found a couple of little vids from summer festivals..

if you’re looking to get the most out of every situation, you can view big technical hitches as a privilege. you get to experience them and overcome them, then its ticked off the list.

the first song of the set starts with an intro from everyone except me, there’s a break where I trigger the backing track, and then we all smash through the rest of the tune. at reading they played their intro and when i cued the backing track, I couldn’t here the click in my ears – the power light was off on my mixer. nothing. i’d check it all 30 seconds ago. shit.

the camera man keeps filming me, the audience are getting excited cos they think we’re deliberately holding off the drop, the band baring with me very kindly. I’m remaining suprisingly calm, knowing I checked it all and cannot feel responsible. some stage techs come and kindly mess with all the wires until the light comes back on. boom and 1st song is good.

2nd song – I trigger the backing which starts the song. nothing. shit. the techs come over again and incredibly a lead got unplugged whilst trying to sort out the first error. boom and the rest of the gig is good, as we try to recover from the lack of security in knowing the gear is reliable.

turned out good though I think.

have been rehearsing this week for a few clock opera dates: http://castlepalooza.ie/ and http://www.fielddayfestivals.com/ – here i will be excited to see a pure konono no1 without the congotronics and rockers team that i mentioned in an earlier post. lots of other good things on the line up too.

here’s the video (excellent work of andy from the band) for their first single on moshi moshi, exciting there will finally be an album.

great gig at lovebox with Tanya Auclair

always like a buggy ride through mud when you’ve got miles to go and heavy gear, i think i need a new phone though.

I stumbled upon this (if you use spotify) album a few weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. There are some great collabos, in particular “Travel Broadens the Mind” – Deerhoof with Kasai Allstars.

I’ve been listening to a lot of traditional West African music recently, so to hear this “rockers” take on it came at a good time.

The Mbira of Konono No1 is an addictive sound to me.

Went to see all 19 of them at the Barbican last week. Loved it. Very big sound, perhaps too much at times, but booming, and so much heart. Its amazing how much of it hinges on the Konono drummer’s little pile of trashed up cymbals. Juana Molina did a good job. Wildbirds and Peacedrums drummer was on it and very inventive.

In my book, a girlfriend that organises a trip to New York for your birthday is an amazing girlfriend. A girlfriend that then tacks on a trip to one of your musical heros’ homes to a tiny gig, is something a bit different. The best I think.

So we went to Levon Helm‘s barn in Woodstock.

This was almost a year ago, but we got the Diana pictures developed at last, so here’s a couple.

Levon’s Barn

We found the Big Pink a few miles out of Woodstock. This is where they wrote and record the “Basement Tapes” with Bob Dylan, as well as writing a lot of their first album “Big Pink”. Camera didn’t do this very well and I was panicking a bit as we’d had to trespass very blatantly in our massive hire car.

This did appear online though. Me (my legs and arms) and Levon.

He’s lived a few years since making the recordings and videos I fell for, and it reminded me of when I saw James Brown, but the man has serious serious musicality, personality and TIME!!. Even the straightest thing was played unlike anything I’d ever heard, had me tapping and bopping along ever since. His voice comes and goes, but of what he did sing and in particular ONE line from “The Weight” lifted me hugely.

One of my best times to date. Thank you my dear – even though you’re sitting next to me now.