19-11-23 Saturday - Sick Joy @ The Hope and Ruin, Wednesday 20th November

Wednesday came around and it was time to go and see Sick Joy at The Hope and Ruin. I came home after work, as the doors weren’t due to open until 8pm, so I had time to get back to Worthing and to the comic shop to collect my weekly order before having dinner and then heading back into Brighton.

Coming home meant that I didn’t have to buy dinner out, which for the last couple of times has involved Bill’s or Wahaca, which are both nice and not particularly expensive, but I realise I have turned into a miser and I am beginning to resent all sorts of costs – I might even think twice about buying a cheap and dirty Maccy Dee’s these days. So, I was refreshed and dressed appropriately, and headed back to the big city that is Brighton.

Last time I was here to see Priests, I didn’t stick around downstairs, so on this occasion I took some time to properly appreciate the main bar. It’s a kooky, off-beat kind of affair. The tables didn’t match; the wallpaper was faded. It had a real organic feeling, which was nice. It felt kind of “thrown together”, but it worked. It was bright enough, but quite informal and welcoming. In the corner, the kitchen was situated in a caravan which they had somehow recreated inside. I had a very nice non-alcoholic German wheat beer before heading upstairs.



There were three bands on the bill on Wednesday, so they didn’t have time to hang around. The first band on were Gloo, who were brilliant in my opinion. The drummer was very precise, as well as sporting a very impressive almost handlebar moustache, and his rhythms drove the Buzzcocks-esque songs. I certainly could have listened to more of them. The second band were from Brighton, Big Spring. They were good as well, but I don’t think their sound was quite suited to the venue. It may be that if the sound had been set up for them specifically, it might have been clearer. They seemed to be going for a big arena-style sound though, and to my mind it didn’t quite fit the surroundings.

Then it was time for Sick Joy, who blew me away. They were brilliant. They reminded me slightly of Nirvana, in that there was a power to their music, even when they played slower, more restrained numbers – it felt like they could explode into a cacophony of noise at any point. I think Dinosaur Jr have the same feel as well. I loved their songs, they were balls-out rock. They finished their set and we all called for an encore, to which they replied that they hadn’t written any more tracks. They did finish though, with “Heaven”, which seemed to be a crowd favourite.

I’d not heard any of these bands before Wednesday, but it did strike me that we currently have a wealth of brilliant live music being played around the country, and we are quite lucky. On this occasion I paid £7 for a ticket and got to see three great bands. On my previous visit to the Hope and Ruin I wasn’t that keen on the main band, but the support made up for it. And before that I got to see Sophie and the Giants, who were brilliant - so I’ve had a good run of luck recently with my choices. Long may it continue!

TTFN.

19-10-30 Wednesday I - General Election 2019

So, finally the dam of pent-up energy has burst, and the House of Commons has voted for a General Election. It’s been a while coming, and a number of observers predicted it would happen earlier than this. The Lib Dems and the SNP had finally realised that there was no way to get a second referendum in this session of Parliament, and so they have voted to start over. Johnson (the PM) wants an election because he thinks he can get a majority for Brexit (as did Theresa May before him), and Labour always seem to be in campaign mode, although they weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to get into this race.

The date of the election is set to be 12th December. This is regarded as a “snap election”, because the time for campaigning is comparatively short, but I can guarantee that by the 11th of December it will feel like the election has been the only topic of conversation for *years*.

A relatively uncontroversial opinion is that the Lib Dems will pick up a few seats; that’s to be expected, as the Conservatives have been in power now since 2010 (in a coalition to begin with, and then with sole responsibility for governing since 2015) and people like a change from time to time. The SNP may also pick up a couple of seats in Scotland as well, we’ll have to wait and see. I think the Tories may lose a seat or two to the Brexit Party, but I think losses will be limited.

It is interesting that this was one of the main stories published today. Picked up on Radio 4, and repeated on the hourly bulletins. Matt Hancock was also given a roasting by Nick Robinson; asked if he would apologise for not getting us out of the EU by tomorrow (!), quizzed over the whereabouts of the promised social care policy, accused of issuing statements which later turned out to be untrue... The language over the last couple of weeks in the House has been heavily focused on the lack of trust MPs have in Johnson, and I’m sure this will filter through to the media.

Also, because we haven’t had a referendum, this Election will serve as a proxy for a second referendum. Labour’s policy has, I think, been clarified at the perfect time: vote for us and get a second referendum. This is a battle cry that both Remainers and Quitters can get behind. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an effective campaign message for them.

In Worthing, our sitting Conservative MP had a majority of 12,000 in the 2017 Election. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is vastly reduced, but I expect he will be returned to Parliament after the December vote. He might find himself in a party of reduced numbers though. This is going to be interesting.

TTFN.

19-10-20 Sunday II - Sophie and The Giants at The Green Door Store, Tuesday 15th October

Tuesday came around, and it was time to go and see Sophie and The Giants at The Green Door Store in Brighton. I love GDS, it’s cosy, unpretentious, and a great place to see bands. I was a bit tired though, so I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy the night.

First call was to get some food, so I popped into GBK to get some grub. I decided on a Major Tom burger, which comes with a hint of blue cheese. I don’t like actual blue cheese, but sauce or slaw with a hint of blue cheese can be quite nice, and it certainly was on this occasion. Then once I’d had my fill of burger and onion rings, I headed towards the venue.

It wasn’t quite time to go in, so I popped into the Prince Albert pub for a non-alcoholic hors d’oeuvre. I tried a non-alcoholic Peroni, which went down smoothly and quickly. And then it was time to hit the venue.

I like to see the support bands if I can, and on this occasion there were two: Something Leather and Rubber Jaw.

Something Leather started really loudly, and it was a bit of a shock when they started up. The venue is only small, and I don’t think quite so many decibels were required. They were quite an interesting band though, with a few tempo changes and some intense wigouts. The sound wasn’t that great, so I didn’t quite get what the songs were about, but they sounded good. They are supporting Priests on 4th November so I’ll get to see them again in a couple of weeks, which is nice.

Rubber Jaw were a more traditional “four skinny indie kids” type of band, but the lead singer was quite intense and during a couple of tracks you could see that he “meant it”. Again, they were okay, and it was good to see some new music.

Then it was it was time for Sophie and The Giants. I bought a ticket for this gig on a whim, and hadn’t heard any of their music previously. During the afternoon at work I listened to one of their tracks called “Waste My Air” which I really enjoyed. They came on and opened with that song, which was a brave move, I thought, since that seems to be a favourite. But they had a really strong set, and I don’t think that starting with that song detracted from the performance, or took away options for finishing on a high note.

The band were really good, I thought. They’ve got a clean sound, and a good stage presence. I think they’ve got the potential to crossover into the mainstream in a kind of Florence and The Machine way, with a following wind. It was definitely worth going, and I’m pleased I didn’t decide to pass up the opportunity to see them. I hope that in a few years, when they’re all over the telly and headlining Glastonbury, I can say “I saw them live in a small venue underneath Brighton Station”. Recommended, if you get the chance.

TTFN.

19-10-20 Sunday I - Indie Daze @ Kentish Town Forum, Saturday 5th October

Saturday, and it was time to head up to London to meet E and attend Indie Daze at the Kentish Town Forum. I took the train and caught up on a few podcasts, and then I was there. E was a few minutes late, but that was no problem, there was time before the first band came on. Probably the last time I saw E was last year, at the Poppies in Wolverhampton, but we fall back into our friendship easily when we catch up. We were at university together, and met in the first year, so we’ve been friends for nigh on thirty years. Shit! Has it been that long? 

We went in, and of course it was pitch black, with no natural light, which was a bit disorienting when you know it’s 1pm and broad daylight outside. The first band up were Kingmaker, whose set was okay. Last time we came to Indie Daze the Popinjays opened, and they were very chatty and self-deprecating. I seem to remember them being very grateful that anyone had turned up so early to see them, and they did say that if they weren’t performing that day, they would have been in bed, nursing hangovers – which was refreshingly honest!

Not so Kingmaker, they came on stage and were very muso and earnest. They were very much heads down, “here is our music”. The first couple of songs seemed to me to be middle of the road indie rock, and then the later songs were reminiscent of the Wonder Stuff’s sound – I seem to remember there being some comparisons back in the late 80s/90s. Anyway, they properly wigged out at the climax of their set, and it was okay. Kingmaker were never a favourite of mine, and I hadn’t fished out any old CDs or looked them up on Spotify, to refresh my memory. I think I recognised maybe two of the songs? And then they were gone, and we decided to go and get some lunch, giving the swerve to Back to The Planet.

We went back to the same café we visited before in 2015, which was nice. They did a nice breakfast last time, so I was looking forward to that. Unfortunately they told me they couldn’t do an English Breakfast in the afternoon, and so I had some delicious pancakes with cream and syrup and blueberries – which slid down a treat.

After that brief interlude, it was back to the Forum, and time for Utah Saints to put on a DJ set. To be fair, I wasn’t looking forward to this. I thought the Saints were a bit of a leftfield choice, and on a guitar-heavy line-up they looked to be the odd ones out. They came on stage and were almost apologetic: “hi, we don’t normally talk much during our sets. And we don’t normally do sets in the middle of the afternoon. So if you can just imagine it’s gone midnight, and you’re having a banging night, I’m sure it’ll go well” (or something like that). When they started up, I htought the beat was a bit oppressive, or claustrophobic, but at the first breakdown I was willing the bass and the beat to come back in, so they must have been doing something right. People were dancing too, so I think they went down well. I’d certainly consider seeing them again.

Next up was Jim Bob, who was a bit pissed (drunk). He kind of meandered through an introduction, started a few sentences and didn’t get round to finishing them. But once he started performing, he didn’t drop a beat. The old songs sound great, even when performed acoustically. He sang a couple of songs I didn’t recognise, which were from his later solo stuff, but I listened to the lyrics, and made a mental note to search out some of those tracks. I think there’s a bit of material out there I’ve been missing out on.

Following Jim Bob were Pop Will Eat Itself, performing This is the Day, This is the Hour, This is... This! It was first released in 1989, so they were celebrating its 30th anniversary. I first got into the Poppies with the subsequent album Cure For Sanity, so This is... This! isn't one of my go-to albums, but I’ve bought it in the interim and I know it well. The Poppies always do a good show, and today was no exception. With Mary from Gaye Bykers I think they’ve rejuvenated themselves, and they certainly know how to put on a show. They performed the hits and they were all good, as you would expect from a band who still gig live regularly. I’m disappointed not to going to see them in Brighton in December, to be honest. There was a bit of an issue with the sound towards the end, but that didn’t stop the crowd enjoying it.

When the Poppies had finished their set, the Forum’s front section emptied out a bit, and I felt a bit faint to be honest. E went and got some crisps, and I recovered once I’d had some sustenance. Swervedriver were up next, and I definitely wanted to see them, so I stayed on for a bit. Unfortunately they weren’t as soaring and majestic as I was hoping. I’d not really heard much Swervedriver, my main knowledge of them being their track “Sandblasted”, which I think is phenomenal. But their performance at Indie Daze seemed much more grounded and earth-bound than I was hoping for. By now it was 8:30pm, and I was tired. My mind was very much focused on being homeward bound. Apart from the meal break at about 2:30, we’d been in the dark listening to loud rock for seven hours or so? I decided that I’d had enough: I didn’t want to stay and see Therapy, and if Swervedriver weren’t as colossal as I was expecting, I thought I’d prefer to be on a warm train heading home. I said my goodbyes to E and headed off to the nearby Tube station.

This was the second Indie Daze “festival” I’d been to, and it was definitely worthwhile. It was great to see some bands from the old days performing again, and I was very impressed with the Utah Saints set. I’ll be keeping an eye on any announcements they make about next year’s line-up, and will certainly consider going again.

TTFN.