I feel stiff and achy and I am still suffering the physical side effects of last night’s gig. That’s never happened before. It feels like I’ve been run over by a steam roller.
During the night, I had a dream. I rarely have/remember dreams, but this time my nocturnal adventures were inspired by VDGG. Basically, I followed David Jackson riding a bicycle and found myself invited to tea by Peter Hammill with some other fans. In my dream, I told him how much I enjoyed his music and the concert. I don’t remember anything else. I think custard creams were served. 🙂
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Track-list (though songs might be missing and in the wrong order because I am still giddy like a schoolgirl whose first crush has just invited her to the prom).
Undercover Man
Scorched Earth
Refugees
Every Bloody Emperor
Lemmings
Nutter Alert
Darkness (11/11)
(In The) Black Room
Masks
Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End
The Sleepwalkers
Man-erg
Encore:
Killer
Wondering
I arrived fashionably late to the concert. Don’t get me wrong, I started on my journey two hours before the gig started and it should have took me around an hour door to door, but the Jubilee line decided to stop working and I had to back-track fast, using my knowledge of the rat-run tunnels at Bank station to get to the Waterloo & City. Suffice to say, I broke some kind of landspeed record by getting from Stratford to Waterloo in around 24 minutes.
Anyway, the Missus met me inside the venue and the bells were sounding ushering people into the concert hall. I was already excited, but now I had the added rush of adrenaline from hurtling across town. I could have murdered a drink, but with no time before the start, I settled for a boiled sweet of indeterminable flavour provided by The Missus. Like a dromedary, I used my own moisture content to overcome the “thirst”.
The band came on stage at about 7.45pm to a standing ovation. Hey, even I stood up and they took their places and launched into “The Undercover Man”. Wow…I’d never seen VDGG perform live before and was instantly stuck by the power. The second song up was “Scorched Earth” and by now the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. It was an intense experience, it was like a force of nature smacking you in the chest. At one point, I thought I was going to die…that’s how fucking powerful the music was.
The band shifted gear with “Refugees” before pulling out a track from the new album in the shape of “Every Bloody Emperor” which stood up quite well amongst the old stuff. Hey, I even got to sing a long. Then there was a surprise, pH introduced the next song and by the introduction, I knew what it was…it was “In the Black Room”. Sweet. I love that song from his solo album and it was amazing to hear the band tear it up and inject it with that patented VDGG energy.
Now, my memory is getting hazy because I was very carried away with the music. I was just in the middle of it completely, so I might forget songs or pull them up in the wrong order. I remember a particularly intense version of Lemmings, which just tore my head off and vomited in the stump. The band played another track from “Present” and this time it was “Nutter Alert” getting an airing. Again, it worked better than the album version and pH injected more fire into it. I was completely knocked back by the two tracks from Pawn Hearts, which were absolutely vicious in their delivery.
The selection of songs were great and I was surprised just how many of them I was familiar with – I didn’t think I was THAT much of a VDGG fan. Wrong. I am a really big fan…an even bigger fan now. OK – the band were a little sloppy in places missing cues and that, but who cares. The energy was there. Hammill is just THE VOICE. That guy could shred phonebooks with that set of lungs and David Jackson is something else. Never seen him play before and it was a real treat. A flute, two saxes at once? No problem. Though after one particularly aggressive solo he stood too near to a microphone and I heard him gasping for breath. I thought the poor old sod was going to snuff it. Then there is Guy Evans…what a powerhouse. If he’d have played the drums with the Schizoid Band, he’d have blown them away. His bass drum alone was causing palpitations in my chest! And then there was steady, reliable Hugh Banton, delivering the goods and then pulling out a blistering solo. My god, it was one of the most amazing gig experiences I’ve had.
To say that I am tired and emotional would be an understatement. I knew I would enjoy the concert, but I didn’t realise that VDGG would grab me by the scruff of the neck, rattle me around, hold me over a precipice and leave me dangling there screaming for my life. Amazing. Hammill is great solo, but he is amazing with those three guys behind him. What a team.
Amazing…my heart is still thumping in my chest with excitement.
I forgot to add that we had a General Election yesterday. Of course, me and The Missus exercised our constitutional right and voted. The right man still won, but this time around, with a reduced majority, we have a slightly more democratic House of Parliament. What gets me is when the other political leaders say: “We wouldn’t have gone to war” it makes me laugh, because the decision isn’t taken by the Prime Minister. The intelligence services have a lot to do with it and the thought of little Charlie Kennedy looking all blank-eyed, like a ginger puppy in human form, as the case for war in Iraq is presented to him makes me snigger. Blair’s back…and this time it’s personal!
What I love about the UK is we don’t take any of this political stuff seriously. The biggest tabloid daily newspaper is The Sun and to illustrate the political fight, they published the following picture and a slideshow illustrating the political battle, with each lady representing one the political parties (the one in blue panties is Conservative, the one in the red panties is Labour). Who’s the best? There’s only one way to find out! FIGHT!
Nervous. Exciting things are afoot. VDGG reunion concert tonight among other things. Feel all shakey inside.
In the post: VDGG – Present
A great co-incidence that this arrives today. I have a press copy from months ago, but this is my official bona-fide copy. Spinning it again in order to get juiced up for the gig tonight. 🙂
The Apprentice ended its run last night and it was a very entertaining end to an equally entertaining series. The right man won it in the shape of unassuming Tim, but bigmouth Saira came up quids in too, she’s been offered a job with old craggy-faced Sugar too. I must admit, I kinda warmed to Saira. Her loud-mouted incompetence was hilarious and she is the female David Brent – the right two people ended up in the final. Congrats to all who took part and I look forward to the next series. My favourite, Paul, didn’t win, but appeared on the follow-up show “You’re Hired” dressed all in black. I remarked to The Missus that he should audition as a new Dr Who villain!
In the post, the new digital camera. I am off snapping random objects around the house. Look out Alex and Speckle – I’m gonna shove this thing in your face and snap away like a cheap papparazi. 🙂
I still can’t get a grip on this schizophrenic weather. One minute it is hot and my scalp gets sunburnt, the next it is freezing cold and I am wrapped up in my wooly jumper. I hope that this summer is better than the wash-out that was 2004. Fingers crossed, eh?
Ouch! My bald pate is sunburnt. It’s sore, it’s sore.
Today, got to get all my work done. Got to get it all done before deadline. Went mad and ordered a new digital camera on condition that I can flog my old one for £150 on eBay. I am constantly amazed how electronic equipment is constantly getting better. My old camera was the best of its class in 2002, but now three years later, I’ve bought a better one for a fraction of the price. Amazing.
Getting excited about the VDGG concert at the end of the week, though I won’t be listening to any VDGG music until the day of the gig, just to get me whipped up to fever pitch. 2005 is a great year for gigs so far.
More Sows’ Ears have been produced and are ready to be sent off to the US of A. Got paid for digital playbacks today. My goodness, the digital payment is pure profit and I am astounded that people are willing to buy music from a no good bum who’s never played a gig in his life. If only I was a proper musician, I might make some more money. 🙂
Was taken out in the car to visit a retail park, looking for a DTT Freeview box to replace our knackered Sky+ setup. Out of three shops, none of them had the one I wanted in stock – nor did they have any boxes with hard drives to store TV shows. Should have ordered one online, but I wanted to have a mooch in a shop. Sometimes some old fashioned shlepping around the shops is good for the soul, no?
On the way back, we stopped at the pub and had a couple of pints and a bite to eat. I was concerned that the man with the mobile phone would be there, ready to harrass us, but he wasn’t. After an afternoon in the sun, I got a big fat red face for my sins and a couple of quid lighter. On the way out of the pub who should be standing by the car park resplendant with a pint in one hand and his mobile phone in the other (clamped to his ear and engaged in conversation) than our old friend Mr Mobile Phone Big Mouth Man. People never change, eh?