Ben Parker & David Berkeley

Friday 24th of February, Ben Parker (formerly of Ben & Jason) plays in Glasgow. I’ve seen him with Jason in Padova, at Banale, in their “Goodbye” tour. Then, thanks to MySpace, I’ve managed to keep in touch with him and to follow his solo career, which has not given him the chance for “the big break” yet, although he deserves it.

He was scheduled to play at the Barfly, but for some reason he had to find a different venue to play in – less than two weeks before the date. Ben (or whoever helped him in this issue) found the Tchai oVna, a small and cozy tea house in the south side of Glasgow, somewhere between Shawlands and Pollokshaws. I cut short on my adventures to get to the venue first and to find a parking spot later, let’s start with me getting to the venue and finding out that the people I had invited, for several reason, didn’t turn up. Oh, well. I enter the place, it’s actually tiny but beautiful. Ben recognizes me (from my old profile picture on MySpace, I suppose) and says hi, I take my seat, exchange a couple of words with the guy running the place, Ken, order a very spicy, very tasty tea (no alcohol here, and vegetarian food only as well).

I was vaguely aware that before Ben another musician would have been played, I actually had no idea of who he could be, but of course I expected someone who could fit with Ben Parker’s style without being too close to it. Well, here comes on stage one David Berkeley from the USA. Jokes, funny guy (funny – ha ha, not funny – odd), starts playing… he’s amazing! His songs sound a bit like the bitterest Bob Dylan but with a better voice and with hints of the early Paul Simon, although accordingto a flyer he gives me he has been mostly compared to Tim Buckley and Nick Drake. I particularly liked “Halloween Parade” and “Jefferson”, but everything he played was extremely interesting. All very quiet and laid back but pretty sad, contrasting with his verve between the songs.

The fact that in the venue there were exactly 20 people including the musicians and the owner of the place (and it seemed crowded) helped a relaxed atmosphere, also the hot and analcoholic drinks avoided people being noisy. It’s nice to actually hear the musicians keeping their time tapping their feet, and not only Ben with his boots but also David with his trainers.

After David Berkeley (check him out at www.davidberkeley.com and www.myspace.com/davidberkeley) it’s the turn of Ben Parker (www.myspace.com/benparkermusic, by the way). He’s more lively – although he is sitting as well – and so are most of his songs. Some of them I already knew, so I actually find myself singing (well, whispering) along on “Survive the Rain” and “The Counting Song”. His style is honestly very difficult to describe. It is clearly a son of rock and folk, but there is something else on top of it that I find hard to point out. I have managed to squeeze the last Ben & Jason album into progressive music (it was something innovative indeed) and to review it on MovimentiProg, I suppose that Ben’s solo songs could go under the same label although there are big differences with the duo recordings or with the live show I had the luck to see (amongst those, pretty noticeable the absence of Jason).

Done with the music (pleasant the fact to have a song dedicated from the stage “because of the road I drove to get there” – Largs to Glasgow must be some 35 miles – although I suppose that was the reason why Ben busted a string towards the end of it), I have the chance to have a word or two with the two musicians and to buy CDs from them – which I get autographed and I am listening to now. Again, very nice and funny guys.

So, great Friday night: I found a new nice place to hang out in for when I happen to be around Glasgow, I could listened to Ben’s songs which I love and I “discovered” one more songwriter that I really like. And I came home with one CD from each, plus a bonus DVD in David’s CD (for only 7 pounds!) and a free old Ben & Jason promo from Ben. And two bags of mate from Argentina. Such a good night, I had to report about it immediately.

Over and out, goodnight, good morning or whatever.

Grinderman

The band might sound new, but the truth is that its members are not. It’s just Nick Caves (a well known Australian singer, songwriter around for the past 23 years) new project. While with the Bad Seeds he thought he set aside the piano and write some songs on his fender. Together with three other Bad Seeds (Warren Ellis, Martin Casey and Jim Sclavunos) they recorded 11 songs, some might call… post-punk.

Personally, I do not know how to characterize the music. The best way I can find to put it in words is “classic Nick Cave, with a guitar”. The lyrics still carry a philosophical aspect, on God, loneliness (maybe a bit exaggerated)… I have to admit though; I was impressed by Caves guitar skill. As Warren Ellis put it on a song comment “nifty guitar Mr. Cave”! Bass lines and drum melodies fit in perfectly with the guitars and electric bouzouki energetic tempo, creating a couple of very powerful songs. I would like to mention just a couple, something like “listen to this first” kind of thing.

Get it on

No pussy blues

Depth charge Ethel

Honey Bee (Let’s fly to Mars)

And Love bomb

You could visit www.grinderman.com for a first look at the music, and for the actual booklet. Site is built with Flash Macromedia but its great!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Orestis

PS: Unfortunately due to Cave’s heavy schedule (he is writing a new Bad Seed album) the are only giving one live performance, and that’s Sold Out I think. However try the All Tomorrow’s Parties UK for tickets.

Afterhours live – Glasgow

Saturday February the 2nd, at the Barfly in Glasgow; three bands on the bill, I won’t name the first two because in my opinion they sucked immensely. The first one had a set of bits and pieces oddly tied together with no coherence. And a pretty bad guitarist as well. The second band was just… bad. Pure noise, although they define themselves “punk-metal”, which I usually am OK with. And a whiny voice as well.

The third band, the one I was there to see with a bunch of (Italian) friends; yes, directly from Milan, Afterhours. They are pretty big in Italy, I mean seriously big, probably the leading national rock band. Here, they are close to being no one. I’m not a huge fan. Not that I don’t like them (not at all!), but they never were one of those bands that made me want all the CDs and such: I just liked them, I own a couple of albums (those everyone has – Germi and Hai Paura del Buio?), I went to see them live whenever they came somewhere close to where I was living… that kind of thing.

Well, after having started their career writing songs in English and then moving on to Italian (which helped them reaching the success they had, I suppose) they recently went back to English with their latest Ballate per Piccole Iene, also recorded in English as Ballads for Little Hyenas. And therefore they embarked on a small UK tour (London, Birmingham, York, Glasgow).

Small venue, not many people present, a bunch of Italians and some… erm… alickadoos, plus I suppose some friends and fans of the other bands.

The band, strong of the usual guitars/bass/drums/another guitar played by the vocalist, also features a violinist and a… urm… a guy who plays keyboards and basically any kind of instruments you blow into (no obvious jokes, I know him, OK?).

They start of course with some songs from the new album, very good and extremely rock’n'roll, as you would expect from them. Then they played some older songs, most of whose I remembered either from the two albums I have or from having heard them live. Manny (on vocals) is pure energy, he can play great guitar and seem totally natural, channelling the various feelings that he wrote about in the lyrics, playing his guitar and WITH his guitar, at times using his voice as another instrument. The backup is great as well although the sound engineer is obviously not much used to working with wiolins and saxophones, as their volumes were never ideal except for the very end.

I appreciated the fact that, besides a bunch of Italians, there also were several Scots who clearly enjoyed the gig, they were dancing and trying to sing along (as you do when you don’t know the song but it has a strong chorus).

After the gig I managed to have a word with the drummer (I didn’t try to stalk them, I’m not such a big fan, although I loved it) and ask him how does it feel to start everything again basically from nothing. He said it’s great, it proved them that they still love playing and touring. Which is good.

Only bad part? That f**king purple stage light pointing straight into the eyes of the audience!

So, great value for 5 quid… check them if you happen to!

Hellogoodbye live – Glasgow

DISCLAIMER: I am aware that me liking Hellogoodbye is completely out of character and that if I was a character in a novel or a movie it would not be allowed. But this is life, mates, and I love them.For the Hellogoodbye friends and fans: I have known them since they were a duo writing songs in Forrest’s bedroom, I remember “a brand new song called Hellogoodbye Rap”, and I do consider Z!A!V!D! a bit over-produced, with guitars bass and drums too low and vocals too filtered. But I like it, OK? OK.

HGB were supposed to be playing at the King Tut’s Wah-Wah Hut, where every big British band in the last 25 years have played before they made the grade. If you Google for “King Tut’s” and “Things to do in Scotland” you’ll find confirmation for this, if you don’t believe me. But they already outgrew it, which is good! So the gig is moved to QMU, the Queen Margaret Union, in the University area. I get there around five and, thanks to my extra-special connection (love you, Cathi!), I call Duncan, defined (not by himself) “the hardest-working man in the business since James Brown died” and probably the youngest tour manager in the world (he’s 22), and in 5 minutes this guy picks me up and hands me an AAA pass. Wow. And walks me to the changing rooms. Chris, who could very well play the part of “the young honest son of the boss” in a mafia movie, is standing in front of a door cradling a laptop. I say hi, he says hi, Duncan opens the door, Forrest and Marcus are trying to write an article that should explain how to do just anything they know how to do well. A bit obscure. They are enjoying the UK, have had only good gigs, although it is cold and damp “but Glasgow is OK” (it has probably been the first dry day in two months, but anyway). Chris, in the meantime, loses a personal battle against an avocado, not ripe enough to be edible: apparently that’s the way British supermarkets treat their fruits; they buy them very early, so when you purchase some you need to get acquainted with them, to grow up with them, to become their friend so that they’ll allow you to eat them. Jesse comes in from having taken a shower (he is dressed, girls, don’t faint), I say hi, he says hi, he invites me out for a cigarette. I don’t smoke, I go out for a chat. We end up talking for nearly two hours, of course starting from the band but then we move on to music in general and then politics, travelling, cultures, studying, families, “what is home” and so on. Yes, Cat, he DOES say (spontaneously) that he loves his mom, “if only we could talk of something else than the band when I’m on holiday”. So, a very interesting chat and a very interesting person! Great to have met him. Time to go downstairs to hear the warm-up acts. Just because I’m probably the oldest guy in there, I play the youngster, die-hard fan and manage to squeeze in the thick of the crowd. Not like the other time, on the margins of the crowd: I’m in front of the keyboards, two rows deep. Yay. Haven’t done it since Iron Maiden in Trieste in the Virtual XI tour, early ’90s. Feels good.

First band up, it’s Houston Calls. They are good, very funny, people clap their hands in the right places and all. I’ll buy their CD at the end of the show. Many of their jokes are focused on the Scots being heavy drinkers and the fact that that’s “good in  their books”. Irrelevant now, but we’ll go back to the issue later.

Second band, I don’t like them as much as I liked Houston Calls but they are good indeed. By the time they start the venue is nearly full. 900 people, maybe a bit less as the “upstairs terrace” is not exploding but there are plenty of people there as well. Good. More beer jokes from the lead vocalist, again irrelevant at the moment but. Good is the lead vocalist’s solo spot, only vocals and guitars. There are several guys there specifically for them.

Usual break, darkness falls, a torch walks through the stage, it’s Marcus. HGB take their places (Jesse on guitar, Forrest with his hands free at the moment) and they open with “All of Your Love”. The guys roar and start jumping, and won’t stop. Jesse is thrown a yellow flag with a lion on, his face proves he hasn’t got a clue of what it represents but hangs it on an amplifier. Good move mate, that was the Scottish Rampant, the haraldic symbol of the country. “Baby It’s Fact” follows, then “All Time Lows”, and here the delirium starts! Everyone knows all the words by heart, so much that Forrest will conclude that – as the song had been available for download in a demo version for a while – most people suffer of his loathed “demo-itis”. He calls the crowd “stealers”, everyone laughs, no one boo’s, Forrest’s sense of humour is coming through. Which is cool. Another joke is about the thing that the Brits and the Scots in particular have with glow sticks. And at this point he is thrown several, and plays with them. Funny. We also get “Bonnie Taylor Shakedown 2K4″, “Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn” and, introduced by an even bigger roar, “Dear Jamie” and the single, “Here in Your Arms”. They walk out, wait to be called back, here’s Forrest. On his own with his guitar. Little chat with the crowd (he had already been joking about the fact that basically no one in the English speaking world can understand the Glaswegian accent), then… disaster occurs. Oh, yeah. Someone throws some liquid at him. Mind, water had already been thrown around, especially with the other bands. Uneasy silence from Forrest. Wipes his nerdish glasses. “This is beer!”, exclaims. “I hate beer”. He is not boo’d until his ears bleed – in beer land! This is love, Forrest. The guys love you. Still. He starts “Oh This Is Love”, plays it all, then the rest of the band enters the stage. Forrest signals them to leave, he apparently doesn’t want to play the band finale of the song. The message somehow doesn’t go through, they play it, then leave. Choirs of “Touchdown Turnaround” start, but it is over. I am told that Forrest was seriously pissed off from the beer-throwing episode. Some of the kids actually disapprove the attitude, I hear the word “primadonna” a couple of times. But it came from people who clearly didn’t care much about the music, they mostly wanted to jump around, push and shove. People who clearly never read Forrest’s blogs or whatever, who don’t know the person he is.

I manage to go thank them, Forrest confirms he is indeed pissed off. Mate, that was one person, I hope you won’t hold a grudge against the Glasgow audience for that episode! So he signs my CD and scutters away for a shower. I have a final word and a picture with the other three guys, they are OK, it was a good gig only spoiled by the beer thing. They played amazingly, although it looked like they weren’t having as much fun as they did the other time at the Barrowlands. Not that there was any gloom, mind, it looked just a bit less natural. Which is fair enough, it’s not as if they were high school guys playing at the church festival. The songs were executed perfectly, and I’m pretty curious about that instrument that Forrest had on the side of his microphone, looked like a plastic bar giving out guitar-like sounds. Loved the day. Thank you everybody, and sorry, Forrest (no, it wasn’t me).

Cirque Du Soleil – Alegria

Thursday afternoon and I’m browsing the blogosphere.I come across a blog that has this amazing song playing as soon as you open it up.After doing some research I find it (“Lo eres todo” – Luz Casal).On that blog I also see a picture of a woman in a pose that haunts me to this day (see it here).By going through the comments of the post relating to that picture,I come across some lyrics in Spanish.I don’t speak it but I know enough to be able to uderstand them.That was it .I was hooked.I just HAD to find where they were from.

After the relevant search I discover that the lyrics belong to the song “Querer” by Cirque Du Soleil. I’m puzzled.I had watched the sun’s circus a few years ago in Greece and was mesmerized by it.But I didn’t know they were publishing their music.

I immediately find and order the cd. Didn’t care about comparing prices,I just had to have it as soon as possible.It would be one of those “blind buys” as I call them,where your gut isntinct just tells you to go for something.Never failed me to this day!

The cd is pure magic.Sang in English,French,Italian and Spanish,it doesn’t alienate you for a minute. Sentimental and heartfelt lyrics and music,not the cheesy every-day pop culture way we see everywhere,but real,deep feelings expressed with such musical dignity that simply overwhelms you. And,for a change,the lyrics aren’t about love.No,the lyrics on this album are far more personal,touching issues associated with our very own psyche.As for the music,it’s brilliantly bound to the lyrics and manages not only to bring forth their strength but enhance and multiply it.Violin,piano,accordeon,guitars,they’re all there.Trust me,you can’t go amiss with this one.

And if you happen to live somewhere close to where the cirque du soleil is performing,do yourself a favour and go watch it!

P.S. I’ll never forgive The Simpsons for mocking it,ever!

Fay

ProgPower UK

A festival dedicated to progressive/power metal. For more info go here.