 |
Current mood: Scottish
Category: Music
Newcastle
The Pale Rider has passed the first of my compatability tests by getting me safely, economically and enjoyably to Newcastle upon Tyne for my Monday gig at the Tyneside Cinema. This was a new driving experience for me: smooth beyond belief with none of the Silver Bullet's nervy quirkiness. I have a slight nagging sensation that I could be entering the "pipe-and-slippers" zone of motoring if I'm not too careful where flat cap and string-backs in a miasma of beige loom uncomfortably close. For the moment, however, I'm able to balance the cool whiteness of the Pale Rider with the stark blackness of the Bluesfather in a multi-medial, musical/motoring op-art. Nonetheless, I will be maintaining a daily beige-vigilance, ready to pounce on anything in the taupe spectrum, which has appeared by chance, overnight in my wardrobe. As the well-known proverb makes clear; "Absent-mindedness makes the hat grow fawnder."
Ben and Lucy's monthly event at the Tyneside Cinema is a wonder. Staged in the new air-rights extension behind an external wall of shimmering, silvery plastic, it has an ethereal quality. This was emphasised by their Fleetwood Mac-influenced band, Black Mosse, and Natalie Stern, the Norwegian enchantress whose electronic loops set up a trance-like vibe. And then there was the Bluesfather, raw and raucous. I like to think it was a compensating contrast for all the hippy niceness that surrounded it. But then I would, wouldn't I?
As I was refuelling at the bar a guy about my age came up and asked hesitantly, "It is Roger Emmerson, isn't it?" I'm OK with faces in that I can recognise those I have seen before and I was certainly familiar with his. Ask me to connect a name or context to the face, however, and all you get is blankness. Such blankness must have been my evident expression as he followed up his query with, "I'm Paul Hancock." Paul Hancock was/is a Planner with Newcastle City Council with whom I had had a protracted negotiation of nearly 18 months, attempting to obtain planning permission for a residential development on a sensitive site in the heart of the Gosforth Conservation area some four years ago when I was working in Newcastle. Planning permission was obtained and the first phase is now complete and looking very stylish (no false modesty here, as you well know).
Paul went on to say how the buildings were highly regarded locally and that even the most vociferous, not to say vituperative, of the opponents of development now had nothing but praise for them. He also went on to say that they are known locally as the "Scottish flats", though few, if any, are aware that they were designed by a Scottish architect. The site is in an area of distinctive English Free-style houses of the period 1880-1920 and my aim had been to infuse something of an Arts and Crafts Northumberland character into the new development but plainly my Scottish heritage was just too strong to be gainsaid. I must admit to a real pleasure at the description, Scottish flats. If you want to see what Geordies class as Scottish flats go to www.spacegroup.com, click on "Live" in the menu and search Elmfield: that's them. If any of you can be bothered venturing a little architectural criticism I'd be interested to know your views on how Scottish or otherwise they appear to you.
I've put this encounter down with the very many figures-and-events-from-the-past that have popped back into my life over the past three years. All a bit scary, I can tell you.
Edinburgh
Returning to Edinburgh up the A1 at about 1.00 on Tuesday morning I manage to take out a hare, which leapt out from the road edge straight into the path of the Pale Rider. Hares are big and rangy animals and, as I surveyed the wreckage that was my bumper and lower radiator grille the next morning, pretty heavily built.
Still the Pale Rider is drivable, which was handy as Blue Wednesday loomed and guitar and amp needed transporting to the Forest. I've headed up this site with my appreciation of Hannah and Jym, they are such consistently good performers. Hannah had a fabulous song about underwear, which said everything you needed to know about the female mindset during a relationship and after its breakup. I suspect Hannah would take exception at my crass simplification. Jym was grumpy, which is the way I like him before goes on stage, and complaining about the sound, the way the vocals were being given reverb, the big orange spot, which I got turned off and then the white spot, which I did not as the stage would have been plunged into darkness. A grumpy Jym is an agressive and arrogant Jym, which means a great performance. He is of course as pleasant as you could imagine afterwards as he gave me a big hug of thanks, lovely man that he is.
The Bluesfather was back on the 'lectric after the acoustic set in Newcastle. I'm really enjoying playing the SG through the Vox with a nice bit of gain on top. I noticed, as I had down at the Tyneside, quite a number of people bopping their seats to Medea, Photographs, Gaffer tape, Blue star and My babe. I think I need to up the ante on the rocky, danceable numbers, perhaps even reconsider my stalled band project.
Unfortunately Sparrahawk from Glasgow was unable to play due to a serious hospital-type emergency. I wish him all the best for a speedy recovery and extend the open invitation, "Whenever you're feeling right again, man, there's always a berth waiting for you at BW."
Glasgow
That Devil Music in Glasgow beckons in a week's time. Really looking forward to it.
8:50 PM
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|