Muchos Gracias!
It's quite surreal the teatro laboral at Gijon.
i know we did....
Biggest tower in the region perched on a hill in the university area outside Gijon.
Easily reached by a #1 or #18 but not by a 90 Min walk... We are on Camino so we took the bus.
Did I mention there was no smoking or drinking. It's 30° and I'm a tad parched looking forward to the Fannies and a wee bevvie.
Norman got a cheeky wee beer, not us. We nearly stormed the stage but decided big Norm's tin looked half empty.
Sweet Baboo aka Steve, aka the 6th Fannie live, is from Wales and makes up songs that use a lot of his extensive vocal range and chord knowledge. In many songs velvet underground or undertones fans would've been exhausted by the number of different chords used, but just when you think he's run out a major E7 diminishes and a he's onto another level. Musically sweet Baboo challenges you to keep up. It was a battle he won but we were closing the gap in a distant 2nd.
It was tough at first but quickly the audience got the hang of it. I'm guessing it was his first big European tour. Cutting his continental teeth live on this tour must be daunting. Being Welsh in Britain is tough enough but try speaking to a Spanish audience. A few hums and hahs quickly gave way to talking about children and rocket ships. Never has a man grown more confidence than when talking about the magical qualities a rocket ship can have. It was hysterical. Out of the bumbling about came a Billy Connolly shaggy dog story and if it was meant it worked. If it wasn't it's a keeper. We felt alone in laughing out loud but it was brilliant.
For me the picks of the 6 songs were in the later ones and in particular the last 2 from his new album, The Wreckage. If you're going to the gigs in Scotland it's well worth listening to The Wreckage first as his music's sufficiently nuanced to make it worthwhile. Unlike us you won't get lapped on the third song still thinking about the first and second ones.
The Fannies came on 10 mins later at 9.15 and delivered their set. A mix of past and present including many of the favourites, but let's face it there are too many and not enough time.
Norman had some real tuning issues and it was quite cold and as I say a bit surreal. At times it felt like we were at a live practice session it was that relaxed. The audience erupted occasionally but in the main there was almost an eerie respectful distance maintained between the band and the audience as the Fannies moved through their last 30 years.
I remember seeing the Velvets in London in the 80's and they seemed really old but relatively speaking this gig by the Fannies is even older. That's quite a mind fuck but it is true. A band who arrived long after Deadbeat's deadline are playing music older than the Velvets did at that gig which coincidentally was after Deadbeat's demise too.
The longer I linger in this tardis the faster my head seems to spin.
In 87, The Banana album was 20 years old yet bandwagonesque had 30+ in the bin.
I could go on an on, indeed it would be my numbing.
But thats fat Al at the typewriter not thinking it's a sin.
Yes, I see it's putting a bemused look on Rip Van Reihill the Life Support lead guitarist and lifelong Fannies fan....so we will move on
30+ years, 10+ albums and that's a lot of material. There's not much to say except to admire the professional performance, superb melodies, 5 singers so I'll provide the odd bit of sage advice.
..ha ha....ed
Speaking in the local language can work a treat so for Sweet Baboo's Stephen Black when you play San Sebastian just slip in "eskerrik Asko", that's thank you in basque. The crowd will thank you back Stephen.
Last night I was convinced the roadie with the guitar was going to slip Norman a Spanish phrase like. "Alguien puede ayudarme con mi cadena e"
Norman is so naturally gifted at talking and mumbling to the crowd in a way that is so engaging. Fans will know that inner dialogue is delicately delivered with a pathos fans love
When they're in the groove there are few bands get near. The songs are so well crafted with false endings, dropping a semi tone or two from where you thought they were going, powering through the ending and creating a new crescendo, a cacophony of icing on the cake of the icing already oozing. Every song played with simplicity and control sometimes giving the feeling of freewheeling and potential car crash before sliding effortlessly into port, sometimes being so lyrically special that the words just capture moments from your life and pop them back into your brain.
I don't need to describe how good the band and the songs are. Anybody reading this already knows and if seeing them in Gijon provided anything, it's just proof positive they keep moving forward and far from an anchor dragging them into the past the songs from 30 years ago are as refreshingly honest and beautiful as they were played back then.those that are 20 years old, 10 years old or 10 months old are the same. Gilt edge, crafted with care and diligence, refined and yet still raw.
Some subtlety has doubtless been added as sonic technology has changed but magnificent melodies abound. Thank you for a great gig in Gijon and have a sunny stroll along the beaches on your day off.
"In my life,
I've been so uptight
It is
Alright "
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