRAH!

Morning Becomes Eclectic is undoubtedly my favourite show. Although designed to ease Angelenos into their day, the globally influenced jazz and latin show is the perfect soundtrack to an early evening here in good ole Blighty.

KCRW also feature tons of live acts, including many smaller acts from the UK such as former Easyworld front man David Ford

So here’s two more videos for you as I say, roll on my return to LA 2011!

After tonight’s shambolic performance by England, I found myself desperately searching for some other form of entertainment. Quite why I don’t know, but I looked up the number 1 on the day I was born.

If I’d been a few weeks earlier or later, it would have been The Police, Queen featuring David Bowie, or Adam & The Ants. But screw those, I got WAY more cool points!!!