Skip to main content

Why are the great gigs always half empty?



Back to small venues after the E Street Extravaganza, and a treat, really, our second Sugars experience. A quick line about the support bands -for once they were at least ok! The first up, Jodie Daniels, just him and an acoustic guitar, he wasn't bad at all for his first ever show! Next (local) band Sixty were pretty polished but fairly unoriginal (except for a cover of 1990s hit Rhythm Is A Dancer).



Unfortunately, friends of both supports had made up a good section of the audience, who then left, so it was (again) a pretty small gathering for The Sugars! Pah. They missed out! I managed to get a snap of the set, which, amended for a few changes, was: Seamstress (not sure of 2nd song), Fairy Tales, Heaven Knows, Serenade, Monsters, All My Children, Mama, Everybody Yell, Gossip, W T M H, Black Friday. The changes -well, there was a problem with an amp after Heaven Knows, but nobody minded that much. Especially not us, trialling earplugs for the first time and they definitely work! No ringing ears at all! And, the sound seemed accentuated so it was easier to hear individual instruments. Apart from that, excellent set. Also, another chance to buy a coloured 7in single, this one (Black Friday/Isle of Sirens) is fuschia -which will tide me over a few weeks.



The album 'Curse of the Sugars' is out 7th July on various formats. Myspace will give details of further shows on the current tour.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pigeon Funk

Notes on a very random purchase. Earlier today I acquired Venetian Snares 'Rossz Csillag Alatt Sz ü letett ' purely on the basis of the language and artwork. Its certainly something different - and most definitely not pop. After a bit of searching: Venetial Snares is, according to Wikipedia, the performing name of Aaron Funk, who seems to specialise in experimental tracks in odd time signatures. Article here . The sleeve notes for this album (whose title is Hungarian for 'Born under a bad star') poses the question: what if, for just a day, we could both be pigeons? Interessant. Apparently this concept (a day in the life of a Hungarian pigeon) is non-typical of Venetian Snares sound, but one could ask, does Mr Funk do 'typical'? On first listening, the sound of this CD mixes classical/traditional Hungarian sounds and breakbeats. but aside from that? Definitely a 'listen for yourself' artist; try the website , fan site or myspace .

Hidden Witness

Moving house completed - for now - and we are back in the Vale of Evesham. The wonders of Facebook unearthed a live gig and St Richard's Hospice fundraiser by slow-burning band Hidden Witness so off we went for an evening out in Worcester. I honestly can't remember the last time either of us did that.... cue pleasant surprise at our venue for the evening, Keystones Cafe Bar . Quite open and spacious in terms of standing room, reasonably large stage and a bar ensconced in the remaining medieval walls - much more atmosphere than many other small bars... A busy few weeks meant I hadn't had time to check out Hidden Witness' SoundCloud page so I had fresh ears and no expectation. The support band, The Miffs , were ok, with a few engaging covers, but sadly (for my ears) nothing memorable.  After a short break -  in which the background music made me feel both young and old simultaneously - Dan, Chris, Neil and Dan took the stage for an interesting set. A few ...

Mini update

I have finally sorted out my site links to reflect some new/renewed interests and my current location. We have something of a National Arts Centre bonanza shortly: I had already booked to see Angela Hewitt on 16th Feb but found a good ticket offer on LivingSocial.com to see Radu Lupu this coming Wednesday, 26th. In addition to all that, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross (his recent book, Listen To This , is excellent, as well as his previous tome, The Rest Is Noise ) is giving a talk there on 13th February. This is all followed in March by a complete about turn to the Bronson Centre to see Finnish band Apocalyptica . They have been somewhere on my radar for a while but I was spurred on to book tickets after a bout of nostalgia. M and I were regular visitors to Wolverhampton UK to see various bands at Civic Hall/Wulfrun Hall; a few months ago a mutual friend posted on that there Facebook thing about seeing said Apocalyptica at Wulfrun Hall. Nostalgia for the venue and renewed intere...