Thursday, October 04, 2007
Lynyrd Skynyrd - On The Hunt
As is always the case, music features highly in my free (and not-so-free) time entertainment. It’s a bit of a hunt to find the stuff that I like here in Manchester, with the night-life scene tending towards clubbing and the music scene thriving on indie-rock and DJs, all of which I do not care much for. Most of the pubs are nice places to be, especially those with cask ales, but as always there's the itch to hear live music that gets me going.
For the most part, Mancunians seem a friendly lot once I initiate conversation. The impression I get is that the majority of Asian students stick to their own flock and hardly socialise with the locals, with the result being that Mancunians reciprocate in kind. It’s hardly ideal but understandable, perhaps because similiar behaviour was also prevalent during my undergraduate days in NUS.
However, me being the only Singaporean so far does force me to come out and get over the Singaporean attitude towards strangers, in which even neighbours can pass each other without acknowledging each others' existence. Starting conversations out of nowhere is not unheard of, but remains the exception to the norm. Thankfully, I require little coercion in that respect, even less so after some English bitter. Once I demonstrate my reasonable command of the English language and dispel their notions of any communication barriers, new acquaintances are easy to make.
And so in my hunt for good music, I’ve had to go under the radar, away from the maddening crowd with promising results and meeting some great fellas along the way. Here are the bands I’ve caught in chronological order:
Junkhouse Dog Blues Band:
Chicago-style blues with a dash of rock influence. Frontman Junkhouse Dog blows some mean harp in the style of Little Walter.
Old Crow Medicine Show:
Bunch of young guys from Nashville, Tennessee who were passing through Manchester as part of their UK tour. They play the old-timey country and bluegrass styles with a good helping of pop sensibilities, memorable melodies and choruses which had the audience singing along and dancing to the hillbilly beats. In keeping with the bluegrass tradition they had huge vocal harmonies and of course, a blazing fiddle player.
Ernie’s Rhythm Section:
Yet another bunch of young guys, but this time from Manchester and they play the real old –school kind of blues, serving up foot-stomping boogies which pretty much brought the house down that night I went. Among their songs I counted some from Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Lightning Hopkins and Big Bill Broonzy.
Stay tuned, I’m sure there’s more to come.
For the most part, Mancunians seem a friendly lot once I initiate conversation. The impression I get is that the majority of Asian students stick to their own flock and hardly socialise with the locals, with the result being that Mancunians reciprocate in kind. It’s hardly ideal but understandable, perhaps because similiar behaviour was also prevalent during my undergraduate days in NUS.
However, me being the only Singaporean so far does force me to come out and get over the Singaporean attitude towards strangers, in which even neighbours can pass each other without acknowledging each others' existence. Starting conversations out of nowhere is not unheard of, but remains the exception to the norm. Thankfully, I require little coercion in that respect, even less so after some English bitter. Once I demonstrate my reasonable command of the English language and dispel their notions of any communication barriers, new acquaintances are easy to make.
And so in my hunt for good music, I’ve had to go under the radar, away from the maddening crowd with promising results and meeting some great fellas along the way. Here are the bands I’ve caught in chronological order:
Junkhouse Dog Blues Band:
Chicago-style blues with a dash of rock influence. Frontman Junkhouse Dog blows some mean harp in the style of Little Walter.
Old Crow Medicine Show:
Bunch of young guys from Nashville, Tennessee who were passing through Manchester as part of their UK tour. They play the old-timey country and bluegrass styles with a good helping of pop sensibilities, memorable melodies and choruses which had the audience singing along and dancing to the hillbilly beats. In keeping with the bluegrass tradition they had huge vocal harmonies and of course, a blazing fiddle player.
Ernie’s Rhythm Section:
Yet another bunch of young guys, but this time from Manchester and they play the real old –school kind of blues, serving up foot-stomping boogies which pretty much brought the house down that night I went. Among their songs I counted some from Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Lightning Hopkins and Big Bill Broonzy.
Stay tuned, I’m sure there’s more to come.
# posted by BloozeGit @ 5:01 am 
