Chris Rea has started his car – mine on the other hand…
It’s always the case that school runs towards Christmas with a rictus grin, a mince pie in one hand and bottle of Valium in the other as the events and the students all combine in a frenzy for what seems like the whole month of December. But the end is in sight. Reports are written, assessments done, classrooms are decorated and even snow is on the ground (just adding to the chaos as children try to blind each other or freeze each other’s testicles). Amid all this I bid a sad farewell to my lovely electric car as winter’s icy grip reduced speeds to approx. 13 mph on any minor incline, left me completely blind as interior windows failed to defrost and the range went down from 40 miles to 20! Too many issues for me. Summer – wonderful. Winter – death… probably either from exposure or just driving into something. Very sad I am.
To cheer myself up I have been listening to The Sheepdogs, Golden Smog and The High Llamas. As ever…
Happy Christmas everyone and I’ll catch you on the other side.
Apologies if this the wong place for this but I’ve just been reading B.J.Barham’s (American aquarium) comments on the increasingly common practice of venues insisting on taking 20% of the merch takings at gigs. This has understandably forced artists to up the prices. Although B.J. is talking about the U.S. I’ve noticed at several recent London gigs that the price of cds is £15. Understandably hardly anyone seems to be buying them. I used to budget £10-£12 and often bought 2- 3 knowing the artists needs the cash. I have to travel for gigs (min £20)…and while I’m happy to buy drinks (often at high prices and poor choice) I don’t see why I should pay more than the going rate (see Amazon etc) when I’ve already spent the above. I think B.J. is now calling venues out with a notice informing punters of what ‘s going on. Hope he does it here in the spring tour and that others follow.
More examples of how artists are being squeezed and venues are now run by corporations rather than benefactors.