Ocean Colour Scene play Apolo Barcelona

One of the great things about living in a big city like Barcelona (for someone who comes from a small town in England) is the live music that visits the city. I've blogged before about the various live music venues in Barcelona and I've been lucky enough to see some amazing bands in very intimate venues that would be total sell outs back in the UK.

One of my favourite places is Apolo along Parallel. It's got that old school vibe fitting for watching live music (it's also a great place for dancing) but still feels like an old-style concert hall for example. I watched Elbow there a couple of years ago and they were amazing - the venue suits people like that. Paul Weller is another one who played there last time he was here.

So, if you're at a bit of a loose end this week, you could do no worse than nip down there, as Ocean Colour Scene are playing the Apolo on Tuesday. The britpop band are promoting their new album Painting which is out now, but you can bet they'll be re-visiting a few of their classic tunes like The Riverboat Song and The Day we caught the train from the classic Moseley Shoals album (how many memories does that conjure up?). They're a really good band live and also played the Hard Rock cafe here a couple of years ago, too. Fancy going or already got your ticket? Let me know in the comments!

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October Music in Barcelona - Some Classics!

I don't know if maybe it's just my age, but it seems to me that there are some really cool bands playing or getting back together, or celebrating a milestone of being together quite a lot recently! And the back end of October is no exception to the rule. I've been lucky enough to see some amazing bands in the time I've been living here, and in smaller, more intimate locations than those bands would play on their home turf.

So the following are a few of my reccomendations for some bloody good bands in some great spaces with an amazing atmosphere.

Keane - Razzmatazz Wednesday 24th October. I saw Keane here about 8 years ago and they were great, really played to the crowd and it was almost karaoke-y at some parts, but they have another 3 albums under their belt now, so will surely mix it up a bit. Either way, highly reccomended.


Richard Hawley  - Apolo Friday 26th October. Richard is up for a Mercury Award this year, and actually played here already this year at Arc de Triomf during Primavera Sound for free, so great to see him back. Part of the Longpigs and collaborator with the likes of the very cool Elbow, Richard's got his own style and in such an intimate venue as Apolo, it'll be a great night.


Scissor sisters - Razzmatazz Monday 29th October. I'm never a fan of a Monday night concert, cos it's like the first day back at work syndrome, and it just doesn't feel right. However, if anyoine can get your toes tapping and your hips swaying it's the Scissor Sisters. They're certainly fans of Barccelona and even turned up to do an impromptu gig at Sonar one year, so you can bet they'll be up for entertaining this time too.

Blind Melon - Apolo 7th November - taking us straight into the November winter is the 20-year anniversary tour of Blind Melon at Apolo. I couldn't actually believe that it was 20 years since the release of their cool californian sounds and I reckon this will be a really cool concert to go and see, they'll be playing all their most successful crowd pleasers and are not promoting a new record or anything so it's going to be heaps of fun.



Anyone planning on going to any of these concerts? Or got any more to reccommend ? Let me know in the comments! And if you're coming to Barcelona this winter, check out BCN Rentals for some great deals on apartments. For a quick look at what's not to miss, then read this guide to Barcelona.

Blast to the Past with Cypress Hill

OK, possibly another slightly indulgent post for me here. I just think it's cool that some groups I used to listen to as a young lad get back together and do some touring. Especially as these kind of groups never set foot in the north east of England when I was young (the closest I got was a ticket for Nirvana at Leeds and then Kurt shot himself a few months before).



In the late 90s there were no cooler cats than Cypress Hill. Along with Jump Around by House of Pain, they were the American Dope-Smoking dudes rapping about...well, smoking dope. Infectious beats and lyrics combined with wacky voices made for a perfect recipe and they were considered as rock and roll rappers and it was perfectly normal for you to be listening to a compilation of grunge rock and mix it with the likes of the Hill. Well, the movie Judgment Night had some great collaborations on the soundtrack which included Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill and Dinosaur Jr with Del the funky homesapien (now with Gorillaz).

Anyway, if you fancy pulling out your black t-shirts and baggy jeans, and reliving those days you can't quite remember too well, then head on down to Razzmatazz on the 20th. I'm not exactly sure how the organisers are going to stop all the smoking going on in there, either, but we'll see?! Are you going to the concert? Looking forward to it? Let me know in the comments. And if you're looking for accommodation in Barcelona then consider renting an apartment for more freedom and space to relax. Also, if you're looking to explore outside the city, here's a link to the best Barcelona day trips.

Stuck for a Tuesday Night? Muse over Milan.

Tonight sees a very important gamer in the Eufa Champions League with FC Barcelona facing Inter Milan in the Camp Nou. There are various reasons why the press are lapping up this tie - the return of "el traductor" Jose Mourinho to Barcelona, who was Bobby Robson's assistant during his time here. Mourinho of course has been back before with Chelsea, and was jeered by the fans as a simple "translator" to Bobby Robson - all this at the height of his "special one" comments.



It's also a return to the Camp Nou for Samuel Eto'o - a former Barcelona star. He has said this week in the press he will "never celebrate a goal in Camp Nou" -respect for the African who when he first came to Spain claimed he would "earn like a white man to run like a black man". Add to this a bout of swine flu, a couple of your typical injury problems and the fact that nothing short of a win will do for the current holders Barcelona, and it's shaping up to be a very tasty tie.

Inter sit top of group F, and look certain to progress, whereas Barcelona have won only one game so far in qualifying and if results elsewhere go against them, they could be the first ever team who are the current champions not to progress from the group stages.

On the opposite side of the city, English rockers Muse play the Palau Sant Jordi - on a date which they had to move. Muse were due to play this weekend on Friday the 27th, and were forced into a date change due to the Spanish National Tennis team training for the Final of the Davis Cup this weekend - also to be hosted in the Palau Sant Jordi. Muse have a fairly serious Spanish following - Palau Sant Jordi is the biggest music venue for Live Groups and is expected to be full. You can bet, though, that those with smart phones will have one eye on the concert and one eye on the game!

Are you going to either event this evening? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And if you're coming to Barcelona this coming winter, check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona, as a great money saver. For a heads up on the rest of the city, see this great Barcelona Guide.

Barcelona Live Music Venues

I was considering making this post a series with a bit more detail about each venue, but reckon it's probably more useful all mixed into one. Feel free to chip in with the comments if you feel I've missed anything worth a mention.

Barcelona is a great place for live music. As well as smaller venues across the city playing live music every weekend, and endless musical festivals from Jazz to electronic, if you want to get your rocks off in Barcelona, there are plenty of places.



Let's start with the big guns - Palau Sant Jordi. Part of the 1992 Olympic Games, Palau is a very versatile arena, and is the place most of the big artists choose when touring here, as it has a capacity of 20,000. Elton John recently finished his Red Piano tour here and artists as diverse as Green Day, Red Hot Chili pappers, Beyonce, Madonna, Phil Collins and and George Michael (who started his 25 Live Tour here) have had no problem filling the seats. Palau Sant Jordi is located up on Montjüic, meaning there's plenty of space for revellers to queue up before hand and public transport links are excellent.

Another popular place for the alternative crowd is Razzmatazz. This is actually a huge club with various different areas catering for all people's tastes and is located over in Poble Nou. This is a great venue to see bands who have not quite stamped their mark on the Spanish pop map just yet, and often bands play here before returning to the larger venues once their fame has took off. I've seen some great bands here; Coldplay in 2003 who later returned the same year to fill Palau Sant Jordi, Travis, Keane, NOFX, to name but a few. An excellent and intimate venue which is here to stay.




One of those intermediate venues is the Pavello Olympic in Badalona. This is an ideal venue for those bands who have a fairly large following, but can't quite fill Palau Sant Jordi (sting played a couple of years ago and should have gone here!). with a capacity of 12,500, the likes of Take That and the Backstreet Boys are happy to get bums on seats here and it's a decent size sports arena with great acoustics.

FC Barcelona's Camp Nou is reserved for only special guests, and obviously plays off season. The most notable acts over previous years have been Irish rockers U2, who played here in 2006 and started their recent 360º World Tour here with a double bill on 30th June and 2nd July this year. Camp Nou is an amazing concert venue, saved for über-stars, and was packed to the rafters on both occasions (I was lucky enough to go on both tours). The recent Go Crazy video was shot in Camp Nou (although they played the more upbeat version!).



Sala Bikini is a really small venue up near Diagonal, and again, is a great place to see some famous bands who have not necessarily made the grade over here yet. One of the best concerts I saw here was years ago when Supergrass played here - such a small venue and there was no barriers between the band and the crowd, it was amazing. Another place which I haven't seen many return, but is still a decent sized venue is Pavello de la Valle d'Hebron, in the north east of the city. Oasis famously cancelled a gig here in 2000 which was the slippery slope to where they are now, as they then returned without Noel and played the fastest concert I've seen (all the songs played at twice the speed up to finish earlier). When they finished, there was no encore, and Liam Gallagher said "Right we've been here now, f#*k off" - as if it was a simple contractual agreement! Never mind!

There are then some equally cool but more sporadic venues around town, where live music can almost always be found. This is where I'll need your help in the comments guys! I'm talking about the classic places like London Bar, Harlem Jazz Club, Jamboree, Pipas Bar, etc. These are institutions in Barcelona, and many a night we've stumbled across a live band jamming away and spent a great, un-planned night in one of these places.

Coming to see a band in Barcelona soon? Check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona and for a heads up on the rest of the city, see this great Barcelona Guide.