Hey fellas, how you doin? Great night last night, ticklin' the ivories at The Bottletree, Birmingham, Alabama. Weren't my gig dudes, I'd been dragged along for my niece's 21st birthday. Now I'm a man who embraces music of every genre. I've collaborated with Joni Mitchell, Joni Joni, a face like Seabiscuit but a voice like sweet honey Mama, Sir Bob (Dylan that is, not that scruffy hombre from Water Aid), Van The Man (me and Van are like brothers man, we're always Cleaning Windows. He a Windowlene guy, me, well, I dig the Mr Muscle. The arguments we have backstage over the best is wild maaaan). My tastes span the whole musical spectrum dudes. After a night on the tiles, I spark a doobie, lay in my bed, power up my Alba separates and stick on 'Waiting For Cousteau' by Jean Michell Jarre. An hour of whales and dolphins. Out for the count fellas in seconds. I like a bit of rap as well when I'm backstage before a gig, gets the head a boppin'.
But this gig last night was not good my brothers.
Cave 9 Anniversary Show
Reunions by:
Death or El Dona
Steel City Crime
Your Loss
Brothers and Sisters
Judy Garland Death Squad
The Payoff
Alan Ogg
Ex Members of the Holy Trinity
Jim Jim Jim Jim
plus:
Ghost Mice
Droves
Food by: THE BARBECUTIONERS
My ears were being violated. Bang bang bang. Twang twang twang. Vomiting teenagers all in black. I went to the washroom and didn't spot a rogue skateboard, went flying. Lost my hat feather. Distraught dudes. Bob gave me that feather, the one he wore at The Band's Last Waltz gig.
Anyway, I'm an educator, a spreader of sweet music so in the interval I sneak onstage and bang out 'Crawfish Soirée'. Cat looks at me and mouths "Mac, no". But the moment took me and I was in MY world, my fingers gliding over the 88's. The kids loved it, lapped it up. The Welsh Elvis gets knickers thrown at him compadres. The Dr got full bottles of JD lashed on stage. Take That Tom.
Too many whiskey sours. Sore head this morning so I head to Papa Grills on 24th to get some eggs sunny side down washed down with a peaty Islay while I watch The Mighty Reds. Hey dudes, great game. I'm new to this but The Liverpool have always been my team since Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow told me about his escapades with Roger Hunt one weekend in Falaraki. W-I-L-D.
I'm not a dude who enjoys his own company so I page Joey Tempest who is in Alabama recording The Big Reunion USA. Dude says he'll be there in 5 and sure enough my man strides in right on cue, just in time for KO. To my surprise he brings along Brian Wilson. Brian is cool maaaaaaan but fucked up and he orders an Irish Coffee.
The game starts, BANG, Luis scores. Great team goal. Nice skill from the little Italian guy. Next, BANG, Stevie G slams that Gareth Bale. Brian is tucking into a HP Sauce sandwich and looks at the screen, food half hanging out of his mouth. He looked like a Mississippi Red Backed Catfish gulping for air,
"John. John" he pointed at the screen. Looked like the dude had seen a ghost.
"What is it Brian." I asked.
"It's Micky. Micky Dolenz" screamed Brian.
"Where?" I asked.
"There on the tv" he said. "The guy in the white shirt, rolling round on the floor."
I drifted back into my long lost youth and remembered being at a party with The Beachboys and The Monkees at Blondie Chapman's crib. Blondie had put up a Piñata stuffed with Purple Hearts. Brian was blindfolded and breaking more Lladro than imitation donkey. He lifted his blindfold to regain his bearings but lost his balance and fell into Micky Dolenz. Micky did the worst fake fall, reaching up, apparently to save himself, and grabbed onto the piñata which split in half. Micky lay underneath gulping the Hearts. Brian has never forgiven him.
Anyway cats, back to Papa's. Joey has gone to the toilet for a line. How he can eat salted cod after putting that up his nose I don't know. Must be a Scandinavian hard man Thor Odin thing. Brian is incoherent. I'm watching the game. Pain. 1-1. Sip my whiskey to numb the pain. Double pain. 2-1. I order an Absynth. Joey calls for help from the toilets. He's dropped an E and has got the pre high shits but can't get his spray on trousers off. I leave him to it.
S-T-E-W P-O-T. 2-2. I didn't shout Stewpot out loud because Brian would have been selling his Hawaiin shirt to Dirty Vera, Papa's resident hooker, just for an eighth of Nepalese Templeball.
Then the penalty. I expected Steven to miss. But, as cool as his slug eyebrows in a cryogenic tank (I tried a flotation tank with Neil Young once but he just kept moaning about Ontario so I left after 20 minutes) he slotted it.
I jumped. And clapped. And squealed "Yay".