View from the Getty Museum
Friday, March 25, 2005
Our Californian trip - 5th - 12th February 2005
More details to follow - but for the time being here are some photos
Monday, March 21, 2005
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Mike Randle's solo gig, Fibbers, York, 18th March 2005
Hooray - they're back in the UK!!
Lizzy and I both have offspring who are students in York, and today fortuitously happens to be the last day of term for both of them - so we can combine clearing out student room trips with going to see Mike's gig as support for Chris Helmes at Fibbers. Neither offspring is coming to the gig however, but then they have their own mates to go out with.
I arrive in York mid-afternoon and spend some quality time with Jim, wandering round ancient York. Lizzy arrives at about 6pm and we meet up at our hotel, the Ramada Encore where we stayed last time. Hotel reception is full of ladies on a hen weekend with pink furry things sticking out of their heads.
We do a bit of catching up and then head into downtown York, first to a pub called the Last Drop (we had a drink in one of them in Edinburgh) which has a definite hanging theme, and sells great beer and cider, Lizzy's favoured tipple. Then on to Fibbers - and as soon as we get in the door, there's Mike and Rusty with their respective ladies, Hannah and Lucy. Its great to see them, and they're pleased to see us. Hannah is actually manning a table near the door selling Mike's CDs. with some success. Ringo and his wife are also there, as well as a number of the crew we met on the previous visit to Fibbers. Also Chris Jones arrives, the guy who took the brilliant pictures currently being used to publicise the new tour.
Mike is on at about 8.45 - he's very relaxed on stage, and a lot less hesitant then he was when we saw him in London last year. He does a brilliant version of Madonna's "Borderline", which is one of my favourite songs, and also an acoustic "Aloneagainor" , alternating between Arthur's and his own vocal lines, which shows off his amazing guitar skills. He's not on for long but then he is the support act.
Chris Helmes of the Yards comes on at about 9.30pm - now a number of folks will have seen Chris when the Yards toured as support to Love, but this guy is just amazing. He has a brilliant voice and I don't know why he's not a big star - I talk to Ringo later, who manages him, and he reckons its because he's not fashionable/new (he was a member of the Seahorses that were a fairly successful band some years ago).
The venue has a club night from 10.30 so Chris is off stage by then. A few drinks and chats with Mike and Rusty and Chris Jones, then we head down the road with Mike and Hannah, who are staying with Ringo. They stop at the nearest kebab van for a death-doner - I taste a bit and it is not nice at all. Lizzy and I decide to go to the decent kebab house on Micklegate near our hotel instead for fresh cooked kebabs, which we take back to our room and consume with a bit of a night cap.
Next stop Sheffield a week on Sunday!
Lizzy and I both have offspring who are students in York, and today fortuitously happens to be the last day of term for both of them - so we can combine clearing out student room trips with going to see Mike's gig as support for Chris Helmes at Fibbers. Neither offspring is coming to the gig however, but then they have their own mates to go out with.
I arrive in York mid-afternoon and spend some quality time with Jim, wandering round ancient York. Lizzy arrives at about 6pm and we meet up at our hotel, the Ramada Encore where we stayed last time. Hotel reception is full of ladies on a hen weekend with pink furry things sticking out of their heads.
We do a bit of catching up and then head into downtown York, first to a pub called the Last Drop (we had a drink in one of them in Edinburgh) which has a definite hanging theme, and sells great beer and cider, Lizzy's favoured tipple. Then on to Fibbers - and as soon as we get in the door, there's Mike and Rusty with their respective ladies, Hannah and Lucy. Its great to see them, and they're pleased to see us. Hannah is actually manning a table near the door selling Mike's CDs. with some success. Ringo and his wife are also there, as well as a number of the crew we met on the previous visit to Fibbers. Also Chris Jones arrives, the guy who took the brilliant pictures currently being used to publicise the new tour.
Mike is on at about 8.45 - he's very relaxed on stage, and a lot less hesitant then he was when we saw him in London last year. He does a brilliant version of Madonna's "Borderline", which is one of my favourite songs, and also an acoustic "Aloneagainor" , alternating between Arthur's and his own vocal lines, which shows off his amazing guitar skills. He's not on for long but then he is the support act.
Chris Helmes of the Yards comes on at about 9.30pm - now a number of folks will have seen Chris when the Yards toured as support to Love, but this guy is just amazing. He has a brilliant voice and I don't know why he's not a big star - I talk to Ringo later, who manages him, and he reckons its because he's not fashionable/new (he was a member of the Seahorses that were a fairly successful band some years ago).
The venue has a club night from 10.30 so Chris is off stage by then. A few drinks and chats with Mike and Rusty and Chris Jones, then we head down the road with Mike and Hannah, who are staying with Ringo. They stop at the nearest kebab van for a death-doner - I taste a bit and it is not nice at all. Lizzy and I decide to go to the decent kebab house on Micklegate near our hotel instead for fresh cooked kebabs, which we take back to our room and consume with a bit of a night cap.
Next stop Sheffield a week on Sunday!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
No 18: Liverpool Kings Dock, 7th July 2004
This was quite a weird one, and at the present time is the last Love gig that Lizzy and I went to.
The gig was one of the "Liverpool Summer Pops" - funny name, funny set up in that a huge big top is erected on the Kings Dock car park for the month of July and various acts ply their trade there - I seem to remember it was going to be Busted the following evening. I was driving to Liverpool from Nottingham and got stuck on the notorious Thelwall Viaduct on the M6. so when I got to the Campanile Hotel, Lizzy was already there. You couldn't miss the venue, a huge stripy structure a few hundred yards from the hotel, but to walk there you had to negotiate various barriers, although we made it in the end.
The plan was that we were definitely filming this one, the strings and horns were there again, so it should be a good one to catch. We went to the box office to get our photo passes, no filming possible without them, but they weren't there - somebody seemed to think that Ross, the tour manager had them but noone was sure. Oh well, we'd sort that out later, the support band was the Zutons who Jim had said were a good band, so we wanted to see them. we'd sort the passes out at the interval.
Into the cavernous tent and more or less the first person we see is John E, who's come up from London. Shortly after that we run into a gaggle of Swedish horn players, and John gets Lizzy to take his picture with them - John is a big Brian Wilson fan and has spent time with the Swedes at Brian's gigs. Shortly after that, I run into my ex-brother in law (i.e. my sister's ex-husband) Neil, who I haven't seen since their separation about 19 years ago - this tour has been big on this sort of incident, its brought all the people of a certain age out of hiding and back to gigs.
We watch the Zutons, who I like - they're young and energetic and have a manic dancing female sax player. We've run into Gill and her sister Maureen by this time as well, so there's a good turn out of the die hard fans.
Then its back to the box office to try to sort out the passes again - the security is tenacious at this venue, no way would be able to film without the correct passes. After a lot of radioing around, it's determined that Ross does indeed have the passes, and he is backstage, so we're escorted there by a burly security man and pick up passes and camera just as Love are coming on stage. We get ourselves to a likely spot in the banked seating - I fumble around a bit, the floor is a bit unsteady but we get set up again and start filming somewhere during the first number.
Now IMHO this was not the best performance Arthur has ever given - however my opinion was bound to be coloured by a) this being my 18th time of seeing the band b) having seen a brilliant Magic Band gig the previous evening. It certainly seemed to impress the assembled throng, perhaps I'm being over fussy - but I don't think he was completely with it. He also darted about the setlist in an erratic fashion, leaving the poor orchestra very bemused. John E and the prodigious Loveshack were both down the front bopping about like maniacs, so they seemed to enjoy it. Hey Ho.
A first however - Arthur took off his trademark hat and bandanna at one stage, showing off his bald pate. Not a bad look at all, wonder why he feels he has to keep his head covered on stage. Along with the omnipresent shades, part of the image I guess.
Quick chat with Mike at the end but they were packing up furiously, as most folks were rushing off to catch a plane. We headed across to Gill and Maureen's hotel with John E and we spent a pleasant couple of hours discussing how we would manage and market Arthur if it was up to us. Which it isn't.
The gig was one of the "Liverpool Summer Pops" - funny name, funny set up in that a huge big top is erected on the Kings Dock car park for the month of July and various acts ply their trade there - I seem to remember it was going to be Busted the following evening. I was driving to Liverpool from Nottingham and got stuck on the notorious Thelwall Viaduct on the M6. so when I got to the Campanile Hotel, Lizzy was already there. You couldn't miss the venue, a huge stripy structure a few hundred yards from the hotel, but to walk there you had to negotiate various barriers, although we made it in the end.
The plan was that we were definitely filming this one, the strings and horns were there again, so it should be a good one to catch. We went to the box office to get our photo passes, no filming possible without them, but they weren't there - somebody seemed to think that Ross, the tour manager had them but noone was sure. Oh well, we'd sort that out later, the support band was the Zutons who Jim had said were a good band, so we wanted to see them. we'd sort the passes out at the interval.
Into the cavernous tent and more or less the first person we see is John E, who's come up from London. Shortly after that we run into a gaggle of Swedish horn players, and John gets Lizzy to take his picture with them - John is a big Brian Wilson fan and has spent time with the Swedes at Brian's gigs. Shortly after that, I run into my ex-brother in law (i.e. my sister's ex-husband) Neil, who I haven't seen since their separation about 19 years ago - this tour has been big on this sort of incident, its brought all the people of a certain age out of hiding and back to gigs.
We watch the Zutons, who I like - they're young and energetic and have a manic dancing female sax player. We've run into Gill and her sister Maureen by this time as well, so there's a good turn out of the die hard fans.
Then its back to the box office to try to sort out the passes again - the security is tenacious at this venue, no way would be able to film without the correct passes. After a lot of radioing around, it's determined that Ross does indeed have the passes, and he is backstage, so we're escorted there by a burly security man and pick up passes and camera just as Love are coming on stage. We get ourselves to a likely spot in the banked seating - I fumble around a bit, the floor is a bit unsteady but we get set up again and start filming somewhere during the first number.
Now IMHO this was not the best performance Arthur has ever given - however my opinion was bound to be coloured by a) this being my 18th time of seeing the band b) having seen a brilliant Magic Band gig the previous evening. It certainly seemed to impress the assembled throng, perhaps I'm being over fussy - but I don't think he was completely with it. He also darted about the setlist in an erratic fashion, leaving the poor orchestra very bemused. John E and the prodigious Loveshack were both down the front bopping about like maniacs, so they seemed to enjoy it. Hey Ho.
A first however - Arthur took off his trademark hat and bandanna at one stage, showing off his bald pate. Not a bad look at all, wonder why he feels he has to keep his head covered on stage. Along with the omnipresent shades, part of the image I guess.
Quick chat with Mike at the end but they were packing up furiously, as most folks were rushing off to catch a plane. We headed across to Gill and Maureen's hotel with John E and we spent a pleasant couple of hours discussing how we would manage and market Arthur if it was up to us. Which it isn't.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
The Magic Band Nottingham Rescue Rooms 6th July 2004
One of the great knock on effects of this Love thang has been that I've gone to see other bands as well - I was a bit intimidated by the thought of Rock City and the Rescue Rooms initially, but once I'd been to see Love there, I realised that they were fine, and that actually other quite old people went to gigs there as well.
So I've seen a number of other bands in the last couple of years as well - Durutti Column, David Thomas and the Pale Boys, Jah Wobble, the Average White Band, Maroon 5, etc etc and... the creme de la creme ... the Magic Band.
Now Lizzy and I were also big fans of Captain Beefheart and the Magic band back in the 60s and 70s. I saw them perform twice, once in Newcastle and once in Nottingham. In fact I still contend that the gig at Newcastle City Hall on 5th April 1972 was the best I've ever been to, by any artist, ever.
The Magic Band without the good Captain I approached with some trepidation, but it was unfounded, they were brilliant.
So I've seen a number of other bands in the last couple of years as well - Durutti Column, David Thomas and the Pale Boys, Jah Wobble, the Average White Band, Maroon 5, etc etc and... the creme de la creme ... the Magic Band.
Now Lizzy and I were also big fans of Captain Beefheart and the Magic band back in the 60s and 70s. I saw them perform twice, once in Newcastle and once in Nottingham. In fact I still contend that the gig at Newcastle City Hall on 5th April 1972 was the best I've ever been to, by any artist, ever.
The Magic Band without the good Captain I approached with some trepidation, but it was unfounded, they were brilliant.
No 17: Alban Arena, St Albans, 4th July 2004
Despite having told Arthur that we'd see him next in Liverpool, we decided we couldn't wait that long...
There was to be a gig on Sunday evening in St Albans, and a quick look at the road atlas revealed that it wasn't a bad trip from Nottingham, straight down the M1 and turn right at Luton - a lot more of a trip from Newcastle however, but Lizzy was up for it. I emailed Glenn and said we'd like to be there, could he arrange for our names to be on the door. No problem - I couldn't even have imagined asking for this sort of favour when we first started out on this venture.
Sunday dawned and Lizzy made her way down to Nottingham mid-afternoon. Back in the motor and we did the surprisingly easy run down to St Albans - finding the venue was a bit more difficult but we found our way round the maze of car parks eventually. There was the tour bus parked next to the stage door, so we knew we were in the right place.
We parked up and were figuring out what to do next when a familiar figure got off the bus - it was Arthur, plugged into his Walkman. He sees us, and its " Hey I didn't think you were coming tonight - the camera's not here" - oh well never mind, Lizzy can still film with hers and I can just watch and listen - no big deal.
We head off to the box office and run into Glenn and his girlfriend Jane on the way - our tickets and passes are there, what a nice man! A quick pizza in downtown St Albans and then back to the venue - we see Gill and her husband Colin, as well as John E and Hannah and Miranda - the London crew are out in force as its only down the road.
The venue itself is rather like a well appointed school hall - seating, which we're not so keen on, and a balcony. We go upstairs and park ourselves at the back, the venue isn't full by any means. Lizzy sets up her camera and I just settle down to watch. Its not a bad show, but my opinion is that it a very sterile venue, not a lot of atmosphere.
At the end we hang around by the stage (definitely not stalking) and chat with Mike and the rest of our pals. The car is parked not far from the tour bus which is not far from the stage door - we head towards it, talking to Gill and Colin and some other fans who've travelled quite a distance - and there is Arthur again, coming out of the stage door with his young lady friend from SBE and Troels, and carrying a box. He comes over and talks to us, Gill asks if she can have a photo and he obliges - he hands me the box to hold, its full of wine and sandwiches but unfortunately the bottom starts to fall out of it. Troels rushes up to save the contents, then Arthur takes it back and he's away. We really will see him in Liverpool next time.
There was to be a gig on Sunday evening in St Albans, and a quick look at the road atlas revealed that it wasn't a bad trip from Nottingham, straight down the M1 and turn right at Luton - a lot more of a trip from Newcastle however, but Lizzy was up for it. I emailed Glenn and said we'd like to be there, could he arrange for our names to be on the door. No problem - I couldn't even have imagined asking for this sort of favour when we first started out on this venture.
Sunday dawned and Lizzy made her way down to Nottingham mid-afternoon. Back in the motor and we did the surprisingly easy run down to St Albans - finding the venue was a bit more difficult but we found our way round the maze of car parks eventually. There was the tour bus parked next to the stage door, so we knew we were in the right place.
We parked up and were figuring out what to do next when a familiar figure got off the bus - it was Arthur, plugged into his Walkman. He sees us, and its " Hey I didn't think you were coming tonight - the camera's not here" - oh well never mind, Lizzy can still film with hers and I can just watch and listen - no big deal.
We head off to the box office and run into Glenn and his girlfriend Jane on the way - our tickets and passes are there, what a nice man! A quick pizza in downtown St Albans and then back to the venue - we see Gill and her husband Colin, as well as John E and Hannah and Miranda - the London crew are out in force as its only down the road.
The venue itself is rather like a well appointed school hall - seating, which we're not so keen on, and a balcony. We go upstairs and park ourselves at the back, the venue isn't full by any means. Lizzy sets up her camera and I just settle down to watch. Its not a bad show, but my opinion is that it a very sterile venue, not a lot of atmosphere.
At the end we hang around by the stage (definitely not stalking) and chat with Mike and the rest of our pals. The car is parked not far from the tour bus which is not far from the stage door - we head towards it, talking to Gill and Colin and some other fans who've travelled quite a distance - and there is Arthur again, coming out of the stage door with his young lady friend from SBE and Troels, and carrying a box. He comes over and talks to us, Gill asks if she can have a photo and he obliges - he hands me the box to hold, its full of wine and sandwiches but unfortunately the bottom starts to fall out of it. Troels rushes up to save the contents, then Arthur takes it back and he's away. We really will see him in Liverpool next time.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
No 16: The Robin, Wolverhampton, 29th June 2004
Lizzy had been working in Birmingham today so she came back to our house before we set off again for Wolverhampton - not far, 50 miles or so. Quick drive up the M42 in the recently acquired new motor.
The Robin is actually in Bilston, a fairly dull looking part of the Black Country - the venue itself however is wonderful, looking like an old cinema, with "Noddy's Bar" off the lobby, covered with numerous posters of Mr Holder himself.
We had some fish and chips from a local health hazard - as we were sitting outside eating them, Dave Chapple (bass - I don't think I've mentioned him before) strolled past, looking for somewhere to buy some credit for his mobile phone. I think he found some up the road.
Back in the venue, we set up the tripods at the side of the balcony. During the support act, Lucky Jim, we see Arthur at the side of the stage. He looks surprised and heads back behind the scenes - we hear later that when he saw us, he realised that he had left the video camera in his hotel room and sent Kose back to collect it. It arrives just as the band are coming on stage so I don't have a lot of time to set up - both Lizzy and I have got used to setting up video cameras in the dark by this stage, a useful life skill.
This is a great show - some months later, when Lizzy and I had a weekend at her house watching back to back videos in chronological order for two solid days, we vote this one the best of the lot, closely followed by Edinburgh. Lizzy brought a data projector home from work, so we had the full big screen experience on her spare bedroom wall, complete with speakers as well. And several bottles of wine. But no popcorn.
A quick chat with Arthur at the end - we tell him next one for us Liverpool in about a weeks time (thats the plan anyway). The tour bus is parked next to the venue, we have a chat with Mike and Troels and Frazer the merch guy (star of Mike's diary). I have to drive back to Nottingham so no hanging around/ stalking tonight. We drive past the tour bus in the new motor - its good for driving back along the M42 at midnight, listening to the Janice Long show on Radio 2 - special live guests Lucky Jim - and tomorrow night its going to be Arthur Lee and Love...
The Robin is actually in Bilston, a fairly dull looking part of the Black Country - the venue itself however is wonderful, looking like an old cinema, with "Noddy's Bar" off the lobby, covered with numerous posters of Mr Holder himself.
We had some fish and chips from a local health hazard - as we were sitting outside eating them, Dave Chapple (bass - I don't think I've mentioned him before) strolled past, looking for somewhere to buy some credit for his mobile phone. I think he found some up the road.
Back in the venue, we set up the tripods at the side of the balcony. During the support act, Lucky Jim, we see Arthur at the side of the stage. He looks surprised and heads back behind the scenes - we hear later that when he saw us, he realised that he had left the video camera in his hotel room and sent Kose back to collect it. It arrives just as the band are coming on stage so I don't have a lot of time to set up - both Lizzy and I have got used to setting up video cameras in the dark by this stage, a useful life skill.
This is a great show - some months later, when Lizzy and I had a weekend at her house watching back to back videos in chronological order for two solid days, we vote this one the best of the lot, closely followed by Edinburgh. Lizzy brought a data projector home from work, so we had the full big screen experience on her spare bedroom wall, complete with speakers as well. And several bottles of wine. But no popcorn.
A quick chat with Arthur at the end - we tell him next one for us Liverpool in about a weeks time (thats the plan anyway). The tour bus is parked next to the venue, we have a chat with Mike and Troels and Frazer the merch guy (star of Mike's diary). I have to drive back to Nottingham so no hanging around/ stalking tonight. We drive past the tour bus in the new motor - its good for driving back along the M42 at midnight, listening to the Janice Long show on Radio 2 - special live guests Lucky Jim - and tomorrow night its going to be Arthur Lee and Love...
No 15: Fibbers, York, 28th June 2004
Jim is a student in York but he had to be out of his room in Hall on Saturday 26th June, so Keith and I had made the trip there and back from Nottingham then. However Love were due to appear in York the following Monday, so after depositing Jim in Matlock for the afternoon while I saw a client there, we both travelled back up to York again to meet up with Lizzy.
This was to be a short tour of the UK to fit around the Glastonbury festival. No 14 ended with the news that Arthur had not replied to my email about filming more gigs in the UK. However I'd also thought to email Glenn, who did reply, and who had arranged that we hook up with the new tour manager, Ross, to film the gigs we were planning to go to.
We'd booked two rooms in a very nice hotel in York City Centre, the Ramada Encore. Once Lizzy arrived, we set off through the streets of York to find Fibbers, which is a very small club forming part of a concrete monstrosity once called a carbuncle by Prince Charles. There was quite a gathering for this gig with a particularly large Scottish contingent - Lizzy's diary has the details. Kose and Troels were on stage setting up and greeted us like long lost friends - a hug from Troels is something you don't forget in a hurry.
Mike came out from backstage to say hello and said "Arthur is totally asking about you guys" to Lizzy and myself - yes he did want us to film. We sorted out a likely spot - not far from the stage, but then nowhere in Fibbers is far from the stage. Chris Helmes did a great turn as support, with Mike playing with him for a while. Then Arthur and the band were on - and it was great, the hairs on the back of my next were standing up. It seemed like quite a long gap since we'd seen them, almost 3 months, which wasn't long really in the overall scheme of things. I'd waited about 35 years to see the band from first hearing their music.
Afterwards, we had a brief chat with Arthur before he was taxied back to his hotel - said we'd see him the following evening in Wolverhampton. We hung round in the club for a while and Lizzy and I had the stalking conversation again, i.e. when are you stalking people and when are you simply hanging about waiting to see what's going to happen. Anyway stuff did happen - Mike's pal Ringo who lives in York had arranged an after party at the Evil Eye bar, so we set off there, Jim leading the way. It was cracking - Lizzy's diary has both words and pictures.
Obligatory kebab stop, back to the hotel, up early the next morning to get back to Nottingham for work - and then its all over again for Wolverhampton the following evening.
This was to be a short tour of the UK to fit around the Glastonbury festival. No 14 ended with the news that Arthur had not replied to my email about filming more gigs in the UK. However I'd also thought to email Glenn, who did reply, and who had arranged that we hook up with the new tour manager, Ross, to film the gigs we were planning to go to.
We'd booked two rooms in a very nice hotel in York City Centre, the Ramada Encore. Once Lizzy arrived, we set off through the streets of York to find Fibbers, which is a very small club forming part of a concrete monstrosity once called a carbuncle by Prince Charles. There was quite a gathering for this gig with a particularly large Scottish contingent - Lizzy's diary has the details. Kose and Troels were on stage setting up and greeted us like long lost friends - a hug from Troels is something you don't forget in a hurry.
Mike came out from backstage to say hello and said "Arthur is totally asking about you guys" to Lizzy and myself - yes he did want us to film. We sorted out a likely spot - not far from the stage, but then nowhere in Fibbers is far from the stage. Chris Helmes did a great turn as support, with Mike playing with him for a while. Then Arthur and the band were on - and it was great, the hairs on the back of my next were standing up. It seemed like quite a long gap since we'd seen them, almost 3 months, which wasn't long really in the overall scheme of things. I'd waited about 35 years to see the band from first hearing their music.
Afterwards, we had a brief chat with Arthur before he was taxied back to his hotel - said we'd see him the following evening in Wolverhampton. We hung round in the club for a while and Lizzy and I had the stalking conversation again, i.e. when are you stalking people and when are you simply hanging about waiting to see what's going to happen. Anyway stuff did happen - Mike's pal Ringo who lives in York had arranged an after party at the Evil Eye bar, so we set off there, Jim leading the way. It was cracking - Lizzy's diary has both words and pictures.
Obligatory kebab stop, back to the hotel, up early the next morning to get back to Nottingham for work - and then its all over again for Wolverhampton the following evening.
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