2022 Gigs Redux

Curse of Lono (with Bo Lucas)

Remember when we couldn't go to the pub? Or go to gigs? Or even leave the house? Christ, what desperate times they were. I try not to think about those dark days; I'm sure if I was to trawl thru my back issues I'd find plenty of Covid and LD references. (But you know what, I'll save that particular trip down memory lane for when I really am in my dotage.)

Throughout that wretched period I remember saying, often, to myself (and probably on here too) that as soon as this nightmare was all over I'd make up for lost time. I knew that pubs and venues alike had struggled to keep their heads above water - with no money in their tills for the  best part of two years it needed everyone to get back out there and, basically, drink like a Viking. Whilst at the same time going to see every band that was playing in their town. As it turned out, I certainly did try to flash the cash in as many pubs as I possibly could and also pulled in a fair few gigs; I was doing my bit for the economy. Still am. And not just in my town. As well as Nottingham I also did my bit for the tourist industry and saw bands as far afield as Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Totnes. That's right, a rock and roll gazetteer.

If you've been dipping in and out of this blog during the last 12 months you would have seen that I flagged many of these up. Curse of Lono in a little upstairs room above a pub in Sheffield; Crowded House in a Manchester amphitheatre; The Unthanks at Nottingham's beautifully appointed Albert Hall; The Slackers at Leeds Brudenell; Stuart Pearce supporting the Nightingales at The Bodega in town; John Power at the same venue a few weeks later; The Hanging Stars at The Running Horse. And, of course, Ian Prowse and Amsterdam all over the country! I talked a lot about how Ian's Does This Train Stop on Merseyside? moves me to tears every time he plays it  as do a couple of newer songs on his last album One Hand on the Starry Plough. He's probably one of our greatest songwriters that relatively few people know. I really hope that changes.

And before you ask, no, I'm not going to rank these gigs. They were all special. And they all moved me in ways I can't begin to describe. If you read my Crowded House piece for instance then you'd know. So I've been blessed this year for gigs. And blessed by the people I went to some of these gigs with; you know who you are...

I'll sign off with Lucas & King. They supported Curse of Lono and were absolutely mesmerising. We were spoiled that night - Bo Lucas is also part of Curse of Lono's touring band.

Lucas & King - Dancing to no Music (2022)

It's a wrap

2022. Where did it go? Blink and you miss it; only seems like five minutes ago since I was planning my American adventure. Now it's December and I can only dream about California. (However, my Amtrak photobook is beginning to take shape.)

Spotify have just wrapped up my year, as they normally do, and informed me that I've clocked up nearly 40,000 minutes of listening in '22 and have heard just shy of 4,000 songs. Below are the Match of the Day highlights...

It probably won't surprise you to learn that of the Top 5 most listened to artists I've been to see three of them live this year; and in the case of Ian Prowse I'll be clocking him for the 4th time this year when he visits The Resue Rooms on Thursday. He's very kindly put us on the gezzy - we've spoken to him after all three previous shows this year (Hull, Manchester & Totnes) and he is such a nice guy. Ian mans his own merch stand and the Medds always have a drink with him and invariably make a purchase!

I really hope I can apply the handbrake to 2023 before it runs away with me but I very much doubt I'll be able to. I've got so much I want to cram in next year it's untrue. But I'm jumping the gun, I know; slowly slowly catchy monkey. 

Area Code 303

Flying Mojito Bros; the name may not be familiar to some of you, but if you can imagine Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sharing a stage with The Orb you're kind of half way there. Among a ton of other stuff they've put their names to, the Mojitos have reimagined some nailed on classics - Eight Miles Higher, anyone? - remixed friends of this blog - Curse of Lono - and still find time to plough their own furrow too. Area code 303 is Denver, Colorado. Did I tell you I was in Colorado earlier this year...?

 Flying Mojito Bros - Area Code 303 (2017)

Arizona S3

Off the top of my head I can't think of a single thing that links Sheffield and Arizona, but the Fargo Railroad Co. seem to bridge the gulf seamlessly. Quite what a bunch of lads from South Yorkshire know about the drought stricken Dustbowl, or hauling heavy loads on American highways coast to coast, is anyone's guess; but their songs are, to these ears anyway, probably more Americana than anything coming out of the prairies right now.

I was lucky enough to see them a couple of weeks back on their home turf opening for Curse of Lono; not bad for a Dirty Little Bar Room Band.

The Fargo Railroad Co. - Arizona Dust (Live in session 2015)

Coast to Coast 

Think I'm Alright Now

Felix Bechtolsheimer is Curse of Lono. He writes and sings the kind of songs I like. I only know this because the last remaining music magazine I subscribe to dropped on the doormat over the weekend and, within its covers, was a full page ad for an album called People in Cars by the aforementioned Curse of Lono. I had absolutely no idea what he/they/it sounded like; but I knew from the album cover alone that I would love it (who said you can't judge a book by its cover?). And so it came to pass; after listening to it twice on the bounce initially and a further couple of times it is now, as I write this late on Tuesday night, lodged squarely in my brain. (Don't you just love it when that happens?) This is the new single.

Curse of Lono - Think I'm Alright Now (2021)