"The Best it's ever been, be this good again..."

I always look forward to end of year lists of friends records, especially friends who I don't see that often who may have discovered a gem that I may have missed.

I have decided to list my 10 fave musical recordings, my fave gigs, my fave wildlife sightings and places I visited this year.

Hands down my fave album of the year is...

Helen Chambers - Penny Arcade 

http://shop.specialistsubjectrecords.co.uk/products/528428-helen-chambers-penny-arcade-cd-digital-preorder 

Closely followed by...

Young Conservatives - S/T https://youngconservatives.bandcamp.com/

Prawn - Kingfisher topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kingfisher

Failures Union - Tethering failuresunion.bandcamp.com

Echo & The Bunnymen – Meteorites www.bunnymen.com/

Personal Best – The Lovin’ personalbest.bandcamp.com/

Protectors – Soul & Fire is all we ever need protectors.bandcamp.com/

Owen – Other peoples’ songs owenmusic.com/

Stay Clean Jolene – S/T http://staycleanjolene.bandcamp.com/

Dolly Parton – Blue Smoke dollyparton.com/

My fave gigs:

Out of Spite 2014

Echo & The Bunnymen - Oxford 

Gregory Porter - Brecon Jazz

Failures Union - Undertone Cardiff

Helen Chambers - Le Pub
Dolly Parton - St David's Hall Cardiff
Gregory Porter - St David's Hall
Echo & The Bunnymen - Cardiff Uni
Pale Angels & Luuv - Le pub
Thousand Arrows - Last Gig at Moon

My wildlife highlights:

Seeing Puffins, Seals, Dolphins, Porpoise, Peregrines, Guillemots, Razorbills, Wheatear, Red legged Partridge, Chough, at RSPB South Stack

Seeing my first Weasel crossing the road near Barmouth

Seeing Little Ringed Plover and Chicks at Parc Slip

Seeing my first dog otter at Hamwall 

My fave places I visited:

South Stack

Holyhead - Holy mountain

Lisbon - Staggersaurus Rex

Barmouth - Hendre Fechan Cottage 
Ham Wall & Shapwick Heath

Merry Chrimbo & Happy New Year 
One Love
Stubbs
xx

Crudely Drawn Christmas

I have since my 100 bird year triumph, struggled to see many new species.

I recently went in search of Goshawks at Cwmcarn forest drive and failed miserably barring what we call a little bit of jizz, not enough to be sure.

I have sort of stuttered along still really enjoying what I do see regularly but not seeing anything new.

I also hit a bit of a wall creatively and stopped drawing for a bit too.

After a walk on the weekend in the beautiful winter sunshine I decided to commemorate the idyllic scene of a Robin having a little wash in a puddle after foraging for food on the muddy path.

I think what I need next from all the literature I have read is to get better at identifying birds by their song.

I have also been enjoying the newly renovated Eastern Prom at Barry Island, and think it would be a fab place for impromptu acoustic gigs...

I would love to have a beach hut


















I also went to see my faves Echo & The Bunnymen with one of my oldest friends the enigma Gary Pliers in Cardiff. Another sterling set with all the hits.

I am really enjoying this record Kingfisher by Prawn which ties in nicely to the blog too.



"We are Old Souls, In New Skin"

I am very much looking forward to Out Of Spite Festival next week a long running Leeds DIY Punk Rock and craft Ale all-dayer featuring:

The newly reformed Milloy http://milloy.bandcamp.com/

Also Young conservatives https://youngconservatives.bandcamp.com/ who I am yet to see live and naturally pretty excited.

As well as Protectors who have a great new album out
http://protectors.bandcamp.com/

And a new band called Stay Clean Jolene featuring members of the much loved Leif Ericsson & The Great St Louis http://www.bombedout.com/

Screaming from beneath the waves...

The other night I finally got to see one of my fave bands ever, Echo & The Bunnymen at Oxford O2. I have always liked them, however, in more recent years I have delved into their early work, and the deeper I delved, the more I adored them. 

I would say their earlier work is the best and I was apprehensive about seeing them live, thinking they wouldn't play that much old material. 

Ocean Rain and Crocodiles are masterpieces in my opinion, I also like the s/t album and I liked the stuff they released in the 90's as that's when I first got into them Nothing ever lasts forever era. 

I hadn't been to the venue before, but I had heard good things from my bro, who had seen Dinosaur Jr. there. We arrived very early, as it was advertised as an early gig, over by 10. 

I've never been one for standing right at the front, but for The Bunnymen after waiting all these years to see them I decided to. So we got to the venue for doors at 6, and got a place right on the barrier, at the front.

Support was from Black Submarine, which feature Nick McCabe and Si Jones formerly of the Verve. I already had the album which I like, they didn't disappoint they are very very 90s sounding though. They buzzed through a set of tracks from the album. They are very bass driven and sound like a less dancey Lamb, elements of Portishead too. The venue was pretty empty though which didn't create much atmosphere due to  the early start.

The Bunnymen kept us waiting and I wouldn't have expected anything else. About half an hour after the stage time, by now the venue was pretty packed. The lights went down, a choral piece kicked in loud.... The unmistakable sillohette of Ian McCulloch Swaggered to centre stage, through the smoke and blue glow.

The opened with the title track from the new record Meteorites the sound was pretty massive, they then kicked in to one of my fave tracks from Ocean Rain Nocturnal Me it sounded banging. They rattled through a set containing some of my fave tracks, Mac was struggling all the way through with a sore throat he was drinking honey, yet smoking an electric fag and caning the red. He had a bit of banter with the crowd, when a few Man City chants came over. 

I personally thought they sounded great and loved every minute they had to restart one song a few times as he wasn't happy that people were talking and in the end scratched it all together.






Stand out tracks included: My Kingdom, The Cutter, Killing Moon and they closed the set with Ocean Rain, probably my favourite which I had given up hope of them playing by encore two.

"All hands on deck at dawn, 
Sailing to sadder shores, 
Your port in my heavy storms, 
Harbours the blackest thoughts."