Gigs.

Got Big Thief at the Academy in Machester in 3 weeks and James Taylor Quartet at Band on the Wall in May for some heavy Hammond action, oh and Pavement in September, also got tickets for my 15th Greenman festival, should get the line up soon. 2022 is shaping up pretty well but plenty of room for some more gigs yet.

Just got tickets for a unique brand of post-rock-damaged second wave emo. Dowhatnow?
The ticket site’s description of The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die 🙂
I thought they was just a nice bit of indie rock

The Castaways are playing at Matt n Phreds in Manchester (Tib St) tonight, tickets haven’t sold out yet so some will be available on the door

Come and Heckle a Singletracker 🙂

This last week has been a very bad week for gigs in the Verses household.

1) Got notification that the Aerosmith gig in Milan has been cancelled after being deferred twice.

2) Also, got persuaded to take Miss V to see Harry Styles.

3) I’ve not gone to any of the Independent Venue gigs this week (local town never normally has any, this year has several), as my covid-cautious parents are visiting for a belated xmas this weekend.

Harrumph!

Conversely, with my glass half-full instead… I still get to have a weekend in Milan with some mates, I get to spend a day in London taking my daughter to her first gig, and I get to see my parents for the first time since October 🙂

Kurupt FM tomorrow night!! 😀

Just out of she drew the gun at hebden trades club….bloody marvelous! First standing up gig since covid, great stuff!

While she sleeps at a home town gig in Sheffield.
So unbelievably good, sat in the hotel bar calming down right now. Too damn good.

also got tickets in the next few months for new model army, amyl and the sniffers and wildhearts.

Plenty of time for the WHs to split up and reform a couple of times before then

baaaaah, but good call @Northwind

Please see a statement below from the band:
“We’re very sorry to announce, due to personal issues within the band, we will have to reschedule our show at The Engine Shed Lincoln on 2nd April 2022 to Saturday 5th November 2022.
Certain problems need to be addressed and rest assured we will be back stronger and healthier.
Att tickets will be valid for the new dates and we look forward to seeing you all then”

I have a ticket to see Alt-J perform a stripped down semi-acoustic set in Oxford in May. Not my thing but they are the current lady friend’s favourite band.

Plenty of time for the WHs to split up and reform a couple of times before then

This is also true of my current lady friend and I.

Pretty certain the last gig I went to was Jesus Jones at the 100 Club, in .. 2019?

Might see if Killing Joke tickets are still available, I think there are gatherings afoot this year.

6 music festival in Cardiff 1-3 April line up been announced this morning. Tickets on sale Thursday. All the usual suspects. Wife and daughter keen but daughter already got tickets for thundercat Manchester Friday the 1st. Could be a good weekend though.
Also just decided to go to blue dot festival this summer. Not sold out unlike first choice of greenman. Bjork headlining. Last saw her reading 89 with the sugarcubes. I wonder what will be different!😂

Just back from The Wailers gig in Glasgow…just mighty 👍👍

Woo, we’re going to a festival! A proper one, with camping- haven’t done that since Reading 2015. Just a little un, Kubix, but still, quite excited. I’ll have to dust off the special worthless festival tent.

I’m off to see Fly Anakin tomorrow in Brighton
And Shy Girl next Sunday in Bristol.
I bet no-one else is! 😀

Got tickets to see Ride play a secret warm up gig at Bedford esquires in April. Only holds 150 people so they sold out in about a minute apparently. Seen them a few times before but never at a decent small venue.

Also got tickets to the Milton Keynes reggae festival (yes Milton Keynes!!) and the Saturday line up looks stellar… Mungos hi fi, Holly cook, musical youth, Prince fatty, mad professor and a whole load more….last year’s was ace so really looking forward to this year…
Also have tickets for the Pearl Jam and Pixies gig at Hyde park which was postponed right through COVID. This should be good as murder capital are announced on the guests.

Folly group in a few weeks time at the Craufurd (my local) in MK might be quite good also.

Just booked ginger wildheart for april. What are the odds of him breaking up with himself before then?

rescheduled (at least twice) from two years ago and finally happening on Wednesday, nukes permitting:

(wish I hadn’t mentioned nukes… 🙁 )

Big Thief at the O2 Academy in Brissle last night we’re on amazing form, much heavier in parts than when I’ve seen them in the past, which turned out to be three years ago at SWX in Brissle, confirmed during a conversation with Big Jeff™ © ® afterwards.

Beans In Toast at The Black Prince in Northampton on a Thursday night in May. It should drag out a load of local faces I’ve not seen in a long time.

I wonder what will be different!😂

Well, there won’t be a shouty Icelandic bloke with her, which is a plus.
Saw her at Reading in ‘95, I think it was, same time as Foo Fighters first performance. As I didn’t know who they were, I went and saw Björk, and I’m damned glad I did.

Upcoming gigs are Goldfrapp, doing a Felt Mountain tour, playing Bath Forum, and Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, also at Bath Forum – a local gig for both of them and me as well. Which is nice. 😁

Fly Anakin was an utter joy last night. About 50 people in a sweet little Brighton theatre.
Only problem he was enjoying himself so much (especially after the tequila I handed him onstage!) he went well over curfew and the drive back from Brighton was a bit late.

LCD Soundsystem!

Got Palaye Royale supported by Charming Liars at the Camden Roundhouse tomorrow eve, and a day at Country to Country in London on Sunday – should be a good weekend!

well it had to happen didnt it, i think @Northwind jinxed it with…..

Plenty of time for the WHs to split up and reform a couple of times before then

so from……

Please see a statement below from the band:
“We’re very sorry to announce, due to personal issues within the band, we will have to reschedule our show at The Engine Shed Lincoln on 2nd April 2022 to Saturday 5th November 2022.
Certain problems need to be addressed and rest assured we will be back stronger and healthier.
Att tickets will be valid for the new dates and we look forward to seeing you all then”

this morning i received……

“We regret to announce that due to ongoing issues within the band we will be
taking a hiatus. In light of this decision all future live shows will be
cancelled. We apologise sincerely to our fans, friends, families and work
colleagues for any inconvenience this may cause. We can’t thank you enough for
your continued support over the years.”

still, as Northwind says, plenty of time for them to reform still, its not a done deal yet 🤣

Scalping were great a few weeks ago in Cardiff, not often you see Big Jeff this side of the bridge

Group Listening were also great last night – Ex Sweet Baboo and another fella doing covers of ambient tracks on Piano / Clarinet.

So it’s exactly 2 years since the Last Gig, for me. It was pretty amazing to commemorate it with 3 nights of the Hold Steady in London.

I’ve probably done a lot of posts in this thread with the words “hold steady” in them, which in itself is quite a hold steady thing to do. But it’s true, there’s so much joy in what we do and it’s incredible to have it back isn’t it? A year ago, they did a livestream from Brooklyn which was such a lifeline for me, I cried my way through a bunch of the songs, got absolutely shitfaced then went for a walk in the thundersnow at 5am and it just put me back on a good track. In some ways these real shows didn’t hit as hard but then maybe I didn’t need to be hit so hard this time!

I was chatting to a mate about how I’d love to see Rammstein live, for the spectacle as much as anything.

Low and behold, the next day Spotify informed me that they’re playing in Cardiff in June – seems to be a rescheduled gig that I tried to get tickets for but failed to do so in 2019 (for a 2020 show).

I’m now the owner of a pair of tickets. They might be right at the back and right at the top of the stadium, but I don’t care!

They might be right at the back and right at the top of the stadium, but I don’t care!

Chances are you’ll still feel the pyro, depending how serious Germany is about not buying fuel from Putin.

Nice saturday all-afternooner coming up at the Fleece in Bristol 9th April 1pm till late, Idles-clones and weird-rock bands. Fiver on the door if you say “Corncob” apparently. Nice beers next door at the 7 Stars.

Neat Irish band playing the Crown in St Nicks a week later. Da Vinci Code or something. I’ve really missed just checking out random gigs the last couple of years.

Just bought tickets for Parquet Courts at the Barrowlands this June 👍🏼

Half man half biscuit on Friday at Rock City. I wonder if they have cleaned the carpet during lockdown?

Last gig was Attilla the Stockbroker, pre pandemic, with the same mate. Can’t wait 🙂

Yay! Gilla Band (formerly Girl Band, changed name due to, well, political reasons beyond my understanding, but hey ho) tickets bought for October. They were amazing a few years back, so that’s one to look forward to. My mate got me an Autechre ticket, same month. Wasn’t really into it last time I saw them, so better make the most of it!
Bobby Mair is first though, next Friday, excellent ☺️

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly a couple of nights ago- nothing too clever, just a really joyous runthrough of his first album, which I played to death back when it came out. Really good backing band, interesting supports, lots of ba ba ba bas. Lovely.

went to see new model army at lincoln on thursday. never seen them before (i know) and tbh i was a bit bored. didnt play any of my favourites from the early days (vengeance, christian militia etc) and there was only the odd song that i thought was ok.
my fault, in retrospect i think i should have gone to see them in the 80s.

A quick snap I took at one of the Hold Steady shows that Northwind mentioned above:

I’m pretty sure that’s my hands doing the shadow puppets just under craig’s guitar

Goldfrapp last night at the Forum in Bath, hometown gig on their Felt Mountain 20th Anniversary tour, and it was just an amazing gig! Alison was having a ball, the crowd were loving it, the sound was quite possibly the best I’ve ever experienced at a gig, especially as I was right at the front, and of the ten times or so that I’ve seen them, including at The Fleece in Bristol on their first tour following the release of the album, it was probably the best performance I’ve seen.
Actually got to meet Will afterwards ’cos he was on the sound desk, and got him to sign a set list, which he seemed surprised to be asked to do, as he’s the ‘invisible’ member of the band these days.

Goldfrapp are ace…

Nipped through to Glasgow to see ****ed Up the other night- the much delayed anniversary tour for their demented hardcore punk prog rock opera David Comes To Life, which is an album I absolutely love- or at least, I love about half of it. And it was bloody awesome. Crowd was a bit flat which was a shame- first time I saw them, I’d literally heard one song before but by halfway through the first track I was being killed in a massive circle pit, so I was kind of expecting to get my head kicked in again, and it never really went off. But what a band. Whole thing felt like they were doing smoky showoff drifting in the catastrophe curve. I had a wee religious experience during One More Night

Was supposed to be seeing Black Country new roads tonight but cancelled because apparently front man quit and new line up new material coming. Saved me a walk home in the pissing rain anyway.
Love a bit of goldfrapp.
Self esteem at Sheffield octagon the other week was really good. A lot better than 10 days later in Cardiff by the look of the iPlayer. She had covid in between…

Saw Folly Group last night at the Craufurd arms…quite interesting, the singer and drummer was good.

Just back from Warmduscher in Manchester… pretty full on gig. Fun band. Was down at the front caught up in full on mosh action. 3rd gig in a week, and this wasn’t even #1.