'Second verse, same as the first...'

Well much of my time since we last spoke has been spent attempting to learn some songs. Neck songs. Clash songs. Price songs. Other songs. Lots of songs. I wonder if I can remember any of them?

There's a Neck rehearsal on Thursday night in anticipation of a St. Patrick's Day show at The 12 Bar Club ; rehearsals for the Joe Strummer film gig have been scheduled for the week after next so I've got a bit more time with them, although perhaps predictably the set list is changing a lot at the moment as guest singers confirm and cancel accordingly. I'm sure it'll all be ok in the end... and then there's the prospect of a Price gig almost exactly 30 years since our first one - more news as and when I have it, but if it doesn't happen then there's a good chance of us playing at some time in the next few months so I thought I'd better have a look at some of our songs too. And I'm playing at a wedding in 3 weeks time - I received the proposed song list earlier this week, which among quite a few numbers that I've played before also includes (gulp!) some songs from this century. Oo-er! Whatever next?!?

Anyway having had no gigs of my own this week (not necessarily a bad thing for once!) I made it along to The 100 Club two nights running to catch some more punk rock. The latest Human Punk club night saw a rare London appearance from the legends that are Sham 69 - I don't mind admitting that I was never their biggest fan but listened to 30-odd years on it must be said that their best material has weathered well. With original members Jimmy Pursey, Dave Parsons and Dave Tregguna all present and correct their set mostly consisted of early material and was lapped up by the sold out crowd. For me it was great to hear Dave Parsons sounding so good, although I felt that his partner-in-crime Mr. Pursey looked rather vulnerable at times. The next night The Sex Pistols Experience played a suitably barnstorming show, ably supported by Lizzie And The Banshees. Rather like Sham 69 my knowledge of the Siouxsie And the Banshees catalogue is more-or-less limited to their singles, but I thought they made a very good job of what is often some very difficult material. The SPE gave a raucous performance, with Nathan's uncanny portrayal of Uncle Johnny as impressive as ever and the rest of the band matching him blow for (biggest) blow. And once again the show was sold out, which is a good thing to see in these troubled times.

Music Scene Investigation on Sunday evening was good fun as always, although I did have more than a little trouble with song number 3 as you can see if you watch the show here. And I met up with Ian from MSI at The Angel in Hayes last night where he runs a first-Monday-of-the-month jam night - I hadn't intended to play but ended up on bass for a few songs. And why not?

Right - back to The Clash. I mean Neck. I mean The Price. Er... oh well, one of them anyway. Or all of them. Or something.

Preston... and on... and on...

'Why? Because Krakatoa's
not erupting?!?'

Have you seen that scene in Fawlty Towers where the deaf woman complains about the view from her hotel room? (Just in case you don't, here it is - a classic!) She'd have had a birthday if she'd stayed in the room that I shared with Seamus on Saturday night. Mind you it's a bit unfair putting this photo here - if I'd have turned around I could have taken a picture of the ornamental water feature that sat slightly awkwardly between our two beds...

So far, so sarcastic - but how had I got there?

I met the van at 9am on Friday at Driving Me Crazy in Brentford. As I got there my new friend Dawn was just reversing the vehicle into place - when I commented on her New Model Army shirt she revealed that she works for them and then offered to put me on the guest list for their show at The Forum in November. Result!
If I now tell you that we arrived at 53 Degrees in Preston just before 6.30pm after a journey that should have taken around 4 hours you will have some idea of how our day went. Why does this country completely fall apart when it rains? That said although the journey was long it wasn't by any means totally unenjoyable, as Seamus told some hilarious stories about his time playing with Paul Weller (it's best that they're not repeated here, believe me!) matched by Dave coming out with a seemingly endless succession of bad jokes among the many amusing diversions. It was all more fun than it looks written down here, honest!

Backstage passes for the gigs,
and the 'short but sweet'
Newcastle setlist.

When we finally arrived at the venue we were met by the very helpful stage crew who helped us carry our equipment in. Bass and guitar amplifiers were provided by first-on-the-bill band Bug who feature Louder Than War scribe Phil Thompson on guitar and vocals; The Notsensibles are also on the bill and given that we were due to arrive at 3 o'clock there is shall we say a certain amount of urgency to get us soundchecked, but as always Nick our soundman pulled things together in no time. There's just time to get our merchandise table set up and to say hello to Richie from Biteback before Bug take to the stage at 8 o'clock - the room is filling up and they go down well with all concerned. I thought that they sounded great but Phil's a mate so perhaps I shouldn't say that?!? The Notsensibles single 'I Am the Bishop' was produced by Paul Fox (yes, I do have a copy!) and both Segs and Dave are big fans of the song - the band sounded more-or-less how I remember them from back in the day i.e. not too serious and therefore good fun. We all felt that our show took a while to get going, probably due to the journey taking more of a toll on us that we perhaps realised at the time - that said we may have just been a bit overcritical, as everybody I spoke to afterwards seemed to love it. The customer is always right...
With everything packed away it was back to The Holiday Inn where thankfully the bar was still open. Phil from Bug joined us with his wife, brother and mum (they'd all been at the gig, I don't think that he has them with him all the time!) and drinks were drunk, stories were told and the day ended on a much more optimistic note than I for one felt as though it might when we were on the endless M6. Good! 

Saturday started in a leisurely manner, with breakfast finishing at 11am and the band leaving for Newcastle at midday. Our journey goes well and we're checking in at The Ramada Encore in no time where the food is good and the mood is relaxed. We're playing at the North West Calling festival at The O2 Academy where we're sharing a dressing room with The U.K. Subs who are on after us with Sham 69 topping the bill. I meet Subs guitar man Jet in the afore-mentioned room, and since we've both got our instruments handy a spot of guitar nerdery takes place, much to the horror of other band members and onlookers. Great stuff!

The doorway that
leads to adventure -
 or in this case,
an in depth discussion of
electric guitar intonation
and fret wire gauge.

I went for a walk out into the venue to catch a song or two from Steve Ignorant and Paranoid Visions and to meet up with my mate Ross who lives locally, he used to roadie for Jimi Hendrix tribute band Little Wing back in the '90s when I saw them a few times, not least because they had Upper Cut bassman Terry Peaker in their ranks. He always said that he was a big Ruts fan so it was great to be able to invite him along as I hadn't seen him since Terry's 60th birthday bash back in December 2011. No time for a chat now though as we're on in 15 minutes, and even though amplifiers are provided (that's why we didn't take ours along the night before) there's a mad rush to get everything set up in time - we just about manage it and play a blazing 40 minute set to the increasing approval of the increasingly animated audience. We start our last song 'Babylon's Burning' and the place goes wild - but the song goes wrong and Segs stops us during the first verse, confusion reigns but the crowd carries on singing, we restart it and finish to tumultuous applause. A great gig - I wish we could have played for longer but sometimes 'short and sweet' is the way to go, and this was perhaps one of those times. 
With our gear all packed away it's off out front to watch a couple of songs from The U.K. Subs (who sounded great - apparently their soundman just left our settings up on the mixing desk!) before joining our driver Mark behind the merch desk which slightly oddly is up on the second floor. You can't see the stage from there but business is brisk,with plenty of positive comments from many-a punter. Tony who saw us in Stockton back in March shows us his new Ruts D.C. tattoo and local record dealer Pod presents Segs and myself with compilation DVDs of old Ruts footage as Sham 69 blast though their set in the background - it's been a great evening. The rest of the band take the van back to the hotel while Segs and myself pack the merchandise away then take a taxi through the Newcastle streets which are full of people - as we stop to let an endless stream of them cross the road the driver asks us if there's anything we need. The evening then takes a slightly surreal turn when offers us some Viagra - which we decline in case you were wondering - then when we get to the hotel there's a St. Pauli-themed hen party at the bar. I'll leave you to do your own punchline...

The next day's journey back to London goes well if somewhat blearily - I get home and fall asleep for a couple of hours before getting on Skype and participating in episode 128 of the Music Scene Investigation podcast. Watching it now I'm not entirely sure that I was awake during the broadcast either - have a look here and see what you think. And I should perhaps have had an early night on Monday after a day in the shop but instead journeyed up to London where despite guitar amplifier problems during their first couple of songs The Duel were in fine form at their Madame Jojo's Monday night residency. 

And there's more on the horizon from Ruts D.C. this weekend as we're playing at Sub89 in Reading this Friday 13th September. Unlucky for some? Hopefully not for us...

Ruts D.C. and T.V. Smith at The 2013 Rebellion Festival

What follows is an attempt to write a piece about my four days at The Rebellion Festival last weekend. Most of it was written while I was there (or has been taken from notes made at the time) and while it's a bit disjointed here and there it does reflect the general feel of the weekend complete with a very unexpected incident along the way. Enjoy.

Thursday - a good journey up to Blackpool with Andy Peart and 'Fast' Tony Clarke saw your humble narrator arrive at Grampian House bed and breakfast establishment around 7.15pm. 'Oooh you've got wi-fi, we haven't got wi-fi' said Fast Tony ruefully. Yes, but you've no doubt got a jacuzzi - mind you, wi-fi is probably more useful... room 5 looks good to me so I sort my stuff out then walk along the seafront to The Winter Gardens to collect my AAA wristband then join Andy and Tony for veggie burgers at Nando's. Rock 'n' roll eh? By the time we've eaten it's nearer to 10 o'clock than 9; at the venue we meet up with Esso, John King, Phil from Bug and his wife Annette and more in the Spanish Bar, all of which means that the first act the I actually see is Walter Lure whose set in The Arena starts at midnight with 'One Track Mind'. I last saw him play nearly 30 years ago with Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers, and I'm pleased to say that the ensuing years haven't dulled his Les Paul swagger one bit. From there is was off to The Bizarre Bazaar for a few songs from The Ramonas (who played 'Chinese Rocks' just a few minutes after Walter Lure - weird!) before heading to The Empress Ballroom for a brilliant set from New Model Army with Justin Sullivan as intense as ever and the band sounding superb. A good start to proceedings.

Friday - I made it down to The Winter Gardens in time to catch around half the set from Taurus Trakker and very good they were too, although it was impossible not to be distracted by The Good-Fer-Nothing Circus who were to one side of the stage inviting people to have their photos taken standing on top of a chap laying on a bed of nails. Scary! In the meantime I had to find Stuart the head of merchandising to find out if I could store the two boxes of t-shirts and CDs that I'd bought with me somewhere in the venue ready for Saturday's gig; if that proved to be possible I then had to work out how to get them to the venue as I couldn't carry them all on my own. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well the first part certainly was, and Stuart turned out to be a very nice chap who couldn't have been more helpful and who offered to store the shirts in a room where he kept all the event merchandise. So far so good. So now all I had to do was collect the shirts and take them to the venue. Simple eh?
Have you ever been to Blackpool? I used to go there with my family when I was a lad and so have a lot of good memories about the place, but that was before the words 'one way system' meant anything to me. Myself and the afore-mentioned Phil and Annette (who had rather wildly volunteered to help) spent the best part of an hour attempting to find the back doors of The Winter Gardens - well, that's not strictly true as we knew where it was, we just couldn't work out how to get to it thanks to the psycho drama that is the Blackpool one way system. Several people offered directions, but they always said things like 'well it depends on whether (insert road name here) is open today or not' - many of the roads have those bollards that can be raised or lowered according to which way they're running the roads that day, which means that no one really knows how to get anywhere on any given day. It's mad! Still we got there in the end after a predictably huge amount of swearing and general insanity. After that it was time to see some bands so I did, catching all or part of sets by Eastfield, Charred Hearts, Long Tall Texans, Attila The Stockbroker, Hazel O'Connor, Wob, The Beatlesons, The Crows, The Duel, Peter And The Test Tube Babies, The Guitar Gangsters, Eddie And The Hot Rods, The Damned, Ed Banger And The Nosebleeds (no sign of Morrissey or Billy Duffy sadly) The Vibrators, Neck, The Buzzcocks, Justin Sullivan And Dean White, Space and probably some others. During this time any number of bars were open selling any number of beers - you can work the rest out for yourself...

Saturday - ok, here we go then. All this drinking and cavorting is all very well (and it must be said, tremendous fun!) but the real reason that I'm here is that tonight Ruts D.C. headline The Bizarre Bazaar stage. After spending a lazy morning running through a few of the songs on guitar I arrived at the venue around half past twelve to be told that our merchandise table would be available at 2pm so I got some lunch and saw a couple of numbers from Texas Terri Bomb before retrieving the shirts and discs and setting up our stall. Our slot was next to The Bizarre Bazaar which meant that I managed to see at least a couple of songs from most of the bands playing there that afternoon (all of whom have released material on All The Madmen Records) and met a lot of very nice people, many of whom made comments that confirmed what had become more and more evident since I first arrived at the festival - that a lot of people were really looking forward to our show. No pressure then...
The rest of the band arrived around half past five - after they'd bought our equipment in Segs heroically offered to take over the stall (I say 'heroically' as he was immediately besieged with people wanting autographs and to have their photo taken with him) while I went to get some food and to collect my guitar from my room. Upon my return we formulated a plan - Mark the driver would take over on the stall and we'd all meet in our dressing room at 10 o'clock to warm up for the show. This gave me chance to see a couple of songs from Chas And Dave and to catch up with a few people before climbing the four flights of stairs (!) to our dressing room at the allotted time. Myself and Segs had ran through quite a few songs or bits of songs before Dave joined us; Molara and Seamus arrived soon after that and it was suddenly half past eleven and time to get ready for the gig. And what a gig it was - the place was packed (and I mean packed) and with people dancing from the word go the next 75 minutes passed by in what felt like seconds. An extraordinary show, followed by an equally extraordinary time back out on the merch stall, where hands were shaken, CDs and records were signed and we all agreed that the gig had been everything we hoped it would be. Oh yes!

Sunday - first things first, and it's back to the venue to load up the van and wish the rest of the band a safe journey home. As I walked back through the venue I saw T.V. Smith behind his merchandise stall and decided to go over to say hello; when I got there here was taping a piece of cardboard to the front of the table - it said that his show was being bought forward a half an hour to 9 o'clock and would feature your humble narrator as 'special guest'. Oo-er! It turned out that Pascal Briggs should have been on before T.V. but hadn't made it to the festival so a longer set was now required - 'I've been trying to call you but couldn't get through - do you know anyone who could lend you an acoustic guitar?'
I went back to base camp, had a shower and got my (electric) guitar out. I hadn't played a show with the mighty Mr. Smith since back in March but fortunately I had all the songs that I play with him on my mobile phone for just such an emergency (if only it worked as a telephone as well!) and so set about revising some songs. I also managed to get an hour and a bit of sleep - well, it was going to be a long evening...
As I walked back to the venue The Red Arrows were displaying over the sea - Blackpool appeared to be at a standstill with people parked up on street corners and all the pavements crammed with onlookers. I wended my weary way through them and went straight to the venue office where I arranged to borrow a guitar; there was was time for some food before catching a few songs from The Riffs, I, Ludicrous and Lene Lovich. I'd arranged to meet T.V. at The Almost Acoustic stage at half past eight, where the very helpful soundman Huggy produced a guitar that had been left there for me by Jennie from The Crows. (Thanks Jennie - that's another drink I owe you! Oh and thanks to Billy Liar for lending me a capo too.) After a (very) quick soundcheck T.V. took to the stage for 30-odd minutes of excellence before beginning 'Immortal Rich' which was my cue to start getting ready to go on. I knew he'd be doing two more songs after that -  plenty of time to go to the toilet (even guitar heroes need to have a pee before the show you know!) and get a drink. Or so I thought - I met several people who had enjoyed the Ruts D.C. show and who wanted to tell me all about it. Well I don't want to be rude but I'm on in five minutes...
I just - just! - made it to the stage as my name was announced. Phew! I just made through the set too, with T.V. calling a couple of songs that I hadn't revised - I didn't know that I had quite so much skin on my teeth! By the end of our set we were treated to the unusual sight of massed poging at an acoustic gig, an amazing end to a great show. 
Afterwards it's handshakes and photos all round before heading to the Empress Ballroom to see Sham 69. I was never their biggest fan but I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed their show - and no one is more surprised than me to be typing that sentence.
Only one thing could follow that - the after show party upstairs in The Spanish Bar. Now it's at this point that details get sketchy. Very sketchy. I definitely spent a fair bit of time talking to Gaye Advert, and Richard from Cadiz Music, and Arturo Bassick, Eugene from Vive Le Rock and no doubt quite a few other people too; when that ended at 4am I went to The Orbiston Hotel with various members of The Duel where incredibly the bar was still open. Details are even more sketchy after that... but what a weekend it had been my friends, what a weekend it had been. Same time next year? Let's hope so.

Alternative arrangements

Time for the second of two gigs depping on bass with Department S, this one on Friday night at the loftily-named Great British Alternative Music Festival taking place at Butlins in Minehead.I took the (delayed) train from Paddington with Eddie and Sam while Mike and Stuart drove down with the drums and amps - by the time we arrived (after a £50+ cab ride from Taunton, which incredibly was the nearest station to the venue) they'd got our room keys and were making plans for soundchecking. We were the first act on Centre Stage, followed by Hazel O'Connor and Ex-Simple Minds while The Anti-Nowhere League, The U.K. Subs and Sham 69 were playing at Reds. As we got to the venue Hazel O'Connor and band were preparing to play 'Decadent Days', they sounded a bit untogether so maybe it's a new line-up? Our soundcheck went without too much incident, although as we were leaving the stage Mike looked out with the words 'this is a big room - I hope there are a few people in it when we're on'.
He needn't have worried - by the time we went on there were people everywhere. We played a better show than in Belgium earlier in the month, and the inevitable 'Is Vic There?' bought the proverbial house down.It's good when that happens. From my point of view I found it quite tough going - maybe I'm hitting the strings too hard or something, but I my right hand was really suffering by a half an hour or so into the set. If I'm going to play bass more often it's time for some practice to build up some stamina; either that or I've got to calm down a bit! That said I'd do it again any time that they ask as I've really enjoyed playing with the band.
By the time we'd put our gear away and got changed The Anti-Nowhere League had finished their set next door, a shame as I've always found them to be an entertaining bunch (either that or my brother playing their records endlessly when we were younger has brainwashed me!) and so would like to have caught some of their set. I did however manage to see a half hour or so of The U.K. Subs who sounded as reliably punky as ever as well as meeting up with T.V. Smith stalwarts Fleagle & Mrs. Fleagle and Steve The Fish (not their real names sadly!) as well as Fast Tony and the man forever known in Price circles as 'Mark-from-the-football-club' before going back to Centre Stage where Hazel O'Connor sounded much more assured than her soundcheck might have suggested that she would. Ex-Simple Minds sounded good but are not really my kind of thing, while Sham 69 (the 'Tim V' version of the band in case you were wondering) sounded, well, good but are not really my kind of thing. However with both bands it was amazing how many of their songs were recognisable even to the likes of me let alone to their fans. And I'm told that  the event was sold out with over 6,000 people in attendance, which just shows what a market there is for this type of thing these days

And you can click here to see some more photos from the show in Belgium earlier this month - excellent!

Saturday morning began with everyone meeting on the main concourse for some coffee before going up to the dressing room to collect our gear from where we'd left it the night before. As I was ordering my drink I heard exactly the same songs from Marillion and Catatonia playing in the background as had been playing the night before when I braved a veggie wrap from Burger King. It must drive the people who work there crazy, or maybe they just don't notice it after a while?
With the financial terror of another cab ride looming large we decided to catch a bus back to the train station, which proved to be a nerve-racking experience as the journey took over 1 3/4 hours rather than the expected 40 minutes. In the event we made it to our train with just 5 minutes to spare, which was fortuitous to say the least as the next one would have been in a couple of hours time. The lads took the train all the way to good old London town whilst I changed at Castle Cary for the Weymouth train where I met the long-suffering Shirley who had gone down the night before. We'd decided to have a couple of days away in Dorset, partly because we like to go there and partly because Wilko Johnson was playing the last show of his Spring tour at The Electric Palace in Bridport on Sunday night. 
The Electric Palace is, I think, an old cinema; it was certainly an impressive place with seats from about halfway back and a dancefloor in front of the large stage. Maybe the seats go all the way to the stage when they show films or have less dance-orientated bands on? Either way it had an atmosphere that a newer venue will never have, if you know what I mean.
Support came from Virgil and The Accelerators. I've seen a few very excitable reviews of this combo, most of which comment on how young they are and what a great musician Virgil is. Both observations turned out to be correct although he's a bit too much like Stevie Ray Vaughan (yes, be influenced strongly by someone, but draw the line at adopting the same mannerisms) to yet have an original style or sound. Maybe that'll come one day, but until then I'm sure that he and his band will be able to carry on doing what they're doing without too many detractors.
Opening with 'All Through The City' (the fact that it's the title of the very-recently-released Dr. Feelgood box set could be significant!) and 'If You Want Me, You've Got Me' Wilko Johnson was clearly not intimidated by what had gone before - indeed he and the band (the always-astonishing Norman Watt-Roy on bass and new-ish drummer Dylan Howe) seemed to be really enjoying themselves as they roared through their set with an infectious energy that had the up-until-that point seated audience on their feet from the word go. I don't remember the last time that I saw Wilko in a seated venue (if I ever have!) and I also don't remember the last time there were so many people turning up to see him - it seems that after years of slogging around in pubs and clubs he's finally getting through to a bigger audience. This is good news, and thoroughly deserved, as he's still playing with as much energy as ever, and you'll rarely see a better band on any stage, big or small. In a way it's a shame that it'll be unlikely that we see him in the smaller venues again, but when he gives a show as good as this it hardly matters. As a guitarist and a live performer he remains an industry standard - miss him (and his band) at your peril.