Well, last night to be more precise, because that was when I sat in the Theatreship - the excellent bar/venue housed on a converted cargo ship moored near Canary Wharf - watching and listening to Josephine Foster while we bobbed up and down imperceptibly.
Her other half, the Spanish classical guitarist, singer and composer Victor Herrero was there too. Jo and Vic - as they are definitely known to their neighbours back home - were there to promote their recent album "Adormidera", on which Josephine sings some of Victor's songs.
Recorded in 2023 but only released this May, this was apparently the first time they have played the songs since they were recorded. So it was a special treat for us, and I think for them too.
They took us through the entire album, and added an as yet unreleased song by Victor called "Leviathan" which definitely needs to see the light of day and a traditional Spanish song from a 2011 collaboration called "Perlas".
Victor's songs have a certain stateliness to them and there is something about the Spanish language that seems to suit Josephine's distinctive voice. Combined they produced something really rather beautiful and soothing - so much so that even the idiots who whoop every song and utterance and who seem to plague every gig these days were more or less silent by the end.
We were also treated to a very nice solo instrumental set by Victor to warm us up. I don't know enough about Spanish guitar music to know whether they were originals or standards, but either way he did them credit.
We have one track from "Adormidera" for you plus one apiece from their respective 2022 solo albums, "Pajarito Negro" (Victor) and "Godmother" (Josephine). We spoil you.
On Monday an old pal and I went on a leisurely pub crawl from the King Charles I near King's Cross to the Pocket in Islington taking in the Chapel Market Tavern, the Crown and the Drapers Arms en route. The playlist is loosely inspired by the places we visited.
This is for my old pal and also for my new friend Monique who started life in a small dorpie in rural South Africa and is now setting swinging London alight. I hope our tuneful renditions of Afrikaans children's songs did not disturb other patrons.
I would like to thank Bandcamp and Charity Chic for inspiring today's post.
Friday just gone was Bandcamp Friday and after rooting around in the bargain bins for a bit I came away with a small pile of African and Asian albums.
The next day the Gods of Randomness that determine the contents of CC's Saturday Shuffle picked out three artists beginning with B.
There was only one artist beginning with B in my Bandcamp haul but there were plenty of songs that fit the bill so here are three of them, starting with the B-man himself.
Bola hails from Ghana and his album "Volume 7" first came out in 2009 and was reissued a few years later on the Awesome Tapes From Africa label. Me and Mr Awesome used to be penfriends back in the days when I was bringing Tsonga Disco to the masses, but not any more. He moves in more awesome circles now.
Our second selection was released on a label called Interesting Tapes From India - I can't imagine where the inspiration for the name came from. It comes from the much better named album "Mandolin Ecstasy" by U. Srinivas, who was only 17 when it was first released in 1986 and who went on to become a leading light of the Carnatic music scene before his untimely death aged just 45. Monday's Long Song enthusiasts may wish to note that it clocks in at just over 13 minutes.
Last up we have some brash and noisy youngsters from Indonesia - from Purbalingga in Java to be precise. Sukatani (for it is they) describe their music as "Post-Punk with a strong New Wave sensibility. Gothic-Rock’s dark tones blend in with New Romantic melodies and joyful Synth-Pop", which covers most of the bases. I would describe then more succinctly as Purbalingga's Penetration but I'm not sure whether they would get the reference. The track is from their 2023 album "Gelap Gempita".
We also have a video of Sukatani for you. But first something from the band now universally known as County Durham's Sukatani. And then you can chill out a little with U.
I've just come off a run of three gigs in three nights. The likes of The Swede can take that in their stride but I can't. All these gigs-a-go-go have left Goggins a-gone-gone. But I have summoned up just enough energy to share some brief reviews.
The run started on Tuesday with Laibach at the Islington Assembly Hall. This had not originally been in the schedule but I was offered two free tickets so we decided to take advantage of this kind offer. I'm very glad we did as it was worth every penny I didn't spend.
After 40+ years of industrial agit-prop Laibach have decided to become accessible. Their latest album "MUSICK" is basically a pop album, but being Laibach it is Pop With A Purpose. That purpose is "to celebrate and critically dissect our era of warped reality and gaudy AI copycatting", and to do so through the sneaky use of "irresistibly catchy pop songs powered by hyper-charged postmodernity".
Most of the audience were probably not pondering these philosophical conundrums, but I'm not sure it mattered. The extended Laibach - the band, two energetic dancers and assorted guest vocalists beamed onto the back screen - treated us to one banger after banger after another with a fair bit of weirdness in between. They certainly know how to put on a show.
It was my first time seeing Laibach, but the headliner at Wednesday's gig is someone I have seen more times than I can remember and in many different guises - solo, as a member of Trembling Bells and the short-lived Wyndow, and collaborating with the likes of Bonnie Prince Billy, Mike Heron and Peter Daltrey (ex-Kaleidoscope).
I am talking of course of Lavinia Blackwall, whose turn it was to grace the stage at the What's Cookin' club night in Leytonstone. She was in excellent voice as always and the new touring band did a fine job. They suffered a power failure midway through the set which messed up the mix when they resumed but which gave them a rougher sound which I thought quite suited the livelier numbers.
Special mentions go to the bass player Amanda who is also a virtuoso on the musical saw - something we don't see enough of in my view - and to support act The Equatorial Group, all the way from tropical Eastbourne, who treated us to a pleasant set of what could be loosely described as 1970s style AOR with the occasional wigging out.
Last night was new faces night when we turned up mob-handed to see Georgian at the Sebright Arms, one of the many decent pub venues in this part of London. They are from Manchester and they seem to be a nice bunch, even the lead guitarist whose rock 'n roll wild man antics included breaking a string on his own guitar and then clumsily pulling a knob off the replacement.
The 'Heist Or Hit' website describes Georgian's sound as "a soft bloom of sullen 60s psychedelia and folk horror peppered with Southern Gothic inclinations". I don't really know what that means but whatever you call it I like it, and a new song they featured called "Shopfront" bodes well for ongoing grooviness. They are doing some touring later in the year and if they are playing near you I would recommend checking them out.
Enough of the waffling. On with the show.
The lady looming large over Laibach in the first photo above is Mina Špiler. She joined them 'live' for "Bossanova" from their 2014 album "Spectre", and that is what leads off our audio selection. Other live highlights were "Allgorhythm" from the new album and a surprisingly sweet Mama Cass cover, both of which are in the videos.
From Lavinia we have the opening track from her most recent album "The Making" which came out last year. Georgian's debut EP "Crackled Ground" was released this June. We have something from that for you too, and in the videos we have both of their title tracks.
On a bonus I've added Chinese American Bear to the videos. I saw them up in Hackney last week and they were almost as pop-tastic as Laibach. Unlike Laibach, however, I don't think they are making a devastating critique of anything at all. They just want to make you dance, dance, dance.
Finally a quick reminder that today is Bandcamp Friday. All these good people can be found there. You know what to do.
We lost one of my own personal musical heroes on Sunday. The passing of Slinger Francisco (aka Mighty Sparrow) at the age of 91 brings to an end a magnificent 70 year career that started with "Jean And Dinah" in 1956.
Sparrow was as adept at political and social commentary as he was at double (and sometimes single) entendres. In my opinion, as a lyricist his catalogue compares with any of your Bobs and Bruces or your Coles and Noels (that's Porter and Coward, not Lloyd and Gallagher). Don't let the bouncy backbeat persuade you otherwise.
This is not the first time there have been reports of Sparrow's death, as the penultimate selection explains. Sadly this time they are true.
Sparrow did a nifty line in cover versions as well. In fact his biggest hit in Europe was a rendition of "Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart" which topped the Dutch charts in 1978. Here he is in 1996 having a bit of fun crooning some tunes you'll all know.
I was on my way home early evening yesterday after a pleasant day out visiting friends when I spotted this pronouncement:
I could claim that I have posted that photo in an attempt to spark a stimulating debate about the nature of art - and if it has prompted you to give an opinion feel free to share it in the comments. But the reality is that when I got home I realised I had not prepared a post for today and remembering this made me opt for songs about art and artists.
Considering the slapdash way the post was put together I think it has turned out pretty well. And the Ugly Creatures and A House between them have raised another interesting question - does art remain endless when the artist has exited? Answers on a postcard please.
"Pablo Picasso" is of course a Jonathan Richman song but I couldn't find a decent live clip of him doing it on YouTube so the Dame is doing double duty. Him and the next two blokes are OK but I have saved the best until last.
Last week I was visiting two of my oldest and dearest friends up in Southport. We had a day out in Liverpool and treated ourselves to a stroll through the old docks, taking in such sights as the Stanley Dock Bascule Bridge and the ventilation shaft for the Kingsway Tunnel.
I originally planned to mark the occasion with a Liverpool themed post but try as I might I couldn't think of any suitable songs or bands. I asked my friend the same question as we walked past the Gerry Marsden Ferry Terminal but he was stumped as well. And Frankie Vaughan can't carry a post on his own even though he, like the ventilation shaft, is a tower of strength.
Then I thought about a Single Song Sunday featuring "Dock Of The Bay" but abandoned that idea when I found that I only had four versions plus a song of the same name by Big Youth which is him rabbiting away over a sample of "Silhouettes".
So in the end I settled for Big Youth, which is never a bad place to end up in my view.
Links stay up for a month or so. If you are an artist or copyright holder and want me to remove the link, or if you want to get in touch for any other reason, e-mail me on leggies27@hotmail.co.uk.
