Souixsie Souix at Meltdown

When She  that odd stirring motion with the microphone, I knew what was coming.  The encore's encore wasn't going to disappoint. The guitar swirled and then as the drum rush in everyone in the festival hall seems to be on their feet, Souixsie delivers Spellbound. 

Of course this was never how it was meant to be, punk nostalgia, can anything be more of a betrayal. As I sit their surrounded by my demographic why can't we see the irony? But Souixsie like her support act, Viv Albertine rises above the cheap shots, though They come at it from opposite directions. Where Albertine is a cheeky wink, Souixsie's voice is a shining black locomotive.

Albertine avoids the past by largely avoiding the past. Apart from a slightly self conscious reference to the venue, she focuses on the intimate songs of her recent solo career. Given that the Slits were always a bit short on hummable (listenable) tunes it is an understandable choice. Songs like Couples are Creepy, Needles and Confessions of a MILF neatly sidestep the history while keeping a spoonful of the attitude. 

Souixsie has the bigger creative cheese and from the opening 'Happy House' shows she has no qualms about her history. But she never was Susan from next door really. Punk may have been the springboard but her voice and charisma takes her way beyond the spiky blokes in pubs. The power of the voice comes again and again. There is room for a bit of self mockery at her own persona, commenting that 'when you come back after five years don't wear vinyl' and the rather more toe curling 'they have to wait for me while I strap something on.' Please don't get all Julian Cleary on us now! The costume, white vinyl with a kind of fetish Bucks Fizz thing happening halfway through, was a startling thing in its own right. 

Though the voice sounded better than ever some of the songs have become less sharp and more bombastic. A brilliant Israel was followed by a smudged Arabian Knights. Dear Prudence felt like it had put on weight over the years. But the sheer sense that one is in the presence of one of the true voices of her generation bounced us through the lulls. With Joe Strummer, Joey Ramone and Ian Curtis gone, Souixsie, along with John Lydon is one of the few great punk singers left standing. 

Say nearly missed the start of the gig because her train from Bromley was delayed. Kind of appropriate given the act on stage. 

Otis Redding and the Water Cooler Moments

Did you see it? Brilliant wasn't it.
I watched the BBC4 night on Otis Redding and the Stax tour of Europe a week or so ago, and was blown away by just how good that music was. But also being thrilled that rather than simply being a contractual obligation, the trip to Europe actually meant something to musicians involved. That the passion, the vitality, that huge wave of energy they set free was in part a response to the love they were feeling from their audience. The nice little footnote that when he went on stage at Monterey Otis told his band to 'play it like we did in Europe.'
But there was something more about it. Ever since then I have been running into people saying 'did you see it? Great wasn't it.' It is as if BBC4 has managed to wake something, remind us of something that we had half forgotten. They freed that music from  the smothering blanket of lacklustre covers and cloying tribute, by bringing us back face to face with the source material.

When the Spirit is Mean

Read a lengthy article based on research by the Taxpayers Alliance (what a fun gang this lot must be) that left me thorough pissed off with the jaded, mean spirited carping side of our political culture. The article was highlighting some mammoth sums allegedly wasted by the public sector. Now I am all for efficiency and accountability. But much of what made up this number was of dubious provenance. This applied to their figures big and small. The biggest item was a notional difference between what public sector pensions are and what they would be in the private sector. Without a genuine and detailed review of the total reward packages for equivalent roles between the public and private world it is completely bogus to focus on one single part of the equation and say it's waste. For example if these services were being delivered in the private sector we would have to pay for shareholder dividends.
But even more churlish were some of the smaller items. It sneered at the £9000.00 spent on ipads by Bury Council to be used in the enforcement of recycling. Why is that a waste? I would suggest that ipads are a very effective tool for capturing and communicating evidence. £30000 spent on a newt sanctuary. Well the council in question is required to do this as some newts are a protected species. I may not be munch interested in newts, but if we care about protecting our natural environment then sometimes it will cost a few quid.
Stories about the public servants who routinely go above and beyond are not news.  I work with people who are passionate about the communities they serve, and rather than skimming the public purse give way beyond their contracted hours. But more than this, if we fall into accepting a narrative that all public servants are either incompetent or grasping it reinforces a mean spirited culture that makes us all poorer.

Great Places to Eat - Doh!

Having sung the praises to the @matthewsyard brunch a little while back it looks like I spoke to soon. Went down there this morning looking forward to a nice Eggs Benedict. Disappointment! They have ditched the whole brunch thing in exchange for offering  toasted flat bread sandwiches. I am sure it is lovely whatever emerges from their George Forman type grilling thing, but.... Its just the same as whatever where else does. Its still a fine place, but now just a little bit less special. Growl.

Cycle Sport on TV

ITV4's Tour Series is coming towards its conclusion for 2013. Catching up with the last round night I was struck by a coupe of things. One that it has now become a well established event in the Calendar. But also how it highlights the huge difference in the treatment of Men and Women's racing.  For the male side of the sport the tour series is a fun slightly low rent side show in terms of coverage. ITV4 and Europort show the real stuff too, the Classics, Grand Tours. But for the Women's side, the Johnson Health Tech series is just about the only televised road event. What flows from this is the whole chicken and egg thing of  without coverage how can it attract sponsors, and grow.
Nicole Cooke's retirement interview exposed the massive divide in the sport. She was for a while the best in the world, but at her peak was earning about £50k. Ok cycling is a long way behind golf and tennis in the big money stakes but this is a long way behind what Wiggo and Cav.
But what the Tour Series highlights is that the women's sport generates some great racing that can share a stage on something approximating to equal terms. For me Hanna Barnes has been the standout rider. So much so that it stands as a J'Accuse to the sport as a whole. Why don't Team Sky run a women's team? Why don't the UCI demand more of its members. And for the Broadcasters, there are women's versions of the classics that are contested fiercely, but on Eurosport and ITV 4 you wouldn't know. It is a long time to the next Olympics, the only chance for Women racers to ride one level road with the men. Something needs to move on. 

Croydon Eating - Alberts Table

I had been slow to go to Alberts Table because, I will be honest,  I thought it was a bit up its own arse. I had assumed it was the kind of place where thick napkins and a handwringing Maitre D' would be the gateway to routine 'Modern British' food. And what's a restaurant in Croydon doing bandying the Michelin word around. I was wrong.
It turned out to be an absolute pleasure. The menu offered rabbit risotto and a wild mushroom soufflé. There was pork with white pudding and asparagus. There were so many big rich flavours, tastes that one remembers. Mushrooms that actually tasted wild, a feral fungus brought to heal.
The service was lovely, but maybe not in the way the proprietor dreams of. Attempts at formal Michelinish waiting were  cheerfully undermined by a charming amateurish    enthusiasm. It was kind of like the real Staff  had run off and a group of the owners friends were giving it a crack. The waitress viewing the corkscrew with an air of discovery, or the cheese board being presented like a narration from a nativity play. This is not a criticism really. If one likes pompous  yet grovelling this is not the place. If you like great food, taken seriously but with a smile then its a good call.

The Joy of Audax

Yesterday I took part in the 'Ditchling Devil, a 200km ride to the coast and back run by Audax UK. For those unfamiliar Audax is a curious cycling sub set imported from France. The idea of an Audax is to complete a course (normally very long, 200km is a short one) within a set time limit. It is not meant to be a race. To emphasise this point until recently they would insist that all bikes had full mudguards.
In practice an Audax ride is like a cross between a Sportive and a treasure hunt. Therein, until recently lay the problem. Unlike Sportives there are no signs. Riders have to navigate themselves using a route sheet, collecting stamps on a card to prove they reached various points on the course. So for the novice there are two options. Do what I did in 2006 at the Tour of the Surrey Hills, stick  the route sheet in your jersey pocket and try to hang onto the wheel of somebody who knows the way. This resulted in me spending too much time in the company of a man who looked like Robinson Crusoe in a hi-viz vest. The only alternative was to fix a clipboard to your handlebars like a Cabbie doing the knowledge and follow the directions. But this is a pursuit revolutionised the arrival of GPS! Suddenly it is no longer the preserve of the eccentric. Just load the route onto your Garmin and go.
What this then reveals are some wonderful routes, and testing events run with a generous low key enthusiasm. On the Devil the feed at 65 miles was in somebody's back garden where they dished up pasta and cups of tea.
To their credit Audax UK have welcomed the GPS and are reaping the rewards. Yesterday's event had a full field, that included a decent cross section of roadies. The old school were there but also lots of younger riders up for the challenge. There is no chip timing but in this Strava age does that matter quite so much?
However, to the man in trainers at the start with a route sheet bungeed to his bars, I hope you were wearing bib shorts under your jeans. 200km of denim on saddle is not something I would wish on anyone.