Sinister: November's Gales Have Blown The Colour From The Sky

[David Moore]

Hi Fragrant Ones,

First things first. Listen to John Peel tonight 22:00 - 00:00 BBC Radio 1 as
Sodastream are in session.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/djs/peel.shtml

On Thursday you can also hear the first session from the Incredible String
Band since 1973, but that may be of lesser appeal :)


Whilst we're chucking URL's around: Kerstin, you can find out more about
listcrushes at

http://www.missprint.org/sinister/crush.html


A couple of people were asking for an account of Friday's gig & it seems
that the Glasgow posse has been struck dumb, probably by the power of The
Gentle Waves concert on Sunday. So for Don Pedro & Steve "Mad Axeman" Hewitt
(Carsmile, why was no-one ever charged with the Gloucestershire Trumpeter
Murders in the early 90's?) here goes:


Glasgow For It
I had a shit week at work & felt under the weather, so on Thursday pushed
ahead with my jobs to take Friday off. In the morning I awoke with a daft
idea in my head: following Mick & Peter's advice on Sinister I should go &
see Sodastream ... in Glasgow!

All the family thought I was mental (400 mile drive) but I went anyway as
although I was going to see them on the Saturday I knew it would be too
crowded in that small room in the Betsey Trotwood in London, & besides Chris
Leonard was supporting & I'd never been to Glasgow.

It took about 6 and a half hours driving but it was a brilliant autumn day,
sun shining bright, great music on the stereo, no-one hassling me on the
phone & the scenery en route was superb. Snow on the Pennines, Mistopher
Chris in my ears.

Arrived in the city, rows of grey Victorian houses grim in the dark tree
lined streets. A black Granada parked on Novar Drive - must be Hyndland
church hall! Strolled in, people surprised to see me there.

Met Karl & Pete Sodastream, Princess Honey, Linda, Mick Cooke, the shy
caretaker from the hall (Quite handsome in a pixie-ish way. Cheeky grin,
prominent cheekbones. Red hair. Stuart Murdoch, I think his name was),
Stevie Jackson, Chris Leonard, Julia, Keith Watson, Katrina House, her mate
Shelley, Ally Cook, Ailsa Ross, Carey Lander, Owen Lowery (The Narrow
Wizard, who doesn't have bushy eyebrows at all).*

Gig was great, Chris had a sore throat but was still superb. If he blew
Sodastream off stage it was with his hankie :) About a hundred people sat on
rows of chairs in the freezing cold hall. A white-painted bicycle propped up
against the blue backdrop, standard & table lamps illuminating the stage,
candles in jars for atmosphere. No bar so everyone clutching Victoria Wine
carrier bags & swigging on bottles & cans of beer. Every time someone knocks
over a bottle Stuart's head whipped round as he knows he has to clear it up
(& maybe also a clean hall means he can put more gigs on later.) I forgot to
check what shoes people were wearing, maybe because my feet were too cold.

Mick played records in the gaps before/between/after the bands. The closest
he got to playing ska  that I can remember was Althia & Donna's Up Town Top
Ranking. In any case he got top marks from me for playing Looking For A Love
off Zuma.

Chris had set up a stall to sell Sodastream drinks in honour of the
Australian guests (but it got messy & he gave up) Later a crowd of girls
clustered round, admiring the size & smoothness of his glistening white
pillar.

Sodastream were great too, sang loads of songs, so sad & yet so beautiful.
Mick played muted trumpet with them on two numbers, one of them my
favourite, Boss. Mick told me later that one song of theirs, Able Hands
(they wrote it for a friend of theirs who died) makes him fill up - well
Boss does that to me. Pete says that Mick is a perfect musician: he
remembered the arrangement of Boss spot on after an 18 month gap.

Stroked Honey's arm, talked to lots of lovely people, Ally got excited,
Carey gave out Papercuts questionnaires to all the band members, I helped
her pinch the posters for souvenirs, talked to Chris about the Incredible
String Band, talked to Keith Watson about wanking, The Who, David Bowie,
Jethro Tull, The Clientele & loads more, Ailsa had a fit of the giggles
during Chris' set (she heard Grandfather's Clock without the 'l') & had to
walk out, had a long discussion with Stevie about Neil Young & his favourite
album & gig and lots more. His knowledge of music is encyclopaedic & he's
very precise & accurate. I must do more homework before next starting a
conversation with him!


I didn't have anywhere to stay but kindness himself Mr Cooke put me up for
the night. Ally & Carey wanted to go to Insomnia, so after sorting out
Sodastream's stuff from his flat, sorting out accommodation for me, he then
took them across the city in the early hours, me driving my car & him giving
directions (he was too knackered to drive himself)


Struan? White trousers, black polo neck jumper, not as tall "in real life"
as you imagine him to be. Maybe he looks taller when he's on stage, or maybe
its because he's only human after all :) He looks pretty down to earth when
he's stacking the chairs away after the band have finished playing. And when
he's mopping the floor afterwards too. He has the wrong mop bucket for the
kind of mop he uses, but he can still lean on it.


In the morning got up, made some coffee, drove the 400 miles back again, six
hours on automatic pilot, can't remember how I got home. Weather not so
good, strong winds buffeting the car on the motorway from Glasgow, driving
rain. Luckily not too much traffic & no hold-ups all the way.

Home, showered, ate, did washing, washing up ... drove off to London to see
Sodastream within two hours of getting back. ******* Idiot.

Betsey Trotwood: saw Sally, Trousers, Lucy, Mark Casarotto, Tim Hopkins,
Sezzah, Liz Daplyn, Lixi, Martin, Matt, Richard, Jim, Geoff, Suzy (hope I've
spelt that right) who was a big fan of Karl's former teen star band Thermos
Cardy in Perth, Western Australia, loads of Aussies, Chris Brown, Carsmile
Steve, more Sinisterines than you get at a picnic. Alisdair Clientele &
Innes Relict there too.* Gig great again, but really glad I went to the
previous evening's as it was a better atmosphere & they played more songs. I
was leaning on the PA about as close to the band as anyone could get.
Afterwards asked the guys to sign the CD & some singles, Pete wrote an
essay! & they both thanked me for my support. They put up with so much shit
on this tour too. Terrible accommodation, getting little sleep, some days
not getting a shower, etc.

Had to give Sally & Martin lifts back to Greenwich, stopped at Martin's for
a pee & a tea. Suzy telling tales of Thermos Cardy & Perth.

Home at 3 a.m. Terrible back ache in the morning - too much driving. Sally
thinks I'm having a mid-life crisis, perhaps I am.


Will that do?


*Apologies to anyone I left out - failing memory :(


Love,

David Moore
Chelmsford, UK

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