Tucking into the new normal with The Rebel in Brixton
It's been a while. Six long months in fact. Yep, up until earlier this week it had been a mind-boggling six months (approximately 2,300 days I think) since I'd last been to a gig. No live music for half a year! Incredible. Anyway, that's all behind me now. Hurrah! I've plunged into the new normal of socially-distanced gig attendance. Masks, sitting at tables, card-only payments, getting kicked out at 9.30 - the brave new world of toned-down, COVID-compliant live musical entertainment. In fact, by "plunged in" I actually mean: I've been to one thing - a gig at the Windmill in Brixton by The Rebel. Just taste the familiarity! Yes, for me, seeing The Rebel during one of his now well-established residencies at the Windmill is the equivalent of my now-departed dad going along with his cronies to a jazz "free-and-easy" at a working men's club in the midlands in the 1980s. Yeah, downright cosy. But then again, these are unusual times ...
For sure, The Rebel's well worth seeing. As anyone who's previously had the minor misfortune of stumbling across this blog will probably know, I'm actually a firm admirer of The Rebel/Ben Wallers' stuff (see past posts here and here). And I've also got a long association with the Windmill. No, I'm not really complaining. It's (mildly) ironic that I should break my gig fast with this particular show (which was excellent), but the world of live music has been upended and you can't exactly choose from a wide range of options these days. When the nationwide coronavirus lockdown began in March, I blogged about the weirdness of having absolutely no gigs to go to. Now, reporting back after my longest (I think) no-gig period for more than 30 years, I can happily say that ... normal service has been resumed. Or at least the new normal service has. And what about the music? The rebellious Rebel? Am I not going to say anything about that? Actually, no. In previous Rebel posts I've probably said all I possibly can about his Fall-meets-Burroughs anti-country dirges and his "all human life must be destroyed" misanthropy (or pseudo-misanthropy). The Rebel/Country Teasers' approach has always been good, and if anything this music and this overall feeling seems especially pertinent in a time of widespread angst and political conniving (sour times, to quote Portishead). So while I'm not exactly "gonna sink my teeth into some barbecue", I am gonna stay tuned for more Rebel gigs, more shows at the Windmill (which is programming gigs when all around is coronavirus chaos), and more (decent) live music wherever I can find it. And on that note, here's a video of The Rebel doing his thing, courtesy of my companion on the night - Olly Sprague. Music as played by The Rebel - what does it all mean? Simple. It only means what it says / It only means what it says ...
Comments
Post a Comment