Easter Rabbit – Chas and Dave in Glasgow, 31 March 2013

CHAS AND DAVE AT THE O2 ABC, GLASGOW, 31 MARCH 2013

Most people of a certain age will have heard of Chas and Dave.  Most of them will also pull a face when their name is mentioned.  They’ve never been considered cool and have never tried to be.  My first live experience of the boys was in Dunfermline in 2007 at the all seater Carnegie hall.  A seating capacity of 540 and a show split into two halves.  Old London songs in the first half and then the classics in the second half.  The longer the show went on, the more people were on their feet, dancing round the rows of seats and being chased by an old woman with a stick away from the stage.  At the end of the show, Chas and Dave sold their cds from a box as they sat on the edge of the stage.

They cut their teeth around the British music scene in the 60s and 70s.  Both being in several bands and being session musicians for various artists.  (Chas’s list includes Jerry Lee Lewis).  They also of course invented Eminem.  Well on Labi Siffre’s album “Remember My Song”, Chas played guitar and Dave played bass on the song I Got The which was sampled by Eminem on his breakthrough song My Name Is.

Eventually, Chas became tired of the way British bands copied American accents and got together with Dave with Mick on drums.  So the group consisted of Charles Nicholas “Chas” Hodges (piano, vocals, banjo, guitar), David Victor “Dave” Peacock (bass guitar, vocals, banjo, guitars) together with Michael William “Mick” Burt on drums. They released their first album One Fing ‘n’ Anuvver in 1975. Mick was still playing the drums when I saw them in Dunfermline whilst in his mid-eighties.

The first top twenty hit came in 1978 with Gertcha and then The Sideboard Song (Got My Beer on the Sideboard Here).  Other successes came in 1980’s Rabbit (really, 1980??  Scary) and two years later, Ain’t No Pleasing You.  It would appear that their “Rockney” style was proving to be popular.

1986 saw their snooker record, which they recorded with the top players of the time, Snooker Loopy, reach number 6.  They also recorded four songs with Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s, although never play those songs live.  (Spurs recent lack of trophies means they should maybe look into another collaboration).

The nineties saw a collection of songs to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of VE Day reach number 2 in the charts and they also toured America for the first time.

The 2000’s saw them supporting the Libertines at the band’s request, with Pete and Carl even joining them on stage for a couple of songs.

Other notable milestones include opening for Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in 1979 and playing Glastonbury in 2005.

The death of Dave’s wife in 2009 led to the announcement that Dave was to retire.  They reformed to play a “Farewell Tour” in 2011.  I attended the gig at the O2 ABC in Glasgow as part of this tour.  It was in the smaller downstairs venue and was sold out and packed.  It’s not the greatest venue when it is busy here, as you don’t see a thing, but it was a great evening.  The only popular music band I’ve seen whose encore consisted of the most well-known songs that they had already played earlier in the evening.  Sadly no Mick, but he had taken a well-earned retirement.  A great send off for the lads.

I was pleased to see that a “Back By Demand” tour of the UK in 2013 was to take place with a Glasgow date at the O2 again.  Even more pleasing was that it was to be in the larger upstairs venue in which I have seen many good gigs in the past.  The date was to be Easter Sunday, so no need for any worries about time off as nearly everyone gets the Monday off.  Hotel booked and 7 of us going to the gig this time.

Meeting up in one of Glasgow’s hostelries beforehand emitted strange looks, as four of us had flat caps on and four had braces.  (some with both)

Arriving at the venue quickly alleviated any fears that the upstairs venue would be too big as it was mobbed.  Quite a few others were resplendent in the aforementioned Chas and Dave uniform and a good atmosphere was in the room as support band The Raw Kings played upbeat country music.

There can’t be too many more quintessentially English bands than Chas and Dave, which I suppose makes it slightly bizarre that on the second song in, there are over 1,000 Scots belting back “give me a London girl every time” to the stage.  Many of them unashamedly putting on what they think is a London accent as they sing.  It didn’t take long for “rockney” to turn into “jockney”.  Dave’s godson is on drums and looks considerably younger than the more well-known twosome.  A varied set, which includes a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song Breathless, What A Miserable Saturday Night, Banging In My Head, the recent Premier League Darts tie in Got My Ticket For The Darts, and of course, the fan favourites – Snooker Loopy, Margate, Gertcha, Rabbit, Ain’t No Pleasing You and The Sideboard Song.  The crowd goes particularly mad for closer The Sideboard Song, as they do for most of them, as mass singalongs, and odd dancing (of which I played a large part) spread through the audience.

The camaraderie at one of their gigs is like no other I’ve ever been to.  Everyone seems to get on and any “you spill my pint??” moments are laughed off quickly.  Smiles are on the faces of all and there is much talking and hugging of people you don’t know.

It’s over all too quickly and this time, it is only an hour and 15 minutes that they are on stage, but Chas and Dave are 69 and 67 respectively and coming to the end of a lengthy tour, so I think this can be forgiven.

So what is the attraction?  I’ve heard people refer to them as to London what the Proclaimers are to Scotland, but I hate the Proclaimers.  How come they can get a song to be as popular as Rabbit is, when the word “rabbit” is repeated about 600 times?  How come you can have a band where loads of people go to a gig and they play songs over 30 years old and everyone knows some of the words, but not all of them?

I think the attraction for me is that they play incredibly catchy songs and get nowhere near the praise they should for how talented they are as musicians and how cleverly their songs are put together.  Rabbit, a song about a woman who talks too much, is repetitive, but is done in very clever harmonies.  It also has the genius line “you’ve got more rabbit than Sainsburys”.  Their lyrics are clever and witty although many of them are very London based, can be related to by many.  London Girls includes the line “if you ever go down to london town, your legs will turn to jelly.  Cos the girls down there i swear are just like models off the telly”.  So simple and yet makes you smile and is clever.  (Well it does me anyway).  Many of the songs are sung at breakneck speed and the lyrics can’t be easily picked up, but the catchyness of the choruses will often stick with you.  (Listen to The Sideboard Song as the perfect example of this).

So there you have it.  Chas and Dave.  Living legends who seem to become more popular all the time.  Try and get to see them if they tour again.  You (and they) really should.

 

Not a great quality video I took, but you get the idea with the crowd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYboMCwBYo

 

 

 

The Frank and Walters in Glasgow

The Frank and Walters at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, 8 March 2013

Formed in 1990 in Cork, the band were originally a threepiece, containing brothers Paul Linehan (vocals/bass), Niall Linehan (guitar), and Ashley Keating (drums). None of whom are called Frank or Walter.  The story goes that they were named after two characters in Cork.  Niall was replaced as guitarist in 2004 by Kevin Pedreschi, who was then replaced by Rory Murphy in 2010.  Sarah De Courcy joined on keyboards in 1999, predominately for live appearances.  Cian Corbett joined on keyboard duties in 2005 to turn the band into a four.

 Their first UK tour saw them being supported by an unkown band from Oxford who had just released their debut album.  Radiohead have been somewhat more succesful over the following years.

 My only previous time seeing the Franks was at the Cathouse in Glasgow in 1999.  I remember thoroughly enjoying it although then keyboardist Sarah didn’t make an appearance, the story going that she missed a flight.  Given how often keyboards feature in many of the songs, the purists would tell you this spoiled it, but I was just pleased to finally have seen them.

 My 1999 attendance was actually touring their third studio album, Beauty Becomes More Than Life, which followed debut Trains, Boats and Planes in 1992 and 1997’s The Grand Parade. They were to release their fourth just a year after that tour Glass before again disappearing before 2006 release A Renewed Interest in Happiness.  It had been another 6 years before Greenwich Mean Time came out in 2012.

 Their tour to promote the 2006 album had completely passed me by (which also took in Glasgow) and the next I heard they were supporting Carter USM at King Tuts last year and playing their debut album in its entirety for its 20 year anniversary.  (20 years!!).  By the time I had found out about this gig, it had long since sold out and I was gutted to miss out on hearing pretty much every Franks fan’s favourite album in its complete form.

 Hearing that they would be returning to play King Tuts in March I made sure I got a ticket quickly, and sought out the 2012 album which I hadn’t been aware of.  They never get much publicity, certainly in the UK, and although I did have all their previous releases, I often obtained them a while after they’d been released, once I heard about them.

 The first album had been the most successful and included a performance on Top of the Pops in 1992 where a mop topped Paul and band played After All which peaked at number 11.

 So a Friday night in Glasgow and train journey and hotel check in meant I was fed and watered before turning up at King Tuts to see another late one was on the cards.  Support was listed as David Laing, which was a new name to me, but I was there in time to see if he was to be any good.  Arrived at the venue to see support listed as Starling Heist, so assumed a late change had taken place.

 An older crowd as would be expected was interspersed with people in their late teens/early twenties, who it turns out were there to watch the support, who came on soon after I had procured a pint and found my spot.  Starling Heist were clearly early in their career as they appeared in a similar age group to those there to support them.  The four piece contained a big lad on drums, a thin lad on guitar/keyboards, a very attractive girl on bass (who I highly doubt would have been born when the Franks debut came out) and a singer who seemed a bit more used to the spotlight, although he didn’t seem keen on making eye contact with the audience.  You couldn’t help feeling he was in the singer/songwriter category with a backing band as you watched.  (I later found out this was in fact David Laing who fronted them).  Electric guitar was only used on the first song before the thin lad sat at the keyboards, where he remained for the rest of their set.  The bassist seemed to spend a large part of the gig grinning at friends in the audience and looked shy and nervous as she shuffled her feet around.  I have to say I was very impressed with Starling Heist and it was refreshing to hear youngsters who didn’t try to blow your ears off with their music.  Well constructed and well played songs and I will certainly be seeking out their debut e.p which they said was due out in April.

 Most of the younger members of the crowd had moved further away from the stage to replace by the older variety when the Franks came on.  They appeared resplendent in bright orange shirts and black ties and were all wearing face masks of themselves.  They stood at the front of the stage and raised their arms in unison.  They decided to do this once again after putting their arms down but no-one told Cian, who was already behind his keyboards.   You could see them laughing beneath the masks.

 This set the tone for the evening, with constant banter interspersing songs, mainly between Paul and Ashley.  There was a lot of laughing on and off stage as the night progressed.

 It became apparent that they were playing the first album in its entirety, which I certainly had seen billed, but I was more than happy with this.  It wasn’t immediately obvious as they didn’t play the songs in order.  The magnificence of This Is Not A Song and Daisy Chain, the barkingness of Walter’s Trip, the poppiness of After All and all the delights from the album were played.  They’ve aged well in a live setting that’s for sure and the vast majority of the crowd sang along for the duration.  There were a lot of smiles in the audience as the opening bars of each song began and it felt a bit like an old friend you hadn’t seen in ages suddenly appearing.

 As they finished the album with Time and bid the audience goodnight, the suggested finish time meant that the encore was unlikely to brief.  And so it proved as the band returned to a slightly tipsy audience.  (Particularly one bloke at the front who seemed to be trying to conduct the rest of the crowd and sang along although it didn’t appear he was singing the same words as those in the song).  Drummer Ashley asked if they should just play the album again and the responses were not negative, but he said that “the other songs would get jealous”.  Four songs from last year’s album were performed, with 3 others and the very short We Are The Frank and Walters.  As the call that they were about to play their last song, there was much shouting out from the audience, requesting various tracks.  I certainly heard calls for Michael, Indian Ocean, Miles and Miles and also This is Not A Song.  Paul tried to explain they played that already, but it was shouted out again.  They ended up closing with Colours, which went down well.  Although I still wanted Indian Ocean!

 I’ll certainly be looking out for their next central Scotland appearance.

 Setlist

 John And Sue

Fashion Crisis Hits New York

Trainspotters

Bake Us A Song

High Is Low

This Is Not A Song

Walter’s Trip

After All

Happy Busman

Daisy Chain

Time

 Encore

Indie Love Song
The Parson
Trust In The Future
Each Tree
How Can I ExistWe Are The Frank and Walters
Plenty Times
Colours

Starling Heist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYzONPqBMbM

The Franks take to the stage and open with John and Sue:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrhRvhi9gk

This Is Not A Song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9VHg_GTYpM

After All:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSzud-Xx6o

Colours:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC0qXF7UX-E

NE-YO Giving us everything in Newcastle?

NE-YO at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, 6 March 2013

I got tickets to see NE-YO’s gig in Newcastle on Thursday 3 March 2011.  It was cancelled about two weeks before it was due to take place.  Train tickets and hotel were already booked and paid for, so a trip to Newcastle took place anyway.  It was said at the time that he had contractual obligations that he had to be in the studio but he seemed to make a number of appearances in the US soon after this.  We were told it would be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.  So here we were, just over two years later.  I expect there were not many more who had kept hold of the original tickets all that time.

The 2011 gig was due to have Trey Songz supporting.  You can imagine my delight when I found out that this time it would be Tulisa that would be supporting.  (Sigh).

After the train journey down to Newcastle, my delight was enhanced even further upon finding out that Conor Maynard would also be supporting.  Times suggested he would be on 7.15 to 7.45, with Tulisa on at 8.00-8.30 and NE-YO at 8.55.

Arrived at the Arena at 7.45 to discover that things were running 15 minutes late.  So had the pleasure of Mr Maynard for around 15 minutes.  He looked about as interesting in being there as I did at this point and although the place was far from full, there were enough youngsters who seemed to be slightly interested.  I can’t say I recognised any of the songs he played and what I did hear all sounded very similar.  I expect a sparkling career is ahead for the 20 year old.

The 15 minute delay continued as Tulisa arrived at 8.15.  I was (slightly) interested in how she would dress, as her time in the odious N-Dubz seemed to always be as “street” as possible, whereas pictures I’d seen of her from her X Factor stint seemed to have a glamorous feel.  It looked like she couldn’t decide as it appeared she had a sparkly dress on topped off with a leather jacket and a sparkly beanie.  (No, I’ve no idea either).  She seemed a lot more enthusiastic and again the youngsters in the crowd lapped it up.  She was clearly singing over a backing track despite the illusion of a band on stage, evidenced by her announcing the next song then having to change it.  I’m never enthusiastic about seeing a live act where you can hear voices that are not coming from anyone on stage, but are part of the performance.  I did think she could have swapped with either of the backing singers, but it was not to be.  At least it wasn’t Dappy.

It’s easy to understand why Ne-yo decided to go with that as a stage name rather than his real name, Shaffer Chimere Smith.  The crowd didn’t care when he came on stage at 9.05 and much screaming ensued.  Not all by me.  Sad to see that there were still a lot of empty seats at the back with some even closed off by a curtain.  I wonder how full it would have been in 2011?

I saw Usher a couple of years ago in Sheffield and he barely sang.  It was a good show, but he danced and spoke more than anything.  Many of Ne-yo’s songs contain him singing the lead but also doing the backing vocals.   Often layered so he is singing more than one backing vocal.  I spotted right away that there were no backing singers at all, so another night of backing tracks was in order.

It’s clear that he has a very soulful voice and he did put on quite a show with the fireworks, ticker tape, 8 dancers and the band.  All with trademark hat perched on his head.

Slick and stylish without looking rehearsed to within an inch of its life, which it obviously had been, he played various songs from his 5 albums to date.  All the hits were there including So Sick, Because of You, Closer, Miss Independent, Mad, Beautiful Monster, Let Me Love You, and the Pibullless Give Me Everything (although Pitbull’s voice could be heard loud and clear.  A much more enthusiastic Conor Maynard reappeared to perform on their collaboration Turn Around. Ne-yo came into the audience, complete with a posse of bouncers, during One In A Million to much screaming.

As the night progressed he gradually had less and less on until he had just a vest on his top half.  The ladies certainly seemed to enjoy that.

Around an hour and 40 minutes before the curtain came down on the night and the mainly coatless crowd descended into the cold night air.

Kudos to the Geordie women who dressed as though it was a Saturday night out along the Diamond Strip, although how they stood in those heels for the duration as they danced is beyond me.

Chav:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Bxa6036Kk

So Sick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhpGnSSU6QI

The Courteeners – Live in Edinburgh. The most famous band in the UK you’ve never heard of.

The Courteeners at the Picture House, Edinburgh, 2 March 2013

The Courteeners were formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 2006 by Liam James Fray (guitar/vocals), Michael Campbell (drums/backing vocals), Daniel “Conan” Craig Moores (guitar), and Mark Joseph Cuppello (bass).  They’d known each other since they were 10 years old.

They released their first two singles Cavorting and then Acrylic in the latter part of 2007.  The second of the two managed to reach number 44 in the UK charts.  It’s not hard to see the similarities with the Libertines in these two tracks.

First album St. Jude first saw the light of day in April 2008, preceded by what would become a live favourite What Took You So Long as a single in the January of that year.  Another live favourite, Not Nineteen Forever was released just before the album.  The singles reached number 20 and 19 respectively and the album number 4.  No You Didn’t, No You Don’t was the final single from the album.  The earlier released singles also appeared on the album, but the rest of the songs had a different feel to them.

Extensive touring in 2008 introduced them to a wider audience.  Selling out their own gigs and supporting the Stereophonics in huge arenas meant they were certainly becoming better known.  2009 saw them tour the US in support of Morrissey and performed at Reading and T in the Park in the UK.

Second album Falcon appeared in February 2010 and debuted in the chart at number 6.  A personal favourite of mine You Overdid it Doll was released as the pre-album single. They made many Festival appearances during the year at home and abroad.  A small UK tour in December finished off the year.

More Festivals in 2011 before 3 sold out shows in Manchester in December.  New material was also being recorded at the end of the year before Liam broke his ankle, delaying recording until April 2012.

Yet more Festivals and further hometown shows in Manchester at the year’s end.  The latter half of the year also included gigs abroad.

February 2013 saw the release of their third album Anna, preceded by the single Lose Control.  Number 6 was again where the album debuted.  This album seemed to focus much more on anthemic songs.  Maybe due to the ever increasing size of venues they were playing.  Certainly a nod to the White Lies in some of the new material.

Completely missed the support bands so nothing to report there and wasn’t surprised to see a less than sober audience in attendance when I arrived.  A Saturday night in central Edinburgh was always going to be like that.

Despite playing in Glasgow the night before, several weegies are in attendance as is evidenced by the horrific “here we, here we, here we fucking go!” chant.  The first time I’ve heard it in Edinburgh.

The band take the stage to huge cheers and it doesn’t take Liam long to have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.  That Mancunian arrogance is there all right and although not tonight, he is prone to being very opinionated and outspoken.  He probably plays lead guitar to ensure nobody can take any of the limelight away from him.  He’s everything you need in a frontman though, with attitude in buckets.  You can also see why people don’t like him though.  He even finds time late on to blow a kiss to two women hanging over the stairs up to the balcony.  When someone is grabbed by the bouncers for throwing something (and hitting) Liam, He gives the wanker hand gesture and says something to the effect of “yeah, fuck off”.

This is my first time seeing the Courteeners live and I’m taken aback at the love the crowd has for the band.  Possibly due to the aforementioned arrogance, the band start with three (yes 3!) songs from the new album.  Completely unheard of at a live gig, especially when the album has been out for less than a month, but everyone there seems to know every word and loves it.

The first two singles are then played back to back and the crowd goes mad.  I’ve been to the Picture House loads of times and I don’t think I’ve seen an audience going so mad here before.

The set is pretty much made up of songs from the new album and the first.  Falcon barely gets a nod.  When the crowd is so up for it as this one was, the time flies past.  A rest in the middle as Liam comes on himself with a guitar and plays some of the songs as the keyboards join in at points, but even then, the crowd sing back every word.

Van Der Graff is a stand out from the new album, Take Over The World sounds great too, but to be honest, the band is tight and Liam holds the attention all the way through.  The new tracks certainly sound a lot more polished than the earlier ones, although I’m not convinced this is a good thing.  That’s not to say they aren’t good, or performed well.

The Picture House is jumping as the band end with Not Nineteen Forever and then What Took You So Long (with a section of James’ Tomorrow in there).  Complete carnage and the audience is still buzzing as they leave the venue.

It was almost impossible to get to the bar during the show and if you did, you’d never get back to where you were.  It was kind of worth it though.

Setlist

Are You in Love With a Notion?

Push Yourself

Lose Control

Cavorting

Acrylic

Van der Graaff

Please Don’t

When You Want Something You Can’t Have

Bide Your Time

Take Over the World

Last of the Ladies

Car 31

The Rest of the World Has Gone Home

How Come

Money

Kings Of The New Road

Here Come the Young Men

Not Nineteen Forever

What Took You So Long?

Can’t help thinking that Liam’s short hair makes him look like 1980s singer from Aztec Camera, Roddy Frame:

Not Nineteen Forever on the night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfgYPYiSPKM

Wanting it all. Two Door Cinema Club at the Barrowlands, 5 February 2013

Two Door Cinema Club have come a long way since their formation in 2007.  The boys from Bangor in Northern Ireland have had success in many countries round the world.  Reports suggest that school friends  Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths) met Kevin Baird (bass, backing vocals) when he was flirting with girls who Sam and Alex knew.  They are joined on tour by drummer Benjamin Thompson.  They first performed together aged 16 as Life Without Rory who still have songs up on MySpace and also one on YouTube.  The current nomenclature was taken from the local “Tudor” cinema.

An EP was released in early 2009 which featured 3 songs which would end up on first album and two others and received quite a bit of attention.  This was followed by singles Something Good Can Work, I Can Talk and Undercover Martyn before the debut album Tourist History, arrived in March 2010.  What You Know was also released as a single.

Second album Beacon arrived in September 2012 and was preceded by the single Sleep Alone.   The only other single from the album to date is Sun.

Undoubtedly, the band’s popularity has been enhanced by their songs featuring in tv, films and games, including the Inbetweeners, The Vampire Diaries, Chalet Girl, Fifa 2011 and 2013 etc.  Tv adverts have also featured Two Door Cinema Club songs.  They are all 22/23 years old.

For me, Tourist History is pretty instant.  Nearly every song grabs you by the throat from the off, instantly seeking your attention and bursting into your consciousness, with Sam’s jingly jangly guitar and Kevin’s heavy bass heading quickly to a soaring chorus.  There isn’t a huge amount of variety on the album, but the songs are incredibly catchy and it doesn’t take long to have them rattling around your head.  If there is a complaint, it is with the lyrics.  Often gobbledegook and very hard to get a feel for.  Repetition is also a major issue on many of the songs.  This can be forgiven though I think.

Beacon shows a more mature sound, with a lot more thought going into the lyrics (the band are still very young so may continue to develop like this).  The songs are more structured and sound more produced than on Tourist History.  I like this album, but the immediacy isn’t there anymore for me.  Some of the rawness seems to have gone.  Songs build up more rather than hitting you from the off.  It seems odd therefore to suggest that it isn’t a huge departure from the first album, but the trademark sound is still there.  Maybe a third album can combine the best bits from the first two?

A Tuesday night in Glasgow isn’t ideal when you live south of Edinburgh.  It can also be somewhat frustrating to buy your tickets for the Barrowlands and then there is subsequently an announcement that the band are also playing in Edinburgh the next night.  This is countered though by the Barrowlands being a good venue and the Corn Exchange (where the Edinburgh gig was to take place) not.  Having done my back in the week before also doesn’t help when you are going to all standing venue and I’m still in pain when we arrive at Queen Street Station.  After a quick meal, a taxi is procured and soon the Barrowlands is in view.  It isn’t in a nice area, there are always lots of drunks about, but it’s a good venue and I have been here many times.

I’m instantly struck by the youth of the majority of the crowd.  It’s sold out tonight and is already very busy when I get there, but there are what looks like a few pre teens around (often in far too few clothes that their parents should never have let them out in.  And some of the girls were scantily clad too).  Teenagers in abundance and several 20 somethings with only a few beyond that.  I’m too old for this shit.

The first support act is missed entirely Swim Deep I think?  I arrive in mid set of Bastille.  May be worth a further inspection although their cover of the Rhythm of the Night was very bizarre.

I get my Barrowlands spot of front right and manage to find something to lean on to get the back through the night.  This may have been a bad idea as for the opening 20 minutes or so there is real concern from one roadie in particular and security that a bank of speakers near where I am is wobbling furiously and doesn’t look like it will stay where it is.  Much scratching of heads and worried looks ensues before some tying down takes place and all seems ok.

Sad to hear the annoying “here we, here we, here we fucking go” chant which thankfully seems solely confined to Glasgow as Two Door Cinema reach the stage and there are no pleasantries as they begin with the first single from the second album.  The next hour and 15 minutes or so, see them rattle through the two albums, with only Cigarettes In The Theatre (sadly) from the first and Spring and Beacon missing from the second.

A very accomplished performance, Alex’s voice sounding very good and guitar, bass, synth and drums error free.  The crowd was very up for it and a good atmosphere was in evidence.  A spectacular light show, which I only saw when I went up the back at the end, perhaps was designed to cover up the only failing, which was a distinct lack of banter.  All the way through there was only ever a “thanks”, “this next song is..” until the encore when Alex talked a little about the bands love for Glasgow.  Nobody wants a singer that talks constantly instead of letting us hear the tunes, but a little more interaction wouldn’t have gone amiss.  Bassist Kevin did perch on a speaker once or twice, but stage presence maybe needs to be worked on.  Nineteen songs is pretty good though.

The crowd go mad for pretty much everything, but mainly for songs from the first album, which is understandable as these songs are better known at this stage.  Everyone has their favourites, but Undercover Martyn, Something Good Can Work and the delightful guitar of What You Know work best for me.

Post gig suggestion that Alex had laryngitis which may explain his reticence to talk to the crowd, but this is my first time seeing them, so I don’t know if this is a regular thing.

And I managed to get all the way through without mentioning that Alex is ginger!  Damn……

Setlist

Sleep Alone

Undercover Martyn

Do You Want It All?

This Is The Life

Wake Up

You Are Not Stubborn

Settle

Sun

Pyramid

I Can Talk

Costume Party

The World Is Watching

Next Year

Something Good Can Work

Handshake

Eat That Up, It’s Good For You

Encore

Someday

Come Back Home

What You Know

Bell X1 far from plane – Bell X1 at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, 23 January 2013

The last time Bell X1 were in Glasgow was during Hurricane Bawbag.  They made it to the venue, but nobody else did and they played pool in the bar instead.  Fortunately this didn’t put them off coming back again.

Most of you who read this have probably never heard of Bell X1.  (I say “most”, but there will probably only be about 3 people who will ever see this.  I know my place).  Possibly more of you will be aware of Bell X-1, which was the first plane to break the sound barrier and funnily enough, where the band got its name.  If you came to this blog because you like planes, you are likely to be disappointed.  Which is probably the same emotion that anyone reading this will feel.

This Bell X1 are a rock band from the Republic of Ireland.  They have a range of styles and can be hard to pigeonhole, as is proved to me with the question I get asked most when I say I am going to see them, namely “what do they sound like” or “what kind of music do they play?”  Lyrically, you could perhaps suggest the school that brought us acts such as MaximoPark, Pulp, or from just over the border, the Divine Comedy.  Think story telling in an intelligent and witty way.  Musically is more difficult.  For example 4 Minute Mile and The Great Defector could very easily be Talking Heads songs.  There are a few others in this vein.  But there are loads that sound nothing like Talking Heads.  I’ve also heard them compared to The Thrills, Travis (don’t let that put you off), Coldplay, Snow Patrol and even Radiohead.  Talking Heads is the only one that I can see at all.

Originally known as Juniper who had a bit of success in Ireland and featured DamienRice (yes that DamienRice) on vocals, PaulNoonan on drums, guitarists DominicPhilips and BrianCrosby and multi-instrumentalist DavidGeraghty.  Rice departed due to the legendary “creative differences”.  He later admitted that the band argued over issues such as whether or not their CDs should come packaged in recycled paper—Rice insisted they should, whilst the rest of the band “couldn’t give a sh!te”.

After a short break they re-emerged as Bell X1 with Noonan promoted to vocals and TimO’Donovan becoming the new drummer.  They released their first album Neither Am I in 2000, produced by Crowded House bassist Nick Seymour which was only ever released in Ireland despite their hopes it would go much wider.  Second album, Music in Mouth (2003) fared much better and more international recognition was partly due to the use of the song Eve, the Apple of My Eye being used during an episode of US teen drama The O.C.; during a scene in which two of the show’s female characters shared a lesbian kiss.  Flock (2005) became the third album before Tour De Flock, a live CD and DVD set was released in 2007.

On 2 October 2008, BrianCrosby announced his decision to leave the band.

Bell X1 released their fourth studio album Blue Lights On The Runway in 2009 and their fifth album Bloodless Coup in 2011.  Last year they released a 2 disc collection of 21 live acoustic tracks & photographs culled from their 2010 sold out global acoustic tour.  Field Recordings was only available via the band’s website and digital retailers.

Apologies for so much info, but someone out there might want to know a bit of background!

Support band was Irish singer/songwriter LisaO’Neill.  Felt a bit sorry for her as the amount of chat during her set meant it was almost impossible to hear her from my vantage point at the back.  As it was just her and her guitar (and a backing singer who appeared to just do “ooooohs” from what I saw) it isn’t easy for me to comment on the 3 songs I almost heard.

So, this was to be an acoustic evening in Glasgow for Bell X1.  An incredible number of Irish people seem to be in attendance but the band are very popular in their native land.  A busy King Tuts but I managed to squeeze into my usual spot at the side before they came on.  (I didn’t push in or stand in front of anyone honest!).  I’ve seen the band several times before, but never acoustically.  The three member core of the band were in attendance:

PaulNoonan – lead vocals; guitar; drums; percussion

DavidGeraghty – lead guitar; banjo; piano; backing vocals; occasional lead vocals

DominicPhilips – bass guitar; backing vocals

I may have missed some instruments used but there was a lot going on!

Bad Skin Day is launched into immediately and I’m quickly reminded how good Paul’s voice is.  Certainly not bad for a drummer.  These acoustic gigs have been going on for some time and it’s easy to tell from how honed they are.  Clearly a lot of practice has gone into making these songs work and work they do.

The next hour and 20 minutes or so is loaded with old and new and there wasn’t really a failing in any of them.  Paul’s banter with the audience, stories and explanations of songs works really well in an acoustic environment and you can’t fail to warm to the band.  Paul proves his drumming abilities on a mini upright drum kit on some songs and thankfully the dreaded drum machine doesn’t feature often.

Having now released 5 albums of original material there was always going to be what they didn’t play situation.  More so than usual perhaps, when it was the first opportunity to hear these songs acoustically.  Notable omissions for me included Snakes and Snake, West Of Her Spine, I’ll See Your Heart And I’ll Raise You Mine, Just Like Mr Benn, Sugar High etc etc.  This shouldn’t detract from what they did play though.  Alphabet Soup was the first song of theirs I heard and is still a favourite, Rocky Took A Lover, complete with the explanation that the song was about a tramp that lived near Paul when he was growing up and he used to sleep behind his house each night and one morning, he woke up to see that he was with a woman there, and the song was how their conversation may have gone was very good.  Built to Last, where David takes the lead vocal was another highlight.  I am very fond of Velcro, Eve and The Great Defector too, but thoroughly enjoyed all of it.  New song Careful What You Wish For makes me hope this year’s album isn’t long in coming and I’m sure I’ll be attending their next Scottish visit.

A lot of laughter during the course of the set, none more so than when during an almost bluegrass version of Flame, Paul announces a key change about to happen, just like their fellow countrymen Westlife.  He then warbles a line of You Raise Me Up before returning to the song he was in the middle of.  When Paul asks what people want to hear when they come on for the encore, several Westlife songs are shouted out.

So those of you who come across this and haven’t heard of Bell X1, try them out.  What harm will it do?  They have several videos on Youtube etc and you may even like them.

Setlist

Bad Skin Day

Velcro

How Your Heart is Wired

Next To You

Rocky Took A Lover

Careful What You Wish For (New)

Built To Last

Alphabet Soup

Eve Is The Apple Of My Eye

My First Born For A Song

The Great Defector

Flame

Encore

Pinball Machine

She’s A Mystery To Me (cover)

Here’s link to vids of Flame and Alphabet Soup I took on the night.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLNoyVlfLRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3G56s5uWSc

 

 

TWITTER – HELP!

I got this idea/stole blatantly from @LilythePurr .  She did a fantastic A-Z of twitter in July last year and although I know I won’t better her effort, I thought I’d try it myself.

 TWITTER A-Z

 A is for AVATAR or AVI.

When I was joining twitter, I thought that this meant that we all had to put a blue picture up, but no, this is where you pick a picture of yourself or a picture of pretty much anything else, but just make sure you do put something there.  People who have the default “egg” don’t tend to do very well.

B is for BOLLOCKS

The level of bollocks spouted on twitter is quite remarkable.  This can be opinions, nonsense or the size of your, em, bollocks.  You can talk about pretty much anything you want on here, and it’s best to try and be whatever you want to be and not focus on the number of followers you get (we’ll get to that later).  There are a lot of great people on twitter who will happily join in with whatever bollocks is on your mind.

B is also for BEWARE

Despite the above, there are laws against threatening communications, so try not to be too offensive.  Although you will see some pretty filthy/nasty stuff, there is always another Robin Hood Airport around the corner.  And you don’t have to follow me.

C is for CHARACTERS

Although the term ‘character’ tends to be almost exclusively used nowadays for people who are old, swear a lot and are somewhat racist (often from Glasgow), in twitter terminology, characters is referring to the number of letters/number/symbols you can have in each individual posting.  The maximum per tweet is 140.  This prevents lengthy conversations, too much bollocks and ruins countless jokes I’ve thought of.

C is also for CELEBRITY

There are a lot of celebrities on twitter.  This ranges form the President of the USA all the way down to the Prime Minister of the UK.  Celebrities go all the way from A list to Z list and you won’t be able to help following some of your favourites when you first join.  What you will find, is that many of them are incredibly dull.  If you want to know what some Hollywood superstar is thinking of having for their dinner, then great, but that’s about as good as it gets.  There are exceptions, but not too many.  Trial and error is a good way to learn.

D is for DM

DM is Direct Message.  You can send these to people who you follow that follow you back.  These messages can only be seen by the sender and recipient, so this is probably the best place to express undying love, murderous tendencies etc.  Not everyone likes receiving a DM though.  Or maybe that is just from me.

E is for erm……

You know all those times that you thought of something hilarious to say but it was too late?  Now is your opportunity.  Although the immediacy of twitter is one of its advantages, it is essentially the written form, so it is there to return to.  (Thinking of something funny two years after might still not work though).

F is for FAVOURITE

You may find that people will sometimes “favourite” your tweets.  This generally means they like it, but not enough to tell anyone but you.

F is also for FOLLOW

You can follow your friends, experts, favourite celebrities, breaking news, porn stars, footballers, or pretty much anyone or thing that has a twitter account.  You will also not have stalking laws thrust upon you.  What this means is essentially that if you follow someone, their tweets will appear on your timeline.  Remember, you can unfollow again if you change your mind.

F is also for FOLLOW BACK

Some people will invariably follow you at some point.  You will find that your numbers of followers will go up and down.  This may be due to bots, or people change their mind about your followworthyness.  But they also might be unhappy that you did not follow them back.  Some people follow everyone back, some don’t.  Your timeline will quickly clog up the more people you follow, but you may want this to happen.  It’s entirely up to you.

F is also for FF or FOLLOW FRIDAY
This used to be a very common sight on Fridays.  Tweeters would recommend others by using #ff then a person’s twitter name.  Although you still see it now and again (and often not on Fridays) this is becoming rarer.

G is for GREATEST

In my experience, the greatest people on twitter tend to be those who are pretty much unknown in the outside world.  I follow quite a lot of people and in my opinion, they are all worthy of following, but if you are looking for humour and loveliness, you can’t beat the likes of the following:

@twistedlilkitty @TheBathBird @furiousgerbil @Lozcream @NickMotown @Alan_Machnik @FennerPearson @MrLloydSpandex @ChribHibble and @LilythePurr

This is just a short selection.  If you like these, then look at others I follow.

H is for HATRED
There will be people on twitter that you genuinely don’t like.  Such as the people above for being funnier than should be allowed.  These are the kind of people who you will constantly be saying “I wish I’d thought of that” about.  If you think you are even a tiny bit funny, you will quickly realise there are thousands upon thousands of people, who you have never heard of, who are miles funnier than you.  Be prepared for this.  It can get quite depressing when you are not laughing at their tweets.

I is for I

The vast majority of users tweet in the first person.  Several tweet in a person who isn’t them.

J is for JOKES

Twitter is awash with jokes.  From the professionals to the very amateurs.  One-liners are popular because of the format and the character restrictions and many of your favourite comics who are known for one-liners will feature here.  There are a huge number of jokes on twitter and there is an argument that there can’t be many jokes in the world that haven’t been told in some format, but DO NOT steal others jokes.  Keith Chegwin (yes that Keith Chegwin) famously got lots of abuse for stealing others jokes and posting them as his own.

K is for K2
Getting frustrated with how few followers you have can be a regular thing on twitter.  It can often seem like a mountain to climb.  No-one ever seems happy with the number they have got.  It is best to try and ignore it.  You will take a while to get going in terms of numbers.  Interact with people, join in.  People will soon warm to you.

L is for LEFTY

Maybe it is just who I follow and who I have been drawn towards, but twitter seems to be very left of centre in the main.  Be careful in expressing right wing views!

M is for MEETING UP
People have made good friends (and better) on twitter and many people have met up.  There are also sometimes Tweetups, where several people in a specific geographic area meet up for a drink.  The same rules apply here as they would for meeting up with a stranger from a dating site.  Make sure you remember to take a weapon with you.

N is for NEW PEOPLE

You will often find that people you interact with seem to have vanished from your timeline.  This is because initially you recognise other tweeters from their picture.  Well I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the bastards sometimes change their avatar!  You will often see people who you have no recollection of following and think them to be new, but no.  They have found a picture where they are more amusing/better looking.

N is also for NEWS

This is where the immediacy of twitter comes into its own.  Breaking news will usually appear somewhere on twitter first.  There are several news outlets you can follow, but there are also lots of people in the know.  Be careful though.  Often someone revealing a fascinating piece of news is talking bollocks.  (See B)

O is for OBSESSION

There are 2 parts to obsession here.  Firstly, be aware that twitter may take over your life.  You may find the need to be checking it constantly, or you’ve thought of something you want to say and must tweet it instantly before you forget or you worry what you have missed out on.  This will happen at some point.  Be ready for it.

Secondly, people on social media are obsessed with things that are going on.  These will often not be what you care about.  When it is, it can be great fun.  In the last year, twitter has been awash at various times with endless comments about the Olympics, The Apprentice, Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing, Christmas, X Factor etc etc.  This can again effect who you might want to follow, but you’d be amazed how someone you consider to be a rounded individual, suddenly starts shouting on twitter about how “Louis has to go” or “that Tulisa is such a slag” or “Oh he’s got the greatest voice ever” (he hasn’t) or that they won’t be watching it next week because it’s a fix (they will).

P is for PARODY

If someone is famous enough, they will have a parody account.  They will often have multiple.  Some are good and some are not.  The unborn Royal baby has lots of parody accounts.  That should tell you all you need to know.

P is also for PLEBS

Twitter has its fair share of plebs.  But not generally as many as Facebook.  There aren’t many shiny things on twitter, so it tends to drive the plebs away.  There isn’t even Farmville.  There are a lot of grammar nazis about though, so try not make too many mistakes.  And dOn’T WrItE lIkE tHiS.  And ths may b gd enuff 4 txt, bt not 4 twtr.

Q is for QUEASY

Cute pictures are everywhere on twitter.  There is also some incredibly boak inducing love expressed.  I sometimes even tweet a picture of me.  Be careful when opening pictures.

R is for REMARKABLE

I predominantly use twitter for jokes.  I have no idea how I have managed to get to over 900 followers.  A lovely group of people who have been around since I started have been supplemented by more as time has progressed.  I am genuinely humbled by the number of people who put up with my nonsense.

R is also for RETWEET

If you like someone’s tweet, you can retweet it.  This essentially means that your tweet, with your twitter name will appear on their timeline for all their followers to see.  If someone retweets you, they think it good enough to share.  This tends to be how you pick up more followers.

R is also for RETWEET AND FAVOURITE

If someone retweets AND favourite’s your tweet, they want to have sex with you.

S is for SUPPORT

There are a lot of nice people on twitter.  Choose wisely and they will help you with anything.  Some people like to share all their personal details and it is amazing how people will rally round.  I was in York in 2011 and tweeted asking where decent pubs were and got some great responses.

T is for TIMING

There is much talk about the best time to tweet based on the number of people who will see it.  I find that I just tweet when I think of something, or respond when I see something.  Some people seem to be on twitter all day, but not everyone.  I had about 20 jokes in my draft folder and they all vanished.  (This may have been quality control gremlins).

U is for UNFOLLOW

The person who you get on best with on twitter may suddenly unfollow you.  This sometimes happens.  It may be a glitch (which happens) or they may have finally realised you are a dick.  Try not to make too much of a song and dance about it.  I find sobbing quietly helps ease the pain.

V is for VIRGIN

Don’t be put off when you first go on twitter.  You will likely feel that everything is an in joke that you don’t get or haven’t been told.  You’ll soon get the hang of it.

W is for WHAT??

There will be many occasions where you see tweets that you generally don’t have a clue what they mean.  Don’t worry.  This is often due to something called alcohol which nearly everyone on twitter has at least a minor problem with.  (People such as @drinkmeforfree are hilarious when drunk).

X is for Ex

Be careful what you say on twitter.  People who don’t follow you can still see your tweets.  Deciding to slag off your ex or a friend or whatever can be far from safe.  Unless you lock your account (which is pretty much just for secret agents and leaders who tweet about launch codes) everyone can see it.  You don’t, of course, have to use your real name.  (Wandy is not actually my real name.  It is Wanderley).

Z is for ZILLIONS

Twitter has a huge number of users.  You’ll find ones you like.

Once again, I hope that @LilythePurr doesn’t mind that I did my own version.  

 You can find Lily’s original at: http://rainbowofthought.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/a-z-of-twitter-for-beginners/

Thanks

@wandywatson