'Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World'

Last week I went to see the documentary film, 'Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World' at the Curzon Soho as part of the Doc'n'Roll Film Festival. I'd heard a lot about it and wanted to see it.

It tells the story of the influence of Native Americans and their music on blues, jazz and rock music and virtually all modern music. It was fascinating to hear about the old bluesmen and jazz women who were Native American or of part native heritage and how their styles were reminiscent of the tribal music of their heritage. I can't remember who said it but someone mentioned that in some states in the south of America Native Americans weren't allowed drums to stop them communicating but they played guitars using the same beats and timing as they would for a drum. Pure Fe played an old jazz record and talked us through the 'native' elements.

It was also nice to see Buffy Sainte-Marie indirectly weaved through the film, seeing the Neville Brothers (who she's sung with), Ulali (who have provided backing vocals for Buffy) and Buffy's old friend Taj Mahal as well as others. There's a nice interview with Buffy with her sitting in front of one of her digital paintings ('Elder Brother'). There was also a lot of talk about Jesse Ed Davis who played guitar for so many bands, including on one of Buffy's albums.

The title of the film comes from Link Wray's classic song 'Rumble' and features contributions from all sorts of people. It was lovely to hear Redbone again and see a clip of them on an American TV show in full regalia. The trailer is below to give to an idea.

The final song in the film before the credits belongs to Buffy Sainte-Marie with some footage of her singing 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee' at a gig spliced with film of the current Standing Rock protests. 

I'm really pleased that I've finally seen this film, it really is fascinating and I learned so much. There are many worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

'Medicine Songs' by Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie's new record, 'Medicine Songs' will be released on 10 November and is available to pre-order - pre-order on iTunes and download the first song now. The new song was  written in the late '60s for a film but not recorded and is here newly recorded with Tanya Tagaq, 'You Got To Run (Spirit of the Wind)'.

The CD includes 13 songs and the download has another six bonus tracks.

On her website Buffy says,

This is a collection of front line songs about unity and resistance – some brand new and some classics – and I want to put them to work. These are songs I’ve been writing for over fifty years, and what troubles people today are still the same damn issues from 30-40-50 years ago: war, oppression, inequity, violence, rankism of all kinds, the pecking order, bullying, racketeering and systemic greed. Some of these songs come from the other side of that: positivity, common sense, romance, equity and enthusiasm for life.

I’ve found that a song can be more effective than a 400-page textbook. It’s immediate and replicable, portable and efficient, easy to understand – and sometimes you can dance to it. 

Buffy is in righteous mood!

The track listing is:

Medicine Songs Tracklisting:
1. You Got To Run (Spirit of the Wind) ft Tanya Tagaq
2. The War Racket
3. Star Walker
4. My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying
5. America the Beautiful
6. Carry It On
7. Little Wheel Spin and Spin
8. No No Keshagesh
9. Soldier Blue
10. The Priests of the Golden Bull
11. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
12. Universal Soldier
13. Power in the Blood

Digital version includes:
14. Disinformation
15. Fallen Angels
16. Now That The Buffalo’s Gone
17. Generation
18. Working For The Government
19. The War Racket (Unplugged)

Take a listen to 'You Got To Run' below. As Buffy sings in 'Starwalker', 'Pray up your medicine song!'

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tanya Tagaq 'You Got To Run (Spirit Of The Wind)'

Buffy Sainte-Marie has teamed up with fellow Polaris Award winner Tanya Tagaq to record a new song, 'You Got To Run (Spirit Of The Wind)'. The song was inspired by the dogsled racer George Attla who competed in the first Iditarod dogsled race in 1973 and was recorded in October 2016. There's a podcast of Buffy and Tanya recorded at the same time that gives background to them getting together, the song, current and native American politics that's worth a listen.



It's fascinating that the song was actually written back in the (late) 1960s for the film 'Spirit Of The Wind' about George Attla and it sounds fresh and right up to date. It calls on people to take a stand for what they believe in, be confident and be proud. It's very appropriate for the politics of today and I love the shout out to Standing Rock at the end.

There are additional verses not included in this version of the song and, in the podcast, Buffy says she's going to record a longer version of the song so let's hope it's included on the new album she's currently recording in her home studio.

Buffy Sainte-Marie Wins TWO Juno Awards for Power In The Blood

Buffy Sainte-Marie has won not one but two Juno Awards: Aboriginal Album of the Year and Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for her latest album, the great 'Power In The Blood'.

As well as receiving two awards, Buffy also presented the Album of the Year Award to Adele for her album '25' - she wasn't there of course since she's touring here - which is a nice honour to give to Buffy.

Well done Buffy!

Buffy Sainte-Marie on 'Saturday Live' on Radio 4

This morning Buffy was a guest on the Saturday morning magazine BBC Radio 4 show, 'Saturday Live' presented by Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. She was in the pre-recorded guest spot about 'inheritance tracks', in other words, a song you inherited from someone and a song you'd leave behind as your legacy.  The songs are played with snippets of the guests talking about them and things related to them. It's a nice segment and they get guests from all over in that slot. Today the guest was Buffy.

Buffy chose 'If You Love Me, Really Love Me' by Edith Piaf, a song she sang as a child but has never sung it publicly. She said she loved Piaf's voice and it reassured her about the vibrato in her own singing voice. She spoke about learning to play the piano in her adoptive parents' house and how she is musically dyslexic despite being able to write for orchestras.

The song she'd leave behind is 'Carry It On' from her latest album, 'Power In The Blood'. She said she'd been very lucky to be able to travel all over the world and meet so many varied people over the years. She mentioned that she'd toured with Morrissey in 2015, how she sold the rights to 'Universal Soldier' for $1 and didn't fall for that again when Elvis recorded 'Until It's Time To Go'. She ended by mentioning her family, that she has a public life and a very private life and that she lives on a farm (and, as we all know, Buffy loves her farm and her goats).

Buffy was introduced with the usual 'native American... sung in Greenwich Village... Universal Soldier... Oscar winner...'. It would be nice to hear a more original introduction one day but it was a lovely surprise to hear Buffy on the radio on a Saturday morning. Well done to 'Saturday Live' for including her. Next time, get her on as a proper guest please - you know it makes sense. Oh, and learn how to pronounce her name as well. But thanks anyway!

The Plastic Bag Awards 2015

It's that time of year again, it's time for the Plastic Bag Awards 2015, affectionately known as the Baggies! The nominations have been scrutinised, the judging panel have locked themselves away in a room for a couple of day to argue the case for one nominee above another and have finally been released with unanimous decisions.

Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, I give you … the Baggies 2015!

Best Theatre - Shakespeare

As we enter the 400th anniversary of the death of Mr Shakespeare then this award has slightly more poignancy that normal. I saw quite a few Shakespeare productions in 2015, including the long-awaited Benedict Cumberbatch version of 'Hamlet'. As ever in recent years, there were a goodly few visits to Shakespeare's Globe for some open-air theatre over the summer as well as sundry productions in more normal theatres. The nominations are:

'Romeo & Juliet' @ The Globe
'The Merchant of Venice' @ The Globe
'Measure for Measure' @ The Globe
'As You Like It' @ the National Theatre
'The Winter's Tale' @ The Garrick Theatre

The winner is the last Shakespeare production I saw over the year, the new Kenneth Branagh company production of 'The Winter's Tale' which is the best production of that play that I've yet seen. It gained double points for being set at Christmas with snow outside and a Christmas Tree inside. Judi Dench was superb.

Best Theatre - Drama

I saw a lot of plays in 2015 and most would fall into this category. I saw a great version of 'Not I' in the Beckett festival at the Barbican over the summer and a touching 'Our Country's Good' at the National but I'm afraid both were pipped at the post. The nominees are:

'Di and Viv and Rose' @ the Vaudeville Theatre
'The Motherfucker With The Hat' @ the National Theatre
'The Oresteia' @ The Globe
'Stevie' @ Hampstead Theatre
'Mr Foote's Other Leg' @ Hampstead Theatre

There were some great productions this year and included some very pleasant surprises like 'The Mofo in the Hat' and 'Stevie' but the Baggy must go to 'Mr Foote's Other Leg' with Simon Russell Beale and Dervla Kirwan, a great script and a great production.

Best Theatre - Musical

It's been a funny year for the musical - the West End is still full of them but where are the new musicals coming through? We need some new smash hits, I think, and I'm hoping that 'Kinky Boots' will rise to the challenge. The nominees are:

'Beautiful' @ the Aldwych Theatre
'Grand Hotel' @ Southwark Playhouse
'Kinky Boots' @ the Adelphi Theatre
'Guys and Dolls' @ the Savoy Theatre
'Xanadu' @ Southwark Theatre

The winner is probably inevitable judging from the number of times I went back to see it on its short run at Southwark - the masterpiece that is 'Grand Hotel'! The great cast led by Scott Garnham as the Baron and Christine Gimandi as Grushinskaya. Well done people!

Best Entertainment

As you all know by now, an 'entertainment' is anything that isn't a proper play or musical and includes a wide variety of productions, from staged talks to one-off events and song cycles. The nominees are:

'Sweeney Todd' @ the Coliseum
'An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer' @ Hackney Empire
Tracey Thorn @ Waterstone's, Piccadilly
'Songs for a New World' @ St James's Theatre
'La Soiree' on the Southbank

The winner is 'Songs for a New World' party because it was completely new for me and something to discover and largely because of Cynthia Erivo who is currently making it big on Broadway.

Best Film

I didn't see many new films in 2015 but saw a few old films in new prints, cleaned up and re-presented. The nominees are:

'Travels With My Aunt' @ the British Film Institute
'Into The Woods' @ Brixton Ritzy
'Wild Tales' @ Curzon Victoria
'Brief Encounter @ the British Film Institute
'Gone With The Wind' @ the British Film Institute

In a surprise to myself, the winner of 'Best Film' is 'Brief Encounter' with it's terribly British accents and acting. It's a timeless love story that I've seen before on TV but seeing it on the big screen was a very different experience. Well done to Celia and Trevor, our immortal lovers.

Best Gig

2015 was a year of few gigs but they were all really good and mainly old favourites rather than new people. The nominees are:

Buffy Sainte-Marie @ the O2 Brooklyn Bowl
Amanda Palmer @ Union Chapel
Culture Club @ Hammersmith
Madonna @ the O2
Kim Wilde's Christmas Party @ the Coronet

The winner is Buffy Sainte-Marie at Brooklyn Bowl at the O2. I'd seen Buffy earlier in the year at the Tabernacle but the Brooklyn Bowl gig was spectacular in more ways than one: the new album was released by then so we had some great live versions of the songs, there was a fabulous light show, the sound was excellent and there was a definite good vibe surrounding the place. Well done Buffy!

Best Live Performance

This category is for a single performance on a stage, whether it's at a gig or in a musical, it's the performance that matters. The nominees are:

'Roses at the Station' by Scott Garnham in 'Grand Hotel'
'Stars & the Moon' by Jenna Russell in 'Songs for a New World'
'Power In The Blood' by Buffy Sainte-Marie @ Brooklyn Bowl
'Rebel Heart' by Madonna @ the O2
'Kids In America' by Kim Wilde @ the Coronet

There were some great performances this year but the winner is Jenna Russell's touching song about growth and love from 'Songs for a New World'. She gave different performances in that show to reflect the mood and the song but her wistful love song wins the day. Well done Jenna!

Best Exhibition

2015 was a year of some great exhibitions and the Goya portraits and 'Defining Beauty' Greek statues exhibitions narrowly missed the nominations, which are:

'Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends' @ the National Portrait Gallery
'Inventing Impressionism' @ the National Gallery
'Grayson Perry - Who Are You?' @ the National Portrait Gallery
'Sonia Delaunay' @ Tate Modern
Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun at Le Grand Palais, Paris

The winner is Sonia Delaunay with her wonderfully colourful works that made me gasp with wonder and shed a tear at the beauty of her paintings.

Best Book

A variety of books were explored this year, fiction, non-fiction and autobiography and the nominees are:

'Naked at the Albert Hall' by Tracey Thorn
'Anger is an Energy' by John Lydon
'The Shepherd's Crown' by Terry Pratchett
'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' by Neil Gaiman
'Black by Design' by Pauline Black

The winner is John Lydon for his brutally honest autobiography, 'Anger is an Energy' in which he tackles some very difficult experiences head on. We get Johnny Rotten and John Lydon - two for the price of one. Well done John!

Best Dance

This is a new category for 2015 when I discovered the joys of dance. The nominees are:

'Woolf Works' by the Royal Ballet @ Royal Opera House
'Triple Bill' by Birmingham Royal Ballet @ Sadler's Wells
'Romeo & Juliet' by the Royal Ballet @ Royal Opera House
'Nutcracker' by the Royal Ballet @ Royal Opera House
'Sleeping Beauty' by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures @ Sadler's Wells

'Woolf Works' was the catalyst that made me want to explore ballet so hats off to that production, but it was 'Romeo & Juliet' that made me fall in love with ballet and that production by the Royal Ballet is the winner. The athleticism, the dancing, the staging and costumes all brought this classic tale to life and captured my imagination. And made me want to see more. Luckily the production is captured on DVD and, even luckier, I have it. Well done Royal Ballet!

And there you have them - the Baggies 2015! All the nominees should be pleased with themselves for making the final cut and, while not everyone can be a winner, simply being nominated is an honour and tribute.  2016 is a new year so let's see what it brings...

Top 30 Music over the last 10 years or so

Do you remember the olden days of this blog, when the Plastic Bag was all shiny and new and not a crease in sight? Well, in the olden days I used to put up lists of what music I'd been listening to and all sorts so I thought, to note the end of the 10 calendar year of the Bag, I'd list my all-time most played artists according to Last.FM.

In total, it tells me that I've listened to 3,034 different artists and my Top 30, in descending order, are:

1. Buffy Sainte-Marie
2. Maximo Park
3. The Human League
4. Suzanne Vega
5. Poly Styrene
6. David Bowie
7. Kirsty MacColl
8. SLADE
9. Amanda Palmer
10. Madonna

Are there any surprises there? I'm a bit surprised that Bowie is so high in the list and that Madonna is in the top 10. With Bowie, I rarely 'binge' listen but he's usually in my playlists somewhere and with Madonna, I suspect her position is due to her last album ('Rebel Heart') that I've listened to a lot. The others? Yes, I'd expect to see them in my top 10.

11. Kim Wilde
12. Pet Shop Boys
13. X-Ray Spex
14. Petula Clark
15. The Dresden Dolls
16. Blondie
17. Boy George
18. Siouxsie & The Banshees
19. Beverley Knight
20. Kate Bush


In the teens, I suspect Siouxsie is so high due to the re-releases of all the Banshees albums over the last few years and her gigs as part of Yoko Ono's Meltdown festival a couple of years ago. Kate Bush is there due her gigs at Hammersmith (obv). I don't recall listening to a lot of Pet Shop Boys or The Dresden Dolls this year so their position probably relies on massive listens in previous years.

21. Public Image Ltd
22. Patti Smith
23. T.Rex
24. Marianne Faithfull
25. The B-52's
26. The Kinks
27. Donna Summer
28. Mary J Blige
29. Viv Albertine
30. P!nk

The 20s are all staples in my playlists and the only one I'm surprised at is The Kinks, although this is probably due to binging on Kinks songs when seeing the stage musical. P!nk should be higher up the list since I used to amend the '!' in her name to an 'i' (i.e. proper English) so a lot of plays won't be counted.

That's one of the oddities of lists and Last.FM since it only counts things in a certain way. Just as P!nk would be higher if plays under the two names were added together then so would Siouxsie (add Siouxsie solo to the Banshees and the Creatures) then she'd be in my top 5. Equally, if I added Amanda Palmer to Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra and the Dresden Dolls - and Evelyn Evelyn if you must - then Amanda would be at number two.

Who do you listen to?

Buffy Sainte-Marie at Brooklyn Bowl

Buffy was in London a week or so ago to promote 'Power In The Blood', her latest album. She was featured in a great interview on 'Woman's Hour' on BBC Radio 4 (in which she said she didn't like her singing on her first few albums) and played live at the Brooklyn Bowl, one of the newer venues at the O2 in Greenwich. It's an odd venue to choose, part bar, part gig venue and part bowling alley but it had a nice feel to it and great lights for Buffy to take advantage of. It's all standing of course, apart from a few bar seats in the bar area, but that's worth it for Buffy. It also had big video screens around the hall so I'm hoping some video of the show from the venue appears at some point.

On strode Buffy in her black and red tassled jacket, feather ear-rings and choker with black jeans and grabbed her guitar. Michele Bruyere is still drumming for Buffy (and has been for 7 years or so and plays on some of the tracks on the new record) along with Mark Olexon on bass and Anthony King on guitar, both of seemed to be having great fun. Buffy alternated guitar with keyboards as usual.

As with her last gig in London (at The Tabernacle), the majority of the songs Buffy sang were from the last two albums with some of the old favourites thrown in for good measure. Even some of the older songs were played as new versions as performed on the new records. I like the way that Buffy's not afraid to play with her own back catalogue and re-write and re-interpret  some of the songs.

We were given:

It's My Way
Generation
Piney Wood Hills
Power In The Blood
We Are Circling
Not The Lovin' Kind
Love Charms
Farm In The Middle Of Nowhere
Carry It On
No No Keshagesh
Cho Cho Fire
Little Wheel Spin And Spin
Blue Sunday
Darling Don't Cry
Up Where We Belong
Until It's Time For You To Go
Universal Soldier
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Starwalker (encore)

Buffy was in her element and clearly having fun up on that stage with the lights flashing, excellent sound mix and a load of adoring fans (including some obviously recruited from her shows with Morrissey earlier this year). Her band also seemed to be having a great time up there, with Anthony helping out on guitar-tech duties and Michele wearing an 'Elder Brothers' teeshirt (a print of one of Buffy's digital paintings).

I loved all the songs we were graced with but particular favourites on the night were 'Darling Don't Cry' which always takes me back to the first time I saw Buffy in Belleville, Ontario, ten years ago and the audience erupting into pow wow singing (amazing experience). 'Power In The Blood' was stunning and 'We Are Circling' was lovely and very hypnotic. 'Generation' is always a joy to hear ("I just want to dance with the Rosebud Sioux this summer") and 'Cho Cho Fire' gets the feet moving (I'm running for the drum with that song). 'Until It's Time For You To Go' is always lovely to hear and it wouldn't be a Buffy gig without 'Universal Soldier'. It would've been nice to hear 'Sing Our Own Song' from the last record but maybe next time.

The encore was 'Starwalker' and the light show went psychedlic as a backdrop for that powerful song for all our generations and all the generations yet to come. I first heard that song in 1976 on the 'Sweet America' record that I bought on import - the record sleeve (and I still have the 12" vinyl and the sleeve) notes that it's dedicated to the American Indian Movement but these days Buffy dedicates it to everyone. "Starwalker, he's a friend of mine...".

And then Michele came out from behind his drumkit and started his pow wow dancing across the stage as the band bowed to the applause and slowly left the stage. That's such a great way to end, and leaves the audience wanting more - we always want more Buffy so please come back and see us soon.

I haven't seen any of the Brooklyn Bowls video yet but I found this clip of Buffy singing 'Power In The Blood' and this should give you an idea of what it was like on the night. With thanks to KrisLW for uploading the video, enjoy!

'Many A Mile' by Buffy Sainte-Marie

'Many A Mile' is Buffy's second album, originally released in 1965 on Vanguard. Although all of Buffy's other albums on Vanguard have been released on CD, for some reason 'Many A Mile' hasn't been until now.  I can only assume it was a rights issue for one of the cover songs on the album. I tracked down a CD version of the album in the 2000s on eBay and imported it from Italy. It came with a square gatefold version of the original album cover with the original 12" vinyl liner notes printed inside.

Some of the songs from the album are well known from being included in compilations over the years, particularly 'Until It's Time For You To Go' which was covered by virtually everyone in the '60s and '70s. There's also 'The Piney Wood Hills' which was a staple of Buffy's live sets for years and 'Los Pescadores' with it's sweeping and soaring vocals. But 'Many A Mile' includes some other gems like the deep blues of 'Fixin' To Die' and the traditional spiritual 'Lazarus', performed with voice and a handclap to produce a haunting, astonishing sound. 'Lazarus' was sampled years ago by Kanye West for a song by Cam'ron ('Dead or Alive'). There's also the gentle 'Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies' with Buffy playing mouthbow.

The two CDs sound very similar but the vocals on the new version sound warmer and richer, or at least they do to me.I'm pleased it's finally released as part of the suite of Buffy's Vanguard records.

The Plastic Bag is 10

This blog has been going for 10 years now, something I couldn't even dream of back when I started  but it's true. This is post number 2,360 and it's had 344,102 page views - or at least that's the number in the analytics since Google took over Blogger (whenever that was). To celebrate moving into my 11th year in the Plastic Bag I've changed the url for the blog to plasticbag2005.blogspot.co.uk so my user numbers will start from zero again.

I've blogged about all sorts of stuff over the years. Holidays, gigs, music, thoughts, exhibitions, theatre, news, annoyances and joys. It's all in here somewhere. The only theme here is me. It's not a music blog or a theatre blog or an art blog or anything like that. It's about me and what I'm interested in. And I'm interested in lots of things.

I've blogged about Buffy Sainte-Marie and Amanda Palmer (especially receiving AFP hugs), about Matisse and Paul Klee exhibitions, about buying cushions, about people switching on their phones in theatres, about theatrical productions I've enjoyed or hated, about my holidays and penchant for making lists, about poetry on the Tube network and more. I've blogged about all sorts of stuff and all of this is part of me.

We're all made up of many contradictions and I'm not sure what makes me continue to type out blogs and then send them out into the vastness of the Internet. That's a big space out there and my small voice is part of it. Sometime people notice and sometimes they don't. I don't really understand the patterns of viewing but I'm not too bothered. My peak month was April 2011 when I had 4,800 readers but I've gone steadily downhill since then but that's not bad for an unpromoted blog.

I was delighted that my blogging about Jane Aire & The Belvedere's attracted so many positive comments and then created a connection with Jane herself who now sings in a choir in America but appreciates our continued punk-love of her younger self. I was also touched by people welcoming my blogging about an operation for a stomach hernia and how to look after the wound since it wasn't explained by the hospitals. It's odd what people notice and find useful.

Anyway, let's see what the next ten years contains... I suspect more of the same - but who knows? Watch this space!

Buffy Sainte-Marie back in London

Buffy is in London even as I type. She's playing the Brooklyn Bowl at the O2 at Greenwich on Thursday and I'll be there (obv). She's also going to be on 'Woman's Hour' on Radio 4 tomorrow (Wednesday) so it'll be worth tuning in if you can (or iPlayer it if you can't).  I know it's a bit silly at my age to be getting excited about seeing Buffy - I'm hardly a teenager anymore but I do turn into fanboy where Buffy's concerned.

I listened to 'Power In The Blood' today (for the umpteenth time) to decide on which songs I really want to hear Buffy play on Thursday. I also remembered her post on Facebook the other day  to say that she's just re-recorded 'My Country Tis Of Thy People You're Dying' and I want to hear that. It's not a song Buffy usually plays so it'll be a great addition to her set.

Songs I'd love to hear from the latest album include 'Power in the Blood' (the title song), 'We Are Circling', 'Ke Sakihitin Awasis', 'Farm in the Middle of Nowhere', 'Sing Our Own Song' and 'Carry it On'. I'd love to hear the 'pop opera' of 'The Uranian War' but I doubt we'll get that. And I insist on the re-interpretations of '70s songs 'Generations' and 'Not The Loving Kind'. And, of course, everything else. So that's a six hours set Buffy - OK?

I love how Buffy has woven todays issues into her songs. Like in UB40's 'Sing Our Own Song' she's re-written it to include references to the #Occupy movement and #IdleNoMore and changed it entirely to speak to and about Native Americans.

Enjoy your time in London, Buffy, and I'll see you on Thursday!

Buffy Sainte-Marie - 'Many A Mile'

In important Buffy news, her second album, 'Many A Mile' is finally available for the first time on CD. The blurb on Amazon says:

This is the last of Buffy Sainte-Marie's albums to make it into Ace's catalogue of her Vanguard releases. The delay was caused by the lack of a master tape and Ace did not want to dub it from disc. Thankfully a tape has now been discovered and they can fill the gap. Originally released in 1965 as VSD 79171. The album contains a fair percentage of traditional material including several Child ballads. Of her self-penned songs, Until It's Time For You To Go is the most famous.

Some of the songs on this album have been included on compilations over the years but the full album hasn't been available, at least in this country. I bought my copy from a record dealer in Italy and it came in a  reproduction cover but it'll be nice to have this new version.

Until recently, 'Piney Wood Hills' was a staple of Buffy's live set and, of course, she always plays the gorgeous 'Until It's Time For You To Go'. Other favourites are 'Los Pescadores' with her amazing and haunting voice banshee-wailing as the sea and the spine tingling 'Lazarus', just voice and hand-claps. And did you know that Kanye West sampled 'Lazarus' when he produced one of Cam'ron's albums? He did y'know, you can hear it plain as day on 'Dead or Alive' on the album 'Come Home With Me' (no idea if Buffy gets a credit).

I will get my pocket money out and invest in this record immediately! 

'Power In The Blood' on Billboard

Buffy Sainte-Marie has just posted a link to an interview she did with Billboard which starts off by asking about the song, 'Power In The Blood'. After crediting Alabama 3, she went on to say: 

"My version [of Power In The Blood] is a laundry list of contemporary issues that are challenging everyone right now. It's the age old racketeering problem that's been going on since before the Old Testament. The Roman Empire, the Inquisition -- the whole notion of rackets, where a few guys make a fortune and everyone else is exploited. And it's everything -- it's in the banks, it's in the tanks, in the military, the food supply, the college of business.... The business model at the moment is kind of fraud: Take as much as you can get and give back the least you can.

"It's a big, huge racket that everyone is seeing with new eyes now. "Power In the Blood" is a double entendre. On one end, it's the power of the feudal system to hurt and exploit us. The other power is the power in our brains to survive and evolve beyond this. To balance that with what we need -- common sense and respect for nature and each other."

Don't you wish that all your heroes were this strong, this powerful, this righteous?

And here's a video for the song, 'Power In The Blood' from her album of the same name.



#NoNoNoToWar!

Badges! Protest!

I  took advantage of the lull in the rain the other afternoon to pop round to my local Tecso enormo-store (yes, a new compound word) to get some provisions in for the week ahead. While I was browsing and trying to remember why I came in the first place (shower gel *tick*, radishes *tick*, rice *tick* ...) I suddenly decided I was pleased I was the age I am. I'm 55 and that means I'm in my sixth decade of life, and I marvel at the changes I've seen and wonder what changes are still to come.

Not all is rosy, of course. With age come health problems and changes that I doubt anyone is prepared for but that's part of growing. I suppose I'm an adult but I still don't think I've grown up - there's still some way to go before I'll accept that insult. My politics haven't mellowed as often seems to be the case as we age and my frustration with the right wing only increases. You see, I remember the '70s when everyone had a cause. Even the right-wing, obvs, except their cause was always 'me'.

I proudly wore my 'Save the Whale' badge in the late '70s and early '80s until I lost it. The '70s and '80s were a great period for badges, badges of all sorts and I still have some of mine, original badges I wouldn't dream of wearing today in case they fell off and were lost. I wore an original X-Ray Spex badge from 1978 when I went to see Poly Styrene at the Roundhouse in 2011 but not since. Today, I wear a Poly Styrene signature badge on all my jackets and coats. Some things never change.

I am currently also wearing my 'Punk Cabaret is Freedom' badge since Amanda Palmer is in the country for a month. That badge wins free hugs from Amanda if you meet her in the street or the theatre lobby and that's not something to miss. I got the biggest hug from Amanda a few years ago for wearing that badge and meeting her after an Alan Cummings show at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand so I'll not take the risk of not wearing it. O no.

I wore it last night to see Amanda play at the Union Chapel and I'll wear it tomorrow at her book signing session. You never know, I might get another hug.

Thinking back also made me remember the 'Protect and Survive' campaign. That was when the Cold War came into our houses with leaflets posted to every home in the UK and adverts on telly about what to do in the event of a nuclear strike. Today they would probably be laughable but it was dead serious back then. I never quite understood the ideas behind it though. If there's going to be a nuclear holocaust then I'm not sure I want to survive it. Why would I want to go through those hardships and die a slow, painful death? A moment of obliteration seems preferable. A definite case of, 'Bye world, nice knowing you...'.

I vaguely recall 'Protest and Survive' badges from the time but can't see anything online. Change one letter and change the whole meaning. Am I making that up or is there a gap in internet and wiki history?

I don't see many badges worn these days, no proclamation of what we believe in or support. I've blogged before about seeing young people in Joy Division, The Ramones or The Clash tee shirts, bands that disappeared before they were born, and wondered whether they know what they're wearing or maybe they just think it's a good design? I'll probably never ask any of them but it's good to see the images are still current.

Mind you, *some* people still have badges. Amanda is selling badges at her merch table on her current tour so, naturally, I had to have some. They're a new design and I really like the ampersand paint-brush slash AFP design. 'Ampersand' is one of my favourite songs from 'Who Killed...?' and it's a bit more arty than simple the letters AFP. I have a small 'AFP' badge that I wore until I was asked three times in a day what it meant - I got offended looks when I said it stood for Amanda Fucking Palmer. O dear. Well, you shouldn't have asked in the first place.

One of my favourite badge references is in the liner notes to Kim Wilde's 'Snapshots' record in which she states, 'I wear my Pop Star badge with pride'. Kim clearly understands badges. And she is a Pop Star.

 

Now that Buffy Sainte-Marie finally has some merch to sell at gigs (tee shirts with her looking righteous) she needs a badge line in '#IdleNoMore', 'No No No to War' and 'Cho Cho Fire!'. Let's get some politics back into badges and spread the message.

What do you think?

Buffy Sainte-Marie at The Tabernacle, London

Buffy Sainte-Marie and her new band flew over from Australia to join Morrissey on his current UK tour and, on their night off, came to London for a one-off show at the Tabernacle. They must be well tired by now. I had to be there, obv.

The Tabernacle is a bit of an odd place to play but I suspect there wasn't much of a choice in venues since this was only booked about four weeks ago. I'd never been there before and it's sort of an old churchy place turned into an arts venue with the quaint thing of going up to a reception desk to show your tickets and then getting your hand stamped with ink so you can go in and out all night if you want to. The hall is upstairs with a raised balcony on three sides with pews to sit on, with the hall being standing, a glitter ball hanging from the ceiling and the ceiling held up with good old Victoria ironmongery. I quite liked it but, not being local, it was a bit of a pain to get to wandering round the residential streets of west London. I wonder what Buffy thought of the place?

This was all a bit exciting for Buffy fans, what with the announcement of touring with Morrissey a matter of weeks ago and then this gig and the news of Buffy's new album, 'Power In The Blood', due in May.  Buffy last played in London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank during the London  Olympics in 2012 (I was there, of course).

There was a sign on the door saying that filming would be going on and I suspect that's what slowed down the start of the gig, with the camera lad wandering round, checking cameras, getting set up to film and such like. I couldn't help but thinking, 'you've only had all day …' and then suddenly the band started to come on, a new bassist and guitarist, Michel still on drums and then on came Buffy in tight black jacket and trousers, beaded choker, wreathed in smiles and waving to the audience.

Then, without a word she slung her guitar and started picking the strings to open the show with her new version of 'It's My Way', a song first released in 1964. And it is powerful! The original is just her playing acoustic guitar, but this is her with a flight of guitars and drums and makes a mighty song to start with! And then we had the pounding opening to 'Cho Cho Fire' and we're off and running for the drum!

It was a great setlist and definitely at the 'rock' end of her work, full of guitars, drums and keyboards with the odd exception for some of her classics. The setlist was (not in the right order):

It's My Way (new version)
Cho Cho Fire
No No Keshagesh
Little Wheel Spin and Spin
Blue Sunday
Universal Soldier
Until It's Time For You To Go
I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again
Generation (new Version)
Darling Don't Cry
Up Where We Belong
Soldier Blue
Not The Lovin' Kind (new version)
Power In The Blood (new)
We Are Circling (new version)
Farm In The Middle of Nowhere (new)
Carry It On (new version)
Starwalker (encore)


Buffy and her band must've been dropping from jetlag and sheer tiredness but you'd never guess it. They were definitely 'up' and in very good form indeed. The sound was a bit muddy now and then but that's hardly surprising since they've come out of arenas to play the more bijou Tabernacle.

It was a great setlist and I must focus on the songs from the new album, 'Power In The Blood', since new Buffy songs are always worth listening to (and these in particular). These were:

'It's My Way' is the new version gradually introduces guitars and drums rather than Buffy's original acoustic version and it was a great opener, throwing down the towel to say this is me today, not 50 years ago! It's already available to download from iTunes as the lead song from 'Power'.

'Power In The Blood' is Buffy's re-worked version of the Alabama 3 song of the same name, a powerful and political rock song that she's made her own.

'We Are Circling' was introduced as a round-song sang by the acid-rainbow hippies on a hill outside San Francisco that she's written some new verses to and it sounded fantastic in it's mesmerising repetition. I've got the version Buffy recorded a few years ago with The Sadies but this version is so much better, pulling you in and making you part of the family.

'Farm In The Middle Of Nowhere' was introduced as 'true, sort of' and is a delightful and gentle song that had me smiling at the sheer simplicity of Buffy singing about living in the middle of nowhere with her goats. I loved it. Especially since someone in the audience asked her about her goats immediately before the song.

'Generation' is an old song from 'Sweet America' given a make-over and some slight word changes to make it a new song with soaring guitar and Buffy singing about wanting to dance with the Rosebud Sioux in the summer (don't we all?).

'Not The Lovin' Kind' is another old song (from 'Moonshot') and works incredibly well with the full band sound behind it, and then there's...

'Carry It On' which is another old song but you won't find it with that title in Buffy's catalogue. It's based on 'Look At The Facts' from 'Sweet America' but sounded so much more powerful played live. My first reaction was that, with a bit of judicial editing, Buffy's turned it into a rock anthem complete with a punch-the-air chorus - it was magnificent! I'm looking forward to hearing the recorded version of this when the new record comes out!

This was a most fabulous gig and I'm sort of thinking it's the best I've seen Buffy on stage. Part of that is the joy of the new (and re-recorded) songs but the energy coming off that stage was almost palpable. The reception of the old songs was great and there weren't even that many of Buffy's classics - songs were mostly from 'Running For The Drum' and 'Power In the Blood' and the set worked so well. It got the audience dancing and singing along and that's what you want, isn't it? It was also lovely to see the old freaks and hippies coming out to play, with lots of people in 'casuals' but also a surprising number of younger people as well, which is a good thing. Oh, and Cerys Matthews was in the audience too (I had to say hello on the way out). I didn't see any publicity for the gig at all so clearly word-of-mouth still works for Buffy!

As ever, I never take good photos of Buffy so I didn't take many at all but there are a few in this blog. They're all a bit serious looking but there were far more smiles than frowns. And I love the out-of-focus photo below since it shows the energy Buffy puts into her songs, head back and vocals forward!

Migweetch Buffy - until the next time!

Buffy Sainte-Marie - 'Power In The Blood'

Today Buffy Sainte-Marie announced the arrival of her new album and 'Power In The Blood' will be available on 12 May. It's available to pre-order and if you go to iTunes you can even download the first track, her new version of 'It's My Way' and it's definitely worth listening to it. It's as different from the original version 50 years ago as you could imagine. And what a fab album cover!

There are 12 songs on the new album, mainly new songs but a few re-recorded 'old' songs. The track-listing is:

It's My Way
Power In The Blood
We Are Circling
Not The Lovin' Kind
Love Charms
Ke Sakihitin Awasis
Farm In The Middle Of Nowhere
Generation
Sing Our Own Song
Orion
Uranium War
Carry It On

I'm hoping I'll hear some of these new songs and new versions when Buffy tours in March. She's playing on Morrissey's arena tour around the UK but will steal away for one evening to play a solo gig at the Tabernacle in London and I will (of course) be there. I've seen Buffy's previous band a few times but I'm looking forward to seeing this new band but with Michel Bruyere still on drums and, I hope, powwow dancing.

I am very much looking forward to this album. 'Running For The Drum' was an out-of-the-blue joy but this is the follow-up to that album in a way you can't really say 'Drum' was a follow-up to 1992's 'Coincidence & Likely Stories'. Buffy's been on the road gigging and spreading the work about 'Running For The Drum' almost ceaselessly since it was released (other than looking after her goats, of course) so this new album has been recorded against a very different background. The almost abrasive beauty of the new 'It's My Way' tells me this will be a very different record.

I am also delighted that Buffy has chosen to re-record 'Generation', a very special song for me. I first heard it on a TV show about Buffy in about 1976 and I've remembered the chorus ever since:

      And we'll sing goodbye stars of Hitler
      And goodbye bankers trust
      Aquarius is coming
      And your son is one of us
      And me I don't want to go to the Moon
      I'm gonna leave that Moon alone
      I just want to dance with the Rosebud Sioux this summer….

Maybe one day I will dance with the Rosebud Sioux…?

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Morrissey

If you are tuned into any of the Buffy networks on Twitter, Facebook or elsewhere then you'll know that Buffy Sainte-Marie is joining Morrissey on his UK tour in March. He's only playing a few dates so Buffy can slot these in after her sojourn to Australia. Unfortunately there's no London gig so I'll have to see what I can do to shift things round and see her somewhere around the country.

I've seen Morrissey a few times but I'd be going to see Buffy.

This isn't the first time Morrissey has wanted Buffy on the same stage. I travelled to the little town of Belleville in Ontario, Canada, to see Buffy in February 2005, the first time I ever saw Buffy and she mentioned us from the stage - that people had come all the way from England to see the show. I almost looked round to see who they were before realising she meant me. I met Buffy afterwards and I asked if she ever came over to the UK to play and she said that Morrissey had invited her over to play the Meltdown festival that he curated in 2004 but she wasn't able to make it. That was the festival that brought the New York Dolls back together.

I've seen Buffy on every visit to London since then and was honoured to be on the guest list for her last show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2012 during the Olympics. I was on duty as an Olympic Ambassador at the time so did a quick change to see the show and then meet Buffy and her band afterwards.

Buffy has a new album due for release in, I think, April, so it'll be interesting to hear new songs played live. Buffy's vast back-catalogue means that she has a set-list for every occasion and I'm really fascinated to see which songs she picks for the Morrissey shows!

Important UPDATE

It looks like Buffy is playing the Tabernacle in London on 26 March - tickets aren't on sale yet but watch out for further details.

Buffy at the Black Hills Unity Concert

Buffy Sainte-Marie is playing at the Black Hills Unity Concert next weekend as part of the campaign to return the Black Hills of Dakota to the Great Sioux Nation.

The website explains that the concert marks the ceremonial beginning of a campaign to support the Great Sioux Nation "to reclaim their guardianship of the Black Hills as their rightful homeland, building a bridge between the sacred sites of the Black Hills and all people worldwide in support of the Earth." Buffy has sung about the Black Hills in several songs so, naturally, she's involved.

In 1980 the US Supreme Court awarded the Great Sioux Nation $105 million for the loss of the Black Hills. The Sioux refused the money on the grounds that the Black Hills are not for sale. Today, the money is worth $1.4 billion and the Black Hills are still not for sale. Watch the video...

Kate Bush - Before The Dawn

Some things you just don't expect to happen. Like Kate Bush playing live again or managing to nab tickets in the fourth row from the stage. Things like that just don't happen. Except sometimes they do and you need to embrace them.

I remember hearing that odd song, 'Wuthering Heights', on the radio in 1978 and then seeing its singer on 'Top Of The Pops', that strange creature that danced around while singing. I didn't buy singles back then - except for punk singles and eps - so I didn't buy the single but I did buy the album, 'The Kick Inside' when it was released. The magic had worked on me. And I bought successive album releases on vinyl, then on cassette and then on CD. In a sense I've grown up listening to Kate Bush, just a couple of years younger than Kate, but she was always so much older than me and took me to places I didn't know existed.

So, when the announcement was made that she would be playing at Hammersmith Apollo I could hardly believe it. And image my surprise when I was sent a fan pre-sale code to buy tickets before they went on general release. So I did, with seats in row H for Friday 5 September. The eighth row? I was ecstatic. My ecstasy rose when I heard that the stage had been extended over the first few rows which meant I was now in the fourth row.

But September is so far away…

And then I read a review of the first show in August and knew what would happen and then avoided any other reviews.

Friday finally arrived and I wore the Most beautiful Shirt in the World (only worn to see Buffy Sainte-Marie and Amanda Palmer - and now Kate Bush).  The afternoon dragged and I whinged at work wanting the clock to hit 5 o'clock and then it did and I was off. Missed a District Line train and had to wait six minutes for the next  - will I be late? No, of course I won't, it's only six minutes! I got on the train and sat down and then two stops later Chris got on wearing his irritable commuter face - what are the chances of that? He'd got a bus to Sloane Square from Battersea and just happened to get on, not only the same train as me, but the same carriage and the same part of the carriage. Weird.

Having arrived hideously early we got chips at the chip shop round the corner from the Apollo and did the long circuit walk down to the river and back while we ate them and then joined the snaking queue. At 6:15pm the doors opened and we slowly entered the building to my amazed mutterings of 'it's gone green' and, indeed, the decor is now peppermint and pistachio following it's refurbishment. Straight up to the balcony merch stand to get show books and tee shirts with a mere 25 minutes queuing to get served and then to the bar. The old curtain has been removed form the back of the bar and you can see the lovely art deco windows and Hammersmith flyover (which was a very odd experience). Then downstairs and into the stalls to find our seats… in the fourth row.

And then more weirdness - Clive and Angus on the other side of the aisle. Last time I'd seen them was at the ICA a couple of years ago when we were all dripping from an unexpected downpour to see a documentary about Elaine Stritch. Stress-relieving gossip ensued. Then we took our seats and waited.

At 7:45pm the band walked on and took their places on the raised platforms and then on came Kate Bush followed by five backing singers/actors, doing a slow shuffle onto the stage wreathed in smiles. Sorry, did I just say that? Kate Bush came on stage? Really?  Yes, really.

And there she was, this strange creature of legend, right in front of me. Long hair, long tassels on the sleeves of her black coat and barefoot (I winced slightly at the feet - what if there was a stray pin on the stage?). And then I heard Lily's voice talking of salt and magic and Kate launched into (the 'Director's Cut' version of) 'Lily', only one of my favourite songs! That was Kate Bush up there y'know, singing to me, smiling at me and having the time of her life being worshipped by all these people from all over the globe coming to see her show in west London. And me, of course.

As all the reviews tell you, the first half hour is traditional gig territory with 'Hounds of Love', 'Running Up That Hill', 'Top Of The City', 'Joanni' and 'King of the Mountain'. 'King' ended with a massive cannon explosion shoving lots of pieces of paper into the air with the words from Tennyson that inspired the Ninth Wave on the second side of Kate's 'Hounds of Love' album. Now the theatre would commence!

And it did, with a video of a man ringing the coast guard about a sinking ship and then we had the video of Kate in a floatation tank singing 'And Dream of Sheep' and the Ninth Wave began. Fish People all over, shipwreck, a whale's ribcage, a life-buoy and a helicopter strafing the audience with search lights - it's all in there as we hear and see the tale of a woman drowning. It was very spectacular and brought the song cycle to life by seeing what Kate meant it to be. Rising from the ice dead to be replaced by a raven image, struggling to reach the life-buoy and then being carried off stage and into the audience by the Fish People. Big wow. And then a curtain dropping from the ceiling with a feather motif as we're allowed an interval and the stage is re-set.

Phew!

The second half opens with a big door opening and it's snowing inside as a mannequin walks out (with his handler dressed in black). This is the Aerial suite, 'A Sky of Honey', in which Kate's son plays the Painter character.  This is all about birdsong on a sunny afternoon leading into evening and the full moon. I liked the inquisitive mannequin who visited the musicians and Kate playing the piano (again barefoot) but didn't like it when Kate's son told him to 'piss off'. That's not nice.

Birdsong saturated the sound for the second half, lots of bird images sweeping and diving, lots of laughter and lots of soundscapes. And then trees came crashing out of the heavens onto the stage (and one went right through the grand piano) and the crescendo approached in 'Aerial', building and building, with Kate turning partially into a bird and, in the final scene, taking off to fly! Wow, that was spectacular! Just a flash of her taking off and then lights out! Astonishing!

The lights came back up for bows and then all left the stage. And Kate came back on stage to sing 'Among Angels' at the piano, alone, before the band joined her for 'Cloudbusting'. She encouraged us to sing along to the chorus so I am now *officially* a Kate Bush backing singer! That was amazing and she left the stage covered in smiles. And I clapped and clapped. And then that was it, it was all over. I'd seen this legendary being and sang with her and smiled at her and clapped at her.

I've seen Kate Bush!