Eric versus Vile at Stereo (part 3)

GKV: Okay. The mood shifted while I was uploading the last blog. A woman is dressing on stage. She was saying that she feared...

EK:  In the silence of the Stereo basement, she began to speak, and undress. But this was no ordinary striptease. She essentially exposed herself, in a literal sense, while also exposing her thoughts. It was about fear. As human beings, we fear many things, especially in a social environment - we fear being humiliated, we fear forgetting someone's name...

I don't think this had anything to do with the sexual element of the removal of clothing. Removing clothing is like peeling the layers off an onion, exposing what lies within; so how does one expose what lies within the 'onion'? Beneath the skin, beneath clothing? I guess that was a taster of it right there.


'I fear forgetting this moment.
I fear your judgement.'

GKV: And I am back. The next band are up: Big Hogg. They have a flute and a trombone, and come from a muscular, progressive rock angle. It's good to find such an eclectic range of bands on one bill: I was expecting a couple of acts sounding more like Natalie Pryce, but this evening's curation emphasises difference. It does have a cabaret aesthetic - diversity of arts, diversity of sexualities. What the artists seem to share is a seriousness.

EK: Yeah, but they also seem to enjoy what they are doing. The last note of the first tune barely has time to reverberate into silence before the audience clap in approval. Big Hogg have no connection to the metal sound of Dog Moon Howl; although they have an electric guitar thrown into the mix, they're using it completely differently.

GKV: I think this is getting to the core of our partnership. I am a jaded old man, and  can't help pointing out how I have heard everything before. These guys are giving me memories of Jethro Tull - although the flautist isn't just giving it showy solos - but you can  hear things through fresh ears. And you can probably hear the higher frequencies that I lost by standing too close to a speaker stack at Instal in 2004.

There's something about a trumpet that lends a band a triumphant sound. They are jamming an instrumental here... build and falls, solid chord slams. Yeah, that's a big 1970s, pre-punk.

Anyway - what's your overall feeling of the evening so far? And is that air piano?

EK: It is a very interesting evening. I'm enjoying it - especially the variety of stuff on show. Look, Derek McLuckie is enjoying it too! Anyway, it feels remarkably relaxed; there's no high-adrenaline stunts going on, or any particular distance from the performers. I suppose the venue set-up sort of helps with that.