Hirameka Hi-Fi + The Furious Sleep @ the Drum and Monkey, Ipswich, Blank Generation Collective
Last night was not just a gig, but an adventure. The 'who's going to drive, and therefore not drink' question was quickly settled by the very kind David Caswel, and his new, comfy motor. Things got off to a challenging start. Poor Tom was ill again (too many late nights or too many christmas kisses?), the rush hour traffic was heavy, everyone's bladders wouldn't stop filling, and we only had our wits and a print out to guide us. Despite all this we still managed to find the venue and get there on time. So things began to look up.
After the obligatory, away from home, scrappy, nervous, amateur soundcheck, we were able to settle into the drinking. I'm not sure if everyone in the room was feeling nervous, but there was certainly a very strange atmosphere. Had someone died? I decided it was time for action! or rather a walk to the cash point. Wandering through the Christmas decorated streets of Ipswich, with the bustle of shoppers making their way home to loved ones, I realised the true meaning of this special time of year. Errrr not really, but at least by the time I got back some punters had turned up, and the room was now more like a pub than a morgue.
Anyway from here on in things began to pick up. The first band had Tom and I in stitches. Matt, David and David had to leave, but not us. We stayed to sing along with the pure genius of a chorus that went "YOU SILLY COW". Blimey they don't write them like that anymore! Oh they do actually. Just for a minute there I thought I was in 1978 at the arse end of punk rock, but no it's nearly 2004. Anyway nice guys, but terrible band.
So then it was time for us to actually do what we'd gone to Ipswich for. To play. While Matt stripped the Iron Maiden style drum kit down to the essentials, more and more onlookers filed in. launching into Among the Wolves seemed like a good way to get things going, and it did. From then on in we glided aloft a crest of energy, obtuse song structures, and confidence. Gathering applause as we went. I'd never have guessed from the pre-gig awkwardness that those Ipswich dudes would be so receptive. Very open minded, and very into their music. Just what we like.
So all in all, a great evening, with great people. Thanks to the Blank Generation guys for having us. Even our 40 minute 'we are now lost' detour along fog filled country lanes, and no petrol stations being open (except Tesco), just added to the whole excitement of the night. Luckily for me the next day was my last day at work for two weeks, cause I was suffering I can tell you. So until our return visit then.
Warmer Climes
Quilty
Headaches For Heartache
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Bouvier + The Furious Sleep + Lionshare @ the Portland Arms, Harvest Time
It's going to be hard writing something about this one, as it's been so long now. I can't really remember much about it. The main thing that springs to mind is we were playing with lots of people we knew, so there were lots of familiar faces about.
In honour of this occasion we devised an awkward four song set. Two songs of about 8.00 minutes, and two of about 6.00. So you can see, it wasn't exactly easy listening. I'm not sure about the others but the two songs that stick out for me, were The Mallard and our brand new Quilty. Both of those got my blood pumping. Simon from Lionshare recorded the nights proceedings, so maybe a listen to that would tell a different tale. Anyway it was good to be back at the Portland after 6 months. Oh yer Davey who recorded our 'Intact Skylines' cd was doing the sound, which was great. He didn't even ask David to turn his amp down either. One last thing, how do you make Beefheart sound like New York punk?...... Don't ask me, it was Bouvier. Boy did it rock.
Among The Wolves
Quilty
Tofu Escape Clause
The Furious Sleep + Super 7 + Dazy Cutter @ the Boat Race, Green Mind Presents, £4
Our first headline slot! After all those boatrace performances we finally clawed our way up to top billing which meant a) Matt was allowed to scrawl our name on the blackboard advertising future gigs whilst very drunk and b) we got a real length soundcheck! Strolling around the stage casually whilst the soundman coaxed a rich and lovely sound from our instruments made a nice change from plugging everything in, playing 8 chords and then leaping off stage as they opened the doors to let everyone in.
We watched the first two bands in a fairly crowded boatrace (well, more than 10 people) and tried to pace the amount of wifey B we drank before playing. After the second band finished, however, I can only imagine that Mega Meals had announced a new brand of rancid dog burger as everyone in the place except those we had cajoled to come along promptly left. But we laugh in the face of such adversity! We then proceeded to play a well played, nicely put-together set with lots of surprising impromptu pauses that strangely seemed to work, whilst hurling ourselves around the stage and taking turns to see who could stay longest standing on Matt's bass drum rocking out without falling off (I think I managed about 7 seconds). We ended with Tofu, which was dedicated to a very high-spirited member of the audience entourage and then stayed up half the night indulging our secret love of Queen..
Warmer Climes
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Headaches for Heartache
Tofu Escape Clause
My Pet Joey + The Furious Sleep + Hiding Place @ the Boat Race, Green Mind Presents, £3
No matter if a gig is good or bad, there is one thing for certain. Getting up for work the next day is never easy. Today was worse than ever, but hey at least it's Friday. Plus Tom, Matt, and David all carried on parting long after I stopped. They must be feeling worse.
Being added to the bill at very short notice, wasn't too much of a problem for us, as we had planned to have a rehearsal the night before the gig. Due to a train and motor cyclist meeting rather nastily, this was not to be. Instead our rehearsal took place live on stage. So you'd think we might give ourselves an easy time of it, and play the same set as last time. No, that's not our style. Instead we decided to drop The Mallard and added Summon the Darkness, and Silence The Poet. Two songs that we hadn't even played for at least a month. The beer garden (that bit of waste ground out the back) provided us with space for a quick run through, and a chance to drink beer without paying pub prices (well there was no chance we were going to get paid).
The running order was very strange. Hiding Place were on first, even though they were a touring band. My Pet Joey headlined and it was only their 8th gig, and we were there rocking away in the middle. I'm not sure how we got such a good deal, but we didn't complain. We just got up there and did it. As soon as I kicked over my beer in the first few bars of Among the Wolves, I realised what sort of gig it was going to be. So followed, a great deal of rocking out, band member collisions, cymbals detaching themselves from stands, Dave standing up then sitting down, then standing up again, bass drum microphones flapping aimlessly away from said bass drum, taping the bass drum mic back in position, drinking Hiding Place's water stash, Matt's Tofu drum solo getting shouts of delight, oh and actually managing to play our six songs. It's tough being a Furious Sleeper, but fun.
So to sum up, we were exciting, energetic, sloppy and unpredictable. Which is good or bad depending on how full your class is, or something like that.
Summon The Darkness
Silence The Poet
Tofu Escape Clause
Headaches for Heartache
Warmer Climes
The Vaults + No Through Road + The Furious Sleep @ the Boat Race, Green Mind Presents, £5
Ohhh Brother, how true could I have been when penning the lines "sickness becomes them, a curse of plagues on this house". We didn't actually play the song, but 'sickness' was definitely the order of the day. The night before we were due to play, saw Tom confined to his bed, and Matt on his last legs. So feeling very unprepared, and under the weather, we turned up at the Boat Race not knowing what would happen. Did we still know the songs? Would the whole band make it through the set? Only time would tell.
The turning point of the evening came, with a surprisingly confident sound check. After this we realised that maybe it wasn't going to be the big disaster we had first anticipated. Booze was drunk, noses were blown, and off we went. Who would have guessed we'd had one full rehearsal after a month long break? Not the people coming up to us after, saying that was out best gig yet. Maybe we should try not rehearsing again? Even in his sickly state Tom rocked like a mutha, well it has to be said we all did.
One final note. As a way to distribute/get rid of our remaining Visit cds, I placed a pile at the front of the stage, and asked people to help themselves. I half expected to be taking them back home with me, at the end of the night. What I didn't expect was that they'd have all been snapped up before the into to Tofu had finished. I wonder who got what?
Warmer Climes
Among The Wolves
Headaches for Heartache
Tofu Escape Clause
20-20s
+ Schooner + The Visit + Akira @ The Boat Race,
Green Mind
Presents (doors open at 6.30)
Tickets £6 from www.wegottickets.com
or 01223 511511.
No gig for us I'm afraid. Poor Matt was stuck in a broken down car, a long distance away from the fair city of Cambridge. We weren't the only ones though, 20-20s didn't show either. We had a really great set worked out as well!
Snow Patrol + Terra Diablo + The Visit @ The Boat Race, Green Mind Presents
After
ransacking the boatrace for bass strings and eventually being saved
by the bass player of Snow Patrol, who thrust four strings in my
hand and then said "So, what kind of music do you guys play..?",
we tore through our soundcheck at breakneck speed. A quick glance
outside revealed that for some reason people were already queueing
to get into the gig! Aha, we thought, it's going to be great actually
playing to more than three old men and a whippet.
By the time we clambered up on stage the place was half full of
revellers and the turkish bath style atmosphere was just starting
to kick in. We all took a long, hard drink of ale, looked at each
other with adoration and love, and then burst through the scuzz
rock naughtiness of Tofu, ending the song dizzy and gasping for
air with tiny black dots appearing in front of our eyes. The rest
of the set then careered past, Jake hurling himself to the floor
with alarming regularity, me and david spraying sweat from our heads
like hairy garden sprinklers and Matt pounding away, crack sweatier
than Spaniards fucking in the sunshine. Suddenly we found ourselves
playing the final crunchy bludgeoned slow dance chords of Among
The Wolves and were left standing there gasping, looking like a
juggernaut had just roared through a pond at the side of the stage.
I finally plucked up courage to look at the audience and realised
that they seemed to be enjoying it..David said afterwards the only
thing he heard anyone say was between two songs when someone in
the audience went, "Fuuuucking Hell!" in a way which could
either mean "That was great!" or "Shit! Grandma just
got her tits out and is dancing on the bar!". Either way is
fine by us..
The rest of the night was filled with a climate in the boat race
that could only be described as "close", a PA speaker
that caught fire and filled the venue with a weird burning smell,
and a route home that took a friend through every hedge and garden
on Victoria Road. We can't wait to play again, but in the meantime
we're going to take our rock and place it next to a man with a tape
recorder in a disused school.
Warmer Climes
Silence The Poet
Summon The Darkness
Headaches for Heartache
Among The Wolves
The Vaults + Go!Cartel + The Visit + Um, @ The Boat Race, Reaction Promotions
After
the high of our last outing, there was the vague notion that we
might have trouble topping it. This was quickly dispelled. With
one swift keyboard intro, and straight into full on Tofu mode, all
memory of last months gig faded. From start to finish we didn't
stop rocking. As Tofu came to a crashing end, Dave began the hypnotic
intro to Headaches for Heartache. Luckily for Matt this gave him
a chance to catch his breath (but only for a minute though as the
chorus soon came round). As Tom explained after, he felt this was
a much easier gig to actually play. We didn't have to worry about
holding things together this time. We all seemed very relaxed with
the set, and were able to just let go. So to bring things to a close
we finished with the very over the top Among The Wolves. How do
we get away with a songs that is half chugging guitars, and half
discordant piano? Because it strangely works! Thanks to those who
came, and clapped.
Highlights:
Um (great guy on and off stage)
Meeting Matt from Go!Cartel (he is no longer a faceless emailer)
Playing
Getting pissed, and going to the Kambar
Lowlights:
The Lack of People (if you chose to see Javine from popstars instead,
then so be it)
Getting a roasting for leaving all our equipment at the BR over
night
Headaches for Heartache
Warmer Climes
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Among The Wolves
Dustball
+ Mountain Men Anonymous + The Visit + Dude on a Mission @ The Boat
Race, Green
Mind Presents, £4
You could say things were looking bad for this gig right from the start. The line up seemed to change every few days, and when it all looked sorted out Dustball had to cancel anyway. So with the night down to three bands, and us reduced to four members (no Doug) I wasn't really holding out much hope of a successful evening.
Oh but how wrong could I have been. It was by far the most enjoyable gig we've played. Tom did an amazing job of playing bass, adding a sprinkling of keyboards, the backing vocals, and still managing to charge round the stage like a man possessed. By the close of the second song Tom and I were floor bound and Dave's beer was reduced to a stage puddle. From the way we tore through it you'd have thought it was the last song we were ever going to play. You could probably see the look of surprise on our faces when Matt said we still had another 4 songs left. Still what a treat those four songs were. One of them being Among The Wolves, which finally got its full on debut. Everything was as loose, and as tight as it needed to be. We made lots of mistakes, but no one noticed or cared. Now that's the sign of a good gig. Bloody hell did we rock hard or what?
Headaches for Heartache
Summon The Darkness
Warmer Climes
Among The Wolves
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Librium + The Visit + paricia, @ Priors Inn, Bury St Edmunds, Planet Beet
We finally made it out of Cambridge again. Some would say leaving it 9 months since we last played Bury was taking the piss, but at least we got back there in the end. Very kindly driven by Jo, and accompanied by James, we even managed to turn up nice an early. This left plenty of time for us to play some frisbee and start on the drinking. We nearly played our new song, but in the end we were so pleased with our set from last Saturday, that we decided to do it again. It went down well, so obviously we made the right choice. There's something I find very enjoyable about playing in Bury. I don't know if it's the strangely situated Priors Inn (on a hill, next to a grave yard), having Jason doing the sound, or the appreciative audiences. Probably all. Whatever it is hopefully we won't leave it so long next time. Thanks also for all those who travelled out to see us. We promise not to go on about 'Crank' anymore, and I won't talk about 'sowing my seed' into a KFC, when you're very kindly giving me a lift home.
Check out the Deviation's web site. Guitarist Rob came and had a complimentary chat with us after.
Silence The Poet
Summon The Darkness
Warmer Climes
Headaches for Heartache
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Bouvier + The Visit + Odette Mitchell, @ The Portland Arms, £3
It's not often you see the term 'Hot Sweaty Fun', without the letters XXX also being involved, but that is precisely what we had. It was a totally enjoyable night all round. Playing with great bands, to an enthusiastic audience, then hitting the kambar (With the added bonus of being pissed enough already to not spend a fortune on over priced beer) and all the cool people that were about to talk to. The only down side being loosing half my body weight in perspiration. Man do I feel drained today.
Set wise we couldn't have chosen any more wisely. Tofu was a great opener, with some excellent drumming from the appendix(less) Matt, and there was no down point from then on. It did look like we wouldn't have time to play Headaches for Heartache, but with the request to play as much as we liked how could we refuse. So with the Mallard bringing things to a close we couldn't have asked for any more. Even without the classical strains of our beloved Thomas, we really got in to the spirit. It's good to know that we can still cut as a four piece. So next stop Bury.
Silence The Poet
Summon The Darkness
Warmer Climes
Headaches for Heartache
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Karmadillo + The Visit + Benjamin + Mellon, @ The Portland Arms, £3
Having never performed an acoustic style gig before Tom, Dave and I put some intensive practice time in. It has to be said these mellow rehearsals went really well. The more we played the more the songs began to re-shape into a different dynamic. One of these sessions was even captured on tape, and yielded an excellent stripped down Mallard. We'll have to have a look at these recordings some time, as I'm sure there's some cool stuff there. Anyway after all this we had to go and actually play the gig. Once we'd shed the rather tentative start we managed to 'get into the groove' and the last three songs were really enjoyable. Feeling a bit brave, we even slipped in a new song: Among the Wolves. I'd definitely like to do it again sometime, but for now it was good to get back to the ROCK!
Summon The Darkness
Among The Wolves
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Headaches for Heartache
Warmer Climes
Samurai Seven + The Visit + The Coronettes @ The Boat Race, Green Mind Presents, £4 adv £5 door
Ah the joy of the ‘middle slot’. The crowd is sufficiently salivating for more, having just witness the opening act, and you have none of the pressure that being the headline act enforces. The perfect slot for us. We Loved It.
The set was pretty much the same as last time, but with Silence the Poet replacing Induced Loyalty, and a sack load of added confidence. I expect most bands say that their latest gig is their best/favourite, but with us this really does seem to be the case. Being a five piece makes a suprising amount of difference to a gang feeling. We now have a barage of members as well as a barage of noise. The only question left to ask is, when’s the next one? We are most definitely ready for it.
Warmer
Climes
Silence The Poet
Summon The Darkness
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Headaches for Heartache
Tofu Escape Clause
Set List:
The Visit + Hybrid 3 + Dr. Rich @ The Portland Arms, Harvest Time, £3
It’s
pretty soul destroying to put your whole heart in to playing an
amazing gig, and then realise that there was only a few people in
the room that hadn’t seen you before, or weren’t your
friends. That unfortunately seems to be the way of the visit. All
praise though, to Mr Loynes for putting together another great Harvest
Time evening. He really knows how to put a varied gig together.
It’s just a shame that no other promoters in Cambridge seem
to want to take risks, with who they put on a bill. I'm fucking
sick of seeing the same bands play every week, when there’s
plenty of others out there, that are lucky to get a shit support
slot once a month. If you have popular bands which people like to
go see, then take some chances with who you put them on the bloody
bill with. It’s no wonder the music industry sucks so much,
if it’s as bad as this a local level. Fuck the lot of you.
(you can tell I’ve been reading Steve Albini’s Big Black
final tour
diary, but it’s Dave’s fault too).
Despite the above pessimism, we did have a great time on Wednesday.
It was Tom’s first gig with us, and the whole thing was perfect.
I really like the layer of sound the keyboard has added, and he
sings backing vocals. Thanks to all of you who watched, or said
cool things after. See you next month.
Warmer
Climes
Induced Loyalty
Summon The Darkness
Feels Like Autumn (the Mallard)
Headaches for Heartache
Tofu Escape Clause