2023
Last night I went to see Sarabeth Tucek at The Lexington. And the song I most wanted to hear was this autobiographical number about her childhood.
Last night I lost my oldest and dearest friend, Ben Buchanan. He slipped away shortly after 11pm, with his beloved Maria, Max and Penny at his side. I said my goodbyes to him a few hours earlier.
Maybe I’ve got a bit soppy because I’m feeling a bit sad and fragile but Mereba’s haunting electro-ballad hits me right there. Especially its lyrics.
Here we are on the hottest day of the year and I’m reflecting on the hottest gigs I’ve ever attended. One of them, on a night like this, was by Nas at the 100 Club.
If there was an instrument I’d lock away in Room 101 it’s the ukelele, that scratchy little four-stringed guitar so beloved of hipsters. Yet I’ve always had a soft spot for Zach Condon.
Christina Vantzou and John Also Bennett collaborate as CV and JAB on this beautiful piece of peaceful piano music – a soothing balm for the pains and frustrations of everyday life.
This Welsh group is new to me but it seems they’ve been going since 2019 when they formed as what Americans call a “jam band.” The sextet are named after their home town of Church Village, ten miles from Cardiff, calling themselves Church Village Collective – CVC for short.
Do we really want to hear an elderly church minister sing a song blissfully unaware that it celebrates the pleasures of heroin? Well yes, it turns out we do.
Unlike some other old punks of my acquaintance, I am no longer a fan of being hectored by angry men thrashing guitars and pummelling drums into oblivion.
I love it when a group lives up to its name. And rarely, if ever, has a group lived up to its name as much as Alogte Oho & His Sounds Of Joy. It’s written all over their faces, it’s in every note they play and sing, and it’s in every sinuous groove their bodies make.