Mancunian Blues
Created | Updated Jun 24, 2004
Sometimes You Gotta Fly
What shall I talk about this week? To be honest it's reached Sunday evening, I'm watching Goodfellas and my mind is a blank.
Firstly, I suppose I could start on a plug, so here goes... I've mentioned this band a few times and while I'm here I might as well explain a bit about Narcissus. It is so refreshing to hear a band doing their own thing, and doing it well. On a simplistic level, think Europe, heavy guitar riffs, big synths, enthralling bass lines, intelligent lyrics. On top of this, these are one of the few bands I've watched who make an effort to look good and put on a show. Next time they are playing in Manchester is the 3rd of July, in Dry Bar. There are 8 bands on the bill across two floors and promises to be a great night. And while I'm plugging, here's a late notice plug. On Thursday 24th June, Aristocrash are worth watching at the Soundgarden.
Let's briefly trip over to an open mic night for a quick paragraph. It was the end of term and people were relaxed. Students who have been stuck behind books for 3 years decide to show their mates that they really can play guitar and head down to Bruins Bar in Fallowfield. What could ruin this? Having some drunken guy sitting up front slagging off all the artists. So here is a small rant to people. If you do not have the courage or the talent to get up on stage, do not have a go at those who do and those who know what it is like to be on stage will have the dignity not to make a complete fool of themselves. As this guy should have found out, the artists are not the ones who look the fools.
Anyway, I'm having a random rant, so here is the third thing on my agenda for this Post: Flyers. One of the nights that The Master Bluesman, the Comic Protector Of The Blues, hosts has been cancelled due to Manchester Council clamping down on fly posting. Personally I can see their point, a lot of the student areas of Manchester are in a state because of the postering. The council are fining £100 per poster, enough to cripple many promoters but, again, I can see their point. The money spent on people cleaning up bus shelters and lampposts comes out of my council tax. However it is not a level playing field. A free entry gig which needs more advertising, can't afford to pay these fines. For most cases, neither can the average band promoter. However, what takes the biscuit, dunks it and eats it, is a dance gig I spotted that, within half a mile, posted up 45 posters. Many of these consisted of two or three next to each other, just in case somebody missed one. However, what they did not give was details of the venue or the record label or date, just a phone number to contact them on.
I find multiple posters both patronising and pointless as well as going against all the environmentalism that any sane person knows will help us in this self destructive world. Surely the Poster Tzar of the council can take out his wrath on them than on the occasional fly posters.
A solution which I want to suggest right now is some set poster points, where genuine promoters can put up one poster, so that people who want to, know where to look. This will save so much money in street cleaners.
So people, if you see a poster stuck on the side of a bus shelter, or on a tree, bin or other pavement ornament, rip it down, its for the promoter's benefit in the end!!
Till next time,
Love peace and Blues
tjm
