Due to snow, the Viking Moses gig was cancelled last Friday. Boo hoo.
All is not lost! We can re-live a sweet unforgotten night, ten months yonder, instead. That's when I last saw the wandering minstrel. Boy, can he bellow a belting tune.
Let's set the scene. It's February 2010, the land is white and the air has a nip to it. A Viking on tour brings a gargantuan freeze. Yep, snow fell in inches instead of sprinkles and the UK reacted in traditional form. Transport halted. Wellies were donned. Beings made out of snow crept up from the ground. A great national skive took hold. Snow creatures with wonky eyes and missing arms became our icy leaders. The masses moaned about disruption. Communities came together. The British enjoyed a long-winded grumble about spending a day or two off work and the risks of skidding on temporary ice. The pretence of hardship and suffering, combined with slightly unusual weather, provided high grade conversational fuel. It provided new, but not fancy, common ground for discussion, with no threat or promise of personal disclosure.
By the time of the gig, the snow had just melted. The 'snow beings' had sunk into the soil. The water table sat beneath us, enjoying the cold smiles of those that briefly and pleasantly governed. I was living in dry rot removal hell and any reprieve was welcome. While I had a place to rest my head, it wasn't resting easy. The place I called home was not a home. Fortunately, when an evil force - in this case, uncaring, mean and idiotic landlords - unnecessarily attacks a core element of life, the good in this world can still twinkle brightly.
Shhh! Promotions provided a night of twinkling and sparkling wonder. It was Shhh! Promotions first venture into the world as providers of musical entertainment. With monumental effort and a loss of £50, they hosted a night to remember. We sat in cosy rows in the upstairs of The Marlborough Theatre, Shhh! Promotions gushed forth with several small speeches and 3 bands provided us with a night of warm and welcoming songs, from the heart instead of hell.
While those that made up Golden Ghost were a delight, and Viking loves them dearly, we were there to worship the vocal output of a mock Norseman. We had one thing on our minds. The rest to us was lovely wrapping, holding together the precious gift within. An entourage is no doubt good for a man that wanders the world. Viking Moses draws an audience to those he holds dear and he does it every time. Laura Goetz (Golden Ghost) and Brendon Massei (Viking Moses) drift from venue to venue, from city to festival, side by side, happy propping each other up, with barely a penny to get by.
With Viking Moses taking his place at the drums, the Golden Ghost feature show was ready to go. Laura Goetz took centre place, casually dressed in blue jeans and a yellow vest. She looked so naturally pretty, it hurt. She had the same shy and sweet friend along as at End of the Road (2007). Despite having seen her perform twice, I can find no record of 'the girl that sweetly hums backing sounds' anywhere online. Her voice and presentation sits in perfect contrast to Brendan's. It sits softly against Laura's.
The set was as about as informal as those who performed it. Laura Goetz wove gentle tales to the sound of her acoustic guitar and Sweetly Humming Girl sweetly hummed. Viking Moses added a rumbling drone and then, from out of nowhere, his voice exploded. Who needs a microphone? Not Brendon. His perfect harmonies, in deep baritone, vibrated throughout the room and echoed on for eternity. He owns a tremendous warble.
At the show’s end, Brendon Massei complimented the promoter, "If this is your first night, how you gonna beat it?" We left the venue with a warm glow to fill our hearts. Cold and evil were kept at bay.
Fabpants Recommends:
Active Child finally has a video to support the leading track of the wonderful Curtis Lane EP. It's one of those EPs that you can listen to like an album, playing it over and over again. I've been treating myself to its beauty in lovely little interludes over the past few months. The website tells me that NME have declared that 'She Was A Vision' is one of the Best Tracks of 2010. I have no reason to argue! See what you think.
Download MP3: Active Child - She Was A Vision (courtesy of stereogum.com)
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