875 BIFFY CLYRO, City And Colour, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Friday 22 March 2013

Gig Rush part 2 is a trip to the top of Mount Biffymanjaro… This was how the NME referred to Biffy Clyro’s new double album “Opposites”, the career-defining release that appears to have catapulted this Scots power trio into the ranks of Festival Headliners and “Best UK Band” poll winners, a widescreen and wide-reaching album which draws in bagpipe bursts and Mexican Mariachi marching band refrains, whilst not straying too far from their blend of anthemic, arena friendly hooky power rock, atmospheric mood swings and jagged, abrasive and challenging time signature noise. Making a Foo Fighter/ Seafood collision a mainstream staple; good on ‘em!

So, the supporting tour was a must for Biffyheads Rach and (increasingly) myself. Cardiff was the nearest said tour swept by the ‘don (no Oasis gig this time, lightning doesn’t strike twice that way…), so Rach booked tix straight away, and we ultimately turned it into an overnighter, Rach dropping the kids off for a sleepover at Grandmas before picking me up from work at 5. Slow traffic in South Wales and crappy directions from Google meant we didn't get to the hotel until 7 pm; but hey, at least the snow blanketing Wales didn’t reach as far South as Cardiff! A quick turnaround at the hotel, then a, “where are we? Where are we? Seriously, where the fuck are we? Oh look, there it is...” type of journey to the Motorpoint saw us park in the cavernous St. Davids’ car park opposite, then ask a policemen for directions when said car park elevator pitched us into the middle of a shopping centre! So we got into the former CIA in time to catch the last half-song of City And Colour’s support set, which sounded countrified and pleasant enough.

This place is bloody huge! A lot bigger even than I remembered it from our last trip here (Gig 734, Arcade Fire in October 2007), this is a cavernous aircraft hanger of a venue skirted by executive balconies. Probably 8,000 in tonight for this sell-out; The Biff have joined the Big Leagues, and no mistake...

We took a spot 1/4 way back, stage left and close to a mic set up on a runway jutting out from the main stage. Just after 8.30, the lights went down, the low hum of the opening bars of opener “Different People” opened up, and vocalist Simon Neil, already bare-chested, took to the front of the stage, with the brothers Johnston and their extra tour band members visible through a huge curtain. “Different People” then exploded into life and guitar-fuelled colour, and the curtain drew up to reveal a superb stage set; 2 huge video screens either side of a central 2-way gothic staircase leading to an elaborate twist of tree roots and trunk, resembling the underground lair of a Goblin King! After a jagged “That Golden Rule”, all seething drama and menace, “Sounds Like Balloons” provided the first communal “whoa-oh” singalong of the night, as the stage set morphed into a circulatory system, the trunk becoming a spine and the screens portraying a body’s muscular outline. Fascinating stuff, but never detracting from the real core of the performance; the music. As it should be.

This was indeed a top-notch performance, The Biff now clearly adapting better to the larger stage and arena/stadium dynamics required of them, whilst remaining true to their scuzzy rock’n’roll roots. Oldie “Justboy” underlined this; delivered with as much passion as they could possibly muster, I got the impression that they weren’t playing this for their loyal long-time fans (as most arena-level bands would, when delving into the old back catalogue), but more for themselves! A poppy “Bubbles” was an early highlight, the mountainous chorus resonating around the venue, then another oldie “A Day Of...”, featured a trademark old Biff weird drumbeat, like a backwards tape loop. “Jaggy Snake”, frantic and fast, was a none-more Seafood rampage, the Biff now at ease with the stage dimensions, with Neil and bassist James Johnston scampering along the runways either side of the stage with regularity.

An acoustic “God And Satan”, delivered by Neil from the runway close to us, a single spotlight picking him out in the otherwise inky blackness, heralded a slower-paced triad, followed by “The Thaw”, which started all touching and tender, then built to an operatic crescendo; then a bare “Machines”, the, “take the pieces and build them skyward,” hook being whispered reverentially back to Neil by the longer-time fans. “Glitter And Trauma” bought back the rock, before a huge, tremendous “The Joke’s On Us”, probably my highlight (of many) of the night, crushing and thunderous. An imperious “Many Of Horror” again saw a huge communal singalong, the subsequent “Picture A Knife Fight” was an uncharacteristic but fun cheesy 80’s hair band rock stomper recalling Boston’s Waltham, before “The Captain”’s call and response brought this tremendous set to a close.

Encores included a slow-burn “Skylight”, delivered by Neil from a makeshift podium atop the stage set staircase, before a final, huge and passionate “Mountains” brought an absolute top-drawer 2 hours of arena rock to a close. “Cardiff, thank you so so so so so so so so much,” an exhausted and gratified Simon Neil remarked as they took their thoroughly deserved bows. And the feeling was utterly mutual.

A lengthy but persistent wait got me Simon Neil’s set list – result! We then took our time leaving the venue to allow the traffic to thin out, reflecting on The Biff’s performance tonight. Despite a splendid stage set-up, they let the rock do the talking tonight. Damn straight. And boy, did it talk tonight, underlining their elevation to the top echelons of rock’n’roll. Mon The Biff!

874 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, Japandroids, Bristol O2 Academy, Thursday 21 March 2013

Now the gig year really gets into full swing! Following a quiet-ish start with 5 smallish gigs so far in 2013, here’s a run of 4 bigger ones in 8 days, starting off with a Thursday trip to Brizzle for The Gaslight Anthem! I tried to get tix for this one a couple of months back, even phoning the venue directly, but all roads led directly to a big ol’ “Sold Out” sign. That was, until last week, when, on the offchance, I checked the Academy website again, to discover a few late-released tickets available, one of which I snapped up immediately. So here’s to potentially another splendid evening in the fine company of New Jersey’s finest purveyors of blue-collar bleeding-raw angst and homespun passion, served drizzled over a fine cutlet of shiny emo-tinged punk rock. Let’s go!

Dire warnings of bad weather saw me set off earlier than planned, but the only hiccup was the normal car park entrance being shut, requiring me to circumnavigate over to the other entrance. Got in at ¼ to 8, in time for support Japandroids. A Vancouver 2-piece, they featured an imposing vocalist/ guitarist with a curly floppy fringe and effort-enhanced bulging neck-veins, which recalled El Nino’s splendid mainman Glenn Hicks. He shared some rabble-rousing call and response vocals with his hardworking drummer, over some guitar-work which often resonated as if it was coming out of a steel tunnel. “The House That Heaven Built”, a groove-along treat with some “whoa-oh” hooks, was the best of a good hard-rocking support set, although I also liked that their final number nicked the riff from the Cramps’ “I Ain’t Nothing But A Gore Hound”!

Tonight was a proper sell-out and the place was utterly old-school heaving, as I found a square inch of floorspace, stage left, in time for The Gaslight Anthem’s entrance at 9 to the strains of Van Halen’s “Jump”! Despite opening up with “High” and a couple of similarly fast numbers, they seemed subdued, feeling their way in gradually on this, the first night of the tour. This was however also reflected by the crowd, crammed in but surprisingly unresponsive. A superb “Handwritten”, 4th number in, threatened to change things, but it was the subsequent “45” which popped the cork out of the bottle with its’ powering beat and strident “whoa-oh” chorus hook, by which time I was in the melee down the front with a similarly frustrated punter, oddly enough finding more space there to move!

Despite “45” igniting the crowd to a degree, this was still a lower-key than expected performance from one of the most exciting current bands I’ve seen of late. Brian Fallon was clearly feeling uncommunicative, a comment about the band having, “a meeting about shoes today,” his first audience interaction, preceding a HHH-style waterspit and a disappointingly lumbering version of “House Of The Rising Sun”. The set proceeded in a “fast one, slow one” fashion, a manic, punky “Howl” followed by the slow-burn, almost delta bluesy “Biloxi Parish” to emphasise this. “Blue Dahlia”, another amphetamine-fast balls-to-the-wall blast, was utterly mental, raw and ragged, but the almost reggae-tinged, Costello-like “Queen Of Lower Chelsea”, next up, diffused the mood again. A raucous “Great Expectations”, sharing the same rollicking mutant rockabilly backbeat as The Woodentops’ seminal 1984 single “Plenty” (amazingly, I’d only just noticed this…), segued into a raw-boned and hard-hearted “Keepsake”, to end a 1 hour set which had great moments, but also a few too many careless, perfunctory ones, and which left me wanting some redemption.

We got it for the encore; following a late-night harmonica-fuelled ballad, a strident, anthemic “Here Comes Your Man” was excellent, the audience singalong finally eliciting a smile from taciturn (tonight, at least…) vocalist Fallon. A lovely, lovelorn “Mulholland Drive” followed, before the highlight of the night, a forthright, strident manifesto version of “American Slang”, Fallon strong-arming his guitar like a wrestler, then another punky blast through “59 Sound” to end a variable but ultimately totally worthwhile hour and a half’s rock’n’roll. First night nerves, maybe? I bet they’ll be a damn sight better after a couple of nights of this tour… Either way, I’m glad The Gaslight Anthem kicked off my end of March gig rush!

873 CHRISTOPHER OWENS, Bristol Thekla, Thursday 28 February 2013

Below decks on the “Dirty Boat” again; following last week’s trip onto the top deck to see The History Of Apple Pie, this one was a Thursday evening jaunt to see elfin slacker troubadour and former Girls main-man Christopher Owens, striking out on his own following the dissolution of a band that, according to Christopher, “didn’t really exist anyway,” said dissolution occurring barely weeks after Tim, Tracey and I saw them at the Forum last year!

It was the same trio off to this one; Tim picked me up at 7.15 and we headed down, expecting to hear vast swathes from his louche, laid-back debut singer-songwriter solo effort “Lysandre”, and rather hoping we may also get some of the more absorbing, Wheat-like US alt-rock from the Girls back catalogue. You never know… Picked our way through a busy Bristol city centre and circumnavigated a massive tour bus in the Thekla’s car park, before getting downstairs in time to completely miss the support band, who (according to Beef, who we ran into here) apparently only played 20 minutes! A surprise was the very low turnout for this one; rumoured to be sold out, this was barely half full at most, and a crowd of about 100 hardy souls cloistered around the front awaiting Owens’ arrival. It was so quiet, I actually sat on the stage, extreme right, completely unhindered, all evening and throughout Owens’ set!

Christopher led his band on at ¼ to 9; an 8 piece, this, including 2 female backing vocalists, one of which who had no waist whatsoever, and an impressively zoot-suited older flautist/ saxophonist. No wonder they needed such a huge tour bus! They proceeded to play Owens’ “Lysandre” album in order, the blond flick-haired Owens, mainly seated throughout, thereby veering between slow-burn and classic 60’s acoustic singer-songwriter material, all mellow, idiosyncratic and introspective (though never maudlin), and more uptempo, poppier songs which nevertheless still owed a clear debt to the 50’s/ 60s. The upbeat and most Girls-like number, “New York City”, featured some virtuoso sax to swing it along, and the fragile, Big Star-esque ballad “A Broken Heart” was touching, emphasised by Owens’ equally fragile, keening vocals. “Lysandre’s Theme”, a descending, pastoral riff which opened the set on its’ own, was also featured in a number of songs, bringing them together thematically but also giving me the uneasy impression that I was listening to the same song a time after time. This was even the case with the reggae tinged instrumental “Riviera Rock”, during which the girls swayed with an air of detached insouciance.

This was also somewhat of a problem for me tonight; the band were excellent musicians and the songs well crafted and constructed, but it all seemed a little anodyne and passionless, a possible case of image over substance. And after a politely meandering “Everywhere You Know”, they were off – after barely half an hour!

The crowd, clearly more than a little taken aback by the brevity of the performance, eventually cheered for an encore, and Owens and the band returned for a 5 song covers vignette, including Cat Stevens’ “Wild World”, Simon And Garfunkel’s mellow “The Boxer” with its smooth “aye la lie” chorus line, and the Everly Brothers’ “Let It Be Me”, again underlining that Owens is very much in a 60’s headspace right now, as he handed out lilies to the front rows to close out an overall 50 minute performance. No Girls material though; I can understand him wanting a clean break from that band, but in that case a £15 ticket price for the Thelka was a bit steep for half an hour of original material padded out with a few 60’s covers. I liked… no, make that admired, the first half-hour, but thereafter just felt a little short-changed.

And early home too – out of the venue before ¼ to 10 and home at half past!

872 GAZ BROOKFIELD, Julesbury, Jimmy Moore, Benji, Swindon Victoria, Friday 22 February 2013

Second time already this year I’ve seen Gaz Brookfield and eighth time overall, but I’m nowhere near getting tired of being entertained by this passionate and committed performer, who effortlessly blends punk rock sensibility and attitude to an acoustic delivery, and an innate feel for catchy hookery and clever, pointed wordsmithery. That said, I’m still not sure I’ve yet been to a definitive Gaz gig, one where the audience reaction is as charged and enthusiastic as the man’s performance itself. Maybe this Friday night up the Vic will deliver such a gig. Let’s see...

Hit the already impressively busy Vic pub back-room venue about 8.30, in time to catch a plethora of support acts. First up, Benji, a smooth and soulful vocalist with an impressive octave-straddling voice, drawing from a smattering of eclectic covers (Jimi Hendrix’ “Crosstown Traffic” rubbing shoulders with The Jungle Book’s “I Wanna Be Like You”!) and some well-structured laid-back originals. Talented and clearly enjoying himself up there, this was a fine opening set. Next, a young bloke called Jimmy Moore then played a more knockabout acoustic set, dropping in a bit of rap and Gaz-like guitar percussion into his more upbeat, in-your-face and occasionally anthemic set. Not bad either, and I was kindly disposed to both of them as they actually played their instruments, rather than backing them through tape loops like some recent support acts.

I caught up briefly with Gaz before main support Julesbury, mentioning my thoughts on not yet having experienced a “definitive” Gaz gig. With a by-now full crowd, tonight looked promising... Julesbury themselves were a two-piece with a blonde vocalist, who unfortunately reverted to the dreaded tape loops to augment her harmonising. More trad-folk, they weren’t my cup of Steeleye Span, so I took a breather, returning to take a stage-front spot while Gaz set up.

Gaz and violinist Ben Wain took the stage at 10.15 - this was originally intended to be a full band performance, but 2 of Gaz’ band allegedly had other commitments, which either fell through or were actually for different nights, prompting Gaz to subsequently dedicate “Tell It To The Beer” tonight to, “the most talented but flakiest bunch of b***ards I know!”. Opening with “SN1”, for his father in law’s birthday, Gaz’ performance was superbly overt and committed from the outset, and this was met in kind with some loud and parochial “ooo-ar”s from this thankfully enthusiastic crowd. A chat about Swindon needing a “Swindonian Way” preceded a lovely “Frank And Sam”, Ben’s virtuoso fiddling already dovetailing in perfectly with Gaz’ acoustic guitar bashing and dextruous guitar percussion. A mellower set mid-section ensued, a touching, almost love-song “Glass Half Empty” a highlight, before a more upbeat “Limelight” was preceded by an explanation of how, since the Levellers had taken Gaz on tour, the 3rd verse was now a “dirty pack of lies”! This ignited the crowd, and was followed by newie “Land Pirate’s Life”, detailing said Levellers tour (“the tour I thought I’d never get,” according to Gaz) and recalling The Men they Couldn’t Hang’s excellent “Going Back To Coventry”.

“Drinking song,” “Under The Table” got a rousing singalong, before set highlight “Be The Bigger Man”, Gaz’ venomous delivery being diffused by his reaction to Ben’s brilliant violin sawing during a lengthy middle eight, which got a deserved ovation and a tribute from Gaz (“Ben Wain; making me sound good since 2011!”). “Thin” and, “ill conceived Christmas single,” (Gaz words, not mine!) “Diet Of Banality” were both mass singalongs to end the set, although a thunderous ovation saw him dragged back for a final “West Country Song” to end proceedings, Gaz leaving the stage to tour through the massed singing front rows in an all-inclusive, elongated finale.

Breathless, brilliant stuff from a born performer. Quick compliments and signed set-list later, I hit the road, having finally experienced a “definitive” Gaz Brookfield gig!

871 THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE, Duck House, Follow The Sun, Bristol Thekla Top Deck, Sunday 17 February 2013

Not the best way to prepare for a return to work after a lovely week off looking after the kids at half term, but an enjoyable one nevertheless; a gig on the “Dirty Boat”! Tonight’s hosts: The History Of Apple Pie, whom I’d seen about 18 months ago in Cardiff supporting Male Bonding, being diverted by them in a shoegaze/ Lush kind of way but unmoved by the paucity of immediate tunes, and promptly forgetting about them… That is, until a chance meeting with Beef prompted me to check them out again on YouTube, this time thoroughly enjoying both the spiky guitar textures, but also the hooks! Thus re-enthused, I opted to join Beef on this trip to the Thekla. Any excuse, I know!

Mindful of previous early gigs at the Thekla, Beef picked me up at ¼ to 7 for a roadworks-affected run down to Brizzle, getting there an hour later, and puzzled by the lack of activity around the venue. Realised when we got in that not only was this a later gig, but was also on the much smaller yet thankfully covered top deck of the boat, rather than down in the belly of the vessel. Subsequently, we were the 6th and 7th punters to arrive! This however meant enduring a couple of risible support “acts”; Follow The Sun, up first, was a solo guitarist/ keyboardist playing dour instrumentals and following the current “trend” of playing a riff then programming it into his PC or effects pedal loop, rather than playing the damn thing “live”. Sounding like music for low budget nature documentaries (i.e. the ones who can’t afford a Sigur Ros soundtrack), this was interminably dull; sorry, for “hypnotic”, read “repetitive and boring as all shite”. Duck House, next up, were just as bad; a duo playing really bad 80’s wine bar funk/ synth pop, recalling the likes of Shakatak (seriously!) and reminding me of some unfortunate 80’s nights at former Swindon nightclub Bubbles (!). Again, another band smothering their sound with pre-programmed tracks and effects, their “performance” effectively consisted of punching keys on their PC. I do that all day at work and I don’t expect anyone to clap. Guys, play your flippin’ songs “live”, or you might as well not be there onstage!

Thankfully, we had an actual band to rescue us from tape loop hell. We popped down to the front of the small corner stage for The History Of Apple Pie’s arrival at 9.45. A young 5-piece, featuring a 2-girl vocal attack, they were quite crowded on this tiny stage (a point main vocalist Steph made after their first number, to which a punter shouted that the ubiquitous Big Jeff should move back and give them room!). They nevertheless eased in with a couple of low-key, atmospheric openers, before unleashing “Mallory”, their finest number, 3rd track in. An upbeat, soaring delight with an off-kilter, repeating riff and some lovely intertwining harmonies, this delicious number was my set highlight, although it was almost matched by a similarly upbeat “Tug”, next up, before the band moved down the gears for a sprawling, slower-burn and more widescreen “See You”. Musically, they’re still in thrall to the late 80’s/ early 90’s sonic template of shimmering wall of sound guitars and shoegazey submerged vocals, with the likes of Lush and Pale Saints obvious reference points, but the discordant and dramatic “Do It Wrong” also recalled Madder Rose, and there’s now quite a sly and surreptitious level of tuneage here, creeping up on you and burrowing into your consciousness.

A spiky, angular “Before You Reach The End”, their lengthy album closer, fittingly brought a short but sweet 40 minute set to a close, before I grabbed a set-list, got the girls to scribble their Jane Does on it, and we hastily hit the road. Work tomorrow, you see, but this was definitely a fine way to spend my last “holiday” evening!

870 THE SHUDDERS, Alex Taylor, The Right Hooks, Swindon The Victoria, Friday 1 February 2013

Another one at the Vic, this, and it’s a welcome return to gigging for Tim’s band The Shudders! Apart from heralding a return to treading the boards for Swindon’s finest pirate folk/ Americana/ dusty understated Country dabblers (OK, I know, I’m biased here…) this gig serves a further double purpose; firstly a chance to really start to bed in new drummer Jim in a proper “live band” setting, as opposed to the acoustic outings thus far (such as gig 857 at The Running Horse last October); and secondly a celebration of Tracey’s birthday!

We set off up the hill after Rachel's mum had arrived to babysit, hitting Longs Bar (yikes!) about 8 and meeting up with Tim, Tracey the birthday girl and her entourage for a drink. Ventured into the more sensible confines of The Vic afterwards, popping down to see the (already late running, uh oh…) Right Hooks, an acoustic 3-piece playing folksy numbers to a sparse crowd of mates. Some good humour and in-between song banter partly made up for the fact I found their numbers… well, just dull really, I’m afraid. Main support Alex Taylor seemed more promising initially; a personable trilby-hatted young chap, his first stripped back number was haunting and evocative and recalled Hobotalk, but the next song was smothered in unnecessary pedal effects and delivered in a harsher, more off-scale, almost scat vocal style, and seemed convoluted in comparison. Unimpressed, we decanted to the bar, there meeting up with a visiting Rich Craven for an entertaining chat.

Back down for The Shudders set, chatting with an, erm, well refreshed vocalist Danny at the bar before he was called to duty with the band about 10.30. Initially things went well, with a set drawing on an all new set of numbers, the basis of the next album they’re planning to start recording shortly (in Sweden, no less!), showing considerable progression, maturity and diversity from their debut album batch of songs. Melancholy opener “Sunrise” was followed up with a Men They Couldn’t Hang-like “Truce Song” (evoking The Men’s “Green Fields Of France” in the verses, yet featuring some striking, toughened-up riffery in the chorus lines), then an excellent and more upbeat “New Design”, which pleased Rach, as there’d been too much slow stuff this evening up to then!

“Epic” hadn’t yet been a word suitable to describe The Shudders, but a couple of their numbers (the ambitious, widescreen sea shanty lament of “Mary’s Grace”, and the slower, Sparklehorse-like “Sunflower Blues”) now show some serious attempts to broaden their scope and range, and the new drummer, finally behind a kit with this lot, was impressive from the outset, giving extra hard-edged dynamism and drama to their sound, with lots more sudden outbreaks of thrashy and thrilling noise than before. Some good harmonies as well, particularly on the Gigolo Aunts-like “Yesterday” which (a little predictably, I know…) was my set highlight, and may well become my favourite Shudders song.

Towards the end, however, things got a little ragged and all over the place; the odd bum note or two, understandable given their lack of “live” practice, became more prevalent, and the beer ended up getting the better of them during the final double of “Sorry” (which featured a verse refrain similar to Bowling For Soup’s “Punk Rock 101”) and a raucous closer “Angels” (which featured a verse refrain similar to the theme from “Grease”!). The very tall vocalist Danny in particular was swaying like a big ol’ tree towards the end, just needing one well placed chop to completely fell him.

We dashed off promptly at the end, given the lateness of the hour, nevertheless looking at the positives of this Shudders showing. Seeing past the lack of practice and a surplus of alcoholic beverages this evening, the new material is a quantum step forward, and Jim is an excellent drummer who seems to have fitted in seamlessly. So things are definitely on the up for The Shudders!

869 GAZ BROOKFIELD, Darren Martin, Swindon The Victoria, Thursday 3 January 2013

So we start the 2013 gigging year just as we ended the 2012 one; with a Gaz Brookfield gig at The Vic! This was a last minute one for everyone, with Gaz himself admitting he’d only been contacted by the Vic management earlier that week, but wasn’t going to turn down a paying gig in January. Who can blame him? This was also due to be an unusual gig, insofar as it was going to be in the bar itself, rather than the normal back room Vic venue. Let’s see how this plays out!

So I drove up the hill and hit the venue about 8.30, running into a chatty Gaz and chewing the cud with him about various topics, including the video for “Be The Bigger Man” which finally sees the light of day tomorrow (4th January) and which features a short clip of me and my kids! Stopped talking in deference to support act Darren Martin, a tall, languid and laconic blond bloke who kicked off with a cute C86 soundalike innocently strumalong track, then delved into some more varied and thoughtful acoustic singer-songwriter stuff. Fiddling with a problematic battery pack on his guitar, he nevertheless showed a songwriting maturity beyond his years and played an interesting set.

Had a chat with new dad (again!) Alan Marshall while Gaz set up in the raised window area serving as the “stage”, along with his band member Chris, sitting in on bass and occasional percussion box tonight, and backing up Gaz’ usual acoustic guitar bashing and general folk/ punk hooliganism. I hopped on a barstool for a good view and because my knee hurt! Gaz opened with “Hell Or High Water”, his “road trip from hell” number and one I’d lamented him not playing that often, so that was nice! “4 Chords And The Truth” was a warm, affirming follow-up, suiting the bar location, which gave the gig an intimate, cosy and homely feel for the couple of dozen punters dotted around. After a Billy Bragg-esque “It Doesn’t Matter Who You Vote For”, we were onto the first of four new songs, with Gaz making a justifiable excuse for his copious notes with, “music stands aren’t cool, but neither is getting the words wrong!” However, this newie, a slow-burn, melancholic lament with a great hook, “I can’t stand being around drunk people when I’m sober,” was delivered perfectly and set a high bar for the new numbers.

A jolly “SN1” (“always fun to play in Swindon”) and a touching “Frank And Sam”, featuring some dextrous guitar percussion from Gaz and intertwining bass from Chris, followed, then another muted number in “Glass Half Empty” (“I don’t write many love songs as I’m a bitter and miserable sod!” announced Gaz before this one!). Up to this point Gaz hadn’t really cut loose with a passion and vitriol, but another newie in “Let Your Anger Go”, a Dashboard Confessional like number full of bubbling, raw angst (“an angry song about not getting angry!”) finally saw the shackles off, and a “defamatory” version of “Diet Of Banality” kept the commitment level high.

Another couple of excellent, whip-crack fast new numbers, including one encapsulating his recent experiences supporting The Levellers and allegedly written in his van the morning after a gig and a stiff drinkie night (!), preceded the as-ever brilliant “Be The Bigger Man”, all vim, venom and righteous fury, and my set highlight. “Thin” cleared the air, before the bar all seemed to join in for “Under The Table”, a sway-along climax to an excellent hour, before encore “The West Country Song” provided another bar-room singalong and saw the gig proper close with a rousing cheer.

Hit the road at 11 following congrats to Gaz and compliments in particular on the new numbers. 2013 is currently shaping up as the year when a number of my “live” acts either hit double figures (The Men They Couldn’t Hang, due in March) or higher (James, The Bunnymen and Stiff Little Fingers are all due to hit their “teens” in gigs for me this year); at this rate it won’t be long before Gaz joins them in double figures. And it’ll be well deserved!