Blog: Double ROCK Action

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After the GIG CANCELLATION TUMULT of last week, I went out on Saturday night to at least SEE some bands, starting out at The Betsy Trotwood for The Smelly Ball. As I have probably mentioned MORE than enough times, I was meant to be playing this on Thursday, but it got moved to Saturday so I couldn't play because we were booked to play Northampton... which got cancelled. GAH! Anyway, I turned up to find Spinmaster Plantpot there - this ALSO was an antifolk DO! Are these people following ME, or am I following THEM? I went downstairs to the BOILING INFERNO of the downstairs room, and saw Local Girl Saves Planet, who were BRILLIANT. I was just amazed - I'd got it into my head that this antifolk stuff was going to be shambolic and a bit rubbish, but AGANE i was surprised by how tuney, inventive, funny and Actually Just Dead GOOD it was. They were GRATE! Everyone FLED for AIR for a bit when they finished, then it was David Cronenburg's wife, who were ALSO really good, but my dears it was FAR too hot for me to stand, and also I had an appointment in ISLINGTON to keep, so i slunk out...

The appointment was with Mr Charles de Fighting-Cocks, at the Punk Rock Karaoke. I arrived at Upstairs At The Garage to find the promoter performing the age old RITE of standing outside looking nervous, hoping that simply by STANDING there it will lure more people in. Goodness knows i have done it myself enough times, and it was nice to know that even Mr Steve Lamacq has to go through this too. Bless. It was BLOODY HOT inside too, and it got HOTTER YET when the BAND started, but this was an ACE night out. They have a bit list of Classic Hits Of Punk which the (GRATE) band play whilst people from the audience get up and sing a song each - really, it is like PUNK, CUBED or something, as Absolutely Literally ANYONE CAN DO IT. What was surprising to me was how GOOD nearly everyone did - the evening started with aforesaid Charlie, and carried on with a procession of people who were almost all BRILLIANT at it. I don't know, maybe Punk Singing really IS dead easy, but it solidified MY position for the night - my mind had already gone completely blank as to the words and tunes to ANY punk songs, and I certainly wasn't going to risk looking like a TWIT amidst all this BRILLIANCE. So instead what i got was possibly the BEST PUNK NIGHT... EVER! combined with the Joy And Hilarity that is KARAOKE. It was FANTASTIC - one of those Good Ideas In The Pub that STAY good when you get them out of it!

And so it was a very happy Hibbett who headed home afterwards... although NOT such a happy Hibbett who woke up the next morning feeling strangely knackered and DRIED OUT. The NO BEER DIET may well be a Healthy Option if you replace BEER with, i don't know, PRUNE JUICE, but when you replace it with WINE it is rather less pleasant the next morning! Still, I lay ABED full of GLEE to suddenly be seeing so much GRATE STUFF, and also full of sudden IDEAS and THORTS for things to come...

posted 9/8/2004 by MJ Hibbett

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