Last night I dreamt that I met with Patti Smith before one of her gigs. Which is strange as up to now I have sadly never seen her play live, although I would love to. She was stood behind the Merch stand when I came into the dream. But she wasn’t selling badges, posters, stickers and t-shirts, she was making and selling a wide range of sandwiches. She was also offering advice about how to make the perfect sandwich, regretfully I am unable to recall that advice from my dream memory.
Incidentally I had a magnificent egg mayo sandwich. As often happens in dreams Patti asked me a totally unrelated question. “Are you married?” she said. I replied “Yes I am, to my beautiful second wife Catherine a.k.a Catwoman“. “I see” said Patti, “So you have an ex-wife?”. I responded with “Yes and I have two ex kids too”.
It was at this point that I woke up. No drugs were consumed in the making of this dream and just a small amount of alcohol. I am really not sure what this dream says about me. As for ex kids, well my children have chosen to be estranged from me, so ex kids is as good a description as any! Finally this does give me a chance to share some classic Patti Smith tunes.
I must confess that this is only the second time that I have seen Adam Ant play live. The first time was back in the late 70s, probably 1978 in London. I remember thinking of this relatively new band, Adam and the Ants, that they were ok and had a good name. I certainly never expected the Ants Invasion that followed a few years later. Nor would I have predicted that I would be watching Mr Ant play a gig in my adopted home city of York all these years later. More of the headline show in a moment.
But first let me say what a stonkingly brilliant support act there was last night. It was a young band called the UK Feds who hail from somewhere near Birmingham I believe. They play superbly crafted power pop punk songs with the gravitas and style of great bands like the Ruts, the Members, the Clash and early Manic Street Preachers. The UK Feds are a political band, but in a good way. Personally anyone who states that they believe that this country is run by a bunch of pricks is alright with me. They have some excellent songs, many of which are included on their exclusive tour CD which I bought for a mere £10 and which has been my commute to and from work soundtrack all day. “Pissed Up World” and “London” are my current favourites. The Feds also played a deft, tight and brilliant cover of Prince’s “Sign Of The Times”. If you are going to see any of the Adam Ant shows on this tour then make sure you turn up in time to see the UK Feds. They have the potential to go a long way. I for one would definitely pay to see them again. Well done lads!
It was then time for the main attraction Adam Ant and his band played the whole of the classic 1980 album ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier‘. From album and show opener “Dog Eat Dog” everyone stood up and pretty much most of us never sat down for the rest of the night. Yes even at our advanced ages! As well as the first song the other singles “Ant Music” and “Kings Of The Wild Frontier” went down a storm. But for me some of the other tracks were enhanced in a live environment. Notably “Los Rancheros”, “Making History” and “Jolly Roger”. The latter two being among my favourite Adam Ant songs. Adam waited until after an amazing run through of the whole album before speaking to the audience, very much his audience. This is a man who is totally at home on stage and who totally understands his audience. If there is such a thing then Adam Ant is a true showman.
His stage antics are not those of a 61-year-old man. I hope I can move as well as him when I am his age in three and a half years! Although I doubt that I would look as good in leather trousers. The second half of the show was made up of a great mix of big hits, B-sides and obscurities. When you hear just the big hits you realise what a great talent the former Stuart Goddard is. He played “Stand And Deliver”, “Desperate But Not Serious”, “Prince Charming”, “Vive Le Rock” and “Goody Two Shoes” and I would have left satisfied with just that and the entire album from the first half. But on top of that we got “Car Trouble” and “Never Trust A Man With Egg On His Face” from the early days and classic B-Sides “Physical” and “Press Darlings”. The crowd sang along to every song even if they (including me) couldn’t remember all the words. Adam Ant turned “Prince Charming” into a proper crowd sing along even allowing us a short a capella moment. I must also mention his incredible band including the expected two drummers providing that loud Burundi style beat.
One of the encore songs was a surprising but rather good cover of the T Rex number one “Get It On”. Let me end with a message to Adam Ant; thank you for a truly excellent show which ranks among the best gigs I have seen and I’m sorry it took so long to see you again. My good wife Catwoman also loved the show and that is high praise indeed and obviously I mean that in a very, very good way. There are still a few UK dates left on this tour and if you’re not already booked then I suggest you get hold of a ticket by any means necessary, well as long as no one gets hurt. Also selling your Granny might not be a good idea as she might want to come to the show with you! Adam Ant a legend among Ants and Men. Enjoy a few videos courtesy of YouTube, starting with some recent live recordings and followed by some classic Ant videos. (Pictures were all taken using my bashed up Nokia phone.
However due to contracts, legal issues and possibly the strong-arm influence of her then husband Phil Spector Ronnie was unable to record it. She often sings it in her live shows nowadays though. Please enjoy those songs below and also a quirky cover of “Don’t Worry Baby” by Byron Ferrari (a.k.a. Bryan Ferry. Thank you to the 1970s NME for that Ferry spoof name).
We are not even out of April and the music world has already lost a slew of legends and now Prince Rogers Nelson a.k.a. Prince has sadly joined that list. He was found dead in his home aged just 57. What brings it home so hard for me is that he was just a few months older than I am.
I never managed to see Prince play live, although I had wanted to for some time. He was a prolific artist and his canon of work is phenomenal. He may have been at his creative and earnings peak in the 80s, but he continued to record and tour. As well as being a talented singer and songwriter he was also an incredibly gifted guitar player. Possibly one of the finest axe wielders of his generation. His passing takes away one more true music superstar and a true genius. My thoughts go to his friends and family and his thousands of fans across the globe. I have selected some of my favourite Prince tracks below to help you mourn the demise of another superstar.
RIP Prince. That’s what it sounds like when doves cry!
Clearly I have been a bit tardy in writing and posting this review. However that is by no means a reflection of the quality on show that night. All in all it was a tremendous gig with some support that was often different, challenging and thought-provoking (in a good way) and very talented. All of this was capped by a stunning and magnificent set from the mighty Colour Me Wednesday. But more of them later. Before I begin the review I would like to say a massive thank you to Henry Raby who was the main man and organiser behind this excellent evening of entertainment.
First up was a duo of angry poets Jaz Millar and Luca Fallon, well to be more reasonable poets who gave wonderful voice to their anger in their cyphers and rhymes. I particularly enjoyed the piece on why feminists are angry and the poem about punk and how it was failing to live up to its original ethos and credentials.
Junk were the first band to take the stage. How the bloody hell can two people make so much incredible noise? Let me tell you Junk would enhance any stage that they took to. Festival organisers if you’re reading this stop farting around get off your backside and book this wonderful band.
Almost like a classy restaurants use of the mouse bouche we were treated to an ear resting moment as another poet took the stage. Hannah Davies is her name and she presents her wonderful poetry with passion and aplomb. The poem about how small boys keep so much crap in their pockets not only took me way, way back to my childhood but also made it abundantly clear how much wonderful mother love Hannah has for her son. Hannah you need to have you work published in book form!
What the hell is a Milk Crime? It sounds rather Orwellian doesn’t it? But that would be moloko. Anyway Milk Crimes are an excellent punk band who certainly appear to live by their punk ways and they also know their punk roots and history, which was well evidenced by their excellent Buzzcocks cover. I would definitely pay to see Milk Crimes again.
Finally it is the turn, all the way from south of Watford (Uxbridge to be precise) of the stunning, punky, poetic, smart, lyrical and with political and world views that many people could learn from, Ladies, Gentlemen, Humans, Aliens and anyone else I bring you COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY! Any band that despises the Tories as much as I do is definitely more than fine in my book (or indeed my blog). They played a short set which showcased some tracks from their new EP and some classic songs from their increasing repertoire. As usual there was some great between song banter covering everything from the type of herbal tea that Jen drinks to the desperate need for both a poo and a wee that lead to the Colour Me Wednesday Mobile (a.k.a the van) having to stop at Yorkshire’s equivalent of the town in the film ‘Deliverance’ en-route to the gig. They closed the show with a storming run through of my favourite Colour Me Wednesday song, “Purge Your Inner Tory”. Just to finish things off for the evening I was able to listen to the incredibly well put together four track EP in the car on the way home. DIY is in this band’s blood as every copy of the EP has been lovingly hand packaged by the band and their team at DoveTown. If you haven’t seen or heard Colour Me Wednesday yet then I suggest you get out from under the rock you’ve been living under and acquaint yourself with them. I will be at three festivals this year; Apollo (York), Latitude and Leeds, will someone please book this band for one of those!
And finally here is one of those pesky public service announcements. None of the pictures or videos in this post were taken or filmed by me. They were all obtained via Google and YouTubew
Hospital Ships is essentially the band identity used by Jordan Geiger (off of Shearwater, Des Ark and Minus Story) and his friend Thor Harris (off of the Swans). The new single, “All In Time” is a taster for the new Hospital Ships album ‘The Past Is Not A Flood’ which drops next week on Graveface Records.
This song is a fine slice of almost ghostly and ethereal electronica. A perfect accompaniment to chilling out after a hard days work or a after a long sweaty night in clubland. If this song fails to move you in some way or fails to leave you in an extremely chilled state of mind then I must wager that you have no soul! If the album is as good as this track it will be a belter! Click here to check out the single and plenty of other good things from Hospital Ships on Bandcamp.
By now most of you will, I am sure, have seen Lady Gaga performing her David Bowie tribute at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Based upon the noise from Bowie fans online it seems to have divided opinions. From those suggesting that it was truly sublime to some deluded souls saying that they wanted to tear Gaga’s eyes out. Frankly the latter option is plainly stupid and those with that view need some urgent therapy!
I like Gaga’s music but having seen her play live a few years ago I felt that she takes pretentiousness to previously uncharted levels. However I thought her Bowie medley at the Grammy’s was a truly wonderful and fitting tribute to the Dame. Her singing was spot on, the light effects on her face at the start was splendid; dripping paint, spiders and that iconic lightning flash all made an appearance. The band, which included Nile Rogers was perfect. Just think how many of Gaga’s army of Little Monsters might now become a new generation of Bowie fans as a result of this soon to be classic performance. I would love to hear what your opinion of Gaga does Bowie is. Will the forthcoming tribute to David Bowie at the Brit Awards be better than this? Somehow I doubt it.
