#18//When American Strangers Lick Your Tattoos//Cat and Mutton//London

So i'm in the gents in the Cat and Mutton last night when a very hot American chick walks in (yes into the men's toilets, i think there was a queue for the ladies), we get chatting and she's defo flirting with me, that in itself was pretty fun but then she spies the small crucifix tattoo on the bottom of my neck, she gives me a very sexy look and says: "i kinda wanna lick that tattoo", my response? well of course i responded the only way any red blooded male could  "do it" i said. she grabbed me, pulled me in close... and licked my tattoo.

In tribute to this lovely lady here is a selection of my fave American tunes for you to enjoy, click on the links and you will be taken straight to these gems.

Crocodiles: i wanna kill: http://youtu.be/eU2JUJXWbXo

The Drums: days: http://youtu.be/ZuC1bCoH2TY

Howler: back of your neck: http://youtu.be/swg9X1LcXm8

Usher ft Diplo: climax: http://youtu.be/ul6NJwKrdVU

Girls: Lust for life: http://youtu.be/SuoTjYYqe4c

The Strokes: someday: http://youtu.be/528_jVHBk1Q

Das Racist: you oughta know: http://youtu.be/NzCukmO4fhg

Pixies: Debaser: http://youtu.be/YDw-hTuwcvA

Alien Ant Farm: movies: http://youtu.be/LJ2t4jfVTiU

#17//Palace Pancake Party Playlist//London//21st Feb

There never needs to be much of an excuse for us to have a bit of a party round ours and seeing as it's Shrove Tuesday we thought we'd have some friends back to the palace tonight for music, wine and  of course PANCAKES!
So below are the tunes that i'm gonna be rocking later while i'm flipping the shit out of some pancakes, enjoy!

Jenny and Johnny: Big Wave: http://youtu.be/GQAF5xLOliA

Friends: My Boo: http://youtu.be/-B7tRcSO7a4

Placebo: Nancy Boy: http://youtu.be/ThNfrNGdgxs

Blood Orange: Dinner: http://youtu.be/18ew9nwn1HY

David Bowie: Rebel Rebel: http://youtu.be/KtfpsLmmdVI

Azari & The III: Reckless With Your Love: http://youtu.be/aMEhf9iw55M

Weezer: Islands In The Sun: http://youtu.be/0C3zgYW_FAM

#16//Yayoi Kusama//Tate Modern//Bankside//London//9th Feb - 5th Jun

We can't resist getting all arty when we get a spare afternoon, this is one of the best exhibitions on at the moment so get yourself down to the Tate Modern and check it out.

The nine decades of Yayoi Kusama's life have taken her from rural Japan to the New York art scene to contemporary Tokyo, in a career in which she has continuously innovated and re-invented her style. Well-known for her repeating dot patterns, her art encompasses an astonishing variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance and immersive installation. It ranges from works on paper featuring intense semi-abstract imagery, to soft sculpture known as "Accumulations", to her "Infinity Net" paintings, made up of carefully repeated arcs of paint built up into large patterns. Since 1977 Kusama has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric institution, and much of her work has been marked with obsessiveness and a desire to escape from psychological trauma. In an attempt to share her experiences, she creates installations that immerse the viewer in her obsessively charged vision of endless dots and nets or infinitely mirrored space.

At the centre of the art world in the 1960s, she came into contact with artists including Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, Joseph Cornell and Claes Oldenburg, influencing many along the way. She has traded on her identity as an "outsider" in many contexts - as a female artist in a male-dominated society, as a Japanese person in the Western art world, and as a victim of her own neurotic and obsessional symptoms. After achieving fame and notoriety with groundbreaking art happenings and events, she returned to her country of birth and is now Japan's most prominent contemporary artist. 

This is a varied, spectacular exhibition of a truly unique artist. There has never been an exhibition of this size of her work in the UK and this is an unmissable opportunity for both Kusama fans and those new to her work.

#15//Sound tracking our day at Dan In The Front Row HQ

So at Dan In The Front Row headquarters we obviously have tunes blaring all day in the office, we thought we'd share our faves from today with you. Just click on the links and you will be taken straight to the tunes. Have a great weekend people, maybe play these while you get ready for tonight, enjoy...x

 No Ceremony: Hurt love: http://youtu.be/WtcwcZtwaZ0

The Weeknd: The party and the after party: http://youtu.be/yI-zb_aP0So

Madness: Our house: http://youtu.be/KwIe_sjKeAY

Arctic Monkeys: Leave before the lights come on: http://youtu.be/SEukS2YN9B8

Julio Bashmore: Battle for middle you: http://youtu.be/SpY9lxI8axo

Django django: Default: http://youtu.be/DDjpOrlfh0Y

Lou Reed: Satellite of love: http://youtu.be/FH2EgYq_NCY

#14//Friends//XOYO//London//Wednesday 8th February

So there is a bit of a buzz going around about Brooklyn band Friends at the moment, i'm seeing their tracks all over people's facebook walls, Fearne is playing them on Radio one (well so i'm led to believe by the chicks in the office, i most certainly do not listen to Radio one! haha!) but most importantly, my good friend Helen, who is very in the know with this sort of thing said we had to check them out so that was good enough for me, so off we went to xoyo for more midweek mayhem, 

Xoyo was Sergio Ramos, the busiest i've seen it in ages. When the band came onstage lead singer Samantha Urbani stated this was the biggest gig they had played which surprised me but i suppose they are pretty new, She is a very sassy front women, smouldering infact, totally F.A.F (fit as fuck), actually i think i'm in love! i don't know about the rest of the crowd but she had me eating out of the palm of her hands, she has a great voice, very sultry, the rest of the band back her up well with really funky riffs and bass lines, its totally 80's New York chic, you can imagine them at a block party downtown where everyone looks amazing, where fly guys are walking round with boom boxes and the party goes on for three days, they are a bit CSS but less funny and more soulful. A bit New Young Pony Club.
 Now i must admit some of the songs were a little samey but it was my first time hearing a few of them and it's never best to hear tunes for the first time actually at the gig, its not really a fair judgement. This didn't take away the fact that every song is impossible not to groove to, Helen and i were shacking out all the way through, this can't be said for the rest of the room though who were very un-responsive, the band were great but the crowd were shit, i actually felt a bit sorry for Friends, the room was obviously made up of chin strokers that were here to check out the latest buzz band so that they could be in the loop when their douchebag mates in Dalston Superstore were talking about who is 'totally hot right now'! (oh what a bitch i am, but it's true! ha!)
Highlights of the night were of course 'friend crush' and 'i'm his girl' but i simply can't get enough of the cover of 'my boo', last time i heard this track i used to rave to the uk garage version at garage nation up Alley Pally when i was about 18 but their's is a slick R n B version that is just perfect.

Check these out for yourself:

I'm his girl http://youtu.be/O5VNumNJyqE
Friend crush http://youtu.be/gOntE4Okywk
My boo http://youtu.be/-B7tRcSO7a4

NITTY GRITTY


Venue: great and small with a good sound system, the upstairs bar is cool too.

Crowd: terrible, didn't move, scenester twats, no one wanted to get involved in the blog, probably too cool to be photographed, wankers.

Drinks: fair prices and good choice, they sell Asahi which i love.

So buzz band or buzz kill??? All in all i think they are pretty decent, debut album will be mint but will be interested to see if they have longevity.

ACE FACE


Helen Sproat from York

So what did you reckon kid?

The band were great, better than i expected, i really enjoyed most tracks especially 'My boo' but there were one or two forgettable songs to be honest.

Any other gigs or fests in the pipeline?

Yep, i'm seeing Nikki and the Dove and Genuflex both at Hoxton bar and grill plus i'm going to Meadow in the Mountains festival and Secret garden party.

Who else you into doll?

Loving Active child and Zola jesus right now.

Finally last tune you played on your ipod???

Hanging on by Active child, beautiful song.

Next up for Dan In The Front Row is a triple whammy of The Drums, Spector and Devin at The Roundhouse, cant wait, also we have just been confirmed to cover Brighton's legendary Great Escape festival!!!!!!! woohoo!!!!!

Contact me on dannywoodlands@yahoo.co.uk