The Wedding Present and absolute joy

Sometime around 1984, I went to see Gary Numan at Hammersmith Odeon on his ‘Berserker’ tour. Just ‘round the corner was a pub where we went for a pre-gig drink and there, sat outside, I saw his bassist, sat on a picnic bench having a beer with some friends. I think that apart from Frank Carson, this was the first celebrity I’d even seen in the flesh.
 
<aside regarding Frank Carson>
While we were living in Hong Kong, Frank Carson came out to play a gig there. I know my folks didn’t know him so he must have been related in some way to one of their friends. Anyway, one way or another, Frank came to our house on Mount Kellett and, upon meeting him, I told him a joke. (I know.)
“How did the man get an electric shock walking along the street? He trod on a bun and a currant went up his leg!”
I guess Frank had heard this before – hell, he might even have written it – but he did not roar with laughter but simply corrected me that the man should have been in a baker’s shop.
Writing this, forty years later on, I can see that Frank might have been trying to help but I have to say that for the forty years prior to writing this, I have borne a grudge against Frank.
</aside regarding Frank Carson>
 
Over the years subsequent to seeing Gary Numan’s bassist drinking in a pub I have seen quite a few celebrities – mostly musicians at gigs – and for many years I would make a point of going to shake their hands, a practice that I have almost but not quite given up.  
 
This evening, visiting The Continental in Preston to see The Wedding Present play, I saw their front man, David Gedge, at a table in the bar, evidently having just eaten. Guys, I was tempted to go and say hi, to thank him for the happiness he has brought into my life, but then I thought maybe he just wanted to have a bit of quiet before the gig. (Although he could have brought a sandwich with him and eaten it backstage, which seems quite a Weddoes thing to do.)
 
Anyway, we had a few drinks and then, at nine-twenty, five minutes before show time, we went through to the back room where the gigs take place. The back room at the Conti is one of my favourite venues. I guess it holds two or three hundred people and it is perfect for a guitar band, where the noise fills the room such that you can feel like you are actually inside the songs.
 
As an aside, after the Minx and I saw The Wedding Present at the Trades Club at Hebden Bridge – one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to – I decided to take my son, Dan, to see them. A keen guitarist then (and a fine guitarist now) I thought it would be an education in guitar noise. Sadly, the Manchester Academy was too big and the submersion in the lake of guitar sound could not occur.
 
But I was confident they’d be great at the Conti. We saw Wire here a while back and it was incredible (and also the hottest gig I’ve ever been to. In fact, Colin Newman said the same thing from the stage. Truly, it was like being in a sauna). I would have brought Dan along but he is away with his mum, so it remained the regular gig team of myself and the Minx.
 
The only constant in The Wedding Present is the frontman, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, the aforementioned David Gedge, and there was a new band to meet, this evening. The bassist and guitarist were both excellent but my favourite was the new drummer*. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drummer that I’ve enjoyed more. Quite apart from his amazing drumming, I spent most of the gig watching his facial expressions. I think if you had been given drumming skills – Joe 90 style – immediately before the gig and then popped onto the drummer’s stool, his were the expressions you would have made. There was happy surprise, and smiles, and unalloyed joy, and the occasional grimace á la petit mort, and even an elated wink to David Gedge towards the end of the set.
 
The high points for me were predictable – ‘Click Click’, ‘Flying Saucer’, and the closer, ‘Kennedy’ – but hand on my heart I enjoyed every single song. And sometimes I worry that I’m becoming a gig curmudgeon but I really didn’t want this one to end. If they’d announced they were going to play for another hour, my joy would have been boundless.
 
   
Sadly, none of my photos of the drummer came out that well but I’ve uploaded the salvageable ones, anyway, as extras, because I think you can still detect the absolute joy.

* Post script, 01/08/17: This post got quite a few RTs on Twitter and one Andy Gillespie commented "Nice article, even though "new" drummer @CharlieHelden has been in the line up since the Bizarro 21 and even toured with TWP before Graeme." So, more 'new to me' than new, although I must have seen him twice and simply not noticed him behind the other musicians!

****
-10.1kgs
0 words