Oi, big nose..

I have a number of gigs coming up over the next month and a bit. I am really looking forward to

getting out and seeing these bands and meeting some friends for a cocktail or three as well.

First up will be Mr. William Bloke a.k.a. Billy Bragg. Oct 25 in Cyprus Avenue, Cork. I am totally

looking forward to this as it's been quite a while since I saw Bragg live. I can't quite recall when I

really got into Bragg, he just always seemed to be there. Was it Whistle Test footage of him that made

him appear as a one man band? Milkman Of Human Kindness? Odd looking chap, large nose and ears. A vocal style that is certainly an acquired taste but with a sharp mind and a winning way with a lyric.

I do remember a Navy colleague giving me a cassette of Talking With The Taxman and urging me to give it

a chance. Initially, the voice and the strident strum put me off a tad but on hearing Levi Stubbs Tears

I was won over, permanently and forever.

However much I love his music, he is one of those artists that I tend to either obsess over or not play

at all for months. Recently, it's been a heavy rotation thing. Primarily, his earlier albums although

I do like a lot of his more mature output as well. One of his most recent albums England, Half English I must say I only admired rather than loved but the guy always get a pass from me. Of his later output I would put Wiliam Bloke up against anything that was released that year (1996) and it remains an album I play quite a lot to this day. I enjoyed parts of his most recent album Mr. Love & Justice as well and I do hope that he has at least one more really, top notch album in him.

Anytime I see him on tv, Question Time or Late Review, I really enjoy his contributions to the debate. He's quite a well spoken, opinionated and learned chap but at the same time he doesn't talk down to people and certainly doesn't kowtow to his supposed intellectual/social betters.

All in all, he just seems like a proper good guy who knows his shit and who would be as happy watching the football and having a pint as he would be kicking against the political pricks on tv. A chap you'd be glad to get to know and always happy to see.

Songs I would like to hear at the gig? Well, we could be here for two full gigs really with all he has to choose from. In a perfect Bragg world, for me, though? I'm glad you asked..

The Milkman Of Human Kindness

A New England

The Saturday Boy

St. Swithin's Day

Levi Stubbs Tears

Idealogy

The Warmest Room

Between The Wars

Tank Park Salute

Moving The Goalposts

Sexuality

Accident Waiting To Happen

Upfield

Brickbat

The Spacerace Is Over

Northern Industrial Town

Then a few pickings from his collaborative albums with Wilco, a few recent ones from England and Justice and I would be a happy camper. Roll on Tuesday..