I hope this works... it's the Ben Vaughn doc that "aired" (is that still the right term in this cabled world?) in France this week. It does, I tried it. Just click on the arrow...

Thanks to Teenarama Powerpop for the tip-off!

Videos from Saturday night by Amy Verdon...

I wonder what either of the individuals in Roberta Bayley’s photo would have thought if you’d told the other that one day in the future that the gal would sing a song on her debut solo elpee by the guy?

Well, it’s come to pass that “Nobody’s Baby” features just that. What presumably began a mess around quickly took shape as a full album. It’s long been considered that Sam Elwitt was a genius. After all, isn’t The Nutley Brass play The Ramones Songbook one of the greatest albums of all time? I bet Herb Alpert wishes he’d come up with that. Incidentally, did that ever come out on vinyl? With all that Record Store Day landfill around you’d think such a beastie would be a shoe-in.

This one man Rockpile has cajoled Ms Linna into making an album that’s perhaps the best, most consistent example of the girl group sound since the debut Pussywillows mini-album. Did that come out on Telstar around the time Billy + Miriam got married? My recall tells me it did but that’s been misfiring of late. A few years ago, a woman by the name of Duffy scored a big seller with an approximation of this. I don’t want to call the sound here authentic. In time and space, such a description can give entirely the wrong idea. All you need to know is that this is pretty much as good as it gets in terms of timeless. All 12 cuts embody a feel and depth and sound that you seldom if ever hear anymore. What it should really be is a box of 7 inch singles. It reminds me fondly of Tracey Ullman’s tenure at Stiff and the videos where they sang into their hairbrushes.

The version of “Questioningly” sounds like a gal Joey. I have no idea what Miriam thinks of such a consideration but to my ears she truly does. I wish the big guy could have been around to hear it. If there’s any truth to this afterlife malarkey then undoubtedly he can but it might be some time until I can ask him in person. Something got in my eye when I heard it.

I’ve been eager to hear it again ever since HT and I visited Norton HQ in January and now I can. Everything about “Nobody’s Baby” is a total triumph, the sound, the sleeve and mostly the power of the music trapped on either side of the record. It is available in them modern formats the kids are said to prefer but NBT types will be favouring the vinyl methinks. That’s where it all really makes more than sense.

Mike Myers should give Sam a large wedge of cash to out shadow Shadow Morton and score the next Austin Powers movie with the proviso that Miriam makes a cameo showcasing a couple of these tunes. Meanwhile, until then, I hope to hear this blasting forth in several cool cabañas next time I’m in Spain. And that maybe a show or three on this side of the world might be in the offing?

Union Pool in "the Brooklyn" is the place to be tonight as a few of these tunes get their live premiere. Meanwhile, you can order your copy here and be all set to be tooled up with the sound of this summer and many more to come. Irrespective of the weather outside. It's magic I tells you!

Miriam and Joey pic by Roberta Bayley

Just about a fortnight away... order your copy now!

Not as good sound as the other clip but still grand...

Haven’t much felt like writing on here lately but on Saturday night, I witnessed something magical, the Wreckless Eric 60^th Birthday extravaganza at The Lexington. London was jumping this past weekend, with Barrence Whitfield and The Pink Fairies also providing an antidote to duff music across the capital. Opting for the Pentonville Road option, I got to the venue just as Scott and Charlene’s Wedding were finishing. Shame really because they sounded alright. However, having been partaking of a wee social – and rather stupidly not having anything to eat – then this is the way the cookie crumbled. Taking position in the Amy-zone (I think that’s what Gurbir called it).

And so it came to pass. The Lex – is it OK to call it that? – was a total triumph. Celebrating a man who deserves an ovation like this and way more every night. Seeing him with a “band” for the first time in a lifetime was just an utter treat. Along the way it was like The Velvet Underground jousting with The Troggs. During "Depression", Amy started to channel a Martin Rev-style intensity. The “Johnny Remember Me” percussion undertow on "Joe Meek" was nothing short of magical. “Tell Me I’m The Only One” kicked it all off and if this isn’t the best Chip Taylor song that Chip Taylor never wrote then I’m fucked if I know what is.

“Reconnez Cherie” started a singalong where if you shut your eyes you might imagine a Hammersmith Odeon full of people rhyming “zodiac” with “pacamac” and well, “Whole Wide World” brought the house down. It was very, very moving. The show was an utter victory and a vindication of Fire Records belief in a totally unique talent. And this wasn't just a band. It was a unit already. Even after so few shows. With "outfits" and everything.

Most of you know that Eric (and Amy) are like family to me but I’m not pissing up your collective backs here. Sadly the remainder of the shows won’t be with the band but please try to catch him on the coming week’s worth of solo shows if you can.

22  HUDDERSFIELD, The Vinyl Tap, in-store appearance
23  LEEDS, Belgrave Music Hall - jumborecords.co.uk/tickets - wegottickets
25  MANCHESTER, The Castle Hotel www.wegottickets.com/jezebelmusic
26  LIVERPOOL, The Lomax
27  EDINBURGH, Voodoo Rooms TICKET LINK 

He’s also doing some in the US but we’ll get to those… taking in the sodium glare with Eric Goulden is a grand experience. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Lest we forget the privilege of such utterly captivating entertainers...

This is the reception that he should get every night...

... it's a pretty well-kept secret that Mike Watt and the Missingmen are playing Edinburgh on Monday (Sneaky Pete's) and Glasgow on Tuesday (Broadcast).

Spread the word.

My favourite new band!

Pantones

Flagged up by Long Rydin' Sidney Griffin... I do like me a good mash-up.

“It just ain’t dignified, ain’t dignified!”  So shouts ex-Coyoteman, Captain Dynamite.  “It’s a cryin’ shame to see a loved one in their Autumn years, shoe-horned into Lycra, sportin’ a thread bare mask that’s seen better days and stinkin’ to high Heaven of bath tub gin, Deep Heat ‘n’ Werthers Originals - an embarrassment to the family.  Hell, I’m not saying she wasn’t a good mom, but it just wasn’t dignified, wasn’t dignified.”

It seems with Los Coyote Men’s NARC.-sponsored retirement riot over and done with, a light bulb went on over the Captain’s ungainly head. Reborn as The UNKNOWN PRINTER, the Ladies’ Pet and the Gentlemen’s Threat sets out his stall at the World’s First Rumble Sale; hawking his shoddy goods, his child like scrawl plastered on such reduced-to-clear items as Mexican wood cuts, hand-screened t-shirts ‘n’ G.G. Allin underpants... while for the less punch drunk shoppers/gig-goers, entertainment includes: Two live bands! 
El Heft, the masked chef!  Bubblegum Vegas,  rockin’ jewellery!  Racket Clothing, Anarchist attire!

Also, new and second hand clothing, records, books, and musical instruments galore! 

“It’s what Mom would have wanted.”
RUMBLE SALE
Sun 4th May  (50p)
11am until 2pm
The Sound Room
Redheugh Studios
Gateshead NE8 1PH
To book a stall or more info go to
www.fromprintersunknown.com

RIP - Leee Black Childers

From Michael Shelley's "More Superhits of the Seventies"...

The Flamin Groovies are heading for Spain!

I had no idea...

THEN...




RIGHT NOW...

RESERVE TICKETS!

LC on CBS morning telly...

RIP – Marty Thau

While I was aware that Marty wasn’t firing on all cylinders, the news came as a shock.

I don’t or shouldn’t have to explain who he is to anyone stopping around here. Needless as it is to speculate that if it hadn’t been for him, many of our favourite acts wouldn’t have made the transition to any kind of platform. No New York Dolls pun intended. If you do need basic facts then google him or better yet, wait for his memoir to be published in order to get the finer detail from the horse’s mouth.

In addition to all of that, for me, it was Marty’s involvement in NY rock that was responsible for two enduring life-long friendships with Miriam Linna and Howard Thompson. Strangely, in a series of full circle events that have come my way recently - the 3 of us were together again during my last day in NY as January drew to a close. I liken it to a kind of “It’s A Wonderful Life” scenario in retrospect. Had Miriam not worked at Red Star and passed the Simple Minds demo to Howard then my existence would be almost certainly way different. And Jim Kerr certainly wouldn’t have been wearing the label logo badge on the rear of the “Life In A Day” album cover.

Last time I actually saw MT was in Kassel, Germany. We were attending a Punk Rock Congress (with a K) where at one point there was Marty with Teresa (Randolph Ott), Andy Shernoff, Cheetah Chrome and me watching The Boonaraaas!!! In Lolita Bar. The event was also the only place where Rocket From The Tombs ever played in Europe. Since that hootenanny in 2003, we were in regular contact.

Marty reactivated Red Star as a digital imprint and was slowly building up a wee catalogue that included recent music by Lola Dutronic and Jeremy Gluck. Another aspect of all this is that I would never have been able to supply a first generation cassette copy of the Fleshtones "Blast Off" for the Get Hip release with bonus track had it not been for HT having sent me a copy of that around the time that it really should have been released.

The Chairman was a guy that could polarise opinion, a guy who, like many of us, would cut off his nose to spite his face. The older one gets, the more likely one is to be considered contrary. We disagreed on several things now and again but we only really ever had one real falling out that was cleared up pretty quick when we agreed to differ.

So let’s wind out with those Fleshtones who not only “Remember The Ramones” in this succinct reminder of the times when MT was the king of the Lower East Side and the noise that the kids of all ages were making down there.

Raise a Rémy Martin to the guy without whom there may well have been no Ramones, no Blondie and no Suicide to actually remember.

The world will not be a better place for the loss of his cantankerous charm. It was a privilege to have been able to call him a friend and I’ll miss the e-mail chats we had in recent times when he was burning the way after midnight oil due to his condition. There was plenty for a couple of old grouches to grumble about without getting into health shortcomings.

We’ve lost another true character.

My condolences to Teresa, his family and friends at this time, another wretched reminder that time is slipping away from all of us.

The kids are tearing it up in Italy but you can get their latest hit - download only for now - penned by Kurt Baker at CD Baby now! Virtual sleeve art pic by the fab-tastic Blanca Velasco Navarro, snapped in La Alegría, Madrid last October.

RIP - The Mighty Hannibal

Typical. The Johnny Moped doc is playing the Monorail Film Club this Sunday (26th) and I'm not around.

RIP - Freddie Fingers Lee

RIP - Alexandra Bastedo

TAV FALCO'S PANTHER BURNS / THE PRIMEVALS / THE REVERSE COWGIRLS

at Broadcast in Glasgow on Sunday 9th February 2014.

New to me and damn good. Primitive Hearts... (Thanks Kjetil)

Thanks Nick. For the duration of this, I forgot about the prospect of returning to the salt mine tomorrow.

Any plans I had for activity during the stupid season were not to be. There are a number of reasons for this. In addition, I could well be over this blogging malarkey. What I need to pursue at this point is what to do with the rest of my existence. That's a much bigger question/picture/whatever you care to call it.

So I hope you survive this one and many more. The premise of the expression "happy" is all well and good but actual reality - not the scripted kind from TV - more likely has other ideas. Isn't that just the name of a dwarf anyway?

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co., and here's hoping yours is both merry and bright.  Ho, ho, ho!

*THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD /
It's a Boxing Day special at the always festive Otto's! / 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan / 8:00 sharp 'til 10:00 / No cover charge or tithing required  

*WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8th / RODEO BAR /
Our monthly Rodeo residency continues into 2014! / 375 Third Avenue (at the corner of 27th Street) in Manhattan / Three bell ringing sets, from 9:00 sharp 'til midnight, with no cover

Seasonally yours,
Michael, Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

As I may have said in the past, I have no real problem with Christmas in general. It’s just all the extraneous gubbins that it’s come to embody that I can’t abide. Each to their own, but the less I have to deal with then the better it is for everyone. I’m luckier than most in that respect because I just retire to the bunker and that’s pretty much what is on the cards.

“New year” is never that. And the hale fellow well met, hollow greetings that surround it further stick in this particular craw. Of course, one wants their friends and family – often the same thing – to enjoy some kind of gratification ALL the time. Not just for a couple of commercialised up the wazoo weeks a year. This year, I’m stuck in the salt mine until 1.30pm on Christmas Eve. Them’s the breaks. It comes with the territory and as the clock creaks toward that finishing line, it can’t come quick enough. As bah humbuggers go, I’m pretty set in my ways but there will be good times had over the course. I get to see some folks that I get way too little of and will undoubtedly communicate with many other from here in the confines of base camp. There may even be some proper blogging here and there but no end or best of the year lists. There are already plenty of those doing the rounds.

So – do whatever it is you need to do to make it through the bunfight. May your days and nights be merry and bright. The polar opposite of something that rhymes with that last word.

This latest palaver with being asked at the post office what is in the packages you’re sending is getting right up my humph.

They’re only following orders but really, if someone is putting something iffy in there – would they tell the truth about the contents? Er, perhaps not on your nelly - divot postal wallah that came up with this particular annoyance. So with the advent of the ongoing price hikes and this most recent invasion of privacy, I’m pretty close to stopping sending stuff out. And I should stop ordering stuff too because I’ve no room for it so maybe it’ll be like stopping smoking or something. Perhaps I’ll save myself some money if I could discipline myself to follow through with all this. As much as I'd like to start unloading "the archive", this further makes it seem unlikely.

Me no' big on interrogation. If someone starts trying to get something out of me that I don’t want to tell then the hackles go right up. Bloody jaggy they are too. I don’t actually want to divulge what is in what I’m sending. Customs labels are bad enough. It spills the beans for the recipient and it could spoil the surprise. I'm trying to figure out who I can harangue about this. No point in giving the counter staff both barrels. Not all of them anyway.

One week from tonight...

The whole LBC set!

 

'Tis the season for holiday cheer. And Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. is full of it -- starting with a rare Friday night visit to Otto's this week!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD /
It's the official pre-party for the 4th Annual NYC Beard &Mustache Competition! / 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan / Three well-trimmed sets, from 9:00 'til midnight / Free, and open to all!

And, in slightly less hirsute shows to finish out the year...

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11th / RODEO BAR / It's a hillbilly holiday edition of our monthly residency! / 375 Third Avenue (at the corner of 27th Street) in Manhattan / A trio of merry, merry sets, from 9:00 sharp 'til midnight, with no cover.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD / We return to Otto's to bask in the Christmas afterglow / 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan / 8:00 sharp 'til 10:00 / No cover -- and free holiday cheer.  

Yours in holiday spirit, Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

And it kind of seems like it was just yesterday...

Last night in Glasgow, as Kid Congo and those Pink Monkey Birds were doing a nice line in “Can’t Find My Mind” and later “Green Fuz” transported me back to December 1980 (or was it '81? My mind done shunted off, pretty sure it was the former though) at the Lyceum in London. This was Blighty’s first encounter with the man in question, when he was drafted into The Cramps after Bryan baled. So it’s nice to see a packed house, once again on a Tuesday night, come out to welcome him. I like Nice’n’Sleazy as a venue but the name always makes me shudder, being that I actively loathe its source - both the band and the particular song. However, I realise this is a prejudice of my own manifesting – nothing against the establishment itself.

If Kid is coming anywhere near to you then I do believe you’ll have a high old time should you find it within yourself to drag yourself out. There’s a show in London at The Pipeline on Thursday (Newcastle tonight!) and you can get the other show details here.

In other news, the winter of my particular discontent is in full swing. Hibernation might be an option but I’m sure it would all just kick off again when I did wake. The latest issue of Mojo and all this best of the year guff depressed me today and further fed my belief that the much-touted acts of today are mostly not anywhere near up to snuff. I never really had cause to dislike Arcade Fire because I never heard them but now I’ve heard enough and it’s really nothing special. I feel kind of burned out at the best of times but just lately, swimming against a tide of constant underwhelm has made me feel like taking time out. In addition, sitting in front of a screen isn’t something I want to be doing too much of in my so-called leisure time so much less facebagging will be done for starters . I did think about canning it altogether but it does have a few uses (he grudgingly agreed).

As we descend into the stupid season, a recent attempt to go “Christmas shopping” was utterly thwarted by the stuff in the stores being total crap. Why would you give anyone that just for the sake of going along with it all? The thing that I’d most like is to feel like there was some kind of purpose. Not and never to be confused with “porpoise” – just in case some smartarse was thinking along those lines. Although, thinking about it, maybe even that would be something.

Beyond all this, there are decisions to be reached. How the heck one tackles that particular bugbear is another can of wigglys altogether.

22nd November  - Sonic Ballroom · Köln GERMANY

23rd November  - Alte Hackerei · Karlsruhe GERMANY

24th November  - Sedel · Luzern SWITZERLAND

25th November  - Feierwerk · Munich GERMANY

26th November  - Chelsea · Vienna AUSTRIA

27th November  - Chemiefabrik · Dresden GERMANY

28th November  - Wild At Heart · Berlin GERMANY

29th November  - Glocksee · Hannover GERMANY

30th November  - Café Excelsior · Brussels BELGIUM

RIP - Mikie Jacobs (Gin Goblins)

KIKE TURMIX , THE DOCUMENTARY from Kirsti Westerbotn on Vimeo.

It’s 5 weeks ‘til Christmas Eve. For me that means an extended period away from the day prison. I’m trying to figure out what might happen in 2014 and how I can maybe circumnavigate the rat race. Plans are one thing, schemes are another. Seriously pondering out a way to bring these things together is not entirely straightforward but then again, what is? Take blogging for instance, I can’t claim to have writer’s block but attempting to steer clear of a computer screen is another of those dalliances. I spend 8 hours a day in front of one at work and the last thing I want to do is several more at home.

 

And now that people can hear virtually anything for themselves, is there any point in trying to cajole them into listening to something? Actually, there is. We all rely on filters. Recommendations. Pointers. You can’t rely on what passes for conventional media, that’s for sure. Although sometimes I figure that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to be a lemming. Don’t fancy being a sheep though, all manner of unpleasant activity can be directed at those poor creatures.

 

It was very dark tonight on the way back to the bunker. Driving in the dark is no fun at all. Even less so when idiots coming the other way won't cool it with the full beam. Shut-In status is looking pretty damn good right about now.

 

The Crunch album “Busy Making Noise” finally made it through my letterbox.  A “supergroup” of sorts that ought to strike joy into the hearts of those that reckon “Give ‘em Enough Rope” is the best Clash album and that “Only Lovers Left Alive” was the best record Dave Tregunna ever made. Add a wee dash of Mott and Lizzy and we’re all set to revisit the heady heights of 1978 when anthems were a lot less complicated. Clocking in at 40 minutes dead, this is a rip-roaring adventure from start to finish and the icing on a very tasty cake is Idde Schultz weighing in on backing vocals. I’ve long considered her the Scandic Ellen Foley and the “duet”, “A Little Bit Of Grace” pretty much vindicates that notion. If there was ever such a thing as a pub-punk rockin’ take on Roxette then this is the blueprint.

The band is Sulo Karlsson, Terry Chimes, Mickey Geggus and the aforementioned Dave T and absolutely yes, they’re all old enough to know better but thank fuck they didn’t let that get in the way. You can just tell they had a ball making it to the extent that it’s almost like an “original cast” recording of some kind of crazy musical celebrating an era that’s unlikely to be better represented. Authenticity is one thing but it’s the spirit that makes this bugger fly. Maybe I’m just a sad sack clinging on to the past but I swear, as clichéd as some of this might seem – it made me misty-eyed. If they’re half as good live = and I suspect they'll be better - then I can’t wait to see them, preferably in Spain where the kids appreciate this type of ruckus. As it is, they’re in London this impending December and I’m otherwise engaged that weekend or my bahookie would be on the train for sure.

 

Solo UK tour by Eric in December:  

 08 WORCESTER, Marr’s Bar
12 GLASGOW,

Woodend Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club
13 EDINBURGH, The Citrus Club
14 GATESHEAD, The Central ...
15 LEICESTER, The Musician
and... 

 THE LEN BRIGHT COMBO
on 5 December, live session on The Marc Riley Show, BBC 6 Music

I can't get the embed code to work so go check out The Wrecking Crew Kickstarter deals.

If you've seen it then you know it's worthy...

The Del Lords long anticipated return to this side of the pond is now underway and the inaugural show in Newcastle on Saturday night was a stone gas. As the band exploded into a muscular lollup through “Jumpin’ In The Night” it was clear that the room may not be big enough to contain such expurgated rock’n’roll thrills.

Mixing back catalogue with material from the recent "Elvis Club" release, it was all over way too quickly. How many bands do you wish would play longer? Not bloody many.

So here we are hanging on the intersection of The Bobby Fuller Four and Crazy Horse. Blazing guitars, a bigger than big beat and a bass undertow to bolster the whole glorious shebang. Oh yeah, and songs. Remember those? Scott Kempner was/is the heart and soul of The Dictators. Never forget that. Without him, The Dictators are Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom. So despite the sadness of what’s going on with all that, The Del Lords have a new lease on life.

Cultural differences such as Sharpies and marker pens notwithstanding, Newcastle has always been a rockin’ town and this was rockin’ time. (All hail Tyneside’s 16 Forever). They recognise greatness down there and by the time Roscoe delivered the hymn that is “Judas Kiss” over a Creedence-esque rumble then the game was in the proverbial bag.

The Cluny 2’s bijou theatre vibe was perhaps a little polite for the occasion on Saturday. By the time they get to Spain then the dance floor ante action is likely to be raised substantially. “I Play The Drums” was pretty much perfect and it seemed as though the roof might cave in such was the mightiness. Frank Funaro is one hell of a pounder and Steve Almaas does a fine job now that Manny is gone. His days in Beat Rodeo are likewise from the days when Americana was called Roots Rock.

If they’re anywhere near where you are then you have to go and get some of this most righteous, practically religious experience. Let’s leave the best definition of what we witnessed to a Del Lords fan that just checked out...

 

"Nothing beats two guitars, bass & drums." - Lou Reed

All of the show dates are here, Spain, London, Germany and Sweden... take a look and cut along!

 

RIP – Lou Reed

I’ll get to last night’s storming Del Lords show in Newcastle a bit later. I was talking to Scott and Frank about Lou and how he was a great supporter of the band. To come home and find out he’d died was a shocker. Though he never made a record I liked for years, Lou was a huge influence on me. In fact, his was the first and only fan club I ever joined.

The Rock’n’Roll Animal tour show in Glasgow was one of the best things I ever saw. Years later I would discover that my dear friend, Lady Miriam Linna had attended a Lou show in Glasgow I was also at when she and her sister visited Blighty for the first time. I like to imagine the were sitting just in front of where I was but anyways...

Of course the Velvets stuff was great but when they got back together, I couldn’t listen to them for years. I felt they’d diddled the legacy in much the same way as I feel The Stooges are doing.

But “Berlin” is one of the greatest records ever made. It never fails to destroy me. The fact that he went on to play those terrible headless guitars was his perogative but his body of work contains some astonishingly heart-rending stuff. Mi amigo Stewart Cruickshank had an amazing experience making a documentary for Radio 2 about him during which time the famed curmudgeon really came through and I believe created something magical.

So this news is devastating. It marks another landmark of my formative years leaving the theatre. The line “I’m gonna stop wasting my time” from "Sad Song" is ringing in my head and it makes me wonder how the hell long I’ve got.  The life-affirming nature of the show we just saw in Newcastle and the need to hang out with friends at every opportunity suddenly takes on even greater importance.



 

Saw something on facebook at lunchtime stating “Grangemouth to close”. Of course it referred to the petrochemical plant where the union trubb has been used as a smokescreen to ram through something that a corporation hell bent on a get out clause has been handed as a star prize. The people whose livelihoods it impacts on are the cannon fodder as Wee Alec and his entourage flail at long defunct windmills. It’s a sad indictment on the struggle to survive. The town itself has been “closed” for years and I’d be interested to find out exactly how many actual local people work there.

It will also exponentially affects other businesses and households. The puppeteers must be fucking delirious with glee right about now. This could also well even have an effect on my “property” so maybe that long threatened ebay shop ain’t too far away. Or that one way ticket to Espana or wherever. All joshing apart, I imagine that The Proclaimers are working on a new verse, adding “Grangemooth” to their list of “no mores”.

Whatever happens next will depend on how far the stage management of the soap opera politics is  prepared to go. It could get pretty far-fetched as people’s lives disintegrate. Divide and conquer has long been the order of the day and things are poised to take a turn for the decidedly uglier. I’m referring to the scumbags that orchestrated this who are so minted as to be constructed of stuff so Teflon-coated that it’s actually scary. At this rate, the whole of Scotland could well be closed by next September ahead of the big fire sale that is “indie”-pendence.

In my capacity as agent for the Madrid Tourist Authority, I think the next stage is a one way ticket.

 

Hitting the city at full pelt on Friday night may have been a tactical mistake but that's the way it all shaped up. Maybe just taking the foot off the gas a tad may have set us up better for Saturday but when you’re in the eye of a storm like this, the last thing you’re thinking about is moderation. The locations that we found ourselves in were as follows Casa Parrondo, Templo Del Gato, Weirdo!, Wharf 73 and Wurlitzer. All 150% recommended with the NBT seal of approval if you’re in town.

 

Line and Andre at the excellent La Alegría (Happiness)
by Blanca Velasco Navarro.

 

After that a wee siesta was in order before the show and all the fun stuff like sound check. The city was teeming with people and an attempt to partake of an Asturian joint was thwarted. Despite the best efforts of Corporal Laura to instill some discipline in the hapless waiter that was fighting a pretty valiant losing battle. She had an excellent Plan B that involved regular haunt Ovni and that provided the necessary croqueta action for the boozing to follow. From there to Wurli, just in time for Los Brackets – a fun punk combo from Valencia that have the Ramones end of Screeching Weaselness down pat. They just rattle it out in machine gun fashion, no pissing about. Bang. Bang. Bang. You don’t even notice the comedy Proclaimers type glasses they don when onstage. I’m a sucker for this kind of thing. Particularly when it’s rattled out this well. They and their crew were very cool kids. Incidentally, in combing the net, I discovered that Brackets are teeth braces in Spain.

Potential wardrobe malfunction thwarted, The D’s took the stage and proceeded to wipe the floor with us. They just get better and better and even although I’m biased, this could well have been their best show in this hallowed hostelry yet. I hadn’t seen them do “Crush On You” before into the bargain. The hang out there afterwards was of the usual high standards and I thank Helena, Alvaro, Jorge and birthday boy Benito for throwing the bash that would colour much of the next day...

The band left horrendously early and I spent much of the day in a semi-coma until I met up with Sir Marco of Ghost Highway Industries. A wee bit later Inigo and I had a couple of beers and further croquetas but that was the extent of the festivities. As I wandered toward the hostal, my inner demons were battling with a modicum of sense. I wanted to go to Wharf to see Alvaro, and also to make a final 2013 pit stop at Wurlitzer but bottled it. Somehow I was back in my digs just a little after midnight. This was founded upon having an early breakfast and not wanting to go to the airport feeling any more miserable than I would at having to leave. Compounded by finding out that Jonathan and co would be in town just hours after I’d gone.

Them is the breaks though and one should be thankful for the blessing that is taking part in such malarkey. Upcoming shows by those Flamin Groovies and Redd Kross are tempting but I guess it’ll be a bit before I’m back. Three times this year is a pretty sound innings and I’d like to thank everyone that makes that possible spiritually and every which way. They know who they are.

My croqueta jones is in full swing. I wonder if they’re available on prescription anyplace?

Weekends generally disappear fast but none more so than the one that just done gone. I must be getting real old because time truly is scooting by. Friday night saw Laura Cantrell return to Glasgow and captivate a rammed St Andrews On The Square. A very civilised venue about as far from being a honky tonk as you could possibly imagine. It was once a church. A wee bit of an echo provided a sound echo here and there but once that was sorted the whole thing soared. And it should be stated that there was no slouching up to that point either.  The encore of Cowboy Jack Clement’s “Just Someone I Used To Know” was utterly spine-tingling. Try to catch a show as she heads south over the next couple of days.

The Nomads return to “the London” for the first time since – I think 2008 – all went swimmingly. Almost literally. And to keep up the water theme, the show was in a place called The Pipeline. A decent crowd made the scene and I have never been present at a sweatathon like that since The Ramones at The Barras in 1985. Them Dahlmanns made a whistle stop from MRC and I actually met someone from Moss that I didn’t know. The Hip Priests made the backline possible and I didn’t see either them of The Outbursts because I was too busy catching up with people I see all too seldom.

Essentially delivering the quality of rock action seldom seen outside of Spain, it turned out to be quite a night. Plus I heard “What’s Up With That?” on the jukebox and figured exactly that. Or did I dream that bit?

All of a sudden it was Sunday and time to head north again. A full English and a blether with Admiral Nick West of the good ship BOB sealed the deal. I don’t think I blogged about the most recent issue of that esteemed publication so if you haven’t grabbed one yet, do so here.

All in all, a very convivial weekend. The only thing that could have topped it would have been if those that couldn’t make it would have been there. They know who they are.

On Monday night I decided to make the jaunt into Glasgow for the launch of Sam Knee’s "A Scene In Between" book.

It was a palaver because train problems meant that a replacement bus service was involved. Never a plus point. Then when I got to town I got bloody soaked on the way to Mono. So things were being sent to try me. Once there however, things took a positive turn and I wish I could have spent another hour but couldn’t take any chances with the prospective ability of Scotrail to bugger things up. As it was it took 2 hours to get home and on a school night after the weekend I just had well, that’s not ideal but t'was a necessary schlepp.

And now it's practically Thursday, how exactly did that happen.