HW Space Ritual

[trev]

Yea, I recon Trev and Kev are the best band on the road in the UK at the 
moment.


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From: "Jonathan Jarrett" <jjarrett at CHIARK.GREENEND.ORG.UK>
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 3:26 PM
To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
Subject: Re: HW Space Ritual

> On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 07:40:42AM -0800, Steve Swann typed out:
>> I have to wonder what happened when I saw Nikwind (when he was backed
>> the Pressurehead guys) in NY years ago.  The band gave a great
>> performance and Nik was downright gentlemanly.  He freaking bowed to
>> the audience at the end, and in a very formal voice thanked us all for
>> attending!  It was a great show I wouldn't have thought twice about
>> going back to see them again.  And my wife saw Nikwind twice and she
>> said the show I missed was even better.
>>
>> And yet I always hear these stories about him being a loose cannon.
>> Did I just get lucky seeing that show??
>
> I think the explanation here is that Nik in the USA is a very
> different thing from Nik in the UK. To tour the USA Nik needs someone
> else to do the bulk of the work, and he tends to tour with bands who are
> bands in and of themselves, Pressurehed/Farflung, 5:15, Spaceseed and so
> on. They're all rehearsed and in practice before he arrives, the
> bookings are made and the dates known well in advance and so it unrolls
> professionally. And then in the UK he seems to gather a bunch of mates,
> many of whom should no longer be allowed on a stage for a paying public,
> together at the last minute, there is no rehearsal and either he and THE
> MIGHTY JUDGE TREV save the day or they can't (if, e. g. Trev isn't
> there). But people always come. So he can get away with much less effort
> (and works with some people for whom organisation and professional
> musiciansip is less of a concern than it is for Grenas and del Rio who
> both make their living at it) and so he doesn't try harder. Nik himself
> has always been when I've seen him a gentleman, friendly, and a quality
> frontman, often even playing well, especially when All Stars members
> were involved. But his bands in the UK are shambles and in the USA
> they're well-drilled units and that's the difference you're seeing.
>
> Somehow Space Ritual have never managed to climb above this
> problem despite being a band in and of themselves. Which is not to say
> that the new album isn't very good, because it is, but it's also a fine
> example of the miracle of what a good studio and producer can do for a
> ropey live outfit. Yours,
>   Jon
>
>
> -- 
> "When fortune wanes, of what assistance are quantities of elephants?"
>     (Juvaini, Afghan Muslim chronicler, c. 1206)
> Jon Jarrett, Fitzwilliam Museum, jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk
>