For Sledges 50th birthday this year, he decided we should go to the Mono All-Dayer at the Brudenell. We got there at 4 (as that’s when our flier said it started) to find we’d missed one band already (sorry Tense Men). Starting to drink at 4 in the afternoon is a recipe for disaster at our age but if that’s how a man wants to enjoy reaching his half century, who am I to argue…… some of us (ahem) ended up snoozing to the worlds loudest band ‘White Manna’…..thankfully Mark was on hand to keep notes…..

A sunny afternoon at the end of September; what better way to spend it than in the Brudenell Social Club watching LOADS of really good bands at an all day mini-festival.  The Mono festival was quite a canny move on the part of the Brudenell’s management team (that’s Nathan & Charlie the dog), cherry-picking some of the best bands who’d played at the Liverpool Psych Fest on Friday & Saturday, and presenting to us in one handy, bite sized chunk.  Before we go any further, it’s best pointing out that the definitions of ‘psych’ and ‘psychedelic’ are pretty loose; loud guitars, a plethora of effects pedals, rather more reverb on any vocals than would be considered normal and a delight in pushing the songs slightly further than is practical seems to be the broad themes tying these bands together.
Take the opening act, Tense Men; a power trio sounding as if they really like the first couple of Wire LPs.  The songs are choppy, angular and well, tense.  But psychedelic?  More post-punk, surely?  But no matter, they’re very good indeed.  Tense Men played in the main, or concert, room of the Brudenell, which presumably anyone reading this is familiar with.

To maximise the amount of music, a second stage had been opened up in the smaller games room, a pleasingly intimate space where you’re at eye level with the performers.  That’s a polite way of saying there’s no stage.  Opening here were Soft Walls, a side project of one of Cold Pumas (who’re on later, but I missed).  There’s a Pete Frame-style family tree in here somewhere based around Cold Pumas & their record label Faux Discx, as quite a few of the bands today are either in the band or on the label, or both, such as Tense Men & Sauna Youth.  But back to Soft Walls…they turn in a neat line in reverb soaked poppy drone, and look far too young to be at this sort of thing.  They may have heard a Hookworms record or two as well.

Back to the big room for the first highlight of the day; all the way from Guadalajara, Mexico, meet Lorelle Meets The Obsolete.  3 chaps grind out a meaty groove with Lorena’s reverb soaked vocals drifting over the top of it…and then they crank things up a notch or two with sound vicious guitars.  Buried under all that noise are some sweet pop hooks that put this band pretty much head & shoulders above everyone else; and there’s some strong competition for best band of the day.  So impressive were Lorelle Meets The Obsolete that a planned trip to Manchester the following evening quickly added a visit to the Soup Kitchen to catch them again.

Over in the games room, highlight #2; the most excellent Kult Country, all the way from…Manchester.  With a t-shirt over the mic to counteract electric shocks, they crashed through their set with the kind of abandon you don’t see from too many bands these days…well, singer & guitarist Yousif Al-Karaghouli does, and he’s that much of a human dynamo it’s difficult to tell what the rest of the band are doing.  Band of the day most likely to ‘do a Hookworms’ and develop a cult (sorry) following.

Next up were Merseyside’s Mugstar, who pushed the ‘psych?  Really?’ envelope that bit further.  An instrumental trio, if anything their sound would seem more at home in the artier end of metal along with bands like God Is An Astronaut, Adebisi Shank or Pelican.  The music suited their appearance; gnarled, muscular, slightly scary.  As enjoyable as a slap in the face; not for everyone, something of an acquired taste.

Sauna Youth are far more accessible; likeable bouncy indie pop smothered in overloaded guitar & distorted male & female co-vocals.  Are they a Ramones for the psych set?  Their songs certainly didn’t hang around.

Gird your loins, people, for it’s time for Gnod; and Gnod are a very singular experience.  Psychedelic in the same way Butthole Surfers were, the acid is most definitely bad.  I’d experienced them live before with a (relatively) straight guitar, bass & drums set up, but it seems they’ve mutated far beyond that.  Hauling their own PA over the Pennines, a noticeably bigger one than the Brudenell’s, Gnod have ditched most of their conventional instrumentation for a heap of machines, effects, tapes and general gizmos.  While 5 of them manipulate the electronics, singer (loose term) Neil Von Gnod gives it his all on the floor of the concert room, dragging up lord alone knows what kind of traumas for our entertainment.  You’re unlikely to come away from this unmoved, but whether that’s towards or away from Gnod is entirely debateable.

I missed Carlton Melton’s set.  The first couple of minutes were noodly drones, and I’d done drone the previous day at the Brudenell.  From outside, I could hear their sound grow and expand to a mighty Loop-style barrage, but by the time I returned to the games room, it was pretty much rammed.  My only mis-step of the day, really.

Local heroes Hookworms rocked the main room to its foundations.  There was much love in the room for them.  Sadly, they don’t quite do it for me.  It feels like Hawkwind doing Spacemen 3 covers to these ears.  Not in itself a bad thing, and it did sound bang on from my vantage point near the door, it’s just I’ve seen it done much better (by the aforementioned Loop for one).

Finally (after missing Cold Pumas for various reasons), the nominal headliners of the day were American stoner-droners White Manna.  I say nominal as the crowd had thinned out significantly after Hookworms.  Pity really, as White Manna were just what the doctor ordered.  This pack of longhairs were an ideal end to a day of loud guitar riffs, cyclical rhythms and warped vocals because they served up an hour or so of the same, only more so.  Those left in the audience were bowing down to their perfection of the form.  OK, so they only really had one song, but it was a good one.  Here’s hoping for something along similar lines next year…oh hang on, there’s one next month in the form of Octernal.  The Brudenell continues to do no wrong.

Mark Pomroy

There are certain bands that it’s always worth making the effort to see, no matter how tired you are or how bad a week you’ve had – they’ll lift you up and give you a good time – The Wave Pictures are one such band. It’s over 5 years since I first stumbled across them and have followed them closely since. They never let you down.

I met up with Martin as the first support band Piskie Sits were playing – bloody loudly. It was a great sound and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. I preferred it to their sound-a-like-namesakes The Pixies who had played live on 6Music earlier in the day if truth be told. “If there are any reviewers out there…..never mind, you never review the support band anyway do you…” Well, here we do……usually that is….it was just that…..I hadn’t seen Martin for ages, so we went off to the other bar for a chat and before we knew where we were – the Wave Pictures were ready to come on – Sorry Maggie8 – next time.

What can you say about the Wave Pictures? These guys are virtuoso’s in their own right. Jonny on drums is a real power house who manages to still sing whilst beating the bejeezus out of those skins. Franic’s bass look unnaturally small in his hands and he’s all over the thing. David’s fragile voice and everyday lyrics are very English somehow without being twee. His guitar playing has me wondering why I bother with guitar lessons……how does he do that!?

They start with ‘Lisbon’ and keep up the pace for magnificent hour and a half. When one of the audience shouts out drunkenly “Requests!” David quips “3 jagermiesters please!” and a steady supply of drinks see’s the band loosen up with a new batch of rocking good tunes that even got people up dancing (yes! dancing!). There’s always room for a few old quiet ones of course but it’s the new rockier numbers I’m sure, that’s going to swell the ranks of WP lovers. An indie band not afraid to have extended guitar solo’s – ACE!

The encore was the tour du force ‘The Woods’ which, yes, has a passing resemblence to the Velvet Undergrounds ‘Sister Ray’ mixed with ‘Foggy Notion’ but that’s no bad thing. New double LP due 21st October – get in line, I wanna hear it first….

Bob the Chiropodist

I knew the Crocodiles had been in session recently with Marc Riley but had missed that particular show and had never knowingly heard anything by them before. Still, a spot on the great mans show was enough to convince Sledge and I to give them a try. It turned out to be a great night at the ever wonderful Brudenell….and thanks to Mark P….a free one!

Support came from Kult Country – Mancunians who, without a shadow of a doubt, stole the show. Their shimmering tunes built to great heights, like a tuneful My Bloody Valentine, with all the members really into it. The singer/ guitarist was so enthusiastic he was up on the balls of his feet to sing most of the night, except for one epic track that should have finished the set where he was on his knees – blew us away and impossible to top! A hard act to follow……

Crocodiles hail from San Diego and were in good rocking form. The sound levels were all over the place at first but improved as the set progressed (apart from the vocals which stayed far too low in the mix). The animated lead guitarist managed to break strings on a couple of occasions and was saved by a guitar loan from Kult C’s bearded guitarist, who joined the rest of the band for a bop at the front.

Bought the KC single and picked up a flyer for an all dayer at the Brudenell which they’re playing at – honestly, it’d be worth the entrance fee just to see them….go go go!

Bob the Chiropodist

I saw this on Twitter…..

and thought I’d give it a go……and won! Free tickets! My ASH loving Cousin Si was also delighted, even when the gig turned out to be on a Monday night, meaning 2 days off work and we booked into the Hilton overnight……not so free after all……!

In Leeds it had been about 20 degrees and cloudy. In London it was 34 degrees an boiling hot! getting off the train was like getting off a plane on your holidays when the heat hits you! Met up with my mate Martin who’s lived in Wembley for 20 years now. After cooling drinks and a catch up, we headed to the Hilton where he’s a gym member. We went for a swim and a sauna before sadly, he had to go.

Our hotel room overlooked the Arena and we saw plenty of folks queuing to get in for ‘Beware of Darkness’ who were on about 6.30. We caught the end of their set, which was pretty raucous, before making use of our VIP wristbands that gave us access to a lovely deserted bar down a long corridoor. All the staff were great, really friendly and chatty.

From the bar we had access to the stalls. Wembley Arena didn’t seem that big really – I’m sure Manchester’s is bigger. We got near the front for ASH who were just great playing a mix of old and new tunes which was over far too quickly. Bassist Mark Hamilton was really going for it making some ace shapes.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like ASH. In the lead up to the gig I played ASH’s greatest hits and Smashing Pumpkin’s greatest hits one after the other and I much preferred the ASH disc. I was willing to give the Pumpkins a good listening to live though, especially as I’d heard good reports of them at this years Glasto.

Unfortunately, they didn’t do it for me. At first the sound wasn’t great (apparantly they were late to the gig and unable to soundcheck) and then they did a version of Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ that turned me right off….they murdered it! We headed back to the bar for a drink…….

……then thought, come on….they can’t be THAT bad….so went back out after chatting to the bouncers. Things did get better as the night wore on but I think they’re just not my cup of tea….or is it just that London gigs aren’t great?

Next morning we were up early and off to meet Darlene, Morgan and Georgie in the queue for the ‘Bowie is’ V&A exhibition. We queued next to a couple from Scarborough, one of whom used to work with my brother……small world! My Neu! Tshirt got a positive thumbs up and a ‘Yeah’ from the guy who took our tickets, and we were in. The whole thing was a real treat, really well done and best of all, hearing ‘Space Oddity’ as it was meant to be.  It was a bit overwhelming for Darlene who was brought to tears throughout most of it, and for Morgan, who’s trying to cut down on his cigarette intake, but in every interview with Bowie, he was fagging it up making Morgs desperate for one. We hung out at the V&A for most of the day after that – a grand day out.

No camera’s allowed of course but I had seen a sattelite exhibition of Duffys Bowie photos in Leeds, a week or 2 earlier and managed to take some photos on my phone, more here.

– Bob the Chiropodist

PS Who’s got the biggest mouth then?

It was the hottest day of the year so far (31 degrees) and a perfect day to see the oldest, biggest group in the world…..THE STONES!!!!!

Lee and I joined Gabby and Mags for a fun packed day in the capital which started with lunch at a swanky italian off Oxford Street with Mitsu (in town from Paris to catch the Bowie exhibition at the V&A). With a decent meal and some nice wine down us, we ventured into Hyde Park which had been made into a little village with pubs and small venues dotted about. The first tent we popped into had Hudson Taylor playing who did a lively set of irish music which put us in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Lee and I were delighted that Public Service Broadcasting were also on in a tiny venue (even though Lee had seen them last week-end supporting New Order at Jodrell Bank). As ever a fab set with humour a plenty (like when Lee shouted for them to take their Jackets off…). Pitty it was a bit too bright for the visuals. We discovered we weren’t the only groupies and I got a lovely hug from a bloke with an Everest T-shirt on after their set.

It was still blisteringly hot outside and there was a bar in here serving cold cider so we stayed put for The Horrors but they didn’t really do it for us so we wandered into the main site to claim a spot for the Stones. Their Stage was HUGE incorporating some of the parks trees – very clever.

We had a lie down to Jake Bugg who was okay, but I spent his whole set chatting to Rob from Cholchester who saved me from spilling all my ice cream – dead nice bloke and an Ipswich season ticket holder – now there’s dedication for you.

And then it was the main event – The Rolling Stones. I didn’t really get to ‘see’ them at Glastonbury but had a great view here…..”You can Start me up…” and so the sing-a-long-a-Mick started up……and didn’t stop for over 2hrs!

Hit after hit, they even let Keith do a couple of bluesy numbers. I’ve always thought of Keith as the soul of the band but when you see them live, it’s Mick Jagger who’s the real star – strutting the stage, getting the best out of everyone (the band, the crowd) and to think he’s close on 70…..amazing! He had quite a few changes of top including the one he wore at the Hyde park gig 44 years ago “I found this back there and wanted to see if it would still fit me”.

The sound wasn’t very loud where we were so we moved forward to the mixing desk where it was better, still with room to dance. Gabby and Mags aimed for the front, intent on partying hard but came back slightly crestfallen “they’re all boring further in – no one’s dancing”…..I think we made up for it!

It would be easier to tell you the hits they didn’t play than the ones they did. Everyone was “Woo-Woo”ing along to ‘sympathy for the devil’ and “Woohoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo”ing to ‘Miss you’…….You can’t always get what you want started the encore and Satisfaction ended with a blaze of ticket tape and fireworks. 50 years on, these guys know how to rock the joint!

Bob the Chiropodist