The George Lite Zone

Before PXR5 there was XL5. Now now, Venus, none of your feminine intution. Let's stick to the facts.

No not the muscles from Brussels finest hour, this is a track from a band I saw in Brussels just over a week ago, Official Secrets Act . This little ditty has had more airplay on my Macbook than any other since then. Nice work lads.

After last weeks glories of Brit Pop featuring Official Secrets Act and Brakes , it was the turn of Uncle Sam and Canada's finest to close out the festival de Nuit. First on Botanique's Orangerie stage was a young girl from Brooklyn called Sharon Van Etten . Sharon has a voice of aching purity that is reminiscent of early Judie Tzuke, which is no bad thing. Singing songs from her soon to be released debut album, Because I Was in Love , she held the Brussels crowd captivated. Just a girl, a guitar and a voice to make the angels weep. On this performance and on listening to her album I'd say she's destined to go far in the music industry. I wish her well. I've only one thing to say about the second act, holy crap! The sonic attack that the Akron/Family hit us with was a total assault and battery of the senses. Waves of feedback, Gongesque chanting, free flowing Grateful Dead style jamming, these guys have it all and then some. Akron/Family are impossible to classif...

The tea room over the road from The Greenwich makes what is probably the best Lemon Meringue pie I've ever eaten. In Belgium the meringue is soft and sweet and perfectly counterbalances the tartness of the lemon. Add to that some superb teas, friendly service and a resident dog and you can't go wrong.

Grantham's greatest living artist, in yours truly's humble opinion, survey's the new web enabled juke box in the Blue Pig. Back in the day young Tim used to paint designs on the backs of cut-offs for the towns hard rocking population. So if anyone out there in webland fancies a nice snaggletooth logo on their denim, I'll be happy to pass on the order. Personally I'd go with the Overkill cover, always a classic! The years rolled by and a progression of psychedelic imagery flowed from young Timmy's brushes, earwigs, cichlids and the odd landscape to please the mainstream and bring in the beer money. When I get a chance I'll post some choice examples for your delectation. Lovely stuff.

Bitterzoet is one of the best clubs in Amsterdam to watch hip indie bands. A place where trendy isn't just a trend, the clientele are knowledgeable and the atmosphere is as cool as the beer. Brakes delivered once again delivered a superb set. This band really are as tight as a Kangeroo's kyber. Jackson, All Night Disco Party, Porcupine Or Pineapple, Spring Chicken... the songs rained down as the mood of those assembled soared. In these days of economic armageddon and the four horseman on the move it's great to find a band that don't take themselves too seriously and put a smile back on the face of popular music. An after gig drink with the band culminated in an extended dancing session in a Blues club near Leidersplein. An all night disco party indeed! Go out and buy their albums, you won't regret it.

This vehicle adds a whole new meaning to the expression Drink Driving. A pedal powered bar!! I hope these girls had a designated driver at the wheel.

After the esoteric delights of Official Secrets Act , Brakes came on like a shot of adrenalin to the heart, power chords a ringing and telling lyrics a singing. Fan-bloody-tastic!!! Seamlessly blending elements of punk, country and rock together their performance had humor and dancibility in abundance. Eamon Hamilton's vocals at times were reminiscent of Michael Stipe's but flew the full spectrum from rawness to sweetness. Prior to Brakes, Eamon played keyboards with British Sea Power for 3 years, while guitarist Thomas White and his brother Alex (drums) were the nucleus of another Brighton based band The Electric Soft Parade . Mark Beatty was persuaded to play bass when the trio descended on his rehersal/recording rooms Mockin'bird Studios in Brighton. I think the events organisers must have confused Brakes with US band The Brakes as the programme had them down as a US band. After this performance from Brighton's finest you may as well confuse a Porupine with a Pinea...

It's not often I go to a gig on spec and end up seeing a great band. A last minute decision to descend on Botanique for Les Nuits festival resulted in an even rarer event, the discovery of two great bands I'd not heard before. The festival was spread across 4 sound stages with a new band playing on each every hour between 8:00 and 12:00. Cool. With so many acts to choose from I had a quick scan of the merchandise tables before taking my pick. In so doing I spotted two CD's with some decent reviews. Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity - "Excellent", "hugely energetic, needle sharp" NME; "ThunderouslyExciting" The Guardian and "This Band are ready." Zane Lowe. Breaks - Give Blood - "It's original, it's quirky and it rocks" The Sunday Telegraph; "Lunacy has seldom sounded more exhilerating" Q; "Pretty Much Perfect " Time Out; Full of fraught frivolous fun." NME 8/10; The melodic me...

Quote of the day from Calvin, writing down a list of ingredients for 2 weekend recipes. "There are probably enough spelling mistakes in there to feed a family."