Tag: Mark Lanegan

Heptonstall Festival

The town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire dates back to the Saxon (not the band!) era and sheep rearing was the main occupation at that stage. When the industrial revolution commenced, there was an increasing need for water-powered weaving mills and the villages proximity to the river presented a considerable advantage. The transportation element was further enhanced with the opening of the Rochdale Canal in 1798 and the Calder Valley rail line in 1841.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s many artists, musicians and bohemians gravitated towards the town thereby increasing the tourism and reliable train links were created into the big cities of Manchester and Leeds. The town obtained fairtrade status in 2003 and was also chosen to be part of the Stage 2 route in the 2014 Tour de France.

On the cultural front the original video of Dream Academy’s 1984 single ‘Life in a Northern Town’ was filmed in the town as was the hugely successful TV series Happy Valley.  A renowned Blues Festival was held there in the early 2010’s and there is also the nationally renowned Trades Club where regular gigs are held, though I have never yet visited as tickets are regularly at a premium.

Dream Academy promo. Image Credit iheart.com

Luminaries such as Patti Smith, Teenage Fanclub, Public Service Broadcasting, Loop and Mark Lanegan have graced the stage there. Peel faves Bogshed were from the town, and I still recall their very lo-fi out there ‘hit’ single ‘Fat Boy Exam Failure’, and I also saw them at Preston Caribbean Club back in 1985.

Above the town lies the hilltop village of Heptonstall where the poet Sylivia Plath is buried. It is a throwback to an archetypal Yorkshire village further embellished by the fact that in the 1980’s the roads were returned to their original stone setts and late 19th century cast-iron gas lamps were installed.

Bogshed. Image Credit pinterest.com

The original church was damaged by a gale in 1847 and now just a shell remains. However, one of the lads in 2015 picked up on a more contemporary usage of the church with the identification of the annual Heptonstall festival where John Bramwell and Lottery Winners have graced the stage there.  

Thus, on the 04/07/15 we sallied over on the train alighting at Hebden Bridge station and after a couple of beers in town we headed up on the bus to the village. When I say up, that is a significant understatement as it is a very steep climb, one I have only yet walked downwards, but hope to rectify that upward trajectory at some stage.

The two pubs in the village and accompanying food stalls were doing a roaring trade and it was a very well organised and q friendly set-up. On the Heptonstall Festival Acoustic Stage we saw a band called Revisit and the Three Valleys Gospel Choir, who perform locally on a regular basis, mainly in the Todmorden area.

Top of the Heptonstall hill. Image Credit screenyorkshire.co.uk

On the Heptonstall Festival Weavers Square I encountered some electro-pop from the Manchester musician Zoe Stirling who is also known under the alias KOHL. The Hebden based eight-piece Owter Zeds who have been on the scene for 30 years followed with their ska covers. Next up was Catfish Skillet who are classed in the hugely niche genre of Pennine Appalachian and incorporate some quick picking bluegrass banjo playing. The final band were a decent post-punk band from Liverpool called Takotsubo Men.

I returned a couple of years later to attend the 2017 edition and on the main stage witnessed local folk band Johnny Powell & The Seasonal Beasts and a jaunty acoustic set from MK and the Escalators. They had set up a further stage in the evocative setting of the remnants of Heptonstall Festival Church where a Scottish influenced folk combo called Outside the Box played some foot tapping tunes.                 

Manchester Venue 92 – Band on the Wall

At the top end of Oldham Street, you find the Comedy Club and the iconic Crown and Kettle public house across on the other side of busy Swan Street. Hundred yards to the left of there is the oldest venue in town, Manchester Band on the Wall, which sits opposite to the Fringe Bar.

Crown and Kettle interior. Image Credit eatmcr.co.uk

The venue was originally opened as the George and Dragon pub in 1803 within a big market area, even in those very early days it had a licence for song and dance. It was located near the old gathering place of ‘New Cross’ where many an Industrial Revolution demonstration took place. The landlord in residence between the 1930’s and 1950’s was a no-nonsense chap called Ernie Tyson who decided to expand the repertoire and created a stage halfway up the wall at the rear of the pub, hence the name of the establishment was formed.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s it sat in the jazz domain before punk hit and the Buzzcocks and Joy Division played early gigs, the latter allegedly signed in blood their recording contract there with Tony H Wilson. The venue is registered as a charity so allows more artistic freedom and its music resides mainly in the roots and soul genre and because of this not one I have visited regularly. To exemplify this musical ethos, Craig Charles has for many years undertaken a monthly DJ residence there.   

It is an award-winning establishment and has recently been refurbished, it has an initial bar area as you enter which now has the ability to stage smaller performances with an 80-person capacity. Then to your left there is a step free access into the main music room with an additional balcony overlooking the stage and this area now has an increased capacity of 500 due to an expansion into the adjoining three-storey Cocozza Wood building.  

Band on the Wall. Image Credit DesignMyNight.com

One of the seminal and most influential bands of my youth was Husker Du and I was fortunate to see them twice back in the day and at the first gig had a brief chat with the band and I have been playing a lot of their considerable output recently. Post their breakup in 1988 I kept a close eye on the individual output of the members of the band and saw Sugar several times and Bob Mould solo a couple of times.

The drummer Grant Hart was less prolific in his output and toured far less prior to his untimely death in 2017. His passing hit me like a sledgehammer in much the same way Mark Lanegan’s did, perhaps also inciting selfishly the mourning of your past youth! 

He was a fabulous drummer with my personal favourite of his art being the thunderous driving rhythm of Husker Du’s ‘New Day Rising’, go on have a listen to it right now! He also released some terrific solo records, particularly the first two ‘Intolerance’ and ‘Good News for the Modern Man’, the initial one being issued via the legendary SST records.  

I was therefore excited when I saw the news he was touring in December 2011, so tickets were purchased and off we popped. I was a tad worried when I saw it was just Grant and a backing track machine but surprisingly it worked with him topping up the sound on his guitar.

He had a considerable back catalogue and was inviting requests from the audience, however when one punter somewhat rudely stated ‘you need to play xxxx’, he was met with an instant withering response ‘you need to be on the streets man’! Standout tracks that evening were ‘2541’, ‘The Main’, ‘Never Talking to You Again’, ‘There’s a Girl who Lives on Heaven’s Hill’ and ‘Green Eyes’.  

Grant Hart. Image Credit SFGate

My other three attendances were all part of wristband events, the first in May 2018 was to see Desperate Journalist, a decent post punk band from London. At the following years Dot to Dot event, I witnessed part of an excellent set from Kilmarnock’s Fatherson. I very nearly saw them in Edinburgh a few years earlier but was glad to finally catch up with them. My final appearance was in November 2019 to see a local artist called Elysse Mason who reminded me to a degree of Lana Del Rey.