Andrew Dubber     

The Mother-in-law’s in town
Bobbie‘s mum, Gail is in Birmingham this week. She works in Vermont for three months of the year, and stops in on her way through on her way back to New Zealand. It’s always great to have her stay. No, honest. She’s good company and fun to have around.

She’s had a look around at the German Christmas Markets in town, and has had a bit of a wander in Moseley, where the Farmers Market was on today.

But one of the bonuses of having a grandparent in the house is that Bobbie and I can pop off to gigs together and we’ve got a ready-made ‘baby-sitter’ on hand. Not that Jake and Ethan need a baby-sitter (I think Ethan may actually live here now… it’s difficult to tell). Jake will be 15 next week and Ethan’s 17, so they’re fine to leave alone for extended periods of time — or at least as much as it’s fine to leave any teenagers alone.

At any rate, having Jake’s nana around made for an entirely worry-free night out.

So Bob and I accepted an invitation from local DJ-ing celebrity Roy Roast Beef, and went to go and see Ben Westbeech live at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath.

Ben Westbeech, live in Kings Heath

Westbeech is a singer who sounds for all the world like JK from Jamiroquai, though his tunes run from jazzy dance through to drum & bass and back. It’s nice enough stuff.

There were six members of the band (Westbeech, the drummer, the bassplayer, two keyboard players and a backing tape). Three of them were awesome… but there was something lacking from the performance. It was slick and note-perfect – but it just lacked some sort of real spark.

Charisma. That’s it. It just kind of lacked charisma.

Roy, on the other hand, followed with a DJ set that had buckets of the stuff. I like a DJ with a real specialism, but isn’t afraid to throw curveballs and surprises at the audience. And especially ones with partially transparent heads. That’s really cool.

But I saw something today that was even more of a musical highlight for me this weekend – partly because it was so overdue. Steve Ajao was playing at the Bulls Head in Moseley.

Steve Ajao, live in Moseley

To my embarrassment, I’ve never seen Steve play, even though he’s always around. He’s one of Birmingham’s legendary jazz/blues performers. Absolutely world-class.

And I’m off
On Monday, Jake and I head to New Zealand. I’m presenting at an academic conference in Dunedin, then I’m catching up with friends and family in Auckland for a couple of weeks (and getting my tattoo done) before heading back to the bitter cold of Birmingham.

While Jake and I are in the Southern Hemisphere, Gail and Bobbie are going to a little place just outside of Boulogne for a few days. And on her way back to Wanganui, Gail will pass through Auckland just as I’m about to leave.

I’m really looking forward to this NZ trip — and I get to see my own parents too. I haven’t been back to New Zealand since arriving in the UK over three years ago. It’ll be interesting to see what’s changed and by how much.

Tags: newzealand, travel, blues, jazz, dance, music

Tagged: Travel