Just back from a weekend in London where I went to see venerable Incredible String Band founder Clive Palmer – a cross between Clive Dunn and Catweazle – perform at the Twelve Bar club with a rather nifty five-piece band. The show was to tie in with the release of a biography of Palmer by Grahame Hood. I enjoyed the book on the train home, particularly the bits about his wonderful 1972 album Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart and the uncomfortable String Band reunion of the 2000s. Clive’s modus operandi during the 60s to 80s seemed to be ‘start a band and, as soon as there’s the slightest hint of success, leave’.
With a few days off work I’m doing more editing and fiddling with the tracks for the CD, but also taking time to browse. I found this funny snippet from the first date of Leonard Cohen’s tour – ‘I was 60 last time I did this – just a kid with a crazy dream’. A friend tipped me off about Tom Waits’ July date at the Edinburgh Playhouse and I managed to get two tickets. Two Cohen and one Waits in one month – July’s looking good.
