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Catch them if you can – the hot acts tipped for the top in 2009
This year promises some rich pickings for music fans. Chris Bond looks at who's going to be hot and who's not in 2009.
SO another year's over and a new one's just begun, as John Lennon prophetically sang.
But pushing such aphorisms aside for a moment, is 2009 going to produce a basket laden with golden musical eggs, or will it be a Craig David-shaped turkey?
Last year proved a good one for Yorkshire bands the Kaiser Chiefs and the Pigeon Detectives, while further afield it heralded the emergence of future stars Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and MGMT.
Rumours are flying around that the Sex Pistols might record a new album this year, but one person definitely back in action is Morrissey.
The former Smiths star is expected to release his follow-up to the hugely popular Ringleader of the Tormentors in February, before going on a tour that sees the king of maudlin wit play Hull Arena.
Look out, too, for the mighty Doves who are reportedly poised to release their fourth studio album some time in the spring.
On the gig front, Yorkshire has some super troupers lined up in 2009, with Bob Dylan, Snow Patrol and The Killers among those confirmed to play Sheffield FM Hallam Arena.
So, too, are Simply Red, but you can't win them all.
It's nearly five years since The Killers blew people's musical minds with their debut Hot Fuss – since then they've confounded and frustrated fans in equal measure. This was perfectly encapsulated by their recent single, Human, which has singer Brandon Flowers imploring: "And I'm on my knees looking for the answer – Are we human, or are we dancer?" So while their lyrics sometimes make no sense, their best songs do.
Two years after playing a sell-out gig here Dylan brings his Never-Ending Tour, which started in 1988, shuffling back to Sheffield. This might not flicker brightly on everyone's radar, but those who haven't seen him live should do so because one day they'll be able to tell their grandkids that they saw the greatest singer-songwriter who ever lived.
Snow Patrol are also something of an enigma – a bit like Chris Rea – they're totally uncool, but while hardly ground-breaking, they know how to produce a good tune.
Like Sheffield, Leeds has some interesting bands heading its way. Leeds Academy may have only opened a few months ago, but it's already being hailed as the city's top music venue and it has a particularly eclectic line-up.
On the downside, the irksome Ting Tings, a band about as musically interesting as a Volvo, are playing. But the good news is so, too, are The Wonder Stuff and their Eight Legged Groove Machine 20th Anniversary Show. If, like me, you watched them the first time round then this is one not to miss. Other Academy highlights include Basement Jaxx and Seasick Steve, king of the three string trance wonder and the one-string diddley bow, who brings a little bit of the Mississippi
to Yorkshire.
Not to be outdone, Leeds Metropolitan University plays host to Noah and the Whale, the 21st century's answer to Fairport Convention, whose clap-happy folk ditties include Five Years Time which surely must win the award for "most ridiculously catchy single" of 2008.
When it comes to predicting who, out of the plethora of emerging new acts, will make it big isn't always as easy as it seems as popularity is no barometer of taste. However, those worth keeping an eye out for include Little Boots, Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons and Leeds-based Grammatics, a band who've already caused something of a stir.
Finally, one other gig worthy of mention is Bjorn Again who play Bradford's St George's Hall in March.
Normally I'd give tribute bands a wide berth, but seeing as Abba are unlikely to get back together again, this is probably as close as we're going to get to the real thing.Top five Yorkshire gigs in the new year
Seasick Steve: Leeds Academy, January 27. The former hobo is now a hugely popular "song and dance man" who plays a one-string diddley bow like those old Delta bluesmen.
The Killers: Sheffield Arena, March 2. The boys from Las Vegas have established themselves as one of the best-known bands on the planet.
Bob Dylan: Sheffield Arena, April 24. He may look older than Methuselah and have a voice like a "catarrhal death rattle", but along with Einstein and Picasso he's arguably the only other 20th century icon who warrants being called
a "genius".
Basement Jaxx: Leeds Academy, April, 26. Dance duo Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe could make a funeral march sound happy so this should be another evening of irrepressible, upbeat music.
Morrissey: Hull Arena, May 19. Mozza's back in Yorkshire, although tickets are likely to be snapped up so you'd better be quick, because heaven knows you'll be miserable if they are sold out.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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