Thursday sees Debbie and myself cycling up to the Windmill for a Hallowe'en party. I'm wondering if by not dressing we'll seem like party poopers but we are not alone. Quite a few are obviously dressed for the evening spookiness and others we're not sure if they are or just the usual zany Windmill look. A very young crowd in tonight. First up are Charlemagne (billed as spooky noise) who set the vibe off well with a quirky set ranging from soulfulness through heavy rock riffing to weird indie noise treading on the toes of Alternative TV, or at least threatening to. A solid start to what will be a fair few bands this weekend. After the usual sojourn to the garden we're back in for Pyongyang (billed as spooky electro) who continue the vibe delivering an excellent mix of proper funk and indie soulfulness dipping into some seriously excellent thrash and climaxing with a great banging dance track Straight Outta Madchester (not it's name, my description). Last up is the headliner we've come to see having loved seeing her before and recently chatted to with her family. Yes its Vanity Fairy who obviously seamlessly between small pub clubs to big venue stages and back again. Vanity Fairy (billed at spooky disco) serves her usual great set of feel good disco encouraging the crowd to get into the vibe and gives us a fair bit of banter which more bands really should do more of after all you're here to entertain us. The backing tracks are a great mix of unashamedly danceable disco with brilliant vocals slipping into upbeat soul at times. Vanity loves to come out into the crowd at one point singing from behind a grubby (what isn't in this place, apart from the beer pipes which seem clean enough) glass door (which incidentally leads to nowhere) and then does her usual stint of singing behind the bar. This is slightly awkward as at the time I've asked for a Newkie Brown and the barman is intently pouring it by the bar opening so our singer has to wait until he notices her and stands aside looking slightly puzzled as to why she would want to come behind the bar. Meanwhile I'm looking embarrassed sort of pumping my arms up in the air in a poor attempt to show my enthusiasm. Ever the pro Vanity simply hover there as if part of the show before sidling down the bar down to the mixing desk. It's a great set which starts with surprisingly few in the audience but by the end it's a seething mass of disco divas and Travolta wannabes. All in a Windmill style of course. Even the woman with the flashing red spider on her back is grooving along. Vanity looks amazing as always not sure it's too scary an outfit but her usual retro diva style (warning, I know very little about fashion so take that with a pinch of the proverbial). Debbie and I have a big weekend coming up so we don't wait around to chat to our scary Fairy friend (well, acquaintance) so hop on our trusty steeds for home.
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| I just love this 5 string bass pic |
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| Charlemagne |
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| Pyongyang |
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| Vanity Fair |
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| Vanity Fairy think her headlights are on the blink |
Friday first day of November and Bruce arrives in the afternoon. After a delicious and nourishing Debbie delivered lentil shepherds pie we start the trek to Hackney Central for our gig. We arrive to see the last half of Body Horror who are a great indie south London post punk band with dance grooves. A bit disappointing as Simon had identified this gig on the strength of watching Body Horror in a proper venue as we saw them a few weeks ago in Dean Street where dancing was not that easy. Simon arrives even later than us. So we still need to see then do a full set in a good venue. Ah well, it's a good reason to show Bruce the Moth Club and to meet up with Pete and Wendy closer to their manor compared to the Windmill. Wendy's nephew Gary (who used to be my drummer, well, I say that in the loosest of senses) is here so good to catch up with him and to meet his girlfriend Christina. I'm always slightly wary of Goth bands as they range from good to awful with looks to match. My fears are unfounded as
Black Doldrums are indeed firmly in the Goth camp musically but on the right side of the heavily drawn mascara line in that they don't wear it although possibly the drummer has a hint (although note previous disclaimer re. fashion). Anyway's we are here for the music and our trio play a great set that reminds me very much, not being a Goth aficionado, of The Sisters of Mercy with a Banshees drum and bass vibe and a Bauhaus guitar and general sound. The singer guitarist's voice is Goth like but sometimes he ups the pitch. It veers between and around grunge and Goth in a great way and after the long grunge guitar sodden encore we all agree that they are a fine band. They have a good crowd in tonight (I think sold out) which ranges from ageing types (like us) through to youngsters. We're wondering why they have such an older following as they seem pretty young. The tall guitarist vocalist is a bit Thurston Moore like in visual style, and sometimes the guitar, whilst the bassist has a 'tache and mullet style which I assume is the new Goth (see previous disclaimer)? The woman drummer holds the whole set together with a proper post punk grunge beat but tight enough to allow the guitarist some meanderings without us losing the soul of the song. So well worthwhile the travelling talking of which we leave soon after the end for our trek south of the Thames. We find out that the Doldrums are playing the Whitby Goth Festival this weekend which Ramsay and Jo are attending but of course Ramsay knows of them already. Coincidentally The Cure are playing a low key pre tour show at the fairly close Troxy which I was thinking would have been good to go to but tickets were only 2 per applicant in a lottery style... and £56. You made the right choice Jim.
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| Body Horror |
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| Black Doldrums |
Saturday we have an easy breakfast before Bruce and I take a stroll on the Common then lunch. By the time we cycle to Champion Hill the spitting of rain has stopped and it's pretty warm out considering the date. We're here to see the "Isthmian League nearish the top of the table clash" against Wingate and Finchley. We find a spot right on the halfway line is the Toilets Opposite terracing stand. Having had a pretty poor last few games I'm concerned by how fluid Wingate and more so after they score before half time. We come out fighting for the second half with our own more fluid play getting the crowd going and we soon get the equaliser scored by our big lad Jerome Binnom-Williams. After that the game is really end to end and very entertaining albeit nerve wracking when they break. The manager brings on our hero Danny Mills who delivers the business deep into stoppage time to send the Dulwich crowd delirious. A fantastic end to a great game. We cycle back for curry (thanks Debbie) the the two of us are soon out again dropping by Simon's to deliver files and pick him up cycling down to the Windmill.
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| One header we didn't win. |
Of course Bruce has to visit the Windmill to check out the latest London fashions. It's fairly tame tonight although there does seem to be a profusion of cowboy hats (turns out related to a band) and some who look like they were on Thursday and couldn't be bothered to remove make up or change (see previous disclaimer). Tonight is billed as Garagebashing turns 20 with the tag "There's been a hell of a lot of hangovers in that time and the lust for life continues" so should be fun. Now bear in mind that I'm not 100% sure as to whether I have all band names correct but to paraphrase Eric M I am reviewing all the right bands, not necessarily in the right order.
First up (for us at least) are the oddly named European Taxis (I'm pretty sure of that) who hail from Liverpool and start us off with an excellent grungy set at times going pretty psyche reminiscent of Hawkwind (who isn't to me!) The tight rhythm section with the great guitar work make the sound great. This is augmented by a keyboard player who is often supporting the tune then at times comes out front and central with a swirling full on vibe. Bruce and Simon seem to think Beatles influences but I I that's just cos they know they're from Liverpool. The keyboard player looks very laid back in fact I wondered if he was playing an instrument at all as he just looks around him and his arms are straight by his side. When I sidle round for a better look I see that he's playing a very low down keyboard. I think he's amused by this when I tell him outside afterwards but he has such as wry smile I'm not certain. Anyway, a great start to the night. I think that Yerblooze are next on. They start with a full on country song and then descend into a cacophony of noise which would give the Good Missionaries a run for their money which is a bit too much for Bruce but I'm seeing the the psyche-like Hawkwind side of the noise. I'm wondering if they are improvising at least at times as especially the bassist seems to wait a while after the start of each song before tentatively joining in and then getting into whatever groove the guitarists are in which can't be that easy to assess. The fiddle player is much the same though not quite as critical to the way that the songs go. The lead guitarist does say that he's not used to fronting a band and therefore not used to chatting to the audience. As he's re-tuning the bassist is left to chat to the audience which he does hesitantly not sure what to say. Parallels the set... chaotic but enjoyable. For me at least and quite a few others in the crowd. After a while Body Farm take the stage who are a dirty country and western band exactly as you'd expect to see at the Windmill. They're the reason crumpled straw cowboy hats are in vogue tonight. They go down well with the audience which is unsurprising as they have whiff of those south London, if not UK, darlings FWFB. Next is one of the Windmill typical oddities being Pink Eye Club who is a singer with backing tracks. He's a lot like Mike Skinner's The Streets in a disco both musically in a indie club rap style and in his delivery. And lyrical content which I think is the only bit Bruce likes. Simon and I are bopping around as are a good number of the crowd. It's a fun interlude to the night's festivities and just the sort of thing why we love the Windmill. Last up at the witching hour are Children of the Pope who I've seen a couple of times the first 5 years ago and not too impressed then 18 months ago and very impressed. Tonight they are very impressive again delivering a great set of... well I'll lazily cut and paste what I last wrote... they deliver a barnstorming set that is like a beat group clashed with old school garage (see 1960s not 70s or millennial) with a touch of country and a great West Coast 60s vocal harmonies. Halfway through they have a woman singer come on who they say used to be in the band and I assume 5 years ago when I wrote that the woman singer isn't overly energetic, to say the least, and it seems some times she can't be bothered to sing. Maybe so unbothered that she left the band. Anyways she seems into the vibe tonight as are the rest of the band. The bassist is the front man from the last band. They generate a decent sized mosh pit that isn't too dangerous so Simon and I bop about on the edge in that no mans land between full on moshing and the line of audience that isn't into dancing. An awkward spot. Or would be if you cared. Which when you're listening to a band like this you can't be. Once they're off we take our leave as it's late and the end of my 3rd consecutive night out. Having unlocked D locks we hug Simon goodbye and Bruce and I cycle home.
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| Children of the Pope |
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| More kids |
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| Ole Pink Eyes |
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| Body Farm ? |
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| Yerblooze ? |
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| European Taxis |
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| Proof of the keyboard |
Sunday sees a quiet morning before I walk Bruce to the tube then back home I sludge in front of the telly watching lower league FA Cup ties which has a 1970s feel to it and write this blog. A great weekend.
