Tag: Sea Power

Other British Gigs Part 7 – York

There is archaeological evidence that gives weight to the theory that the area of York existed as far back as 8000BC. As you cross over into an AD timeline the town was owned by the Romans and the Vikings, and it was subsequently significantly damaged in the Norman conquest of 1066. In later times, it prospered as the urban centre of Yorkshire and remarkably in 1660, it was the third-largest city in England behind London and Norwich.

Famous York folk include Judi Dench, Frankie Howard, former England manager Steve McClaren, composer John Barry and the bands Shed Seven and the 1980’s ‘anarchists’ The Redskins who once famously in 1984 brought a striking miner onto stage on Channel 4’s The Tube to make a speech during their song but his microphone was switched off! They also must have a sweet tooth in the area as the chocolatiers Joseph Rowntree and Joseph Terry (latterly of Chocolate Orange fame) were born there. 

The Redskins. Image Credit Pinterest

York is literally stacked with history and remarkably contains 34 conservation areas, 2084 listed buildings, 22 ancient monuments and a plethora of olde worlde atmospheric old boozers! I have very fond memories of visiting York as a child and tromping along the remnants of the city walls.

We reacquainted about 20 years ago with some old friends that Gill trained with back in the day and geographically York was a mutually agreeable meeting place to have a rendezvous. We had three annual trips and, on each occasion, coupled it with a jaunt to the nearby Wetherby races and I recall one drunken night visiting the local branch of Popworld! On one of those forays, I also remember being in a boozer there watching Michael Owen score two late goals for England to win a terrific match 3-2 against old rivals Argentina.  

The small downsides are that the city can be a tad touristy and has a rather complex one-way traffic system. To mitigate this, we now choose to travel there on the train and tend to stay at the nearby Premier Inn. As a train enthusiast I always try and make a pilgrimage to the terrific and heartily recommended Railway Museum which first opened its doors in 1975. There are even two public houses encased within the station, namely the Duke of York and the York Tap to whet your whistle before the journey home!     

My favourite ever racecourse is located in the city and the races have taken place since 1731 on the nearby Knavesmire accessed via a short shuttle bus ride from the station. The Knavesmire is a large green space where the gallows were originally located, and Dick Turpin was hanged there in 1739. It is such a good viewing course and exemplifies one of my visualisations of the ‘green and pleasant land’.

York Racecourse. Image Credit webaviation.co.uk

When in attendance in 2018 there was a pop-up stage in the York Races County Stand, where we saw Dr Jazz who are a local 6-piece Great Gatsby band who play songs from the 1920/1930’s era and are bedecked in top hat, waistcoats and bow ties. We saw the same band again at our most recent visit a couple of months ago.

In 2018 they also had another band called Dr Thirsty playing on the York Races Tattersalls Stage, who are a wedding and function band. On our next visit the following year we witnessed Superlicks, a locally based three piece ‘party’ band.  On our latest trip they had then set up a bespoke area thus creating York Races Tattersalls Stage 2 where the Irish Jags were performing some woeful covers. Additionally, by the bus pick up area there was the York Racecourse Stage where a singer called Ed Winchard was playing.  

On the 2024 visit we decided to stay a couple of nights and on the Thursday, we discovered a terrific pub called the Market Cat, a three-storey establishment with views of the market and the archaic streets of the city. They had a comprehensive selection of fine ales and tidy looking pizzas. Best of all, they had a fine indie soundtrack, and I heard tracks by the View, Sea Power and most excitingly Husker Du whilst ensconced there. On our way back to the digs we caught a chap called Barney playing in York Brewdog.

Market Cat viewpoint. Image Credit tripadvisor.co.uk

We braved the chaotic local Wetherspoons for breakfast on race day and had a good sally round the city post -racing including a sly return visit to the Market Cat. On the Saturday we were on York St Helen’s Square, off Stonegate which was the original location for the departure point for stagecoaches to London. On a pop up stage, we saw Malachy playing whilst three years earlier we witnessed local four piece King No-One there. The latter recently played at the Year End Festival I attended in Manchester a couple of weeks ago.  

Manchester Venues 87 to 88 Albert Hall – Part 3

Now I could be wrong here, but my impression is that the early shows immediately post- pandemic appeared to have less tickets on sale as for a spell there was more room to breathe, even at sold out shows. Then, the sold-out events seemed to become much busier and for me this is one of the flaws in Manchester Albert Hall’s arsenal as at some of their gigs there you literally cannot move. A case in point was a Mogwai date this year where I was pinned in a spot by the bar (though there are worse places to be!) which didn’t allow you to adjust your position or viewpoint even if you wanted to.   

My next gig at the venue was to see Car Seat Headrest in November 2018. I have always been a huge fan of this band ever since I first heard the track ‘Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales’, the song is derived from the 2016 ‘Teens of Denial’ album. That album ticks so many musical boxes from me and I would rate is as highly as being one of my Top 10 albums.  

Car Seat Headrest. Image Credit Billboard.

The driving force behind the band is Will Toledo who as a solo member self-released an astonishing 12 records between 2010 and 2014 before becoming a fully-fledged band the following year. In my view their music is so thoughtful and heartfelt but beautifully wrapped up in a crunchy garage rock sound which I have an inherent weakness for. The lo-fi lyrics talk specifically and empathise with the waifs and strays, lonely and dispossessed bedroom warriors of the world and the audience that night reflected that cross-section of the population, and I thoroughly enjoyed their show and the resulting exultant sing along!

As part of the Dot-to-Dot festival in 2018, I saw Dream Wife, a three-piece pop punk band from Brighton. I saw so many bands that day, and I cannot recall a note of whatever portion of their set I witnessed, but they do appear to have received a fair degree of critical acclaim since then.

July 19 resulted in seeing two reforming 90’s bands but neither hit the heights for me. The first being the Anglo-French combo Stereolab, who came across as a tad self-indulgent. The second was the Glaswegian lo-fi popsters Belle and Sebastian whose ongoing driving force has been Stuart Murdoch. They formed in 1996 and have produced twelve studio albums. Their previous members have included Isobel Campbell who collaborated on a couple of excellent albums with the late great Mark Lanegan.    

Their jaunty single ‘The Boy with the Arab Strap’ was featured on the soundtrack of the ‘Juno’ movie and the C4 series ‘Teachers’ featuring a young Andrew Lincoln. In my opinion though, Andrew’s defining role remains the character Egg in the fantastic ground-breaking BBC 2 series ‘This Life’. Despite a couple of decent moments, the band were too twee for me.

In February 2020 I saw the Texan post-rock band Explosions in the Sky where it was patently clear when we were out and about that the dark clouds of Covid where beginning to form. In November 21 the old troubadours Jesus and Mary Chain were back on tour, and I was seeing them for the eighth time in total and for the first time in seven years. They played their excellent second album ‘Darklands’ in full and following an intermission played some further tunes. They sounded in very fine form and Jamie looked well though William looked a little weather worn and was seated throughout the performance.      

Jesus and Mary Chain. Image Credit exclaim!

In April 2022, I saw Sea Power (now without the British in their name) for the sixth time and later that year witnessed Mountain Goats. The latter band being from California and their constant member is John Darnielle, and for many years he operated as the solo member. Their name was derived from a line in a Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song, and they were firmly in the folk-rock vein and there were some die-hard fans in attendance.

My most current gig there was a couple of months ago to watch Eels who provided a soothing performance led by the distinctive vocals and quirky presence of Mark Oliver Everett (stage name E). They were supported on the night by the French soul rock band Inspector Cluzo.    

One postscript before I go, when leaving the hall during Dot-to-Dot festival in 2018 there was a Manchester Albert Hall Beer Van situated right outside the venue. There was an impromptu gig taking place in the open van by some accomplished musicians called the Road Crew, it was an enjoyable interlude before walking on to the next venue!