The George Lite Zone

Quel surprise, the band return for an encore of Whorehouse Blues , Ace Of Spades and a cracking version of Overkill , Mickey Dee's drumming on this was superb. Cue more serious head banging and the obligtory Lemmy machine gun base playing, mowing down ranks of Belgian body serfers carried by their peers into the arms of the waiting security team. The tremendous trio bow take a final bow as Lemmy's base blasts out feedback from its resting position propped against an amp. The base fades, as does the crowd melting out into a Brussels night like the weekend snow. Ears still ringing I head for the 63 bus and back to the flat. Another perfect gig.

The main part of the gig ends with Danko Jones coming on stage to clown along to Killed by Death followed by a rousing version of Bomber . Firestorm coming closer, napalm to the bone... More moshing, more head banging and the band leave the stage to the chant of Motorhead, Motorhead. Will they return? Will my ears stop ringing? Will Tom Baker return as Dr Who? Tune in for my next post, same bat time, same bat channel. Down the Line

Opening up with a blistering rendition of Iron Fist segueing seamlessly into Stay Clean , Motorhead strut the boards at Ancienne Belgique Brussels and the crowd go wild, including yours truly. It's been 27 years since I first saw Motorhead and some things never change, Lemmy till has more charisma in his little finger and he plays base like some mad god of rock while messrs Campbell and Mickey Dee just get better every year. There follow Be My Baby and Rock Out . A special prize for anyone who can identify yours truly in the following footage. The angle I took the above picture at and the fact I was in the front row are a clue, as is my arm that periodically stabs the air with the intensity of Norman Bates on speed. Back to a couple of golden oldies Metropolis and Over The Top , followed by One Night Stand , I Got Mine and the second song off the new album, Thousand Names Of God . Civil War and Another Perfect Day, are then followed by a nice little guitar solo from Phil ...

As the snow tumbled out of a Sunday afternoon Brussels sky, I thought I'd take advantage of the unclement weather and see a movie. A short trudge from my breakfast pit stop at O'Reilly's to de Brouckere later and I sat myself down to watch Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie. I've always been a great admirer of Clint, both as an actor, in films like the Good the Bad and the Ugly as a purveyor of fine foods, the Dirty Harry burger I ate in his Hogsbreath restaurant in Carmel was awesome. Changeling shows, yet again, that he's also one of the finest directors in the world. Like Billion Dollar Baby before it it's a bittersweet roller coaster of the emotions, but I think overall is uplifting. Jolie plays a mother, Christine Collins, who's son go's missing and is found by the police. The only problem is that the returnee foisted on her by the police is not her boy. What follows is a nightmare journey to the heart of 1920...

Whatever next, Dave Brock singing Pretty Vacant?

I've always loved a good blast of harmony from a band, CSNY, The Grateful Dead, Spirit. Vocals that soar like an eagle and lift you up to a higher plain. Into this illustrious group I can now add The Fleet Foxes. I learnt the band was playing AB when I spotted a poster when picking up my tickets to see Dave Holland. I'd never heard of thm at the time, but the rave reviews by such illustrious tomes as the Guardian and the Times, on the aforementioned flyer persuaded me to get tickets. Oh woe was me when told that they'd sold out, but an addition to a waiting list and a call a few weeks later to say that tickets were available saw me and Big Phil sitting at the back of AB waiting forth the band to come. First off the support act, J. Tillman came on, wisecracking and strumming his way through an acoustic set to rapturous applause. Then the Foxes appeared with our erstwhile support act guitarist transforming into the bands drummer. J. Tillman Foxes in Disguise... The music fro...

What better to come back to after Novacon than a superb performance by that group from New York, Joan As Police Woman . Joan's vocals soared as the band played a selection of great tracks from Real Life and their latest album To Survive (both highly recommended). After the show Joan signed copies of her albums and I added a copy of their self titled debut to my collection. I must try to get tickets to catch them again on December 13th at the Liquid rooms in Edinburgh.

Beer, faggots and peas, beer,charades, beer, bacon butties and more beer. Novacon beer tastings, some things never change !

Having finshed his review of the new Robert Rankin novel, Dave indulges in the delights of this years Novacon. I look forwards to reading it in SFX magazine. He was also sighted buying a copy of the Judgement day graphic novel by Alan Moore. Graphic novels? whatever next, this could be the end of civilisation as we know it.

This Novacon I became enchanted by the art of Anne Sudworth , and bewitched into buying two books of her work, Enchanted World and Gothic Fantasies, and 2 prints of her work in the art auction, Out Of The Lights and the Edge Of The World.

Cue Indy theme music and cut to the 471 bus with a young slip of a lass driving to the heart of darkness that is Brussels. Suddenly, "Does anyone know the way to the Gare du Nord?" cries our damsel driver in distress. Without hesitation Indiana Campbell leapt to his feet, doffed his virtual Fedora, cracked a whip (or was that the sound of his knees?) and ran the gauntlet of a bumpy ride to save the day. Directions delivered with cockney aplomb and we were back en-route shadowing the legendary '65 to arrive at our final destination, shaken but not stirred. The glow of a dying sun bathes the world in blood, or was it the glowing cheeks of a blushing driver that lit the night sky that night?. Cue end theme, roll credits and fade to black.

Inspired by seeing Wolverhampton's finest play with his Quintet at AB the other week, I purchased myself a copy of their double live album Live at Birdland. Giving it a spin, I've got to conclude that this has got to be one of the finest live Jazz albums of all time and would be a worthy addition to the top live album list I posted earlier. Live at Birdland runs the whole gamut of modern jazz, taking you on a roller coaster of cool, with each track hitting the mark with greater regularity than Steve Bull. As with the live gig I attended the sound stage of this album is breathtakingly wide and deserves a listen at the end of the day, with a single malt in your hand and your brain set to deep chill. In one word, bostin !!!