Tag Archives: punk rock

Random Skateboard Playlist

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It’s been a long while since I shared a random playlist with you.

I recently went out for a skate, split between riding my Mindless longboard and spending some time on a classic old school Santa Cruz Street Creep.  Whilst skating around, I switched the iPod onto shuffle and these are the tunes I heard.

  1. Dead Kennedys – “Moon Over Marin”
  2. Steppenwolf – “Live Your Life”
  3. Little Richard – “I Don;t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me (Parts 1 & 2)”
  4. Motorhead – “Back At The Funny Farm”
  5. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Gimme Three Steps”
  6. Orange Goblin – “Hounds Ditch”
  7. Rod Stewart – “True Blue”
  8. Wire – “I Am The Fly”
  9. The Wildhearts – “In Lilly’s Garden”
  10. Hypnos 69 – “My Journey To The Stars”
  11. Monster Magnet – “Slut Machine”
  12. Iggy Pop – “New Values”
  13. The Charlie Daniels Band – “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”
  14. Sisters of Mercy – “More”

Not a bad selection by the iPod there.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #8

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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 #7

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 26th February 2016

Welcome back to the Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales!  Get yourself a pint and make yourself comfortable, ‘cos you know what time it is.  That’s right, it’s Bring Your Own Vinyl Night again!

Remember the rules: there’s a fifteen minute slot for each person; play whatever you like, so long as it’s vinyl.

Only Greeny and myself made it this time – Adam and Ben the Swede were both unavailable.  No theme for my set this time, just a few songs I really had a yearning to play…

Ennio Morricone – The Ecstasy of Gold

This song is of course from the soundtrack for the classic Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  My version came from an album called “This is Ennio Morricone”.  You don’t need me to tell you how great that film is.  And Morricone’s soundtrack is stylish and ground breaking.  In particular, this track (which plays while Eli Wallach’s character runs frenziedly through a Civil War graveyard) is sheer class.  It builds magnificently and captivates the listener.  A bit over the top, I admit, as the first song in my set – but never let it be said that Platinum Al doesn’t do drama.

Ramones – Surfin’ Bird

If I was going to recommend a Ramones album for a novice to start their education of NYC’s finest, I’d go for “Rocket to Russia”.  I thought that this frenetic cover of the Trashmen’s surf rock gem would be a suitable place to go, after the majesty of the last track.  I love the Ramones and this song was a ton of fun to play.

Soundgarden – Fresh Tendrils

This song, from the simply fantastic “Superunknown” album, is probably my favourite Soundgarden song ever.  And I’m a bit of a Soundgarden nerd – I’ve collected tons of their stuff.  Rather than play a more obvious, well known song, I decided to go with my top tune.  “Fresh Tendrils” has an epic, classic rock sound that I love.  No idea what Chris is singing about, however.  The version I played was from the “Spoonman” 12″ single (on clear vinyl!).

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Originally I was going to play a Stooges song, but then I remembered that 26th February was Johnny Cash’s birthday.  So I decided to play a song by the Man in Black.  “Folsom Prison Blues” is a legendary track, one of Cash’s best.  And I’ve already stated how big a hero this guy was to me.  The album this came from – “Original Golden Hits Volume 1” – was my Gran’s.  After she passed away, it was given to me.  I’d heard a lot from bands I was into how Cash was an inspiration, so I checked the record out.  I loved it, and my Johnny Cash fandom was born.  The first Cash record I heard, but not the last!

That’s my list for the night.  There were may great songs played through out the evening, though.  Budgie!  Hawkwind!  Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy!  Anthrax!  Check the link below for the complete list.

Wax is back – get spinning those tracks!  Thanks for a great night!

I’d also like to thank my old mate Graham, who turned up with a couple of Suicidal Tendencies records for me.  You see, I’d sold these two exact albums to Graham some twenty years ago, when I was a broke student.  Although I could’ve tracked the records down on eBay, I decided to message Graham and see if he’d sell them back to me (if he still had them).  The reason being that one album, the awesome “Join the Army”, had been given to me when I was 15 by my friend Kelvin Bedford, who I used to skateboard with every day.  Sadly, Kel passed away a couple of years ago.  So it was cool to get that actual copy back in my record collection, as a nice memory.  It even had the same plastic protective sheet over the album – and the selotape strip I patched up the inner sleeve with many, many years ago!  Graham gave me both records for free – so I bought him a pint or two.  Thank you!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

R.I.P. David Bowie

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Bowie

David Bowie

08.01.1947 – 10.01.2016

Unbelievable that my second blog post of 2016 is another in tribute to a musical hero who is no longer with us.

The recent passing of David Bowie caught us all off guard; I for one thought it was some cruel internet prank at first.  Not so – a quick trawl of the internet confirmed the sad news.

Back around 1990, my uncle let me borrow a bunch of records from his collection – an absolute buzz for a music obsessive like me.  There were records by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Stranglers, Devo and more.  I saw a copy of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”, and asked if I could borrow that too.  He kindly agreed and I made off with my temporary haul.

Right from the start, listening to the “Ziggy Stardust” album was something revolutionary.  I knew I was hearing something special.

The reason I’d wanted to become more acquainted with Bowie’s work was the high regard some of my other favourite bands held him in, mostly due to his friendship and support of Iggy Pop.  I was already a massive Stooges fan.

From “Ziggy Stardust” I continued exploring David Bowie’s considerable catalogue.  Some songs were instants classics, some challenged me.  All of it was worthwhile taking the time to investigate: classics from “Hunky Dory” and “Low” being favourites.  All of those songs inspired me, and gave insight into how many artists of different genres had been inspired by his work.

In fact, the greatest legacy that Bowie’s work has left, for me at least, was that constant pioneering exploration.  I was encouraged to expand my musical horizons and accompany Bowie on journeys into different sonic territories.  It’s thanks to that spirit that I have the wide ranging taste in music that I have today.

Thank you, David Bowie, for taking us on your adventures in sound.  I will continue to admire and study your legacy for years to come.

R.I.P. Lemmy

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Lemmy

Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister

24.12.1945 – 28.12.2015

A huge part of growing up is buying your first Motorhead album.  For me it was the compilation album “No Remorse”, which I wanted because it had “Ace of Spades” and “Killed By Death” on it.  With that purchase, I took a step into a bigger world.  Motorhead were a gang, not just a band – and with buying that record I was subscribing to a whole new way of life.

The first time I encountered the rabid monster that was Motorhead was when they performed the legendary “Ace of Spades” on the Young Ones episode “Bambi”.  Lemmy was there front and centre, a living icon in mirror shades, mutton chop whiskers, and thunderous bass guitar; bellowing into a mic that was stretched to the ceiling.

Motorhead’s music was a raucous, fast burst of adrenaline and I played that album every Monday morning before school.  It was the best way to get into the zone and face the start of the week.  Total take no prisoners, take on the world music.  Of course, real life wasn’t so harsh, but Motorhead made you feel like you could do anything.

Lemmy himself was always the uncompromising rock’n’roll figurehead.  His gruff demeanour and his reputation for fast living only cemented his status.  And Motorhead were always cool.  When I developed a taste for punk rock, Motorhead were still cool.  Lemmy and Motorhead straddled the otherwise impossible crevasse between punk and metal.  He had roots going back to early rock’n’roll and the classics of the 60’s with the Beatles and Hendrix.  Lemmy was part of rock’s DNA.

Over the years I collected their albums, bought the t-shirt and Lemmy’s autobiography, and saw them live.  I even met the guy once.  One day I’ll write up the story of that night, which I was always going to call “The Greatest Night Out of My Life”.  Suffice to say that I met Lemmy in a strip club in Liverpool after a Motorhead gig, totally by chance.  I hung out with him all night.  He was extremely gracious and funny.  He was tolerant of drunk fans because he knew how much the music meant to us.

As much a gentleman as a warrior, the world has lost a real original with the passing of Lemmy Kilmister.  He was a pioneer, an innovator.  We knew he’d go one day, but it’s still unbelievable.  I’ll miss Motorhead.  Raise a glass to the great man and yell:

“You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t wanna live forever!”

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #5

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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

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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.

Melvins – Gig Review

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Melvins + Big Business

Friday 9th October 2015

Gorilla, Manchester

I had been waiting for this for a long time.  As a long time fan of the Melvins, it seems inexplicable that I’ve never seen them live before.  But then I rarely travel to Manchester for gigs.  2015 has been the year of live music for Platinum Al; as such the planets aligned, the tickets were bought, the wheels were rolling towards the big city and it was on.  Finally, I would witness the wonder of the Melvins.

And not just the Melvins – the support slot went to Big Business, a two piece of bass and drums in a similar mould to the mighty headliners.  Of course, anyone who knows their Black Flag from their Black Sabbath will tell you that Jared and Coady of this band also perform with Buzz and Dale to create the steaming sonic soup with lumpy riff croutons that is the Melvins. Melvins

The Big Business set was extremely impressive in it’s own right.  As I said, the band is just bass and drums, yet the almighty noise they make is astounding for a two piece.  They play a solid set that could’ve been a main course of the evening’s entertainment.  Big grooves, pounding drums and awesome sound scapes create a fine appetiser.

Gorilla in Manchester is some sort of restaurant/bar thing, with a stage at the back for live shows.  It’s seems more in scale with stand up comedy gigs, but despite the modest size it’s a great place to see the band – close up, good views and sound.  The beer is a bit expensive, but I got a Melvins (official!) t-shirt for a tenner!  Yeah!!!

So anyway, the Melvins arrive on stage as a four piece – Buzz, Dale, Jared and Coady – and we’re off.  It’s a gig unlike any I’ve experienced ever before.  There’s no breaks; no chat with the audience; no introducing the songs – the band just plough through their catalogue of fantastic songs and drag the audience along with them.  The audience follow willingly, of course – and the band don’t ignore us – it’s a unique unspoken agreement that we’re all along for a hell of a musical journey.

The music is heavy, sludgy, intense – exactly what I expected and wanted.  There are several songs from newer albums (“The Water Glass”, “Evil New War God” – both superb).  Older classics like “Sweet Willy Rollbar” and “It’s Shoved” are given a welcome play too.  The absolute high light for me though is “Civilised Worm” – what a riff!

The power of the riff is what the Melvins are all about.  Buzz’s guitar is astoundingly heavy, yet also shines with artistic flourishes and strange sounds to keep the listener guessing.  The bass is relentless yet groovy, hammering home the riffs.  Add dual drummers and ears were ringing for days.

It was a truly intense live experience and one I’m really glad I saw.  Unlike anything else and worthy of the hype, the Melvins are a unique band and I love them.

Did I mention I got a t-shirt for a tenner??!!

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #4

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 2nd October 2015

For this month’s Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, I decided to have a theme for my set.  Although it was only early in the month of October, I decided to opt for a Halloween theme.  My music choices would have a horror element, or something dark and macabre.

If you’re not familiar with vinyl night, here’s the basic outline:

  • Hosted in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, turn up and play a fifteen minute set of songs – vinyl only, no CD’s, mp3s, tapes or anything else.
  • Put your name on the list and wait your turn, have a few drinks, listen to the collection of tunes played by other vinyl fans.
  • There are two turntables plus mixing equipment to play your set, plus assistance if you need technical help.

Adam was first up tonight, his set list went as follows:

  • Amen Corner – (If Paradise is) Half As Nice
  • Los Lobos – C’mon Let’s Go
  • Jim Steinman – Surf’s Up
  • Guns’n’Roses – You Could Be Mine

Then it was my turn…

Bobby “Boris” PIckett and the Crypt-Kickers – Monster Mash

What better way to start than with this ghoulish classic?  I found this album a few months ago in a charity shop, and couldn’t believe my luck.  It was only a couple of quid, and worth the investment even though I don’t usually spend more than a pound!  This is of course the sixties gem that sound checks various monsters, with Pickett impersonating Karloff (and Lugosi too).  It’s great fun and essential for any Halloween party!

The Damned – Nasty

The first time I ever heard the Damned was when “Eloise” got to number 3 in the charts.  The second time was this fast paced, tongue in cheek ode to horror movies, on the brilliant Young Ones horror spoof episode “Nasty”.  The Damned appear and play this song in the Young Ones’ kitchen.  I was hooked straight away, saved up some money and bought an album with both tracks on it.  Given the exposure this song had, it constantly amazes me that “Nasty” was relegated to a B-side and hardly ever shows up on Damned compilation albums.  I’ve seen the band live more times than any other, but only saw this song performed for the first time a few weeks ago!  Anyway, the Damned are another essential for a Halloween theme.  Still a great song.

Danzig – Sistinas

Although not a horror related song as such, I couldn’t resist the chance to play something by the Dark Lord of rock himself, Danzig.  Instead of a more obvious bone rattling heavy rock number, I chose this incredible ballad that was hidden away on Danzig III: How the Gods Kill.  Glenn shows off his great vocal abilities here on a song that is more Roy Orbison than Black Sabbath.  Appropriately dark and wind swept, this is a morose beauty of a song.

The Misfits – Vampira

To be honest, I was spoiled for choices for a horror theme, there are tons of songs I could’ve played.  Despite risking a Glenn Danzig overdose, I just had to spin a Misfits song.  This band took the horror punk template established by the Damned, the Ramones and the Cramps and ran with it, off into a creepy cemetery populated by every 1950’s B-movie monster ever.  “Walk Among Us” is one of my favourite albums ever, and this short sharp song dedicated to proto Goth babe Vampira is one of their best.

So there you have it – another triumphant evening for Bring Your Own Vinyl Night.  There were old songs, new songs, obscure and obvious songs.  There’s always something to make you go away and research another band, that’s the beauty of these nights.  My personal favourite was hearing “Gut Feeling” by Devo!  Already looking forward to the next one.  A theme?  We’ll see…

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.

Public Image Ltd – Gig Review

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PIL

Public Image Ltd + The Hexmen

Saturday 26th September 2015

The Tivoli, Buckley

Well it’s been an amazing couple of weeks for gigs.  And what’s that?  Public Image Ltd playing up the road at the Buckley Tivoli?  Featuring the living legend that is John Lydon?  There’s absolutely no way this extravaganza can be missed!

It was England vs Wales in the Rugby World Cup that night, and the Tiv had decided to show the game on a large projector screen above the stage.  A bizarre idea but it worked out OK – happily Wales won.  Had they lost that could’ve put a right downer on the evening.

Support band The Hexmen are a non-stop R’n’B party.  And by R’nB I mean as in Rhythm and Blues, not as in Kanye West.  They’re a solid band with an unmissable skill in abstract between song banter.  Solid rhythm section, stellar guitar and soaring harmonica.  Pretty damn good.  They appear to play in these parts quite often, so check ’em out.

The Tiv was packed out for Public Image Ltd.  I think most of the punters were in a daze, unbelieving that the band would actually appear.  But lo and behold PiL did appear – the real PiL, not a tribute act featuring some Johnny Rotten wannabe.  The reception was warm, but the crowd really revved up when the third song in the set turned out to be the masterpiece that is “This Is Not a Love Song”.

There was a fair mix of tracks old and new, with “Death Disco” and “Warrior” standing out from the well known singles.  I’ve not got the new album yet (hangs head in shame), but the tracks of that and This is PiL (got that one) were all extremely impressive.  The massive bass groove of Scott Firth and precision drums of Bruce Smith created a throbbing tribal rhythm that brought these songs to life.

Lydon himself seemed to be having a good time, for the most part.  I couldn’t always tell.  He definitely got stuck in and delivered some quite stunning vocals.  His style is almost operatic; combined with his commanding presence at the front of the stage we are given a captivating performance.

I should also mention guitar maestro and all round talented bloke Lu Edmonds – he played a blazing gig.  I have no idea how he made all those sounds.  It was very hard to believe that there were only four people on stage.

The encore provides the songs “Public Image” and “Rise”, two fantastic songs that the audience were thrilled with.  I still remember seeing “Rise” performed on Top of the Pops when I were a lad.  That was my first experience of PiL.  The other kids thought Lydon was weird; I thought he looked cool.  It’s a perfect end to the chapter.

Oh, and I WILL go and buy the new album – promise.

The Public Image Ltd website is here.

The Hexmen website is here.

The Tivoli website is here.