music and gardens and robins and crap venues and promoters and stuff....

I've been to some gigs lately where the topness of the popness has been nastily discoloured by the shenanigans of the promoters and venues. I went to see Piney (country-pop!) Gir at a venue where they threatened to pull the gig 3 days before the show cos they hadn't sold enough advance tickets. Needless to say plenty of people turned up on the door despite the fact that the venue had done nothing to promote the show. What does a promoter do mummy? A promoter promotes the show - ideally....And then another gig a couple of days ago I went to see the Paper Dolls - an American 2 girl/2 boy punker band - they'd booked themselves a show at a venue where there were 8 bands on in an evening - all given half hour slots and speedy turn-a-rounds. They got no guest list and if they didn't get at least 4 paying customers then they wouldn't be allowed to play! Phew! they got five....but they were 10 minutes late back from getting dinner and almost had their show pulled anyway. Again a show that wasn't promoted anywhere. Secret shows are meant to be for big famous bands not baby venues in the middle of nowhere....Anyway. Music should be about bands and not crap promoters.
anyway - across the road from the Piney gig on the way home i met Betty and the Werewolves, well I met the three lady Werewolves (werewolvettes?). Betty (drummer-boy) was elsewhere. The Werewolves are lovely ladies who always seem to be happy as though they're on pop-ecstasy permanently, they travel in a gang and chirrup like the fairies in Pogles Wood. Live they're very cutie-pop/c-86ish...but without so much lo-fi ness....sort of Shop Assistants without the fuzz and Vaselines without the bloke singing. It's like a mathematic equation between glittery and perkiness and guitars. it's good.
Yesterday was Sunday. A day of rest but no...My garden has been neglected for about 2 years. It has two years build-up of leaves and fallen twigs and general nature grot. So I start clipping and raking and brushing and bagging. As I garden two little Robins follow me around beady eyed - I think I'm inadvertently exposing gloom-bathing slugs and worms - HURRAY! say mr and mrs robin. It's lunch-time! I feel like Mary Poppins or Snow White but maybe not so neat and tidy. Especially I don't feel so neat and tidy when I kneel in a lump of cat-poo when I'm bagging up leaves....thanks Maggie the plopsie-cat....
End result - EIGHT bin bags stuffed with stuff. I think now i've feng-shuied (um - tidied..) my garden the pop will flow easier.
xx Delia xx

artrocker.

I've not been here for quite a while. I used to write for Artrocker magazine but got the boot. Not enough written about Babyshambles I think. I used to have various thoughts about Artrocker and didn't agree with everything they did but thought there was definitely some good stuff going on. I stayed at Artrocker despite being given other options because of loyalty. Durrr to me - that'll teach me...The way I got the sharp elbow and the fudged mumbly excuses about it all made my opinion of Artrocker way (way) lower. I'm talking about the magazine here and not the website or the mail-out. These are edited 'controlled' (if you like) by different people. Anyway. I was sad and bitter and angry and twisted and rather than beat anyone up or harangue people in public (or private) I sulked and sulked and sulked and didn't/couldn't write anything for anybody. But. I'm gonna try again cos I would look pretty stupid with no nose.
xxx Delia xxx