It’s the big day tomorrow, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and say thanks.

Thanks to all my readers for the time you have taken to read my blog and engage with me through it.

​In one of my earlier posts, I stated that I was struggling with the whole festive spirit thing this year. Mrs Baldwin went out and bought me the Christmas jumper that you see pictured. I love it for a few reasons, one is that it took the piss out of me and my lack of jolly face. And, ironically, since it arrived, I have worn it every day and been much jollier.

The next reason, it features Darth Vader. Given my age and status, I am stupidly excited about going to see the latest Star Wars instalment. Between Christmas and the New Year return to work, I will watch the movie and I will wear my jumper to the cinema with pride.

The Christmas jumper market in the UK is worth £220 million. I’ll be honest, I am not a fan of the festive knit and have always erred on the side of the more understated Fair Isle kind of thing.  This year though, I have embraced the fun (though in the case of my sweater, it’s arguably black humour).

And that brings me back to the point of this post. I hope that you have a lot of fun this Christmas with those that you love.

But before I go, this year I'll be raising my glass for a few absent friends. To Gary Martin and Sara Phillips, wherever you are, you are not forgotten this Christmas.    

I’ll see you again on the other side.  

Ade     

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Bah Humbug and Gingerbread Lattes

And here's a link to my favourite Christmas song, White Christmas by The Bleach Boys. 

On Saturday 16th December, I went to Club 85 in Hitchin to see The Floyd Effect. Readers with outstanding memories may recall that I wrote a review about the band back in December 2015 too.

To save repeating myself, you can read the previous post and this one will focus on the differences … 

To be frank though, there weren’t many, I went to the gig with the same people and watched the same band perform much the same set. Even Gordon’s (the keyboardist) gags were familiar; the gig was equally long (three hours) and equally brilliant; Tiffany the backing vocalist’s wailing was superb; Peter Gill took some more great photos and I had a damn good night out ... again. Etcetera, etcetera.

The ticket was a bit more expensive, I, most probably, wore a different outfit and I had less of a hangover the next day, but those facts are not much to inspire a blog post!

The inspiration-catalyst in this instance was a thought thread that I had during the evening – drug inspired only as far as a few bottles of Trooper ale.

The Floyd Effect reproduces some amazingly intricate music with precision, skill and panache. It is a credit to the group that it can deliver something that I/you’d genuinely struggle to fault. The band is tight and the musicians very capable/experienced. 

I found myself reflecting that the skill needed to reproduce the Pink Floyd sound was one thing but the creativity to write all the stuff in the first place (and deliver it with fewer band members) was something even more incredible. The point that I am working my way around to is this – The Floyd Effect’s effect was to make the original Pink Floyd feel great all over again. And that’s a good thing. So rather than this tribute act being a parasitic, exploitative kind of influence, this band is more symbiotic, it actually adds some value to the host. I found myself looking forward to playing my old Pink Floyd CDs all over again. 

In my earlier post I reflected that The Floyd Effect was effectively Floyd. In this one, my observation is that if you ever need to appreciate just how brilliant the original band was, go and see this tribute.  That feels like high praise to me. 

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

01/01/16 Effectively Floyd – a gig review

The Floyd Effect's website

I have been thinking a bit about Christmas this week, which is perhaps no real surprise given how close it now is. This year, unusually, I have struggled to get into the festive spirit, though I am not completely sure why.

Some options include:

1. Being too busy/distracted
2. Feeling surplus to requirements
3. Just being a grumpy old bastard

It took me ages to get around to writing my Christmas cards, I only bought my first presents last weekend and even the Christmas tunes are just not doing it for me this year. By way of further evidence, the decorations on my website (please take a look at the home page by the way) went up later than normal.  

But I have reflected on a funny thing that happened the other weekend. It was one of those kind of things that only ever happens at this time of year, a bit like wearing a festive jumper or playing Christmas music – I wouldn’t dream of listening to Cliff Richard, Wham, Aled Jones or Mariah Carey at any other time, but somehow it seems acceptable in December.

I have of course written about Christmas songs a few times before (previous posts available, see below) so in the effort to avoid boring you, this piece is about something completely different. Coffee. Or rather a variation thereof.

Like Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher”, throughout the year I drink my coffee black and strong (the similarities to the fictional Reacher* end there), unless I am at my parents’ house, where my dad forgets and puts milk in.  In 2017 I hadn’t consumed a single latte until December, when I went into a Starbucks in Market Harborough. That in itself is worthy of mention, I normally avoid Starbucks (no visits from me in 2017 until that point) because it bothers me that the company avoids paying its fair share of UK corporation tax. But that particular day, it was convenient and Mrs Baldwin was keen.

I wandered up to the counter, viewed the menu and instead of ordering an Americano, I selected a gingerbread latte. Then the geezer behind the counter said “do you want squirty cream with that” and I said “oh go on then” in my best Mr Creosote voice.
 
So instead of strong, unadulterated coffee, I had a sweet, sickly and dairy overloaded dessert of a brew … and a mince pie.

F.F.S. I went from Jack Reacher, via Monty Python, to Alan Carr in one drink!

It gets more depressing, it turns out that bah humbug complements the gingerbread latte because it, whilst nice, didn’t get my bells a jingling either.  Maybe I should have gone for the eggnog variant instead.

Though maybe I don’t need the coffee break so much as the break.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Previous posts
17/12/15 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/wishing-you-a-metal-christmas
24/11/14 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/christmas-compilation-humbuggery
14/12/11 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/the-theme-tunes-to-christmas
*You might have to read some Reacher novels to learn more

The Grand Tour is finally back on our screens (well it is if you subscribe to Amazon Prime anyway). I eagerly tuned in last weekend and watched the first episode of the new series - it was relatively good, if predictable, fun too. But my lasting take out from the show will be that Jeremy Clarkson and James May are both looking old. Clarkson didn’t even look well if you ask me. Even Richard Hammond seemed like he was trying too hard to fight off the age related challenges – Mrs Baldwin’s comments “his hair is badly dyed”.

For the first time ever, I watched the chaps and was thinking that the end is in sight for the grand trio. I don’t mean death, though Hammond used up another life in Switzerland driving the Rimac. Rather that in looking old, overweight, tired and grandfatherly even, they are just not quite so “hip” anymore. If this episode of the GT had been shot in India rather than Switzerland, I’d have been thinking about the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Clarkson and May looking like suitable residents.

Then Clarkson went and interviewed David Hasselhoff who looked thoroughly ready for retirement.

Let’s be frank, seeing an old, fat bloke (like Clarkson more than Hasselhoff) in a high performance sports car is a bit sad really and it might not be that long before the likes of Lamborghini decide that there are better brand advocates out there.

Of more concern, and maybe this is just me, the juvenile humour seems too contrived/unconvincing coming from blokes in their mid-fifties. I am much the same age as Richard Hammond (mid-late forties) and if that’s my feeling, what will it be like for those with a couple less decades straining at their belt buckles?

I suppose Amazon must know what target audiences it is keen to appeal to. In my opinion, the nation’s youth can’t be relied upon to think that father figures are cool and they certainly can’t be relied upon to think that grandfather figures are. If Amazon’s target audience for the show are blokes like me then there is still some hope … but then again, I am a fan and the above are my observations.

There were others too. I wondered if the permanent grounding of the GT Marquee in the Cotswolds was an effort to contain the costs of the show, Amazon less sure of its investment perhaps? Or if the global travel schedule was just exhausting the presenters too much? All had been in hospital during the filming, Clarkson with pneumonia apparently.
   
All however is not woe. “Celebrity Brain Crash” has been dumped (it was rubbish and needed to be) and some of the future episodes look like they will be better than the first.

I will of course watch the lot and will enjoy The Grand Tour while I can. I guess the presenters will enjoy delivering it while they still can too.  And in that is an observation about life in general, enjoy it while you can because nothing lasts forever. Just ask Cheggers!

Will series two of the Grand Tour be the last hurrah?

Well no because three series were commissioned, but I wouldn’t bet my hard earned cash on a fourth.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

I went to a corker of a gig on Saturday 25th November at a venue in Oxford centre called The Cellar. Desert Storm (DS) was celebrating its tenth anniversary in its home town. My buddy Hughesy sorted out the tickets and the accommodation for the evening.

I have written about Desert Storm on four previous occasions (links below) and I have seen the band perform live more times than that. I first became aware of DS in 2013 - seven years into its existence - and have spent the last four years being a fan. I decided to write about this gig too because it was the best experience of the lot.

First a quick thumbs up for the venue, The Cellar is a cracking place, low ceilinged, dark walled and with all the settings at “loud”. Ten years might be celebrated with aluminium, but on the 25th, the metal was much heavier than that. The pub/club was packed with punters all looking forward to a lively show. And lively it was too. In fact Desert Storm’s set prompted a better/bigger/more energetic mosh pit than any I have seen for the guys before. 

But I have got ahead of myself - a bit more scene setting is necessary. Desert Storm was the evening’s headline act. Prior to its slot, two support bands warmed the place up a bit.

The running order:

1. Bad Blood Recovery - 19:45 - 20:15
2. Suns of Thunder - 20:30 - 21:00
3. Desert Storm - 21:15 - 22:30

I didn’t enjoy the first act but Suns of Thunder was good and I’d make time to see the band again. 

Desert Storm took to the stage and singer, Matt, was wearing an oversized wool trench coat. I heckled from the audience with a line that went something like “why are you wearing your dressing gown?” for Matt to state to everyone that the trench coat was a regular feature in the band’s early days and had been brought out of retirement for the evening. My follow up was that “trench coats are so last decade”, which I thought was bang on in terms of an anniversary inspired riposte. 

​The set list for the evening included a good mix of old and new tracks; DS started with “Pocket Watch”, a great song from the early album ”Forked Tongues”. I love this particular tune and always request it.

​And that brings me to a digression. The last time I saw the band was at the Craufurd Arms; because the fellas know me, they are usually prepared to have a chat. The song wasn’t on the set list for the earlier gig, I got to chatting with Matt about playing Pocket Watch. At the time he told me that with the landmark anniversary approaching, the record label’s advice had been “stick to the heaviest stuff”. My view was/still is that the funkier material, like Pocket Watch, evidences a broader range of musical skills, is just as interesting and, most importantly, marks the band out as different. On the 25th, it was certainly a crowd pleasing opener. And in terms of acknowledging DS’s roots, Pocket Watch was more important than the big coat.
 
Here’s the set list:   

1. Pocket Watch
2. Astral Planes
3. Hofmann
4. Shadow of an Eagle
5. Signals from Beyond
6. Drifter
7. The Brawl
8. Too Far Gone
9. Queen Reefer
10. Journey's End
11. Forked Tongues
12. Titan
13. Scorpion
14. Convulsion
15. Enslaved In The Icy Tundra
16. The Jackal

During one of the earlier tracks, Elliot Cole, the drummer, handled an incident with real aplomb. Matt picked up and handed him one of the crash cymbals that had completely come adrift from its stand. Elliot calmly put the cymbal on the floor, compensated for its absence by hitting the others and carried on playing while the drummer from Suns of Thunder stepped up and reattached the thing to the drum kit. Later, to add insult to injury, the problematical cymbal cracked so he had to spin it on its mount to hit the undamaged side only. There was no drama, in fact it was only because I was at the front of the stage that I knew anything was the matter at all.

The show had a proper good natured, party kind of atmosphere about it; champagne was drunk by the band, happy birthday was sung to the guys by the audience and the support and affection for Desert Storm was obvious. Matt Ryan was in his element and clearly enjoying himself. All in all an excellent outing and a gig that I am glad I made it to.
  
Desert Storm has a new album due out next March, it’s entitled “Sentinels” and contains four of the songs from the set list above. I am looking forward to getting a copy, maybe I’ll review that in due course too.

In the meantime, thanks to the fellas from DS for a great gig, thanks again to Hughesy for booking the tickets.

​Here’s to another ten years.

Maybe my ears will have stopped ringing by then!

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
 
Previous reviews available
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/eating-drinking-and-rocking-on-the-cowley-road
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/desert-storm-and-some-other-noisy-bastards
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/desert-storm-at-the-craufurd-arms-a-gig-review
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/digression-desert-storm-and-honky
​