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But blimey - with the Groove Machine clocking in at just over thirty-nine minutes on vinyl, The Wonder Stuff rolling out their debut from start in finish in Shepherd's Bush on Friday night could have been something of a blink and you'll miss it gig.
No worries - that's what the back catalogue and the beauty of all those bonus tracks are for, filling out start to finish album gigs. It had me head scratching though. I had no idea what was up next after the final power chords of Poison.
Back in the day and by my estimation, we wore out three cassette (!) copies of The Eight Legged Groove Machine, with the Groovers on Manoeuvre I use to run around with in the rolling countryside lanes of South Nottinghamshire. It was the soundtrack for our pub crawls, love bites and bruises.
Phew, rock 'n roll.
And so how would the Grove Machine shape up, some twenty years later? For a start, it's actually the Four Legged Groove Machine. The Bass Thing and Martin Gilks have gone to that great mosh pit in the sky. Squabbles and rivalry has resulted in a band that now only contains Miles Hunt and Malcolm Treece from any recognisable line-up during the Stuffies glory years.
The Groove Machine show on Friday was basically in two halves, with a rather pleasing middle segment. First off it was heads down, Groove Machine from start to end - last one to finish has to go for a girly haircut.
The first encore was where it got really interesting - the B-sides that accompanied those glorious rally calling early singles:
Goodbye Fatman
Who Wants To Be The Disco King?
Ooh She Said
Astley In The Noose
A Song Without An End
Doubt we're gonna get to hear these live again for some time.
And then we were back in more familiar (and almost mainstream) Stuffies territory:
Mission Drive
On The Ropes
Here Comes Everyone
Circlesquare
Golden Green
Don't Let Me Down, Gently
The Size of a Cow
Ten Trenches Deep
There was a sense of pantomime to the occasion; but then that has always been the case with Miles Hunt and his acidic tongue. The music in West London was more about the memories for me, rather than the moment.
The Stuffies at their peak were still a band out of time A final run through of the Groove Machine, twenty years since the release, wasn't going to upset the Midlands Grebo musical timeline.
The fragrant mrs onionbagblogger lapped up the opportunity to be transported back to the early '90's indie girl that she has always been at heart. The girl did well in resisting the urge to buy yet another Stuffies T-shirt; the complete collection from '88 - 98 takes up half the house.
The evening was complete with a totally unexpected reunion with a couple of other Groovers from back in the day. Hugs, memories and middle age regret all round.
'I remember a time when I was feeling down,
and I never ever wished you were here.
And now I need a hug and now I need a hug,
and I really really wish you were here.'
Mr Hunt threatened us with a twenty-year anniversary waltz around Hup next summer. Country 'n Western meets Grebo I can do without. We didn't wear out a single cassette copy of that difficult second album back in the day.
Hup! Hup!
Hup!!! Hup!!! Hup!!! Hup!!!
reply via twitter
| Saturday 23 May, 2009 |
But blimey - with the Groove Machine clocking in at just over thirty-nine minutes on vinyl, The Wonder Stuff rolling out their debut from start in finish in Shepherd's Bush on Friday night could have been something of a blink and you'll miss it gig.
No worries - that's what the back catalogue and the beauty of all those bonus tracks are for, filling out start to finish album gigs. It had me head scratching though. I had no idea what was up next after the final power chords of Poison.
Back in the day and by my estimation, we wore out three cassette (!) copies of The Eight Legged Groove Machine, with the Groovers on Manoeuvre I use to run around with in the rolling countryside lanes of South Nottinghamshire. It was the soundtrack for our pub crawls, love bites and bruises.
Phew, rock 'n roll.
And so how would the Grove Machine shape up, some twenty years later? For a start, it's actually the Four Legged Groove Machine. The Bass Thing and Martin Gilks have gone to that great mosh pit in the sky. Squabbles and rivalry has resulted in a band that now only contains Miles Hunt and Malcolm Treece from any recognisable line-up during the Stuffies glory years.
The Groove Machine show on Friday was basically in two halves, with a rather pleasing middle segment. First off it was heads down, Groove Machine from start to end - last one to finish has to go for a girly haircut.
The first encore was where it got really interesting - the B-sides that accompanied those glorious rally calling early singles:
Goodbye Fatman
Who Wants To Be The Disco King?
Ooh She Said
Astley In The Noose
A Song Without An End
Doubt we're gonna get to hear these live again for some time.
And then we were back in more familiar (and almost mainstream) Stuffies territory:
Mission Drive
On The Ropes
Here Comes Everyone
Circlesquare
Golden Green
Don't Let Me Down, Gently
The Size of a Cow
Ten Trenches Deep
There was a sense of pantomime to the occasion; but then that has always been the case with Miles Hunt and his acidic tongue. The music in West London was more about the memories for me, rather than the moment.
The Stuffies at their peak were still a band out of time A final run through of the Groove Machine, twenty years since the release, wasn't going to upset the Midlands Grebo musical timeline.
The fragrant mrs onionbagblogger lapped up the opportunity to be transported back to the early '90's indie girl that she has always been at heart. The girl did well in resisting the urge to buy yet another Stuffies T-shirt; the complete collection from '88 - 98 takes up half the house.
The evening was complete with a totally unexpected reunion with a couple of other Groovers from back in the day. Hugs, memories and middle age regret all round.
'I remember a time when I was feeling down,
and I never ever wished you were here.
And now I need a hug and now I need a hug,
and I really really wish you were here.'
Mr Hunt threatened us with a twenty-year anniversary waltz around Hup next summer. Country 'n Western meets Grebo I can do without. We didn't wear out a single cassette copy of that difficult second album back in the day.
Hup! Hup!
Hup!!! Hup!!! Hup!!! Hup!!!
reply via twitter
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