SKIN: Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 11/06/2009

The Mid 1990’s was a bad time to be a rock band. Rock was facing a backlash from the overindulgence of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. With stalwarts that defined an era self-imploding (Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue) and Grunge rising to fill the void of the disaffected youth, it was a tough time to launch a rock band with a classic blues sound.

SKIN were one band that emerged during this turbulent time.

Daring to write classic feel-good rock tracks, Skin stood out from the crowd and committed that cardinal sin of putting a live show on where the band were clearly enjoying themselves.

With a lack of support from the record industry, the band called it a day in 1998 and bowed out with a farewell tour that left many a good memory in SKIN fans minds.

When an opportunity to play the Download festival 2009 arrived, the band were convinced to talk to each other and actually do it.

The first I heard about the fact that they were playing one of three warm-up gigs in Wolverhampton was when I noticed a billboard advertising the show. I assumed it was actually going to be a comeback gig from the lead singer of Skunk Anansi, such was my scepticism that the band would ever reform. Then I saw an article in Classic Rock magazine confirming that Neville MacDonald, Myke Gray, Andy Robbins, Dicki Fliszar and keyboardist Colin McLeod were actually going to play Download and that I could actually see the guys play in Wolverhampton once again.

So after 11 years of obscurity, did they still have the magic, or would it be the remnants of a truly great band reminiscing former glories?

Typically for SKIN at Wolverhampton, they started late. With what seemed like an eternity of the road crew testing, tuning and miming along to the likes of AC/DC and KISS playing on the PA, things did look a little worrying.

Opening with a slew of tracks from Experience Electric, any fears of a disappointment quickly evaporated as the band blasted through a 90 minute set

The guys looked and sounded great. Neville jokingly asking ‘What the f*** is this all about?’ when referring to the fact that his once huge hair was now closer cropped, and Myke showing what the last few years as a ‘Life Coach’ can do to a man’s body.

The only one who looked completely unchanged was bass player Andy Robbins, who could easily have been in cryogenic storage for the last 11 years.

The hair may be shorter, but the songs and sound were as big as they ever were. I really had forgotten how loud SKIN were. It was almost as if they were testing the volume levels for Download as well as warming up for the gig itself.

After an opening salvo of later-years tracks, the band launched from one classic SKIN track to another. The tempo only dropping briefly for the big ballad ‘Which Are The Tears?’ from their eponymous debut album before picking up again.

The band were clearly having the time of their lives and once again, SKIN were unashamedly enjoying themselves.

Despite my initial fears, Neville’s voice still had it and he was visibly touched that even after 11 years, there was still a lot of love for the band and their music.

There was a real party atmosphere all the way through the gig, despite a couple of technical hitches and the roof of the Wulfrun Hall was blown off by a singalong ‘Look, But Don’t Touch’. A very emotional ‘Tower of Strength’ followed with ‘Unbelieveable’ to close off the main set.

It was obvious that an encore would soon follow, with the band blasting through another 4 classic tracks from the first album and ‘Lucky’ before bringing the house down with ‘Shine Your Light’.

I was initially intending to make a note of the setlist, but to be honest, I was having too much of a good time :) Highlights included:

The Wulfrun Hall is a nice venue for this sort of gig, the Download stage won’t be as intimate. However, if anyone is attending Download, they should take the time to see SKIN, you are in for a treat. If you missed the gig and can’t make Download, the band were videoing the whole of the Wulfrun event, so we may see a DVD release of the concert…

So what’s next for the band? There are rumours circulating on the Internet that a support slot for Sammy Hagar’s Chickenfoot is in the offering. Nev refused to be drawn, simply stating they ‘never say never’ but that it had already been a long, hard road to get them this far.

Clearly there is a strong desire from the fans for a permanent reformation, but even if there isn’t, the chance to see one of my favourite bands of all time and hear those songs live for one last time is a memory to cherish. If this is to be their final swansong – they are going out on a high.

A few pics taken on my iPhone below, but for some much better pics, check out BeeExcellent’s web album

IMG_0069 IMG_0074 IMG_0076

Posted by Andy on June 12th, 2009 under Music, Reviews | 8 Comments »

Delayed Repay

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Mainly because I wanted to try and get away from the usual whingeing, complaining, moaning tone that I seem to have adopted in my posts.

Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to write anything positive, so I’ll carry on whingeing.

Some time last year, I became aware that the performance-based compensation system the UK train network was changing from a system whereby all season ticket renewals were automatically applied a discount if the line fell below the target level of punctuality to a scheme known as ‘Delay Repay’.

Delay Repay works on the premise that you can only claim compensation against a rail company if your train is delayed by 30 minutes or more. This is proudly advertised as a fairer system, and on the surface, yes it is a fairer system. Whereas previously, I could get a discount on my ticket even if my trains ran on time and the mid-day trains were consistently late, now I am only entitled to compensation if I have been affected by the late running.

Late. What constitutes ‘Late’? In the rail performance figures, a train is considered ‘on time’ even if it is up to 10 minutes off the schedule. With Delay Repay, the train is only considered ‘Late’ if it is 30 minutes off schedule. Here we have the crux of the problem. Under the old scheme, if my train was 15 minutes late, I would get compensated for it. Now, if my train is 28 minutes late, I don’t.

I am pleased to note that Passenger Focus has highlighted this issue, but I’ve yet to see if this will do any good, as the train companies that have signed up to this scheme have no incentive to make the regular trains run to schedule.

On a related note, My usually reliable Chiltern Railways train was cancelled this morning, so as I sat enjoying a coffee while waiting for the next service, I visited their website to look at downloading their compensation claim form.

Nothing.

Searching for anything related to ‘compensation’, ‘delays’ or ‘delay repay’ simply returns no relevant results. I eventually had to visit the ticket office of a Chiltern-owned station to pick up a form titled ‘Passenger Comments’ which doubles as their compensation claim form. While Chiltern have obviously embraced an environmentally sound and cost-effective system, it is not obvious to the customer that a leaflet entitled  ‘Passenger Comments’ would be used to claim compensation.

Delay Repay is a fairer system, but if it is to be accepted by passengers, operators should be more accessible than before when helping passengers claim their compensation. It is too easy to simply forget that your train was delayed when you are sitting on the next service, and even easier to be too lazy to apply for compensation.

Posted by Andy on May 27th, 2009 under General | Comment now »

Snow thing like Customer Service

As the UK again grinds to a halt because of a relatively small amount of Crystallised water, online retailers reported a spike in sales.

It is easy to imagine many people sitting at home in front of a cosy fire because they cannot get to work, or because their children have been sent home from school, going online to shop because they have nothing better to do.

I was one of those who contributed to the spike, but not because I was bored, or couldn’t get in to work - I was able to get in to the office just fine. However, I was forced to purchase my new camera lens online, as the local specialist retailer was, to be frank, hopeless.

The local camera shop window looks like a treasure trove of photography. Second hand and new cameras, lenses and even some old ‘box brownie’ style cameras. Inside, it is one of those shops that you can hardly move because of the tripods, accessories and even more cameras and lenses.

The shopkeeper looked up from his computer and simply said: ‘Yes?’

To which I responded with a ‘Good afternoon’ and enquired whether he had the lens I was looking for in stock. His response was a flat ‘No’. Just ‘No’.

Disappointed as I was, I hopped back on the internet and was able to purchase the lens from an online retailer. Not only that, I experienced better customer service from a faceless website than I did from a specialist retailer who should be enthusiastic about his niche.

I actually visited two different websites, the first of which did not have the lens I was looking for in stock but offered me some alternatives - I could place an order and have it posted when they had some or I could see if a local branch of their retail arm had any in stock. Additionally, it offered what it thought were suitable alternatives to the product I had looked for.

The second website had the lens in stock, but also offered to show me some alternatives that I might want to consider.

Compare this to the shopkeeper’s ‘No’.

I was prepared to pay a slight premium for buying from the retailer, especially if I could have the lens today, but by being completely unhelpful he has missed out on a sale. Instead of offering to search for the lens and see if he can order it (He does sell brand-new Canon products) he chose to simply turn away my business.

The lens I have bought has quite a specific use: it specialises in producing a very shallow depth of field, and is particularly suited to portrait and still-life photography. Instead of recognising that requirement and offering alternative lenses that he did have in stock, and potentially sharing some of his experience and knowledge he simply decided to push me away, as if a customer was inconveniencing his web surfing.

The High-street appears to have already given up the battle with online, and eventually all that will remain are these specialist retailers. The reason why you would visit a specialist, particularly one involved in leisure or hobby items is to talk to an expert and share information. High street retailers have never been under more pressure to deliver a level of customer service that is simply not possible on the web, but they need to go that extra mile.

Posted by Andy on February 3rd, 2009 under General | Comment now »

The big VAT debacle

I’m not a political blogger, I don’t even pretend to have the slightest interest in british politics unless they have any direct impact on me, or more usually, if they are going to cost me more money.

The 2.5% cut in UK Sales Tax (Value Added Tax) is one such example.

In a desperate attempt to revitalise the UK economy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has decided that people will start spending money again when they hear that they will pay less tax on them.

UK consumers are usually unaware of the fact that the price they pay in the shops for the majority of goods in includes a 17.5% tax, so if you’re paying 50p for a Mars bar, just under 9p of that is tax, so you’re really paying 41p to the shop for the Mars bar, and the shop is collecting 9p that it pays to the Government.

In addition, certain goods carry a duty tax, including cigarettes, alcohol and petrol.

By announcing that the VAT rate will be cut to 15%, Alistair Darling has effectively brought attention to the fact that we pay VAT on goods.

What is not so widely reported (yet) is the fact that duty on goods is being increased to offset the effects of the VAT rise.

So, the price we pay at the petrol pump should remain the same.

However, there are other, deeper implications to this.

Businesses can claim the VAT they pay on fuel back from the government. By effectively moving the 2.5% from VAT to duty, that increases the costs of transport. The cost of putting £100 of fuel in a lorry changes from £82.50 to £85. While £2.50 is not a significant amount, consider the fact that most haulage companies will be spending thousands of pounds on fuel per week. When you consider £4000 worth of fuel, the difference becomes £100 - this cost adds up. Coupled with the fact that this reduction is only temporary for 13 months, whereas the rise in duty is permanent, the VAT cuts are nothing but a con.

And what does this mean to the humble Mars Bar? well, it comes down to 47p, but will the 3p extra in your pocket be worth it, and will the shop actually pass the cut on in the long term, as the cost of transporting the Mars Bar, and therefore the cost to the shop of stocking the snack that helps you Work, Rest and Play also goes up.

One of the other side effects that has probably not been considered by Mr. Darling is the fact that a lot of pricing and invoicing systems are computerised. I know from my own experience that the VAT rate has been hard-coded into many systems. Thankfully, I’ve not written a system that does VAT calculations but I wonder how many systems will be requiring a rapid re-write?

The added problem is that invoices produced prior to December 1st, will still be applicable for 17.5% VAT, so if the system calculates the VAT ‘on the fly’ from the NET value, the system is in trouble, as it could end up displaying legacy invoices with the wrong rate of VAT applied.

This is the first change in VAT since the big computer boom, how many systems are really ready?

***Update***

Before Christmas, I noticed that NEXT had placed notices all around the till area stating that they were passing the cut on to their customers and that the discount would be deducted at the till.

After Christmas, the same retailer had new notices saying that they had corrected all their prices so that the price on the ticket was correct. I purchased a coat before Christmas, but had to return it. When it was scanned in again, it still came up at the pre-VAT cut price (i.e. with a VAT rate of 17.5%). When I found the same coat on the rails (it was not in the sale stock) the ticket was still the 17.5% VAT rate price.

NEXT have only really provided the UK consumer with a small pre-christmas cut, and they are now pocketing the difference in VAT, as many smaller retailers were accused of doing. I am certain they are not alone.

This VAT Cut is nothing but smoke and mirrors tactics from a chancellor who is panicing.

Posted by Andy on November 24th, 2008 under General | Comment now »

Pet owners given code of practice

Thank goodness we have the UK Government! In their latest attempt to spend the country out of recession, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have produced a 26 page guide on how to look after our pets.

With 26 pages of advice on diet and providing somewhere suitable to go to the toilet, you could be forgiven that the Department for Stating the Blindingly Obvious (DeSBO) were also involved.

In all seriousness though, it is a shocking state of affairs when people need to be told about the responsibilities of looking after a pet. But while we are accusing the government of setting up a ‘Nanny State’, the 137,245 cases of animal cruelty recorded by the RSPCA in 2007 show that some people really do need to be told how to look after an animal.

We should really ask why DEFRA are getting in on this, as the code of practice will not hold any real weight, and owners could not be fined for not following the guidelines. DEFRA are really only pointing out pet owner’s responsibilities under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Having been a dog owner for over 3 years, I was not even aware of such an act. However, surely promoting awareness of this act is the responsibility of organisations such as the RSPCA and the Police, not the UK Government.

Posted by Andy on November 4th, 2008 under Rants | Comment now »
rss feed
technorati fav


July 2009
M T W T F S S
« Jun    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Meta: