I’ve loved Kraftwerk ever since the late-70’s when I fell about laughing to “We are the Robots…” on hearing it for the first time. I’ve never managed to see them live but tonight had the chance to see one of the original members, Wolfgang Flur, at my ‘local’, the Brudenell. I’d spent the day in Manchester for Maxines 50th, held at the Black Jack Brewery (which was ace) and I had the chance of either going to see Wilco Johnson and Hugh Cornwell at the Academy, or New Luna at Night & Day in Manchester…..but decided to come home for Wolfgang….

First up were ‘Virginia Wing & Xam Duo’ who did a good line in atmospheric electronica. The live vocals and sax helped give their dance tinged tunes the human touch.

Peter Dugall’s set was more dance oriented and he did the whole set from a laptop. It looked like he was fiddling with something on the keyboard but you couldn’t really tell.

Wolfgang Flur (‘ex-Kraftwerk’ as he kept on reminding us with a smile) called his set ‘Musik_Soldat’ with lots of images of a german helmet, which he got out and wore near the end whilst walking up and down the stage. He seemed to make no attempt to be pretending to ‘play’ his laptop – just pressed the button to a new tune and triumphantly snapped his hands in the air.

His set was heavy on dance beats in a Techno style. There were a few re-mixes of Kraftwerk tunes which were the stand out tunes and sounded great. Would Kraftwerk have veered that way if he had stayed in the band? There were lots of old band photos projected on the screen and a film of him in Dusseldorf with the german helmet on…..interesting….this set would have sounded great at night in a field at Glastonbury….and there was some rave type dancing at the front…..but I think it might have been lost on a lot of the crowd……”I felt like he was taking the piss” said one disgruntled punter I chatted to in the bar after……I didn’t feel that and enjoyed it….but…..I hear Wilco and New Luna did great sets……I did get home before midnight though….

Bob the Chiropodist

 

I last saw Yo La Tengo was at Glastonbury in 2000…..18 years of buying their records and not seeing them perform the tunes live…..it was such a joy to hear Ira and Georgia’s subdued vocals in the flesh – smiles all around – blowing us all away with 2 sets – the first, a very low key and quiet one (no one dared clap between tunes at first), the second a rousing blow the roof off the place set (with a few quiet bits too).

This was my first gig at the Church and I was impressed. It was still light when they started the first set which showed off the venues stain glass windows a treat. The stage is quite high up so you can get a good vue and the sound was great.

James and Georgia did the usual swaping of drumming duties along with playing guitars, bass, double bass, synths…..whilst Ira did mostly guitars with some wild abandon on the solos. So many top tunes – ‘From a Motel 6’ being a real blast from the past. There was a beautiful version of the Velvets ‘I found a reason’ and the first song of the encore…. “It would be too corny to come to Leeds and play a WHO song wouldn’t it?” but that’s what they did which was obviously their highlight of the night seeing the smiles on their faces.

Lee had got us these tickets as a Christmas present – well worth the wait. Hope it’s not another 18 years before next time……

Bob the Chiropodist

Sledge and I had tickets for ‘Goat Girl’ tonight, but they cancelled so we decided to see what else we could find. Wharf Chambers had 4 punky bands on for £5 so that’s where we headed – and were glad we did! Unfortunatly, we turned up just as ‘Milk Crimes’ had finished……next time

Fresh were just that! A breath of fresh air with their short, snappy pop tunes in a punky fashion…and they were obviously having a ball and won us over from their first tune. Bought their CD and asked if they knew ‘Aerial Salad‘ – “They’re great” said lead singer Kathryn “We were on the same bill as them last week” “Jamie Munro is my nephew” “You’re cool – my uncle wouldn’t come to a gig like this!” – I was a fan already but that confirmed it! Go and see FRESH!!

A hard act to follow but Kermes had a good try. Passionate, expressive songs with gender issues at their core……you get the distinct feeling that they’re not backing down for anyone!

Happy Accidents did an energetic set, chock full of great tunes. Vocals were taken in equal measure by guitarist Rich and drummer Phoebe (who looks about 12) – they bounced off each other all night with lots of banter and laughing – they looked like they had as good a time as we did……£5…..what a bargain!

Bob the Chiropodist

What do you get someone for their 50th birthday? A fine dining experience? Socks? Cosmetic surgery? Helen hit on the idea of getting Enda a night at home to remember in the form of a house concert by Martin Stephenson….and what a great night it was!

He did the tracks from his ‘Gladsome Humour & Blue’ LP in order, with stories (so many stories) before, during and after each song in a kind of stream of consciousness….I had no idea that ‘Slaughterman’ was about a football critic from the ‘Saint & Greavsie’ show….& he talked us through the evolution of his guitar playing style and even the history of the guitar.

There was a break after ‘side 1’ with gorgeous fish pie and veggie lasagne before starting ‘side 2’ with the wonderful ‘Wholly Humble Heart’. He did some great finger picking tunes at the end before giving the floor over to Saoirse who did a lovely piece of classical guitar. A great night for a great guy – nice one Nels xxx

Bob the Chiropodist

…..and the wonderful artwork in the background looks like this close up

The Hub is a wonderful arts space in Holbeck which you would pass by without looking at twice if you didn’t know it was there: “You want to get out here!?” said the taxi driver rather disbelievingly. “Er…..yeah” “Are you sure now?”. Inside is a bit like Aladdins cave with a mis-match of comfy sofas, wall hangings and interesting bits and pieces all over the place. There was an unbelievably cheap bar (£1 for a mug of wine) and food from ‘The Baking Biker’ including a Creamy egg, scotch egg…….and lets not forget the chic loos in the sheds outside!

This great event was put together by the lovely Sally, Associate Director of ‘Slung Low’ theatre company who obviously loves her job “Every day is different, we organise plays, concerts, group meetings, a choir…” “Every day is different for me too…..well….different feet that is…” The evening was to raise funds for ‘Yorkshire Aid’ – a charity which helps to look after refugees……heaven knows, somebody has to….

First up was Les Vegas & the International Playboys of Rhythm who are a fabulous cover band doing pop classics in a lounge style. “Here’s two from the 80’s” said lead crooner ‘Gina Cortina’ before launching into ‘Love Cats’ and ‘Walk like an Egyptian’. Lots of dancing and singing along – great fun.

Gina (*ahem*) also sings with Commoners Choir who were up next. If you ever need a party filling, just invite this lot – loads of ‘em and always up for it. Their two refugee songs Three Boats and Citizen Shanty could have been written for the night and went down a treat with the crowd. Having different members of the choir introduce the songs puts them into context “This one’s from the 80’s….well, it feels like it, when I lived in London in the 80’s friends knew people in the city who would put their credit card behind the bar and spend £100’s a night…..not much has changed” they then sang ‘Have nots and the Have’s’ with a chorus of “Some get bonuses to piss against the wall, some don’t get anything at all”

Commoner Tony also plays with ‘The Greensleeveless Ceilidh Band’ who wrapped the night up with lots of traditional dancing to traditional tunes. The lady calling out the dances was fantastic – As one Commoner put it: “She was fabulously grumpy and dismissive of this new ‘fashion to do away with gender’ in the ceilidh calling. She was having none of it”

Another great night for another great cause.

Bob the Chiropodist

View from the back row of the choir

 

A note from Sally,

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and managed to have some down time after our brilliant fundraiser. Thank you so much for making it such a wonderful night – it was even better than I imagined. The atmosphere was so warm and celebratory, the feedback was incredibly positive AND we managed to raise a staggering £866!

So well done, we love you and in the words of Alan Lane, you’re all heroes (& you are)!

Thanks again,

Sally x

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