Today In Music, February 29th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Friday 29th February):

Birth

1940. Gretchen Diane Christopher (The Fleetwoods) born in Olympia, Washington.

On Tour

2000. Fiona Apple walks off stage at New York’s Roseland after complaining about the concert’s sound system. After hurling a stream of abuse about the sound and also at the critics, she announces a five minute break and walks off stage. Half an hour later, the concert promoter tells the audience they’d be guarenteed tickets for a later gig….

In Court

2000. Eric Clapton is banned from driving for six months and fined £ 750 by a magistrate in Guildford, Surrey. Clapton, who was not in court, was given 28 days to pay the fine. His lawyer, who did attend, said the guitarist was in the U.S.A. where he will once again be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on March 6th. 

In Business

1972. Mary Hopkin announces that she and her companies consider themselves free from any contractual obligations to Apple Records. She will now start looking for a new label.

Not On The Radio

1997. Status Quo announce they are to sue the BBC after discovering they’ve been blacklisted from the Radio One playlist because they’re too old. The band has issued a writ claiming breach of contract and are seeking up to £ 250,000 in damages.

Music Paper From Today

 

 

Record Mirror from 29th February 1972. A copy taken from Rockmine’s almost complete run of U.K. music papers from the last 45 years. 

 

Daily Babble.

 

As I said yesterday, I took in the Waking The Witch gig at The Warehouse in Lossiemouth. First, I want to mention the venue itself. It was a small intimate room with a blazing fire stage right which set the scene for the evening. It didn’t feel like a gig as such, more a concert in someone’s living room.

 

I came across the band when they were just finishing their sound check. A few minutes later, I found Becky sitting on the floor sorting through her stage clothes. It was only when she tried to stand up that the extent of her pregnancy was obvious. This girl shouldn’t be on tour! There is a humourous element to her movements but although she said she still had 5 weeks to go, it did look like she was ready to pop!

 

The gig was everything I expected. The group’s harmonies were perfectly matched and the playing was of the same incredibly high standard. I’ve got to say that I thought Patsy’s mandolin playing was stunning as was Becky’s bottleneck. They took a couple of numbers to really get into their stride but they were never less that great. The sound was a real niggle for me. It seemed muddy and with little spatial awareness. Becky’s guitar, stage right, was clearly heard coming from the speakers stage left.

 

 

For anyone who’s bought the last album, “Boys From The Abattoir”, the gig was a real treat with 7 tracks being played during the evening. The highlight for me was “Spring Song” which showed the girls at their melodic, lyrical best. 

 

During the evening, they made it clear that their website www.wakingthewitch.co.uk would be used to let their fans know of all their upcoming solo projects. Gladly they’ve made it clear that no-one’s giving up on the business.  

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