Heaven

It has taken me a long time to write up this gig.  It has taken on a dreamlike quality and I wondered if putting it down on paper might tie it into the realms of the ordinary.  But when you've experienced a little slice of heaven - you shouldn't  keep it to yourself.

Culture Club at Heaven - October 21st 2014

I had fully intended to see Culture Club at the O2 in December, I was in possession of a ticket.  But when your son comes home from school and tells you that his christmas carol concert is the same night as the Culture Club gig that you have waited more than half your life to go to…… well there's no decision to make.  Boy George will see a crowd of faces, my boy will be looking for one face in a crowd.  The gig was off.

Then the news that CC would be playing an intimate warm up gig at Heaven, the place it all began, the place I was too young to get into was almost too good to be true.  I didn't get a ticket in the original ballot but there was one final chance and voila 2 golden tickets and only one possible person to go with.

Heaven, the iconic 1980s gay club, is tucked beneath the arches at Charring Cross, just crossing the threshold made me feel 18 and somewhat wicked again. Beers bought, (legal beers) we took up our positions - perhaps 10 deep from the front and waited, with some trepidation for CC to appear.  Having seen The Boy at the Indigo O2 earlier this year, I was confident that he could still deliver a song.  But what of the band and in truth what of Jon Moss, who for a critical year or two of my adolescence had regularly fought Adam Ant for my attentions?

The band arrived on stage to the haunting yet curiously upbeat Church of the Poison Mind.  

The Boy, resplendent in yellow hat looked great.  Trim and healthy, relaxed yet aloof, confident and in control.  My best analogy is that of beloved and respected professor.  He was happy that we had turned out to listen but there was a sense that we could have been 20 or 2,000 and it would have made little difference to him.  He berated people for talking during a song and accepted as his due the love and respect of the throng at his feet.

Mikey Craig has clearly sold himself to the devil - this could be straight from the pages of When Cameras go Crazy (yes I own a copy)

And Jon Moss?  Well, I guess you could say he was looking hot, in the sweaty kind of a way.

Oh yes.  Roy Hay.  He was there too.  Nothing much changes.

The sound was gloriously culture club but there was an element of toddlers in the 'parallel play' stage.  All doing their own thing, happily sharing a stage together but without much that passed for true interaction.  There was no indication of the tempestuous love/hate relationship between Boy George and Jon Moss in fact contrived indifference was the order of the day.  

Set List

• 1. Church of the Poison Mind 
  2. Move Away 
  3. Different Man 
  4. Like I Used To 
  5. Human Zoo 
  6. Let Somebody Love You 
  7. Miss Me Blind 
  8. The War Song 
  9. Karma Chameleon 
  10. More Than Silence 
  11. Black Money 
  12. Oil & Water 
  13. Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? 
  14. Runaway Train 
  15. Encore:
  15. Its a Miracle 

Were there gems missing?  Undoubtedly.  'Time' from the Kissing to be Clever album and 'Victims' from Colour by Numbers to name but two. However, the audience embraced the old favourites with genuine emotion and energy and accepted with good grace the new.

The greatest coup of the night was  the previously slightly embarrassing 'War Song' -  Altogether Now 

'War war is stupid and people are stupid'  

being made cool with a strong dance beat and a little help from Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

This was the gig that made me cry.  This was the gig that I felt most connected to the ghost of my youth, even my Dad put in an appearance for me that night whispering 'Are you sure that's a bloke' in my ear - just to wind me up.  It was Black Money that pushed me over the edge and if the beer was a little salty after that, well it was a small price to pay. 

I only wish that I could send this blog to my thirteen year old self with a note to dry her tears - she may not be old enough to get into Heaven to see Culture Club in 1982, but she won't be too old to party with The Boy in 2014.  But I guess she would just wonder what the hell a blog was :)

More than just a wobbly pink dessert

To make good gig;

Ingredients
1 great pre gig pub 
A fabulous venue 
Several beers
A position with a view
2 or 3 brand new friends (choose ones with hats for extra flavour)
Hundreds of passionate people
Mix with some bloody great music

Thursday 13th November had it all!

Kentish Town - an area I got to know well in the guise of one my many alter egos…ballet mum but tonight I was in full on dance happy mode.

 The Forum is a gorgeous 1930s art deco style cinema and in a gin fuelled haze I glibly declared that I had never actually been inside before - this is, of course, complete nonsense because The Forum is, of course, The Town and Country Club of the late 80s and early 90s and I have seen Billy Bragg amongst others perform there.  

Janie and I blagged a position close to the front and before long the masses closed in around us.  At this point it is important to have a landmark for navigating back from the bar and the loo so Janie took it upon herself to befriend the man in the beanie hat which could act as our homing beacon, to be referred to from henceforth as Graeme.  As this is his name.

Blancmange were just great a fusion of mad scientist garb, sad dad dancing, megaphones and that bloody fantastic electronic sound.  The audience really came together to support the maiden arts of electronic music.

• 1. Game Above My Head 
  2. God's Kitchen 
  3. Don't Tell Me 
  4. WDYF 
  5. I Can't Explain 
  6. Waves 
  7. Living on the Ceiling 
  8. Feel Me 
  9. Blind Vision 
     
     
     
     
     But where was it Blancmange - surely you are not trying to draw a veil over your Abba moment?
     It needed to be there so I have included it here.  Please don't leave it out in future.

Heaven 17 followed fast on the heels of Blancmange, a happy relaxed Heaven 17 with more than a nod to The Human League.  Gregory's murdering of the first verse of 'Don't you want me' was, he assured us, performed 'because it really pisses off Phil Oakey' and as music folklore has it that Martyn Ware once chased Oakey down a street throwing milk bottles at him, you can assume that he was happy to have it murdered.  'Crushed' on the other hand, was performed with chutzpah a-plenty and much audience participation "WOO-WOO"

However, it was while I was singing merrily 'Kiss the Boys Goodbye' that I realised for the first time what a creepy song that is.  If a 37 year old man tells my future 17 year old daughter to 'come live with me' he won't be singing for long!  Holy Cow am I destined to listen to all the songs of my youth through a mum's ears these days?

I was thirty-seven

You were seventeen

You were half my age

The youth I'd never seen

Unlikely people meeting in a dream

Heaven only knows the way it should have been 

Here today my tomorrow

Where you lead I will follow

All that kissing

No passion missing

Come live with me

Kiss the boys goodbye 

Have they lost that loving feeling?  Nope.

This was feel good gig at its best.  Aside from a few precocious hand-lowering moments reminiscent of Ross from Friends from Martyn Ware, they didn't take themselves too seriously.  The band boasts the sexiest synth girls in the business, the brilliantly sassy and talented vocalists Billie Godfrey and Rachel Mosieh and men and women alike went a bit ga ga when Berenice Scott stepped up to the front for Being Boiled.  

A tour of synthetic delights?  Oh yes it was.

The setlist 'acquired' by Janie

I love to hate you

I knew that Earsure couldn't help but disappoint me.  It's not their fault.  So much of their music makes my heart sing but everyone in that audience could make their own individual wish list and whilst I was thrilled to hear 'I Love to Hate You' and was pretty much assured of 'Sometimes' and 'A little Respect' it actually hurt not to hear them perform some of my all time favourites.

I would have sold my granny to the devil to hear Sunday Girl and despite pinning all my hopes on the fact that it was indeed Sunday, it was not to be.  Had it been, it might have sounded something like…..this!

• 1. Oh L'Amour 
  2. Star 
  3. Breath of Life 
  4. You Surround Me 
  5. Elevation 
  6. Stop! 
  7. Make It Wonderful 
     (Live debut)
  8. Drama! 
  9. Victim of Love 
  10. Ship of Fools 
  11. Sacred 
  12. Always 
  13. Dead of Night 
  14. Blue Savannah 
  15. Chorus 
  16. Love to Hate You 
  17. A Little Respect 
  18. Chains of Love 
  19. Encore:
  19. Gaudete 
      ([traditional] cover) (Acapella)
  20. Sometimes 
      
      
      But the vibe was camp dancetastic.  It had nothing of the feel of nearing the end of a long tour, it was fresh and bouncy and quite frankly….fun!  Andy gave us his ubiquitous dance moves complete with glittery hot pants, think Kylie Minogue in 'Spinning Around'  and the audience responded in kind (well minus the hot pants) 
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      As a self confessed limelight hogger, I can definitely point the finger and Andy is born to show off but the warmth with which the crowd greeted Vince Clarke, the quiet man of Erasure, made me a little teary.  Erasure is no one man band, and the crowd roared their approval of Vince Clarke and made their feelings felt.
      
      
      
      
      The set was over in an ear ringing, chest pounding heart beat and for the encore Andy stripped off the glitz and the wrappings the trimmings and trappings and sang an acapella version of Gaudete from Snow Globe leaving no one in any doubt that this man is a master musician.
      
      
      This was Janie's 50th gig of the year and it was a joyfully frivolous finale.  The audience grinned at each other - happy to be sharing in the fun and a little bit of that camp Christmas magic spilled out onto the platforms at Kentish Town tube, all over the internet and onto BBC news.
      
      
      
      
      
      

Bad to the Bone

Sunday 9th November - Billy Idol

With my heart somewhere in lost property at the union chapel - I wasn't sure that I was ready to get dance happy again just 24 hours later, but when the archetypal 80s bad boy comes to town, well it would be rude not to.  So, Sunday night saw me heading to the Hammersmith Odeon (it will always be The Odeon to me) to see THE beautiful punk who cracked MTV Billy Idol.

There was a very shouty support band which may have been called YEAH YEAH FUCK YEAH INCOMPREHENSIBLE LOUD SOUND with a guitarist who may or may not have been blind.  

Billy kept this audience of 40 and 50 somethings waiting; crushed up against complete strangers, shoes sticking to the beer sodden floor and backs aching from the effort of standing upright on the seriously raked floor for bloody ages.  But to a heart thudding base from amidst an array of strobe lighting the somewhat vampiric and ridiculously sexy Billy Idol stepped forth and we were willing to forgive him anything.

This blond bombshell has sold his soul to the devil (possibly Steve Stevens) as age doesn't seems to have touched him - he's in great shape and he leapt around the stage with the energy of a man 20 years younger.  There were sneers and snarls and occasional devastating smiles, dressed in leader and studs, except when he wasn't :)  

  

Steve Stevens is Idol's right hand man, a sneering, snarling, chain smoking, devil of a guitarist who is an incredibly talented ego maniac.  His solo spot was, in Janie's words, "one huge wank"but hey, don't knock it, I needed a loo break.

The setlist was strong with enough to keep ageing punks and fair-weather fanciers happy.  It was glam punk theatre at it's finest.  Billy - you're a hero!

1. Postcards from the Past 
2. Cradle of Love 
3. Can't Break Me Down 
4. Dancing With Myself 
   (Generation X song)
5. Flesh for Fantasy 
6. Save Me Now 
7. Whiskey & Pills 
8. Sweet Sixteen 
9. Kings and Queens of the Underground 
10. Eyes Without a Face 
11. L.A. Woman 
    (The Doors cover)
12. Steve Stevens - Guitar Solo 
13. King Rocker 
    (Generation X song)
14. Ready Steady Go 
    (Generation X song)
15. Blue Highway 
16. Rebel Yell 
17. White Wedding 
18. Mony Mony 
    (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
    
    

Is that love?

Well. I can't think of a better word for the emotion that I felt sitting in the union chapel last night (8th November) listening to the inimitable Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook sing the soundtrack to my life.  (I am hoping of course that my life doesn't end a la labelled with love)

I've seen Chris Difford perform before, at an intimate event called dinner with Difford, and I fell for the humble charm and deep voice of the man who penned 'Up at the junction' aged just 16 years old.  Then he had spoken candidly about the band which he had clearly loved and loathed in equal measure during its turbulent years but last night was a much more guarded set. This tour has been dubbed 'The At Odds Couple' and this isn't entirely tongue in cheek.  

I loved the start - the visual nod to the 50p stolen from mum Difford's purse to place the ad in the newsagent for a guitarist for his, as yet, non-existent, band and the one and only response from a young Glen.  Or maybe it just allowed the diehard squeeze fans to feel a little smug at getting the references.

Despite starting in bed together with a nod to Morcombe and Wise there was a definite lack of warmth between Difford and Tilbrook.  There were several instances in each half when one of them would leave the stage allowing the other to perform alone "Black Coffee in Bed" for Tillbrook  "Fat as a fiddle" for Difford and Tilbrook's instance on Christopher Difford galled a little, but when they perform together - that's when the magic happens.  That's when you realise what a dynamite couple they are. 

This dance happy girl is decidedly Team Difford.

The voices are still amazingly strong - black coffee in bed brought down a little for Tillbrook but undeniable squeeze.  I was a little confused by Tempted which sounded different from my memories of it until I realised that Paul Carrack took lead vocals on the original - hold that thought for a pub quiz.  

No mention was made of Carrack or Holland, in fact Squeeze itself appeared to be the elephant in the room.  This was Difford and Tilbrook, Tilbrook and Difford "Don't mention the band"

There was a fleeting moment of togetherness when making it through 'Slap & Tickle' they shared a brief celebratory hug which left us wondering why it had all gone so horribly wrong (the relationships as opposed to the song)


It was a dynamite set only lacking one real gem with my favourite Squeeze line of all time "I wanna be good - is that not enough?"

• 1. Take Me I'm Yours 
  2. Black Coffee In Bed 
  3. Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken 
  4. Halfway (1974 Squeeze song) 
  5. Electric Trains 
  6. Is That Love 
  7. Beautiful Game (new Difford & Tilbrook song) 
  8. Pulling Mussels From A Shell 
  9. Wrecked (Chris Difford solo) 
  10. Fat As A Fiddle (Chris Difford Solo) 
  11. Cowboys Are My Weakness (Chris Difford solo then re-joined by Glenn Tilbrook) 
  12. Up The Junction 
  13. Encore:
  13. Some Fantastic Place 
  14. Cold Shoulder 
  15. Ray (Glenn Tilbrook solo) 
  16. Ice Cream (Glenn Tilbrook solo) 
  17. Persephone (Glenn Tilbrook solo) 
  18. Points of View 
  19. Slap & Tickle 
  20. Everything In The World 
  21. Annie Get Your Gun 
  22. Tempted 
  23. Cool For Cats 
  24. Encore 2:
  24. Cradle to the Grave (new Difford & Tilbrook song) 
  25. Labelled With Love 
  26. Goodbye Girl 

I

I just loved the whole night!  Having forced 

Janie to 'yeti up' and queue in the pouring rain to be in with a hope of seeing the whites of their eyes we did indeed grab a pew within 'eye-meeting' distance and I fear I may have left my heart in the Union Chapel on Saturday night.  Wonder if it's in lost property?