Mad dogs and Irishmen

It's hot isn't it? There - I thought we'd get that out of the way... 

And the busy times continue - last week I worked 6 (6!) consecutive days in Balcony Shirts which to a sad little man like me is all too close to having a real job... I also played The Three Wishes in Harrow and Ye Olde George in Colnbrook with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks - with my usual six-string partner in crime Pete unavailable it fell to your humble narrator to attempt to cover his parts as well as my own (that intro to 'Wicked Game' is deceptively difficult I can tell you!) and while I somewhat inevitably didn't have as much time as I would have liked to work on them I made it through the shows reasonably unscathed. He's back for this week's shows - good!

Last Friday The Who played Hyde Park. I arrived just as Johnny Marr was playing the introduction to 'Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before' - he looked great, sounded even better and by the time he swung into an unlikely cover of 'I Fought The Law' (well, I thought that it was unlikely, maybe he does it all the time!) he had the crowd on his side. He finished with 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' and 'How Soon Is Now?' - The Smiths really were rather good sometimes weren't they? Next up were The Kaiser Chiefs who I've always had a bit of a soft spot for - I'm not really sure why as I've got their first two albums but have lost touch with them since then. Their excellent performance was more than enough for me to rectify that situation, or at the very least look out for a 'greatest hits' collection. (Don't worry, I'll wait until it's cheap somewhere!) Main support came from Paul Weller, whose singles-packed set had the audience on his side from the word go. You forget how many hits someone like him has had sometimes don't you? Miles Kane joined him for 'That's Entertainment' in the middle of the set, 'Friday Street' was a forgotten classic (well I'd forgotten it!) and the set-ending one-two knockout punches of 'Start!' and 'Town Called Malice' provoked an audience reaction that wouldn't have been out of place for a headline act. Ah - but they were up next...
'You're a long way away' said Pete Townshend in typically obtuse tones - halfway through the opening song  'I Can't Explain' it was as though we were all on stage with them. And so began two hours of stunning rock 'n' roll brilliance, probably the best I've seen them play since, ooh I don't know when. Highlights were many and varied - 'Bargain' soared, 'Love Reign O'er Me' had jaws dropping left right and centre, the biggest E chord ever on 'Sparks' shook the ground beneath our feet and the inevitable set closer 'Won't Get Fooled Again' bombed out the last pockets of resistance with effortless aplomb. A textbook performance from a band who, incredibly, just seem to get better and better. It won't be the same without them will it? 

Tuesday was spent in the company of Adam Ant guitarist and all-round good bloke Tom Edwards. I worked with him back in March when he told me that he was due to make a trip sometime soon to the Marshall factory near Milton Keynes to pick up some amplifiers and would I like to come along? That, my friends, may well be the very definition of the term 'silly question'... we spent a splendid few hours there during which he introduced me to Artist Liaison Manager Joel - maybe, just maybe I might be using Marshall amps in the not-too-distant future. 

And yesterday I (re)joined my old buddies Neck for a gig at The Mevagissey Feast Week in Cornwall. Yes yesterday, Wednesday 1st July 2015, officially the hottest July day on record. Well I don't know about that but it was bloody hot in the van - and it was a bloody long way, although the countryside looked fantastic and Stonehenge was clearly very popular indeed. I spent much of the journey down listening to the songs on headphones, something which I generally don't like doing (my ears are bad enough as it is!) but was something of a necessity as, you've guessed it, I hadn't been able to spend as much time as I'd have liked on the material. Mind you, fiddle player James had arrived back from Peru only a few hours earlier (other people's lives eh?) so if anything he was even more of a disadvantage - fortunately my headphones did the trick for him, and a highly enjoyable show went down well with all concerned. (Incidentally, am I the only person that thinks there should be a Mega City Four tribute band called The Mevagissey Four? They could play all their songs a sea shanties, or something... I think the heat must be getting to me!) Mind you that all seemed a very distant memory when I walked thorough the front door at some unearthly time this morning - it was a bloody long way home too, although I suppose it would be if you think about it. And it's bloody hot now too. Too hot for me. Mind you, we'll all be moaning that it's too cold soon...