Saint George's Day is only racist against dragons

[alexsarll]

The Foreign Office circulates internally a lighthearted memo suggesting that it would be jolly nice if the Pope started behaving like a civilised member of the modern age; they apologise. The Pope, among his many and various other crimes, runs a global paedophile ring; he has not apologised, much less been prosecuted. And yet loathsome turds like Peter Hitchens and George Carey (the latter a Lord, of course, with a say in Parliament simply because he was in the racket) have the temerity to claim that christians are now the underdogs. When Pope Sidious is where he belongs, behind bars and being regularly raped by his burlier fellow inmates, then you can complain that christians are now the underdogs. And I shall smile benignly, suggest that the term 'prag' might be more precise, and carry on about my day in that brighter world.

Anyway. Friday. Wow. I approached the Evelyn Evelyn show with some trepidation because, while I find complaints about 'appropriation' and such from special interest groups uniformly tedious, I wasn't that impressed with the album either; a handful of good songs didn't save the general effect from being queasily sub-Lemony Snicket. Really, though, it is better conceived as the soundtrack to a show - and in the ornate Bush Hall, with a red velvet backdrop, we got that show played very well. Seeing the twins yoked together, playing guitar or keyboard or accordion with one arm each, or pausing for huddled conferences, the effect is very different. And, just to scotch any lingering arguments about disablism, there was someone in a wheelchair right down the front.
We also got a support band called Bitter Ruin who had very pop voices but cabaret songs - which worked out well - and solo and collaborative sets from Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley. The latter wasn't as good as I've seen him before - perhaps because he'd only just made his way in through the volcano aftermath, but surely that was all the more reason to play the bafflingly absent 'Dance While The Sky Crashed Down'? Palmer I've not seen before, but she was very good, doing a staggering duet on 'Delilah' with Bitter Ruin's female vocalist. Plus, we obviously got Neil Gaiman, initially on soiled kazoo but then with tambourine in one hand and a sign saying LOUDER! in the other.

Then up to Stay Beautiful where I thought we'd only be missing Ladynoise - no sacrifice at all. Except we get in and apparently we've missed a secret show by Adam Ant. Man! But then his band (aka Rachel Stamp) are setting up again and we're going to get to see him after all. This is brilliant, right? Well...no. As soon becomes apparent, he is not a well man. I've seen a few attempts to rework Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' as 'Born in the UK', and it never quite comes off, but this is still a low. 'Land of the brave, and home of the free, but they fvcked it up with CCTV', runs the chorus, biut mainly he's hectoring us about the killing of Sophie Lancaster. An admirable cause and I don't think there's a person at SB who would say otherwise, but for some reason Adam has a really hectoring tone, as though we don't care enough. Is it because we're not singing along to lyrics we've never heard before and he seems to be making up as he goes along? The song rambles along interminably in a way 'Born in the USA' never should; I go to the loo and the bar and when I get back he's still shouting that SHE GOT HER BRAIN SMASHED IN FOR BEING A PUNK ROCKER! I don't even dance to 'Prince Charming' later on, though I'm sure I will again soon enough.

And Stay Beautiful in general? I had a lot of fun, but it didn't allay my suspicions that this is too soon for a reunion. The 'final' one felt like an Event, with all the old hands out again; this just felt like any latter-day SB. And there are worse things to be, of course, but also grander ones. I did particularly like the bit where only one CD deck was working, because I always said that one day Love Your Enemies would be influential.

Comments

[xandratheblue.livejournal.com]

Playing Devils Advocate for a moment, simply 'having a disabled person' at a show isn't exactly and argument of it not offending disabled people in general, merely that they've taken on what society has told them to believe about themselves. Of course, there is always the argument that regardless of their ability-status, they just really, really like Amanda Palmer and Jason Webbley?

I also think they very much made the right decision in removing all the songs about being child prostitutes. Though these can be done sensitively, the way they had been done...was not. I had pretty much planned to disapeer for a while if they sang those songs, so was pretty glad they didn't.

Also: You'd never seen Amanda palmer live before? BAD BARRY! NO BANANA!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know, I just find it really entertaining when activist members of any group start accusing other members of that group of 'false consciousness' &c for not being offended by things.

Did I not mention that? I don't know why, I've liked her since the second Dresden Dolls album, but just never got round to seeing her.

[xandratheblue.livejournal.com]

Hmm, the false consciousness thing is always going to be a sticky point to argue either way because, by it's very nature, it's utterly subjective.

Unfortunately, like many things, I assumed that you'd seen Amanda Palmer because you are an SBer who has played the second album to me when I was over at yours. I sort of assumed all SBers liked her enough to make an effort at getting tickets up until the Evelyn Evelyn thing. But then again, the Second (or Third? Forth? I'm too young to know!) Gen SBers seems to have a slightly different set of attitudes and musical tastes to the first wave!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Exactly. So hearing people argue it as a matter of fact = INSTANT LOLZ.

I think my period of awareness of her work may have largely overlapped with my period of avoiding big gigs 'cos they're so frequently full of tools. Certainly the last time I recall her playing it was at KOKO, and you know how I always steer clear of that place. But her crowd at the Bush Hall were lovely. Even the scary clown.

[xandratheblue.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think the concept of a false consciousness needs to be examine rather than dismissed, as what we're taught to think is not necessarily the most fair, but I do dislike people who have one disability assume they can talk for someone with a different kind of disability, because although both my/do face discrimination in their daily life, the experience of one type of disability can be worlds away from another, hell, the same is true for even those who suffer from the same kind!

I was at one of the Koko gigs, and found that it was full of teenage girls dressed up in striped tights, flowers and dyed hair, goths and generally nice people, with an absolute minimum of tools. So whilst Koko does attract a certain crowd, Amanda's fan-base tend to overwhelm the Koko-ness.

The scary clown was really nice. But still a clown.

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

This. (re crip ishoos)

Signed,
An uppity cripple

[sbp.livejournal.com]

I think of the Islington Bar (and the previous short-lived venue) as the first genners, the frequenters of Club Wicked as second genners, and mutant ninja Purple Turtles as third genners. And I saw people from all three eras on Friday night. Which is nice.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Short-lived? It may only have been at Undersolo for three months or so, but since it was weekly then, that was a double-figure number of nights. The Islington Bar was the golden age, but it was not the first generation.
(We can forget about Gossips, though, that was a bit of a misfire)

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was thinking about Gossips and not including Undersolo. Add one to all generations then :-)

Re: Saint George's Day is only racist against dragons

[suicideally.livejournal.com]

We went to a Gala for St George at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday. Unfortunately it was only on the journey there when we realised that better than actually going to the event would be to dress up as dragons and picket outside!

Re: Saint George's Day is only racist against dragons

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

Even the idea of this has just made me smile a lot :D

Re: Saint George's Day is only racist against dragons

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes! It's quite awkward for me, I'm very patriotic but clearly I will always side with dragons against christians.

[darkmarcpi.livejournal.com]

I sort of enjoyed Adam Ant's first set....he clearly isn't all that well but then at least he's doing things on his own terms and not just some tawdry Here And Now style embarrassment.

The 'final' one felt like an Event, with all the old hands out again; this just felt like any latter-day SB

Yes, this. Kinda why I left early, along with my cold and the failed attempts to cure its effects with alcohol.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Very true; he is still a PUNK ROCKER! rather than a heritage act, which does count for something.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the first set had some of his own songs, and some other more punky songs. Didn't realise it was mainly Rachel Stamp playing, but that makes sense given the DJ :-)

[returntosender.livejournal.com]

Hectoring tone! In two words you've managed to articulate what I found so irritating when reading Ant's autobiography recently.

I think I'd find Amanda Palmer less irritating if she wasn't so obviously jealous of Lady Gaga. Which doesn't even make any sense.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Is she? I'd never picked up on that, I don't really think of them as operating in the same sphere.

[returntosender.livejournal.com]

Well exactly my point, but Palmer's gone from being thrilled that Gaga refers to Dresden Dolls as an infuence to being quite nasty and bizarre on Twitter whenever she gets the chance. I really think she's one of those LOLedgy people who need to step away from the computer keyboard, but she never will!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

This sort of thing is one of the reasons I'm not on Twitter. It seems so hard to respect anyone when you can follow their every passing thought and the adoring instant responses of their echo chamber.