Saturday May 19 - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Newish to me but clearly much loved by this fanatical crowd and a delight from start to finish. I need those choruses in my life and the only problem now is choosing which album to buy first. No doubt Louise will put me right on that. How good it is too, to be back in my favourite gig venue. There is nowhere to beat Brudenell Social Club. Fair drink prices, great acoustics and no corporate bullshit.
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Friday May 18 - Katzenjammer at Academy 3, Manchester
They're basically mental. They can all play pretty much any instrument ... and they do. They can sing 4 part harmonies from heaven. There's no single vibe on offer from Katzenjammer so I'm settling on a made up word to describe how they sound ... rockapunkyfolkabilly. It's their first UK tour and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for their second.
Incidentally, I'm deriving particular pleasure from posting this video. The petty corporate control exercised by Carling Academies means I'm ordered to check my HD video camcorder into the cloakroom before we go in. Never mind, eh, my bog standard digicam does great video too. So stick that up your corporate arses, Carling - you're swimming against the technological tide. As well as damaging the artists who play in your venues and get great exposure from their fans sharing their material online. And while I'm on the subject of corporate contamination of the musical experience, I'm reminded of how Laura Marling was distracted by the video advert loops at Leeds Carling Academy in March. Rant over. Here's the ridiculously entertaining Katzenjammer.
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Thursday May 17 - Gaz Coombes Presents at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
A cast-iron strength thesis can be presented to support the contention that Gaz Coombes is one of the best songwriters in Britain. The 'retirement' of Supergrass in June 2010 felt like a personal loss, so the return of Gaz Coombes is one of the best things to have happened for me in music so far this year. It's a classic 'low key' return, with the set consisting of a performance of his new 'Here Come The Bombs' album and nothing else. Low key and brilliant, is what it is. He isn't trading on former glories either. There's an electro element to the new songs and there's not a guitar break in sight. So the sound is new and my Supergrass superfan friend Annie is thrilled at how well he looks. What's not to love about all of that.
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Wednesday May 16 - The Tiger Lounge, Manchester
When I joined Twitter early last year I never expected so many good things to flow from it. As well as being a bit of diversionary fun it's been a source of great musical discoveries and some new real-life friends. One of the people I began to 'follow' there turned out to host a free evening of acoustic performance, some pre-booked and some just turning up for the open mic. I first tried it out in August 2011 and Acoustic Wednesday is now a regular fixture in my week. You never know how it's going to turn out and that's part of its appeal. Every now and then someone turns up and blows you away. This week it was this chap, whose 'lap-tapping' technique is something we've seen quite a bit of at The Tiger Lounge. But Tony Haven turned out to be the best so far. If you're on Twitter you should follow @Rubovia to find out more about this very special and spontaneous night.
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Tuesday May 15 - Newton Faulkner at Holmfirth Picturedrome
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Saturday May 12 - Hayfield to Kinder Downfall
I should sell my meteorological services for weather-critical event planning because it almost always stays fine when I decide to walk. So, after days and weeks of relentless rain, it's a lovely 8 mile afternoon shared with good company thanks to my jet lagged Twitter friend @bongbrummie aka Matt. There's even a stiff enough breeze at the Downfall to get a small upward drift of spray. Not quite the pluming arc all the way back to the top that you get in harsher conditions, but a pretty enough effect all the same. The descent of William Clough is especially beautiful today. An interesting realisation is that if you reverse your normal route, everything looks completely different thanks to the altered angle of sunlight. Obvious, maybe, but who knew?
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Sunday May 6 - Mirfield
AKA Perigee Moon. It's amazing what 14% bigger looks like. Even if a picture doesn't really capture the impact. Too bad I didn't get home to my camera & tripod 30 minutes sooner, when it was lower, pinker and looked even bigger as it popped up over the horizon.
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Saturday April 21 - Bempton Cliffs, North Yorkshire
I'm expecting the cliffs at Bempton to be teaming with Puffins, this being the breeding season and me being a bit of an ornithological ignoramus. But the cliffs are teaming mainly with Gannets and Guillemots. It takes several hours of moseying up and down the muddy clifftop path and scouring the spits with binoculars to find a small group. Well worth the hunt, though. We find them, in the end, far away from any of the observation platforms that are helpfully labeled as Puffin-friendly vantage points. Which is good, because we don't have to share our Puffin experience with anyone else.
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Saturday April 14 - on Bleaklow
Bleaklow isn't to everyone's taste. It's easy to become disorientated in its groughs and hags. At this time of year you can find yourself with no choice but to wade through deep, slippery peat that is beyond waterlogged. Me? I think it's a beautiful place. But today I have sabotaged myself by somehow forgetting to bring my mountain jacket. My objective is Grinah Stones, billed as the most remote bouldering spot in the Peak District. Not that I go bouldering, but they look like great rocks just to be around. So do Barrow Stones, which you can see pretty much as soon as you emerge from the ascent up Far Black Clough. It's OK when I'm climbing and even when I start out across the eastern slopes of Bleaklow's plateau. But the wind chill is cruel and it's sleeting hard, from time to time, and my base layer, fleece and windproof softshell are only just keeping me warm on the move. I have a rule up here; if you aren't equipped to survive getting stuck for a night in the event of an accident, you shouldn't be here at all. Especially if you're walking alone, with no phone reception. So, reluctantly, I retrace my steps as soon as it's clear the weather won't be improving, just short of Barrow Stones. Oh well, they'll still be there next time I venture up here.
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Saturday April 7 - around Levens, Cumbria
Introducing cousin Mike to his own back yard.
Meadow Ant Hills. These are apparently only found in 'well managed' pasture, which has not been damaged by the overuse of pesticides or artificial fertiliser.
Neolithic burial mound. A place to commune with the ancestors.
Hungry Kestrel.
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