And so-ul this is Christmas...

Funk & Soul Christmas special by Jazzcat on Mixcloud

Nothing says Christmas like a soul and funk mix eh and in what has become something of a Christmas tradition I've trawled the internet to pluck one of the very best out for your delectation and delight. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Feel the Love...

Fed up with Christmas songs yet? Check out this great new track from The Assist (fresh from supporting Slade a few nights back) with the kind of instantly catchy laid back baggy groove that would give the Happy Mondays or the late lamented Flowered Up a run for their money. Love it!

Rich pickings...

Look, it's tough enough for a lot of musicians to keep body and soul together so the last thing you need is some numbnuts nicking the tools of your trade. It seems to be happening far too often these days, obviously this stuff must be fairly easy to move on in exchange for a quick fix of something but come on...musicians are (generally) the good guys, they're the ones that make you feel better without having to shove a needle in your arm or snort the entire Bolivian cocaine crop up your hooter. Nick something else if you have to...or better still get a life.

Anyway, the latest unfortunate victim of instrument theft is Richard March, member of Bentley Rhythm Ace and numerous other bands including Rhino and the Ranters and The Peaky Blinders. Some scuzzball nicked his double bass (good grief...have you seen the size of those things? You can see him plucking the hell out of it on the vid above) the other night and it's no doubt leaning up against the wall of a pawn shop right now. There's a positive to this story though and the good people of Brum (and beyond) have started one of those Crowdfunding jobbies which has already raised £785 of the £850 needed to get Rich back up and running (well, playing) again. Hopefully if there's any money left they can buy a pair of concrete boots for the thief if he or she is ever caught. Grrrrrrrr...

The Baron's Lucky Dip # 2

Okay, singles this time and a neglected glam synth classic from Sheffield's Pink Grease, one of a squillion bands from the incredibly fertile mid noughties who sadly fell by the wayside (see also Rumble Strips...I'm still mystified about that one). They split in 2007 leaving behind a dozen or so singles, an album, some memorably messy gigs (anyone remember the one at the Bar Academy?) and an unreleased follow up from which this little beauty was plucked. One to dance in your pants to.

PS: Pink Grease's lead singer Rory was last spotted in goth glamsters White Witches. Here's the only offering I can find on t'You Tube.

Howard Marks - Live in Exeter this Wednesday!

Howard Marks may have become (in)famous for smuggling brain melting quantities of cannabis back in the 70s and 80s but he's spent much of the last 20 years or so touring his one man shows, writing hugely entertaining books and generally living up to his legendary nickname, Mr Nice. Yep, as drug smugglers go Howard's up there with the very best (and nicest) of 'em, an incredibly articulate and gentle man he's got an informed opinion on most things, all delivered with the kind of lush, laid back Welsh accented voice that could soothe the very hounds of hell.

It's fair to say that life hasn't exactly been a bowl of cherries for him over the years, getting caught for smuggling hundreds of tons of weed will tend to do that to a chap, but he's always accepted his fate...an attitude that's standing him in good stead right now as he's being mercilessly pursued by a certain Mr G. Reaper Esq. Whilst others might, quite naturally, retreat to their beds somewhat incredibly Howard's still touring, no doubt sharing words of wisdom that, given his impending ending, will be even more thought provoking and moving than his previous shows. And tomorrow night he's right here in Exeter at the Phoenix, tickets still available...something that very sadly he might not be for much longer. Frankly unmissable.

The Baron’s Lucky Dip # 1

One of the twisted benefits of moving house after 20 odd years in the same place is the discovery of stuff you’d stashed away sometime in the 90s and kind of forgotten about. In my case that includes a bit of vinyl...okay a lot of vinyl...and CDs (oh so many CDs), all of which seemed to become a little obsolete once the internet became a viable way of listening to music. Moving forced me to confront this mountain of music and carry out some pretty brutal (to me at least...bearing in mind that I struggle to throw anything away) editing. I’m pretty sure I’ve given away some gems but it all went to charidee so hopefully someone did well out of it. The upside of course is that now I can see stuff and get to it (NB: after mulling over having bespoke shelves made or going down the Ikea route I plumped for some rugged industrial Big Dug jobbies which...er...seem to be doing the job).

Now I can get to it through I should listen to it all, right? Hence...drum roll...The Baron’s Lucky Dip, a semi regular feature in which I randomly select a record and share it with you for your delectation and delight. Of course this could do wonders for my street cred (stop sniggering) or, conversely, reveal my strange addition to Hi NRG tunes. Ready...ok...blindfold on...

Space – Money

Hmmm, don’t remember buying this (on 12 inch yellow vinyl no less) but do recall seeing them play a few times, notably at The Flapper (and Firkin as it was then) supporting another little known outfit called Catatonia. Space were a much more interesting proposition than history perhaps gives them credit for, what with lead singer Tommy Scott’s gloriously OTT vaudevillian delivery and the band's obsession with weirdos (see Mister Psycho and Neighbourhood) but c'est la vie. After splitting up in 2005 they reformed in 2011 and actually have a new album out in 2016 so happy endings and all that jazz. Here’s a taster:

  

Semi-Toned / Orchard Harmony @ St Mary’s Church, Whimple, Saturday December 4th 2015

There’s a fair chance that St Mary’s Church has witnessed some jolly fine voices over the generations but perhaps tonight was the first time that 15 of them performed the Macarena complete with the obligatory dance moves. The group in question, Exeter University’s a capella fellas Semi-Toned, are having one hell (or maybe heaven in this case) of a year having come second in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competition before going on to win The Voice Festival UK, touring the US, playing the Edinburgh Festival and releasing a BuzzFeed bigged up video mash-up of If I Were a Rich man from Fiddler on the Roof and Rich Girl by Gwen Stefani. How’s that as an excuse for getting your dissertation in late eh?

Before all that the sell out audience...sorry...congregation witnessed a series of beautiful performances from Orchard Harmony (an all female a cappela group with its creative heart right here in Whimple) the absolute highlight being a candle lit Ava Maria sound-tracked procession through the church. Spines well and truly tingled. In fact, helmed by musical director Julia Green, the arrangements and staging of Orchard Harmony’s two sets were simply pitch perfect from start to finish.

Well and truly putting the fun in funky Semi-Toned practically blew the roof off the place with one of the liveliest and imaginative a capella sets this side of...well anywhere really.  

Boy these dudes can sing (they’re not bad little movers either) and their choice of material was every bit as impressive ranging from a fresh take on Fleetwood Mac’s epic The Chain through to a haunting rendition of Regina Spector’s Samson (which apparently also won the Outstanding Soloist award for the group’s Michael Luya in The Voice Festival’s Semi-Final) and on to the aforementioned Fiddler mash up. A sensationally seasonal Santa Baby, with Julia channelling her inner Eartha up in the pulpit on lead vocals and the combined might of the rest of Orchard Harmony and all of Semi-Toned providing the backing, was the metaphorical sixpence in the pudding of a truly wonderful Whimple evening. 

A tale of two cities (well, one City and one village)

Not for the first time in life I wish I could be in at least two places at once this Saturday. Whimple based peeps should head to the church to see the award winning all male a capella group Semi-Toned, well at least you should if you’ve already got a ticket ‘cos it’s Sold Out (wonder if some of any my ticket tout buddies from Brum will be outside doing their thing?). 

Brum based folk should head off to St Paul’s Church to see the bewitching double bill of Katherine Priddy and Michael King. Last minute tickets here!

PS: My gig going has been pitiful this year for various reasons and I’m still mulling over the dilemma of getting to and from Exeter after 11pm (which is when the trains all seemingly turn into pumpkins) – at the moment kipping on a park bench is the most attractive (for that read ‘cheapest’) option but maybe Winter isn’t the best time to try that one out eh? Anyway, whatever you’re up to enjoy!     

Sunday Xpress's end of the year bash!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww, going to miss this one now I'm in deepest Devon but if you're in or around Brum there's frankly no excuse. Yet another awesome line up with one of the first ever live outings for noise rockers The CPM Connection (with added Miles Perhower) and Hearing Aid favourites The Courtesy Group. And it's all ruddy free. Kick off's at 4pm with open mic slots (which are always hugely entertaining). Pop along and Xpress yourself!

The Mercury’s rising...

Almost time for this year’s Mercury Prize winner to be announced (one of the few awards I pay any attention to these days) and I’ve certainly got my favourites, in no particular order they are (along with the pick of their respective albums):

Eska

Gaz Coombes  

Soak

I rarely back the winner, although sacrificing that goat to ensure Anthony and the Johnsons won a few years back seemed to work, but who knows, fingers crossed for one of the three listed above. Needless to say in the spirit of friendly competition  good luck to all the rest of those on the shortlist, just in case I happen to end up sat next to them on a plane...who am I trying to kid...train...oh, alright then...bus. 

Aimless Comet - Roscoe Balaban

It's always a treat to have a cool new track spurt out of whatever social media nipple you happen to be suckling on and today's (via Facebook...who sadly seemed to have banned nipples...lady ones at least...naughty nipples) comes from Roscoe Balaban who, for many years, has figured in the ever shifting line up of Hearing Aid favourites Miss Halliwell. Young Roscoe's solo offering is as raw as a papercut drenched in vinegar, a '4 real' cry from the gut underpinned by some rather fine and atmospheric guitar work. The boy can sing too, pleasingly retaining a little Black Country twang for good measure. Aimless it certainly ain't. Highly recommended.  

In these shoes...

It's been a difficult old week for reasons that are too personal for this humble little blog, but suffice to say I have my reasons for posting up this vid...and not just because it's a cracking tune. Enjoy.

Jim Causley @ The Beehive, Honiton – Saturday 7th November 2015

“It’s great to ‘bee’ here”, as far as opening lines are concerned playing a venue like The Beehive is pretty much a pun lover’s gift. Somehow though Jim Causley resisted overdoing it (I’d have gone on about the place having a nice buzz and why doesn’t Sting play here etc etc...which is probably why I’m not allowed on a stage anymore) before playing a two hour solo set showcasing one of folk’s finest talents singing an equally fine selection of self penned, adapted (in the case of setting ancestor Charles Causeley’s poems to music) traditional tracks and covers (one particular highlight being a suitably wry rendition of Chris Wood’s version of Frank Mansell’s poem The Cottager’s Reply). Causley’s an utter delight from start to finish. A natural and instantly engaging performer, peppering his two sets with anecdotes and local history (like fellow young folkie Sam Lee Jim has a clear passion for preserving the material he sings and hopefully passing it on to future generations) you get the distinct impression that he could’ve played all night and most of the following day for that matter if he’d been allowed. With songs like the moving Honiton Lace and In The Sidings, plus a more Rambling Syd Rumpo style tune about some bloke mowing a young lady’s ‘field’ (ahem...), I’d have happily listened to him too. Jim-ply the best.

PS: As regular readers might know I’ve recently moved to an East Devon village called Whimple which, until recently, Jim called home and it was nice to be able to whoop and holler like loons whenever he mentioned the place (even if we’ve only been here for 5 minutes). Hopefully Jim’ll be back for the legendary Whimple Wassail (huge fun) on January 17^th.   

PPS: What a great venue The Beehive is! Thoroughly recommended for performers and punters alike. 

Holy Pinto - Best Pals

The world's run by lizards you know, well at least it is if you believe some of the odder theories out there...giant lizards pretending to be people...the Queen...lizard...Dave Cameron...lizard...Cheryl Cole (or whatever's she's called this week)...lizard...well, you can kind of see the last one. Anyway, to kick off the new week here's a new track from Canterbury's finest Holy Pinto featuring a giant lizard (see, there was a link in there somewhere). Whether you're a lizard or not it's a darn fine slice of indie punk that starts off all gentle and lullaby-ish (albeit a pretty twisted lullaby if you listen to the lyrics) before exploding into a bit of a Creep era Radiohead chorus and then onto a bonkers Latin interlude, "there are no rules" indeed. Ace! (fun vid too). Gecko and see 'em live if you get the chance...sorry, it had to be done.

Shit Present / Young Adventurers / Will Rene / Honey Pot @ The Cavern, Exeter – Thursday 5th November 2015

First gig in months and first gig in Exeter too and we picked a cracker (although rather boringly public transport cocked up the end of the night and we had to miss pretty much all of Shit Present’s set to catch the last ruddy train at 11.00...that’s barely tea time...boo hiss etc).

If you’ve not been to The Cavern it’s a great little venue, not dissimilar to the Liverpudlian version (or at least the one they ‘created’ after the council turned the real one into a...er...car park...genius) and the kind of place you instantly feel at home at (or maybe that’s just because I feel at home in a cellar, who knows?). The booze is reasonable (£3.50 for a pint of Thatchers), the sound’s pretty decent and there are plenty of cool nooks and crannies to lurk about in if you want to have a natter (n between sets of course...chatting during a band's set should be punishable by death) or cop off with someone.

Okay, tourist information over with, on with the bands and first up self confessed lo-fi miserablists Honey Pot whose emotionally raw lyrics and downcast vocal delivery could well induce wrist slitting in even the most upbeat personality, but if you subscribe to the old adage that misery loves company there’s something strangely comforting about it all too. I’ve not been a teenager for, ooooh, over a quarter of a century or so but for many of us it’s both the best and worst of times and Honey Pot’s music bravely captures that sense of isolation and confusion (actually it doesn’t get much better as you get older but we’ll gloss over that) which takes real guts. Loved the Vini Reilly-ish guitar sounds too, ace.

Next up, with a song about ear wax amongst other subjects, Will Rene, who could well become a Hearing Aid favourite. Imagine Buddy Holly’s great, great, great grandchild crossed with Jeffrey Lewis, early Elvis (Costello that is) and then add a little dash of Adam Green and Jacques Brel (kudos to Will for his pacey cover of Brel's Le Moribond) into the pot and you might just end up with Will (now there’s one for the geneticists to try). Pick of the set, The Trigger’s Broom Paradox (presumably named after the classic Only Fools and Horses sketch where Trigger get’s an award for using the same broom for 20 odd years before proudly revealing that it’s only had 14 new handles and 17 new heads...) is typical of Will’s material (and, quite possibly personality), cramming in more words and thoughts than normal but somehow creating something rather wonderful. If you’re ever lucky enough to see him live (highly recommended by the way) ask him how many official Bond themes there have been...

I was watching a programme about girls/women in bands the other night and there was some debate about whether you should even mention the fact that a band is all female or not. Of course it really shouldn’t be notable in this day and age but the sad and confusing truth is that, out of the hundreds of bands I’ve seen far over the years, far less than half of them are all female or even have a woman in the line up. I’ve always thought this was an odd thing and no one’s properly explained it to me so I’ll carry on banging on about it until we have more girl/woman/female (delete as applicable) bands like (hence this rambling bit) Young Adventurers.  Riot Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl meets indie pop and with a lead singer who’s clearly put in the hours in a tattoo parlour Young Adventurers made a glorious racket tonight with Pix(ies) of the bunch Song 4 brilliantly blending punky guitars with more melodic vocals. Ladies of the world pick up thy guitars and play! 

That should have warmed us up neatly for ShitPresent but sadly the last train back to the wonderful wibbly world of Whimple is 11.01 and it’s a 9 mile walk or a mortgage-tastic taxi ride back so we had to leave just as they were getting going which was a bit of a, well, shitter to be honest. I guess that’s what you get for choosing to live in the countryside (to be honest public transport in Brum’s not a huge amount better though). Anyone know of any cheap rooms we can rent for the night to avoid this catastrophe in the future?! Answers on a Shit Present 12 inch single to The Baron, Whimple, Under a Barrel of Cider.   

Shit Present...great line up!

Exeter's very own pop punksters Shit Present launch their brand new record this Thursday (November 5th) at The Cavern with support from Young Adventurers, Will Rene and Honey Pot (hmmm, wonder if they've ever played The Beehive...see, I'm all over this Devon gig lark already). Tickets are a ridonkuously cheap £5 or £8 with a shiny 12 inch copy of the new single (vinyl, it's the future).

Jim Causley...live at the Beehive!

Multi Folk Award nominee Jim Causely plays The Beehive in Honiton this Saturday, November 7th, quite possibly performing tracks from his forthcoming new album (Forgotten Kingdom) plus a smattering (at the very least) of traditional tunes to boot. Tickets are just £8 in advance or a tenner on the door...discounts for OABees perhaps? Sorry, couldn't resist that.

Diane Charlemagne RIP

Sad to report that Diane Charlemagne, the voice behind Urban Cookie Collective's The Key The Secret and Goldie's seminal Inner City Life, passed away on Wednesday. As legacies go that's not a bad couple of tracks to leave behind though is it eh? RIP.

Zuri Aura - Luminous Shift

Ooooooooooooh this is double lush with an extra helping of lush on the side, Zuri Aura live and unplugged as part of Exeter's very own edition of Balcony TV dishing up the kind of chilled out reggae summer time vibes that'll warm the cockles (and any other parts for that matter).  Looks like they're playing at somewhere called The Old Firehouse too (there's another gig venue to add to the old list) on Friday night (30th).

Exeter gig venues

I knew Brum's best gig venues like the back of my hand but Exeter's still uncharted waters at the mo. From what I can tell there are 5 main places to catch regular gigs though. These are, in no particular order (or at least in no particular order until they've plied me with peanuts and cider):

Exeter Phoenix

Exeter Cavern (PS: The vid above is Mark Morris at Exeter Cavern, happily he's back on November 26th, highly recommended. Tickets right here).

Exeter Corn Exchange 

The Bike Shed

The Monkey Suit

(There's Westpoint Arena too but the only acts playing there in the near future are alt-j, The Horrors and Elton John, sadly not all on the same bill although how great/terrifying would that be?).

Any other tips from clued up Exeter gig goers gratefully received, the grimier the better (the gig venues that is, not the gig goers, although I ain't fussy).