Oh. (Russ L going to and fro in the Earth)

There hasn’t been what you’d call a massive amount of going out-and-about for me so far this year, but I’ve worked on that over the last couple of days (gig-going is on the verge of recommencing in the immediate future too, incidentally). A madras at Manzils on Monday was nice but not necessarily worthy of comment; a trip to Symphony Hal with me ol’ ma-ma last night was.

Part of The Philharmonia’s touring schedule, the main attraction of the evening was Beethoven’s 9th. It was originally due to be coupled with Schoenberg’s “Kammersymphonie,” which I don’t know but I’m assuming would have been… well, noisy. Y’know, Schoenberg and clutching at your ears in pain and noticing blood is gushing out and so forth. I mean that in a positive way. There’s nothing wrong with being challenged.

A change of conductor (from Christophe Von Dohnanyi to Sir Charles Mackerras) seemed to necessitate a switch in this, however, and we ended up with Mozart’s Piano concerto No. 27. No small difference, I’d hazard to guess. Once again I didn’t know this in advance, but it was very pretty (and very twinkly, as my mother pointed out) although not the single most instantly-grabbing thing I’ve ever heard. Various phrases and themes in it seemed vaguely familiar right up until the point I realised I was imagining it.

Diverting, anyway, but not the point of the evening. The ninth – oh yes. The Clockwork Orange theme, if you will. Bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom, bom-bom-bom-bom-booom-bo-bom. Three movements went by (swapping around the standard 2nd and 3rd movement symphonic form of scherzo and lyrical, if I’m correct. If not… well, I don’t know really, I’m just having a stab at pretending to know what I’m talking about), achieving a variety of moods in the way that little but a symphony can (I’m fading back into my own usual impressionistic talk rather than pretending know what I’m doing with the technical terms, now). Playful, happy, angry, storm-calling – it’s all there.

Then, of course, we get to the final movement. There’s a lot in that even in and of itself, but the collective smile of glee that swept around the audience when the orchestra began to play ‘that’ theme was undeniable and heart-warming.

Then, of course, the soloists join in. Then, of course, the choir. Oh, lord oh mercy – people often speak of how music sends a shiver down their spine, but this was the first time that had literally happened to me.

“Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!

I had trouble sitting still in my seat, it was that much of a physical impact.

Cor.

~ Russ L, still feeling a creepy feeling up his back when thinking about it.

A while ago I took part in a survey of live music venues in the West Midlands and surrounding counties, undertaken by Digital Central. The results are now available in PDF form (I found them via a post on Created In Birmingham). It’s an interesting read even if they they have put me down as being from Birmingham, the blighters.

That post, incidentally, also links to a similar survey in two parts that I conducted myself some time back.

~ Russ L, who (on a related note) refuses to be concerned about The Academy closing down, being as it is (to put it politely) a leech-run house of wallet-scalping soul-destroying obnoxiousness. The Civic is only down the road, and while it may not have done as well in my survey I personally find it massively preferable. The Academy can burn as far as I’m concerned. (Edit: Further discussion on this matter is going on here).

I realise that to people reading this who don’t know me I probably often sound like I’m trying to pull a “What’s a Beatle?” and sound all aloof, but I genuinely am very slow to pick up on all the latest crazes. This isn’t deliberate, and I can only assume I must be a bit slow on the uptake. Internet crazes in particular are a bit of a blind spot to me. I quite often know the names but have no idea what they do or how they work - your Diggs and your I-Tunes, for example, are foreign worlds to me.

The other day, though, I discovered Del.icio.us, by dint of getting a few hits from it (cheers for that, chap who probably knows who he is. I don’t know who he is, other than the name he uses on his profile). “I could use that as a linklog,” I thought.

Ta-da!

I’ve stuck a few sites of local interest on, just to get myself started. Henceforth I’ll probably use it for individual posts/threads/etc that amuse. If I have anything in particular to say about them they’ll probably still go on here.

~ Russ L, linkilicious.

Last month may have seen a shorter version of LOTTSADITWM, but this one is a monstah. Standard disclaimers: I can’t ensure that these events will go ahead, that they’ll be good, or that I will be going to them. Please do not contact me to ask for your event to be included. That’s not the way it works.

Thursday the 1st - The Good, The Bad And The Queen @ J.B’s, Dudley - J.B’s is not the venue one would expect the new “alternative/punk/afrobeat” band featuring Damon Albarn o’ Blur and Paul Simonen o’ The Clash to be playing one of their early gigs, but there we are. Maybe there was a touch of confusion over the ‘afro’ part of the description after someone said something about J.B’s being a place for people with big hair. The important lesson here is to always be as specific as possible.

Thursday the 1st to Sunday the 4th – Flatpack Film Festival @ all over Brum - Oh yes oh yes oh yay, it’s another pie to the eye of those who say nothing interesting ever happens in Birmingham. I’m not a film fan, really, but as you can see from that link there’s an intriguing variety of stuff agwaan. I may turn up to have a look at a screen or two.

Saturday the 3rd - Capsule and The Flatpack Film Festival present “Known/Unknowns” @ The Jug Of Ale, Moseley, Birmingham - Part of the above. The whole of The Jug is being given over for this one, with a bunch of bands playing and some film-showings and such. Army Of Flying Robots may sound like generic shred-shred-graagh on record but had a much bigger feel to them when I some them some years ago, Bee Stung Lips are a great rock ‘n’ roll band featuring members of nearly every other local group who has been or ever will be, and Bela Emerson’s cello experimentations intrigue me. All that and more - it looks like most of us will be able to get our fiver’s worth out of this one.

Sunday the 4th – Bang On A Can Allstars play Eno’s “Music For Airports” and Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Many-a chin will be stroked, I suspect. Also set to be performed are pieces by Thurston Moore, David Lang and Don Byron.

Tuesday the 6th – Regina Spektor @ The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton - I’m a late convert to her cause, admittedly, but gott dayum if Regina’s “Begin To Hope” isn’t a good contender for my favourite album released last year (add usual disclaimers here). I’m really looking forward to this one.

Tuesday the 6th – Massive Attack @ The Academy, Birmingham - Sold out beyond recognition already, kidda. You’ll have to use the secret way to get into The Academy. Have I said too much?

Wednesday the 7th – Seven Seconds Of Love @ The Barfly, Digbeth, Birmingham - The First Drink Of The Day! Bah-bah-bah-da-da! The First Drink Of The Day! Bah-bah-bah-da-da! Monkeys love beer.

Thursday the 8th – Brutal Truth/Narcosis – Academy 2, Birmingham - Another one from the “Bloody hell, are they still going?” files, that there Brutal Truth. Pioneers in the field of grindcore (y’know, the noisy stuff).

Thursday the 8th – Holsten Premier League Darts – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton - “Yeah cheers” said Keith.

Friday the 9th – ‘Big Love Slam’ @ The MAC, Edgbaston, Birmingham - And lo, the organisers did wonder why people kept smirking at the title. A poetry slam/competition, anyway, with the first round on the subject of romance and from thence on about whatever the participants like. Do they have “No grabbing the mic, no insults about anyone’s babymomma” rules at these things like they do at hip-hop battles?

Saturday the 10th – Amateur MMA Fighting Championships present “The Beginning” @ Bescott Stadium, Walsall - This is definitely worth supporting if you’re an MMA fan, since there simply aren’t enough amateur shows around these parts for fighters to gain experience. The current card can be seen here. Apparently nearly sold out.

Sunday the 11th – Aerogramme @ The Bar Academy, Birmingham - A band I saw at Supersonic 2005 and vowed to check out further, before (in traditional fashion) not doing so at all in the slightest. Maybe this will be my chance. I’ve also since found out that some effort is being expended to get Mothertrucker on the bill, although that’s far from confirmed. (Edit: Mo’tro are confirmed).

Tuesday the 13th – Sonic Boom Six / The King Blues @ The Academy 2, Birmingham - Two bands I think I want to like but can’t make my mind up about. Sonic Boom Six are a rapping ska-punk band with bits of d’n'b and reggae and Lord knows what else, the likes of which there used to be a lot of on the South coast about eight or nine years ago. The King Blues are a potentially fun little two-tone-ish ska band whose singer’s fishy feigned-accent can be smelled from here. Still, though, y’know. Y’know.

Tuesday the 13th – “Animal Farm” with Gary Shelford @ The Library Theatre, Bloxwich - A one-hander version of Orwell’s joint-most-famous book. I want a ribbon.

Thursday the 15th – Boxing (PJ Promotions) @ Town Hall, Dudley - Darren ‘Macca’ McDermott in a qualifier for a crack at the British middleweight title, amongst other fights. That’s the way, more Black Country champions please. Preview here.

Saturday the 17th – This Is Seb Clarke @ The Barfly, Digbeth, Birmingham - Dexy’s-ish soul’n’roll band who sound like they’ll be loads of fun live. (Edit: TISC have pulled out. There are still some other bands on).

Saturday the 17th & Sunday the 18th – A brace of Capsule gigs @ The Jug Of Ale, Moseley, Birmingham - The thought occasionaly occurs that rather than so frequently saying “Also on the bill are Brown Sabbath, who I’ve never heard” in these things, it might be an idea to fire up the ol’ MySpace and leave their page on for a while so I can have a listen to them. Y’know, like ’Er With The Shoes does in her “Gigs next week” bit. The further thought occurs, though, that this would require more effort than I can be bothered to put in. And here’s where we end up. On the Saturday we have the Flower-Corsano Duo (dunno), Voice Of The Seven Woods (haven’t heard them but I have heard many-a good thing about their psych-folk) and Mills And Boon (great messy splattery churning jazz-rock). Sunday will see turns from Young James Long (Pass. Long Young James would have been a better name, though), Copter (don’t know but apparently they have a robot onstage. That’s me sold already) and D. Louis Baker (he’s a good lad with some great songs he plays on his piano and guitar. Also, he’s from West Brom. I approve of that).

Sunday the 18th – Shy Child @ The Medicine Bar in The Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham - Energetic keyboard ‘n’ drum synthpop/dance duo, and supposedly a fantastic live act too. I’ve heard very little about them that hasn’t glowed with praise.

Sunday the 18th – Kickboxing @ Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton - I’ve got nothing for you other than the fact that it’s supposed to be happening. There doesn’t seem to be much information around. I’m guessing it might be a Showsport affair (Edit: Here y’go).

Wednesday the 21st – Amy Winehouse @ The Academy, Birmingham - Amy lookalikes (the latest in a 381 part series):
Amy Winehouse
Russell Brand

I joke, I joke, Because I love. And because this is one with practically infinite mileage.

Thursday the 22nd – Hugo Boss “Urban Rules” event @ Somewhere in Birmingham, I don’t know where - Featuring the second Amy Winehouse gig in the city in two days as well as Jay Sean… I’m not too sure about this one. I think the actual gig is competition winners and invitees only, so if you think you fancy it hop over that link and get registered for the compo sharpish. In addition to this, aspiring urban artistes also have a chance to upload their music onto the site and potentially get themselves into some sort of audition. I’ve no idea what it’s an audition for. This all has the feel of a big and worthwhile sort of thing and hence I’m listing it here, but I’m buggered if I know what’s actually going on and their website is toss-all help. (Edit: Looks like it’s at The Medicine Bar, but I’ve still got nothing in the way of solid info).

Friday the 23rd – Boxing (Ringside Promotions) @ Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Aston, Birmingham - Headlined by Matthew Macklin vs former Elcock opponent Vincent Baldassara. It’s looking good for the middleweights round here lately.

Saturday the 24th – Mothertrucker @ Chapter Eleven, Birmingham - Cor, I haven’t waffled on and on about baddest-arse instrumental rockers Mothertrucker in the fashion that I always used to for ages, have I? Now I mention them twice in one post. How about that. It’s like the buses.

Saturday the 24th - The Destroyers @ The Varsity, Wolverhampton - A band who may well have assumed my frequently-waffling-about mantle. Go and see them, really; you won’t regret the decision.

Saturday the 24th – Eddie Reader @ The Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry - The fact that I never seem to include much Coventry stuff in these posts isn’t policy, I assure you – I just rarely know what’s going on out over the East End Of The West Midlands. I heard on the radio the other day that Eddie Reader was once in a circus troupe. I’ve no idea if she still plays any Fairground Attraction songs, before you ask.

Saturday the 24th – Trencher / Rolo Tomassi @ The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham - Lots of gigs on this particular night, it seems. This one is your ‘noisy’ option.

Sunday the 25th – The Midlands Lhasa Apso Association Dog Show @ The Harry Mitchell Centre, Smethwick - Aaaaw! Dougal Dogs!

Monday the 26th - Boxing (Pat Cowdell) @ The Holiday Inn, Birmingham - No idea about the card or anything. I imagine it’ll be a dinner show.

Monday the 26th to Saturday the 3rd of March – “Acorn Antiques” @ The Hippodrome, Birmingham - “Apparently being spiteful and having lots of extra-marital affairs could bring back my jaundice, so I’m going to be really nice from now on.”

~ Russ L, thinking February is going to be an expensive one.

It’s been ages since I last went to a proper gig at a proper venue. Upon examining The List, it appears that the last-but-one night of GDFAF (at The Market Tavern) was the most recent. November! That’s just mad. Everything since then has been either stupidly big (Academy, Civic, Kentish Town Forum), even more stupidly big (NIA), or just abstract (ICC Symphony Hall foyer).

A trip to The Jug might be thought to be a return to sanity, then, but this was no normal gig. I was off to see Frank Sidebottom. Ho yuss. I didn’t know what to expect from his act, really and truly - I dimly remembered him from when I was very young and knew it was a mix of comedy and songs, but no specifics. It seemed like fun, though, and so off I went.

Indeed it was fun, and lots of it. Songs played on his Bontempi keyboard, general musings about showbusiness, life and Timperley (and showbusiness life in Timperley), a raffle, a slide show, and a lecture about looking after pets (”A dog isn’t just for Christmas, is for boxing day too at the very least”). All side-splittingly funny, and Frank himself is really… well, sweet. I think that’s the key to the whole thing, really, his naive loveablenessness. No blue material, either.

I really enjoyed it, anyway. I can’t wait for him to come back and treat us to a bit more fantastic showbusiness.

Photos from homeboy Jon Bounds here.

~ Russ L. You know I am. I really am.

- I wasn’t going to do a proper list of the best albums of 2006, but I was about to write about a few I recommend. Altogether, though, I’ve decided that I can’t be bothered. The main thing that has struck me about the mass of 2006 lists you can find on the internet is the relative dearth of shouts for Johnny Cash’s “American V: A Hundred Highways.” I would have expected that to feature in a lot more of them than it actually has.

- Similarly on an ‘albums from last year’ note, I proclaim Grails’ “Black Tar Prophecies Vols. 1, 2 & 3″ to be the shade to the light of The Eagles’ recording of “Journey Of The Sorcerer” (i.e. the “Hitchhikers” theme). No, really. Stay with me on this one. Both are necessary for a full and complete life.

- I’m no longer anything to do with TheCommunion.co.uk. No hard feelings on either side, I just feel that over time it (as an entity) and myself have grown far enough apart as to have little in common anymore. I wish Al’n'El nothing but the best (and I may as well plug their label, while I’m here).

- So, this “Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto” is apparently a real film. I can’t remember where I first heard the title, but isn’t it just the most Troy McClure-esque name you’ve ever heard?

- I know that rumours on this subject have been a-plenty for a good while now, but a little bird tells me that the UFC will be running a card at the Manchester M.E.N. on the 29th of April. I gather it’s set to be confirmed in the very near future. Pounce on tickets fast if you’re interested, I can see them going quickly.

~ Russ L, realising three days later that he hadn’t put a sign-off message at the end and editing accordingly.

I’m sure The Destroyers will strike all of us who know of them as a good choice for the first live act to see in a new year. Aptly, a bit on them has just appeared on Created In Birmingham.

This set (on the 12th) was part of the weekly ‘Rush Hour Blues’ affair at the foyer of Symphony Hall, in the ICC. This is, as I’ve said before, a genius idea – a band playing at 5:30pm every Friday, free entry. If you work in Birmingham the traffic at that point in time will be beyond stupid anyway, so why not stop by? Well, the main reason not to stop by is that the majority of acts booked seem to be ‘musicianship’ bands who go diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly for about ten minutes at a time, at the expense of everything else. Still, it’s a fantastic idea, and occasionally they get someone a touch more interesting to play.

The Destroyers, then, who don’t sound anything like you might imagine given their name (no matter whether you see it as a misplaced scary metal moniker or as George Thorogood’s backing band). I’ve seen them twice before and been absolutely enamoured with their lively and dancy East European/Gypsy folk/klezmer both times.

I was slightly perturbed as we arrived and took up seats - they didn’t seem to have their customary silly hats on. This came as a great disappointment to me, and appeared to actually have an effect on them. Their first little turn (they played for a bit, had a break, then played for a bit more) wasn’t quite what I expected from them - pleasant enough, but a much more earnest and serious sound. It was presumably closer to the original sources, but much less fun.

During the break, a silly hat was spotted… then another… soon enough, headgear a-plenty was in sight. “This looks more promising,” I thought, and so it turned out. From the moment they began playing again they sounded more energetic, more raucous, and more… well, the aforementioned fun. This is the first time I’ve seen them where nobody got up and danced (perhaps not surprising, given the surroundings), but I certainly had to mouth a few “Hey!”s under my breath at the end of a few phrases. They were eventually joined again by Paul Murphy, as they were the first time I saw them. He adds a lot of wild-but-loveable ranting and raving to proceedings.

They really are a fantastic band, and one capable of appealing to a lot of different people who might ordinarily not be regular gig goers.

After that it was over the canal with us to Cielo, as great now as when it was when I last went a couple of years ago. Great food (I had fried calamari rings with a garlic sauce to start and pork & oregano with salami on the side for main, lovely jubbly), cosy but classy surroundings and nicely attentive service. Not as expensive as I’d expected, either. Highly recommended.

~ Russ L, who enjoyed this Eastern/Southern European combo evening a lot.

- Over the last month or so I’ve been spectacularly fed up with work, then a bit happier with it, and now back to being thoroughly fed up. This may or may not explain a lack of posting.

- “Outsoles are made of enduring compounds and are a in Queer Street needle of left over shoe existence” said a spam comment I received. It simply isn’t fair that an automatic programme type thing can come up with better sentences than I can.

- Boxing sage (and occasional commenter on this very blog) Tom Podmore has written his Review Of Midlands Boxing In 2006. I’m an anal sort of arsehole and thus can’t help wanting to headbut things and mutter about apostrophes (irrespective of the many mistakes I make myself), but most people aren’t anywhere near as sad as me and will recognise this for the good and worthwhile read that it is.

- Created In Birmingham has changed address. Don’t forget to update your links and such. In similar news, P’Ashton’s Brumblog has moved onto a seperate site.

- Is the idea that some sources are more reliable than others really that difficult to accept? Surely the thought that someone who knows what they are talking about is more trustworthy than someone who makes things up to sound interesting isn’t a surprising one?

- Don’t believe her. I was first.

- Bowie has turned sixty. The only tribute I’ve seen worth the bother of reading was from Betty, which isn’t 100% surprising.

~ Russ L, because I’m free nothin’s worryin’ me.

Oh lord. This was ages ago. I would have written about it earlier (honest guv), but ended up really busy at work this past week. Let us proceed. At least there’s only really this one thing – I haven’t been out and about anywhere exciting since then.

December’s second trip to see “Alice In Wonderland” took place at The Birmingham Rep on Friday the 22nd of December, and was a considerably bigger-budget affair than the last ‘un. I was accompanied on this fine evening by young Olivia, and co-incidentally her mother Nykki. Nykki is of course a colleague at work, and that made this all the more apt. At the time I was somewhat pissed off with work and thinking the place definitely had a lot of elements of “Alice…” about it (combine The Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party with some 1984-esque doublethink and newspeak before sprinkling various bits of Kafka on top and you have your literary comparison).

I’ve seen some bad notices of this play, but the three of us all enjoyed it no end. A musical, but incorporating a variety of different styles beyond showtune type songs (most spectacularly the light-opera-ish sequences at the court of the Queen Of Hearts). Some clever little things were done with the sets (“Alice…” is one that allows you to go as mad as you like with that, really), too. You really couldn’t (or I really couldn’t, at least) see where the mirrors were in the ‘Rosebushes stretching back to infinity’ scene. Having remote control hedgehogs for the croquet scene, meanwhile, was nothing short of ingenious.

It was, perhaps, slightly too long – attempting to cover pretty much the entire book left some of the little ones in the audience a bit fractious by the end, but that’s about my only complaint. I don’t know, perhaps I’m too much of a big kid to look at this type of thing objectively.

Any outing with little Livvy is going to leave the planned entertainment in a trailing second place when it comes to amusement, anyway. Ah, kids. Maybe I don’t dislike them as much as I think I do. I still don’t think I could eat a whole one, though.

~ Russ L, painting the roses red.