Ageing (dis)gracefully!
Archive for September, 2007
Steve Hogarth – Union Chapel, London – 22/09/2007
Sep 25th
Last Saturday saw my first gig since going to see Marillion in Portsmouth back in June, and it?s been far too long! I went to see Marillion frontman, Steve Hogarth, performing an intimate solo gig in the Union Chapel, Islington, London. Just him, a piano, lots of candles and about 800 like minded people!
This gig was a little special, in that for the first time Lucy came with me! We made a weekend of it by travelling up early on Saturday and returning late afternoon on Sunday, staying in a nice hotel in Islington. It was the perfect opportunity for Lucy to come to a gig with me, as it wasn?t ever going to be too loud, too boisterous or anything that I think she wouldn?t like. That can come at a later date!
Our hotel was a a bit of a pot luck gamble, as I hadn?t actually got around to booking it until a few days before we went. It was reasonably priced for a Saturday nights stay in London, so I snapped it up. There was no need to worry though, despite it being sandwiched in the middle of what I can only describe as ?a bit of a ghetto?, once inside it was clear it was a nice place. The room (and the whole hotel for that matter) was clean, seemed well looked after and we had no complaints whatsoever.
Back To The Grindstone
Sep 24th
Back to work this evening after my 7 days off. Am in for the next 3 nights, 8pm-8am.
I think I will definately enjoy the 6-8 days off every 3 or so weeks, and I definately needed this last lot to recuperate from the 3 weeks before! Took me a good 2-3 days to re energise myself.
Oh, and the Steve Hogarth gig in London was chuffing marvellous ?will post a review in the next few days.
Nil Recurring
Sep 19th
I received the new Porcupine Tree E.P last week, ?Nil Recurring?.
I was quite excited at the prospect of this new material. It was recorded during the same sessions as the recent Fear Of A Blank Planet (FOABP) album but deemed unsuitable, although the band have been at great pains to point out that this was for artistic reasons rather than it being sub par. That?s not to say that the are conceptually any different to the album, but they wouldn?t have necessarily fit into the flow of the six other tracks on it.Besides, Steven Wilson is a clever chap and probably didn?t want FOABP to be too much of heavy listen. Six tracks (one being 17 mins in length) about the current X Box generation spiralling out of control is probably enough for one sitting!
I?ve had a good old listen to Nil Recurring over the last week and have to say, it?s very very (very!) good! The average track length is a good 7 mins, so we have half an hour of new content here!
It?s hard to describe the tracks individually, but I can safely say that this EP really is for fans of all eras of the band. Some full on heavy sections that would have been at home on In Absentia, Deadwing or FOABP ?interspersed with the more traditional, mellow, melancholic Porcupine Tree sound of Signify, Stupid Dream & Lightbulb Sun.
It also contains some very complex arrangements, listening to it the first few times made my head spin a little whilst trying to keep up with whats happening with the various instruments. This is where Gavin Harrison (drums) really seems to shine ..he is without doubt the best drummer I have ever heard? period.
The 7 minute ?Normal? is perhaps the weakest on the EP, and I only say this because of the passages it nicks from ?Sentimental?, it?s still a damn fine track but i?d have preferred something a bit more original.
?Cheating The Polygraph? is my favourite. This track was premiered on the 2006 Arriving Somewhere tour, along with five other tracks that eventually made it onto FOABP. This was dropped in favour of the equally good ?Way Out Of Here? , so it?s good to finally hear it on a CD in it?s own right.
If I was to grade this EP, i?d happily give it an A-
Hotel Booked!
Sep 18th
Booked a hotel in London for Saturdays Steve Hogarth gig! Am going with Lucy and we are making a weekend of it by travelling up early on Saturday morning and staying over until Sunday. Should be good and will enable both of us to have a few drinks while at the gig ..which usually improves the experience for me even if I already like the artist!
Hotel is a mile or so from the venue so shouldn?t require us to be tubing it too much, which is always good.
This will be Lucys first gig! ? well, she?s seen Westlife before but you can?t count that rubbish can you? 
I?ve also persuaded her to come to an Oceansize gig with me in October! 
Night Shift Number 3..
Sep 13th
….Oh my god ……. tiredness didn’t half kick in towards the end of my shift last night. Imagine your head feels too heavy to hold up and just wants to roll off your shoulders at every opportunity! …well thats what it was like!
I slept like a log till about 1pm this afternoon but am now up and ready to ‘convert’ myself back to being awake during the day as I am off now till Saturday.
All going good though. Really enjoying the job!
A Better Night
Sep 12th
Had a better night at work last night. Just as everyone told me beforehand, it would prove easier than the first night. Has to be said though, I still did feel a complete lull in my body/brain between 3-5am! (albeit not as bad as the previous night) I guess thats something that’ll never go away as long as I keep switching from days to nights.
Tonight is my final shift before 2 days off and then back onto days from Sat-Mon …. then off for 7 days! woohoo!!
Fish – 13th Star
Sep 11th
Woke up this morning (well afternoon ..i was working nights last night!) to find the new Fish album on my doormat. I pre-ordered this last week and with work etc I had completely forgotton about it.
Am on my first listen at the moment and have to say that with ‘13th Star‘ I am pleasantly surprised. I have found Fish’s output to be largely hit and miss for me in the last 10 years. At best I like the odd few tracks from the last few albums, but some of it has left me cold. This album seems to be a return to form though, and his voice seems miles better than it has been in recent years.
The narrative parts are still very much evident, but aswell as his voice not being as good as it was 20 years ago (so the need to fill with the odd narrative) it’s kind of part of his style. The music is also top notch with some soaring guitar work, which always goes down well with me. There is also an element of the good old rock’n'roll feel that was evident on ‘Field Of Crows‘.
Favourite track thus far is ‘Manchmal’, although nothing has disappointed me so far!
EDIT: Ok, now ‘Dark Star‘ is my favourite! ..Superb guitar!
The packaging of the CD is pretty damn good aswell. An embossed cardboard sleeve with a fold out digipack that has some superb artwork on it. There is also a 64 minute making of DVD (just for the pre-orders) which I will watch later on in the week.
