The great indoors

There’s still a part of me that wants to be Norman Blake when I grow up, because, just by the way they make it sound, life must always be sweet if you’re a member of Teenage Fanclub. It’s hard to believe that it’s over a decade now since the release of Bandwagonesque, but, in that time, Norman, Raymond and Gerry have quietly got on with the business of putting together one of the most beautiful, uplifting and modestly soulful bodies of work in popular British music.

Not that you would guess if you didn’t go looking. The Fannies remain chart nearly-men, and their every-bloke personas help explain why they’ve never received the critical beatification they deserve, but look at the creative predicament now facing their more lauded Creation label mates. Maybe, as the song says, taking the long way round has proven their smartest move yet. They’ve a Greatest Hits album due out in November, and play Belfast (Nov 14, The Limelight) and Derry (15th, Nerve Centre) to promote it. Go along, shake their hands, ask if they need a drummer.

After The Great Decent Gig Drought of summer 2002, this is only one of a number of top shows that we’re going to see during the upcoming dark nights. And what’s more, it’s international names and genuinely exciting home-grown talent that are due to provide the entertainment.

Ryan Adams is due at The Waterfront on November 26th, and Coldplay are at The Odyssey on 23rd October. But there’s one concert that really stands out. I’ve been boring people rotten about the new Bright Eyes album Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground since it was released last month. Conor Orbest may well be precocious, precious and overly serious, but – while you wouldn’t want to be seated next to him on a long-haul flight – he carries himself with a conviction that places him on an altogether different plane from his worthless EMO contemporaries. On Lifted you hear the ghosts of American Music Club, Palace Brothers, Wilco, even Steve Earle. It’s a record about friendship, love, the redemptive power of music, and its corrosive detritus. At times he comes across as Kurt Wagner’s kid brother. Or son. Whatever, he plays The Mandela Hall on November 8 as part of this year’s Festival at Queens…

If November is too far away, then don’t fear – there are other festivals looming large. BelFest returns, yet again, running from October 3rd to October 19th. Expect the usual, welcome mixture of showcase gigs, seminars, workshops and big name guests. Death In Vegas have already been booked and will play the Limelight on the 11th, with more to follow.

Just as exciting is the imminent kick-off of the Radio 2 Live in Belfast Fringe Festival. This is an absolute treat. The likes of McAlmont and Butler, Beverly Knight and Edwyn Collins are all slated for shows, while Suede are due to play a free gig, supported by The Electric Soft Parade, in The Limelight on 22nd of September. Best news, though, is that, from the 21st to the 27th of the month, local bands will be taking part in a series of free gigs at various venues around town. Highlights are legion. Might I recommend a trip to see The Amazing Pilots in Katy Dalys on the 21st, or Terri Hooley’s “Good Vibrations: 1977 and All That” night in Lavery’s Back Bar on the 22nd.

There also promises to be a great show in Autnie Annies on the 23rd when Mundy and Nina Hynes share a stage and three days later in Katys, when Ninebar International and Drat provide a double-header. But best of all? Well that’s easy to see. On the 25th at The Limelight, Desert Hearts, Kidd Dynamo and Corrigan will take part in what looks like the most potentially exciting local gig of the last four or five years.

The summer’s gone, the nights are drawing in, time to make it indoors.

Thank god.