Bandwagon Blog

It’s been a wild few months on the BandWagon, with all sorts of exciting stuff that we  can’t wait to share with you. Whilst all of that gets finalised, let us fill your excfitemnt gap with a couple of things. First off, BandWagon is hosting StageTime in Edinburgh this year. Stagetime is a one day convention exploring the art of live music performance, bringing together bands and artists, managers, label people, A&R and other experts from across the music industry

An because we love you so much, have a free bumper edition from your favourite Freegan Gig Monster the inimitable Roger Mairlot, otherwise known as… The GigSlut!

1st July

Yesterday I managed to get to Hampton Court for the earlier train at 17.35 and decided there was time to shop. So went and found 3 iced buns, 2 mini Bakewells, 3 veggie packs and 6 rolls. Moved on then to the Macbeth for Bec Sandridge at 7, but with the doors locked I chatted to Homeless Henry who seems to be doing better in the world.

When I got in: no Bec, no Russell.

Move on ! Bussed to Isl.Academy to check times for Lydia Lunch, then to Old Queens Head for 1 minute of Maud in Cahoots. Anyway ,had to go back ,and no re-entry to Academy this week. Stashed the food and then a girl asked where the Academy was, so I took her along.
She got straight in. I took longer-don’t ask!
Listening to Das Fluff, a tap on my arm. Sarah has found me, and her friend has not turned up. She has a drink, tops it up from a hip flask and is blotto pretty quickly. She’s quite heavy,too, as I ended up with her hanging round my neck and holding her up. She was almost gone by Lydia Lunch, and was removed by security. I went with her to try to explain I hadn’t actually taken her or got her drunk. I was nearly removed myself! The violinist from Cesarians said she could see what happened and told me Sarah had been cabbed home in a passed out state.
I left about 23.10 and took a 205 to Euston, 10 to H’smith, 00.20 33 to Richmond, and got R68 Angie, who enjoyed my story too!
She liked the witches hat I’d found. Home 01.15.
Bored, never!

3rd july

I believe I have some more Sluttettes on board, my chums!
I slutted out last night to Supajam’s Gibson night at Bloomsbury Bowling lanes to see lots of fiends, including Clockwork Era’s Catherine Gray x, Jason Lipscombe, Drop out Venus,featuring the lovely Iva Moskovich x and Zaek Nakrivo, then Novella, betterer every time I see them. I saved my eardrums from Old Forest and moved on to The Windmill, Brixton. Took over 40 mins but it was worth it, if just to hear Simon of Oh! Gunquit shout out “Roger’s here!”

4th july

Ok my fans.
Last night I went to Royal George on the wrong night Zoe Konez! and can’t do tonight!! Oh, wot a fool.
Found about 30 ukelele players doing “I’m a believer!” not good.
Retreated to deliver blackcurrants, NOT raspberries, to Russell John Swallow in Angel.
Heard as much as poss.before moving on to hear a new band to me at The Goeorge Tavern -September Girls.
En route to which, I found two waifs heading inthe wrong direction, Slutfans Karen and Thomas. We got there at 21.20 for a reunion with Tender Trap, who also were playing, to my joy.
All courtesy of Beautiful Strange’s Leigh Ecclestone,Ta.
Left with Slut Francisco Gomez and walked to East grinstead or rather,Aldgate East,grabbed a H’Smith and City line to H’Smith,entertained a music fan on board,and then decided to go for 33 bus and met bus buddy Laureen de Baer and her friend Elena,a very nice italian.
We all had a nice chat and I left them at Twickers and stayed on for Teddington and R68 Roman who told me it’s 37 degrees in Poland.Home 01.15
A quiet night in tonight ?

5 July
Sluttettes ahoy ! that’s you,now,Suey Sue,get in line !
Last night I could only manage 3 and a half gigs.
At 19.15, I saw Bec Sandridge play a very nice set At Leon’s .Spitalfields.
Then I slutted along for a 15 minute fix of ARP Attack in the Hoxton Bar.
Then to Der Kirche I settled down for a 35 minute set by MADAM,a beautiful set in a beautiful setting.
Almost certainly going to be gig of the month, give or take another 27 bands or so!

Sat 7th July
Right you herberts.Last night I went out to Power’s Bar,Kilburn.
At 21.00 I was still early,of course.
The only ray of brightness was that I could chat to and hear Jess Mason-Wilkes of Martha Makes Mistakes.xx
Very nice .I also heard 2 sets by Kill Me.
Ok ,but I really was waiting then to see,Rachel Emma D’Arcy,who was coming ,so someone told me.Then when I asked later ,not coming!
A guy called Alex said she was always late ? !
Ha. So I left at 23.25 in the rain.If I’d left 10 mins earlier ,I’d have got the last overground to Richmond and got an extra hour’s sleep.
The travails of being The Gig Slut !!!!
I try but do you ?
I grabbed any 2 buses and arrived at Paddington,having opted for trains for speed.Well,I was in Paddington,I think the bus dropped me about 15 miles away ! I assiduously followed the signs but could not find the b.station.Too wet and dark to look at my bus map.
Very wet ,I found Lancaster Gate,and got to Shepherd’s Bush,grabbed a 72 bus to Barnes and picked up a 33 to Teddington,where I got the last R68 to be home by 01.35.
The only good thing was that I wore a jacket which could cope with being wet.If it had been a wool one, I’d've been weighed down and smelling of wet wool.

Monday 9th July
Last night,dear Slutfans I went to See Lianne La Havas.I got VIP treatment at Rough Trade-no queuing or wristband needed !
Said hello to Lianne who was glad I went.I’d met her earlier this year at The Social ,and she said she’d taken my previous comments on board and thought about them-Oh,dear !!
I felt duty bound to go check her out again and she played a lovely set,so there you go !
Moved on after that back to Waterloo to Woodburner,a shambolically run Big Top sort of thing.I got in after some trouble.( I dug a tunnel ). I wanted to catch up with The lovely Lucy Rose.
She played a wonderful set, Lucy Parton.So nice to hear those familiar songs again and some new ones.
Chatted to Steven Sutherland.His first time to hear her.My 19th ?
I then saw Lucy’s Sluttette sister,the equally lovely Kate Parton,along with Stella.Kate says I’m back in the fold ,but who left the gate open ? ! I think Kate makes a lovely sheep dog xxx
After that at 22.45,I went forth and Shopped !!
No 4 bus,bread and ciabatta from M+S.
Many bananas,more bread,Pittas,choccy pastry and 2 packs sarnies form Tesco’s.
Grabbed a 243 back to Waerloo.Down and out turned sarnies down,but not Francis Booth,who found The Freegan Crusader on the 23.58,but he would only take 1 Banana and pitta breads !
Enjoyed the chat,thanks.
Got R68 Bob who took 2 loaves,and a sarnie.Home 00.55

12th July
Dear Prunesquallor and Slutfans.
A 3 and a half gigger last night.It unfolded thus:
I went first to Rough Trade to see Polica.Good to see 2 drummers,always.I didn’t think the songs were that strong,but still.
Then I went on to Folies a Deux ,put on by my dear friend Clara Daisy Cowan,who was very kind to me as always and let me live !x
Saw Sarah Johns.Met sister Lauren,and Louisa,too.Chatted to Douglas Dare.
Moved on about 20.55 to Maxima, way out at Bow Road .
A very nice bus Garage there,too.
Saw half a set by another dear friend Jade Indiana Hopcroft.,with Victoria Ferguson,singing too.Such nice voices.xx
Chatted to that nice Amy Morrice,surely a Sluttette ? xx
Moved on ,in the rain ,for a change,in 40 minutes,to The Wheelbarrow.I was in time to see Frankie Teardrop,with my previously unmet friend Carling Holly Vail x I wanna hear more singing by Carling !!!
Met Mila,and also was spotted by another Sluttette,to my joy,the lovely Kitty Til,looking splendid,Congrats on results xx
Talked for far too long and retreated at 23.55 to not be able to make Waterloo in time and went via a disgustingly retarded service to H’Smith,and just made a late running 33 bus to Teddington,from which,I was picked up,as is my wont,by Monica,to be home by 01.15.
I had asked for info on the platform at Leicester Square,and had such a cheeky person ,who suggested I take a bus.If I ever caught him I, would defenestrate him !

14th July
Saturday dear Slutfans : I went out at 16.00 and went to The Shacklewell Arms and saw Playlounge,Orca Team,Joanna Gruesome,and SHRAG ! featuring Helen King who bathes her feet in beer ! All really good.I did enjoy chatting to Helen and also Jessica from Orca Team.They had a good ,different sound ,and Jessica had a nice little dance,which I liked !
It finished early,about 22.20. So my cunning plan was to pop round the corner to the Nest to see Severin.This was running late,but I managed to chat to Beth and Danny Sanchez,before hearing them play.
I had been pleasantly accosted by 2 drunk girls at Canada Water,who didn’t quite know where they were going.They did seem to want to imbibe even more drink and invited me along .I said I was going home for tea,thank you,and I did!

15th July
Yesterday, My Sluttettes, I made it to the Shacklwell Arms for 13.45 to hear most of Dead Rabbits. This was an all dayer by Keith Milla, thanks.
My favourite bands were here: Bonfire nights featuring Nicole Hoaran,Dark Bells,Lola Colt and Dark Moon, featuring Lola Maybellene, with gong ! xx
I also liked Underground Youth.
At 22.10 in a vain attempt to get to Finsbury park to see 2 of my other friends play: Lucy Kitt and Sophie Jamieson.Both Dalston Stations were shut and by then it was 22.30 and I would only have got there to miss them play.
Reluctantly I became sensible and gave up.
I grabbed a passing 243 and went forth to shop,being low on provisions for the coming week.I found 7 pints of milk,4 veggie salad things,some rolls,pork pies for mummy,and about 6 packs of chicken sandwiches,and 3 packs of rocket lettuce !!!
This is what powers the vegetarian Slut-the secret is out.Rocket lettuce !!!!
19th July
Well,my dear Slutfriends,last night I endured a set by Charlotte Gainsbourg.It was b.hard work,I thought. After 15 mins I wanted out but it was a little late to try for Gem and the Deadheads,Tristan Ivemy,Maria Hayden and Minxy McNaughty ! They would have been much better for me,but I have to take chances.You can’t win ‘em all. Thank goodness there was a curfew. You must all have had the experience at some point of just longing for a gig to finish,and getting a long set instead.
I decided to hang on in the hope things might improve, and they did ,minimally,she did 2 good songs,one of which was a cover! “Ashes to Ashes”.There were 3 other half decent songs,but that’s it.
Luckily I had previously enjoyed immensely,Iva Moskovich and Zaek Nakrivo as Drop Out Venus,a band I know well.
They did not disappoint in any way.There was some silly shouting from the crowd,but I’m sure they gained new fans.
I could have taken a long set from them.They should have been top act,defo.
Now to organise my 7 gigs for tomorrow night…#
24 July

Last night, I only missed 2 songs by Honeyblood, who were very good
Stayed on to hear most of Novella’s set,bar the last song,and went back to the Lamb for the lovely Roxanne de Bastion !
She played on her own and then with a fledgling band.
All very nice.I hadn’t found any freegan flowers but ,instead gave her some of my plums which I’d taken along,organic ,too !
I keep finding I’m wearing a hat indoors.I’m protecting my head and forget I have it on ,but I hate hats.I like to feel the wind through my scalp.
28 July

Again in a sweat to Rough Trade for 19.15 to luckily only miss 2 songs in a lovely set by Peggy Sue. Rough Trade are good to me.
Moved on to The Gallery Cafe where we just caught 2 songs by Anna Lena and Douglas Dare. Sounded good to me, guys, sorry for being late !
Also saw and enjoyed Isobel Anderson and Ruby Colley,then Bec Sandridge,then Young Romance,I last saw them at a bus stop in Twickers about 2 or so years ago.They haven’t aged a bit !
I’m gonna tag Rose Keeler-Schäffeler,so her old fart friend can wonder again why I write all this ! She can block me if she wishes.
A lot of people srangely like all this,that’s why i do it.
If you don’t understand/like it ,don’t read it !!!
Simple…..

30 July

Last night went via R68 Bob to Hampton Court,gave him plums.On to Rough Trade.Doorman Feri thought I was pulling a knife on him,but it was more plums that I used to attack him ! Saw a good set from Kyla La Grange.I think she’s good.
Popped next door to 93 Feet East,on Fran’s suggestion and saw Tara Minton ,a harpist,sounded good.
I don’t know how Fran’s gonna be.I gave him a punnet of plums,but he ate most of it,and I ate some too,so none left for him to take home.
Too many may have a certain effect !
Tmorrow night The Slut tour goes to Oxford.
Savages watch out ….>
31 July

Out early yesterday for the Sluts Tour going to Oxford !
In a very smart new motor we partook of tea and arrived around 20.20 at The Jericho Tavern. I was grateful for the chance of a recce,as I plan to go there Friday for the great Anais Mitchell. We saw Palma Violets, quite good but not “the greatest band I’ve ever seen” as some drunk girl thought and shouted.
Out of the 400 or so bands seen this year? (wild guess, that) – no.
Anyway then we saw the ever excellent Savages, featuring Jehnny Beth, Gemma Thompson, Ayşe Hassan and that drumming phenomenon Fay Milton, who is just sooo good.
Top performance by you all, girls, most def.
Decided to maybe extend our Slut Tour to Brighton 7th Aug!
Oooh, I’m getting so sycophantic, even wore The T-shirt!
I met there a Slut Follower who may be Sophie Marfell ?
Become a Sluttette, Sophie!!! Oh,Do,please.,.>? ;[
We left around 23.20 and Neil kindly drove us back to Shepherd’s Bush.
I got a 72 and then the 33 to get a 285 and walk home by 02.10.
You see the time we idiots invest in music.
Out 10 hours, for approx 1 hr 30 of music, but no regrets.
That’s what The Gig Slut does – it’s a job – the best.
Top 35 bands at the moment
Her Majesty
Blindness,Coldin Berlin
Dignan Porch
Bleech
Two Wings
Hella Better Dancer
Jharda Walker,Anais Mitchell Anaïs Hahn,Olivia Chaney
Golden Fable,Blue on Blue
Catherinene AD
Jamie Doe,Foe
Modeste
Martha Makes Mistakes
Roxanne De Bastion,Firefly
Something beginning with L
Dark Bells,Choo Choo Trains,Happy Club
Theoretical Girl,Kirstenana,Jess Jess Bryant
Trixie Whitley,Lucy Lucy Kitt,Zambri,Emily Barker,
Jessie Moncrieff,St.Saviour,Sissi,Camille Camille Delean,and
Josienne Clarke

by Roger Mairlot

edited by Robert Neumark-Jones

If focusing on the small is no bad thing (and we here at BandWagon certainly don’t think it is), then Hop Farm festival in Kent would appear to be the mini-festival fans dream. There’s just enough stuff to be going on for it to not feel like a travelling fair, and yet not so much that you get lost amidst swathes of dreadlocked mud-men who parade at the larger festivals. That said, after a rousing headline set it would’ve been nice for there to be something on offer something for those looking to dance a while longer. Without that option, there was either the sleepy acoustic camp or the at times bizarre, at times brilliant bloodbath of the comedy tent.

Sandwiched in between all of that though, was some excellent music. George Clinton perhaps suffered from being on early at a festival in the ‘just filling up’ phase. A few hours or so later, and he would of have had a much larger crowd that his infectious P-funk deserved. So it was then that I Am Kloot stole the plaudits for the first day’s proceedings. Shuffling out with no straps on their guitars, they wove together serenades with aplomb, showing talent and a love and dedication to their sound which was a pleasure to watch. They enjoyed it, and so we enjoyed it, and could all get on with the business of not watching Ray Davies. Which we had just escaped from doing. And alright, so Ray went for it. Alright, so he played all the hits (of The Kinks, that is). And, yes, alright, he was having a whale of a time. But Ray’s voice just isn’t up to it, and to close your eyes during his set was a disappointing experience.

Elsewhere the Future Heads gave a tight and polished performance with an excellent live sound, which was especially effective during a bold but unsophisticated bout of audience sing-a-long on ‘Hounds of Love’. However, they did lack bite, somehow missing that killer something and thus preventing them from being a take-home band of a festival. Ligers were the only band I saw of Friday’s contribution from the pleasingly makeshift Powers Bar, a stage which gave the feeling of a pub room gig at a festival. Add to this a jaunty blend of surf rock with a hillbilly skiffle, and all driven along by a funky Fender-designed bass line, and it all made for a perfect set, save perhaps their one glaring mistake. They played a slow one. Don’t bother. The set was flying along nicely, and everyone there was enjoying a very accomplished set. People were here to have fun, and even Liger’s die hard group of dancing admirers were forced to sway awkwardly, willing to cheer and move on to the next track.

Peter Gabriel’s Friday night headline show couldn’t have been more different. It was totally stellar, and the sight of the New Blood Orchestra was magnificent, and given extra gravitas when drenched in the immersive visuals on the big screens. The sun disappeared, the grandiosity grew, and the audience were right with him too, but as it all drew to a close the show veered off somehow into pomp. And so despite a great performance, just when you sensed the audience wanted a big close to the Friday night, we were instead served up something akin to a Disney-esque schmaltz fest.

Saturday started much more promisingly with Jean Genie’s MaSsIvE Hugs, and Chris’ pick of the festival, Race Horses. You think you know what you’re going to get, with Race Horses: Synths and a front guy who seems a bit like Morrissey.  But alongside plenty of 80’s electro, they also navigate through dance, rock ‘n’ roll and some damned excellent indie pop music.  What is most exciting about them is their mastery of these variations, granting each song its own personal sound and all the while performing with flair. We also caught Brucie (yes, that’s right as in Forsyth) on the way to Race Horses, and were temporarily mesmerised by the antiqued charm of seeing a triple threat entertainer (he can dance! He can sing! He can…do another thing!) performing in the old vein. Only temporarily though.

Elsewhere Slow Club played an extremely competent set, and their haunting yet uplifting sounds filled the Big Tent to the enjoyment of the gathered audience. But it felt like this audience was looking for something to grab onto and really get into, leaving you feeling that they’d have fared main stage. And that was where I found Joan Armatrading, her new work shining alongside re-workings of some old numbers, and giving a near faultless performance in the afternoon sun to a carefree crowd. On the Power’s Bar The Midnight Barbers were playing Lo-Fi to its most broken, sporadic and discordant best. Basically, imagine if Two Gallants met Captain Beefheart and decided to form a Death From Above 1979 tribute band. They’ve got great songs, endless enrapturing energy, and the personality that every two-piece needs if they’re going to fill a stage. The Joker & the Thief (Dylan excitement levels building) then gave us a sound that was full, unique, and disarming. You cannot help but watch. There are bold, defiant drums and a brass element that seems to tell a story all to itself, and shows how far off the mark bands like The Mars Volta have become.

After that Maximo Park were exactly what the Saturday night needed, a proper jump-around to a brilliant set. Thankfully, their new stuff is not all slow, and the title track of the album ‘National Health’ showed that Maximo can still play a blinder of a multi-parted track. They suffered from terrible sound problems so it wasn’t until about 15 minutes in that we heard the full set-up, and were a couple of ballad-y verses in there, but crowd and singer loved every second.

Patti Smith had everyone jumping as the sun went down before Dylan, in that inscrutable way, both defined and redefined the festival. Enough has been written about the man, about this performance. Suffice to say that the crowd, like Dylan himself, were constantly grinning – sometimes in bemusement, mostly in joy- and it was a euphoric sing-a-long ending to Saturday’s proceedings.

Sunday started early with the very talented and earnest Maia. My first instinct is to say that Maia were a playful band, but on reflection that would ignore the obvious fact that it was all so deliberately precise. There were many disparate styles, all thrown into a set that included breakout rock’n’roll and succinct three-part vocal harmonies. The perfect light soothing of heavy creativity. The Tallest Man on Earth gave perhaps the most breathtaking performance of the festival, and with a new album out which for the first time includes other musicians, it might be wise to catch him now before the kind of raw, spellbinding sets that I saw yesterday become a thing of the past. He sings every song like he’s just thought of it there and then. Incredible.

Plastiq give a very engaging performance through some very impressive gear changes and a set that really showed off their versatility. Even their slowest moments built into something impressive, although at times it felt like they could be making more of their own mark on the styles they were tackling (one track was too Muse-like not to mention). Nevertheless, when I heard one person say they were ‘awesomely fun’ I had to concede they were. Really fun, shot through with a great rolling rhythm.

One last swoop by the Power’s Bar, where according to their singer, Washington Irving had just been some 9 hours in a van having come not only from a festival in Scotland but from a drunken night before. There were no signs of lagging in this performance, and they held their normally-sitting-now-standing Power’s Bar audience in bobbing enrapture. Especially impressive was the raw-edge beauty to the vocals. There was plenty going on in all of the numbers in this set, both musically and lyrically, and so even when they were at their most still you could not help but watch them. It struck me that they’d cracked the key to keeping the most poetic and poignant verses as part of the rousing refrains, namely by running a galloping drum pulse right through the centre of them. It worked, and while I found myself wanting them to start to be a bit more startling and off-footing it was nonetheless a headbanging-ly, cheering-ly good gig.

Kool and the Gang is where the festival finished for us (we had to rush home to make sure the BandWagon’s wheels were still being oiled in our absence), and what a way to go. An uplifting a finish to a triumphant festival that is sure to go from strength to strength. Because small festivals, like small bands are great. And although we sometimes jealously guard them and don’t want them to get bigger because they’re ours all ours, we know that in the long run it’s usually better for them, and better for us too. And if Hop Farm does grow (which it should), perhaps with another area or two and a few more late night options, there should be no stopping it.

Robert Neumark-Jones, Christopher Birks, Maria Hayden

Maia Weekender : 4th-6th May

Beak saturation can hit at any time – the cusp is always in sight!

We started this weekend’s adventure at 9:30 am; the van’s battery is flat as a pancake! After rushing some clothes on, we get round to Will’s house to try to jump/bump/hump start the van, but to no avail. So we call out the specialists who get us started in 20 mins, and we’re on our way to the University of Huddersfield to pick up all our gear. We check there’s nothing left behind (a Ukulele is too easily forgotten!) and hit the M1 like a sack of beans.

We’re always worried when we head down to London that Will, our drummer, will have ‘laid on something special’ on the motorway, such as a 15 hour traffic jam, or Rare Mongolian Fruit Lizards Nesting in the middle lane! Fortunately, this time there is nothing hindering our progress toward the big smoke, and we make it to The Troubadour in good time (for once!).

Having sound checked flawlessly, we head off out to grab something to eat before the show and get back in time to watch some acts. We then played our set (marvellously, it must be said) and chatted to all the interesting London folk, who would never usually say anything if met on the street! I think we sold a few albums, maybe and E.P. or two, and then it’s time to P.U.F.O. (Pack Up, F*** Off!).

This time, however, we have an extra addition to our van – one of our fans has travelled down to see us from the Bedford area, and by the time we are leaving (c. 1am) she is also; on her own! So, of course, we give her a lift back to Bedford, as we’re staying in Milton Keynes that night!! It’s a fun, but fairly long way back, arriving at the great Haig residence at roughly 3am.

Waking up in Milton Keynes, feeling refreshed, it’s back down to the big smoke again. Morale is fairly low, but we soldier on, looking forward to playing together more than anything, but also we’re playing for Sam Lee of the Nest Collective, this miserable Saturday, at the renowned Camden Crawl. These guys know how to treat a band! First we blag the van into the car park (you wouldn’t believe how difficult this can be, sometimes – usually we just go for it and find out consequences later!) and then we can unload onto the big outside stage, when *cue rain sound effects* it chucks it down!

We’ve been shafted again, are thoughts all round, but NAY! Sam Lee gets us inside the Roundhouse, and we quickly realise that there is no shafting occurring, save for us shafting the car parking warden!! The place is PACKED OUT, and the audience are so ready and willing to listen to our music that we play an absolute blinder, even though the PA/stage inside was a 20 minute makeshift! This just goes to show how variable life on stage can be!

After this excellent show, we are treated to burgers at the artist cafe and pack our van to head off, back up to Huddersfield. We stick around though, to watch a couple more bands – the Magic Lanterns, This is the Kit, and Sam Lee are always a delight to watch – and then we end up making friends with them, doing and album swap and exchanging contacts to sort out shows later in the year… They definitely didn’t teach us this at Uni!

So, we mooch on back up our favourite super-motorway in better spirits than the day previous. We get to uni, drop the gear back off in the store, and head to our various homes for a good night’s sleep.

When doing a radio session/show, one never quite knows what is going to be the drill! We turned up in (it has to be said) one of the more dilapidated areas of Leeds, for our ELFM radio sessions, but was greeted by Zoë, one of the nicest people we’ve ever met (it has to be said!) She got us watered, and we rehearsed a couple of songs, as Will had had some dodgy chicken the night before, so couldn’t bear to sit on the wooden box of the Cajon! But this worked a charm, and without all the percussion, we had played and packed down quicker than we could learn the names of all the busy worker bees there!

We packed the car, and got on the M62 back to Huddersfield, safe in the knowledge that we’d be back down to London quicker than we could write this blog!!

Joe, Tom, Simon & Will (MAIA)

xx

I’ve been thinking. How much of a role do we want music to play in our lives? It seems that everywhere you go, music’s playing. Think about it – anywhere from the tube to a public toilet. Or you can just put the headphones in and replace all that with music. Music you control. There’s music for sad moments, music for sleep. Sex. Food. Music as therapy. In fact, I came across the most fantastic video you are ever likely to see this year. About just how crucial the most we are listening to now is, and how important it will be as we advance in years. I’ve already said too much. Just watch this (watch it) for the most inspiringly elating few minutes of video this year, and treasure those headphones.

Ok, so anyway, welcome to the blog. There’s going to be lots more going on here as we grow. We’ve got the inimitable GigSlut, of course. Added to that there’s Band on the Road, where we hear all the dark tales of rum and pot noodles from the road, and our very special Talk to the Professional, where we are granted an eye into the other side of the music industry, business style. And then there’s this. Which may lead you – it certainly leads me – to ask, what is this? Well, it’s a few things; A cursory glance over what’s happening in the world of music, be it home or abroad. A  few things that made me smile, or cry, or smile-cry, or cry then smile, then cry and cry and cry. Then smile. It can also be more or less of all these things, it can be YOUR blog if you’ll excuse the cheesiness. Write in, tell us what you think. What you’d like more or less of. Or if you just want to see more stuff like this

As for London, Bad Idea’s EP launch kicked the door in. With support from from the excellent Molten Mirrors, Death Sound Blues. These were three intelligent and occasionally raw (in the best way) performances, and the cake was spot on too. My oh My if only Jan Terri could boast of such accomplishments. Only Kidding Jan, I love you.

Elsewhere, up in Sheffield we had more excellent Opus and the Riverhouse sessions, and down south Kids with Crayons played their first gig to rapturous applause and demands for more. Oh, and is anyone else finding the new Cribs single really good (despite the appalling album title)? Closing salvo here saved for BandWagon’s six month party. Oh take that look off your face. We’re only six months year old, OK? I defy you to find any six month old who isn’t all “me, me, me”. Excellent sets were had by The Traitor’s Club, The May Birds, and Ivory Heroes, but it was L.A. Salami who really stood out. Well, it’s a toss up between him, and the drunken ol’ rasta man, who sporadically approached him to yell encouragement a bit too loudly and a bit too long. It was a beautiful weird double act. Then I left, got on the tube, and put in my headphones. That’s what music does, give you a prescription for any moment. It’s up to you if you want to fill it.

Signing out, ‘til next time, with an honourable mention to The Beastie Boys’ Yauch. RIP.

Egg raid on Mojo.

Robert Neumark-Jones

rob@bandwagongigs.com