HAPPY DAYS

As I’ve mentioned before, the run of live gigs I’ve been lucky enough to get tickets for in recent months have been right out of the top drawer. And this coming week sees what are among three of my final live events of 2008, and every one of them promises much.

Tonight, it’s The Wedding Present on the Glasgow leg of their latest UK tour promoting the El Rey LP.

While I was rather saddened to hear that the poor ticket sales had resulted in a late switch of venue from the QMU to the ABC2, I can take consolation from the fact that the smaller venue is a better place to see the band (not to mention much easier to get to from Villain Towers). The thing about a TWP gig is that you know beforehand what you’re going to get – around 100 minutes of great indie-guitar songs that will be about one-third of material from the newest album and two-thirds material from an amazing back catalogue (including some of the tracks recorded by Cinerama). There wont be an encore, but David Gedge will make his way over to the merchandise stall straight afterwards and happily sign t-shirts, gig tickets and other sundry materials, as well as patiently pose for photos with sundry fans and stalkers….

Oh and I also know that tomorrow morning my ears will be ringing, and that my calf muscles will be sore from jumping around like a maniac.

Thankfully, I’ve a few days to recover before Thursday night’s trek over to the Woodend Tennis Club in the west end of Glasgow for an acoustic gig from Martin Stephenson & The Daintees. This is the latest show from promoter Alan Hendry under the banner of Sounds In the Suburbs (click here for more info) and if it is anything like the last time myself and Mrs Villain saw Martin at that venue, it has every chance of being the most memorable gig of the whole year. The tickets advise that the band will be performing the songs from their debut LP Boat To Bolivia which even 25 years on is one of my all time favourite records.

It’s a tremendous venue – very intimate, great acoustics and a bar with rock-bottom prices. Its about as close as you could ever get to having one of your all time heroes come along and perform in your living room, and I think its fair to say that say I’m as excited about this coming Thursday as most kids are about the imminent arrival of a red-suited man with a white beard.

Alan is also promoting a second Daintees gig the following night, this time at the Accies Club where, thanks to it being slightly further away from folk with big posh houses, the gig will be a bit louder (i.e. they will be allowed to plug in their guitars). Under any other circumstances, this is another night I wouldn’t have dreamed of missing, except for the fact that there is a counter-attraction almost on my doorstep…..

So, I’ll be making my way to a place called the Fairfield Club in Govan in the south-west of Glasgow – it’s a venue that as far as I know has never been used before for any sort of pop or rock gig – for a truly astonishing line-up headed by Malcolm Middleton (with full band), supported by a host of bands including the ever-excellent De Rosa. Oh and Malky’s former sidekick from Arab Strap is spinning the decks…

It’s the whole package that makes Friday night so intriguing – the venue, Malky bringing along the full band and not just his acoustic guitar, the classy support acts and of course the presence of the legendary Aiden Moffat. I know its wishful thinking, but there is a part of me that hopes they get together on stage and do one Arab Strap song for old time sake……

Those of us involved in this blogging lark have been a bit down in recent weeks thanks to all the nonsense with these DMCA notices, but its nights like these that remind you just how important music really is. I will of course try and post some reviews (along with photos) from each of the nights, but in the meantime, I’ll start the build-up with these:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present – Santa Ana Winds

Taken from the 2008 LP El Rey. Buy it here. Or get someone to give it you as a Xmas present

mp3 : Martin Stephenson & The Daintees – Look Down, Look Down

Taken from the 1986 LP Boat To Bolivia. Buy it here. Or get someone to give it to you as a Xmas present

mp3 : Malcolm Middleton – Burst Noel

Taken from the 2005 LP Into The Woods. Buy it here. Or get someone to give it to you as a Xmas present

Happy Listening

PS : If you’re sick of all the festive fayre that is blaring out of your radio or from the speakers in every shop you go into nowadays, you can always get the tonic of the 2009 Xmas single by The Wedding Present. Entitled Holly Jolly Hollywood, its available to buy via download from loads of places, including here. Oh and you might also want to pay 79p for the cover of White Christmas...