52% intelligent. 9% modest. More monkey than bear.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

but our land does not breathe in


JJ72 at the Nottingham Rescue Rooms.

JJ72's debut album came out in 2000, but somehow it feels like longer ago than that. The band were just kids, and they sounded a bit like Placebo singing lyrics written by the Manic Street Preachers. I bought the album, listened to it for a bit, and then pretty much haven't given them a thought since. Lord B asked me if I would come along to watch them at the Rescue Rooms (ticket price £10) and as (against his better judgement) he's coming along with me to the same venue to see The Editors in a couple of week's time, I agreed. I won't say I was exactly looking forward to it, but I'm always saying I should go to watch more live music, and this is a nice intimate venue to go and watch it in.

We walked into the venue a little late, to be confronted by the bare chested howling of a Northern Irish man from a band rejoycing in the name Red Organ Serpent Sound (what's that all about? is the singer called 'Ross' or what?). I suppose the band themselves were okay, but the singer was rubbish. Apart from his semi-naked preening, he howled like a heavy metal banshee, only slightly out of key. I cocked an eyebrow and headed to the bar.

JJ72 came on, and it became apparent that although original bassist, Hilary Woods, had left the band, they had trawled the world to come up with someone who looked pretty much exactly like her (they found her in Canada, apparently). Mark Greaney meanwhile still looks like he is about 14 and has absolutely no need for a shaving mirror. But do you know what? They still sound pretty good. The voice is unmistakeable, and the material sounded okay. I won't be rushing out to buy the new album, but I will be digging out the first one and giving that a listen tomorrow. In 'Oxygen' they have at least one stone-cold classic that hasn't been dimmed by time, and 'Snow' never fails to make me smile:

why won't it snow
like they said it would
what is it that they know
that i really should

Damn those weathermen!

Naturally, this got us thinking about other songs with a metereological title:

Riders on the Storm
Sunshine on a Rainy Day
Rain
Thunder Road
Weather with You
Electrical Storm
Smokestack Lightning
and so on.... (hours of fun, feel free to play along)

This at least served to distract me from the twat at the gig (c. Damo) who this time around was some woman who insisted on spending the whole concert, which she appeared to enjoy, bellowing at her friend standing next to her... all the way though JJ72s set. Gah!

Anyway. A decent enough way to spend the evening. I think The Editors are up next, and then a long run of gigs up to Christmas (off the top of my head: KT Tunstall, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery, The Bluetones). Nice.

10 Comments:

  • At 12:07 am, Blogger Ali said…

    >bellowing at her friend

    *give us strength*
    If it's not HER, it's the friggin' TALL GUY.

    Sounds interesting in any case.

    ;)

     
  • At 6:03 am, Blogger Aravis said…

    Sounds like you have a lot to look forward to! :0)

     
  • At 9:20 am, Blogger Teresa Bowman said…

    Was Bellowing Woman also drunk, and staggering about spilling beer over people and burning them with her cigarette?

    If so I believe I may have written about her in one of my own posts. She gets about a bit.

     
  • At 9:50 am, Blogger LB said…

    In the name of balance I should perhaps point out that ST and I at gigs are "the friggin' tall guy".

    which generally involves standing somewhere near the back, irrespective of how many people are there or what time we arrive).

     
  • At 11:23 am, Blogger swisslet said…

    small or far away?

    tall or just up really close?

    ST

    (and yes, bellowing woman was drunk)

     
  • At 4:02 pm, Blogger John McClure said…

    The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin)
    Fool in the Rain (Led Zeppelin)
    Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin)
    Ozone Baby (Led Zeppelin - I'm pushing it now, aren't I?)
    Sunshine of Your Love (Cream)
    John Ketley Is A Weatherman (Tribe of Toffs)

    oh!

    It's Raining Men (The Weathergirls?)

     
  • At 4:37 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Isn't Bellowing Woman always drunk. I think I might have been Bellowing Woman a time or two myself...although at concerts I'm usually Flailing Arms Woman.

     
  • At 6:16 pm, Blogger Flash said…

    ...but she will NOT replace Hilary.

     
  • At 6:53 pm, Blogger HistoryGeek said…

    That Flailing Arms Woman comment was me...unsure why it came up anonymous.

     
  • At 8:46 am, Blogger Ali said…

    >In the name of balance I should perhaps point out that ST and I at gigs are "the friggin' tall guy".

    I made a cheeky gag, then disappeared for days...how inexcusably rude of me!

    I doubt my Tall Guy has ever been either you or ST, you're both far too considerate. The lofty cousin to whom I refer stands middle centre - or alternatively, directly in front of me, irrespective of where I stand.

    I once managed to get to the front of a 'The Darkness' gig. I thought I'd cracked it. Just after the first song, Tall Guy muscled in, in front of ME. It's a standing joke with the sig oth.

    An idea occurs! If I went to a gig with you and ST...would the power of having two Tall Guys with me reverse the polarity, repel the other Tall Guys, and afford me a clear view of the stage? Or could you at least stretch a 4 x 2 between your pairs of shoulders and give me a leg up?

     

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