Rare it is that I leave the nafarious hinterzone that is ..East London.., but jumping on tour with Julie Doiron and her mates Construction and Destruction seemed like a good opportuntity to go around the UK and meet some fellow promoters and play some good shows.
Ian from Magic Teapot and I book tours for the bands we like. It takes a few 1000 emails and a great deal of problem solving but without doing it ourselves, we would not be able to get the bands we love to come over. Here is the brief and exciting UK Tour sketch:

Leicester is the a smallish 'land that time forgot' sort of City, populated by subcultures from other decades.  I studied there back in 93’ and fell in love a few times, learnt to play in bands, put on gigs and made the best friends of my life. It was my first choice mainly as John Peel (the legendary DJ) said that Demontfort Student union was the best music venue in the UK, plus I the Charlotte venue had just about all teh acts I wanted see back then-including a 22 year old Bonnie Prince Billy who went to the toilet mid-song! then returned and started to the play the song again, but this was hindered by his trousers falling down!

Ian from Magic Teapot  promoted this show and I first met him back in 93’ when I saw a GODZILLA sized man hanging about the Student Union reception. Ian had a Come T Shirt, so we became instant friends.  We did a Radio show together back then called ‘slow disco for Losers’ which was identical to the one I do now on www.damnably.com

Ian has been putting on gigs for about 12 years and is loved by Cat Power, Brokaw, Howe Gelb, Gary Numan and just about everyone else good. I put my first gig on in  94’ which a young Mark Hibbett played-although he was suprized that it was me that put that show on when I recently reminded him

Ian had two gigs on the same night so I helped him sort out the riders for both and who we met Chuck Prophet  (star of the other show) at the Musician. His entourage went crazy when I dropped off the tub of houmous for their rider. I later noticed that touring is mostly about hanging around waiting, smoking and houmous.

“how can it taste so good? It’s just houmous and bread” Dan Romano

The show was fun and I played ok but heard some shouting going on through the set. Ian later told me that he had a spot of bother with someone he’d previously had polite words of disagreement with (people often don’t want to pay to get in to shows and try hard to avoid this-Label people are the worst for this). So Ian was almost in a fight while I was playing! Good to be back in Leicester!

I ate Chips and Mushy Peas

Newcastle

I’d played Newcastle before with Lazarus Clamp and remembered it being six hours up the road but it wasn’t so long on the train and very beautiful when I walked around and down to the waterfront.

Graham shipcote was the promoter here and a really lovely man whose been putting on gigs for 24 years.

Cluny 2 is Great small venue but my mind was elsewhere and I played terribly but the others had great shows.

Had 2 Gregg's Sausage Rolls

Edinburgh

I wondered around Edinburgh in a pleasant touristy daze for many an hour. New zippy-coat zipped up to my nose as Scotland is closer to the North Pole than it is London and really bloody cold! It is populated by a hardy, hairy and quick witted race with anti freeze for blood. 

Ancient alley's appear next to the usual tartan tat & furry mascot high street shops and offer up glimpses of incredible views of the prettiest city in the UK I've seen. Magical place indeed where the cab drivers all smile, safe in the knowledge of that bedazzled  tourist tip.

Ruth the promoter of the show runs the basement Bowery venue with bar and cool club come eatery that played the best music I’ve heard at a venue ever.

I played well for a change and relaxed and really enjoyed myself. Julie played a great show amidst the Christmas lights and hold lamps that decorate the bowery.

I stayed in a dirt cheap hostel next to station so I could get the train early the next day and see my Scottish relatives. Hostels are funny places. My room held 10 strangers but during the night there seemed to be something like 100 coming and going as a couple in the bunk below me made love quietly, a man opposite read a book and young lad snored. Not ideal for a good nights sleep but I left laughing the next day feeling more than a little grubby.

Glasgow

Fielding is the lovely super promoter behind of Cry Parrot and he put on this show at a huge warehouse facility that included art studios, rehearsal rooms and a large venue with a massive raised stage. He’d decided to put on a diy festival and had a load of different types of acts on and around 250 people turned up. Dan the driver did the sound as the sound guy was ill and he made a huge rock sound. The crowd loved Julie and she played an extra half hour as the DJ booked for the club bit of the night was late. He was billed as Glasgow’s best DJ but that might well have been his DJ name or else Glasgow doesn't have so many DJ's, as he was a bit lame

Whisky and Tuna Sandwich..

Manchester

Worse for wear, and out of fresh clothing I arrived in a Manchester I recognised despite working there for a few months in 92’ It certainly looked cleaner and more vibrant than it did the last time I was there. My main memory of back then was of boarding above a crazy pub in Salford called the Rovers Return, where some nights there wouldn’t even be floor boards in the room me, my brother James and a few other mates slept in. Lucky we were drunk each night

The venue was the Salford Islington Mill another huge covered industrial space now providing space for artists and musicians. Mark and Neal there where very nice and tried not to panic as the bands arrived too late for sound checking due to a diversion back to Edinburgh to retrieve a forgotten bag of t shirts.

Lazarus Clamp joined us for this gig and it was nice to catch up with them and Rupe and Rosie, Davey from Last harbour and Little Red Rabbit collective and Lizi from Liverpool. I've put on lots of Manchester bands in London but none of them came to watch this gig! typical.

Review of the gig from Natalie Bradbury

I ate Chips and an Egg and Bacon Sandwich

Cardiff

The journey across the ..Lake District to Cardiff was so beautiful and sat staring out the window at the cloud formations for hours. Adorned with good spirits I landed in a warm autumn Cardiff and was happy to meet ace promoters Liz and Ryan of Loose at the Buffalo Bar. The sound in this venue was really high quality and I had fun playing there before I legged it back to London to prepare world international john Peel day flyers for printing and handing out at the Luminaire gig.

.. 

Had a Dairy Milk

London@ The Luminaire....

Lazarus Clamp played a pretty drummerless set that allowed their complex instrumentation to shine through. Construction and Destruction played the best they had all tour. They are such a cool couple and very funny and down to earth. You don’t get many bands that are so naturally inventive and unlike anyone else and all the more interesting for me as they hardly listen to any other bands at all. Julie Fred and Dan rocked out and blew everyone away. Fred and Dan are both very talented singer songwriters, drummers and guitarists and those guys backing Julie Doiron made for an awesome experience. Julie has a massive back catalogue and I loved the way she’d be telling the audience a quirky anecdote and then slip into song before the audience could blink. She does deserve much larger audiences in the UK

I recorded the whole gig and it is podcasted at www.damnably.com and Kenichi videoed it too so that will be posted on Damnably TV when it’s edited, plus there is a Review in Line of best fit

I ate a Cream, custard and strawberry Cake as it was my Birthday!

That was a fun first tour for me 7 days, over 1000miles and 2000 cigarettes.  I loved meeting all the great promoters around the country putting on great gigs in their very own fashion and helping keep the music scene alive and indeed carrying the fire. The Lumianire show was also my birthday and it was the best birthday I’ve had and lovely to spend it with many of my friends including Lazarus Clamp, Janice and Jo li. Russ, Rama, Jens, Kenichi, Toshi, Mark and Chiara.

Mostly played 

Palpable in the disco

Love like infinity

Double negative

Carry the fire

Martyrs missing

MJ Hibbett's Blog on the Luminaire gig

Modern Gig Going

I went to a gig last night - NOT one I was even PLAYING for a change - and had a LOVELY time. The primary reason was that I'd gone to see Mr G Gargan (aka Former Utopia) and Lazaras Clamp (feat. Mr T "The Tiger" McClure), both of whom were excellent. George played to a very appreciative crowd who'd sat down, the better to listen to his WISDOM, while The Clamp (as they are known to er the kids?) did a lovely surprising set of non-usual and NEW songs brought about by the fact that Huw The Drummer had had to call in sick. It sounded GRATE, like an "Anthology" version, tho maybe that's just because I've been listening to "Beatles Anthology 3" this week.

It was GRATE, but made even more so by a number of additional factors. It was in The Luminaire, a VERY nice venue made all the nicer this time by the free availability of bottled ACTUAL BEER. This seems to be a very slowly growing trend, one i fully (and financially) support, where bars that used to just do bottled LAGER are gradually realising that some people would like ACTUAL BEER and are prepared to pay for it. Brains SA in this case, and very nice it was too.

Due to lack of drummer The Clamp had switched places in the running order, going on straight after George, which mean that I only spent about 90 minutes in the actual venue. This was GOOD because, lovely as it is, it's a long way home and I didn't really fancy the look of the other bands, although I did enjoy standing around looking at their FANS. Has the "Look Like Jesus" LOOK come into fashion while I was paying even less attention than usual? There were a LOT of Jesuses (Jesii?) around, especially rocking the Jesus Of Shoreditch look. "The Lord Sayeth, make thine glasses really big and funny colours, and sport thee a girl scarf when thou wilt."

So yes, I was happy to FLEE, but not before I heard a song i knew come over the PA system - somebody played It Only Works Because You're Here! I acted all COOL, like, and pretended to Tom like it happens ALL THE TIME, but inside I was going "ZANG!" also "WHOO!" It sounded GRATE too!

And then I managed to OVERGROUND it all the way home, cutting a neat 25 minutes off the time it'd take to tube it - all in all and EXCELLENT evening out!