28/8/2022 Little Gransden Air & Car Show

It's the third time I've gone to the Little Gransden Air & Car Show. I'm late to the party as it's been going for 30 years now, but I really enjoy the more informal atmosphere of this 'off the beaten track' event in the wilds of Cambridgeshire compared to the bigger commercial airshows elsewhere. I've recently got a Beeline satnav for the bike and this place in the middle of nowhere is a really good test for it. The phone app gives a choice of a 'Fast' direct route or a 'Fun' more scenic route - which takes longer. As my bike is less suited to motorways I've chosen the latter option and it's given me a really enjoyable and interesting ride along quiet country roads - passing places of historic aviation interest along the way: Hatfield (former de Havilland aircraft airfield and factory), Rush Green airfield, and RAF Henlow. The old WW2 airfield Gransden Lodge is also nearby, but Little Gransden airfield itself is a post war landing strip with no wartime history.

There is a wide variety of vintage aircraft present. The all grass airfield is too small for jets, but the lack of more modern aircraft adds to the charm of the event. The runway was too short even for this Russian Yak 11 which was due to take part in the air display but had to stay grounded as the wind direction and strength were considered too marginal today. Maybe the wind was blowing in from Ukraine?

The Yak did as least manage a fast taxy demonstration run down the runway. Fortunately it was in better shape than last time I saw it here after a forced landing due to engine trouble in 2019.

Unlike the old runways at nearby Great Gransden the runway here is far too short to allow a Lancaster bomber to land, so we only get a flypast from the RAF's example.

Fortunately the runway length here is not a problem for a Hurricane of similar WW2 vintage to the Lancaster.

Of an earlier vintage is this German Bücker Jungmeister in Spanish civil war markings.

There is no shortage of ancient biplanes at this show - the Diamond 9 display team slow the pace down with their de Havilland Tiger Moths.

For reasons you can see here I didn't really bother taking pictures of aircraft actually in the air - where all the best stuff was going on. A little digicam or phone camera is pretty useless for airborne shots - you just get big pictures with small dots. Unless you have a proper SLR with a telescopic lens it's a waste of time.

Training aircraft are also represented by this colourful American air force Stearman.

Also very colourful is this US built Stinson Reliant in Royal Navy markings.

Aerobatic displays aren't really my thing usually, but this show tends to have one or two things that get my attention - like this formation team with their synchronised on/off smoke.

Made all the more interesting by the dramatic cloud formations and lighting - one good aspect of the weather not being so great for an air display today.

This year 'Russian' aircraft are rather topical due to Putin's warmongering and most historic display aircraft in Russian markings have had changes made - such as changing the Russian markings for Ukrainian ones. The Yak 11 here today seems to have escaped that trend so far...

I have only shown a small selection of the interesting aircraft that appeared at this year's show as some only appeared in the air like the Vampire, Spitfire, and Yak 3 (now in Ukrainian markings) - and also the very rare sight in the UK of a modern Lockheed Aurora from the Royal Canadian Airforce doing a single rather distant flypast. Others like the Miles Gemini and Harvard I left out as they appeared at last year's event or the 2019 show. You can find more (and better) pictures from this year's event as well as a list of all the aircraft here.

This is a car as well as aircraft show - no Mustang aircraft on display this year, but plenty of Mustang cars! There was a good display of vintage Norton motorcycles as well. Although it was the aircraft that were my main focus of attention this supercharged MG car did catch my eye.

Time to depart after a good day out, but I expect I'll be back again next year...

And time to take the scenic route home on today's chosen method of transport - while proving that you don't have to go fast on a motorcycle to have fun - although it helps!

 

16/8/2022 Combichrist @ Islington Assembly Hall

Sometimes it's good to go and see something different from the sort of bands you normally go and see, and also visit a venue you haven't been to before. So thanks to a friend telling me about the gig here I am at Islington Assembly Hall. I have walked past this place countless times on my way to other gigs, and although I have heard good things about the venue I have never set foot inside. Until now. The building is actually owned by the council and adjoins the Town Hall. The place opened in 1930 and is very impressive with it's Art Deco fixtures and fittings. Less impressive is the lack of air conditioning on what is one of the hottest days of the summer, but I have been to far hotter and more uncomfortable gigs than this. Also less than ideal is the fact that only one of the two bars in the room is actually open - not great during a heatwave when there are 800 or so people in the room and many of them are desperate for a beer. However, apart from that (and the needlessly unisex toilets and resulting queues) I find this is a rather fine music venue - it has 1930's period style and has been refurbished to a high standard. It's nice to be in a venue that seems well maintained and isn't a shithole - unlike many well known music venues.

Tonight's proceedings are opened by Mimi Barks. An artist new to me who I was interested in checking out.

Her vocals were better than I expected - I was ready for the usual generic screaming/shouting/grunting that most current metal acts churn out, but I was pleasantly surprised. Mimi gave a very energetic performance, but none of her actual songs left a memorable impression on me.

Next up was Priest. No guitars. No drums. Just 3 anonymous blokes - two with keyboards and one singer.

Interesting visually, but far more attention seemed to have been made to the image than had been paid to the music. Mimi Barks joined them for a song or two - which made things more interesting.

However, although some effort had obviously gone into the presentation their musical cyber-assault did little to keep my attention.

Sadly for Priest a 'keyboard hero' doesn't have the same dynamic impact as a 'guitar hero, but at least they tried to make their show more interesting.

However, by then I was already starting to get bored and my attention was drifting to the furnishings of the venue itself rather than what was happening on stage...

And so, onto the headliners. This is the first time I've seen Combichrist although I have been aware of them for some time.

Combichrist is the US based vision of Norwegian frontman Andy LaPlegua. Originally a solo studio project for the singer and very techno/industrial/cyber in sound.

Over time Combichrist has evolved into a full band for live shows and the band has expanded over the years.

However, even with the full band it is evident who is the boss and Andy appears to revel in his role as 'rock star' and master of ceremonies.

Along with the gradual transition into a full band for live performances the music has changed over time - it has moved away from it's early heavy but cyber/industrial roots towards more full-on metal.

I enjoy the performance more than I expected - partly because it was a full band rather than the half a band and backing tracks I was expecting...

...but also because it was more full-on rock/metal than expected, and it was a bigger production too - a proper rock show...

...and definitely made more enjoyable by the vintage Art Deco surroundings.

More effort had been put into the lighting and production than I was expecting and it certainly increased the dramatic effect.

As well as the show being better for having a full band - with members occasionally moving from one instrument to another the set was more song based than the more techno/cyber/dance vibe I was expecting.

Towards the end of the show Mimi Barks made another appearance on stage...

...before she stage dived and crowd surfed - along with a member of Combichist playing a drum!

All in all it was a memorable show and I'm sure no one went home disappointed - I certainly enjoyed the show more than I was expecting. But it wasn't time to go home quite yet as my friend asked if I was going to the aftershow at Slim Jim's? Well it would have been rude not to - not that I needed any persuading...

11/8/2022 Dirty Strangers, Juvenile Wrecks & Electrics @ The Dublin Castle

I seem to be finding myself at the Dublin Castle quite a lot these days. Tonight I'm here mainly for one of the support bands, but before them are the somewhat mysterious West London based Electrics.

Their name rang a (very faint) bell, and one of my friends seemed to at least know about them. It turns out that although I have never seen them before our paths have crossed at various times and at least once I must have arrived at gigs just after they played early support slots.

For some reason I was expecting as sax/guitar duo rather than a full band, but I was pleasantly surprised. They play jagged dirty low-down rock 'n' roll - right up my street. The bass player has a really cool Kim Gordon vibe going on as well.

The Electrics brand of rock 'n' roll is raw and has an edge to it - definitely a band I will be looking out for in future...

And on the the band who are the main reason for me being in Camden tonight. From the USA - although their bass player went to the same school as me in North London.

Yes, one of these characters looks familiar. It's ex-Quireboys bassist Nigel Mogg - who I last saw onstage fronting his other new US based band The Brutalists at the Mau Mau Bar in 2018. That band were great and had a very strong Dr. Feelgood vibe. Nigel was fronting that band as a singer and doing a pretty good job of it, but now he has picked up his bass again and returned to sideman duties (sort of) with  Juvenile Wrecks.

Although this is a US based band this lot are much closer to Nigel's old band The Quireboys with a strong Stones/Faces influence - definitely more of a rock 'n' roll band than a R&B band like The Brutalists. There is definitely a bit of a New York Dolls vibe going on as well - which is always going to go down well with me.

This is a pretty tight band who play with a real passion for basic rock 'n' roll.

The mic stand position hints at a Lemmy influence - actually they were friends and the Motörhead legend lent Nigel a bass at one point. Poses are pulled, shapes are thrown, and in the best rock 'n' roll tradition - stuff goes wrong! Nigel suffers a wardrobe malfunction involving some seriously low altitude flying...

...and in a 'basic schoolboy error' moment the guitar strap detaches itself from his well battered and worn bass - although it certainly does get given a hard time!

The band's own songs are catchy infectious rock 'n' roll, but at the end of their set they really up the ante by unexpectedly launching into a great cover of The Ruts 'Staring At The Rude Boys', followed by a cover of the Sex Pistols 'Pretty Thing' - they really end their set on a high! Juvenile Wrecks are a great rock 'n' roll band and I look forward to the next time they return to the UK.

Like the first band tonight the headliners hail from West London. I've seen Dirty Strangers several times now and although they are good and experienced musicians held in high regard by other musos I have never really been able to get into them.

They play rock 'n' roll with a punk attitude and a Stonesy feel, so with those boxes ticked they should be right up my street, but for some reason I never quite connected with them. Maybe it's their over-reliance on their connection with Keith Richards - who I think has actually played with them in the past, and the fact that band leader Alan Clayton co-wrote a song for the band with the Rolling Stones guitarist - which is actually pretty cool. And if I wrote a song with Keith Richards I'd crow about it too - as Alan Clayton usually does at this band's shows and I can't blame him.

They are a tight unit and they do have some songs I like, but for some reason I can't put my finger on they have left me cold in the past. However, for some reason I enjoy them a lot more than usual - they seem noticeably better tonight. Not that they aren't good usually, but there seems to be a little extra magic in the room tonight - and I think that the band can sense it.

Juvenile Wrecks are definitely the band of the night for me personally, but I enjoyed the other bands too. It was good to see Electrics for the first time and I look forward to seeing them again at some point, and no doubt I will cross paths with Dirty Strangers again in the future.

PS: In a recent development The Quireboys have sacked original singer/frontman Spike - leaving the band now with no original members who played on the band's classic debut album 'A Bit Of What You Fancy'. Spike has responded by recruiting original band members Nigel Mogg and Guy Bailey to form his own 'Quireboys' - featuring 3 members who actually did play on that first album, as well as 2 more early members who toured with the band. And they have announced a London show for December with new music to follow. Watch this space...