Zeitgeist 77 - The Dreams of Hyacinth Thrash

A few days ago, a copy of Zeitgeist 77’s brand new shiny EP plopped through my letterbox, following a chat with Daz from the band when he kindly asked if I’d mind doing another review!

This is a 4 track EP entitled The Dreams of Hyacinth Thrash and I was immediately taken with the rather interesting title and the cover.  I had the feeling that this was going to be something a bit different, so I dived in!

Track 1 "The Jonestown Boogie" kicks off proceedings with a colourful,  jaunty tune and lyrics that are the complete polar opposite! The song tells the dark and sinister true tale of The People’s Temple mass suicide that took place in the US in 1978. I was aware of the event but the song actually prompted me to read more about it – chilling stuff. “Syringes for the babies, they’re the first to go” is the line from the song that’s been going round in my head today. Grim. 😔

Track 2  "Sally". For me, this song emits a late ‘60s Kinks-like vibe. Great riff, with discordant guitars and a beat that will get you reaching for your dancing shoes!

Track 3 "It’s all about you". Well, I think we all know someone who this song could be about – I most certainly do!!  I think this is actually my new favourite 'pissed off' song! I found that the first two tracks on the EP had a slightly rockier edge to them than previous Zeitgeist 77 songs but this one has a definite “classic” sound and is instantly recognisable as one of their tracks. Grand stuff!

Track 4 "Go to Hell". Not much I can say about this really, other than it does what it says on the tin! Where track 3 is ‘pissed off’ this one is well angry and vitriolic. Love it!

I really enjoyed the EP and, after only a couple of listens, it gained a definite place on my playlist. The guys didn’t have a firm release date when we spoke but, when it is available, I suggest you jolly well buy it!!

I can really see crowds going a bit mental to tracks 2 and 3 so why not get yourselves down to Zeitgeist 77’s  fundraising gig on 14 July at Billingham to see if they play them? This gig is in aid of a little lady called Nell who suffers from Rhetts Syndrome. The lads will be joined by Be Quiet, Shout Loud and LoGOz. Tickets only £5 so go for a great night and raise some cash for a very worthy cause!

BlueD13SEL at The Herb Garden Harbour

Sunday, 11 June was a lovely (albeit very windy!!) early summer evening, perfect for checking out a different venue and new(ish) band, so I headed along to the gorgeous Royal Quays Marina in North Shields with a bunch of pals to see BlueD13SEL at The Herb Garden Harbour! This is a relatively new venue, tucked round the far end of the Marina with fantastic views! The venue itself isn't huge but the floor to ceiling windows let in so much light that it feels decidedly large and airy! Rustic wood, brick detail and themed fine art all work together to give the room a definite nautical atmosphere.

As ever, I was on taxi duty so it was orange juice, freshly squeezed in the funky juicing machine for me, while I enviously eyed up the fabulous goblets of ice cold frothy Stella that everyone else was downing *sigh*

Due to the wonders of modern technology there was a slight delay in the start of the proceedings but the band’s main man and tech expert, Steve, swiftly ironed out the issues.

BlueD13SEL’s vocalist, Donna, was unavailable for this gig due to unforeseen circumstances but, rather than cancel and let everyone down, her daughter Alex stepped in to save the day! You would never have guessed that Alex only had two days to prepare and had no rehearsal time with the band – she was a natural!

Photo (c) Clemmy Scotswood

First song of the night was 'Proud Mary' - first recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival and later famously covered by Ike and Tina Turner. With this as their opener, BlueD13SEL make it more than clear they mean business!

Highlights from the first half included 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' (Stevie Wonder), Motown classic 'Dancing in the Street' and a version of 'Mama Mia' which was the unexpected lovechild of Abba and Thin Lizzy - when you hear it, you’ll understand! Love it!  It’s good to hear a covers band throw a surprise dash of originality into the mix, rather than always do a faithful direct cover or change the song so much it becomes unrecognisable! A little bird tells me that this particular track is due to be recorded and released as a single in the very near future so watch this space!

The first set flew by, closing with a beautifully executed Foo Fighters favourite, 'Times Like These', following which the band (and crowd!) took a well-earned break.

Bass player Steve (aka Wulfe), regular vocalist Donna, guitarist SJ and drummer Liam have been together for some time, formerly known as Lobo (sometimes Lobo Blues) but they rebranded when lead guitarist Doug joined at the back end of 2016.  This new incarnation has a rockier punch to it and, surveying the diverse crowd that ranged literally from babes in arms, to elderly distinguished looking couples, they were clearly loving reeling from those punches!! Among the younger folk was a stripping hipster dude (yes really!!!), who was throwing shapes and busting moves a plenty!  Dancers strutted their stuff not only in front of the band but also at their tables and there was a considerable amount of air punching and hand jiving to be seen (particularly from one groovy gentleman who was in at least his 70s!!). There was a real party atmosphere throughout the evening, enhanced by a glamorous pink-sashed lady and her friends/family who were out celebrating her birthday, I won’t mention the number on the sash – a lady does not reveal these things - oh but wait a minute, she did……...*cough (60) cough*........

Photo (c) Clemmy Scotswood

The second set went swimmingly with the band well in their comfort zone, belting out more top tunes! Loads of crowd pleasers were in the musical bag of pick’n’mix – 'Mustang Sally', 'Play that Funky Music' and 'Sharp Dressed Man', to name but a few, kept everyone on their feet! Closing with 'Route 66' and then, after receiving cries for more, a rocking rendition of The Monkees' 'I’m a Believer' was the cherry on top to finish off the night.

Lots of smiling faces and overheard snippets of conversation as we headed home indicated a grand time was had by the majority and it was all wrapped up by 9pm! I’m liking the new trend for venues such as The Herb Garden Harbour and others, including The Tavern in Blyth, to put on early evening gigs on a Sunday which means even the dyed in the wool "school night" brigade can go out, catch a gig and still be tucked up in bed at a good time!

Photo (c) Clemmy Scotswood

BlueD13SEL’s next couple of gigs are a Foodbank Fundraiser in Consett on 24 June and their debut at the aforementioned Tavern in Blyth on 25 June – details on their facebook page. Get yourself along and boogie the night away!

As ever, many thanks to Clemmy Scotswood for letting me use his photos.

ADAM ANT - Live at Newcastle Arena 5/5/2017

Well, on Friday 5th May 2017, I realised a dream I've held for more years than it is correct for a lady to mention and I finally got to see my idol and massive teenage crush, the one and only Mr Adam Ant, live on stage!

My pal, El, and I had chatted about going along to the opening night of his ANTHEMS tour at Newcastle Arena and pretty much made up our minds to do so but we were rather gobsmacked to be beaten to the ticket-buying post by El’s husband who surprised us both with tickets as a gift on Mother's Day – how cool was that? I’m not even his mother haha!! Cue several weeks of anticipation and high excitement!

When the day finally arrived, we were blessed with a warm(ish) and sunny spring evening which was absolutely perfect for a stroll along Newcastle's beautiful Quayside. Excitement mounted as we entered the Metro Radio Arena. Due to our leisurely stroll (and pit stop at the Slug & Lettuce) we unfortunately missed the support band, Glam Skanks, which is our loss as I’ve heard only good things about them – sorry ladies!

We had a quick peek at the merch and fought the temptation to say “I’ll have one of those, three of those and half a dozen of these please” (the tour tshirts are somewhat fab!) before being shown to our seats (yes, we were rubbish and couldn’t find them ourselves!). El's hubby did us proud with amazing seats that were way closer to the stage than we had dared to hope for!  Excitement levels reached their peak as the lights went out and, somewhat surprisingly, the overture from Carmen blasted out! This heralded the arrival of the man himself and to our delight, rather than sitting politely in their allocated seats, the crowd rose to greet him! Fantastic!

With a simple yet striking laser beam light show to dazzle us all, the band blasted straight into a fantastic rendition of Beat My Guest and I was delighted to note instantly that Adam Ant does in fact sound as good live as he does recorded - big names can so often be a major disappointment in that respect. I’d heard mutterings that he has ‘lost it’ but no, he most certainly has not. The sound overall was pretty much perfect – hats off to the soundman/woman!

There was a fantastic atmosphere – the crowd was very receptive and ranged from tiny toddlers dressed as pirates to dandy highwaymen (and women) of a certain age in full regalia!  I tell you what, it's been a long time since I've been at a gig where everyone I could see in the crowd was smiling, singing or both throughout the whole performance! They really showed AA the love! They – ok, we -  danced, sang and cheered throughout the set which ran just short of the two hour mark. It was fun to spot the hardcore fans who knew every word to every song compared to the greatest hits fans who looked a bit lost during the lesser known tracks and b-sides!!  I could list the songs but let’s just say there were no disappointments – apart from no Deutscher Girls but I’m prepared to let that go!  You can check out the full and impressive set list here.

As for the band, we had the obligatory dual drummers - Andy and the glamorous Jola who worked like Trojans to provide the trademark Ant beat; new recruit, guitarist Paul Leach, who seemed to have a guitar for every occasion; on bass, the multi talented Joe Holweger and guitarist Will Crewdson (with his stunning eye-catching guitar) were as cool as cool can be as they blasted out the tunes we know and love. The band were tight and note perfect and I was massively impressed by our hero’s own guitar skills.

Adam Ant himself is looking great! He was in good shape and on fine form, delivering a slick and professional performance. Showing no signs of fatigue he sang, danced and twirled round the stage, he played guitar and oozed gallons of “it”, putting more energy into the show than a lot of performers I know who are 20 plus years his junior. One of the best things for me was the fact that everyone on stage seemed to enjoy it as much as we did in the audience – AA’s beaming smile said it all!

The show was over all too soon and after a three song encore we headed home with our own happy smiles, fuzzy ears and fantastic tunes buzzing round our heads!  I really loved every minute of it and, if I could, would have headed up to Edinburgh Playhouse for show #2 the following night too!

Strangely there was no feeling of nostalgia, it all felt decidedly current, here and now. I think this was largely due to the brilliant rock guitar sound which I know surprised a few folk.   By all accounts the rest of the tour is going tremendously well so catch him if you can and indulge yourself in an evening of Antmusic – you won’t regret it!

A New Nowhere - You and Me

I was more than pleased when the lads from A New Nowhere messaged me the other day asking if I’d be interested in doing another review for them. This was for their brand spanking new single,  You and Me - so my immediate reaction was of course, Hell Yeah! After a swift chat and being sworn to secrecy about the song’s accompanying video, a private YouTube link was handed over and I started watching and listening…….

Now, I normally like to keep people in suspense as to what I think about their track/album/gig or whatever I may be reviewing until I publish the actual review but this time I couldn't help myself and messaged back straight away with a resounding ‘Bloody Brilliant!!’

To be fully on honest, it wasn’t that easy to concentrate purely on the track at first as the video is just fantastic and I wanted to watch it a few times but the song is of course the main course here and I can safely say that it stands proudly on its own without the side order of visual delight!

You and Me cracks off with a warm melodic instrumental intro which eases us into the dreamy verse, in juxtaposition with the surreal and slightly nightmarish (in a good way) imagery. These chaps are class musicians and, as I anticipated, the track is more than pleasing to the ear – solid melodic indie/alternative rock; well played and nicely sung with great quality production. This track would sit comfortably on any radio or TV rock show alongside the big guns. A New Nowhere have most definitely delivered a good ‘un and I would strongly urge you to purchase this fine tune! Pre-orders are being accepted on itunes and google play right now!

The band recently signed to Sound-hub Records, which is fantastic news and the single will be released on 17 February. Keep checking Facebook and Twitter for details of the official launch!

I’m afraid you’ll all have to wait until 17 February to see the full video but there’s a snippet on the band's Facebook page to fuel your anticipation! Big shout out to Shoot J Moore for his fantastic work! 

I’d like to wish the lads all the best for the launch and look forward to hearing much more from them in the future, which is looking extremely bright! Watch this space 🙂

**UPDATE**

The single launch will be at the Riverside, Newcastle on 18 February! Get yourselves along and give these lads some well deserved support!