Part 1. The Black Hole of Upper Street.
Straighten Out Live at The Hope & Anchor Islington – Sat 8th March.
Inspired by the fact that spring was upon us, much to everyone’s relief after the damp murk of winter, (The Sunshine brought with it new hope, there’s always the sun, Always!) they descended into the darkness once more to be at one with the Blackness…
A black clad clan gathered from near and far to bear witness to a ceremonial performance by the finest tribute to the founding fathers of the cult of the Men in Black. This tribute known as Straighten Out marked the beginning of the day’s festivities in Black, in this, the Ruby Anniversary year of the said fathers’ foundation.
Down into the Black Hole of Upper Street, what better location to be at than The Hope and Anchor with its historical significance in the story of The Stranglers? Magic! This Cellar was buzzing with anticipation as the Black strains of Waltzinblack heralded the arrival of Straighten Out.
Shut Up! …
…started the proceedings, then IFLAW, followed by Ugly, the family were transfixed, the Synesthetes heard only black. Back to matters temporal, the band asked if anyone here was present in another (earlier) time… One or two replied in the affirmative including one of the legendary Finchley Boys.
If you’d squinted and opened your ears you’d have thought that you’d been transported back to that time of the late 1970’s 1976/7 or thereabouts… In fact the appearance of one Burn e77 leads one to believe that some temporal shenanigans may have been afoot! And we were in fact there then!
And the band played on through a mighty set list of MK1 favourites, I was chuffed to not only hear PITBS but also the excellent Dead Ringer, although in all fairness it was all great! The authenticity of this band really cannot be underplayed! Straighten out deliver the finest renditions of MK1 Stranglers this side of 1981. In fact the only people capable of doing a better job would be The MiB themselves.
We got a full set of back to back classics, replete with Growling P Bass, Jagged Telecaster, Swirling Mind-blowing Keyboards and Pounding Percussive excellence!
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house… No, seriously! It was so hot in there that the sweat was dripping off their brows…
Then they hit a hitch… Keyboardist Mick’s hand had seized up with a crippling cramp just as they were going into No More Heroes… Disaster!… Fortunately a lovely nurse was available to tend to the wounded Maestro*. Meanwhile the band appealed to any erstwhile keyboardists in the audience. To everyone’s amazement and delight some plucky chap spoke up and said “I’ll do it!” And that’s exactly what he did – Cool as a cucumber, said audience member got up on stage and banged out an almost note perfect No More Heroes on the keyboard, much to the amusement of both band and audience alike!
Then they called it a day only missing out Down in The Sewer from their set list.
And the family were suitably primed for what would follow later that very same day…
They adjourned once more into the daylight to partake of some refreshment before the journey to the South and the West of the now! They shrugged off the Sea of Red that had descended upon them in the interim as it bore no significance to anything of any importance! Eventually the family clustered into smaller groups before taking the subterranean propulsion system toward Hammersmith and the next chapter of this story…
* During the performance I was fortunate enough to be standing right next to Keyboard player mick whose full on arpeggios and keyboard wizardry really are a sight to behold and also I’m happy to report that he was already feeling somewhat recovered after a short rest the very same afternoon.
BLACK…