I’ve uploaded a few more photos to my fotopic site. Some photos from Cologne dating back to September (pity it was such a dull day, I’ll have to go back there when the sun is shining!), and a few concert photos from Mostly Autumn at the Astoria just before Christmas.
I’ve already listed my best albums of the year. But in a year in which I’ve gone to 31 gigs (more than double last year), they deserve a ‘best of’ as well.
This list is in chronological order because it’s going to be too hard to rank them in order
Two posts on music and genres caught my eye. One is rather snobbish piece by Tristan Jakob-Hoff bemoaning the increasing popularity of “Crossover”.
The word “crossover” is enough to send chills down the spines of even the most resilient of music lovers, implying as it does the debasement of a beloved musical genre for the benefit of a wider population incapable of appreciating it in its pure form. The worst offender against taste and decency is, of course, classical crossover, which takes the most life-enhancing of all art forms and repackages it as a bunch of otiose orchestral arrangements fronted by toothsome poppets selling out their much vaunted “classical training” to cringingly vulgar renditions of My Heart Will Go On and O Sole Mio.
In complete contrast, Brian Micklethwait considers the rigid divide between “classical” and “popular” music to be a historical aberration, caused by the invention of recording technology. During the 20th century, “Popular” music explored the potential of recording and electronics, while “classical” spent it’s time creating recordings of the musical canon of previous centuries. But that’s now coming to an end because, as Mickelthwait says:
The classical recording enterprise is now basically concluded. Oh, there are still occasional gems to be found in among the dross at the battle of the barrel. But, the great works are now recorded, and re-recording them again and again cannot count for as much now as making similar recordings did fifty years ago when classical fans were still hungry to hear their core repertoire. “Classical” musicians must now look to create new repertoire of a sort that can earn them a living, the inverted commas there being because a lot of them won’t really be “classical” musicians anymore and are becoming a lot more like pop musicians, from whom they have much to learn. The music profession will once more be a single (if huge and sprawling) entity, full of varieties of taste and of technique, but without that cavernous gulf that divided it during the twentieth century.
I think he’s right. In the future, we’ll still have both uplifting art and mass-produced dross, they’ll be opposite ends of a continuous spectrum rather than two separate universes. Of course many rock fans have known this all along; I have to wonder if the likes of Tristan Jakob-Hoff is aware of any rock and pop other than the lowest common denominator stuff played on daytime radio. Personally I’ve always thought that future generations will consider Roger Waters to be one of the most significant composers of the 20th century.
Everyone else seems to be doing their annual ‘best of’ list, so it would be remiss of me if I didn’t do one as well. I’m not going to try and rank everything in order.
Album of the Year
Runners-up
Strong Contenders
And there were plenty of other great ones, making 2007 such a great year for music. And then there are a few albums people have raved about although I have yet to hear them, such as the new ones by The Pineapple Thief and Riverside.
This meme comes via The Ministry of Information. Judging by one or two of the questions, I think it originates from somewhere in MySpace. I’ve omitted a couple of questions for which I couldn’t think up sufficiently witty replies.
1. Where were you for New Year 2007?
Slough, where my parents live, a much-maligned town.
2. How did you get the idea for your MySpace name?
Combination of my first name and the username I use on a lot of music-related forums, which also happens to be my domain name.
3. What are you listening to right now?
“Standing In My Shadow” by Breathing Space, not coincidentally the song I’ve currently got on the MySpace profile.
4. Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry?
Who are these ‘celebrities’ of whom you speak, and why should they mean more to me than real friends and relatives?
5. Do you live in a zoo?
Er, no. These questions are starting to get silly.
6. What did you do this morning?
Got up, had breakfast, and returned to Slough from Colchester
7. What does your mother do for a living?
Retired.
8. Where do you work?
Alderley Edge, in the heart of Footballer’s Wives land
9. What are your favourite smells?
Bacon. Vegetarianism cured, instantly!
10. What are the last two digits of your phone number?
The same as the class number of the North British built electric locomotive preserved as part of the National Collection. If you keep on asking silly questions, I will give sillier and sillier answers. So there!
11. What was the last concert you attended?
Mostly Autumn at Crewe Limelight on the 19th December.
12. Who was with you?
I went on my own, but met up with a lot of the usual suspects once I got there.
13. What was the last movie you watched?
It was so long ago I’m not even 100% what it was; it may well have been Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I told you it was a long time ago.
14. What do you dislike at the moment?
That the bad guys seem to be actuve in Pakistan, and this is going to have repercussions on the rest of the world. And I found a friend of mine died on boxing day.
15. What do you crave right now?
Coffee. I knew I’d turned the kettle on for a reason.
16. Did you dream last night?
Yes, but it was pretty surreal, and I can’t remember what it was about.
17. What was the last TV show you watched?
May well have been the last one of “Later with Jools Holland” on Friday, which I watch in the increasingly vain hope that there will be someone decent on there.
18. What is your favourite piece of jewellery?
I’m a non-goth bloke. I don’t do jewellery.
19. Name someone on your Top 8 who is just like you?
I think this refers to my MySpace Top 8 friends, most of which are bands. Those that are not bands would probably sue if anyone suggested I resembled them.
20. Who is your best friend of the opposite sex?
My sister. Do relatives count?
21. Who last IM’d you?
I haven’t used IM for ages, and I can’t remember who it was.
22. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Left.
23. What colour shirt are you wearing?
Dark blue.
24. What colour is your razor?
I have a beard, so I don’t own one.
25. What is your favourite frozen treat?
Swedish glace; a dairy-free ice cream that actually surprisingly palatable.
26. How many tattoos/piercings do you have?
I’m not a Goth. Please pay attention.
27. What are your favourite stores?
Waltons of Altrincham. Until 30 seconds ago, I didn’t realise they actually had a website.
28. Are you thirsty right now?
No. I’ve now made that coffee from question 15 now.
29. Can you imagine yourself ever getting married?
Maybe.
30. Who’s someone you haven’t seen in a while and miss?
I can think of quite a few friends I haven’t seen for ages and really ought to catch up with.
31. What did you do last night?
Been very traditional and place charades. Have you ever tried to act out “Windows 98 user guide”?
32. Do you care what people think about you?
Only people that matter.
33. Have you ever done something to instigate trouble?
Does wearing an Odin Dragonfly T shirt to a Fish gig count?
34. Do you like your nose?
Well, it’s the only nose I’ve got.
35. What colour is your room?
The room I’m in right now is white.
36. When was the last time you worked out?
Not sure if walking to and from the railway station every day counts.
38. Where do you live?
Cheadle Hulme in Cheshire
39. Are you an aggressive driver?
I don’t drive.
40. Who is your cell phone carrier?
T-Mobile
41. What is the thing you’d most want to change about yourself?
I’d like to be able to think of the right words to say to someone at the time, rather than 20 minutes after the event.
42. What colour is your car?
I don’t have a car.
43. What is your favourite colour?
Banger Blue.
44. Do you like mustard?
In moderation.
45. What do you tell yourself when times get hard?
“Bollocks!”
46. Would you ever sky dive?
No. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
47. What do you sleep on?
A bed? I agree with NRT here; this is a silly question. I am a human being, not a cat…
48. Have you ever bid for something on eBay?
A few times. I’ve won two N gauge locomotives, an Arnold BLS Re4/4, and a Roco SBB Re4/4iv
49. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
Yes
50. Would you consider yourself to be fashionable?
Fashion is an evil conspiracy to dupe the gullible and insecure.
51. Do you own a digital camera?
Yes, although getting into gig photography is starting to expose the limitations of my present one.
52. What celebrities have you been compared to?
See my answer to question 4
53. What does your 19th text message say?
My primeval mobile phone doesn’t let me archive more than a dozen or so, so I have no idea.
54. How ’bout your 30th?
See previous answer.
55. Who did you hang out with last night?
Parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, niece. It is Christmas, after all…
56. What are you doing this Saturday?
Don’t know yet. Got any suggestions?
Sunday 16th December at the Astoria Theater in London was my 14 year old nephew’s very first gig. I can’t think of a better band for anyone’s first experience of live music, but then as readers of this blog ought to have realised by now, I’m biased. To his credit, my nephew managed to persuade his dad not to wear a t-shirt older than the youngest member of the band, and that a Marillion “Script” shirt from 1983 was singularly inappropriate 
I’m more used to seeing Mostly Autumn in clubs and small provincial theatres, often with seven people and piles of equipment crammed into tiny stages. It’s quite different seeing them perform in a big venue with an impressive lightshow, and an equally impressive major venue style PA and good acoustics, proving that despite being off the mainstream’s radar screen they are more than equals to many major headline acts. They were pretty loud, but with a good mix; everything was clear with decent separation.
Heather Findlay
And the band put on a great show; a lot tighter than when I last I saw them in York a month ago. Although it’s strange to see them perform without Angie Gordon, who’s on maternity leave, I challenge anyone to say that Anne Marie Helder isn’t an acceptable understudy; her performances on flute and keyboards were flawless and enthusiastic. Heather’s singing and Bryan’s guitar playing were as great as ever.
Anne Marie Helder
This one was billed as an ‘audio-visual show’, with back projection on a screen. But quite frankly they don’t need it; they’re visually exciting enough not to need it; a decent lightshow is quite enough.
Although the setlist was very similar that of York, there were a few changes. It was lovely to hear ‘Shrinking Violet’ again in a concert venue setting, and they played a great version. The version of the traditional carol ‘Silent Night’ was beautiful too, and the epic ‘Mother Nature’ was far stronger than the rather rusty version they played a month ago. There was even a guest appearance from Liam Davidson for one of the Christmas covers they played during the encores.
Crewe Limelight on the 19th was a very different kind of gig; in a small club with a capacity of about 400, with high proportion of hardcore fans, it’s always about atmosphere rather than technical perfection. And if you get their early enough and can make the front row you’re just feet away from the band; it’s like having them play in your living room.
Unfortunately the early part of the gig was spoiled by one of the worst sound mixes I’ve ever heard at any MA show. Now I know you shouldn’t expect a perfect sound from the front row, where you’re basically getting stage sound rather than the PA, but I’ve been at the front in this venue before, and previous ones have been far better than this. Andy Jennings’ drumming overpowered everything else, with Bryan’s lead guitar and Anne Marie Helder’s flute barely audible on the first few numbers. It did get a lot better in the second set, after they turned the backline up a bit.
The setlist for the main set was identical to The Astoria, although the encores were completely different; playing ‘Spirit of Christmas Past’, ‘Shindig’ and a full band version of ‘White Christmas’.
As is usual for the Christmas gigs, the band let their hair down during the encores. Heather wore reindeer antlers borrowed from an audience member for at least one song, and things ended with the front rows being sprayed with snow.
So ends my gigging for 2007, the year when live music ate my life. 31 gigs in places as widely separated as Swansea, London, Edinburgh and Bournemouth, with several artists I first saw a quarter of a century ago, and others that weren’t even born that long in the past. Who knows what 2008 has in store? It will probably start with The Reasoning and Breathing Space in January
Y’know, Dick, I know time is running out, but if you run those industrial-sized shredders too long, they can overload the circuits and start a fire. A word to the wise.
***Dave on that fire in Dick Cheney’s office.
Bad news from Fish
I received a phone call last night from Frank Usher’s partner Sue who informed me that Frank had suffered a heart attack and that he was in Borders General hospital. Thankfully it is only a mild attack but he is being kept in for observation until the end of the week. He is under heavy sedation and unable to take visitors but Sue told me he is smiling although totally exhausted.
Despite Frank’s insistence, in his typically stubborn fashion, that he wanted to play the forthcoming shows the doctors have said it is impossible and highly dangerous. With all three gigs nearly sold out and also sweat boxes it would have been foolhardy of him to even consider performing.
At only 48 hours notice it is impossible to bring in a replacement guitarist and I am left with no other option but to postpone the three shows.
I apologise once again for the inconvenience caused and I am sure a lot of you will be as frustrated as we are at losing what were going to be celebratory shows in the run up to the holidays. As you can possibly imagine we are all shocked and concerned for Frank and wish him a speedy recovery.
I’d been planning to go to the third and final of Fish’s three gigs, in Crewe on Saturday night, which would have been a fitting conclusion to an incredible year of live music. Sadly it’s not to going to be.
I wish Frank Usher a full and speedy recovery, and hope to see him back in action in the spring.
At the Astoria Theatre in London. Although I’ve already seen them seven times this year (and two of the band I’ve seen no less than ten times!), I’m really looking forward to this one. I’m going with my brother-in-law and nephew, and it will be the latter’s first ever gig.
It will be a little bit strange without Angie Gordon, who’s on maternity leave at the moment, but reports of previous shows on this tour suggest that her understudy Anne Marie Helder is a more than acceptable substitute on flute and keys.
Doors open at 6pm. If you’re going, or thinking of going, see you there. I’m sure it’s going to be a good one.
My third gig in nine days at the half-finished building site of a venue known as Manchester Academy 1. This time I noticed the lack of a cloakroom all the more because it had been tipping down with rain all day, so I had to spend the gig clutching a wet coat. Oh well.
Support was an great 45 minute set from Liverpudlian rockers Anathema. They hit the stage so soon after the doors opened that I missed the very start of their set; they were in full flow with ‘Fragile Dreams’ by the time I’d got into the venue. A lot better than they were the last time they supported PT in 2005. The quite atmospheric new material from the forthcoming album “Angels Walk Amongst Us” sounded interesting, and the older material rocked hard.
On paper, Porcupine Tree don’t seem to have the ingredients for a great live band. They don’t interact with the audience much, Steve Wilson is hardly the worlds greatest frontman, and their songs don’t turn into singalongs. But if they weren’t any good I would not have been seeing them for the fifth time in three years. PT gigs are all about the music rather than the band; they’re all great musicians. Steve Wilson has claimed in interviews he’s not a virtuoso guitarist, but with the fluid solos he reels off, who does he think he’s kidding? Colin Edwin and Gavin Harrison have to be one of the tightest rhythm sections I’ve heard this year; in the best tradition of prog-rock a lot of their music is in complex time signatures, which they play flawlessly. Richard Barbieri on keys and John Wesley on second guitar and backing vocals might not take much of the limelight, but they make a big contribution to the rich multi-layered sound.
The sound mix was an order of magnitude better than it had been for Within Temptation nine days before; it was very loud, possibly one of my loudest gigs of the year, but this time there was no muddy bottom end; we had good separation with every instrument heard clearly, especially the drums. The set still drew heavily from this year’s superb “Fear of a Blank Planet”, with much of the rest from “Deadwing” and “In Absentia”. But they also found space for a couple of real oldies, “Dark Matter” and “The Sky Moves Sideways”, and some material from their new EP, “Nil Recurring”. Highlights were many; the epic “Anaethetise”, a brutally heavy version of “Sleep Together”, the Zeppelinesque riffing of “Blackest Eyes”, and a great version of “Trains”.
They promised to be back next year with more brand new material. I’ll be there!
