I finally made the move to Todmorden after a few of the most stressful months of my life. Not been able to get to many gigs lately and missed some events that I'd bought tickets for as I was so worn out. I gave Say Sue Me, Luke Vibert and Andrew Weatherall a miss. I did get to see/hear Stephen Morriss from New Order being interviewed by Dave Haslam at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge whilst promoting his new book. He was very humorous and a natural storyteller but I must have heard every story there is to tell about Joy Division/New Order now. There was a time when their elusiveness was part of their enigmatic charm though better out than in I guess. Predictably during the Q&A section people asked questions about Ian Curtis. I'm not a big fan of the romanticism of those that die young, much more interesting to hear about living life to the maximum.
I did however get to see J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr at my second home: Gorilla Manchester. I saw Dinosaur Jr at the Albert Hall in Manchester in March 2018 at what was quite possibly the loudest gig I've ever been to. His solo show was an altogether more tranquil experience with just J, his acoustic guitar and an array of effects. He had a noticeable beer belly which might not be your typical rock 'n' roll apparatus but it does look handy for balancing a guitar on. A beer belly was also being adorned by the bass player of The Charlatans at Glastonbury the other week so perhaps they are all the rage for aging rock stars.
It was a really enjoyable gig and J used a loop effect to repeat the rhythm whilst he played lead over it. I didn't recognise any of the songs other than a cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven which he closed the set with. I remember being at the Reading festival in the early 90s and John Peel kept attempting to play Dinosaur Jr's version of this song but it kept stopping after about a minute for some reason. Rather than giving up and playing another song he kept telling the crowd he would battle on until he played the whole song, which I think he eventually did. John Peel reading out the football results on the Saturday was an essential service in those pre-internet days and this was before music festivals became the mainstay they are today. You could just rock up on the day and buy tickets. We saw bands as big as Nirvana and New Order without pre bought tickets, not much chance of that happening these days (especially with Nirvana [unless they reformed with a hologram Kurt] {could you imagine?}).
Speaking of The Cure, they were amazing headlining Glastonbury this year which unfortunately I only got to watch on the TV, but fortunately I'm seeing them at NOS Alive in Lisbon tonight.
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