Hard to say Hoosiers without smiling :)

Pain that has become so much a part of my life it is too monotonous to talk about - but it is still there and impacting upon my enjoyment of the gigs that I can get to.  However the trend is my friend and I will attempt to record without becoming bitter and twisted about feeling 100 years old.

So, Thursday 29th May saw the hobble happy - oops sorry DANCE happy girls (Janie is not hobbling in the slightest I might add - although her shoulder….) head North to Angel - the Islington O2 to be the oldest swingers in town at a Hoosiers gig.  We kid you not, these tickets bore a reminder that children under the age of 8 would not be permitted!!!

Doors opened at 7.30 - we arrived by 8 to find the support well underway.  A sweet but distinctly underwhelming man in an alice band, who invited us to buy or steal his CD.  Neither option appealed although a sneaky peak at the flier declared him to be Mike Dignam.

He has a tour coming up - tickets are £9 (pocket money prices) and are already sold out in Norwich!  Catch him quickly - his Mum said that he has to be home before August.





There was a great deal of waiting around after young Mike before the second support of the evening - Ariana and the Rose.  Forget small boys with floppy hair, this was girl crush territory as a diminutive and utterly gorgeous Ariana sang her heart out with a series of melodic and spunky songs she had penned herself.  There was a bad moment for Janie when they performed a cover of The Eurythmics 'Sweet dreams' but the girl did good.  She's no Annie Lennox but had the benefit of performing to an audience too young to know who Annie Lennox was!


'
'In your Bed' loved it!

After Ariana there were endless sound checks, many many guitars to be strummed by gawky roadies prompting a  "They're not the f***ing Rolling Stones' from a slightly disgruntled Janie.  I was in full agreement - didn't they realise that it was after 9.30!  Luckily it wasn't a school night - most of this audience were up past their bedtime ;)

However, from the moment a grinning Alan Sharland clasping a pint of something that wasn't evian took to the drum kit the audience were willing to forgive them anything.  Monochrome Set take note - these guys are BORN to perform and they took us with them through a jolly wheeze of a set which had even doubters like me bopping and singing and grinning from ear to ear.

The Hoosiers - set list

• 1. Somewhere In The Distance 
  2. Unlikely Hero 
  3. Make or Break 
  4. Fidget Brain 
  5. Worried About Ray 
  6. My Last Fight 
  7. Rocket Star 
  8. Cops And Robbers 
  9. Weirdo 
  10. To The Lions 
  11. Made To Measure 
  12. Encore:
  12. Choices 
  13. Handsome Girls and Pretty Boys 
  14. Goodbye Mr A 
      
      
      
      
      
      

Irwin Sparkes gives good frontman.  He fully engages with the audience - leaving the stage on occasion to wander amongst us.  But this is no one man band, the uninitiated such as myself were surprised to discover how often other members of the band took lead vocals.

I loved Fidget Brain from the New LP, a perfect anthem for the girl who never sleeps and of course you cannot hear 'Worried about Ray' without joining in.  This was a class act from a band who take themselves seriously without taking themselves too seriously.  I defy you to say 'The Hoosiers' without smiling. 

Punk for Gentleman

I had been out of gigging action for several weeks due to being struck down with back trouble, so Janie let me back in gently with a local gig at the Half Moon in Putney on 24th May.  It was my first time at the Half Moon but being a short bus ride away (The bus LITERALLY stops right outside my door) and a thoroughly cool place to hang out, it won't be my last.

We had time for a quick beer in a small but perfectly formed beer garden before heading in to the music venue, a fabulously intimate room which despite being a non-smoker myself, really should be full of cigarette smoke.

This was an entirely different crowd to our usual haunts, not the fat middle-aged bearded men of synth nor the jovial hatted and booted ska crowd but a different beast altogether.  This was a uniquely dapper audience; predominantly, but not entirely, male; well dressed in an elegantly edgy way; an undeniably loyal group of music minded folk!

The support were a revelation and I fell a little bit in love with The Fallen Leaves.

Rob Green, lead singer of The Fallen Leaves, proclaimed his music to be 'punk for gentlemen' and he is the consummate mixture of the two.
The perfect illustration being when he drew from his pocket a lit cigarette and proceeded to blow perfect smoke rings mid song.  Electronic of course - it's against the law to smoke in a public place!

Elegantly dressed in cravat and waistcoat Rob Green plays with the concept of the observer and the observed.  Disconcertingly his set included moments of staring out at the audience, reminding this primary school teacher  of Anthony Browne's 'Zoo'.

Who's watching who?

Whilst at other times pouring himself a 'nice cup of tea' from a thermos.

Intriguing man that Mr Green.
(Picture by Paul Hughes)

A taster of The Fallen Leaves.












Who are the Monochrome Set?

I still don't know and I really didn't know what to make of them.  The drummer arrived on stage with an air of joie de vivre and a fez perched jauntily upon his head a la Madness circa 1982.  He set off with an impressive, almost tribal beat and the rest of Monochrome set appeared on stage - a singularly miserable looking bunch who gave us the ubiquitous Monochrome Set as an opening number.  This was a number that even the uninitiated could chant along to.




Why not give it a try!

I don't know what to make of The Monochrome Set (I think it's worth saying twice)  I have an inkling that some of the lyrics are really clever in a dry sardonic way but I was utterly mesmerised by two key factors; the fabulous suit and f***ing miserable demeanour of Lester Square




and the antics of the two cuddly bunnies in the front row.  An woman of indeterminate age had brought two soft toys to the set, secured herself a spot right in front of the stage and proceeded to dance the bunnies from the first song to the last.  It was entrancing, not necessarily in a good way.  There was the distinct impression that this was not the first time the bunnies had been to a Monochrome Set gig and despite my desire to drown them in my pint, it probably won't be the last.



This was an interesting gig - I was left with a greater desire to see The Fallen Leaves again than I was The Monochrome Set, yet I will definitely go and listen to more music from The Monochrome Set.