On the twelfth day of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas music gave itself to me. Music is the gift that just keeps on giving. Music is the first thing I put on most mornings, and the last thing I turn off at night. It makes me dance around the house when I'm doing the chores, and sends my spirit soaring. It offers me solace and comfort when life's bearing down. It's always there, indelibly linked to my memories, and is forever triggering reminiscences, which in turn normally bring a smile. If music is the food of life, then I'm a unrepentant greedy bastard, and I'm going to carry on gorging myself whilst there food on the table. I wondered what track I could attach to this post, of course it was obvious, it had to be a bit of Todd, what with him being feckin ace. Enjoy.

On the eleventh day of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas music gave to me, the Here and Now band at Unit 23 Totnes. Ah, Here and Now, a band like no other, a band which holds a special place in my heart. The band has seen a few line up changes over the years, comings and goings, though throughout there's always been one consistent, the governor, Keith The Bass. And, with him in the bands current manifestation are those Andys of 'Music of the Andys', Andy Roger on twiddly tings and Andy Burrows on guitar, and Kangaroo Moon's Mark Robson on keyboards and Gem Quinn on drums, and, man, are they good. They've always been good. Shit, man, what am I saying, Here and Now have never just been 'good', they've always been at least 'great', though more often than not, bloody marvellous. And so it was at Totnes, the chemistry and energy of the current line up made this gig as good a Here and Now gig as I've seen, and over the years that's a fair few. It was an evening to immerse yourself in the joy of familiar tunes played with new twists and be enthralled by new material, solid gold shit too. Word is that they've been in the studio since and that a new release is in the offing. Oh happy days. Click this for a nice rendition of 'So Glad You're Here' filmed by John Peters.

On the tenth day of Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas music gave to me, well, music didn't really give it to me, though it does allow music to give to me, the lovely new Rega Planar 1 record deck I got for my birthday. I'd had my old Dual Audiophile concept cs503-2 record deck for years, though in recently I'd had to replace the headstock, the belt, of course the stylus and the original lid, long broken, was replaced by the lid from my even older vintage Dual cs505-4, which didn't really fit. Still, it played records and allowed my music (records) to keep on giving, in fact it has had a long and distinguished service record of consistency. It's interesting though how you accept compromise without really knowing your doing it, especially if it has developed slowly. I thought that my Dual still sounded fine, and to be honest it didn't sound bad or anything, although from the first spin of the Rega I could hear the difference, it shouted at me. Now the sound appears cleaner, clearer, with more detail and depth. All my records are new again. Huzzah!

On the ninth day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas music gave to me the best gig of the year, the Grace Curvey Collective. Well, that's just what I called them, in fact it was an evening with the Cary Grace Band and The Luck of Eden Hall in the shape of Mr Gregory Curvey, beautifully moulded, melded and exquisitely blended into something unique. Wondrous! I refer you to my post at the time.

On the eight day of Christmas

On the eight day of Christmas music gave me the wonder and nightmare which is bandcamp, and all the magic therein. I'd used bandcamp a few times over the last few years to buy a track or two, here and there, though it was always after being directed to the site, I'd never really explored the site until this year. As I say, it's a real wonder, so much good music to be found and I know I've only just scratched the surface. I'd say most days this year I've listened to at least one new band on bandcamp, more often than not though, I've listened to several more. And, my musical world has expanded exponentially. It's not merely the amount of bands on there, but the immense range of genres and styles, I've found bands I know I'd never have come across otherwise. Bands like 'Stones from the Sky' a French psych/rock/garage whose release 'Live in Agger' is a fantastic listen, 'Between the Buttons' psychedelic pop at it's best, or early 70's Neo-folk 'Comus' who returned for a 21st century reunion album which is great, and I could go on and on. Without bandcamp I'd have missed all of that and more, so, I'm currently loving bandcamp.  I also suggested the site was a nightmare, which it is, the downsides being, there's just so much good music to be found, and my pockets are shallow, if not drought ridden for the most part, and a major bugbear of mine, the prohibitive cost of shipping from the states if you want hard copies of some of the music. Bummer! That said, much of the stuff on there is reasonably priced, or much even name your own price, though that too can pose a dilemma, how much do you give; as much as you can, though what if that's not a lot. Bandcamp is a gift that keeps on giving. A few other bands I've found through the site and I'd recommend you check out are Psychic Lemon, 62 Miles from Space, The Paperweight Array and Nathan Hall and the Sinister Locals. And that really only a few of my recommendations. Once your on the site you've dropped down the rabbit hole into a world of opportunities to feed your ears, my bandcamp 'wish-list' grows daily.

On the seventh day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas, music gave to me a surprise, which really shouldn't have been a surprise. Back in March we ventured west to Totnes to see Gong, I'd last seen some years back on the 2023 tour when Daevid and Gilli were still with us. I'd not seen the band since and I have to admit to being a touch concerned that something may have been missing. I know it was essentially the same line up of consummate artists, minus Daevid and Gilli, as Gongs 2014's 'I see you' (which was both fabulous and moving in equal measure), but still, I don't know. From the performances get go I felt foolish, no, I felt guilty that I'd had any doubts or concerns. This was Gong! No doubt about it. I should have known better, Gong has always been fluid, emerging in different forms and guises, though always in essence Gong, that was Daevid's magic, his creation, his gift. Kavus steps up and takes the lead with a charisma and attitude befitting a Gong front man, I was pleasantly surprised with the air of continuity and continuation the band exuded. Dave Sturt on bass is fantastic, as is Fabio on guitar and Cheb on drums, and Ian East as well as being a superb sax player was also very funny to watch. All round it was a wonderful evening of glorious Gong, I was a bit of a twat for fearing it would be anything else.

On the sixth day of Christmas

https://theluckofedenhall.bandcamp.com/

On the sixth day of Christmas music gave me by far the finest release of the year, the Luck of Eden Hall's 'Make Way for the Mighty Machines'.  Epic, immense, majestically sweeping, all could be used to describe this track, and none would really do it justice, though they'll do for a start. I'd heard a review copy early in the year and couldn't wait for its release which wasn't until October. 'Make Way for the Mighty Machines' is a 23 minute long opus, man, epic is just what it is, so many different elements at play, so many diverse musical styles blended beautiful to create a fabulous whole, it's horizons huge. From it's opening lyric 'we're the resistance, we wont give in, to corporation blight' you know there something more to this track than just music, it's a heart felt message too. It's a rallying cry in the face of the developing storm born of capitalisms failings that's engulfing the globe. I see the track as an anthem for positivity as disobedience to the prevailing negative mainstream narratives as projected through a corrupt corporate media, it urges us to 'discard all negative thoughts' pumped at through our TV screens, it reminds us that those TV's are not our friends. It doesn't just illustrate the problems, it suggests solutions, 'let's share a message of love', is a salient message there in, it's an important message that the Luck of Eden Hall are delivering here, and it reminds us that 'numbers give us the power' to effect change, together.  Our culture needs more musicians who'll give positive focus and a voice to our feeling of disenfranchisement. Well, that's how I see it anyway. As for the music itself, well, there are elements of psych rock and punk sensibilities flowing through strong undercurrents of prog grandeur, it's a vast canvas and every inch of that canvas bathed in a myriad of musical colour and flavour.  It's immense, in sound and in scope, every instrument is played to perfection.  It's a legit musical masterpiece, man! And on this occasion the Luck of Eden Hall is just one man, which makes it even more outstanding, an incredibly talented man, Gregory Curvey. Gregory wrote it, produced it, mixed it, he plays guitar, bass, drums, synth and delivers vocals, all to the highest of standards; I don't doubt he made the tea as well. There's no end to this guys talents. No, really! He's also a fantastic artist and craftsman, on top of which, I had the pleasure of meeting back in the year, and he's a bloody nice chap, to boot; don't you just hate people like that.  As I say, by far the finest release of the year, grab yourself a copy, you wont regret it. This release is a split on the B side of which are 3 tracks by Red Sun, which are also rather good.

On the fifth day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas music gave to me The New Avalon Ballroom Weekender. And wow, what a weekend that was! Sublime bands in salubrious surroundings enjoyed in good company, it doesn't get much better than that. The last few years have throw up obstacles which have meant I've not made it to the festivals or gigs I'd often planned to, I feared it was going to go the same way for The New Avalon Ballroom Weekender, though the Gods and Goddesses smiled upon me and with a little help from my friends (as the Beatles said), at the last minute I was travelling to the Isle of Avalon and on to that hostelry of fine repute, The King Arthur.  The weekender was more fun than I could have imagined. We, like many, camped on the edge of town at the Isle of Avalon Touring Caravan Park, very nice, good atmosphere and within easy walking distance of the town. I have to admit to getting a bit too wasted on the first night, I blame....well, I don't blame anybody, it was a fine evening, even if I did require supporting on the walk back. I took a more measured approach on subsequent days. We didn't get to see all the fantastic bands, although as you'd expect the ones we did gave stella performances. We saw current favourites like The Cary Grace Band, Magic Bus and Music of the Andys, new bands (to me anyway) such as Zub Zub and Tim Hawthorn and the Archetypes and long time favourites and legends in the form of the Invisible Opera Company, Kangaroo Moon and Here and Now. It was magical. And, Here and Now's Andy Roger giving me shout out before 'So glad your here' was a lovely gesture, brought a tear to my eye and was the cherry on one hell of a weekend cake. I was so glad I was there too, to have seen such fabulous bands and enjoyed the company of so many lovely people was a real tonic. I salute all involved.

On the forth day of Christmas

On the forth day of Christmas music gave to me a beautiful evening at the Square and Compass with Kangaroo Moon. For me, it was without a doubt the gig must brimming with joy this year, the Square and Compass was filled with love and good energy.  And it rocked. If you don't know the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers it's not the largest pub in the world, though certainly one of the most convivial, the room in which bands perform is about the size of an average front room, and on the night I recall here, it was crammed with dancing folk of all ages, all with beaming smiles. The attached video isn't of said gig, but does give a flavour of their sound, or should I say 'one' of their sounds, as Kangaroo Moon are a fluid band which manifests in different form, with different line ups, playing different sounds; what's consistent is that they're always well worth seeing.

On the third day of Christmas.....

On the third day of Christmas music gave to me a broken circle. A broken circle I hear you say, that doesn't sound good. Well, you'd be mistaken. My first album purchase of the year was The Greek Theater's fantastic album 'Broken Circle', and what a lovely album. Another much played waxing. 

On the second day of Christmas.....

On the second day of Christmas, music gave to me...a bus full of magic. The last band I saw live this year, and a band I've been lucky enough to catch live on several occasions are the fabulous Magic Bus. A Magic Bus gig, is just that....magic! A band of affable musicians of the highest calibre, creating music of a space jazz prog psych flavour with Canterbury running though ot like Bournemouth through a stick of rock. A Magic Bus gig is guaranteed a most splendid experience. In the summer the band released their third album 'Phillip the Egg' which instantly became a turntable regular (all three of their albums are wonderful listening). Buy their music and go see them perform, you're life will be better for it.......fact!

On the first day of Christmas.....

On the first day of Christmas music gave to me 'Andience' from the 'Andy's', and my first gig of the year. Relatively new, Music of the Andys have already established themselves as a band with depth and substance, and oodles of potential. I say relatively new, that is as a band, Andy Roger is long term twiddler and twister for the legendary Here and Now Band and really knows his electronic onions, and guitarist Andy Burrows is....Well, I don't know, he must have come from somewhere, though I know not where. Unless of course, he's magic, and if you've seen him play then that's a credible suggestion. Anyways, together they create the finest of auditory immersions, wonderful musical textures and landscapes, surfed over by blistering spaced out guitar. Smashing stuff, from nice fellows. Word is there's an album just over the horizon, which will be most excellent, and in the meantime there are few tracks already available on Bandcamp, such as the drifty trance 'Goose of Perception'.  You want to get in now, next thing you know they'll only be playing stadiums and you'll have missed out. Don't say I didn't warn you.