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Why do gigs start so late anyway? Suppose you'd decided to see a lm or a play or some sports event tonight, and it didn't start till 10pm. If you nished work at 6pm, that would give you four hours to kill, which is a big chunk of time even if you did get some food rst and then spent the remaining couple of hours in the pub. Or, if you were in London over October, you might have lled the hours by visiting one of the galleries that stayed open late as part of a programme called Lates. But most people don't want to have to hang around killing time, which is why lms, plays and matches start at 7pm or 8pm. Gigs, though, are a whole other thing; it has become accepted that they begin late. And "late" has been getting ever later in the last couple of years. The support act might wander onstage at 8.30pm - 9pm is more common - and if the main band show their faces by 9.30pm, you're lucky. Chances are, though, it won't be 9.30pm; it'll be 10pm or later. At one show I attended Brian Molko of Placebo was still soundchecking at 10:45pm by my watch, and when Guns N' Roses made a comeback of sorts in 2006, their Hammersmith Apollo gig began at 11pm, and ended two hours later, well after the last tube, leaving their immensely longsuffering fans with a choice of the night bus that didn’t exist or an astronomically expensive taxi ride. And I don't even need to mention (but will anyway) the tardiness of rappers, which results in performances that don't kick off till the milkman has started his round. even start till 2am. Go to bed before dawn? What do you take him for? Chris Martin? Purple haze must have been about the colour of the bags under his eyes. It’s probably what nished him off. No autopsy needed here thank you very much. But what about the punters who've been shufing around a venue for three hours, waiting to see whoever they've forked out £20+ for? Obviously, it suits venues when shows run late, because the bar spend increases proportionately. But it wouldn't have been the venue's fault that Mr Molko didn't get it together to do a soundcheck till 10:45pm, or that Axl Rose lives in a parallel universe where factors like getting home afterward don't gure. I was once at a Damien Rice show - at Wolverhampton’s civic hall, no less - where Rice, whose audience is made up of once-a-year suburban gig-goers who rely on trains that nish at 11.30pm or thereabouts, didn't show himself till after 10pm. How I chuckled to myself during the performance that all these good looking young people would be stranded in Wolverhampton of all places, God help them. And how lucky I was to have a short walk home. How annoyed was I later, I got home to discover I’d left my front door key in my jacket at the venue and was locked out. I remember thinking as I scurried back to the civic and found it shut. Thanks Mr Rice, couldn’t you have at least played a longer set, nob. In the mind of somebody, somewhere, it's edgy to start late and nish later. Kiss, after all, wanted to rock'n'roll all night (and party every day, which raises the logistical question of how they ever found time to write songs or, in Gene Simmons' case, meet the 3,000 women he claims to have notched up) [head scratch]. Prince's notorious after-show gigs don't P12 WWW.SHROPROCKS.COM MAY/JUN
FISHING FOR OWLS middle nger thankyou Ato England: it’s rubbish, innit? Brexit, bedroom tax, bargain hunt, big brother society. Paul Henshaw & The Scientic Simpleton’s sound like the old England. The sound of football chants, nursery rhymes and bad puns, the days when we drank and danced the weekends away, but were proud of our ag, and we all still had money left over monday morning. Fishing For Owls gives this feeling back, this is a well thought out selection of tunes that showcases the full range of their mastery. The album was recorded at Ashley’s wine bar in Shrewsbury, but don’t be fooled, the sounds, full on studio raw and the quality of the songwriting shines. The righteous anger of “Middle nger thank you” has the power to stir the blood. “England”’s hurdy gurdy, “Take more punches, Stomach hurts from body blows” we hear from Henshaw. The yearning pulse of “Hometown King”. The stark passionate melodrama of “Kid on a Bridge” is crying out to be covered by some dark metal band.. With an utterly unique sound of punk guitars, samples, punchy drums and those delicious, sardonic, dark, witty lyrics, there just isn’t another band that sounds like them. Fishing For Owls is 10 songs of pure gold. It’s positively indulgent. One of the greatest aspects of their ability is to take dark subject matter and craft superb, catchy grunge/dance/pu nk/indie/rock tunes around them without sounding trite or preachy. And this is reected in the album. Henshaw gets to the heart of the matter at hand but never forgets to write a killer hook, riff or melody to get you singing and dancing. I was pleased to see this album pop up in my inbox and listened to it intently over a few beers and vodkas bank holiday Monday. By the time the last track ‘I’ll Never be a Pirate’ came to it’s outro, I spilled out into the streets of Bridgnorth. Glorious, triumphant and utterly compelled, The Scientic Simpletons prove once again why they are a credit to Shropshire. Today’s 'alternative' music is too slick, too shiny, too designed. What we need is a Paul Henshaw & The Scientic Simpleton’s musical. Take the best songs from all their stuff, orchestrate them and turn them into a show. A show about shattered dreams and ruined lives, a show about getting drunk and having a bloody good knees up, let’s make it as bleak as Chicago but with a Lion King ending and all done with a Salopian accent. Legendary MAY/JUNE SHROPROCKS.COM P13
Page 1 and 2: SHROP ROCKS may / June | FLOREAT SA
Page 3 and 4: E D I T O R I A L Welcome to the Ma
Page 5 and 6: A f t e r a h u g e ly s u c c e s
Page 8 and 9: MAY 1st May - 42nd Telford Beer Fes
Page 10 and 11: EDG SUN f e s t 1 7 T H MAY 01PM
Page 14 and 15: ‘ Following on from the 2016 rele
Page 16: MAY 26 HAYGATE RD - WELLINGTON - Tf
Page 19 and 20: I can imagine that was an amazing e
Page 21 and 22: Amassing a great loyal local follow
Page 23 and 24: ON THE LOCAL SCENE ?? Madchester 19
Page 25: P18 SHROPROCKS.COM MAR/APR
Page 29 and 30: NE 10th June - Midnight Idols @ Ye
Page 31 and 32: No #1 LIVE MUSIC VENUE WELLINGTON
Page 33 and 34: THE REAL ROBIN HOOD Sir Humphrey Ky
Page 35 and 36: MUSIC BROS. Located in the heart of
Page 37 and 38: We all long for those moments of to
Page 39: * Guitar Setups * Guitar Repairs *

ISSUE #2

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