Amsterdam – The Borderline – 4,
originally uploaded by eyedropper.co.uk.
If Bruce Springsteen had grown up in the shadow of the Liver building and the M53 and not a New Jersey turnpike then I reckon he’d have turned out rather like Ian Prowse, front man for the ‘best band you’ve never heard of’ Amsterdam who I saw last night at The Borderline.
Prowse handles his Fender Telecaster with the same gutsy determination, but Amsterdam are proper scousers; from not doing interviews with The Sun, to keeping it in the family ala Bread as Ian’s cousin was acting guitar tech, and was constantly ribbed by him about his guitar tuning ability and lack of pay.
I got into Amsterdam after the Radio 1 John Peel tribute gig at Madia Vale, where Shelia said “This is the one he would have wanted me to play” when introducing ‘does this train stop at Merseyside?’. I remember it well as the whole room went silent to those ghostly opening notes… except Richard from Belle and Sebastian who’d just told me the punch line to the joke he was telling.
I’d forgotten how much fun seeing a band at The Boarderline can be. Bands get lights of members of the front row, friends and family all turn up – I’m sure I was stood next to the keyboard players mum; it’s much more intimate that somewhere like the Academy or Astoria.
Anyway, they’ve a new album out, the Journey, buy it. I did, and got it signed.
And if that wasn’t enough the night before in complete oppostite to them I saw Rose Royce play to The Bank’s Christmas party, also there was Samuel L Jackson, as he walked past I said hello in a manically bit pissed way, and he replied with a long slow “Hiiii….” so now I’ve met my second Jedi (Ewan McGregor being the other one).
Anyway, more shitty low res cameraphone pics on Flickr, God I’m really missing my little cybershot… New camera for Christmas me thinks…
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