It’s been 9 months or so since I last wrote a blog. Nine months is the gestation period of humans. I can’t promise anything quite so miraculous but can assure you that the act of conception for this piece will take an awful lot longer than that of the average male.
It seems appropriate at this time to review the past year. 2023 has been a challenging year. Remarkably, the UK has managed to go a year with only one Prime Minister! Unfortunately that has not been down to a more competent, credible government. Far from it, The Tory party leans further and further to the right and has continued to try and appeal to the populism that characterised Boris Johnson’s government. The continuing saga of “stopping the boats” sickens me. Immigration is not quite the issue that the Tory party wants us to believe. Anyone who has been treated by the NHS recently knows that it survives due to the large number of Doctors, Nurses and other staff who are immigrants. Many people owe their lives to these dedicated people. Similarly, anyone who has needed or has parents or relatives that have needed care workers will appreciate that this sector only survives due to the number of immigrants who work in it. We live in a time of low unemployment, immigrants aren’t taking ‘British’ people’s jobs. On the contrary, immigrants form an essential part of the workforce across many sectors of the economy. Inciting racism is disgusting. Nelson Mandela said “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”
The other ever present in 2023 is war. Ukraine’s war against Russia has been displaced from the front pages by Israel’s war against Hamas. I won’t comment on the rights or wrongs of either conflict, I will only say that I have ceased to watch the News. The scenes of human suffering truly horrify me. Surely the human race is better than this? War will only lead to more economic and political refugees which will further inflame right wing political parties worldwide.
Personally, 2023 was a mixed bag. Dominating everything was the passing of my Dad on September 16th. He had been suffering with Alzheimer’s for a couple of years but was still living on his own and managing to cope with support from carers, and particularly, my Brother and my wife. He was admitted to hospital with a water infection which couldn’t be cleared and he passed away from old age. This sad event put paid to a trip to New York with Caitlin and Callum, but we can do that another time. The New York trip was to celebrate Caitlin finishing her degree and qualifying as a Midwife. She managed to get a First and Pat and I are very, very proud of her. She has now started work at Whiston hospital in Merseyside and is living in Crosby, Liverpool. We did manage to spend four days in Barcelona where we met up with Marko, Jeanne, and their kids Larson and Liv. This was our second visit but the first time was only a day trip so it was fantastic to get to know the place a bit better. I really enjoyed visiting the Segrada Familia. It is a truly magnificent building. I honestly believe that it couldn’t be built today. The skills of the Masons are breathtaking.
I also thoroughly enjoyed visiting many excellent record shops and vintage stores. We ate great food and drank in some cool bars. I would happily return but will visit other Spanish cities first.
I actually made a New Year’s resolution for 2023. I think that’s a first for me. My New Year’s resolution was to see a gig every month in 2023. Hardly earth shattering I know, but it did keep me focussed all year and also resulted in us visiting some of the iconic venues that have been on my must see list for a good while.
I wrote about the January and February gigs in my last blog (Peter Kay and (the sublime) Suzanne Vega) so I’m not going to write any more about those shows. March saw us making a welcome return to one our favourite cities, namely Leeds. It had been too long since our last visit so it felt good to get back. The gig was on a Sunday so it was a good excuse to book the Monday off work. We checked into our hotel and headed into the city centre. Pat went shopping, I headed for Crash records on The Headrow. Many of Leeds best record shops are closed on Sundays but Crash was open. Unfortunately, only the new records part of the shop was open. The basement where the second hand stuff is was closed. I half-heartedly flicked through the new albums but there was nothing that caught my eye so I headed for The Corn Exchange to check out vintage clothes and explore Released records. This was much more to my taste and I picked up four albums including the debut album by Rage against the Machine which I had been searching for. After checking out a few vintage shops in the area I headed back to the Headrow and met Pat in The Horse and Trumpet. I like this old style pub as it has a clientele that spans all age groups, serves great beer and is cheap for a city centre pub. We checked out a few other bars a little outside the centre that we had never tried before.
The gig was at a venue that I have been dying to visit, The Brudenell Social Club. I’ve tried to get tickets a good few times but they sell out so quickly. Our niece Steph lived close by when she was a student in Leeds and used to go regularly. She said it was a great venue but the area was not the safest. We were seeing Will Sheff who was the leader of Austin, Texas Band Okkervil River. He had recently split up the band and released his first solo album. Okkervil River record an album with the great Roky Erickson, True love casts out all evil, which is one of my favourite albums. Roky’s story is really tragic and is worth checking out.
Brudenell Social club was as good as I imagined, the crowd in there were really good and really friendly, oh, and the area was fine. Will Sheff played a really good show with many Okkervil River songs as well as his solo stuff. Part of me wanted to hang around after the show to talk to Will about Roky Erikson but that may have seemed rude to Will and would have been unfair to other punters as I had so many questions. I hope to return to this great venue in 2024 so will be checking out gig listings
April saw us visit one of our favourite towns, Bury. We had tickets to see Naomi Bedford and the Ramshackle band. I was not familiar with her music but the biog on The Met theatre website persuaded me to buy tickets as I really liked the description of the band and the fact that Naomi’s partner Paul Simmonds was also a member of The Men they couldn’t hang sealed the deal. The date was April 22nd which happened to be Record Store Day. I scoured the RSD releases and the only one that I really wanted was an Alex Chilton album. I headed straight to Wax and Beans, Bury’s excellent record shop. I was disappointed to see that the queue was very long. A guy came along and asked what album I was looking for. I told him and he confirmed that they had a copy in stock. I queued for nearly an hour and was still not in immediate danger of getting in to the shop so I cut my losses and headed for the Two Tubs for a few pints. We enjoyed visiting several more of Bury’s finest pubs before heading back to the hotel for a power nap. When we arrived at the venue I was disappointed to find that the show had been moved from the Derby Hall which is the main theatre to the smaller Box theatre. I guess ticket sales dictated the move, I had front row seats but the Box theatre is open seating so I missed out there! The show was excellent. Naomi was backed by two acoustic guitarists and a Banjo player, all were excellent musicians. I didn’t know any of the songs but it didn’t matter. Naomi came across as really friendly and I wouldn’t hesitate to see another show if I see her touring again. After the show, I bought a few CD’s as touring musicians rely on merchandise sales to supplement earnings. All are really good. We had a few post show drinks around Bury before returning to the hotel. A great day!
May’s gig took place in Barrow. Only a short hop across Walney Bridge and onto the mainland for us. The show was John Cooper Clarke at the Forum. I liked John Cooper Clarke when I first heard him at Gims’ house. He had the Psycle Sluts EP. I had pretty much lost touch with him aside from his occasional Sugar Puffs commercials. I read his autobiography in 2022,which is excellent. When I saw he was playing Barrow, I ordered tickets. The Forum is a decent venue with a capacity of around 500. Sadly, the majority of shows there are tribute acts so we don’t go too often. The JCC show was a sell-out. Support was provided by his friend and fellow Mancunian Mike Garry. The following was taken from Mike’s website;
Described by iconic designer Peter Saville as “a genius”, Mike’s work focuses on the city and its people, championing the underdog and finding beauty amongst the ugliness and triumph amongst tragedy. He has performed his poetry since 1995 and has worked in the USA, Hong Kong, and throughout Europe and has been on continuous tours with John Cooper Clark since 2011.
He also performs in Prisons, Mental Health Units, and Children’s Homes and is passionate about bringing live poetry to places it wouldn’t normally reach. He was a Poet in Residence at Kendal Calling, Strangeways Prison and regularly performs at festivals like Latitude, Isle of White and Festival Number 6. His poems have been published in numerous newspapers, and magazines and read on TV and radio.
I really enjoyed his poems and stories. He finished with his tribute to Factory records supremo Tony Wilson, St. Anthony. This was very moving indeed.
I enjoyed John Cooper Clarke but perhaps I suffered from a poetry OD. It was good to hear a lot of his familiar material such as Twat and Beesley street however I thought he delivery was too fast at times. It was good to see a national act at the Forum and fantastic that Barrovians made the show a sell-out.
June saw us returning to Bury to finally see Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express. This show had been cancelled 3 times! Twice due to Covid and once due to Chuck being ill. I got an unpleasant surprise when trying to book our usual hotel as I was quoted £120/night, more than double the usual rate. This was due to a festival in Heaton Park Manchester. I ended up booking a hotel in Bolton as there is a regular bus service between the two towns.
Colleagues at work looked horrified when I told them we were staying in Bolton. They said it was a dying town full of miserable people. Caitlin and Callum are season ticket holders at Bolton Wanderers but never visit the town centre as the ground is now on a retail park off the M6. We checked in our hotel which seemed excellent value and walked into the town centre. We called in a record shop on route which had excellent reviews on Google. I didn’t last long in there, prices were more like those I’d expect to see in an Estate agents window! Even if I had negotiated a 50% discount, prices would still have been higher than those on offer with Discogs. We walked around the town centre, it was a Sunday but most of the shops were open and there were plenty of folk around. We found Ye olde Man & Scythe, a pub that was first mentioned in a charter from 1251, the pub was then rebuilt in 1636! The pub boasted an excellent selection of beers. The locals in there were a friendly bunch who kept us entertained. We visited a couple more pubs and had a meal. Everywhere was busy and people were friendly.
We took an Uber to Bury which cost less than a tenner. We sat outside Automatic, the bar attached to the Met and enjoyed a couple of pints. Chuck Prophet was excellent and played for 2 ½ hours. It was the second time we’ve seen him and the first chance to hear songs from his 2020 album The Land that time forgot in a live setting. Chuck is a brilliant guitarist and well worth checking out if you get the chance.
(333) Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express “You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)” Paris 2023 – YouTube
July saw us visiting one of my favourite venues which happens to be in one of my least favourite cities. The gig was Generation Sex at Manchester Apollo. I started off the afternoon visiting a few of the record shops in the Northern Quarter. I couldn’t find anything that I was looking for or anything else for that matter. There was a good selection, but I find Manchester record shops on the expensive side. As it was raining in Manchester for a change, we headed to the Oyster bar for a few beers. There is always a good selection of beers on tap and we even ate in there.
I was really looking forward to the gig. Generation Sex are a ‘Supergroup’ consisting of Billy Idol and Tony James from Generation X and Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. As you would expect, the setlist was a mixture of Gen X and Sex Pistols song with the odd Billy Idol solo song thrown in. I enjoyed the show but Steve Jones seemed to be going through the motions. Billy Idol tried to keep everything going but I got the impression that it would be better to see one of his solo shows.
Pretty Vacant
Ready Steady go
Wild Youth
Bodies
Untouchables
Black Leather
Kiss me deadly
Dancing with myself
Silly thing
King Rocker
God Save the Queen
My Way
Encore
Problems
(I’m not your) Stepping stone
The greatest Rock’n’Roll swindle
When we got back to our hotel, there was a group of six younger people at the bar. They were obviously together but, instead of getting a round, they all bought their own drinks. I got pissed off waiting so went to bed early. I fucking hate Manchester!
(334) Generation Sex – The Greatest Rock N Roll Swindle – Manchester Apollo 11 July 2023 – YouTube
July ended with the aforementioned trip to Barcelona. August saw me fulfil another ambition.
We got to see a gig at The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge. I’ve wanted to visit this legendary venue since I first read about it. Every time I had tried to get tickets, they were already sold out. I was over the moon when I saw that one of my favourite bands were playing there, Hurray for the Riff Raff. They were supposed to play at Barrow library a couple of years ago but the show was cancelled so I was delighted to get tickets for the Trades club show. We stayed at The White Lion hotel. It was worth every penny of the £150/night price. Car parking is free, the rooms are excellent and the freshly cooked breakfast was delicious. The pub itself is excellent with a good choice of beers and the food is excellent. We had a walk around Hebden Bridge which was quiet as it was a Sunday. We had a couple of beers in one of the other pubs but happily returned to finish off the afternoon in the White Hart.
We arrived early at the Trades club but the bar was already busy. Drink Prices are really cheap, the food looked excellent and the punters were a friendly bunch. The support act was Katie Malco. She came onstage with just an electric guitar looking and sounding extremely nervous. She was given a warm reaction by the crowd who paid attention all the way through her set. She visibly grew in confidence and clearly enjoyed the gig. I bought her latest album on vinyl from her which is very good. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for future releases.
Hurray for the Riff Raff played as a duo, singer Alynda Segarra and her guitarist who I didn’t catch his name. It was a fantastic show. The sell-out crowd were really into the music and Alynda clearly enjoyed herself. I hope to see the full band if they tour the UK next year.
I will also be trawling the Trades club website as I definitely want to see another show at this great venue.
For Septembers gig it was a trip to our favourite city. The show was Dexys at the Liverpool Philharmonic. We stayed at a Holiday Inn on Albert Dock. After checking in we walked into the city. I was struck by the number of tourists from all over the world walking around Albert Dock. There are many bars and restaurants and The Beatles museum is located there. While Pat went shopping I headed for Dig Vinyl and invested in a few albums before adjourning to The Globe for a pint. I used to love this small, friendly pub but have somewhat fallen out with it as its Instagram feed is always full of Koppites. We then walked back towards Albert Dock and stopped in at The Baltic Fleet, one of Liverpool’s best pubs.
We ate at a place next to our hotel. The food was OK but was slightly marred by being charged £7 for a pint for lager! Memo to self, avoid drinking on Albert Dock.
Prior to the gig we went for a beer in one of my favourite pubs on Earth, Ye Cracke. This place on Rice Street is where John Lennon took Cynthia on their first date. There is always a diverse, interesting set of punters in here. The juke box is ace and the art work (much of it for sale) on the walls is brilliant.
I love the Philharmonic theatre. It has great acoustics and the view is good from all of the seats. I was really looking forward to the Dexys show. I think their latest album, The Feminine Divine is excellent. Sadly, the show didn’t live up to my expectations. The band was just two keyboardists, a drummer and a trombonist. There was also a female backing singer/violinist. This gave the show more of a Karaoke feel than a gig. Kevin Rowland was very good but I still couldn’t get into the show. The first half saw them play the Feminine Devine in full. The second half saw the band playing a decent selection of older Dexy’s classics. Predictably, the show finished with Come on Eileen which had the crowd up dancing and singing along. The first encore was Geno, a song that I love. It would have really benefitted from a full band belting it out but……..
I was in a minority, the crowd loved the show. Friends on Twitter raved about it. Maybe, we were not in the right frame of mind. My Dad was in hospital and we were getting ready to fly to New York.
(335) Dexys “Geno” @ Liverpool Philharmonic 07/09/23 – YouTube
As I mentioned earlier, my Dad passed away 9 days after the show. The rest of September passed in sadness. I wrote the Eulogy which was cathartic in a way and brought it home to me what a fantastic person he was. Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease.
After the trauma of September it was good to get back to whatever passes as normality. My Dad’s passing made my mind up so I started October by giving my boss six months’ notice that I was taking early retirement. Octobers gig saw us visiting a venue that I have been meaning to check out for ages. The Brewery Arts centre at Kendal is less than an hour away and attracts some really good acts. The show we had tickets for was Kirsten Hersh. The former Throwing Muses leader is now an author and solo artist. Her latest album Clear Pond Road is probably my favourite new album of 2023 although my latest purchase False Lankum by Lankum is posting a late challenge. A traffic accident outside of Ulverston turned an easy 45 minute drive into a ninety minute nightmare. We arrived at the venue with only 10 minutes to spare. I was disappointed that there were only about 50 people at the show. This is insulting considering Kirsten Hersh’s status. I had read reviews of her tour, she was playing two sets and reading passages from her book. Probably due to the small audience, she only played one set with no book reading. That said, it was a great show. Kirsten was accompanied by Pete Harvey on Cello. She played songs from Clear Pond Road as well as her other solo albums and a few Throwing Muses classics. I really enjoyed the show but the small crowd depressed me. I notice that The Brewery Arts centre is booking an increasing number of tribute acts. I know they have a place but it is a sad reflection on people’s tastes when tribute shows outnumber those by original artists.
November saw us back in Manchester but thankfully not in the city centre. The gig was at the Lowry theatre on Salford Quays so we booked a hotel there. After checking in we decided to explore Salford Quays as we had not been there in years. Manchester United were at home so there were people from all over the world sporting the latest replica kits heading to Old Trafford. Fortunately, it was a warm, sunny November day ( are you reading climate change deniers?) so we found a table outside a bar. Everywhere was full of United fans.
It was our first visit to the Lowry theatre. We have been to the art gallery but had never seen a show there. Tonight’s band were Robert Plant and Saving Grace. I first saw Robert Plant at Knebworth 1979 with the mighty Led Zeppelin. Since then I have seen Page and Plant twice and this was to be my fourth or fifth time seeing him solo. I didn’t think he would ever beat the shows he did with Band of Joy but I was delighted to be proved wrong. This show was undoubtedly the standout gig of 2023. Plant was magnificent, the band were magnificent and co-vocalist Suzi Dian was superb. The show was a sell-out, the theatre was superb and the show was awesome. We had a beer nearby after the show before returning to our hotel. We got drinks in the bar and I sat down to watch highlights of the Everton game on the TV. There was a table of Southern United fans next to us. One of them started to loudly give his opinion about Everton Football club. Pat walked over, smacked him ‘round the back of his head and told him to keep his opinions to himself. God I love that woman!!
Gospel Plow
The Cuckoo
Let the four winds blow
Friends
Is that you
Too far from you
May Queen
Everybody’s song
It’s a beautiful day today
The Rain song
As I roved out
It don’t bother me
Four sticks
Angel Dance
Encore
House of Cards
Gallows Pole
And we bid you goodnight
So we finally got to December, one more gig to achieve my New Year’s resolution. I struggled finding anything that I fancied. After a Google search, I saw that The Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra were playing Manchester Apollo on 22nd December. We decided to have a blow out so, with the aid of Tesco Clubcard points we booked a night in The Midland Hotel in Manchester. We normally go for a Premier Inn as Manchester Hotel prices are ludicrous but, what the hell, it’s Christmas! After driving around Manchester for ages trying to find the car park we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out for a beer or 10. As per normal in Manchester, the weather was lousy. We headed towards Deansgate Locks and went in a pub called The Deansgate. It was an OK pub but £13.50 for two pints, really?? We then went to a pub that Callum had recommended The Peveril of the Peak. The pub is ok, sort of student chic. The clientele, however, were a bunch of nobs in the main. Again, £12 for two pints was steep. Next up was another Callum recommendation, The Britons Protection. We realised when we got in there that we had been in before. I think we were going to see Imelda May at the Bridgewater theatre the last time we were in there. I remember being stood next to Neil Morrisey of Men Behaving Badly fame. It’s an OK pub but £12 for two pints is too steep. It was a pleasure to find actual pubs in central Manchester rather than bars but the beer prices are ridiculous. Similar Liverpool pubs are much cheaper and the clientele friendlier.
We walked to Chinatown and had a great meal before heading back to the Midland to change.
We got to the Apollo early and headed to the bar to drink ridiculously overpriced wine. The show was excellent. Jools was great and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra were fabulous. Of the guest vocalists, ex Selecter front person Pauline Black was a standout. She was accompanied by her bandmate Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson, they certainly got the crowd up singing and dancing. Jools’ stalwart Ruby Turner finished the show and as usual she was excellent. A really enjoyable show and a great way to end our musical year. We headed back to the Midland and ordered cocktails. £30 for two drinks felt like par for the course! The hotel was superb. Our room was immaculate, staff were good and the breakfast was awesome. I still fucking hate Manchester though!
I feel proud of myself in sticking with and achieving my New Year’s resolution. I don’t think making them will become a habit but I enjoyed it this year. My top 3 gigs of the Year were
- Robert Plant
- Suzanne Vega
- Hurray for the Riff Raff
Leaving Jools Holland out of the top 3 was tough but the Trades Club tipped in Alynda’s favour!
As I type, it’s Saturday 30th December 2023 so the year is pretty much over. Like most years, it’s been a mix of highs and lows like. Caitlin qualifying as a Midwife and starting work for the NHS, Britain’s greatest institution, was the undoubted highlight. Pat and I are so proud of the effort she has put in. Losing my Dad was the low point. It’s a horrible feeling realising that both of my parents have passed. My Dad and I disagreed about politics, we disagreed about Football, he was a koppite, I’m a Bluenose so opposites in many ways. I looked up to him more than anyone. He gave me so much wise advice over the years.
On a less personal note, 2023 has been truly frightening when considering the world we live in. Two major wars and the threat of China capitalising on the West being distracted by events in Palestine and Ukraine are terrifying. At home, it seems we are witnessing the death throes of this cruel Conservative government. Sadly, The Labour party led by the underwhelming Kier Starmer only promise policies that are a lighter shade of Blue. As a nation we must fight to preserve our NHS. The Tories are desperate to privatise it. This will help them achieve the Holy Grail of a Trade deal with the USA which will, in turn, justify Brexit. Ask Americans how much Health insurance costs. If that’s what you truly believe is the way forward then kiss any retirement plans you have goodbye. You will be working until you die and will need to continually downsize to afford your ever increasing insurance premiums. Perhaps you should reflect on this as you sip on your pint of wine.
2024 will see Pat and I retiring. We have no concrete plans but you can bet that travel and music will be at the fore front.