Blog: Poptimism/Gresham Flyers

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This Saturday for, i think, the third year in a ROW i was NOT watching the Dr Who Finale when it was broadcast, as I was going OUT. I don't know why this keeps happening - it's not like I am a regular goer-out on a Saturday night, but I set off once again for POPTIMISM not knowing what on earth was going to happen.

Well, OK, I had SOME idea, having foolishly read SPOILERS, like I always do and regret it, but the full picture ELUDED me. I arrived at POPTIMISM to find Mr S Hewitt ALONE in a basement covered in truly GHASTLY pictures (the cellar bar of The Cross Kings, where Poptimism takes place and where our Press Launch next week will also be happening, has been DONE OVER with a TERRIBLE mural depicting scenes of "hell" as seen through the eyes of a 14 year old heavy metal fan with wrists WEAKENED from Other Activities - CURTAINS, apparently, are on order) wandering round on his own as, it turned out, THE ENTIRE NATION was sat at home watching Dr Who.

It's lovely that, isn't it? Five years ago you'd not have BELIEVED that Dr Who would EVER be so very massive, and also so very GRATE - i DID watch it when I got home from the pub and it was UTTERLY BRILL. Exciting and funny and daft and MENTAL and with crying bits and also GOOD in all senses of the world. As usual I went online this morning and got depressed, AS USUAL, by the idiots on Certain Doctor Who forums complaining stupidly about it (why do people who don't know what "deus ex machina" MEANS keep saying it?). MEMO TO SELF: Next year, TRY and avoid!

ANYWAY people gradually arrived and we sat around having a DELIGHTFUL chap, during which I discovered that the Posadists are a movement combining UFOlogy with Trotskyism. For some reason this pleased me IMMENSELY.

I had to tear myself away from the CHAT, also BEER, and head down the road to The Water Rats to go see The Gresham Flyers. I arrived to find it was a MAD night with about a MILLION bands playing, with the act on stage being trailed as "Morrissey's favourite support band." You could see why - a trilling screeching howling woman dressed like a cartoon throwing herself around playing whoopy keyboards acoompanied by a drummer in one of those little Shoreditch hats. It was all very exciting and dramatic and you could see why the audience who'd come to see her (mostly the kind of very slightly odd looking men of a certain age who probaby have VERY clear views on both Dr Who AND Posadism) really liked it, but it's ALSo the sort of thing that LOSES me very quickly. Yes, it's all DYNAMIC and DIFFERENT but it doesn't DO anything. You remembered the strange frocks and gyrations, but none of the actual sounds.

But still, the odd chaps liked it and CHEERED for ENCORES for TEN WHOLE MINUTES - despite the lights coming on, background music being played, the singer herself coming back on and taking off all her gear, it took The Gresham Flyers setting up to make them realise that, on a night with 500,000,000 bands playing, MAYBE the ten of them shouting wouldn't bring her back on.

This was good for me, as I'd not seen the Flyers for AGES and was EAGER to see them NOW. I stood with Mr C Gilmour and MARVELLED at quite HOW very EXCELLENT they are now - last time I saw them there was a LOT of changing round of instruments, which I personally find All Well And Good In The Practice Room, but REALLY distracting in The Live Arena, which has now calmed down A LOT. In my opinion they could just stop it all together - Thom and New Drummer Guy are such an OBVIOUS and GRATE rhythm section together it feels WRONG to see them parted.

Also in the time since I last saw them there seems to have been a Great Relaxing amongst them, as suddenly it all looked like LOTS of FUN - I always think the KEY to a good band is when the band members A) look at each other GRINNING throughout and B) sing along when they don't have. Everyone was dancing, everyone was happy, and it brought the TUNES rollicking out to the front. It was EXCELLENT, and the fact that Waz was sporting a Back To The Future-ESQUE DOUBLE TIES was pretty much the icing on the cake.

I dashed off as soon as they'd done, which lead to a good evening being topped off by making the last Easy Train home with 2 minutes to spare! HOORAH for Saturday nights!

posted 7/7/2008 by MJ Hibbett

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