The Ruckus | Your mother wouldn't like it.

In Pictures: Langhorne Slim

Hi-Dive | Denver, Colorado | 10 February 2010 | Flickr Set

Langhorne Slim is one of those live acts that I will drop everything to see. His shows are fucking electric. The energy is amazing. Langhorne Slim gives 110%, the crowd is full of people screaming, dancing, and shouting along. I love listening to his studio work, but I feel like you're missing half the presentation if you're not attending the gig.

The band opened with "Cinderella", perfect for audience interaction. As the evening passed on, things got more intense. Slim took to the crowd and pulled a girl up on stage to dance. Old favorites like "Rebel Side of Heaven" and "Collette" were played as well as new favorites "I Love You, But Goodbye" and "Land of Dreams". The whirlwind of a night ended in a demanded version of "We Love the Animals" and Denver was left to decompress from an impossible energy level that only a Langhorne Slim gig can leave you with.

Live: Frank Turner (a 4 day, 4 show roadtrip review)

Tiffiny: I had been planning a trip to Florida to visit friends, family, and warmer weather. When Frank Turner announced three tour dates in February in the Tampa/Orlando area, my vacation dates were set. I arrived in Tampa, Florida late the night before the first gig.

Mel: Only it wasn't that warm. Florida was a balmy 45 degrees during most of Tiffiny's holiday, but no one really wants to play central Florida in the summer. Miami gets a lot of that, but Tampa is no South Beach. I think I'm the only person in Florida who likes our summers.

So anyway, what started out as a plan to see Frank play once in Tampa and twice in Orlando while he supported punk legends Flogging Molly, turned into a four day, four show roadtrip when he added a surprise headlining show at a divey university bar in Gainesville. What follows is the true story of two girls who like Frank Turner a lot and think you should, too.

Mel: I've lost count of how many shows I've been to at The Ritz since high school. It's a great venue and I've seen a lot of great bands there. When we got inside, The Architects were playing, but the sound was so fucked that I couldn't tell you what they sounded like because it was way too loud. Frank was amazing, though. By the time he took the stage with his band (Ben on guitar, Tarrant on bass, Matt Nasir on keys and Nigel Powell on drums), sound issues were sorted and everything sounded great. Frank and his band played an incredible, high energy set that got the crowd pumped, even with a couple of guitar changes thanks to breaking strings and other technical issues.

In Pictures: Nicole Simone

Bootleg Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 24 February 2010 | Flickr Set

At first listen, you might think the jazz-infused music and gorgeous voice of Nicole Simone stepped out of a time machine, hearkening back to an earlier era of sexy voices in dimly-lit night clubs. Then you realize she's better than a mere retro act. Last Wednesday, she and her band showed this to an appreciative crowd at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nicole and her band played several songs from her forthcoming EP as well as newer material, one song even making its live debut, that blended a more rock feel with her jazz style. Her voice was perfect and her band spot on as they wound through their set.

Her video for "Melt" was featured here recently and more tracks can be heard on her MySpace. Nicole Simone's EP is due out March 9th.

In Pictures: The Damn Sons

Bootleg Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 22 February 2010 | Flickr Set

Seeing The Damn Sons was no bad way to start the week. The band's recent set at the Bootleg Theatre rocked, giving the audience several songs from their EP as well as a couple great ones yet to be released.

Definitely a band to keep an eye on if you dig their garage/southern rock feel, the group's EP can be had for less than five bucks on iTunes and there's an album in the works.

The Interview: Goldhawks

I sat down with the boys from Goldhawks before their show at Cargo, East London. I was only a little familiar with the five piece but I was quite interested to speak to them after I did some research. There seemed to be a little bit of controversy surrounding them, lead singer Bobby had once been a part of the London folk scene (you know the one with Ruckus favourites Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling). Bobby then decided to break away from acoustic folk and opt for more electric Indie Rock, and Goldhawks was formed with Graham (drums), Nick (keyboard), Jack (guitar) and Colin (bass). The controversy reared its head when the band was quoted as being less than positive toward the London Folk scene, and I wanted to get to the bottom of this. We love Indie and we love Folk, so colour me intrigued.

Live: Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara | Tampa Theatre | 20 February 2010

Tegan and Sara have been one of my very favorite bands ever since one (relatively) chilly September day when I innocently picked up If It Was You while out buying Bangs' Call and Response (god, I miss Bangs). To say that I fell hard for them would be an understatement. I was taken in initially by "Living Room" (which remains my favorite Tegan and Sara song to this day) and "And Darling (This Thing That Breaks My Heart)" - which was, endearingly, recorded at Tegan's house, separately from the rest of the record. My adoration of them grew with every album - their songs are always pitch perfect and totally relevant and now I'm getting off of the subject, which is the gig that they played at my favorite venue on Sunday night.

They rarely come to Florida, and they hadn't been to Tampa before this so it was kind of a capital E EVENT for me (why I'd never seen them while traveling, I have no idea). I took my friend Bri along with me, and although she is relatively new to their music, she was similarly affected and now has an enormous crush on Sara (whereas I have to admit that I'm more Tegan-centric when pressed to choose).

Their opening acts, Steel Train and Holly Miranda (from The Jealous Girlfriends - I'm a big fan) provided solid support, and had the crowd whipped into a frenzy early on, which only (naturally) increased when Tegan and Sara took the stage.

LIVE: BAND OF SKULLS

Band of Skulls ¦ Relentless Garage, London ¦ 12 February 2010 Flickr Set

As part of HMV's Next Big Thing season, featuring their tips for future success in the forthcoming year, Band of Skulls took to the stage as the headline act at the Relentless Garage last night and the London Ruckus girls fourth gig of the week couldn't have been more different to the previous three.

Hailing from Southampton, this 3 piece rock outfit met at university and started putting on club nights in before deciding to form their own band in late 2008. They've had an extraordinary start to the band so far what with the release of their debut album 'Baby Darling Doll Face Honey', Itunes and Radio 1's Fearne Cotton both choosing 'I Am What I Am' as their single of the week and a track featured on the New Moon soundtrack.

Band of Skulls first came to my attention at the London New Moon fan event back in November 2009. They were the first band to take to the stage and were, by far, the best band of the night and their album was on my iPod by the following lunchtime.