17 May 2012: Jim Bob - The Greyhound, Beeston, Nottingham, England, UK

As we walked towards the venue, the only things around were two cruising police cars and a stray dog. This didn’t bode well for tonight's entertainment.

There was a notice on the door of The Greyhound which, from afar, looked like the venue was closed and the gig cancelled but, thankfully, said (and I paraphrase) “For Jim Bob, go round the back”.

So we did...



In contrast to the outside, the inside was completely packed out and looked well and truly sold out. There were a lot of 40 somethings wandering around in 30 something sweatshirts, but a smattering of younger souls as well.

The support was from Martin Jackson, who put on a brave acoustic performance but ultimately lost out to the crowds almost complete disinterest. Hopefully, he’ll keep plugging away, as it sounded OK to me.

This was the first date of Jim Bob’s tour to support his second novel, Driving Jarvis Ham. The only time I’d been to a book reading before was to see Nick Cave in Manchester and I can remember he read from a book. Jim did this as well, but he also said he’d play some songs and then read some more, before playing some more songs from the specials board - allowing the audience to pick the songs - and finish with Sheriff Fatman.

The book reading went well and the crowd were very attentive, although Jim did seem a little nervous at first, before settling down to the job. He read a number of passages, most of which raised a few laughs and thankfully didn’t read anything from past about half way.

Then came the songs. Oh, and what songs they were!

Blowed if I can remember, although we did get Falling on a Bruise and Bloodsport for All. I know that we didn’t get Come on Smart Bomb!, Angelstrike, Song for Friends or Georgie's Marvellous Medicine. Nevermind.



Jim Bob finished with Sheriff Fatman, with (possibly) Mr Spoons on bubble machines. In a chefs hat. Mr Spoons, not Jim Bob. Jim Bob was wearing a suit and tie.

To sum up, a great acoustic set which thrilled and spilled in all the right places. Some great songs all performed superbly with a touch of Jim’s usual humour chucked in.

Probably the best night in The Greyhounds live music history.

Get yourself along to one of the remaining dates. Your Jim Bob needs you.

Oh! And go get a copy of Driving Jarvis Ham. It’s a good read...[more]

14 November 2011: Yuck - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, England, UK

I've been waiting a long time for this and it turned out to be extra special.

I Missed most of Fanzine (early starts - again) but the last two numbers sounded good and they should be well worth another listen.

Yuck appeared at about half eight and set up their own kit and back banner. Another 15-20 minutes passed before the lights dimmed and the band reappeared, fully instrumented and ready to roll.



They started with Dinosaur Jr. sound-a-like, Holing Out before crashing into The Wall, at which point I'd expected the crowd to mosh into a frenzy. Strangely, and I've noticed this more and more recently, there was very little crowd movement at all tonight. If it'd been 1990, there'd have been no place to hide from the mosh pit.

Shook down then mellowed us out again, with the lovely lyric "And it's been a week.
And it's been a week too long" which just seems to be one of those lines that strikes that special chord.

Georgia sped it up again and raced us into a beautifully accoustic Suicide Policeman, which seems to be everyones favourite Yuck tune.

Milkshake was a suprise becasue I'd not heard it before, but it pressed all the right buttons in all the right places.

There seemed to be a bit of an issue with the guitars during Get Away, but I didn't notice anything out of place and it sounded like rainbows to me.

I think Soothe Me was a new song, but once again it all fitted together nicely and was a great addition to the bands arsenal.

I think it was Daniel that related the story of how, on the bands first tour, they used to play all these far away places and then travel back to stay at their friends house in Nottingham. So they'd play Glasgow and then drive back to Nottingham to save money. I love these little info-snips that bands give out when they come to a town, it gives a you a piece of their lives which you don't get if you don't go to the gigs.

Operation was next, a Sonic Youth inspired aural assault with lead vocal duties switched.

They closed by announcing that these were the last two songs and then played us out slowly with Stutter and then mashed us up completely with a long, long version of Rubber, which fed back deliciously and left the ears ringing nicely at the end of the night.

Much better than I'd expected and I'd expected a lot. The Jesus and Mary Chain better watch out, Yuck are coming to steal your noise pop feedback crown....[more]

02 April 2011: IQ - The Robin 2, Bilston, England, UK

My first IQ gig and it was a bit of a special one - the first of their 30th anniversary shows. There was no support band at this gig, instead we got a slideshow of photographs from the past 30 years projected on three screens playing as the band arrived onstage to play a two hour-long set with a few surprises...

Despite a recent lineup change (the addition of Neil Durant on keyboards and return of Tim Esau on bass), the band sounded well rehearsed and professional. Peter Nicholls' onstage presence is incredible to watch - direct and confrontational with a more subtle and emotional edge to his voice. All of this is contrasted by his onstage banter with the rest of the band, genuinely relaxed and witty with the ability to put the audience at ease...[more]

12 March 2011: Levellers + The Wonderstuff - Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK

Has it really been twenty years?

The Wonderstuff arrived on stage at a very early 10 to seven-ish and blazed there way through a greatest hits package which included “Welcome to the Cheap Seats”, “Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More” and “Don't Let Me Down, Gently”. Thankfully there was no “Dizzy” (at least from what I heard - I missed the first few minutes), which I was dreading, and the packed crowd really enjoyed the set, and judging by the look on...[more]

04 December 2010: Pendulum - Trent FM Arena, Nottingham, England, UK

What do you get when you combine a visual master class in rock god posturing with solid drum and bass mayhem, a great night out at Nottingham Arena.

Although they lack the stage presence of The Prodigy and the aggression of Combichrist the performance was strangely compelling and there will definitely be a place for electronic rock over the next decade, Pendulum have finally come of age...[more]

19 April 2010: The Primitives - The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham, England, UK

Another day, another reformation. These usually fill me with dread as, with the odd exception (The Jesus And Mary Chain), the happy memories of some wonderful tunes are stealthily stolen away and replaced by a reissue and another hole in your pocket.

But hang on, this one might just be worth it...

Arriving fairly early I was concerned to see that...[more]

11 April 2010: Airbourne + Black Spiders + Taking Dawn - Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK

What better way to spend a Sunday night than going to a gig where you’re only interested in a support band?

The opening act of the evening were Taking Dawn from the good ol’ US of A. For me they were an unknown quantity with an amusing Wikipedia entry which was either penned by the band themselves or some marketing exec trying to build up the hype and shift a few units. First impressions were of being trapped in a time warp from the late 80s or early 90s. Taking Dawn looked and sounded very much in the same vein as...[more]

16 January 2010: Pressgang - Elm Tree, Cambridge, England, UK

I had a few problems getting to (and finding!) the venue, so the band had already started by the time I got there. Shame really, because they were on top form.

The stage was tiny and the venue was one of those narrow pubs that mean that wherever you try to stand you feel in the way - probably great if you just want a pub, but not much good for gigs. Especially bands like Pressgang where people do get that strange urge to dance around a lot...[more]

19 September 2009: The Wildhearts + Black Spiders + No Americana - Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK

First support was provided by No Americana; 4 young fellas, sounded alright, not really my bag though. The second support act was Black Spiders; loved this lot, whiffs of Sacred Reich, Motorhead and AC/DC which is meant as a compliment, rocked hard and heavy without resorting to the just-need-to-be-fast-to-be-heavy angle - highly recommended. They’re supporting The Answer (a.k.a. poor man’s Black Crowes) soon and I might go along just to catch the Black Spiders.

Rock City had filled up by this stage and I’d guess wasn’t far short, if at all, of being a sellout. It’s great to see people coming out for The Wildhearts once again after a brief lull in their apparent popularity (or marketing)...[more]

19 June 2009: Southside Festival 2009 - Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany

Thursday 18th June

Arrived in Zweibrucken to beautiful sunshine and a beautiful smiley face of my friend Iris who was picking me up and driving me to Saarbrucken where I was to spend the rest of the day in her garden eating cherries straight from the tree and annoying her cat with a long/thin stick. Later the same day we had a lovely dinner at a rather picturesque local old brewery come restaurant where I was introduced to...[more]