A brief-ish blog this week. What are you doing reading a blog, anyway? Don’t you have mince pies to quaff?
In a musical note (geddit?) to last week, I went to two gigs – Gogol Bordello on Thursday, followed by The Doors Alive, a tribute band to (surprise!) The Doors on Friday.
Gogol Bordello appear to have discovered the secret of perpetual motion. They leaped on stage, leaped around on stage, and leaped off stage again, throwing a variety of ‘shapes’ in gypsy-vogueing style. Anthemic song followed anthemic song – they do seem to have rather a large range of anthems. I was particularly impressed with the bass guitar, which seemed to blend funk and reggae rhythms into many of the songs – a cowboy/ country&western/ reggae/ mariachi type song being a particular standout.
There was a surprising amount of wine throwing from the stage. I hope that the bottle contents had been replaced by ribena or similar and that it wasn’t genuine alcohol that was showering the front rows – if so, what a waste!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Doors Alive. As it turned out, I got a very good tribute act, who had clearly studied all the moves and the accents. Exemplary musicianship all round, coupled with a pretty good impression of Jim Morrison’s vocal range – as the singer was at pains to point out, they were ‘a band, not an icon’.
They played a nice mixed up range of classic tracks, some a little more unexpected than others, and got the crowd involved very nicely. I was impressed. Definitely worth a watch if they’re around your area.
In a musical note (geddit?) to last week, I went to two gigs – Gogol Bordello on Thursday, followed by The Doors Alive, a tribute band to (surprise!) The Doors on Friday.
Gogol Bordello appear to have discovered the secret of perpetual motion. They leaped on stage, leaped around on stage, and leaped off stage again, throwing a variety of ‘shapes’ in gypsy-vogueing style. Anthemic song followed anthemic song – they do seem to have rather a large range of anthems. I was particularly impressed with the bass guitar, which seemed to blend funk and reggae rhythms into many of the songs – a cowboy/ country&western/ reggae/ mariachi type song being a particular standout.
There was a surprising amount of wine throwing from the stage. I hope that the bottle contents had been replaced by ribena or similar and that it wasn’t genuine alcohol that was showering the front rows – if so, what a waste!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Doors Alive. As it turned out, I got a very good tribute act, who had clearly studied all the moves and the accents. Exemplary musicianship all round, coupled with a pretty good impression of Jim Morrison’s vocal range – as the singer was at pains to point out, they were ‘a band, not an icon’.
They played a nice mixed up range of classic tracks, some a little more unexpected than others, and got the crowd involved very nicely. I was impressed. Definitely worth a watch if they’re around your area.
It remains for me to thank Scott and Amy of Southcart Books, plus host A. Stuart Williams for another fantastic book reading event last Saturday. I took the opportunity to try out a new short story, 'The Wolves of Winter' written specially for the occasion, on the lovely audience, who applauded loudly with ABSOLUTELY NO COERCION WHATSOEVER (ahem). Thanks to fellow author Steven C. Davis, and Walsall photographer Craig ‘Beasty’ Beas, that reading has been recorded for posterity, so I shall be unleashing it on you not-so-unsuspecting-populace very soon...
And finally, don’t forget you can download a free short story, Storm Watch, courtesy of me and my publishers The Last Line, available in a range of formats. And if you like what you read, volumes 1 & 2 of the Automata Wars are also available for kindle (and we now have only six(6) physical, paperback copies of The Home Front left!)
See you next week...
And finally, don’t forget you can download a free short story, Storm Watch, courtesy of me and my publishers The Last Line, available in a range of formats. And if you like what you read, volumes 1 & 2 of the Automata Wars are also available for kindle (and we now have only six(6) physical, paperback copies of The Home Front left!)
See you next week...
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