656 HOT HOT HEAT, The Departure, The Fever, Birmingham Academy 2, Monday 2 May 2005

Now the gigging year really starts! This, the first of up to 7 gigs scheduled for May, was our first at the Birmingham Academy, Hot Hot Heat's closest stop on this tour. Possibly the last though - the directions took us into the city centre through a bus-only lane (we're still waiting for the driving summons!) and to a poorly signposted car park. The venue itself was crap too - a sideroom on a balcony of a larger venue. As this was a sold out show, surely they could have moved it to the larger hall! Terrible eye-line too, as the stage was stuck diagonally in the corner, like the equally crappy Camden Underworld.

Got there as New York's The Fever were finishing off their set. A Martin Fry (ABC) lookalike fronting a band of jerky New Wavers with nothing terribly original to offer on this evidence. They'd been tagged as NYC's Franz Ferdinand, but seemed a pale imitation - more like NYC's Futureheads!

London's The Departure, main support, were a much better proposition. Opening with old single "Be My Enemy", they immediately impressed with some sly, sinister, soaring rock with an edge. Recalling the driving pomp of Marion or Idlewild, and the disco-bass base of mid-period Psychedelic Furs, they were nevertheless a band more than the sum of their influences. The Suede-alike vocalist could probably do with a style makeover (lose the wedge haircut and accountant's brown tie!) but it was good to hear a new UK band who didn't sound like XTC, a point I made to said vocalist afterwards, who fessed up to a love of the P-Furs!

Took a position over by the bar, stage left, for 9.30, Hot Hot Heat's appointed time. The stage darkened and dry ice billowed but the band kept us waiting for another 10 minutes before finally appearing to rapturous applause (and screams! Sheesh!). They initially struggled with poor sound and their set was smattered with errors endemic of a long tour promoting new CD "Elevator". However their ragged charm won out in the end, vocalist Steve Banks (sporting a veritable shrubbery of curly hair!) a jerky, energetic yelping presence throughout. Also, the new material, initially darker and less immediate than the joyful pop of their XTC-influenced previous album, made more sense "live". The sneer of "Dirty Mouth", the adventurous layered structure of "Island", but most of all the infectious bounce of sure-fire Summer smash "Picking It Up", a "Wake Up Boo!" in the making. Pop! with a capital P.

The awesome, defining "Bandages" closed the set, after which we really didn't need an encore but got one anyway. And the journey home was much easier too. Overall, ragged but lots of fun, and a great way to kick off this heavy-gigging May!

657 SILVER SUN, The Good Time Charlies, Invane, Jarvis Fields, Southampton Joiner's Arms, Wednesday 4 May 2005

Off again 2 days after the last gig, this time to Southampton Joiner's Arms, an easy to find venue in a not as far away as you'd think town. Surprised we've not been here more often! Took a wrong turning, but still found it OK, parking up down the road and hitting this rock'n'roll chic run-down pub back room venue at 8. Had a couple of ropey supports to endure - Jarvis Fields were a dull 5-piece Charlatans/ Oasis style trad rock band, with a crap drummer who nevertheless insisted on giving us a drum solo (!), and Invane were a bunch of clean-cut young lads who played early 70's Led Zep style blues rock, with one decent number "These Demons" which really showed up the rest of their material.

So we weren't expecting much when main support, the terribly-named Good Time Charlies, took the stage, especially as they looked like old lags who'd fought the pub rock wars a time or three. However, they were great! Bursting into a nice line in raw, garagy stones rock with a smile and a swagger, with a kinetic stage presence which belied their ages, they immediately recalled The Gentlemen, no less, in their attitude and musical rawness. When they introduced their third number thus; "this one's called "Big Gay Elvis"", I turned to Rachel and said, "they're my new favourite band!"

A 12 number set, some thrashingly short, flew by with a swagger and a grin, and they thoroughly deserved the shouts for a sadly undelivered encore.

Follow that, Silver Sun! But they did, taking the stage at 10.45, singer James Broad in a white jacket which increased his similarity to Buddy Holly, and playing a superb set of their soaring joyful frenetic powerpop, with the helium voiced 3-part harmonies a feature throughout. Based largely on new "comeback" album "Disappear Here", there were nevertheless enough oldies to keep the old boys like me happy. "Wonderful" was frantic, "Lava" (introduced by James as a time to face his primal fears) was a little slower than on record but nevertheless still jumpy and bursting with melody, and set closer "Golden Skin", again slower than on record, was a brilliantly harmonic end. I once described them as potentially the best British band since Echo And The Bunnymen, and although they're some way off that now, they're back playing joyful and happy Summery powerpop, which can only be a good thing. We hit the road after a quick chat with the GTC's bassist, looping around Southampton FC's ground on the way out and home for 1. Hooray for Silver Sun!

658 EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS, Chokeslam, Swindon Furnace, Friday 13 May 2005

First time at the Furnace for a gig, but this of course is the site of Solitaire and Level 3, scene of many hometown gigs of yore. Adding to the feeling of nostalgia is tonight's headliners, one of the first New Wave bands I saw on telly back in the 1970's, now doing the old boy's pub and club circuit. Still, it's only up the road, so why not?

Got in at 9 after a drink in the Rolly, which meant enduring half a set from local support Chokeslam. Pitching up midway between Nu Metal and hardcore punk, they weren't my cup of tea at all, with a vocalist who only knew how to scream, not sing. Oh dear.

The Rods took the stage at 9.30 to a sparse crowd of old punks, lead singer Barrie Masters gaunt in pub rock waistcoat attire and looking all his 50+ years. Their set was as expected - down and dirty good time drinking man's rock'n'roll, with a strut and a swagger. "Quit This Town" was cool (and reminded Rach of the Jam's "Going Underground" - which came first, I wonder?), the anthemic "Do Anything You Wanna Do", their one true moment of inspiration, was mid-set, yet predictably received the best reaction, and a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", like the earlier cover of the Who's "The Kids Are Alright", was well-chosen and played with respect. I could've done without the drum solos, but overall a good solid pub level gig. The Rods are alright!

659 TEENAGE FANCLUB, Lucky Luke, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, Saturday 14 May 2005

We thought for one horrible moment that we'd "lost" the Fanclub, what with a "Greatest Hits" CD release and 4 years of inactivity. But they're back with new, very mellow indeed CD in tow, so the subsequent tour warranted a 2 car convoy from Swindon to Pompey on a sunny Saturday! Got there just after 8 and got the drinks in, in the small Wedgewood Rooms bar, staying in while Lucky Luke were on, as they were a horribly hackneyed boy/girl folky fiddly diddly band.

We left the bar just before 10, and the Fannies duly arrived at the appointed hour. Their set largely reflected the new CD - low-key, mellowed out and understated (particularly Norman's vocals!), relying on good old fashioned virtues like songcraft, musicianship, melody and harmony (of which TFC have always been genre-defining exponents). The problem was that this meant we could hear the hubbub of the crowd during the numbers, so Rach and I had to constantly shift around to make sure we heard them clearly!

Up to a point, the set was paradoxically enjoyably yet frustratingly mellow. Lovely moments such as "I Need Direction" and the gorgeously harmonic "Ain't That Enough" carried things though the set, but the attention wavered during the newer, unfamiliar numbers. However, into the encore and just as we were resigned to hearing only a smattering of older stuff, the picture changed dramatically with the 4th number in the first encore, "The Concept", which got us jumping and forming a moshpit! This was followed by a brilliant "Sparky's Dream" but better yet was to come; a totally unexpected second encore yielded a stonking and rocking "Star Sign" the strident riffs of my favourite single of 1991 getting me dancing, and a final jumpathon of "Everything Flows", the debut single, partying like it was 1989 and rounding off the best final 4 numbers of a set for ages. If the rest of the set had matched this, we'd probably be talking Gig Of The Year...

But hey, it was enough to get me into a mosh for the first time in yonks, and draw odd glances from Pompey residents as I walked, shirtless, back to the car! Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub!

660 THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, Galen Ayres, London Kentish Town Forum, Thursday 26 May 2005

The hectic May continues, thought not as hectically as expected due to the cancellation of the 2 Dear Leader London gigs - bah! Nevertheless, this is a first trip to Ye Olde Londone Towne for a gig, since last September! Also, first time at the Forum since God knows when! Rachel picked me up straight after work and we had an encouraging 2 1/2 hour drive straight in, hitting the venue at 10 to 8. This however meant enduring another in a long line of poor TMBG supports, the female-fronted Galen Ayres, who weren't bad, just dull, particularly when trying to be Coldplay/ Keane moody rather then their snappier, poppier fayre.

The place filled up notably thereafter for this still nowhere near sold out gig, and the two Johns and their cohorts took the stage a little after 9.15. Bounding straight into "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" with big John F on guitar, bouncing around the stage like a dirigible, it was clear they were in great form, playful, quirky, upbeat, poppy and downright fun as ever before. "Experimental Film" was a jaunty early highlight before the excellent new "Alphabet Of Nations" (which did exactly what it said on the tin!) and a brilliant double header of "Don't Let's Start" (their first ever single, introduced tonight as, "a new one!") segueing perfectly into a frantic "Why Does The Sun Shine", my personal highlight.

Then TV presenter and celebrity TMBG fan Jonathan Ross came onstage to introduce the "Venue Songs" section of the set - 9 numbers written about venues from TMBG's recent US tour, highlighting their supreme inventiveness. They subsequently roared back with a brilliant, almost poignant "Angel", the inevitable "Birdhouse In Your Soul" (which still manages to not sound overplayed!) and a stunning "Fingertips", an amalgam of soundbite hooks crushed together, which I wish my son Evan, a big TMBG fan, could have seen! "New York City" (which Rach had been jonesing for on the journey up) rounded off a fantastic 1 1/2 hours of cheesy grin-inducing fun and supreme entertainment. Just over 1 1/2 hours on the journey home too, to cap a memorable evening!

661 DINOSAUR JR., London Kentish Town Forum, Wednesday 8 June 2005

I'm still rocking in a retro style - this time it's off to see the reformation of one of the founding members of the pre-grunge American noise rock club, following in the footsteps of the Pixies by getting the original line-up back together. J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph... funny how time - and a potful of cash - heals all rifts!

Rachel didn't fancy the noise so I hit the road with Mascis devotee Tim and Penny. Hit trouble on the M4, being diverted off to avoid a huge smash, so we parked up at 8.30, totally missing support Eugene Kelly in the process. D'oh! However, whilst heading off to the bank to get cash to "convert" my upstairs ticket to a downstairs one via a tout (had to be done, really...), we ran into Kevin and David from Seafood outside the Bull And Gate. Result!

Hit the venue at 1/4 to 9 and barely had time to get the drinks in and find a space, stage left by the speakers, before the band sauntered on at 9 with the house lights still on! Nevertheless, Dinosaur Jr., oddly cloistered around Murph's drums in the middle of the large stage, set to their task with unexpected vigour. J, white-maned and laconic, Lou looking almost muscular, and the bald workhorse Murph behind the drums. The set was drawn entirely from the first 3 original line-up albums, so no "The Wagon" (bah!), but an early, groovy "Raisans" drew praise and an ever-increasing moshpit.

Dinosaur Jr. were genre-defining in their amalgam of heavy rock and US college pop, and now rightly take their place among the true innovators and influences on today's rock scene. The brilliant set closer, "Freak Scene", which should/would have been a "Teen Spirit" sized crossover smash had J been a blond pretty boy like Kurt, was as thrilling, powerful and uplifting as ever, J belying his laid-back stance by really rocking out, drawing intricate riffs from his battered Fender.

The encore "Just Like Heaven" saw me hit the mad mosh for a frantic rendition of the old Cure number, a great way to end a titanic 1 1/4 hours of loud and hard rock! I grabbed 2 set-lists (including J's own, which I gave to Tim), then we chatted outside with the guys from Midway Still (purveyors of similar thrilling visceral noise) before hitting the road after another worthwhile trip to Ye Olde Londone Towne!

662 JOY ZIPPER, Kubb, Voices, Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach, Thursday 9 June 2005

The second of two gigs in two nights and another pain in the ass journey - having to pay to get into Wales is bad enough, but then we drove laps around Cardiff city centre trying to find a car park that wasn't going to rip us off. In the end we had to settle for one costing 50p for each 15 minutes, which meant we were in for £7.50 by the end of the night. D'oh!

Hit the venue at 8 to find it still shut (!) so got drinks in a nearby pub, and sat and moaned. Eventually we wandered back at 8.30 to find the opening act, a keyboard dominated 3-piece producing mindless drone music they obviously thought was "haunting" but instead was just dull, already into their set, which they then proceeded to over-run by 15 minutes. Bah!

Main support Kubb were more like it though, despite appearances - the lead singer looked like a cross between footballer Keith Curle and "Red Dwarf" character Rimmer, wore a hideous black boiler suit and played bass high up like a right dick! Despite this, the boy could sing, and the band backed him up with some clean, well-constructed songs veering from soulful stuff like the Big Dish (remember them?), to absorbing in an almost U2 style. They definitely rely too much on their vocalist's impressive range, but despite bland moments they showed promise.

Joy Zipper, a big fave of Rachel's (and allegedly named after the mother of one of the band members!) came on at 10.30, the usual 2-piece of Vinny and Tabitha (who took the stage last, bounding on to a warm welcome from the enthusiastic but sparse crowd) backed with a rhythm section for the "live" environment. Their set was drawn largely from recent album "The Heartlight Set", bouncier and more upbeat than their previous lush harmonic but definitely more slow-burn output, and translated across much better "live". Tabitha, a pneumatic and enthusiastic singer/ keyboardist, struck up a happy rapport with the crowd, teasing Vinny for getting confused with the running order ("he's like this at home as well!"), which made for a fun and inclusive set. Their harmonies, so key to their material, were excellent live, particularly on the uplifting "Xmas Song", their final number, after which Vinny (who appears to be a Dando-esque space cadet) thanked us, "for being so polite!"

Well, thank you, Joy Zipper, for living up to your name with a joyous and happy set, and making the painful journey and late night (home after 1 a.m!) worth while!