Dan P

Dan P
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

A speaker at the Catalyst Club once tried to sell the idea of going to church (and the doomed St Peter's in particular) by saying it's a place you can sing at the top of your voice and nobody cares (have I used this intro before?). You can also go to an acoustic punk gig, like the ones organised by Pog. Last night it was The Station, a pub with a fine selection of real ales but a schlep to get to (unless you come by train - it's right by Preston Park station). I'd missed Wob by waiting for the rain to abate, but caught the aforementioned band, who did a new song about a cafe but didn't do 'Go vegan' because Paul apparently has gone vegetarian! Had a good la la sing-song to 'In heaven' nevertheless. Next up were The Flying Marrows, who seem to have a fixation on Japanese girls. They performed many new songs and were joined on stage (the pool area of the bar) by the headliner Dan Potthast. I'd never seen the bespectacled one before (he's from California and in MU330) but it was like stumbling upon a private party where everyone else knew all the words to all the songs and sang along with gusto. They were eminently singalongable to however so a good time was had by all. Give him a listen. I came away with 3 CDs, 2 stickers and 2 badges, having consumed a pint of Harveys and 2 pints of dark Arundel. Dan thought it highly amusing to be playing in a pub in Preston Park with the rain belting down outside and wondered what the regulars thought of it all. Big contrast with Santa Cruz I expect! There was no admission by the way just a greasy hat carried round by Andy. The lighting was crap, so my photos are not much cop...

I've just finished reading 'Pies and Prejudice' by Stuart Maconie which I can highly recommend to ex-Northerners like me who couldn't wait to get away from the place but feel slightly nostagic about the rare returns - me, I always play The Smiths on my iPod as the train approaches Manchester Piccadilly! Must get up to the North East sometime - and Barrow! Great cover too, by Grey318.

The Only Ones reunited?

According to the ATP website, The Only Ones are to reform, with Peter Perrett! I saw their farewell gig at the Lyceum and eternally regret leaving before the encores to catch my train back to Guildford. Their track 'Someone who cares' (from Even Serpents Shine, 1979) is one of my all-time favourite songs.

The Jam 2007 Tour

Looks like The Gift has rebranded as The Jam - minus Paul Weller. Good for them! Shame they are not playing Guildford Civic Hall (tho the Uni did host The Who once!) - or Brighton! See my blog review of Rick and Bruce's band.

Frogspawn

frogspawn
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

My froggies have given birth in the garden pond I built for them - more than a month earlier than they did last year!

Save Titnore Woods

Spent a few hours in Worthing yesterday, visiting the Museum (to see the Small World exhibition), having lunch with Dan, going on a demo to Save Titnore Woods!, and finally a treat trip to Waitrose to buy a veggie pasty for my tea (plus a bottle of Somerset Pomona with a Burne-Jones picture on the label to enhance the Pre-Raphaelite experience of earlier seeing Holman Hunt's 'Bianca' for the first time). The Small World exhibition had a wonderful model of 'The Great Bear,' the UK's first Pacific and the only one ever built by the GWR - and as a railway theme developed, we heard that Worthing had been visited that very morning by a streamlined steam train, 34067 'Tangmere'.

Ginger Lee

Ginger Lee
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

Cheeky David Bramwell assured us by email it'd be three acts for the 'price of a pint' but if they charge £6.50 where he drinks, he should change pubs! We're back at The Albert on a Sunday night (nice to notice the Banksy kissing policemen have been restored and protected by a plastic covering). Solo David tinkled the bruised ivories, sang wistful songs and told tales about Th'Oddfellows Casino, a travelling freak show with family connections, and Barry the versatile Whitehawk psychic. Listen to the full band on MySpace. We were meant to have the accordion player from Bat for Lashes next but instead we had the unexpected pleasure of catching the elusive Ginger Lee, someone I've wanted to hear for a long time. Caroline used to be a waitress at Capers, serving the best toasted teacakes in Brighton. Tonight she stands still on the stage with guitar, singing so sweet and tremulous you could hear the harsh click of my camera! Highlight was a beautiful rendition of 'My Old man (said follow the van)' so disguised it came as a surprise when I realised... it's not on the CD but it is on MySpace. Ooops, just discovered, Ginger is the accordianist for Bat for Lashes - just didn't spot her on The Culture Show the other night! Headliner was Tobias Froberg, a Swedish Paul Simon (with the looks of a Swedish Art Garfunkel), nursing a gammy leg injured evading Stockholm's jumpable tube barriers. Lovely voice and guitar, but too many love songs for Lisa's liking! Take a listen. Not a rolling cavalcade of laughs, but an evening definitely worth the price of a large Islay malt (which I had back home watching The day after tomorrow).

A frog he would a-wooing go

froggies
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

All that work building a pond in my garden last year has paid off! The frogs are back and are currently mating... Last year I snapped them mating right at the end of March! Is this evidence of global warming? Hope the pond doesn't freeze over. Wonder how much frog spawn survived from last year?

Mr Solo at Short Fuse

Mr Solo at Short Fuse
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

As penance for missing the last David Devant gig, I had to endure the first half at Short Fuse, upstairs in The Camden Head, London. First up was a bloke (Julian Fox) I'd describe as ill-prepared reading accounts of bus journeys from his laptop (a Mac, but he is not forgiven that easily). Then it was a scary woman in glasses (Rhian Edwards), who seemed quite nice as she chatted to the audience, but then adopted a 'poetry voice' and reminded me how poetry, like samba bands, is something it's probably more fun to do than listen to. Believe me, I used to perform excruciatingly pretentious stuff back in the 1960s and cringe every time I think of what I put loyal audiences comprising mainly schoolgirls through! They must have been loved by some of the audience, however, judging by the empty seats for the second half - as a friend is fond of reminding me whenever I get into grumpy old man mode, I'm probably not their target audience. Earlier I'd been a spectral roadie for the evening, helping carry some of Mikey's kit upstairs, and he was in full Mr Solo character for his energetic feature-length multi-media performance starting and finishing with 'Number One (Home Sick Home)' and including most of his light switch album. Towards the end he whipped out his pink ukulele and in the spirit of the evening did two accompanied poems: one about 'Spunk Rock' and a paeon to CBB Jade and the Oxo cube. To the dying strains of 'X-Box X-Box' I had to run for the bendy 38 back to Victoria and the midnight train to Worthing (I got off at Brighton). Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio on 'Dogs' kept me company. A nice pint of Bombardier and lime 'n' soda at 64p made the Camden Head a great venue.