387 BOB MOULD, MERCURY REV, Dark Star, Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, Friday 23 October 1998

Took the afternoon off for a first ever gig in Wolverhampton, on an afternoon forecast to be traffic heavy. They weren't just whistling Dixie; we hit even worse than the expected traffic on the M5 thanks to a 14 car pile-up, and after being totally stationary for an hour, and in slow traffic for a further half hour, we eventually got to Wolverhampton at 7 - 4 1/2 hours after setting off! Following some KFC, we hit the empty venue at 7.40, just before Dark Star hit the stage with an unrepresentative (as it transpired) punky blast opener. I warmed to them as their set became increasingly sinewy and libidinous, rather like a goth version of New FADs. Not too bad at all, as the venue - resembling a smaller and posher Bristol Uni Anson Rooms - filled up.

Mercury Rev, however, were utterly and unexpectedly fabulous! A band I'd dabbled with in the early 90's, and generally found to be too quirky and droney for my tastes, the Rev, now split from their original musical leading light David Baker, have since reinvented themselves as astonishing moody musical auteurs par excellence. This set was music to die for; stunning, shimmering, majestic, haunting and wonderful. I remarked to Clive that not only had we just witnessed one of the Top 5 sets of the year, easily, but I'd also just seen a band who reach the heights that the likes of the Verve and Radiohead can only clumsily grasp at. A totally surprising, but awesome "Tugboat" (yep, the old Galaxie 500 number) as well as "Endlessly", the set opener from the rock critics' new fave LP "Deserter's Songs" (a record I'm going to buy in pretty short order!) were the highlights from a set where, well, there were no lowlights!

I also mentioned to Clive that Bob Mould would really have to go some to top that, and for me, unsurprisingly, he slightly fell short. Kicking in at 9.30 with 3 numbers from the splendid new LP "The Last Dog And Pony Show", Bob and the band ripped into this set with the usual venom, the scuzzy guitar and deep booming voice the highlights of this awesome noise. I initiated an ever increasing moshpit and kicked some ass! However, the sound fell slightly short of brilliant, and Bob delved into 1996's disappointing eponymous "Bob Mould" LP too much for my liking. A superb "Anymore Time Between" was by far and away the best of the set mid-section, bleeding-raw and emotional as it was. However, Bob scaled those heights far too seldom for my liking. Am I being harsh? Maybe... maybe I expected perfection, and I got a fat bloke playing punk rock. However, I still came out of the moshpit sweaty and happy, following a final encore blast through Sugar's "Man On The Moon", during which I swore the old boy flirted with me, from my front centre spot!

389 BOB MOULD, MERCURY REV, Dark Star, London Kentish Town Forum, Thursday 29 October 1998

Two London gigs in one week is pretty unusual these days, but this one was booked up before the Tom gig, last time out, so off we did trot! Having decided to drive over to Kentish Town, Andy picked us up at 4.45, and did a sterling job of getting us there for 7.30, given that he's a country boy who's never driven in London before!

First band on, Dark Star, arrived at 7.45, and seemed to warm to the London crowd, as their set was better sounding and more consistent than before. Relying heavily on their excellent drummer (so much so that my gig colleagues remarked that it'd be nice if they wrote some songs to go with the rhythm!), they were, again, a rhythmic and pretty useful opener.

However, as before, they paled into insignificance before the splendour and majesty of the Mercury Rev set. Since last Friday (was it really only last Friday?), I'd acquired their stunning "Deserter's Songs" LP, so was prepared this time, but the sheer irridescent beauty of openers "Endlessly" and "Holes" still took my breath away. These two were the highlights of another beautiful and majestic set from a band who have performed the ultimate re-invention, and have, as I said last week, reached heights of stunning majesty in their work others can only dream of. No "Tugboat" this time, but still incredible - a view echoed by all 5 of us gathered here, except Tim, who thought they were "dull"!!!

The Rev this time had Bob Mould comfortably beaten, as his subsequent set was beset with a muddy sound, and again a disappointing song selection. Despite the sell-out crowd tonight, the moshpit wasn't huge, and I managed a vantage point near the front without participating (tight calf muscles, you see, following my Tom mosh!). Bob again thrashed through the set with awesome energy and power, but too many numbers were lumpen and directionless. I hate writing those words, as I'm a huge Bob Mould fan, but as this was advertised as the last date of his last electric band tour ever, I wanted... well, honestly, I wanted Husker Du! I wanted Sugar! Instead, we compensated ourselves with a nevertheless excellent "See A Little Light" from his superb and defining 1989 LP "Workbook", and the knowledge that hopefully there's some life and intensity in the old boy yet. I'm sure he'll be back, next time thrashing an acoustic as wildly as he did his faithful blue stratocaster tonight, and every night.

And we had a pretty good run back home as well, Andy proving that driving through London isn't so bad after all - even for "country boys"!

397 MADDER ROSE, Dark Star, Bristol Fleece, Monday 1 February 1999

I was Mr. part-Driver tonight, but not a very good one as I knocked a wing mirror off my car driving down Rachel's road! D'oh! Nevertheless, I picked everyone up, then headed over to Clives, from whence he drove, hitting the venue at 8.30. Fuller than I thought it'd be, but there were still tickets at the door. Bumped into Bristol gig buddy Tim before Dark Star's set; they were more dynamic than previous sets, the smaller venue suiting them well at the moment, methinks. Their libidinous groove and spiky gothic rock was quite impressive as a Fleece support.

I ran into another old Bristol gig buddy, Rob, then missed the start of Madder Rose's set due to the queue in the bogs! D'oh! They checked in with "My Star", from the new, mellow and slightly trippy "Tragic Magic" LP. This one, available in the US since 1997, has only just received a UK release which has stalled their career somewhat, but the 'Rose seemed set to make up for lost time with a fine, slightly spooky set of laid-back, late night US coffee bar smoky guitar soul. They've veered towards the more mellow element of their work recently, and this set encapsulated this. A splendid "Car Song" and almost jolly "Swim" were set highlights, but overall "Beautiful John", their final encore, was the top toon of the evening - indeed the only one that had us really rocking all night!

A chat with vocalist Mary Lorson after the gig confirmed that this was the new mellow Madder Rose direction. Shame they're not going to kick out anymore in their Belly-meets-Violent Femmes white noise pop way anymore, but the songs always did it for me, so hopefully that will still be the case!

431 DARK STAR, MY VITRIOL, Bristol Fleece, Thursday 9 March 2000

2000 has been a slow starter for gigs - we're in March and only 2 thus far! - but here's where it starts getting hectic! Rachel, Ady and I hit the Fleece at 8.15 after Ady had picked us up on time! My Vitriol joined us onstage at 8.45 and immediately rolled into a squalling feedback noise which dovetailed splendidly into a splendid Grant Hart/ Husker Du-like opener, "Always". The subsequent set featured raw angst, inspiration, excitement and some splendid hooks, all played at a fast and frantic pace. I'd decided to check them out thanks to a very positive NME "On Band" write-up by Stevie Chick, currently my favourite hack (following on from Steve Lamacq!), and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Reminding me a little of the likes of 5.30 and Annie Christian, as well as the Husker Du/ Foo Fighters school of tuneful fast Yank rock, this is a band with undoubted and great potential - and a band in a hurry. I'll be doing my best to catch up with My Vitriol again - very soon!

Typical of Dark Star that the first time I see them headline, they should be blown off by their support! However, since their splendid Reading Festival set last year, they've gained an army of black-clad fans (the place was packed), and took to the by-now fairy light-festooned stage at 9.45, kicking off proceedings with their solitary fast-and-punky number, the excellent "I Am The Sun". Displaying a developing tightness and professionalism to augment their undoubted excellent musicianship, the rest of the set was again dark and moody, with angular rhythms (courtesy of the drummer - the undisputed star of the show tonight) and boneshaking bass both features. "Graceadelica", almost reminiscent of early Bunnymen with its' sense of space and introverted atmosphere, was tossed away early as the former Levitation boys put on a performance which, whilst not scaling the heights of their Reading set and also sagging a little in the mid-section, was still dark, mysterious and mighty fine. Dark Stars indeed!

But I'm up for a further dosage of My Vitriol, as soon as possible please!