According to Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopaedia, NEVERLAND is a place where “people may cease to age; therefore, Neverland is often seen as a metaphor for eternal childhood (and childishness), immortality and escapism”. That’s as may be, but last night it was a place where I was treated to some of the best live music I’ve heard this year!
Neverland, the band, have been around for a good few years now but I’m sure some of the magic of J. M. Barrie’s Neverland has touched them... the music is ageless, the power and enthusiasm of the musicians stronger than ever. Last night’s gig was quite simply brilliant! If there was one minor disappointment for me it was the lighting and the floor of the gig room. The lighting, and dry ice, was way too atmospheric for my little camera to cope with; all the people dancing and bouncing around made the floor move enough to blur any photos I did try and get! In short... it was amazing!
The good photos were bad - the bad ones, terrible!
The set the band played lasted for almost 2 hours (I didn’t time it) and was made up of 23 tracks. It’s hard for me to single out any one track as being “the one” that stood out - I love ALL of their music - but, as ever, Stars and the Blues made a lasting impression. The opening track of the night, Out, was getting it’s first live play and it looks to be on it’s way to becoming a Neverland classic. It’s dark, it’s heavy, it’s mysterious - it’s Neverland at their best!
By the end of the night I was rather thankful of all the cycling that I now do, my legs and lungs stood up rather well to all the dancing, and bouncing, around that I subjected them to. That, or the Neverland magic, touched me - who knows? The full set list was...
OUT - a new track THE DAY THE GENIE CAME TO TEA KEBAB NO MORE THE HUNTER DOOM GARDEN JELLY FISH BLUES THE SHIP BELIEVE SEAGULLS - another new track ELEPHANTS CAN’T DANCE THIRTEEN - another new track NEVER LEARNED TO SPEAK THE FIRE CRADLE THE HEARTMAN HELLO (TOMORROW IS HERE) CALL ME MONSTER CARTOON PLANET - another new track IF I WERE YOU - another new track BETWEEN THE MOON AND THE SEA ROSES I THINK I’M GONNA BUY A CAR EARTH DANCE (ADE’S JIG)
I’m still having trouble finding time for birding but I did manage to get out for a few hours on Tuesday. I spent a couple of hours in the morning walking the streets of Ilkeston in search of Waxwings, but I failed to locate them! Three birds had been reported the afternoon before, in what is becoming a bit of a hot spot for them each winter, but the birds had obviously moved on or found some hidden corner in which to feed. Hopefully, as the winter continues, other Waxwings will turn up inside my 10-Mile Zone.
In the afternoon, in an attempt to rescue something from the day, I headed off to an area that often holds wintering Short-eared Owls. To pass a little time before going for the owls I stopped off at St. Chad’s Water, between Draycott and Long Eaton. This small lake falls nicely within my listing area but, unfortunately, didn’t provide me with any new species. That said, it was still a pleasant visit with some good birds to see. In a little under two hours I recorded 34 species and, more importantly, got some close views of many of them.
St. Chad's Water.
Birds of note included 3 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Tufted Duck, 3 Goosander, 8 Common Gull, 40 Black-headed Gull, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Fieldfare, 12 Redwing, 12 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Yellowhammer, 60 Linnet and 1 Bullfinch. A male Mute Swan on the lake also deserves a mention if only because it tried to drag me into the water by grabbing hold of my trouser leg! Such a friendly lot they are in that part of the world.
The owls? They failed to show. I had hoped that the weather we had last weekend would have pushed them down from the Derbyshire moors but birders are still reporting sightings of the owls up there this week. Like the Waxwings, I’m hoping the owls will also reappear over the next few weeks.
Sunset over St. Chad's Water.
Cycling
My cycling is now back into a routine again after the BHF sponsored ride, and I’ve managed to use the bike on all but two workdays. The first day I missed was due to a rather nasty grinding noise coming from the front fork bearings on the bike. This resulted in me having to strip the front of the bike down and clean out a worrying amount of Sherwood Forest from the bearings. Luckily, no long-term damage has been done and, after re-greasing the bearings, all is now well.
The second non-biking day was as recent as yesterday and was due to me managing to get yet another rear wheel puncture on the bike the previous evening. I’m not sure what I ran over, I was on a section of unlit river path at the time, but it certainly made a mess of things. In a split second I went from having a fully inflated tyre to having a very flat one, and a bike that was covered in green slime! The hole in the inner tube was way too large for the self sealing gel in my tyres to work and the air pressure just blew the stuff all over me and the bike. Remember Ghost Busters? It slimed me!
Today, things are back to normal again. I rode into work on the bike, being extra careful on the very icy paths, rode back from work on the bike and even managed a 5-mile sprint around Pride Park and Alvaston Park during my lunch break. The 16½ miles I did today means I’ve now covered a total of 910 miles since June 13. My target of 1,000 miles by the end of the year is now within sight.
Music
Just over a week ago Lynda and I went to the Oysterband gig in Derby. The Oysterband were as good as ever - they have, after all, been touring for 30 years now - and the support was equal to them. Anyone with a passing interest in the British folk rock scene will be aware of the Oysterband but the support act was new to me. It was Dan Donnelly, originally from Belfast and now living in New York. He played much of his set solo but was joined for a number of tracks by Alan Prosser of the Oysterband.
Dan Donnelly & Alan Prosser - Derby Assembly Rooms.
Tomorrow, we’re back in Derby for yet another gig - this time it’s Neverland. I’ve looked forward to, and enjoyed, some great gigs this year but this one is right up there with the best of them. It may well be the gig of the year for me! Since Neverland reformed back in 2004 I’ve tried to get to as many of their gigs as possible. Each one has been bigger and better than the last and tomorrow at The Royal has all the makings of a brilliant night. The band also has 5 new tracks that will be getting their first public airing. If you can’t get to the gig - and I strongly recommend you do - you can hear some of Neverland’s music on their MySpace site.
The Reasoning (acoustic) gig at Rotherham was good, the gig at Crewe great but the Bilston gig last night was simply awesome! In fact, I’d go as far as to say it was my best gig of the year - I even found my bouncy feet again when the band played Fallen Angels!The Reasoning are now well established on “the circuit” and the ever-growing band of followers are more than ready to let their hair down. This summer I’ve missed the Bluehorses crowd, and the fun we have, but The Reasoning have more than made up for it this past week!
Last night started off for me with a couple of minor problems... half way to Bilston I realised I’d forgotten my camera. Never mind, no time to turn back, live without it. Once at Bilston I hit a slightly bigger problem, the chip shop was shut! This was not so easy to live with! After walking the streets for a while, and even asking a Policewoman if she knew where I could get food, I came across a Chinese takeaway. A short while later I was back in the car eating a huge bag of chips and battered onion rings! Not gourmet stuff, but just what I needed.
As for the music, the evening started off with a support slot by new band RiverSea. This was their first live gig with a full sound system but you’d never have known it - they played one of the better support gigs I’ve seen in a long while. The band are still looking to add a bass player and a drummer to the line up - at the moment they are “getting by” with keyboards, acoustic and lead guitars - but the foundations are certainly in place. I’ll be watching out for more live dates in the future.
At 9:15PM The Reasoning started their set and from then until almost 11:00PM it was non-stop quality rock. The band played 13 tracks in all with the full set list being...
Sharp Sea Dark Angel Fallen Angels Aching Hunger Chasing Rainbows Shadows Of The Mind Call Me God Absolute Zero Breaking The 4th Wall How Far To Fall Talk To Me A Musing Dream Awakening
Best track on the night, for me, had to be Fallen Angels, the track that had me joining in with the bouncing! Rachel Cohen started it all off on stage, the crowd quickly joined in! Okay, we’re not quite talking Bluehorses quality from the “dance crowd” yet but it’s getting there!
Over the past week one track has taken a real turn with me, Call Me God. When I first heard this track, on the Dark Angel CD, I wasn’t sure what to make of it, having heard Rachel explain the song, and it’s meaning, I’ve seen (or should that be heard?) it in a whole new light. It’s now become one of my favourite tracks on the CD.
So, that’s the end of my own little “Autumn Chill” music tour for now. My next gig will be the Oysterband in a month’s time, quickly followed by the mighty Neverland - unless something else comes along in the mean time!
Just a very quick blog to give a “shout out” to a couple of things musical!
The first is to introduce you to a new band that have just started to record their first music and go public with it. Their name is Eden’s Hill and you can find them at....
Anyone that is familiar with the bands I follow will recognise one name in the Eden’s Hill line-up, the one and only Lizzie Prendergast!
As I say, it’s early days yet but if the first four tracks are anything to go by Eden’s Hill are going to be BIG!
If you do nothing else, check out the version of “Black Is The Colour” that is on the MySpace site - it’s just awesome!
If you have a MySpace page, please add the band as friends and leave them a message.
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Now onto my second “shout out” - not a new band this time, just a new track. The band is Neverland and the track is “Town With No Name”. Below is a video clip taken at "The Brewery Tap" acoustic gig that Adrian & Mick, from Neverland, did a couple of weeks ago.
You’ll have to forgive the quality of the filming as it was taken on my stills camera, and I’d also had a few beers by the time they played this song!
Again, Neverland have a MySpace page so drop by and take a look. They have some great music tracks on there too, including the superb “Stars And The Blues” - one of my all time favourite pieces of music!
It’s been a “fun packed” few days, one way or another! I’ve had to sit in on a disciplinary hearing at work (not mine, a work mate’s!) and I’ve had to go through the stress of one of the filter pumps breaking down again in the fish tank at work. This last happened back in February and almost cost us a lot of fish!
On the plus side, my mate gave me a rather nice bottle of malt whisky, as a thank you for my support, I was also able to get a new pump for the fish tank a lot quicker than in February and, due to the warmer weather, the fish didn’t suffer at all this time.
Yesterday things started to settle down again and I was able to get out birding for a few hours. Once again I took myself off to Willington Gravel Pits - Derbyshire’s premier birding site? I had been hoping to add both Wood Sandpiper and Ruff to my “10-Mile List”, as both species had been reported over the past 24 hours or so. As it happened, I didn’t locate either bird and had to make do with adding Water Rail to my list as a “heard only” tick.
The 4½ hours spent at Willington resulted in a total of 59 species being located with the most notable birds being Pochard, Common Buzzard, Greenshank, both Green and Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Kingfisher and Yellow Wagtail. A count of 300 Black-headed Gull was my 3rd highest ever for the site. The warmer weather also bought out a few butterflies with Red Admiral, Peacock, Large and Small White, Speckled Wood and Gate Keeper being seen.
The addition of Water Rail brings my “10-Mile List” to 133.
Last night I went into the centre of Derby for the “One Big Place” event in the Market Place. There had been live music and entertainment going on all day to mark the end of the Olympic Games and the handing over of the Olympic flag to Great Britain, but I was there to see NEVERLAND play a half hour gig starting at 7:30PM.
Neverland take the stage.
As usual, Neverland played a superb non-stop rocking set! I lost count of just how many tracks they played in their allotted time but I’m sure it will have been more than any other band/artist that played yesterday! This band ALWAYS give 100%. Highlight for me had to be the band playing “Stars and the Blues”. If every band had to have one track that they were known for then this would have to be the Neverland signature tune - it’s a classic!
After the Neverland set I hung around for some of Gabriella Cilmi’s show - well, she was headlining it all and is the latest “pop star” to hit the charts. My thoughts... good at what she does, none too bad to look at, but not my cup of tea music wise. The crowd seemed to enjoy what they saw but many of them looked to be less than half my age and I reckon that the “hype” had just a little to do with their reaction! Or am I just getting old?
At 9:00PM I headed off to The Brewery Tap pub for a drink or two and to meet up with some of the Neverland crew. Once again the Double Mash was my drink of choice, this time with whiskey chasers! Ah what the heck... it’s a Bank holiday weekend and I have all day today to recover!
Well, I’m back - I may not make too much sense, but at least I’m here! If this is all just a little random then blame it on the beer! Today has been one of those great Sundays that just happen along every now and again.
The day started somewhat later than a normal Sunday, I rolled out of bed at just before 10:00AM. After checking my e-mails and one or two web sites Lynda and I headed off into Derby for lunch. We chose to give the Chinese buffet a go at the May Sum Restaurant; I can highly recommend it! So far as eating out goes it was cheap - £6.90 each for as much as you can eat - the choice of dishes was very good, the food was excellent, the service first class and the atmosphere was good too. At the price, you can’t ask for any more. We enjoyed it and we’ll definitely be going back.
After eating (more than) our fill at May Sum it was time for a little window shopping around Derby - just to pass the time before heading to the pub! The reason for being in town on a Sunday afternoon? Adrian Dent and Mick Doyle, of Neverland fame, were playing an acoustic gig at The Brewery Tap, a recently renovated and re-opened pub overlooking the River Derwent. It’s the first time I’ve been in the pub but it won’t be the last. It’s a great little place!
As for the gig, it was one of the best I’ve been to for a while. Hearing Adrian and Mick cover so many of the Neverland tracks just as an acoustic duo was great; the weather was on it’s best behaviour which meant that they could play outside in the “courtyard” area; the crowd packed the place and made for a great atmosphere and the beer was pretty good too! In fact, the beer was very good! I can recommend a pint or two of “Double Mash” produced by the pub's owners, Derby Brewery Company. Lynda and I had a minor debate about just how many pints I had but hey, who’s counting!
As for the music, we were treated to almost 2½ hours of Neverland tracks, a couple of cover tracks and also five new tracks that will be getting an airing at future Neverland gigs. I tried making a list of everything that was played but somehow got one or two tracks wrong/down twice - I blame the beer! The tracks that I know for certain were played include....
Elephants Can Dance Doom Garden Jelly Fish Blues Roses The Talking Tree The Ship Town With No Name - (a new track) Kebab No More Cartoon Planet - (a new track) Thirteen - (a new track) Hey Joe - (a cover track) Seagulls - (a new track) Blood Goblin Rain Like Stars And The Blues Never Learned To Speak Summer Time - (a cover track) Up The Wall Shake This Way - (a new track) The Heartman Hello (Tomorrow Is Here) Gingerman - (I think that was what it was called!) Stoned As A Wall
I also gave Lynda’s new camera a test run for the first time - the results aren’t my best ever photos but I put that down to me having never used it before - and the beer! The camera also does video clips too - again, I’m sure it works better without the “Double Mash” ale!
I’ve just been checking one or two of the reports that my page hit-counter gives me and, over the past week or two, a single word, and also a string of words, has been pointing search engines my way. "Neverland" is the single word being searched; "Doom Garden Jelly Fish Blues" is the phrase being looked for. I guess it’s safe to say then that the world wants to know about the forthcoming Neverland gig at The Strawberry Moon Festival at Tittesworth Water, in Staffordshire, on June 28.
I have to be at work on the morning of the festival but the plan is to drive straight over to Staffordshire as soon as I can get away from my desk. Neverland aren’t on stage ‘til 5:00PM so I shouldn’t have any problem in getting there in time and, if the traffic isn’t too bad on the way, I hope to catch one or two of the bands that are playing before them.
For all of you searching the web for Neverland there’s all the info you need about the festival HERE!
Neverland - Rain Like Stars And The Blues.
Just over a week ago Lynda treated herself to a new camera, a Kodak digital compact, and this evening she had her first real play with it. More and more plants are starting to come into flower in the garden now so Lynda had a go at capturing some of the colour - I think the results are pretty good! I may even hand Lynda the job of providing all the photos for my Blog from now on; then again....
It’s a little early to say for certain but, if the weather is okay, I may well be at my first BriSCA F1 Stock Car meeting in over 15 years this coming Sunday. Peter Falding, one of the sport's top drivers, has a testimonial meeting at Coventry and it sounds like the perfect excuse for me to make a return to watching the sport I used to follow all over the country. If nothing else, it’ll be good to hear the roar of all those huge American V8 engines thundering around the track again.
Stock car on board with Dan Johnson at King's Lynn.
The good photos were bad - the bad ones, terrible!
