A Farewell to Kings...Neil Peart

Neil Peart died. It knocked me for 6. He kept it a secret, preferring to preserve his privacy, as he had his whole life, than to reap the premature condolences on his terminal diagnosis.

For those that don't know of him, he was the powerhouse that sat behind Rush, a monster drummer and a genius lyricist. Possibly the greatest drummer ever and definitely the greatest rock drummer of all time and, depending on my mood, the first or second greatest lyricist of all time, sharing the position with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

I wasn't a Rush fan until I saw them in March of 1983 at Wembley. I couldn't tell you why I went, I wasn't a fan, I didn't understand a song about trees when I was listening to AC/DC and Thin Lizzy but did I come out of that venue a convert for life. It was an epiphany. It opened my eyes and ears and started my love of a band that was nerdy, cult and very niche. They never compromised or sold out and lived life on their own terms, only the greatest ever get to do that. The only other bands I can think of that kept moving and never sold out, were the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, the band that a young Rush modeled themselves on. Rush signed a 3 album deal and their first 2 albums didn't perform as the record company expected so the big third album was their last chance. Most bands would conform and release an album that would sell, Rush doubled down and released a concept album, side 1 being 20 mins and 33 seconds of the 2112 Chronicles, uncompromising and way deep in a story about the power of music in a dystopian society, way beyond anything that was easy to sell...the public loved it and Rush were on their way.
Neil Peart blew me away on that night in 1983. He was a force of nature, bombastic, tuneful and inventive. I'd never seen percussion used in rock before and I'm not sure I have since.
I saw them a good few times after that and he never ceased to amaze me, it was his power, he hit the drums so hard, but he was so precise and his dynamics were fantastic, subtle when needed, everything the songs demanded. He pushed the boundaries of what a drummer and percussionist  could do, contemporary influences and friends such as Stewart Copeland of the Police (another great drummer) and influential masters like Buddy Rich, changing and adding to his skillset as time progressed, a master of drums, a master of learning. He was nicknamed the Professor and he, along with Lerxst and Dirk, made up one of the greatest power trios ever, a band that never stopped still, constantly progressing, annoying and frustrating their fanbase but all the while pushing our boundaries as they pushed their own, and we stuck with them. They were the World's biggest cult band, a love affair that nerds the across the Globe had with this proud Canadian band. It is indeed true that the fans were predominantly male, usually fringe types, in the words of Neil from the song "Subdivisions", 

"Nowhere is the dreamer
Or the misfit so alone"

"Conform or be cast out"

"Subdivisions" - Neil Peart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQmz494XBkg

He spoke to me directly. I was lost to who I was, a confused teen that was waiting for life to begin, waiting for the starting gun and secretly rebelling against anything and everything whilst trying to grow up. I didn't make peace with myself for a great many years.

At 17, I met my friend Graham in hospital, both of us there with injuries that meant prolonged stays, and we bonded over music in general and specifically over Rush, both of us huge fans to this day. We saw them together a few times, we met Geddy Lee last year, together and bonded with other like minded people. 
I had a message from one of them last week, he was really upset and I understood what he was going through because I felt exactly the same, devastated at the loss of a hero that had been on my shoulder for much of my life, he wasn't a guardian angel, or a devil, or a source of wisdom or even a friend, he was someone that had carved a path of his own making, had faced life down and ultimately lost, but he had done everything his own way, a quiet rebel, something I never achieved but I looked up to him for being everything I wasn't, a hero in my eyes.

"Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me
Just one more who's searching for
A world that ought to be"

Circumstances - Neil Peart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9dHL7GA1nk

Again, words so simple yet resonant, beautifully written, leaping off the page and into my feelings, particularly as I get older.
He released a couple of books, one of them was called "Ghost Rider", about a road trip he took after the death of his daughter in a car crash and his wife 9 months later to cancer. It was a harrowing read and I still have no idea how you get through something like that, but he did. Rush went on an indefinite hiatus and we all thought it was the end, and I wouldn't have blamed him for that, but he came back and the band continued their voyage through the space time continuum, confusing and exciting us with new sonic soundscapes and imagery but he was scarred by his experiences, it was there in his lyrics.

"Carry all those phantoms
Through bitter wind and stormy skies
From the desert to the mountain
From the lowest low to the highest high
Like a ghost rider"

"There's a shadow on the road behind

There's a shadow on the road ahead
Nothing can stop you now"

"Ghost Rider" - Neil Peart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su3zwzmUrxo

I last saw Rush in May 2013, I can't remember if I saw them once or twice on that tour but I did see them at Wembley, back where my journey started and ultimately finished. We had no clue that this would be the final time Rush would play the UK and it doesn't matter, it was a brilliant show, poignant for no apparent reason and the new songs from "Clockwork Angels" fitted right in against the classics. They sparked, for some reason invigorated, relevant and exciting. Seeing Rush was always a major event and this moment will live with me as long as the first time I saw them, for similar and different reasons. The feelings of the first time were as fresh that night as in 1983 and surprisingly, the highlight of the set for me, was off the last album, "The Garden".

"The future disappears into memory

With only a moment between
Forever dwells in that moment
Hope is what remains to be seen"

"The Garden" - Neil Peart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBNzf5JlZA

Over the recent years there has been an appreciation of Rush from many celebrity fans, it is just a shame they kept their fandom under a bushel until Rush became the new "cool". I always wore that badge with pride, the more uncool they were, the prouder I was, I knew how good they were and I didn't need the affirmation of the rest of the World to tell me that. I knew Geddy Lee was one of the coolest and most talented guys on the planet and I knew that Alex Lifeson was a guitar god and a comic genius. I also knew that Neil Peart was the greatest drummer in the World, a man that wrote to my heart and mind and I am beyond grateful for his contribution to my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9RvC558gBE

Armistice Day - the mud, the blood and the green fields beyond.

The mud, the blood and the green fields beyond is the flag of the Royal Tank Regiment, brown, red and green. Like the RAF, they were a new weapon of WW1 and like the RAF, they were instrumental in ending the War to end all Wars, working closely with the ground troops and creating a line that moved forward beneath a rolling barrage, with the RAF spotting for them, keeping the communications open to a degree that had never been seen before that, decisions were made faster than ever and up to the minute intelligence was on hand for the Generals to make informed decisions that would save lives. It ended trench warfare forever.

Now we can do nothing but reflect on a generation that gave their lives so that we might live, free. It is odd to think that as we look back over 100 years, at the time of World War 1, in 1915, they could look back 100 years to the Battle of Waterloo. How the technology had changed, gone was the thin red line, replaced with the thin brown worm-like lines of the trenches. This was war on an industrial scale, machine guns, long range artillery, tanks, planes, chemical weapons and flamethrowers. A war of Land, Sea and Air. Let's not forget the Royal Navy and the Battle of Jutland, arguably a victory or a defeat but the German Navy never sailed again until they were moved to Scapa Flow.

I went to Greenwich and the Naval Chapel. Before 11am the Last Post was played and then the silence, the remembrance of those that "will never grow old". The chest of the old men and women, laden with medals and some younger, this is not a celebration of War, this is a commemoration for those that gave their lives, those from all the Countries of the Commonwealth, the Anzacs, the Canadians, the Indians and Africans and some Americans that came over early, to fight for the Motherland. My Greatfather served in both World Wars and his sons followed suit in WW2, career soldiers that joined early, my Grandad was in the British Expeditionary Force in WW2, he wasn't evacuated when France fell, they fought their way south and boarded a ship to Africa where they served with the 7th Army and Monty in the deserts of Egypt. He never spoke of it.

That may be the saddest of things, we stand upon the shoulders of giants, people that made this land Great yet it is history to us. Ancient tribes believed that previous generations stayed with them and lived with them, in the spirit realms but we have consigned them, all that knowledge and experience, to a folder that we drag out as a commemoration, to honour our dead.

I went to Weyland's Smithy in the Summer. A long barrow, a burial mound for our ancient people and I couldn't help but think that I was walking in the footsteps of my ancestors. Their bones, long gone but making up the land upon which I stood and my bones would one day mingle with theirs and future generations would walk the same path and someone would wonder, like me, about the nameless people lost in history, that created this most beautiful and rich tapestry of a landscape that I was looking out on. History seems so final, as if death was the final chapter but as the World turns, all that we achieve in life contributes, positively and negatively to those that come after us, our names may be lost in time, but our lives make up the bricks of this Nation.
It's a shame that our commemoration for the people that sacrificed themselves on the fields of the Somme, Ypres, Amiens and the many other battle grounds of the First World War as well as those of Dunkirk, Dieppe, the Atlantic and the skies of Britain and France and those that have died in the Falklands, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, that it is just once a year that we remember them and the ultimate sacrifice they made for us to be able to determine how we will live, as a free thinking and sovereign nation.

Let me finish with my favourite poet, Wilfred Owen, the man that changed the face of writing leading into the last century, the romanticism and naivety was gone and the realism and starkness took over. Beautiful words that housed death and brutality, there was no heroic deaths in the World of Owen and the trenches, just another death. He was killed a week before the Armistice was signed and as the bells peeled throughout the UK to mark the end of the War, his family were being told about the loss of their son. And as with all the lost of WW1, we mark them in every city, town and village across the UK, memorials to the fallen. I always took them for granted until the realisation dawned, the scale of the remembrance and massive loss that every community must have felt. It keeps them alive and with us.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Are we living in the time of the green fields beyond the mud and the blood? I am not sure that we are...

Trafalgar Tide.

I am not a religious person but I did attend the Chapel at Greenwich on Sunday for their Trafalgar Tide service. As it is the Naval College, all things Sea are within their domain.
As Trafalgar was one of the momentous occasions in the history of the UK, arguably the last time the shores were threatened with invasion (although the Battle of Britain has an equally good claim). It is very likely that had Nelson lost that battle, we would have been fighting the Napoleonic forces on the beaches of Britain.
He faced off against the combined might of France and Spain, 33 ships of the line to Britain's 27 ships of the line.
Prior to the battle, Nelson knew this would be his last stand but insisted on wearing his uniform, marking him as the prime target for sharpshooters.

I shan't go into the details of the battle, that has been written about by people far more knowledgeable than me but sufficed to say, the British didn't lose a ship and captured 22 of the Spanish-Franco ships but they did lose Nelson, a man of indomitable and sometimes rebellious will, reckless and brave and Trafalgar was his epitaph.

He was laid in state in Greenwich Naval College upon his return, so it was moving to know that on the date of the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21st 1805, to the day in 2018, we commemorated his victory and his life.

At that time, France was ruled by Napoleon, a dictator and Spain by it's Monarchy, in contrast, we had our Monarchy but Parliament was the ruling force. It was by no means perfect but as with all democracy, it was a work in progress. Nelson was possibly the first person to use the press to state his brilliance and ensure that he was a man of action when other Naval Captains were sitting at home waiting for a command. He pushed the right buttons to get his way, taking the public with him. He was a great sailor, commander, and, for the times, a reformer of the Navy, his sailors were better treated than most and his innovations in the methods of Naval combat were important to keep the Colonies safe and the Franco-Spanish fleet blockaded, a superior number of ships that didn't want the battle with the British ships, such was their reputation. Bear in mind that this was a time when to breach the defences of Britain, you needed to come across the sea. That elevates the importance of the Navy, at that time, over the other Armed Force, the Army and secures the Battle of Trafalgar as a Battle for the safety of the United Kingdom, in much the same was as the Spanish Armada and Sir Francis Drake had been a few hundred years earlier.

We were blessed to have at that time, some heroic and breathtaking commanders of our Forces, the two most well known being Nelson and the Iron Duke, Wellington. We had many more at the time and since, but none have commanded the devotion of the Nation in the same way. It may just be that the press needed heroes at that time or maybe the other heroes were just more self effacing.

I guess Trafalgar Day may not have the same importance to others, younger people, people of other Nations but falling so close to Armistice Day, it is overshadowed, but it is also a symbol for those that gave their lives for our way of life, for our democracy, to ensure that we had a say in how we lived our lives.

It puts the petty bickering and the shutting down of debate that we are currently going through, to shame.

I hope that on Sunday 11th November, at 11am, when the guns fell silent, that people will remember what the Wars were fought for, for our freedom to have a say in how we live our lives, to respect each other more and to be grateful for the sacrifices of the people, known and unknown, that died so that we might live free of dictatorship and tyranny. Take your good fortune and stop fighting, make your personal space better and by association that will follow on to the next person.

I have no doubt that "smoke" will get in my eyes on 11th November but remembering the sacrifice of Nelson and the epitaph that was built for him, a monument that watches over England, I am proud to be English. A small Island Nation that has always punched above its weight, it has always delivered when needed and has always bred the men (and I have no doubt that in the 21st Century, the women) that lead in times of crisis.

(Recommended reading on Nelson are two wonderful books by John Sugden "Nelson: Dream of Glory" and "Nelson: Sword of Albion".)

Who objects to democracy? Not me.

I had a few options on this next blog, I did consider writing about how much I hate football and this World cup has been engrossing. I could have whinged and whined about too much sunlight and too much heat and how much I long for the olden days when we had rainy summers but the coming visit of the Donald to the UK has rattled my cage.

I have my politics and I am reasonably open about them but I try and keep my nose out of the controversial issues, so if you read this, read it all before hating me.

When Trump ran, I probably would've voted against him, given what was said in the UK press, but the more flak he took and the more I understood that his vote wasn't the upper and privileged classes of America, the more I kept my mouth shut, after all this was an election that wasn't my own, my opinion counts for nothing and if America votes for the Donald, it is their democratic right and who am I to say anything about that? Who objects to democracy? Not me.

When the election results came in, it was a shock to the World, including me but then we had had Brexit relatively shortly before, so not much of a shock. Like Brexit, the privileged few were in tears, they had no clue how any of this could have happened but no-one bothered to step out if their own bubbles and see what was happening in the respective Countries at large. Trump knew exactly what he was doing, he saw Brexit and he saw that it resonated from the bones of the UK, it wasn't a City wide thing, this was a call deep from the heart of the Country so he targeted the heart of America.

People like Sadiq Khan, someone that is meant to represent London, is getting involved in International politics, Trump has absolutely nothing to do with him, why is he so intent on using his platform to air his personal vendetta against Trump? The man should spend his time on knife crime but is strangely absent from our television sets, sending minions out to take the abuse for him...yet he finds time to argue with Donald Trump on twatter.
I am struggling to understand why people are taking to the streets to protest a democratically elected leader of what is meant to be one of our closest allies, his policies at home are nothing to do with us and yet they are trying to make hay out of policies that have zero affect on the UK. If this is humanitarian, where are the protests about the execution of the street children in Brazil or the 795 million people currently starving across the World?

Brexit supporters and Trump supporters are tarred as racists and bigots even though they are the majority. The press is generally biased and simply doubles down, digging faster and more furiously even though it is going the wrong way.
I used to watch the Last leg and I was a great fan of Adam Hills and his team, but comedic shows reflect a metropolitan society, they don't reflect the feeling and mood of British people. They are still harping on about Brexit and Trump. Surely we are at a time when the tears have to stop and these people that are still crying over a vote 2 years ago, when they need to pull together with the rest of us, to heal the divisions rather than feeding them.

Democracy is everything and respecting the will of the majority is what an election is all about, whether it is a referendum or a general election. The votes are cast and we all shut up and get on with our lives, whether we won or lost, the margins are not actually of any consideration, it is black or white, win or lose. We protest wars or policies that we object to but we seem to be living in an age where crying is rewarded rather than just embarrassing. Neymar, the Brazilian football player is a case in point, he spends so much time lying on the pitch that I wonder why he doesn't bring a pillow, and yet he is feted as one of the greatest football players in the world. He's a cry baby and needs to stop crying and put on his big boy pants and grow up. The same goes for all these people that are going to protest Trump, where were you when the Chinese visited or the Saudi Princes came over? Where are you when the troubling cases of FGM and child marriages hit the press? Why aren't you taking to the streets and social media in greater numbers, and protesting the things that directly affect us, our children and protest dictators and minority groups that encourage FGM and child brides?

As I said in an earlier post, I draw my world in around me and care about the things I can deal with. I have no interest in Trump but I do get sick of the irrelevancies that seem to take over people's lives, the lives of the people with the passion to change things but they canon around, directed by whatever media is fashionable and think that protesting democracy will change the World. Do you know what, it will change the World, it will make dictatorships, it is already shutting down free speech, it is already dictating what people are allowed to say and do. We are heading into minority rule and that is an horrific thought, all those wars over the millennia to put us in a place where we have a working democracy that does it's best for all of society and it is being trodden on and abused by the privileged few that think they know best, taking us back several hundred years to a time where a few made the rules for the majority.

I'll probably get hate for this post but I am beyond caring, what is happening frightens me and I wish that the youthful passion of the world changers would put it to a more focused and better use, to benefit all rather than their blinkered view on what they think we all want...the various elections and referendums have already decided that...

The Damned Darkness that spawned the Hollywood Vampires.

It was a night that could've been a very expensive glorified karaoke, a headliner blown away by superb opening acts but instead it delivered 3 different gigs and some poignant moments as well as a new found respect for a band that should live forever.

Let's start at the beginning, this all stemmed from my youngest daughter missing out on the Damned at Koko and, through what has been a tough time for her, I bought her tickets to see the Hollywood Vampires at Wembley, supported by the Damned and the Darkness, to cheer her up. I was fairly ambivalent about it all, viewing the Hollywood Vampires as more of a tribute act and not being a fan of the Darkness, I would've been going to see the Damned and as I now have tickets to see them in November, I wasn't too fussed but Anouska does view gigs as a Daddy/Daughter thing and this one was important to her, she loves the Darkness and is mad about Aerosmith so seeing Joe Perry was a major part of this. I have to admit that I've never seen Alice Cooper so I was interested to see him.

The first issue was seeing that the Damned were coming onstage at 7pm and I work in Buckingham. A generous boss and an extra 15 minutes meant that I was in the gig shortly after the Damned came on stage, missing a minute or so of the first song. They were amazing, easily good enough to headline this place by themselves, Dave Vanian, master of the dark arts, a voice that is a gothic baritone, crooning his way through some of the songs and using the venom and bite of the erstwhile punk that still dwells somewhere within, to bring attitude to the likes of "New Rose", "Neat, Neat, Neat" and "Love Song", songs that couldn't be recreated by any of the new "punk" bands. But the Damned were never just a punk band, from the majesty of "Eloise" to the urgency of "Ignite" and the 50's noir of the last single "Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow", this isn't a band that is standing still, this isn't a tribute act to an age past, this is a revitalised and exciting prospect that confound and surprise. Let's put it this way, my daughter was absolutely amazed by them.

The Darkness are not a band that I have much interest in, I don't like Justin Hawkins' falsetto although I do think he is a very good guitarist. However, more recently, the songs I've heard have been really good, I've really liked the last couple of singles but they are still not a band that I would see through choice..but that was all about to change...
Simply put, they were refreshing, so enthusiastic, a real throwback to 1982 and the excitement of the NWOBHM, they are a classic English rock band, running through a set of killer songs that work so well live. I am a convert, they were fantastic live, funny, rocking and outrageous, I finally got them. The great thing is that I couldn't make a comparison between them and the Damned, it was like I was at 2 separate shows, so totally unrelated.
The Darkness are a good time rock band, they are immense fun to watch and you can't help but smile, they are endearing and, like the Damned, quintessentially English. There is a dearth of headline acts for the big festivals coming up as the older bands will be finished over the next few years and maybe the Darkness need to up their game and get back to the big stages, they are the natural heirs to headline the festival circuit and they will do it fantastically well.

On to the main act and a sold out Wembley had been rocked by the best support acts I have ever seen, the headliners had a show to put on.
The strains of "Bela Lugiosi's Dead" by Bauhaus eerily echoed across a gothic and fog laden stage and then roar of Joe Perry's guitar started the show. It was truly epic, exciting and poignant. Alice Cooper was the ringmaster, the focal point of the show and what a truly dazzling frontman he is, captivating, part Freddie Krueger and part vaudeville, a man of many faces, all of them Alice Cooper, baton twirling, top hat wearing and timeless. Joe Perry looked great and his guitar playing is as loose and natural as ever. Johnny Depp was part Jack Sparrow, a smile here and there, some very good vocal duties and a man all over the stage but Alice Cooper...he was the master of the stage, an actor, a singer, the consummate performer, he was just incredible.

Cooper channeled Jim Morrison as the backdrop showed the Doors and their fallen frontman, various stills to honour the dead. A biting version of "Ace of Spades" sung by the bass player (great voice) and various other Hollywood Vampire songs and each showed the rockstars that we had lost, Lennon, Lemmy, Cornell, Prince, Lynott, Scott, Nilsson, Bonham, Moon, a list that is far too long and it did hit home and I finally understood what the Hollywood Vampires are, they are not a karaoke act, they are a tribute to friends and heroes that have died throughout the years, an act of love and respect. This is a band that has been around as a tribute for a few years and they have a revolving membership, but they were a band that didn't tour, they played shows with whoever showed up but this was taking the show on the road and I really hope that it is a band that continues to release and tour, constantly evolving as members "leave" because I think they are amazing and I love the idea behind it, this is no ego trip, it is an homage and I get it and love it. This is the other band that should be headlining festivals across Europe, who wouldn't want to hear Bowie's "Heroes" played by this band and sung by Johnny Depp and his understated vocal, just as Bowie sang it. Who doesn't want to hear them play "School's Out" to close the show, seguing into "Another Brick in the Wall"? It was brilliantly realised.

This was a genuine event, more than a gig, and with three such great bands together to form this unholy trinity, I would leap at the chance to see this all over again but UK festivals spring to mind, the Hollywood Vampires have the associated rock stars to enable them to headline the festival circuit and because they are such a unique prospect with the band's personnel and the songs they play, they would have a huge appeal. My idea of fun is not standing in a muddy field, it would take a lot for me to do that again but maybe I would for this lot...

I hope that Ginger can overcome his demons...From gigs to depression and back again.

Monday night I went to the Craufurd Arms in Stony Stratford to see Ginger Wildheart touring his "Songs from the Tanglewood" album. This was a mellow, country flavoured album, not to my usual taste and I am not a country fan but the album does have some cracking songs on it and Ginger live, is always a joy to behold.
I'd not been to the Craufurd Arms before and my initial feeling was what a nice bunch of people. I flagged down a random person outside the venue who was kind enough to tell me where the nearest Chinese Takeaway was. Getting back to the venue, the person I had asked was Nathan, Front of House Engineer for the venue and a genuinely nice guy. He is a huge Wildhearts fan and was seriously chuffed to be hosting this gig and entertaining Ginger.
The venue is great, the pub part has a pool table and some "stained glass windows" with some proper rock n toll saints portrayed in them:

As a venue, they were really laid back and pretty chill about what they allowed. I asked if I could take my DSLR in and they said that it should be OK but be prepared that if there were any objections from the band, I would be asked to stop and it was a definite no to using a flash.

Prior to the gig, they had a big screen in the main pub to show the England vs Tunisia game. What a borefest, when a member of staff came round to tell everyone that Ginger would be on 15 mins earlier and I did ask if he could come on earlier than that so we could stop watching the goddawful match.

Anyway, I enjoyed the gig, it is always a pleasure to hear Ginger but he was not in a good place and I am pleased that he is honest with us about how he feels. He is a man with depression and he does the right thing and talks about it, it is all about changing the perception of mental illness, changing the way we don't talk about it or highlight it. Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington are 2 high profile cases where an awareness of mental health might have made a difference, or maybe not, but we'll never know. Ginger is open about his issues but there is still a severe lack of understanding, he tells us how he is feeling and the well intentioned response from the audience is a cheery "We love you Ginger", it is sincere and well meant but it sounds all wrong, if treating mental illness was as simple as telling someone they matter, we'd have cured it by now!
On one level, it would be easy to criticise Ginger for telling us his problems but the reason he has the support he has, is because he is honest, he wears his heart on his sleeve and the "Tanglewood" album is about mental health, so on some days he feels sh*t, I would rather he aired it than bottled it up. This got a bit more serious than anticipated but then I did leave the gig with a more serious head on, he finished the set telling us not be a c**t like him and if we have mental issues, to take the time off and talk with someone.

Anyway, it wasn't the best gig in terms of Ginger's standards, but it was still a great night. I enjoyed the set, it was great to see Jase Edwards from Wolfsbane on guitar (one of Britain's finest, I kid you not) and the songs always make me happy and then drag me down the next day as I start to feel like something is missing in my soul, ask my daughter, she feels that too after a Ginger/Wildhearts gig.

Here are some shots I took with my DSLR:

I hope that Ginger can overcome his demons, he deserves some respite and I hope that other people with these problems will talk to a professional, that is the only way to deal with the mind, speak with someone that understands the various conditions.
I have limited experience with depression, I know what it is and felt it once but it was more like plunged into depression and out again, rather than having depression (cutting out a few family members cured mine). It doesn't mean that I have any idea on how to speak with someone that has depression, I learned more about it last night than in the whole of my life and I have to say that it was jarring to witness but makes me all the more grateful that I don't have mental issues and also more helpless because it is something that I will encounter in my life, through personal experience or friends, and I will have no way of helping the situation.
I have had a couple of friends commit suicide but being younger by many years and in what feels like a different age, we put it down to life's tragedies and not mental illness. Could I have made a difference? I think on one of them I could have stopped it if I'd recognised the signs, I knew there was a problem and suicide did cross my mind but I put it down to a stupid thought. Unfortunately a mere few hours later it was real, but we all have those stories, even my eldest daughter has been through it a few times and I can't help but feel I am just now sitting in the sunlight blinking and wondering why all of a sudden I can see and why aren't we addressing these issues? How odd that a gig seems to have taken the blinkers off issues of mental health for me.

Despite how this all sounds, Ginger is a great live act, he has written and continues to write some great music and it is simply criminal that he isn't a huge star. He is definitely one of the hardest working people in music as this current tour adds extra dates everyday and it will overlap with the Wildheart shows over the next few months or so.See how schizophrenic this blog is? From gigs to depression and back again.

Here is some live footage from an instore performance: Daylight Hotel

And a video from an earlier album: If You Find Yourself In London Town

Greta Van Fleet- the new Messiah's of Rock or just very naughty boys?

Was it the hottest ticket in town? I suspect it might have been. The Electric Ballroom in Camden was sold out, I have never seen it so packed. It was a hot sweaty box of all ages, old and young, all to see some jumped up youngsters of 21 and under, play like Led Zep, or so the comparisons go.

It is an interesting night, the comparisons are close in some ways and off in others. I found them somewhere between led Zep and the Black Crowes and somewhere between contrived and exciting. They came on to an audience that knew the words to all 8 of their songs and an audience that hung off every note, they really couldn't have failed tonight if they'd come on playing ukeleles and reciting George Formby songs, so worshipful was their church.
My initial reaction was that they were contrived and I started to point it out to my friend who didn't wholly agree when the guitarist started to play his guitar behind his head...my point was proved...for now.

They had all the moves of Led Zep, a singer that could hit the same notes but lacked the conviction that Plant put into his notes, he had all the same moves but it felt rehearsed, like someone had watched "The Song Remains the Same" too many times. As the night wore on, they loosened up and my misgivings seemed to fade into the night. There were so not so great moments when the set seemed to drag a bit but many more moments of excitement. For all my whining, I had many moments when it felt like I might be witnessing the new Kings of the Rock, they found their groove and they could do anything but they need time and more songs. Live they were great and my youngest daughter would love them to bits. I am sure that the album due early next year will be spectacular and I can honestly say that they way they ended their set was amazing, as they played the last song, they segued into the opening number, not something I've ever seen before and a really nice touch that just shows how well rehearsed they are. The encores were excellent and showed an audience in great voice.

I have my misgivings but that is something that time, experience and an albums worth of material on top of the two EP's that they currently have, will fix.

Are they the new Messiah's of Rock? I really don't know and I think it is too early to tell but they are definitely what the kids of today need, something of their age that mixes the old into the new. I shall probably never see them live again, not because I didn't like them but because they should be the band for the kids and I will donate my ticket to someone of the right age, someone that can do the band justice, not an old fogey that will pick holes in them because they are mimicking the old school when they are probably exactly what rock needs right now. That is probably the truth, I am too old for them!