overlap

Going to see the same band dozens of times invites questions about why keep on going, and in many cases it's the different songs, different inter-song anecdotes, different venues and different support bands that keep things from becoming routine. In this case it's a trip to the Midlands back to a venue I've been to a few times now, and including a trip to a nearby out of town shopping centre that allows me to make a start on replacing all the stuff lost in an airport somewhere in Asia. It's not just not having the stuff, it's the research it takes to find out what is currently available and what my realistic options are that makes life difficult. Bearing in mind that some of this stuff absolutely has to be replaced before I'm out of the country again inside the the next month, I don't have too much time to spare and getting on with buying replacement items feels rather more like taking some control of the situation than just waiting for an airline and an insurance company to do something. I manage only to buy more or less what I'd planned, and leave without yet another new handbag, so that's progress on two fronts! Unusually there are few people at this gig that I know, and the ones I do know are working, either selling t-shirts and CDs, or on the stage. Which means I'm free to take in the support band with all my attention. The first track is a nice enough piece of brass-flavoured pop, and if that makes you think of the Zutons you are somewhere along the right lines. This is no preparation for the second track, when the seven musicians and singers are joined on stage by a vision in red and grey gloves. Check out the picture! For anyone who, like me, is not aware that there is a significant visual element to Misty's Big Adventure, this is something of a surprise! Not an unwelcome one, but one that threatens to distract from the music, though happily the band are obviously used to this and it rapidly becomes just their kind of normal. There's a risk of accusations of novelty act, of stuntmanship and of cheap attention-seeking but for me it's pretty straightforward that Erotic Volvo (made-up name!) is both an integral part of the MBA performance and something that elevates MBA from being just another band. Their laid-back, jazz-tinged and laconic pop is a welcome tonic in the bland age, and I'm happy to appreciate them for what they are rather than what they're not, and what they are is great fun. It's a refreshing change for The Wonder Stuff set to switch closer to a greatest hits set rather than performing the entire Eight Legged Groove Machine album as we've seen recently, and Radio Ass Kiss and Piece Of Sky dedicated to Swells both hit the spot. I'm hardly in any position to pass unbiased comment, but I had a great time. * Great Adventure is a song by classic Midlands hard rock band Magnum, who have recently released another new album. Misty's Big Adventure are also from the Midlands, and great!

Labels: gigs, Misty's Big Adventure, The Wonder Stuff