Sunday 25 January 2009

Scandal-ous

Friday 23rd of January: Original music and my availability have yet to sync up in 2009. So, despite my lack of appreciation for Miracles and Wonders a couple of weeks ago, tonight saw me at the Roman Bath yet again. This time, however, it was to see Scandal - a band that Roj and I saw last year. (Coincidentally, only Roj and I were out again this time.)

Scandal are a rock and blues covers band and, despite not recognising about half of the stuff that they played (on both occasions) it's the sort of stuff that I like and they are very good at what they do.

On top of that, two members of the band really seem to suit the music. The lead vocals from Ian Mann have that gravelly quality most associated with the blues (at least in my mind) while guitarist Jamie Reynold's plays with the nine-parts-bliss-one-part-sucking-lemons look on his face that a lot of blues guitarists seem to have. (Jamie - if you happen to be reading this, it's meant as a compliment...) Bass-player Ady Ingleby and drummer Alan Hopwood complete the band's lineup.

Tonight's set comprised of songs by Thin Lizzy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Muddy Waters, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others. All of them were played excellently, including a slightly short version of one of my favourite tracks - Skynyrd's Freebird, which the band play as their encore. (As an aside, always find myself wondering how man people who sing and dance along to Sweet Home Alabama actually own a Lynyrd Skynyrd album, let alone know who actually recorded the track...)

Despite being buffeted by fellow punters - the only places that you can stand in the Roman Bath and see have a decent view of the band puts you in the middle of the main route to either the bar or the toilets - this was a much better gig than my previous one.

Sadly, despite doing aan excellent job of keeping the band stocked with alcohol, the lady who took the photos the last time we saw Scandal failed to produce a camera this time. So, this is still the only picture or me and Roj available on the internet.

Scandal are highly recommended.

Thursday 15 January 2009

Not Enough of a Good Thing

Friday 9th January: When it comes to covers bands, I can be a bit picky. By which I mean that I, generally, know what music I like and what music the band plays - for example, I'm not likely to make any sort of effort to see a band that covers punk classics. There are some bands that I would go out of my way to see and others that I'd be quite happy with and I'm generally not averse to trying new bands if I think they will play things I like.

My main gripe with to sort of covers bands that we see in general is that they do all seem to play the same songs - you can only listen to the likes of Whitesnake's Here I Go Again and Guns 'n' Roses Sweet Child of Mine so many times in a year.

So, when I was told that York-based trio Miracles and Wonders played a mixture of the usual and unusual, I decided to toddle along to the Roman Bath to check them out.

Unfortunately, the unusual wasn't to my taste. There was too much stuff that I would put in my "Don't Like" column (The Kaiser Chiefs, The Sex Pistols, Oasis, Frankie Goes to Hollywood), a bit that would go under "Don't Really Know" (The Foo Fighters) and too little that I liked (Snow Patrol, The Darkness, Guns 'n' Roses).

I've said before that I'm not qualified enough to comment too much on the musical and vocal aspects of a performance. Suffice to say that, this time, the highlight of the vocals was during the rendition of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, which certainly stretched Pat's range a bit more than during the rest of the set.

Amazingly, however, the overall highlight came when Rhianna's Umbrella was transformed into a pretty damned good rock song. I can take or leave the original but tonight's version showed more than a spark of originality.

A more amusing moment, certainly for Andy, came when both Roj and I (who always try to work out what the songs are from the intros) simultaneously announced Turn It On Again by Genesis, only to discover a few lyrics later that it was, in fact, Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

If you like your covers with a bit more edge to them, then Miracles and Wonders may well be for you. Sadly, with my more "mainstream" tastes, they didn't do much for me.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Criminally Good Writing

Tuesday 6th January: I'm not a big reader of crime fiction but, every so often, I dip into it. Although I've tried a few authors, I only regularly read two - Patricia Cornwell and Jonathan Kellerman.

A few days ago, I found myself wondering why crime fiction is so popular. Personally, I find it easier to read than my regular SF or Fantasy, which is why I sometimes turn to it. Conversely, the ones I find myself reading can also be a lot more far-fetched than some of the wildest SF - there don't appear to be many Kellerman novels that concern just one murder and, at the end, the murders, perpetrators and supporting cast all have so many links to each other that you almost need a scorecard to keep up.

However, I had a theory about the popularity that I was surprised to find was confirmed by a story on Kellerman's website, where he tells how, when he found out that one fan, a regular at signings, was a veteran LAPD homicide detective. Kellerman asked the detective why, when he dealt with murder every day, he chose to unwind with novels dealing with murder. The detective told him that the police catch the bad guys 60 - 70% of the time, but Kellerman got them 100% of the time.

The fact is that, despite living in a society in which crime seems an everyday occurrence (and that might be doubly true for Kellerman's fellow Americans), we get a kick out of crime novels because the "perps" are always caught.

I've been concentrating on Kellerman, rather than Cornwell, because the last three books that I finished (and the one I'm currently reading) are his. Self-Defense (1995), The Web (1996) and The Clinic (1997) are the 9th, 10th and 11th books in his series featuring psychologist Alex Delaware. Although he specialises in child psychology, Delaware often finds himself helping his friend LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis in murder investigations. Appearing in most of the books I have read, Delaware's girlfriend, Robin - a luthier, is the only other regular member of the supporting cast. Which, as far as I can remember (it's been a while since I read book eight), made for some very similar books in the past. Sturgis gets assigned to a murder, asks Delaware to help and between them they solve the case. In amongst all this you get glimpses into Delaware's life (the books are written first person, from his point of view) as he drives around interviewing relatives and friends of the victim(s) and, usually at some point, the suspects and eating out at various LA restaurants and deli's and discussing theories with Sturgis, the only openly gay LAPD detective, and Robin. Occasionally, the crimes impact on his private life, as in the last book, Bad Love, when his house was burnt down. You don't have to read these books in order, but they do follow Delaware through his life so the background follows on from book to book.

However, two of these three messed with the format just a little, which made them a bit more refreshing. Self-Defense sees Delaware treating a rare private patient, a juror from a serial-killer in which the accused was sentenced to death. After the trial she starts having dreams about her childhood which appear to show her estranged father and some other men carrying off a woman's body. Referred to Delaware by Sturgis (on whom she developed a crush during the trial) she tweaks his curiosity and he embarks on his own investigations into whether the dream is a repressed memory of an actual murder.

At times, towards the end, The Web feels more like a gothic horror novel than a modern day crime thriller. Taking a working vacation on a remote Pacific island, Delaware and Robin get caught up in a web of lies and deceit around the scientist that has employed them, the island's naval base and big business. There have been two murders on the island, but they are peripheral to the main story and Delaware barely gets involved in the one that occurs while he is there. In the end, with a tropical storm battering the island, Delaware and Robin must brave huge venomous insects to solve clues left for them by the scientist in order to reveal the secret and discover the real reason he asked them to come to the island.

The Clinic sees Delaware once again helping Sturgis. This time a prominent female professor has been stabbed to death within yards of her house. A recent book on female empowerment, together with her work on a university committee and a possible abortion clinic has left her with many possible enemies, but which one committed the crime?

These books aren't action novels - there may be a bit of a chase/shoot-out/set-up at the end of each but, for the most part, they are deeply rooted in the psychological aspects of the investigations. Much of each book is taken up with various conversations and Kellerman having a psychology background himself means that, instead of being dry and tedious, they are often fascinating. As already mentioned, there is a bit of a formulaic feel to the books and the small supporting cast can be a bit restrictive at times. However, Kellerman writes about Los Angeles, whether real or imagined, with great descriptive aplomb. At times you can almost taste the sandwiches that Delaware prepares for Sturgis as they discuss the latest case, or the lunch he has bought at the nice little deli he drives past between interviews. LA is a sprawling city, with its own personality, which means that Kellerman has plenty of scope for locations to describe (although occasional trips elsewhere are welcome).

Despite being written in the mid 90's, sometimes these books appeared a bit dated. There is very little use of cellphones and a comment recently that LAPD were still a little scared by computers, while internet usage still seems restricted to terminals in universities and libraries, rather than at home.

The Delaware novels probably aren't the best crime fiction out there but they are an enjoyable, relatively easy read (despite some of the depravity and callousness portrayed in them). It's going to take me some time to catch up to the latest releases, though.