so yes indeed, another gig to write of. and what a fair dinkum double bill it was, look you see. the title more or less ("fewer") tells the tale, but indeed it was so that i went and saw Ocean Colour Scene, who(m) had very kindly brought top band Kula Shaker along for the ride as the ostensible support act.
certainly, as has (alas) become the case, there's a few really, really bad images coming up. and, of course, some even (more) worse video. blimey the Samsung A14 is truly hideous. how i wish that LG would make phones again, theirs were excellent. right, let me get back on track, so to speak.
this was, neither remarkably nor oddly, the first time i had any practical chance to go see the full tilt variation of Ocean Colour Scene. i had twice (here and here) been to see Simon and Oscar do their acoustic set. both of those (splendid) gigs gave me chance to hear almost all of my top tunes from the band, with particular emphasis on Travellers Tune. when the band entire has been on tour the venues and dates have been "tricky". would have loved to see them at Newcastle City Hall, for instance, as it's a boss venue, but the date for their most recent gig there was 21 December, which i felt rather too close to Christmas and, if we are honest, too close to that celebrated day in Newcastle, "black eye friday".
anyway, the chance to (very much) see them on an agreeable date, within walking distance of my lodgings in this era of exile and with only a limited chance of getting punched in the face came along. so i did, and as indicated for good measure got to see Kula Shaker too.
out there somewhere (possibly close to you) is the world's biggest Kula Shaker fan. this, alas, is not me. but, despite what you might think based on news and the dynamics of the way we are now influenced to view things, we are not in a world of extremes. whereas no, i wasn't the hugest fan, i did, like many others (and it is nice and peculiar to be not in a minority), consider them quite class.
my working knowledge of them was (is) somewhat limited. had i been on Pop Master and had to name three of their songs in 10 (ten) seconds i might have just managed it, remembering Tattva, Hush, Govinda and of course Hey Dude. of those tunes, their recording of Hush remains the second best version of it, with the top one being PM Dawn using it for Downtown Venus, and the original incarnation by Deep Purple, or if you will the Perps, being a respectable third. yes, to celebrate this, some truly dire video footage from my terrible phone.
i was really, really impressed with the Kula Shaker set. rather solid, excellent pacing to the tunes they took and the whole band full tilt threw themselves into the performance. as in no, this was no "here to make up the numbers" support set or anything like that; they gave me and probably many others a timely reminder that they are a most smart rock band. to my disappointment no, there wasn't, at least as far as i could hear, a dedicated fan screaming "Crispian" throughout the set, and also no so far as i am aware it was not so that Haley popped by to watch. quite a shame, as she would have liked it.
with respect to the set i can totes remember them doing three (3) of the ones i mentioned. possibly they did indeed do all 4 (four) i knew, but perhaps missed Govinda whilst either listening out for anyone who(m) might be shouting "Crispian" or was at the bar.
costs of gig and refreshments? well, the "ostensible" cost of the ticket for the gig was £40, plus "fees" and some sort of insurance. for the former it is well documented elsewhere that these "fees" they add on have some vague justification. as to the latter and the "insurance" is if you have to cancel going to the gig for any reason whatsoever, just so long as it is not on their extensive list of reasons which do not count as being valid. quite a waste, but i click it anyway. if we say £50, pretty good value, even if the Globe at Stockton (on Tees) is notorious for having most peculiar attendees.
yes that is me enjoying a pint. by chance Eddie Baby was in a celebrated city in Ireland (to be sure) and by some stroke of luck he found a pub there, so we exchanged pint for pint pics. cost of a pint of camdens pale ale inside the Globe was £6, or £11 for a two pint pot, which appeared to get drunk as fast as a singular pint did. considering a pint of the same at the 100 Club recently was £6.60, well, i did really think the north-south divide would be more than 60p. some friends have told me off for actually using the bar at the Globe, pointing out the pubs over the road charge south of one half of that cost for the same thing. maybe they have a point, but it just seemed easier to get a couple in whilst there.
believe it or not that is really an image what i took of Ocean Colour Scene. not the best quality is it, but you just hold on for the video below.
they, the band (Ocean Colour Scene) did a solid, all right, decent enough set. i do not mean that to sound like a negative. this was never, ever going to be the best gig what i had ever seen, and there was never any realistic danger of it being the worst. mostly the set was same difference as the acoustic shows i had been to. yet it was a sheer delight to hear Travellers Tune full tilt, with it remaining one of the greatest and most beautiful songs what i have ever heard. in respect of the rock songs they don't do acoustic, i have never been bothered by Riverboat Song (too repetitive for me), but my word how excellent it was to hear them let rip with Hundred Mile High City.
unfortunately no, the excellence of it isn't quite captured in the above clip, but still, if you are desperate for a vague kind of sense of what it is like, there it is.
often i have heard people say that the biggest problem with the Stockton Globe (if you leave aside beer prices) is the idea that they "over sell" tickets, which is to say dangerously sell more than the capacity should really have. this i doubt. some of the problem is the security is absolutely sh!t, as observed at Adam Ant a while back. i have no doubt people what bought seated tickets just sneaked in to the standing area without getting stopped. also, truly strange behaviour at gigs at the Globe. there's that class bit of tape on the box set 30 Years Of Maximum R&B off of The Who where Pete Townshend shouts at the crowd to "f*****g shut up", telling them it's "supposed to be a f*****g rock and roll concert not a f*****g tea party". it was baffling to see so many people aimlessly wandering backwards and forwards, up and down at the gig, or just gathering and having a conversation through most of the set. being fair they paid for the ticket, good luck, but it's a bit much when it impacts on anyone who bought a ticket for a gig to see the actual gig.
pretty good night out overall, then. not sure i would go and see either band at the Globe again, but would love to see them at, say, Newcastle City Hall, where the crowds do tend to be there mostly to actually watch (and of course listen to) the band. it just shows how opulent and wealthy Stockton must be if people can afford north of £40 each to just have a bit of a stroll and chat to mates.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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