Too Much Apple Pie?

Well, I hope you have over indulged as much as I have and I'm not the only one feeling like a right fat pig.

The turkey turned out perfectly moist, everything worked out well. You can keep your Heston's, Jamie's et al for fool proof instructions has to be the domestic goddess, no not that pretender,  the daughter of that fuck wit of an ex Chancellor of the Exchequer. I mean Delia, I have never had any disasters when following her instructions and Sunday was no exception.

It is about the 27th that I start to yearn for some peace and quiet, however due to the fact that Lynn has a rather large family and my folks decided to spend Christmas in Colchester,  I can not go back into anti-social git mode until the 29th when Stiff and I will be attendance when Mr Gedge and Co take to the stage in Glasgow which I'm sure will be on a par with every other Wedding Present gig we've gone to 90 minutes of blistering guitars and songs of love and break up and then goodnight. We will leave satisfied and looking forward to the next time.

The Wedding Present - Kennedy (Live Sheperd's Bush Empire)

I'm From Further North Than You

Lets start the week off with the second single from what is probably my favourite Wedding Present album, it is certainly the one that I play all the way through the most.

Mr Gedge is second to none in producing rhyming couplets on the subject of love and loss.

The version posted is the 7" single version which was remixed by Klee  a band from Cologne whose singer Suzie Kerstgens can be heard duetting with Gedge on the track.

The Wedding Present - I'm From Further North Than You (Klee remix)

The question is what's going *in* Mr. Peterson. A beer please, Woody

Not so much a what your drinking tonight as to where. I used to love Cheers wouldn't go out on a Friday night until it was finished. We used to have a local that we all thought was a bit like that but looking back it was just full of student jakies, disillusioned folk in their twenties/thirties and a money grabbing bastard of an owner, still it was home.

Cliff: Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Have a good weekend people.


The Wedding Present  - Theme From Cheers

Take Me

On Thursday night me and a mate braved the Arctic conditions to venture into Glasgow (the temperature gauge in the car read -13) to see David Gedge's latest incarnation of The Wedding Present.

The performance consisted of the Bizarro lp played in it's entirety as it is 21 years since it was released, it really is and a smattering of other classics. As Gedge said himself rather modestly "couldn't possibly play all the classics, ther's too many " or words to that effect. This meant that at least one fan went home slightly disappointed as his constant requests for Flying Saucer were in vain.

I don't think that I have ever seen a bad performance by "the boy Gedge" and co and Thursday night did not disappoint. They played what can only be described as a blistering,  full throttle 90 mins and then they were gone absolutely fucking brilliant. The three quarters full, if that, crowd, left the QMU happy.

While walking back to the car Stiff and I were ruminating over the fact that a band as consistently good as the Wedding Present were playing venues the size of the QMU and not at the very least the Barrowlands. However after thinking further on this, that is what makes Wedding Present gigs special the size of the venue and seeing Gedge mill about talking to fans before and after the gig.

Here is the studio version of the highlight track of the night for me.

The Wedding Present - Take Me!

Keeping It Peel, Number 7

Today's choice in my Peel session is by "the boy Gedge", another favourite of Peel's who recorded 22 sessions, combining The Wedding Present and Cinerama appearances.

The amount of sessions meant that I was spoilt for choice when it came to picking a track, first of all should it be the Weddoes or Cinerama?  Should I pick one of Gedge's original compositions, one of his wonderful interpretations of other people's work, bizarrely including a track by faux Russian lesbians tATu, or one of the Ukranian folk songs.

After long deliberation I've chosen something from the 12th and final Wedding Present session mainly due to the fact that the track comes from the album which I play more than any other Wedding Present album these days Take Fountain the album Gedge decided to resurrect The Wedding Present after a 7 year hiatus. Some of the tracks which would appear on this album were previewed during the final 2 Cinerama sessions in June 2003 and January 2004.

Peel himself when airing  final session said "Well, I think that this session has been as good as anything they've done over the years" and I for one am not going to argue with the man.

The Wedding Present session 12 recorded 22nd July 2004, aired 21st September 2004

Tracklisting: Blue Eyes, Ringway To Seatac, Shivers, Queen Anne and White Horses.

The Wedding Present - Ringway To Seatac