and so another month, another gig. this is getting to be a bit of a regular thing, look you see. perhaps this is how it should always have been, but it hasn't. yet, and i appreciate this is annoying as an intro, for now it is, then. oh.
moving on, or indeed marchin' already, it was just recently that i had the distinct pleasure of being able to go and see Simon and Oscar out of Ocean Colour Scene do an acoustic gig. a very much added plus was that this gig happened within (reasonable) walking distance of my lodgings in time of exile. no more than two (2) cigarettes walk away, for a measurement (sorry).
oh, yes, this post shall be all poor, blurry pictures and badly recorded "bootleg" standard video clips. just so you know, and don't get expectations, but some of you may like this sort of thing.
how is that i came to be at this gig? well, i bought a ticket and went. for how i found out about it, that's a big thanks, Dad. a little while ago he suggested (insisted) i go see Andy Fairweather Low. that was a really good gig (here you go), as it happens, and they had a poster up for Simon and Oscar. fortune of fate would be that i was to be in the area when it all was going.
in what has become the way of all things for me (moi) i did indeed, as point of fact, attend alone. well, no, there were loads at the gig (nearly sold out, bar a handful of seats), but i had no companion. an invitation was extended to someone who rather likes OCS, or The Scene, as much as i, but they declined. probably would have been an instance for another time, another place. sure, i get the odd funny, somewhat quizzical look at being at a gig on my own, but then this is now the 3rd such instance of this. i am there to dig the vibes, to get my groove on.
who, exactly, are Simon and Oscar out of Ocean Colour Scene? or who are Ocean Colour Scene? a fondly loved, often spread story - and frequently rock mythology is more entertaining than the reality - is that the band were a "side project" for Steve Craddock, giving him something to do when not doing is full time job as a guitarist of Paul Weller (that one) on tour. the reverse is more or less true. Craddock, as he gets called off of all, is a remarkable guitarist in high demand. but, The Scene existed long before the Weller gig(s), if anything doing (admirable) work for Weller let him make sure OCS survived financially until they hit the big time. and hit it they most certainly did.
right now, then, he they affectionately call Craddock is off on his "other" job with Weller. think it might involve that Suggs out of Madness lad too. so, Simon and Oscar are off on an acoustic tour. depending on how you view the "classic" or current lineup of OCS, this is either 50% or 75% of the band. by no means was this a one off; for many years these two have done these tours when Craddock is "off on one", or however rock stars may speak of such. and, looking at the web a bit, the setlist more or less remains as a constant over the years.
just what is the sound of Ocean Colour Scene, or Simon and Oscar of that provenance? i think they were one of the few bands that didn't get all @rsey or precious about 'Britpop' as a label, in fact embraced it. mostly i would say full tilt groove, swing, free flowing catchy vibes, man. from what i recall, of happier times when music was decent and the journalism good too, NME at one stage described them as "basically four men shouting over a bunch of Small Faces and Kinks records".
now, then. time for some sentimental hygiene, if you will excuse me. should you not, then skip forward a few paragraphs.
the advantage of a pretty much solid in stone fixed setlist is that you know what you shall get. before going to see Simon and Oscar doing a gig, for instance, one is aware that certain classics off of The Scene will not feature. this includes Hundred Mile High City, alas. also Riverboat Song, which is a quite unexpected exclusion, for the song sounds like it would be a natural acoustic number. yet they do play one of my all time favourite ones, and not just favourite off of them, favourite ever.
sorry for the poor quality of it (if i have uploaded the right one) but right there (above) is a segment from the great, great, great Traveller's Tune. hearing the guys who did it do it, live, with an audience as blown away by it as i, well, not a sense of vindication, maybe more validation or affirmation. this is just one of the best songs, like, ever, dudes. rather stop reading this and go hear a decent recording of it.
quantifying my love for the tune shall just have me flummoxed and saying the wrong things. every now and then something just exists, and should be admired. if i had to full tilt justify it, the feeling the song gives, man. i don't know how or why but every line says something to be on some level i cannot understand. just dig the groove. and yes, i should have danced with some people in my life the way the people in the video dance.
other highlights? from the set, not a single, solitary bad tune. no filler whatsoever. i got to get a whole new appreciation for several Scene songs that i tend to neglect, what with me if left unattended being very happy to just play Traveller's Tune on repeat. a wonderful reminder, the gig was, then, of how excellent tunes like So Low, The Clock Struck Fifteen Hours Ago and It's My Shadow are. but, every tune.
i have no (zero) musical ability myself, so it never feels like my place to speak of others. but yes, by jove, these two are damned good. shout out to Oscar, for i only have ever known him as the drummer off of the band - a drummer a certain Noel must have wished he could have grabbed for his group, but there you go. his keyboard and bass were boss. Simon, it goes without saying, is a legend.
right, anything else i could write here will be all Ocean Colour Scene are brilliant, these two out on their own are ace, if you get the chance see them, that sort of thing. so let me rather (mostly) bow out with a few more (poor quality) video clips.
mindful of the way of the world right now, easily the most poignant part of the evening was Profit In Peace. i don't need to say what cruel events were on the minds of all, but man, the emotion you could hear in the audience as we all sang along was remarkable. all i can do, like anyone else, is hope that emotion goes because it all ends, soon.
biggest Ocean Colour Scene tune is, of course, The Day We Caught The Train. as with the Manics ending gigs with A Design For Life, so it was that Simon and Oscar held off on doing this one to the end.
with some luck i have the above and below clips the right way around. indeed we were all stood up, swaying and singing along with this one. but yeah, i tried to keep my (terrible) voice down a bit, so as to make sure this poor quality bootleg video was all the more better.
off and on to the next gig, then. which shall be my third of the year, but was intended or planned to be the first. things happen.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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