Southern man

Well having spent the last few weeks thinking that maybe, just maybe I'll get away with it this year I woke up on Friday morning with itchy eyes, a bunged-up nose and feeling as though I'd done a few rounds with Mike Tyson in his prime - yes, the hay fever season is upon us once again. Bugger! I spent much of the day dosing up with antihistamines and cursing the season that is summer, and much if that evening's Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gig at The Ox and Gate in Neasden (or Dollis Hill, or Cricklewood, depending on which website you believe!) waiting for my my nose to betray me and make me sneeze at the most inopportune moment. I had bought a box of tissues along for just such an emergency - so in much the same way that if you take an umbrella with you it doesn't rain I of course didn't sneeze once throughout what despite being somewhat under-attended turned out to be a very enjoyable show. I hadn't been to the venue before but they seem to be working hard to make live music work there so let's hope that it's a success for them. 

The next night it was back up to Camden Town for the second Saturday in a row to help Bears guitarist Lionel celebrate his birthday at The Fiddler's Elbow. With entertainment provided by Ed Tudor-Pole, Spizzology (the stripped-down version of Spizzenergi), The Bermondsey Joyriders and X-SLF a splendid time was pretty much guaranteed for all; everybody I saw played well although sadly I arrived too late to see Sarah Pink and indeed The Bears themselves and had to leave during X-SLF's storming set to get the train home. I met ex-SLF drummer Jim Reilly in the Gents toilet - seizing the moment I managed to blurt out 'hello-I'm-Leigh-out-of-Ruts D.C.-and-we've-got-a-mutual-friend-called-Roland Link' while washing my hands. This seemed to amuse my new friend Jim no end, who immediately insisted on taking me to meet his friend and bandmate Henry Cluney - much jollity ensued, especially considering that I'd never met either of them before. Nice chaps, and as I say the band sounded great.

Yesterday's appearance on Music Scene Investigation was a bit of strange one even by my rather obscure standards - much of our time on air involved myself and Ian winding each other up about cheese boards, bread boards and all points in between. Somehow we (Andrea, Ian and myself) also managed to review three songs, all of which were very good and which made of a very interesting show as you can see for yourself if you click here. And maybe I will launch a range of combined cheese and bread boards one day...

On Wednesday night Ruts D.C. played at The Corn Exchange in Devizes as part of The Devizes Festival. Support came from 2 Sick Monkeys whose excellently breathless 30-odd minute set went down well with the early arrivers - and rightly so as they were great. Our show took a while to get off the ground - we were playing well but the audience seemed a bit reticent, although by the time we got to 'West One (Shine On Me)' things were all going in the right direction. A great night, and there are further great nights in prospect this coming November when the band visits Australia and New Zealand for the first time. Oh yes!

Now you see him, now you don't

Well that was a highly enjoyable weekend's gigging :-

On Saturday night Department S played at Electrowerkz in Islington. I'd not been to the venue before, and it's certainly worth a visit - good stage, sound and lights (even if they did overdo the smoke machine here and there!) although the promoter and door staff were a little, shall we say, over-enthusiastic - when I tried to go out for food and drink before the show I was told that I couldn't leave as I didn't have a wristband on. I attempted to joke about it with a comment along the lines of 'but you'll recognise me, I'll have the same face and everything' the promoter - well I think it was the promoter, I'd all but stopped caring whether the silly little man lived or died by that point - started whingeing about, er something or other... let's hope he hasn't got a really sad little life or anything like that eh?
Anyway aside from that oaf's pathetic antics the evening went swimmingly, with Jonestown kicking things off in style and Spizzenergi as entertaining as ever. Our show was well-received by the good-sized audience (I'd wondered if it being Valentine's Day numbers might have been down but there were plenty of people in attendance, even despite the clearly-incompetent promoter. Good!) and if anything was a better performance than our December gig. It's a great band to play in - they're looking for a permanent guitarist but I'll be happy to be there as often as they want me to be.

And here from Saturday night is 'Going Left Right' by Department S and 'Where's Captain Kirk?' by Spizzenergi. Watch out for Spizz falling off the stage at the end of the song - fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt but as the caption says, blink and you'll miss it!

That evening was bookended by two Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gigs - on Friday night at The Halfway House in Rickmansworth, and on Sunday afternoon at The Horns in Watford. Both were good shows, with Sunday's gig being a particularly good one in my not-so-humble opinion. Mind you when the venue is as good as The Horns you've only got yourselves to blame if you don't play well! After our gig fellow guitar man Pete and myself stayed to watch a few numbers from Spiderbites, and very good they were too.

This week Big Al and Co. visit Hillingdon and Hoddesdon on Saturday and Sunday while The London Sewage Company play The 12 Bar Club in Holloway with The Bermondsey Joyriders and The Phobics on Friday. This night is to celebrate the first release on 12 Bar Records, a 7" single (remember those? Of course you do! Ruts D.C. are going to release one soon...) from the afore-mentioned Bermondsey boys entitled '12 Bar Beat'. Now that should be a good night! And all three gigs are in places with names that begin with the letter 'H' - what can this mean? Answers on a postcard please, usual address...

'Oooh look, it's that DJ bloke...'

I have just - just! - returned from rehearsing with Department S. Having depped with them back in December at The 229 Club supporting The Members I'm pleased to say that I've been asked to play a show with them this coming Saturday at Electrowerkz in Islington. We're supporting Spizzenergi with Jonestown on first - I first met them around 30 years ago! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun eh?

The mighty Mighty Mustang

Talking of time flying, my mum died 14 years ago yesterday. I don't mind saying that it seems like only yesterday. I wasn't playing many live shows at the time as I was involved in looking after her, but I went on to work with quite a few people in the next few year, including Dave Finnegan's Commitments. Dave played Mickah Wallace in the film 'The Commitments', and I don't mind saying that the shows that I did with him were some of the most enjoyable that I've ever been part of. Last Tuesday I saw Dave at Ain't Nothin' But... with his new band Mighty Mustang - they also feature John Sorrell aka Johnny Squirrel on bass who I first met while we were both playing in Dave's band. I'd not been to the venue before, and it was great to see somewhere that successfully puts on live music ever night of the week. And it was great to see Dave and John on a stage together again too - it was the band's first gig and although there was the odd rough edge here and there if this show is anything to go by the future looks good for Mighty Mustang.

And the future looks good for Ruts D.C. too - we met up on Wednesday to work on some perspective new material, and by the end of our time together we'd roughed out five new song ideas. We've got at least as many again to look at this week, and gigs are starting to come in for the summer and beyond which has got to be good news if you think about it.

Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks have been out on the boards again too - Thursday evening saw our first show at The Riverside Club in Staines while on Saturday we returned to The Wishing Well in Hayes for the first time in quite a while. Well it's the first time I've been there in a while - I think the band have been there with Pete on guitar in my absence a couple of times since my last visit. Ironically Pete didn't make this show as he wasn't feeling too well - it was a good gig although I felt that we played a bit better a couple of days earlier. This week we're in Rickmansworth and Watford, and the band has over 40 shows booked already this year - the Buicks roadshow rolls on!

Spot the ex-Top Of The Pops presenter!

Friday night I returned to The 100 Club (I really have spent a lot of time there this year haven't I?!?) for another Human Punk night. I missed the first band Skurvi (I saw a bit of their performance at last year's Rebellion, they're very good so I must catch them again sometime) but arrived in time to catch a few songs by The Angry Agenda - again I've seen them before, and judging by what I saw they're still angry and they still have an agenda... but with no disrespect to these bands (or the excellent Control who closed the evening) for me the night was all about The Newtown Neurotics. Been-there-for-a-while bassist Adam Smith and returning-for-the-first-time-in-ages drummer Simon Lomond joined ever-present guitarist / vocalist / songwriter Steve Drewett to give a show that although a little under-rehearsed in places bought the proverbial house down. I saw the band many times back in the 1980s when their openly left-wing stance was such a necessary part of the times - as they swung into 'Kick Out The Tories' it was impossible not to think that (a) things sadly haven't changed, and (b) we need bands like them more than ever these days. After the show I spoke to Steve Lamacq for the first time in ages - we were both regulars at the band's gigs back in the day, and there we were again nearly three decades later. The more things change, the more they stay the same...