CucosBlog

Going to gigs is knackering. By the time I had met Antony outside the Scala in King’s Cross, I was already painfully tired. Why? Well I think there were 2 factors involved: 1) the new Puma trainers I was wearing - nice to look at but just nowhere near as comfy as my Van skateshoe blobs 2) the effects of smoking grass the evening before.

You know, I’m finally and quite literally waking up to the fact that, for all the many hours of pleasure that I have enjoyed getting high, it certainly does sap my energy levels and motivation.

Recently as I reflected on my student days, I realised how very little I did at university. That institution sends me fundraising junk every other week, and the one I got yesterday featured a day in the life of a student. I’ll paraphrase it fairly objectively: 6am wake up grateful for another day at this prestigious university. Rowing practise. 9am meet my tutor to discuss how well my work is going this term. 10am lectures. 12.30 lunch - mmm not bad really quite delicious. Chat with friends and talk about what we’re going to do this weekend. Then it’s into the library. 4.30pm Just going to finish off the next chapter before I call it a day. 6pm Walked back to my room through the quad to the strains of the choristers singing. 11.45pm lights out and I fall asleep - grateful for another day at this university supported by my bursary.

I remember seeing people around who seemed to be living like this, I was not one of them.

Here was my typical student day: 12 midday leisurely start to the day with breakfast and CD appreciation instead of attending lectures 4pm Go to the library to read a critical analysis of Chekhov. 5pm wake up with dribble down my cheek in a poor mood. 7pm Go round to my dealer’s house off the Cowley Road. Reflect on how fortunate I am that they were holding. Return to my flat nearby and smoke a joint in the kitchen listening to Fly Ashtray. Make pasta. 9pm watch Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. 11pm Watch a 70s film. My girlfriend’s staying over. Wooooo!

OK so we’re still outside the Scala. Sorry about that. What’s amazing about the Scala is that it’s a huge building and yet the venue deep inside its bowels is only big enough for 500 people. What are they doing with the rest of it?

I never got the name of the support band, and I almost liked them. I think they were an English band, and Alexander Tucker was doing back up vocals. Antony surmised, correctly I think, that it was a recently thrown-together outfit. This was because the band leader and singer would occasionally be reminding some of the musicians what the fuck was going on. It was sort of very melo/dramatic art rock with epic tendencies. Interestingly, no guitars. Which made the sound too smooth for me.

Earth are a reliable proposition. Ever since I missed them warming up for Sunn O))) in December (see review) I was intrigued and managed to get hold of some of their records. Since Hex, they seem to have hit their natural groove: slow, repetitive instrumentals with twangy guitar and dead slow drums. I know you love “sort of like a cross between”s so I’ll say they’re sort of like a cross between Codeine and Ennio Morricone. They did their thing and I did mine. I detected enthusiasm from the band, who played an encore of Nelly the Elephant before each stepping down off the stage and shaking hands with every single member of the audience. Only joking. Not that anyone’s even reading this.