Harper's Bizarre

Monday 14th April: It's Easter Monday and time for a family visit to the cinema to see Monsters Vs Aliens in 3-D. The effects were amazing, much better than I remember from the 3-D films in the 80s. It's a shame,however, that Vue are charging £2 extra per ticket for something which, if the trailers are anything to go by, is about to become the next big thing in film.

Family duties out of the way, it's time for my fourth visit to The Duchess in eleven days. These days, most of the gigs I go to are pretty much a shot in the dark - local (and not-so-local) bands whose music, if I'm organised, I have only heard on their MySpace pages. Sometimes it works out, other times it doesn't. But, I have a wide taste and high tolerance level for music, so generally, I have a good time.

Tonight's gig was slightly different in two ways. Firstly, I was on my own. The rest of the group, presumably, were out at some point over the weekend and it will be worth checking out the link on the right to find out who they saw. Secondly, I relied totally upon the write-up on the Duchess's what's-on listing when I decided to attend. Well, that and the fact that Anne-Marie Helder was one of the support acts...

Before I talk about the acts, a few words about The Duchess itself. Normally, it's your standard small rock venue. Barriers in front of the stage, large standing area for the audience, "chill-out" zones at the back of the main room and in a little, separate side room. Tonight, however, it had been rearranged. The barriers were gone (actually, they were also missing for Jan Akkerman last Monday, but I forgot to mention it) and the odd assortment of chairs, stools, pews and tables had been moved forward. The end result was a more club-like setting and atmosphere and it meant that anybody standing at the bar (I had taken up my usual position - the bar is marble, and is, so far, resisting my efforts to create an elbow rest...) had a perfect view. It's a pity I forgot my camera... Tonight, the sport of Mostly-spotting was way too easy, with Brian, Livvy and The Judge all in the audience and Andy Smith working the lights. Also in the audience were various members of Freeway/Morpheus Rising.

First on stage was Cy Curnin, vocalist with New Wave band The Fixx but tonight just a man with a guitar and passionate songs. Think Billy Bragg, but with less politics and a posher accent (at least, that's what sprung to mind as I listened). The songs were catchy enough and appreciated by the audience, but nothing really stuck in my mind. There are tracks available on Cy's MySpace page but these appear to be full band (or, at least Cy playing multi instruments) so aren't indicative of tonight's set. There's also a podcast which reminded me a lot of one of my uncles, with his thoughts on the planet and economics. A pleasant start but not necessarily a stand-out one.

Next up was Anne-Marie Helder, taking a one-night break from supporting Ultravox and appearing solo in York for the first time. Anne-Marie is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, song-writer, current member of Mostly Autumn and Panic Room and is also working with Chris Johnson on his solo album. A very busy lady. Tonight it was just her, her distinctive voice and a guitar, belting out her own material, most of which has not been released. And this is where tonight's gig, for me, really started. Cy stood on stage with constant light around him. Anne-Marie arrived in darkness and sang her first song almost a cappella, simply accompanying herself by banging the soundbox of the guitar, with white lights alternately highlighting her from the sides, front and back. After that, it was more traditional guitar-playing and some excellent songs and a pretty good light show. At the risk of turning this entry into something more akin to a fashion-mag, Anne-Marie, apart from being incredibly attractive, has a style all of her own and, tonight, looked stunning in boots, leggings, crushed velvet top and shiny scarf. Sadly the thirty-minute set was over all too quickly.

And so, the great applause, Nick Harper took to the stage. Another musician that I had no previous knowledge of, Nick is the son of Roy Harper (the singer/songwriter, not the DC superhero known variously as Speedy, Arsenal and Red Arrow - I'm sorry, I slipped slightly into geek mode for a second...!) and has turned out to be a pretty damned excellent folk rock performer himself, blending superb guitar-playing and vocals with what can only be described as a caustic wit. "Targets" tonight included Tim and Michelle's move from Fibbers to The Duchess, "It's the first time I've been here. It's a nice room. Keep moving up the street and you never know..."; his father (and, presumably, his reputation), "My father told me something the other day. I have a sister. I'm now not the eldest child"; "Most of you know me through my Dad. He might even have sh*gg*d... No."; and, quite irreverently, Easter, "People tell us that Jesus died for our sins. What they don't say is, two days later he changed his mind..."

In between these witticisms, Nick treated us to some cracking songs, some with a political bent, others more personal, all accompanied by brilliant guitar-playing. He wandered about the audience and played while standing on two particularly wobbly tables, causing some people to grab for thir drinks and others to steady the table lest he fall off and prematurely end the set. Particularly impressive was the fact that he managed to break and change a string during the "final" song (the incredible and incredibly long Love Is Music) without stopping singing - something which Morpheus Rising guitarist Pete Harwood was incredibly impressed with and may have caused him to retire before Morpheus gets fully off the ground... Unconventional to the last, he also made fun of the traditional "encore" system by announcing "this is where I pretend I have finished," just before playing Love is Music and then staying on stage for two more songs.

I find that I'm running out of superlatives for this gig. As you can tell, I enjoyed it immensely and will certainly be looking out for Nick again. Highly recommended.

I ended the evening with a reasonably long chat with Anne-Marie Helder, during which we covered whether Panic Room would play York in the future - they hope to; Details of the writing of Firefly, from Panic Room's debut album - Jonathan Edwards gave it to Anne-Marie as an instrumental and she wrote the words to be about his wife and him returning to her after touring; Her roll in Chris Johnson's band - Chris asked her to perform on the album but she doesn't know what is happening with the "band" as an ongoing thing; And how she finds time to fit in all her projects - in a nutshell, it's not easy. She was incredibly charming, attentive and open, even explaining that she had given up supporting Ultravox at Newcastle City Hall tonight as The Duchess was a prior engagement. A nice end to a very good evening.

A CD, Some Books and the Return of the Doctor

Sunday 5th April: A leaving do on Friday evening (and the accompanying hang-over on Saturday...) together with working away in Walsall overnight on Saturday, prevented me from seeing any live bands this weekend. So, it's back to the old fail-safe... book and CD reviews.

Anne-Marie Helder: The Contact...

I ordered this extended EP at the same time as Panic Room's debut album, but it took a couple of days longer to arrive, so missed out on the last round of reviews. Anne-Marie is the lead-singer (and co-writer) with Panic Room and is also, currently, performing with Mostly Autumn. This is her solo debut from back in 2004. An enchantingly powerful mix of six songs that hark back, in places, to Jethro Tull and forward, in others, to Odin Dragonfly, The Contact is a worthwhile addition any prog/celtic rock fan's CD library. I have already mentioned Anne-Marie's incredible voice and on this CD she also plays guitar, piano, flute and percussion (as well as programming and effects and photography for the insert). She is joined by Dave Kilminster on guitar and Adam Pain on bass, but, apart from that, this is very much a solo effort from a very talented lady.

Escardy Gap (Pete Crowther and James Lovegrove, 1998)

I'm not a big fan of horror (or, perhaps more appropriately in this case, dark fantasy) books, primarily sticking to Stephen King, who has the ability to scare the willies out of me. For some reason, though, back in 1998, I bought a copy of Escardy Gap, one of the first offerings from Simon and Schuster's new (at the time) imprint, the now defunct Earthlight. I seem to remember that it got good reviews and, I think, one of the reasons I bought it was that one of the authors (Crowther, if I recall correctly) lived in nearby Harrogate. The titular location is a typical small American town in the 50s or 60s. (There are enough references to work out exactly which decade it is set in, but I've now lent my copy out and forgot to take any notes.) One day a train pulls into the station. It isn't the regular train, that's not due for a few days. This train carries The Company, a bizarre collection of characters who promise the denizens of the town a show in return for hospitality. The show, however, turns out to the the systematic murder of the town, using methods which suit the various members of The Company. It is up to 12-year-old Josh and the town's mayor to try to get help. But, it's also the story of two writers and incorporates a breaking of the "fourth wall" as these two stories, one of which is initially seen as a framing sequence, start to overlap. Apart from a certain degree of perversity in some of the methods of murder, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Not frightening but certainly intriguing, full of strange characters, including the townsfolk, and with more than a hint of Ray Bradbury about it. It's certainly the book I've read fastest, so far, this year.

Ice Mage/Fire Music (Julia Gray, 1998, 1999)

Enjoyable, but not as much as Escardy Gap, was this duology from Julia Gray (Mark and Julia Smith, who also write as Jonathan Wylie). Set in the volcanic land of Tiguafaya, the first book, originally written as a stand-alone, tells the story of the Firebrands, a group of young men and women who believe that the use of magic is the key to ridding the land of the fireworms, vicious creatures who burn all in their path. However, the governing Senate is corrupt and are trying to use the fireworms in a bargain with pirates, a bargain that will see the pirates tricked and the Senate richer, and are trying to stop the Firebrands' plans, eventually criminalising and exiling them. The only widely-used magic in the land is that of telepathic links with birds that quite a lot of the population has (each person linked with one specific bird) and the authors even manage to imbue the various feathered helpers with their own individual personalities. The second book picks up the story after the corrupt members of the Senate have been defeated, the Firebrands have been seen as heroes and the neighbouring country is about to launch a holy war against Tiguafaya. The writing in the two books isn't brilliant and, being honest, I did find my mind wandering a few times while reading them. However, sticking with them was worthwhile as the ending of each was spectacular. Strangely, in this time of forest-destroying series, the first book is one of those rare creatures, a truly stand-alone story which has an ending. There really wasn't any need for a sequel but, in my opinion, this sequel is the better book.

Finally, I've just watched last night's Doctor Who. The return of David Tennant to the role he fills so well, the return of Catherine Tate to a role that's going to have to grown on me (she needs to stop slipping into her annoying "comedy characters) and an earlier than expected return of, well, that would be telling. Russell T Davies delivers a humourous script for the first episode of this series, with perhaps the cutest aliens you will see in he show. From the perfectly choreographed opening, with the Doctor and Donna continually just missing each other, through the priceless moment when they finally catch up, to the ending as Donna finally accepts his offer to join him in his travels, this was a perfectly paced episode. Sarah Lancashire puts in a fine performance as the villian of the piece and Bernard Cribbins returns as Wilfred Mott, his character from last year's Chrismas special who, as it turns out is related to Donna. Excellent.