Emotionless Fibbers, Emotional Swan

Friday 23rd November: Another trip to Fibbers was on the cards (Friday nights out are getting more and more regular, just like these postings.

First on was Ishtar - all the guys except me had seen them before and knew what to expect. For about thirty minutes, the four guitarists and one drummer played either one tune (there's no singing) or, possibly, three tunes which segued into each other perfectly. Apart from the drummer, there is little movement on stage and very little emotion shown. Very good, though.

Second was The Falling Spikes. Competent if uninspiring music but the vocals were fairly dull. The singer was constantly leaning down to reach the mike - either he didn't realise that the stand was adjustable or he was trying for some sort of reverse-Lemmy effect - and had an expression that was halfway between angst-ridden and about-to-burst-into-tears. Of the five songs, three sounded the same and only the last one revived quite a dull set.

Finally, an L.A. band called The Warlocks. I had listened to snippets of their music on myspace during the day and was looking forward to seeing them live. Their profile said they were an octet with two drum kits - how were they going to fit on Fibbers' stage?? From my vantage point, I could see the two drums kits but only five musicians, including the female bass player who, like Ishtar, appeared completely devoid of emotion. For some reason, the sound man had cranked the volume about to about 12, resulting in a bit of early feedback and some quite unnerving bass vibrations. Trouble is that we didn't know whether they were supposed to sound like that. After all, unless the sound man had gone home or was totally deaf, he didn't seem to think there was much wrong. Anyway, while the music sounded like it could have been good, the vocals were totally inaudible. I would like to hear more, though, so may seek out one of their CDs.

After that it was on to the Swan for what could be a duet of farewells. Tom, the landlord, was moving on and the full Hazzard County (except for Chris) were playing what, apparently, had been advertised as their last gig. To celebrate, it appeared that Tom had given the regular staff the night off and that everybody who had ever been a member of the Hazzards (except for Chris) got a stint in front of the mike or playing some sort of instrument. It got to the point where a scorecard was needed to work out who had played what with, at one point towards the end, Tom (the landlord, not the drummer) having a go at the drums. While it looked a bit chaotic at times, it was a cracking performance overall and, due to me getting a lift in, one I was able to see right to the end. There were emotional speeches from Tom and lots of applause when he announced that, if he managed to find another pub in town, he would continue to book live music. We were finally kicked out of the pub after 1 o'clock this morning.

If that was the Hazzard's last gig, it's a damned shame - the more I heard of them, the more I liked them. And, how many other bands have been together, even with changes of line-up, for something like thirteen years. Strangely enough, though, there was no farewell from them.

Music 0, Football 1

Friday 16th November: No trip out to see any bands tonight - the guys didn't fancy anything on at Fibbers, so were heading to the Roman Bath to see Freeway. They are a heavy metal covers band which, under normal circumstances, would be well within my tastes. The problem with the Bath is that the bands don't start until sometime after 9pm (usually), which means that my usual plan of catching the last bus home means quite a strange time-out-to-travelling ratio and could lead to me missing the end of the show. Given that I had been out for three Fridays in a row, I decided to give this one a miss.

Saturday 17th November: Leeds United v Swindon Town. A couple of pre-match pints were livened up when some of the local "yoof" saw that quite a few Swindon fans had found their way to our watering hole. Nobody inside seemed to mind, even when they started singing their team's virtues and predicting a 2:1 victory. However, being of little brain, those outside decided to throw multiple somethings at the windows, causing a surge to the bar (in case anything decided to come straight through) and a bit of a scare for the ladies sitting next to said windows. Fortunately, the police appeared in record time and no further trouble ensued.

On the pitch, Leeds managed a 2:1 victory - the Swindon fans getting the score right but result wrong. One nil up at half time, after Beckford's penalty and with Swindon looking poor (but their keeper looking good), we looked to be very capable of winning by a margin until the second half started and Matt Heath was passed down the wing as if he was standing still. Three Swindon players were queuing up in the box to equalise. The lead was restored just a few minutes later when Johnny Howson played a long pass out to Tresor Kandol, who knocked the ball down to Beckford to score his second. As good a goal as you will see in this league. Swindon did have the ball in the net a second time towards the end, but it was disallowed for off-side. Good job, really, as the ball was definitely put over the line by hand and the "scorer" would almost certainly have been sent off.

A card-happy referee spoiled the game a little, but Howson was a revelation. Not somebody I would normally class as a Dennis Wise player, he managed to run our midfield better than anybody else has this season - spraying balls out in all directions and riding tackles like a seasoned pro, belying his relative youth. Leeds ended the day in fourth place. My guess is we'll be top well before Christmas.

An Ill-Fitting Tribute?

Friday 9th November: My wife was having a Body Shop party at our house tonight so I had known for some time that I would have to vacate the premises. My choices? Go to the pub, on my own, to watch Leeds United play their first ever match in the first round of the F.A. Cup; Mostly Autumn, live at the Grand Opera House, again on my own; Whole Lotta Led at Fibbers, with friends.

In the past I had expressed disdain (bordering on contempt) for tribute bands. If they are that talented, why limit themselves to playing one group's songs. To me, it smacks slightly of laziness. However, because a) I didn't fancy standing on my own in pub watching what could have turned out to be one of LUFC's biggest embarrassments and b) wanted to avoid being in close contact with Mostly Autumn CDs (because they are all on my Christmas list...) I decided to head to Fibbers.

Sort of a bad choice, really. The vocalist was obviously having problems with the sound (apparently he couldn't hear himself. At times I though that was probably a blessing...) and, overall, I thought the performance was a bit nondescript. They certainly weren't as good as I had been led (no pun intended) to believe. Being completely honest, the two best bits of the whole show were when the musicians were probably being themselves. The instrumental section of No Quarter rocked and, while I have only heard two version of what is my third favourite Led Zeppelin song, it sounded nothing like either. After a rather bland version of Stairway to Heaven, the band kicked into Moby Dick, featuring an absolutely brilliant drum solo. Again, I don't think it was supposed to be a copy of any particular Bonham solo and I have no idea whether it was technically good. What it was, to this totally non-musical music fan, was truly impressive - I don't think I could move my arms continually for the length of time that this drummer did, let alone keep to the many rhythms he used. I like to watch drummers but, unfortunately, couldn't see much of this one from where I was standing.

At the end of the show we wandered round to the Swan to see Hazzard County. Before anybody points out that they are also a covers band, they cover lots of artists and are, therefore, not a tribute band. We arrived just in time for the first set to end and wondered for a few minutes where Chris was, before realising that he was probably playing keyboards round at the Grand Opera House. The second set proved that they were as good as ever and that they were almost totally ignoring the play-list on the floor. Thankfully, we had taken our usual position just in front of the band so, when Tom started his staccato drumming for Who Do You Love, I was able to watch him in full flow.

So, a night of two halves, really.

Oh, yeah - Leeds were held to a nil-nil draw away at Hereford.