1,172 OCTOBER DRIFT, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Sunday 26th January 2020

I have my good friends the Gurneys to thank for pointing me in the direction of this excellent young band October Drift, although it took me awhile to act on their recommendation... Craig popped a link on my Facebook feed as long ago as last September, but it took until their early 2020 tour was announced for me to give them any more than a cursory check. When I did, I found some thrilling shimmery guitar wall-of-noise right in my wheelhouse, and immediately cursed the fact I was already spoken for on the dates that said tour took them to Bristol Louisiana and Southampton Heartbreakers. All was not lost, however, as an in-store performance and signing session in Bristol’s Rough Trade record shop not only afforded me the chance to check this promising combo out, but also to pick up their debut album as it was included in the ticket price!

A busy weekend unfortunately not only meant a lack of time to add to my cursory research on their music (rendering the band pretty much sight unseen and unheard!), but also a later than anticipated departure, just before 6.30 for the scheduled 7.30 start. Hit traffic on the M4 just the other side of Bath which delayed me, so I pretty much had time to park up in my usual SWX car park just past the Bearpit, find this cafe venue at the back of the Rough Trade record shop, pick up my CD from the bar and take a spot near the front in the small and suitably rock'n'roll dingy side room, just before the boys took the stage bang on 7.30. Beckoning the curious few dozen of us forward then patting my shoulder as I took a big step forward, rakish, chiselled and wild-eyed vocalist/rhythm guitarist Kiran Roy led his charges, via a cacophony of noise, into opener “Losing My Touch”, a driving, layered opener that recalled Ride's classic shoegazing anthem “Drive Blind”. However from the off it was evident there was no shoegazing to be done tonight, the band launching into a dynamic, energetic and kinetic performance, the front three all throwing shapes with furious abandon and intent, and Kiran particularly sawing away at his instrument (which he had on such a short strap I thought at one point he'd start playing it with his chin...) for all he was worth, whilst strong-armed drummer Chris Holmes seemed to be working out his own personal exorcism, pulling some crazy intense faces as he pummelled seven bells out of his kit. Hard, fast and mighty!

 

“Cherry Red”, an upbeat thrill-ride of a track, saw me reaching for my explosive taut post-punk comparisons, coming up with the likes of The Chameleons, The Sound and even the goth-inflected strident rock of Flesh For Lulu; then Kiran took to the floor, embellishing a superb “Death”-era White Lies-esque “Just Got Caught” with his doomy, sonorous yet yearning vocal delivery. He repeated the trick for an acapella intro to the subsequent overt soaring chant of “Forever Whatever” before jumping back on (and around) the stage; then “The Past”, which recalled a couple of Pale Saints numbers at the same time (!) closed out a quite startling and utterly incendiary half hour, a total belter of a set, which left me lamenting my previous engagement next month. This lot would be amazing at The Louisiana, I reckon...

Kiran shook my hand as he stepped offstage and thanked me for stepping forward, which was nice; I then joined the short queue to grab some more complimentary words, pics and signings with him and the rest of the band, before heading back to the car, just under an hour after parking (!) and home by 9 pm (!!) after a quick inky blast down the M4. Result! And a hell of a result in this outstanding young band too, possibly the most exciting prospect since Desperate Journalist (high praise indeed!). I'm glad I saw them this close up, as I'd imagine such opportunities will be scarce in the future. And, Craig and Jenny, I certainly owe you one for recommending October Drift to me!

 

1,171 NICK PARKER AND THE FALSE ALARMS, Abdoujaparov, Worcester Marrs Bar, Friday 10th January 2020

The first gig of the year – nay, of the decade – was a bit of a late call… I’d been on to Marr’s Bar to see if I could get Logan into this rare “full band” outing from Nick Parker, one of his favourite folk/ punk/ pop travelling troubadours (particularly so, given that this gig was due to be recorded for a future “live” album), but the 14+ only stipulation was sadly immovable. Thereafter I’d just let it slip my mind, intending to take my little man to the pics instead to see “1917”, only to find on the day that this was a 15 certificate! D’oh! However, Facebook came to my rescue, as comments from both my friend Rich and his mate Terry confirmed their attendance, so I got a late ticket and invite from the boys to tag along!

An early pick-up for a late departure at 7.30 saw us hammer up the M5, double-quick time, and park up in a muddy car park just around the corner from the venue, after a couple of laps around the town centre. My first time at this one – indeed, my first ever gig in Worcester! – and this small, scuzzy venue was already well-attended by the Parker faithful. Nick was at the merch stand, gleefully shaking hands with all and sundry, announcing, “this is great – I know pretty much everyone here!” Indeed, it seemed as though the whole Parker massive had come out of hibernation for this one, as I ran into both fellow Swindonians Grant and his wife Lisa, and also Claire, who I’d ran into whilst chatting to Nick at Wickham Festival!

Anyway, first on were Abdoujaparov. My previous exposure to former Jamie Wednesday guitarist and Carter USM wingman Les “Fruitbat” Carter’s current musical project, at Shiiine On 2018 (gig 1,112), was less than impressive, so hopes weren’t high as a jovial Fruitbat led his charges through some early doors old school punk rock with unsurprising Carter USM-esque song structures and flippant, punnish wordplay. Indeed, an early number recalled “Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie” by obscure 70’s comedy punkers Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, and another had a “Dark Entries”-esque thrashy descending riff! I actually warmed to this set as Fruitbat seemed to be throwing the kitchen sink at it – a Ukranian-style jig-fest here, a Coral-esque sea shanty there, and a flippant but fun terrace chant about umbrellas being my set favourite. It felt a little overlong, but infinitely better than that Shiiine On debacle, a point I also made to Les himself at the end of the gig, also recalling those Jamie Wednesday days!

I took a wander down the front as Nick and The False Alarms – all 7 of them! – squeezed onto the cramped and busy stage, before kicking off a little early at 10 to 10 with the rousing Irish jig of “Never Been To Dublin” Straightaway this engendered a mass singalong from the Parker devotees, a state of affairs which pretty much continued all night, the gig feeling similar in atmosphere and general bonhomie to Gaz Brookfield’s “AGM of lovely people,” last time out. Nick himself sported a cheesy grin throughout, often remarking, “this is fun! Can we do this again next year?”, and threw himself into the performance, often laudably red-faced and sweating buckets for the cause, and looking after his congregation too, inquiring, “this is all good-natured, right?” every time an often violent mosh broke out.

“Make Yourself At Home” was a soaring, roof-raising early delight, “Down With The Yoof” a joyous ragged reel with some exemplary fiddle from the ubiquitous Ben Wain, and “Could We At Least Try” saw Nick and multi-instrumentalist Tom split the audience to fill out the harmony parts of song characters “Larissa” and “Sebastian”. However an amazing cover of Sugar’s classic popcore number “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” was a startling mid-set highlight, seeing me rock out like those 90’s Lev’s days to this irresistibly catchy number, which Nick and the boys did full justice to. Nick’s daughter Flo then joined him onstage to duet on a stark “Guess I’ll Never Know”, delivering a beautiful world-weary vocal well beyond her years. A couple of real contrasting numbers, but both stunning.

A couple of moshs broke out to later numbers, as I ran into a hairy specimen in the mosh wearing the same “B-Sydes” t-shirt as me (right down to the same purple colour!), grabbing ahold of him and shouting, “fuck me, it’s like looking in a mirror!” Les Carter then joined the False Alarms onstage (making that stage even more cramped!) for a run through of Carter USM’s “Only Living Boy In New Cross”, splendidly authentic right down to the pulsing beat and gabbling denouement. “Song For Suzy” finally rounded off a splendidly ragged-arsed, frantic yet totally fun singalong set, a damn fine way to kick off gigging year 2020!

After the aforementioned chat with Les and a quick word with a sweaty and elated Nick about Sugar, I located the boys and we headed off for an equally breakneck journey home. Shame Logan couldn’t join us for that, but actually that mosh might’ve been a bit much for him. So, glad I went – this may have been a late call, but t’was a great call!