Ginger's Birthday Bash 2014

17/12/2014

Ginger's Birthday Bash is always one of the gig highlights of the year - more of a party than a gig. This year's 'Oh Fuck I'm 50' bash is no exception. These shows seem to get bigger every year, and for 2014 have moved up to The Forum in Kentish Town. Needless to say, the venue is packed and the atmosphere is terrific! It's always fun trying to guess who will be joining Ginger on stage at these events - it's a given that there will be some past or current members of The WiLDHEARTS as well as some or all of the Ginger Wildheart Band. But who else will appear? One of Ginger's first comments concerns current 'gig etiquette', or the lack thereof - he suggests people enjoy the show through their faces instead of their phones , and goes on to suggest what to do if the person in front of you is obstructing your view by holding their phone up...

The basis for tonight's band is Chris Catalyst of the brilliant Eureka Machines on guitar, Jon 'Random' Poole (Wildhearts & Cardiacs) on bass, and Denzel on drums - these guys are the backbone of the 'Ginger Wildheart Band' and play on Ginger's more recent solo records. Victoria from another of Ginger's many projects Hey Hello! is usually on backing vocals for these sort of shows, but tonight we have the excellent Kelli from Obsessive Compulsive instead.

We are treated to a wide selection of songs from most stages of Ginger's post Quireboys career and his many side projects such as Silver Ginger 5, Hey Hello!, Mutation, and his currently running G.A.S.S. thing. Musicians from some of these projects crop up throughout the evening, and also many you might not expect, although I did know about one or two of them in advance. Robin Guy for instance, who has played with... well, nearly everyone. Tonight we get a real treat with Robin playing drums together with Denzel - who is a pretty amazing drummer himself. See picture below.

We also get Robin Guy's bandmate from Rachel Stamp David Ryder Prangley on lead vocals and guitar for the Silver Ginger 5 song 'Girls Are Better Than Boys'. Sorry I didn't get much in the way of pictures, but: 1. I wasn't near enough the front to make it worthwhile. 2. If I was near the front then decent photography would have been virtually impossible due to the tightly packed crowd/jostling/dancing, etc. 3. I knew that there would be far better photographers with much better cameras recording the event and making their pictures available for you to see online. If you want a great photographic record of the entire show I suggest you go look at Trudi Knight's terrific pictures on her own website - there's loads of them!

There is no support act as there is so much to get through - for a full setlist (including who is playing on what) click here.

The guests kept popping up all through the show. We get most of the Hey Hello! live band  (ex-Towers Of London & The Howling) guitarist The Rev, Toshi (Antiproduct) on bass and Ai Sugiyama on drums to join Ginger and Kelli performing Hey Hello! songs. Ginger actually played all the instruments on the album himself in the studio, but obviously he can't do that tonight - although he does play drums or a song or two during the evening.. The guests keep on coming, and include Saffron from Republica, Sami Yaffa from Hanoi Rocks/New York Dolls,  Vix from Fuzzbox, Tom Spencer (Yo-Yo's/Loyalties), Beki Bondage (Vice Squad),  Dom Lawson, Yolanda Quartey (amazing singer), Paul-Ronny Angel, Chris(tmas) McCormack from 3 Colours Red, and many others. A particular highlight is Ginger introducing one of his favourite songs ever - 'White Lies' by Jason and The Scorchers - featuring that band's guitar slinger (literally) Warner E. Hodges and also 'borrowing' my cover band's bass player a certain Jason Knight - who was also 'borrowed' by Warner E. Hodges for a UK tour earlier in the month. For this song the latter day Wildhearts drummer Ritch Battersby takes the drum stool - where he stays for the final half of the set consisting of 15 Wildhearts songs - including some rarities and some songs that might not have ever been played live before. All the many guests end up on stage at the finish of the show as confetti cannons shoot into the air to mark the end.

Ginger winds up an amazing night with the news that 2015 might see The WiLDHEARTS playing their 'P.H.U.Q.' album in full on stage, might see a second Hey Hello! album, and might see a new Wildhearts album! Needless to say, each of these announcements went down very well with the audience. It sounds like we have a lot to look forward to...

13/12/2014 Dragster, Paradise Alley & Healthy Junkies @ The Unicorn

Another Saturday night in Camden - this time at the monthly 'Rock 'N' Roll Rendezvous' club which is always a good night. In my usual disorganised state I don't arrive in time to catch all the opening acts - missing Sarah Pink's set completely, and only catching part of Dirty Habit. The latter are a female fronted three piece from Manchester mixing rock 'n' roll attitude with punk and metal - the metal being provided by the guitarist with his mean looking Dean guitar. Unfortunately by the time I'd got myself a beer (not always quick at this venue) and got my camera out they finished their set. I hope to catch them again sometime and see the whole show...

Next up were recently reformed 1990's Glam/sleazesters Paradise Alley. The band played well and the singer had great boots. The songs aren't bad either.

If you think one of the guitarists looks familiar it might be because Taj also plays with the current lineup of the London SS - see my previous Blog post. Brady from that band is also present in the crowd tonight.

It's the second time I've seen the band in 2014 and they play better than the last time I saw them when they sounded like they could use more rehearsal time.

Next up is the hardest rocking band of the night.This is dragSTER and they mean business!

The singer Fi's hat has been borrowed from London SS/Hollywood Brats guitarist Brady who is down at the front enjoying the show!

Although Dirty Habit had a heavy sound earlier, Dragster have a meaner and more intense vibe.

This band impressed me the previous time I saw them at this venue and they are just as good tonight. They play hard and mean, but they have good songs too - something many of today's heavier bands tend to overlook in their efforts to be heavier and more aggressive than all their peers - who are also doing exactly the same thing and ensuring they all sound the same too. Most those other bands are easily forgettable clones of eachother - but you'll remember this lot.

This is another band featuring a singer with great boots! Dragster definitely have the most animated singer of the night - Fi is a real ball of energy and attitude and the rest of the band really play like they mean it.

As usual at these monthly  'Rock 'N' Roll Rendezvous' nights Healthy Junkies finish off the show with their mixture of punk, pop, and grunge tinged tunes. This band are consistently one of the best performing acts on the circuit - going to show that hard work and just getting out there and playing all the time really can make all the difference to how good a band are.

Of course it helps if a band has good songs too - Healthy Junkies now have two albums out and they have loads of excellent songs to choose from. There are plenty of bands out there who build a reputation from energetic live shows, but nobody remembers their songs - because they aren't actually very good. Healthy Junkies have songs you can remember - especially if you see this band more than once - then they really start getting stuck in your head.

It's been another top value for money night - free admission and cheap beer even by pub standards. It was cool to meet some of the Team Rock Radio crew too. The Unicorn is a venue I always enjoy going back to - unlike some of Camden's much more famous ones.

7/12/2014 London SS & Tango Pirates @ The Dublin Castle

Sunday night finds me back in Camden at the Dublin Castle - one of the area's better value for money music venues as regards door and bar prices. The first band I manage to see are Tango Pirates.

At least half the band members have changed since I saw them earlier in 2014, but Danny Fury is still fronting the band - a role he seems to take to naturally.

The new guitarist was pretty good, and the band now seem to be heading in a much more rock 'n' roll direction compared to their previous more 'arty' and alternative style.

When Tango Pirates have finished their set I return to the front bar to sample the ales - after finding the price of Weston's Old Rosie has gone up considerably. While at the bar the comparative peace was disturbed by a nutter climbing onto a stool and launching into a rant to bemused punters about have if we want to be entertained we need to head for the back bar immediately!

Fortunately, I was heading that way anyway...

...and yes - it's the same nutter, but now he's on the stage!

Said nutter is actually Jimi the singer with infamously named London SS. It's good to see him back with the band after leaving earlier in the year and guitarist Brady taking over vocal duties for a gig or two.

Original guitarist Brady (in the blue suit) was staggering around the front bar earlier apparently rather the worse for wear, but when he's on stage he plays pretty well tonight. He's been around a bit since he played in the influential Hollywood Brats - glam-punks before anybody had even heard of punk rock. Then he was in the London SS with other musicians who later rose to fame in bands such as The Clash, The Boys, Generation X and The Damned. Brady is the only member of the original band in the current version - reformed by him in 2012.

Also (sort of) on vocals for one song tonight is Dave Kusworth (see seated on the stage above) making what I suspect is an unplanned appearance. He is definitely the worse for wear. Maybe Jimi is too - he's certainly fueled up on something - maybe it's just rock 'n' roll? He's the craziest frontman I've seen in ages - Iggy Pop mixed with Freddie Mecury and determined to whip the place into a frenzy!

It's impossible to keep the singer on the stage for long - some of the time he's not even in the same room!

The band's sound mixes punk. glam, hard rock, and old school rock 'n' roll - I'm not going to even try to think of a name for it. However, it must have impressed some people as tomorrow the London SS are signing their first ever record deal - maybe something of a record as the band first formed in 1975 and have never released anything? It will be interesting to see what 2015 holds for the band...

6/12/2014 Gasoline Queens, Swampstomper & Matty James @ The Unicorn

So after checking out a new venue in Barnet on Friday night, Saturday finds me back on more familiar ground in Camden - where at The Unicorn there is a variety of (bottled) ale at very reasonable prices. Free admission to see the bands too, so always a great value for money night out. Unfortunately I can't make it to Camden early enough to catch Far From Life who are the first band on. I have seen them before at this venue though (see an earlier Blog post) and although they aren't as rock 'n' roll as most the bands that play here they are worth a look. The first band I do see is Swampstomper.

This band play dirty gritty no-holds-barred punk 'n' roll. Frontman Paul Brightman put the band together a year or so ago, but the band imploded in early 2014. Now Swampstomper are back with a new lineup and some new songs to add to their original ones.

The band's sound is uncompromising and their frontman is brimming with attitude - expect to see more of this band's brand of fiery rock 'n' roll in 2015...

Next up is Matty James performing a solo acoustic set. This Irish singer/songwriter now based in Manchester has been working hard out on the road to support his debut album 'Last One To Die' and is tonight performing in Camden for at least the second time this year.

His style owes quite a bit to the more bluesy sides of Dogs D'Amour and the Rolling Stones, so if you like those bands then I think you'll find Matty James worth checking out.

Last on the bill tonight is another band who like Thunder seem to be really crap at splitting up! The Gasoline Queens like the previous act on tonight's bill do owe their sound at least a bit to Dogs D'Amour - who's 'Last Bandit' they do an excellent cover of, as well the the Stones - they do a great cover of 'Dead Flowers' too. However, this band have no shortage of great songs of their own.

Since splitting up for at least the second time earlier in 2014, they have now got back together for two shows and are now saying they will be playing occasionally if not regularly. Frontman Nigel has a new band called The Kult 45s and Dave Renegade has mostly been seen playing bass in the Healthy Junkies over the past year or so. Although they have other bands on the go now they still enjoy playing together for fun now and then. Long may this continue.

It's an enjoyable set of catchy rock 'n roll played with sincerity and enthusiasm. I'm glad this band haven't packed it in for good as some of their songs like 'Baby Moonrider' and 'Tip Of My Tongue' are too good to never be heard again. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see The Gasoline Queens back again...

5/12/2014 Guns & Smoke - a new place to go in Barnet?

I don't often write about local musical goings on - partly 'cos I don't think many people are interested, and partly because apart from cover bands playing the same old songs on a Saturday night (but never Fridays for some reason) and a handful of local festivals in the summer there isn't really a Barnet music scene any more. There are four places within around a ten minute walk from my home that my band(s) have played at in the last few years - all four of those pubs have now shut. Maybe it's my fault? Maybe I jinxed them? Maybe someone should pay me not to play anywhere else or those places will close down too? Still, in 2014 I managed to play at five different places (four of them local) and they are all still open. Just.

It's not often anywhere new of interest to live music fans opens up in Barnet, so quite a few people were keen to find out what Guns & Smoke was going to be like - me included.The place has taken a long time to open and there have been quite a few teething troubles - even before it first opened it's doors. The new owners put a wooden cladding over the building for effect - without bothering to ask for planning permission first. The council made them remove it - an expensive mistake which must have delayed the opening by quite a bit.

So finally Guns & Smoke opened it's doors to the public - with very mixed reviews. I'll leave you to do your own online research into that... The 'word of mouth' reports I heard from people who had actually been there were less than encouraging, with talk of very long waits for service and getting food for half price or even free after complaining about the service and poor quality of the overpriced food. It didn't sound like the sort of place I'd normally set foot in anyway - regardless of food quality or prices, although I've certainly got nothing against the concept of a 'Western' Bar & Grill opening locally - I welcome the extra choice of places to go. However, when I discovered the place claimed to have 'live music' every night of the week I suddenly got more interested. But what sort of 'live music'? With the 'Western' theme of the place it seemed unlikely there would be any punk or heavy metal bands playing - or even classic rock. Solo artists and duos performing middle of the road to easy listening or country music seemed far more likely - just quiet background music to soothe the diners eating their fancy burgers. So I was surprised to find out that well known local rock covers band Texas Flyers were going to be playing there - maybe they were only booked because of their name? Still, they are a good band so this was reason enough to check Guns & Smoke out for the first time...

Actually, it makes a nice change to find a band playing locally on a Friday night. The two or three places in Barnet that still put bands on regularly always put them on a Saturday night - the result being that there are three pubs in direct competition for live music fans at the same time on Saturday, but there is nothing happening anywhere in Barnet on Friday night. This is stupid! There was a time when a couple of local pubs would have bands on a Friday night as well as Saturday. Don't they realize? Lot's of people want to go and see a band on a Friday night too as it's the start of the weekend. Then they wonder why not many people turn up to see the band they booked for Saturday night - meanwhile in two other Barnet pubs they are wondering the same thing? It's not rocket science is it...

So, on a Friday night I arrive at the new local Bar & Grill to find it's actually pretty busy - in spite of the bad reviews. As I spot a lot of familiar faces it's apparent that a lot of the people present are here for the band and not the food. They certainly aren't here for the beer - it's a pint of lager or cider (neither of them very strong) or nothing. At least I can get a pint for under £4 which I wasn't expecting, but there is nothing on offer that I really want to drink, and the cider runs out after my first pint anyway. This isn't encouraging, and they won't be taking much of my money over the bar tonight. Speaking of the bar itself - it's the worst design I have had the misfortune to encounter in thirty years or so of boozing! Some bars are too low, some are too high and this one is a little on the high side even for me at 6' before I put my cowboy boots on - but it's not the height that's the problem - it's the width of the bar. It's a ridiculously long reach over the bar, and combined with the height it makes it very difficult to see what drinks are on offer in the chiller cabinets at the back - it must be even worse for people less than six feet tall. Maybe they made the bar really wide to keep the staff physically out of reach of angry customers?

The band are already playing when I arrive, but haven't been on long. They got off to rather a late start due to the 'house' PA packing up as soon as they started to play. Then 'Big' Steve the singer had to drive home and fetch his own PA as the venue's one wasn't up to the job - I think he was less than impressed by this... In spite of some technical problems caused by Guns & Smoke not really being set up to accommodate a four piece live band Texas Flyers play well. They always do. However, all is not well - after a handful of songs the venue manager runs up to the stage gesticulating at the band. They stop. There is a long discussion - maybe he thinks the band are too loud? Or they are just too rockin'? You'd think he would know what sort of band he was booking? They certainly weren't playing loudly at all, but maybe they are louder than the acts who had played at Guns & Smoke previously... The band leave the stage without themselves or the manager telling the audience what is going on - are they just taking an earlier break than planned? Or are they not coming back at all? No one seems to know. The band don't look happy, and the crowd looks confused. People start drifting away - apparently many going back to The Mitre where they know they can get a decent pint. Meanwhile chaos seems to reign in Guns & Smoke...

Eventually, the band take to the stage once more and continue playing. They seem to be playing just as loudly as before and are rocking out with songs appropriate to the venue by artists like ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Whatever the problem was before it seems to have been resolved. The punters are enjoying the music and some are dancing.

After the earlier problems the rest of the evening goes well - apart from me not being able to get a decent beer. If I come here again to see a band I'll have to leave home early enough to go to The Mitre first for a few decent pints as I won't find any good ale in Guns & Smoke. Maybe they could at least get some decent bottled ales in? - none of those stupid little bottles mind! Otherwise Guns & Smoke are unlikely to ever find me spending much money at their bar.

I guess Guns & Smoke is just intended to be a Bar & Grill and not a music venue as this aspect seems a bit of an afterthought and the place really isn't set up well for it at all regarding the stage/PA system. This is a shame as the place obviously has potential and Barnet could really use a more dedicated live music venue - there is definitely the demand, if it's done properly. However, no one at Guns & Smoke seems to have any experience of working with bands or knows what is required to make the place work as a music venue. Maybe they just aren't really interested in this side of things?

Apparently, this place is intended to be the first of a chain of American style diners. I think the concept they have is good, but the execution so far is somewhat inept - it's like they have zero experience of running a bar or diner of any sort. After a few weeks of opening they are still at the bottom of a very steep learning curve. There is a lot of room for improvement here and it seems rather amateurish at the moment with staff who seem to lack experience and don't really know what they are doing, plus some obvious flaws in the design of the place itself - the bar design is terrible and the toilets are totally inadequate when the place is busy. I can't comment of the food or diner service as I haven't felt well heeled enough to try it - it's certainly not cheap - especially bearing in mind there is a McDonalds only a few yards away. I will be keeping an eye on the place and I hope they can get things sorted out....

28/11/2014 Dedwardians & Scraps at Some Weird Sin @ Buffalo Bar

Three great bands tonight, but still rather a sad occasion as it's the last ever time the Some Weird Sin club will be at the soon to close Buffalo Bar on Highbury Corner. This is a great shame as this is one of the best rock/indie/punk club nights in London. The door price is always really cheap at around a fiver and gives great value for money with several bands playing each night. Unfortunately the actual bar in the venue doesn't provide anything I actually want to drink regardless of price and I won't buy those silly little bottles of beer even if there was something decent in them - so I'm popping in and out of the adjacent Wetherspoons before and after the show, and inbetween bands as well. All they needed to do in the venue was stock bottles of Newcastle Brown or similar (at a reasonable price) and I'd have spent a lot more money in the venue over the past couple of years or so, but the management in many venues just don't seem to 'get' this point. It's hardly rocket science...

Anyway, once again the Some Weird Sin guys have put an excellent punk/rock 'n' roll bill together. The first band is Scraps. These guys are new to me but very good.

This is old school 1970's style punk rock brimming with attitude and with great songs. If this lot had appeared in 1977 they would probably have ended up on Top Of The Tops.

Scraps play fast but tightly - they know what they are doing and look like they are having a good time doing it. There may be only three of them but they make a great racket. Snotty and noisy they might be, but they have some good tunes - this is a band I'd like to see again.

I think this is the third time I've seen Dedwardians and they have impressed me each time.

The band formed from the ashes of the Glitterati - a promising Glam/punk outfit who never got as far as they deserved. This band is nothing like the Glitterati though - this is far more of a raw rock 'n' roll band distilling the essence of the 50's and 60's.

Their energy level is very high right from the start - this is a band who throw themselves into their set with wild abandon.

Tonight's headline band are also excellent, but due to the tightly packed venue and some crazy dancing by people at the front I didn't manage to get any pictures of Atomic Suplex. They are another (very) high energy band influenced by 1950's rock 'n' roll - but played at shattering and distorted volume with loads of feedback. The singer/guitarist dispenses with the traditional mic stand in favour of a jet fighter pilot's crash helmet with attached microphone - enabling him to run around like a loon while singing and playing. He falls over and writhes around on the floor, but carries on performing the song. Like the previous band this is about the third time I've seen this lot and they haven't disappointed me yet. Atomic Suplex are definitely worth catching if you get the chance.

It's with regret that I leave Buffalo Bar for probably the last time ever (although the Some Weird Sin Club will be reappearing at a new home) as we lose yet another small music venue - we have already lost Nambucca further up Holloway Road earlier this year, and the unique 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street will be closing in January. Where will it all end?

26/11/2014 The Quireboys @ Islington Academy

Seeing the Quireboys play one London show a year has become a pretty regular thing, although this is actually the second time they have played in 'the smoke' this year as they played an intimate pub gig a few months ago. So here we all are and Islington's corporate Academy venue is pretty full.

Needless to say, the atmosphere in the venue is terrific! These boys have the goodtime bar-room boogie and swagger in spades - and just as importantly, they have the tunes to back it up.

In the band's earliest days they gloried in being pretty ramshackle performers, although they got a lot better with an album or so under their belts and some pretty big tours and support slots. Then after the second album it all went a bit wrong and half the band moved to the USA - they went their separate ways for a few years. Meanwhile, ex-Quireboys guitarist Ginger (booted out just before the first Quireboys album) formed The Wildhearts and established a reputation and career of his own - with many ups and downs along the way... Fast forward a few years and the Quireboys reformed with a slightly different lineup and set about playing shows and making a third album. To be honest when I saw them in those days I thought they had become a very average live band, although I'm sure some will disagree. However, the record they made 'This is Rock 'N' Roll' was actually a solid album with some excellent songs including the title track which remain in their live set to this day.

Finally, the Quireboys started to take things seriously and started acting in a much more professional manner. They upped their game and became better and better as a live act. These days they are the finest bar-room rock 'n' roll band in the land. Spike in particular stands out as one of the best frontmen out there - drinking less but performing better and looking like he's loving every minute of it!

 

The reformed band put out a string of albums full of well crafted songs ranging from Faces style rockers (no one has ever done that style better than the Quireboys) to ballads, although there seem to be a lot more of the latter on their albums these days.

This band now have a very rich back catalogue to draw from when they put their setlists together so you know you are going to hear a load of great songs when you go to a Quireboys show! They certainly didn't disappoint tonight. Naturally their classic first album 'A Bit Of What You Fancy' was heavily featured tonight as always - simply because it has most their best songs on it, but they also have plenty of strong more recent material to feature too.

The Quireboys remain what they have always been - a good-time party band. As a live act they are better than ever these days and are really at the top of their game - you can't go to a Quireboys show and not have a good time!