Easterhouse reforming

Is it true that Easterhouse have reformed? Has anybody heard??

D:Percussion Review 06/08/05

D:Percussion 06/08/05

Festivals are always funny things. They
always vary from gigs as always you will
get with gigs, a kind of hush and respect that
only exists in tiny little bars, and even when
the crowd clearly ain't listening, the band
usually have a chance still of making themselves
heard.

Festivals however are much more difficult and different
as bands have to keep interested thousands
and thousands of people literally, which is
great if it works and can prove a nightmare
if not.

Manchester's D:Percussion festival has been
going for a few years now certainly, operating
on a free open door policy, where anybody can
come along and watch whatever bands / artists they
have on offer.

I'd been to this on more than a couple of
occasions over the years and had seen it incredibly
busy more than once or twice.

But this year was something else altogether,
with seemingly three or four times more people
than there was last year, and it was a struggle
to get to the main stage, let alone sit down
and listen to the band / artist.

I arrived mid-afternoon to meet up with my
pals which in hindsight was a terrible move
as I had to literally fight my way through
the entrances and on several occasions
actually get stuck in almost a grind-lock
listening to some bloody awful rapper or
dance DJ.

By the time I got to the main stage to meet
my friend, "Fear of Music" were playing and
their talent really reflected their age which
looked on a whole no more than 14 or 15 - raw
and truth be told sounded like a third or fourt
rate Muse, but given their age perhaps in time
they will develop, as if my memory was correct
Ash orginally formed when they weren't that
much older.

After that, we saw "Working in a Nuclear free city"
who aimed for the sound being passed nowadays
by Mogwai or Godspeed you Black Emperor, which I
quite enjoyed although my mate thought they
were terrible.

We ended up then fighting our way to the acoustic
stage, where the crowd was a little more
sparse thank goodness, where we saw a nice little
duo called Sam and me, who did a pleasant Simon
and Garthuncl impression before some bloody
awful rock band came on who thankfully I
can't remember the name off, who did the most
terrible sound I'd had ever seen since I suffered
The Darkness at In the City a few years before
(long story there which I'll repeat another day)

Thankfully they weren't on that long, and just
after Jane Weaver came on, who I hung around to caught
a few numbers who did some nice
countryish numbers, perhaps reflective of Mazzy Starr
before then rushing off to try and caught a DJ
set by Sonic Boom (Ex Spaceman 3) before giving up
owning to the anal nature of the crowd there, although
it did sound incredibly powerful.

So it was then back to the main stage where I managed
to caught the second half of the set by The
Durruti Column. The Durruti Column are one of those
sorts of bands who have been around for years and years
- 1978 or so, I think and despite the fact they have
never really managed to have any major hits or anything
and managed to keep on producing a nice steady flow of
mostly instrumental guitar led albums which at their best
can be delicate and haunting.

This set however was very different with Vini Reilly,
the main man of the Durruti Column launching into songs
that were more Jimi Hendrix than the delicite beauty
I used to know them for.

However, either way it was powerful, powerful stuff led
brilliantly for example with the last song, when Vini
left his drummer, Bruce Mitchell and their Bass Player
(whose name I didn't caught) to finish off the song with
a awsome making double drum solo.

This was inprobably followed by "Raw T" who were Tony
Wilson (Ex Factory and also Durruti Column's) new signing
who were a five or six piece rap band who I have read Tony
Wilson calling poets, but franklu all I heard was the usual
American cliches and crap, which is a shame considering
Manchester is capable of so much more and better ie. Mc Buzz
B / Ruthless Rap Assaisns.

After that, Stephen Fretwell came out to the stage twenty
minutes early, which I know caught a number of people out
judging by the people flocked over halfway or towards
the end of his set.

I must admit I thought he was okay but little more though
I did enjoy his last few songs in particular as they went
close to Dylan territory, although he can sing a hellof
a lot better than that.

As he finished his set, it then became apparent when he
had finished early when he announced a surpise guest, Badly
Drawn Boy who walked on stage with a borrowed acoustic guitar
and harmoimum and said since he was comigng down here today
it was only fair he played a few songs and the crowd as it was
went wild.

Truth be told, although he played well he possibly made a error
playing two new numbers, and the crowd lost interest, though
I did enjoy it.

Sadly I went after that, though I did hear bad reports later on
of the headline "Domino's Bones" which are Bez (Ex Happy Mondays)
's new band headlining which was a strange choice to headline
as the band have only played a few gigs, let alone released
anything of being pretty crap.

All in all, a odd afternoon to be honest, and in hindsight one
I found pretty flat really mostly owning down to the anal nature
of the crowd and the over expansive alochol prices (3 pound for
a bottle of beer - HONESTLY) almost put me off wanting to go
here ever again, although next year is always a different ball
game.

New writing

Hi all;

This was done at my writing group in Bolton recently run by the always funny Carol Houlston where she set the following task for us to do:

Firstly, we had to write down 3 Personal Words about ourselves I wrote - Friendly, Reflective and think too deep.

Next we wrote the following words from the following 5 themes..

1. Animals - Rhyno, Bull, Fierce, Cute, Fairy, Snarling
Sneezing, Stealth, Claws, Scary, Yapping,cuddly, purring.

2. Toys - Guns, Play, Train, Dolls, Yo yos, Games, Skip,
Chalk, Skittle

3. Music - Loud, Rhythm, Melody, Jazz, Chord, Note, Beat,
Cresendo, Harmony, HipHop

4. Weather - Rain, Cloudy, Humid, Sunshine
Snow, Hail, Sleet, Fog, Drizzle,Glaze,
Dawn, Sunset

5. Trees - Leafy, Apples, Branches, Forest
Shiver, Combes, Thorns, Conker, Bark,
Trunk.

We had to pick out three words from each of these two sections plus the three from the first bit and start the piece off with I am...

This is what followed... Not that great, but good for a laugh...

*****

I am a friendly, outgoing person, but
also am reflective and frequently think
too deep about things.

I like walking at sunset, but sometimes
nearer dawn but only in a reflective way.

I like standing at the edge of forests
watching rain drip from the heavens
and drop slowly from trunks and anyalise
it drop by drop, although then when the
thunder folows, it always makes me shiver.

But not as much as I hear the beat come
out of my neighbours car stereo which is
completely minus both melody and crescendo
in equal supply.

I'm not going to pretend the music I listened
to as a kid was that good, but I heard
a track on the radio the other day which was
something really crap by a guy called DJ Chalk
who did a incredibly cheesy trance song which
seemed to consist of little more than a cat purring
and somebody sneezing ontop of some rapper
who kept talking about the size of his gun.

So I've given up with music and decided to
become a train spotter.

Drunken Poetry

Dear all;

Wrote these drunk last night in a goth night club - thought I would give you a LAUGH and just post them to show you what happens when I get drunk and I have a pen and paper to hand...

There are no titles for any of these so I'll just number em..

(1)

You bend your head back
and flick your hair
back in the breeze.

It is clear you know
you are beauitful
but I can't look you in the face

(2)

Feathers rattle your head
but your eyes never
leave the ground

(3)

Strange how memories plays
tricks on you.
Like a bad film,
or shadows in the distance
which for a few seconds
remind you of someone
you thought you once knew.
Strange how memories plays
tricks on you.

(4)

I'm lost for words
standing alone in a sea
of noise
trying to follow the
music of others
Alone in the noise
Alone lost in thought
Alone in company.

(5)

I'm lost for words
but I still can feel you
sighing in my arms
in the sunset
and I don't feel lost for words
anymore.

(6)

Looking at your face
you remind me of a ex
with the nervous
shrung of your shoulders
the half formed smile
with your slightly crooked teethh
your nervous hazel eyes
your bleached black hair
which looks like it has
been done wrong on purpose
but then you say
"What are you looking at?"
and my illusion is ripped in half.

(7)

When you tried to kiss me
outside
I was shocked
but not as much
when
you wanted to do it
in front of him.

(8) and (9) are best left in the bin....

Enjoy!


Andy N

Janis

Janis Joplin - live 69

Before I got hold of this concert, I’d read somewhere (or was it told) that none of her records really truly grasped the full beauty of the way she sounded live.

Janis Joplin for whom not in the know was a late 60’s singer, which grasped the very energy of early female blues singers and took it somewhere else literally with energy and power rarely seemed elsewhere.

However, if my memory is correct, she was hooked on either drugs or alcohol or perhaps even both and sadly resulted in her all too early death tragically not that long after Jimi Hendrix, and left her band to finish off her album “Pearl”, after her death of which her reputation really lies.

This concert which dates back to March 1969 was recorded in Amerstdam, Holland is simply amazing. The review that came on the website I downloaded this from described the quality of it as simply amazing, literally saying the quality of it was such it was almost like somebody had gone back in time with a dat recorder and captured her in literally of her glory.

And it does, believe me.

The quality of it is such it sounds like it was professionally recorded - I can honestly admit I have got official live albums that are nowhere near the quality of this.

Take the first track “Instrumental” which Janis doesn’t sing on, but it is clear the band are so tight it leaves you aching for more - if the band are this good, just how good is their singer.

Janis comes in after, singing a mixture of songs from both of her albums, but with such energy and force, her voice literally does more than take over the band, the grasp of her vocals by the end of the gig literally leaves you weeping at the irony of it that such a talent died at such a early age when others with considerbale less talent lived to old age.

But perhaps that is what has half created the myth about her.

Essentail

Downloaded from http://regnyouth.blogspot.com

Can review Live 1975

Review - Can Live, England 1975

Like with the recent Janis Joplin review, I stumbled onto this live recording by chance viva a bit of website hopping.

Can are / were a kraut rock supergroup from the late 1960’s to the end of the 1970’s / beginning of 1980’s in a few different line-ups which expanded the way music was done, with drumming certainly hadn’t been approached before.

This concert isn’t as well recorded as the Joplin concert, as it is a lot grainer to be honest, and it is untitled totally, but the band play loosely and the sound created always threatens (and sometimes even does) take into the unknown on for example tracks 6 and 7, which between the pair of them go on for pushing a impressive 50 minutes, which is just plain scary but great to listen to.

Well worth checking out..

Can be downloaded from:
http://www.qfile.de/dl/54764/colchester.part1.rar.html
http://www.qfile.de/dl/54783/colchester.part2.rar.html
http://www.qfile.de/dl/54823/colchester.part3.rar.html

Password: chocoreve.blogspot.com

Anthony and the Johnsons Live Review

Anthony and the Johnsons Review, Live KCRW Radio

I know nothing about Anthony and the Johnsons aside from the fact they have just been nominated for a few major awards her in the UK, which means fuck all to me but their album is a nice little album, which their lead singer has a voice in a generation, which reminded me of Jeff Buckley, caus it literally sounds like nobody else.

The album itself is too close to easy listening in places, but live although they don’t rock out, they are much more compelling and his voice literally sends sends down your back, with the 1st track “My Lady Story”, and the 3rd track” My Sister”, with the third track reminding me of my own sister who has recently announced she is getting married fairly soon.

Not sure if she would like “My Sister”, but it is a real weepie to listen to.

Excellent stuff…

http://rapidshare.de/files/3115189/AAJ.zip.
Password: AlienOnAcid.com