Gig Update June - July #1

Oh. Crap.

I am over a month behind with my gig writing up.

I blame combining a full time job with 6 am starts to accommodate not enough piano practice. By the middle of most jazz gigs I'm warmly muzzily tired (especially if I add a glass of red into the mix). I enjoy it immensely - but I don't always remember much.

Kairos 4tet, Saturday 8th June, King's Place
As desired I bought a copy of the new album Everything We Hold - which probably deserves a separate post of it's own if I ever get round to it. It's a lovely thing, get hold of it yourself. Or go and see them live - plenty of opportunities in the UK this summer. I did gently raise an eyebrow to hear that despite an entire suite of tunes dedicated to the occupy movement the bonus track was only available digitally via a corporate, legally tax avoiding, behemoth. I'm fairly certain, however, that I'm conflating two issues here.

Jazz in the Round, Monday 24th June, Cockpit Theatre
I went primarily to hear Cath Roberts Quadraceratops - a band who I've now seen twice and who left me with a big grin on my face both times. If you need cheering up - I recommend checking them out. Then Alan Wilkinson who did some extraordinary free jazz type solo sax stuff that induced a rather dyspeptic expression in most of the audience. Interesting. Then there was Mathew Hallsall doing floaty electronicy things with trumpet and ensemble - like being wrapped in a squooshy musical duvet. Though that may have been the tiredness again.

George Crowley Quintet, Reuben Flower Octet, 5th July, Con Cellar
I had a really nice time and the music was excellent but at this distance I'm afraid I don't remember anything specific that would make for an interesting blog.

Rachel Sutton Band with special guest John Etheridge, 7th July, Pizza Express
I must declare a bias here - the pianist is my piano teacher - so the band and singing were obviously excellent. Venue - could do better by single gig goers - a rather sour sounding booker when I phoned up to buy one ticket and said I would not be joining anyone else. The person who showed me to my table seemed to be a bit grumpy too. My seat was, un-suprisingly given my "on my tod" status - right behind a massive pillar where I couldn't see the band. Fortunately the waiters seemed to have a better grasp of how customer service works.

Briefly considered writing updated lyrics to "I'm a Woman" possibly involving wimmens doing Particle Physics or holding High Office rather than washing socks. I wish to take nothing away from the song as it is - a rousing testament to the damned hard (unpaid) work women have always done. But the idea of a second interchangeable version where the protagonist is good at inorganic chemistry, raising children, being the C.E.O of an FTS100 company or jazz drumming because she is a W-O-M-A-N amuses me. In the interests of fairness, in this day and age, there are obviously also men who can wash socks and stretch meagre incomes mightily.