It’s Monday, I slither down the greasy pipe, listening to Joe the Lion - I'm back home for a few days after the last of the current run of support dates with the esteemed Mr Haines – five gigs in seven days – all have been enjoyable, there’s one more show to go in Brighton on Wednesday at The Hanbury Club,83 St George's Road , Brighton , BN2 1EF. Do come along if it’s down your way. It's been one of the nicest tours I've had the pleasure to do - not just because I'm a huge fan of the man - which helps obviously– but because we all got along OK, band, Luke, it’s a small time operation. I watched every show – new songs and old, a real joy to behold, a hard on glam rock power trio logy of genius [I can’t seem to get enough of it - bizarre but true I know – it’s a fan thing].
In Glasgow I did some recording on a joint project I’m working on with State Broadcasters in Pete McDonald’s home studio. Pete also put me up and took me into China Town for a midnight feast. The Glasgow show at The Captains Rest was a highlight, more Broadcasters turned up, Grahame, Robbie, Susie, and we took to the stage again to sing ‘Sometimes I feel like a King’. It was a great night, the piano held its own, and next day I recorded a new song [Pathetic Lament], sang vocals on one of Pete and Grahams songs and put down the piano for a new version of Sometimes I feel like a King – with any luck we’ll have an EP ready for the Spring. It’s exciting.
I was late arriving for the Newcastle show but the sound engineer was perfectly accommodating – I truly appreciated his efforts. That’ll teach me booking a Travelodge some 10 miles out of town,I got seriously stuck in the rush hour. The show went well apart from an exploding cable dud connection issue caused by my new guitar strap which had become entwined in the jack socket – all this meant I delivered ‘Kiss Me I’m a Social Worker’ [the evenings final song,] in something of a stationary posture as every move I made resulted in considerable electrical bish bash bosh. Boom…
The drive from Newcastle to Bristol was a very long one as it’s a very long way. I arrived at The Thekla around 4.30pm, just as the third goal went in a Villa Park- it’s a gig on a boat, a boat Viv Stanshall used to own - no one was there so I went for a walk by the river. Then I had the same drama with the parking ticket machines as last time I was there two years ago. You feed the thing, pay the money and there’s no ticket – a groundhog parking day – how annoying. I sort of sensed it but I still went ahead and put the money in the slots. Stupidly annoying – end up shaking the machine and gently cursing and shoving all to no avail. Inside the gig on the boat everything feels damp, and it smells funny. I’m first to arrive, I change my strings, sat in the same place changing strings as when we were last here for a band show two years ago [almost to the day]. The groundhog feeling continues right up to show time. I then watch Luke’s sound check eat bananas in the dressing room, make coffee, do small insignificant stuff, consider asking a girl for a roll up, think better of it. In no time I’m on stage – it’s early – the venue changes into a nightclub at 10 pm sharp so all show times have been brought forward – 7.45 is too early though, really, when I go on there are just a few people dotted around the benches either side- it fills up to a decent swell after 20 minutes or so – then I’m off at half past eight. Later I watch the Luke show. I sing along to Bad Reputation, ‘Goodbye my love, it’s a hell of a record, they did it by themselves their leader was not present’- a proper glam rock stomper, and like so much of Lukes work, it’s brutally twisted in all the right places, ‘Gary Glitter, he’s a bad bad man, ruining the reputation of the glitter bands, - aproper live high- I’ll be doing much the same thing in Brighton on Wednesday. I am glad to be alive. I am supporting Luke Haines. I am kind of thrilled truly, [normal service will be resumed asap] phew..Vinny
