British Sea Power

[PaulB]

What a superb band they are. Definitely one of my favourites. The bass guitarist wore what must go down in history as the strangest stage gear ever seen. Despite the small, steaming venue, he wore a ..... it's difficult to describe; imagine Yuri Gagarin in his days as a Mig pilot wearing a quilted, all in one flying suit with a tight leather helmet. You've got it! The guitarist, despite his tender years, was an inter-war man with a long-sleeved, three-button ecru undershirt and sturdy suit trousers with the metal fastenings they no longer make. Lead singer wore a 1950's bright orange cagoule over an indeterminate football shirt, kiff, Paul Weller-style trousers and antique, sturdy walking boots. A very pleasing look, overall. Their music is stupendpous and this was the first leg of a tour supporting the Manic Street Preachers at venues considerably bigger than the Trades Hall in HB.

The crowd were predominantly 40s-50s age range and we met one interesting couple from, let's just say the Greater Manchester area. We got talking to them and they were both clearly BSP fans wearing the band's T-shirts. The guy was a tall chap who bounced around near the front of the stage enjoying himself enormously and his partner was more interested in having a very passionate snog with a fellow, female, fan of the band. As she went past us to get to the bar, she opined that 'anyone can take a day trip to Brussels without becoming Belgian', which I thought was interesting.

All in all, a great night in a venue I can thoroughly recommend and a band who are outstandingly good and with age on their side, getting better and better with each outing.

A big thumbs up from me.

 

[Globalti]

The last live band I saw was two weeks ago in Cape Town, a bunch of 50-somethings who have a ska band called Lancaster. The venue was a big tent in a field at the foot of Table Mountain and there was a hippy selling some really excellent home brew. By the end of the concert the floor was a mass of ageing music fans who had suddenly rediscovered their youth and were bopping around fit to bust, to the amazement of their teenage children. Much fun was had.

Here: http://www.myspace.com/lancasterbandza

 

[benb]

Great, I'm seeing the Manics at Brixton in a few weeks. Hopefully they'll still be supporting.

 

[Firestorm]

next gig is the Rifles in Southend

 

[Kirstie]

BSP's music is quite quite boring - by the most part its predictable and not particularly imaginative - although it does have its moments. Although I like them because they're into ornithology and the outdoors, and play great venues like the Tan Hill Inn. I really wished I liked the music more because they are a really interesting bunch of chaps. Maybe if I saw them live I'd change my opinion. From your post CP it sounds like they're worth a go live.

My next gigs are Goldfrapp (Brum) , Broken Social Scene/Tortoise (London) and Godspeed You! Black Emperor...(Manc Uni) and I'm looking forward to all of them lots!

 

[ColinJ]

I'm glad you had a good night out Paul. I haven't been down to the Hebden Bridge Trades Club for a while but I've seen some good bands there in the past. It used to get horribly smoky in there but there is no problem with that now of course.

The last time I went, there was a huge queue for the Ladies. I went off for a pee in the Gents and was doing the staring straight ahead thing trying not to engage with the man peeing next to me. The next moment we were pushed apart by a young woman who turned round with her knickers below her knees and squatted over the trough. "Sorry lads, there's a massive queue for the Ladies!"