Chewing the CUD

I catch an early train up to Leicester watching a lovely red sunset on the way before Bruce picks me up and after a stocking up at Aldi we settle down to an evening of jamming, a crash course in rhythm guitar and watching Porridge over dinner. A nice relaxing evening and probably a better bet than braving the Earl of Stamfield on a cold dark night. Saturday we're up relatively early and cycle into Leicester with the sun warming our backs as we go. An unsuccessful trip to get a 2nd hand guitar for me but at least we've sussed out the market both new and used. Rain starts as we cycle home and by the time we're back it's pretty heavy. After lunch we're off to a local shopping centre where we find a Squire Strat for 75 quick so I'm pretty happy. After another practice of difficult bar chords (not the chords, the barring is hard) we go into town to meet Debbie who's arrived on the ICF Express (West Ham playing Leicester in the late kick off) and soon after we're back home Ramsay and Jo arrive bearing food (smashing chilli sin carne and drink). We all admire Bruce's garden especially the terracing he's put in over the summer then after eating we're all set for the main event. We're into town to the Shed for that brilliantly quirky yet fantastically excellent CUD. First up we watch Jack Adaptor who I'm not sure about at first. Three piece (vocals & knob twiddling, bass, guitar) playing a fairly laid back set which sounds pretty electronic dance in a low key way. It grows on me maybe cos they're great musicians and by the end I'm starting to groove to a great "all back to mine" vibe. Ramsay is feeling Kitchens of Distinction. Note: always spot on and with a memory for music that astounds me Ramsay is on the money. After web research for this I discover that the singer sang for The Family Cat and has collaborated recently with someone from KoD. Well done Ramsay - have a cigar! They go down pretty well although hardly tumultuous calls for an encore. A nice way to groove us into the headliners. The Shed is a small place which I call has about 300 people in it tonight. Maybe a bit less. Venturing downstairs to powder my nose (not really, nothing more potent than pale ale and a sneaky roll up consumed tonight) I discover the other gig happening which is full of young uns dressed for Halloween and dancing to a heavy rock type band. Pretty good in there although after being down another time the band and music style is sounding dated and tedious. So back up for that up and coming band that is CUD. They look the part and the lead singer is full of stage presence. Although I was a bit of a fan back in the day, at least I bought an album, which I can't find in my collection but maybe it was a CD or the spine is worn away. Anyway I can't remember all their songs but during their set I realised that I know most of them. And damn good they are too. Still a quirky indie sound but they have a real funky sound and get most of the admittedly ageing crowd grooving around. Ramsay and Jo squirm their way to the front to throw shapes and jump around with the crowd. Debbie and myself groove around with a bit more space further back and Bruce seems to be studiously studying the guitarist's licks and spaced out rocking twiddly bits. They are damn sharp too which I guess given the time they've spent playing these songs...  They have someone on stage towards the end who looks like a cleaner version of Bez (cleaner in so many ways) who I assume is a punter. They go off saying that it's traditional to have an encore which I fully support as too many bands bugger off with them deciding whether to come back on. We're paying yer wages so don't get all principled with us. Yes the last band I saw - listen well. Anyways CUD know about the piper and the payers and come back to rattle through another couple of storming indie funky dance numbers prompting a stage invasion with half a dozen groovy groovers, and half a dozen not so groovy not so grooving but grinning inanely at their mates looking awkward instead. I like a good stage invasion but resist the temptation to storm to the front and jump up just as they're finishing. A fine finale it was too. Excellent. No second encore but that IS the band's prerogative. Not wanting the evening to end we dance around to the excellent indie disco and then it turns into a silent disco and we have to get headphones. There's 3 channels, although one's not working most of the time, and so you can dance around with people listening to completely different tracks which is fun. The 3 DJs are up on stage. After a while it wears a little thin and I sit down to chill lout. With the headphones off you can hear others shouting lyrics badly so I spend a good bit of time with my headphones on tuned to the silent channel. Blissful. The room is filled with dry ice I guess to hide the fact that there's not many here. Eventually we pile out into the chilly air but at least the clouds have cleared up. Bruce is designated driver and once back home we watch YouTube music videos chilling and chewing the cud. Next day we're up not so bright or early but it's a bright day out and after breakfast and more chewing we wander down to the local station to see the steam train come in and go out. Lovely to see the old train despite the amount of pollution caused - just hanging around for 15 minutes is like smoking a pack of Marlboro. Makes me think of my granddad who worked on the railways becoming station master at Shepton Mallet - you can see him in action here, he's station master A: https://youtu.be/F79R3Fg-pPY.  After that excitement we wander back, fond farewells, gifts of hostas for the Yorkshire lot and screwdrivers for the Londoner then Bruce drives me and Debs back into town for our train. Thanks Bruce for all the driving around and a great weekend.

Jack Adaptor

CUD - this phone camera is worse than the last one I had! (and sorry drummer)

Spot Ramsay and Jo choking

Lots of train photos as better quality

The steamer

Leicester North

Please with this one - looks like an old B&W but is in fact colour (see the trees)

We met 2 guys who were at CUD and going on a trip to Loughborough

Black coal emissions and white steam

Finally Idley

Having not seen Idles before despite trying including a couple of years ago at Live at Leeds I'm clutching my printed ticket with Simon's. Pete has left it too late but gets one off a tout for not much more than we paid if you include all the crap like booking fees and delivery even though I printed it at home. After meeting and a swift one at the Bull and Gate we get frisked on the way in (what a waste of time that is) and catch the last couple of songs of support Heavy Lung who sound raw basic and shouty. Much like the early 80s west country punk outfits - so sub Subhumans. Promising though. The bar's crazy so we don't bother and join the mainly young and bearded crowd on the dance floor. Surprising amount of space if you don't mind moving around a bit and braving the mosh pit hinterland. After a very traditional sound check by the roadies Idles take the stage obviously expecting it to be a hot one as one of the guitarists in just in his underpants. Very fetching and pleased to say no wardrobe accidents as far as I could see occurred during his very energetic set. They start brilliantly with a lot of energy across the band. Madly jumping and swinging guitarist (pant man) with the other rhythm guitarist cutting a few moves himself too. Bassist throws himself and axe (as we say in the trade - but can you call a bass an axe?) around with abandon and the drummer is hitting seven bells outta his kit. The singer is the front man though and shouts screams and yes sings with a lot of venom and feeling. It's a great band. A good crowd too with just the right amount of dancing pogoing and moshing and only one time when a mosh circle is made which I never understood apart from overly macho types showing to everyone else how hard they are by jumping into the middle. Shut up and dance you gits. Old codger moan moment - why the hell do people queue for 30 minutes for a 2 pint glass of beer and then throw most of it over the audience. Particularly galling if half goes over my head and back which happened. Mind you the beer always tastes shit here so I would do the same. After a few brilliant songs it all goes a bit stadium anthem like like they want to be a harder U2 or something. I'm beginning to get a bit bored and maybe that's when Simon slunk off as by this time I've lost both him and Pete. Just as I've thinking they've lost me (everyone else seemed to like it still) the singer goes on a pathetic rant about how the vote to leave the EU was the worst decision ever made by Britain. Note - it was a vote - it's democracy in action mate. And worst decision - I guess building our empire, the slave trade, the way we made the Irish starve whilst exporting their wheat etc. etc. is worse than democratically voting to leave an organisation that has legally binding rules for member countries to embrace capitalism and after the last crash allowed Germany to force privatisation onto the southern European states knowing damn well that German, French and British firms would profit. All the crowd loved it of course and I did think about whether to shout F Off or to just vote with my feet but the way out was jammed and so I hung around anyway. Sorry, did I just digress? Anyways after the Brexit moaning song things picked up again and soon I was jigging and jumping about with the others. Stopping the music and insisting everyone hug their neighbours put me into a more reconciliatory mood after my initial resistance not helped by only having had one pint all night (apparently Pete boycotted the moment) and after having to hug a couple of big sweaty beardy types we get back to the music and dancing. The last part of the set goes back to great sounds more punk and indie inspired than post pop stadium rock and we are entertained by guitarists variously coming into the crowd and appearing on the steps coming down from the balcony. Then we're onto the last song "we don't do encores" (why not - we're paying for this) which ends with a fantastic bout of rock and roll feedback with guitars and bass being hit on the floor and swirled around next to the amps so I guess it beats an encore. See video for a taster. All in all a great night. I wait for Pete at the tube and it's back down south. Next to me on the tube is a youngish girl clutching a drum stick and looking very pleased with herself. Lovely memento of a great night and I'm sure on her mantelpiece, or wherever kids show off their booty (as in treasure, not George Clinton's meaning of booty). The only one I ever got was a drum stick from Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias which ain't quite the same as Idles. But check them out anyway...

Heavy Lung getting heavy

Capt Underpants on the left

About the best one I got where you can see their backdrop (except for the Heavy Lung pics)

A bit of feedback below...

Belfast Kila

Duncan and me are off to Belfast for our brother Matt's (RIP) posthumous book launch and academic celebration of his work. Can't believe it's been three years.

Good start as EasyJet cancelled our flight Thursday evening so had to fly out from City to City airports Friday morning. That was only delayed by an hour. Our plan to hike one of the mountains above Belfast is changed to a walk along the lough so we take the train from George Best airport out to Bangor and walk back to Holywood with our packs on our backs. Lovely walk with great views and we wish we were up higher. Our digs are clean and we have a quiet night with a swift couple at the local where we catch the end of a singer guitarist then back home to cook. Saturday we're up for a walk along the river with rowers and then through the botanical gardens and the newly opened tropical ravine. Quite a shock going into 35 degrees at 90% humidity. In the afternoon we go to Queens University to see Veronique and colleagues at the book launch and celebration of Matt's work. Some lovely things said about him both in the group and after over wine one to one. After a couple of drinks in the pub we go back home to cook. Then we taxi to O-Donnell's GAA a sort of social club to see Veronique and bands. First up a young woman playing various instruments who was very good in a folky way. I guess all tonight is Irish / folk. Jack Mac the guitarist who plays an excellent set ending with a folkified rendition of Teenage Dirtbag. Great stuff. Then a foursome who are known only by the two main attractions Barry & Laura Kerr. Pretty good standard Irish standards, as far as I could tell anyway. Included the evocative and inspiring uilleann pipes, which are a sort of pumped bagpipe I think. By this time there are a few up jigging about in a half hearted way. The place is filling up and the silence for the bands is over with an increasingly noisy drinking crowd. Sorry to those who don't like it but that's the way it goes off the north west of Europe. Next and last up are Kila who don't care about the noise as they drown out chatting anyway and look like they wouldn't whisper whilst downing pints of Guinness and Harp. Kila are a noisy Irish folk band think Pogues rather than, well, Barry and Laura. They are a great mix of world music (I mean that in a good dance way), Irish rock with a decent number of tunes hitting a real funky beat (great bassist). They have an anarchic festival band feel which I hope is good vibes for tomorrow (it ain't). By this time everyone is on their feet and grooving about. Even the kids at the back looking cool in front of their mates and wannahaveasmates. A great end to the day and indeed to the end of Féile Na Carraige 18. Sunday I'm up too early to get Glastonbury tickets failing miserably as are nearly everyone I know but at least the agony is only for 23 minutes not hours like it used to be. I have the same bad luck trying to get Post Malone tickets for Lils later in the week. After that excitement we're off into the Belfast drizzle to walk around St Georges market and down along the riverside. The a quick one in the Crown opposite the bus station before hauling off to the airport and home. A good weekend with a bit of walking and unexpected(ly) good music.

Harland & Wolff Cranes - Samson and Goliath

Belfast Lough

Cormorants drying their wings

Tropical Ravine

Barry and Laura and unspecified friends

Kila - not pipes and funky bassist

Kila from another angle - all great musicians

View from the flat - Glastonbury weather but no tickets

The Crown Bar