moving right along with some blogged micro-blogging

paint_monkey's log: just had an interesting txt from JR Kyle 'Gonzo' Clarke. apparently he has a surprise for/to show me this evening. ooh now, thats exciting. about 20 hours ago
 
paint_monkey's log: m'on A59 a few klicks east of gargrave. its a gonzo-monkey safari. heading toward The Forest of Bowland... standby for updates. about 18 hours ago
 
paint_monkey's log: i love the A59. it snakes through some stunning and sometimes epic vistas. and sheep, loads of sheep. about 17 hours ago 
 
paint_monkey's log: refuelling. checking charts. i make a mental note that a woman's shoes don't match her outfit. about 17 hours ago
 
paint_monkey's log: we've landed just over the border, behind enemy lines. it's a place called High Ben Tham in a strange place known as LanCasSHire. Francis Dunnery
is the man we're off to see. about 17 hours ago
 
[ed] gonzo was wide eyed and star struck at seeing this guy - he is a big fan, has all his albums etc etc. I had never heard of Francis Dunnery, but had vaguely heard of the band he used to front in the eighties;
"It Bites".
 
Francis Dunnery doesn't do the usual gig, no pubs, bars, clubs or stadiums for him, oh no. he performs in people's houses (he's been all around the world performing tis way for the last four years), bans the audience from drinking alcohol (he's a long term recovering type) and keeps it all intimate and friendly, (there were no more than 25 people watching him). It was an interesting experience for me, Francis spent as long explaining his motivations and the circumstances behind the songs he sings as he did singing. He is a thoughtful, occasionally witty and ponderous man, who reflects/projects his experiences in life directly back at the audience, commenting on relationships, failure, hope and faith with an abrupt frankness that is admirable. even if i did think he was talking shite, it was refreshing to be in an intimate one way dialogue with someone so painfully self aware.
 
To be honest, his music wasn't my cup of tea, a wee bit non-descript-acoustic-folk- that may just have been the album he was singing (Tall Blonde Helicopter)and i thought his voice was weak (but very distinctive) without any mic or a PA system to add some wellie...but it wasn't an unpleasant thing at all, i had a thoroughly enjoyable & brilliant time, but i did(using my film rating system) notice i had a numb bum about half way through the gig and at no point did the songs he sang make any hairs stand up on the back of my neck - ooh... except for his cover of Cat Stevens' Father & Son which he sang with delicacy and respect at the end - but i do have a notoriously naff taste in music and i was truly glazed over with free beer and ,ahem, special cigerettes... so that is no relection on him, his fans clearly think he is a genius. i'd probably go to see him again, if just for the unusual locations for the gigs...
 
i did consider taking some photos of the gig, but he himself made a philosophical point of how that particular gig would never be repeated, it wasn't filmed, photographed or recorded. The interpretations and versions of the songs he was singing were unique to that moment (Gonzo nodded), they were just for us and we appreciated them more for that i think.
I got the feeling that that is how Francis Dunnery likes it, and i'm not about to mess with another man's mojo. :)
 
paint_monkey's log: Francis Dunnery is the man we came to see. really special gig. might blog it, loads to ponder. now on drag home, warp 6, ETA Chmbrs 90mins about 13 hours ago
 
paint_monkey's log: was good to see JR Gonzo, sbeen ages. he's reliably remained the same all these years, only now he's married and looks like Salmon Rushdie. about 11 hours ago
 
paint_monkey's log: i slept soundly after the safari. i've got a headache behind my right eye though. about 3 hours ago
 
 
that is all. moving right along...