Tonight DuCool and I are off to a gig where the promoter is really sticking their neck out. On the bill is a guest appearance by Aksell Rykkvin.
I really admire those brave souls who dare to take risks.
Alcohol, sex, competing egos, jazz tobacco, sibling rivalry, religious cults: there’s many a slip twixt cup and … gig.
It certainly required true guts to book that unpredictable diva Nina Simone.
Aksell Rykkvin? A charming, well-behaved Norwegian lad with a beautiful voice who has won the respect of musicians like maestro Rolf Lislevand . We’re not talking Axl Rose. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, rumour has it that Aksell’s voice could break any day now. Hopefully not in the middle of his performance this evening. Maybe the Stockholm Early Music Festival were not quite early enough in making their booking?
Anyone else with a story about a booking that was an accident waiting to happen or a disaster averted at the 11th hour?
duco01 says
Good stuff. My favourite bit comes at about 1:26 when King Harald of Norway drops off to sleep. He must be getting pretty tired of such events.
Kaisfatdad says
It’s a lovely performance but I can understood that the old chap needed forty winks. Her Maj must have also had to sit through more than her fair share of performances about which she was less than enthusiastic.
Black Type says
Booking Morrissey, any time.
metal mickey says
It is well-known that you are not truly a fan of Morrissey until he has cancelled a gig on you…
fatima Xberg says
A few years ago a pop concert was announced at the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin – a venue that normally doesn’t do this kind of thing, as it normally stages their own Musical productions (think “Cats” or “Starlight Express” with better stage design, better actors and singers and better storyline). It’s like Berlin’s slightly modern version of the Royal Albert Hall regarding stage and acoustics.
The acts were Uriah Heep and Nits as double headliners. Most of you may be familiar with The Heep, but Nits? They’re a Dutch band, going for 30 years now, whose music veers between Beatles-style pop and late-Talk Talk whimsy. One really couldn’t see any overlapping of core audiences here.
And sure enough, Nits opened the gig with a 10-minute freeform piano improvisation which eventually morphed into a song about the Spanish Civil War. The Heep part of the audience watched this with open mouths and in disbelief. But against all odds, everything went well – the three Nits guys charmed the metalheads with their pop melodies and witty stage announcements, and Uriah Heep responded with an enthusiastic greatest hits collection, with equally entertaining introductions (“Next up is the winner of several “Most Hated Guitar Riff” competitions among music store employees. It’s called “Gypsy”…)
It was later revealed that the two groups were booked for this joint tour because they happened to be the promoter’s two favorite bands.
Kaisfatdad says
What a great story, Fatima. Fine band, The Nits: first heard on Peel’s show.
In the Dutch mountains is such a great song title.
metal mickey says
Whoever booked industrial metal-bangers Einstuerzende Neubauten with support from way-past-it 70’s rock & roll revivalists Showaddywaddy at the Kilburn National in 1987 clearly liked to live life on the edge…
Kaisfatdad says
The Waddy and Das Neubaten on the same stage is my favourite band combination of all time
Ralph says
Well there’s the time I had a hand in presenting Mr Bo Diddley at Edinburgh’s Nite Club (above the Playhouse) in the 80s. All is going well we’ve sold the place out to capacity plus and got two fine local support bands warming things up nicely. Just one problem, no sign of Bo! This is before mobile phones and internet. I was summoned to the phone where a voice cheerfully advised me they had just finished their show in Gourock and were on their way. All 70 odd miles of it! They had booked an early show for the same evening which was news to us! News to his band too who only found out on the night when they were advised the hotel was in Edinburgh. The band were pretty good players and included Dick Heckinstall Smith. I had the thankless task of asking a suspicious and increasingly restive crowd to be patient. The place was sweating like sauna!But lo and behold the band made the show. I felt a bit sorry for the band members who I had to get on stage ASAP to prevent a riot I did sneak them requested cups of tea on stage. Bo was a very imposing chap who dwarved my 6’2 frame in height and girth. I settled up his fee before he took the stage. He put it in a little wooden case where I noticed a six shooter inside. “I’m glad everything’s OK” I remarked “So am I” replied Bo with a smile.He then proceeded to take the stage and tear the place up with a set that confirmed his legendary status. We even went past the curfew due to the late start and the bar doing an absolutely roaring trade.
Kaisfatdad says
Wonderful rock n roll story, Ralph. Time for some Bo!
Vulpes Vulpes says
The good captain Van Vliet, in the closing days of the Magic Band. 55 minutes in, he lobs his gob iron into the distance behind the drummer and exits, stage left, rapidly. Band finishes number. Band waves, leaves stage. Lights go up. Gig over. Brilliant though.
Moose the Mooche says
Brighton, 1990: Self-righteous “Edutainment” merchant KRS1 takes to the stage with BDP, yells a few chop-logic slogans over a few of his records for twenty minutes and then… fucks off. That’s it. A snip at eight quid a ticket.
This is actually pretty standard behaviour for US hip-hop acts appearing in the UK.
Kaisfatdad says
Alexander O’Neal didn’t increase confidence in US soul acts either when he played Stockholm a few years back. His stage set up included a nice comfy sofa.
So comfy in fact that Alex fell asleep there during his own set.
Of course that could only be hearsay..
fatima Xberg says
Also in Berlin, sometime in the 90s: An outdoor festival in an old arena in the woods, with
Living Colour
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (in fact, Was (Not Was) with added country singer)
Bonnie Raitt
Lou Reed
At the end uncle Lou gave “special thanks from us all to the guy who booked these artists… and whatever he was smoking.”
Kaisfatdad says
I do wish I’d been there and seen Lyle and his big band.
That is a great description: W(NW) with country singer. Strange to think that LL and the Wases share musicians. Excellent musicians though, so perhaps there is a logic to it.
fentonsteve says
Whoever booked those pop girls – Shampoo, was it? – to perform at the rain-lashed rock-festival-cum-mud-bath which is Reading. They didn’t stand a chance.
Moose the Mooche says
Rain… Shampoo… I hope Conditioner came on next.
Black Type says
I heard they were head and shoulders above the other acts.
Gatz says
No, no – you’re thinking of thew warm and open minded reception which welcomed Daphne and Celeste to the stage
fentonsteve says
That’s the fellas.
Deacon Blue had a similarly warm reception a few years earlier, as did Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf. Well, the piss in the flying bottles was warm.
fortuneight says
I witnessed something similar happen to Wayne County and The Electric Chairs at Reading in ’77. It was the year that 5 Hand Reel were on the same day as Eddie & The Hot Rods, Ultravox on before The Little River Band and Wayne the same day as The Doobies.
Carl says
The same happened to reggae band Inner Circle in, I think 1979.
They were fabulous and a few hundred of us really enjoyed their performance.
Kaisfatdad says
Inner Circle knew a good tune when they saw one and certainly could entertain an audience. They had several megahits in the 90s.
hubert rawlinson says
Went to see uilleann piper Davy Spillane.
‘When is he coming on?’ I asked the promoter
‘When we sober him up’
Mike_H says
In the early ’70s my pals and I used to go to a venue called The Temple, in London’s swinging Wardour Street. There we’d take amphetamines or LSD and watch band like Kevin Ayers & The Whole World or Pete Brown & Piblokto.
On one occasion we saw The Pink Fairies there. They had two drummers at that time and halfway through the first song the left side drummer collapsed backwards off his stool and lay motionless on the stage. A couple of beefy roadies dragged him off into the wings and the rest of the band carried on without him. A couple of songs later he reappeared looking -extremely- revitalised and rejoined proceedings.
Kaisfatdad says
At some point during the 70s, you and I must have been in the same venue, Mike.
I saw the Pink Fairies at a scout hut (!) somewhere in darkest Watford. My ears ached for days afterwards. And I will have a lifelong fondness for Kevin Ayres and the Whole World. Lol Coxhill, Mike Oldfield…. Now there was a band!
Mike_H says
Yes indeed!
Two of the three occasions on which I saw Kevin Ayers & The Whole World, they had Robert Wyatt on drums and harmony vocals. Mike Oldfield used to play The Sailor’s Hornpipe on mandolin as a solo party piece.
Do you recall gigs at Kingham Hall in Watford? Also known as Hydraspace? A guy called Graham Compton used to promote them there and a few other places like Chorleywood Memorial Hall and the Congregational Church Hall in Bushey (known to us as The Congo). I think he had an arrangement with the management of Friars in Aylesbury.
Kaisfatdad says
The only other Waford gigs I remember were at the townhall. Mike, Saw the marvelous Keef Hartley Big Band, Osibisa and Mott the Hoople there.
I saw Kevin Ayres at the Rouundhouse: a series of Sunday gigs called Implosion. Magic. I think it cost 50p to get in or some really silly price.
Carl says
Back in the 1970s I saw a gig that had a rather strange combination; guitar God, Rory Gallagher, supported by Greenslade.
For younger viewers Greenslade were an unusual band in that their line up consisted of: Drums (the excellent Andrew McCulloch) , Bass (the equally excellent Tony Reeves) and twin keyboards supplied by Dave Lawson (a man I was to see a fair few times in years to come when he was one of Roy Harper’s Black Sheep) and the man who gave his name to the band – Dave Greenslade. But nary a Fender, Gibson nor Rickenbacker in sight.
There was a similar thread to this on the Rockin’ Vicar a few years ago where I posted this queer juxtaposition. I was informed it was because both bands were under the auspices of Gaff Management. The same Billy Gaff who at the time also managed Rodernee and The Faces.
I liked Greenslade a lot. Enough to but their first few albums and going to see them again. They went down reasonably well considering the crowd were there for guitar heroics.
Not that many years ago I worked with a guy who’s surname was Greenslade. It didn’t seem a stretch to imagine, with such an unusual surname, that he might be related to Dave. It turned out he wasn’t, which was just as well because the Greenslade I got to know was an utter knobhead.
Moose the Mooche says
I would have turned up expecting Wallace Greenslade from The Goon Show.
“DO SOME OLD!”
WG: “Winds light to variable”
Kaisfatdad says
Greenslade. The memories come rushing back.
And Rory Gallagher! I wonder how a 2017 teenager would respond to this. Back in the day this was wonderfully vibrant, exciting stuff.
Ralph says
I saw the Rory Gallagher/Greenslade bill in the 70s musical desert of Inverness. Greenslade went down well and returned a couple of times to headline so Mr Gaff knew what he was about. I met Rory a couple of times further down the line He was a lovely man.
Kaisfatdad says
Just to put your minds at rest: Aksell’s voice did not break yesterday evening. Although when he started hitting those high notes, I got more than worried.
Rather weird. watching him sitting their with his harpsichord player and msucial director, prior to performing. Like a kid waiting on the reserve bench ready to go and play for his team. Surely he’d have far rather been in the Gröna Lund funfair listening to Zarah Larsson? The boy could do with some lush life.
He has a wonderful voice and performed with great dexterity. Very odd to hear a boy treble performing in such an accomplished way.
But I’m afraid he was totally outclassed by the main act: the Huelgas Ensemble from Belgium. Hardcore, Flemish Renaissance polyphony. I know nothing about this music but it was powerful stuff. The charismatic conductor, Paul Van Nevel, is the real deal. He’s been doing this music for over 40 years and has even received a prison sentence for stealing medieval musical manuscripts.
His auditions are notorious:
“It is a twenty-minute audition, after which I know all that I need to know. I want to know if the performer can sing a hexachord without changing intonation, if they can sing Pythagorean leading tones and mean tone leading tones. If singers come in and ask, “Where is the piano?” they can leave immediately. ”
http://icb.ifcm.net/en_US/interview-paul-van-nevel-director-huelgas-ensemble/
Here they are
The merch table was crap. Not a single T shirt in sight. And no sign of that 15CD boxset of Flemish polyphony I was looking for.
Tiggerlion says
There’s @Beany!! There, next to Askell. Did you say hello?
Kaisfatdad says
The varied audience appeal of certain acts can lead to problems. I once went to see Desmond Dekker here in Stockholm. On arrival I ´noticed that half the audience were rastas, the other half Swedish skinheads. I was just waiting for things to get nasty.
But the incandescently charming Israelite hitmaker came on stage and created such a marvelous vibe that we all just had a great evening together. Remarkable.
Sniffity says
Those Monkee-lovin’ teenyboppers must have wondered what hit ’em when Jimi Hendrix bowled onto the stage and let fly.
Alias says
I saw a band called Grupo X at the University of Hertfordshire a few years ago. I had seen them before and they got an audience of about 100. People of student age were not the type I would expect to go and see them and I was right. I was the first person there, and the only person there for a while. I asked the bar maid if they had sold any more tickets and she didn’t know. One other person turned up so I spoke to him and he told me that he had been to a blues gig there and he was the only member of the audience.
So instead of the band introducing themselves to the audience, the audience were asked to introduce themselves to the band. During long instrumental sections the singer got off the stage and she sat next to me and chatted. It was weird.
The next time I went there was to see an afrobeat band. I decided that I would not go on my own so I dragged a friend along. I realised that there was no need to book in advance. The organisers were totally unprepared for the eventuality of anyone turning up so didn’t have anyone on the door. Free gig, excellent. There was 8 of us this time and I strongly suspect that the person responsible for booking the bands was relieved of his duties.
Kaisfatdad says
That was hilarious, Alias!
“instead of the band introducing themselves to the audience, the audience were asked to introduce themselves to the band.”
It reminds me of a theatre show that DuCool took me to a few years back. I should point out that he has taken me to all manner of gigs, plays etc and the quality has invariably been stupendous. This play however ( Tingle Tangle?) was the exception that proved the rule. In the first half, there were marginally more people in the audience than on stage. Several left in the interval, so when we returned to our seats, the spectators were definitely outnumbered by the cast.
It probably wasn’t that bad. But I felt seriously agoraphobic in that theatre.
fentonsteve says
The person* who booked Paul Young’s tour of student unions at the height of the Acid House boom in 1988/9.
Reading gig sold four tickets in advance. We used them for Friday night disco tickets for months afterwards.
(*) Not me, thankfully
fatima Xberg says
On the subject of concert promoters – I just read a press release from a German metal band:
“Out of solidarity we’ll be playing a fundraising concert for an independent venue in Berlin today – entry is free (though we haven’t figured out how that’ll make money to help the club…)”.
Kaisfatdad says
Top marks for a fine gesture but a fail in arithmetic. That would never happen with a maths rock band.