Acoustic Idols 08

Thanks to anyone and everyone who voted for Romantic Fiction 2, which got 3rd place in Best CD, and for getting the Wright Brothers an 'honourable mention' (better honourable than dishonourable, I say). And congrats to Lyndsay Sugden, who collected lots of awards on the night.  Full results here.

Gigs and Tinariwen

Three performances in four days, that's what I call living. First was with Ms Fi and the Misfits at OOTB on Thursday which had a nice groove to it, and we did her songs justice.  Then on Saturday Secret CDs website launch concert, which I opened using loops for three out of four songs and getting it right 90% of the time. I'm exploring two uses of loops, one being to provide the basic rhythm and chord structure, the other being a time-free cluster of notes that just floats in and out of the song, easier to do and more subtle. Nelson joined me on djembe for Roadblock and Nicole. It was a great night with performances by Amy Duncan, David Ferrard, Angel Conversations, Lindsay Sugden and the time-stopping Emily Scott. On Sunday the Wright Brothers, myself and Nelson, played at Hamilton's in Stockbridge, a bright and friendly venue in full daylight. The set was easy and relaxed and the audience warm. And we got a free meal. Then off to Glasgow to see Tinariwen at the Arches.

In case you don't know, Tinariwen are a group of Touareg nomads from the Sahara desert in Mali. I've been enjoying their album, but of course the live experience is much more visceral. Most of the songs are one-chord grooves, with a driving rhythm section consisting only of one guy on djembe and an absolutely top class bassist.

Live and ... living...

Three new gigs on the Live page, two of them this weekend!

How to distinguish wrestlers

I was channelhopping tonight and came across Bushido - Way of the Warrior. Thinking it might be a documentary about Samurai, I turned it on and found a live match taking place in Tokyo. This was 'real' in that it was a genuine contest, not showmanship like American wrestling (which can be quite fun). These two contestants pummelled each other with kicks, slaps, throws and forearm smashes until one secured a submission. But the real revelation was the commentators. Like American wrestling there were two keeping up a constant dialogue. But while WWE and TNA commentators could get prizes for inanity it's at least scripted inanity. This was 'real' conversation and all the worse for it. Now if I tell you the fighters' names were JT Southern and Kakihara,  you might think the referee would have no trouble telling them apart, but these guys were concerned for him:

Well, I see Kakihara's wearing white wrist bands, that's quite unusual. Do you think that might confuse the referee in some of the holds?

I think he'll be able to tell them apart. Southern's fighting out of the blue corner and Kakihara out of the red corner.

And Southern's wearing those long boots...

And then there's the hair difference, one black haired one blonde.

Uh, yeah, and of course the size difference there's that. That should help.

And, uh, basically there's only one Japanese in the match so I think it'll be OK, clear enough ...

 

Masahito Kakihara and J T Southern.

I'm a fan. Instantly.

Loops win out

After an enjoyable gig at the Dalriada, I am reassured that a set containing loop & guitar synth may be quite acceptable to an 'average' non-muso audience after all. Ms Fi joined in on backing vox and stomping some kind of stick on the floor.

Today, three generations of grumblies (myself, Plague and my father-in-law) visited Celtic Park to watch the Hibees lose to Celtic. I thought my magic might protect them (I've never been to a live match where they lost) but no. Still it was an astonishing experience being in a stadium that size and hearing the roar of the crowd. We also saw Glasgow entrepreneurship at its best, arriving 10m before kickoff driving round the nearby industrial estate looking for a place to park the car, when out of nowhere a guy steps into the street and waves us into a car park, the completely empty car park outside a warehouse; his colleague helpfully points out an empty bay (there are several) and guides you in; and of course you have to pay these guys £3 for the pleasure. That's a job, thought Plague - charge admission for a car park that's nothing to do with you, with a cheery smile!  Of course you could refuse to pay but ...

Anyway, here's a pic Madame took of me in my office with my new cushion (yes it's real and it refused to budge).