Joey

Yesterday (as I write this) I saw the very sad news that Joey Jordison, the founding drummer of Slipknot, has passed away aged 46. This news has certainly bummed me out as a fan of Slipknot (despite it being the case that Joey hadn't been in the band for some time). In my mind, I always assumed at some point, he would be invited back, even if it was just as a guest at some live shows or in the studio if not a full member. I never really got into any of his other bands, though this is definitely a case of me not trying to, rather than me trying to and not liking them.

It made me reflect a little bit on my relationship as a fan of Slipknot, and the times I saw Slipknot with him in the band. My first exposure to Slipknot was flicking through the music channels and seeing the video to Wait and Bleed. At this point in my life, I hadn’t really started listening to rock music of any kind (other than what was on the radio when I was in the car with my parents), and I was very much still in the phase of life where I was judging bands and their fans (in this instance, the “goths”) with no real knowledge behind my opinions - I believe the most accurate way to describe this was that I was a prick (I have previously tried to defend how I was then, but there is little point as I was most definitely in the wrong). Anyway, I think this was just before I started listening to Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. I didn’t know anything about this band, but this video captivated me. I might be remembering this wrong, but I recall not following this up for some time afterwards. I was still some way from realising my then-behaviour was moronic, but when I had realised this and looked to rectify it, Slipknot were one of the bands I went back to and realised they had a lot of good music. I didn’t immediately like everything, but a lot grew on me quickly. I seem to recall another music video, this time for Left Behind, particularly striking. I also found My Plague a song I particularly liked as an angsty teenager. 

I really wanted to see them when they sub-headlined Download 2005 - the Sunday was System of a Down, Slipknot and Slayer (a decent way to end a day at a festival, that). All my friends at the time went to Reading festival that year, and I didn’t have the means to attend Download anyway, so this was a non-starter. I was then meant to see them for the first time sub-headlining Reading 2008, but they had to withdraw due to Joey breaking his ankle. My memory of that situation was breaking the news to a friend who was spending that whole weekend at Reading (I was only there for the day), and everyone felt quite sad about it. I had a ticket to see them twice on their December 2008, but I ended up selling one of them as I couldn’t afford the travel to go twice. I saw them for the first time at Hammersmith Apollo supported by Machine Head and Children of Bodom and just loved it. The next time I saw them was on their first tour following the passing of Paul Gray at Sonisphere 2011. The show was incredible and you could certainly feel that it was an emotional one. The final time I would have seen Slipknot with Joey in the band was very fleeting. At Download 2013, they clashed directly with Black Stone Cherry who were headlining the second stage, and I opted to watch the beginning and end of Slipknot’s set, and all of Black Stone Cherry. I don’t really remember much of Slipknot’s set other than thinking the end was amazing. That was the summer of 2013, and by December 2013, Joey Jordison had left/been fired from Slipknot.

As I said above, I always thought he would be invited back, somehow/someway, but this wasn’t the case and now, sadly, never will be. Rest in Power Joey Jordison. 46 is no age at all. 

And We're Live

The last time I wrote, I gave an excuse as to why I don’t write more often - that excuse being that I honestly can’t be bothered in most cases. That remains the case, as actually there have been a few things recently that would have been worth writing something about, but I just haven’t. One common theme, pre-Covid at least and once during, for this blog is now about music and the gigs I go to. Obviously during the pandemic, opportunities for me to go to gigs have been few and far between. It is something that I’ve missed very much, but I don’t think I realised how much until recently. In the last month-ish, I’ve been to 3 gigs. Two of these gigs were socially distant affairs and one was as standard as a gig as you can imagine. I thought about writing three separate reviews of each gig, but instead settled on writing a blog covering all three of them. So without further ado, these are the gigs. 

Beans On Toast (Socially Distant). Saturday 12th June (Matinee) - The Clapham Grand, London. 

Briefly, Beans On Toast’s music is something I only properly discovered during lockdown and working at home. I decided once to listen to his then complete discography in a day or two, and I found that for the most part, I very much enjoyed it. I decided it would be cool to see him live at some point, and then this opportunity came up, and I decided to go. 

I got there far too early, so I strolled around Clapham for a bit, though not too far from the venue.Due to the staggered entry, I didn’t have to queue and was in the venue pretty quickly. The rules were masks on when walking around the venue, but could come off when you were in your seat. Drinks could be ordered to the seat via an app, which I did once and was pretty straightforward. I thought the staff I encountered were all great. In terms of the upper balcony seating, the instruction was to sit on any bench, but to keep 2 metres away from people as best as possible. This wasn’t a challenge really. 

On to the gig itself, it was opened by a solo act called Tensheds. I enjoyed his set - more than once it made me think of a stripped back Bruce Springsteen at a piano/keyboard, which in my mind is a compliment. I’ve since gone back and listened to his music on Spotify and enjoyed it, so I’m sure I will listen again. Beans On Toast was the main event and it was just ace. He played a number of his songs that I love, which certainly helped matters. There was a really cool moment where he played a song from one of this new albums that he wrote about a former teacher (positive song!) and the teacher was in the audience. There was also a nice moment where his young daughter came on stage to dance to one of his songs (about her). 

I was slightly worried about going, because doing so would involve the first train to London since the end of 2019 (I think when I went in 2020, it was by car or coach) and, as well, it wasn’t as if Covid had just gone away. I hoped the gig would make it worthwhile though, and I can say without hesitation that it did. It was the first gig since the test event at the Kings Theatre in September, and the first non-test event since March 2020, and it was a really good first experience. And, I got home early enough to do a food shop on my way home (I was still fucked the next day mind...that’s probably an age thing though!)

Fleetingwood Mac (Socially Distant). Saturday 17th July (Matinee) - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. 

Fleetwood Mac are a band who I’ve never really listened to their albums, but in my view should be in any conversation about bands with the best “best of” compilation albums. Additionally, I’d heard nothing but good things about Fleetingwood Mac as a tribute band, so as an opportunity to see them came up, and at my favourite local venue, I decided to grab a ticket. Firstly, a massive thumbs up to the Wedgewood Rooms - I booked three tickets, a 1 person bubble ticket for me, and a 2 person bubble ticket for 2 friends, and the venue clocked this and put us on a 4 person table together, rather than splitting us up to two separate tables for two. I was very pleased with how that worked out. Again, drinks were ordered via an app and this was a painless process.

The support act were called The Hill Brothers, and I very much enjoyed their stripped down interpretations on some songs I really like, White Stripes Seven Nation Army immediately springs to mind from their set, as well as a cover of a song from The Black Keys (I want to say Gold On The Ceiling but my memory might be failing me now). Fleetingwood Mac themselves were excellent. As above, I had only heard good things about them, so went in with high expectations and they were comfortably met and then some. They are an excellent tribute band, and I will definitely see them again (all being well, December!). 

Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls - Grand Aid 3. Monday 19th July - The Clapham Grand, London. 

When this gig was announced for “freedom day”, I found myself wanting to go, but anticipating it would sell out immediately, I decided initially to not bother getting a ticket. I have a ticket to see Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls as part of Lost Evenings festival in September, and a ticket to see Beans On Toast (main support) in December on a headline run (not mentioning, as I did earlier in this post, that I had just recently been to a Beans headline show). However, when it didn’t sell out immediately, I looked to see if I could get the day after off work, and I could. I then found a cheap hotel room round the corner from the venue and decided to take the plunge. I was nervous in the build up to the gig, which I think is fair enough considering it was to be the first full capacity show I’d have been to since March 2020. I wore a Frank Turner shirt from the “Get Better” range, which out of context could be taken as insensitive during a global pandemic, considering it says “Not Dead Yet” on the front. However, the only comments I had about it (to me, at least) were positive. One note is that the show was a Revive Live show in conjunction with the National Lottery, which meant I could bring a friend for free, however I got my ticket at short notice and the 1 person I asked said they couldn’t make it, which was a shame. I kept my mask on, as I wasn’t sure what the situation would be, and I would guess less than 5% of the crowd had them on. Mentioning this isn’t me being critical, but I was surprised at how few people did. 

I arrived as Ciara Haidar was performing via satellite, which was cool. I couldn’t really hear much of her music as people around me were talking. What I heard sounded good though. Next up was Gerry Del Guercio from SixNationState. I didn’t know any of his stuff, but I enjoyed his set. There was a moment during his set which was cool, as he covered Oasis - Half The World Away, and that was the first singalong of the night - I have missed singalongs! Beans On Toast was next and that was ace as well. It felt very different to the show I saw at the same venue a month earlier, though were you to ask me why, I would struggle. He played a few songs I really like, and some new songs which sound good as well. Essentially, what I’m saying is I enjoyed the set, and there are no complaints from me. 

After a wait that felt like eternity (whereas in actual fact, it was about 30 minutes), Frank and the band came on stage and launched into Get Better and 1933 (which seemed to have an extra bit of venom behind it...can’t imagine why). From the off, every song was accompanied with a big singalong by the crowd, which every so often I would just pause and take in. It was a high energy gig all throughout, which was cool. I think the only time it slightly dipped was when a new song (Punches) was being played for the first time as a full band, which makes sense. There was a moment later on (in my mind, I want to say between the two solo songs in the set, but I might be wrong) where it appeared Frank was very emotional about the whole experience, which is entirely fair enough. The second of the two solo songs was The Ballad of Me and My Friends, a song which is usually well received anyway, but on this night it appeared the reaction it got was something else. The encore of Frank’s set, and the end of the night was a solo rendition of Balthazar, Impresario, and then the full band coming back out for Recovery, I Still Believe (a short video of one of the singalongs for this song can be found here) and Four Simple Words. It certainly will be in the conversation, should I ever have one, about the best times I’ve seen Frank Turner live, that is for sure. I put on social media that the gig was genuinely life-affirming, and nearly a week on from writing that, I completely stand by that. I left the venue with a massive grin on my face. 

Some photos of all three gigs can be seen via my Instagram (as well as other stuff when I remember to post stuff there, which isn’t often). 
And, that is that for now. I was tempted to go and see Black Spiders this week just gone, when they were due to play The Joiners in Southampton on Friday night. However, that gig has been postponed for now due to a member of the band getting pinged (something I suspect will be more frequent in the run up to the date on which fully vaccinated people can test and release if they are pinged). My next gig is scheduled to be at that same venue next Wednesday night to see Bob Vylan - I very much like the album We Live Here, so I’m looking forward to the gig as well as going back to The Joiners - my last full capacity gig before the pandemic was there. There is already chat about restrictions coming back in some form, though as is the case with the current lot in office, messaging has been mixed and confusing so who bloody knows. I have a lot of gigs booked for the rest of the year, so I am hopeful I will be able to write an end of year list - fingers crossed that either restrictions aren’t needed, or something can happen to allow gigs to continue going ahead. 

A(lmost a) Year Indoors

As I write this, it is February 20th 2021, which means in 3 days it will be 11 months since the first lockdown was announced in the United Kingdom as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Admittedly, saying the lockdown was as a result of Covid-19 is probably something I didn't need to write, but thought it worthwhile to provide some form of context, just in case we all forget (laugh out loud). Whenever I renew the domain name linked to this blog, I always promise myself that I will sit down to write more and then inevitably never do. More often than not, it is because I can't be bothered. A small part of it is because, aside from a tweet now and then and quietly having the links on my social media, I don't promote the fact it exists (and so, no-one reads what I write). However most recently my excuse has been there is nothing happening (which I feel is a perfectly valid one). I've considered writing full blogs about new albums I've liked, or books I've read that I've enjoyed, but I always decide against it. The Albums of 2020 post would give an example as to why, just picking something and saying "I like it" isn't exactly enthralling reading (and a bit pointless to write, in my view). 

The point of me writing this now is because I've just completed an update of a spreadsheet I keep, which records what bands I've seen and where I've seen them. A recent update before I bought my Chromebook was to add the years I saw certain bands at festivals. When I purchased the Chromebook, and imported the excel sheet across to my Google Drive, I saw that the comments I had written could now not be edited, and if I wanted to add to them, I would have to reply. This was something I considered a minor annoyance but nothing more. That is until the pandemic started and the only form of live music I was getting came in the form of live streams. Without question, for my tastes at least, the most prolific live streaming artist that I am a fan of is Frank Turner. I asked the question of myself whether I could include the live streams on the list and concluded that I could provided I watched them when they happened (as opposed to a replay of it). How this is all linked is that I was adding the comments on top of the exported comments that were there and it looked ugly as all hell. Given that I am not exactly what you could call busy right now, I decided to re-do the list so it was a fresh list on Google Drive and rewrite all the comments. If you are bored like me, you can look at it here

Doing this was an arduous task, because the list has 817 individual entries on it. I decided as I started to also include, where possible, the year the gigs all took place (to match the festival sets). This isn't always possible (mainly for local band gigs where I don't have tickets, and there are no records online of the gig having ever taken place). but I think the list is as accurate as it can be. The main takeaway from doing it I think is how bad my memory is in terms of thinking when gigs took place. An example of this was me trying to find the year I saw Madness at the O2 Arena. I couldn't find the ticket in my ticket scrapbook, and there were two cleat entries on setlist.fm for Madness gigs at the O2 Arena that I thought either could be plausible - 2014 or 2016. I immediately thought it was 2014, but there was something on the setlist which just didn't look right (that thing being they played My Girl and then immediately played their new sequel for the song, My Girl 2). It was my memory of this that eventually enabled me to pinpoint the gig I went to, and in fact it was actually in 2012 (and sure enough, the ticket was there in my scrapbook, but I didn't think to look that far back). This also happened in reverse as well - I couldn't remember when I saw Stiff Little Fingers in Portsmouth and didn't have the ticket, and setlist.fm again gave options, and at first I chose 2016, which is wrong as it turns out because I saw them in 2019. 

It wasn't the most fun of tasks by any stretch of the imagination, but I am glad it is now done. I did have a few moments of sadness when doing it though because I am still very much missing live music. It is coming up to one year since I went to my last proper gig, a day I imagine I'll be a bit sad on. The chat about when gigs can come back isn't exactly filling me with joy either. That said, I am of the view that everything that needs to stay closed should stay closed until it is safe to open (and the government should support the businesses in this position). I would not be happy if removing restrictions happened too early and shit hit the fan again. I saw some chat the other day about a potential 3rd wave, and yet there are voices in government saying this lockdown needs to be the last one - which isn't exactly reassuring. I guess we'll see what happens. 

Anyway, ramble over. 

2020: A Year In...Albums

 Normally around this time of year, I would be preparing to write a blog about my favourite gigs of the year. Unfortunately, due to the world being on fire, and gigs (as we knew them) not happening properly in this country since March, I was able to write that blog in April. As I sit here now, that post doesn't need updating. I went to 1 socially distant gig between that blog being posted and me writing this - a test event at the Kings Theatre in Southsea (the band playing were a covers band called The Spoils). I really enjoyed that gig, but unfortunately no others have followed. As a result, I'm not reposting that blog with this socially distant gig added. It looked likely that I might be at one more, which may have caused me to appraise. As it happens, it got cancelled (due to restrictions placed on venues since the end of lockdown). Looking at my diary for 2021 as it currently stands, my next gig is in due to be April 2021 (Idles at the Guildhall in Portsmouth, which they are doing in support of Pie and Vinyl) - as it stands I would be surprised if that goes ahead (unless they have sold enough tickets for it to be a socially distant affair I guess). My diary gets a bit busier, gig wise, after that but I'm not getting overly excited about it until there is some sign these will go ahead. 

Working from home, as I have been doing since March 23rd (which feels like a lifetime ago), has enabled me to listen to a lot more music than I normally would. The only measuring stick for how much music I listened to in a year would be Last.fm, which itself isn't an entirely accurate reflection of how much music I've listened to for a couple of years before this one, as scrobbling between iTunes and Last.fm just stopped for reasons I couldn't figure out. The service claims I listened to just shy of 2,800 songs in 2019, which could be true, but I think it was a lot higher (listening on my iPod or iPhone wasn't recorded all the time, if memory serves). I've looked at what has been recorded this year (which is pretty accurate as all my listening has been, for my sins, via Spotify) and in July I listened to just over 2,000 songs. Every full month I've worked from home, I've listened to over 1,000 songs a month (with most being over 1,500). This blog isn't about my Last.fm page however, it is about some of the albums that have been released this year that I've either played a lot, or ones I've liked and will definitely be going back to. They aren't listed in any sort of order, but the first two that I'll be talking about are by far the albums I've listened to the most this year. 

Code Orange - Underneath

Image credit - Pitchfork

I've had a mixed past with Code Orange, going from not liking them to becoming a fan. The release of Forever helped that, but this album fully confirmed me as a fan of theirs from listen 1. It was one of those albums that I listened to and immediately knew how good it was. I've gone back to it repeatedly this year and it is incredible. It also bucks a personal trend for me, as previously I've spoken about not liking intro tracks, or not understanding the point of them (Slipknot, I'm looking at you). (deeperthanbefore) is the perfect intro track to this album - if this album was a rollercoaster, this would be playing on the first climb before you got shot into the ride proper, but builds up the anticipation for something huge, which Swallowing the Rabbit Whole more than delivers upon. I'm looking back over the track list now to see if I can pick out a favourite song and have decided against - because it changes all the time! 

Run The Jewels - RTJ4. 

Image credit - Pitchfork

I remember when I saw Run The Jewels live at All Points East last year, I went only really knowing 2 or 3 of their songs and thinking they were ace - the main one being Close Your Eyes (and Count To Fuck). After the gig, I went back to Run The Jewels 3 and thought it was great. I still mainly listened to Close Your Eyes, but I had a greater appreciation for them. When RTJ4 came out, the world was reacting to the murder of George Floyd (Killer Mike from Run The Jewels gave an impassioned, powerful speech after the killing as well) and some of the lyrics made people question if it was written in light of that. The fact it was written some time before, referencing previous similar events which were then happening again makes the words even more powerful - Walking in the Snow sticks out in my mind immediately here (the live performance of this during Holy Calamavote was something else). Even without the context of the release, RTJ4 is a superb album. Similar to Underneath, so many of the songs on this album could be my favourite song on the album. This album being as good as it is was a big selling point for me buying a ticket for Riot Fest in Chicago next year. Sitting here now, I find myself thinking it is unlikely it will go ahead (or that I'll be unable to go) - but I have a ticket and if I am able to go, Run The Jewels will absolutely be at the top of the list of bands I have to see (with My Chemical Romance and Pixies in 2nd and 3rd respectively). For what it is worth, if we're in a place where the festival can go ahead, the only reason I can't see myself attending is if I have to self-isolate after arriving in Chicago - I'm going to be there for a week, so if I have to stay in for 2 weeks (hypothetically) then I won't be able to go to the festival. Anyway, this isn't about RTJ4 anymore so I will move on. Belter of an album though! 

Idles - Ultra Mono

Image credit - Bandcamp

Since the release of Joy as an Act of Resistance, I have firmly become an Idles fan. I saw them live the same day as Run The Jewels in London (what a day that was) and have wanted to see them live again ever since (I've got tickets to see them twice in 2021, and am considering getting a ticket to see Pearl Jam where they are currently the main support). I really like this album (I'm not sure if this or Brutalism is my second favourite Idles album) and I think I will grow to like it more the more I listen to it. I'm going to sound like a bit of a broken record, but I'm not able to say which is my favourite song on the album because there are so many to choose from. I'm very much looking forward to seeing some of these songs live (well, I'm looking forward to seeing any song live, but hopefully you get my point). This album is great. I'm not going to do a top 20 list or owt (probably), but I think this would round out the top 3 with the first two albums I've spoken about, more than likely. 

Beans On Toast - Knee Deep In Nostalgia/The Unforeseeable Future

Image credit - IPA Music

Am I cheating by putting two albums in one entry? Maybe. Does it matter? Probably not. Anyway, these are the newest releases on this list (released just 5 days ago as I type these very words). As it happens, I hadn't got round to actually listening to Beans on Toast until this year. Setlist FM tells me I could have seen him twice previously (once supporting Frank Turner at the Guildhall and once at Victorious Festival). Anyway, I listened to his entire discography (well, albums anyway) earlier this year and really enjoyed a fair bit of what I heard. I heard about these two albums on a live stream he did and was looking forward to them. I can report they are both ace! The MVP of Knee Deep is The Village Disco. I haven't decided what my favourite song from The Unforeseeable Future is yet, but I like both albums. 

Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything

Image credit - Pitchfork

I saw Loathe support Employed to Serve in London and was immediately sold on them. I was excited about the album coming out and wasn't let down at all - it is brilliant. I saw them on their headline tour supporting the album, which I've written about in the Gigs of the Year blog linked above. I won't retell the story of why I didn't overly enjoy that gig (not Loathe's fault at all though!). I didn't revisit the album for a little while during this year, but did so when out on a government mandated walk during lock-down and it blew me away all over again. I very much want to see them live again. 

Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Image credit - Pitchfork

I listen to a podcast called Riot Act, on which they review albums (amongst other things, but that is the main part of the show). I recall them saying they were going to talk about this album due to the response it had got. My immediate thought was of her song 'Criminal' and wondering if it would be similar to that song. It very much isn't, by the way. The response to this album has been pretty much universal praise - at the time of Riot Act review, it had a metacritic score of 100. I've just checked and that has tumbled to a score of 98. However, music taste is subjective, so I went in with an open mind. I find it hard to describe why I like it as much as I do, but I really do. 

Deftones - Ohms

Image credit - Pitchfork

I gave Deftones a proper listen a few years ago, wondering if my opinion on them had changed with time (I wasn't a fan after seeing them at Download 2006, and thought I enjoyed their Portsmouth headline show more than that, it didn't win me  over really). That proper listen made me realise I like them a lot more than I thought I did. I did another one of these play-through's while working from home, which was great as well. Ohms however is the first album of theirs that I've listened to when it was new and it blew me away. When all is said and done, I don't think this will be considered their best album, but it is up there for me, and that is saying something considering how long they have been a band. Not sure what the MVP is for this one, but the album is very good all the way through. 

Trivium - What The Dead Men Say

Image credit - Metacritic

It has actually been a while since I've listened to this album, but it is really good. I liked their last release before this one, The Sin and The Sentence, so I was looking forward to this but, honestly, had low expectations. Trivium have had a patchy history with some really great albums and some...less than great albums (I'm looking at you Silence In The Snow). I am pleased to report that I really like this album. I recall discussions of them possibly headlining Download Festival in years gone by, and while I think that is unlikely now, I think this album is good enough to hopefully get them some new fans - I'd love to see them headline a big bill in Wembley Arena touring this album. MVP wise, the title track or Catastrophist for me. 

Haggard Cat - Common Sense Holiday

Image credit - Bandcamp

I saw Haggard Cat supporting InMe earlier this year and they were excellent. They were due to tour in support of this album coming out but the global bastard being the bastard it is, that didn't happen. I would have got a ticket to see them in Guildford had it gone ahead. Anyway, I really liked Challenger, but this is quite a bit better in my opinion, which is good news. 

Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings

Image credit - Metacritic

This album made me completely reappraise my opinion of Biffy Clyro. First things first, this album is excellent. However, my enjoying the album so much made me want to go back and revisit some of their back catalogue to see if I had dismissed it without much thought. On reflection, I still don't really like Ellipsis too much, but I do like Opposites a lot more than I thought I did. And, y'know, Puzzle and Only Revolutions are both incredible. I doubt I would have revisited any of these albums without A Celebration of Endings. So that is cool. As for an MVP - well it is Cop Syrup. There are other good songs on this album but my word, that one is remarkable. 

Svalbard - When I Die, Will I Get Better?

Image credit - Bandcamp

I am relatively new to Svalbard, but listened back to their discography and really liked what I heard, with It's Hard To Have Hope (their then latest release) being my favourite. When I Die, Will I Get Better? has comfortably replaced it as my favourite, but they are both ace albums. Right now, Open Wound is my favourite, but this could change.

Bruce Springsteen - A Letter To You

Image credit - Clash Music

The Boss has released a lot of albums. A lot. I listened to a whole bunch of them earlier this year in the run up to this coming out, and this one is really good. I really like this. Certainly in the conversation of whether it is one of his best since getting back with the E Street Band for me. Another one of those albums with multiple contenders for the MVP slot. Similar to Ohms, it is very good all the way through. 

Marilyn Manson - WE ARE CHAOS

Image credit - Wikipedia

Speaking of a musician with a patchy back catalogue (as I did earlier with Trivium), Manson has released some genuine metal classics and...a few albums now that are a bit bum. There are a number of albums he has released which I would struggle to pull a good EP out of. Manson albums are usually long, too long in some cases. This album is shorter than most of his previous releases and I think it is better for it. It is his best album since The Golden Age of Grotesque - now I appreciate that isn't the highest of bars, but it clears it by some way. If he could follow this up with a good live performance then happy days! This coming out did make me go back to his discography and give it another listen, and yeah some of those bum albums were a slog but there are a few gems in there. This album has a lot of very good songs on it. 

Sharptooth - Transitional Forms

Image credit - Bandcamp

This album is just shy of 30 minutes, and left me wanting more from this band. The MVP for me is the opening track Say Nothing (In the Absence of Content) with a mosh call that makes me smile whenever I hear it. Brilliant stuff. 

Palm Reader - Sleepless

Image credit - Distorted Sound

Palm Reader supported Employed to Serve at the last gig I went to this year. I also saw them supporting Cancer Bats in 2016 and I have enjoyed them both times. Braille was their last release before this one, which I really liked. Sleepless though just sounds huge. If there is any justice, this will get heard by a lot of people. This is a view formed as well after very few listens in the grand scheme of things. I want to listen to it more, and will do so. 

That is where I am going to leave it for now, but there have been lots of great albums released this year, including some more that I need to go back to (for example, I know the new Napalm Death album is excellent because of course it is. However, I have only listened to it once I think, maybe twice). I think I'll be working at home for a while yet so there is a chance to do this. This has been a great year for music though, and the albums above are just some of those I've been listening to this year. 

As it happens, the albums I listened to when writing this all feature in this blog, they are the two new Beans on Toast albums, Idles Ultra Mono and Marilyn Manson We Are Chaos. Lovely.

(p.s - I'm not smart enough to know why the line spacing varies throughout this. It was originally written on a google doc where it was all the same. It remains a mystery)

The Pyramids Plaza: Memories of a Venue

There was a story in yesterday's local (to me) newspaper regarding a local swimming pool/fitness centre called The Pyramids. The reason for the story is that it is going to get a major refurbish to turn it into a leisure centre which has a "state-of-the-art gym" alongside a trampoline and soft play park. This refurbishment will mean that there will no longer be a swimming pool there, which to me seems short sighted. However, the story has one throwaway sentence which has bummed me out, which is that the gig venue that is there will become part of the gym, thus meaning (one assumes) no more gig venue. Portsmouth isn't exactly blessed with gig venues, and losing this one will be a significant blow to live music in the city (if indeed, live music as we used to know it returns in any real way). Just thinking of Portsmouth as it is now, I don't see where a replacement 800-1000 standing capacity venue could go. 

The venue was never one of my favourites (a view seemingly shared with others, looking at the comments on the Wedgewood Rooms Facebook page post about the story), but I am still sad to see it go. Pre-pandemic (or rather, just before lock down), I had my eye on 3 gigs there in quick succession, The Subways, Ash and Stiff Little Fingers. All 3 got postponed to this month, and subsequently pushed back again to 2021 (Ash and SLF March 2021, The Subways October 2021). Does this mean they won't go ahead? One has to assume they will either be cancelled or moved. I'll keep an eye on them still as I'd like to go to them all still. 

I went over my old gig tickets and according to my records, I've been to 15 gigs there. I'm sure there are several I didn't go to for a number of reasons (money, not getting round to buying a ticket etc) but there was never a case where I didn't go to a gig there because it was at the Pyramids (or if there was, I have chosen to forget it!). What I thought I would do with this post is take a walk down memory lane and see what I can remember. 

Fear Factory - April 2006. This was the first gig I went to under my own steam (I had been to gigs with my parents before, but not many and I would imagine none were my choice of headline act). I recall buying tickets with a mate and there being rumours that the gig was moved to a different night, so the mate I bought tickets with ended up not going and told me to give the ticket away to someone else (because he was convinced the gig wasn't happening, if memory serves). That aside, I recall being quite pissed when I went in for this gig (rounds of a pint of fosters and a shot of tequila will make a fool of anyone). A quick bit of research has led me to believe I missed the opening band and don't recall much of Breed 77 when I got in (to the point that for some time after thinking I had seen a different band). Fear Factory were, from what I remember, pretty good. At the time I was a regular at a club night called Delight which regularly played one of their songs (Linchpin) so when they played it, I jumped in the pit and had a lovely time. 

Lacuna Coil - October 2006. I saw this band at Download 2006, and I assume that is what sold me a ticket to see them when they played the Pyramids later that year (thus, the Download set did its job). I recall very much enjoying this gig, including their wonderful cover of Enjoy The Silence. This gig still occasionally comes up in conversation with one of the people I went to it with, because the support band were a band called Poisonblack. None of us enjoyed them so we decided to get a drink and stand towards the back. At the back was someone sat on the floor, leaning against a wall, reading a book...in the dark. You have to really not enjoy a band to properly strain your eyes to read a book rather than pay them any attention (he says, knowing he has avoided seeing support bands by going outside to smoke). 

Reel Big Fish - March 2008. My only memories of this gig are that Reel Big Fish are incredibly fun live (a fact I was reminded of when seeing them live last year at Download 2019) and this gig was unbelievably hot. It was one of those where you get so hot in the gig, then walk out into the winter night and cool down rapidly! 

Rancid - November 2008. This gig has taken a fond place in my memory as I really want to see Rancid live again, but the chance has yet to materialise (in a way I can afford at least - they supported Green Day at Hyde Park at a gig I sadly couldn't justify buying a ticket for). I only knew a handful of Rancid songs going in - I remember being impressed/amused at how short some of their songs were. At one point, I went to get a beer while they were on, and they played at least 4 songs while I was queuing for a beer - and I wasn't gone long!

Apocalyptica - December 2008. My only memory of this gig was leaving and being really happy with how many of their Metallica covers they played. They played I'm Not Jesus as well, but didn't have Corey Taylor on tour with them to sing it, which I seem to recall at the time being disappointed about but on reflection...I mean could you imagine?! 

Soulfly - February 2009. I've never been one to get right down the front at gigs, normally because I'm worried about my glasses breaking. However, I did at this gig and for the first 3-4 songs it was hectic down there. I was so close to the front at one point, Max Cavalera started throwing water from his bottle at people and I got a faceful of it! The pit started to get a bit hectic for my glasses fearing mind and I headed slightly further back. Good fun though. 

Black Stone Cherry - October 2009. This gig was meant to be at the Guildhall. I saw Black Stone Cherry at the Wedgewood Rooms in 2007, and decided to give this one a miss because I wasn't hot on their second album, which they were touring (I'm still not, really). However, the gig got downgraded from Guildhall to Pyramids and I decided that was enough to sell me a ticket. I'm not sure now why that was enough, but this is a Pyramids memory blog, so I'll just leave it at that! Black Stone Cherry were good live, because they always are. This was one of the gigs I went to when BSC were on their way towards becoming a bonafide arena act in this country. 

The Answer - December 2009. I remember giving one of my mates shit for years for liking The Answer, and for the life of me I cannot remember why - there was no malice behind it, but I remember it happening. Turned out when I listened to them properly, I also liked them. Weird that. Anyway, I must confess not remembering too much of this gig. 

Trivium - March 2010. I saw Trivium 3 years prior at the Guildhall and they smashed it (I still regret not getting in earlier to see all the bands on the bill that day. You win again, booze). I remember seeing this getting announced and wanting to go because the last gig I had been to where Trivium were at (Black Crusade tour), they were fine...and that is it. I wanted to go because I hoped they would be ace...and they were. Chimaira in support as well, and they were also good. 

Billy Talent - November 2012. Bit of a break between gigs at the venue this time. Billy Talent were superb live. Went with a group of mates and we were close to the front, but slightly off to the side. This was a really good gig, which if you have seen Billy Talent live won't come as a surprise. I wore a hoodie which had the Ginger Wildheart 555% cassette artwork on it. This is relevant only because it feeds into the next story. 

Opeth - November 2012. This gig was the day after the Billy Talent one, and one of those times where I showed my varied tastes in music (especially at this point because Opeth hadn't gone entirely prog at this point). The same security team were working the doors as the night before and I was again wearing my 555% cassette hoodie, which was clocked by the security team, one of who expressed their surprise that someone from the Billy Talent gig was also a punter at the Opeth gig. I suspect there weren't many who bought a ticket for both. As for the gig itself, I don't remember much about it, sorry Opeth! I recall being nonplussed when I saw them twice at festivals in 2008, but really enjoyed them when they were the main support for Dream Theater at Wembley in 2009. That is probably what sold me a ticket...I can't remember though so it'll do!  

Airbourne - November 2013. Similar to Trivium, I saw this band play the Guildhall and have a superb gig there. Them in a smaller room was a no-brainer (same again when they played the Wedge). I think this was the loudest gig I ever went to at the Pyramids. I recall The Treatment supporting them and they were so loud it hurt. Airbourne weren't exactly quieter either. Lovely. 

Volbeat - November 2014. Volbeat owed me a Portsmouth show after cancelling their Wedgewood Rooms show in 2010, and they finally came back to town and played the Pyramids. 2 years prior, I had watched them headline Wacken, and the year after that I saw them play to a possibly not even half full Brixton Academy (I could talk about that at length but not the time). Anyhow, they announced this tour with Hatebreed in support (lovely) and it was bloody great. Volbeat are incredible live - I would probably go so far to say this is my favourite gig I saw there. They had Barney from Napalm Death come out to do Evelyn as well, which I loved. I've seen him do that quite a few times now, which is ace. 

Stiff Little Fingers - March 2019. Huge gap in gigs - not sure why now in all honesty. This one almost didn't happen, because I got close to South Parade Pier and realised my ticket had fallen out my pocket. Dejected, I started the walk home, annoyed with myself that this had happened. I was quite close to home, walking along the seafront when I saw off in the distance a folded up piece of paper. I walked over and picked it up, hoping it was my ticket...and it was. So I then hurried back to the venue to actually go. Thankfully for me, Stiff Little Fingers were really good and justified the faff it ended up being just getting to the gig. I am glad to have seen them live as it was one I saw scheduled regularly at the Pyramids and never getting a ticket, despite wanting to. 

Bury Tomorrow - December 2019. The final (perhaps) gig I will go to at the Pyramids. Bury Tomorrow supported by a band I can't remember who were fine, but more importantly, also supported by Employed to Serve, who I bloody love. I was always going to enjoy this gig with Employed to Serve on the bill...it just so happens that Bury Tomorrow playing their then latest album Black Flame (a banger, by the way) in full was lovely. A good night was had. If it is the last time I'll go there for a gig, it was a good way to go out. 

And that, as they say, is that. As I said up top. I'll miss the Pyramids. It wasn't my favourite venue, certainly. But I saw some great bands there, and it is a shame if it isn't replaced by anything similar because it means there is a pretty sizey gap in Portsmouth for a venue for bands that are too big to play the Wedge, but too small to play the Guildhall. This means they won't come to Portsmouth, which is just a shame. Of course, this is somewhat dependant on there being a live music industry post-Covid. I am rapidly losing faith in this being the case, particularly today with an economic statement from the Chancellor that did little to nothing to support the industry. It would be an absolute tragedy if we emerge from this pandemic to find there is no live music industry on the other side. 

Farewell Pyramids, if this is goodbye. You will be missed. 

A (Socially Distant) Night At The Theatre

Last weekend, I went to the first gig I’ve been to since Friday 6th March this year. I wrote in my last post that “I am all but certain I won’t be going to a gig in the conventional sense for the rest of the year”. I wrote that before it was confirmed I was going to this socially distant test event, but I had requested tickets for it at that point. It was confirmed shortly after posting that I was on the list (if you’re not on the list, you’re not getting in etc…slightly niche reference). Even with that in mind, I wouldn’t call this a gig in the conventional sense. This gig as said was a socially distant, all seated test event at the Kings Theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth. From what I gathered, the staff had been trained in how to cope with events running under new socially distant guidelines, but with no crowd in. This event (and a comedy show the night before) were to test that training in practice before events resume.

How did it work? We were advised that the show started at 7pm, but we were asked to arrive 60 minutes before the start time. The ticket stated that late arrivals may not be permitted entry. We  (me and a friend) arrived just before 6pm at the door advised on the ticket (which was not a usual one for stalls entrance for the Kings, as far as I am aware anyway). While approaching the door, I walked past a member of staff who I heard say “twenty past six”. I wasn’t sure at the time if this was in reference to what time we would actually be entering or not - but I now know that it was. We loitered outside the door for the 20 minutes or so until it was time to go in. When going in, I put my face covering on and was given a temperature check (which incidentally, was the first time I’ve had that done). Having passed that, I went on to get my ticket checked, which was done contactlessly. It was then a case of following the one way system round to the seats - which in this case was circling the entire stalls before cutting up through the middle and to a set of seats, one being an aisle seat (there is a long standing joke between myself and Dave, who I was with, about my buying tickets and randomly being assigned aisle seats...and just how often it happens). 

When in the seat, a video package played, explaining the changes and how you go about ordering drinks. This was done three ways, at the bar (I’m still not sure which bar was open, as the main one wasn’t), via an app or via in-seat service from a member of staff. If it was either of the latter two options, the drinks would be delivered to your seat. I did this first by ordering from a member of staff, and the service was very quick - I ordered two cans of beer which were delivered in a paper bag along with two plastic cups. It all seemed very efficient. Dave ordered via the app and again, that was also equally as efficient. 

One note about seating, we were sat in the 3rd row, row E (my guess is that, normally, rows A and B are temporary seating as the front row was row C). Rows C and D on the right hand side were empty, and the row we were in had us at one end, a couple in the middle (think it was just the two of them) and a small group at the other end. This appeared to be replicated elsewhere in the theatre as well (aside from the front row on the other side which was almost full - one big group I assume). This was a surprise to me as I would have assumed the middle of rows wouldn’t be used because it would have meant if they needed to get out, social distancing would be thrown out the window (this did happen a couple of times). I don’t think any of the higher levels were open - I am not sure if there are plans to open them at the moment (I would assume yes for circles, maybe no for gallery).

The show itself was The Spoils, a local band that performed cover songs. It was to be divided into two 20-25 minute sets with an interval in the middle. The show itself started with an introduction by two of the people that run the Kings, welcoming us all to the show, discussing the changes, and announcing that the Kings would be the only theatre on the south coast to be holding a pantomime this Christmas - which is quite something! One of the people on stage (I have forgotten both of their names, sorry!) said in passing that there were 48 people in the crowd. This, if the case, was interesting. There were plenty of rows further back in the stalls not being used, and this was a test event - but I would guess crowd sizes of 150-200 in the stalls at most when shows start back. After the introduction, the (socially distant) band played the first half of their set and it was really good. I think I would have (within reason) enjoyed any live music on offer, but The Spoils genuinely were really good. The strangest thing for me initially was not being able to sing along (we weren’t expressly told not to, but it was almost an unspoken rule). The third song was 9-5 by Dolly Parton, which I won’t lie had me grinning under the mask. 

The interval was going to be an interesting time. The Kings (much like many theatres in the UK I am sure) has pretty small toilets. The crowd was pretty small, but I wondered how social distancing would be managed in the toilets. In short, it wasn’t. I followed the one-way system as advised, and ended up in the toilets on the other side of the stalls. The facilities I was in had 4 urinals, with the 2nd from the left being used (information I am sure you are desperate to know). This meant for me using the 4th from the left, or violating social distancing. I opted to use that one, but realised quickly this meant I was blocking the sink - to me, it would have made sense to have 1st and 3rd from the left open, and 2nd and 4th closed, which would mean some form of distancing would be adhered to without blocking the sink. Anyway, the person that was there before me stepped back and waited for me to get out the way, which I did after I had washed my hands. He said “I’m just waiting to wash my hands” - I had gathered that (although imagine if I was in his shoes, I probably would have said something similar to justify why I was still there). This did throw up a question of social etiquette in my mind - should I have stepped away from the urinals (and sink) and queue to use the sink I was just next to? This may have been better served if there was someone on each door (less of an issue in the ladies toilets I would assume where there are set cubicles. I washed my hands and made a quick exit back to my seat. 

There isn’t much more to add really. There were a couple of the issues mentioned earlier about people in the middle of the row needing to get in and out, which somewhat made the effort taken to socially distance almost void. The second half of the show was very good (same as the first). At the end of the show, we were asked to leave row by row, which made sense. And that was that - back out into the quiet Albert road, though I did note someone a bit worse for wear on the sobriety front did charge across the road after seeing a friend to give them a hug - booze and social distancing proving themselves to not always be compatible. 

Overall, I am glad I went, but it was a bit weird (I am sure that was inevitable really). I thought the staff at the Kings were brilliant, and the show was great. Hearing live music after so long without was just ace. My only concerns would be the social distancing issues for those in the middle of the rows, and the toilets. The main concern though is not about something that happened on the night, but more the financial viability of running shows with these restrictions in place. That show surely would have made a loss if it wasn’t a test event, and I assume more shows will be the same. I personally would not be comfortable if social distancing were to be done away with tomorrow, but accept that until it is, gigs and shows as we once knew them won’t be able to go back to normal. It is a difficult balance to strike, for sure.