2011 End of Year Review Part 4
October
October means Summers End. I went to Summers End for the first time in 2008 because everyone was saying how good it is. And we had a fantastic time. I don't think I'd even consider missing it. Summer's End is held in Lydney Town Hall which holds about 350 people, and it's just about the right size. I've been there enough to recognise people who I don't see elsewhere.
This year, a few of us had clubbed together to sponsor the festival t-shirts as the Fishtank (the Tinyfish fans forum – do join this, it's massive fun), and so I was looking forward to seeing how the sponsorship on the back. And it looks really good with a 2D barcode.
James, Mouse, David & I were sharing an apartment at Whitemead, about 5 miles outside of Lydney. After the events had finished on Friday, and after James had exchanged views with Lazuli, we headed back to the apartment with a number of Tinyfish forum friends, where we chatted until about 2:30. It was a lovely evening, which couldn't be spoilt by attempted Dutch or German gatecrashers. As always, I was left with the feeling that I'm so lucky to have such great friends.
Highlights of the weekend for me were Lazuli and Magenta. But there were a number of excellent performances, and as always the weekend seemed to run like clockwork.
The other big October event for me was the Caamora house concert. To raise money for the She theatre production in Cheltenham, Clive Nolan has done a few house concerts, and I was fortunate enough to be able to host one here. It meant clearing out all of the furniture from the living room to allow space for Clive and members of the cast to put on the gig. I did a house concert a couple of years ago with Magenta and I was so nervous. This time, I knew what I was doing at it seemed to go very smoothly. Everyone who came told me how much they enjoyed it. The very biggest of thanks to Clive, Agnieszka Swita, Mark Westwood, Christina Booth, David Clifford and Soheila Clifford (a star of the future). I look forward to the stage production of She on the New Year.
01Oct Von Herzen Brothers – Borderline, London
07Oct Lazuli/ Kalugin & Sloman/ Dec Burke Band – Summers End, Lydney
08Oct Arena/ Day6/ Casual Silence/ Invertigo - Summers End, Lydney
09Oct Caravan/ Magenta/ Headspace/ Credo/ Concrete Lake - Summers End, Lydney
14Oct Caamora House Concert
21Oct Chantel McGregor – Limelight Theatre, Aylesbury
28Oct It Bites/ Mostly Autumn – O2, Islington
29Oct Also Eden/ Morpheus Rising – 12Bar Swindon
November
The third weekend of the month, and it was time for a Magenta double header – Saturday night in Kingston and Sunday night in Bilston. Saturday Magenta were excellent – there were obviously many technical problems with Tina's in-ear monitor system, and Tina told me the next day that there were quite a few other problems as well. No matter, one of my friends told me that it was the best gig he'd been to this year. But, Sunday was exceptional. Normally I wouldn't go to Bilston as well, but I made the excuse that I could visit my daughter in Birmingham and then go on to the afternoon fun party, complete with a mini acoustic set (Rob Reed & Chris Fry on guitars, Steve Roberts on hand percussion, and later Dan Nelson on a borrowed acoustic bass). A very big thank you to Rob “Batchain” Lees for organising this. And so on to the evening and Magenta were supurb; the crowd was up; the band was up. It's difficult to make comparisons, but I'd say that the performance on that night was the best that I'd ever seen Magenta play.
The next weekend, we were back in Riffs for Also Eden and Godsticks. Also Eden replaced Credo who sadly has to pull out. They played a great set from the new “Think of the Children” album. This is one of my favourite albums of the year. The Godsticks played – Darran Charles was on great form with his interaction with the crowd (Darren – any requests; Crowd – The White Witch) and his band mates (aka the bastards). The biggest downside to all this was that by the time the gig had finished, it was me, David, Rob Ramsay, the guys running the pub and a couple of others left.
The final weekend we were at the Borderline in London where Heather Findlay was playing. I never saw Mostly Autumn when she was singing, and I'd only seen an abbreviated set at the Cambridge Rock Festival before, so I really didn't know what to expect. But she, and her band, were fantastic. Hopefully Heather will do a full length album soon, and I will hopefully see her again on the next tour.
05Nov Larry Miller - South Street, Reading
11Nov David Cross Band/ Credo - The Peel
19Nov Magenta/ Alan Reed - The Peel
20Nov Magenta/ Alan Reed - Robin 2, Bilston
25Nov Godsticks/ Also Eden – Riffs Bar, Swindon
26Nov Heather Findlay/ Shadow of the Sun – Borderline, London
December
Panic Room were on terrific form at the Peel on 3rd December. They ran through many of their regular songs, and threw in a couple surprises – Metalica cover, O Holy Night gorgeously sang & altered version of Sandstorms – Snowstorms. They really have that song nailed – the perfect encore where the band can show how much fun they're having. Panic Room should have a new album out in the new year.
At the beginning of the year Jem Godfrey announced that Frost* was being put on hold. At the time, it seemed that Frost* might have come to an end. I suspected that this was not the case, but I was surprised how soon the project has come back to life. I Spoke to Twang (the promoter of the House of Progression shows) telling him that they intended to do a gig. It was the first that Twang had heard of it; 2 hours later he was selling tickets. A couple of days later, the show was sold out. Frost* were supported by Twats in Hats (ie. Jem & John Mitchell) who played a selection of their material and some covers (Human League's Don't You Want Me stood out). Then it was time for the main event – and Frost* were pretty well as expected – brilliant in places; a great deal of fun. They were definitely undercooked, but it didn't really matter – they are back.
And the very last gig of the year was Larry Miller at the Maltings in Farnham. The place was pretty crowded and Larry Miller (with a new Les Paul guitar) was as entertaining as ever. He remarked to me at the beginning of the year that his solos are ad-libbed, and this was clear tonight. It was also fun watching the rest of the band watching him closely as they seemed unsure how long he'd hold a sustain... The final song of the night, and the year was a cover of Parisienne Walkways.
02Dec The Watch/ Nick Magnus & John Hackett – Lexington Club, London
03Dec Panic Room/ Sarah Dixon – The Peel
09Dec Run Like Hell – Pond House, Reading
16Dec Frost* - The Peel
22Dec Larry Miller – The Maltings, Farnham
So, that's it for 2011. It has been a really fun year, and I'd like to thank all of my friends. Thinking back on the year, there were so many highlights. But the very top highlight for me was Magenta at Bilston. This is a band who don't play often, but when they do, it's always a thoroughly professional performance. On that night, they put in the best performance that I've seen from them.
And looking forward to 2012, I have tickets to the She show in Cheltenham, the Magenta extravaganza in Wath, Steve Hackett, Karnataka (it's been too long), Credo, the CRS awards, Mr So & So/ Konchordat & Threshold. Crimson Sky are doing a gig in Reading and have promised an EP – their first with new singer Jane Setter. Then there are promised new albums from Frost*, RPWL, Magenta(again!), Threshold, Simon Godfrey (under the name Shineback), Panic Room, Crippled Black Phoenix .