To be honest, before I looked it up on Wikipedia, all I knew about Windsor, Ontario is that it sits across the river from Detroit, Michigan (which is useful knowledge for a pub quiz tie-breaker). However, I now know that it's Canada's automotive capital, it's twinned with Coventry and it is the birthplace of both noted actor Oliver Platt and Pop/C&W singer Shania Twain. And what, you may wonder, has this got to do with anything? Well, Windsor is also home to shoegazey wonders Talking Violet.
The Canadian four piece released their Round Dreams EP earlier this year, a five track collection of dreamy delights that features the tune below, Sparjammer 67, 4 and a half gorgeous minutes of jangly guitars, driven drums and ethereal vocals. Lovely. And yes, I am such a nerd that the stroboscopic elements of the video reminded me of Norman McLaren's Pas de Deux. No, really.
Listening to an album, from beginning to end, appears to be an extravagant experience in our modern age. For some years now I've heard the phrase "the lost art of album listening" bandied about and, whilst I'll admit that MP3s and music streaming have changed the way we listen to and experience a collection of music, I feel it's to easy a trope to point the finger of blame solely in that direction.
People have, in my experience, always taken their music in different ways. There were mix-tapes before MP3s and they didn't kill album listening. Hitting shuffle on my old Pioneer 6 CD player left me ignorant of song titles for most of the albums I listened to in the 90s, the same goes for the large number of albums I've enjoyed on my iPoddespite my listening to them from beginning to end. Maybe it's more the pace of life that has affected the savouring of an album; do we have the time to pore over the sleeve art and liner notes whilst taking in something either new or reassuringly familiar? Probably not as much as we did. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and listen once in a while, you could miss something good. Thankfully there are like-minded folks who still want to enjoy the album experience, and it's through their efforts that Classic Album Sundays was born (apparently over a good meal with friends which, yes, adds to its charm). If you've not encountered it before the concept is beautifully simple, you listen to a classic album from beginning to end, on vinyl, pausing only to flip from A to B.
My one and only experience of an official Classic Album Sunday was several years ago, at Bestival, where whilst suffering the hangover of the previous evening's festival excesses I found myself in a wooden hut, atop a mound at Robin Hill Country Park. There are few better ways to prepare yourself for a day's festival-going than sitting in a darkened room, surrounded by strangers, and letting the blissful sounds of The KLF's Chill Out album wash over you. After enjoying that experience I was pained to discover that, despite similar happenings popping up across the globe, there wasn't a regular event near me (which, now I think of it, does make me wonder why I didn't try and start up my own event, but I digress). Thankfully that's all about to change with the announcement that the very lovely Pie & Vinyl are to start hosting a regular Classic Album Sunday event. The inaugural Classic Album Sunday at Pie & Vinyl takes place on Sunday 14th October with the featured vinyl being Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. The event is both a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the band's fifth album and part of National Album Day. Jon Callender & Jim Shaw (of Cranes) and Adi Vines (of Swervedriver) will be present to discuss the album and their personal experiences of Sonic Youth. Limited tickets are available now, priced at £10 (plus £1 booking) that, obviously, includes a Sonic Youth themed pie (meat or vegan). Further information, including details of the shiny hardware AudioT are supplying for the event, is available on the CAS website and P&V's events page.
The heavy rain that fell on Victorious Festival's Sunday session this year put the kibosh on several performances. With both the Real Ale Stage and Castle Stage closing due to the inclement elements several acts were bumped off the bill, the lucky ones who weren't suffered the weather (which, given it was raining sideways for most of the afternoon, explains why Gomez sheltered under a hastily assembled garden pagoda for their set on the Common Stage).
Sink or Soar were one casualty of Portsmouth seemingly receiving its Summer supply of rain in one afternoon, which was a shame as their festival set was to be their last gig (boo!). All is not lost however, for the trio are taking the stage one last time (until they reform in 2025) for an afternoon farewell at The Edge of The Wedge, joined by Matt Allen's Mystery Beaks and Rich Keam. If you want to wish the Wit & Co a fond toodle pip mark your calendars for Sunday 4th November.
Back in July the bad news broke that Southampton venue The Talking Heads was to close its doors. A combination of a rise in business rates and a lack of local support appear to have done for the venue, which only moved to new premises in the Polygon in 2016, but it would remain open to honour commitments through to the end of September. The Talking Heads originally operated in Portswood, a short distance from The Brook, in a pub that used to be known as The Red Lion. In some respects its previous life as a hostelry made it an odd venue, welcoming punters with a cosy bar at the front when they stepped inside, confusing them when they looked for the stage in the narrow and low-ceilinged room that led beyond.
The repurposed nature of the venue meant that the stage area was at a lower level than the rest of the pub, situated in a space that you had to step down into, adding to the quirks of the place. The best place to watch a band was up close to the stage area, which meant squeezing in as best you
could amongst a throng of folks doing the same (jostling for the sweet
spot by the mixing desk). If you stayed nearer the bar all you'd likely see was the lights in your eyes and the backs of other punters' heads. However, being close to the stage also meant you were slightly removed from the poor acoustics of the low-ceiling room, acoustics which all too easily carried the sound of chatter.
Despite being a trek for a Portsmouth-based punter such as myself, with the threat of the last train home via Eastleigh that enjoying a gig too much could result in, I undertook the schlep across to the other city on the Solent on several occasions (one of which, the excellent Easy Star All Stars gig there, sticks in memory).
Unfortunately planning permission to redevelop the site into student accommodation went through in 2014, after failing the previous year, which led to the venue lifting and shifting to The Maple Leaf on the Polygon. A new beginning then, yes, but one which sadly hasn't lasted despite a sterling array of local, national and international acts performing there. The curtain falls on The Talking Heads this weekend, with the venue cheering itself goodbye with a weekend of music that showcases the best of what the venue was all about, an eclectic mix of styles and genres. It's not all bad news though, the Heads' sister venue, The 1865, remains very open for business (and plays host to both the James Taylor Quartet and the Lovely Eggs next month). So. Farewell then Talking Heads, and thank you for the music.
Of all the bands I've seen live, and there have been many, there are a handful of acts that have delivered as visceral experience as The Amazing Snakeheads, thanks mostly to the feral presence of Dale Barclay. He prowled the stage, eyed the front row like a Tiger would a steak, a scrawny, shirtless, shiny shoed battler. Like the Snakeheads, who imploded before they could capitalise on their debut album, Dale has gone to soon. RIP
As mentioned previouslyOxjam is an annual charity music event, held at various locations across the UK, that both supports grassroots music and raises valuable funds for Oxfam. Events are usually scheduled across the months of September and October, either as one-day festivals or evening gigs, feature local artists and are organised by local volunteers. Bournemouth holds its Oxjam Festival on Saturday 13th October (the same day as Portsmouth's charity shindig), a multi-venue event with stages at The Old Fire Station, the Buffalo Bar and The Anvil. Thus far the line-up includes the likes of Skaema, Stocksnskins, Laika, Sirpico, Yeti Bianco, The Bedroom Text, I'm No Chessman and Jawbone & The Swine, with early bird tickets still available for £5 (plus 50p booking fee) via WeGotTickets.
Ahead of that local alt-indie night We Broke Free are hosting an Oxjam All Dayer at Bournemouth's 60 Million Postcards venue this weekend. The line-up includes Temples of Youth, Bird Shoes, ZUBY, Powdered Cows, Dumb Lovers, PEACHand Cherry Lotus, with DJ sets from Martin Butler and We Broke Free. The fun kicks off at 1400 this Saturday, 29th September, with music throughout the day until 2300. Entrance is by donation (no advance tickets) with 100% of the money going to Oxfam. To make things even more interesting he set times for the acts playing will be drawn tombola style (good luck sorting a Clashfinder for that one).
After Weezercovered Toto's Rosanna (which may or may not have been inspired by Rosanna Arquette) the latter took up the challenge on their recent 40th anniversary tour and covered Hash Pipe (no, really). One thing, of course, leads to another and so Rivers Cuomo and chumshave returned serve with a take on Toto's 1982 hit Africa, roping in Weird Al for the fun of it. Where will this madness end? Who knows, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it becomes a trend, perhaps then we''ll see QOTSA take on Rush's Tom Sawyer or Kyliesinging Motörhead.
Chas Hodges, legendary session musician and half of easily the greatest pub rock combo ever, has died aged 74 after a battle with oesophageal cancer. In his long musical career Chas performed with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent, played alongside Ritchie Blackmore as part of Joe Meek's house band, The Outlaws, and guested on a variety of artists' studio sessions (most famously on the much sampled Labi Siffre tune I Got The, which also featured the other half of Chas'n'Dave, Dave Peacock, before they joined forces).
Over the course of their 40+ year career as Chas'n'Dave the duo had over eight UK Top 40 hits, hosted a variety TV show set in an East End pub, made drinking Courage beers more appetising, sound-tracked Alf Garnett, played Glastonbury, introduced the word "gertcha" into the common lexicon and definitely seemed to be having a lot of fun along the way. All that and they ensured that "rabbit" has a special connotation to those of us of a certain age too.
Whilst I never got to see Chas'n'Dave perform live they did once make an impromptu appearance in my old local pub, stopping in for a quick beer on their way to a gig in the next town. Sat at a table, joined by drummer Mick Burt, they supped a pint in the Lounge Bar (looking very much at home) whilst we shy blokes in the Public Bar craned our necks to steal fanboy glances.
Oxjam, if you didn't already know, is a multi-venue music event, held annually, that supports grassroots music across the UK whilst also raising valuable funds for Oxfam. Oxjam events take place in towns and cities nationwide, organised by volunteers, that can be either one-off gigs or music festivals.
In previous years Portsmouth has hosted several smaller Oxjam events, usually at the Edge of the Wedge, but this year Pompey is going large; Oxjam Portsmouth is a one-day festival, to be held at Portsmouth Pyramids on Saturday 13th October, and features both a family-friendly day session (from midday-1700) and an evening music session (from 1800-2300).
Tickets are available now via WeGotTickets, priced at £4 (Early Bird, standard price £5) for the day session and £8 (Early Bird, standard price £10) for both the day & evening sessions (ticket prices are subject to booking fee).
One of the perks of living in the modern age is that, prior to attending music festivals, we can easily check what acts we'd like to see (or avoid) simply by spending some time on Spotify(otherstreamingservicesareavailable). Of course, this could also be perceived as a drawback; one of the joys of music festivals is stumbling across your New Favourite Band when you were least expecting to, hearing that song, loving that tune. So, whilst the lovely folks at Dialshave prepared a playlist of artists on the festival's bill, a playlist that I've posted below, it is up to you, gentle reader, whether you listen now or save your jaw-dropping delight for October 6th.
Express FM's regular Monday night showcase for local musicians, The Shout, will be taking over the Wedgewood Rooms next month for what is shaping up to be a packed evening of music featuring some of the best and brightest acts and artists that Portsmouth and the surrounding area has to offer.
Was it really way back in 2011 that legendary Portsmouth alt-club night Chaos finally called time? Yes, yes it was. Or rather, no it wasn't. Since that last goodbye the chaps have staged the odd hurrah, including in 2017 a rather fab reunion at Coastguard Studio and some spooky shenanigans at Southsea Castle, reminding a percentage of Pompey's population of good times, loud music and suspicious Sangria. The chaps are back for Halloween this year, once again at Southsea Castle, with the classic Chaos line-up of Bob Berridge, Jay Dunstan, Will Chumpand DJ Lemon spinning tunes old and new from 2100 to 0200.
