Day 8 - A song about drugs or alcohol
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer by Queens Of The Stone Age
Okay, it's actually a song about drugs and alcohol - there's obviously never enough for Josh Homme. All together now: "Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, Ecstasy and alcohol, c-c-c-c-c-cocaine!"
Day 9 - A song that makes you happy
My Girl by The Temptations
Yep, every time. "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day." And, just like that, the clouds part...
Day 10 - A song that makes you sad
Shorley Wall by Ooberman
We've all got enough reasons to be sad at the moment but, anyway, this is just a beautiful song. It skirts close to being twee but the heart-rending ending monologue rescues it.
Day 11 - A song you never get tired of
Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads
40 years after it was recorded this song still sounds totally unique - a masterpiece of twitchy, neurotic funk-pop. It's one of those few songs that I usually have to play twice in a row - it's never long enough.
Day 12 - A song from your pre-teen years
Rubber Bullets by 10CC
When I was very young I was given a bunch of singles by an older friend which basically started my record collection. I've still got them and Rubber Bullets is still a favourite. The video above is actually the album version but the TOTP version I wanted to post is a heavily edited take of the single and, while it's a great view of a '70s band, this features more of the actual song...
Day 13 - A song you like from the '70s
Search And Destroy by Iggy & The Stooges
When I was in the Death Planet Commandos we used to cover Search & Destroy ( everyone did! ) and it was just great fun to play. A proto-Punk classic!
Day 14 - A song you'd love to be played at your wedding
Catch by The Cure
Actually a song we did have played at our wedding. Sarah and I were both great fans of The Cure and this was our "first dance" at our wedding disco. To be fair, the DJ probably got fed up with our lists of demands - play this, play that, no bloody "Agadoo" etc. etc.
So, Week 2 accomplished with a minimum of effort and even a guest appearance by Zia from the Dandy Warhols! ( Not that she knows about it but I'm sure she'd appreciate the sentiment and I know she digs a lot of the music here. )
If anyone else would like to join in I'd love to see your choices, just drop me a comment.
See you next week, same time, same channel ( probably )
Last weekend saw a couple of great gigs - one from an up-and-coming Antipodean and one from some legendary Mancunians. On the Friday I headed up to the Black Country with my good friend Tom to see Courtney Barnett rock Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall. Due to dodgy weather and motorway pile-ups we arrived at the venue too late to see support band Big Scary but luckily didn't miss any of the headliner's set.
Courtney is gaining a reputation as an incisive songwriter with her sardonic slacker anthems which will surely soon propell her into the big leagues. She has the ability to imbue the most mundane subjects ( gardening, moving house, swimming ) with an intensely personal, coolly ironic viewpoint. The set started almost hesitantly with the laid back Avant Gardener ( "I'm not that good at breathing in" ) but appropriately changed gear with the relationship-as-roadkill boppiness of Dead Fox and then the pulverising blues of Small Poppies ( "I used to hate myself but now I think I'm alright." ) It was in this latter song that Courtney first unleashed her full arsenal of guitar firepower - thrashing at her instrument with just her fingers ( no guitar pick in evidence ) like her life depended on it. She seemed to have an effects pedal marked "Extreme Sonic Death!" or something like that because the volume rocketed every time she pressed it. The quiet / loud dynamics of her heavier songs often remind me of Pixies or the Breeders ( yep, there's definitely a Kim Deal influence here ) although I'd described her to Tom as a "cute, female Australian Lou Reed" which might be nearer to the truth. ( I flicked through the latest issue of Q Magazine recently which pretty much described her the same way. But without the word "cute", them being professionals and all. )
Courtney didn't have a lot to say to the crowd at first, but it was obvious from the grins she was flashing at the other two members of the "Courtney Barnett Three" that she was having a blast. After a lovely version of the melancholic Depreston ( my fave of her songs ) caused some mass audience singalongs, she became more talkative. Someone yelled out "I love you, Courtney!" - to which the bemused singer replied "I love you too, stranger". Depreston itself is a perfect example of her songwriting skill: a deceptively trivial tale of a young couple house-hunting in a grim suburb which slowly, through the deadpan listing of estate agent waffle, describes a relationship that's stale and based on convenience. Well, that's my take on it anyway...
The main set ended of course with a storming version of razor sharp minor hit Pedestrian At Best and then the CB3 encored with a rockin' cover of an old Saints song ( apparently ), Know Your Product - with added back up from support band Big Scary - and a triumphant History Eraser ( "In my brain I rearrange the letters on the page to spell your name " ) to send us home convinced we'd just seen a major star of the future.
So, that was the Friday night - Saturday was a closer to home gig as I went over to the Stroud Subscription Rooms to see my mate Glenn's band Borrowed Time supporting the mighty Buzzcocks. I hadn't seen the 'cocks ( as nobody calls them ) in over twenty years so I was definitely looking forward to it. The gig was sold out and I didn't have a ticket but having friends on the inside helped - I sneaked in through the stage door and got in for free. Bargain!
Those Borrowed Time boys were on fine form, playing probably the best set I've seen from them. Although they started as a quite generic, shouty Punk band, they've grown hugely in a couple of years - more tunes, more harmonies, more confidence - until they've now become a credible support band for acts such as Stiff Little Fingers and Sham 69 and now the Buzzcocks. BT played a strong, punchy set and songs like Nervous Reaction and Under The Radar went down a treat with the crowd.
The Buzzcocks came on stage and proceeded to rip through their set in an almost Ramones-like display of urgency, starting with classic first single Boredom and barely letting up from then on. Not bad for men who aren't exactly spring chickens. Guitarist Steve Diggle doesn't seem to change too much but lead singer Pete Shelley, who was once yer archetypal skinny Punk pin-up, is now bearded and portly and looks like he'd be better off playing Dubliners covers in some dodgy pub - luckily he's still got that distinctive, sneering vocal style and attacks every song as if he's still twenty-something...
And what songs! The Buzzcocks were always Punk's premier pop crossover band with a treasure trove of short, sharp, eloquent songs about life, love and relationships. And they all got an airing at this gig - What Do I Get, Noise Annoys, I Don't Mind, Fast Cars, Promises, Love You More - so many classics! Highlights were a lightning-fast Autonomy and Diggle taking the spotlight and rocking out to Harmony In My Head. In fact, Diggle rocked out throughout the set - watching the more reserved Shelley rolling his eyes good-humouredly at Diggle's rock star shape-throwing was hilarious.
They encored with Harmony..., the inevitable, irrepressible Ever Fallen In Love ( With Someone You Shouldn't've ) and a shout-along Orgasm Addict... and the crowd went wild. A great gig - and bloody loud! I was down the front with my good friend and former Death Planet Commandos guitarist, the mighty Mark B, and we were directly in line with Shelley's guitar amp which meant our ears took a serious pounding. Yep, my ear drums were buzz(cock)ing for about three days afterwards...
The only down side to this gig was that the Buzzcocks were very stand-offish backstage and wouldn't mix with Borrowed Time ( which is hardly Punk Rock is it! ) and a lot of Glenn's friends were turned away from the venue after being promised extra tickets following the sell-out. On a more positive note, Glenn's girlfriend Beki was organising a collection to aid refugees in Calais and they raised quite a lot of money for that worthy cause.
And here's a free plug for Borrowed Time:
Portland, Oregon's finest psych-pop hipsters The Dandy Warhols played Bristol recently, for the first time in years, so I headed down to the home of Banksy and trip hop with fellow culture lovers Glenn and Caz. The venue was the Anson Rooms, a part of Bristol University. I hadn't been there since the late '90s when I'd seen Terrorvision play one of the maddest, hottest gigs ever, so it was interesting to revisit the place. Quite a smart venue, probably only about 400 or 500 capacity, with a well-staffed and accessible bar. We got there just in time to catch the start of the Dark Horses' set. They play a moody, Gothy art-punk, with one song being a dead ringer for the Velvets' Venus In Furs. Derivative, then, but full of potential.
The Dandy's then came on to polite applause from a fairly reserved crowd - set list above. This was the fifth time I'd seen the band and, while not the best performance I'd seen from them, they played a fine set with their usual impeccable musicianship and laidback, charismatic cool. The audience was a mixture of hardcore Dandy's fans and younger student types who mostly came alive when the hits were played. Glenn ( world's no.1 Dandy's fan ) and I of course went down the front to get the full effect of the band's dream-pop soundscapes... and to get a good look at the lovely Zia... ( Shallow? Moi? )
As ever a couple of songs outstayed their welcome but crowd singalong favourites like Boys Better, HorsePills, Bohemian Like You and Get Off had us all jumping up and down, and the peerless Godless was the expected highlight with mass audience vocals replacing the absent horn section of the recorded version. Although slightly marred by a few sound problems and a lack of encore it was a fun gig with some great company. "Super cool / Dandy's Rule OK..."
A few months back ( when my melted PC meant very little blogging was going on ) Sarah and I went to the good ol' Gloucester Guildhall to see The Selecter. I'd seen them before, of course, but Sarah hadn't and didn't really remember them from back in the day. But it only took a couple of songs for her to get into the groove - I defy anyone with a pulse not to move their feet to The Selecter's red hot ska beat! They played a great, sweaty set with all the old faves present and correct: Missing Words, On My Radio, Three Minute Hero all as fresh and invigorating as jumping naked into a mountain stream... I imagine. Fine support came from legendary Bristol reggae band Talisman, bringing some warm Caribbean sounds to a chilly Gloucester.
On the local bands front I've been to a few gigs by old favourites Demob and Noise Agents and also a new set of old mates from various bands under the guise of Borrowed Time. Here they are looking dead hard on the mean streets of, er, Cheltenham. Borrowed Time play a superior form of Street Punk ( circa 1982 ) with some rough 'n' ready but tuneful songs which would have easily stood up against the likes of Chron Gen, Infa Riot or Anti Pasti back in the day. For a new ( if not young ) band they are doing very well and will be playing at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool next week... along with The Selecter. ( I don't just throw this blog together you know. OK, I do... )
And finally Esther, I saw Stroud disco-Punks ( heh heh! ) Chinese Burn for the umpteenth time the other week at Gloucester's grimy Lower George pub. A cracking gig from the Burners with loads of good friends in attendance. I even dragged Sarah along. This gig was on the day after the last of the original Ramones, Tommy Erdelyi, had passed away so it ended with an ( ahem! ) all-star cover version of Blitzkrieg Bop. Various members of Chinese Burn, Borrowed Time, Noise Agents and even yours truly all made complete fools of ourselves as a tribute to Tommy Ramone. There's me in the grey Ramones T-shirt, sharing a mic with my mate Cliff. As we used to cover Blitzkrieg Bop back in the Death Planet Commandos days, I tried to persuade ex-DPC guitarist the mighty Mark to join us too but he remained behind to fill half of the frame at the bottom of the photo :-)
Hey ho! Let's go!
OK, I know we're now in post-apocalyptic 2013, but I still have unfinished business with 2012. I'll start with my promised rundown of recent and not-so recent gigs, detailed here for your viewing pleasure in reverse order. Of course.
Back on the 9th of December The Beat brought their Christmas Ska Party to Gloucester's Guildhall Arts Centre for the second year running. Outside it was freezing but in the Guildhall Rankin' Roger and the boys raised the temperature enough to melt a snowman's snowballs.
As exuberant and energetic as ever, Roger and his son Rankin' Junior had us all skanking and singing along to classics such as Hands Off She's Mine, Save It For Later, Best Friend, their fantastic cover of Tears OfA Clown and, of course, Mirror In The Bathroom. My fellow gig-goers, Sarah, Jacqui and Caz all partied like it was 1999 and were very impressed when Roger inevitably took his shirt off to reveal his six-pack. Well, it was hot in there! After the traditional "Hip, hip, hooray" singalong of Jackpot the band waved goodbye, leaving us with their message of good vibes 'n' unity... and a proper understanding of how to pronounce the word "Wha'ppen"...
Also at the Guildhall, but this time back in November, we were treated to an appearance from Sir Bruce Of Foxton from The Jam, with his band... er, From The Jam. Although I hadn't been expecting the band to play first Jam album, In The City, all the way through ( and neither had most of the other punters, judging by the reaction ) it was a good, fun gig... which perked up no end when Bruce sidelined the unfamiliar album tracks and solo songs in favour of solid gold Jam classics like Going Underground, The Eton Rifles, StrangeTown, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight etc. You can read my full review here at Louder Than War.
Stroud's finest, the wonderful Chinese Burn, were also on the bill, playing a real stormer of a set: as I said in my LTW review, the Guildhall always seems to bring out the best in them. Great band, great venue.
And great company, too! It was definitely one of the best times I've had in a crowd, regardless of the band. Here are Helen, Wendy and Carol, posing for one of many photos ....
...and me, doing the same :-)
Step back another month to October and the reformed skate-Punk legends 4 Ft Fingers are ripping up... guess where? Yes, it's that same venue again! On their 10th anniversary tour the local heroes live up to their rep of being one of the tightest, fastest, loudest bands around, with some cracking tunes and riffs... although some of the lyrics are a bit dodgy. "This next song is about boobs..." Really?
Anyway, a good time is had by all, with much moshing and bouncing up and down on the Guildhall's sprung floor. Support comes from Gloucester Street-Punk kings, Noise Agents, doing their shouty, vein-bulging thing as only they can. Their new, five-piece lineup gives their sound some extra whallop plus, unexpectedly, extra melody with more backing vocals. They really do get better every time I see them.
And here's Noise Agents / Demob frontman, the irrepressible Andy K, with adoring fans including Tony The Nose, Rob F ( clearly not paying attention ) and ex-DPC legend, Mark B...
OK, that's part one done. More recent gigs coming up very soon... some even from different venues :-)
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first Death Planet Commandos gig, The Glass Walking-Stick proudly presents:
Part One of The Secret History Of The DPC...
Long before I joined the Punk band previously known as Primitive and embarked on a two-year mission of maximum rock 'n' roll I was also in a succession of almost bands, bedroom bands, made up bands. They went by such cringe-making names as Magus, Heretic, Vicious Bastard ( lovely! ), Perverse Society and Sons Of Evil. I also hit on the name Primal Scream which I thought sounded pretty cool ( I'd read about John Lennon going through primal scream therapy and thought it sounded Punk ) but I discovered some band from Glasgow already had the same moniker. Whatever happened to them? The name that hung around the longest was Sons Of Evil and my concerted graffiti campaign around my sixth form managed to convince people that we actually existed. Well, we did... sort of...
Alongside various fly-by-night band members such as Martin "Trev" Trevitt, Mark "Casey" McAsey and someone called "Spaz" ( according to my old diary, but I really can't remember him ) the Sons Of Evil were basically me and my mate Paul - pictured above on the drums.
And here we are again, propping up the bar in a Blackpool B&B. Paul and I were thick as thieves for many years and had various adventures, mostly involving alcohol and chasing after girls - although, in my case, too much of the former and too few of the latter :-)
Inspired by a thriving local gig scene ( bands such as The Lemons, Final Verdict, Major Detail, The Patrol, Ronald Rim Ram and Primitive themselves ) as well as by seeing bigger bands passing through ( Crass, Tenpole Tudor, Omega Tribe, Poison Girls, Newtown Neurotics ) we thought we'd give this Punk Rock thing a go. Paul tried guitar and bass before settling on drums, while I had always wanted to be a guitarist... well, ever since seeing old footage of Hendrix on the Old Grey Whistle Test, anyway. Unfortunately, I was never going to be the next Hendrix or even the next Joe Strummer, or even a competent guitarist for that matter. But we were young and had the old "three chords is all you need" Punk spirit on our side. We practiced in an old cow shed which had been converted into a snooker room, so we always had beer and peanuts to hand, and could always play a couple of frames of snooker when the musical inspiration was lacking. Which was quite often...
We never managed to break out of the cow shed and achieve international fame, but we did have a laugh and I started to write dodgy lyrics which got better as time went by and which I began to stockpile for future reference. Time passed and the Sons Of Evil retreated into the mists of obscurity. I gave up thoughts of being the next Joe Strummer, while nightclubs and horrible '80s suits began to replace Punk gigs and leather jackets. Until I found myself working with this young man...
In 1987 I was packing greeting cards for local card company, Paper House, when I met Ade, Primitive's frontman. I remembered Primitive from various gigs around Stroud and especially from the one above, a Battle Of The Bands at Stroud's Marshall Rooms which they really should have won, being the audience's favourites but, unfortunately, not the judges'. Primitive claimed to be "Gloucester's fastest band", being inspired by American Hardcore Punk, not the more stodgy UK Street Punk that had been so prevalent in the previous few years. Ade invited me along to one of their practices at Time Out Studios in Gloucester Docks and I was impressed by their sound and their songs. It turned out their excellent Malaysian drummer, Lee, was going back home, leaving the drum stool vacant. It also turned out I happened to know a drummer by the name of Paul. A devious plan began to form in my mind. With all the arrogance of youth I proposed that Paul joined Primitive... as long as they took me on too as rhythm guitarist...
Cocky bugger wasn't I?
Gloucester's Guildhall was invaded last Saturday by hordes of Punks, Zombies, Borg and, er, Smurfs as It's Only Punk Promotions' latest Punk All-Dayer brought the Halloween vibe to town.
Headliners UK Subs were on fine form, blasting out old favourites like Warhead, Tomorrow's Girls and CID to an appreciative crowd. Punk legend Charlie Harper showed us whipper-snappers ( love that word! ) that you're never too old to be a rebel, or indeed a down-to-earth star as he hung out in the bar with fans before the show. Bass player Alvin Gibbs was also very friendly and even had time to chat backstage with inebriated 40-something bloggers...
The other "name" band of the night were John Robb's mighty Goldblade, a turbo-charged speed machine of pure Punk 'n' Roll mayhem.
John Robb is surely one of the greatest, but most unsung, frontmen in Rock. An energetic, totally committed Rock 'n' Roll evangelist, John's message is "We're all in this together" and you know he means it, maaaan.
Here he is serenading the Borg Queen, aka Marie, definitely one of the stars of the show...
Also on the bill were Hooligan ( above ), all the way from Dublin, and Meat ( not pictured ) - two pretty decent Punk bands who I've seen go down really well in dodgy little pubs like Gloucester's late, lamented Pig Inn The City, but seemed lost in a larger venue. And the less said about curtain-raisers, Hacksaw, the better. Nice guys but the music's dire.
Local legends Demob ( above ) have reformed again and added their shouty street-Punk to the mix. Sharing a frontman ( Andy K ) and hard-working drummer ( Marcus aka Elmer Thudd ) with the seemingly-dissolved Noise Agents, Demob are a powerful, brutal presence on stage.
( And, in fact, their stage presence was almost totally devalued when I got up with them to yell along to Oi! classic No Room For You. My voice is still knackered... )
And no local gathering of the Punks is complete without an appearance by the fantastic Chinese Burn. Ben and the boys were on fine form, whether crowd-pleasing with old faves like Bullets, unveiling great new songs like Deleted, Depleted And Almost Defeated, or kicking our collective heads in with their berserk cover of Beat On The Brat. Many people new to the band in the audience were mightily impressed, including Sir John Of Robb, who gave them a glowing write-up on his blog, Louder Than War. The big time beckons, guys...
Here's Ben doing his thang in front of the well-spooky Halloween decorations ;-)
One of the highlights of the day were Dun2Def, a very tight, exciting band who also benefit from the kick-ass drumming of Mr. Sticks For Hire, Marcus. And any band with vampires and Smurfs in their lineup can't be bad...
Two cool T-shirts! I just happened to be talking to a fellow veteran of the Punk Wars, Jamie E, who asked me what band I used to play in. When I replied "Death Planet Commandos", he said "What, like him?" And, standing behind me was the mighty Mark, ex-DPC guitarist, wearing a very familiar T-shirt. ( Some of my finest lettering! ) Alright Mark, where's mine...?
Meanwhile, the real action was, as ever, backstage. Here's Ed from the Burn struggling to get at the free beer :-)
The lovely Dun2Def boys...
And a Chinese Burn / Dun2Def mash-up...
The Fabulous Barnes Brothers, 2/5 of the DPC, actually smiling for the camera :-)
My mate Glenn, fending off a combined Borg/zombie attack, somewhere near the Guildhall toilets...
...and here's me, looking a prat in the crowd. ( Still, good photo, Carol! )
After almost 10 hours of Punk Rock debauchery, Glenn and I retreated to Gloucester's Cafe Rene, where we spent yet more time getting merry and chatting with Drumming Man Marcus and some Polish guy called Stan. Crashed out back at Chinese Burn HQ at about 4:00am. Phew! Knackered but happy, ears and voice shot to Hell. Let's do it again sometime!
( Well, next week actually,'cos we're going to see The Damned in Bristol. Yay! )
Last Saturday night Sarah and I hit the riot-torn streets of Gloucester ( it was pretty quiet, actually ) and headed for the glittering palace of rock 'n' roll delights known as The Pig Inn The City. The occasion was the 50th ( surely not! ) birthday party of legendary, ever-young DPC guitarist, Marky Muscles. As well as celebrating Mark's half-century ( again... surely not! ) we caught a couple of great Punk bands, Meat and Two Sick Monkeys ( coming to your town soon... ), and were there for the first, unofficial DPC reunion. Twenty-something years in the making :-)
It was lovely to catch up with the guys after such a loooooong time. Certain people have been suggesting to us that we reform, if for one gig only. It would definitely be fun... but is it likely? Don't know... ( and that's actually an old DPC song title... )
The lineup above is as follows:
cerebus660 ( me ) - rhythm guitar and (very occasional ) backing vocals
Jon B - bass guitar and lead vocals
Mark B - lead guitar and backing vocals
Paul P - drums
( Absent from photo and reunion - Ade - lead vocals )
( Thanks to the lovely Caz for the photos. )
The above is the final lineup of the band formerly known as Primitive and later known as Three-Eyes McGurk and the Death Planet Commandos, or DPC to their friends and enemies. I keep threatening to write a more in-depth history of my time with the band... maybe some day soon...
Anyway, here's the DPC back in the day. To be specific, March the 5th, 1988, Coney Hill Hospital Social Club. Coney Hill was a psychiatric hospital ( long gone now, of course ) and an unusual, but cool, venue for gigs. They often had country and western bands playing, so you would have to move hay bales around the stage to accomodate amps and speakers. This was only the third gig Paul and I had played with the band ( but we were rock stars already! ) and was a benefit for local Hunt Saboteurs - seems like a different world from this 21st century perspective...
We played about 4 gigs at Coney Hill and they were always a good laugh - certainly better than the bloody awful Night Owl gig. We played with other long-forgotten local bands such as Walk The Plank, An Elegant Chaos, Decadence Within...
Here's me, posing for photos in my "Atomic Kiss" Watchmen T-Shirt...
And, from left to right, a Coney Hill patient in red jumper and slippers ( seriously! ) who got up and danced and seemed to know all the words to our songs...
