Blog: Now You're Not Here

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On Saturday I noticed that The Sheepwalk, just down the road from us in Leytonstone, has a regular club called What's Cookin' which has a BIZARRE array of People I've Actually Heard Of playing, for FREE! Martin Stephenson's played there, the Broken Family Band are on soon, and in October it's HANK WANGFORD!! Eh? What? How did that happen?

THAT is likely to snatch the record for Proper Gig Nearest My House, but until then it is likely to be LAST night's gig, at The Pleasure Unit in Bethnal Green. I went to see The Gresham Flyers and The Chemistry Experiment, both of whom were ACE. The Gresham Flyers were doing their First Gig Ever, and as is THE LAW there were LOADS of people there to see them. As ISN'T the law, however, they were REALLY good, especially as song called (i think) "Sex With Strangers". I was rather impressed by the whole thing, not least seeing Mr Andrew Newman, who i've known for YEARS, DRUMMING. I didn't know he could DO that!

There was time for some CHAT with several DELIGHFTUL people, until eventually The Chemistry Experiment took to the stage. I've said it many times but they REALLY DO look like A BAND, it is a beautiful thing to see their DYNAMIC on stage. They've also got much more CONFIDENT and apparently RELAXED on stage, which suits the super groovy sound they've got now. I don't like to Pick Favourites, but it has to be said, Paul The Bass Player is an ESPECIAL STAR in the line-up. MAN! He is SO GOOD at playing the bass, it is not something you see often!

Anyway, it was all dead good until they got to the last song, when they played their cover of "Forever Autumn". I knew this was going to happen, and thought I was prepared for it, but when they started - OH MY! I hadn't realised quite HOW MUCH this particular song would RESONATE. The album "War Of The Worlds" (along with the red and blue Beatles albums) was the SOUNDTRACK of the childhoods of MILLIONS of us, yet it seems to have been forgotten or, at best, laughed off as something "seventies", so we tend not to hear it very often. As soon as they began playing it though, BRANES all around the room went POP - also POP! - and GRINS exploded everywhere. People cheered FLUTE RIFFS! It may sound odd to say it, but it was SO VERY EXCITING that the band looked a little embarrassed by it. They're meant to be releasing it as a single, which will obviously be a GOOD THING, but i doubt it will compare with the experience of seeing it actually played LIVE. Reader, it DONE MY HEAD IN.

posted 1/8/2005 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

Hi Mr Hibbett, it's Gresham Flyer Sharon here.

Thanks for the support with the gig, and sorry I didn't get to meet you (Andrew's told me all about you).

When I heard rumours of Forever Autumn, I dismissed them. NO ONE should try it. But The Chemistry Experiment excelled at it. My parents were at the gig on Sunday, and they brought me up on War of the Bloody Worlds. It's great to see that Stephen Spielberg hasn't banished the beauty of Jeff Wayne to the vaults forever. :)

Sharon
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posted 3/8/2005 by shaz

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