Tuesday 30th April
You know what? I might have to invest in a John
McEnroe-style hair band, having just discovered that sweat
gets into your eyes during a 10K run in this lovely weather.
I wonder whether they’re made in CPFC-approved red
and blue stripes (or, failing that, pink)?!
Great news: Thunder are among the 25 new acts added to
the bill of this summer’s Download Festival. Mr
Bowes and company will play the Second Stage on the event’s
Saturday (June 15). Mr Copping… you are spoiling
us!! FM have also been added to the bill of the Steelhouse
Festival in Wales in late July, joining a great bill
that includes Herr Schenker, Saxon and Magnum, plus The
Temperance Movement and Snakecharmer. Hand Of Dimes, Nev
MacDonald from Skin’s other band, are pretty useful
too. Hope I can make it over for the weekend.
Oh yes!! Thanks to those kind folks at Eagle Rock, Rainbow’s
RJD-era gig at the Rockpalast in 1977 has just dropped
onto my desk in CD and DVD formats – looking forward
to watching it!! It’ll have to wait a while though,
as it’s almost time to begin boozing in the run-up
to tonight’s Palace game against Scumwall.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 29th April
With the ex-wife away on holiday, it’s
just myself and the kids here at Ling Towers for the coming
week. Alas, this fact eliminates me from attending tonight’s
London gig from Enuff Z’Nuff. Luckily, I’m
on top of work, having spent my Sunday compiling the gig
guide for the June edition Classic Rock Presents Blues.
‘Prog Rocks!’, a wonderful five-disc boxed
set featuring music from the catalogues of Harvest, Charisma,
Virgin, Liberty and Inside Out Music, offered an immensely
satisfying soundtrack as I edited emails and trawled around
the world wide web for the relevant info. Thanks to Jerry
Ewing for providing my copy!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 28th April
Okay, now I *am* getting worried. Yesterday’s
1-1 draw between Blackburn Rovers and Crystal Palace flattered
the home side. According to corner count alone –
Blackburn 0, Palace 8 – it sounded like we should’ve
won it, but supporting CPFC has never been easy. Tuesday
nite’s trip to Scumwall is now bigger than ever.
After such a dramatic loss of form, the Eagles seem to
have forgotten how to win. My head tells me that clinging
onto a play-off place remains possible, though my heart
suggests that we simply don’t deserve to be there.
And so, off to Shepherd’s Bush Empire to see Saxon
and the Quireboys. Spike might have broken his foot during
a footie game with the headliners but he sounded... er,
well medicated (!)... and appeared in high spirits. Despite
being limited to 40 mins, the special guests previewed
two songs from a new album due in June, one called ‘Too
Much Of A Good Thing’, the other a keyboard-led
lighter-waver known as ‘Mother Mary’ (no relation).
The rest of their set consisted of: ‘Gypsies Tramps
And Thieves’, ‘There She Goes Again’,
‘Misled’, ‘Mona Lisa Smile’, ‘This
Is Rock ‘N’ Roll’, ‘Hey You’
and ‘Seven O’Clock’.
Having seen the band dozens and dozens of times since
1980, I can assert that Saxon will never, ever let you
down. Keen to feature as many songs as possible from the
excellent new album ‘Sacrifice’ as possible
(I counted five, excluding the taped intro, ‘Procession’),
they nevertheless featured just about everything the sold-out
audience wanted to hear. It was nice to see Spike from
the QBs hobble onstage to join Biff for a duet during
‘Ride Like The Wind’ – like the audience
the band really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Here’s
the set-list: ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Wheels Of
Terror’, ‘Power And The Glory’, ‘Made
In Belfast’, ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Gypsy’,
‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, ‘I’ve Got
To Rock (To Stay Alive)’, ‘Night Of The Wolf’,
‘Conquistador’, Drum Solo, ‘Crusader’,
‘Stand Up And Fight’, ‘Guardians Of
The Tomb’, ‘Never Surrender’, ‘Ride
Like The Wind’, ‘And The Bands Played On’,
‘Dallas 1 PM’, ‘Denim And Leather’
and ‘Wheels Of Steel’, plus a finale of ‘Strong
Arm of the Law’, ‘747 (Strangers In The Night)’
and ‘Princess Of The Night’. Great stuff!
Oh, and a lift home from Steve ‘No Relation’
Way, too… even better!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 27th April
Last night I accepted an invite from blues guitarist
Larry Miller to attend a launch show for the new ‘Live
& Outlawed’ double-CD at the Borderline. Bowled
up to the box office at the Borderline only to find my
name wasn’t on the list and I wasn’t going
in. “Oh well…”, I thought once the shock
had worn off, “back to the Crobar a few doors away
in Manette Street.” Didn’t expect to leave
there in the small hours and end up getting the night
bus home… hardly what the doctor ordered with loadsa
work piled up for the weekend.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 26th April
I’ve finally found the time to play the
advance CD of Status Quo’s new single, ‘Bula
Bula Quo!’. Managed to endure 68 painful seconds
before it was hurled across the room. How long can *you*
last??!!
A similar posting of the above at my Facebook page drew
amusing results. “It’s heavier than the new
Megadeth album at least!!” quipped producer Andy
Sneap, with Paradise Lost guitarist Aaron Aedy musing:
“I thought Black Lace had got a new singer for a
minute!” Amazingly, Ginger Wildheart responded:
“I actually liked it. And although i can't stand
Megadeth I didn't mind their new one. What is wrong with
me?” Answers on a postcard!
Talking of Megadeth, how hilarious! Back from an interview
with Dave Mustaine, Classic Rock’s Grant Moon has
just sent the following email: “Dave sends his regards.
The first thing he asked was how you were, and whether
you’d gone grey yet. (I said you hadn’t, of
course.)” Cheers, Grant… I do like a man who
can be economical with the truth when occasion demands!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 25th April
Wow… I really enjoyed last night’s
phone interview with Carlos Santana – with 90 million
record sales worldwide and ten Grammies to his name, Santana
is one of two acts in Billboard history to score Top Ten
albums in each decade from the 1960s onwards (the other
being the Rolling Stones). So no wonder when you ask how
he is, he replies: “Happy and grateful.” Lovely
fella, and way less humourless than I’d imagined.
After watching Sunday’s coverage of the London Marathon
I’ve finally plumped up the courage – some
might say brazen stupidity – to
enter a half-marathon. Just registered for the one
that takes place at that Unmentionable Place On The South
Coast on Sunday 16 February, 2014, which gives me 299
days in which to train. Ulp!
I’ve just been sent a copy of a beautiful, beautiful
book on Deep Purple’s legendary appearance at the
California Jam in 1974. Literature and art collide in
one weighty, authoritative tome: It’s almost worth
investing in a coffee table on which to place it! (And
mine’s just the ‘standard edition’,
apparently!). Check it out here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 24th April
During yesterday’s phone interview for
Prog magazine I was scolded like a schoolboy by Fish for
daring to ask whether his forthcoming album, ‘Feast
Of Consequences’ (available to pre-order at fishheadsclub.com
from May 13), will be a little more optimistic than its
predecessor, ‘13th Star’. “Optimistic?
Fakkin’ optimistic?!” he echoed in disbelief.
“How could anything in this life possibly be optimistic?
It has a five-suite song [the 30-minute ‘High Wood’]
about the First World War.” Okay, I’ll get
me coat...
Just been playing ‘The Mouths Of Madness’,
a new album by san Franciscan doom-rock quartet Orchid
– what a shockingly good record! I will *definitely*
be going to check them out a the Underworld on May 21.
Check them out here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 23rd April
I was all alone last night at Ling Towers, my
two boys having been taken by their mother to the O2 Arena
for the WWE wrestling. Settling down for a nice, peaceful
evening catching up on shows backed up on the Sky+, I
enjoyed a tasty meal (salad and Be Good To Yourself smoky
paprica chicken – how can the latter contain a mere
279 calories?!) and the historical documentary The Ballad
Of Mott The Hoople, recorded a few weeks ago (at only
an hour long, the version I saw has gotta have been edited),
and the movie of The Runaways, with a convincing portrayal
of Joan Jett by Kristen Stewart, sourced from Film4. The
latest episode of Dexter rounded off a supremely satisfying
solo soiree.
Oh, and talking of Mott The Hoople, check
this out. O2 Arena, here I come!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 22nd April
Eddie and I spent some of Sunday morning on the
sofa watching the brilliant, inspirational scenes of the
33rd London Marathon on the tellybox. Not sure that I
could ever manage to run the full 26 miles and 385 yards,
but the images concerned impressed upon me how much I’d
love to try my hand at a half-marathon at some point in
the future. I can do a 10k (6.214 miles) with ease but
a half-marathon is twice as far again. Time to start planning,
methinks…
Anyway, London is basking in sunshine – at last.
I made the most of the glorious weather with a sun-baked
run in the local park followed by various album reviews.
The rest of my Sunday was spent emailing various band
members, manager and PRs, requesting interviews for the
Download Festival programme. My old friend Steve McTaggart,
the poor individual responsible for trying to keep those
DragonForce rascals in line, responded to my plea for
a phone chat with guitarist Herman Li, saying he was “dispatching
one of our Power Metal carrier pigeons immediately”.
Um… I think that means it’s happening! Haha!
As evening drew nearer I spent some time on the patio,
leafing through the new issue of Classic Rock (Deep Purple
cover, dated June). I’d love to believe the contents
of a fascinating interview with ex-UFO bassist Pete Way,
who after decades of death-defying antics (“I didn’t
see it as self-destruction, I saw it as a lifestyle. My
job”) claims he is *finally* seeking sobriety, going
to the gym and generally getting his shit together. He
certainly looks good in the new photographs. Keep it up,
Pete. It was nice to revisit Uriah Heep’s trip to
Russia in 1987. And I felt myself agreeing with the cantankerous
grumblings of Alice In Chains. I was a little disappointed
that somewhere along the way, the opening line of my review
of Status Quo review from Manchester Apollo – “Led
Zeppelin at the O2 Arena? Pffft”, also mention of
the support act, The Treatment – were both edited
out, but I suppose you can’t have everything.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 21st April
How else was one to have spent Record Store Day
except by joining Jimmy Page among those thumbing through
the racks at yesterday’s Earl’s Court Music
Fair? Sadly, this time I didn’t manage to unearth
too many bargains, though I did pick up a reasonably priced,
mint-quality vinyl of Strawbs’ 1973 album, ‘Bursting
At The Seams’, that had been missing from my collection.
Crossing the Thames from West London back to its Southern
counterpart, it was time for several hundred pints before
Crystal Palace’s play-off showdown with Leicester
City. Though the game was entertaining enough, the result
of 2-2 did neither team too many favours. And given that
the Foxes twice came from behind to grab their share of
the spoils, it felt more like a defeat than a draw. Humph.
I am rapidly going off football right now… (*Did
I really just write that??!!*)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 20th April
Having visited the same subterranean venue a
mere 24 hours earlier, not to mention twice the week before
(and with a visit to see the Larry Miller Band in the
pipeline), these days I seem to spend half of my life
at the Borderline. But it’s no problem… there’s
a nice, friendly l’il rock bar a few doors away
(*winks knowingly*).
As somebody that refuses to step over the threshold of
London’s Scala (the sound at that place is always
diabolical!), I missed out on the UK debut of San Diego
prog-psych-rockers Astra back in 2010. Inspired by the
likes of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Genesis
and Yes, the band make fantastic music, no doubt about
it. Sorry to say, however, that singer, guitarist and
Mellotron player Richard Vaughan has all the charisma
of a small plastic garden gnome. Nobody expected him to
fly around the Borderline on a surfboard David Lee Roth-style,
but surely he could do much better than: “Thank
you all for coming out… this is our first song”,
and: “This is our last song”. It would be
foolish to suggest that staying home and listening to
Astra’s two studio records might have been equally
satisfying – you’d certainly have missed out
on all that wonderful improv - but there needs to be something
extra besides the fantastic musicianship. And given the
quintet’s proclivity for procrastination, I certainly
expected them to have played for longer than an hour and
20 mins. Naaaah, to my way of thinking this was an anticlimactic
night. I was back at Chateau Ling, feet up and watching
Mad Men by 11.30… must be getting old.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 19th April
Congratulations to Rush, who last night were
among the acts inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
There’s some truly hilarious YouTube
footage of Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo
Fighters (joined by producer Nick Raskulinecz) dressed
as the Canadian group in make-up, wigs and costume of
the era performing ‘Overture’ from the all-time
great ‘2112’ album during the ceremony in
Los Angeles. It’s well worth a look, as is this
clip of Alex Lifeson mocking the event with a brilliant
‘acceptance speech’, and Dave Grohl’s
wonderfully warm, straight-from-the-heart introductory
preface.
At lunchtime I headed down to Croydon for an enjoyable
and long-overdue catch-up with the ever-lovely though
perpetually stressed-out Wendy Campling, getting soaked
to the skin by a sudden torrential downpour on the way
home… great.
After several invitations to check out Bad For Lazarus,
a band comprising ex-members of Nine Inch Nails, The Eighties
Matchbox B-Line Disaster and UNKLE, I agreed to go and
take a look at them at the Borderline. Considering that
all I knew of the band was an entertaining promo video
for the song ‘My Muddle’, it turned out a
wise decision. They burst onto the stage with something
called ‘Bad Stallion’, accompanied by an exaggerated
display headbanging and shape throwing that suggested
a mischievous groupie had perhaps poured itching powder
down their strides. Luckily it wore off, and I quickly
warmed to them. ‘Burnt’ was a thunderous slice
of blues-rock with an edgy, nervous twitch, while a forthcoming
single entitled ‘Disco Biscuits’ paired histrionic
vocals with hard-driving rhythms and a subtle yet persistent
undertone of keyboards/samples. There was always something
interesting going on; you can rock out to Bad For Lazarus,
they’re danceable (if you’re so inclined)
and commendably weird. I shall be keeping an eye on them.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 18th April
Well, that’s another great moment to tick
off: Last night I completed a phone interview with Rick
Springfield to promote his gig at Shepherd’s Bush
Empire on June 4. As a longtime fan, I can’t wait
to see him onstage at last! Check out this
excellent YouTube clip of Springfield performing the
classic ‘Jessie’s Girl’ with Dave Grohl’s
Sound City Players.
Wow... there are some great bands at the Cambridge
Rock Festival in August: Magnum, the Quireboys, Caravan,
Pat McManus, Praying Mantis, The Temperance Movement,
Mostly Autumn (who are almost becoming the event’s
house band!), the reunited Persian Risk, Pearl Handled
Revolver... And over on the second stage, Voodoo Vegas,
Landmarq, Del Bromham & his Blues Devils, Laurence
Jones, Roadhouse and more. I hope that I can make it over
there again this year!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 17th April
Oh. My. God. Last night Crystal Palace’s
exasperating win-less run was extended by a further game
as the Tractor Boys of Ipswich Town exacted their revenge
for a 5-0 stuffing at Selhurst Park earlier in the season.
The game had looked perfectly winnable and according to
Sky Sports News, the Eagles were performing adequately
enough till a cringeworthy gaffe by keeper Julian Speroni
gifted the home side the lead. A 30-yard wonder goal doubled
the advantage before a shellshocked Palace conceded again
in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time. Though
CPFC dominated after the break, substitute Phillips whacking
the post, the game was already done ‘n’ dusted.
With confidence in shreds and a shrinking goal difference,
the stats speak for themselves: 5 games, 4 defeats, 0
goals scored and 11 conceded, just a single point collected
from the possible 15 – that’s relegation form.
I’m now very, very worried that we may now slip
out of the play-off places.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 16th April
What a fantastic evening spent in the company
of Willie Dowling. I had arranged to meet Dowling to discuss
the release of a final album from his current group Jackdraw4
(see Diary, April 11) and a farewell show which takes
place at London’s Borderline in June. “Just
popping up to town for a couple of hours to do a quick
interview”, I told the kids whilst heading out the
door for a 7pm rendezvous, adding: “Will be back
by the time your mum puts you to bed.”
Silly, silly me. With beer flowing just as speedily as
the conversation, as 9pm chimed I *still* hadn’t
switched on the tape machine. In fact, less than 15 minutes
were spent in any sort of official working capacity –
chewing over Dowling’s history with The Grip, Cat
People, Honeycrack and of course his role in The Wildhearts,
plus the reasons for the sad demise of J4, and of course
his plans for the future – though this fact didn’t
prevent me from stumbling out of the Shaftesbury Avenue
members-only club in which we’d met, scampering
back with all possible haste to Charing Cross Stn for
my last train at ten to midnight. Until then, music, life,
family, politics and mutual acquaintances had all been
hotly debated. If only all rock stars were as quotable,
easy-going and eminently likable as Dowling, a man who
could, and should, have become a huge, huge star had the
chips fallen differently. But as we all know… whoever
said life was fair?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 15th April
How interesting that Uriah Heep are temporarily
replacing Bernie Shaw with former frontman John Lawton
for some shows in The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy
and Switzerland whilst Shaw undergoes what’s being
described as “a routine medical procedure.”
According
to Mick Box, the set-lists for these dates will apparently
be “skewed to songs reflecting John’s original
tenure with the band” (1976-’79). To hear
them revisit songs from ‘Firefly’, ‘Innocent
Victim’ and ‘Fallen Angel’ would be
a rare treat. I’m very inquisitive about this. Wonder
whether it might be possible to take a look at one of
those gigs??!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 14th April
With no game this weekend for the mighty Palace,
Eddie and I have found ourselves at something of a loose
end. Yesterday, purely on the grounds that Hibernian are
the club supported by a certain Derek William Dick, also
that it happened to be on as we were channel surfing,
we watched the Scottish Cup semi-final between Hibs and
Falkirk. What a match! Falkirk took a three-nil lead within
30 mins, but Hibs came back to win 4-3 in extra time.
As I type we are preparing to take an early lunch as Tyne
& Wear derby between Toon and Sunderland takes place…
always feisty and entertaining! Gotta have a footie fix!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 13th April
It had felt a bit like déjà vu.
Last night I took the same train up to London as 24 hours
previously, walked to the same pre-show destination (the
Crobar – where else?), before travelling a few doors
down Manette Street to the Borderline for another show
scheduled to run from 9.10 to 10.30… a bit spooky!
Based around ex-Georgia Satellites bassist Dan Baird and
Jason & The Scorchers guitarist Warner E Hodges, the
Bluefields are a four-piece from Nashville, Tennessee.
Their 2012 debut album, ‘Pure’, has been a
favourite here at Ling Towers for several months, and
I was a little surprised to learn they already have a
follow-up entitled ‘Ramshackle’ on the market.
Of course this meant that I was unfamiliar with a large
chunk of the show, which from my own perspective only
came fully to the boil during an encore of four songs
that the band members had played with their high school
bands; AC/DC’s ‘Sin City’, ‘California
Man’ by The Move, ZZ Top’s ‘Jesus Just
Left Chicago’ and ‘I Fought The Law’
by The Clash. Which isn’t intended to denigrate
the group’s own material (‘If Not Now When’,
‘Nobody Loves You’, ‘Bad Old Days’
and the shit-kicking Flat Out Gone’ were superb,
with the shimmering ‘Sweet Medusa’ among the
best of the newer material), their classy musicianship
or indeed the easy, unpretentious stage manner of Baird
and Hodges, who exchanged banter like two old dudes sitting
on a porch as the sun went down. Great fun!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 12th April
It’s pretty shocking to think that three
years have flown by since my last live sighting of the
Swedish melodic hard rockers H.E.A.T, then still with
their previous singer Kenny Leckremo, in a Holloway boozer
called The Gaff. I admit, their decision to appoint Erik
Grönwall, a former Swedish Idol winner in Leckremo’s
place, had aroused scepticism though all such reservations
were blown out of the water by the unadulterated magnificence
of last year’s ‘Address The Nations’.
No great surprise, then, that H.E.A.T. focussed attention
of their third album, overlooking just two of its selections
(‘The One And Only’ and ‘Need Her’).
The biggest shock was Grönwall’s own outstanding
contribution. With short, spiky blond hair and a pipe
cleaner physique, Erik imbues the sextet with a real edge
that wasn’t there before. They still have all of
the ‘woah woahs’ and hooks of before, plus
the natural vivacity that comes with such youthfulness,
but H.E.A.T. Mk II are a vastly improved beast –
imagine a fusion of Bon Jovi, Europe, Whitesnake and Dokken
and then add a zest that screams out 2013. Last night
the blew the doors off the Borderline; put them on tour
with a band like Daughtry and we’d *really* be talking.
(BTW, for the trainspotters out there… there was
insufficient time to perform the final song on this set-list,
’Keep On Dreaming’).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
Thursday 11th April
Wonderful… The Wildhearts have added six
further shows to their current tour, which marks the 20th
anniversary of one of the finest and most ensuring debut
albums of (relatively) recent years, ‘Earth Vs The
Wildhearts’. I shall be at the Forum in London’s
Kentish Town on June 22 to see them revisit said disc.
In related news, I’ve finally received a copy of
‘Dissecticide’, the final album to be released
by the hugely underrated band Jackdaw4. A former member
of the Wildies (also of The Grip, Cat People and HoneyCrack),
Willie Dowling recently revealed that the Jackdaw4 are
to call it a day with a farewell gig on June 6. See his
YouTube announcement here.
The decision seems ludicrous in the light of the album’s
vivacity and diversity. I’m particularly fond of
the histrionic ‘Why Don’t You Come And See
Me When She's Not Around’, which sounds like Sparks
fooling around on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’!
Yikes... a promo of the much maligned ‘Bula Quo’
double album also arrived in today’s post. I’ve
not had such a sinking feeling since the receipt of my
divorce papers! I’m really looking forward to hearing
that Fijian-style remake of ‘Living On An Island’
referred to in the press release (NOT!).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 10th April
Isn’t it funny how receiving an unexpected
phone call from someone special can cheer you up? The
weather’s getting warmer (which means I can go out
running again!) and the new season of Mad Men starts tonite.
You know what? Things might just be looking up!
And hey… the day just gets better and better. A
phone interview with Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson
to be used in the Download Festival programme? Well, yes…
I think I can make time in my busy schedule for that…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 9th April
Unexpected happiness is… opening a book
(in this instance Run To The Hills, the authorised Iron
Maiden biography) to check a fact and discovering that
you once used a crisp £20 note as a bookmark! The
trouble is that I will have to go through the rest of
the cabinet to see whether there more!!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 8th April
This is not the place to discuss politics, so
I won’t bother to add my voice to those reflecting
upon the demise of Margaret Thatcher. All I’ll say
is that it speaks volumes that the ‘Wizard Of Oz’
classic ‘Ding Dong The Witch is Dead’ by Judy
Garland is doing so darned well on the iTunes chart.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 7th April
I’ve absolutely no idea how Palace failed
to claim all three points from yesterday’s home
fixture with Barnsley. The stats – 23 shots (12
of which on target) compared to the Yorkshiremen’s
paltry three directionless efforts – confirm the
match as being among the most one-sided draws I’ve
witnessed; the visitors didn’t even win a corner
till the 81st minute! Fortuitously, the rest of the promotion-chasing
pack also suffered slip-ups but although with five games
to go it looks as though Palace should just about limp
into the play-offs, it’s still possible to f**k
things up.
From Selhurst to Camden Town to see Jeff Scott Soto armed
with a big bottle of cider for the journey and my trusty
Music For Nations hip-flask full of cherry brandy (it’s
the new Tesco wine pouch!) to sip during the show –
I have no shame.
Backed by a first-rate group that included whizz-kid Jorge
Salán on guitar, JSS was very good indeed. Advisedly,
he has abandoned the so-called ‘funky medleys’
that have always wound me up in the past, though fusing
Seal’s ‘Crazy’ with ‘Frozen’
by Madonna was pretty near the knuckle. On the other hand,
the inclusion of a mouth-watering Talisman medley and
‘One Love’ by W.E.T. were most welcome, bolstering
a muscular and enthusiastically despatched guide through
the US singer’s solo career. Apart from a seemingly
spontaneous acapella version of Steel Panther’s
‘Community Property’ that rounded off the
performance, the funniest moment of the night came as
the music dipped into a polite shuffle during ‘Livin’
The Life’ (one of a pair of Steel Dragon songs from
the Rock Star movie, the other being ‘Stand Up’)
and JSS limbered up for another crowd participation moment.
Suddenly, he spotted yours truly slumped against the side
of the mixing desk and grinned: “London… what
a lovely sight, over there – Mr Dave Ling…
hello sir! He’s the only guy I can see down there
at the far end of the room, even in the dark!” How
embarrassing!
I’m still a bit flummoxed that JSS feels the need
to include so many covers, such as Ozzy’s ‘Shot
In The Dark’, and the kickabout encore snippets
of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, ‘We
Will Rock You’ and ‘Run To The Hills’
and then moans about why the plug always getting pulled
on him (“Especially in England!”), but such
silliness didn’t detract from the show’s enjoyment
factor. As you’ll have gathered I was a wee bit
tipsy but I think the set-list ran something like this:
‘Take U Down’, ‘21st Century’,
‘Damage Control’, ‘One Love’,
‘Look Inside Your Heart’, ‘Soul Divine’,
‘Tears That I Cry’, ‘Broken Man’,
‘Afraid To Die’, ‘Eyes Of Love’,
‘Risk’, Medley: ‘Break Your Chains’/‘Day
By Day’/‘Give Me a Sign’/‘Dangerous’/‘Just
Between Us’/‘Mysterious (This Time It's Serious)’,
Medley: ‘Frozen’/’Crazy’, ‘I'll
Be Waiting’, ‘Shot In The Dark’ and
‘Livin' The Life’, followed by ‘Give
A Little More’, ‘Stand Up’ and ‘Community
Property’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 6th April
Regrettably, for a number of reasons, I won’t
be at the HRH AOR/Prog festival this weekend. However,
for those that are attending here’s a tip –
don’t miss the Von Hertzen Brothers, whose gig last
night at Islington Assembly Hall was little sort of stupendous.
My drinking partners and I – Mr Andy Beare and Prog
magazine’s Nick ‘Mine’s A Shandy’
Shilton – arrived just as support act Haken began
their penultimate number. They went down well with those
that already knew them but probably didn’t win too
any new fans. Standing at the urinal during the changeover
I overheard some fella proudly telling his mate: “I’ve
been to 35 gigs by Haken and they’ve only played
47 [in total].” Bit of a superfan, then…
A trio of Finnish siblings, the Von Hertzens – vocalist/guitarist
Mikko, guitarist/backing vocalist Kie and bassist/backing
vocalist Jonne – arrived in London to promote their
fifth and finest album so far, ‘Nine Lives’,
somewhat taken aback by the weather. “It’s
ridiculous, I just can’t believe the fucking cold,”
Mikko winced. “We’ve come all the way from
Finland and it feels like the North Pole.”
This was my fourth sighting of the VHBs, and they just
get better and better. Tonight there was no need for ‘21st
Century Schizoid Man’, which they covered at the
Borderline a couple of years back – their own songs
shimmered like finely cut jewels. You couldn’t call
the band pop, prog or metal… they’re doing
something completely unique; music of depth, epic grandeur
and glacial quality, overlain with the most immaculate
three-part vocal harmonies. Save for ‘Flowers And
Rust’ (one of *the* tracks of 2013), the amazing
new song ‘Coming Home’ offers a perfect summation
of their oeuvre; frenzied yet beautifully controlled.
Anyway, here’s the set-list: ‘Insomniac’,
‘Writing’s On The Wall’, ‘Flowers
And Rust’, ‘Coming Home’, ‘Angel’s
Eyes’, ‘Always Been Right’, ‘Lost
In Time’, ‘Separate Forevers’, ‘I
Believe’, ‘Freedom Fighter’, ‘Gloria’
and ‘Prospect For Escape’, with a stunning
encore of ‘Miracle’ and ‘Let Thy Will
Be Done’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 5th April
Danny Vaughn’s gig at the Underworld was
great fun. The Tyketto frontman still has a wonderful,
evocative voice and a stage presence full of warm camaraderie.
The focus of his 95-minute display was a selection of
songs I’d seen performed many times on this very
stage, recorded with the band Vaughn on a pair of albums
called ‘Soldiers And Sailors On Riverside’
(2000) and ‘Fearless’ (’01), now available
as the double-set ‘Reprise’, plus a smattering
of Tyketto songs and other catalogue gems thrown in. Being
the tour’s opening night, certain of these were
being played onstage for the first time, though you’d
never have guessed it. I never knew that the heavy-hitting
‘The Warrior’s Way’ (from 2007’s
‘Traveller’) had been written with Bob Catley
in mind. For me, two of the evening’s best songs
– Tyketto’s sensitive ‘This Is How We
Say Goodbye’ and the uplifting ‘The Voice’
(from ‘Soldiers & Sailors…’) –
popped up towards the night’s conclusion, but if
you thought Vaughn was building up toward an encore of
Tyketto’s most popular tune, ‘Forever Young’,
then you were wrong – somewhat bravely he chose
to leave it out. Ultimately, its omission meant little
in the grand scheme of things. Here’s what was played:
‘Bad Water’, ‘Badlands Rain’,
‘Meet Me In The Night’, ‘Just Like That’,
‘Light Years’, ‘Restless Blood’,
‘Fly Away’, ‘Battle Lines’, ‘Seasons’,
‘Always’, ‘Was There A Moment’,
‘Carry Me Home’, ‘The Warrior’s
Way’, ‘Lifted’, ‘This Is How We
Say Goodbye’ and The Voice’, followed by ‘Wings
To Fly’ and ‘Is That All There Is’.
Oh dear, it looks like I’ll never get to see Bob
Seger onstage now. According to reports, the Detroit legend
is likely to make one more album before retiring. A follow-up
to 2006’s ‘Face The Promise’ is currently
being completed, after which the 68-year-old will consider
what he calls his “swansong.” Read the story
here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 4th April
I’ve been feeling a bit down in the dumps
with the snow ‘n’ all of life’s latest
tribulations. Might need to head over to the Underworld
for a solo gig from Danny Vaughn and a hip-flask of Cherry
Brandy to cheer/warm me up.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 3rd April
Yikes! I fear a geyser of excitement in St Mary’s
Cray! My good friend Andy Beare will be ecstatic that,
after a couple of false alarms, the original line-up of
Rock Goddess, featuring vocalist/guitarist Jody Turner,
bassist Tracey Lamb and drummer Julie Turner, are back
together again. The trio are currently plotting an album
with a provisional title of ‘Unfinished Business’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 2nd April
As a footie-related gloom settles upon Ling Towers,
I’m grateful for the news of a tour featuring Alter
Bridge, Shinedown and Halestorm in the Autumn –
or rather I would’ve been till jotting down the
London date (at the Wembley Arena on October 18) in the
Desk Diary and realising with horror that it clashes with
Firefest Friday… FFS!
The day also began unnervingly with the shock news –
to me, anyway! – that Classic Rock and Metal Hammer
magazines have been sold by Future Publishing to new owners
called Team Rock Ltd. Later in the day the London Evening
Standard, no less, reported the £10.2 million deal.
How times change. When we launched CR back in November
1998, all that just about everyone did was laugh their
socks off at us, insisting how there was no market for
the music that we still loved (except Rod Smallwood, to
be fair). Um… WRONG!
P.S. This month’s updates of the Playlist
and YouTube pages are up.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 1st April
Thank the Lord I was unable to make the trip
to Bloomfield Road for yesterday’s game against
Blackpool. I’d been planning to head on up there
for a boozy weekend with some of my Palace mates…
stay in a B&B, raise some hell, get away from Ling
Towers for a while…
Fun as that sounded, it would’ve been money wasted.
Having found a BBC commentary link I spent the entire
first half grinding the wheels of my office exercise bike.
With Barry Ferguson red carded in the 42nd minute the
Eagles had the luxury of playing against ten men after
the interval. Nevertheless, they made hard work of it
and Holloway should’ve brought on fresh legs much
sooner than he did. The air at Ling Towers turned blue
as the relegation-threatened Tangerines scored on the
break to steal the points. That’s 276 minutes of
football without scoring, five games without a clean sheet
and a whopping, unforgiveable 12 goals leaked during this
Godforsaken spell. Am still trying to make sense of it
all. I’ve managed to lay off the bottle so far…
which is a positive.
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