Black Mountain

I went to see Black Mountain perform at the Rescue Rooms last Thursday as the "plus one" of Mike of Troubled Diva fame - very much my sort of band. And I do recall saying to him at different points during the gig "This sounds like the Doors" and "He sounds like Neil Young now". Thanks very much Mike, a good band that I would have otherwise missed.

Also, I discovered from talking to Mike that sitting at a table in a restaurant in Milan with two members of the Residents not wearing their customary eyeball masks is a coup indeed - unknown to me previously, presumably they are an extremely secretive bunch never seen in public without said headgear. I never blogged about the aftermath of the Milan Sgt Pepper concert but it involved variously wandering the streets of Milan with Badly Drawn Boy and a Badly Drawn Map until said restaurant was found, as well as above mentioned Residents exclusive.

Baby Lemonade & London Sinfonietta are doing the Sgt Pepper gig in Paris next year involving a well known survivor of the 60s / 70s with a predilection for hard drugs, taking his top off and wearing see through PVC trousers ........ Can't wait!

Okkervill River - saw them tonight at the Social and they were tremendous!

My shuffleathon CD and letter to Mark

Hi Mark

Well you’ve had the dubious privilege of drawing my name out of Swiss Toni’s big shuffleathon hat.

I’m probably at the older end of the age scale of participants and my choice of tracks reflects that – age doesn’t make me any less passionate about music however, which has been a huge thing in my life, not quite as long as I can remember, but certainly since I reached adolescence in the 60s. I’ve made no attempt to pick out tracks which I think are the best musically, or even to reflect my taste in music now, I’ve simply come up with a list of artists and tracks that have meant something to me over the years.

The list enclosed gives track name, artist, and the album I’ve extracted the track from (not always the original source album, some of these are from “Best ofs”) and there’s a little bit of context about each track below:

1) Pleasant Valley Sunday The Monkees The Definitive Monkees

The Monkees are the first band I really got into aged about 13 – they were a manufactured boy band and had a show on primetime TV, early Saturday evening. My friends and I used to get together to watch and scream a bit – my fave member somewhat against the general trend was always Micky Dolenz, who went on to marry one of the Pan’s People dance group off TOTP. They were derided at the time by “grown ups” but they’ve achieved some critical acclaim over the intervening 40 years or so, and this is a great track.

2) Getting Better The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Again, against the general trend of the time I wasn’t actually a huge Beatles fan, but I did love Sgt Pepper – I was a bit of a hippy chick in those days. This isn’t the best track on Sgt Pepper even but its great positive stuff, and if you look at my blog you’ll see that I went to a gig in Milan recently where Sgt Pepper was recreated and this was a stand out track with Badly Drawn Boy doing vocals.

3) Son of a Preacher Man Dusty Springfield Goin'back - the very best of Dusty Springfield

Dusty is imho the best soul voice by a mile that the UK has ever produced. This takes me back to my teens, listening to a little transistor radio by the side of the cricket pitch at school in Whitley Bay on a long hot summer afternoon, my friend Amanda was going out with the son of the local minister who was a bit of a bad lad.

4) Seven & Seven Is Love Da Capo

I love this band and again if you look at my blog you’ll know why in great detail – nuff said.


5) Click Clack Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band The Spotlight Kid

Another great 60s favourite – the best gig I’ve ever been to bar none in a long career of gig-going was Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band at Newcastle City Hall early 1972 – the tightest band imaginable. Old Don was a bit of a nutter, still is, he had some weird things going on inside his head, but some of the music he created was just out of this world.

6) L.A. Woman The Doors L. A. Woman

Adulation of Jim Morrison was certainly not against the general trend in the late 60s / early 70s – another one who died far too young. The dark side of 60s psychedelia. As with Love, on the periphery of the hippy stuff going on at the time but no flower wearing in hair going on here.

7) The Jean Genie David Bowie Best Of David Bowie 1969-1974

David Bowie to me means starting University in Nottingham in 1972 and leaving the North East pretty much for good, sitting around in student bedrooms raving on about Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane and so on. I could have picked any number of tracks but I really like this one..

8) If The Shoe Fits Leon Russell Carney

This takes me back to meeting my old man Keith in about 1973 – we’re still together. H e had this album and really loved it when we first met.

9) Can We Still Be Friends Todd Rundgren Hermit Of Mink Hollow

Beautiful track, again early 70s stuff. End of a heavy evening stuff.

10) You gotta walk (don't look back) Peter Tosh Bush Doctor

I’ve always had a reggae thing going on even with all the psychedelic hippy trippy stuff around – I find it impossible not to jig around the room when this is on. Brings back memories of some great nights with friends.

11) Sultans Of Swing Dire Straits Money For Nothing

Before they got arenaised and MTVised, Dire Straits were just a little guitar playing band from Newcastle. My Mum’s friend knew Mark Knopfler’s Mum, and she apparently was always berating him for spending all his time in his bedroom picking away at his guitar. Parents eh?? When this first came out it sounded so fresh and original. They also mention Whitley Bay in one of their tracks (Tunnel of Love) so how could I not love them?

12) Train To Rhodesia Big Youth Dreadlocks Dread

More reggae. Big Youth got us together in 1977 with some people who are still great friends today. Keith decided to train to be a teacher after a few years not doing much after leaving University. One evening we had a few folks from his course round to our flat, including a rather sullen youth from Hull called Steve. We put the Big Youth album on and he just came to life completely, he’d come to Nottingham to do his PGCE course and join up with his girlfriend Wendy who was already a student here after doing a degree in London, and the album had been the soundtrack to his student days. They’re still together as well and are our best pals in Nottingham.

13) No More Heroes The Stranglers No More Heroes

Late 70s. Punk. Great song. Keith became a Geography teacher but had to do some English teaching as well, which filled him with trepidation. I suggested he did something about song lyrics and he used this song, went down very well with the 3rd year apparently.


14) Jimmy Jimmy The Undertones The Best Of The Undertones

More punk. Great song. We named our son (now aged 22) after this song. Middle name Leon after the previous one.

Poor unfortunate lad.


15) Tired Of Being Alone Al Green Al

This just sends me. The man’s voice is pure liquid honey. He found religion and became the Reverend Al Green after being seriously injured when he was found by a cuckolded husband in bed with his wife and had boiling water chucked over him. Hey Ho.



That’s it, hope you enjoy at least some of it. I know I did.

Shuffleathon 2007

We had a week in Crete recently, arriving back 27th October - nice week if a tad rainy to begin with. When we returned there was a jiffy bag waiting for me from an address in Texas - my shuffleathon CD!! It emanated from Mike of Mad Stories, an Englishman living in the U S of A.

I've been listening to the CD driving around in my car since then to get the feel of it - I've spent some of the intervening time in London working so its taken some time to get the review together, but I reckon I'm there now - so here goes...

1) Midnight - Yazoo
Not a Yazoo track I was previously familiar with - Alison Moyet has a great strong voice and I'm into electro-pop so this is a winner as far as I'm concerned.

2) Don't walk away - Toni Childs
A new artist to me. Wikipedia tells me that she is aged 50 and hails from Orange County. Another strong female voice. Like it and its become a bit of an earworm, but I won't be rushing out to buy the album.

3) Into the great wide open - Tom Petty
More familiar territory here. A rebel without a clue. Great video with Johnny Depp playing Eddie. Oi'll give it foive.

4) Fog Town - Michelle Shocked
Its about San Francisco. We were there in the summer and it certainly is foggy. Not my sort of thing although I liked "Anchorage".

5) Lil' Devil - The Cult
Driving around Nottingham suburbia in autumnal drizzle this does absolutely nothing for me - but I can imagine driving along the freeway in the vast wastes of the USA with the sun shining down and this going down a treat. Its all about context.

6) Rainbow Child - Dan Reed Network
Ditto as above re context - soft rock, made for driving along with your sunglasses on and your elbow sticking out of the car window.

7) I'm the only one - Melissa Etheridge
Don't like her voice. She's the lady famous for her and her female partner having children fathered by David Crosby. Still don't like her voice.

8) Woman in Chains - Tears for Fears
I'd forgotten how much I liked this band. Very pleasing sound.

9) Smooth - Santana featuring Rob (not Rod) Thomas
Very familiar territory here. The track that was huge a few years ago. Rob I can take or leave, bit of a parvenu, but Carlos Santana is God. Brilliant guitar playing.

10) Be my downfall - Del Amitri
Not very memorable. Scottish.

11) Ladylike - Storm Large
Mike apologised in the letter he sent with the CD for the amount of swearing in this track. I liked it, possibly even my favourite track of the selection. Looks like the lady was on a reality TV show in the States. Well done her I say!

12) Without you - Nilsson
A classic. Very reassuring. Wave that lighter in the air.

13) Troy - Sinead O'Connor
Another strong female voice, Mike is obviously a big fan of those. I always admired Sinead as an artist even if I didn't actually like much of her music. You're still a lawyer. Is that lawyer, or liar in Oirish? Or is the point that Sinead thinks the two are synonomous? Striking is the word that springs to mind to describe this track.

14) Hijo de la luna - Mecano
"Son of the Moon" in Spanish. Lovely melody, nice light and airy song. Like it a lot.

15) Nothing else matters - Metallica
Thought I'd hate this before I listened to it - I was expecting heavy metal (not a fave genre for me) but this is almost baroque. Thanks Mike, I'm almost a convert.

So a number of hits, a couple of misses, but generally very favourable. Mike likes his strong ladies, and if I didn't know he was a British expat in the USA, I might have guessed it. Thanks very much and good night.

Personality DNA

OK Go

I really like this - Jim showed me it!

Bummer in the Summer - Glastonbury

Russell Mael when he's 64

A Day in Marianne's life

Jarvis getting a little help from his friends

From Newcastle via Nottingham and LA to Milan – a musical journey

It’s been a momentous year for the yourmindandwe family – Keith and I were married for 30 years in January, Keith retired from a long career in teaching in April and our son Jim graduated from University – so we decided we needed a good holiday to celebrate. I’d been to LA a few years ago with Lizzy and loved it so much, and vowed I’d go there sometime again with Keith and Jim, so California it was, in July. Didn’t manage to catch up with all the folks I’d hoped to over there, but we did have dinner one night with Mike and Hannah Randle in the Olde Kings Head English Pub in Santa Monica.

Mike told us about this great project that Baby Lemonade had been asked to take part in – the London Sinfonietta were going to recreate the Sgt Pepper album 40 years after its release at a special concert in Milan, so they needed to get together a cast of rock musicians. The folks at the Sinfonietta spoke to Glenn Max, who is a big wheel at the South Bank centre in London, and mentioned that they wanted it to be something like Arthur Lee and Love recreating Forever Changes…and Glenn said “I know those guys, I’ll check to see if they’re free” – and they were. Mike also said if we could get there, we’d be on the guest list.

At the stage that Mike was telling us about this, none of the guest vocalists were on board, but you could tell it was going to be something special. I immediately texted Lizzy – about 5am Newcastle time – something along the lines of “Leave 21st September free, we’re off to Milan” – a quick “OK” came back.

Fast forward to 21st September – thanks to the wonder of Ryanair, Lizzy and Chris and winging their way to Milan from Newcastle and Jim and I are on our way from Nottingham East Midlands Airport. We all manage to meet up at 4.30pm by the big blue milk bottle in the absolutely ginormous Milan Central Station, and then it’s off by taxi (with suitably crazy Italian taxi driver) to our hotel, which is a very nice building based on a very old palazzo in Sesto San Giovanni in the Milan hinterland.

The concert is at the Fiero Milano, a huge exhibition centre several miles outside Milan. Another taxi over there (not quite so crazy this time) and we arrive. We ask on the door how to get to the concert – its about a 20 minute walk along a long corridor with exhibition halls off – this being Milan they seem to be mainly full of shoes and bags, although there’s also a big music trade fair going on. We eventually get to the reception for the gig – Mike is true to his word, there are tickets waiting for us. A walk down another long corridor and we’re outside where a big stage is set up in the car park at the back of the building.

It all seems very chaotic at this point – there is a small area just in front of the stage with seats, then barriers and a lot of people standing up. We walk down to the front and there seem to be lots of arguments going on about who can get into this cordoned off area. There are also a number of policemen (with guns – we don’t get that in the UK) and also Italian firemen – are they expecting trouble? Anyway, I nab one of the officials and it seems that yes, with the tickets we have, we can get into the inner sanctum down the front. Mike Randle’s name is mentioned and all the ladies say “ Oh Mike Randle, yes” with beams on their faces, so Mike seems to have worked his magic there as well.

So we’re sitting at the front, with what seems like a baying horde behind us, they’re not very happy at all, and we feel slightly uncomfortable with the situation. Things are still happening at the front, and an Italian gentleman comes onto the stage and starts to talk to the crowd. Our Italian is hardly fluent (for that read non-existent), but it seems that the barrier is coming down, the seats are being taken away, and it’s becoming an all-standing concert. Fine by us, and it means we have time to get to the front, to get a good view and take some pics, before the angry mob is allowed through, which happens without major incident (maybe something to do with those armed policemen).

Then we’re off. The 25 piece orchestra troop on stage, with conductor. Then the band including new addition Todd Jaeger on keyboards – he looks like Dave Chapple crossed with Jack White. Screams and waves from our party at the front (well at least the female portion) – Lizzy actually saw the Beatles live when she was about 12 - its like Beatlemania all over again 40 years on. Mike, Daddyo and Chapple are all together at the left of the stage, and Rusty is all by himself over on the right – it’s a big stage. The orchestra starts off then Mike and Rusty come in with that famous opening riff from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, Rusty on vocals. They sound great – and we’re such a lovely audience – and then Rusty’s introducing the one and only Billy Shears….


Aka Jarvis Cocker. “With a little help from my friends”.
Followed by Beth Orton “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Badly Drawn Boy “Getting Better”
Alex Chilton “Fixing a hole”
Marianne Faithfull “She’s Leaving Home”
The Residents “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite”
Peter Murphy “Within You Without You”
Russell Mael “When I’m Sixty Four”
Badly Drawn Boy “Lovely Rita”
Robin Hitchcock “Good Morning, Good Morning”

Then the band – Sgt Pepper reprise

Marianne & Jarvis “A day in the life”
Robin Hitchcock “I am the Walrus”
Russell Mael “It’s all too much”
Peter Murphy “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Everybody “All you need is Love”

Highlights for me:

Jarvis – I’ve seen him perform with Pulp – he was great and a lot less laconic, almost cheerful , than I remember him being a few years ago


Peter Murphy – not an artist I was particularly familiar with, but a great performer, the most theatrical of the evening, throwing petals around the stage, and obviously big in Italy judging by the shouts of “Peeterre – Peeterre” that rang out whenever he appeared
The Residents – lead singer with a weird mask on and the rest of the band with big eye balls on their heads, and bashing away on laptops, doing a great “Mr Kite”


Marianne performing “She’s leaving Home” - backed by the orchestra without the band, with Rusty and Dave Chapple doing backing vocals – real hair standing up on the back of the neck stuff


The orchestra building up to a crescendo on “A Day in the Life”…..

Hey, it was all great. A tremendous experience all round. What struck me is how versatile musically the Baby Lemonade guys are, and what great vocalists – Rusty particularly was singing for a large proportion of the show. Sgt Pepper is a big drumming album and Daddyo took on the Ringo mantle with aplomb. It seemed to go down very well with the Italian audience as well.

Sgt Pepper is another one of the albums, like “Forever Changes” that had a deep and lasting effect on me when I first heard it in my teens – I remember going round to my friend Barbara Lockhart’s house in Forest Hall on the outskirts of Newcastle and us putting this LP with a really weird cover on her tinny little record player, and the sounds coming out just being amazing, like nothing we’d ever heard before. It still sounds great now but in 1967 it really was revolutionary, and to hear and see it performed on stage like that from start to finish, with a great orchestra, a brilliant band and outstanding vocalists was just out of this world.

My son tells me that I’m not very objective in these matters, but I don’t care – and he really enjoyed it as well.

Mike did his usual coming out at the end of the gig to speak to people as well, the only artist that did. We saw Brummy Jim and his mates then as well, they were over in Milan for a few days and were off to the San Siro on Saturday evening. A quick beer with them, then off on that 20 minute walk again to get another taxi back to the hotel.

Moving pictures of Milan - must get down to those words!

Milan pics - words to follow

We're off to Milan!

We're going to this brilliant gig in Milan on 21st September - we being myself and Jim (flying from East Midlands) and Lizzy and Chris (flying from Newcastle) - cheapo Ryanair flights. Baby Lemonade are "the band" in a recreation of Sgt Pepper by London Sinfonietta, with a tremendous set of guest vocalists - a stellar cast indeed.

Weh hey

Las Vegas by night

Paris, Las Vegas. Venice, Las Vegas. NYNY, Las Vegas. They seem to feel the need to recreate other places in the world for the delectation of the tourists. Quite a spectacle and obviously a huge money spinner.

Then we packed up and set off for home. A tremendous trip all in all, very varied and hugely enjoyable. US service and standards of accomodation all great wherever we went. Will have to start saving for the next one!

Las Vegas in daylight

Its a very strange place - really glad we went, but two days was enough. We saw a fabulous Cirque du Soleil show, Ka, at the MGM Grand Hotel, really spectacular, but I was competely freaked out when we were walking through the casino there to suddenly be confronted by a glass wall behind which was a pride of lions. I don't think the powers that be would allow that anywhere else in the world.

Back to Las Vegas

On the way back to McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, the helicopter pilot flew over the Strip - here you can see some of the massive Vegas hotels, including the one we were staying in, NewYorkNewYork.

Grand Canyon West Ranch

The helicopter stopped off at Grand Canyon West ranch, where we had a western style lunch whilst being serenaded by a singing cowboy (less corny thn it sounds). Keith and Jim did a short horse ride (I thought I'd better not with the bad back and all), there was bit of a mock shoot out staged for us and then I managed to round up a couple of dangerous outlaws!

Views from the helicopter

In the course of the 80 mile or so helicopter trip, we flew over Lake Las Vegas (where the rich people inc Celine Dion live according to our pilot), the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and then the western edge of the Grand Canyon itself. Keith took loads of photos, only a small sample here.

Setting off for the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas

From San Francisco we flew to Las Vegas, which was to be the last port of call of our US visit. The high spot of the Las Vegas visit was the helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon - here we are setting off.

The Golden Gate Bridge

On the day we travelled on the cable car, we then walked over the headland just to the north of Fisherman's Wharf then hopped on a local bus to the Golden Gate Bridge -its actually more impressive from the distance than close up! We then caught a bus which went through the Presidio, a wooded area which is actually a military base, to Golden Gate Park. We then walked across the park and picked up a bus on Haight, which took us through the renowned 60s hippy Haight-Ashbury district back to Union Square. Very interesting stuff, and the public transport system was very impressive. San Francisco is certainly not a city where a car is vital to get around, like Los Angeles is.

San Francisco Waterfront

San Francisco is at the end of a peninsula so there is water on three sides of it. These pictures are of the Fisherman's Wharf area with views over to Alcatraz island. There is an area where a load of sealions have taken residence, and the authorities make sure they are not bothered by boats etc.

San Francisco Cable Car

We arrived in San Francisco Saturday 21st July - nice drive up PCH through agricultural areas rather than the coast, turned off at San Jose (yes we did know the way - at least the sat nav did!) along lovely tree lined if slightly scary Highway 17, then hit the interstate and entered SF through Oakland via the Bay Bridge. Wow - what a spectacular way to enter a city! A very three dimensional place, San Francisco - hills and water and tall buildings. We managed to find our hotel, the Chancellor, right on Union Square, then returned the car to the Alamo office just round the corner - not somewhere I would want to do much driving.

San Francisco had a great feel to it, vibrant and more bohemian / hippy in nature than any other US city I've visited. The public transport system is great as well - at various times we travelled on the cable car, the street car (trams) and various buses - there is a metro system as well but we didn't venture underground.

Carmel Valley ranch - me on the balcony

I could get used to this!

Carmel Valley Ranch - my favourite hotel of the trip - views of and from our balcony

We reached Carmel where we were staying at the Carmel Valley Ranch, by far the most expensive hotel we stayed in during our US trip. It was a bit like "The Prisoner", people came and drove you around in mini-vans if you wanted to go anywhere, and the accomodation was just amazing. Luxurious bathroom (I spent about 2 hours of our time there in the bath), log fire (not that we needed it), and the most tremendous balcony and view you can imagine. When I win the lottery I think I'll go and live there.

Ventana on Big Sur

There was nowhere to stop for a drink along the PCH for miles and miles. When we reached civilisation again, we turned off the road into a restaurant and hotel called Ventana which was up in the hills above the coast. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven - it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life. We had coffee and deserts from the menu (it was quite an expensive restaurant) and looked down on the trees and the birds flying by.

Elephant seals

We saw a sign for an Elephant Seal viewing point just off the PCH - and there they were, seemingly hundreds of them, lying on the beach moulting and mooing. Tremendous!

Big Sur Coastline

Thursday 19th we set off driving up the coast and stayed Thursday night in Santa Barbara, a lovely relaxed sort of place with none of the brashness of Los Angeles. Beautiful weather so spent most of the afternoon around the hotel pool. I also managed to fit in a trip to the local ER as it was only a few doors from our hotel, and got some great painkillers (Vicodin) from the charming young female doctor that I saw for the princely sum of $130 - good nights sleep with no back pain should be assured! Although the downside was you're not meant to mix the pills with alcohol. Never mind, they were good pills. Jim tells me there the ones that you hear about celebrities getting addicted to - I can understand why, they certainly kill the pain and make you feel pleasantly at one with the world. Narcotics Anonymous beckons.

Friday we spent driving up to Carmel from SB, quite a long drive of about 220 miles up the famous Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway. What a road, what scenery - it was just wow moment after wow moment.

Hollywood Hollywood - so good I managed to post my pictures twice

On Tuesday 17th July we did a road trip, north from Santa Monica along the ocean, picking up Sunset Boulevard and following it all the way to Hollywood. Saw Graumann's Chinese Theatre, the Walk of Fame with all the stars on the pavement and also got to see the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood and Highland Mall. Fairly tacky but enjoyable - there were lots of folks walking around dressed as movie characters - Yoda, Shrek, Batman, etc etc. Saw Shrek with his head off down an alley having a quick ciggy. Keith also bought a bargain Creative Zen MP3 player ($50 i.e. about £25 for something that would cost him c £130 in the UK) at the Virgin Megastore.

We headed off into the Hollywood Hills and the canyons via Mulholland Drive on our way back - you could be miles from anywhere up there. Los Angeles is certainly a place of contrasts. Met up with Mike for a drink again at the hotel bar Tuesday evening - he's a star!