bish blog

…and I was late, and rushed into Bristol, and clean forgot my ear plugs. lol

I wasn’t too late, but at 19:15 last night I was considering throwing a dirty look at the ironing board when I remembered I was due to meet my brother in law in a pub for one good pint prior to the above gig – at 19:30. I [ahem] made good progress down the M5/M4/M32 (always feel that should end with the M1) and got that fine pint in at the Bag o’ Nails (which used to be a moot venue for the old Bristol CiX group – I wonder if they still exist?).

We made our way to the Thekla, a floating (well, securely bolted to the quayside actually) ship in Bristol harbour to see first Ainsley Lister and then Robin Trower. Mr Trower no longer has the long flowing blond locks of yesteryear, but he can still do a great fish face over the red Stratocaster! And loud? Oh my. I can hear the keys as I type… just.

If you ever want to feel old, go to a gig at a student’s union venue! Last night we went with friends to see Seasick Steve, at the Anson Rooms, at Bristol University. Seasick Steve, or Steve Wold, is a bearded dungaree’d ex-hobo blues man with more enthusiasm than finesse and tales of waking up in drunk tanks and bumming rides on railroads and true or nit is therefore definitely more genuine a blues man than many. He sprang to fame with Jules Holland in 2006 and played Glastonbury in 2007. He’s raw and raucous, and his music (played on an assortment of taped together mongrel instruments) hits the back of your spine. Good stuff.

But I’d forgotten about yoof. After standing politely at the bar waiting to be served, I realised I remained forever at the back of the queue. Listening to Steve play, I was thankful his volume got the sound over the incessant conversations, mobile phone calls and yells across the room that seemed the acceptable norm. Standing up in the auditorium for three hours in a mass of sweaty, farting students I realised grunge was not dead… But it was a good night!

Steve was preceded by someone called Simple Kid who kareoke’d his voice and guitar to background midi sequences, the computer screens of which were projected onto a screen on stage, which was novel.