Translate

Sunday 27 October 2013

Actually this wasn't too bad either


Lou Reed

My Facebook feed is full of tributes and songs tonight.  Fuck me, I've only got 79 friends (too many).  Feel sorry for the poor buggers with thousands of friends.  Still, I think I'll write something anyway.

I went to see Lou Reed at The Sage in June 2006 (here's the set list).  I've just gone back to my old blog to see if I reviewed it but sadly I was on a break.  I would have been interested to see what I said at the time.

Can't remember an awful lot to be honest.  It was a hard time for me and my family and I'm sure my mind will have been elsewhere.

Bits are starting to come back though.

1.  His drummer played in a glass cage.
2.  He had a real muso bass player who as well as playing a 5 string bass played a load of obscure instruments.
3.  Lou Reed brought his Tai Chi teacher with him on tour and invited him on stage to strut his stuff at the end of the set.
4. Lou had an electronic autocue with the lyrics on
5  I'm pretty sure it was just pretentious shit.

Sorry I'm not going to hypocritical.

Of course it was not always that way, I loved Transformer and New York.  And then there was the Velvets and their legacy, some of the best songs ever.  Here's 5 of my best off the top of my head

1.  Heroin
2.  Venus in Furs
3.  Femme Fatale
4.  Stephanie Says
5. I'll be your Mirror

But to be honest and I know it's unlikely anybody will share my view but this is my best memory. Bit weird I almost posted this link this morning before I found out LR had died.  "Weathered Hand" indeed!


PS Post number 45 for the year (my marker).

End of BST part 2

Thursday 24 October 4 Play at Dr Browns

Georgie Brown
Shoot The Poet
Cellar Door

and Saturday 26 October at MIMA

By Toutatis
Sarah Procter
Abel Raise The Cain
John & The Ragmen/Sarah Proctor/The Purnells
Old Shruggings

Middlesbrough is for the most part a rock'n'roll city town.





End of BST

Historically, I've never liked this day of the year.  You get an extra hour in bed but not being a great sleeper I just tend to get up an hour earlier.  I then just spend all day watching the clock go round until it gets dark an hour earlier than yesterday.

Nobody can deny we've had a good run with the summer though eh?  After going out last night (more later) I decided to walk home and it was still warm about 11-30.  Apart from the odd day I reckon the weather's been clement since the early Spring.  And if the forecast is right we're even going to miss the worst of that big storm that's brewing tonight.   Ouch!  Call call me a selfish bastard but if turns out that way hard lines southern dudes.

So walking home last night from the town was rather pleasant.  Kids still playing out (really)  in the little playground next to the old white bridge (sorry, only very local residents will know where I'm on about.   Also local residents will know it's a local blackspot for muggings but half-cut with drink I felt an element of invincibility and obviously didn't think it  through.  Anyway, I'm here to tell the tale so all''s well blah blah.

Been going out quite a bit since my last post.  4 times no less (another reason for skimping on the £6 taxi last night).

In chronological order -

Tuesday 15 October

 Saw a heart warming and brilliant full band performance by Withered Hand from the Fife based Fence Collective (of King Creosote and James Yorkston fame on .  He played crowd faves from his album Good News, such as Providence, Cornflake and Religious Songs together with a good roster of powerful (dare I say) anthemic new songs.  The fact I can't remember the titles is no reflection on WH.  It's just about my memory.  Mutual love all round.  He's coming back and we all cheered.

Sunday 20 October

Back in the day (about 1981) for a couple of months I honestly thought The Monochrome Set were going to be bigger than The Clash.  They brought out 3 great singles,  the double a side He's Frank b/w Alphaville, the bonkers Eine Symphonie des Grauens and The Monochrome Set.  Then they signed to a major label and brought out their first album  Strange Boutique and it became clear   they weren't going to be as big as The Clash.

I was intrigued as to what happened to them and assumed they had just reformed (like every other living punk and post-punk band on the planet) but it turns out they've brought out 11 studio albums and have never really been away.

I didn't have high hopes but it was a really good show.  It reminded me of what I liked about the poppy side of post punk.  A simple line up of 2 guitars, bass and drums.  No fannying about swapping instruments and an absence of effects and wanky guitar solos.  Of course they did the hits and I really liked the re-arrangement of the "The Monochrome Set" and the true to original version Eine Symphonie.......   That would have been enough but even some of the more recent songs were pretty good as well.

Will have to dig Strange Boutique out, just to check if I misjudged it.


To be continued........

Saturday 12 October 2013

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before.  I like to think I'm a pretty modest fellar.  I don't consider myself  an expert in pretty much anything but I am confident verging on cocksure about what is good pop music and what isn't.  With that in mind I cannot for the life of me understand why a band like Mumford and Sons are revered and The Walkmen are virtually unknown.  See previous post for my comments on The Walkmen and if you go back far enough you might find a review of Mumford and sons when they played to about 80 people in Middlesbrough in 2009.

Dawes supported Mumford and Sons on their last tour and I think it should have been the other way on.
 
They were splendid at EOTR at the Woods stage on Saturday.  Lots of references to LA, California etc.  Lots of anthem type songs and dare I admit it reminiscent of The Eagles, a band I have generally detested for most of my adult life.  I'm not too small to admit I may have bee wrong.
 
I've mentioned the link between EOTR and our very own .............. on more occasions than I care to remember.  It's also true that I say what I think.
 
A couple of bands I've been less than enamoured with in the past have been The Fossil Collective and the extremely popular Daughter.  I saw The lush sounding folkie types Fossil Collective from Leeds at The Westgarth where they went down a storm.  Don't know where they were all looking/listening because at best they were only average and I said so in my review which caused a little bit of consternation.  Ouch, not! 
 
I saw Daughter (1m on views, what would I know) support the mighty Beirut at Leeds and thought they were like a poor man's Lanterns on the Lake (ordered as we speak).   Some nice hooklines but not enough substance to the songs.  TKASG put Daughter on at The Georgian Theatre and it was a sell out so once again what would I know. 
 
Both bands were loved by the generous EOTR crowds but neither converted me.  Especially sorry re Fossil Collective after their singer (more) generously (than me) posed for my photo.
 
 
 PS I was embarrassed at The Westgarth last Tuesday after persuading loads of people to go to Catfish and the Bottlemen (see last month's review).  I must have been seduced by the Dorset air or something because  they really seemed a breath of fresh air at EOTR.  They left me cold when they played in Boro leaving me scratching my head as to what I found appealing in the first place. 
 
Going to see Withered Hand on Tuesday.  Expecting him to be much better although refusing to give recommendation.

Monday 7 October 2013

Old news now but still need to say few things about EOTR 2013.

I had a strategy before I set off that went totally out of the window when I got there.  I saw most of what I wanted to see and there's no point fretting when half a dozen people tell you that you've just missed the most amazing show on the secret stage.  You win some, you lose some and I actually caught a couple of secret shows this year.

There won't be many charge around the stages like me (with the exception of my pal Richard) but I still managed to faff it a bit.  By all accounts Anna Von Hausswolff was great (not sure where I was) and quite a few said John Murry was the best thing on all week-end (good that Dinosaur Jr were, what was I doing?).

A few years ago I left The Walkmen's set to watch Beirut and then left Beirut to see The Fall.  Since then I went to see Beirut to play a beautiful set in Leeds and at EOTR I saw every second of The Walkmen.   They are on the rocky edge of Americana and Hamilton Leithauser's voice is as clear and tuneful as an angel.  Their set on Sunday night on The Garden Stage will stay in my memory until at least Christmas.


David Byrne and Saint Vincent with large entourage were quite a spectacle as well. 
The show was wonderfully choreographed and artistic but the quality of the sound was a little too perfect for my suspicious mind. 


And what a head of hair?  As The Who song nearly goes "I hope I go grey before I go bald"

Sunday 6 October 2013

Paul Robeson


Not sure if I've mentioned my love for the music and politics of Paul Robeson before nor that my favourite song by him is My Old Kentucky Home.  I'm also pretty sure that I've never mentioned that I made a little slide show to accompany the song and put it on YouTube.

I've just had a look and it's now had a sniff off 52,000 views and if you want to see it you've got to watch an advert first!

Here it is anyway. 


Great song or what?

It's Sat'day Night In'it.............

and as Johnny Moped said "we should be out pogoing and fighting and fings!"

I've quoted that a few times over the years and usually when I've been going out on a Saturday night to pogo or to fight or both.

Was supposed to be going out tonight actually to the Rock Your Mind shindig at The Westgarth but I cried off to do ........... well not much really.

Shamila's gone out so I'm at home trying to make a night of it.  I've had some food and half a bottle of wine and I'm now having  a drink.  I got 3 bottles of different East Eoropeon speciality largers for £5 from Morrison's.  Jeez.. rocket fuel!  Actually probably more to do with my near teetotal lifestyle nowadays.

Needless to say the blog has fallen into disrepute not for the first time (sounds like a great song).  I'm still going for a 100 posts before Christmas (and I intend to a cheat a bit so I'm still hopeful) so there's still a chance it might be a golden year.   Cheers to people still taking the trouble to tune in by the way.

In the middle of top playlist,

Done

The Highway - Holly Williams (currently my number 2 country babe)
The Great Despair - Joe Pug (as recommended by Steve Earle)
 Juno - Original Soundtrack (just picked at random)
From Here to Eternity - The Clash (London R & B band)

Now

World Routes on the Road - BBC Radio 3 compilation (world music weirdness but some great foot tappers)

To come

Ovo - Peter Gabriel (world music god)
Nothing is Wrong - (Current faves) Dawes (I was wrong about The Eagles)
(My current best album ever) Red Devil Dawn - Crooked Fingers

It's going to be a late night!