Doing Things the Otway
Telstars, Seagull Heads and Mince Pies....adventures in England.
Greetings readers and followers of New Dimensions! If you’ve been keeping up from my travelogue posts, you’ll no doubt be aware that I spent a good part of November in England, and have been chronicling that journey.
Last we met, I was coming off a Bonzos high, having spent a remarkable and wonderful evening attending the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band screening and event at the BFI.
The next day I continued more London explorations, making a point of visiting the site of Joe Meek’s former studio, the site of many an incredible production from the mad genius of sound.
Then it was dinner with my pals Louise and Sam at a fantastic Greek restaurant, where the food and drinks seemed never ending!
By the end of the week, I was off to Devizes (pronounced ‘devices’), a small village not terribly far from Bristol. Riding the Great Western Rails was splendid, practically having an entire coach to myself, as we traveled through the countryside.
By the time I made it to Devizes, it was late afternoon, as I got settled in the George & Dragon B&B in Rowde, which I cannot recommend enough. The manager was delightful, and quite accommodating, and the room was cozy and warm.
You might be asking why I jaunted out of London to the small village of Devizes? As much as I love traveling and visiting towns and villages small and large, I was specifically in this one for a concert. Whenever I travel, I always check and see what gigs are happening where I’m visiting. And for this particular English visit, it seemed that most of the bands and artists I’d have wanted to see weren’t performing during my stay. Except for John Otway!
I’ve long been a fan of John Otway’s; he’s been making curiously catchy music since the 1970s, aided by his pursuit of fame and a sheer willingness to attack the stage (literally!). I first became exposed to Otway when watching the classic new wave-punk concert film Urgh! A Music War as a teenager. In an action-packed film full of fantastic artists, he stood out with his physical performance of Bob Lind’s ‘Cheryl’s Going Home’. I’d collected his records over the years (surprisingly, he was signed to Stiff America at one point!), though he’d never had much beyond cult success in the States. So it came as a pleasant surprise when I saw John was performing in England in November. After looking at my schedule, the easiest date to attend was his show in Devizes.
As it turned out, the B&B was on the outskirts of town, and unbeknownst to me, the bus service wasn’t running that day, nor were there Ubers available in Devizes. So, I decided to set off on foot, walking the five miles to the gig, as the sun set on the village and it began to rain. It gave me a chance to explore the streets and sights, which I always enjoy, wherever I am.
Once I made it to town, I noticed things were quiet. Very quiet. As I soon learned, there had been a fire earlier that week at the Kebab House restaurant, and apparently it was severe enough to shut a lot of services down. Nevertheless, I soon found myself cueing up outside Long Street Blues Club to see ‘pop’s most eccentric guitar genius’, as the flyers billed him.
After warming up inside the club, I quickly found myself chatting with none other than John Otway himself, who isn’t terribly hard to spot! He was astonished that someone had come all the way from New York to Devizes for one of his gigs, a not too common occurrence at his shows, I imagine. As it was, we had to save our chatting for after the show, as I wanted to settle in to catch the openers. Billy in the Lowground are a fantastic roots rock group, with tremendous energy on stage. Listening to them, it brought to mind influences as diverse as Fairport Convention to CCR. The vocalist and the fiddle player lit up the stage - a great start to the evening!
Before long, Otway took the stage…and didn’t let go! For the next ninety minutes he and his band brought their mixture of humour and rock ‘n’ roll to a delighted audience. Describing John Otway’s set doesn’t truly do it justice; with a wink and a nod, he manages to both rock out whilst not taking himself serious, at all. How can you not love a guy who introduces his second hit (the disco-influenced science homework-inspired ‘Bunsen Burner’) by saying that he finally had the ‘S’ on the right side of ‘Hit’? Or who introduced his song ‘We Rock’ by saying he decided to write an anthem by taking a certain Queen song title and summing it down to the best bits? Watching Otway is a surreal journey, aided by his talented band, who bring both musical ability and a sharp comedic timing from thirty plus years working with him.
After the gig, I got to hang out with John and the band and made a point of purchasing all of his CDs and merch - both to support him, and to get copies of his latest releases. By the time we shuffled out of the club, it was nearing midnight and, as I quickly learned, no restaurants in Devizes were open. Well, almost none. As I asked around to the strangers wandering the town, I was directed to head to Chick-O-Land. As it turned out, it was the only restaurant open past midnight in town. And as anyone who’s ever gone for food after a gig knows, you take what you can get. Everyone else there seemed to be potentially inebriated or coming off a party high, as they ordered their pizza and sandwiches to go. As it turned out, they made a decent kebab, which I dined on after getting a local cab back to my room at the B&B. That is, after fiddling with the key, and being unable to open the door at first, standing outside, with bags of food, calling for the owner….
Never a dull moment in Devizes. Next stop: Bristol.
