Dave Matthews Band

Haven't updated on here for ages. Well, I have been busy! But another gig calls for some more words of relative wisdom so here goes:

Dave Matthews Band , Wembley Arena 30th May 2007

First, a word about the Arena itself. God I used to hate this place as it was always a horrible old concrete bunker with lousy acoustics. But, it's neighbour the footy stadium has had a recent face lift so the kind people of Wembley have given little brother a facelift too, and by golly it's really rather good in there now. Modern, non-concrete and everythng inside which was a really pleasant surprise. It actually looks like the NEC Arena used to when that was new, but without the horrible colour scheme. The outside has had a switch round meaning that the main entrance and box office is now facing the stadium and there's a good sized new landcaped area between them with a bunch of water fountains to play in - if that's your bag.

The new Stadium looks stunning from the outside with that enormous roof arch. I am so glad they waited for that place until it was done properly, and just plain old got it right. I doubt I will ever go in there, but, hey, it's nice to look at.

We got tickets via DMB's "Warehouse", which is a sort of fan club: an internet subscription thing where you get advanced tickets warning and hopefully priority tickets. My mate Nick is a member and when saw Dave's acoustic show in Manchester the other month we had 3rd row from the front seats, so it works. Trouble is in the States I should imagine that half the crowd in a given DMB show will be Warehouse members so everyone will get priority. Anyhow, for this Wembley show we had standing seats, were told to get to the box office early and we'd be let in first and this proved to be exactly the case. Those of us who had been given blue wrist bands got let onto the floor area and we wandered down to the front to sit down and claim our patch about 10 feet from the barrier, front and centre. Marvellous. Of course I was aware that I was positioned right at the front of a crowd of maybe 5000 standing people and was therefore rather vulnerable to crushing and drunk idiots barging their way through at some point. But amazingly this never happened. Maybe the average DMB watcher has more sense than to go barging 'down the front' as soon as the band come on, maybe they just cannot be bothered. The result that was once we were stood up we retained our space and were pretty comfortable throughout the evening's procedings. So, well done Warehouse and congrats to a very well behaved crowd.

Support was from Ex Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello who was a bit crap really. Think Bruce Springsteen in full on blue collar acoustic mode but nowhere near as good In fact don't think about The Boss at all coz Tom isn't in his league. Still, he passed another 30 minutes before the main event, and he was that bloke from Rage and Audioslave so he deserved a bit of respect.

And then, quarter of an hour early, on to the huge stage casually sauntered the Dave Matthews Band. It was pinch myself time as after 10 years of waiting here I was , stood about 20 feet from them. Maybe the reason why Britain doesn't 'get' DMB (well, there are meany reasons, but here's one…) is that while most bands would pile in guns blazing for their opening number of their fist UK gig in a decade DMB start very quietly almost like an orchestra tuning up. Dave strums his acoustic a bit and hums something a bit melodic while the others join in gradually… nontiantly. The audience goes bonkers at first when they amble on stage but are soon quiet , watching and wondering what's going to happen. Not much really, and we are treated to a 5 minute piece of what would best be described as atmosphere before Carter Beauford gets his proper drumsticks out, counts them in and the band thunder into their opening number proper - the mighty Don't Drink the Water. And that is the escence of the Dave Matthews Band. They easily could play a whole evening of crowd pleasing up tempo showstoppers from their extensive back catalogue, but they choose not to. They do pepper the set with a few choice foot stompers: Louisiana Bayou, Stay, So Much to Say, Too Much all got an airing as well as the inevitable and fantastic Ants Marching. But just as much they will head off into a 15 minute jammed out Jimi Thing where everyone may get a solo. Noodling nonsense this may be to many but to actually watch them do this live is a treat - to see the interaction between them: the nods, glances, smiles and their cues to each other to head off on one, or bring the band back in together is great. I don't know of any other band who would get away with this in gigs of such a large scale, but this is what these guys do. And lets not forget that they do this on an even bigger scale in the States where they will fill the big (20 - 25,000 seater) ampitheatres effortlessly all summer. They are utterly unique, and I feel pretty privileged to have seen them actually.
They did nearly 3 hours for us and finally encored with a belting Two Step during which drummer Carter went paticularly bonkers, cutting loose round his enormous kit. It was a bloody fantastic gig and now I really see why these guys have the live reputation they do. Hopefully it won't be 10 years before they are back over here again.

But, gigs in London mean a road trip and it was half past 3 when I got home this morning. It was actually getting light by that time. Nick and I shared the driving and, fuelled by Red Bull and chewy mints, we did the long drag back up the M1 without nodding off which was an achievement.

So, that was it. Roll on the next gig, which is a big one: Peter Gabriel and Crowded House in Hyde Park in 3 weeks. I hope the weather improves as it was bloody awful this weekend….

First listens

Snakes and Arrows, Rush's 157th (approx.) studio album and their second original release in, err, 11 years, comes out next week. Having heard some snippets it does sound like they've gone for it again and we'll be pleasantly suprised that this trio of 50-odd year olds, 30 odd years on (is there another band who has been together for so long with the same line up?) can pull another gem of a cd out of their collective hat. Mind you, the last one (Vapour Trails in 2002) was a big suprise in that it was actually made at all, and then subsequently that it rocked like a bastard. Unfortunately VT has not 'matured' in the way many of their previous albums have. This is mainly to do with it's ProTools recording approach and the 'everything louder than everything else' mastering resulting, in it all just being way too loud and a bit harsh to listen to all the way through. Some great songs on it though. This new one sounds a belter so I am very much looking forward to my package from Play.com arriving Monday. Open CD; insert in stereo; play LOUD and sit back and enjoy whilst taking in meaningful artwork and intelligent lyrics. The first listen to a new Rush album is a rare and precious thing.

In other news it's been all go of late. 3 weekends on the trot with the kids, including a 6 day stint over Easter meant I didn't surface for the best part of a month, but I got a 'me' weekend the one just gone. Spent the Saturday being a tourist in Liverpool with Rach and Rich Eatough, who was up from Reading for the weekend. (He is currently hobbling boy having pranged his ankle at Easter coming off his bike.) It was a top day out going round the old town and Liverpool city is currently being massively transformed - almost beyond recognition. There's so much construction going on it's ridiclous. 2007: City of cranes.... 2008: City of European Culture. Still, the old pub haunts are still there, hidden round the corners from shiny office blocks and funky inner city living or huddled between enormous new retail opportunities and/or wine/coffee bars . It makes for great fun seeking out the old stuff in amongst all the new. It's all still there - if you know where to look and I do think that the old and the new are sitting alongside each other in the city really rather well to be honest, and it's all looking very, very good over there. Anyhow, we did both catherdrals and finished off with a trip on the ferry to make it a proper Liverpool day out.

Holly was 6 this week. SIX! Christ, time flies a bit like a mad whizzy flying thing, eh? I have been Rush 'fan' now for 28 years. Now THAT is scary.

Barenaked Ladies, Leeds University

I saw these guys live again this week - at Leeds University - and as ever they delivered a fantastic show. They remind me of Crowded House circa early 90's as they effortlessly deliver a set full of Steve Page and Ed Robinson's wonderful songs brilliantly played, and yet they don't take themselves very seriously at all. Much laughing on stage (mainly at each other) and some inspired comedy, including a delirious choreographed dance sequence by the whole band which cumulated in a 'fight' in the style of West Side Story.
On stage chat for the evening was mainly based round the twin burning subjects of the outrageous visibility of British plumbing and the seemingly endless variety of our crisp packet flavours.
Opening with One Week and The Old Apartment they hit the stage running and played a good mix of old and new material, with several choice offerings from their excellent latest album, Barenaked Ladies are Me (available in all reputable audio retailers now, folks). There was also a great little acoustic section where the banjo and mandolin were dusted off, also featuring drummer Tyler as lead bongo-lier. $100,000 made it's usual appearance as an encore and the evenings closer was the always incredibly poignant Call and Answer. It's easy to forget that these guys have been together for 15 years now and have a lot of songs to choose from.
Mention should also be made of their excellent (and now it seems regular) support act: comedian with guitar, Boothby Graffoe.
'Ladies newbie Rachel was highly impressed by the band, the show and the songs, and and I feel this was a good start to her Canadian musical education. Next up for her it's The Hip!

Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews. Who is he? Just know that he is an American and usually seen fronting the Dave Matthews Band. Never heard of them either? Good. Lets keep it that way.
I saw him and his mate Tim Reynolds play a two and a half hour acoustic show in Manchester last week which was one of the best live gigs I have ever seen. Whether it was the amazing songs, the wonderful delivery or the tangible air of nervous expectation from the sell out crowd (this man is a genuine American icon) I don’t know. But the combination of factors made this (for me anyhow) a quite extraordinary event to witness.
And I get to see the whole Dave Matthews band in London in May – the first time they’ve played the UK for over 10 years – and that will be a real treat.

House move looms

Apparently a house move is a very stressful event. I have to agree. I am only going next door and the whole thing seems to be weighing on my mind rather alarmingly.

Next door? Well, No.16 was being gutted and refurbished so I got first refusal on it a while back. Only renting still but a bit of a move up in the world from No.14 now it's all spangly and new. I'll still be able to deafen Jo at the back with my music (and vice versa) so no change at all really. IKEA here I come for furniture (is there anywhere else which sells house stuff?).

Only moving about 20 feet or so and yet I still I have to pack and box all my posessions to be carried round and dumped in the new place to be ritually unpacked again. I kind of thought that I didn't have that much, but think again monkey boy - looks like there's fucking tons of it. You can never have too many CDs. Ho hum. A busy week then.

The new place has a bike cellar. Hurrah. Just like the original Pudsey place we had there's a large cellar completely perfect for the storage and maintenance of bicycles. I'll also have a dishwasher AND tumble dryer which is dead posh, but neither of which will get that much use due to their extortionate running costs (he says).

In other news it seems to be the season for elderly parents (not mine I should add) to be in hospital with serious conditions. Some of these people deserve to get better more than others do, and we shall leave it at that.

Spring is sprunging with the daffs almost out in the parks, and I can just about get in and out of work now without the aid of lights. Can that be blamed on global warming? probably.

2007: year of music...

Bands touring for whom I already have a ticket:
Barenaked Ladies (Leeds, March)
Dave Matthews (solo) (Manchester, March)
Dave Matthews Band (Wembley, May)
Toto (Manchester, March)

Bands rumoured to be touring for whom I will get tickets (note the total Canadian bias of this section):
Rush ('autumn'... 'early 2008' ) New album due May. Produced by guy who has been doing the Foo fighters, so it should ROCK.
The Tragically Hip ('summer').

Bands reforming for whom I will get a ticket:
Crowded House. New album imminent. Ok, it won't quite be the same without Paul Hester, but those SONGS...

Bands reforming who I won't get a ticket for as I won't go to a football stadium/stand in a field:
Genesis. Shame - would like to see them again.

Bands probably/possibly reforming for whom I would give my right arm to see - in a football stadium or wherever:
Van Halen with Dave Lee Roth. Now definitely on: doing 40 dates in the States. I doubt they'll get over here though :-( .
Edit: This was definitely on (for about a week) but then postponed as EVH has gone into rehab. Phew: rock and roll.

The Police (looking likely now).
Edit: At £85 a ticket they can stick it.

Band for whom there are no rumours/announcements but who should just get over here and play anyway as they are (he is) overdue a visit:
Prince

Looks like we may get ZZ Top this summer. Excellent.

New Year

I saw out the end of 2006 in the fair city of Edinburgh, and it turned out to be a(nother) right good do. When I say that Edinburgh was "fair" this in no way refers to the weather, which was just appalling. So bad in fact that all the Hogmannay events in the city were called off. And, dammit, I so wanted to do a ceilidh.

... and I was going to write a whole thing on the weekend but can't be arsed as I am knackered. I'll just highlight a few salient points:
Rach, Dave and John.
Drive.
Katy.
Cats.
Brie toasties and whole garlic clove stuffed olives.
Air bed.
Bus.
Wind. Rain. Rain. Wind.
Coffee.
Castle.
Wind. rain.
Haggis, neaps and tatties.
Did I mention wind and rain?
Other people.
Deep fried Mars bar.
Rain.
Bus.
Bus.
Hurricane.
Pub.
Countdown.
Texting.
Fireworks (in London).
Streets full of people.
Wind and rain. Dammit.
Bus.
Air bed (properly blown up).
Goodbyes.
Drive. Drive. Drive.

So, you get the picture?

Thanks to Rachael, Katy, John and Dave.

Roll on 2007.

Move Along

Happy New Year to all my readers (that’s about 5 of you then!)

Well, 2006 has been a bit of a strange one. However, I guess in many ways it was more straightforward than previous years as decisions were made and actions completed this time last year. Consequently I’ve been ‘on my own’ for the whole of the past 12 months. A Year! It was not exactly the long term battle plan to be marooned in a cheap rental place whilst forking out hand over fist for the other house, and also trying to do my best by the kids… But, hey ho, life is nothing if not unpredictable, eh?

Still, it’s been OK. Even if my Leeds social life has not taken off in the slightest I’m so glad of the opportunity to hook up again with the likes of Rachael (who has been a great friend), Rich Eatough and Sam. And I even got to see Bryan again! Scottie is next on the “catch up” list and hopefully we’ll remedy that in January. You never know I may even see Stef one of these days too... :-)

Other plusses from 2006:
- The kids seem to be dealing with the situation very well, and in many respects I’m dealing with them a lot better. The deal I made with myself was that when they are with me I am theirs and I am not allowed to be distracted. They come first, I concentrate on them 100%, and I’ve hopefully managed to stick to that particular rule. We’ve had some excellent weekends and hopefully next year I can organise some time ‘away’ with them: down south at least.
- The two cycle trips really were fabulous and there’s been some good weekends away for me. The 'free' time has been used wisely I reckon and I've not had many thumb twiddling bored weekend days.
- I’ve seen a few great concerts.
- My fitness seems to be at an all time high (as I have nothing else better to concentrate on!).
Minuses:
- It’s been rather lonely at times. But I have never been ‘down’ so to speak and still remain eternally optimistc.
- Money. Don’t speak to me about money.

2007. The plan:
As the All American Rejects so succinctly put it on their fine second album: “Move along“. I have events to do; bands to see; people to meet; places to go; finances to sort out.
I have to move house come February as (landlady) Fiona is selling up so that’s the first hurdle, and hopefully I can stay near where I am. Next door (it’s being done out to rent) would be ideal!
I want to enter a half Iron Man triathlon and see how that goes.
I’d like to do another bike trip and Spain is being discussed for May/June.
I should re-join the Leeds Mountaineering club and get out on their weekenders away.
Pack in drinking completely. (This may not happen - I'll likely just continue to drink minimally as I have been this year.)
See more live music.
Oh, and get some proper swim coaching from the tri club.

So, there you go. I supposed that is a New Year resolution or two. Good to get them down in black and white. Good to have aims. Move along.

Starting as I mean to go on as I am off to Edinburgh with Rachael and her mates for the Hogmanay at the weekend. It looks like a great (big) event. The weather forecast looks atrocious though so fingers crossed. I’ve never actually been to Edinburgh (as a grown up – see below) so it will be good to have a look around that city, as well as meet some new people and do the New Year in style.

I have been to Edinburgh. Once. On a train trip for the day from Liverpool with my dad, Uncle George and cousin Tim. I must have been in my teens I suppose. The only thing I can remember about the city is the castle being closed as the military tattoo was on, so we took a bus out to the Forth road bridge and walked across it to the middle. So my one great memory of my one and only previous Edinburgh trip is just how long it takes spit to get down to the river from the middle of the Forth road bridge. Who says us Liverpudlians aren’t cultured ...

Status Quo freebie

I won tickets to see Quo in Nottingham. Not a band that I would say I would have ever bought tickets to see these days, but on a freebie they were quite an exciting prospect. I had seen them before, once, supporting Queen on that huge day in 1986 at Knebworth which sadly turned out to be Queen’s last show ever. Quo were just great and they are one of those bands which I think need to be seen live at least once in a music fan’s lifetime. The band seem to be getting some long overdue respect lately. It’s amazing what an appearance on Coronation Street will do for your career…

To win I had emailed into Planet Rock radio a flippant answer to a quiz question and amazingly I won a pair of tickets. For Nottingham Arena though – not exactly close to home, but never mind - it's a freebie.

So Tuesday night I (and mate Rich from work) chose to do some alleged technical support at the Sheffield office and drive down from there to make things a bit easier on the travel front. Once off the M1 we discovered that Nottingham is a rather big city centre with a nightmare onme way system and impossible to find car parks littered all over the place at the wrong end of one way streets. But we got in one eventually and fortunately found ourselves parked not too far from the arena.

Now, normally when there’s a concert on in a venue, come doors opening time there’s people milling about all over the place. I had expected to see an army of denim clad folk lining up to get in to the arena. But when we got there the place looked deserted which was most odd. We had a beer in a good but not too full pub next door and then walked to the arena entrance. And there were some people there, and amazingly the place looked like it was getting pretty full, but it was really quite strange the lack of people outside.

Once inside we found that our seats were great. Having previously checked the seating plan of the arena we were sure we’d be at the front of a block near the back of the arena floor. But we were at the front of the second block back from the stage i.e. good and close. Excellent.

We missed one of the support bands but the second one really were bloody awful. "The 27s" they were called and they were all the way from Australia. Why they’d actually bothered to come all this way I really don’t know. The Aussies may be good at cricket but they can keep their awful support bands. I’m not generally one for slagging off bands as most do have some redeeming qualities but this trio: no. A poor pub blues outfit is about the best I could decribe them as. Avoid at all costs - if you are ever in Australia. Luckily they weren’t on for long and the mighty Quo appeared at 9 pm.

The denim clad army of Quo fans of old has, inevitably, turned into a bunch of bearded, balding (some with pony tails...) middle aged blokes. People have grown old with this band, and that is quite an amazing thing. Just as I was part of the 'old' Rush followers at their shows in 2004 and felt such a part of the gigs because of my long history with the band, these folks were the same and I really felt the ... yes.. love ... from the audience when the band took to he stage. The front row were obviously the crowd who were following the tour and they got a good deal of recongnition from the band once they came on. There were lots of youngsters about too: kids of the old rockers. Dads and their favourite band showing junior just how it should be done.

Status Quo deliver exactly what you’d expect: great 12 bar Status Quo rock. Actually, it’s to their great credit that they’ve never become a caricature of themselves. They play loudly and look like they are having a lot of fun doing so. And (why should this suprise me?) it turns out that Francis Rossi is a very very good guitarist. This is the band don’t forget who can casually knock off the stunning trio of Down Down, Whatever You Want and Rockin’ All Over the World: amazing rock songs that you just KNOW (everyone knows) and cannot help but sing along to with a cheesy grin on your face. "Look - that's Status Quo up there...."

They played 2 hours of the boogie rock that they have made their own, with Rossi continuously mugging to the crowd whilst knocking off fabulous bluesy solos, or seriously noisy rhythm work while wandering all over the stage. And Rick Parfitt is his perfect stage foil, keeping out of the limelight and providing great rhythm work, and not to mention some of the most famous guitar intros ever.

All in all fabulous to see them in action, and best my ticket win of all time. I think to be honest it’s my second only ticket win of all time. The other I can remember was to see Bjork’s old band the Sugarcubes in Liverpool a long time a go.

A top night all round and it was about 90 mins back home up a for once deserted M1. Post gig ears ringing factor: 1 day.

So that's The Who and Status Quo both seen live in 2006. Look out: "old rocker" alert... I just need to grow that pony tail.

Volleyball, bikes and Brakes

Visitors this weekend. My old friend Rich from Reading. "Old friend" sounds like we go back many, many years. Well, I guess we do go back a few as we met whilst in the Cardiff Uni mountain bike club which was circa 1990. So that's 16 years ago, and I would think that qualifies us as being "old friends", although Rich would no doubt complain at the “old” label as he’s a mere slip of a lad. One important bond we have is that we are both graduates of not only Cardiff University but also of the "Ian Jeremiah Cardiff bike 'til you drop hard knock school of off road cycle training". Ian’s philosophy was a 30 miles of hills on a Saturday (and Sunday if you could make it to the museum steps for the meet up on a hangover) style of leadership with “everyone does everything” (ie no chickening on the downhills allowed) and absolutely no quarter was given for blowing up the other side of Caerphilly mountain. And blowing up the other side of Caerphilly was something that I personally did pretty much every Saturday for about 6 months until my legs got used to the, err, punishment. However, this experience I think gave us a really rather fabulous grounding in the high art of off road cyling, and we will always find ourselves grateful for Ian for his encouragement, leadership and, well, teaching.

Rich's girlfriend is the lovely Silvia who was playing volleyball with her team up north - one game in Manchester Saturday and the other at Leeds Uni today. They play at a high level and won both matches which was a great effort as they were the underdogs for each one. After the game Saturday I had a bit of a volleyball knock around with Rich (who also plays - the pair of them met up at their volleyball club) and I've not done any volleyball since I was at school - a LONG time ago! The result of this little knock about was a nice pair of bruised wrists and thumbs for yours truly, as digging a volleyball round with no proper technique proved to be a rather painful experience. One of those sports which looks so easy but ... it's not.

Rich and I had a look round Salford Quays down the road while the volleyball was going on in nearby Eccles. Now - on the subjest of LS Lowry. Personally I cannot really see what all the fuss is about with this guy and his silly matchstalk drawings. All very nice but not quite worthy of having a state of the art gallery (and not to mention a major retail outlet centre) built round them? But then again this is Manchester where there's not really all that much else to celebrate is there? So, only in Manchester would a bunch of any-child-could-do-better quality artwork end up being so extravagantly lauded.

Saturday night saw us back over the correct side of the Pennines in Leeds and out in town. Now Rich and I, when it comes to music, have a similar outlook in that we both like a diverse amount of stuff, but the overlap of our tastes could best be described as 'minimal'. Rich really likes his indie bands and I found out that one of these, indeed his current favourite, Brakes were playing at the Leeds Cockpit Saturday night. They did sound a bit weedy indie cack on CD but I have to say that live they were very very good, and post-gig their 2 cds 'make sense'. One of those facts of life is that bands only really come into full view after you’ve seen them live.

While Silvia was volleyballing again today Rich and I got on on the mountain bikes for a spin in the mud and wind. Yep – conditions were a bit harsh out on the trails it has to be said but Team Klein battled on manfully for a couple of hours round the Pudsey circuit and came back via the jetwash. Consequently Teams Klein’s bikes are now both spangly clean you’ll all be glad to hear.

So, now it’s Sunday evening and I was going to settle down and watch V is for Vendetta from the NTL “On Demand” service. However, it seems that I am short of a PIN number for such a service so, so much for that cunning plan. Best get on with the washing and ironing then….

Holly Art

It might not look much but I know just how much thought and effort went into this on Holly's part. This is one she prepared earlier: when she was in her 'many colours' phase!

Holly: Art Explained

Seriously, I reckon Holly is a very good artist. She loves drawing and seems to really put a great deal of thought into the pictures she does. Her disability may limit her freedom of movement but it doesn't seem to stop her (at five years old) really wanting to express herself in this way. She's always really pleased with the results of these drawing sessions.

How we do it is I sit with her and give her choice of all the crayons (I bought some plastic coated ones which are perfect for her and she cannot snap them - she's a bit heavy handed) for the colour. Then I hold her hand and assist while she does the actual drawing – basically keeping her from losing her grip on the crayon. I also ask her which bit of the paper she wants to aim for – or she tells me if I’m doing something wrong.

She obviously has a limited range of ability but she can do sqiggles, lines, small circles or long sweeps and she tends to do just one of these things per drawing. She finishes each colour quickly, often not having done much at all with it, and moves on to the next choice. She’ll use 3 or 4 colours maximum per drawing and does not just scrawl randomly – she tries for instance not to overlap the colours and obvioulsy has a specific pattern in mind for each new piece of paper. She was all purple and oranges on the last session, with the odd splash of red, brown or black. That was all she used out of 15 coloured crayons. She is very decisive about when each one is finished too and never goes back to it. Given a sheet of A4 she only ever does enough to fit the frame size we've been using which has been 5 x 7 inches, and this goes for painting too: When she has the opportunity to splash paint round a large sheet of paper she always keeps her efforts neatly confined to a relatively small area.

Though there are many things which make me think “what if …” with Holly, this activity is one where I know she gets a lot of satisfaction from, especially when she sees the pictures in the frames. It’s a “look what I can do” thing I reckon.

I've quite a few of her efforts framed now and they are really good bits of work. I love them.

Life in the old dog

I did a mountain bike race at the weekend. This is the first time I have entered an official race for years and I've only done two before now. The first one was when I was Cardiff Uni in what must have been about 1992 and was at a course near Port Talbot. Seemed like a good idea at the time (as everyone else was entered for it) but it was just grim. It was a horrible rainy day and involved three laps of a hard course - something for which I just was not a) prepared and b) fit enough. I did finish, but was completely blown and practically hypothermic by the end and vowed never to race again.

The next one was not long after we moved to Leeds (1997 I think), near Pudsey at Tong Hall. Some of the guys we'd met biking locally were entering so I had a go. That one was pretty good actually and I did OK, but I was fitter by then.

This weekend's jaunt at Lightwater near Ripon looked like a decent event, the weather has been great, so I thought what the hell, turned up and entered on the day. There were a few others from the North Leeds group also signed up so it was a bit of a team atmosphere.

The course was 17 miles (3 laps) round the park grounds, undulating more than hilly. Lots of hardpack; a bit of tarmac; some great bits of quick singletrack; into and out of a quarry, and some grassy fields to cross. One or two cheeky technicalities and some short sharp drops and climbs gave it all some interest. 17 miles is maybe 90 minutes so therefore basically a continuous burn - an exercise in who's legs can last the longest?!

I was really pleased that I paced it well. I thought I'd gone off too hard on the first lap but settled in comfortably, stuck at my pace and just about managed to hold it until the end. I clocked 1:24:30 which put me 13th in the 80 strong Vets category, so I was pretty pleased with that.

Not bad at all. There's life in this old dog yet!

Pet Sounds

Current musical favourites chez (and voiture and iPod) Andy

The Feeling: Twelve Stops and Home. I bought this in HMV after hearing them play one track from it over the PA, and what a good decision it’s proved to be as it’s a very fine album indeed. I do like a band who can write good songs, and this is a whole CD full of great quality. It's very contemporary sounding, but there’s lots of old school references too: 10cc in particular, but definitely shades of Supertramp and I can almost hear Paul McCartney singing a couple of the tracks. Great stuff, and I am most pleased with my impulse buy.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Stadium Arcadium. Two Cds; 28 songs, which to be honest is a bit too much to take in so I’ve only really played disk one in the couple of weeks since I bought it. I’ve always enjoyed their stuff and with their last couple of albums they’ve settled down into writing great, catchy, loud, funky rock music and Stadium Arcadium is just that. More than anything these guys are a great BAND. Four musicians who gel as a unit in a unique fashion (rather like U2 in that way). Guitarist John Frusciante I think is a genius, both technically and as a song writer. To think that not so long ago this bloke had done so much drug taking that, amongst other things, all his teeth fell out it’s quite astonishing that he’s come back into the band and remained focused for them to produce their most successful string of albums to date. The Chilli Peppers are a band who are right on top of their game and who are an absolute pleasure to listen to.

The Tragically Hip: World Container. The Hip have been at this business 20 years now and still remain a wondrous Canadian secret. Canada’s most beloved band. I got to see them again in London in July and they as ever produced an electrifying performance, led by the verging on insane stage persona of singer Gord Downie. They have always been guaranteed live dynamite whilst I think some of their studio output I think has been a bit patchy of late. With World Container, however, they’ve produced their most accessible, straightforward (commercial?)album for a long time. It is absolutely bloody fantastic. Top marks to them then for choosing Bob Rock as producer on this one. Rock’s name was openly cursed by the Hip’s internet fanbase when they heard he had got the chair for the new CD as it seems he’s “ruined” other bands he’s got hold of in the studio (eg Metallica). But he’s obviously gelled big time with The Hip as they’ve produced a storming, heads down belter of a CD. Rock has said in interviews that he’s always wanted to do the “classic” Canadian album (he’s a Cannuck himself) and perhaps this is it. I just wish they’d release it outside North America, but there are ways and means of getting hold of such things… Best song title ever as well on this one too: Luv (sic). Genius. It’s a real thrill when one of your favourite bands releases a new album, and when it turns out to be as good as this one is then it really is a treat.

Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked Ladies are Me. More from Canada, but the other side of the Canadian musical coin perhaps as BNL made the transition from ‘just known in Canada’ to huge world success with their excellent Stunt album and ‘One Week’ single a few years back. That was 3 albums ago though now, and they’ve continued on since then with a lesser degree of platinum sales perhaps but with a consistent ability to write whole albums full of great songs. And also with a massive, hugely loyal fanbase. I really rated their last one “Everything to Everybody” but with BLAM they’ve surpassed themselves once again on the writing front. Having fulfilled their big label recording contract they’ve now gone independent and this enables them to do pretty much what they like, so this is another double CD fest (if you go for the full download version) release. 27 songs of ridiculously high standard: no filler apparent at all. Great stuff. As with the Hip BNL seem to love playing over here so we get to see them live on a regular basis in the UK. Get your tickets for their British dates next March as they are a live outfit not to be missed. A band who have a supreme ability to not take themselves seriously in any way (they mess about quite a bit on stage, often improvising whole songs), but at the same time produce some of the most spine tinglingly great live renditions of their ever growing catalogue. I’ll never forget being sat front and centre of the balcony in the Manchester Apollo while they rattled off a string of four or five album tracks and I just could not believe how ‘perfect’ they were at that moment: the band, the performance, the sound, the songs, everything. Stunning, in a word. One of those times when your spine just tingles with the experience and you feel forever indebted to the band for doing such a thing for you.
Anyway: Barenaked Ladies are Me: a top album from a great band.

Ramble On

I have an annoying cold. It's not quite enough of a cold to be properly (miserably) ill, but just enough to keep me waking up with a sore throat and then being sneezy and snotty for half the day, every day. It's also enough to prevent swimming. Ever tried swimming with a snotty nose? Not good - drowning is a distinct possibility - so I haven't been for 2 weeks. Must pick it up again next week, if this fucking cold disappears.

Anyway - still doing the running and have been commuting on the bike as ever. Snot dispersal is easy when running and cycling. Especially cycling as that's what cycle mitts are for.

Hey, what's with the weather anyhow? It's mid October and still no sign of the bike leggings going on as yet. Indeed it's still pretty much shorts and a single top on the way home. It's been a mixed bag of showers and sun all week, and when it's sunny it's proper warm. I noticed there's new nettles out on the running trails - even the plants are getting confused.

Hey - my new bike light is excellent. This week has been the first where lights are needed on the roads of a morning so it is being used in earnest as dawn is now between half 7 and 8 o'clock. OK, so I paid £13o for a bike light but it's a great bike light and makes me feel safe on the road, even in the twilight hours. Well, when I say 'safe' I mean 'more visible'. 'Safe' is not a state of mind which can be in any way connected with cycle commuting. I caught myself daydreaming whilst cycling the other night. Not a wise thing to do as when you daydream the eyes in the back of your head go asleep, and you lose your periferal vison. As everyone knows eyes in the back of your head are essential whilst bike commuting. Just like a £13o light.

Watching "Clerks" on DVD. A true classic and a steal at £6 in the current HMV sale. I never as a rule buy films on DVD as they generally get watched once and then shelved, but cold not resist this one... and the 3 disk edition of Memento for an utterly bargainesque £7. Hours of triple disk directors' commentaries, alternative endings; hilarious outtakes; original screen tests, actors' biographies; 'making of' documentaries; exclusive stills libraries and special web link DVD extras fun. So, I'll likely watch each one once and then shelve them.

Right - must prepare for the weekend.... Ok. That's that done.

It's one of those rare occasions where I can actually have a lie in tomorrow. Of course I won't have a lie in because I'll be wide awake at half 7. Do you grow out of lie ins I wonder? Or maybe we just grow through lie in phases in life. Mind you some people (you ladies in particular) seem to be able to muster a monster lie in at any opportunity. Lie ins are a gender thing? Discuss.

Holly

Holly - she smiles a lot.

Jamie

Jamie and his dad. Jamie avoiding the camera, which is unusual for him!

Holly

My beautiful little girl.

Book it and they will come...

A weekend away mountain biking is often easier said than done when it comes to getting a big group of people together. Best thing is to just pick a weekend, book the accomodation and then invite all and sundry along. And so it was for the Coed y Brenin mountain biking trip this weekend.

Coed y Brenin is near Dolgellau which is south North Wales or north Mid Wales. One of the two. Probably both. North Wales we all know about with Snowdonia and all that but I personally think that the Mid Wales area is criminally overlooked as a tourist area in Britain given that it is uniformly stunning. A couple of years ago I did a work thing at Aberystwyth which is two towns further on down into Wales and the drive was just amazing. Mountain bikers tend to know the secrets of Mid Wales as Rhayader for instance is a well trodden biking area with it’s proximity to the wonderful Elan Valley. Follow the A470: just down from Dolgellau there’s Machynlleth, sat in a quite beautiful valley and its Dyfi Forest is full of mountain biking. Onto lovely Llanidloes,(or nip over the top between these two via Staylittle and the inmpressive Clwedog reservoir); through Rhayader to Builth Wells and head down to Brecon and it’s mighty Beacons. Absolutely glorious, the lot of it. Oh, and then there’s the coastline of Cardigan Bay: Barmouth, Aberystwyth etc and points in between. Take a walk to the top of Cader Idris and you can see most of it. Actually – on second thoughts don’t go: stay away and leave the place to us mountain bikers and climbers.

I digress, back to Coed y Brenin. This place was the first ‘made’ mountain bike venue I think in the UK and I’ve visited it maybe 5 or 6 times now over the last 10 years. The absolute joy/madness of it’s flagship short and sweet “Red Bull” trail has never failed to reduce me to an endorphin fuelled, giggling wreck by the time I was racing round it’s bermed conclusion. Then there’s an afternoon out on the sprawling Karrimor trail round 40k of scenic, single tracked or fire roaded forestry, plus the more recent, more technical MBR route. A weekend at CyB involved doing all of them with the Red Bull at least twice.

The visitor centre/café was also top drawer with Sian (ex Wales champion MTB girlie) and her partner Dafydd serving up wondrous big snacks such as cheese or beans on toast (or indeed both), accompanied by huge mugs of tea. Exactly the thing hungry mountain bikers crave. There was also an excellent bike shop at the site. So, when news filtered through early this year that Sian and Dafydd had given up the center and that the place was undergoing a serious make over with new trails and shifting the visitor centre to the other side of the A470, it was difficult to know whether to be pleased or worried. Best thing really was to go a try the place out again, so that’s what we did last weekend.

Our booked accomodation was an excellent 10 berth bungalow at Ferndale (www.coedybrenin.com) within the forest iteslf, which meant we could ride from the house straight onto the trails (the visitor centre was about 10 minutes away round the easy ‘blue’ route). The house had tons of room, an Aga in the kitchen, wood burning stove in the lounge, "pet" mice on the loose, kayaking quailty river flowing next to it – all very ‘countryside’. Everyone turned up late Friday evening after their long drives – the others were the Reading bike crew, most of whom I’d met before. Rich had bought about 4 tons of food so we would certainly not go hungry and Saturday morning we tucked into eggs, bacon and beans done on the Aga. I think we were out by half 10 which is not bad considering there was 9 bikes worth of faffing to be done. Two inexperienced girls in the group sensibly opted for the easy routes so there were seven of us out on the serious trails for the day. We launched into “The Beast” and the old Red Bull now renamed “Tarw” (which is ’Bull’ in Welsh – see what they did there?). About 50k of great riding, and more for some (Rich C, Dean and Annie) as they finished off The Beast – in the dark at about 7pm.

The new and improved visitors' centre …Well, even though it's a lovely wood building and LOOKS great the old one was so good at catering for us cyclists with basic, big food that this one has a lot to live up to. They now seem to be catering for everyone (walkers and families on days out included – ciabatas anyone?) with waitress service. We ordered and then waitied nearly an hour for our food early afternoon, and they messed up the order when we did get it. Rather than complain we (well, Annie) offered some constructive criticism to the owner who was good about it actually. They were just mobbed - busier than August Bank Holiday apparently. 8 weeks it's been open and they are still struggling. But, they are going to have a re-think over the winter and hopefully get it right for next year. Fair enough. They'll get a lot of bad bress in the biking magazines and web sites for sure which is a pity. The bike shop there is actually smaller than the old one which is madness.

My fears about the trail improvments however proved to be unfounded as the new and improved routes really are amazing. Lots of technicalities though and a place only for the experienced. I think everyone came off over the bars on Saturday with some fairing better than others. Rich E (knee/ankle) and Paul (seriously onto his head and knee) were the worst injured with Warwick also putting a good effort in resulting in a neat hole in his elbow.

Saturday night after a marvellous pasta bolognaise cooked by Sue and Sylivia there was much wine and beer drunk in front of the cozy fire in the lounge. Party games materialised, such as the wicked card game “spoons” and the now legendary “team butts”, which was eventually ‘won’ by team jaundice. I think.

Sunday those intrepid souls who could still ride (Rich E and Paul retired due to their injuries) did the MBR route which for me was the best one as it was just pretty much continuous technicalities. We finished off with a flourish round the bits we’d missed out and the finale was part of the ‘blue’ route back down to our house which was an amazing rollercoaster downhill of a singletrack, blasting through the forest at stupid speeds: possibly the best bit of the whole two days. The weather by the way was excellent. One shower Sarturday and other than that lovely with little of the forecast winds in evidence. Sunday was especially good.

Then it was bikes washed; showers; the remains of the bolognaise to finish off; a quick tidy up; pack the cars; scavenge the left over food and then, sadly, it was time to break up the group and go home.

One of those perfect weekends really and hopefully we’ll do it again sometime. Ah, the joy of mountain biking: book somewhere to stay, all turn up and just get out there and ride.

Driving

I was listening to Radio 4 this morning in the car (as you do) and there was a feature on the proposed new driving laws which are currently being researched. During this feature a lady read out a "victim statement" which she had written to read to the court just before the judge passed sentence on a 19 year old driver who had killed her daughter. Said daughter was 26; had just graduated from Oxford; seemed like one of life's beautiful people and was brutally slain by some unrepentant young fucking scumbag driver. If they want a deterrent for young people and a real warning of the damage they can do in their cars then perhaps a tape of this desperately sad message should be played to them a few times over the course of their lessons.

Of course it's likely that nothing can be done about the hardcore unrepentant delinquents who use the public roads as racetracks with scant regard for their own or anyone else's safety. Except maybe when one of them is caught in the act - such a the fat former boxer Nasseem whatsisname - they should be made an example of. Letting them out after serving half a short sentence is no deterrent.

Anyway - I hope this investigation does come up with some good new measures for lowering the body count of young drivers and the innocent victims of their ineptitude/recklessness on the roads.