Filling the void

both no-brainers there, BPH!

fair enough

i was really looking forward to daughter at GM 2 years ago - but thought they were unforgivably boring

i'd almost never turn down the chance to see KC anyway

different every time!

plus he has three (!) new records out this year

so lots of new material

enjoy PSB tonight - they'll be fab

>> Sadly had to leave before the end to catch last train home

Please don't be upset :)

Thinking ahead to the next void I've just booked for Damien Jurado at Union Chapel in September. Hopefully he'll play points further west as well but I didn't want to take the chance of missing him completely.

King Creosote playing Bristol Thekla on 6 October ... yay!

Allah Las touring the uk at the end of September,sadly no Manchester gig up to now but a few gaps where one could slot in.Hope they have new material by then.

Eels on top form last night. Mr.E and the band looking very dapper all suited up. The Chet playing the 'sad machine' rather well.

Ahh, I thought I'd read that she was supporting on all dates. I had better check before I get my hopes up any further after mr ray's endorsement.

A hug from E? ... that would make my night too.

EDIT: Just checked the website and it looks like Melanie will be there, really looking forward to it now.

so far not

those irish dates have been floating around for a little while now

and there has been much finger crossing on my part for UK mainland dates to be added

he is in the netherlands two weeks later in september though

so it seems silly to go home in between...

Off to spend a week in a yurt in the woods next to Windermere for our silver anniversery next week with a wee indie,folk,alternative festival in the woods at the end of the week.First of four festivals over the next five weeks--hope i still have the energy to join Peridot for the old man rave on Friday night.

Sounds like massive opportunity to build up your stamina bph, bit of an unfair advantage really.

However I have faith in all my forum buddies surviving the old man's half nighter - be there or be named and shamed afterwards :-)

Are old ladies welcome at the half nighter too Peridot?

Off to north Devon for the Somersault festival tomorrow morning. Daughter is a massive Ben Howard fan and given that he's been taking a bit of a breather since his Green Man performance last year wanted to go to this. It's a new one and the organisation has been a bit of a shambles so far, so with that and the threat of big thunderstorms heading in, I'm preparing for the worst.

Will report back in due course. 

Quick update on the Somersault Festival. As it turned out apart from a few intense but short-lived downpours the weather was absoutely glorious. What bigger dream could any festival organiser have for their first year. 

Apart from the ticket issuing fiasco where many folk did not get their tickets in time, the organisation all looked good. Site is nice - another wooded country estate but the arena itself is long and narrow with few of the interesting features that make Glanusk so special. In a similar vein the backdrop to the main stage is the mass concrete A361 Filleigh Viaduct - ugh!

Corporate involvement and overbearing security as expected but bearable - just. The main issue was that a large portion of the crowd were day trippers (as we were) and many were there for a curious look-see and an excuse for a piss-up - no great unpleasantness - just not the niceness of GM and other small festivals. Food and drink prices were reasonable and good quality particularly from some local community outlets, a la Cwmdu at GM.

In summary, it has good potential and if they get a better line-up I'd certainly be back, possibly for the full weekend. I'm not certain who's behind it - it's some events company but they haven't much of a clue about artist bookings - they asked Ben Howard to suggest the line-up and booked his selections. No offence to Mr Howard but I have a lot more faith in another Ben. Still it led to a brilliant performance from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, whom Ben had suggested as a 'bit of a joke' apparently. Other highlights were some great new material (at last) from Half Moon Run and some fairly impressive (relatively speaking) new stuff from Mr Howard himself. 

An enjoyable day that whetted the appetite and increased the anticipation for the real thing.

Should be equally as good---thinking of getting tickets which are quite pricey for the joint Grant -Lee Phillips/Howe Gelb gig in Manchester.Any opinions?