Clench your fist and say 'fuck you'

Last night I was in attendance for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Manchester Academy and it t’was a fine night of music, public transport, drunkeness and ‘Clockwise’ style comedy disasters, but at least for the first time in an age both my contact lenses stayed put on my eyeballs.

As Tom astutely observed, it was good to see that the singer from said band, talks like he sings, though his squeaky New Yorker accent did bring to mind Marge Simpson’s ex Boyfriend Artie Ziff. Unusually, we were also witness to two fights, both involving some Mancunian (citation needed) ladies. Certainly an odd sight to behold, especially considering the many gigs I’ve been to I’ve never seen a fight, well one that didn’t involve any members of the band. They were very good though, but not having listened to their new album my mind did wander slightly whilst they performed, this way partly due to the beer that we had been chugging throughout. Their support band, Cold Water Kids too were very good, though I sadly missed most of their set whilst trying to buy some drinks for me and my cohorts.

Whilst waiting at the bar a young scruffy kid whom was stood next to me started a conversation regarding the song the band were currently playing. As I wasn’t in the best frame of mind for conversation at that point due to the calamitous journey to Manchester, which left me feeling so exasperated (perhaps an by-product of my newly found work ethos), I did little to keep the conversation going until he started talking on the subject of getting tickets that day to see …And You’ll Know Us From the Trail of Dead.

As he regaled this fairly boring anecdote about meeting the singer at recent Leeds festival, and all I could think was I could at last crack my ‘Who are Hansel and Grettlel’s favourite band? And You’ll Know Us by the Trial of Bread’ joke, which once he had come up for air I put to him. He laughed and then proceed to tell me how he always cracks bad jokes at funerals—though I suspect, or should I say hope, that he was in fact not being exactly truthful and trying to be funny. He then thought it would be appropriate to crack unfunny and extremely racist joke.

Eeek. I didn’t laugh and said “oh dear- that’s a bit out of order isn’t it Jade?”. He looked awkward and then sneaked in front of me in the queue. With any luck it was he whom we saw get punched in the face by the fiery berry hat clad young lady later on during the show.

After, being away from all that interest me on the internet I've been catching up with the various music blogs I enjoy reading. One such, Aquarium Drunkard (see link to right) has posted news about the now sadly defunct Arab Strap, and it brought to mind just how much I love Arab Strap, and the first time I saw them supporting Mogwai in The Duchess of York in Leeds back in the summer of '97, and the magical moment when Adian Moffat joined Mogwai on stage for 'Now We Are Taken' which he co-wrote and recorded with them on the '4 Satin E.P'. Anyway, I couldn't resist posting it:

MP3
Mogwai- Now You Are Taken