Yesterday I went to the Grapes in Stafford to see my friends
The Nightingales do a warm-up for their
tour, supported by The Courtesy Group and deliberately unfunny comic legend
Ted Chippington. I took some photos (the rest are
here), though the lighting was dire (I hate using flash) and I reached the limit of what this camera will do (if anybody wants to offload a used full-frame Nikon at a mutually acceptable price, let's talk).
The gig was fun. It was a small venue, packed with men of a certain age. The commemorative prophylactics sold by The Nightingales (£2) were optimistic at best, redundant at worst. I suspect the band slippers sold rather better. The 'Gales have a new guitarist for whom this was his first gig - if there were nerves during their trademark 60-minute no-stopping set, they didn't show. The sound, too, was great: every note and syllable audible. Not always a good thing, but
the new album is a joy. Typical of the 'Gales, their manager texted to ask me to bring a stapler, and when I got there he borrowed a couple of quid from me. I guess that makes me a patron of the arts. I want the stapler back though. Limited edition, that.
I'd never seen The Courtesy Group either. The shirts worried me slightly – props make me wonder why bands want to distract from the music – but they were fascinating: a mix of pop hooks with Black Country punk poetry (
quite similar to this classic) and Beefheart raw sound. They persuaded me to buy their 2009 CD,
Tradesman's Entrance.
Click on these to enlarge.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZax8NUP6_A5JMaG_44ZaIk3ZUWkQy9UcxbgNuS28_bsBRU5UcqKTLzrlshShCzo39PQW9NBs5UI97KbRl38F3MKxJ9SRf7vfcGjYyNpztQdzQ0TbhS65DPtRZKqLgRKduK2Hf11IPYc/s400/Al+Hutchins,+The+Courtesy+Group+DSC_6355.jpg) |
Al Hutchins, The Courtesy Group |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuJWLyBGI-21MRxfkPbMpaI6_sNQShJgvMDtFKC3TvH8ndTHNOBQF0v_UbizyuBj0TvlEXQwx7OplaxKfFDZPqExldLVKcBcHmDaJqmUpcszgUyAVD2NLD7WB63snjPtcqSCpQ19Qh3c/s400/Andreas+Schmid,+Robert+Lloyd,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6430.jpg) |
Andreas Schmid (bass), Robert Lloyd, The Nightingales |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWoEZJ55xSsQP46B7-66333lnFyXZPK2NDhrctyVFLHfdkpt33rT_9DzC9ehL7Uq64E9lD8W3nHpf1J9U9dmoGvMN91A60KPuzIBfx5yELgIHFMyQ31hyphenhyphenjixQFhSbN9uFMHJUnBZ1L9Y/s400/Andreas+Schmid,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6462.jpg) |
Andreas Schmid, The Nightingales |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVFjQpownEaWI7sXcHVxvZ2rCnGgal6pWH_8QLcypBPKfxjcTX63CnLlrKmu0G-5t0hj7Ky7apySlwimA7IWwjJOx8v1te_HPxh1E_26lyPy5Scxy5G7JMdD7vowhGBGFePQzQsjGpI8/s400/Audience+member,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6428.jpg) |
Audience member |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqgtTKYWw9w4S0jPKyOeKK2JjH8rvUJ2elZxOX_r5kHsyFr0injmq2_cIVhrRBSE53CIOCeEMYBcBR2ERw9l1KiyU3zU2nA00ESUOE6az53e3VHHZKqflDAMdmlwZVwI97L5dOWHYim0/s400/Hidehiko+Nagai,+The+Courtesy+Group+DSC_6346.jpg) |
Hidehiko Nagai, The Courtesy Group |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYLEqJf9sZSwT6HzMMjlyi7qv8wBrWsp3VeXn22_Pt1ug94nEi4FqanKTlXYUUSVMptgaqx1xJ5k67m7MtWauIpQYEwIbfECSErqn84ZGK2boRPk7ItVcJZqNEjsgIAvVtSfpZuM_M5Q/s400/Jim+Smith,+Robert+Lloyd,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6451.jpg) |
Robert Lloyd, Jim Smith, The Nightingales |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_CfS8cJNVZCqKhuZXhAxV59vQpDYsCNIgKymz2V0E8-Wr5nTxMP7SuL4HPAhT3wFmu4SFVWl9fMwn6JOcMomTBN11ZZQoWPrdAh-bim7wR4aF2GmIweP9TvIjbGejL6IlNAfnxq81oc/s400/Jim+Smith,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6466.jpg) |
Jim Smith, The Nightingales |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcW-ReqblIv2GH96Gm23pGrKN8beDipzAYPLMDeldobxY79qCxhjdJz9cvbiaOmpRZJho5oi2J_-nd_GaubwneLdgeainftU7ZKPDxenh4IIEiywReqW-H3mQ3wp6fVLwQpqGEgUzK2jw/s400/Robert+Lloyd,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6405.jpg) |
Robert Lloyd, The Nightingales |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgll0xm2cSvKreX3Hs6R7YafMaaQrCBSlkYJkjRBJb5xPDVTPvXUrkr9L1ddpVvx9jIW_KDseIRF_elwVU5q5EbrgA5S53dTTSoD_6Vu1SmInRbwAyiULXN9piEoGeZZ6IOogpmAmty1xM/s400/Ted+Chippington+DSC_6374.jpg) |
Ted Chippington: this is funny because a lot of his jokes start with 'I was walking down the road' |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEIiQzskkzzgfmH5KRQvMn_27nnJ1eyC_Tuc5fy9TyHavvmHNJdjiH4eNuNXB4ZNQdfnXFrJ6SjnKsCNmXUt4MECja6rHNv1q9v67DMrX4Bxn1hWzFYbz1WskkTJ6E4qPZ3noP0mBiJE/s400/Fliss+Kitson,+The+Nightingales+DSC_6445.jpg) |
Fliss Kitson, The Nightingales |
1 comment:
Thanks
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