I'm an old fart.
I admit it, when it comes to music, that's what I have officially become now, I don't mind.
I buy, and listen to, a heck of a lot of the stuff. Most of what I buy was probably recorded before I was born, or at least before I needed the services of Messrs. Wilkinson or Gillette. I buy a fair amount of new music as well, but most of that is recorded by people who've been making records for 30 years or more. I've not deliberately listened to a music radio station this year.
I know this, and I'm comfortable with it.
Anyway, last night I went to see 20 year old Jake Bugg in my home town of Bridlington. Here's someone who definitely doesn't fit in with my usual music demographics.
Something felt different about this gig right from the start, and it took me just a few minutes to realise what it was. Now, I've seen concerts by bigger acts than Mr Bugg, much bigger, whether it be several Paul McCartney gigs, Bob Dylan, U2 a few times, Oasis a few more, R.E.M, Bruce Springsteen, Kate Bush. All these had something in common, namely that at the time of these gigs, the artist was as established as they were ever going to be (In Oasis' case, being at their peak at Knebworth the first time I saw them), or with the others being at least a decade or more after their peak period. I've also been to plenty of gigs by (at the time) upcoming acts who went on to have successful careers, such as Travis, Kula Shaker, Cast, without ever being world beaters.
The difference, last night, it occurred to me, was that this might be the first time I'd seen someone, still on their ascendancy, but definitely not having reached their peak yet, who might just go on to be a genuine world star (in a music sense, not in a celebrity sense, 'cos here's a kid who could not give one single stuff about celebrity) and I could say "I was there, I saw him before he was the massive star he became". That's not to take anything away from the success he's already achieved, because he's selling out good sized venues across the country these days, but he's not a household name yet. Show a photo of him, or play one of his songs, to 100 people in the street, and the vast majority won't have a clue who he is. Robbie Williams he ain't.
This lad was born to make music, most of which is damn fine. It's a strange paradox that not only is he one of the most (if not the most) exciting young musicians in the industry, appealing to the kids of today, whilst also being almost certainly the most retro young kid on the scene.
Here's a kid who apparently was inspired to take up music after hearing Don McLean for the first time, who's pre show playlist last night was full of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, pre-fame era Beatles demo's, and delta blues stuff from way before that even. He then saunters on stage and launches in to his own music which manages to sound fresh and modern, whilst also sounding like Eddie Cochran or Johnny Cash channelling the Sex Pistols.
I love the fact that he can rock out on stage. Nearly every time I see someone current on stage with an acoustic guitar, I dread what's about to happen. Can they play it? Yes, very well, almost without exception. Can they sing? Yes, they've pretty much all got a very impressive set of lungs on them. They then invariably come out with some bland-tug at your heart strings-trying it's hardest to be "inspirational"-banal-forgettable durge that could turn you off music for life. It's essentially Westlife by people who can also play a guitar.
I'm not knocking the "acoustic ballad" genre, it can be great, and Jake Bugg has plenty of songs in his cannon that come under this category, but for me, I want someone to prove they can rock it up first. That, to me, for no apparent reason that I can think of, then gives you licence to quieten it down and show your softer side. Rock first, relax second!
Don't go and see Jake Bugg and expect to see a showman on stage, that's not what you get. I suspect he may grow in to one over time (in which case his stage career would be pretty much a mirror image of Bob Dylan's), but for now, you will not see a smile. You might get a "hello", you'll get the occasional "thanks" after a song, and he may furnish you with details of whether the next song is from album 1, album 2, or is a new song. Beyond that, count yourself lucky. This might bother me with some artists, but didn't bother me at all last night. This kid is there to play his music, all he cares about is his music, for it to be performed as well as he can perform it. I suspect that he cares more about hitting his own standards, than he does about whether it's what you wanted him to do. He is the music equivalent of Andy Murray (no big surprise that I'm a fan of Andy Murray, precisely because of him having that attitude!).
I'm very interested to see what happens with Bugg over the next few years, to see what he's capable of, and what directions he pushes himself in. He's certainly becoming a very good guitarist. A few times last night when he strapped on the Telecaster he proved his chops as a lead guitarist, even if he does have certain fretboard tricks he reverts to again and again (ha! says "one trick pony around a blues scale" me!). I'd really like to see him push his guitar sound and skills in a way similar to how Jack White has done. If anyone could take the mantle of Jack White and reinvent blues based guitar for the next decade, then I think Jake Bugg could be the man.
The other thing that struck me last night was that I was, for probably the first time, officially an old fart at a gig almost exclusively for the kids. The last time I went to gigs filled by so many kids, I was one of the kids myself. As I grow older, the audiences at gigs I attend is generally growing older at a similar rate.
This made it a very different experience for me, in some ways better than others. As the 2nd support act finished (a very promising young band from Dublin called Hudson Taylor), the pre gig playlist started again- more Dylan, Stone Roses, The Smiths etc., all great stuff, and then the volume was ramped up a bit for what was definitely going to be the last song before the main act, and it was Oasis "Champagne Supernova". Bearing in mind the audience was maybe 90% kids who weren't born when that was released (how old did that thought make me feel!?), I was amazed at the passion of the sing a long it became. This would be the equivalent of my teenage self in the late 80s being in a crowd singing with passion an old hit by the Rolling Stones or The Who. Oasis have become a "cool old band" for the new generation!
Unfortunately that was the high point for the crowd. Once the gig got going, I was waiting, even hoping a little, for the traditional crowd surge, that unstoppable lurch forward several yards, followed by the frantic backwards scramble to stay on your feet as it pushes back again. But none came. Not one single foot movement was needed by me for the whole gig, except voluntary ones to get some sort of feeling back to my geriatric legs as they stood rooted to the spot for the 3rd hour since I entered the theatre. Why was this? It seemed to me the answer was down to the crowds desperation, above all else, to ensure a steady focus from their phones as they recorded the whole damn gig. It seemed kids last night were spending as much time watching a 2 inch high Jake Bugg on their iPhone screen, as they were watching the actual man stood just yards in front of them! A crowd surge would have ruined the recording for them!
The other thing that baffled me about the crowd was, at almost any point during the quieter songs, there was no way you could ever think of using the phrase "you could hear a pin drop". You'd have been lucky to hear a nuclear bomb drop over the sound of the audience talking during these songs. I don't get it.....
Anyway, 10/10 for Jake Bugg, 7/10 for the audience, who it seems have a lot more to learn than he does!
I'm off to listen to some Woody Guthrie now, recorded 70 years ago but with so much in common with what I saw on that stage last night.
Tuesday 21 October 2014
Friday 3 October 2014
Oasis
I've been spending a lot of time lately on the Steve Hoffman music forum (http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/forums/music-corner.2/), lots of good debate in there to be found amongst some otherwise over zealous audiophilery.
Someone started a topic a few days ago about whether Oasis were life changers, because Lars Ulrich, Metallica drummer, had claimed they were to him. General opinion seemed to be split roughly by Brits saying yes and Yanks saying no, with a few irrelevant comments about whether The Verve were bigger than Blur (of course they weren't!).
I* waded in with my 2 penn'orth (is that how you spell "penn'orth"?) and was quite pleased with what I came up with, even though I could have easily written 10 times more. Anyway, here were my thoughts below (and here's the whole debate, for anyone interested - http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/oasis-as-life-changers.384665/)
*using my usual internet alias of OobuJoobu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the UK, to a significant section of a certain generation, they most definitely were life changers. I was lucky enough to be one of the many millions who witnessed it "up close, from afar".
They didn't start the Britpop movement, in fact the first time I recall thinking "something's happening here" was when Suede burst on to the scene, about a year before Oasis did.
I was probably a few months behind most people when it came to Oasis, it wasn't until a Q magazine CD in late '94 came out with Slide Away as one of the tracks, that I first heard them, similar time to the build up to the Whatever single. Within a year, What's The Story came out, I was 23 at the time and got back from my honeymoon the day after the album came out, and my copy was waiting for me that a friend had bought so that I'd have it on my return. I had a couple of days before I was due to back to work, and I wanted to write a song one of those days. She's Electric, after just one day, was so ingrained in my brain, that the middle 8 of that song most definitely got plagiarised in my song "Game Of Life", I'm sure Noel would understand.
It's difficult to overstate just how big they were for that next year, someone of my age can only assume that's the nearest thing we've witnessed to The Beatles in our life time (but we know it's not the same). The Blur Vs Oasis chart battle of August '95, whilst ultimately silly and media driven, was unforgettable.
Blur won the battle, Oasis won the war, that's what was said many times over the subsequent years, is it true though? I'm not certain. (Also, let's be absolutely clear here, forget sales figures, The Verve were nowhere near as popular, or influential, or as part of the fabric of the country, as Blur were, it's not even remotely close).
Knebworth came in 1996, 250,000 people over 2 days, I was there on the Sunday, it was a day I'll never forget. I know that never again will I queue up at 7am to get in to a gig where the main act aren't on until 9pm. The line up was stellar:- Cast, Kula Shaker, The Charlatans (just a month after their keyboard player died), Dreadzone (worst live act I've ever seen but a welcome beer and burger opportunity), Manic Street Preachers. Legends of the era, but not in the same stratosphere as the act to follow, they were on top of the world, well, our world anyway. Noel's "This is history" comment, John Squire on stage, Jedi master passing the baton to Noel Skywalker.
1997 - The excitement and build up to this album was electric. Hearing "D'You Know What I Mean" on the radio for the first time, as I arrived in a new city to start a new life, and it felt like Oasis were with me, beginning the next part of their journey as I started mine. The day of the album launch, I can't remember if any shops opened at midnight to sell it, but I know I was in HMV at 7.30am as they opened early for release day, but the tills didn't open until 8am, so there was 30 minutes of holding the album and not being able to buy it. 7.55am it was still fairly quiet in the shop then it seemed like all of a sudden, WHOOSSHH, everyone descended on the shop and it was heaving by 8am with everyone buying the new album, queues back to the door.
Everyone had given the album maximum rating in advance, be it 5 star or 10 star. I remember we had family staying at our house that night, but tough, I was out of action as I sat on the living room floor, headphones on, soaking up the album. "Blimey, it goes on a bit, but it's great, everyone says so!". It was about 4 weeks later if I remember rightly, when Chris Evans on TFI Friday said he was going to let us in to a little secret: "Be Here Now, it's not actually that good". That seemed to be the key that opened up the floodgates to criticism of that album from various quarters, a real "Emperor's New Clothes" moment.
16th September 1997, my 2nd wedding anniversary, myself and Mrs OobuJoobu went to Newcastle to see Oasis (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/oasis/1997/telewest-arena-newcastle-england-4bd797f6.html), her first time seeing them. Mrs O was particularly keen to keep out of the usual bustle near the front of the gig, so we held back out of the way. Only 3 or 4 days later did she tell me that the reason why was that she was expecting a little baby OobuJoobu and had just found out that day (my now 16 year old daughter!). Once again, starting out in a new phase of life and Oasis were there with us.
1999 - Bonehead quits the band. In a moment of madness that was never going to lead anywhere, I got hold of an email address for Creation records that night and submitted my application to replace him. Ridiculous! me just a singer/guitarist in a little £100 a gig pub band, covering Oasis and the like on a Friday night for petrol money. I'd never before or since had any remote ambition to be a rock star, but joining Oasis? Well, usual rules are out of the window. The last ever Oasis gig (I mean actual Oasis gig, rather than festival appearance) was in my home town of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, at the Spa Theatre. I've done about 7 gigs myself on that stage since then, and my main thought each time when setting up has been "I need to stand where Noel was stood". The Stones have played that stage - not bothered, so have The White Stripes, Paul Weller, and many major bands of the last 50 years, all I was bothered about was where Noel had stood.
I've remained a loyal fan since, even though the excitement levels of those days didn't last (I'll even defend Beady Eye's first album if challenged, in fact I love that album). But let's be in no doubt, my little Oasis story is one that's mirrored all around the country by people with their version of how Oasis changed their life, they were HUGE, they were life changers. D'You Know What I Mean?
Someone started a topic a few days ago about whether Oasis were life changers, because Lars Ulrich, Metallica drummer, had claimed they were to him. General opinion seemed to be split roughly by Brits saying yes and Yanks saying no, with a few irrelevant comments about whether The Verve were bigger than Blur (of course they weren't!).
I* waded in with my 2 penn'orth (is that how you spell "penn'orth"?) and was quite pleased with what I came up with, even though I could have easily written 10 times more. Anyway, here were my thoughts below (and here's the whole debate, for anyone interested - http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/oasis-as-life-changers.384665/)
*using my usual internet alias of OobuJoobu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the UK, to a significant section of a certain generation, they most definitely were life changers. I was lucky enough to be one of the many millions who witnessed it "up close, from afar".
They didn't start the Britpop movement, in fact the first time I recall thinking "something's happening here" was when Suede burst on to the scene, about a year before Oasis did.
I was probably a few months behind most people when it came to Oasis, it wasn't until a Q magazine CD in late '94 came out with Slide Away as one of the tracks, that I first heard them, similar time to the build up to the Whatever single. Within a year, What's The Story came out, I was 23 at the time and got back from my honeymoon the day after the album came out, and my copy was waiting for me that a friend had bought so that I'd have it on my return. I had a couple of days before I was due to back to work, and I wanted to write a song one of those days. She's Electric, after just one day, was so ingrained in my brain, that the middle 8 of that song most definitely got plagiarised in my song "Game Of Life", I'm sure Noel would understand.
It's difficult to overstate just how big they were for that next year, someone of my age can only assume that's the nearest thing we've witnessed to The Beatles in our life time (but we know it's not the same). The Blur Vs Oasis chart battle of August '95, whilst ultimately silly and media driven, was unforgettable.
Blur won the battle, Oasis won the war, that's what was said many times over the subsequent years, is it true though? I'm not certain. (Also, let's be absolutely clear here, forget sales figures, The Verve were nowhere near as popular, or influential, or as part of the fabric of the country, as Blur were, it's not even remotely close).
Knebworth came in 1996, 250,000 people over 2 days, I was there on the Sunday, it was a day I'll never forget. I know that never again will I queue up at 7am to get in to a gig where the main act aren't on until 9pm. The line up was stellar:- Cast, Kula Shaker, The Charlatans (just a month after their keyboard player died), Dreadzone (worst live act I've ever seen but a welcome beer and burger opportunity), Manic Street Preachers. Legends of the era, but not in the same stratosphere as the act to follow, they were on top of the world, well, our world anyway. Noel's "This is history" comment, John Squire on stage, Jedi master passing the baton to Noel Skywalker.
1997 - The excitement and build up to this album was electric. Hearing "D'You Know What I Mean" on the radio for the first time, as I arrived in a new city to start a new life, and it felt like Oasis were with me, beginning the next part of their journey as I started mine. The day of the album launch, I can't remember if any shops opened at midnight to sell it, but I know I was in HMV at 7.30am as they opened early for release day, but the tills didn't open until 8am, so there was 30 minutes of holding the album and not being able to buy it. 7.55am it was still fairly quiet in the shop then it seemed like all of a sudden, WHOOSSHH, everyone descended on the shop and it was heaving by 8am with everyone buying the new album, queues back to the door.
Everyone had given the album maximum rating in advance, be it 5 star or 10 star. I remember we had family staying at our house that night, but tough, I was out of action as I sat on the living room floor, headphones on, soaking up the album. "Blimey, it goes on a bit, but it's great, everyone says so!". It was about 4 weeks later if I remember rightly, when Chris Evans on TFI Friday said he was going to let us in to a little secret: "Be Here Now, it's not actually that good". That seemed to be the key that opened up the floodgates to criticism of that album from various quarters, a real "Emperor's New Clothes" moment.
16th September 1997, my 2nd wedding anniversary, myself and Mrs OobuJoobu went to Newcastle to see Oasis (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/oasis/1997/telewest-arena-newcastle-england-4bd797f6.html), her first time seeing them. Mrs O was particularly keen to keep out of the usual bustle near the front of the gig, so we held back out of the way. Only 3 or 4 days later did she tell me that the reason why was that she was expecting a little baby OobuJoobu and had just found out that day (my now 16 year old daughter!). Once again, starting out in a new phase of life and Oasis were there with us.
1999 - Bonehead quits the band. In a moment of madness that was never going to lead anywhere, I got hold of an email address for Creation records that night and submitted my application to replace him. Ridiculous! me just a singer/guitarist in a little £100 a gig pub band, covering Oasis and the like on a Friday night for petrol money. I'd never before or since had any remote ambition to be a rock star, but joining Oasis? Well, usual rules are out of the window. The last ever Oasis gig (I mean actual Oasis gig, rather than festival appearance) was in my home town of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, at the Spa Theatre. I've done about 7 gigs myself on that stage since then, and my main thought each time when setting up has been "I need to stand where Noel was stood". The Stones have played that stage - not bothered, so have The White Stripes, Paul Weller, and many major bands of the last 50 years, all I was bothered about was where Noel had stood.
I've remained a loyal fan since, even though the excitement levels of those days didn't last (I'll even defend Beady Eye's first album if challenged, in fact I love that album). But let's be in no doubt, my little Oasis story is one that's mirrored all around the country by people with their version of how Oasis changed their life, they were HUGE, they were life changers. D'You Know What I Mean?
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