Jonesing for Jones

Post tour psychosis has all but worn off, so it's back to the real World - sort of...

'Twas an interesting evening on Wednesday, which began at The Islington in, er, Islington where Word In Your Ear presented a live show by Duncan Reid and The Big Heads and an interview with T.V. Smith. I remember The Word magazine being a good read so was interested to see how the evening would go - when I arrived T.V. was readying himself for his slot. He was interviewed by Alex Gold (who is also in DR and the BHs) and also read a couple of stories from 'Book Of The Year' his latest volume of tour diaries, and very entertaining it was too. After a short break Mr. Reid and co. took to the stage, and I must say that they were absolutely excellent. With two very good-looking young ladies on guitar and drums they blasted into their set with great energy and aplomb - such was their brilliance that I considered not leaving early to go to The 12 Bar Club, but in the end the lure of The Fallen Leaves proved too much. However I will be doing my best to catch Duncan Reid and The Big Heads again as soon as possible.
I arrived at The 12 Bar Club just as The Transients were finishing with 'Another Girl, Another Planet'; after catching up with club manager Mark (who of course is also the singer in The London Sewage Company - we're playing at the club on Saturday 18th October) it was time for The Fallen Leaves whose blazing performance might well be one of the best shows I've seen them play. A terrific night all round.

And it was a terrific night on Friday when The Upper Cut played at The Dolphin in Uxbridge. Sadly there haven't been too many shows for the band lately, which is a real shame as when we do get together it's pretty much always an enjoyable experience; with no time to rehearse we could have been a bit tighter here and there but that aside it was a fine gig with everyone on top form. Perhaps rehearsing would have ruined it?!?

Saturday night saw The Jim Jones Revue play their farewell show at The Forum in Kentish Town. I got there just as Walter Lure was taking to the stage with 'One Track Mind'. As the sole surviving member of Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers he waved the New York rock 'n' roll flag with great aplomb - and it was great to Darren from The Black Bombers up there on bass too. Next up was 'surprise guest' Nick Lowe who played a solo set on acoustic guitar - I've always been a big fan of Basher, and I'm pleased to say that he sounded as great as ever. An already excellent evening then took off into the stratosphere as The Jim Jones Revue gave an astonishing performance that served as both a masterclass in live rock rock 'n' roll and a fitting end to one of the great bands of the last few years. It's a shame that it's all over, but I for one will keeping an eye out for what the various members do next.
   
While The Jim Jones Revue were raising the roof in Kentish Town the first night of Polyfest II was happening at The Half Moon in Putney. Ruts D.C. headlined the second night on Sunday - we were due to play '3 or 4 songs' but in the end played 7, and a splendid time was had by all. With all proceeds going to The Teenage Cancer Trust it was I feel a fitting way to honour the memory of Poly Styrene - let's hope it happens every year.

And here is a review of the event courtesy of the excellent Elvis In The Clouds blog which pretty much sums up proceedings...

Last night the afore-mentioned London Sewage Company had a rehearsal in preparation for the afore-mentioned 12 Bar Club gig. With new songs to work on and old songs to revise everybody got on with the job in hand, and with another rehearsal booked for next Monday we should be in good shape for the show. In the meantime there are Big Al gigs to play and Ruts D.C. gigs to prepare for, so it's back to the real World - sort of... 

Back to the future?

Well at least one good thing has come out of all the recent gig cancellations - I've had chance to watch the recent season of 'Punk Britannia' programmes on BBC4. (Yeah, I know, that's scant consolation for not playing, loss of earnings, feeling as though months of work on the 'Cool Britannia' show has gone to waste, sleepless nights and probably lots of other bad things as well - but I'm trying to find something good about the last few weeks ok?!?) Generally I've found them to be excellent - it always seems to me as though everybody involved has a a slightly different take on the same story, but I suppose that's inevitable if you think about it. It goes without saying that it was wonderful to see the T.V. Smith documentary 'We Who Wait' at last (it's been many years in the making) and I thoroughly enjoyed 'Evidentally... John Cooper Clarke' and the reshowing of the 'Arena' documentary on Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex which I don't remember seeing that again since it's first showing all those years ago. But the best show for me has been 'Punk Britannia At The BBC', a compilation of various appearances between 1975-80. Highlights were many and varied, but seeing The Lurkers on 'Top Of The Pops' performing 'I Don't Need To Tell Her' had to be the best moment for me, not least because like the X-Ray Spex programme mentioned above it's a clip that I don't think I've seen since it's original broadcast. (I can't find it on YouTube so instead here is the same song live on 'Revolver' around the same time - great stuff!) The Ruts looked pretty good too!


Once again some Cool Britannia shows bit the dust this week - this is getting depressing! As so often happens in life when something new starts to go wrong you find yourself going back to something old (maybe I should take up philosophy full time?!?) and this weekend saw your humble narrator gigging with The Chicago Blues Brothers for the first time since January, and with Dave Finnegan for the first time since way back in 2010. 
They (whoever 'they' are) say that you should never return to the scene of a crime and maybe 'they' are correct, but the fact that the only two CBB shows this year have been at The Pizza Express in Maidstone is a measure of how little work there is around at the moment. Friday's show can't quite be described as a crime but it certainly wasn't one that I for one will look back on particularly fondly. With the venue less than half full (it's often sold out when we appear there) and the band (I'm on guitar with Pete and Mike as Jake and Elwood, Ian on keyboards, Squirrel on bass, Marc on drums and Dave and Richard on trumpet and saxophone) suffering from a severe lack of match practice it was a less-than-classic performance - but realistically it could hardly have been much else.
Last night was a bit more enjoyable, in a tent in the back garden of a very - make that very - big house somewhere near Kings Langley. We (Chris on keyboards, Richard on sax, and myself) were playing over backing tracks, although that was a long way from my mind as I went to plug my amplifier in and found that the allotted plug board was soaking wet. Having been lucky enough to survive the Jubilee gig earlier this month I wasn't taking any chances, and another board was found; whether a similar situation caused the power to fail completely during 'Try A Little Tenderness' is unclear, but thankfully it was the only negative moment in a great set from Dave. Matt and Mike had provided backing vocals (along with Pete) throughout, and they returned with us backing them for an hour of Blues Brothers and beyond - an good performance all round. 


Right then - no gigs this weekend because, you've guessed it, they've all been cancelled. 
Let's see what happens next...

Turn on, Tune in, Drop out...

The occasional ongoing obituary column continues with the death of Poly Styrene. I remember hearing 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!' by X-Ray Spex for the first time - it sounded like it had come from another World and instantly became another record that divided the school playground at lunchtime and contributed to the ongoing momentum that punk rock was by then enjoying. I preferred 'The Day The World Turned Dayglo' myself, and 'Identity' was a great song, and 'Germ Free Adolescents' was a terrific album especially 'Let's Submerge'... let's face it, she was great wasn't she? Another sad loss.

And Steve Marriott died 20 years ago last week - can it really be that long ago? I remember him playing with The Packet Of Three at The Red Lion in Brentford (click here for a clip of the band around the same time, along with links to many other fine clips of the man) where his voice was so powerful that the room hardly seemed big enough to contain it. I saw him in the bar afterwards and he was tiny - how on Earth did a voice that size come from such a small man? The Upper Cut played the old Small Faces classic 'All Or Nothing' for him at last Friday's Rickmansworth gig (we didn't bother the next night!) and a couple of people came over afterwards with some nice comments which was great.

Closer to home I spoke to Esso from The Lurkers yesterday who gave me the very sad news that his brother Dave has died. I had some good times with Dave over the years at gigs, in the pubs of Ickenham, and lately in Balcony Shirts where he bought himself a 'What A Difference A Dave Makes' t-shirt amid much merriment from us both. He was a massive fan of '60's pop music and I had many long conversations with him about the likes of The Move and The Kinks on many occasions. He was a great bloke, and I'll miss him.

And if things weren't bad enough there's a Royal Wedding on Friday, although discerning folk will of course be ignoring it and instead tuning into The Source FM between 1 and 3 p.m. to hear the first broadcast from my old Blue Five buddy Voltarol. You can listen online here - I suspect there will be more than a little Brazilian music involved, although the man himself has such wide tastes that he could play almost anything... hmm... I wonder if he'll play X-Ray Spex, Steve Marriott or The Lurkers if I ask him nicely?