Here and Now @ The King Arthur, Glastonbury, 30.6.2018

I'd first seen Here and Now perform in 1983 at Southampton Guild Hall, and never looked back, since then I don't know how many times we've seen them. What I do know is that 35 years on, and several line up changes later, they're still going strong, in fact as strong as ever. Over all those years Here and Now have never failed to come up with the goods, they never disappoint. Of course, over those years the shape of the band has changed as band members have come and gone, though I can honestly say that the current line up is as good as any I've seen perform. Throughout those years there's been one constant, the legendary, Keith the Bass, the governor, whose steadfast bass remains the solid foundation of the band. Joining him in the bands current manifestation are long time Gong family/Here and Now member Mark Robson on keyboards/vocals and Gem Quinn on drums, two fabulously versatile musicians (both also of Kangaroo Moon, now there's a band); and the 'Andy's', long time Here and Now synth wizard Andy Roger, and on guitar, fellow Andy, Andy Burrows (both also of the most excellent, Music of the Andy's). With a line up like that, of that high calibre, you know your ears are going to be well fed. Relative newbie Andy Burrows has really nailed that distinctive Here and Now guitar sound, and as with those who've gone before him, has brought something unique and new of his own, enriching the collective DNA of the sound which I think has been one of the secrets of the bands longevity (of course, the band will tell you 'there are no secrets'). I think one of the things that makes psychedelia so vibrant is the diverse and manifest talents of those in it, and their ability to effortlessly evolve, maintaining quality whilst remaining box fresh, Here and Now epitomize that.

The evening got off to a bumpy start, as the Andy's began to weave a nice trippy intro, the sound crapped out...I was getting into that too. Soon though with technical gremlins dealt with (the Arthurs' sound guys know their onions), Here and Now launched to full effect.  From the get go it was a stellar set, a beautifully curated mix of material from across their illustrious repertoire. There were some older numbers like a beautifully updated rendition of 'Surgeons Knife', off of their 1979 'All Over The show' album, it' a real favourite of mine, and always a pleasure to hear. Several tracks from the 'Fantasy Shift' and 'Theatre period', it was tracks from these albums which were the sound track of our early Here and Now forays, and still hold a very special magic, creating continuity wormholes to those days of yore. And excitingly, there was also another welcome opportunity to hear some of the bands new material, and wonderful stuff it is, fresh and vibrant, distinctly Here and Now. It's so good to see, and hear. You'll be pleased to know that the band are recording new material for release and if the new tracks they've played of late are anything to go by, we're in for a aural treat...I for one can't wait. Throughout the evening the crowd were enthralled, dancing and showing their thanks loudly after each number. Kudos to the band, it was soooo hot this evening, they must have been melting up there under the lights, though that didn't stop them delivering a magnificent performance. The small back room of the Arthur was like a furnace, made more so by the gig being well attended, it was a full house. Man, evenings like this are needed more than ever, thank you Here and Now, you beautiful people. Sadly, as always, it was over all too soon, leaving a warm glow which resonates on as anticipation grows of the next opportunity to see the band. For over 40 years Here and Now have crafted something magical, never sounding tired, always sounding current, the band continue to be a influential force, as was clear tonight with another absolutely stunning performance by a seminal band of the British psychedelic scene. 

Of course, a big thank you to the Arthur, our not so local local (70 miles away, in fact), for your friendly staff and clientèle, and for continually putting on top shelf nights like this to buoy our spirits. I doff my cap to you.

Deviant Amps @ The King Arthur, Glastonbury, 30.6.2018

So, here we are again back in Glastonbury, returned to the venerable King Arthur, tonight to see the renowned Here and Now band, supported by the Deviant Amps. I'd heard a lot of good things about the Deviant Amps, all good, and what I'd heard of their music I liked, although until now I'd somehow never gotten to see them, narrowly missing them on a couple of previous occasions. Well, that was certainly hugely erroneous on my part, wow, what a great band. Formed by Paul Woodwright in the early 1980's, I understand the The Deviant Amps have gone through untold line ups and guest performers over the years, as appears common with bands of the psychedelic genre, and Deviant Amps appear solidly in the space rock wing of psychedelic. The current line up sees a 3 piece comprising of Paul Woodwright up front and centre on guitar and vocals, you've Dave Onley on bass and drums are supplied by Keith Chenery. Woodwright and Onley are fine musicians, clearly seasoned veterans and masters in their art, clean and tight, both delivering wonderfully rich sounds. Though I'll be honest, for the most part it was drummer Keith Chenery who had my attention as he furiously beat his kit, pulling a range of contorted faces. I searched for a word to describe his drumming style. Then a friend suggested he looked tormented. I had to laugh, I thought, spot on. It was as if the drums were tormenting him, driving him, pushing him through a range of emotions, sometimes he looked tortured, battling the drums, at others times he looked elated. I tell you what though, he's one heck of a drummer, the band weren't playing parlour music, and it's his drums which were driving those tracks along. So, a solid three piece delivering the finest quality psychedelic rock. Smashing! Tonight though, a bonus, as on synths they were joined by Ozrics' Seaweed. Man, can Seaweed twiddle knobs and tinkle keys, or what, he's got form for it and tonight he showed why as he wove his sumptuous tripped out sounds beautifully into the mix, taking our rockers further out into space. Like Mr Chenery, you couldn't help become transfixed by Seaweeds performance, as you almost saw the music flowing through him and the buzz that gave him. I love it when you can see the musicians really digging what they're doing, it's an absolute joy to behold, their energy is infectious. I spent the whole gig head bobbing, feet tapping and with a huge smile on my face. All the band members played superbly. I don't know the titles of any tracks, I have no idea, what I can say though is that that was an thoroughly enjoyable, well executed set of top psychedelia, played at it's best with genuine passion by musicians who really know their onions. Bravo chaps! When the opportunity arises again I'll certainly do my best to catch them, and I recommend you do too. And in the meantime check out their Bandcamp page, you wont be disappointed.

Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor, always a pleasure, though it has to be said, even better in nice weather.

Glaston-tree

We made our way up towards Glastonbury Tor through a deep sunken way, on the sides of which mighty trees clung, their roots cascading down the sides like petrified rivulets. The Isle of Avalon never fails to engender wonder.

Snips and snails

'Snips and snails and puppy dogs tails, and such are little boys made of', don't let his innocent appearance fool you.

All will be lost

I read that the last Oaks planted by the Victorians are coming to maturity, and the that when harvested the Oak will become an increasingly rare tree in our countryside, as over the years few have been planted to compensate for those to be harvested. How shit is that, man, really! Surely, the Oak is one of our symbolic and emblematic countryside trees, the majestic Oak King of the forest. We've already lost the mighty Elm, now the Ash is under threat, and you rarely see Limes any more. Does anybody care though? Apparently, from the article I read, only from an economic perspective. What bollocks. I despair, man. We're already haemorrhaging trees, towns are cutting them down and infrastructure firms are clearing them. Old England is really dying. Not the tired establishment tropes, outdated structures or the purposefully skewed jingoistic views of our history, nor our tarnished ideas around national pride (all things which really do need to die), but the actual land of England, its flora and fauna. Sadly when people tell you they 'love their country', it's invariably the former fake and hollow narratives they mean, not the real tangible natural matrix which actually is their country. On so many levels we're a really stupid people, our wilful ignorance will always be our Achilles heel, mire our progress and inevitably lead to our downfall. Still, Love Island's back on telly.

Camouflage and concealment

Do you ever think about camouflage and concealment, or things like escape and evasion when you're out walking? No. It's just me then, isn't it. Today I was wondering how hard it would be to be spotted from above whist travelling beneath a summer canopy. A person must be near impossible to spot, don't you reckon?

My cherry

I just know some bird's going to have my cherry. No, it's not a  1970's 'Carry On' line (and shame on you if that's what came to mind). I've had this Cherry tree for years (it was given to me by an old friend), every year is produces quite a few cherries, although none ever make it to fruition. This year, as usual, the fruits formed, and, as usual, the birds feasted, though one or two survived, and one, well hidden amongst the leaves, has made it well towards to adult cherry-hood. It may just get eaten by me....may!

Roaring Sky

If the sky was audible this evening it would have roared. It looked angry and fierce, alive like it could reach out and grab you, and at a certain level it does, like so many of natures wonders it grabs your imagination and draws you to it like a moth to a flame.  You think I'm being a bit dramatic? You just have to look at how people flock to an erupting volcano, or a storm battered coastline, or stand out in a wild lightning storm, or any other number of dangerous shows of natures power to see our moth like quality.  That said, we can also be dung flies, just look at the shit (ideologies, people, movements) we coalesce around. I think though, as dangerous as it may be, I'd rather be a moth. 

Summer Solstice

Is the wheel turning faster these days, or is it just me? It's the Summer Solstice already!  I think I've just not been paying attention, too busy, maybe. Stopping and taking time to really look, of course it's solstice, nature's shouting it, her beauty and splendour are out abundance. A time to celebrate. Though the festival itself is a strange one, as well as celebrating natures wonders, the growing evidence of the Sun and Earth's union, we also acknowledge that the Sun has reached his zenith, his power will begin to wane and from tomorrow the days will start to shorten and our journey into darkness begins. That's no bad thing, mind, it's all part of the cycle, yeah, a cold, wet, grim part of the cycle, granted, but everything has a time and a place. And that and more are still to come. For now I'm enjoying the warmth of the sun, the smells, sounds and colours of nature revelry, and really home you are too. Solstice blessing y'all.

Getting in a jam

A couple of years back I made some jam, in fact I made just over 10ltrs of jam...and, I'm still eating it today. Well, it is a preserve. This year I've had a glut of Strawberries, oh the trauma I hear you sarcastically cry, but you can only eat so many bowls of strawberries and cream...can't you. Anyway, I thought I'd make some more jam. When baking/making I like to try and cut down the amount of sugar I'm using, so I cut out a third of the sugar, and increased the fruit by a third, of course altering the recipe radically. Then, I washed the fruit when I shouldn't have, making the mix far too liquidy. Yup, you guessed it, what should have been a simple exercise soon turned into a proper mare, what could wrong, did. I cooked and cooked, and still the mix was failing the wrinkle test, and I cooked some more. Then I turned my back, distracted by Geoff, and boom, it began to stick to the bottom of the pan. Luckily I got to it quick enough to stop it burning, but only just, finally, in my haste forgot to skim it (although that wont effect the taste or quality). As I said, everything that could go wrong had (and everything I could do wrong I did), though at the end of it I still had some jars of jam. Lady luck smiled on me today, and no mistake.  

Down lotty

Geoff has restricted my movements somewhat, he's a ton of work, lovely, but it's like being under siege, you think you've got your defences set, only to find there are more weaknesses for your opponent to exploit than you ever imagined, and you're constantly playing catch up. That said, I've ensured I've got down on the allotment every day, well, you have too, if you're absent from the field of battle, nature will make you pay. Bless her, nature is relentless, and unforgiving if don't tend to her, one years seed seven years weed, and all that.  I've got half the dig-able plot open at the moment (the rest being covered), the onions, shallots, carrots, courgettes, runners, chard, tatties, Hamburg parsley (never grown this before) and leeks are all thriving, with a 9 tomato plants in the greenhouse along with peppers, chillies and cucumbers, and a fruit cage bursting with developing, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants. And I've a range of brassicas and beans still plant to plant. I love the realness of the lotty, the contact with the land and nature, and that timeless feeling you get from engaging in activities our ancestors have undertaken for millennia. Food don't taste too bad either.

Purple poppy

To me poppies epitomize delicate transient beauty. Intricate and fragile they shine for a day and them they're gone, no slow decline for them. This year they've been some gorgeous colours, deep rich reds through mauves and pinks to the most imperial purples. Always keeping on a prepping tip, and with an eye the countries slow demise, it's worth remembering that the poppy is also a useful and very potent medicinal plant. Even our British Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) will produce low grade opium, effective enough as a pain killer if required. An understanding of our field and hedgerow plants medicinal, food and resource uses would have been commonplace in the past, and may well become invaluable in the future.

Geoff

This is Geoff(rey), when you read 'we' in my future posts it's most likely that Geoff will usually be the other of the 'we' along with me. It was a hard decision to get a new hound, and to be honest it was not a move I was overly happy with, though I was out voted, and well, now he's here, hey, he has the makings of a lovely hound. To paraphrase a Basil Fawlty line, I didn't vote for Geoffrey, though now he's here I'm determined to make the most of it. I look forward to showing him around our roams, although it will be a couple of years before he gets to come on any long hauls.

Red Rise Brook

You wouldn't believe a stream ran directly through here, a deep banked, straight cut, quite sterile, remodelled waterway, a Victorian era drain dug to aid forestry. Red Rise Brook now runs free again in it's pre Victorian channel meandering along the nearby edge of the woodland, and brimming with diversity. The sections of stream, east and west of Markway Bridge (Ober to the east and Red Rise to the west) were restored about 15 years or so ago, and with their restoration now entering maturity, the only semblance of the Victorian drain are their occasional earthwork remains, which themselves are fading. Nature’s (apparent) ability to regenerate, to mutate and survive the changes thrown at it, and to heal, is a thing that keeps me buoyant in the face of our environmental rampage, she may not look the same, though I'm sure she'll endure and flourish. It would be nice if our species could flourish along with her, we could be giants, you know, though I think we're too stupid, or maybe merely wilfully ignorant. Never mind, maybe the moles or shrews can have a go next time around.

Breamore landscape

I've always been a big fan of artist and archaeologist (amongst many other things) Heyward Sumner, whose artwork captures the essence of our English rural landscape so very beautifully. And, today I was literally walking in Sumner country, the open chalk landscape between Fordingbridge (Sumner lived in South Gorley near Fordingbridge from 1904 to 1940) and Salisbury, specifically the area around Breamore House. Sumner knew this region well, living in it, walking it and exploring it, recording the archaeological landscapes of both the New Forest and Cranborne Chase. Two of the landscapes I particularly love to walk and myself know quite well (big headed, I know). Walking the land behind Breamore is like walking through a carousel of Sumner illustrations. And what strikes me, is how little the regions landscape appears to have changed since Sumner's time.  Take this photo which looks down a well worn drove, Sumner would most certainly have known and walked, up to Clearbury Rings (Iron Age Hillfort) or as Sumner knew it Claybury Ring, a landmark he illustrated. I reckon he'd as easily recognize all his old haunts, just as easily I recognize the landscapes he drew and painted.

Elderflowers

Throughout the hedgerows and shrubby woodland clumps indicative of the chalk downland of southern Wiltshire, Elder's are coming into bloom, and it's wonderful. Is there anything more evocative of summers arrival than the pungent aroma and creamy white flower clusters of the Elderflower (Sambucus nigra). I think not.

Poppy

The Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) are out in the fields. They may be classed as weeds, though the flashes of colour they bring to the fields are always welcome. Anyway, the idea of a weed is only a human contrivance, a term of abuse we use for a plant which defies our desire to control nature, one which refuses to accept 'its place' in 'our' world. Huzza for the weeds!