Saved from a trip to Portsmouth by Debbie's five-string guitar and Sean's five-string-strum.
Showing posts with label Out of town. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Out of town. Show all posts
June 1st - Day 44
Saved from a trip to Portsmouth by Debbie's five-string guitar and Sean's five-string-strum.
June 2nd - Day 45
Church recital to the rescue! By the time these 365 days are over, 1pm on a weekday will be as synonymous with me for free classical music
as 3pm on a Saturday is for football (that really doesn't sound grammatically correct). This recital was in St Peter's Church, Petersfield which overlooks Petersfield town square. There was an altogether more informal and chummy feeling to recital proceedings today, not that the London recitals have been performed in front of organ dignitaries and church luminaries. I think it may just have been because I came into this church from the laid-back and sunny town centre, although the officious notice outside did say to bring your own lunch. I didn't have any lunch, but they let me in anyway.
Another notice, inside the church, claimed that coffee and biscuits were available for fifty pence. Whilst I waited to spend my 50p, the woman behind me asked me if there was any tea. I said I didn't know and suggested she asked one of the two women who were serving. So she did. The woman pouring coffee told her that there was coffee and tea but that, "I'm only doing the coffee, you'll have to ask her for tea. Don't worry, you've got the crazy gang here today". Then to add to the madness she said, "That's the milk" and pointed to the milk.
Mark Dancer, the organist, seemed a very nice and sane man who told the people a bit about each piece before performing it (unlike them London recitalists) and he had a moustache.
as 3pm on a Saturday is for football (that really doesn't sound grammatically correct). This recital was in St Peter's Church, Petersfield which overlooks Petersfield town square. There was an altogether more informal and chummy feeling to recital proceedings today, not that the London recitals have been performed in front of organ dignitaries and church luminaries. I think it may just have been because I came into this church from the laid-back and sunny town centre, although the officious notice outside did say to bring your own lunch. I didn't have any lunch, but they let me in anyway.Another notice, inside the church, claimed that coffee and biscuits were available for fifty pence. Whilst I waited to spend my 50p, the woman behind me asked me if there was any tea. I said I didn't know and suggested she asked one of the two women who were serving. So she did. The woman pouring coffee told her that there was coffee and tea but that, "I'm only doing the coffee, you'll have to ask her for tea. Don't worry, you've got the crazy gang here today". Then to add to the madness she said, "That's the milk" and pointed to the milk.
Mark Dancer, the organist, seemed a very nice and sane man who told the people a bit about each piece before performing it (unlike them London recitalists) and he had a moustache.
June 3rd - Day 46
Manti at The Square Brewery in Petersfield. Manti are a rock group. Two men (David and Rupert) on guitars and one woman (Donna) on drums. Kind of a White Stripes with added bloke. Sadly I had to leave early to find out how many more hundred books had metamorphosised through the walls of my late father's house. However, I stayed long enough to witness an original composition with a riff so fabulous I liked it a lot, and their guitary and drum version of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. And as usual I got slightly excited anticipating the bit that the BBC use for Formula One.
June 20th - Day 63
It really hasn't been often that the cancellation of a Country and Western concert has been a cause of concern to me, but this evening was such an occasion. Luckily Karaoke in The Swan had avoided the axe (although this mysterious undercover photo probably doesn't prove it) and today's live music was provided by a couple of village elders belting out some Frank Sinatra. Yes, not in London today.
August 15th - Day 119
2,000 Leeds United supporters singing in leafy Buckinghamshire: "Marching On Together! We're gonna see you win, na na na na na na, We are so proud, We shout it out loud, we love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (B side to the song recorded when Leeds reached the 1972 cup final, an original composition written, allegedly, by Les Reed and Barry Mason. The A side was called Leeds United). "One-nil and it's Duberry's Fault! One-nil and it's Duberry's fault!" (to the ex-Leeds player vaguely responsible for the Leeds goal) "You're not Jesus anymore!" (to the Leeds sub who'd had a haircut and shaved off his beard) "We are Leeds, we are Leeds, we are Leeds! We are Leeds, we are Leeds, we are Le-eeds! We are Leeds, we are Leeds, we are Leeds....weee are Leeeds!" To which the Wycombe fans asked, "Who are ya?! Who are ya?!", so the Leeds fans told them again, "We are Leeds, we are Leeds...etc, etc, etc...."
August 21st - Day 125
The Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons. Hugh under the gazebo (at two in the morning), We Aeronauts (who won the right to be the opening act on the main stage), Syd Arthur, Magic Lantern, Wooden Shjips, Roky Erickson, Animal Collective. Phone-camera photos show The Wooden Shjips and Roky Erickson at a distance before I overcame security paranoia and carried around my real camera for the rest of the festival.August 22nd - Day 126
Green Man continued. Cate Le Bon, Emma Tricca, Melodica Melody and Me, Jonny, Phantom Band, Robyn Hitchcock (providing musical accompaniment to Joe Boyd's readings)...bits of others...August 23rd - Day 127
Still in Wales. Bert Miller and The Animal Folk, Two Man Ting, Nick Mulvey, Scott Matthews, Undercover Hippy, Nick Nicely, The Dirty Three, Mankala...pieces of others...
August 27th - Day 131
Hector Simms-Preston playing his composition "Angels without wings". Check it, and all the fab comments, out at youtube.com/watch?v=3XlNWdDzLk8
September 20th - Day 155
This is eleven-year-old Jess who has been playing the piano since she was six. She's already very accomplished. Her half hour of practice this slightly hungover Sunday morning (me, not her), which she was doing anyway and not because I asked her, was not only soothing and a pleasure to listen to, it also gave me a quiet evening in. Thank you Jess.
February 21st - Day 309
A google search on "Glastonbury live music" throws up an overwhelming amount of pages, barely any of them relating to live music actually in the town of Glastonbury. I managed to track down a couple of things, including Jazz Impro at The Crown Hotel Glastonbury. That's how it was advertised, but these guys were more rock impro. Also advertised on the net was a folk sing-along around the bar of the ancient George and Pilgrims Hotel. I rang up to see if it was happening. I was told it was an informal affair. They just turn up, apart from when they don't, like tonight.
April 7th, 8th, 9th...Days 354, 355 and 356
Three days of live music in Brighton turned out to be something of a breeze. Most evenings of the week several pubs were holding open mic nights or evening jams. On our first evening in town, a Wednesday, we saw Zoe at The Varsity pub, here seen competing against the Man Utd/Bayern Munich game in the adjoining bar...
...and...erm...didn't-catch-his-name at The Black Lion, being watched from the toilets by a mysterious one-legged figure...
Buskers in The Lanes on the following afternoon (lovely day by the way)...
And in the North Laines...
That evening we had a choice of at least four pubs. We ended up plumping for a very friendly little boozer called The Heart and Hand, which had the most fantastic juke box stacked full of obscure 60's and 70's 45s. I got a little carried away and put on seven tracks, three of which were by Captain Beefheart, and only one of which the pub was treated to just before this evening's act, Ryan, came on for his second half. Ryan started off playing full-length cover versions, mainly mainstream indie stuff if memory serves me well...perhaps he played a couple of his own songs too, can't remember...anyway, encouraged by the cheers of three women on stools (pictured below) he morphed into an indie-medley jukebox king, playing long after he was supposed to finish. His last song was a Hey Jude sing-a-long, boys against the girls. The girls won.
A ghostly Ryan...
The next morning, another beautiful day, busker on the seafront...
...facing the skeletal iron remnants of the West Pier, in front of which a guy strummed guitar for his photo shoot...
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