Caravan and Curved Air, University of London Union, 16th November 2018
[Normal service will be resumed...at some point]
Friday's blog can only be about the gig - Caravan supported by Curved Air - even though there is so much more to write about.
ULU is an interesting venue: the main hall and a small balcony area above, with maybe 50 or 60 seats. We went for the balcony for the view but also because I hadn't figured on dancing, leastwise not in the way other bands and musical genres might do. More than anything it reminded me of my student days going to gigs at Leeds University's legendary venue.
Curved Air played first and did a surprisingly long set, given they were support. I have to confess that I'm only really familiar with their hit single 'Back Street Luv' though I've probably heard other stuff of theirs but I guess it went in one ear and out the other without making any impression. Single aside, there were only a few things I knew about Curved Air before this night: Sonja Kristina - as a pubescent teenager I found her rather attractive; Stewart Copeland of The Police played on drums for a while; Darryl Way and Eddie Jobson both played in the band (at different times) and Mike Wedgwood, who did a brief stint on bass for Caravan (I think just for 'Blind Dog...') also played bass for them first.
Only Sonja Kristina remains from the original band but she has assembled an impressive set of musicians around her that seem to be true to the legacy, as far as I can tell (see above). The guitarist, George Hudson (ex. Purson), who was much younger than the rest of the band, was impressive throughout, whether soloing or playing rhythm; the violin player, Paul Sax, played with a flourish and the keyboard player, Robert Norton, also played interestingly and filled out the, at times, fairly dense sound.
They played a song called 'Marie Antoinette', whose intro by Sonja seemed historically confused, though I'm told the song is a fairly accurate telling of the story, but which was most notable for the somewhat tacky red, white and blue lighting used. Only in their penultimate song, you've guessed it, the hit single, did the audience seem to fully come alive. Maybe the crowd was largely there to see the main act - Caravan do have a devoted following.
After the usual stage reorganisation - Curved Air players removing their own kit - and an opportunity to top up drinks, Caravan took to the stage.
Their opening number was 'Memory Lain, Hugh' from 'For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night', which was a great way to start a set (and an album!), though Geoffrey Richardson was having technical difficulties with the sound of his viola, which seemed to be getting on his wick (see photo above).
Played live the band didn't segue into 'Headloss' as it does on the album and the 'video' above. The set progressed with a mix of older songs and a fair smattering of tracks from their most recent album, 'Paradise Filter', and other later works like 'Unauthorised Breakfast Item'.
I'm not such a huge fan of the more recent stuff, with odd exceptions - to my ears it's at times rather bland and without identity - much of the time only Pye's distinctive singing voice tells me it's Caravan. I did help fund the creation of 'Paradise Filter' (my name appears on the sleeve as one of the pledgers) and I would do so again, in the hope that the songwriting skills that wrote all the songs I love, will strike gold again - it's good they are out there gigging and writing new stuff.
Nevertheless the playing - especially by Geoffrey Richardson - was energetic and distinctive. Geoffrey deserves special mention because of the range of instruments he played - viola (electric), guitar, flute, piccolo, cow bell, mandolin and spoons. His spoon playing - along with Mark Walker's (drums) washboard playing - made me laugh. The intros to songs, which Geoffrey mostly handled, were also a joy. Overall everyone played well, Pye Hastings' vocals and guitar playing were good, Mike Walker is a great drummer - especially vital for the time changes in 'Nine Feet Underground', and Jan Schelhaas keyboards underpinned a lot of the older material.
Although a mix of fan favourites were played, the real treat, in a much truncated form, was the final number of the main set, 'Nine Feet Underground', an especial favourite of mine, if that weren't patently obvious! Jan's keyboard sound on this was really good and very reminiscent at times of Dave Sinclair's sound on the original and vocals - in the section 'Disassociation' specifically - were jointly handled by Pye and Jim Leverton (long time replacement on vocals and bass for original bass player/singer, Richard Sinclair).
It's not a nostalgia thing for me with Caravan; I'd like to think I don't listen to any music out of nostalgia, because life is about now and the future, not the past. I guess it's because some music isn't stuck in time for me: I liked Caravan from the first moment I heard them and as my tastes were changed and influenced by punk, then New Wave, Caravan were still there. Some of the songs have seen me through lots of different times and changes in my life. A song like 'Here Am I' from 'Blind Dog At St. Dunstan's' evokes student days, the period when I first started working, the time leading up to when I met the woman who would become my wife and the wilderness days I now find myself adrift in.
(The picture below was taken during 'Nine Feet Underground')
From memory the numbers played (though I may have forgotten some) included:
Nevertheless the playing - especially by Geoffrey Richardson - was energetic and distinctive. Geoffrey deserves special mention because of the range of instruments he played - viola (electric), guitar, flute, piccolo, cow bell, mandolin and spoons. His spoon playing - along with Mark Walker's (drums) washboard playing - made me laugh. The intros to songs, which Geoffrey mostly handled, were also a joy. Overall everyone played well, Pye Hastings' vocals and guitar playing were good, Mike Walker is a great drummer - especially vital for the time changes in 'Nine Feet Underground', and Jan Schelhaas keyboards underpinned a lot of the older material.
Although a mix of fan favourites were played, the real treat, in a much truncated form, was the final number of the main set, 'Nine Feet Underground', an especial favourite of mine, if that weren't patently obvious! Jan's keyboard sound on this was really good and very reminiscent at times of Dave Sinclair's sound on the original and vocals - in the section 'Disassociation' specifically - were jointly handled by Pye and Jim Leverton (long time replacement on vocals and bass for original bass player/singer, Richard Sinclair).
It's not a nostalgia thing for me with Caravan; I'd like to think I don't listen to any music out of nostalgia, because life is about now and the future, not the past. I guess it's because some music isn't stuck in time for me: I liked Caravan from the first moment I heard them and as my tastes were changed and influenced by punk, then New Wave, Caravan were still there. Some of the songs have seen me through lots of different times and changes in my life. A song like 'Here Am I' from 'Blind Dog At St. Dunstan's' evokes student days, the period when I first started working, the time leading up to when I met the woman who would become my wife and the wilderness days I now find myself adrift in.
(The picture below was taken during 'Nine Feet Underground')
From memory the numbers played (though I may have forgotten some) included:
- Memory Lain, Hugh
- And I Wish I Were Stoned
- Golf Girl
- Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)
- Nightmare
- Smoking Gun
- Dead Man Walking
- Farewell My Old Friend (dedicated to Richard Coughlan)
- I'm On My Way
- I'll Be There For You
- Nine Feet Underground
As a poor substitute for not hearing it live on Friday, here is 'For Richard', a song that never fails to bring a tear to my eyes, from 'Live at Fairfield Halls', a version that is probably better than the original studio recording..
Oh well, 'til the next time...
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