Christy Moore: Royal Festival Hall 25/5/2019.

I had a wonderful weekend in London with my friends Jacky, Bill, Patrick, Wayne, Sarah and Laurie. The highlight was seeing Christy Moore at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday night. This is what happened. We got down to the Southbank at about 5.00 and had a nice meal in a restaurant by the river. Then we chilled out with a bottle of wine and passed the time people watching. It was a nice warm sunny evening and hundreds of people strolled by, dressed in all their summer fashions. Sitting quietly in the bar of the Southbank Centre I spotted a familiar face who I last saw at Van Morrison’s Lit Up Inside concert in 2014. “I think that lady over there is Edna O’Brien”, I said to Jacky, but I wasn’t certain. Jacky looked on google images on her phone and we agreed that it was almost 95% certainly her. Sorry Edna if it wasn’t you.

Anyway, time was getting on and we took our seats. This was the third time in the last five years that we have seen Christy at the RFH. I think this was the best one of all, no hecklers or any of that carry-on at all. There was a very warm friendly vibe to the whole evening. As before, Christy took to the stage accompanied by Declan Sinnott, Cathal Hayden and Jimmy Higgins. The first song was the wonderful City Of Chicago which as you probably know was written by Christy’s brother Luka Bloom. This was followed by the powerful North And South Of The River which has become even more relevant recently due to the present political mayhem that is going on. Only Our Rivers Run Free was next and was written by Mickey McConnell fifty years ago I believe, and still timeless to this day. On Friday it was Bob Dylan’s 78th birthday which you will know because I wrote a tribute to Bob that you can read if you scroll down. Christy marked the occasion by singing the great emotive song The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll. I think May 24^th should be declared International Bob Dylan Day and all radio stations should play at least one Bob song an hour in order to educate the masses. Yellow Furze Woman was written by Christy for his mother Nancy Power. Some Christy songs have a very feminist vibe to them which you often don’t get with male singers.

Don’t Forget Your Shovel written by Christy Hennessy got the lively good-natured audience clapping and singing along. It was great. This was followed by the very moving song Burning Times. Christy didn’t write this song but as I said it is very feminist but also relevant to today because we are facing an environmental catastrophe because of what we have done to the planet. In the face of this, the politicians plan new wars and have leadership contests. Every time I have seen Christy down by the South Bank, he has felt obliged to sing the Ewan McColl song Sweet Thames Flow Softly and why not, because it is a beautiful song. Last week Christy took part in a concert in Dublin called Palfest as an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest. It was streamed live on Gaza TV and Christy sang No Time For Love written by Jack Warshaw and I must mention Declan’s fabulous guitar playing during this song. Bright Blue Rose written by Jimmy McCarthy is always one of my favourite songs performed live. It is one of Christy’s most spiritual songs and the interpretation is entirely up to the listener. Cathal’s violin playing certainly deserves a mention as well.

I must admit that I had never heard of Rob Corcoran until Christy sang his song Ringing That Bell but I enjoyed hearing it on Saturday night and I’ll seek out more songs by Rob. I have discovered lots of great music through Christy because he always makes a point of giving credit to the songwriters when he performs their songs. For instance, I discovered the music of Mick Blake a couple of years ago thanks to Christy. I loved Sail on Jimmy although I hadn’t heard it live before, but I had found it on YouTube. The audience loved it as well and sang the chorus, encouraged by Christy. The Voyage was dedicated to young Molly & Patrick aged 13. What a beautiful song it is. I Hate Politicians or Lingua Politico or whatever it is called had the audience in stitches. It is a hilarious song, but underneath the humour as in many of Christy’s ‘funny’ songs there is a serious message.

Two songs written by Bobby Sands followed. The first one was McIllhatton and followed by Back Home In Derry. In the middle of the two songs Christy recited On The Mainland from his Graffiti Tongue album. Beeswing is arguably the best, saddest and most beautiful song that Richard Thompson ever wrote, and at first I didn’t like Christy’s version as much as Richard’s, but I have been won over. I like both versions equally these days. I have heard it said that the song was inspired by Anne Briggs and I think Christy heard Anne sing live back in the day. That must have been a treat. I wish I had seen her. Missing You always seems even more poignant than usual when you hear it in a big city like London and you see the homeless people living on the streets. Christy said that he sang Raggle Taggle Gypsies with Planxty in 1973 in a concert in London called Fanfare For Europe and told an amusing story about the Prime Minister Edward Heath meeting the musicians backstage. Viva La Quinta Brigada is a tribute to those who fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War, but it is very appropriate to today’s events in Europe and a warning against repeating the mistakes of the past. Black Is The Colour is a beautiful ballad song Christy learned from Hamish Imlach back in the 60’s and I never grow tired of hearing it.

Me down by the aul Southbank.

I always love hearing Lisdoonvarna as well, especially with Glastonbury only about four weeks away now. It’s a shame Christy isn’t gracing the Acoustic Stage this year, but never mind, there will be other times hopefully. Another reason I like this song is because of the references to Van the Man, especially when Christy says, ‘Turn It Up, Turn it up’ and goes into I’ll Tell Me Ma and then Decco lets rip with his electric guitar. The four amigos left the stage, but we knew there would be more. The first song of the encore was Ride On from the album that got me into Christy in the first place in 1984. The audience joined in and sang beautifully. After that, it was time for some fun with Joxer Goes To Stuttgart and the audience gave a huge cheer when Ray Houghton got the ball and stuck it in the net. Finally, Christy sang Spancil Hill for Valerie from Kilmainham. It was fabulous and brought a wonderful concert to a close. It’s not often I leave a concert having enjoyed every single song.

Next morning, I caught the 11.15 from Waterloo and headed home, back to the forlorn rags of Brexit and all that bollix. Thank you very much to all involved, especially the one and only Christy Moore.

 PS, If I have made any glaring errors, I hope Hilary or young Colm will put me right. Cheers.

The Who At Charlton On Saturday May 18th 1974

On this very day, Saturday May 18^th, 1974 I was living in a little village called Summerhill, near Wrexham in North Wales. I was 22 years old. I was sharing a house with my brother Paul and a friend called Dave. They were both 18. We had been up all-night partying and had been waiting until the village shop opened to buy cigarettes and milk. Finally, about 7.00 in the morning the shop opened, and I went in and bought cigs, milk and the Daily Mirror. I got back to the house which was strewn with album covers and all sorts of garbage from the night before and put the kettle on. In the Daily Mirror something caught my eye.

"Hey, guess what? The Who are playing in London today". It was a huge concert at Charlton Athletic Football Stadium. Also playing were Lou Reed, Humble Pie, Bad Company, Maggie Bell, Lindisfarne and Montrose.

 "Right, let’s go," said Dave and Paul immediately. "Don't be stupid”, I replied, "We haven’t got any money".

 "You boring old bastard, you're no better than Dobbin.” (Dobbin was the name we gave to an old horse who lived in a field nearby) “We are going, you stay here if you want, you old git".

We added up all our money and we had about £3 between us and set off down the lane in the general direction of London which was 191 miles away. At Wrexham railway station we got on the train and kept a wary eye out for the ticket collector. I had quite a lot of experience of travelling on trains without paying. Finally, I spotted him coming along the next carriage. "Here comes the clippie”, I said to the others, “Get in the bog". We casually left our seats and all 3 of us got in the toilet with our boots wedged against the door and the sign saying VACANT .We stayed in there for several minutes until we were sure the clippie had walked past and then nonchalantly returned to our seats. In this fashion we travelled to London. When we got to the venue, Charlton’s stadium called The Valley we used another skill I had learned from getting into football matches for free. Without hesitating we quickly clambered over the top of the turnstiles and ran into the crowd before the stewards could grab us. I couldn't believe it had gone so smoothly. There were about 74,000 people there. It was packed, even on the pitch. It was also a really hot day and I took my shirt off. I was also thirsty.

"I'm going to get some ice lollies", I said to the others and strolled off to an ice cream van. I queued up for about 30 minutes and bought three ice lollies and started walking back. Then I looked up and all I could see were 74,000 faces. I had forgotten where we were. I was seized with panic and had a vision of me wandering around London in the middle of the night dressed only in jeans and with no money.  Luckily by some miracle I managed to find my comrades. We had missed Bad Company and Montrose. Lindisfarne were on when we arrived. I was a big fan of theirs. We heard some great music that day, Humble Pie featuring the late great Steve Marriott were nearly as good as The Who. Lou Reed fell a bit flat I thought, but he sang Sweet Jane which was my favourite song of his at the time. I also enjoyed seeing Maggie Bell.

The Who were sublime, playing for nearly two hours. An internet friend kindly sent me a bootleg recording of the show a few years ago. This was the setlist. I Can't Explain, Summertime Blues, Young Man Blues, Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, Substitute, I'm a Boy, Tattoo, Boris the Spider, Drowned, Bell Boy, Doctor Jimmy, Won't Get Fooled Again, Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me, 5:15, Magic Bus, Naked Eye, Let's See Action, My Generation. The energy and power of the band in those days was awesome. I didn’t see The Who again for 42 years until they headlined at Glastonbury. They were ok but Roger Daltrey’s voice isn’t as good these days and they have lost the powerhouse provided by Keith Moon and John Entwhistle. Also, I think I have changed as well. I’m not so keen on loud music played live anymore. That’s probably because I’m 67 now and not 22. That night at Charlton though was one of the best performances by a rock band I have ever witnessed.

We spent the night in Euston Station and got some free food and cups of tea from a van outside. We found out later that it was owned by a notorious sex criminal, the self-styled ‘Bishop’ Of Medway Roger Gleaves. He used the free food van as a cover to lure runaways into a life of degradation. I’m glad we never met him. On Sunday morning we bunked the train back to North Wales after a brilliant unforgettable adventure in those far flung halcyon days of yesteryear.

PS, I found the photos on Google images. Thank you very much to whoever put them there.

Gentleman's Relish.

Just a short little blog today because I’m going to the pub in a little while. I hadn’t been out since Tuesday, but I had to venture out today to get some provisions because I had run out of nearly everything. I couldn’t walk past the High Street without looking in the charity shops. I found a first edition by Buce Chatwin called The Viceroy Of Ouidah. It was published in 1980 and in a very nice condition so I should make a nice profit on that. I might even read it as well. I also found a book by Ronnie Barker called Gentleman’s Relish. I shouldn’t have bought it really because it’s quite smutty, full of saucy postcards from the 1920’s. It was published in 1979 and I think attitudes have changed a bit since then. I thought it might be quite rare and collectible but when I looked on eBay there are lots of copies of it for sale. Thirdly, found a signed autobiography of horse race trainer Paul Nicholls which should fetch a few quid. Finally, I found a 2cd set by The Everly Brothers recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983. I am listening to it now and it's great. I think it is the first album of their's that I have ever bought. It has taken me a lifetime to realise how great the Everly Brothers are.

After I got my groceries in Morrison’s I walked home past Andrea’s flower shop and bought a coreopsis plant. I wasn’t going to buy any more plants, but there is always room for just one more. Anyway, that’s my blog for today. Sorry it is so short, but tomorrows should be a good one. I’m going to write a story about what I did exactly 45 years ago to the day. I’ll start writing that tonight.

Bein' Green.

Pet Sounds.

This blog page is called Quiet Days and it has certainly been quiet here again today. I spent most of the day outside again. I didn’t want to hear any words today so it was quite a jazz day. I listened to Miles Davis & John Coltrane. It was a concert recorded in Stockholm in 1960. I got so lost in the music that I actually fell asleep. There is nothing wrong with that. I have got to be careful though because I can feel that the last couple of days I have got sunburned on the top of my head where I've got a bald spot.. I also listened to an album by Keith Jarrett called Mysteries / Shades. It was a Spanish friend of mine who first told me about Keith Jarrett. I enjoyed listening to it. When you really get into music it is like meditation. I'm getting quite jazzy in my old age. I’m sure the congregation of birds in the nearby trees enjoyed it as well because they were singing along.

For lunch I had this salad dish that I bought in Tesco’s last night. It tasted ok but I’m determined that I won’t buy anything similar ever again. It was ridiculously expensive for what it was, and I bet most of the cost was in the packaging. It was in a plastic container and even had a plastic fork to go with it. It is just more plastic pollution. I feel quite ashamed of myself for buying it. Never again.

When I looked on Facebook, I discovered that Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys was released on this day 53 years ago. As it is possibly my favourite album of all time, I had to listen to it again today. I must say it sounds just as fresh and wonderful now as it did in 1966. I’m sure it is one of the pieces of music from the 20^th century that people will still listen to in hundreds of years’ time.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party.

I watched the News at 6.00 and they were talking about the up-coming European elections. I have voted for the Labour Party ever since I was first allowed to vote.I could never imagine voting differently but I am tempted to vote for The Green Party in this election as a protest vote. I am a Remainer and want to stay in Europe. The Labour Party doesn't seem to have a clear policy on this issue, but the Greens are completely pro-Europe. Also, Brexit isn’t the biggest issue facing us. We are on the verge of catastrophe from climate change. The Greens have been warning us about the danger for decades, so I think I might vote for them on this occasion. I think I would like our next government to be a coalition of Labour & Greens.

It is going to rain tomorrow which means I won’t be sitting in the yard all day. I’ll have to think of something else to do. I don’t know what that will be, but it’s bound to be interesting. Watch this space.

The Gloaming - Samhradh Samhradh (Live in Cork)

The Necklace Of Wrens

The Gloaming.

The weather has been wonderful the last few days. I have spent most of the time sitting in the yard, soaking up the sun listening to music and reading. My soundtrack yesterday was Judy Collins, Bob Dylan Highway 61, Handel’s Water Music and The Gloaming. In case you haven’t heard of The Gloaming they are an Irish Folk group. This album was released in 2014 to critical acclaim. Although the music is hundreds of years old, they make it sound very modern. I find it very spiritual, refined and sophisticated music. I highly recommend you listen to it. One of the tracks is called The Necklace Of Wrens. I liked that title so much I think I’ll call this blog by that name.

Not sure of the name but I like it.

A friend of mine called yesterday evening, so I opened a bottle of wine. Then we went for a drink. It was a nice evening and I think I had four pints of cider. When I got home, I polished off the last of the wine. Consequently, I didn’t get up today till 11.00. I spent the afternoon outside again. Today I listened to Norma Waterson. It is an album from 1996 and has some great songs on it such as Black Muddy River and St Swithin’s Day. I also listened to L’Atlantic by Moussa Kouyate. He is a Kora player from Senegal. I bought the cd from him when I saw him busking in Bath quite a few years ago. I bumped into him again a couple of years ago in Bristol, looking a bit older but still busking. The Kora is a beautiful sounding instrument. The other cd I played this afternoon was It’s Too Late To Stop Now, Vol 1V by Van Morrison. It is 78 minutes of brilliance.

I planted a few dahlias as well. I think I have enough plants now for this year. I don’t think I have room for anymore. I have just got to sit back and watch it all grow now. Anyway, I finally came inside at about 7.30 after doing a bit of watering. I think tomorrow is also forecast to be nice, so better make the most of tomorrow as well. See you later.

Sunny Tuesday.

Another fine Spring morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all is well in the world. Well, actually all is not well in the world, far from it, but at least all is well in my tiny little bit of it. I was up and about early today. I had sold my Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run book and a book about cricket, so I took them to the post office. On the way back I walked past Andrea’s plant shop and bought a Salvia and a geranium plant. Andrea said the salvia is really good for attracting bees which is good. If we lose the bees we lose everything. Those two plants are having a good soak in a bowl of water at the moment. I’ll plant them a bit later on.

I went over to Warminster again yesterday. I found a book signed by Peter Ustinov. 

Geranium & Salvia.

That might be worth a few bob. I’ll put it in my shop today. At the moment I am listening to an album by Judy Collins called Fires Of Eden. I don’t think it is one of her best albums but very pleasant. My plan for the rest of the day is to do a bit of gardening, then sit in the sun, read a book and listen to music. That’s not a bad plan. See you later.