Last night, Mrs B and I spent a fabulous evening saying goodbye to Duncan Reid at The Lexington. A bitter sweet occasion. The man and his band were on fire...but it was his last ever gig... The purple suit is going to be mothballed. He announced it at Rebellion and punters attended from all corners of the earth for one last, almighty "Hurrah!" This is from his third last gig at Rebellion, which we were also privileged to attend. Go on...give it some... We bumped into some friends who whispered some seismic news relating to The Damned. Something's been in the offing since Dave's no show at Rebellion and the warm up gig in Lincoln. I'm sworn to total secrecy but it's BIG and Mrs B and I are very happy bunnies! Watch this space....
I Googled Duncan Reid, apparently he is 6'9" , my first thought was ,wow that is some suit to mothball ,then noticed that it was a basketball player I was looking at not he of the Boys and big heads fame , I looked him up to find his age as I'm aware that loads of musicians and bands I knew or liked are all knocking on and sadly clocking out
He's only 64 and looks considerably younger and very fit...but, apparently he's ill and has decided to retire. He went out on a real high for a short guy!
As far as I know (which is a really, really short distance) that's the smartest thing you've ever done other than marrying Mrs. B. I wish you all the luck and love in the world ...and all of the non-luck and hatred in the world to cancer.
This dropped earlier today, and whilst I feel sure many of you guys aren't interested, I thought I'd pop this in here, primarily for @Alfie Conn, although he's probably already seen this. But just in case he hasn't, roll on January and hopefully another live gig in London to support the new album.
Took a little trip to Rough Trade East in Shoreditch for an acoustic matinee gig yesterday to promote CMAT's newly released 2nd LP Crazy Mad For Me. I couldn't make the evening show as I'd already got tickets for William the Conqueror before these shows were announced. Anyway just wanted to say it was a fun gig and amazed how full it was for a Friday afternoon and also fully expecting her to be massive sooner rather than later. I'm getting an early Kate Bush vibe about her, not sure if it's her vocals or just her in general. Anyway here's the first song off the new LP
Tbh her big "hit" I wanna be a cowboy, baby off her first LP, If My Wife New is probably the one most people will have heard but personally, I think there are better songs on the album. Possibly, my favourite is Peter Bogdanovich, the video is mad, and when she played it yesterday she accompanied herself with an omnichord, and I'm a sucker for that instrument. Ren Harvieu using it quite a bit live as well.
Always been very partial to Devo, especially the first three LP's. In fact, Duty now for the future is one of my all time favourite albums. Always felt Smart patrol/Mr Dna absolutely sums up Devo perfectly!
Devo played a UK farewell gig a few weeks ago. Tickets were a whopping £70+, regrettably I chose not to attend. I have been informed that was the wrong decision by those who chose wisely!!! Busy week ahead. Hard Fi gigs at Chalk in Brighton and and the Troxy, sandwiching The Pretenders at The Electric Ballroom. Given that my health is pretty poor at the moment, I'm going to be bolloxed by the end of it all...but very happy.
Unfortunately, I never got to see Devo live. The problem was when they were at their peak, for me at least, 1978/79, I was only 13/14 and there was no way my Mum and Dad were going to let me go off to a gig in London at that age! In fact, my first London gig wasn't until September 1981, to see the Damned at the Lyceum and my argument was I was 16 and had left school at that point. As for this recent Devo gig, aside from the obvious cost of the ticket it just feels like that ship sailed many years ago and to see them now would ultimately just be disappointing. Anyway make the most of these gigs whilst you can, it's only these past couple of years and going to see bands live again that made me realise how much I missed the live music experience!
I'm surprised that Hard Fi are your thing Brian, I really loved their debut album , never seen them live and to be honest they have dropped off my radar since I changed jobs , in those days I worked with some younger lads who kept me up to date with the bands and I in exchange filled their knowledge with bands from 60s 70s and early 80s
Like you, I thought that 'CCTV' was a blinding album, but i never got to see much of them the first time around. They played a one off gig last year that I couldn't get to, so I was determined to see them when this tour was announced. I just wish that I felt better physically. They're in a grouping of bands that I really enjoyed outside of my obvious tastes, along with Pulp, Suede; The Vaccines, The Libertines and a number of others. They've sold out some decent sized venues on this tour , so there's plenty of love out there for the band. Hopefully, some new material in the future....?
Wellers recommendation got me interested in Hard Fi and I love the first 3 albums He then put me off slightly
Fabulous night watching Hard Fi, last night. A sold out venue, a crowd who were well up for it and a band who are making up for 12 years away. Mrs B was applying some light pressure about attending 3 gigs in 6 days, what with my health being what it is right now, but she's as keen on seeing them again on Saturday as I am. It definitely helped that she chauffered me there and back. Thursday night and The Pretenders is a bit trickier...but if we drive to Morden, get the Northern Line to Camden, it's a mere stone's throw to The Electric Ballroom. New York will be a bit tougher but FFS, if I can't pull it together for that, my name's not Brian...which it isn't.
A stunning evening watching The Pretenders last night. They didn't play a single hit until the encores, preferring to concentrate on the last few albums, particularly the most recent. The crowd cared not a jot and it was a huge success. I knew i recognised the guitarist but it took me a couple of tracks to remember that as a fresh faced kid, he played for The Pogues. His addition to the band has certainly hardened up the sound and given Chrissie Hynde a new lease of life. She was stunning throughout. Is it really possible that she is 72? Insane. There was a bit too much 'guitar ****ing' for Mrs B's 'get the **** on with it' preference, but so good was the overall performance that it didn't spoil a great evening. Nothing on YouTube yet, but hopefully one of the pricks filming it will do the decent thing and share with the rest of us. Glad to report no sign of Brass in Pocket and t shirts were £5 or £10, depending on the design.Great value for the fans.
