Run Run Run Run Runaway

Friday 8th August: Well, wouldn't you know it? A big Hazzard County reunion and two thirds of the group aren't available. Instead, we have a rare appearance from Seldom-seen from Strensall and an even rarer appearance from my wife (with new camera), all on our first visit to the Duchess to see a band that we've seen and enjoyed before.

First up is Mike Newsham who we've also seen before, opening for the Yards at the Post Office Club. As last time, his vocals were a little indistinct (something I now put down to the microphone being too close to his mouth. No, seriously) but his guitar-playing was excellent. This performance was a little less energetic than last time, with less foot-stomping, and was a little short. Mike's a good opening act and his five or six songs were a good start to the evening.

Before I move on to the next act, a few words about the venue (if only because I haven't got to the bottom of the accompanying photo yet...) The Duchess is exactly what I was expecting and more. Spacious both in terms of the audience area and the stage, with an excellent sound system, it is exactly what York needs. With seating areas comprising of chill-out sofas and two bars, both selling hand-pulled beer (although still in plastic glasses), compared to Fibbers it's a palace amongst venues. We managed to catch a few words with joint owner Michelle, who explained that this is the tenth time she has been involved in opening a music venue and that, so far and despite its own special kind of problems, the Duchess is doing well.

Second on the bill was GT Turbo, another York-based solo guitarist but with a slightly different sound to Mr Newsham. This one is a more laid back Neil Young type sound, with much clearer lyrics than Newsham. For about half his act, GT was joined by a second guitarist (I missed his name) and, for one song, by Andy Gaines of the headline act and these guest artists produced a fuller, more rounded sound experience. Overall, however, GT didn't do a lot for me, which is a bit surprising as I generally don't have anything against this type of music. I put it down to just not being in the mood for more subtle music tonight.

In contrast the third act, The Federals, were loud and proud of it. Billed as "garage" they sounded more punk to me. All their songs were short, sharp and angry, like a punch to the stomach. The drums were played so loud it felt like CPR, the guitars so fast you could barely see their hands and the vocals so harsh that the lead-singer might as well have been screaming. I'm sure that, if you like that sort of music (and there were plenty there that did) that The Federals are good at what they do. It's not for me, however.


And so to the band we came to see, The Runaway Sons, featuring Jim Gipson. I've written about their history and mentioned how good they are in a previous post and it's good to see them now headlining a gig. Tonight's set was, as far as I could remember, very similar to the previous one but was a lot more polished. Gipson's voice was still brilliant with clear vocals and songs that I am beginning to recognise. Overall, the performance was, like Newsham's a little less energetic than the last time we saw them but that probably left more scope for intricate playing, rather than on-stage antics.

Since we last saw them, the Sons have recorded a six-track EP, which I picked up on the night, along with Gipson's solo EP (at the bargain price of £1). I've since listened to both and, I'm happy to say, they continue the high quality music. Both contain excellent sing-along rock songs, instantly recognisable from the live set.

To round off the night, we wandered down to the White Swan to catch the end of a gig by Dave and Simon of Hazzard County. Or maybe that should be ex of Hazzard County. After last weekend's posting, Chris Johnson contacted me to say that he hadn't left the Hazzards and that a more full version of them would be playing the Cock and Bottle tonight. Unfortunately, it was just too long a walk by the time we left the Duchess. Simon and Dave, with just acoustic guitars, played the sort of songs we associate with the Hazzards, with the competency that we associate with... Well, you get the idea.

So, my first visit to the Duchess, five bands for a fiver (three of which I definitely liked and one I would probably enjoy under different circumstances) and twelve recorded tracks purchased for just another fiver. Top night!

The Cat With No Hat Goes Out Alone

Friday 1st August: With apologies to Dr. Seuss...

It should not have been hard, with just two of us out.
It should have been easy, with problems of nowt.

We planned to go out in the City Centre throng.
But Friday was the 1st and the listings were wrong.

We came up with a plan, it went something like this.
We'd meet at the Punchbowl, to see Johnson, Chris.

According to some, he was starting at eight.
I think Roj was on time, but I was a bit late.

I asked about start times and was told half past nine.
I didn't know Roj had arrived, so that was fine.

I stood by the doorway, with a glass full of beer.
Keeping a watch out for my friend to appear.

After a while, the beer had gone.
Sightings of Roj, there had been none.

I stood for a while in the street looking round.
Still no sign of my friend had I found.

For a few minutes more, I waited alone.
Texting a mate for a number to phone.

I even phoned home to speak to the female.
So she could log on to check my email.

No further updates, so I headed down the path.
To check out Plan B, the band at the Bath.

When I got there of Roj there still was no sign.
The band didn't sound good, it was decision time.

I decided to give the Bath band a miss.
I went back to the Punchbowl to listen to Chris.

By now Roj's number had arrived on my phone.
So I sent him a text and found he'd gone home.

Turns out at both venues, each other we'd missed.
By minutes and we just weren't ready for this.

Although mine was with me, Roj was without phone.
He'd gone home disappointed and left me out alone.

Now, much as I'd like to continue in rhyme.
I'm afraid it has come to gig review time.

Chris Johnson. Formerly of Hazzard County. Formerly of Mostly Autumn. Currently with Fish. Tonight playing an acoustic set in what turns out to be the surprisingly intimate setting of the Punchbowl. Acts play in what is normally a dining area and, while it isn't exactly a separate room from the rest of the pub, the layout means that you can actually listen to the music without having to strain to hear over most of the chatterers.

Slipping forward slightly, to the interval, I overheard Chris telling someone who asked whether he was still playing with Fish that he was but that he was a bit sick of the rock music and wanted to do a bit more folky stuff. That comment goes a long way to explaining tonight's set. It seems that, rather than have a set list, Chris works from a list of songs he knows, playing whatever takes his fancy at the time. Tonight he played the likes of Bob Dylan, The Band (Up on Cripple Creek), John Prine (Grandpa was a carpenter) as well as a handful of traditional Irish tunes such as Irish Rover and Whisky in the Jar. His first song after the break was one of his own tunes which showed a surprising gentleness of playing, compared to the passion in both his vocals and guitar-playing when he is doing covers.

Being honest, being on my own, I had half-decided not to stay for the full set (particularly as it started nearer ten than nine-thirty). However, as time went on, I realised that I was enjoying the music enough to stay and, eventually, left when the music finished at nearly midnight.

There's something about Chris Johnson. For me, I think he was what was missing at the Hazzards gig we went to a couple of weeks ago. It's not that he is Hazzard County, it's more that Hazzard County sound better when he is with them. That's a personal opinion and one I know others don't agree with. Counterpointing that, however, is the impression he gives that he should be doing bigger and better things. There's no arguing that he is talented. The question is whether he should be using other bands in an apparent way of furthering his own musical career, leaving a trail of ex-bands and, occassionally, disappointed fans (of those bands) in his wake.

Summertime Reading

Sunday 27th July: The hot Summer weather is finally here, which means sitting in the garden with a good book. At least, it did before we had a family... Still, I've managd to finish another three books.

Antarctica (Kim Stanley Robinson, 1997)
Antarctica basically follows three people as they visit, live and work in the Southern continent. Wade Norton is a Senator's aide, sent to investigate claims of ecological sabotage; X is a general worker at an icebase, disillusioned with his job he resigns and joins an oil company; Valerie is his ex-lover and leader of adventure tours retreading the footsteps of Antarctic explorers. Their stories intertwine and, eventually, converge as the terrorists strike and another faction living on the ice is discovered.

If I remember correctly, I bought this novel before I had started reading Robinson's highly regarded Mars trilogy. Eventually, I got round to reading the latter and, personally, found it quite hard going. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Antarctica got vey good reviews when it was first published but, again, I was disappointed. Robinson imbues his novels with huge chunks of real and extrapolated science. This one, set in the early years of the 21st century, needs little extrapolation. His descriptions of the frozen continent are superb and really bring the ice to life, helped immensely by a writer's trip during which he seems to have visited all the areas he incorporates into the novel.

Unfortunately, the rest of the writing is dry and dense. Some full pages of text include just two paragraphs and, at times, the book reads more like a science text or geologists handbook than a novel. Reasonably interesting are the discussions of Scott and Amundsen's famous treks, alongside debates on their sanity but, in actual fact, very little actually happens. It is halfway through before the terrorists strike, throwing characters together as they try to reach safety (bizarrely, stopping off for a bit of fun on the way) and the novel ends with a frsutratingly unsatisfactory ending.

It is, perhaps, indicative of the dullness of this novel that I completed the next two books while I was still reading it. I doubt I'll be buying any more books by Robinson, no matter how good the reviews are.

To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee, 1960)
Every so often I come to the conclusion that I should diversify from the SF and fantasy fare that I usually read and try something different. Usually this means a reasonably lightweight crime novel but, even more rarely, I decide to try a "classic".

To Kill A Mockingbird is the only book written by Harper Lee, which is a shame. Through a series of short happenings (almost vignettes) she paints a picture of a smalltown in the Southern United States in the 1930s. Everything is told through the eyes of Scout Finch and her elder brother, Jem. They are the children of Atticus Finch, a lawyer who is defending a black man against charges of rape. I was under the impression that the law case was the main story of the book but it is, in actual fact, mostly in the background. The novel shows how Scout and her brother discover the world around them, including a mad dog, their first site of snow and the strange Radley family living opposite, against the backdrop of the court case.

The writing is light and humorous, given such a heavy backstory and it is only towards the end of the book that things start to become dark and, at times, dangerous for the Finch family. Throughout it all, though, Scout's humour and inquistiveness shine through. The characters and the town they live in are superbly brought to life and, while there are one or two passages that are dated (if only by referencing things I had no knowledge of) the book has a sense of almost timelessness. A joy to read.

Return to Mars (Ben Bova, 1999)
Bova's sequel to Mars (1992) tells the story of the, ahem, return to the red planet. In the first novel lichen was discovered on Mars and Jamie Waterman thought that he saw signs of intelligent life in what looked to be a wall built in a niche in the wall of a canyon. Now he returns, as mission director, with a whole new crew, to carry on the explorations.

Unlike Robinson, Bova writes accessible science fiction. In a way you can tell that, if you were to scrape away the extrapolation and conjecture, you could actually learn a bit about science from reading his novels. Return to Mars and its prequel are part of his "Grand Tour" series of linked novels, set a few years from now when corporate and private space flight is a reality and man is actively exploring the solare system. Situations, hardware and, in some cases, characters cross over between the novels. So far, I have read the two Mars and the two Moon novels and enjoyed all four.

The cover blurb of Return to Mars, notes that one member of the expedition is unstable and Bova uses diary entries throughout the novel to give hints of what is to happen. Cleverly, he writes his characters in such a way that few of them could be discarded as candidates for the upcoming problems and I spent most of the first half of the novel trying to work out who it would be (I ended up being correct) and, it must be said that if we ever do send a manned mission to Mars I hope the crew are analysed a bit better than this one appears to have been. (Although that could be partly down to the fact that this is a corporate-funded trip with both familial and political members.) However, the actual ending feels a little rushed.

In terms of the whole story, however, the search for Waterman's "wall" only kicks off late in the novel, the first part being taken up with genuine scientific research and the associated dangers of working in such a hostile enviroment. Like the Robinson novel, little happens but it is an engrossing little. When the wall is rediscovered and its secrets revealed, it feels a little pulpy but still works.

This is an excellent book and well worth reading.