SIX LEGGED CRITTER SINGING IN THE TREES*

Saturday, April 09, 2011

York, late November 2010 just before the 'big freeze'.part 2

Labels: Architecture, hdr, historic, monochrome, tower, York, yorkshire

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York, late November 2010 just before the 'big freeze'.

Labels: hdr, historic, landscape, monochrome, ouse, tower, wintry, York, yorkshire

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Saturday, November 08, 2008

Nelsonica 08 weekend, a tale of experimental time traveller's balls, gentlemen rocketeers and alternate timelines.

My 'Nelsonica' weekend, my trip down memory lane, my foray into Bill Nelson's musical multiverse almost didn't happen this year. Irrevocable life changes made me reassess my priorities, and quite frankly this year's Nelsonica wasn't really on my 'A list' of things to do, but I suddenly realised that JJ without some 'fun' in his life wasn't having a life at all. So that was that, as the bard would say. It was arranged. Well, sort of.

My first Nelsonica's; 03,(the one I'm probably most nostalgic about, because it was the first time I'd seen Bill Nelson Live in any form, or actually met real fellow Nelsonians) 04, and 05 were at 'the Duke', home ground for me, being only a few miles up the road from my garret in Hull. Mind you I could write a novella on the transport problems I still had getting home and to the event. It's a bugger when you don't have a 'ride'.

Anyway, this year's event 'The Experimental Time Traveller's Ball' was in York, as 06, and 07 had been. I can remember not being very happy about Bill moving the event to York, but with hindsight it made it a bit of a mini adventure, finding a place to stay, travel, that sort of thing.

In 06, and 07 I used the York Backpackers Hostel as my base of operations. I think it's quite amusing that an image of the hostel I took, and published on flickr was chosen to publicise the hostel on an online guide in February this year, especially as the place has shut down for major renovation since January. It was still heavily shrouded in scaffolding as I discovered in a saunter down Micklegate during my Nelsonic weekend.

Anyway, I'd grown tired of the place, cheap though it was, the thought of sharing a mixed dorm with 15 other individuals, snoring, farting etc had lost it's charm. I found myself a lovely B'n B. The Friars Rest was a joy, my own ensuite room, privacy, digital tv and all for £55 a night, fantastic and there's something very life affirming about a proper, full English breakfast in the morning. I think if I can, I'll be back next year. I hate overpriced, corporate hotels that are so impersonal. The friendly, homely ambience of a well run B'n B is the way to do it.

The weather in York, Friday and Saturday was really good. Bright sunshine, and if you got out of the wind, quite warm for the time of year, as I remember relating to my mum via my mobile phone as I sat sipping a pint of 'Best' (£1,50) outside the 'Kings Arms' on the Ouse, and almost within the shadow of the Park Inn, venue for this years Nelsonica. I was enjoying myself and the real fun hadn't even started.

About an hour previous I'd been tucking into the tastiest 'mucky haddock and chips' I'd had for several weeks, near 'The Shambles' when I bumped into Shaun and Julie, a lovely Welsh couple I'd last spoken to at N07. I make no apologies for the fact that my most memorable recollections of N08 are the human interactions, the 'shits and giggles' as a crazy acquaintance of mine once ascribed.

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting up with Mark Henson (Mr Ilektric) and Jim McFarlane (Ruud Punter). It was 2 years since I'd last met 'em and had a few beers. Always good company, down to earth and in the case of Mark there's always a cd of his latest musical project. What more could I ask for? Incidently, many thanks to Mark for getting me a ticket to the Halloween gig at York's City Screen to see Honeytone Cody. Now that was a memorable show!!

Honeytone Cody, Halloween gig;

What can I say really, it was bloody good and I'm not just referring to HTC. The venue was incredibly small. 'Intimate' doesn't go half way to describe it, but it works, even down to being stamped on the back of ya hand. Can't remember a 'local gig' where I had so much fun. The two supports, I'll have to put names up when I edit this were excellent, at least as good as the Cody's live, but very different. You had to be there to enjoy it and if you weren't did you miss a good 'un.

Highlights for me were Elle Nelson, extraordinary vocals, Elliot Nelson's guitar and his own pre and apre gig personality. Both myself and Jimbo had a good chinwag with Elliot, dressed as a 'Droog' from Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'. He struck me as being extremely normal, down to earth and undernourished. Emi, Bill you need to invite him over for Sunday lunch more often, feed the lad up.

The venue was full of lucky Nelsonians if I recall, making the most of the weekend. I was fortunate enough to speak to many of them, everyone was up for a chinwag and it was good to put a face and a voice to people on the Dreamsville Forum and the Electric Phoenix.

The main event; The Experimental Time Traveller's Ball;

I almost didn't think I'd make this, after nearly forgetting directions to my B'n B, but I found it, had a good nights sleep and after a hearty breakfast I was ready for the fun. On my way to N08 I stocked up on field rations in Budgens. It was going to be an arduous day ahead and I wanted to keep my strength up.

The entrance to the rip in the space - time continuum that led to the Nelsonic alternative universe / timeline was packed out. It took me a full 20 minutes to pass through it's event horizon. On the other side I quickly joined the long queue to purchase my Nelsonic merchandise and thus equip myself for the unfamiliar environmental conditions.

The event proper began with an audio - visual presentation 'The departure of the 20th century in a hail of memory". It had an impact visually, but the motifs, both musical and visual, began to repeat themselves. There was familiar use of samples and footage from old sci-fi movies as well as late forties British 'feel good' movies. It was enjoyable, but went on a bit.

After a short Q&A session with Bill (his entrance was greeted with much applause) there was the 'world premiere' of the 'American Stamps' documentary, for which Bill had been commissioned to write the soundtrack. It was clear from the response to this, that there were few American stamp collectors in the audience.

I took the opportunity of a lull in the proceedings, to find myself a seat next to my Electric Phoenix colleague 'HappyTronics' and a certain Mr Mayall. There was much chatting and a quothing of ale, eating of field rations which segued nicely into Bill's first live performance. A solo set comprising;Blue Amorini : Beyond These Clouds The Sweetest Dream : If I Were The Pilot Of Your Perfect Cloud : Golden Dream Of Circus Horses : The Raindrop Collector : Night Song Of The Last Tram : The Girl On The Fairground Waltzer : Only A Dream But Nevertheless : Beatniks From Outer Space : A Dream For Ian : For Stuart.

I enjoyed the set, highlights for me being 'The Raindrop Collector', and the wonderful 'The Girl On The Fairground Waltzer' which literally brought a tear to my eyes. Fantastic stuff. It was clear, towards the end of the set that Bill was experiencing technical difficulties. That spoilt for me, the start of 'For Stuart'.

At the end of the set, Dave Sturt and Theo Travis appeared, to form 'Orchestra Futura'. They performed an improvised ambient piece, that though not really to my taste was okay, but a bit long. They seemed to gel as a trio, certainly better than when they played at N06. I was particularly impressed with Dave Sturt's bass playing. Unfortunately, the gremlins seemed to be having their way with Bill's equipment.

There was an intermission, during which I grabbed a bite to eat and got myself a pint from the bar and had a chinwag with other Nelsonsians. The queue at the bar was long (more bar staff please).

Bill entered the stage with the 'Gentlemen Rocketeers' comprising;

Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals : Dave Sturt
Drums : Dave Cook
Flute, Sax : Theo Travis
Keyboards : Jon Wallinger
Piano/Keyboards : Steve Cook
Rythym Guitar : Dave Standeven
Guitar/Vocals : Bill Nelson

Needless to say, this was to VERY loud applause. Something told me this was the real reason the event was packed out. Considering the limited practice time everyone did a bang up job. I was particularly impressed with both Dave Sturt and Theo Travis. The set list was ; October Man : Night Creatures : God Man Slain : Do you Dream in Colour : Lovers are Mortal : Furniture Music : Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape : Big Yellow Moon : Contemplation : Ships in the Night : Panic in the World : Sleepwalk (encore).

The band gave a much appreciated performance if the volume of the applause was anything to go by. I know I thoroughly enjoyed 'Night Creatures' and 'Lovers are Mortal' sentimental old fool that I am. The gremlins struck again, Bill was having problems with his guitar lead, there were a couple of false starts. But you know, it didn't really matter. They just gave Bill the opportunity to do a bit of 'standup'. It was good to see Bill in fine form, confident and good humoured.

Theo Travis stood out in the band set. I was rather pleased he shared lead with Bill, during 'Adventures In a Yorkshire Landscape). It was good to hear a slightly different interpretation, which freshened up this classic tune nicely.

Shortly afterwards, the meet and greet began, tickets 1 - 100. My ticket was number 204. I wasn't going to wait around to see Bill. I did that in 2003 and that was good enough for. Besides, I was feeling rather fatigued and I knew I'd be heading back to my B'nB soon. I 'chilled', spoke to a few Nelsonians while various videos were projected (I particularly enjoyed the OGWT tapes of Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise, IF ONLY they could be released on DVD). I left shortly after 'Eddie's Raffle'. I was tired and needed some sleep.

I enjoyed this year's convention. It wasn't the best one I've experienced, but nonetheless it was well worth attending for Bill's brand of nostalgia, and that's Bill's latest music which has his own unique 'Retro Futuristic' feel.There's no one else who has a knack of producing this kind of stuff, even though it can be a little difficult to get your noodle around.

I have many fond memories of N08. But it's the people I met (too many to name check) who made the event special for me. I could go on, speculate about next year's venue, does Bill need to rethink the whole Nelsonica concept? Without the fans, fellow Nelsonians, there wouldn't be a Nelsonica in my mind. I'm looking forwards to seeing what happens next year. This year's Nelsonica both tired me out, and energised me and boy did I need it after the rubbish I've experienced this year.

Labels: BE BOP DELUXE, BILL NELSON, music, Nelsonica, postpunk, York

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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

York Boer War memorial in HDR

It's my 3rd visit to York in successive years and I can't believe I've only just spotted this huge monument to York's fallen in the Boer War. It's in a tree covered garden, in the shadow of York Minster and is architecturally a world away from most of the much simpler memorials you see commemorating the dead of the 'Great War' onwards, in towns and cities of the UK.

The lighting was way too contrasty to capture using a single exposure, so I manipulated the RAW file, created 4 files with differing exposures and combined them using an HDR program. The resultant image is a little surreal, but you get to see the detail that you can't capture any other way.

Labels: BOER WAR, foliage, hdr, historic, memorial, tower, York

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Contemplation

It's been a while since my last entry, though it seems like only last week, such is the passage of time. Maybe it's a mid-life thang, I suspect not though.

It's been too busy of late, for the wrong reasons and I find myself not the master of my destiny or time. One thing that has affected me profoundly of late is getting rid of my late father's gear, clothes that sort of thing. Talking to my mum about it brought back some ancient memories, the sudden realisation of the 'finality' of my father's death. It certainly hit me harder than I thought possible, re-opening raw wounds that I thought were healing nicely, I know it's only 4 months but sometimes it feels last week or conversely like an age ago.

After a couple of weeks feeling low I find myself feeling somewhat more optimistic. Next weekend I'm in York, a nice B'n B and Nelsonica '08 this time re-invented as 'The Experimental Time Traveller's Ball'. I'm looking forward to meeting old friends, fellow Nelsonic enthusiasts and maybe I might get involved in the 'meet 'n greet'.... well why not?

I'm also hoping the change of place / scenery will help my photographic muses. You never know. The B'n B is on the other side of York, I reckon 20-30 minutes walk from the NO8 venue, ample opportunity for photo 'opps' I hope. But no matter, it'll be good to get away from Hull, the 'Big Shitty'........

Labels: BE BOP DELUXE, BILL NELSON, music, Nelsonica, York, yorkshire

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Ruins in the Museum Gardens

Labels: Architecture, historic, urban, York, yorkshire

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Saturday, November 10, 2007

The rain, favourable light, and some interesting architecture....

What could have been a 'washout', a wet Sunday in York, rapidly improved when I visited the York Art Gallery, not far from the Yorkshire Museum Gardens. The art gallery is surprisingly small for a major city (the Ferens in Hull seems much bigger and has more exhibits) but I enjoyed my visit nonetheless. Outside the rain had stopped, took a snap of some Japanese tourists photographing themselves outside the gallery building.

Took this shot of York Minster not long afterwards. The piled up chairs give the image a continental European feel in my opinion. Could be anywhere in France, Belgium for that matter....

Labels: Architecture, church, historic, urban, York, yorkshire

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Dusk, the River Ouse, York

Took this panoramic shot while enjoying a tea-time pint of best bitter outside the legendary 'Kings Arms' pub, camera placed strategically atop one of the tables by the riverside. It was a very relaxed occasion if memory serves me well.

Labels: Architecture, landscape, urban, York, yorkshire

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Friday, November 09, 2007

Possibly out of time?

Labels: urban, York, yorkshire

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Thursday, November 08, 2007

Clifford's Tower - York, Exterior late afternoon

Another 'record' shot, but I like the quality of the light. The clocks had just gone back ( it's a Brit thing ), it was a decidedly chilly, late Autumn afternoon.

Labels: Architecture, historic, Nostalgia, tower, urban, York, yorkshire

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

A panorama

York is a wonderful city to spend a weekend, especially if you have a camera lens to point things at. Took this one outside the York Art Gallery, rain had just stopped. Gothic, Georgian, mock 60's and modernity in one shot.

Labels: landscape, Nostalgia, urban, York, yorkshire

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Saturday, November 03, 2007

NO7 - 'Secret Club For Members Only', My recollections and personal thoughts

The primary reason for my spending the weekend in York was to attend the Bill Nelson music convention, N07 "Secret Club For Members Only". Besides getting the opportunity to witness my only live performance of Bill this year, I was also hoping to meet up with some other Nelsonians I've met at other Nelsonica's previously.

I wasn't disappointed. I met a few fellow Nelsonians in the 'Yorkshire Hussar', a nice little pub next door to the 'Park Inn' (the venue for N07) on the night before the convention. It's always nice to be able to put names to faces, and in the intimate surroundings of the 'Hussy' I was able to do that easily without feeling like a pillock.

A number of 'Team Nelsonica' were also in attendance; Eddie McSheffery (lovely bloke and the most 'enthusiastic' Nelsonian I've ever met), Dave Graham (collaborator with Bill in album artwork and graphics for the convention) 'Man in the Rexine Pyjamas' (N07 host, I was to discover later) and 'Big Dunc'(Nelsonic merchandiser extraordinaire). I got a very warm welcome from these guys, as well as the heads up on what to expect at the convention. My appetite for the forthcoming event was whetted, but sadly not my pallete, none of them offered to buy me a drink, the only disappointment of the evening(lol).

The event itself was held in a very large, well appointed room, with plenty of tables and most importantly, plenty of chairs for those of us of a certain age in the audience. I was most impressed that 'Team Nelsonica' had taken on board the criticisms of the last venue for the convention and come up with something far superior (though I still pine for 'The Duke'). The sound system was fine for those of us sat down at tables, Bill's customary back projector screen was replaced by two screens either side of the stage which were easily visible.

There were a lot of new faces in the audience, 'significant others' of some of the regulars and 'noobs'. A far cry from 'the old days' when I remember a mostly male audience. This also made me think that possibly there would be a number of convention cds going on ebay shortly (why have two in a household?) which is a bit of a thorny subject on the fan forums.

At this point I'd like to mention some of the Nelsonians, old and New I had the privilege to meet and talk with; Reg, James Warner (met them both at N03), Bradford Mick, Peter Cook (great wit and raconteur, he should interview Bill at the next Nelsonica),Eric The Viking, Sean and his missus, JohnofDeath, Johnny Izzard, and of course Radium Girl (Kristen was very charming, witty and added some much needed glamour to the proceedings, it was the blue hair!!!!) who I met whilst she manned the raffle ticket counter. My apologies if I've left anyone out.....but the weekend was a bit of a 'rush'.

Back to the main event though, and one I thoroughly enjoyed by the way. Bill, to my mind has re-invented himself for this occasion. He has become an 'Entertainer', dropping any 'arty ' pretensions and this is a welcome change in my opinion. The mood throughout was also upbeat, in contrast, I felt to last years more sombre occasion.

First up was Bill being interviewed, very low key by Mike Eastwood (CEO of Eastwood Guitars and manufacturer of Bill's 'signature' guitar) I quite enjoyed this chat, which segued nicely into one of the day's highlights for me; Bill's talk about the rather chequered history of his beloved Gibson 345 guitar (bought for the small fortune then of £300 by his late Father), which was also a fascinating history of Bill's involvement in various bands as a youth, cue a lot of images on the screens and various costumes worn by Bill. There isn't much left of the original guitar by all accounts. The guitar is a different colour, it has a new neck after it broke off when Bill was electrocuted on stage, and the body has been seriously 'Pete Townsended' by one of Bill's ex wives, necessitating numerous rebuilds and refinishings.

During the proceedings and various breaks I visited the bar, caught up with fellow 'Hotel Phoenix' friends and collaborators 'Monohead' and' Happytronics', and grabbed the all important bite to eat. It is vitally important to bring a 'pack-up' with you to a Nelsonica, especially if you're there for the long haul. Hence my ever present rucksack full of sandwiches, Cornish pasties, packs of various nuts and edible seeds and a small bottle of Diet Coke. The average Nelsonica has to be the most calorifically intense spectator event next to an all day showing of 'The Lord Of The Rings' movie trilogy.

I missed the interview with Bill's producer, John Spence from Fairview Studios, Willerby (a few miles up the road from my garret in Hull). But I didn't miss both of Bill's live sets. Thankfully, Bill broke up two hours of playing into nice one hour chunks. Bill played mostly new stuff off the convention cd and his new regular release 'And We Fell Into A Dream'. His new stuff has a retro feel, jazzy noodlings, a hint of Hank Marvin, Duane Eddy. It's a far cry from the stuff he was producing at N03 and although I absolutely love it (I love jazz ), especially the ambient music, I do wonder how some of the hardcore, 'prog' rock Nelsonians feel about this change in direction?

The most memorable thing I recall from Bill's live sets was the standing ovation he received for 'Contemplation', a vocal track from 'Getting the holy ghost across'. Bill seemed a bit ill at ease performing it, but the response he got indicated that he really should perform more of his back catalogue.

I couldn't fault Bill's performance. His guitar playing was wonderful, the mix of instrumental and vocal pieces was about right, though I felt he concentrated too much on his recent compositions. But as a 'Nelsonian' what do I know?

I decided to stay for the rest of the convention, though I didn't participate in the 'meet 'n greet' having had a bad case of the 'ga ga's' in N03. But it was entertaining, the nostalgic 'OGWT' Be Bop Deluxe tapes are always welcome and illustrate just how good Bill was when he collaborated with like minded musicians.

I have to confess to not being much of a fan of Bill's artwork, it's too derivative, egocentric and without depth in terms of subject matter in my opinion, the opposite of Bill's musical 'travels' in many ways. Which is why I was surprised by the extraordinary prices Bill's artwork was attracting in the auction. But then again, a day later I popped into York's Art Gallery, saw an exhibition of some of Tracey Emin's doodles, and it did bring me a new appreciation of Bill's 'art'.

I had a great time, loved the venue, the event was very well organised and I had no gripes. I hope next years Nelsonica is also at the Park Inn. I really hope that Bill remembers his grass roots following though, plays more of the oldies, I know Bill hates this, but the fans are his bread and butter after all.