Well, ok. It's been a while. But bless it, life's just been soooooo busy, I couldn't get round to writing anything about my two recent gigs - Reverend & The Makers, from Sheffield, and Adam Green, from the slightly more glamourous New York City.
Reverend & The Makers are quickly becoming a very well known band in the UK, where their back to Madchester sound has been a surprise to hear on a currently left-field dominated indie music scene. Don't get me wrong, I love the 'left-field indie' to bits, I really do, but there is something almost quaint about the Makers sound that leaves quite a Mark on their audiences (Makers...Mark....ged it?).
This one was at Manchester Ritz, the latest in a long line of venues to ban people from smoking outside, let alone inside. They will tell you health and safety, they will say it's 'policy'. Don't believe 'em - they're liars. If you read my blog regularly, you'll know my pro-smoking stance, even in the grip of my latest attempt to quit. Smokers deserve to be able to step outside for a cigarette, but are frequently prevented from doing so by fascist organisations like Manchester City Council, Manchester Apollo, Manchester Ritz and amazingly Manchester Academy 1 (but not Academies, 2, 3 and 4 - weird - but thank you). I'm going to go ahead and say the Academy aren't fascists, because three quarters of their buildings aren't covered by this ridiculous rule. I will settle on a polite 'schizophrenic.'
Back to the music. Rather brief really. Reverend & The Makers were good. Not startling, but good. They entertained, the lead singer show-boated, the band played well and the crowd enjoyed it. That's all though, I'm afraid. Have I come to ask too much of my musicians in the wake of great artists like Neil Young, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Mercury Rev et. al? Maybe. But if in the pursuit of greatness I abondon the worship of the merely good, that's not too high a price to pay in my opinion.
Well, that was Thursday at the Ritz. Friday at Academy 4 brought back to me an old friend, much missed and much loved - Adam Green. Most of you will know Mr. Green from his strange days as one half of fruit-loop wacko duet group The Moldy Meaches. Adam is nuts. By his own admission, he is in fact one fruit loop short of a fruit loop. But he's also a genius by most sensible people's musical standards. And anyone who's heard Tropical Island from his latest album, Sixes and Sevens, can testify to the geniosity contained therein. Down in the basement of a rockin' Academy 4, Green managed to not only bring back memories of The Moldy Peaches, but hopes that he can continue to prosper, entertain and delight 'thinking man gig goer' (thinking man gig goer is similar to Mondeo Man of the late 90's in his demographic importance, but unlike Mondeo Man, he's not an asshole, unless he's had his regulation three pints of lager and is hitting on all his friends girlfriends, one after the other). Adam Green is here I think to entertain 'thinking man gig goer,' (T.M.G.G. from here on in), in that he strikes me as a similar beast to T.M.G.G.; ever-charming, oft-funny in an unconvential kind of way, but always somewhat at risk of using his powers of intellect for evil, darkness and general absurdity.
Now just where am I going with this? What is the conclusion I hear you ask? Well, it is this. Adam Green was the highlight of April for me, because he is as entertaining as he is frustrating. We all want Green to prosper, become big and fat and famous and so on. But he has a habit of pulling back when faced with popularity and mainstream respect. God bless him for it I guess. It'll mean he'll always be the musical property of us, the minority of people who know the dark and dingy club halls where great musicians come from, as opposed to the majority of morons who think Simon Cowell invents music. Long may it continue Adam. I enjoy having you around.
God speed you all, you crazy beasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment