Tag: Big Black

Gigs from Abroad – Part 15

In the years from 2016 to 2018 we decided with some friends to undertake an annual jaunt to visit the Christmas markets in Germany.  In the first year we headed to Stuttgart for my debut appearance there, and it was appropriately exceptionally cold. The city is the largest in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg and is in close proximity to the Black Forest and is also Germany’s ‘car capital’. Famous previous residents include the footballer Andreas Muller and the current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

The Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt is one of the largest and oldest Christmas markets in Europe comprising of over 280 stalls in the city centre. It contained an absolutely superb model railway, an artefact I am always eternally fascinated by. Our accommodation was next to the Sudheimer Platz and in the corner of the square was Germany’s first ever funicular built in 1929. It is virtually still in its original format including the old cable car which is in itself a listed building! It takes you on an interesting 550 metre journey on a 28% gradient up to the hilltop area of Waldfriedhof.  

Stuttgart Christmas Market. Image Credit europenbestdestinations.com

In 2018 we returned and this time desired to head out on a train trip to another market and Esslingen was referenced to us as a good place to visit. The market town is located on the River Neckar and lies about 9 miles southeast of Stuttgart and one of its twin cities is Neath in Port Talbot.  When there we traversed up and down the considerable number of lung busting wooden steps to reach Esslinger Burg, the old fortress which once protected the city and the accompanying panoramic views.    

The main rationale for our visit to the town was to attend their famous Medieval Christmas market and the olde world ‘Game of Thrones’ vibe of the event was very enjoyable. It felt novel as alongside the obligatory food and drink and traders selling other wares they had jugglers, minstrels, acrobats and fire magicians. There was also musical entertainment in two separate areas thus we saw a band called Oro on Esslingen Market Stage 1 and a chap called Gudbrugger Goldstein on Esslingen Market Stage 2.   

In the middle year we headed to Heidelberg, and this was the second time I had visited the city.  Heidelberg has considerable history in that around 400,000 years ago ‘Heidelburg Man’ died in a nearby town and his jawbone was discovered in 1907. It was subsequently confirmed that his remains were the earliest evidence of human life in Europe.

The city is in the same large state as Stuttgart and is in the warmest region of the country and also contains Germany’s oldest University, founded in 1386. The city hosted the 1972 Summer Paralympics and famous residents include Friedrich Ebert, the first ever president of Germany, racing driver Nelson Piquet Jr, German football manager Hansi Flick, musician Jackson Browne and actor Michael Fassbender of 12 Mens A Slave and X-Men fame. They were also referenced in Harry Potter as having a high quality Quidditch team called Heidelberg Harriers!

We encountered another funicular which is used by 1m passengers annually. It heads up to Konigstuhl where on our visit we encountered some snow showers, the halfway point is the Castle where we took a break for a beer in the huge bar room.  

Heidelberg Funicular. Image Credit klook.com

Our train trip that weekend was over to Mannheim, which is an anachronism for a German city as the streets are built on a grid pattern (like Glasgow) and are numbered accordingly, this quirk results in its nickname of the Square City. One more famous Mannheim resident to cite here is one of the finest ever tennis players Steffi Graf.

I recall having a sally around a huge department store where there was a comfortable seated area showing Saturday afternoon football on several TV screens which unsurprisingly was populated by primarily the male population! Whilst in attendance at the Mannheim Market we saw the Mannheim Brass Orchestra.

On our last night in Heidelberg, we made the catastrophic error of imbibing too much vino tinto creating a perilous journey the following day. Two further challenges abounded, the first that it is a 50-mile commute back to the airport involving a couple of changes on the rails.

The second was the below freezing weather resulting in us waiting on the runway for an interminable time at the vast Frankfurt Airport before fortunately being given the all clear to depart. Prior to setting of we then had the strange and unfamiliar experience of the plane going through the equivalent of a car wash to clear off the snow. We had a very early night when we arrived home that evening!

Before I depart this week, I want to pay my own homage to Steve Albini who died this week at the tender young age of 61. He was an excellent music producer and undertook the task by concentrating solely on enhancing the band which resulted in hardening Wedding Present’s sound and creating my favourite Pixies album ‘Surfer Rosa’, amongst many other achievements.

Steve Albini on stage. Image Credit rollingstone.com

I caught his later band Shellac once, but my abiding memory is witnessing the intensity of Big Black when I saw them on their penultimate ever British date at Manchester Boardwalk in 1987. The gig gods smiled on us as we only heard about the date on John Peel four days before and queued at the venue at 8pm to obtain one of the last remaining tickets, an unforgettable night!  

Preston Venue 41 New Continental – Part 3

Another considerable component contributing to the New Continental’s continuing rebirth was the building of the Preston Guild Wheel in 2012 which runs right past the pub. One of the Preston’s finest ever inventions, the Wheel is a 21-mile dual cycle and walking route around the city, with perhaps 15 miles of it on off-road tracks and river pathways, though its introduction didn’t save another riverside pub the Shaws Arms from going bust.

Me and my pal Steve Banister used to regularly cycle the route after work in the summer before retiring for a well-deserved refreshment in our usual seats in the Conty. The issue that then presented itself was that I had to cycle home and there were some vicious little hills contained within that three-mile journey! My personal best for completion was 1 hour 34 minutes achieved when I was cycling regularly and I have once walked the Wheel in its entirety, a trek of around seven hours.

In August 2013, Wire visited the venue. Formed in London in 1976, they have been cited as hugely influential of subsequent heavyweight acts Big Black, Minutemen and Sonic Youth. In my view, they produced intelligent complex music, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  

Wire. Image Credit beardedgentlemenmusic.com

Six months later I saw the female fronted art punk band from Amsterdam called Labasheeda, they were supported by India Mill, an interesting band from the local town of Darwen.

In March 2015, I had my first experience of the remarkable Lovely Eggs, the slightly demented two piece from Lancaster. I had previously seen Holly Ross at the Adelphi in Preston when she was in a band called Angelica. It was a very sparse crowd in comparison to them now playing Manchester Apollo. They were quirky and terrific fun; my personal highlight was ‘Have You Ever Heard a Digital Accordion?’ which also has the accolade of having ‘Beef Bourguignon’ as a rhyming couplet! They were supported by Zvilnik.

There was a novel event in February 2017 that piqued Gill and mine’s interest by showcasing an 80’s indie triple bill. First up were The Suncharms from Sheffield who were formed in 1989, recorded a couple of EP’s and undertook the obligatory Peel session before disbanded in 1993. They reformed in 2016 before finally after a very extended gestation period released their debut album in 2021.  

The Suncharms. Image Credit wordpress.com

The middle act was The Chesterf!elds, formed in 1984 in Yeovil. Their debut vinyl release was a joint flexi disc with legendary and much missed Shop Assistants, by heck even just the mention of a flexi disc takes me back! Their members had interplay with bands of that era such as Loft and Blue Aeroplanes. They split in 1989 but were reformed in 2014 following a comeback set at a C86 event at the 92 Club in London. They remain active and have recently issued a new album and played the Talleyrand down the road from me in Levenshulme recently, but I wasn’t available to attend.

The third band was the Orchids, who sprung up from Glasgow in 1985 and their early recordings were on the famous Sarah Records based in Bristol. The label was primarily a C-86 hotbed with other like-minded artists Field Mice and Sunny Day in Glasgow being on their roster. Despite a brief hiatus at the end of the 90’s they remain in play and have recorded new material this year. It was a fine night of indie jingle-jangle with my personal favourite being the Suncharms.  

Later that year I saw a double bill containing White Hills who are a psych rock band from New York, I had seen them before but didn’t enjoy their set as much on this occasion. Also on the bill were a band called Cavalier Song. It was a chaotic end to the night involving cancelled taxis resulting in an absolute soaking when we had to trog back into town through the park.

Since the move to Manchester, I was unsure whether I would have an opportunity to attend the Conty again, but a slot opened in November 22. The previous night to my attendance the noisy monkeys Part Chimp played there who I had seen supporting Mogwai at Amsterdam Melkweg nineteen years earlier.   

On the day of the gig, I watched PNE lose 4-2 to Millwall prior to a chippy tea and a couple of beers before heading down to the venue. It was a punk event and I saw a few old stalwarts down there. On the bill were the P45’s from Blackpool, Preston’s Pike, and the headliners 999 from London with their most famous track ‘Homicide’.   

This unexpected attendance allowed me to reach another random stat landmark. It ensured the Conty became the 20th venue where I have attended at least 10 gigs, with Deaf Institute scheduled to become the 21st venue next year meeting this accolade.