armadillo-den

Hi, my first blog of the summer! And what a summer it's being!

I'm not a frequent concert-goer, nor have I been to one recently. So I just have to give you the run-down on my time at the awesome musical event that is
Tint Hep Ark.

Wow! That Ark is so Hep! It's the Tint, man! ..deeply green. (I'm well into ecology and the environment, ye ken).

..And my time, just previously, at the event provocatively called Last On, Bury G.. I really dug it!

Amazing events, both.

And the performers.. what a range of talent!

Enli Lyall, with metallic blue wig and in her purple jumpsuit.. well, mostly in it.. looking adorably like the Moonbase girls of Gerry Anderson's series UFO..

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I'm sure with that appearance she has made any teenish boys watching, rethink their previously-held views.. to conclude now that, perhaps, after all, females just may become interesting enough at times to merit attention.

Then there were (or was) Now Patrols.. off-duty police, a band in their spare time, who have a commanding stage presence..
and
White's Tripes.. (a brother and sister, them, who gave up their family business, a specialist butcher-shop, to pursue a career in music)..

..the list could go on.

The line-up was international, with foreign acts like

Yper Rykat.. ably covering Collie Molly's original hit "A Dog Licked My Face and I Liked It" (of which I always love the next line best, "The taste of her beefy chewstick..")

..and Steenbru Cespring was there! His "Ninth Eusabor", what a classic!

..Lego Odt: He-Gent.. a man building a solid reputation squarely from assorted colourful pieces of work. Something about him just seems to click.

..Ungne Ily O, uniquely mixing rock, folk and electronic with piercing nasal vocals.. singing, in his broken English, a heartfelt plea for individual and social responsibility "The Need Lean'd The Damaged One"; and also giving us "Art, of Gold He!" - sung in tribute I believe to Art Garfunkel (once half, with Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel) - whose frizzed hairstyle has certainly reminded me, too, of the golden halo oft-painted around the head of a saint.



Another police act it seems, from overseas: Inaspektor Reg (actually a lady!), was quirkily charming, with witty lyrics and evocative sounds that surely owe their nurture to both Russia and America.


There were also home-grown products such as Urbl, whose development since spring has been phenomenal. They truly are a force of nature!
and
Bowel: with their soft yet earthy sounds, visceral lyrics and bubbling melodies, I've a gut feeling they'll go far. I propose they should reach Number Two, at least! (Shall we pass that as a motion?) I was first deeply impressed by their 2003 album, "Sand's Cast of Thou", which I vividly recall listening to while being buried in a beach by playful young relatives.


Some acts are entertaining even before they come on, just by their outlandish names!

However did a band come to call themselves Bananaramamamamianananeeneenoonoonananananayckroyd?
That's rather hard to pronounce - or announce! Still, with their spirited performance of "Robert de Niro's Waiting, Knowing You; I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost Fernando, Knowing Me", they had a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, of which the audience of course knew all the words and sang along with gusto.

And by what weird journey did a group arrive at a name like Packs? They Promised Us Jet! ? (They acknowledge their musical indebtedness to The Tourists, by the way.)

Some band names are frankly unsettling;
I Mop Ark'm Ax strikes me as a bit macabre! Surely, it's a reference to Batman's home Gotham City's Arkham Asylum: prison for the criminally insane, notorious for their violent offences? Are they talking about cleaning a murder weapon here? It's not a name I could feel comfortable using, myself!
Their album titles continue that sinister theme, with "Earthly Plea: Sure Sour!" and "Ace R: Taint Rigger". Who is 'Ace R', and what taint has he rigged?
It doesn't sound pleasant, nor bode well for the citizens of Gotham.
Yet this gang seemed like pussycats on stage, joking around and even handing out Penguin bars. A bit of a riddle..

By contrast,
Nic's TreeT*p-Reachers' Ma is an odd name, sure; but harmless and homely, wholesome, even uplifting. Their light-hearted "Out! Olé! Rate this 'Ify'!" always gets a laugh and raises a smile, as it did this time for me and several hundred gleeful thousand fans.

Regrettably the Coffee Stop cafe which I described  previously has closed.
This is sad but in the present economic situation very understandable.

Allison the proprietress has now taken another job, and we wish her well, with thanks for her hospitality and helpfulness - and great food!

I am not sure what is to happen with the premises - whether they will be taken over as a going concern, be refurbished still as a cafe, or become something else.

Meanwhile the two monthly events, Prayer in Unity and Yes-U-Are, which used to be hosted in the cafe, are continuing elsewhere.

Life moves on!