Well, I certainly wound the clock back last night. 11 years ago, I went to see Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium. They were supported by Van Halen, Thunder and Ugly Kid Joe. I’d toyed with the idea of going to see them play at the new Wembley when the dates for the “Have a Nice Day” tour were announced. However, I decided against it and didn’t give it a second thought until it was announced that they would play at the KC Stadium in Hull. Since Sarah only lives about a 15 minute walk away, I bought a ticket in the standing area. I don’t listen to Bon Jovi quiet as much as I used too and I certainly don’t know the tracks on “Bounce”, “Crush” or “Have a Nice Day” as much as I do on the earlier albums.
Anyway, the gig was last night in Hull. I missed the opening act and only caught a bit of the second act. Bon Jovi took the stage at about 8pm and all of a sudden I was 21 again. The band and I have grown old together, as Jon Bon Jovi reminded me. Tico Torres now looks middle-aged and Richie Sambora has certainly put some weight on. Mind you, I suppose I now look middle-aged compared to the teenager who discovered “Slippery When Wet” on a coach en-route to France in 1987. The only reason I had the cassette was because I’d taken a shine to “The Final Countdown” by Europe and a friend had copied the album “The Final Countdown” on one side of a C90 and “Slippery When Wet” on the other. The first half of the album was an instant hit for me and “Wanted Dead or Alive” is one of my favourite songs of all time, along with “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil.
The rain eased off just after Bon Jovi took the stage amidst a fully illuminated display. They opened with “Last Man Standing” before heading into “Rockin’ Around the World” by Status Quo and following it up with “You Give Love a Bad Name”. A lot of the classics got an airing tonight including “Living on A Prayer”, “Runaway”, “Raise Your Hands”, “Blood on Blood”, “Keep the Faith” and “Bad Medicine”. They also played some of the songs I don’t know so well like “Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars”, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Have A Nice Day”.
The tempo didn’t drop during the night and neither did the lights. The band kept going right to the end and I have to say that it was the best gig I’ve ever been to and I’ve now got to decide whether I go to see any of the other gigs I’d like to see before the end of the year; Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Status Quo, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings or Billy Joel.
I’d forgotten who good a good gig is and I can’t wait for the next one.
Anyway, tonight sees me playing at St Matthew’s Church in Hull. I’m sure the audience will be massively different, even if the venue is only a stone’s throw away.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Friday 9th June saw the Greatest Free Show on Earth once more in Saddleworth and Tameside. The annual Whit Friday Marches attract bands from all over the country. I guess it was because I never took banding seriously until 1999, but the first time I ever played at the Whit Friday Marches wasn’t until then. Since then I’ve only missed one Whit Friday, in 2002 when Imps played at the Masters two days later. This year was a first for me though, as it is the first time I’ve played for a scratch band.
Back in February, I played at the Brass at the Guild contest for Jackfield Elcock Reisen and was asked if I fancied playing at the Whit Friday Marches for a scratch band which was being put together. I agreed and also volunteered to guide the band around Tameside. I guided the Ransome Band around Tameside last year and we managed to play at all 11 venues. The scratch band was born and swiftly named Hawaiian Brass.
Friday saw 44 of us marching around Tameside dressed in Hawaiian shirts, hula skirts and sandals. We marched to the theme from Hawaii Five-0 and played the march “The President” on the stand. At the time of writing, I’ve not heard of any of our results, but we certainly entertained people. We were the fourth band to play at Denton Cricket Club, traditionally the start of the Tameside contests. After that we played number 2 at Dukinfield. As the night progressed, we brought the audience onto our side, with our antics on the march. We got huge cheers as we marched down to the stand and this translated into big cheers when we finished the contest march. Sadly, I’m sure this won’t translate into great results, although we may get a few good places.
We arrived at Broadoak, our last stop for the night, at just after 10.30pm, the closing point. However, the reputation we received all the way around meant that we were able to talk our way onto the contest card, playing the last band and getting a great cheer from the crowd. Talking to some of them, they had been waiting from 6pm to hear us play, which was a great testament. It wasn’t that they thought we were a top band but they had heard that we were something to watch on the march down to the stand.
Friday was also the start of the World Cup, I’ve managed to catch some of the games, most notably the England / Paraguay game. I’ve seen parts of a few other games, but I have to say that I haven’t been impressed with England so far. There seems to be too much hype and not enough action. Cote d’Ivoire impressed me, but I still fancy Argentina to win the tournament. The Czechs are dark horses for me, but it’s still only 3 days in.
I’ve spent most of the weekend recording a Christmas CD with the band. It’s got fifteen tracks on it, including “Ukranian Bell Carol”, “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Fanfare of the Bells”. It will be out later in the year and although it’s been a little surreal recording a Christmas CD in the middle of the year, especially when it has been so hot, I’m sure it will go down well. That said, our last CD still hasn’t been released. If I can get some excerpts from the tracks, I will try and put them up on my website later in the year.
Anyway, it’s quarter to midnight, I’m at work in the morning and “The Dirty Dozen” is about to start so I’ll sign off for now. Hasta luego.
Back in February, I played at the Brass at the Guild contest for Jackfield Elcock Reisen and was asked if I fancied playing at the Whit Friday Marches for a scratch band which was being put together. I agreed and also volunteered to guide the band around Tameside. I guided the Ransome Band around Tameside last year and we managed to play at all 11 venues. The scratch band was born and swiftly named Hawaiian Brass.
Friday saw 44 of us marching around Tameside dressed in Hawaiian shirts, hula skirts and sandals. We marched to the theme from Hawaii Five-0 and played the march “The President” on the stand. At the time of writing, I’ve not heard of any of our results, but we certainly entertained people. We were the fourth band to play at Denton Cricket Club, traditionally the start of the Tameside contests. After that we played number 2 at Dukinfield. As the night progressed, we brought the audience onto our side, with our antics on the march. We got huge cheers as we marched down to the stand and this translated into big cheers when we finished the contest march. Sadly, I’m sure this won’t translate into great results, although we may get a few good places.
We arrived at Broadoak, our last stop for the night, at just after 10.30pm, the closing point. However, the reputation we received all the way around meant that we were able to talk our way onto the contest card, playing the last band and getting a great cheer from the crowd. Talking to some of them, they had been waiting from 6pm to hear us play, which was a great testament. It wasn’t that they thought we were a top band but they had heard that we were something to watch on the march down to the stand.
Friday was also the start of the World Cup, I’ve managed to catch some of the games, most notably the England / Paraguay game. I’ve seen parts of a few other games, but I have to say that I haven’t been impressed with England so far. There seems to be too much hype and not enough action. Cote d’Ivoire impressed me, but I still fancy Argentina to win the tournament. The Czechs are dark horses for me, but it’s still only 3 days in.
I’ve spent most of the weekend recording a Christmas CD with the band. It’s got fifteen tracks on it, including “Ukranian Bell Carol”, “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Fanfare of the Bells”. It will be out later in the year and although it’s been a little surreal recording a Christmas CD in the middle of the year, especially when it has been so hot, I’m sure it will go down well. That said, our last CD still hasn’t been released. If I can get some excerpts from the tracks, I will try and put them up on my website later in the year.
Anyway, it’s quarter to midnight, I’m at work in the morning and “The Dirty Dozen” is about to start so I’ll sign off for now. Hasta luego.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
OK, so I’m slipping back into bad habits. It must be about 6 weeks since I last made an entry into my blog. I say 6 weeks because I’m not online as I write this.
There is a simple explanation for why I’m not. Basically I don’t have ‘Net access at home anymore. I sold my house at the start of May (May 5th to be exact). Technically I’m now homeless; at least that’s what George keeps telling me. Most of my worldly goods are packed in boxes and stuffed into one room at my parent’s house. Sarah has also sold here house and we have had an offer accepted on a house in Cottingham, just outside Hull, so with a little luck, we will be all together under one roof before the start of September.
The last couple of weeks haven’t been the best in my life, and I’m looking forward to a break at the end of July. I’m not going to dwell on that too much, suffice to say that I don’t want to be back here again in a hurry.
The band went over to Blackpool in the second week of May to compete in the Senior Cup. As I’ve said before, the test piece was Phillip Sparke’s “Harmony Music.” I’ve played it before and going into the contest, I felt that our performances promised something extra special on stage. We hadn’t had a perfect run-through but there were glimpses of something extra-special. However, one player in the band decided that contesting wasn’t really a team sport and made such a bollocks of the beginning of the piece that I was surprised when we managed 6th. To be honest, I’m not sure that I can ever forgive him for his attitude. He resigned after the contest but asked to be allowed back the next morning. Personally I wouldn’t have let him back in. Jim Davies is a far more forgiving person than I am. The band played a concert at the Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe a couple of weeks later, which I missed (see above). We go back into the studio this weekend to record a CD of Christmas music. I find this a little ironic when our last CD hasn’t been released yet.
Anyway, moving on, it’s also one of my favourite days of the year on Friday, with the annual Whit Friday marches taking place in Tameside and Saddleworth. I’m playing for a scratch band this time, “Hawaiian Brass”, which is mostly players from Desford, GUS and the CBSO. As well as playing, I’ll be guiding the band around Tameside. I did it last year from Ransome and I’m looking forward to it again this year. Hopefully we can get around the circuit as quickly as Ransome did last year and then we’ll have some time to do some of the contests over in Saddleworth as well. That said, there are 11 contests in Tameside so maybe we won’t have anything left by the time we get to Delph.
The Whit Friday marches are the same day as the start of the World Cup. I can’t believe how quickly it has come around again. I met Sarah just after the end of the last World Cup, which reminds me that it will be our 4th anniversary on 2nd August. I do think England have got a better chance this time than at any point that I can remember (which is 1982). The defence is solid, but the midfield is truly world class. I’m backing them to reach the semi-finals at least, possibly even the final if results go their way. However, I think Argentina will win the World Cup. I know that’s not the most patriotic thing to write here, but since I don’t see myself as totally English, what does it matter. The truth is that my grandmother is a German Jew who immigrated to the UK in 1932. I also have a Welsh grandfather and an Irish grandmother, so apart from being the living embodiment of the United Nations, I always find myself with mixed emotions at the start of international tournaments.
I must confess to finding myself a little baffled by Erikkson’s selection. I would have selected his original 3 ‘keepers, although I would have picked Ben Foster over Scott Carson when Robert Green got injured. My real gripe is up-front. I don’t think Crouch is an international calibre striker. Sure, he can get a hat-trick against Jamaica and a goal against Hungary but I don’t think he has what it takes against the better sides. Personally, I would have selected Andy Johnson ahead of him. I also wouldn’t have taken Theo Walcott. In four years time, he will be a class act, but the fact of the matter is that he is only 17 years old and has not played one minute in the Premiership for Arsenal. Yes, Michael Owen played in France aged 17, but he had played for Liverpool in the 97/98 season. Wayne Rooney played in Japan aged 17, but he had played for Everton in the 01/02 season. Walcott is not ready to go.
Sticking with sport, I’m please that the John Obi Mikel saga has come to an end. Personally, I wouldn’t want a player playing for United who is so fickle as to swap clubs as soon as a bigger contract is on the table. Yes, he may be an exciting prospect but he is also greedy. That said, Chelsea are fast assembling the best squad on the planet. For me, Barcelona was the side of the 05/06 season. They have the best squad in Europe, but I think they will be pushed hard by Chelsea in the new season. A squad that can boast of Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko, Cech, Terry, Essien, Drogba, Robben and the possibility of Roberto Carlos, will be hard to beat, and even if United can sign some world class players, I suspect they will still be playing for second place.
I hope Ferguson will sign a goalkeeper (I do think this lad at West Brom, Kusczak would be a good back-up for Van der Sar and will push Howard). I’d also like us to pick up a couple of midfielders. Diarra from Lyon would be a good one, as would Beckham or Joe Cole. I do hope we hang on to Van Nistelrooy. I know that he’s had issues with Ronaldo and vice-versa but he is also a proven goal-scorer and if one of them has to leave, why not Ronaldo who keeps talking about a move to Spain.
I’ve been watching a lot of Big Brother recently. I have to admit that I voted for the first time ever. I voted to evict Sezer. The guy is a complete arsehole. He has no redeeming features and I hope that the UK has seen him for what he is. The arrogant wanker should be left to rot now. There are a few others in the house that should go the same way. That little group of never-be celebs is irritating in the extreme. I’d love to evict Grace, Nikki, Imogen and Mikey before the programme goes any further. They don’t deserve the chance to inflict their self-centred, proctological rantings on the rest of the world. The sooner we get rid of them, the better.
Anyway, that’s my musings over for now.
There is a simple explanation for why I’m not. Basically I don’t have ‘Net access at home anymore. I sold my house at the start of May (May 5th to be exact). Technically I’m now homeless; at least that’s what George keeps telling me. Most of my worldly goods are packed in boxes and stuffed into one room at my parent’s house. Sarah has also sold here house and we have had an offer accepted on a house in Cottingham, just outside Hull, so with a little luck, we will be all together under one roof before the start of September.
The last couple of weeks haven’t been the best in my life, and I’m looking forward to a break at the end of July. I’m not going to dwell on that too much, suffice to say that I don’t want to be back here again in a hurry.
The band went over to Blackpool in the second week of May to compete in the Senior Cup. As I’ve said before, the test piece was Phillip Sparke’s “Harmony Music.” I’ve played it before and going into the contest, I felt that our performances promised something extra special on stage. We hadn’t had a perfect run-through but there were glimpses of something extra-special. However, one player in the band decided that contesting wasn’t really a team sport and made such a bollocks of the beginning of the piece that I was surprised when we managed 6th. To be honest, I’m not sure that I can ever forgive him for his attitude. He resigned after the contest but asked to be allowed back the next morning. Personally I wouldn’t have let him back in. Jim Davies is a far more forgiving person than I am. The band played a concert at the Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe a couple of weeks later, which I missed (see above). We go back into the studio this weekend to record a CD of Christmas music. I find this a little ironic when our last CD hasn’t been released yet.
Anyway, moving on, it’s also one of my favourite days of the year on Friday, with the annual Whit Friday marches taking place in Tameside and Saddleworth. I’m playing for a scratch band this time, “Hawaiian Brass”, which is mostly players from Desford, GUS and the CBSO. As well as playing, I’ll be guiding the band around Tameside. I did it last year from Ransome and I’m looking forward to it again this year. Hopefully we can get around the circuit as quickly as Ransome did last year and then we’ll have some time to do some of the contests over in Saddleworth as well. That said, there are 11 contests in Tameside so maybe we won’t have anything left by the time we get to Delph.
The Whit Friday marches are the same day as the start of the World Cup. I can’t believe how quickly it has come around again. I met Sarah just after the end of the last World Cup, which reminds me that it will be our 4th anniversary on 2nd August. I do think England have got a better chance this time than at any point that I can remember (which is 1982). The defence is solid, but the midfield is truly world class. I’m backing them to reach the semi-finals at least, possibly even the final if results go their way. However, I think Argentina will win the World Cup. I know that’s not the most patriotic thing to write here, but since I don’t see myself as totally English, what does it matter. The truth is that my grandmother is a German Jew who immigrated to the UK in 1932. I also have a Welsh grandfather and an Irish grandmother, so apart from being the living embodiment of the United Nations, I always find myself with mixed emotions at the start of international tournaments.
I must confess to finding myself a little baffled by Erikkson’s selection. I would have selected his original 3 ‘keepers, although I would have picked Ben Foster over Scott Carson when Robert Green got injured. My real gripe is up-front. I don’t think Crouch is an international calibre striker. Sure, he can get a hat-trick against Jamaica and a goal against Hungary but I don’t think he has what it takes against the better sides. Personally, I would have selected Andy Johnson ahead of him. I also wouldn’t have taken Theo Walcott. In four years time, he will be a class act, but the fact of the matter is that he is only 17 years old and has not played one minute in the Premiership for Arsenal. Yes, Michael Owen played in France aged 17, but he had played for Liverpool in the 97/98 season. Wayne Rooney played in Japan aged 17, but he had played for Everton in the 01/02 season. Walcott is not ready to go.
Sticking with sport, I’m please that the John Obi Mikel saga has come to an end. Personally, I wouldn’t want a player playing for United who is so fickle as to swap clubs as soon as a bigger contract is on the table. Yes, he may be an exciting prospect but he is also greedy. That said, Chelsea are fast assembling the best squad on the planet. For me, Barcelona was the side of the 05/06 season. They have the best squad in Europe, but I think they will be pushed hard by Chelsea in the new season. A squad that can boast of Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko, Cech, Terry, Essien, Drogba, Robben and the possibility of Roberto Carlos, will be hard to beat, and even if United can sign some world class players, I suspect they will still be playing for second place.
I hope Ferguson will sign a goalkeeper (I do think this lad at West Brom, Kusczak would be a good back-up for Van der Sar and will push Howard). I’d also like us to pick up a couple of midfielders. Diarra from Lyon would be a good one, as would Beckham or Joe Cole. I do hope we hang on to Van Nistelrooy. I know that he’s had issues with Ronaldo and vice-versa but he is also a proven goal-scorer and if one of them has to leave, why not Ronaldo who keeps talking about a move to Spain.
I’ve been watching a lot of Big Brother recently. I have to admit that I voted for the first time ever. I voted to evict Sezer. The guy is a complete arsehole. He has no redeeming features and I hope that the UK has seen him for what he is. The arrogant wanker should be left to rot now. There are a few others in the house that should go the same way. That little group of never-be celebs is irritating in the extreme. I’d love to evict Grace, Nikki, Imogen and Mikey before the programme goes any further. They don’t deserve the chance to inflict their self-centred, proctological rantings on the rest of the world. The sooner we get rid of them, the better.
Anyway, that’s my musings over for now.