I've Got A Golden Slipper

The Society Of The Golden Slipper - Blacks - Soho, London - 20th May 2013

"I never dreamed that I would climb over the moon in ecstasy, 

        But nevertheless it's there that I'm shortly about to be 

Cause I'm at The Golden Slipper 

To the Society Of The Golden Slippers I'll make my way 

And with music at Golden Slippers it's a golden day."

Ahem.

Blimey this was fun. Thanks to a bit of luck and years of faithful devotion to the headliner and her brill songs (yes, I sound like a cheerleader, well, RAH! RAH! YAYYYYYYY!!!) I got invited to this titchy gig in a Soho private members club. Heading the bill was Kathryn 'two- London-gigs-in-a-week-just-like-Muse-and-The-Stones' Williams with supports from Nick Mulvey & Raevennan Husbandes. I hope they will not be offended if I admit that I didn't know their work before the show.

The venue for the gig itself was little bigger than your average living room. Sofas, stools and hard floorboards were the choice of seating. Despite the lack of space, everyone was somehow accommodated within the TARDIS-like room and once windows were opened the breeze and hubbub of life in the street below gave the gig a unique atmosphere. 

It was still rather humid in the room when Kathryn sat in with the afro-tastic Raevennan Husbandes on a song they wrote in a Leeds hotel room - 'Wanderlust' which is evidence that they should do this again and soon. It was a perfect marriage of their voices and styles. Her own set was shot through by her delicate vocals and playing, a simple and effecting beauty that drew you in like a soporific candle. Her recent illness which temporarily took her sight and hearing has clearly coloured the quiet power of songs like 'Silence' and 'Stay'. The room seemed awed into silence themselves - I think this wasn't just a revelatory performance for me alone. Catch her soon as you can.

https://www.facebook.com/raevennanhusbandes

http://raevennanhusbandes.tumblr.com/

I'd seen Nick Mulvey's former band, Portico Quartet, across town at a similar showcase last year. They were impressive but it just wasn't my bag, man. So I wasn't sure what to expect from Nick's solo material. The attraction of these small shows is the intimacy between artist and audience - I'm not sure if this is felt to be a plus from the artists' position - and to see the skills at work. I was no more than 6 ft away from Nick as he played and if I wasn't I would have thought he was using some kind of electronic trickery to produce the sounds he was making.

Often it appeared that there were two people playing as he developed rhythmic foundations for each song. His new EP 'Fever To the Form' will be a treat if tonight's set is anything to go by. My personal favourite was the hypnotic 'Juramidam' and I'm glad any preconceptions I may have had were well n truly confounded with a tight and impressive display of his talents.

https://www.facebook.com/nickmulveymusic

http://www.nickmulvey.com/

With this show and the gig at the Old Queen's Head, Islington  last week, hearing the new material that Kathryn has been working on has only made me keener to bore the arse off all my friends with my continued playing of the resulting album 'Crown Electric' once it is released in September.

'Heart Shaped Stone' is already becoming a firm favourite, just a simple ear-worm melody that gives the phrase'commercial' a good name. Other new songs tonight were the gentle 'Arwen' and 'Tequila' (no relation to The Champs or Terrorvision hist of the same title) with its image of 'salty smudged kiss on a computer screen' with love delayed and deferred.

The night ended with requests for 'Flicker' and 'Grey Goes' (my shout). 'Flicker' was the first song of Kathryn's I heard on what was once called GLR, Robert Elms' show I think. There is a special something about it that I just can't put my finger on. On the record its the dramatic silence after 'quick goodbye'. Maybe its the memory of first hearing a new artist that you'd come to love. Whatever it is, it always feels like such a personal cry from the heart. 

'Grey Goes' always sounds a little unhinged both lyrically and musically, the guitar chords clashing, purposely sounding a little off-key and troubling. It builds to that deranged and unnerving shout - i just can't get enough of the power and energy of performances like this. Astonishing   

https://www.facebook.com/KathrynWilliamsMusic
http://kathrynwilliams.co.uk/ 

Rarely do I go to gigs and come away with not only great memories of a favoured singer but also keen to find out and hear more from the support acts. Although tonight Nick and Raevennan felt like part of a complete experience then separate or minor parts. The audience treated everyone with the same level of attention, respect and enthusiasm. London crowds can often be so blase and intolerant so it was a pleasure to be among such polite people.

Thanks to all at Society Of Golden Slippers for organizing such a great event and managing to make a tiny gig welcoming, comfortable and relaxed. Rather than the cramped packed and endurance testing evenings that I have experienced elsewhere. May the road rise with you. 

To find out more about Society Of The Golden Slippers and their marvellous music nights go to:

https://www.facebook.com/societyofthegoldenslippers

 

Life is just a stream of hellos and goodbyes

Kathryn Williams - Old Queen's Head - Islington 14 May 2013

                         

"She attracts a better class of audience"

As a regular gig attendee I can be quite easily prodded into ranting about the behaviour of people at gigs these days. the incessant yabbering, people taking crappy photos on their mobile that they will look at once then delete, the rudeness and downright selfishness. 

Never had that problem at a Kathryn Williams gig. A friend I took along to a previous show said afterwards. 'Her audience are so quiet. Not just during the songs but between them as well.'

The night kicked off with a superb opening slot by Broken Boat - a great folky three piece. Ridiculously young and talented, making us feel feel old and useless. Lead vocalist, Daniel Bahrami and bass player \ accordionist, Jess Hart's voices meld beautifully whilst guitarist, Brendan Kearney, quietly plays a demon guitar. Again I think they were surprised that the audience listened to their performance rather than talked through it about 'The Apprentice' and 'Britain's Got Talent'. 

Check em out here

Kathryn, aided by multi talented Neill MacColl, gave us one of the best gigs I've seen her play. Yes it may have been a little shambolic as the set-list was chopped and changed during the set. Yes, she got into a fit of the giggles after an off-colour joke involving Kermit the Frog and barely made it through 'Armchair' but these are the things that make nights out great. Times are tough, money is tight and I'd rather spend it on something that feels genuinely spontaneous and fun than a slick and humourless show. 

Like a crowd of expectant guinea pigs (hang on, that sounds like a gig at an animal maternity ward) we were given a sneak preview of Kathryn's new material due to drop in the fall (sorry). They slipped into the set alongside her older songs seamlessly and not because of any recycled ideas. 'Heart Shaped Stone' in particular had an infectious tune and 'Underground' says how we all feel on those trains, walking those tunnels, slumped on those escalators as 'everyone is looking down'. 'Monday Morning' speaks to that feeling we all have when the duvet is so warm and the world is so cold.

I've been coming to see Kathryn for more than a decade and its great to see that she has fun on stage these days. She admitted that she used to have to play sitting down for fear of fainting with nerves. She's now more chatty on stage in a wonderfully conversational way (who needs slick?) and more confident with experimenting with her songs. 'Little Black Numbers' is performed acapella, vocal harmonies and lines built up by live sampling, climaxing in a tapestry of sound - all with the flick of her right foot. 

A pal said post-show that often at a Kathryn Williams gig you feel she is just singing to you and in a small, perfectly formed room like this that perception is only magnified. 'Flicker' appears even more personal and heartfelt and the woozy 'Grey Goes' which ends the set is unhinged and powerful. As with her version of 'Hallelujah which she used to close shows with she really lets go and this bellow of jagged, guttural emotion fills the room. Its spine tingling stuff. 

New album coming soon but til then follow her on Twitter and her blog\website over here and catch her live around the country - righty here . You won't regret it. 

Oh and double thumbs up for The Old Queen's Head & Green Note for hosting such a top night of entertainment.

http://www.greennote.co.uk/
http://theoldqueenshead.com/whats-on/

The 1st 33&ANerd Podcast is now live

The 1st 33&A Nerd Podcast is now live

http://thirtythreeandanerd.blogspot.co.uk/

That is all

Please don't let me fear anything I cannot explain

You may know that I like that fella above quite a lot. I've seen him in concerts once or twice. This is up there in my top 5, maybe top 3 of his songs

I can't pretend I know exactly what the song is about and perhaps thats why it continues to fascinate me. I know that the 'composed this tune by birds arranged on the high wire' is from something that the US TV chat show host and genius Steve Allen used to do where he's get people to send in photos of birds on telephone wires and he would make tunes from the position of each bird on the wire. Was probably a planned bit of course. An arresting image I'm sure you'll agree.

I love the mystery of the piece - for some reason I see this taking place in the drawing room of an crumbling country house. The roaring fire, the portraits dotted around the walls. The protagonist or the focus of their ire with a drink in one hand staring into the fire and seeing those 'terrible faces' of people dead and gone. Its heavy with dread, guilt, death and fear.

Its the final two lines that get me and again its open to interpretation what Elvis means by them. I think its a dedication to a belief in the darkness and light of the human spirit rather than anything more supernatural. The tapping at the window and the glimpsed faces. The narrator is rattled and disappointed by life and those around them but despite that still holds on to the hope that their faith in something will be restored. Yet sometimes I think its a rejection of faith, of belief, of religion, of superstition, of humanity in all its forms. Its how you hear it on any given day I guess. 

So its always been a favourite but it was never going to be a song that would be an obvious choice to play live. The album it closes is not a darling of critics and fans alike -its too dense, disparate, intricate and over produced for its own good. All cobblers obviously but other opinions are available. However wrong those opinions may be you have access to them. So I don't think I'd ever heard him play it previous to the 1999 tour with Steve Nieve.

The one I clearly remember is the 10th December show at the Royal Festival Hall. London ( I saw him do it in Nottingham earlier in the year too but it doesn't resonate like this one) in a lengthy gig where we'd already had unreleased songs and rarities a plenty alongside an unbilled appearance by the Brodsky Quartet. Some still unreleased - seriously, who write a superb song with Carole King and then doesn't record it? Same bloke who has unreleased co-written songs with a Beatle I guess.)

Anyhoo, we reach the encores and Elvis announces they are going to turn off the PA and just sing accompanied by Steve on piano. Its a performance that has said with me. I think I was about 5th row and he came right to the edge of the stage. He starts singing and as he walks the lip of the stage you can hear his shoes creaking, the floorboards squeak. And he's not belting it out to the back row, there are great moments of stillness. The lack of a PA has made it sound even quieter than normal as if the whole place is holding its breath in fear of making a noise that will break the spell. As ever, Steve Nieve is making the piano sing with mad little runs and heart stopping silences that heighten the tension. The room feels like a fight is about to kick off - its excitement, nerves, a realization that this is a bit bloody special - all wrapped up in this communal quietness. 

If I'm honest getting us to sing along at the end broke the spell but thats his dad's 'all round entertainer' side of him coming out. After that the Brodskys came back on and they performed 'Favourite Hour' the same way but I was done by then. I had no more nervous excitement to give. 

The clip below doesn't quite capture what it was like as being a TV show they can't have a echoey vocal and muted piano causing everyone at home to think their TV has bust - but it gives you some idea.

For audio evidence of the above seek out 'A Class Act' (Doberman Records 2000) RFH London 1999

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Bootleg:_A_Class_Act

or 'On the Road Again' an excellent pre FM tape from Massey Hall, Toronto on the 1999 tour

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Bootleg:_On_The_Road_Again

When I feel strange, can I go through this again?

So when you have anxiety like I do then you tend to develop coping mechanisms for certain social situations. These enable  you to do things like everyone else but in ways that make you feel safe and in control. A deviation from this makes me feel extra nervous and edgy.

Coping mechanisms, of course, are shit.

There stop you being the regular person you want to be, they make you feel alienated from your friends and the usual humdrum social norms that they take for granted. And its in no way their fault that they don't take your problems into the equation. Cos you don't tell them. Cos you're so fucking ashamed of your weakness that it would be better just to find excuses or ways of avoiding things.

I'll give you a real life example of what I mean

Last weekend I has concert in the evening with friends. These are friends who regularly read this blog (I mean, who else would?!) so they know quite a lot about my 'quirks' and somehow that doesn't matter.
I had a sandwich at lunchtime and my usual 'operating procedure' would be that I wouldn't eat again until the gig was over. The reason is simple. When my panic attacks and anxiety build I feel queasy, faint and lightheaded, like I'm about to throw up. So faced with large crowds and being anywhere but at the edge of them the sensible option for my brain is to not eat beforehand - for hours if possible. This is despite never having thrown up while in high anxiety \ panic mode. Yep makes no sense.

So it came to around 6pm and my pals suggested getting something to eat before heading down to the venue.
Now normally I would have found some excuse to avoid this but really I couldn't. It had been such a great
 n 'normal' day so far that I didn't want spoil anyone's evening by making them awkward or at worst hungry because of my problems. Yet I also wasn't going to sit there sipping water whilst they chowed down on burgers n the like! So against years of habit I decided to have something to eat before a gig. Was a bit nervous but boy was the burger good. And the onion rings - divine!

So I did the gig. We weren't that far into the crowd but it didn't really bother me. In fact i maybe felt better than I usually do. Yes - I can hear you cry - because you had a tum full of burger. Quite possibly yes. However it was the fact that I did it that was the important thing. My anxiety lost out to my trust in my pals, my need not to let them down and my belief in myself that I could cope. Small victories.

The drugs help me stand up but I need to drop the habits of half a lifetime and that's unsurprisingly a tall order.

Got to say my friends have been so kind to me over the past month or so and really bought me through the January\Feb blues that laid me low. Thank you. And be patient with me, The emphasis is on coping and I'm trying the best I can.

 

Why I'm starting a podcast

Around this time next month myself and a pair of chums will be taping the 1st of a monthly podcast entitled 'The Dead Wax Society'

It will cover those albums, projects and songs that never made it to the record shops (remember them?) and either limped out in bits and pieces or remain in a temperature controlled record company vault. Or, of course, they were liberated by fans and 'bootleggers' for the world to hear. We'll celebrate the illicit live tapes alongside the great stuff the artists choose to release.

In addition we'll cover new and archive releases rare nuggets and tracks you really should hear and hold dear. Plus we're hoping to have interviews with fans, bands and great unsung heroes. We already have one of my favourite singer songwriters on board so I'm already planning the 2nd podcast to include her contribution.

The aim is for the podcast to not exceed 40 mins (the ideal length of an album) and to NOT be dull. We can't promise to be cutting edge and down with ver kids but we will be enthusiastic and proudly nerdy. And I predict that it will spiral off into ways and subjects that I never considered as it morphs into nothing like I've set out above.

But I can hear the question - "Why? Aren't there enough bloody podcasts in the world?"

My answer - possibly but so what?

Technology has given people passionate about a subject the opportunity to be creative and share that enthusiasm with others. The podcast will enable me to do that. It won't necessarily have the same people contributing every week as I don't want to have to rely on the availability, kindness or enthusiasm of others. So if you have an album you think the world should know about or can talk about an unheard musical project then get in touch via the Dead Wax Society blog below. 

At its heart I want the podcast to be fun, a laugh and have the sort of friendly atmosphere I get from my favourite podcasts. I'm really looking forward to getting things rolling

Any advice, help or leads to possible interviewees would be great.This will be the home for the podcast so put it in your bookmarks

http://deadwaxsociety.blogspot.co.uk/

Thrills, Pills & (no) Bellyaches

So there's two of them. A blue one and a white one.

I used to hate taking tablets as a kid. Had to empty the contents out and a spoonful of sugar helped the medicine go down. If I tried to just swallow tablets with water it would be like my tongue was a pill magnet, whatever happened the pills just refused to shift down my throat.

Some people hate the thought of taking any pills long term. They don't want to be reliant on anything, addicted or dependent on the pharmaceutical companies and THE MAN. I sort of did too. After about 18 months I decided that was quite long enough and it was time to be free again.

Except that my brain doesn't function well without them. I went back to times when I was rooted to the spot, unable to go down a street as my brain was full of fear and confusion. To times when I was fearful of waking up. The whizzing light headed feeling of withdrawal only lasted a while but the constant anxiety was more than I could bear. So since then I've been back on the drugs

I've found that therapy is all very well but I need those chemicals to enable me to live my life. Without them I wouldn't be typing this as I would have given up long ago. I used to think this was pathetic but have now decided that it what I need to survive. It may be the easy way, it may be the cowards way but unlike other people I know I've had no side effects.

Without them I had a constant nausea in the pit of my stomach, I was irritable and angry as I felt so out of control. The anxiety would be 24/7 that vibrating edge to life that would never stop.  I so wish I could be like you people who don't need them. Then again I don't need alcohol, nicotine or other illegal drugs to keep calm and stay centered. Is there really much difference when it comes down to it?

The drugs have given me the freedom to live, I thought that would come with giving them up but it just made me run back to a smaller and darker place. They are not a 100% reliable suit of armour but they alleviate most of the bad bits and make the rest easier to cope with.

At the end of the day -  it's what works