Gig no.239 - 27/01/07 - John Cale - Roadmender, Northampton
Exuding the studied menace of a man who has lived most of his life somewhere in the underbelly of left field performance art, Mr Cale enters stage right and launches into his version of Heartbreak Hotel, which if you've never heard it, skewers the original with a six inch switchblade and then tramples on the corpse. Wonderful!
By the second song the heat from the overhead lights was melting his subtle make up, which began to run from his hairline like a new wound. It fitted perfectly, along with his personal aide who stood with his back to the stage at the front staring threateningly at anyone he considered was "looking at my pint" in an unwelcome fashion. High camp but cool with it.
As well as promoting songs from his latest offering, the rather good Black Acetate, he delved deep into his back catalogue and came up with Gun, Paris 1919 were two i can recall, along with a couple of Velvets numbers. A sort of menacing Brian Eno with a Welsh accent. Fear Is A Man's Best Friend indeed.
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Gig no.243 - 25/10/07 - Rick Wakeman - Derngate Theatre, Northampton
Billed as "An Evening With.." a big part of the audience, us included, were no doubt there on the back of Mr W's Grumpy Old Man persona. It works well on tv but tonight his tales of middle aged intransigence were no more than prosaic. The music was a mixture of kitsch classical and a kind of Mr Entertainer Plays Piano that Bill Bailey does so much better.
We left at the interval.
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Gig no.245 - 15/02/08 - The Mekons - The Musician, Leicester
The best gig I'd been to for ages in my current small venue of choice. They serve real ale! The Mekons have a small but loyal following, and over the years they have continued to develop their unique brand of UK folk-protest-punk music, and still manage to turn out deft pieces of political criticism in their lyrics without ever coming across as hackneyed or trite.
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| Nice'n'blurry does it... |
A great night.
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Gig no.251 - 16/10/08 - Elbow - De Montfort Hall, Leicester
I picked up on this influential post-rock band the album before the Mercury Music Prize winning Seldom Seen Kid. I bought Leaders Of The Free World after reading glowing reviews, and at first I thought Guy Garvey sounded like a more introspective Peter Gabriel. I've since learned that he based his songwriting style on Gabriel having been a big Genesis fan.
The marvellous Seldom Seen Kid is a pinnacle of post-rock writing that the band will find hard to top and it justly deserves all the accolades it received.
This gig was on the tour immediately after the band had lifted the Mercury Music Prize the previous month, and was a triumphal performance powered by the joy of having made it after more than ten years on the fringes. They were very slick; in fact maybe too slick. You could have closed your eyes and you may as well have been at home listening to the album. Still a good gig though. Garvey seemed genuinely humbled by his success, and does not seem to possess much of an ego, which is no bad thing.
Where this band go from here is anyone's guess, but I hope the next album, apparently provisionally titled Lippy Kid, is not simply Seldom Seen Kid Mk2.
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Gig no.258 - 27/11/09 - Martin Stephenson - The Music Garden, Milton Keynes
With his band The Daintees, Stephenson produced some great songs in the eighties and onwards, and their gentle homespun folksy influences are what he trades on today. He also is a really good storyteller, and this evening sat at a table in a cabaret style setting, with a meal thrown in for good measure was just perfect. Ably assisted by long time musical partner Helen McCookerybook, he fed us tales of whimsy and homespun philosophy, in a Geordie accent! Wonderful.
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Gig no.259 - 05/12/09 - The Pineapple Thief - The Musician, Leicester
I've been blowing this band's trumpet for a while now. I think they should be big, as you can tell from my review of their last album Someone Here Is Missing ( http://astoundedbysound.blogspot.com/2010/05/candy-for-ears-15.html ).
This was a blinding gig about three months before that album was released and featured a few songs from it, although at the time they were obviously previously unheard. Their brand of indie-prog crossover music went down a storm that night, and I hope one day to see them do a Porcupine Tree and end up playing prestigious venues.
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Ones that (almost) got away
Back in my metal gig going days I had the pleasure to witness Judas Priest at the good 'ol De Montfort in February 1978. At the time Rob Halford in full gay biker attire (if only the audience of greasers had known that then!) would make his entrance (ahem) by riding a Harley Davidson from the wings to the centre of the stage. This particular time the bike wouldn't start, so he sang the first verse of the opening number astride the bike in the wings, and some roadies pushed him on stage during a guitar solo. Another Spinal Tap moment witnessed! Later in the same tour (I think) he managed to ride the thing straight off the edge of the stage into the orchestra pit, breaking a leg. Twat.
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Reading Festival - either 1978, 79 or 80 - I can't remember, I was drunk, or something! It was very hot. We were all sitting down on the scorched earth getting the benefit of some UV rays. There was a real dodgy geezer wandering around selling scrumpy in gallon plastic containers. I didn't have much common sense then, and neither did my mates, so we bought one. Several hours later having demolished most of the scrumpy as my mates thought it was shite (they were probably right), I have an understandable urgent need to pee, and for a verrry lonnnng time. I attempt to stand up and promptly fall over. Repeat the attempt a couple of times, same result. It was a weird sensation being sober from the waist up but completely pished waist down. My mates had to carry me out of the crowd to the "facilities" where they propped me up against a fence post while I emptied my bladder which was, and still is, the size of a small planet. It seemed to go on forever. When I had at long last finished, I was pissed from the waist up, but my legs now worked after a fashion, so I managed to weave my way back into the fray largely unassisted. My mates micky taking was countered by my new bragging rights as chief piss artist, both in the literal and metaphorical sense!
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Dedications, grovelling...Thanks must be given to the many headed beastie that was and is "The Driver", without whom etc etc....
Thanks to the bands, all 439 of them…..
Nominations for Best Band Name – Jimmy The Hoover, Holy Shit, Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band…..
1. 10000 Maniacs
2. 13 Frightened Girls
3. 32120
4. 4 Non Blondes
5. 4ft Fingers
6. 8th Storey Window
7. A House
8. After The Fire
9. Age Of Chance
10. AIIZ
11. Albert King Blues Band
12. All Grown Up
13. Allan Holdsworth
14. Altered Images
15. Amplifier
16. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
17. Angelwitch
18. Arthur Lee & Love
19. Astronaut
20. Aswad
21. Atlanta Rhythm Section
22. Automatics
23. Bad Company
24. Badlads
25. Bauhaus
26. Beautiful People
27. Bellowhead
28. Belly
29. Benjamin Zephaniah
30. Bethnal
31. Bhundu Boys
32. Biff Bang Pow
33. Big Audio Dynamite
34. Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings
35. Billy “The Kid” Emerson
36. Billy Bragg
37. Bite The Pillow
38. Bivouac
39. Black Grape
40. Black Slate
41. Black Uhuru
42. Blancmange
43. Blazer Blazer
44. Blue Oyster Cult
45. Bob Geldof
46. Boomtown Rats
47. Bow Wow Wow
48. Bram Tchaikovsky
49. Brand X
50. Brave Captain
51. Broken Home
52. Budgie
53. Buzzcocks
54. Caravan
55. Cardigans
56. Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine
57. Chas & Dave
58. Cheap Trick
59. Chelsea
60. Chris Barber Band
61. Chuck Berry
62. Climax Blues Band
63. Dave Edmund’s Rockpile
64. David Bowie
65. David Gray
66. Deep Throat
67. Def Leppard
68. Dennis O’Brien
69. Devo
70. Dexy’s Midnight Runners
71. Diesel Park West
72. Discharge
73. Dizzy Heights
74. Doctor & The Medics
75. Dodgy
76. Dogg’n Tank
77. Doll By Doll
78. Dolly Mixtures
79. Dr Feelgood
80. Dub War
81. Dubstar
82. Easy Prey
83. Eat
84. Eels
85. Elbow
86. Elvis Costello & The Attractions
87. English Assassin
88. Evan Dando
89. Fairport Convention
90. Famous Names
91. Felt
92. Fields Of The Nephilim
93. Figuera
94. Filthy Dukes
95. Fingerprintz
96. Fischer Z
97. Flicks
98. Focus
99. Foreigner
100. Frank Zappa
101. Frankie Goes To Hollywood
102. Frankie Miller
103. Fun Boy Three
104. Garbage
105. Gary Glitter
106. Generation X
107. Genesis
108. Ghost Dance
109. Ginger Baker Band
110. Girl
111. Girlschool
112. Goodbye Mr McKenzie
113. Grand Prix
114. Graphite
115. Green Day
116. Green On Red
117. Greenhouse
118. Greg Kihn Band
119. Groundhogs
120. Gruppo Sportivo
121. Happy Mondays
122. Hatfield & The North
123. Hawklords
124. Hawkwind
125. Head Of David
126. Headskaters
127. Helions (Brian James' band after The Damned)
128. Here & Now
129. Holy Shit
130. Huge Big Massive
131. Hugh Masekela
132. Hunter Ronson Band
133. Ian Dury & The Music Students
134. Ian Gillan Band
135. Ian Hunter
136. Ian McCulloch
137. Ian McNabb
138. Icehouse
139. Iggy & The Stooges
140. Iggy Pop
141. Inner Circle
142. Iron Maiden
143. Jackie Leven
144. James
145. Japan
146. Jayne Aire & The Belvederes
147. Jefferson Starship
148. Jenny Darren
149. Jerry Dammers
150. Jerry Dammers & The Spatial AKA Arkestra
151. Jimmy The Hoover
152. Joe Jackson
153. Joe Siegel
154. Joe Strummer
155. Joe Strummer & The Latino Rockabilly War
156. John Cale
157. John Cooper Clarke
158. John Mayall
159. John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett
160. John Wesley Harding
161. Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers
162. Jona Lewie
163. Jose Gonzalez
164. Judas Priest
165. Julian Cope
166. King Crimson
167. Kingfish
168. Kiss
169. Kraftwerk
170. Krokus
171. Kula Shaker
172. Led Zeppelin
173. Left Hand Drive
174. Lene Lovich
175. Les Negresse Vertes
176. Lightning Raiders
177. Lindisfarne
178. Living End
179. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
180. Lo-fidelity Allstars
181. Lone Ranger
182. Lone Star
183. Lou Reed
184. Magazine
185. Magnolia Siege
186. Magnum
187. Mahogany Rush
188. Man
189. Manic Street Preachers
190. Marseilles
191. Martin Stephenson & The Daintees
192. Massive Attack
193. McKitty
194. Mekons
195. Melissa Etheridge
196. Mercury Rev
197. Mickey Jupp
198. Microdisney
199. Misty In Roots
200. Molly Hatchet
201. Moondogs
202. More
203. Motorhead
204. Muddy Waters
205. My Bloody Valentine
206. Mythra
207. Nazareth
208. Neil Young
209. New Hearts
210. New Model Army
211. Next
212. Nine Below Zero
213. Nutz
214. One Style
215. Orbital
216. Outfit
217. Pacific Eardrum
218. Page & Plant
219. Pat Travers Band
220. Patti Smith Group
221. Paul Inder
222. Paul Weller
223. Pearl Jam
224. Penetration
225. Peter Case
226. Peter Gabriel
227. Peter Green
228. Philip Rambow
229. Porcupine Tree
230. Primal Scream
231. Priory Of Brion
232. Pulp
233. Punishment Of Luxury
234. Puppy Love Bomb
235. Quartz
236. Rachel Sweet
237. Racing Cars
238. Radio Stars
239. Rainbow
240. Randy California
241. Red Alert
242. Red Noise
243. REM
244. Rich Kids
245. Rick Wakeman
246. Riff Raff (Billy Bragg's pre-solo punk band)
247. Rikki Cool & The Icebergs
248. Robert Palmer
249. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
250. Rocket 88 (Charlie Watt's boogie band)
251. Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band
252. Rory Gallagher
253. Rose Of Avalanche
254. Roy Harper
255. Run DMC
256. Sam Browne
257. Samson
258. Sarah Vaughan
259. Saxon
260. Scorpions
261. Screech Rock
262. Screens
263. Secret Machines
264. Seth Lakeman
265. Shack
266. Sham 69
267. Simple Minds
268. Supergrass
269. Skua
270. Skunks
271. Slade
272. Something Happened
273. Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes
274. Space
275. Spear Of Destiny
276. Special FX
277. Speed’O’Meters
278. Spirit
279. Squeeze
280. Status Quo
281. Steve Gibbons Band
282. Steve Hackett
283. Steve Hillage
284. Stiff Little Fingers
285. Stops
286. Straits
287. Strife
288. Studio Morocco
289. Style Council
290. Suede
291. Sugar
292. Superchunk
293. Suzanne Vega
294. Sweet Leaf
295. Tank
296. Teenage Fanclub
297. Telephone
298. Television
299. Terra Nova
300. That Petrol Emotion
301. The Adverts
302. The Albion Band
303. The Alchemysts
304. The Australian Doors
305. The Australian Pink Floyd
306. The Beat
307. The Beloved
308. The Bevis Frond
309. The Bishops
310. The Blue Aeroplanes
311. The Business
312. The Charlatans
313. The Christians
314. The Clash
315. The Cobbers
316. The Counting House
317. The Cowboy Junkies
318. The Cranberries
319. The Cure
320. The Daintees
321. The Damned
322. The Defendants
323. The Derreros
324. The Fall
325. The Filberts
326. The Flaming Lips
327. The Flys
328. The Godfathers
329. The Heart Throbs
330. The Hives
331. The Hothouse Flowers
332. The House Of Love
333. The Icicle Works
334. The Innocents
335. The J Geils Band
336. The Jack Rubies
337. The Jags
338. The Jam
339. The Jazz Butcher
340. The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy
341. The Jilted Brides
342. The Jolt
343. The Journey
344. The La’s
345. The Love Ambassadeux
346. The Lucky Bishops
347. The Lurkers
348. The Mars Volta
349. The Members
350. The Men They Couldn’t Hang
351. The Meteors
352. The Milltown Brothers
353. The Motors
354. The Movies
355. The New Commander Cody Band
356. The Night
357. The Numatics
358. The O1 Band
359. The One
360. The Pineapple Thief
361. The Pirates
362. The Pixies
363. The Pogues
364. The Police
365. The Primitives
366. The Proclaimers
367. The Promise
368. The Questions
369. The Ramones
370. The Records
371. The Rhythm Sisters
372. The Rolling Stones
373. The Ruts
374. The Screaming Blue Messiahs
375. The Skids
376. The Slits
377. The Smiths
378. The Sneaks
379. The Softies
380. The Soup Dragons
381. The Stone Roses
382. The Stranglers
383. The Strawbs
384. The Strokes
385. The Sugarcubes
386. The Three Johns
387. The Tourists
388. The Tubes
389. The Undertones
390. The Venus Fly Trap
391. The Verve
392. The Waterboys
393. The Wedding Present
394. The White
395. The Wolfgang Press
396. The Wonderstuff
397. The Woodentops
398. Thomas Dolby
399. Time Machine
400. Todd Rundgren & Utopia
401. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
402. Tom Robinson Band
403. Tom Verlaine
404. Tools
405. Trans Global Underground
406. Travis
407. Trevor Rabin
408. Trimmer & Jenkins
409. TV Personalities
410. Twist
411. Tygers Of Pan Tang
412. U2
413. UFO
414. Ultravox!
415. Underneath What?
416. Van Der Graaf Generator
417. Vardis
418. Vaughan Toulouse
419. Vic Goddard & The Subway Sect
420. Voice Of The Beehive
421. Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
422. Weapon Of Peace
423. Whirlwind
424. White Spirit
425. Whitesnake
426. Wild Horses
427. Wilko Johnson’s Solid Senders
428. Wishbone Ash
429. Wishing Stones
430. Witchfynde
431. Wizzard
432. World Party
433. Wreckless Eric
434. XTC
435. Yargo
436. Yazoo
437. Yeah Jazz!
438. Yes
439. Zaine Griff
I know I saw The Pale Fountains, but for whatever reason they did not get listed, so there’s probably other omissions too!
Regrets – Pointless regretting not seeing bands who were at their prime before one was old enough, but two I regret not getting to see when I was old enough are the Peter Gabriel led Genesis, and Be Bop Deluxe.
On the other hand, I’ve never seen Muse or Coldplay or Keane, and long may it continue!
That's all folks. Thank you and goodnight.
Thank Gawd for that!
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