Blog: The Good Ship

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I spent most of the weekend LOLLING AROUND, not doing much and generally having a NICE time. I particularly enjoyed doing a big pile of IRONING whilst watching my "Life On Mars" DVD - oh yes, my life is such a marathon of ROCK AND ROLL INTENSITY that watching TV whilst IRONING is, when I do it, EXTREME ENTERTAINMENT. To the MAX!

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon I got into my (IRONED) Gig Trousers and set off for Kilburn, for the Sorted All-Dayer to promote Hollow Smoke (now available in SHOPS, on AMAZON or from Sorted Records). I arrived to find Former Utopia (aka GEORGE) just finishing, with a much LOUDER sound than previously witnessed by me. Tom was already there, Tim soon arrived, and then we were joined by Jimmy from The Bobby McGees and Charlie from the Fighting Cocks. At one point I was sat with Tim, Jimmy and Charlie and it felt like i was in a CHRISTMAS CROSSOVER SPECIAL: When People I Hang Around With At Gigs UNITE! Seeing Jimmy and Charlie talk to each other also made me want to LARF out LOUD at the GRATENESS of such things - i meet some TOP QUALITY people in this Life Of ROCK upon which I have embarked, but they tend to be positioned in different parts of the country. If Mr E Bewsher, for instance, had also turned up i think my BRANE might have exploded.

We then watched the bands (various) who were on before us, and I was a bit STUNNED by the QUALITY on display. I've been to a LOT of Leicester Bands All-Dayers and usually... well, let's just say that usually there are obvious "stand-out" bands who are... um... even MORE good than the others. Yes. As I may have mentioned last week, something seems to have happened since I've been away and suddenly Leicester is bursting at the seems with GRATE bands, all of whom are very different from each other. Pacific Ocean Fire, for instance (who contain two chaps I have seen at gigs for over a DECADE but never really spoken to) are NOTHING AT ALL like Chapter 24, but both were ACE - I especially liked the way Chapter 24 pulled the song titles out of a HAT instead of having a setlist. I also enjoyed our OLD PALS, Lazarus Clamp and The Bobby McGees, both SETS of dead nice people who continue to ROCK ON whilst still being GOOD. It was ALL good!!

It was quite a long afternoon though, it was nearly four hours before we were able to get going, but eventually me, Tim and Tom (or TEAM CLEATOR MOOR) took to the stage, and did THIS:

We Only Ever Meet In Church

The Advent Calendar Of FACT

Mental Judo

The Gay Train

Leave My Brother Alone

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Easily Impressed

The first couple of songs were EXTREMELY shaky - we'd not had a chance to soundcheck, we couldn't hear much, and my guitar went fairly rapidly out of tune, but once we'd got used to being there we began, I believe, to ROCK. SATISFYINGLY people came over to the GIG area and - heavens be praised! - many people began to DANCE. It was GRATE! We finished a bit sweaty but a LOT pleased.

Tim had to get home so we packed him up and had a GOODBYE HUG (of ROCK), then Tom ALSO had to get going, so we repeated the process. I felt a bit sad to be saying cheerio to them at this point - that's the end of our ROCKING YEAR together, and it's been a HECK of YEAR for all that sort of thing. However, I STEELED myself and returned to the FRAY, intending to have a quick look at The Dirty Backbeats and then sneak out, BUT they were SO VERY EXCITING to watch and also EXCELLENT I ended up staying to watch the whole set. As I say - bands from Leicester never usually USED to be this much fun to watch (HONOROUBLE EXCEPTIONS: Prolapse, Voon [hem hem], GNARF!) and it was a JOY to see.

I went for the train EAST with George and after some debate I decided NOT to follow the Jubilee line all the way to Stratford and change at Bond Street, which turned out to be an EXCELLENT decision as I got the Last Train East and spent the next half hour WINCING as, at every station to Liverpool Street, people FLEW onto the platform and went WHAM into the closing doors as they missed the train.

I got home KNACKERED but relieved - forty nine down, ONE to go!

posted 18/12/2006 by MJ Hibbett

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