Valencia in April!

 

There will be an exhibition of my music-based drawings from 15th April for two weeks, and a gig on Friday 17th April 

The Nightingales and Thomas Truax at The Moth Club

I'm so glad Karina persuaded me to go to this gig because it was so worth it. We got there early so we could sit on the chairs close to the stage which was great, but it made Thomas Truax slightly terrifying at the same time. I hadn't seen him before and those who had were incredibly excited about it. On the stage stood a chrome bicycle-wheel modified into a drum machine, and an old-style brass record player horn with various strings, children's sound effects boxes and a microphone attached.

He arrived onstage with a beautiful chrome dobro guitar that sounded fantastic. Whatever effects he was putting it through made it sound much fuller than a dobro's normal tinny, brashy sound. He sang some songs fairly straightforwardly to start with, then gradually introduced the drum machine, and then the modified gramophone horn, and then an instrument he'd made from a drying machine concertina outlet pipe. By the end he was layering sounds with a loopmaster, by way of standing on a table and singing, and running out of one door and back in the other, singing. The best bit was when he played the strings on the gramophone horn, which made a deep, resonant sound that was rather beautiful.

Once when I was very little, I went to a party in our village. Overcome with excitement, I stood on a chair to sing, or to announce something: to generally show off. McMum soon intercepted, her furious Protestantism kicking in. 'Sit down at once', she hissed. I was ashamed.

I wonder if Thomas Truax was told to 'sit down at once' when he was a little boy? All of his ideas come tumbling out on stage in a burst of energy, but he has trained himself to make them coherent and efficient; he is a showman, a magician for rock audiences who revert to childhood wonder when they watch him. I'm not sure why I found him unnerving; perhaps I thought he had a bucket of green paint behind the glittery curtain at the back of the Moth Club stage, and he would finish his act by throwing that out over the audience to see if they minded!*

On to The Nightingales, who now have a new member on viola, Natalie Mason. This also means an extra singing voice in the group, and she is just as energetic as the rest of them. Rather than starting a gig, they have lift off like a huge, sonic rocket: they launched straight into the songs, threaded together into one long song that lasted for more than an hour. 

You are totally with them on this journey: suddenly Northern Soul rears its beautiful head, and then morphs into Sea Shanties. Prog rock shakes the stage and batters the eardrums, and then country music sidles into the set. The harmonies are gorgeous, as is the interplay between the viola and Jim's guitar and sometimes the vocals too. Robert Lloyd was in fine, strong voice, his exaggerated vibrato baa-ing like a ferocious sheep in some places, then mellowing to a lovely tenor in others. I didn't know before the gig that making phone calls in Cuba was free, but I do now!

Every member of the band shines in their own unique way. 

Fliss's sticks whack the kit then skedaddle across the snare to the cymbals which beg for mercy, but there is none. Fliss will win, as she always does; the drum kit knows this, but the fight is part of the fun. Andy on bass holds the lower end of the sound down most of the time, but has his moments in the spotlight too. Jim must be able to play thousands of different chords and riffs, finding new ones that haven't even been invented yet. Natalie's viola lines are perfect and she appears to be completely unfazed by what can only be described as Nightingales Normal: madness and beauty tangled up in an extraordinary sonic experience. 

As for Robert...

Even if you were determined not to like the band, the sudden appearance of the bright green kazoo out of his suit pocket will win you over, and you will become a fan. I have known them for ages, and seen them a lot. This was their best ever gig. How silly to have my heart bursting with pride for them, but I couldn't help it.

Off they go for more dates. You might miss them until next time, but meanwhile here is their new record which you can listen to until you get a chance to be in the same room as them: https://nightingales.lnk.to/TheAwfulTruth

*In my autobiography, you'll read about the Tin Of Green Paint incident in the wilds of Northumberland when I was a little tomboy. Except you won't, because I'm not going to write my autobiography.

Portrait of a Turkey

 

Violins, Double Basses etc. In A Shop Window In Stoke Newington

 

Gaelictronica (thanks Ruth!) On Blue Vinyl Imminent!

At last! The vinyl is on it's way and can be pre-ordered here:
https://williegibson.bandcamp.com/album/cailin-mo-ruin-sa-ailein-duinn

Would-be-Goods, Railcard, and Me At The Water Rats Last Night

This was to be a densely packed evening in a densely packed venue. The sound engineer, Ali, took immense care with everyone; a first in my experience was him checking the band then asking them to play the first song so he had something to set everything up to. This was so thorough of him, and when someone takes such a professional approach there's a whole layer of worry you don't need to engage with.

Add to this the fact that this was a Caryne and Dave gig, which meant that everything was super-organised and the publicity stops had been pulled out to their fullest extent, plus everyone in the bands knew each other, or knew of each other, and has done for ages, it was bound to be a good night.

People came really early. I was touched that Gaye and Eric had actually bought tickets. Gaye had a copy of a lost Adverts single in her bag, pink vinyl no less. She hadn't seen Rachel Dollymixture for a long time, and there were a whole bunch of people who were reconnecting, which was also a big plus.

Railcard were first on. You'd expect a band of songwriters to have exceptionally good songs, and they do: sunshine pop with bells on, all played with a massive sense of enjoyment. What really sets them apart is some spectacular and distinctive vocal arranging, delivered absolutely perfectly. Sheer joy emanated from the stage and they were really well-received.

We were on in the middle, and I think something about playing with Robert and Ruth (Robert's gig) on Thursday made the whole thing very confident and happy. I'd been worried about whether we'd get to play everything but having dropped a couple of songs, we managed just fine and it felt wonderful to be so appreciated. Would it be OK to play The Sea? Yes, it was: there was lots of lustily-sung joining in, and we even managed to play Balloon to finish off with.

https://helenmccookerybook.bandcamp.com/track/the-sea

The Would-be-Goods put on an amazing set. I really enjoy seeing them live. They are excellent on record, and in real life the boot up the arse (sorry for crudity) that Andy Warren's bass gives to the songs elevates the band to extra dizzying heights. I was trying to think of a way to describe them earlier on when I was out for a walk and running through the night in my head. They are a unique mixture of elegance and ferocity; they never lose control, but they are extraordinarily strong both creatively (those songs!) and in terms of musicianship. Add to this a sense of dynamics in the set, which is sometimes full-on and sometimes pared back to stark simplicity, and it's impossible not to be mesmerised by it all. Jessica was in fine vocal form on Saturday, too.

What can I say except lucky audience! It was lovely afterwards, because people hung around a bit to chat and they seemed to have enjoyed everything. All sorts of people turned out: Elodie Ginsbourg came from Sheffield with her daughter, Spinmaster Plantpot was there, Karina, Debsey Dollymixture and Paul, Pete Astor, Lester Square (who reconnected with Andy Warren), Rob and Amelia (of course, because they run Skep Wax, who release both Railcard and Would-be-Goods records and had merch to sell), Pete Tainsh, Kevin and Xtina from Rochester, and more people who I will remember later on. I hope those people don't turn up at the next gig like bad fairies at the Christening!

I'm just about to sort out flights to Valencia, where I'll be playing in a bookshop in April alongside an exhibition of my drawings. I'll also be playing at Rebellion again this year (I had to miss last year because of illness), at the John Peel Centre celebration of 50 years of punk (interviewing Charlie Harper and showing the She-Punks film there too), and other things that I will be getting my head around next week.

Robert Rotifer and Drew Morrison and the Darkwood at The Spice of Life

A chilly wind blew but it couldn't blow away my good spirits. We'd had a good rehearsal on Wednesday, a combo of Robert's songs and my own (I have a gig on Saturday at The Water Rats, with Railcard, supporting The Would-be-goods).

It's much less stressful being a guest musician than it is being the principal one. Ruth was there already, Ian turned up and then Robert. Sound check didn't take long: the Green Goddess was sounding it's usual best, and enjoyed being out and about in a guitar-friendly environment.

This was the first night of Drew's new club, and we were seated in the best seats in the house. We could see and hear how well his (new) songs are arranged. The two guitars sounded fantastic, and there was some fabulous chordsmithery and very skilful playing going on. You could see how much the guitarist enjoyed playing- he was almost dancing as he played, and quite clearly is one of those people who lives his musicality. Lots of people enjoy playing, obviously, because otherwise they wouldn't do it- but not everyone is so clearly transported by the music of the band they're in. Great set Drew, and the way the songs are developing is really interesting.

Robert started with Man in Sandwich Board, one of my favourite Robert songs. The core band is Ruth on bass and Ian on drums, but I joined in this one and later, That Was The Time. Robert was in his element, powering through the set despite his guitar trying to disrupt things by repeatedly going out of tune (note to self: ask him to stretch the strings before the gig on Saturday!). He took to the piano for one of his songs, and I joined the band onstage again for Balloon. There was a storming version of Aberdeen Marine Lab, and for encore he played a solo song before the band joined him for Frankfurt Kitchen. Apparently, Ian wrote to V&A East to ask if they could play the song there (they have a full Frankfurt Kitchen on display), but didn't hear back. Typical.

Well, it was a damn good night out. Nice to see Caryne and friends, and other chums!

Poly Styrene Singing

 

Sister Rosetta

 

People in Coloured Rain Macs on the South Bank, London

 

Clementine March at the Horse Hospital

I heard one of Clementine's songs on Riley and Coe's BBC6 show and it was so good I booked a ticket for Saturday's show at the Horse Hospital.

It was different crowd from the usual, which was quite refreshing. There was a lot on because it was Valentine's night, but there was still a decent audience, right from the start. First support Eva May reminded me a little of Rowen Bridler; her close-chord piano playing and intriguing melodies were very listenable, and she didn't play a wrong note. The second support was Louise Chenneviere, who started off on guitar with two Britney Spears covers; she told us that she had just written a book on her. She moved between guitar and piano, trying out new songs and singing in a combination of French and English.

In the breaks, I chatted to Rachel Horwood, who I met in Gina's Choir and who drums for Clementine, Pearl and her friend who does nursery rhymes in primary schools, and Rozi Plain, who it turns out is a friend of Jim the banjo player's daughter in Winchester. Marie was there too sitting at the front; it was a musician's night as well as a punter's night.

Clementine is a really energetic and confident guitar player, with a really varied and constantly-surprising chord cupboard. She also pays close attention to the way her guitar sounds. It's like listening to a kinetic sculpture, all in the service of distinctive songwriting. She played the song Lucie, which was the one I liked so much, but also a set of songs that reminded me of Kevin Ayers, especially the new ones. I told her that afterwards when I went to buy an album (I had to), and she was very pleased.

Rachel on drums and the bass player Ollie played sensitively and dynamically all the way through. I haven't seen so much eye contact between members of a band for a very long time.

Sometimes, 'a good night' is a social comment and sometimes it's a conclusion after a night where I've been playing. Saturday's gig was a good night because of the music. I found it inspiring and refreshing, which is a very good start to a new year of music, I think.

PEG Whitstable 'Library' Exhibition

The Profanity Embroidery Group puts on regular exhibitions and are currently preparing a Grenfell Quilt, a very large and wide-ranging project. This Library-themed exhibition has examples of all different kinds of embroidered responses to the idea of books and reading. The quality of the work is incredible.

I first came across their work about ten years ago when the poet Leah Thorne collaborated with them in Folkestone- their embroidered wedding dresses were hilarious, and very subversive. I've followed their sweary antics ever since.

Late last year there was a call-out for submissions (fnurr, fnurr) for the Jan Lewis Memorial Award and I grabbed a tea towel that I couldn't be bothered to iron, and started to embroider the reason why I started writing about women in punk all those years ago, much in the style of a Delft tile. It was good to have something to take my mind off the anniversary of being so ill at the end of 2024, and I made myself finish it in time for the deadline. Much to my astonishment, the group chose my work for the exhibition, and I went to see it today. The chance to exhibit it was in memory of one of their founder members, Jan Lewis. 

Seriously, these women and hardcore brilliant embroiderers and have the best senses of humour. It was great to chat with them, and see their work in real life. Fucking brilliant.

I think there must be something in the water in Whitstable. I found a pocket of sunshine on a bench near the beach and two old geezers were having a loudly-broadcast conversation in which it was impossible to discern anything other than the f-word. 

Three cockwombling cheers to PEG for fighting back with such skill and aplomb! 

The exhibition is on up to, and including, Monday 16th February

Food Poisoning

Two of us got food poisoning last week from burritos that we ate in a restaurant. 

Horrible! 

Kitchen managers need to have eagle eyes to make sure everyone washes their hands properly, and that food is stored correctly and not left lying around.

The restaurant didn't want to believe us, but when two people out of four get the same thing after eating the same dish, and the other two who didn't are perfectly all right, then there is no argument.

Joni Mitchell

 

Robert Wyatt Plays Trumpet