Monday 26th July: At just over three and a half minutes Lazy Susan, the newly released and incredibly catchy (I found myself singing it at work the day after first hearing it) single from Adam Dawson is by far the most radio-friendly of all the singer-songwriter's physically releases. (His previous, the album In The Beginning from 2004 is much more pastoral, almost contemplative.) Immediately bringing to mind 60's pop, you can easily imagine the song being performed by the likes of the Beatles. The short but complementary electric guitar sections, which naggingly remind me of something that I can't quite put my finger on, add an extra flourish to the almost simplistic main tune - a mix of acoustic guitar, Hammond organ and drums, all played by Adam himself. Don't be put off if that description makes it sound a bit of a strange melange. Everything works together to produce a superbly melodic song which, along with the accompanying video, tells the story of how a young party-goer finds herself re-evaluating her life. Light, airy and instantly likable.
In what can only be a strange coincidence, the second track, Mirror Mirror, opens with the type of simple, repetitive keyboards reminiscent of some of Iain Jennings' songs. (Adam is about to join Iain's Breathing Space as their new guitarist.) This wonderfully atmospheric song would fit right in with some of related band Mostly Autumn's output which is, perhaps, no surprise given Adam's past guitar teacher. But that's not to take anything away from Adam's writing - there's nothing wrong with showing your influences, especially when they lead you to produce something as beautiful as this.
Although not mentioned anywhere on the CD, I believe that Silver Skies is dedicated to Dirk Macrae, former frontman of The Asylum Seekers (one of Adam's former bands), who died suddenly in 2006. Without being too sentimental, this is a lovely tribute to an absent friend and a song which will soon be performed "full band" (as Adam has stated it was always meant to be) by Breathing Space. In the future, this version may only be seen as having historical interest but it rounds the highly enjoyable single off in style.
This review was based on the physical release but all tracks are also available from itunes.
Track Listing:
1: Lazy Susan
2: Mirror Mirror
3: Silver Skies
Credits:
All songs written and performed by Adam Dawson
Engineered by John Spence at Fairview Studio
Lazy Susan video directed by Paul Richardson and featuring Roxanna Kilmaszewska as Susan
Monday 26 July 2010
Sunday 25 July 2010
Falling From Paradise
Friday 23rd July: After a recent couple of quiet acoustic gigs, tonight it's time for a bit of loud metal goodness as I meet up with Roj and Lynn to finally catch up with a band that Roj has recommended a few times.
When I arrived, Fibbers looked packed and it was four deep at the bar - a good sign as gigs in York rarely come close to selling out and a big crowd is, generally, a prediction for a good gig. I was, however, a little surprised by the amount of tattoos on view, mostly on young women. We took up position towards the back, not the best place to experience bands but probably a lot less sticky than being at the front, given the heat.
First to take the stage was Frantic Alice, an energetic four-piece from Milton Keynes. Although showing nice use of various fringes as elaborate head-banging accessories and some potentially excellent, although swamped by the rhythm section, guitar solos, I'm afraid they didn't do too much for me. Vocally, they were just the wrong side of shouty, not hiding their punk influences at all. Frontman Jakk Spence's frequent use of the f-word got a little irritating at times - I'm not averse to swearing, but he just went a bit too far. Their songs, however, were different enough from each other to keep the set varied and, even from the back, Spence's vocals were clearer than some bands we have seen. Would I pay to see them again, probably not, but only because they weren't my "thing".
The Fallen are a twin-guitar five piece from York who I haven't come across before. That's a shame, really, as I enjoyed this set a lot more than the first (despite the somewhat 80's styles on show from some members of the band. Headbands? Eye-liner?? Really...?) A more generic style of rock, their best song tonight was the melodic Ghosts, which wasn't actually representative of the rest of their output. Johnny Fallen's vocals were less clear, but more powerful than those of Spence and the songs a little less varied but, when something sounds good, why vary it too much? An entertaining, if no brilliant set, and I particularly liked the synchronised headbanging.
We did move forwards a bit for Heaven's Basement, finding a clear area about halfway closer to the stage and positioning ourselves for what would turn out to be an assault on the eardrums... In a good way. Normally a five piece, but tonight down to four due to one guitarist breaking his finger playing football and with a stand-in vocalist after the departure of Richie Heavenz in February. (I'm a little unclear who the vocalist was - the paragon of truth that is Wikipedia states James Sinclair, but HB's own pages say they are still auditioning. Johnny Fallen, of the Fallen is mentioned as touring with them but I think that was earlier in the year.) Anyway, opening with a machine-gun like drumbeat, HB certainly entertained for their all too short set. For me, Sorry was their best track, while hard-hitting Paranoia featured the broken-fingered guitarist and Never Gonna Stop (at least, I think that was the title) showed the band are just as good with the slower numbers. Being one guitar down didn't seem to hamper the band - this was a full-throttle performance and one of the best rock acts I've seen for a while during an, overall, entertaining evening.
When I arrived, Fibbers looked packed and it was four deep at the bar - a good sign as gigs in York rarely come close to selling out and a big crowd is, generally, a prediction for a good gig. I was, however, a little surprised by the amount of tattoos on view, mostly on young women. We took up position towards the back, not the best place to experience bands but probably a lot less sticky than being at the front, given the heat.
First to take the stage was Frantic Alice, an energetic four-piece from Milton Keynes. Although showing nice use of various fringes as elaborate head-banging accessories and some potentially excellent, although swamped by the rhythm section, guitar solos, I'm afraid they didn't do too much for me. Vocally, they were just the wrong side of shouty, not hiding their punk influences at all. Frontman Jakk Spence's frequent use of the f-word got a little irritating at times - I'm not averse to swearing, but he just went a bit too far. Their songs, however, were different enough from each other to keep the set varied and, even from the back, Spence's vocals were clearer than some bands we have seen. Would I pay to see them again, probably not, but only because they weren't my "thing".
The Fallen are a twin-guitar five piece from York who I haven't come across before. That's a shame, really, as I enjoyed this set a lot more than the first (despite the somewhat 80's styles on show from some members of the band. Headbands? Eye-liner?? Really...?) A more generic style of rock, their best song tonight was the melodic Ghosts, which wasn't actually representative of the rest of their output. Johnny Fallen's vocals were less clear, but more powerful than those of Spence and the songs a little less varied but, when something sounds good, why vary it too much? An entertaining, if no brilliant set, and I particularly liked the synchronised headbanging.
We did move forwards a bit for Heaven's Basement, finding a clear area about halfway closer to the stage and positioning ourselves for what would turn out to be an assault on the eardrums... In a good way. Normally a five piece, but tonight down to four due to one guitarist breaking his finger playing football and with a stand-in vocalist after the departure of Richie Heavenz in February. (I'm a little unclear who the vocalist was - the paragon of truth that is Wikipedia states James Sinclair, but HB's own pages say they are still auditioning. Johnny Fallen, of the Fallen is mentioned as touring with them but I think that was earlier in the year.) Anyway, opening with a machine-gun like drumbeat, HB certainly entertained for their all too short set. For me, Sorry was their best track, while hard-hitting Paranoia featured the broken-fingered guitarist and Never Gonna Stop (at least, I think that was the title) showed the band are just as good with the slower numbers. Being one guitar down didn't seem to hamper the band - this was a full-throttle performance and one of the best rock acts I've seen for a while during an, overall, entertaining evening.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
Breathing In
Monday 19th July: Two weeks ago I hadn't heard of Adam Dawson, although over the past few years he has played with at least three bands (the first when he was just 14 years old) as well as a solo performer. However, it was recently announced that he would be joining Breathing Space as their new guitarist so, tonight, Andy and I are at the Roman Bath checking out a solo show by somebody who, while not on the verge of major stardom, is probably about to get recognised (and scrutinised) by a relatively large and passionate group of music fans.
Although a multi-instrumentalist, Adam's solo act (tonight, at least) is that of yet another in the ever growing crowd of man-with-guitar or, in this case, two guitars, acoustic with added effects. While I was expecting that, I can't say it filled me with joy and anticipation. There have been too many times when such a performer, usually a singer-songwriter, has failed to grab my attention or entertain me. It turns out that this wasn't going to be the case tonight.
Adam's set comprises of acoustic, cover versions of songs ranging from artists as diverse as Coldplay (Viva La Vida), Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars), Kings of Leon (Use Somebody), Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here), Take That (Shine), Steve Harley (Come Up And See Me), Oasis (Wonderwall), Turin Brakes (Underdog), Chuck Berry (Johnny Be Good), Neil Diamond (I'm A Believer) and, errrm, Lady Gaga (Poker Face), mixed with a handful of his own songs, including Silver Skies, I'm Coming Home, new single Lazy Susan and my favourite on the night Behind The Light.
I'm happy to say that the original songs were good enough that they fit right in with the rest of the set. This was no bland performance - the songs were catchy and different enough to stand out not only from the covers but also from each other. These may have been stripped down, acoustic versions of the full songs but they were extremely good versions.
Being a Monday, the Bath was a lot emptier than we normally see it and, therefore, a lot quieter, which meant that it was easier to hear the vocals. For the most part these were incredibly clear, especially on the quieter numbers, but there were a couple of times when they became a little muddy (particularly during the Snow Patrol number). Although it was during the quieter numbers that Adam seemed to shine vocally (one of my favourites from his covers was a really nice version of The Plain White Ts' Hey There Delilah), his guitar playing was superb throughout, with the mixture of styles required for the different songs all being performed more than adequately. During the set there was a couple of really smooth segues - I'm A Believer into American Pie and Brown Eyed Girl into a Beatles song (the title now escapes me), the latter being done so smoothly that I didn't even notice until he started singing...
During a break in the set, I took the opportunity to chat to Adam and found him to be a genuine, affable bloke who exudes a slight air of controlled excitement at the prospect of joining Breathing Space. He told me that they had already worked on turning Silver Skies into a full band version and that there would, inevitably given the new line-up, be a slight change in direction.
While tonight may not have been the best indicator of how Adam is going to fit in or perform in the band, given the polarity of styles, it was a thoroughly entertaining evening during which my foot tapped and I sung along. A good selection of songs, performed well to an appreciative, if fluctuating audience - what more can you ask for?
Although a multi-instrumentalist, Adam's solo act (tonight, at least) is that of yet another in the ever growing crowd of man-with-guitar or, in this case, two guitars, acoustic with added effects. While I was expecting that, I can't say it filled me with joy and anticipation. There have been too many times when such a performer, usually a singer-songwriter, has failed to grab my attention or entertain me. It turns out that this wasn't going to be the case tonight.
Adam's set comprises of acoustic, cover versions of songs ranging from artists as diverse as Coldplay (Viva La Vida), Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars), Kings of Leon (Use Somebody), Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here), Take That (Shine), Steve Harley (Come Up And See Me), Oasis (Wonderwall), Turin Brakes (Underdog), Chuck Berry (Johnny Be Good), Neil Diamond (I'm A Believer) and, errrm, Lady Gaga (Poker Face), mixed with a handful of his own songs, including Silver Skies, I'm Coming Home, new single Lazy Susan and my favourite on the night Behind The Light.
I'm happy to say that the original songs were good enough that they fit right in with the rest of the set. This was no bland performance - the songs were catchy and different enough to stand out not only from the covers but also from each other. These may have been stripped down, acoustic versions of the full songs but they were extremely good versions.
Being a Monday, the Bath was a lot emptier than we normally see it and, therefore, a lot quieter, which meant that it was easier to hear the vocals. For the most part these were incredibly clear, especially on the quieter numbers, but there were a couple of times when they became a little muddy (particularly during the Snow Patrol number). Although it was during the quieter numbers that Adam seemed to shine vocally (one of my favourites from his covers was a really nice version of The Plain White Ts' Hey There Delilah), his guitar playing was superb throughout, with the mixture of styles required for the different songs all being performed more than adequately. During the set there was a couple of really smooth segues - I'm A Believer into American Pie and Brown Eyed Girl into a Beatles song (the title now escapes me), the latter being done so smoothly that I didn't even notice until he started singing...
During a break in the set, I took the opportunity to chat to Adam and found him to be a genuine, affable bloke who exudes a slight air of controlled excitement at the prospect of joining Breathing Space. He told me that they had already worked on turning Silver Skies into a full band version and that there would, inevitably given the new line-up, be a slight change in direction.
While tonight may not have been the best indicator of how Adam is going to fit in or perform in the band, given the polarity of styles, it was a thoroughly entertaining evening during which my foot tapped and I sung along. A good selection of songs, performed well to an appreciative, if fluctuating audience - what more can you ask for?
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Something Fishy
Tuesday 13th July: Looking back to when I first started listening to music, there was a time when I was quite possessive (some might say anal) about some of the bands I liked. I'm not sure that I had even heard the term "prog rock" when I first heard Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush or Genesis, but they were among my favourites at the time and, despite all being of a genre, they all sounded different. Then along came a new band which, to me at the time, seemed to be trying to emulate the sound of Genesis. I can't say that I ever disliked Marillion, but I certainly never embraced them. In fact, metaphorically, I barely stepped forward to give them a peck on the cheek. I was aware of them (it was hard not to be) and I bought a 12" picture disc version of Lavender, but that was it. I never followed them and, until recently, I couldn't tell you when Fish left them or who was in the current line-up, let alone the names of any of the more recent albums.
Then, earlier this year, I spotted some of their albums in a bargain deal on play.com and, with my renewed (and growing) interest in prog, decided I had to buy them if only so my CD collection contained a valid historical cross-section of the genre. Imagine my surprise when they arrived and I gave them the usual cursory play only to find that I actually really liked them. One of them, Misplaced Childhood, is actually turning out to be one of my all-time favourite albums.
The similarities to the output of Genesis are still there. Fish's vocals still remind me of something halfway between Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins and some of the lyrics could have escaped from the Foxtrot era - I defy anybody to listen to "A train sleeps in a siding; The driver guzzles another can of lager" without thinking of that classic album. The way that the tracks of Misplaced Childhood merge into each other, with nary a break anywhere on the album, is reminiscent of the various live medleys that Genesis are so good at and that are one of my favourite things about their output.
But there's also so much more, including another influence that I only spotted the last time I played the CD. Does the opening of Heart of Lothian sound like Rush to anybody else? Quite frankly, the music is superb and grows in power as the album progresses. And Fish's vocals? Well, with maturity comes the realisation that he was never just a Gabriel wannabe. From the rumbling Scottish accent of the spoken word, through the lightness of tone in Bitter Suite and the suppressed power of Heart of Lothian right through to the outright anger during parts of Blind Curve, there's so much range and not a bad performance on the whole album.
Even if I hadn't reconsidered my opinion of Marillion, I would almost certainly still have been at The Duchess tonight, to see Fish perform an intimate acoustic set of (mostly) his solo material, which I hadn't previously heard any of. There are just some people that I have to see when they visit this fair city, whether I know much about them or not...
Support came from Marbled and I'm ashamed to say that I didn't pay too much attention, as I was chatting with local celebrities and their friends and family, mostly about Fish and Marillion but also about music in general. Thankfully, one of them was also willing to escort me to the merchandise table and spend my hard-earned for me, pointing out which of Fish's output was worth buying having been given a quick idea of what I already liked, while everybody else at the table played "spot the newbie". Having now listened to all three CDs that I bought I can't decide whether it's a good job or a shame that I didn't have more cash with me (the missus probably wouldn't have been impressed if I'd turned up with more or less the whole back catalogue but, then again, I would have had more or less the whole back catalogue...) Anyway, I can't tell you too much about Marbled, except that he was another "man with guitar" act, came across as a bit angry in parts but otherwise sounded OK.
Then, as pretty much the whole of the surprisingly small audience moved forward, fish took to the stage and belted out Chocolate Frogs with no accompaniment. For the rest of the two hour set, he was joined by Frank Usher (guitar) and Foss Paterson (keyboards) and we were treated to acoustic renditions of the likes of Shell Suit City, Miles de Besos, Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors, Lady Let It Lie, Speaking In Tongues, Family Business, Just Good Friends and lots more, from what seems to be a varied cross section of the man's solo output.
In between songs, Fish showed what a humorous, self-effacing and, well, talkative person he is. Songs were introduced by the stories behind them, such as the bitter-sweet memories of falling in love in Chile for Miles de Besos, or the reasons for writing the likes of The Pilgrim's Address (a song which must have had special resonance for at least one of tonight's audience). Other gaps were used to give Fish's opinion on the World Cup performance of the English football team or for him to, basically, take the mickey out of his own personal life and failed relationships. Whatever he was talking about, though, he held the audience captivated. This was by far the quietest gig, in terms of unwanted audience, noise that I've ever experienced (apart from the encouraged heckling). And what an experience it was - the stripping down of the songs to their basics, along with Fish's superb vocals meant that practically every word could be heard while the music was an absolute pleasure to listen to. As for stage presence, I don't think I've ever seen anybody command a stage as well as Fish did tonight.
The set finished with the only two songs that I knew - a rendition of Kayleigh which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and nearly brought a tear to my eye, and an almost as good version of Lavender. Then after a short time off stage, the trio returned to perform Lucky with enthusiastic audience participation.
All in all, this was an absolutely brilliant, thoroughly entertaining performance. It may have been the first time I've seen Fish, but I fervently hope it won't be the last. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of back catalogues I need to peruse...
Then, earlier this year, I spotted some of their albums in a bargain deal on play.com and, with my renewed (and growing) interest in prog, decided I had to buy them if only so my CD collection contained a valid historical cross-section of the genre. Imagine my surprise when they arrived and I gave them the usual cursory play only to find that I actually really liked them. One of them, Misplaced Childhood, is actually turning out to be one of my all-time favourite albums.
The similarities to the output of Genesis are still there. Fish's vocals still remind me of something halfway between Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins and some of the lyrics could have escaped from the Foxtrot era - I defy anybody to listen to "A train sleeps in a siding; The driver guzzles another can of lager" without thinking of that classic album. The way that the tracks of Misplaced Childhood merge into each other, with nary a break anywhere on the album, is reminiscent of the various live medleys that Genesis are so good at and that are one of my favourite things about their output.
But there's also so much more, including another influence that I only spotted the last time I played the CD. Does the opening of Heart of Lothian sound like Rush to anybody else? Quite frankly, the music is superb and grows in power as the album progresses. And Fish's vocals? Well, with maturity comes the realisation that he was never just a Gabriel wannabe. From the rumbling Scottish accent of the spoken word, through the lightness of tone in Bitter Suite and the suppressed power of Heart of Lothian right through to the outright anger during parts of Blind Curve, there's so much range and not a bad performance on the whole album.
Even if I hadn't reconsidered my opinion of Marillion, I would almost certainly still have been at The Duchess tonight, to see Fish perform an intimate acoustic set of (mostly) his solo material, which I hadn't previously heard any of. There are just some people that I have to see when they visit this fair city, whether I know much about them or not...
Support came from Marbled and I'm ashamed to say that I didn't pay too much attention, as I was chatting with local celebrities and their friends and family, mostly about Fish and Marillion but also about music in general. Thankfully, one of them was also willing to escort me to the merchandise table and spend my hard-earned for me, pointing out which of Fish's output was worth buying having been given a quick idea of what I already liked, while everybody else at the table played "spot the newbie". Having now listened to all three CDs that I bought I can't decide whether it's a good job or a shame that I didn't have more cash with me (the missus probably wouldn't have been impressed if I'd turned up with more or less the whole back catalogue but, then again, I would have had more or less the whole back catalogue...) Anyway, I can't tell you too much about Marbled, except that he was another "man with guitar" act, came across as a bit angry in parts but otherwise sounded OK.
Then, as pretty much the whole of the surprisingly small audience moved forward, fish took to the stage and belted out Chocolate Frogs with no accompaniment. For the rest of the two hour set, he was joined by Frank Usher (guitar) and Foss Paterson (keyboards) and we were treated to acoustic renditions of the likes of Shell Suit City, Miles de Besos, Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors, Lady Let It Lie, Speaking In Tongues, Family Business, Just Good Friends and lots more, from what seems to be a varied cross section of the man's solo output.
In between songs, Fish showed what a humorous, self-effacing and, well, talkative person he is. Songs were introduced by the stories behind them, such as the bitter-sweet memories of falling in love in Chile for Miles de Besos, or the reasons for writing the likes of The Pilgrim's Address (a song which must have had special resonance for at least one of tonight's audience). Other gaps were used to give Fish's opinion on the World Cup performance of the English football team or for him to, basically, take the mickey out of his own personal life and failed relationships. Whatever he was talking about, though, he held the audience captivated. This was by far the quietest gig, in terms of unwanted audience, noise that I've ever experienced (apart from the encouraged heckling). And what an experience it was - the stripping down of the songs to their basics, along with Fish's superb vocals meant that practically every word could be heard while the music was an absolute pleasure to listen to. As for stage presence, I don't think I've ever seen anybody command a stage as well as Fish did tonight.
The set finished with the only two songs that I knew - a rendition of Kayleigh which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and nearly brought a tear to my eye, and an almost as good version of Lavender. Then after a short time off stage, the trio returned to perform Lucky with enthusiastic audience participation.
All in all, this was an absolutely brilliant, thoroughly entertaining performance. It may have been the first time I've seen Fish, but I fervently hope it won't be the last. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of back catalogues I need to peruse...
Monday 12 July 2010
They Think It's All Over...
Friday 2nd July: Hello, all - it's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't been away. Quite the opposite, in fact. The World Cup has kept me more or less glued to the settee and a lack of interesting (to me, anyway) gigs in York hasn't provided me with much incentive to get off my backside and get out. Nor have I had much chance to listen properly to any recent CD purchases. So, not a lot of point in blogging, unless I was to join in the general condemnation of the eleven or so over-paid English footballers who seemed to believe that the trophy would jump into their hands if they simply turned up to the games. Better luck next time lads. What? This was the last chance for some of you? What a shame! Maybe whoever is in charge next time should look to use some Championship players - at least they'd wear the shirt with pride and, probably, put a lot more effort in. Rant over...
...as is the World Cup itself. In a strange, Doctor Who-like temporal phenomenon I'm writing this over a week after the above date and music can, once again, become a big part of my life. As I type, I'm listening to Prognosis 9 - one of a series of CDs that come free with the Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine and serves as both a sampler for a variety bands, only a small fraction of which I've heard of, and an incredible piece of subliminal advertising. I swear I can hear, "buy the album this comes from," in the background of a lot of the tracks. It's probably time to lock the credit card away for a while.
But I digress (twice already, I think). I did forgo one football match for a trip into the city for much musical goodness. In order to give Debbie a night of from what must have seemed to her to be "endless bloody football", I met up with the gang at the Roman Bath to see the ever-excellent Mojos. The reasons were many - I'd almost forgotten what the rest of the guys (and gal) looked like; I needed some fresh air; Debbie wanted to plump up the settee cushions; I always enjoy the Mojos and, more importantly, we had tickets for upcoming gigs to swap around. The latter has now been completed with the indispensable help of a stamp, an envelope and a postman...
We've seen the Mojos a few times now and they never fail to put on a varied and entertaining show. Tonight was no exception. The Bath was incredibly warm and the band had all opted for shorts, proving that talent and sartorial elegance don't have to go hand in hand. (Guys - if you are reading this, and I know you have in the past, I'm joking...) We had positioned ourselves close to the door, which gave us access to the slight cooling breeze and a good view along the stage area but, perhaps, not the best sound as we were behind most of the speakers and next to another. Tonight's set was comprised of old favourites from the likes of Dire Straits (Money For Nothing and the superb Sultans Of Swing), Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire), Whitesnake (Here I Go Again), and Toto (Hold The Line), alongside some that don't really float my boat such as The Kaiser Chiefs (I Predict A Riot) and some that I'd not heard them cover before including a more than passable attempt at Muse's Uprising.
Sadly, there was an inordinate amount of funk in the form of Jamiroqui and Queen (not that I'm averse to Queen, but One Vision is the funkiest rock song I can think of...) and disco/soul, with Chic and Jackie Wilson. Although the latter's Higher And Higher did get me and Andy a mention from lead singer John when he spotted our backing singer style dancing (damn that alcohol stuff), which was strange given the rather more attractive sight that was more or less directly in front of the band all evening. Overall, though, there was more for me to like than not and it was another very entertaining evening from one of York's best covers bands.
...as is the World Cup itself. In a strange, Doctor Who-like temporal phenomenon I'm writing this over a week after the above date and music can, once again, become a big part of my life. As I type, I'm listening to Prognosis 9 - one of a series of CDs that come free with the Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine and serves as both a sampler for a variety bands, only a small fraction of which I've heard of, and an incredible piece of subliminal advertising. I swear I can hear, "buy the album this comes from," in the background of a lot of the tracks. It's probably time to lock the credit card away for a while.
But I digress (twice already, I think). I did forgo one football match for a trip into the city for much musical goodness. In order to give Debbie a night of from what must have seemed to her to be "endless bloody football", I met up with the gang at the Roman Bath to see the ever-excellent Mojos. The reasons were many - I'd almost forgotten what the rest of the guys (and gal) looked like; I needed some fresh air; Debbie wanted to plump up the settee cushions; I always enjoy the Mojos and, more importantly, we had tickets for upcoming gigs to swap around. The latter has now been completed with the indispensable help of a stamp, an envelope and a postman...
We've seen the Mojos a few times now and they never fail to put on a varied and entertaining show. Tonight was no exception. The Bath was incredibly warm and the band had all opted for shorts, proving that talent and sartorial elegance don't have to go hand in hand. (Guys - if you are reading this, and I know you have in the past, I'm joking...) We had positioned ourselves close to the door, which gave us access to the slight cooling breeze and a good view along the stage area but, perhaps, not the best sound as we were behind most of the speakers and next to another. Tonight's set was comprised of old favourites from the likes of Dire Straits (Money For Nothing and the superb Sultans Of Swing), Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire), Whitesnake (Here I Go Again), and Toto (Hold The Line), alongside some that don't really float my boat such as The Kaiser Chiefs (I Predict A Riot) and some that I'd not heard them cover before including a more than passable attempt at Muse's Uprising.
Sadly, there was an inordinate amount of funk in the form of Jamiroqui and Queen (not that I'm averse to Queen, but One Vision is the funkiest rock song I can think of...) and disco/soul, with Chic and Jackie Wilson. Although the latter's Higher And Higher did get me and Andy a mention from lead singer John when he spotted our backing singer style dancing (damn that alcohol stuff), which was strange given the rather more attractive sight that was more or less directly in front of the band all evening. Overall, though, there was more for me to like than not and it was another very entertaining evening from one of York's best covers bands.
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