York’s finest hard rockers take to the road again with an extensive tour taking in the length and breadth of Britain.
Following last year’s successful tour co-headlining with an Iron Maiden tribute act, they doing something similar this time, sharing bills with a number of different tribute bands up and down the country. One exception is the opening night, when they’re sharing the bill with the violin-driven goth-metal of Symphony of Pain.
Robert John Godfrey has been ruffling feathers again. This time, as part of an announcement of his retirement from The Enid, he’s been dismissing Steve Wilson’s music. And parts of the prog interweb have imploded. He has been accused of “talking out of his arse”.
The world of grassroots prog is a small incestuous scene where everyone knows everyone else and the boundaries of artist, critic and fan are sometimes blurred. Over time every band will end up sharing the same festival bill as every other band at some point. It’s the reason we don’t have Oasis vs. Blur style feuds, and there isn’t room for professional gobshites like Noel Gallagher. Even when there is serious bad blood between musicians, they tend to avoid bad-mouthing each other or washing dirty linen in public; they will inevitably have fans in common that they can’t afford to alienate.
Robert John Godfrey is one person who pays no attention to this unwritten rule.
I remember his lofty dismissal of Mostly Autumn during a running order squabble fest over the Prog stage at High Voltage. “Can you imagine them performing with a full choir“, he said. Actually, I can imagine a Mostly Autumn gig backed by a large choir, and the idea has the potential to seriously awesome. I even once suggested that to a member of the band who has a lot of experience singing in choirs, who completely agreed with me.
Mostly Autumn and The Enid have shared the top spots on festival bills on several occasions in recent years, most recently at last year’s HRH Prog in Pwllheli, where both bands delivered superb performances. They are two very different kinds of band, who represent opposing corners of what Progressive Rock means in second decade of the 21st century. Both bands have devoted fanbases, and both bands have their detractors too, but both of them are very good at what they do.
Posted as a tribute to George Martin, who died today aged 90. As well as his universally-known work with The Beatles, he also produced this back in 1958.
This subversive classic was a big part of my childhood, the B-side of a single which also contained “Balham, Gateway to the South“. I wonder whether anyone would dare make a record like this nowadays.
Since my parents were from the pre rock’n'roll generation (Yes, I really am that old!), this was probably their equivalent to The Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind The Bollocks”.
Fellow prog fan Andy Hall posted this on Twitter earlier today, taken in Sainsburys.
Prog Magazine editor Jerry Ewing was not impressed with his illustrious magazine being placed next to one about toy trains. I do wonder if the editor of Hornby Magazine feels the same way about his mag being next to one dedicated to songs about Hobbits?
The first reaction for any self-respecting prog fan ought to be “Old King Coal was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he“. But it’s unlikely that many progressive rock fans are aware that Prog Magazine’s cover star is actually a model railway enthusiast.
Of course, if you’re one of those people who goes to both prog gigs and model railway exhibitions, you will realised that the attendance is drawn from the same demographic. Execpt that model railway exhibitions have even fewer woman.
A shoutout on International Women’s Day to some of the inspirational female musicians whose work has featured on this blog over the years, including Chantel McGregor, Anne-Marie Helder, Anna Phoebe, Angela Gordon, Heidi Widdop, Sarah Dean, Diane Fox, Christina Booth, Olivia Sparnenn, Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour, Lisa Fury, Jane Setter , Rachel Cohen, Charlotte Evans, Vicky Johnson, Hayley Griffiths and everyone else I’ve missed.
Mostly Autunn have confirmed some live dates over the spring and summer, four British and two Dutch gigs plus the already announced appearance at the Cambridge Rock Festival in August.
The dates as listed on the website are:
A gig in an 800 year old church is not quite like your usual rock venue. Being an Anglican church, there’s still a bar, but it doesn’t sell any beer, only wine. And the acoustics are always wonderful, because medieval architects knew what they were doing. Peter Knight’s Gigspanner came to All Saints’ in Wokingham on a cold Friday night, and pulled more than double the crowd that had attended their gig in Reading back in November.
Though billed as a folk act, Gigspanner cannot be contained within narrow genre pigeonholes. The opening number was a case in point, beginning as an evocative classical-style violin solo which slowly morphed into a folk jig. The dark “Death and the Lady” took on a rock feel with Peter Knight on electric violin and some Dire Straits style guitar flourishes. The instrumental encore even had touches of jazz with everyone doing a solo.
The set drew heavily from their most recent album “Layers of Ages”. “Mad Tom of Bedlam” was an early highlight, as was “Bows of London”, the latter telling the tale of a drowned girl made into a violin exemplifying just how dark some traditional folk ballads can be.
It’s really Peter Knight’s show; his evocative and lyrical playing makes him to the violin what Steve Rothery is to the guitar, and he sings lead on the vocal numbers. Though guitarist Roger Flack and percussionist Vincent Salzfaas hahaved their time in the spotlight, including a Frampton Comes Alive moment with talk box guitar on “Mad Tom of Bedlam”, they both play more more of a supporting role. But what comes over strongly is the trio’s near telepathic understanding of each other on stage, such that often complex arrangements still retained an air of spontaneity.
Gigspanner are on tour for much of the next couple of months, though quite a few dates in small intimate venues have already sold out. If you get the chance to see them, go, even if you’re not a hard-core folk fan. They really are an excellent live band.
There’s a great piece in The Quietus about Tony Blackburn, which is well worth a read.
Rock fans always sneered at Tony Blackburn, with his catchphrase “What a sensational sound”. But when you look back at his career and the popular but unfashionable music he championed, he had far more in common with the late great Tommy Vance than he ever did with Jimmy Saville and his ilk. When it came to soul and disco music he knew his stuff and expressed a genuine enthusiasm for the music he played. And much of it has stood the test of time. As Pete Paphides himself says, he listens far more to Luther Vandross more than to Joy Division nowadays.
The same hipsters who had no time for Tony Blackburn also had no time for Tommy Vance or the rock and metal he played. That’s because both of them were the antithesis of the hipster mentality.
Psychedelic rockers Knifeworld release a promo video for the track from their forthcoming album “Bottled Out Of Eden”.
Two of progressive rock’s much-loved singers, Heather Findlay and Kim Seviour, share a birthday today. Here’s the two of them sharing a stage at The Assembly in Leamington Spa last November.