I don’t think any of us, this time last year, anticipated that we would be all this time without live music.
My own ‘last’ show was in the unlikely setting of the Strathaven Hotel, some 25 miles south-east of Glasgow, on a wet Friday night. It was the latest in the FRETS set of concerts, promoted by Douglas MacIntyre of Creeping Bent fame. The stars on stage were Norman Blake and Euros Childs. It was a fantastic night, featuring all sorts of songs including the occasional number they had written and recorded with their respective band with whom they had established themselves.
I often forget how much I love Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. I don’t listen as often as I should these days, primarily as everything I have is on CD and I’ve become an even bigger vinyl junkie during lockdown.
But, the other day, I desperately wanted to play one of my favourite singles of theirs, from May 1998, and giving an airing to the b-sides reminded me of how often their music can take a listener by surprise and offer up a lot of sunshine and fun in these grim times:-
mp3: Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Spanish Dance Troupe
mp3: Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – (Do The) Chicken In The Jungle
mp3: Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – The Johnny Cash Lawsuit Song
Like all other GZM singles, it got no higher than the lower echelons of the charts. This one reached #60.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
My last gig was Pete Wylie at The Cluny on the fri before the first lockdown. Seems a lifetime ago.
Of course, we love a bit of Gorky’s round these parts! My last gig was Marika Hackman at The Gate in Cardiff last February. God, I miss live music…
March 7, 2020 my band played a gig at The Mint in Los Angeles. The next night I went to see Baby Lemonade (the LA band, not the Scottish one) at The Echo. Three days later lockdown went into effect and all live music ended. This result of the pandemic isn’t the worst one, of course, but it sure put an important part of my life on hold.
Lockdown seemingly has had no effect on my consumption of live music performances. Concerts that I would like to see are always very thin on the ground where I live, and it’s not uncommon for the better part of a year to pass with no live shows attended.
My last gig was nothing to write home about: The Unrepentant Heathens in Feb. 21st, 2020 were my retirement age neighbor’s blues-rock cover band in the skankiest biker bar my wife and I have ever been to in Asheville. We left after the first set as the smokes and friendly barflies were getting under our skin in a bad way.
Prior to that, I’d have to look back to Sept 21st, 2019 for the far more sublime Les Filles de Illigahad at The Mothlight; my favorite local venue. Which sadly, no longer exists. Therein lies the rub.
Well documented in a previous ICA, but for me it was Julian Cope, Barbican, London, 8th February 2020. Likewise, I am so looking forward to seeing some live music, indoors or outdoors.
I’m in the same place as you, JC, in that I’ve a lot of love for Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Criminally, I seem to have several EPs and odd tracks but not a single album. Great choice and a virtual kick up the arse to buy more…