Ocean Colour Scene at the Roundhouse

 My last gig of the year. It shouldn't have been, as had another scheduled for tonight, but that has been rescheduled to April due to Covid. And indeed this gig felt only about half full, which was probably Covid related.

But I felt I couldn't rely on standing at a gig as my daily exercise. My mate having told me that he was planning cycling 17kms a day until the end of the year to take him to 7000kms for the year inspired/shamed me to get out for a five plus mile walk. On a misty day (well "misty" sounds better than "foggy").

The gig itself had two pleasant surprises. The first being that the support act was Tom Clarke, former lead singer of the Enemy - a band I have seen many times. Indeed back in their heyday they would have sold out the Roundhouse themselves as headliners! Tom was in excellent form - great voice, playing with two new band members and singing slightly changed, largely slower versions of his old songs, mostly from "We'll Live and Die in these Towns" a much underrated album, and band.

The main act were Ocean Colour Scene, which is a band that has somewhat fallen off the radar although they have some 10 albums behind them. But really they had one brief flowering in the nineties when their album Moseley Shoals really took off. They then rather got lost among other Brit Pop bands - they have several links with Oasis and used to tour with them. 

They still retain lead singer Simon Fowler, drummer Oscar Harrison and guitarist Steve Cradock from the original line up, which is not bad for a band gong back over 30 years. To be honest they have aged pretty well, apart Simon who has clearly put on a few pounds and doesn't try to hide it! This has never been a fashionable band. 

They have a number of strengths, one of which is Simon's proper rock voice, strong and with just the right amount of gravel in it.

While lead guitarist Steve Cradock can play proper rock guitar, enough to satisfy my classic rock loving mate with whom I attended this gig. He does some neat little guitar solo spots, but without the self indulgence of prog rock (which my mate John does like....😱)

Now when I see some of these older bands one finds they have a broad range of audience from say young pensioners who followed them as a young band down to teenagers who have found them as a classic retro taste. So, say, New Order have such a following, both very old and very young. Seeing the Smyths, the audience has the same mix - Smiths are cool with indie kids as well as indie pensioners!

OCS haven't travelled, at least on the evidence of last night. There was almost no one there under 45. With one very noticeable exception. This lad.

You may wonder why a band of 50 somethings would have a 17 year old in their midst. Well the answer is that he is Casius Cradock, son of lead guitarist Steve. I guess the more glamorous version of doing work experience in your dad's office! 😀

Interestingly (to me) they started their set off with what in my opinion is their best song, the Riverboat Song, and played You Got it Bad third, which really left only one other "big" number so I knew very early what would finish the gig. The Day I Caught the Train. They didn't really produce a lot of terrifically memorable songs, which is not to say that there wasn't enough to make this a very listenable performance, although I would say the encore was a little undercooked until the swansong.

But I did say they provided two surprises. One was Tom Clarke as support, but the bigger one was a guest appearance on guitar by Paul Weller, the Modfather, ex lead singer of the Jam. The crowd seriously lost it as he appeared, which in a way is a sad reflection on the band - that their guest is bigger than they are. There was good reason for his appearance - Steve Cradock has played often in Paul Weller's band over the years when touring. A seriously good "session musician" for a live act!

So all in all a good night. I circled to the back for the encore allowing a rapid exit when the gig finished from a venue notoriously slow to clear. So here are a couple of shots from the back of a rather singular venue, being an old railway engine works, hence the roundness of the Roundhouse, allowing a whole railway engine to be turned around. 

Charlatans at Brixton Academy

This was advertised as the Charlatans 30th anniversary tour, and I got (willingly) sucked into this greatest hits compilation. 

I arrived on time for it opening at 7, and while I have done that for gigs and found I had to queue around the block, for this one there was but a tiny queue, so I took the opportunity to take up a spot dead centre and at the front before the rest arrived, and settled in for the next four hours. I think the key factor for admission is whether the band has a big, young, especially young female, following. If so they get there in their droves super early in order to be as close as possible to their idols, probably helped by them being students. The Charlatans have a rather more mature, working age audience so it shouldn't have been such a surprise to be able to wander in at 7. I should add that everyone did turn up in due course - the gig was a sellout.

Support act was Martin Carr and What Future. Never heard of him/them? No nor me. A bit of subsequent research revealed that Martin Carr was once with the Boo Radleys - rather one hit wonders from the Brit pop era. They sounded fair enough but unsurprisingly nothing special. I do rather feel that if you haven't made it big by your mid fifties it might be time to call it quits. Feels to me a bit like bed blockers. If you aren't making your mark might one not move aside and let younger, up and coming bands have a go in this slot? I guess if you are enjoying it why not, and the bassist in particular seemed to be loving it, although he looked less rock star and more Grizzly Adams (which will only mean anything to the older reader....)

Martin Carr

Grizzly Adams?

Really lockdown is no excuse for that much beard....

Obviously by the time the Charlatans appeared, the little crowd that had patiently listened to Martin Carr had now grown to a less patient full house. The rest of the band arrived first and did an intro before star man Tim Burgess appeared.

You don't usually get a set list on screen...

It is fair to say Tim milked the warm adulation he got from the crowd. And an interesting choice of attire - not many rock stars would wear their Christmas jumper to a show. But he really is everything about the Charlatans when on stage. By which I don't mean that the rest of the band are not skilled musicians, just that they stay very much in the background and Tim just gets all the attention. Few men men go prematurely blond like Tim, having traded in his mop of dark hair for this current shaggy look. Not a bad look at all for him. He gives off an air of cheeky boyish charm, not easy to pull off at the age of 54!

As Tim proudly announced during the gig, they had played Brixton Academy 17 times over the years, no mean achievement given what a substantial venue Brixton is. Unlike most other bands from that era, especially Manchester scene bands, the special thing about the Charlatans is that they have never broken up, but continued to record, tour and produce new albums. I think they are up to something like thirteen albums now. While their best is probably long gone, their longevity is impressive, and its much nicer seeing a band that has always been productive than suddenly seeing a group of fat balding blokes reuniting in middle age for a retirement pay day when you last saw them as a group of skinny youths. This is their career. And they are good at it. That distinctive trippy dance style with Tim's distinctive vocals over the top. His voice is a bit of an acquired taste, somewhat flat but on better form than I have heard him before.

The crowd actually had a fairly wide demographic even if more middle aged than most concerts at Brixton. Largely good humoured but those of us at the front were somewhat miffed when two huge tattooed blokes about 30 suddenly barged to the front elbowing out anyone in their path and then proceeded to drunkenly spread their arms out right over the faces of the adjoining crowd members. Fortunately they didn't stay long, particularly after a good talking to from the security bloke at the front. What was most interesting is that during the wait for the encore, two of the security members had a stand up row about the policing of the crowd and pretty much had to be restrained by other members of security from starting a full scale brawl between them. Not exactly what you want from security!

Anyway, the Charlatans duly returned to stage for the encore ending with a very long version of Sproston Green, from which Tim departed first to leave the rest of the band to continue it as an instrumental. And as it is my favourite Charlatans track I was happy.😀

 

Christmas Lights in the West End

Just a little wander around the West End, basically Oxford Street, on Sunday night, gawping at the lights. The fact that there had been a little rain earlier added to the appearance with the reflections off the wet roads.

John Lewis had the best shop display

The most atmospheric bit of lighting

The Christmas Market on Trafalgar Square