Just before the media blitz for the upcoming fest gets underway, i thought i
would throw outa few thoughts regarding the recent UKfest, chez Marshall. I
need not list the attendees and tell you all how wonderful they are; awesome
testaments to this effect have already come in from others.
Donna and i, native Dubliners, arrived in Stansted on the previous tuesday.
We were given the chance to spend five hours on the M11 (or was it M25...i
just don't know anymore), due to a horrendous accident. This afforded us
the rare oppurtynity to sit through five hours of that
happy institution of middle of the road radio hits, Magic FM- i'm still in
pain; doctor says i might never be the same again.....
Come thursday we were really trying to put the horror of the Magic related
AHA overload behind us. We headed to Brighton for a much anitcipated Patti
Smith concert. Risking an offence to some people here, i can't see why
people like Brighton so much....I wasn't too fond of the place. The town
seemed so empty, and more than a little dirty (which is not to say that
Dublin is the cleanest place you'll ever visit.) In all fairness to the
place, Donna and i just don't like beaches or beach areas, so we were
probably a little biased against the place. Numerous people ahd told us
that it's one of the greatest places in southern england. Give me the lake
district any day! And don't get me started on the awful fecking hostel we
stayed in (now, that was a horror to rival five hours of Magic FM.)
Needless to say the gig was utterly fantastic. The set list was like a
dream for me { Looking for you (I was); Redondo Beach; frederick; ghost
dance; beneath the southern cross ; free money; piss factory; ain't it
strange (OH MY GAAAAWWWDDD!! Thank you thank you thank you); be my baby;
because the night; dead city; gloria; 25th floor; people have the power;
grateful; wing; babelogue/rock n roll nigger). We thought the venue looked
a little delapidated from outside and it seemed vey small. During the gig
Patti said something to the effect of "You might be wondering why we are
playing in this fucking shithole?.......Because i fucking begged them to let
me play here.......I LOVE BRIGHTON" She then went into a great rant about
how the place reminds her of an area near where she grew up. She was tying
this into an introduction to Wing; the one she dedicated to all the children
of brighton. Again, she told of how much she loves brighton and brighton
rock and how this place reminds her of somewhere near where she grew up, and
how they had no money, but fuck....did they have fun. They didnt have
mobile phones and coulour televisoins, but fuck, who needs them anyway.
They had fun! She got very
excited while describing seaside areas and the memories they create. Yea,
she swears like an Irishwoman!
Braving the British overland train system is a little daunting, and we did
make one or two hiccups along the way, but we eventually got to the station
Chris had told us to get to. I thought Donna was going to explode with
excitement when Chris pulled up in the car with *Dr Strings* in the
passenger seat : ) She was a friend of mine and Donna's last summer while
we were staying in London. It was a fine day.
Chris took us to a restaurant/bar (not sure) which struck me as very neat,
rustic, winsome. A good call on your part Chris. Seated inside were Jacky,
Ashara, Sal, Azeem, Martin, Stevie, and Les. Stevie i had met a number of
times last summer. Azeem and Martin were introduced to me last year in the
Kashmir Klub (a great night with Jamie Lawson and Annabel Lamb among
others). Jacky i had the privelege of showing around Dublin earlier this
year. Still, i was a little overwhelmed. It must have been worse for
Donna, casual Joni listener. I rambled, as i do when i'm nervous.
We settled in quick smart to a delicious lunch; tis a shame i wasn't very
hungry :~\ The UK fest officially kicked off in a cool, calm and
sophisticated way (what was that place called Chris??) We soon headed back
to the epicentre of Joni-madness and broke out the beer, the wine, the
vodka, hehe:) And then we all let our tongues wag just a little. Besides
Strings and Donna that is; they are both too quiet for their own good, not a
word between them ;~)
We were joined later by Colin and John ( i forgot to say congrats on 21
years togehter guys; i had meant to) and also by Lieve. Everybody seemed to
be in great spirits. Instead of delivering a blow by blow account of the
next 48 hours, i will reduce it to some of the moments that i will forever
cherish.
*Discussing Ashara's Joni related adventures in Canada with Sal.
*Watching Ashara demonstrate Circle Dancing, trying to teach it to Jacky and
Donna:)....I got the camera out just a moment too late.
*Helping Ashara with the correct (or rather, teh correctest:) pronunciation
of Capercaillies "Fear A Bhata" (a beautiful song in Gallic, that translates
into "The Boatman"). I warned her, however, that Donna and i have learned
Gaelic, and our interpretation may be a little left of the middle. She
warned me to expect an insane phonecall from her needing a slight
reiteration, hehe. She was very excited; this seemed to overflow and affect
some of the rest of us:)
*Having a front row seat for the band of Strings, Martin and Chris. When
they do eventually get a cd made, all JMDLers will want to hear it. Strings
vocals are beautiful; sexy and emotional. She remains understated though,
and never gets right into your face- the songs take on a meloncholy quality.
Her lyrics are precise and prosaic, yet oddly poetic all at the same time.
The tales she tells need to be heard (welling up again as i remember Frank's
Song!!!). Martin sure knows his way around the guitar; his playing
compiments Strings to great effect. And then there is the added bonus of
Chris Marshall finding those great base lines. And whatever that song was
you played in the kitchen Sarah (the one Maritn thinks is just a bit too
obvious) your small audience really liked that!
*Strings singing Joni!
*The circle game. It was the only real sing-along of friday night. It was
a lot of fun. I, however, am a lyrics fool. I never know the lyrics to a
song. Sometimes i know all the lyrics, just not in the right order.
*Talking to Azeem. Here is a man that knows what he likes in music. He put
many of us to shame with his knowledge! Thanks for the tape Azeem, it is
great. I will be checking out a number of the artisits on there; and
letting you know exactly what i think!!!!
*Colin. Simply put, Colin talks:) He is a funny guy. his John seemed very
quiet to me, a little sombre even. Later on though he revealed this great
sense of humour without even realising it!
*Saturday nights singing. This was great. Music is the reason that we all
got together, and this evening really epitomised the greatness of the joni
list for me. Jacky, you sure missed a great (and fecking late) evening.
They somehow got me to sing! I usually don't sing without the washing
machine on, or the hoover, or the shower, lol. It was fun. We had a bit of
a crowded house sesh which was spectacular. Everybody singing, eveybody
laughing. Where in the living hell did Stevie Mitchell vanish to all
weekend? eh?? We could have done with his sweet vocals:) What am i
saying; we were great without him:)
* And, last but most definitely not least; spending time with some wonderful
people. Guys you were all great. Thank you all for being so welcoming and
inviting. Thanks especially to Chris for opening up his home and playing
hostess;-) We must do it again sometime.
I'll have my photos in the next day or two. I didn't get many; but those i
did get happened to be at times that most of the other cameras were not to
be seen.
GARRET
NP- Patti Smith, Grateful
ps- apologies for taking up so much bandwidth; i didn't realise i had so
much to say; without even going into how sweet, great and genuine each and
every one of the attendees was.
