Pete Ashton’s Blog

I started writing a post about my adventures in music in 2005 and while it didn’t really go anywhere (thanks to my not really keeping track of the absurd amount of tunes that came my way) it was clear that Misty’s Big Adventure were my band-of-the-year. For a local I was something of a late-comer, only hearing about them in 2004 and not actually seeing them perform until April, but after that I was 100% sold and saw them another three times, confirming myself as A Big Fan. I’ve evangelised them like crazy and even wrote the bulk of their Wikipedia entry so it was kinda fitting that on December 23rd my final gig of the year, the last two months of which have been somewhat gig-crazy, should be seeing Misty’s play at the Jug for the fifth time.

It’s been quite a mad year for them too, pushing the tricky transformation from quirky local act to national phenomena and thanks to a punishing touring schedule (at least 100 gigs) along with an excellent new album they look like they might just achieve this because anyone with a soul can’t help but be converted to the cause once they’ve seen them perform. It’s rare that the modern world allows such a thing to happen but it appears to be happening for them, and that is a good thing.

Of course this success does have one downside and that is, after years of playing at the Jug of Ale in Moseley, their “spiritual home” really can’t contain them anymore, which is a big shame as seeing them play in any of the larger venues in Birmingham would just be wrong, so unless they have a massive popularity drop in the new year (along with hell freezing over) this could well have been the last time they play there, not just because they sold out to capacity but because everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone all the way to the back, was dancing like a monkey and it was hotter than hell.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The support tonight was interesting. Misty’s always seem to pick their support acts but the two bands playing tonight really seemed to be part of the Misty’s extended family and it felt a little like the audience was getting on stage. The first band were a five-piece doing their first ever gig and didn’t even have a name so I’ll call them The Kate Thompson Experience, since, as I found out later, that was the name of the lead singer. They set up looking kinda nervous, giving he impression of a baby band taking their first faltering steps, but what they produced was quite astounding. Given that they were part of the Misty’s posse they had many friends in the audience who whooped their support but as the set progressed this applause increased as everyone was completely sold on them. The songs ranged from sweet little ditties about love and fluffy things to pieces that brought to mind The Dresden Dolls, mainly for Kate’s astonishing voice, and the band were incredibly tight for a first gig, bringing in clarinets (two of them) and toys to the mix with aplomb. But what really made the set for me was Kate’s reaction to the audience’s reaction - with a massive grin she was completely taken aback. I really hope Kate and her band do many more gigs in 2006 as I think they’re really onto something here.

Next up were Dog Food who I’d heard of before but never seen. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure they’ve been around about as long as Misty’s and certainly share a bouncy ska-esque vibe along with being a little silly with hats and wigs and, yes, toys that make sounds. But on the whole they were musically accomplished and very danceable. As they came on I was sure I knew the singer from somewhere and put it down to a similarity to someone I know from the small press comics scene but it still bugged me. A couple of days later I realised I’d seen him at the front during other Misty’s gigs and even have a photo of the back of his head from September.

The biggest problem with seeing these two bands was that, good as they were, and they were stunningly good, really setting up the evening perfectly, any memory of what they sounded like was smurshed from my memory by what followed. After so much touring Misty’s have perfected their performance to an incredible degree and while this is a wonderful thing it does somewhat negate the idea of introducing other similar acts to their fans. It does mean I have an extra motive to see them again but it occurred to me that when lead singer Gareth’s new album is out (The Party Sounds of Grandmaster Gareth - see his MySpace page for samples) a neat idea would be for him to host an evening, playing his Minute Melodies between the acts and introducing them, so I throw that out there… Wadayathink Gareth?

So there’s not much I can really say about the Misty’s Big Adventure that hasn’t been said before. They are at the height of their powers and while seeing them playing to a home crowd is apparently very different to when they’re supporting other bands around the country, it’s hard to imagine where they can go next. In the meanwhile, though, you really need to see the live, preferably at a sell out gig in the Jug of Ale, Moseley. Can’t be beat!

Thanks to the packed and pulsating audience photos were somewhat hard to come by but the best of the bunch can be found here, mainly taken perched on a rickety chair which I then couldn’t get down from so proceeded to dance upon. Thankfully it didn’t break…

No more gigs until late January, thank fuck!

I’m getting one of those backlogs of things I think are going to take lots of time to write about but probably aren’t but even though I rationally know this I keep putting off writing about them and they mount up, so here’s a summary of the last few days for you to skim.

Friday. What happened on Friday? Oh yeah, my bike, which I’ve had for a little over a year now, got its first puncture last week and I fixed it but it didn’t hold so I bought a new inner tube but when I put the wheel back on it wouldn’t sit properly and eventually, after much faffing and tea, I notice a ballbearing had gone missing somehow from the spindle-wotsit and of course I have no spares because I’ve never had to fix this bike to this desgree and the nearest bike shop is a bike ride away and the bike has no wheel, and it’s 4pm and I need to cycle later on tonight, so a brisk walk to Halfords (pausing briefly to take a photo) where they don’t have my ballbearing in stock but after a few seconds pleading if they might have one in a jar of random bits out back the chap finds a spare set which he lets me have gratis and once again the staff of Halfords Selly Oak win my admiration and thanks.

And then, having fixed the bike to a satisfactory level, and noted the similarity between how a bike when fixed will never be quite as good as a new bike in the same way a JPEG when tweaked can never be corrected back to its original quality, followed by my noting how tediously geeky that comparison is, and having had some food, it was off to the Jug for the Misty’s Big Adventure Xmas gig which was superb and wonderful and which I shall write about in full later. This was followed by a Balti in Moseley village with Shaun and Kats which was satisfactory but we really should have gone to Ladypool Rd and it was stupid of me not to.

The Balti meant I got home late and having lots of photos couldn’t resist checking them and uploading a few so I got to bed about 2am, rising at 7.30 to go to the car park, deciding that I couldn’t face the horror of the bus so I cycled, what with the bike being all fixed and everything, and it took 45 minutes to get to Solihull, quicker than the bus, arriving slightly exhausted but in a much better mood than usual. The car park was busy, as expected, but rather tedious with nothing exciting to report - lots of lost tickets and a few issues with the barrier - but I made a couple of quid from abandoned trollies that people couldn’t be arsed to wheel back and that always brightens the day. One advantage of the car park is it’s above a supermarket so I was able to pick up a couple of bottles of wine and some brandy butter for Xmas, except I left the brandy butter in the fridge so won’t be able to enjoy it until New Years Day, but it’ll be worth it.

And then another 45 minute ride home to be greeted by a reasonably full living room of people getting ready to set off to Doug and Sara’s pre-Xmas party/gathering/thing, so a quick shower and snack-food dinner (we have a tremendous collection of snack-food right now) I joined the throng for a very enjoyable few hours of beer, nibbles and chats.

Xmas Day and I was awoken at 9am-ish with the offer of tea which seemed like a good enough reason to get up. We did the Xmas morning stuff, mooching around the living room watching Aardman animations videotaped on Xmas days past, until it was time for the Andy’s to go to their respective Xmas day venues. Matt turned up for a bit and we set off on our bikes to his and Marv’s place for the rest of the day. Dinner was meatballs in sauce, which seemed a bit wrong at first but worked out perfectly, followed by the Xmas pudding I’d made a few weeks previously from Jez’s recipe and it was also perfect. Then we went for a walk around the parks of Kings Heath which are much nicer than I was expecting having only seen them from the road. And then we watched Doctor Who which was, as you’ll probably be aware, bloody fantastic, so much better than TV at that time deserved to be, and bodes wonderfully for the 2nd series. And then we drank wine and beer and played a driving game on the Playstation, opting not to bother with the actual game but to just play a version where you have to drive into an intersection and crash as spectacularly as possible, which we did again and again until midnight-ish by which stage I decided I was far too drunk to cycle home, given the trouble I was having walking to the garden for a smoke, so I crashed on the sofabed.

Boxing day started with fried chipolatas and scrambled eggs after which I figured I’d better head off else I never would, and I had this vague idea I might get some stuff done, but was distracted by the 24 season 3 box set sitting in the living room so I worked through eight episodes before Andy and Celeste got back when I had to stop as they were only 2 episodes in, but Celeste had a Bruce Springsteen DVD where he performs and dissects his songs on stage so we watched that and it was very enjoyable. After that I figured I might as well crack on with 24 for a bit before bed so I did, getting through another 12 episodes by 5am. Ouchy. But very good stuff. Utterly bonkers and over the top, which is how I like my US TV.

Tuesday I got up very late in the afternoon, finished off 24, finally sorted and uploaded the photos from the Misty’s gig, watched Doctor Who again thanks to BitTorrent and quite possibly enjoyed it even more (and for the record I never cared for Doctor Who ever at all) and, um, here we are.

Wednesday… Looks kinda frosty out there…

Oddly enough I’m feeling really Christmassy for the first time in years. Must be all this Bournville malarkey…

As usual I got a few hand made cards from comics people which are always a pleasure (and thanks! (also thanks to the other card senders!)), but Andy Luke’s emailed Xmas comic took the biscuit by a long mile and so I must share. Ye fucking gods, man, you are skirting the edges of sanity with aplomb!

Have a good one.

And so it was off to the Custard Factory in Digbeth for the Capsule Xmas Party gig for a wodge of rock with two locals and a US import.

Una Corda were the first support and it was interesting to see them so soon after Moff Fest. They were still superb and rattled through the set to a room that rapidly filled with new converts and by the end got a rapturous reception. I think they’ve become my favourite band at the moment, surprisingly beautiful music for such a heavy band, and they have that rare stage presence you often don’t get with guitar-based instrumental outfits. Lovely stuff.

During their set I spotted a lot of people with chunky cameras - at least four, maybe five - doing the rounds. I’d noticed this at the last Capsule event I went to as well. Most of the gigs I go to have one or two “professional” camera people (I use quotes because having an expensive camera doesn’t make you a pro by any means) but these Medicine Bar events seem to attract them like flies. It’s a kinda weird experience, checking out other people’s kit with, well, let’s be honest, envy really. Don’t get me wrong, I love my camera, but standing next to some guy wielding a DSLR with a fancy lens and flash does lead to penis analogies. Speaking of flash, they were all using it so, since I wasn’t getting the results I wanted I abandoned my no-flash rule and joined in, with quite spectacular results. I think I might be sold on this now, though it will have to be tempered. Despite Andy (who, being the most active guy on stage, was beaming like a strobe light) saying he didn’t notice the cameras I’d imagine it can be fucking annoying having all this going off a couple of feet from your face. But I found my hit ratio increased dramatically so a balance shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’d also be curious to see the photos these “pros” are getting, if only so I can learn from them. If any stumble this way, might I point them towards the Birmingham Live Music pool on Flickr, which could do with some more members. Or of course I could just say hello.

Anyway, back to the gig. Next up were Mistress, a local band of the hardcore thrash metal variety. I moved forward but the room was getting rammed so couldn’t get to the front, finding myself pretty much in the middle. Suddenly, as the second song kicked off, there was an explosion as the chap right in front of me instigated a mosh pit, joined in a split second by about 10 others who had been waiting, coiled up, for this moment. As they moshed and moshed hard I quickly buried my camera away in its case and took a few steps back. But these few had created quite a space and I noticed a slot right at the front under the singer, so after waiting for a rare quiet moment I marched through (receiving a mere elbow to the mouth) and took my position. I was later informed that being at the front for a Mistress gig is considered somewhat hardcore and while this was probably a mild one for them, what with most of the crowd being here for the less raucous Pelican, it certainly had that war-zone vibe.

Now I’m not a huge thrash metal fan and to be honest wouldn’t listen to this kind of thing at home for fun but I fucking loved watching Mistress live, especially at close quarters (there ain’t no zoom on those photos). The power and fury they generated was utterly intense and they seem to understand that what they do is vitally important yet has to be fun. And did I detect some tunes in-amongst all the roaring? I think I did, and a thick grin was plastered over my face when it was all over. Magic stuff.

And then to the headliners, Pelican from Chicago, USA. I again found myself right at the front, though this time slightly to the side, right by the speakers that look like fighter jet exhausts, so having been warned that Pelican were loud I put in my ear plugs for the first time at a gig. It was a very strange experience, like being there but not being there, swimming through the physical shock-waves of the dull audio. Not ideal for the listening so I got my photos and moved back to appreciate them properly. Pelican were good, but something wasn’t really working for me. There was plenty of power and musicianship going on but it didn’t really go anywhere and after about 20 minutes I was starting to think I’d maybe had enough. Maybe I was missing something, I dunno. I was standing next to Doug from Una Corda who reacted to something with a “C’mon!” and raised fist and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what had prompted this.

Fortunately the catching of the last train home saved me from an hour of this stuff, though I did feel a slight pang of regret in not seeing what the guitarist would do with the violin bow I’d seen him wax up. So, a mildly disappointing headliner more than made up for by some stellar support. More Capsule events will be attended next year for sure.

Decided against seeing Drongos tonight but they’re playing at Edwards on Jan 19th so all is not lost. Friday is Misty’s at the Jug where I imagine a fair number of my readers will be in attendance, along with podcasters Shaun and Kats who are traveling up specially. Now that’s dedication!

Pelican at the Capsule Xmas Party

Ironically I wasn’t that taken by their music…

Here’s the rest of the photos. Report to follow.

Saturday and I’m back at the Hare and Hounds for more post-rock frivolities at Moff Fest.

Five bands playing instrumental guitar/drums-based music after a long day at work and I think I’ll be forgiven for saying it all kinda merged into one after a while, but then I’m not a hardcore intelli-rock aficionado and this evening was for those who most certainly are. It was also a full on DIY event, the first gig organised by this chap Phil and done purely because he wanted to do it, which always makes for the niceness. You could tell it was his first gig because he’d booked five bands and organised a laptop-powered projection show for each one but the gods were smiling as it all ran smoothly with no over-runs or technical mishaps - no mean feat when you’re dealing with bands with a lot of kit and the desire to sound just right.

Of the bands, Burnst and The Hubble Constant didn’t make a huge impact on me, which is not to say they were sub-standard in any way - they just weren’t my cup of noodle-rock. I really liked Cornish Tin Miners, the opening act, who, if memory serves (such is the curse of the opening act) were a drums/bass/guitar three piece who did a delicate, complicated almost jazzy set that made me think “ah, so that’s math-rock!” Unfortunately their set was very short but I’d like to see them again. Kinda in the style of Tortoise and that’s a good thing. If they have a website or some music online I’d like to know about it.

Mothertrucker were a lot of fun, though they were the closest to trad-rock of the bunch so I was probably able to connect with them easier. You can’t go wrong with a good solid thumping riff and they had plenty of these. On a more superficial level their background projection was quite inspired. While the other bands had random clips and images accompanying Mothertrucker simply had a DVD of Duel, a movie I’ve inexplicably not seen before. It started with a giant truck pummeling down the road, which was kinda obvious, but halfway through moved to a tense and paranoid scene in a diner. The projection stopped being a distraction (sorry, but I’m not a fan of this sort of thing on the whole) and suddenly merged with the music creating something quite large despite the band being unaware that they’d be playing against it. A lovely piece of serendipity, but even without this Mothertrucker were very good and I’d recommend seeing them if you like rock of the stoner variety.

And then to the headliners, Una Corda, who I hadn’t seen before despite one of my flatmates being in the band and the drummer having been a friend for a year or so. I’ve alluded to it before, but Una Corda are mountain men, giant slabs of hair and bloke who you can imagine driving 18 wheelers or wrestling cows for the fun of it. When I opened my front door to the other three for the first time I felt strangely intimidated, as if the psychic power of their manliness threatened to bring my inner mouse to the fore. And hey, I used to hang with hairy bikers in my youth, not to mention some of the characters I’ve worked with via the temp agency, so this is saying something. Of course they turned out to be lovely people but their collective size, especially when compared to the predominance of somewhat nerdy glasses wearing skinny chaps on this scene (which, I have to say, I like), bears mentioning.

As for their music, I was somewhat blown away. I’d heard their EP, Proper Position for Floating (review), and what with living with one of them knew they’d be pretty good, but I had no idea they’d be this good. Comprising of two bass guitars, two lead guitars and drums you’d expect them to make a lot of noise, and they do, but it’s incredibly controlled and subtle, taking the established norms of repeated layers of riffs and quiet-loud build as the base from which to develop some complex ideas and emotions. The lack of a vocalist is more than made up for by having each player lead at different times, but not in a cheesy solo way, more that they actually lead the others into one direction as part of a coherent whole. No disrespect to the other bands but Una Corda really felt professional - they had a control over their songs (and they were really songs, not tunes) that was precise yet not clinical, complicated but accessible, and they put a big grin on my face.

And then that was it. I think Moff Fest was a success - at least everyone seemed to enjoy themselves a lot and it all went very smoothly. Even though this isn’t a genre I’m heavily into I had a good time and it was good to see this sort of DIY event taking place fueled by a real passion. I was going to put post-rock to one side for a bit but by golly there’s another one on Wednesday (tomorrow!) - the Capsule Xmas Party with Pelican, Mistress and, oh, Una Corda. See you there?

A combination of poor light and blokes playing guitars not being that visually exciting means my photos from the night aren’t that stunning but I’m dead pleased with this one, taken during a burst of strobe light:

Other pre-Xmas gigs include seeing my old mate Dek Baker in his classic punk band Drongos for Europe support GBH at the Academy on Thursday and then Misty’s Big Adventure at the Jug on Friday. Three gigs in a row! How will I cope? Oh yeah, this is me…

Went to see King Kong tonight with Matt.

S’alright.

Okay, it’s a very enjoyable film that I reckon is worth going to see but it didn’t quite gel for me. I’m not sure why. It wasn’t the length as I like a good long film, and it certainly wasn’t Kong which was a superb execution. It just didn’t have that oomph that a mad film about a giant monkey needs.

That said, tumbling dinosaurs - superb!

And so I can finally announce my film of the year. Sky High.

No, really. Best thing I saw at the cinema this year.

Honest!