It's Easter Monday and I've got a day off. It's feels like a while since I had one of those. Perhaps it is? In fact I'm beginning to wonder if I ever actually have a day off - after all, I'm sitting here now doing this blogging lark, then I've got songs to learn this afternoon... mind you, it's not exactly hard compared to some work is it? You know like digging holes for a living? Hmmm... I'm rambling... maybe I really do need a day off...
More about that another day - Wednesday evening saw a charity night at Q Vardis in Cowley organised by John Jenkins who used to run the Sunday jam nights at The Swan in Iver. Big Al, Pete and myself performed a few songs with the house band in an evening with saw a partial reunion of Meal Ticket (with Steve Simpson sounding as great as ever) and much more besides. A most enjoyable evening raised several hundred pounds for cancer research, which can only be a good thing if you think about it.
Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played The Sunningdale Lounge in (you've guessed it!) Sunningdale on Thursday followed by a gig at The King's Club on Canvey Island the following evening. The first show was a short notice affair confirmed only a few days before, and with Dave busy elsewhere Mac Poole once again depped on drums. I thought that we played well although maybe not quite up to the standard of recent shows, but everyone there seemed to love it, and Graham the guv'nor rebooked the band immediately. It's good when that happens! The next night saw the band venture into cabaret territory for the first time, with Joe Longthorne as the headline act. Chris (keyboards) and Terry (bass) were late and didn't arrive until our allotted stage time of 8pm - a frantic set-up meant that we were playing by 8.15. I wasn't sure if the band would work well in this sort of environment but as so often happens Al won the crowd over and the dance floor was all but full by the end of our first set. Al then did 20 minutes of comedy after which Joe Longthorne took to the stage. Singing over backing tracks he seemed to me to be a bit uncomfortable with proceedings, holding the microphone a long way from his face when he wasn't singing meaning that his between song patter was all but inaudible; this lead to quite a few complaints from people who couldn't hear what he was saying and I felt he lost the audience somewhat as a result. Very strange... still when we returned for our second set the dancing resumed almost immediately, and after Bill the compare had joined us for 'Kansas City' he sang several songs to bring the evening to a close. An interesting night - I've not done much cabaret! - which couldn't have been more different to the day and night that followed...
Record Store Day has been running since 2007 - it's held on the third Saturday in April and I believe it's pretty much a Worldwide event these days. In London festivities centre around Berwick Street in The West End, and this year an open air concert featuring Ruts D.C. among others was held on the junction of Berwick Street and D'Arblay Street. I arrived just as Edwyn Collins was beginning his set - with two acoustic guitarists either side of him he sat stage centre and got a good reaction from the rapidly-arriving crowd, with his closing song 'A Girl Like You' inciting smiles all round. Sadly I missed most of the Augustines set as Pablo (who was helping us with our equipment and generally co-ordinating our efforts on the day) and myself attempted to gain entry to Sister Ray Records where we were due to store our equipment until it was time for our show. The queue to get in stretched around the corner and they were operating a 'one out, one in' door policy as there were so many people about - we eventually managed to get Phil the boss to come to the door who let us in and showed us to the basement where we could leave our gear until showtime. By now a large crowd had gathered in anticipation of Adam Ant's appearance, and he certainly didn't disappoint them. Performing as a duo with his guitarist he played 'Get It On', 'No Fun' and 'Shakin' All Over' to the raucous approval of all concerned, as well as several old Adam & The Ants songs ('Never Trust A Man With Egg On His Face' sounded particularly good to me) and they left the stage to rapturous applause. September Girls were up next, I saw a couple of songs before getting some food and meeting Segs at The Ship. From there we went to meet up with Dave at The Blue Posts where a green room was available for the bands; at 5.30 it was action stations with myself and Pablo retrieving our gear from Sister Ray, Nick making his way to the mixing desk and Segs, Dave and myself setting our gear up while DJ Andy Smith entertained the crowd with the help of some very good rock 'n' roll dancers on the front of the stage. As our 6pm stage time approached I looked out at the crowd - there were people everywhere. This was going to be brilliant. In my romantic (ok, over-romantic) way I mused on the area - The Marquee Club used to be just around the corner in Wardour Street, where everyone from Jimi Hendrix to The Who, Led Zeppelin to The Sex Pistols and indeed The Ruts played. They would all have walked along here, drank in The Ship and The Blue Posts - this was indeed going to be brilliant. And, my friends, I'm pleased to say that was indeed just that - brilliant. With Molara away elsewhere we'd mused long and loud on which songs would work best played as a three-piece but as we kicked off with 'Whatever We Do' I don't mind admitting that I had a moment of doubt - had we got it right? Thirty-odd minutes later and with deafening applause ringing in our ears we know - knew! - that we had. It was a great show, a real pleasure to play from start to finish. To use the same line that I used earlier, it's great when that happens... afterwards there are hands to shake, records for Dave and Segs to sign, photos to be in and more smiling faces that I can remember seeing for a very long time. We even signed a ten pound note for one person - strange but true. Great stuff!
After we'd but our gear back in the Sister Ray basement we all went to The Green Man for a drink or two - but the clock was ticking as we were due to go to The Hammersmith Odeon (or Apollo or whatever the hell it's called these days!) to see Adam And The Ants. Dave and co. left early, I hung on a while drinking and chatting - when I arrived at the venue the queue to get in seemed to go on forever. Surely they won't get everybody in before 9 o'clock? And sure enough they didn't - I walked through into the packed stalls just as 'Car Trouble' started and there were still a lot of very disgruntled people outside who would miss much of the 'Dirk Wears White Sox' section of the show. I thought the band sounded good (once again 'Never Trust A Man With Egg On His Face' was something of a highlight - I must really like that song!) and the old punks around me seemed to agree. As the feel of the show changed and they moved onto the later poppier material the old punks began finding their way out to the foyer bar rather than watching the show - and that of course included me or else I wouldn't know just how full the bar had become... still the closing number 'You're So Physical' sounded brilliant to my ears, and I have to say that Mr. Ant is a great performer - people are rarely as successful as he's been by accident are they?
And the weekend didn't end there for your humble narrator - after listening to Liverpool beat Norwich on the radio (yes, I'm that old!) I journeyed back up to The West End where in contrast to the sunshine of the previous day it was pouring with rain. I trudged down Berwick Street to Sister Ray - it couldn't have looked more different to how it looked the last time I was there. What a difference a day makes eh? I collected my guitar and effect pedals and walked the short distance to The 100 Club where Back To Zero were appearing at The Groovy Easter Eggtravaganza with The Sha La La's, Chris Pope and The Legendary Groovymen. I arrived to find the front doors locked - a call to Andy the drummer revealed that we had to get in through the backdoor in Berners Place. I arrived just in time to hear the last minute or so of The LGM's soundcheck 'You Need Wheels' - as I said hello to the rest of the band I realised that I was absolutely soaked. Bah! Still we set up and soundchecked in no time, after which Johnny Squirrel and myself walked down to Eat to, er, eat (!) before returning to the venue 15 minutes early for our half past six stage time. I'd not had chance to rehearse with the band (they'd got together without me on Wednesday evening) so I'd revised the material on my own, and despite the odd wrong turning I got through our set reasonably unscathed. Once again, it's good when that happens... and all the other bands played well too, making it a good night all round - but I'm feeling tired today. Maybe I really do need a day off? Happy Easter indeed.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
West One (Shine On Me)
Two gigs in two days within two hundred yards (-ish!) of each other in London's glittering West End - that's a pretty good way to spend the Easter weekend as far as i'm concerned :-It's Record Store Day this coming Saturday, and Ruts D.C. are playing in Berwick Street at an outdoor event that also includes performances from Adam Ant, Edwyn Collins, Augustines, Tim Arnold The Soho Hobo, The September Girls and DJ Andy Smith. It all starts at midday and we're closing the event at 6pm.
On Sunday Back To Zero are opening proceedings at The Groovy Easter Eggstravaganza at The 100 Club alongside The Sha La La's, Chris Pope and The Legendary Groovymen. We're on at half past six.
Excellent! Or maybe that should be eggs-cellent? Sorry...
Monday, April 14, 2014
To Helsinki and back (a.k.a. Oh Lordi!, Seven Deadly Fins etc etc)
Time for the first ever Ruts D.C. show in Finland, at a night celebrating the 25th anniversary of Stupido Records at The Circus in Helsinki.
Dave, Segs and myself met up at The Music Complex in Deptford at 11 o'clock on Thursday morning; after a three hour rehearsal we then made our way to Jamm in Brixton to resume work on our upcoming live album. Up until this point we had been listening to a show recorded last year in Bremen but we since we have just been provided with a multi-track recording of our gig at The Carlisle in Hastings from March earlier this year we decided to have a listen through that to see if anything could be considered for release. It was an energetic show if a little rough around the edges in places (it was our third show of the evening and they'd all been in pubs...) but even so a couple of songs stood out and so were earmarked for further consideration. Work then continued on Friday afternoon before I took the tube up to Angel Station to catch punk covers band No Lip supporting The Sex Pistols Experience at The Islington Academy. I've known No Lip guitarist Pete for many years - he used to play in a band with my brother Terry back in the day, and since their old bass player Steve was depping with the band it seemed like a good opportunity to both meet up with them and see how the band was getting on. They sounded good, better than when I saw them back in June last year, although I don't mind admitting that it was a bit odd to see them playing Ruts songs and dedicating them to me. Weird! I had only intended to stay for a few songs from The Sex Pistols Experience as I had an early start on Saturday morning, but they sounded so good that I ended up watching the whole show (and it must be said that a few beers from the No Lip lads were quite persuasive in this area too!) Somehow I found myself behind their merchandise table too - I'm really not sure how that happened, but it was good to spend a bit of time talking to Dave their drummer after the show. A good if possible ill-advised evening, as my alarm was set for 4am...
...which was exactly when it went off. I'd had a little under four hours sleep, and too much to drink at the gig. Not good frankly. Still no point in worrying about that now - there's a cab booked and I've got to be in it. And somehow I made it to Heathrow Airport in time for our intended meeting at the Finnair check-in - in no time at all we were through security and in The Bridge Bar getting breakfast (or in the case of Segs and Nick the soundman a pint of Guinness!) I managed to sleep for much of the flight despite the best efforts of some noisy children in the seats in front of me and some nasty turbulence; after collecting our luggage and guitars we met Ollie from Stupido Records who drove us to The Hotel Presidentti (narrowly avoiding a collision with a car just as we left the airport) where there was a certain amount of confusion over our reservations and indeed who was paying for our rooms. Fortunately it all got sorted out in the end.
Judging by the posters in and round the venue The Circus seems to be a thriving place, with the likes of Television, The Manic Street Preachers and Primal Scream all making appearances in the not-too distant future. When we arrived at our allotted time for setting up and soundchecking we found all the doors to be locked - after spending a couple of minutes attempting to call the promoter and to attract the attention of somebody inside we went to the restaurant next door for a coffee before someone from the venue eventually came in to find us. We were on with The Valkyrians, JMKE and the astonishingly-named Anal Thunder - remember this is the country that unleashed 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' by Lordi on the unsuspecting Eurovision Song Contest - I was using the latter band's Marshall JCM900 set-up which despite looking a bit tatty (I went to grab the handle in the side of the 4x12'' speaker cabinet and my hand went right inside as there was no handle there!) sounded excellent. Soundcheck went well, after which we met Stupido Records mainman Joose and went back to the restaurant for something to eat before walking back around the corner to our hotel.
I woke up around half past eight, which meant that I'd missed Anal Thunder. Bugger. (I realise that I haven't perhaps used the best word there, but you get the idea...) Still I did see a bit of their soundcheck and they sounded good, as did JMKE and The Valkyrians, who included a splendid version of Wire's 'I Am The Fly' in their set. We went on at midnight - there could have been more people there (apparently there was a punk festival on nearby) but there was more than enough of an audience to make it work, and it's a great show from start to finish. Afterwards there's a 3 litre box of vodka (Ooo!) in the dressing room and lots of people to talk to (including members of local band The Rude Boys who specialise in Ruts cover versions) before heading back to our hotel - the night club is still open, where the music is not particularly to our taste but we're still in there until gone 4 o'clock...
I woke up a little after midday. (Molara had very cleverly had the foresight to arrange for us to have the late check-out time of 2pm - excellent!) All things considered I didn't feel bad, although I'm not sure how. Still I've long missed breakfast so it's time for a shower and then to search for some coffee before meeting up with the rest of the troops and planning the rest of our day. We're not due at the airport until half past five so we put our bags and instruments into storage at the hotel and walk into town for a look around and something to eat. We then returned to the hotel and somewhat inevitably found ourselves in the bar. Nick and myself are following the Liverpool vs. Manchester City game on our phones until Nick has a brainwave and finds it on one of the computers in the lobby - we tune in just in time to see City's first goal. Bah!
At 5 o'clock Ollie arrives and takes us to the airport - we check in and go through security with no problems before waiting for what seems like an age in The Sports Bar, eventually we give up trying to get served (Nick attempted to catch the attention of a waiter who just said 'yeah yeah' and walked off!) and go to a cafe. Whatever happened to service with a smile eh? Still our flight home was pleasingly uneventful (no noisy children, no turbulence - hurrah!) and I got home just in time to see the Liverpool game on 'Match Of The Day'. Could they win the League? Oooh I hope so...
Dave, Segs and myself met up at The Music Complex in Deptford at 11 o'clock on Thursday morning; after a three hour rehearsal we then made our way to Jamm in Brixton to resume work on our upcoming live album. Up until this point we had been listening to a show recorded last year in Bremen but we since we have just been provided with a multi-track recording of our gig at The Carlisle in Hastings from March earlier this year we decided to have a listen through that to see if anything could be considered for release. It was an energetic show if a little rough around the edges in places (it was our third show of the evening and they'd all been in pubs...) but even so a couple of songs stood out and so were earmarked for further consideration. Work then continued on Friday afternoon before I took the tube up to Angel Station to catch punk covers band No Lip supporting The Sex Pistols Experience at The Islington Academy. I've known No Lip guitarist Pete for many years - he used to play in a band with my brother Terry back in the day, and since their old bass player Steve was depping with the band it seemed like a good opportunity to both meet up with them and see how the band was getting on. They sounded good, better than when I saw them back in June last year, although I don't mind admitting that it was a bit odd to see them playing Ruts songs and dedicating them to me. Weird! I had only intended to stay for a few songs from The Sex Pistols Experience as I had an early start on Saturday morning, but they sounded so good that I ended up watching the whole show (and it must be said that a few beers from the No Lip lads were quite persuasive in this area too!) Somehow I found myself behind their merchandise table too - I'm really not sure how that happened, but it was good to spend a bit of time talking to Dave their drummer after the show. A good if possible ill-advised evening, as my alarm was set for 4am...
...which was exactly when it went off. I'd had a little under four hours sleep, and too much to drink at the gig. Not good frankly. Still no point in worrying about that now - there's a cab booked and I've got to be in it. And somehow I made it to Heathrow Airport in time for our intended meeting at the Finnair check-in - in no time at all we were through security and in The Bridge Bar getting breakfast (or in the case of Segs and Nick the soundman a pint of Guinness!) I managed to sleep for much of the flight despite the best efforts of some noisy children in the seats in front of me and some nasty turbulence; after collecting our luggage and guitars we met Ollie from Stupido Records who drove us to The Hotel Presidentti (narrowly avoiding a collision with a car just as we left the airport) where there was a certain amount of confusion over our reservations and indeed who was paying for our rooms. Fortunately it all got sorted out in the end.
Judging by the posters in and round the venue The Circus seems to be a thriving place, with the likes of Television, The Manic Street Preachers and Primal Scream all making appearances in the not-too distant future. When we arrived at our allotted time for setting up and soundchecking we found all the doors to be locked - after spending a couple of minutes attempting to call the promoter and to attract the attention of somebody inside we went to the restaurant next door for a coffee before someone from the venue eventually came in to find us. We were on with The Valkyrians, JMKE and the astonishingly-named Anal Thunder - remember this is the country that unleashed 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' by Lordi on the unsuspecting Eurovision Song Contest - I was using the latter band's Marshall JCM900 set-up which despite looking a bit tatty (I went to grab the handle in the side of the 4x12'' speaker cabinet and my hand went right inside as there was no handle there!) sounded excellent. Soundcheck went well, after which we met Stupido Records mainman Joose and went back to the restaurant for something to eat before walking back around the corner to our hotel.
I woke up around half past eight, which meant that I'd missed Anal Thunder. Bugger. (I realise that I haven't perhaps used the best word there, but you get the idea...) Still I did see a bit of their soundcheck and they sounded good, as did JMKE and The Valkyrians, who included a splendid version of Wire's 'I Am The Fly' in their set. We went on at midnight - there could have been more people there (apparently there was a punk festival on nearby) but there was more than enough of an audience to make it work, and it's a great show from start to finish. Afterwards there's a 3 litre box of vodka (Ooo!) in the dressing room and lots of people to talk to (including members of local band The Rude Boys who specialise in Ruts cover versions) before heading back to our hotel - the night club is still open, where the music is not particularly to our taste but we're still in there until gone 4 o'clock...
I woke up a little after midday. (Molara had very cleverly had the foresight to arrange for us to have the late check-out time of 2pm - excellent!) All things considered I didn't feel bad, although I'm not sure how. Still I've long missed breakfast so it's time for a shower and then to search for some coffee before meeting up with the rest of the troops and planning the rest of our day. We're not due at the airport until half past five so we put our bags and instruments into storage at the hotel and walk into town for a look around and something to eat. We then returned to the hotel and somewhat inevitably found ourselves in the bar. Nick and myself are following the Liverpool vs. Manchester City game on our phones until Nick has a brainwave and finds it on one of the computers in the lobby - we tune in just in time to see City's first goal. Bah!
At 5 o'clock Ollie arrives and takes us to the airport - we check in and go through security with no problems before waiting for what seems like an age in The Sports Bar, eventually we give up trying to get served (Nick attempted to catch the attention of a waiter who just said 'yeah yeah' and walked off!) and go to a cafe. Whatever happened to service with a smile eh? Still our flight home was pleasingly uneventful (no noisy children, no turbulence - hurrah!) and I got home just in time to see the Liverpool game on 'Match Of The Day'. Could they win the League? Oooh I hope so...
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
The feelgood factor
Lee Brilleaux died on April 7th 1994, 20 years ago yesterday. He was one of the greatest rock 'n'roll frontmen of them all, as this fabulous live footage of Dr. Feelgood at The Southend Kursaal in 1975 amply demonstrates. A biography of the man himself is being written by Zoe Howe - click here to find out how you (yes, YOU! And for that matter, ME!) can help make it happen. Strange but true!
Having not been at the FFRUK Reggae Punk Monday nights at The 12 Bar Club for the last few weeks I've now found myself at said establishment three times in the last seven days...
Last Tuesday myself and Back To Zero drummer Andy attended a launch party for Chris Pope's great new album 'Peace Of Mind'. Pope (that's also the name of the band) took to the stage at the early hour of 7.40pm and delivered a blazing set of songs from the new release alongside Chords classics 'Now It's Gone' and 'Maybe Tomorrow' with 'Mutiny On The Thames' sounded particularly good to my ears. Back To Zero are playing with Pope at The 100 Club on Easter Sunday 20th April ('The Groovy Easter Eggstravaganza') alongside The Legendary Groovymen and The Sha La La's which should be a night to remember, especially if Pope play as well as they did here.
The next night it was time for The Fallen Leaves to host their latest 'first-Wednesday-of-every-month' club night - I arrived in time to catch The Transients who I've seen a couple of times on these evenings and who sounded splendidly garage-y with their cover of 'See No Evil' causing much mouthing along with the words from the enthusiastic audience. Actually come to think of it quite a few of their own songs received the same reaction, which can only be a good thing. The Fallen Leaves played as excellently as they always do, with frontman Rob Green looking sharp and authoritative while Rob Symmons's guitar rampaged around the room in time-honoured fashion. Their 'long held belief' that 'a good idea played badly is better than a bad idea played well' always makes me smile, but it must be said that they have an abundance of good ideas played very well indeed. Funnily enough Back To Zero are appearing with them at The 100 Club (on Sunday 22nd June, with the wonderful Eight Rounds Rapid also on the bill) as well. Co-incidence? Yes!
And it was Reggae Punk Monday last night - Demon Smiles were roaring through their last few songs as I arrived, and very good they sounded too, although the guitar could have used a bit of bottom end on it in my not-so humble opinion... I caught a couple of minutes each of Spitune and Daughters Of God (both a bit scary-sounding for a wimp like me!) but missed The Duel as it was getting late and I had to leave for the last train home. I wonder if they will ever run tube trains all night..?
In the meantime it's been three-gigs-in-three-days for your humble narrator, starting with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The Swan in Iver on Friday evening. We'd not played there for a while, and a fair-sized audience turned up to see a good show that didn't quite get into the 'great' category, although it came close a couple of times. The next night The Upper Cut returned to The Dolphin in Uxbridge - when I was there last month I spent far too much of the evening being violently sick, and while thankfully nothing quite so untoward happened this time it was still a bit of an odd evening. We began our first set to an unusually empty room; fortunately by the time the time for our second set came around the place had filled up and the show took an upward turn as a result. And with Dave away elsewhere Roger from The Upper Cut filled in on drums with Big Al and co. the next afternoon at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook. With no rehearsal possible a suitably 'simple' set of songs was decided upon, and Roger did an absolutely excellent job throughout. Then again, he usually does.
This Saturday Ruts D.C. are playing at The Circus in Helsinki - no I've never been either - and I'm really looking forward to this, not least because one of the bands on the bill is called Anal Thunder. Oh yes! More news as and when I have it, as they (whoever 'they' are) say...
Having not been at the FFRUK Reggae Punk Monday nights at The 12 Bar Club for the last few weeks I've now found myself at said establishment three times in the last seven days...
Last Tuesday myself and Back To Zero drummer Andy attended a launch party for Chris Pope's great new album 'Peace Of Mind'. Pope (that's also the name of the band) took to the stage at the early hour of 7.40pm and delivered a blazing set of songs from the new release alongside Chords classics 'Now It's Gone' and 'Maybe Tomorrow' with 'Mutiny On The Thames' sounded particularly good to my ears. Back To Zero are playing with Pope at The 100 Club on Easter Sunday 20th April ('The Groovy Easter Eggstravaganza') alongside The Legendary Groovymen and The Sha La La's which should be a night to remember, especially if Pope play as well as they did here.
The next night it was time for The Fallen Leaves to host their latest 'first-Wednesday-of-every-month' club night - I arrived in time to catch The Transients who I've seen a couple of times on these evenings and who sounded splendidly garage-y with their cover of 'See No Evil' causing much mouthing along with the words from the enthusiastic audience. Actually come to think of it quite a few of their own songs received the same reaction, which can only be a good thing. The Fallen Leaves played as excellently as they always do, with frontman Rob Green looking sharp and authoritative while Rob Symmons's guitar rampaged around the room in time-honoured fashion. Their 'long held belief' that 'a good idea played badly is better than a bad idea played well' always makes me smile, but it must be said that they have an abundance of good ideas played very well indeed. Funnily enough Back To Zero are appearing with them at The 100 Club (on Sunday 22nd June, with the wonderful Eight Rounds Rapid also on the bill) as well. Co-incidence? Yes!
And it was Reggae Punk Monday last night - Demon Smiles were roaring through their last few songs as I arrived, and very good they sounded too, although the guitar could have used a bit of bottom end on it in my not-so humble opinion... I caught a couple of minutes each of Spitune and Daughters Of God (both a bit scary-sounding for a wimp like me!) but missed The Duel as it was getting late and I had to leave for the last train home. I wonder if they will ever run tube trains all night..?
In the meantime it's been three-gigs-in-three-days for your humble narrator, starting with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The Swan in Iver on Friday evening. We'd not played there for a while, and a fair-sized audience turned up to see a good show that didn't quite get into the 'great' category, although it came close a couple of times. The next night The Upper Cut returned to The Dolphin in Uxbridge - when I was there last month I spent far too much of the evening being violently sick, and while thankfully nothing quite so untoward happened this time it was still a bit of an odd evening. We began our first set to an unusually empty room; fortunately by the time the time for our second set came around the place had filled up and the show took an upward turn as a result. And with Dave away elsewhere Roger from The Upper Cut filled in on drums with Big Al and co. the next afternoon at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook. With no rehearsal possible a suitably 'simple' set of songs was decided upon, and Roger did an absolutely excellent job throughout. Then again, he usually does.
This Saturday Ruts D.C. are playing at The Circus in Helsinki - no I've never been either - and I'm really looking forward to this, not least because one of the bands on the bill is called Anal Thunder. Oh yes! More news as and when I have it, as they (whoever 'they' are) say...
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Quo vadis?
I'd made enough of a recovery from the dreaded food poisoning by Tuesday to journey to Guildford to see The Stranglers supported by Nine Below Zero at G-Live. Nine Below Zero sounded pretty much how they sounded when I saw them in Watford before Christmas i.e. excellent if a little slower than I remember them sounding back in the day. Dennis Greaves still plays the cheeky chappie persona well, and remains an underrated singer and guitarist. I don't think I can recall seeing him play a Telecaster before although it sounded good to me, and I was close enough to the stage to hear him telling the band off a couple of times when they made mistakes - clearly not a cheeky chappie all the time then! Meanwhile The Stranglers were celebrating their 40th year as a band with a two hour long set that (I'm told) included at least one song from each of their 17 albums and which featured a three song-long mid-set appearance from veteran drummer Jet Black, which I believe is a rare occurrence these days. The audience seemed somewhat subdued until he began 'Golden Brown'; after 'Always The Sun' and 'Genetix' he left the stage to tumultuous applause after which the audience then seemed to me at least to return to their subdued selves. Strange - mind you I don't think I was the only person there that found the four screens suspended above the band to be something of a distraction during some songs. Still by the time we got to 'Five Minutes' and 'Hanging Around' things were getting a bit more lively, and the final encore of 'Tank' bought the proverbial house down. A good evening.
Friday Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks returned to The Crown in Cowley for the first time since Christmas Eve. That was a suitably noisy evening, this was rather quieter both in terms of audience numbers and band volume. We'd heard that there had been a few complaints from neighbours so both Pete and myself decided to take smaller amplifiers in an attempt to keep the noise down, and it certainly seemed to work as there were no complaints this time. Well, not to our faces anyway! When you play quieter than usual it can sometimes lead to a scrappy performance due to people not being able to play 'properly', and while there was the odd wrong turning here and there overall it was a good gig. We could have done with a few more people there though - I'm told that when the band played without me the next night several hundred yards down the road at The Three Steps it was an altogether more raucous affair. I was at The Brunswick in Hove playing a Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show with Back To Zero. We arrived just in time to miss Robby Allen And the Kite Collectors - a shame since I really enjoyed them when we played with them in Stoke back in February although I did manage to by their (excellent) album 'Mildred's Room'; I did manage to catch most of The Hiwatts's set of mod and mod-related covers before going off in search of food. The Legendary Groovymen, The Loop, The SuperMinx70 and The Past Tense all delivered strong sets, but sadly by the time we went on things were running a bit late and we were obliged to not only cut our set down but also finish before we were due to play 'Your Side Of Heaven', a situation which left some audience members somewhat disgruntled. I must admit it was all a bit frustrating in the end from our point of view, but hopefully they managed to raise some money for a very worthwhile cause.
On Sunday afternoon I accompanied Big Al Reed in his 1959 Cadillac (!) to The Sportsman in Croxley Green for a jam session that featured among others High Voltage, some Swedish friends of Good Old Boys guitarist Pete Parks - I believe he goes out there and plays several times a year and organises shows over here for them in return. When we arrived High Voltage were roaring through an AC/DC song or two, and sounding very good indeed; later Al and I joined Pete on guitar, Bill on bass and the drummer from High Voltage (I can't remember his name! Sorry!) to play 'Peter Gunn' and 'Why Why Me', and jolly good fun it was too.
If you're my age you've got to like Status Quo, or at the very least have a soft spot for them. Well I think that you have - I can remember seeing them on 'Top Of The Pops' when I was a lad playing songs like 'Caroline' and 'Down Down' and thinking that this rock 'n' roll lark looked like a pretty good thing to be involved in. Even my mum and dad liked them. With this in mind a chance to see the original line-up (the so-called 'Frantic Four') at The Hammersmith Odeon (or whatever the hell it's called these days!) seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, not least because the mighty Wilko Johnson was supporting. He sounded as great as ever - actually he sounded even greater than ever, with his 45 minute set going down so well that he could perhaps have played an encore. Everyone seems to love Wilko these days - as we all know his profile has been higher than ever since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and let's hope he continues to play for a very long time yet. And what can I say about Status Quo that hasn't already been said? Terms like 'industry standard' don't cover it - they sounded, well, exactly like Status Quo should sound, with Rick Parfitt's rhythm playing remaining one of the touchstones of British rock'n'roll guitar and the band reminding everyone present why they liked them in the first place. There could have been a few more hits (I believe the set was based around the 'Live!' album) but I think the current line-up plays them so I guess this was a night for diehards and old fans rather than followers of the chart material. But however you look at it they sounded great - and I imagine that they always did. There are some things in life that you can rely upon, and I'd say that Status Quo are one of them. And that's alright don't you think?
Friday Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks returned to The Crown in Cowley for the first time since Christmas Eve. That was a suitably noisy evening, this was rather quieter both in terms of audience numbers and band volume. We'd heard that there had been a few complaints from neighbours so both Pete and myself decided to take smaller amplifiers in an attempt to keep the noise down, and it certainly seemed to work as there were no complaints this time. Well, not to our faces anyway! When you play quieter than usual it can sometimes lead to a scrappy performance due to people not being able to play 'properly', and while there was the odd wrong turning here and there overall it was a good gig. We could have done with a few more people there though - I'm told that when the band played without me the next night several hundred yards down the road at The Three Steps it was an altogether more raucous affair. I was at The Brunswick in Hove playing a Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show with Back To Zero. We arrived just in time to miss Robby Allen And the Kite Collectors - a shame since I really enjoyed them when we played with them in Stoke back in February although I did manage to by their (excellent) album 'Mildred's Room'; I did manage to catch most of The Hiwatts's set of mod and mod-related covers before going off in search of food. The Legendary Groovymen, The Loop, The SuperMinx70 and The Past Tense all delivered strong sets, but sadly by the time we went on things were running a bit late and we were obliged to not only cut our set down but also finish before we were due to play 'Your Side Of Heaven', a situation which left some audience members somewhat disgruntled. I must admit it was all a bit frustrating in the end from our point of view, but hopefully they managed to raise some money for a very worthwhile cause.
On Sunday afternoon I accompanied Big Al Reed in his 1959 Cadillac (!) to The Sportsman in Croxley Green for a jam session that featured among others High Voltage, some Swedish friends of Good Old Boys guitarist Pete Parks - I believe he goes out there and plays several times a year and organises shows over here for them in return. When we arrived High Voltage were roaring through an AC/DC song or two, and sounding very good indeed; later Al and I joined Pete on guitar, Bill on bass and the drummer from High Voltage (I can't remember his name! Sorry!) to play 'Peter Gunn' and 'Why Why Me', and jolly good fun it was too.
If you're my age you've got to like Status Quo, or at the very least have a soft spot for them. Well I think that you have - I can remember seeing them on 'Top Of The Pops' when I was a lad playing songs like 'Caroline' and 'Down Down' and thinking that this rock 'n' roll lark looked like a pretty good thing to be involved in. Even my mum and dad liked them. With this in mind a chance to see the original line-up (the so-called 'Frantic Four') at The Hammersmith Odeon (or whatever the hell it's called these days!) seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, not least because the mighty Wilko Johnson was supporting. He sounded as great as ever - actually he sounded even greater than ever, with his 45 minute set going down so well that he could perhaps have played an encore. Everyone seems to love Wilko these days - as we all know his profile has been higher than ever since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and let's hope he continues to play for a very long time yet. And what can I say about Status Quo that hasn't already been said? Terms like 'industry standard' don't cover it - they sounded, well, exactly like Status Quo should sound, with Rick Parfitt's rhythm playing remaining one of the touchstones of British rock'n'roll guitar and the band reminding everyone present why they liked them in the first place. There could have been a few more hits (I believe the set was based around the 'Live!' album) but I think the current line-up plays them so I guess this was a night for diehards and old fans rather than followers of the chart material. But however you look at it they sounded great - and I imagine that they always did. There are some things in life that you can rely upon, and I'd say that Status Quo are one of them. And that's alright don't you think?
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Sick of being sick
Well it's a funny old life sometimes isn't it? I just looked at the end of the last blog posting, when referring to the currently-customary Monday nights at The 12 Bar Club I wrote -
'Oh well - there's always next Monday... hopefully...'
- and let's face it, that's a fair enough comment if you think about it. Well obviously I think that it is as I wrote it, but well, you know what I mean... anyway, it turned out that from my point of view there wasn't next Monday - not at The 12 Bar Club anyway. Here, as best I can recall, is the story of the last few days...
THURSDAY 20th MARCH
I spent much the day at my niece Sherrie's wedding in Weybridge. No I didn't drink too much, honest - in actual fact I stayed on the soft drinks and ate sandwiches and cake with other family members and friends. A good day. Or so I thought.
FRIDAY 21st MARCH
As I going away with Ruts D.C. the next morning it would have been nice to have had a lazy day, but instead I worked in Balcony Shirts - I'm generally in there on Wednesdays but as Ruts D.C. rehearsed that day I swapped a day with Simona and was in on Friday instead. Simple eh? A fairly busy day which I spent most of feeling tired and a bit out of sorts. Well, it had been a long day on Thursday hadn't it?
Big Al And The Blistering Buicks were playing at The Dolphin in Uxbridge that evening - Pete and myself hatched a plan to go there early and have a curry (one each, not one between us!) before everyone else arrived. To this end we were there around 7 o'clock, and spent the next hour working our way through some food and drink. And very nice it was too. Soon enough the rest of the band arrived - we all set up and readied ourselves for action. But all was not well, at least from my point of view. I was tired - really tired - and hot. Really hot. As in sweating and everything. Please don't let this mean I'm getting the flu or something like it. Please.
The first set then, and I feel terrible. Terrible. But we're playing well and people are enjoying it, so that's ok. But I'm dizzy and my stomach feels like it's swelling up. What on Earth is going on? By the interval I'm feeling even worse, to the extent that I'm not sure if I can manage the second set. Don't silly Leigh, just get on with it. We start again and I nearly overbalance, I make it to the third number before it all gets too much - I take my guitar off as slowly and as calmly as I can, put it down and stumble to the nearest gents toilet. I then spend the next song-and-a-half being violently and horribly sick. Urgh! And what song were we playing when it all got too much - 'We Gotta Get Out Of This Place'... I'm back in the band for 'Shakin' All Over' but off again for 'Sharp Dressed Man' - I make it to the end of the set but then it's time to be sick again. Not the best evening - although it wasn't a bad gig, if you see what I mean.
SATURDAY 22ND MARCH
I woke up after around 4 hours of broken, fitful sleep. It was 6am. As I came to my senses I realised that I felt how I would imagine that I would have felt if I'd spent some time in the ring with Mike Tyson in his prime. I had the very definition of a 'splitting headache', my stomach was churning, my sides hurt and I doubt that I would have had a worse taste in my mouth if I'd been drinking paint stripper. Not good frankly. But, incredibly, there was no time to worry about any of that, as I had to get myself across to South London to meet the rest of Ruts D.C. before flying from Gatwick Airport to Amsterdam to play at The Rebellion Festival. I'd been looking forward to this since we first got the gig - now I had no idea how or indeed if I was going to be able to do the show.
'Hey guys - we're in Amsterdam!' And we were. Segs sounded excited, and why shouldn't he be? And I felt a bit better, although the words 'a bit' are quite important here. I'd slept for most of the car journey to the airport and for indeed most the flight, and had been steadily drinking bottled water in an attempt to rehydrate myself - that's the thing that you're supposed to do at times such as this isn't it? As we took a cab from Schiphol to The Milkweg Amsterdam looked pretty much how it was supposed to. Judging by my reflection in the rear view mirror I on the other hand looked grey and cold - which was pretty much how I felt. But even that was better than earlier so things were looking up. Sort of. We met Molara at the venue, who upon hearing of my plight immediately took charge, ordering me to find 'dry crackers, and sugary drinks like Sprite, 7-Up, Pepsi' - after swallowing what I thought was a potentially unwise amount I was amazed to find myself getting a burst of energy. Suddenly I had a way of getting through the show. Probably. Good. In the meantime we've got to check in at our hotel - as we walk around the corner a voice shouts 'RUTS' and a huge cheery man gets out of a small car followed by a couple of friends, they've come from Poland to see the show and ask Dave and Segs for photos with them. A nice moment.
My alarm woke me up at 5.45pm. We're due on in 90 minutes. As my head clears I realise that I feel... ok... ish... I get up and head back to the venue. Time to go to work. When I get back to The Milkweg Department S are on and Jed is behind The Damned (they're on after us) merchandise table. It's nice to see some familiar faces - things are getting better all the time. I climb the spiral staircase to the dressing rooms and meet various Damned members along the way before bumping into Jon their guitar tech who upon hearing of my condition immediately offers to help me with my equipment. Top man! I've got a Marshall stack to play through, I've bought my effect pedals with me and there are new strings on my Les Paul - at last it's time for some music. But first, some sugary drinks to wash the crackers down. Rock 'n' Roll eh?
Quarter past seven and I'm on stage. 12 hours earlier I wasn't sure that I would be. We start with 'Mighty Soldier' and my guitar is heavier on my shoulder than I remember it being. But it's alright. We play, and we play, and we play, and we go down better and better as we do so. After 'Love In Vain' a chap gets on stage and asks us to 'play a song for Foxy' - I think about saying something like 'I play them all for Foxy mate' but I don't feel like it, and anyway I've a funny feeling he did something like that at another gig and I said it then. Oh well. Segs calls 'Something That I Said' instead of 'West One (Shine On Me)', I put everything I can into the guitar solo, and halfway though it I burp and for want of a better term, something appears in my mouth... I make a mistake (it happens at 2.14 in this clip - well, that's my excuse anyway!) which annoys me but I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself. We finish with 'Society' and the whole place goes crazy. Job done. Good.
Afterwards I watch a few songs from The Damned who sound as great as ever, with Dave Vanian looking like a demonic dentist and Captain Sensible on great form. I see a song or two by Goldblade then meet T.V. Smith in the bar, it's been ages since we've seen each other and I say how much I'd love to stay and chat but suddenly I'm flagging dramatically. It's time to call it a day. But I'm pleased that I've got this far; I'm pleased to have done anything at all. As all around me plan to watch headliners Cock Sparrer and continue the festivities into the small hours I share a cab with Molara back to our hotel. I get to my room, go in and close the door. Suddenly I feel rough. I put the television on and find a Jimi Hendrix documentary and a (presumably) Dutch version of 'Have I Got News For You'. Oh and 'QI' in English. Things aren't all bad. They rarely are if you think about it.
SUNDAY 23RD MARCH
The next morning dawned early, as we had to be at the airport for 9am. Judging by the looks of Dave Segs and Nick our soundman they'd had a good night. And why not? At Schiphol there's a large 'Bird Control' photo display board that amuses Nick no end, and beers are being ordered before 10 o'clock to celebrate Dave's birthday - I decide to brave a latte and some toast, which thankfully doesn't re-appear. I then spend the flight to Gatwick drifting in and out of consciousness and the car journey back to London in a similar state. When I get home I go to sleep. Who said coffee keeps you awake?
My alarm woke me up 45 minutes earlier than it had the previous day. Time to go to work again - Big Al and co. are playing at The Horns in Watford. I travel over with Pete who thankfully has had no ill effects from Friday's food. That's good. That's very good. It looks as though I was just unlucky.
The Hill St. Blues Band are still playing when we arrive at The Horns - I say hello to the rest of the band and recount the horrors (and indeed the good bits) of the last day or so. We're due on around 7.30 so there's time for a glass of water (!) and a chat with some of Al's friends before we set up and get ready to play. The band had performed without me the night before so this is their third show in a row, it shows with everyone on form and Paul the soundman getting a great balance. The first set goes so well that we're offered a return gig in the interval, and the second set has a celebratory feel as a result. I feel a bit shaky here and feel very tired during the encore, but it's a great end to the weekend.
MONDAY 24th MARCH
By the time I get to Balcony Shirts I feel so bad that I'm ready to turn around and go home again. Bugger. I stumble through the day, occasionally recounting tales of the weekend to Simona, customers, anyone that will listen, all the while feeling at best bad and at worst dreadful. I make a couple of daft mistakes in the shop which annoy me, but I decide that there's no point in being silly about it. I'm not well after all.
In the evening I get home and consider my options. There are no options. I'm not going to The 12 Bar Club. Oh well. There's always next Monday. Hopefully.
POST SCRIPT - TUESDAY 25th MARCH
I spent Monday evening writing much of the above and then having an early-ish night. A good move methinks. Not long after I got up this morning I received a phone call from my brother Terry - after saying hello he asked how I was feeling, I assumed he'd heard about me being ill but it turned out that he and 'a dozen or more' of the wedding party had been ill with stomach problems since Thursday. Was it the egg sandwiches we wondered? Who knows. But I'm feeling better. At last. Onwards and upwards, as they say. Whoever 'they' are...
'Oh well - there's always next Monday... hopefully...'
- and let's face it, that's a fair enough comment if you think about it. Well obviously I think that it is as I wrote it, but well, you know what I mean... anyway, it turned out that from my point of view there wasn't next Monday - not at The 12 Bar Club anyway. Here, as best I can recall, is the story of the last few days...
THURSDAY 20th MARCH
I spent much the day at my niece Sherrie's wedding in Weybridge. No I didn't drink too much, honest - in actual fact I stayed on the soft drinks and ate sandwiches and cake with other family members and friends. A good day. Or so I thought.
FRIDAY 21st MARCH
As I going away with Ruts D.C. the next morning it would have been nice to have had a lazy day, but instead I worked in Balcony Shirts - I'm generally in there on Wednesdays but as Ruts D.C. rehearsed that day I swapped a day with Simona and was in on Friday instead. Simple eh? A fairly busy day which I spent most of feeling tired and a bit out of sorts. Well, it had been a long day on Thursday hadn't it?
Big Al And The Blistering Buicks were playing at The Dolphin in Uxbridge that evening - Pete and myself hatched a plan to go there early and have a curry (one each, not one between us!) before everyone else arrived. To this end we were there around 7 o'clock, and spent the next hour working our way through some food and drink. And very nice it was too. Soon enough the rest of the band arrived - we all set up and readied ourselves for action. But all was not well, at least from my point of view. I was tired - really tired - and hot. Really hot. As in sweating and everything. Please don't let this mean I'm getting the flu or something like it. Please.
The first set then, and I feel terrible. Terrible. But we're playing well and people are enjoying it, so that's ok. But I'm dizzy and my stomach feels like it's swelling up. What on Earth is going on? By the interval I'm feeling even worse, to the extent that I'm not sure if I can manage the second set. Don't silly Leigh, just get on with it. We start again and I nearly overbalance, I make it to the third number before it all gets too much - I take my guitar off as slowly and as calmly as I can, put it down and stumble to the nearest gents toilet. I then spend the next song-and-a-half being violently and horribly sick. Urgh! And what song were we playing when it all got too much - 'We Gotta Get Out Of This Place'... I'm back in the band for 'Shakin' All Over' but off again for 'Sharp Dressed Man' - I make it to the end of the set but then it's time to be sick again. Not the best evening - although it wasn't a bad gig, if you see what I mean.
SATURDAY 22ND MARCH
I woke up after around 4 hours of broken, fitful sleep. It was 6am. As I came to my senses I realised that I felt how I would imagine that I would have felt if I'd spent some time in the ring with Mike Tyson in his prime. I had the very definition of a 'splitting headache', my stomach was churning, my sides hurt and I doubt that I would have had a worse taste in my mouth if I'd been drinking paint stripper. Not good frankly. But, incredibly, there was no time to worry about any of that, as I had to get myself across to South London to meet the rest of Ruts D.C. before flying from Gatwick Airport to Amsterdam to play at The Rebellion Festival. I'd been looking forward to this since we first got the gig - now I had no idea how or indeed if I was going to be able to do the show.
'Hey guys - we're in Amsterdam!' And we were. Segs sounded excited, and why shouldn't he be? And I felt a bit better, although the words 'a bit' are quite important here. I'd slept for most of the car journey to the airport and for indeed most the flight, and had been steadily drinking bottled water in an attempt to rehydrate myself - that's the thing that you're supposed to do at times such as this isn't it? As we took a cab from Schiphol to The Milkweg Amsterdam looked pretty much how it was supposed to. Judging by my reflection in the rear view mirror I on the other hand looked grey and cold - which was pretty much how I felt. But even that was better than earlier so things were looking up. Sort of. We met Molara at the venue, who upon hearing of my plight immediately took charge, ordering me to find 'dry crackers, and sugary drinks like Sprite, 7-Up, Pepsi' - after swallowing what I thought was a potentially unwise amount I was amazed to find myself getting a burst of energy. Suddenly I had a way of getting through the show. Probably. Good. In the meantime we've got to check in at our hotel - as we walk around the corner a voice shouts 'RUTS' and a huge cheery man gets out of a small car followed by a couple of friends, they've come from Poland to see the show and ask Dave and Segs for photos with them. A nice moment.
My alarm woke me up at 5.45pm. We're due on in 90 minutes. As my head clears I realise that I feel... ok... ish... I get up and head back to the venue. Time to go to work. When I get back to The Milkweg Department S are on and Jed is behind The Damned (they're on after us) merchandise table. It's nice to see some familiar faces - things are getting better all the time. I climb the spiral staircase to the dressing rooms and meet various Damned members along the way before bumping into Jon their guitar tech who upon hearing of my condition immediately offers to help me with my equipment. Top man! I've got a Marshall stack to play through, I've bought my effect pedals with me and there are new strings on my Les Paul - at last it's time for some music. But first, some sugary drinks to wash the crackers down. Rock 'n' Roll eh?
Quarter past seven and I'm on stage. 12 hours earlier I wasn't sure that I would be. We start with 'Mighty Soldier' and my guitar is heavier on my shoulder than I remember it being. But it's alright. We play, and we play, and we play, and we go down better and better as we do so. After 'Love In Vain' a chap gets on stage and asks us to 'play a song for Foxy' - I think about saying something like 'I play them all for Foxy mate' but I don't feel like it, and anyway I've a funny feeling he did something like that at another gig and I said it then. Oh well. Segs calls 'Something That I Said' instead of 'West One (Shine On Me)', I put everything I can into the guitar solo, and halfway though it I burp and for want of a better term, something appears in my mouth... I make a mistake (it happens at 2.14 in this clip - well, that's my excuse anyway!) which annoys me but I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself. We finish with 'Society' and the whole place goes crazy. Job done. Good.
Afterwards I watch a few songs from The Damned who sound as great as ever, with Dave Vanian looking like a demonic dentist and Captain Sensible on great form. I see a song or two by Goldblade then meet T.V. Smith in the bar, it's been ages since we've seen each other and I say how much I'd love to stay and chat but suddenly I'm flagging dramatically. It's time to call it a day. But I'm pleased that I've got this far; I'm pleased to have done anything at all. As all around me plan to watch headliners Cock Sparrer and continue the festivities into the small hours I share a cab with Molara back to our hotel. I get to my room, go in and close the door. Suddenly I feel rough. I put the television on and find a Jimi Hendrix documentary and a (presumably) Dutch version of 'Have I Got News For You'. Oh and 'QI' in English. Things aren't all bad. They rarely are if you think about it.
SUNDAY 23RD MARCH
The next morning dawned early, as we had to be at the airport for 9am. Judging by the looks of Dave Segs and Nick our soundman they'd had a good night. And why not? At Schiphol there's a large 'Bird Control' photo display board that amuses Nick no end, and beers are being ordered before 10 o'clock to celebrate Dave's birthday - I decide to brave a latte and some toast, which thankfully doesn't re-appear. I then spend the flight to Gatwick drifting in and out of consciousness and the car journey back to London in a similar state. When I get home I go to sleep. Who said coffee keeps you awake?
My alarm woke me up 45 minutes earlier than it had the previous day. Time to go to work again - Big Al and co. are playing at The Horns in Watford. I travel over with Pete who thankfully has had no ill effects from Friday's food. That's good. That's very good. It looks as though I was just unlucky.
The Hill St. Blues Band are still playing when we arrive at The Horns - I say hello to the rest of the band and recount the horrors (and indeed the good bits) of the last day or so. We're due on around 7.30 so there's time for a glass of water (!) and a chat with some of Al's friends before we set up and get ready to play. The band had performed without me the night before so this is their third show in a row, it shows with everyone on form and Paul the soundman getting a great balance. The first set goes so well that we're offered a return gig in the interval, and the second set has a celebratory feel as a result. I feel a bit shaky here and feel very tired during the encore, but it's a great end to the weekend.
MONDAY 24th MARCH
By the time I get to Balcony Shirts I feel so bad that I'm ready to turn around and go home again. Bugger. I stumble through the day, occasionally recounting tales of the weekend to Simona, customers, anyone that will listen, all the while feeling at best bad and at worst dreadful. I make a couple of daft mistakes in the shop which annoy me, but I decide that there's no point in being silly about it. I'm not well after all.
In the evening I get home and consider my options. There are no options. I'm not going to The 12 Bar Club. Oh well. There's always next Monday. Hopefully.
POST SCRIPT - TUESDAY 25th MARCH
I spent Monday evening writing much of the above and then having an early-ish night. A good move methinks. Not long after I got up this morning I received a phone call from my brother Terry - after saying hello he asked how I was feeling, I assumed he'd heard about me being ill but it turned out that he and 'a dozen or more' of the wedding party had been ill with stomach problems since Thursday. Was it the egg sandwiches we wondered? Who knows. But I'm feeling better. At last. Onwards and upwards, as they say. Whoever 'they' are...
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Arguments For Socialism
'The House will forgive me for quoting five democratic questions that I have developed during my life. If one meets a powerful person - Rupert Murdoch, perhaps, or Joe Stalin or Hitler - one can ask five questions: what power do you have; where did you get it; in whose interests do you exercise it; to whom are you accountable; and, how can we get rid of you? Anyone who cannot answer the last of those questions does not live in a democratic system.'
- Tony Benn, during his final speech to The House Of Commons, 22nd March 2001
Tony Benn died on Friday. For what my opinion is worth I think that he was a remarkable man, and that The World is a lesser place for his passing. I met him a few times - you can read the story of one such encounter here if you like - and on every occasion he seemed to me to be an absolute gentleman, which considering that he spent much of his life among professional politicians counts as a real achievement if you think about it. In the last few days it's been interesting to hear the odious, self-serving creeps that currently inhabit our government attempting to say something vaguely nice about a man that they so obviously hated for his honesty and conviction, two qualities that they themselves wouldn't know if their miserable, corrupt little lives depended upon it. It's easy to criticise Benn for being an idealist, or for being unrealistic about how his ideas would translate into the 'real' World, but I think that misses the point - here was a man who was unafraid to state his beliefs and stand by them, which is perhaps something that many in Westminster won't do or indeed can't understand. Strange isn't it? You might have thought that they'd realise that honesty and integrity are actually qualities worth having, rather than saying anything that they think might make them more attractive to us long-suffering members of the general public regardless of whether they believe it or not, all for a fear of making themselves unelectable or because they are obliged to tow the party line. As we sink further and further into coalition - orchestrated oblivion we need men like Tony Benn (and indeed Bob Crow) more than ever - but where are they going to come from? Now there's a question...
And if that's not bad enough, Scott Asheton has died. Also known as Rock Action (that's got to be the best rock 'n' roll name ever hasn't it?!?) he was a founder member of The Stooges, and is so by definition one of the most influential drummers of all time. His work on 'The Stooges', 'Fun House' and 'Raw Power' helped to inspire countless punk players, and when the band reformed in 2003 he and his late brother Ron finally received the recognition (and indeed financial reward) that they so richly deserved. Iggy Pop's comment that 'I've never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton' says it all - a very sad loss.
In the meantime Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played at The Halfway House in Rickmansworth on Friday evening. With Dave busy elsewhere Mac Poole depped on drums - since we were all there early it was great to have chance to talk to Mac about some of his illustrious past, and I must admit that I could have listened to his stories of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Move (among many others) for hours. But we had a gig to play, and a good gig it was too, with more dates being offered at the end of the evening and a positive reaction all round.
The next night The Upper Cut returned to The Load Of Hay in Uxbridge for the first time in quite a while. Sad to say the place seems to have gone downhill since I used to book Sunday night acoustic gigs there a few years ago, to such an extent that they ran out of lager and indeed quite a few other beers during the course of the evening. Strange - you realise that a pub without beer is, well, not very much at all really... as a result several people went home in disgust and others expressed their general annoyance to all and sundry - I must admit I was more concerned when my amplifier blew a fuse when I first turned it on, although it thankfully worked fine for the rest of the evening. An odd night.
And yesterday was of course St. Patrick's Day - it was also time for another Reggae Punk Monday at The 12 Bar Club. Heroically resisting the temptation to order a gallon of Guinness I thoroughly enjoyed Dave Kusworth's brand of low-slung-guitar-powered rock'n'roll but had to leave for the last train home before The Duel played. Oh well - there's always next Monday... hopefully...
- Tony Benn, during his final speech to The House Of Commons, 22nd March 2001
Tony Benn died on Friday. For what my opinion is worth I think that he was a remarkable man, and that The World is a lesser place for his passing. I met him a few times - you can read the story of one such encounter here if you like - and on every occasion he seemed to me to be an absolute gentleman, which considering that he spent much of his life among professional politicians counts as a real achievement if you think about it. In the last few days it's been interesting to hear the odious, self-serving creeps that currently inhabit our government attempting to say something vaguely nice about a man that they so obviously hated for his honesty and conviction, two qualities that they themselves wouldn't know if their miserable, corrupt little lives depended upon it. It's easy to criticise Benn for being an idealist, or for being unrealistic about how his ideas would translate into the 'real' World, but I think that misses the point - here was a man who was unafraid to state his beliefs and stand by them, which is perhaps something that many in Westminster won't do or indeed can't understand. Strange isn't it? You might have thought that they'd realise that honesty and integrity are actually qualities worth having, rather than saying anything that they think might make them more attractive to us long-suffering members of the general public regardless of whether they believe it or not, all for a fear of making themselves unelectable or because they are obliged to tow the party line. As we sink further and further into coalition - orchestrated oblivion we need men like Tony Benn (and indeed Bob Crow) more than ever - but where are they going to come from? Now there's a question...
And if that's not bad enough, Scott Asheton has died. Also known as Rock Action (that's got to be the best rock 'n' roll name ever hasn't it?!?) he was a founder member of The Stooges, and is so by definition one of the most influential drummers of all time. His work on 'The Stooges', 'Fun House' and 'Raw Power' helped to inspire countless punk players, and when the band reformed in 2003 he and his late brother Ron finally received the recognition (and indeed financial reward) that they so richly deserved. Iggy Pop's comment that 'I've never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton' says it all - a very sad loss.
In the meantime Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played at The Halfway House in Rickmansworth on Friday evening. With Dave busy elsewhere Mac Poole depped on drums - since we were all there early it was great to have chance to talk to Mac about some of his illustrious past, and I must admit that I could have listened to his stories of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Move (among many others) for hours. But we had a gig to play, and a good gig it was too, with more dates being offered at the end of the evening and a positive reaction all round.
The next night The Upper Cut returned to The Load Of Hay in Uxbridge for the first time in quite a while. Sad to say the place seems to have gone downhill since I used to book Sunday night acoustic gigs there a few years ago, to such an extent that they ran out of lager and indeed quite a few other beers during the course of the evening. Strange - you realise that a pub without beer is, well, not very much at all really... as a result several people went home in disgust and others expressed their general annoyance to all and sundry - I must admit I was more concerned when my amplifier blew a fuse when I first turned it on, although it thankfully worked fine for the rest of the evening. An odd night.
And yesterday was of course St. Patrick's Day - it was also time for another Reggae Punk Monday at The 12 Bar Club. Heroically resisting the temptation to order a gallon of Guinness I thoroughly enjoyed Dave Kusworth's brand of low-slung-guitar-powered rock'n'roll but had to leave for the last train home before The Duel played. Oh well - there's always next Monday... hopefully...
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