1,323 JOHNNY MARR, Gaz Coombes, Bristol O2 Academy, Wednesday 10th April 2024

 

Well, wasn’t this just a thing of utter joy and wonder…

I feel a little ashamed that it took me until last year’s stellar single “Somewhere” to get on board with Johnny Marr’s solo works; I loved iconic 80’s jangle-indie band The Smiths whilst never ascribing to the hero-worship of their admittedly charismatic lead singer Morrissey, finding him dismissive and arrogant at the time, and quite distasteful in his utterances since (and if Simon Fletcher’s definitive “A Light That Never Goes Out” Smiths biog is anything to go by, it seems bandmate, co-songwriter and wingman Marr put up with a lot of his shit back then too…), so I’d largely blanked on Mozzer’s solo career since the Smiths’ dissolution in 1987. Marr, however, had gone a different route, forming chart-friendly synth duo Electronic with New Order’s Bernard Sumner, then becoming somewhat of a luxury gun-for-hire with the likes of The Pretenders, Modest Mouse and The Cribs. So when he finally turned his hand to a solo career, some dozen years or so, it barely registered on my radar. My mistake. “Somewhere” is a beautifully crafted slice of classic, effortlessly melodic and hooky indie pop, referencing Marr’s past but sounding very modern at the same time. I bought the accompanying “Spirit Power” compilation of his recent solo works and loved it, which honestly, given my love for The Smiths but not their singer, made perfect sense.

So the other thing to fall into place for me would be a “live” gig, of course… happily, Marr announced a Spring 2024 “Spirit Power” tour outside of my knee op window, so I gleefully booked myself a ticket, the only surprise being I couldn’t find anyone else interested! So, flying solo, I set off early down a drizzly M4, hitting the already ample O2 priority queue 20 minutes before doors, greeting a passing Martin Thompson on his way in, then bagsying a second-row spot, house right, on entry. With barriers all taken, my knee is going to suffer tonight, so good thing I chucked some painkillers down before leaving… not long to wait, though, as support Gaz Coombes took the stage at 7.45 with his 6-piece band, including a saxophonist! I’d last seen former Supergrass mainman Coombes marking time in his Hot Rats project on the Foo Fighters undercard (gig 824), so was happy to report that tonight was infinitely better; “Salamander” was an eminently serviceable slice of soaring indie pop for starters, then “Don’t Say It’s Over” had a more melodic hazy 70’s Laurel Canyon vibe, setting the tone for the rest of the set. A little bit country, a little bit down and dirty bluesy (particularly set highlight “Deep Pockets”, a dark and swampy Doors “La Woman” clone), and occasionally quite lovely (the middle-8 break of “Turn The Card Around”, and “The Girl Who Fell To Earth”, a touching ballad), this set was replete with quality songwriting, which should be a given for Coombes, but was still a pleasant surprise! Clearly overjoyed at this support slot as well (calling opening for Marr a “privilege and honour” from the outset), his accomplished performance gave the impression of a man who’d rediscovered his mojo, and quite likely another indie icon I need to catch up with.

I hazarded a comfort break (partly also to stop the knee from seizing up, a la Nick Parker’s gig recently), but was back in place by 9, as an air-raid siren and spotlight combo served as walk-on accompaniment for Marr and the band. Opener “Sensory Street” was an enjoyable, swaggering stomp with a synth blare hook, but was swept away by the “Metal Guru” glam strut of Smiths classic “Panic”, next up, Marr’s middle-8 riff being cheered to the rafters before the joyous and extended “hang the DJ!” singalong outro. “Bristol, eh?” deadpanned Marr, “last time we were here was 2018; [that was] a rocking night, so no pressure then!”

Coombes was right; this was a privilege and honour to be in the presence of a true rock icon tonight, but one not resting on any past glories, instead delivering a consummate, virtuoso performance. Not necessarily a natural singer, with a high register, more understated vocal delivery recalling his former Electronic bandmate Sumner, he was however a natural star, confident and urbane onstage, and of course an utter master craftsman on the guitar – it was telling that whenever he stepped away from the mic to deliver one of his trademark intricate, undulating and utterly mellifluous guitar riffs, mobile phones sprung up like sunflowers to record those moments. And, replete with Smiths numbers this set might have been, but his own material largely stood pat with them; an early “Spirit, Power and Soul” was powered along by an ascending synth riff recalling Electrafixion’s classic “Zephyr” into the soaring hook, and after the subsequent, joyous “This Charming Man”, Marr quipped, “here’s a new one; don’t worry, it’s not shit!”, then delivering a stunning, stripped back and almost symphonic “Somewhere”. Just gorgeous and quite possibly my highlight of a night crammed with many. 

After the reverential singalong to a heartbreaking and extended “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”, rendered largely acoustically, Marr invited Coombes back onstage to duet on “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”, the former Supergrass man clearly in fantasy band camp for this. The melodic riff of “Bigmouth Strikes Again” was totally joyous, Marr then lowering his voice an octave for the vocal to the dark, jagged rhythm of “How Soon Is Now”. “Easy Money”’ s swaggering repetitive hook was stupidly catchy, before Marr rounded off a stellar set with Electronic’s “Getting Away With It”, the upbeat synth pop combining with the disco ball twinkle to provide a magical snowglobe effect. 

“Well, this has been quite a nice way to spend a… night; oh yeh, Wednesday…” Marr deadpanned before the inevitable nightcap of “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, the stripped back, lengthy and inclusive communal final choral singalong being a totally apposite finale for an utterly stellar show, and reminding me of Hooky at “Shiiine On”, doing the same for the equally revered “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Johnny at “Shiiine On” one day? Ooh, that’d be an idea… I joined the baying hordes at the front for a list, more in hope than expectation, so was gratified when the roadie made a point of thrusting the guitarist’s one towards me, as I was the only bloke saying “please”! Loaded up with merch too, chatting to the lady who’d been dancing next to me during the set, then managed to limp up the hill to the car park for a swift drive back to the ‘don. As I said, this was an utterly joyful performance from the man, and will likely loom large in my “Best Gig of 2024” list. I’m now totally back on board with Johnny fuckin Marr!

1,322 GAZ BROOKFIELD, Mischa Weston-Green, Salisbury Winchester Gate Beer Garden (matinee), Saturday 6th April 2024

 

When the girls are away, then the boys will gig…! My missus had long earmarked this afternoon for a Bristol theatre trip with the daughter of the house, so when Logan’s and my own “most-seen” live act, “The Bard of Purton” himself, West Country travelling folk/ punk land pirate ruffian Gaz Brookfield, announced a matinee beer garden show at Salisbury bolt-hole The Winchester Gate, suddenly our afternoon looked a bit different than the usual Saturday afternoon vegging on the sofa (usually post-gym morning, to be fair…) watching the footy results. No sir, some acoustic Gaz shenanigans now await!

So we set off just after 12.30, a little later than planned as Logan was feeling a little worse for wear (!) and was slow getting up… happily he revived on the winding journey through Savernake to old Sarum, so was in good form as we arrived, dumping the motor in a nearby cash-only car park which, as we had no cash, required a fiddly app download! Gained entry into this 2-tier beer garden which reminded me of Southampton Hobbit’s sprawling back yard, then back into the pub for drinks, queueing up behind Gaz and Logan having a chat with him about motorbikes and stuff. Support Mischa Weston-Green had already started, so we took a watching brief at the top of the steps on the fringes of the open upper tier (all the benches were taken). A solo acoustic guy, as expected, his material had definite Jamaican/ reggae leanings, both in the rhythm and song structure and in Mischa’s vocal delivery. A mid-set “Stop, Drop, Roll” was punkier, and apparently co-opted by Extinction Rebellion as their theme, and my highlight was the frantic closer about his favourite bands whilst growing up; shame the track was way better than the bloody awful bands (Queen, RATM, RHCP, Guns’n’Roses) it namechecked (!), and overall I was a bit ambivalent about his set. Nice he’s trying something other than the usual punk-tinged acoustic folky stuff, but I’ve never been a fan of reggae anyway, and the material largely didn’t make much of an impression on me either… 

We ventured down to the bottom tier, covered gazebo-like, and eyed up a couple of unoccupied seats by the merch desk to the right of the corner stage. As Gaz kicked into his usual rambunctious form dead on 3 with a jovial and jocular “Solo Acoustic Guy”, no-one else had bagged them, so we did! An early, swayalong and rather ace actually “So Very Rock And Roll” saw the first beer garden singalong to the “la la la la” middle 8 refrain, and when Gaz then announced the release of an acoustic version of his recent “Morning Walking Club” album before an affirmative “Nuggets”, the dog companion of an old bloke in marker-penned hi-viz gear (more on him later) started barking. Everyone’s a critic…! 

Having seen Gaz a couple of times at the end of last year, much of the newer numbers in the set and the explanations for same were recently familiar, although it was nice to hear Gaz’ story about “Time Team” again before a poignant “Arborglyph”, particularly the addendum that Gaz is now appearing on “TT” in May! “I’m taking my metal detector and I’ll find absolutely nothing…!” he quipped… However my particular favourites of the early set were the “path less trodden” numbers, such as a rare, relaxed “Pen To Paper”, and the splendid “Cornish Fishing Town”, played by Gaz “in the round”, standing and rotating (“I’m the lazy Susan of folk!”) on the wall separating the 2 beer garden levels, and using a fretted dulcimer that a sponsor had bought him, in exchange for writing a song in 24 hours using it! The band coming-of-age paean “Hook Village Hall” was another highlight, particularly as Dave, one of the protagonists of the song, was present this afternoon, Gaz revealing he had indeed nicked a drumbeat from ska punkers [spunge]!

By now we’d been joined by the old bloke with the dog, who proceeded to rifle through Gaz’ CD box, which made me a little awkward… do I stop him, or what? Luckily the onlooking Gaz didn’t seem too perturbed, although the final few numbers were played in a bit of a gallop; the more familiar likes of “Be The Bigger Man”, a brilliant “Gunner Haines”, an acerbic “I’ve Paid My Money” (“it’s not about you guys!”), the “arrrr!”-inducing “Land Pirates Life” and a totally apt and inclusive singalong to “West Country Song” rounding off a fine set, and a perfect accompaniment to a lazy beer garden afternoon.

Happily, the old bloke paid for the pile of CDs he’d accumulated, and I grabbed a new tee and a handshake from Gaz at the merch stand, before we set off, home via the chippy for tea. Nice one Gaz; we’ll see you later in the year for the usual Hop and Fleece full band double-header!

1,321 RIDE, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Wednesday 3rd April 2024

 

Not mine, unfortunately, kudos to occasional gig buddy Alfie for swiping the mixing desk list!

Fair play to Ride; they’re not just resting on the laurels of their lauded shoegaze/ neo Britpop past… This iconic reformed 90’s band, a couple of years removed from touring the Covid-delayed 30^th Anniversary of their classic and genre-defining debut album, 1990’s “Nowhere” (a tour I caught in Bristol for a stunning performance, gig 1,221), announced plans for a new album, their third such since their 2015 reunion. Snatches of said album “Interplay” sounded very promising indeed, a definite upbeat groove underpinning their shimmering yet muscular guitar sound, so I pre-ordered a copy of the album, plus tix for their Autumn tour (having to shlep it down to Portsmouth for that one, as I’d already made plans for their Bristol date). However, this then came up… I was rather hoping they’d do a Rough Trade in-store album release tour whilst not counting on it, but booked as soon as it was announced, spreading the word to like-minded friends in the process. Ride at close quarters, then a meet and greet? Yes please; particularly as there’s a burning question I’d been meaning to ask them if I ever got the chance…

So I picked Rich May up, spending a longer than anticipated (and cross-country!) drive down to Brizzle catching up – been awhile! Met up with friends Matt and newly-domiciled Bristolian Sarah, already there in this splendid small back-room venue. Whiled away the time as the room filled up – a sold-out one this, not surprisingly… Ride took the stage spot on at 7.30, the front row of vocalist/ guitarists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, plus bassist Steve Queralt taking seats line abreast, Andy immediately bigging up the album; “last we checked we’re no. 2 [in the album charts], beaten only by Beyonce; that’s a strange situation!” 

Thereafter we were treated to a shining 40-minute acoustic vignette, understandably concentrating on the new album material, and revealing Ride are hitting a rich vein of songwriting form, the “Interplay” material on show tonight largely standing pat with the best of their post-reunion releases. Opener “Peace Sign” was powered by a tough beat from drummer Laurence Colbert and featured an impressive languid dual vocal hook interplay (sic) from Andy and Mark; “Last Frontier”’s backbeat drum opening ceded to a New Order-esque ascending bass underpinning a melancholy verse and beautifully harmonic chorus; and “Monaco” was a robust metronomic rocker even in this format. Between numbers, Ride again demonstrated they’re in fine fooling, those turbulent Britpop days thankfully long gone, with some fun banter, Andy keeping the anti-Beyonce vibe going, and Mark responding to a punter asking about a Welsh gig with, “Andy’s from Wales and if he goes back, he’ll be in trouble!”

An unexpected “Vapour Trail”, stripped back and delicately delivered, was utterly gorgeous, Mark then announcing, “let’s keep the oldies flowing for the nostalgia element in the room!” with a bouncy, strumalong and almost Beatles-esque “OX4”. Finally, “Last Night I Went Somewhere To Dream” reluctantly ended proceedings, a menacing, almost Burundi drumbeat recalling Echo And The Bunnymen’s “Zimbo” flowing into a lighter, pastoral chorus. Great way to end an understated but warm and shining set. 

Signing sesh afterwards, so after a wait we got albums signed and pics taken, plus I brought my Gigbook Volume 2, featuring the NME “On” piece from January 1990 which introduced me to Ride, along for the boys to sign, Laurence showing particular interest in my memorabilia which was nice. I also got to ask that question – when are they going to play “Shiiine On”? Mark murmured, “yeah we should play there”, my rather gushing reply of, “you totally should, you’d utterly smash it,” being cut across by Andy replying, “you can’t just turn up you know, you have to be asked!” So, come on Shiiine On, get asking…!

Left the venue with Oxonian Mark giving me some friendly gyp for my Swindon Town FC allegiances (!), before farewells to Matt and Sarah, and a drizzly yet quicker drive home, dropping Rich off then home via Jimmy’s for late kebab tea. So maybe they’re not at Shiiine On this year (unless they’re all phenomenal poker players!), but on this form, that aforementioned Ride Portsmouth gig this September should be a “live” highlight of the Autumn…

1,320 FLO AND THE ESCAPE LANE, Sienna Wileman, Swindon The Tuppenny, Thursday 28th March 2024

 

“Have you got Flo’s album yet?” I was asked by a fellow front-row punter at Nick Parker’s excellent Winchester gig last Saturday (gig 1,319), to which I had to admit, nope, I had yet to avail myself of the debut release by Nick’s daughter, burgeoning songstress and singer-songwriter Flo Parker Bombosch. Having heard some intriguing comments about said disc – less overtly wordy or jolly than the old man’s stuff, and more in an introspective, contemplative indie folk vein – I’d been meaning to check it out anyway, so made another mental note to order it when I got paid at the end of the month. However, aimlessly scrolling Facebook earlier this afternoon accelerated that deadline, as I stumbled across a Flo gig; tonight, at The Tuppenny as part of their regular acoustic Thursday Night Music Club series, no less!

So plans were hastily made, necessitating my wife’s return from a theatre afternoon in Bristol to allow a curious Logan and myself to head up the hill about 8.30, wandering in the ‘Tupp as and standing by the door, house left, as opener Sienna Wileman was still in the early stages of her set. A young songstress herself, she resembled Bernard Black’s “Summer girl” from “Black Books” and, backed up by her dad on guitar, a decent line in melodic, rootsy folky tuneage, with an upbeat “Make Memories” and a melancholic “3 a.m. Thoughts” notable numbers. Possessor also of a fair set of pipes, apparently, as a mid-set “Petals” featured a strident middle-8 build powered by some equally overt vocals from Sienna, prompting Logan to take a step back!

John Hare, the talented multi-instrumentalist from Nick’s False Alarms and evidently doing Parker double-shift duty as a member of Flo’s Escape Lane, recognised us as the reprobates who’d bothered him for a set-list last Saturday (!) and popped over for a brief chat, also promising us his and Flo’s front row seats when they were due to set up! We happily took them up on their offer, grabbing said spot at the end of Sienna’s set and chatting between sets with promoter Ed, doing mixing desk duties to our right. Flo, John and guitarist Nick, the acoustic iteration of the 5-piece full-band Escape Lane, then eased into opener “Perfection”, a melancholic stripped-back number which for me had tinges of R.E.M.’s “Drive”. “Erased”, another delicate slice of pastoral melancholy which featured a circular keyboard refrain from John recalling Sigur Ros’ “Hippipola”, followed in short order, and “Magpie” featured some lovely 3-part harmonies from the band. 

The set was largely drawn from Flo’s album, which, fleshed out by a full band production, should really sound like a Madder Rose or a Sundays, wistful slow-burn yet intelligently crafted Americana folk clashing with introspective, understated and delicate indie; so, happily, pretty much as advertised! And Flo’s voice is lovely, a clear lilting innocent Mary Lorson-like tone giving extra credence to that Madder Rose comparison (for me, at least), and shown to its best effect at close quarters such as the Tupp. Nice line in covers too; 4 thrown in tonight to flesh out the set to 13 songs, including a heartfelt cover of Del Amitri’s “Move Away Jimmy Blue” (which I saw the Dels do themselves, way back in 1987 – gig 91! – before our paths diverged) and a totally apposite Death Cab For Cutie number, the understated heartbreak of “Tiny Vessels”, Flo in particular gushing about seeing DCFC in August at All Points East…

The pastoral “High Horse” closed out a delightful little set, a fine introduction to Flo’s music and one which will definitely prompt me to catch the full band in future. Bought the album (of course), then had a chat with Flo and John about my Del Amitri-bothering 80’s past, before quick farewells to sundry folks (including Ben Sydes, a spectator tonight) and a swift drive home before Logan’s kebab got cold! Quite a different “live” experience from last Saturday, then, but good to see Flo demonstrating that her dad’s not got the monopoly on talent and strong songwriting in the Parker family!