This weeks “louder then the rest” tunes:
- Fishbone – Change
- House of Pain – Jump Around
- Wolfmother – California Queen
- Queens of the Stone Age – The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
- Dr. John – Jump Sturdy
Songs of the Week 17.07.2016
Reply
Tag Archives: funky
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #8
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 8th April 2016
Got a record collection? Want to spin those discs on a nice turntable for an appreciative bunch of vinyl enthusiasts? The Bring Your Own Vinyl Night is for you!
Held monthly in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, North Wales, this event goes from strength to strength. The idea is simple: each participant gets 15 minutes to play whatever records they want. That’s vinyl only; no CDs, MP3s, cassettes or whatever else. Just have a beer and enjoy the music.
My pal Adam was back on the decks tonight, and was the first of our crew to step up. He played a great set of songs from movies, that went something like this:
- Carly Simon – Nobody Does It Better
- Blue Swede – Hooked On A Feeling
- George Thorogood & The Destroyers – Bad to the Bone
- Ry Cooder – All Shook Up
- Santo & Johnny – Sleepwalk
A special prize if you can name the films these songs are from! A great set from Adam, I think one of his strongest. In particular, I thought “Sleepwalk” was an exceptional track.
Then it was my turn:
Suicidal Tendencies – Possessed to Skate
Regular readers will know the story of my Suicidal records. Here’s a quick recap. Going back to the height of my skateboarding days in 1988 (or thereabouts), my friend Kelvin Bedford gave me the album “Join the Army” by Suicidal Tendencies. A few years later, as a broke student, I sold that album and another ST record to my mate Graham. Now fast forward to the recent past, and although I had the CDs, I was kicking myself for not having the vinyl anymore. They were easy enough to buy off Discogs. However, sadly Kel had passed away a couple of years ago, so I thought it would be great to have the copy he originally gave me back. I contacted Graham, and he gave me the records for free. What a gentleman! I bought him a beer or two as a thank you.
Not so brief that recap, but now you have the background. I wanted to play a track off the classic “Join the Army” record, as it was back in my collection, and this had to be it. Many fun memories of my old skateboarding days always come flooding back with this fast paced punk rock/metal hybrid. And I still listen to it when I skate nowadays (which isn’t often enough). “Possessed to Skate”. RAD.
Iggy & The Stooges – Gimme Danger
The next song is a favourite I was introduced to in my university days. I was already a fan of the early Stooges albums, but hadn’t heard “Raw Power”. It’s a superb record, full of barely restrained energy and chaos. “Gimme Danger” is a the second song on the album, lulling the listener in to a false sense of comfort after lead track “Search and Destroy” decimates your speakers. “Gimme Danger” still has an air of menace, however – a sense that anything can, and will, go wrong. Decadent and beautiful, a masterpiece.
Chris Isaak – Wicked Game
And so on to Chris Isaak. I have the “Wicked Game” album on CD, so I can regularly bask in the warmth of Isaak’s voice and imagine desert roads, truck stops, motels and neon lights. This version is on a 7″ single that Greeny gave me for Christmas, and I’m so glad I have it. Timeless Americana that always carries a hint of David Lynch, thanks to the song being included in “Wild at Heart”. I usually drunkenly sing along to this at 2am. I’ve also attempted “Wicked Game” at Karaoke a couple of times; I think I got away with it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Sexy Mexican Maid
One of my favourite RHCP songs ever, you can find this sensual little number on the fantastic “Mother’s Milk” record. It’s a slow funky groove that deserves to be heard more often, from one of their greatest albums. “Sexy Mexican Maid” shows the Chili Peppers exploring their sound and developing towards “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”, whilst still happy to languish with their sexually charged lyrics.
So last up was Ben the Swede, who recently moved house and now had access to his full vinyl collection. The theme was bass, of different types:
- Level 42 – You Can’t Blame Louis
- Duran Duran – A View to a Kill
- ELO – Shine a Little Love
And there you have it: another great night with some great songs and some very cool people.There were some killer tracks from PIL, Perrey & Kingsley, Elvis Costello and more. You can see the full playlist on the Halcyon Dreams blog here.
Thanks all – looking forward to the next Vinyl Night!
You can listen to this Bring Your Own Vinyl Night (and previous ones, too) on the Mixcloud page here.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
Thanks Graham!
RIP Kelvin Bedford
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #5
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 4th December 2015
Unlike the last event, I didn’t have a theme for Bring Your Own Vinyl Night this time around. Just some tunes I fancied playing. I hadn’t even decided exactly what they would be till the show was on.
For anyone still uninitiated, the night is hosted in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, North Wales. There are two turntables and each participant gets to play 15 minutes of whatever music they want, vinyl only.
I had myself a couple of beers and rattled out this selection:
Motorhead – Ace of Spades
When you buy your first Motorhead album, you know you’ve entered the world of grown up music. Big, nasty unapologetic rocking grown up music. A song that never gets old, I was introduced to “Ace of Spades” when the band performed it on the classic “University Challenge” episode of The Young Ones. It’s just a non-stop, joyous racket that simply will not stop or slow down for anyone. Absolute perfection. I played this in memory of drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, who sadly passed away recently.
The Vapors – Turning Japanese
A New Wave/Punk Rock classic, I was donated the brilliant “Turning Japanese” by a friend. Thank you, Simon. It was supposed to be part of a tribute set that I’m still working on. It was going to be hard to follow up the adrenaline rush of the previous song, The Vapors pulled it off here though. A great power pop song that kept the pace of the set nicely.
Dinosaur Jr. – Freak Scene
A slight fast forward to the late 1980’s for this next track. The first track on Dinosaur Jr.’s album “Bug”, this track nicely covers the appeal of early American alternative rock. Born out of punk and hardcore, with one foot in old Black Sabbath and one in jangly pop; Dinosaur Jr. constantly delight. Reminds me of my skateboarding youth.
Beastie Boys – Sabotage
I couldn’t decide which track to play last, so I let the audience choose the album. The Beastie Boys “Ill Communication” won hands down, and I chose “Sabotage” as the track to play. Another unrelenting monster of a song, “Sabotage” has a funky groove delivered with a rocking style. Again, a song I never tire of. Plus the Spike Jonze video, with it’s 70’s cop show homage, is a work of genius. It’s been over twenty years and I still want to dress up and play Sabotage Cops for a day.
My buddy Adam strode up to the decks next, and delivered another fine set. It went something like this:
- Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
- The Blasters – I’m Shakin’
- Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
- DJ Kool – Let Me Clear My Throat
Four top songs from Adam there, the Queen track was a load of fun and had me doing my world renowned Freddie Mercury impression. It was nice to hear a modern song on vinyl too, with the Ronson/Mars number.
Great night, great songs – well done all on another fine evening’s entertainment. I’m currently stumped what to play next time. I’ll work on it.
The Halcyon Dreams blog is here, where you can find listed (very helpfully) all of the songs played on the night.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
The Holy Rollers – Gig Review
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. 
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.
Chester Rocks 2014
Chester Rocks
Saturday 7th June 2014
Chester Racecourse
I went to the first Chester Rocks festival at the Racecourse back in 2011. The main reason for this was to see the living legend, Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop. With the Stooges, no less. Performing songs from (one of the greatest albums of all time) “Raw Power”! That was not to be missed, not when Sir Iggy and pals were playing so close to home. Also playing on the day were attractions such as Feeder and Leftfield – so a bargain of a day out right on my doorstep.
That was the “rock” (as in “Chester Rocks”) day. The previous day had seen a pop theme with McFly, The Saturdays, Sugababes and some geezer called Taio Cruz (is that how you spell it? How the flip do you say it??!). Our rock day saw glorious weather and a fun day out, and the consensus was that this event would be a great annual fixture, should we see more of the same in the future.
Alas, Chester is a city (small C) with no culture. No cinema, no theatre, few options for live music. Culture, in Chester, is thousands of drunken, vomiting Hollyoaks wannabes watching horses run round a field. And so, alas, Chester opted to jettison the “rock” for the far more lucrative teeny bopper pop market. Chasing the dollar won out, though Rocks was retained as a (somewhat inappropriate) name. 
This year, I was lucky enough to be offered a couple of free tickets for the Saturday, and happily snapped them up. Although none of the bands were favourites, it was a chance to enjoy a day out and see some live music. So why not?
The featured acts – three big name bands, plus local support – were all on the big main stage on the field. Quite an impressive place for the smaller bands to play. The only negative was looking to be the weather – a thunder storm that morning with more forecast for that evening.
The first band I caught were local Chester band The Suns. I’d never seen them before, but had heard some good words in advance. I was expecting some friendly, straight forward Indie, but they were very different. Taking to the stage in black suits, with a vocalist with a massive beard, they actually sounded more like a rockabilly band. Oh wait – I get it! Sun Records – The Suns? Bloody marvellous! The rumours are true, The Suns are fantastic. Full of swagger and charm, they’re like The Hives if they’d been formed in 1956 by Elvis, Cash and Perkins. Catch them soon. Band of the day and no mistake.
Next up were The Fallows, another local band. Coincidently, I had seen this band before at my previous visit to Chester Rocks. Back in 2011, Shaun Ryder had disgraced himself with an incompetent, puked-up set of utter shit. I wandered off to see a Battle of the Bands in another area, where I found The Fallows making Ryder look like a lager chimp. Four years later and The Fallows are on this huge main stage. They’re still great. The singer has obviously been to Indie School, where he majored in Richard Ashcroft; but fair does he’s got the balls to superstar it up, way up there. There are hints of U2 and The Verve, and the rumbling bass helps make this set another success. 
Purge are next. Never heard of ’em, but they had to be on soon, judging by the number of punters wearing their t-shirts. They brought the whole fan club. Hailing from Manchester, these guys are more of an early RHCP/Primus hybrid. Bring the funk! Good fun, these boys have tons of confidence and are worth keeping an eye on.
Before Purge’s set began, we had a fine example of the type of punter Chester Rocks attracts. Purge fans were waving a huge, home made blanket banner – and a group behind who had their view obscured were unhappy. So riled were they, they barged in and grabbed the banner down and made off with it, in an eruption of petulant self-righteousness. Obviously they don’t go to gigs much. Can’t see? Move. It’s a big fucking field.
The main bands of the evening were The Hoosiers, The Feeling and Razorlight. Can’t say I’m familiar with any of them. It’s light weight, inoffensive Indie pop – though it all seems to blur into one another. A couple of songs I recognised from DFS adverts. They’re all enjoyable and nice enough. I don’t really want to say a bad word about any of the bands, as despite the rain, it’s a jolly day. I won’t be buying their music, but for a free evenings entertainment I ain’t complaining.
Just think how cool it could have been though. From Iggy Pop to Hollyoaks. Where next?
Platinum Al's Virtual Hot Tub 