Blog: Hit The North

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I took the afternoon off yesterday, and at lunchtime was happily ensconced on the train to NEWCASTLE, where I had an appointment with ROCK. On the way up I occupied myself with some READING (currently STEAMING through The Pickwick Papers which is GRATE, except that it makes me want to pronounce the letter "V" as "W"... it's wery wexing) and also some HOMEWORK, listening to the current batch of recordings to work out what to play on the guitar and come up with some SUGGESTIONS of the String Arrangements. I had an (I THINK) dead good idea for Do More Eat Less, it is PETER AND THE WOLF TASTIC!.

After a while we got to Darlington, where I disembarked to meet Mr Bob Fischer, from BBC Radio Tees. We drove over to Middlesborough and had a LENGTHY discussion about Gigs, Doctor Who, and JOHN OTWAY, which was all rather brilliant. We parked near the BBC Studio, walked into, through, and out the other side of an office block (a short cut, apparently) then over the road into the BBC where we were soon in a studio having a CHAT, and where I did the following songs:

Hey Hey 16K

Never Going Back To Aldi's

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

I had a LOVELY time, as I'm sure will be in evidence when the show gets broadcast - not sure when that'll be, but i shall OF COURSE keep you INFORMED. Bob gave me a lift to Middlesborough station and from there I got the train back to Darlington and then on to Newcastle again.

The gig of the evening was occurring at Newcastle Arts Centre, which I found fairly easily. Soundchecks hadn't really started, so I popped round the corner for some Chip-based TEA then came back to have a read for an hour or so. I did a SUPER FAST soundcheck then went outside to see if anyone was coming. Rather brilliantly the whole KREW from Overground were there - Overground being the people who used to do radio plugging for AAS, as well as Sorted and Fortuna Pop. It was especially nice to see Lee from THEM, who I used to speak to quite often back in days of yore, but had never actually met, and me and he and John The Publisher sat down for BEER and CHAT, during which I was AMAZED to learn that Pear Cider is drunk my MEN in Newcastle. At the Peterborough Beer Festival it is called Perry and is drunk exclusively by The Ladies (especially those who have been dragged along by their significant others on the promise that "there are OTHER things apart from BEER" and so there's always a MASSIVE queue) - i may have gone on about this a bit too much tho... also in attendance were Dave and Susan, old pals of Tim's, lovely people and, in Dave's case, a fellow alumni of such LEGENDARY Bands as The Virgin Actress and The Torture Garden, which loom large in Mr Pattison's personal legend.

While I spoke to them Mr Ian Boddy was playing his AMBIENT set on the keyboards, but soon it was my turn to hit the stage, and THIS is what I hit it with:

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

The Gay Train

Never Going Back To Aldi's

Hey Hey 16K

Do The Indie Kid

It Only Works Because You're Here

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Easily Impressed

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself. There weren't a whole lot of people there, and with everyone spread out in sits around the Fairly Large room it felt like i was the auditionee for a BROADWAY SHOW, but they all seemed to enjoy themselves, and i LIKED it. Afterwards there was a good deal more CHAT before we all went and watched thirty minutes of EXTREME NOISE TERROR in the shape of JazzFinger, 50% of whom was Hass from Overground, making FEEDBACK. It was oddly restful - it was like a live recreation of the noise you get in your ears when you get home from a REALLY loud gig.

Afterwards we cleared off, me to John The Publishers to meet his cat, and then to KIP, sleeping SOUNDLY. This morning it was a quick nip to the station then a very EASY journey home, seeing The Angel Of The North on the way down - that's the second Anthony Gormley in a WEEK for me, as went and looked at Event Horizon at the weekend. ART REVIEW: Both THINGS were dead good. I got in to work just after lunch, slightly disbelieving that I'd been in the distant North just this morning, happy to have done so, and KNACKERED!

posted 23/5/2007 by MJ Hibbett

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