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Talacre Playlist

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Recently, we had a family weekend break in Talacre, North Wales.  It was to celebrate Mrs Platinum Al’s Dad’s big birthday.  We had a great couple of nights in a caravan at the Talacre Beach Holiday Park.

In the evenings, we often found ourselves having a drink and a chat whilst taking turns to select some music from the old iPods.  Here are the tracks I played.  Some were suggested or requested by others, some I chose to force on them!

  1. The Beatles – “Misery”
  2. The Beatles – “Anna (Go To Him)”
  3. Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
  4. Queen – Flash
  5. Queen – Seven Seas of Rhye
  6. Suzi Quatro – “Can the Can”
  7. Suzi Quatro – “48 Crash”
  8. Johnny Cash – “Ring of Fire”
  9. Johnny Cash – “Orange Blossom Special”
  10. Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash – “Jackson”
  11. Chris Isaak – “Wicked Game”
  12. Chris Isaak – “You Owe Me Some Kind of Love”
  13. The Animals – “House of the Rising Sun”
  14. Eddie Cochran – “Summertime Blues”
  15. T.Rex – “20th Century Boy”
  16. The Kinks – “You Really Got Me”
  17. The Kinks – “All Day and All of the Night”
  18. The Kinks – “Tired of Waiting For You”
  19. Little Richard – “Good Golly Miss Molly”
  20. Roy Orbison – “Only the Lonely”
  21. Roy Orbison – “Crying”
  22. Roy Orbison – “Dream Baby”
  23. Roy Orbison – “Working for the Man”
  24. 2 Unlimited – “No Limit”
  25. The Clash – “I Fought the Law”
  26. The Clash – “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
  27. The Clash – “Rock the Casbah”
  28. The Damned – “Eloise”
  29. Rolling Stones – “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
  30. Rolling Stones – “Honky Tonk Women”

Really nice place, Talacre.  Recommended.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Graham!

Bring Your Own Vinyl Day

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Day

Civic Hall, Connah’s Quay

Saturday 24th September 2016

It’s been a while since I wrote about a Bring Your Own Vinyl Night.  What with holidays and other commitments, the Mold event has been a no go for me recently.  Not to worry though – the fine people at VOD Music ecord fairs would come to the rescue!

The record fair organised in Connah’s Quay Civic Hall also hosted Halcyon Dreams, organisers of the very fine Bring Your Own Vinyl events.  And this time, what with the timing of the record fair, this would be a day time event.

As I was at a record fair, I didn’t bring along any vinyl from my collection at home to play.  Instead I decided to wing it and just spin a few discs that I bought on the day.  This could be risky as I wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with the tracks.

I spent a long time perusing the various record stalls and making several purchases.  Whilst this was going on, the Halcyon Dreams decks were spinning all manner of wondrous delights.

Eventually I took my place at the turn tables, and made a few quick decisions on what to play.

Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere

My first problem was following a 12″ of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Propellerheads. An absolute killer track.  I went for “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads, from their “Little Creatures” LP.  I’d been after some Talking Heads for a while, and this only cost me £3 for a nice copy.  Great song – and I think I got away with the mix!  The vocals at the start were a nice contrast, and soon one or two people seemed to be enjoying it. th

Next there was a brief gap in my set, as one of the dealers asked us to play one of his singles for a potential buyer.  I think it was a group called The Jackson Sisters; early 70’s rare soul.  The cost?  £85.  But I can attest to the fact that it was DAMN fine track: funky, danceable groove – if only I had the money myself!

Eddie Cochran – C’mon Everybody

I followed up the 85 quid 7″ single with one that cost me 50p.  It was a re-issue from 1988 of the rockabilly classic, “C’mon Everybody” by Eddie Cochran.  I thought this would add some variety to my planned set, in style and age.  I remember becoming familiar with this song from the Sid Vicious cover, however Eddie’s version is superior.  It’s a stone cold classic.  I do love these 1980’s jean commercial promotional tie-ins, don’t you?  Classic song for next to nowt.

Stormtroopers of Death – Kill Yourself

And so, how should I conclude the set?  With a bit of egging on, I knew it had to be S.O.D.  I’d just picked this up for a nice price – most expensive purchase of the day, but worth it – as it was on my vinyl wish list.  Nasty thrash metal/hardcore with horrid lyrics (that I understand are a joke) – this Anthrax off shoot rounded off the set in scuzzy style.  It was a bit of a shock, anyway.

So there you have it – a great day’s record buying and some awesome tracks.  I’m already looking forward to the next Bring Your Own Vinyl Night!

You can check out the Halcyon Days blogspot here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD Music website is here.

Random Driving Playlist

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And by that I mean the playlist is random, not the driving.  OK?

Driving back from the North Wales coast recently, here are the random songs that were chosen by the iPod for forty minutes of the journey.

  1. Propellerheads – “Bang On!”
  2. Ludacris feat. Shawna – “What’s Your Fantasy”
  3. Sisters of Mercy – “Torch”
  4. David Lee Roth – “Elephant Gun”
  5. Status Quo – “Gerdundula”
  6. Dolly Parton – “Jolene”
  7. Led Zeppelin – “Communication Breakdown”
  8. Public Image Ltd – “The Body”
  9. Therapy? – “Church of Noise”

Tragedy – Gig Review

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Tragedy

Wednesday 9th March 2016

The Live Rooms, Chester

It’s my first gig of the year, and another visit to the ever reliable Live Rooms in Chester for some rock’n’roll.  I’ve had a few rockin’ parties at this venue, but this night was destined for greatness.  The exquisite Disco Metal of the one and only Tragedy was scheduled to set the sky on fire with dazzling party anthems.

Finding common ground between the opposing world of heavy metal and disco was never going to be an easy task.  They’re two genres of music that repel like the same sides of a magnet.  But with Tragedy, the water and oil can, and do, mix.  It’s a hard rockin’ combination of guitar and high pitched disco vocals in a totally crazy metal tribute to the Bee Gees (and beyond).

A heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees is only the beginning, you see.  As well as Brothers Gibb classics like “Staying Alive” and “Night Fever”, their set is expanded to take in other disco and pop classics.  The mutated songs feature glimpses of riffs from Van Halen, Pantera and more.  One of my highlights was the ridiculously fun idea of warping the intro from Slayer’s “Raining Blood” into “It’s Raining Men”!

Part of the fun of this Tragedy gig was spotting chunks of recognisable metal riffs, and then being dumbfounded by how the band weave them into a late 70’s disco style.  The mash up is suitably gory too – these gruesome Frankensteins have no qualms when it comes to hacking limbs from one sweet pop track and stitching them maniacally to a heavy metal corpse.

With a light show and numerous skits introducing the songs (not to mention Lance the towel boy bumbling across the stage) it’s all very entertaining.  And professional, without being soulless.

For any metal fan with a sense of humour, Tragedy are well worth seeing.  You’ll have a hard time finding a more bonkers night out anywhere.  Great fun!

The Tragedy website is here.

The Live Rooms website is here. Tragedy

The Holy Rollers – Gig Review

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The Holy Rollers

Saturday 3rd October 2015

The White Bear, Mancot, Deeside

Now I may not know much, but I do know two things very well: the first one is ROCK and the second one is ROLL.  And so I was looking forward to finally seeing The Holy Rollers play, bringing their unique brand of rock star to a local venue.

The White Bear is a great pub; featuring live acts every Saturday in addition to all the other wonderful things they do (like the food).  It’s also very close to home for me, luckily.  Though I was a bit worried I might end up hosting the after gig party for The Holy Rollers, being so close to the place.  Luckily that never happened – otherwise my TV would surely have been thrown out of the window…

Wrexham’s finest – The Holy Rollers – are a covers band par excellence; expertly rendering classics across various genres from different decades.  I understand they’re also debauched rock’n’rollers with a penchant for chaos and partying.

Whilst anticipation mounted, the band took their places and the intro tape played the start of the A-Team.  You know, “In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit…”  This was the first stroke of genius of the night.  If ever I’m in a band, I want the A-Team intro before I go on.  Awesome.

The Holy Rollers, crack commando rock stars that they are, launched into their first set of the night setting the tone nicely, with well chosen songs that skipped across styles effortlessly.  There’s some Oasis (“Rock’n’Roll Star”); some Stones (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”) and even a classy “Beat It” to get the party started.  An early highlight for me was the Weezer classic “Buddy Holly”, just ‘cos I love Weezer. HR

The band confidently raided the back catalogue of numerous great bands to deliver a quality set, impressing with their craft.  Vocals and guitar duties are shared (and alternated) between Rob Roxx and G Bomb, adding some variety to the delivery.  Both of them delivered the tunes with a cool tenacity that made it all look easy.

The first set featured a storming final run through “Should I Stay of Should I Go”, “Hard Day’s Night”, “You Really Got Me” and Primal Scream’s “Rocks”.  You can’t fault that for a set list.

After a short break, the second half of the gig was back on.  We get ‘Phonics classic “Local Boy in the Photograph” and a bit of Bon Jovi.  The Holy Rollers version of Bad Company nugget “Feel Like Makin’ Love” was another highlight and a nice change of pace.

A mini punk rock section followed with “Teenage Kicks” (Undertones) and “Ever Fallen In Love…” (Buzzcocks).  The rhythm section did a fine job of keeping everything together as the pace changed through out the gig.  Bass player Maxx stalked the room like a rock’n’roll avenger with mayhem in mind.  Drummer Good Boy Roy pummelled the skins as if they’d insulted his mother.

Although delivering familiar material, The Holy Rollers always have an element of surprise tucked up their sleeves.  Case in point is the genius mash up of “Seven Nation Army” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” – two songs melded together to create a whole new monster.  It shouldn’t work, but it does – incredible.  The White Stripes and Marvin Gaye?  Who knows what other Frankensteins  these mad scientists can create?

The joy of The Holy Rollers gig was the fearless renditions of songs regardless of musical styles; be it “Uptown Funk”, Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” or the Smiths.  They are unafraid to play great songs, whether old or new, and regardless of genre.  It made a refreshing change to hear this four man mobile juke box playing songs that were well known, but given an exciting make over.

When the gig was over, The Holy Rollers dispersed.  Probably off to some rock star mansion to drive a Rolls Royce into the pool.  Or setting off fire works in expensive hotels.  Whatever they got up to; we, the people can rest assured.  Rock’n’roll is in safe hands.

Food Quest – Greek Night at The Gallery Coffee Shop

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The Gallery Coffee Shop, Hawarden

There is a small piece of the Mediterranean, like a little Greek island, to be found in North Wales.  I’ll take you there in this edition of Food Quest.

In the village of Hawarden in Flintshire, right there on the Highway, you will find the Gallery Coffee Shop.  It’s open daily offering refreshments exactly as you would expect – tea and coffee, breakfasts and lunches in a cosy environment.  Once a month, however, the Gallery transforms into a Greek taverna, with all the food and vibrant atmosphere that entails.

I have been to the Greek night at the Gallery on a few occasions.  Each time has provided excellent Greek cuisine with the right summer holiday vibe, helped by the music and dancing!Greek flag

The premises are not licensed, so you will need to take along your alcohol if you wish.  That wasn’t a problem for me, as I could easily pick up a few bottles of Mythos from Tesco.  Hunt around and you’ll find retsina – Tesco no longer stock it so Lidl is your best bet.

Greek music welcomed us in to the Gallery, and we were soon seated.  There wasn’t long to wait before the hors d’oeuvres were served.  This began in traditional style with some pitta bread, olives and various dips such as tzatziki and garlic.  These were shared enthusiastically amongst our group.

Next up were several meze dishes.  On my last visit, this included dolmades (stuffed vine leaves); feta sagnaki, Greek salad and calamari.  I’m no fan of squid – on other visits a different option had been offered.  However the food was both well prepared and delicious.

The main course has also varied on different visits, with usually a couple of options to choose from.  On this last visit I chose chicken with ouzo and cream; this was served with potatoes and vegetables.  Again the meal was excellent; combined with the atmosphere I could have been in a Greek taverna enjoying a pleasant holiday evening.

After the food, the fun really gets under way – with table balancing from owner Spiros and plenty of music to dance to!  The Gallery really manage to capture the fun of a night in Greece and everyone was happy to let their hair down.

The Gallery Coffee Shop manages to create an enjoyable and authentic Greek night that will liven up anyone’s weekend.

Please be aware though that they are very busy and often booked up months in advance – book your Greek night soon!

Yiammas!

Food Quest Test

  • Food: No menu as such, but no need to worry as food is both delicious and authentic
  • Drink: Not licensed, so take your own
  • Service: Excellent
  • Environment: You will be magically transported to your own Greek island
  • Cost: Very reasonable – no bar bill, plus a full evening’s entertainment

The Gallery Coffee Shop, 10 The Highway, Hawarden CH5 3DH

01244 533446

I can’t find a website for The Gallery, there is a listing on Facebook if you search.

The Circus of Horrors

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The Circus of Horrors

Saturday 29th November 2014

Venue Cymru, Llandudno

Are you prepared for a spectacle unlike any other?  For a night of the bizarre, the strange and the wickedly beautiful?  Are you ready for the Night of the Zombie?

That’s exactly what we got when the Circus of Horrors visited Llandudno recently.

Mrs Platinum Al and I had witnessed this macabre event a couple of years previously.  This would be our second show, and at the same venue – as part of an early Christmas present for Mrs PA. 10428001_852015048175960_3585830705782720595_n

The Circus of Horrors is a mutation of live music, daredevil performers, freak show and burlesque.  This touring Frankenstein regularly travels across the UK bringing a touch of good old fashioned weirdness to many an unsuspecting, sedate town.

Dr Haze is the ring master, and his duties as compere are augmented by leading the live rock band through their pretty much non stop attack.  It’s a full on, guitar driven heavy rock attack that features both original numbers and some covers.  All delivered by a well honed band  who constantly deliver an energetic set.

The acts themselves are varied, including awe inspiring trapeze work and gravity defying gymnastics.  The Kenyan Warriors leap about, creating shapes with a precision that seems unbelievable.  There’s a girl in a bottle (who reveals herself as a saucy nun on this occasion); performers hanging and twisting from ropes without any net what so ever; fire eating and (my personal favourite) knife throwing.

Hannibal Helmurto is a mohawked sword swallower, amazing the audience with his skills.  Of course, the good Doktor Haze barks out his commentary, explaining how Hannibal will attempt the impossible.  I found myself not believing that Helmurto would be able to accomplish what he did; and I was relieved when he succeeded without slicing himself open.  There are some moments when the audience really doubt that the acts will be able to accomplish their feats – making the whole experience more vivid.

There are beautiful women on stage, not just as set dressing but belting out lead vocals or performing incredibly nimble contortions.  Then of course there’s the Mongolian Laughing Boy, occupying the opposite end of the eye candy spectrum, bringing gross out humour to the proceedings.

There are many acts, far too many to list here.  Suffice to say that though this is the second time I’ve seen the Circus of Horrors, there has been more than enough variety (and different acts) to keep the viewer intrigued (or shocked!).

My only criticism this time would be that the Night of the Zombie theme could’ve been fleshed out (!) a little more, but this didn’t distract from the show.

A fantastic evening – full of amazement, laughs and chills.  You literally won’t believe your eyes.  Keep those peepers peeled though, the Circus of Horrors picks up the tour again in the New Year – and you really don’t want to miss it!

Now I’m off to practice my knife throwing skills…

Rewind Festival Playlist

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Rewind Festival 2013 – Playlist

Around this time last year, we visited Rewind Festival to celebrate the stag do of my great pal Jarrod.  A fine crew of chaps were assembled for a weekend of much hilarity and fabulous entertainment.

Set in Henley-on-Thames, Rewind festival offered a feast of musical acts from the 1980’s.

Some of the gang are returning this year, unfortunately I can’t make it due to family commitments.  Never the less, in honour of our 2013 adventure – and as a “bon voyage” to my comrades for this year – I’ve compiled the following playlist.

To compile this playlist, the acts had to have performed over the festival weekend last year.  They also have to actually be in my music collection, in iTunes.  I was quite surprised that there were several acts who performed that I don’t actually possess any recordings of.  No matter – this list consists of what I actually own.

  1. Doctor & the Medics – “Spirit in the Sky”
  2. The Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight”
  3. Billy Ocean – “Love Really Hurts Without You”
  4. Nik Kershaw – “Wouldn’t it be Good”
  5. Heaven 17 – “Temptation”
  6. Kim Wilde – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
  7. The B-52’s – “Roam”
  8. Belinda Carlisle – “We Want the Same Thing”
  9. Go West – “We Close Our Eyes”
  10. ABC – “The Look of Love”
  11. Pointer Sisters – “Jump (For My Love)”

Short but sweet.

A big shout out to Jaz, Gol, Tone, Baz, Adam, Si, Brendan and of course the one and only Richard Minshull esq.  What a top quality bunch!

And to those of you going this year – hope you have an amazing time!

You can read my review of Rewind Festival 2013 here.

The website for Rewind Festival is here.

Another Random Bike Ride Playlist!

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A cheeky little playlist from a few weeks back.  You know the score: hit shuffle, see what music provides the soundtrack for my bike ride.  This adventure was around fifteen miles.

  1. GBH – “Do What You Do”
  2. Revolution Mother – “Runaway Train”
  3. The B-52s – “Mesopotamia”
  4. Big Black – “Bad Penny”
  5. Jimmy Sabater – “La Flauta”
  6. Elton John – “Circle of Life”
  7. Big Chief – “Cop Kisser (Mack Fucks Up the Scene at the Freezer)”
  8. Kenny Rogers & The First Edition – “Heed the Call”
  9. Mudhoney – “In My Finest Suit”
  10. Queen – “Bijou”
  11. Machine Head – “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
  12. Ugly Duckling – “Smack”
  13. The Yardbirds – “Evil Hearted You”
  14. Audio Bullys – “Take You There”
  15. Ramones – “Poison Heart”
  16. PJ Harvey – “Down by the Water”
  17. Mikis Theodorakis – “Fragosiriani”
  18. Living Colour – “Ignorance is Bliss”
  19. Slash – “Doctor Alibi”
  20. GangStarr – “You Know My Steez (RMX)”
  21. Kiss – “Comin’ Home”
  22. Corrosion of Conformity – “Loss for Words”
  23. Iggy Pop & The Stooges – “Consolation Prizes”
  24. Public Enemy – “Can’t Truss It”
  25. Revolting Cocks – “Prune Tang”

Random Longboard Playlist

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A longboard is, for those who don’t know, a skateboard.  A very long skateboard.  It’s great for just cruising around on, carving, getting a little speed.  Recently I went for a skate on my longboard, and hit shuffle on Ipodicus.

I was rewarded with the following soundtrack.  The random tunes varied across numerous genres and kept surprising me as I rolled around.

  1. AC/DC – “This House Is On Fire”
  2. Television – “Prove It”
  3. Thin Lizzy – “Mama Nature Said”
  4. Kool & The Gang – “In the Hood (Beat System Remix)”
  5. Pixies – “Tame”
  6. Dead Kennedys – “Hellnation”
  7. Weezer – “Run Away”
  8. Syd Dale – “Disco Tek”
  9. Black Flag – “Out of This World”
  10. El Cabrero with Pedro Bacan – “Con Tristeza Y Con Locura”
  11. Volbeat – “Magic Zone”
  12. Robert Johnson – “Cross Road Blues”
  13. Queen – “Made in Heaven”
  14. The Monkees – “Words”
  15. Public Enemy – “Incident at 66.6 FM”
  16. No Doubt – “Don’t Speak”
  17. Yomanda – “Synth and Strings”
  18. Viking Skull – “Beers, Drugs and Bitches”
  19. Hysterica – “Devil in Me”
  20. Discharge – “The Nightmare Continues”
  21. Camarosmith – “Choker”
  22. Britney Spears – “Boys”

There you go – some interesting choices from Ipodicus there.  The highlight was Syd Dale, that is a tune!

If you’d like to read more about my longboard, you can check it out here.