Monty Hall is a class venue and a cold, cold, night with slush and snow everywhere, didn’t stop the crowds turning out for our very own popular beat combo, who duly warmed the cockles of their hearts with their fine songs and cheeky chappy personas. WFMU, we love you!! Fantastic night hosted by the wonderful folk at the iconic radio station. Love the idea for this video too, with its split screen between a 19 block party ?ĭispatches from the Monochrome Zone. As its New Jersey today, I’ve chosen this from the iconic Lauryn Hill’s Misadventures album where she laid down her mark as the soul voice of her generation. My idea is to play a song each day relating to the city we visit. We left Boston in a pretty substantial snowstorm with the radio on and ‘Roadrunner’ blasting out, arriving in Jersey City in beautiful sunshine 5 and a half hours later. I didn’t witness a mad scramble followed by a horrified scream from the assembled masses, so I’m guessing it never happened last night but future punters beware. Andy has suggested he throw them into the crowd during each gig, literally leaving his mark wherever he plays, a sort of reverse Tom Jones if you like. Venue was a wonderful old Italian ballroom, everyone involved was extremely nice and helpful, The Set done good, the crowd went wild and the merch stall was busier than the DFS sale.īid has brought a collection of his most falling apart pants on tour with him, with the plan of binning them at the end of each day. What a great start to the tour! Boston you’re my home! My idea is to play a song each day relating to the city we visit.Īs its Boston today it’s got to be The Modern Lovers, whose proto-punk debut album is an absolute classic for me, songs that celebrate the quotidian with music as economical as possible, what more do you want? ?ĭispatches from the Monochrome Zone. The snow is falling outside on a cold NY morning and we head to Boston in a few hours for the first gig of the tour. Barnsy and me heading down to Brooklyn to catch the Frida Kahlo exhibition which was not dissimilar to the one in London last year but with a few extra bits and the Brooklyn Museum was nice on the eyes. We hit the rush hour as we drove into Manhattan and as the sun began to set, the midtown skyscrapers flickering in the half-light produced a magical sight.
![semaphor band from ohilly semaphor band from ohilly](http://classicurbanharmony.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-May-1.jpg)
#SEMAPHOR BAND FROM OHILLY DRIVER#
We emerged into the cold but very bright NY afternoon and met up with Gerry, our lovely driver for the East side of the trip with our spacious van. Turned out it was just the banana I had in there but a passport was confiscated before an apple and banana were duly handed into the appropriate desk, rock’n’roll, eh? Day 2įlight went well into NY, then it all went a bit wrong with nearly a 4 hour wait queuing to get through customs and a sniffer dog leading it’s handler to my bag. One of my favourite songs from last year, not in any way original but has New York’s DNA all over it. As we arrive in New York later today, I’ve chosen Bodega’s fun debut single ‘How Did This Happen’.
My idea is to play a song each day relating to the city we visit, purely to keep my sanity. I will also be put to good use by the rest of the band as groom of the stool, barber surgeon, knocker-upper, gong farmer, water carrier and occasionally selling trinkets to the locals. On this campaign I will be acting as Bid’s batman – ironing his copy of the Financial Times each morning and delivering it to him on a tray with his boiled egg and soldiers, warming his toilet seat and polishing the family silver. Off with those mischievous minstrels, The Monochrome Set on their tour of the US today. Travelling with us was the Master o’ the Merchandise, David Mackay, who compiled this wonderful tour diary, with accompanying YouTube music clips:ĭispatches from the Monochrome Zone. Earlier this month, I was with The Monochrome Set on a whistle-stop tour of the US, taking in no less than nine gigs and three radio sessions on both the East and West Coast.