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Manchester Pride 08

The Cruz bus flaunts its giant flag.

It’s that time of year again as Manchester gives over its city centre to the flamboyant hordes. I was surprised that the afternoon weather—which has been singularly dismal this year—managed to be bright and even slightly warm while the Parade was in progress. Yes it’s August but this summer has seen temperatures struggle to rise above 17ºC and we’ve had continual rain.

The Canal Street throng.

After the Parade the Gay Village streets were insanely crowded, too much so, it was impossible to move much of the time. That aside, there was a good atmosphere as there always is in gay crowds. (Or is that just my bias?) Roisin Murphy is playing the main stage on Sunday evening so I may stick around if the weather holds. As I type this it’s raining heavily—again.

Numerous drag queens in evidence. And a shirtless guy on stilts…

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Over the rainbow
• London Pride
• São Paulo Pride 2006

Phallic worship

And why not, say I? Being a born-again pagan I’d much rather venerate the generative organ of the human male in all its splendour than abase myself before one of the invisible sky gods; I had my fill of that when I was an unwilling young Catholic. And besides, what gay man doesn’t worship the phallus in some form?

Most people have heard of the Japanese festival, Kanamara Matsuri, a Shinto fertility celebration. Giant ceremonial phalluses are paraded through the streets and a good time is had by all. Less well-known is a similar Dionysian festival which takes place in the small town of Tyrnavos, Greece on the first Monday of Lent.

If you want to eat phallus-shaped bread, drink through phallus-shaped straws from phallus-shaped cups, kiss ceramic phalluses, sit on a phallus-shaped throne and sing dirty Greek songs about the phallus, then you should visit the little Greek town of Tyrnavos each year on “Clean Monday.”
…
The festival is in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, madness and ecstasy. While the men, women and children of Tyrnavos celebrate the penis, the rest of Greece marks the beginning of the pre-Easter fast more modestly by flying kites and eating octopus, olives and unleavened bread. More.

Bronze statuette of the Roman fertility god Priapus, made in two parts (shown here in assembled and disassembled forms).

Fitting then, now that spring is passing into summer, that Taschen are following up their Big Book of Breasts with the Big Penis Book. The splendid cover needs to be seen in action (as it were) since the underwear is printed on a clear wrapper which can be removed to expose the wonderful tumescence beneath. I like the sly humour in the design which makes the background of the breasts book blue while the penis book is pink. I’m not too sure about the quality of the contents from their previews, much of it seems to be filled out with photo shoots from gay porn of the Seventies. But I’ll suspend my judgement until I’ve given it a proper viewing. If anything was going to be the phallic worshipper’s bible, this must be it. Good to see Taschen flying the flag as always for high-quality porn/erotica.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The book covers archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The art of ejaculation

Sam Amidon and Valgeir Sigurdsson in Manchester

Sam and ensemble.

“Bedroom Community, possibly the best label in the world right now” was my earnest declaration back in March after seeing Sam Amidon play for the first time. A few months earlier I’d put Valgeir Sigurðsson‘s Ekvílibríum album on my best of 2007 list for Arthur magazine. Tonight’s event at Trinity Church confirmed that judgement with another great performance of songs from All Is Well by Sam, followed by a set from his Icelandic composer/producer colleague. Support for the evening was from Manchester’s own Denis Jones and a display of his one-man house of cards conjuring with samples and guitar.

Sam Amidon’s set this time lacked some of the stunning impact of the earlier gig but that’s only because the thrill of seeing him for the first time can’t be repeated. If anything the performances were better this time round, not least because there were more string players there to do justice to Nico Muhly‘s marvellous arrangements; Little Satchel especially benefited. Valgeir Sigurðsson (who produced All Is Well) helped out in the background then Sam returned the favour for Valgeir’s set, including singing one of the songs from Ekvílibríum. This easy swapping of roles is one of the things which makes Bedroom Community such a fascinating label; Valgeir produces, everyone plays on everyone else’s albums. All the people involved (Nico Muhly and Ben Frost make up the creative quartet) are highly distinctive and bring a considerable authority to their work. Most of Valgeir’s set this evening was instrumental (there are four songs on the album) and I missed Dawn McCarthy’s vocal on Winter Sleep but the vocal-less rendition gave an opportunity to hear the breadth of the arrangement. The BC site credits the other Icelandic musicians as Una Sveinbjarnardóttir on violin/mandolin, Sigríður Sunna Reynisdóttir on accordion/electric piano and Rebekka Bryndís Björnsdóttir on bassoon/cello.

“Bedroom community” is a euphemism for a suburb or dormitory town, as well as (in the case of the label) a play on the idea of the bedroom musician. Ignore the usual negative connotations of suburbs and think of this community as being one away from the decaying centre and the increasingly desperate frenzy of the mainstream. Back in the late Seventies Robert Fripp was presciently declaring the age of the music dinosaurs over, saying “In the new world the characteristic unit will be small, highly mobile, independent and intelligent.” Bedroom Community, its artists and its ethos, is precisely what he was talking about. We need more like them.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• God only knows
• Sam Amidon in Manchester

Sam Amidon in Manchester

The phrase “breathless hush” might have been created for the rapt anticipation that greets some of the artists who play the Cross Street Chapel in Manchester. The circular space is a perfect arena for detailed electronica of the kind presented by Machinefabriek and company last year, or acoustic performances such as tonight’s astonishing set by American singer and guitarist/banjo player Sam Amidon. We were fortunate this evening to be treated not only to virtually the whole of Amidon’s All Is Well album but he was also accompanied throughout by a string quartet playing exclusively for this concert.

All Is Well is a collection of traditional songs of the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music/“Old Weird America” school and Amidon himself comes from a musical family immersed in these folk traditions. As a result he swims in this world like a natural and when you add his equally natural talent plus Nico Muhly‘s string arrangements you have something very special. Some of the more poignant songs tonight were, if anything, better than their equivalents on the album, not least for the incomparable atmosphere that live strings bring to the occasion; when he opened with Saro I was on the verge on tears it was so wonderful. All Is Well is released by Bedroom Community, possibly the best label in the world right now with a small roster of essential artists that I keep intending on writing about at greater length for Arthur. Tonight’s event made that intention all the more urgent and necessary. Best gig of the year already? We’ll see…. Buy his album!

• Sam Amidon on MySpace
• Sam Amidon on YouTube

Earth in Manchester

Earth, looking suitably infernal.

Out this evening to the Zion Centre in Hulme to see Seattle drone metal band Earth. I didn’t get to see their performance at the 2005 Arthurfest in Los Angeles but this event made up for that. Support—which we missed due to late arrival—was from Sir Richard Bishop, whose portrait I produced for the last issue of Arthur Magazine.

Earth play that kind of slowed-to-a-crawl metal which has its roots in Black Sabbath (the origin of their name) and Swans. The band have some great album and track titles, among them Thrones and Dominions, Hex (Or Printing in the Infernal Method) and Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, the latter being borrowed by a drone doom supergroup. Unlike followers Sunn O))), who don robes and fill the stage with fog, the Earth presentation is a minimal one: no vocals, just the music, and no effects, red light only. I’d heard a couple of Earth CDs but what becomes obvious when you see them live is that this kind of music really benefits from loud volume and a good sound system. Both those elements were in place tonight which made for a thoroughly immersive experience.

Earth have a new album out at the end of this month, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, on the Southern Lord label.