Belle & Sebastian, Metronomy, The Horrors & Drenge steal the show
Published
Following in the pop-centric shadow of the BRIT Awards, the NME awards with Austin, Texas took place at Brixton’s Academy, with more guitars and booze than a Motörhead dressing room.
ID&C, who provide and design wristbands for some of the world’s biggest events and festivals, provided us with tickets for some of the best seats in the house – front-middle on the balcony. From here the evening’s events unfolded, with some of the biggest names in the industry taking to the stage. The year’s biggest winners were the Arctic Monkeys who picked up five awards, including Best British Band and Best Album, with other notable mentions going to Paul McCartney (Songwriter’s Songwriter), Haim (Best International Band) and Lily Allen (Best Solo Artist). Go figure on that last one. Best film went to Shane Williams’ outstanding ‘Made of Stone’, the only nominee that you feel could have trumped the Sundance-favourite ‘Muscle Shoals’, and Disclosure picked up Best Track for their Radio 1 favourite ‘White Noise’. The awards, which fortunately didn’t feature any of the overindulgence so prominent at the BRITs, were fractured by numerous live performances, none of which disappointed. Metronomy opened the night with ‘Love Letters’, featuring backing vocals from the-artist-formerly-know-as-the-(original)-Sugababes, MKS. The Horrors then continued their transition from a noise-mongering novelty act into one of the leading British rock groups with a spellbinding rendition of new single ‘I See You’. Belle and Sebastian, even amidst their placidity, incited a stage invasion during their tracks, before Drenge tore through ‘Bloodsports’ in a performance as excitingly fleeting as Michael Eavis’ shorts fashioned when picking up the Best Festival gong. Blondie, this year’s Godlike Genius winners, ended the event with a career-spanning set which proves their music withstands time much better than their foreheads. Tracks such as ‘Call Me’ and a surprise cover of ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’ brought everyone in the venue to their feet, even if it required some assistance after all the complimentary wine. 9/10 Links are provided below to ID&Cs website, as well as some of Subba’s choice pages from this year’s award winners.
www.idcband.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/MadeOfStoneFilm
http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
http://www.drenge.co.uk/
http://www.eagulls.co.uk/
