Archive for May, 2011
Can this ticketless fan get into a gig that sold out five months ago?
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
The hours that go into running The Pop Cop can be fairly brutal at times but it does have a few perks, one of which is getting free gig tickets every once in a while.
At the beginning of May, my good friend Angela (that’s her in the photo above) asked if I could get her a ticket to review SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA at the Glasgow Barrowland on May 26. Since the show had sold out more than five months ago, she had no other way of getting in.
Just as I was about to hit ‘send’ on an email to Swedish House Mafia’s PR agent, I thought of a far more entertaining plan: Would it be possible for Angela to find a way into the gig through her own efforts as a fan?
We had 25 days to find out…
THE RULES
Angela was allowed to pay for a ticket, but not any more than the face value, which was £25, so that effectively ruled out eBay, home to legions of “gutted” (it’s never any other adjective) ticket holders with luckless tales of unaccommodating work rotas, unforeseen double bookings and a pair of unreliable friends. The other stipulation was that Angela was not allowed to tell any lies so that ruled out enquiring about wheelchair access. Which was never considered. Not once.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
The first task was to make a list of all the people involved in the gig. Obviously there was the Barrowland, and the venue website listed Triple G / Cream as the promoters. Then there were the band members themselves. Swedish House Mafia is made up of three DJs – Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, and each of them have their own Twitter accounts (@Axwell, @SteveAngello and @TheRealIngrosso) as well as individual Facebook pages. There were also the support acts – AN21, Max Vangeli and Third Party – so that meant another three Twitter accounts (@AN21live, @MaxVangeli and @ThirdPartylive) and Facebook pages.
Angela kept a diary of her efforts. Here’s how she got on:
May 4: I set up a new Gmail address (sayayetoangie@gmail.com) and Twitter page (@AyeToAngie) for the mission. Hopefully the “say aye” part will inspire some subconscious feelings of generosity towards me. The pressure of coming up with something original and weighty with my first tweet is almost unbearable, especially since I have zero followers. “Hello Glasgow!” it is.
May 5: I sign up to the Swedish House Mafia mailing list, official newsletter and website forum. If that doesn’t put me in the ‘super-fan’ bracket I don’t know what will.
I have my first Twitter follower @DJ_Loquito who is clearly loving my gripping tweets. A wee nosey reveals that my new best friend is a Japanese DJ working in America whose biog says “there ain’t a problem that he can’t fix, cause Loquito does it IN THE MIX.” Cringe. To be fair, it’s still better than my chat. I need to up my game.
Since I’m forbidden from using eBay, I visit Scarlet Mist (the ethical ticket exchange site) to check if anyone is selling a ticket at face value. Nobody is, so I set up an email alert which will keep me informed if one becomes available.
May 6: On Twitter, I begin following Swedish House Mafia, each of the group’s individual members and all of the Barrowland support acts. I don’t want to go straight to the chiefs so I think of something breezy and inoffensive to tweet to @ThirdPartylive – “I see you guys are doing the SHM aftershow in Glasgow this month – are you supporting them at the Barrowlands gig too?” Completely dingied.
I post an advert on Gumtree.
May 7: It’s time to move up the food chain. I notice that Sebastian Ingrosso replies to messages from his 80,000 followers so I tweet this @TheRealIngrosso – “I was too late to buy tickets for SHM gig at Glasgow Barrowland on May 26 before it sold out. Do u have any spare tickets?” Once again my question goes unanswered in the internet wilderness.
May 9: I’m getting a bit frustrated so I come up with a new plan. I know I’m not allowed to go down the review route but I have taken a few live photos which have been published on The Pop Cop blog so perhaps this could help me in my mission. I set up a Flickr account and upload all three of my masterpieces. I send emails to Swedish House Mafia’s PR team asking how a fledgling gig photographer might go about acquiring a photopass to build up her portfolio.
An address for Max Vangelli’s manager, Viktor Solstice, is listed on his Facebook page so I send him an email to ask if he can help me.
May 10: I post an appeal on Swedish House Mafia’s fan forum.
May 11: Glasgow band The Black Hand Gang become my 50th follower on Twitter (I’ve decided to follow every Scottish musician to see how many would follow me back). I promise them a special prize so here it is, a mention on The Pop Cop.
I tweet a ticket plea @Axwell and post Facebook messages on the walls of Swedish House Mafia, Axwell, Steve Angello, Third Party and AN21 in the hope that one of their fans might be able to help.
I get my first reply! Max Vangelli’s manager, Viktor Solstice, emails me back this: “Unfortunately the show is sold out and there is not much I can do. I believe we still have tickets for sale for the after party that night. There is also a chance we might run a contest for some free tickets, check back with Max’s facebook page closer to it.” It’s not the news I wanted but the acknowledgement of my existence is a welcome boost to the spirits after a week’s efforts.
May 12: I tweet the third and final member of Swedish House Mafia, @SteveAngello – he gives me nothing in return.
May 16: I’m clearly getting nowhere with the band so it’s time to change tack. I email the two promoters, Triple G and Cream, to ask if they have a spare ticket or if I could even pay to get on the guestlist. I get a reply from Gill Nightingale from Cream to say that it’s “not our event”. I blame The Pop Cop for his shoddy research, he blames the Barrowland website. Excuses, excuses.
May 18: I email amy@atmartists.com – the address listed on Facebook for Swedish House Mafia’s manager.
May 19: I email Swedish House Mafia’s press agent at EMI to see if he wants to take pity on a poor fan.
May 20: I email Tom Joyes, Barrowland manager, who at least gives me the courtesy of a reply: “Thanks for your enquiry but I’m afraid we have no availability at all.” Max Vangelli’s manager Viktor had previously mentioned that there might be a competition to win free tickets, so I email him again to see if anything’s happening on that front.
May 21: By now, I’ve managed to accrue 75 followers so I direct my next ticket plea tweet to all of Twitter. All of Twitter say no to Angie.
May 24: Things are looking bleak. The gig is just two days away and there are no straws left to clutch. Admitting defeat, I ask The Pop Cop to use his blogging kudos to get me in. He forwards me the response to his request from EMI’s press guy Stuart Freeman: “I’m afraid all our tickets went long ago.” Aaaargh!!! Words cannot express my rage. I unfollow @ThePopCop on Twitter.
May 26: It’s the day of the gig. One final desperate tweet: @Axwell @SteveAngello @TheRealIngrosso – “A ticket for Barrowland tonight would make me v happy if you want to do a good deed for a stranger!” They don’t. A few hours later, Swedish House Mafia post a photo of their tour buses parked outside the Barras. After much deliberation, I decide against going to the venue and letting down the tyres.
Sadly, there is no happy ending.
EPILOGUE
May 27: The Pop Cop takes a photo of me standing at the exact same spot the day after the gig.
There is only one word to describe how I am feeling: Gutted.
Swedish House Mafia – Save The World
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The Pop Cop’s Subcity Radio live sessions 2010/11
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
The Pop Cop’s first year on air at Glasgow University’s Subcity Radio station – where I and my co-presenter Big D have been hosting monthly shows featuring live music and chat from some of our favourite Scottish artists – has just come to an end.
We threw ourselves in at the deep end with this, having had no serious radio experience or training, just a burning desire to provide another platform for music fans to hear sickeningly gifted bands and solo artists outwith the context of just reading about them on this blog.
Since the academic year is coming to an end, it feels like the perfect time to collate all the acoustic session tracks so far for you to listen to and download.
Thanks to all the musicians and Subcity staff who gave up their time to make The Pop Cop’s first year so special.
#1 NOVEMBER 2010
Pearl And The Puppets – Because I Do
Pearl And The Puppets – The Sorry Song
#2 DECEMBER 2010
Beerjacket – Fresh Legs
#3 JANUARY 2011
Roddy Hart – Boxes
#4 JANUARY 2011
Reverieme – Get To Know Me
#5 FEBRUARY 2011
Donald Macdonald – Firework
#6 MARCH 2011
Little Eskimos – Broken Heart Brigade
Little Eskimos – I Was A Sailor
#7 APRIL 2011
Rachel Sermanni – Eggshells
Rachel Sermanni – In The Hollow
#8 MAY 2011
Endor – Without The Help Of Sparks
As a bonus treat, here’s a video our producer Breda took of Endor playing Chapel Doors:
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Stag & Dagger 2011 running order
Friday, May 20th, 2011
The third annual STAG & DAGGER festival takes over the mean streets of Glasgow this weekend, featuring 44 acts spread throughout seven venues.
There’s a handy online clashfinder here which, at the time of writing, has a couple of inaccuracies in The Captain’s Rest running order, but it’ll help you plan a provisional schedule at least.
Tickets are available here and there are also discounted ones here for 14-17-year-olds (under-16s must be accompanied by an adult) which provide access to ABC1 and ABC2 only.
Favourite Son has published a Stag & Dagger preview which is a lot more concise than this one and has links to all the performers so be sure to check it out.
ABC1
19:15-20:00 Clinic
20:15-21:00 Admiral Fallow
21:15-22:15 Warpaint
ABC2
18:15-18:45 Michael Kiwanuka
19:00-19.30 Ed Sheeran
19:45-20:15 Rachel Sermanni
20:30-21:10 Withered Hand
21:30-22:30 James Yorkston
Art School – Assembly Hall (upstairs)
19:30-20:00 Ghostpoet
20:15-21:10 Toro Y Moi
21:30-22:00 Broken Records
22:30-23:25 Sons And Daughters
23:45-00:25 DELS
00:30-02:00 Numbers (DJs)
Art School – Vic Bar (ground floor)
19:00-19:30 Conquering Animal Sound
20:00-20:30 Veronica Falls
21:00-21:40 Happy Particles
22:00-22:30 Three Trapped Tigers
22:45-23:10 Entrepreneurs
23:30-23:50 Chad Valley
00:00-00:50 Star Slinger
01:15-02:00 Walls
Stereo
17:15-17:45 Wake The President
18:00-18:30 Colourmusic
18:45-19:15 Laki Mera
19:30-20:00 Kid Canaveral
20:15-21:00 Rural Alberta Advantage
21:30-22:15 Allo Darlin’
Nice ‘n’ Sleazy
18:00-18:25 She’s Hit
18:45-19:10 Tall Ships
19:30-20:00 Thank You
20:20-20:55 Desalvo
21:15-21:50 Bo Ningen
22:15-23:00 Yuck
The Captain’s Rest
14:00-14:25 Adam Thompson (We Were Promised Jetpacks)
14:45-15:25 Zeus
15:45-16:25 Blue Sky Archives
16:45-17:25 The Victorian English Gentlemans Club
17:45-18:25 French Wives
18:45-19:25 The Scottish Enlightenment
19:45-20:25 Our Mountain
20:45-21:25 Kurt Vile & The Violators
21:45-22:25 Mazes
22:45-23:30 Jack Townes
Sons And Daughters – Silver Spell
Jack Townes – Juvenile Smile (demo)
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