Went to see Om in September in a shed in Brum. It was a good gig (if slightly short tbh), but great to meet up with Jules and Ian. Anyway took photos, but flash was out of action, and also dropped camera getting out of the car when I got home so much of the film was light fogged. This has helped some pretty gash pictures look at least mildly interesting. Or so I say... First 2 are the doom tubas of ORE. Some passable pics of Al maybe???
Sad news that Lux Interior died yesterday. Possibly the only other living person I actually wanted to be, I pretty much TRIED to be him thru my late teens. The fact he rocked right up to his death (aged 62) is just great. He and Ivy embody the free, wild, fun awesome heights that passionate music (no matter how rudimentary) can reach. The Cramps were great and so was Lux.
Last saw them with George in 2005 at Rock City, and they were hilarious and unique. Lux ending naked sniffing and singing through Ivy's spike heeled boot having removed part of her wig (after climbing the PA and whipping himself with his belt).
Stay sick and turn blue mad daddy. Here's some clippage:
Third time to see Melt Banana at the end of a bittersweet day as I said goodbye (probably temporarily) to my student status earlier in the afternoon. This meant a poor Illusionator mood and lack of attentiveness to tales of holidays from George and enthusiasm from Mr Eldritch (I know, fucking hell), sorry for being such a wet wank.
Rolo Tomassi were the support. I saw some young people making music. (Thanks Chris for the idea for this part of the shite)
Main act were Melt Banana, whom I've loved for a long while. Tonight though my disappointment (mild) wasn't just because I was feeling low. They were very good, polished, put it over in a professionally aggressive way, quality control is never an issue. But, as alluded to in my last trip to see them (when much admiration-semen was spilt), their set has changed little over the 5 years since I first saw them. Ironic this becomes a problem when they HAVE made some changes. Anyway, my disappointment focused most keenly during the "short songs" bit. It's fun 'n' all, and people react to it with mirth and enthusiasm, but they do it EVERY TIME, and for me it's got a bit old.
So to sum up, a very good gig, worth the admission, but there's a sense of MxBx standing still. It's a nice place to stand, but what I loved about them was the manic rush to the new, and maybe that's gone, psychodynamically speaking there's some linking to be done there I'm sure.
And finally, they did do "Love Song" not "Neat Neat Neat" 5 years ago guys, trust me for once.
Weeeeeelllll. Saw some lovely Specialized S-Works bikes in Freewheel on the way down the hill to Bunker's Hill, and was bought a drink by the lovely Mr Eldritch as congrats for course pass-age (I did briefly become my dad when remembering going out for a night with £5 in ma yoot - the cost plus 55p for our 2 drinks). Then to ice the cake Mr C Summerlin came thru' on the posters (and how wrong does that sound but it's staying now), thanks for all the freebies Chris, lovely stuff.
We went in to the upstairs room at BH, which I really like (blowing the myth that I don't like any venue) apart from the artexing looking very shonky and indeed of making good, no Welsh barmaid this time (indeed the upstairs bar looked shut, not that I was buying at that price), and took a seat right at stage front right.
We were treated to a great set by Patrick Farmer and the aforementioned Mr Summerlin, I had seen PF with the Designer Babies (supporting Melt Banana a few years back), and could see he knew how a drum kit worked. Tonight though he was really good, maybe freer to improvise, small set up, bass drum, snare and what looked like a single timbale plus one cymbal and hi-hat. He festooned these with various other percussion ephemera and was constantly in motion. CS switching from banjo (home-made electrification, very Nick Knowles) to guitar made some sexy swooshes rills and curls. I thought I was being original thinking of Mick Turner and Jim White, but Damn You had described them as such beforehand, so I am just another herd sweller. There is an element of transportation to Victorian Victoria (Australia), and you expected gunfire, or a spicy laydee in clothes of silk to burst forth. Cool.
Then came Gareth Hardwick, who I'm sure I've seen before, just can't place where. Personally I felt he had a tough ask following CS and PF, but worked some nice wave-like sound cycles, and generally kept me transported. There were a couple of times when I was watching other things and worrying about that artex, but all-in-all he done good.
Finally came Lichens (or Robert A. Lowe as QVC may know him). It is really hard to review something so oddly mesmerizing as seeing this man perform. Palmer has had a good go earlier this week (it'll be better than my effort). He is just very... different. How though, bloody hell there's a knack to all this that i don't possess. here's my blind slash at it anyway, he sounds like all the sounds of nature crossed with Ry Cooder gently humping Leo Kotke, while a choir goes through its paces in the background... See I said it was hard to describe. Anyway it's not so bestial as that (maybe I'm not getting enough eh?) but it is a mind-fuck and it's hard to believe the sounds are coming out of him (much like miserablist 80s pop artiste Black), but they are I tell you they are. He was also assisted by a guy with many wonderful electronic things and a cheeky hat! Mr E thought he may be Lichens collaborator White, but that's unconfirmed by me right?
It was good to chat with Chris and Peter and nice for PE's fans to finally meet him in all his glory (he is a fine figure of a man), and hey that Bettini World Champ Quickstep Specialized S-Works was still in the window when we went past (still think the pink one's a ladies though - it's the saddle). Salut (apres un clip de Lichens en Paris dans 2007, c'est j'vais en vacance ici pour une semain)!
Went along last night. Don't really like the Maze as a venue, but seen some decent shows there I s'pose, for a DY joint finished reasonably early (I was home at 12), so good for elderly me.
Stomach were fucking diabolical. And not in a good way. Brought their little pals though...bless!
Tropics were good if a bit green (pisspoor name too lads).
First, blog direction. Once I get settled and my course out the way, one way or another, the blog will become more focused on video games, with just the odd bit of me dicking about thrown in. Or maybe it won't, depends how I feel.
So vid games first, despite having a Wii now (stupid name) am sworn off games 'til course has run its course, so nothing to see here.
In music, saw Half Man Half Biscuit (for the fourth time) at Rock City (thanks Beth for belated Xmas prezzie) last week. Contrary to last time they were great and there was little lariness from the crowd. Excellent, Mr Eldritch's (my oppo on the night) review here.
Saw the best film I've seen in some considerable time with fellow work interns last week. It were Lars and the Real Girl and it was beautiful and touching, perfectly weighted and didn't put a foot wrong.
Talking of feet, congrats to Notts for clawing their way to continuing league status with a gritty performance v Wycombe. Outclassed on the day by a side with better skills and better team abilities the rugged Notts defence held out and it was fitting that my player of the year Richard Butcher got the goal that saved us (very surprised Pilko got players' and fans' awards well though he's played). Phew!
Finally a TV recommendation. Kids' show Hedz (BBC2 Saturday mornings) is great!!!! OK it's just people dicking about with big cardboard cut-outs on their faces, but it is great (if reminiscent of Vic and Bob's Action Image Exchange [with hand gestures]). Here's a clip that demonstrates more sophisticated political humour than the once-great Have I Got News for You which has been awful first 2 shows up.
But before that just a quick description of De Montfort Uni's new way of allocating places at free concerts. First, do not advertise the show widely, sensible really as you don't want a Uni facility mobbed (although I don't think Merzbow is that much of a draw in the UK). Second get people to ring a number off of the one website advertising the show, then put an answer-phone on the end. Thirdly do not ring people back to let them know if it's OK to come. Finally, see who shows up on the night, leaving one thirties-ish woman with a clipboard to manage a crusty noise-philic bunch (including big skinhead) alone. She was quite scary though so well done her. Anyway we got in as we were "on the list" despite not being made aware of that beforehand. Two reviews follow:
Plain Face I was really nervous when I saw that everyone in the ensemble had earplugs, I've scoffed at people going to see Sunn o))) and ear-defending, but here it felt like it was me who'd missed a trick. I was half smiling half grimacing throughout, but a lot of it was just fucking painful, like listening to someone tuning a radio, while the dentist drilled away at my own molars and someone played Pong on God's old Atari system...for an hour and a half. Some smug arty twats were doing the deep philosophical head-nodding during the "performance". Man, that's annoying (and inappropriate), other electronics-wiz John Richards was doing it too, but at least had an excuse being part of the show. It hurt and nearly broke my ears. Quite a few people walked out.
Defaced Side This was an experimental journey (hate that use of that word), not intended to be pristine, precise or for general release. It's road testing, trail blazing and exploration. There is a fair element of chance to the sound created, and that makes for some intimacy of a unique shared experience for those present. The volume was pretty high, and that washed some folk away, but the sheer visceral thump and scrape of the sound-scapes made for a real whole body experience that had me grimacing with real pain and smiling with some joy. There were waterfalls, stone monoliths metalwork shops and Frankenstein's lab.
I certainly will remember it for some time (for both reasons), Palmer has his say here liked the "support...none" bit, like you'd need some emotional back-up after the aural trauma.
Another week began (last week - this is written in retrospect as opposed to some sort of bizarre time travel experiment) with another cycling doping story. Rob Hayles' suspicious blood test (abnormal high haematocrit level) seemed about to put the mockers on what was lining up to be a good week for the GB track team at the World Championships in Manchester.
To be honest, Brad Wiggins' destruction of the field in the 3k individual pursuit wiped away all thoughts of dopage, and began a week long love-in with our oven-ready-chicken thighed athletes. Great stuff from Wiggins, Vicky Pendleton (see pic in this previous post), Chris Hoy and (most remarkably getting some prime-time TV exposure) Rebecca Romero. But the status of the sport was shown by the feel good piece at the end of Friday's BBC 1 news, a piece that started out as ostensibly a bigging up of Romero (rightly IMO due to her being a former rowing Olympic gold winner, and now being a World Champion cyclist, pretty spesh) however 20 seconds in it became a preview of the University Boat Race, surely the most overrated and irrelevant sporting event to grace our TV screens (and live for 2 hours!!!!!). At the end Romero was chiefly forgotten as BBC bigged up the posh boys' cox.
Ho hum, at least I'm pleased we are now the dominant nation in track cycling, even if we're not ready to celebrate it yet.
And with that I'll be off and leave you with Bilge Pump playing "I am Perfectly Fine" (?title from the Dorothy Parker short story of the same name, that'd be good?) live in a laundry in Portugal. It is my fave song at the moment and is on their excellent second album "Rupert the Sky" - go buy it. Ignore the teenies fighting at the start. Or not. Up to you.
Long time since I did a gig review, and a long time since I've felt soooo old, but Thursday night I did. Another Damn You/Gringo joint, and a return for a second time for me to the Rose, surely Nottingham's scuzziest venue (like that's a bad thing). As with all DY gigs the "door at 8.30" message proved hideously inaccurate,and for a 41 year old a 12.25 finish is just too late, but this was Lords and Bilge Pump, two of my favourite bands about right now, and seeing them together is usually a guarantee of milky goodness, que no?
Not in This Town opened, I'm assured by Naylor that we've seen them before, and they did ring some bells, but I can't think where or when. Palm and Naylor liked them, I have to say they weren't my cup of tea. They were quite fun 'n' all, but it didn't quite work for me, it was like three disparate elements never gelling, and while I'd encourage them to go on, because they got a good response from an admittedly partisan audience, I'd not rush out to see them on their own. A passable start though.
Next came Lords. I love Lords, me, although tonight was a different show for them. The release of the new album Everyone is People in June necessitates showcasing the new material, and in this they were really successful. A more aggressive, louder and sexier brand of Lords-swamp-rock seems to be evident, and for the most part this really worked well. The older material did suffer a bit for me though. Certainly Pint of Wine seemed to be quite dismissively rushed through and I Shook the Royal Throne and Unfortunate Death of the Lords didn't benefit from the faster more muscular approach either. So this showing was a hard one for me to square, still love the band, find the new material really exciting, but wish they were a bit more reverent with the "oldies", because they have some real nuggets there that need to be polished up a bit more than they were on Thursday. Reading that back it sounds really negative, and that isn't really what I feel, they were 8 out of 10 good, and a raucous laugh, just maybe a slightly odd aftertaste queering my pitch. They're away on tour at the mo' go see them and see for yourself, it doesn't get much more awesomerer than The Rememberer.
Maybe in part Lords' haste was due to the fact this gig seemed to be mainly a kinda launch for the new Bilge Pump album Rupert the Sky. I think I've been the keenest on BP of the three of us from the get-go, but tonight they ramped up the stakes with some awesome new (to me) stuff and a longer louder set than I've seen them do in the past. I'd have to say they also ballsed my fave song/medley Bastard Scaffolder into Up the Nest by playing it too fast, so maybe there's something in the air/water for them and Lords too. They were fucking great though, deserved the headline billing, and the new album really is a big step up from Let Me Breathe. Get on the bus now.
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