Spud :
Monday afternoon, the day of
the Grandaddy gig. A text message comes through from my mate,
Goic “what’s 
happening tonight?”
I reply : “we’re gonna drink crystal lakes wear beards”
“I’ll see you in the bar 7ish”
“I”
I decide to remind Dacky that
the gig is tonight, as he is prone to bouts of alcohol fuelled
amnesia.
Ring ring, ring ring. Dacky’s Mother answers in traditional
megaphone style.
“HELLO”
“Hello, is Graham there please?” I ask
“HELLO”
“Hello, can I speak to Graham please?” I repeat
“HELLO HELLO!”
“HELLO, CAN I SPEAK TO GRAHAM PLEASE?” I ask again
“NO NEED TO SHOUT”
“Im sorry. Is Graham there please”
“HELLO!”
“Ask Graham to ring Mark when he gets in will you please?
Thank you”
“HELLO!”
“Thanks again, bye!”
“HELLO!”
I hang up, safe in the knowledge that Dacky will get a message
to ring back sometime in September. That night I’m sitting
at the bar in the pub down the road from where I live, and I’m
waiting for Dacky and Goic to show. A bloke I know, who likes
a drink, but has no particular interest or knowledge of music
in general, asks where I’m off to.
“Going up the town” I reply.
“What for?”
“Bands”
“What for?”
“To listen to them.”
“Jesus, you getting married again?”
“No, ‘bands’ not ‘banns’”
“Oh!”
At this point I’m thinking that this conversation is a bit
pointless but I decide to proceed anyway. I take a deep breath.
“Grandaddy!”
“You look too young for all that.”
“No, ‘Grandaddy’” I repeat. “They’re
a band, called Grandaddy”
“Another bloody mouth to feed!” he mumbled, as he wandered
off to sit down. Just then Goic and Dacky came in, and I was
glad to have someone to talk to that spoke the same language
as me.
After a couple of drinks we took a taxi up to Newcastle City
centre, which is about 6 miles from where we live. On arriving
at the University of Northumbria, where the gig was to be held,
we were surprised to see that the doors were still closed and
people were milling around outside. The doors had been due to
open half an hour earlier but the delay was due to “Tekiknal
problems”, as we were told by the doormen. While standing
around freezing I spotted Spaceface, who waved me over to meet
her husband, Robin. It was the second
time in seven days I had met up with Spacey, as we had both been
to the NME, JJ72/Starsailor/Amen/Alfie gig the previous Monday.
I was with Mrs spud and eldest daughter Katie, and Spacey was
with her friend Wendy. Anyway, it was nice to meet Robin, who
had been brought in as a late substitute for Wendy who wasn’t
too well. When we got talking he told me that he hadn’t
heard too much of Grandaddy, in fact he didn’t go out to
many gigs these days, not unless he was being dragged along by
his wife, so it would be nice to take in the ambience of such
a concert. Robin seemed a really nice, quietly spoken bloke and
I had visions of him enjoying the laid back attitude of Grandaddy
in the company of mature and responsible students.
The doors opened and in we all piled, past the doormen and into
the bar. Well, we went into the bar, Spacey and Robin went straight
into the hall where Grandaddy would play as they wanted to see
the support band too. In the bar the drink flowed nicely, and
then I remembered that the previous night in chat, Ste who had
been to see them play in Glasgow told us about a CD that was
on sale to fans amongst the T-shirts and hats etc. Off I went
and picked up a copy of the, apparently quite rare (but you know
how wrong roadies can be) CD. I haven’t yet played it but
I’ll let you know what its like on MB’s when I do.
Back in the bar we were drinking along nicely when Goic nudged
Dacky and nodded towards a group of youths on the other side
of the bar. Goic, I might add is about six foot two and built
not unlike an external convenience, although he really is a very
nice, thoughtful bloke who looks less approachable than he really
is. He is at that tender age when losing your hair gracefully
means shaving the entire cranium, thus giving the impression
of an escapee from the local asylum. Anyway I heard him say to
Dacky ‘I bet he stands next to me’ gesticulating with
his nose toward a young lad with a head of hair that made Tina
Turner look like Michael Stipe. ‘They always stand next
to me, I’m sure they do it on purpose. I wish I had hair
like that, in fact I wish I just had hair’ he said with
a shake of his shiny bonce. Dacky didn’t answer, but I noticed
his eyes getting bigger and rounder and his tongue 
began
to hang and bob gently from the side of his mouth. It was clear
that something had caught his attention beyond the hairy youths
and I turned to see what it was. As I turned I heard Goic spluttering
into his pint and I knew he must have seen whatever it was also.
When I stretched to see beyond the Hair Bear Bunch I could just
make out two figures in a rather passionate embrace on the floor.
Now this wasn’t just kissing, it was the full heavy petting
with tongues lashing each others neck and face, and arms and
legs becoming entangled like Jackie Pallo versus Mick McManus.
Nothing unusual I know, but a bit over the top for the middle
of a public bar. Then I noticed that it was no ordinary game
of tonsil hockey. As I looked on I could see a total of four
breasts, and not a great deal of facial hair. I turned back to
see what the lads had to say, only to see Dacky’s tongue
now hanging over his sleeve and Goic making a noise that could
only be described as equalling the mating call of a Ford Escort.
I don’t know what it is about two women in a passionate
embrace, but it does tend to have the queerest effect on a lot
of men. And before you all start shouting ‘This is Y2K,
haven’t you ever seen two girls in action before.’
The answer is yes, I have, we all have, but it was their ability
to carry this act out without spilling a drop of beer from their
glasses that had us all engrossed, honest!
So we missed the support. Lowgold they were called and pretty
good reviews they’re getting, but not from us, because we
were stood in the bar, trying not to look as if we were looking,
and trying our best to look like we’d seen it all before.
When Grandaddy came on stage we went into the hall which was
packed out so we stood by the door so that toilet and bar access
were easy.
Grandaddy play no nonsense, tight as a gnats chuff, as they get
down to business straight away with a huge screen behind them
adorning projections of faraway deserted country landscapes………….
Spaceface :
I was also looking forward to
seeing Grandaddy live after their many mentions in the UK press
in 2000, and the
appearance of their last album in many
'best of 2000' lists. I pressganged my long suffering husband
into coming with me, after my friend cried off at the last moment,
and it was lovely to bump into Spud at the door, and meet up
with the infamous Dacky at last. We got ourselves a drink and
the audience were quite subdued during the support act, so we
were able to slot ourselves in right at the front. There were
three lively girls next to me, well spoken, about 18 and pretty.
They were giggling a lot, and I overheard them saying they had
their knickers ready to throw at the stage! As we chatted to
them, one of them casually peeled her trousers and knickers off,
then put the trousers back on!!! My eyes were out on stalks!!
Robin didn't actually watch the band at all after that.....lol
They got worse as time went on, two of them were topless by the
end of the set, and they were snogging the guys. Robin stepped
forward hopefully, but was beaten by a mosh pit regular who flew
over his head, and into the breech at the last minute....lol.
I have a little feeling these were the same girls who so entranced
Spud and Goic and Dacky in the bar...teehee.
Anyway, enough of all that sex and well...more sex. On to the band. They were exceptional musicians, and the sound was very new. The whole aura was very atmospheric, reminding me of a 60's happening. The projected film in the background emphasised what seems to be the ethos of the band , or anyway this album, which is to move away from technology and allow a return to a more organic way of life. There was a sticker on the keyboard of the lead singer which said 'If you skate, you know'..... There were lots of leaves and other foliage wrapped around their instruments which gave a sort of post apocalypse air to the whole thing, and there was a shadow show of the band on one of the side walls. The music was hypnotic and transporting, especially He's simple, He's dumb, He's the pilot. This song caused a sort of hush to descend over the audience - no mean feat when you consider all that sex and adrenalin in the front rows...... By now we had retreated to the back of the hall, and were standing with Spud and co...just drinking it all in along with the lager.
Another great night which was
one of those stickers. They stick in your mind for years and
years, emerging from the 
soup of multitudes of gigs, good and
bad, when you think back over your listening history. I wouldn't
have missed this night for anything.......
Spud :
About halfway through the set Spaceface and Robin came out to the back of the venue to where we were standing. I asked them if they were enjoying the gig and Spaceface said she was. Robin however looked a little ruffled and uneasy. When I glanced at Spacey she was finding it hard to keep her laugh in. On enquiring further she told me that when they had been down the front, after all the excitement with the knicker throwers, Robin's foot was once again tapping merrily along to the psychedelic country folk-rock of Grandaddy as they played an array of their songs to the wakening audience. The crowd down the front of the stage bulged and bubbled, and began to mosh and surge in all directions. Spacey and Robin had been caught up in the ensuing swell and poor Robin, being the courteous and caring person that he is, thought that crowd trouble had broken out, and he began to lose his cool with all and sundry in order to protect his wife. This resulted in him taking on the guise of a certain Travis, he of Taxi Driver fame, and threatening to make mincemeat of anyone who came within a ten foot radius of the pair. At this point Spacey had thought it best to beat a hasty retreat.
The band were excellent. Goic pointed out to me that at times
they sounded not unlike Neil Young. The vocalist (Jason Lytle)
had very much the same pitch at times. My personal favourite
was the fantastic He simple, he’s dumb, he’s the pilot.
Every bit as good, if not better than listening to the album
version with headphones on. I’ve said this before, but try
playing Space Oddity in its entirety then gently bring in ‘He’s
simple’ slowly and you’ve got almost fifteen minutes
of absolute bliss. It’s my favourite of the night and I
would have paid the ticket price for that alone. The crowd seemed
well satisfied as Grandaddy finally left the stage. We said our
goodbyes to Spacey and Robin in the foyer. ‘Hold on, I must
get a photo of you lot before we go’ said Spacey. Robin
volunteered to get a snap of Spacey and the three stooges, so
we all posed nervously as he took the picture, hoping that it
would go according to plan as we didn’t want him to start
losing his temper again in case he left a trail of mayhem and
destruction across Tyneside.......
Hopefully it will be at a db gig that we bump into each other next time, and in the not too distant future.
Grandaddy : great official website : www.grandaddylandscape.com