Until the Dragon Comes

I wanted to post these in public...

One of the FanVan crew is a wonderful artist, and made these posters for us.


(Credit to shayasanya)

(Robbie's comment was that we had better art than they did. :-D)

And finally, when one of your favourite bands writes a song about your *unusual* local custom... Robbie will explain.



There's a good reason they brought wheel of cheese on tour, though they didn't actually roll it further than across the stage.

Bones in the Ocean is one of the Longest Johns earliest and most popular original songs, and it's a powerful one - with themes of survivors' guilt and suicidal thoughts. I linked it for Octenth but now the community project version has been released.



Over a thousand people joining together to sing, it's a wonderful thing. (And yes, I did get the nerve together to join in.)

To everyone who is celebrating today.

Several years ago on a livestream someone told the Longest Johns that their music was 10/10 or as their text to speech put it - October 10th. So fans decided to celebrate Octenth and I wanted to share 10 of my favourite Johns videos, starting with yesterday's collab...

( Star of the County Down Ft Colm R. Mcguinness )

Once you know the in-joke, you can spot it in this very English video for an American folk song.

( Hog Eye Man )

This one is also from the US - when you have a sudden snowfall, it's a good time to film a winter song from the Great Lakes. Such powerful acapella harmonies.

( Cold Winds (Tom Kastle Cover) )

Of course you also have the wonderful original songs - a seriously fun one about the time you find yourself in a job you're really not qualified for.

( Hoist Up the Thing )

This is one of their very best. A powerful original song about death and survivor's guilt, they're currently working on a community version - look on thelongestjohns.com/communityprojects for how to join in.

( Bones in the Ocean Live | Made of Ale Sessions )

This one is recorded with their friends from El Pony Pisador, the Catalan shanty/folk group, singing the Stan Rogers Canadian classic. This was one of the first videos of theirs I saw, and I wanted to watch it over and over.

( The Northwest Passage )

For the last year or so, they've mixed fullout music videos with stripped down covers from their back garden studio, like this beautiful version.

( The Sound of Silence- Simon & Garfunkel Cover )

And videos recorded on location

( Byker Hill )

Christmas 2023 they were summoned at short notice to fill on the Jingle Jam charity livestream organised by Yogscast - yes, the ones that did Diggy Diggy Hole... They played for a couple of hours, and pushed the total up by about £40k, when they agreed to sing a new original from the album that came out this year. The music video for that is also great fun, but I think this version really shows their spontaneity and love for performing. (The Llandoger is a historic pub in their home city of Bristol.)

( The Llandoger | Jingle Jam 2023 Day 4 )

And an encore - another original, possibly my favourite. There's no official video for this one, but this was filmed at one of their US shows earlier in the year, when Adam Chance, of my other favourite band Home Free, stood in for Robbie, who was having visa issues.

!Flashing lights warning!

( Ashes - at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia )

I wasn't posting this time last year, but I really wanted to get something here, in my permanent record, to celebrate the 29th September 2023.

I supposed to see Home Free in concert in March 2020... but it was finally September 2023 before they were able to return to Europe to complete their tour. By then I'd decided that I would take every opportunity to see them while they were here, and booked for all three shows (Birmingham, Manchester, London). The first was Birmingham on the 29th, and I had meet and greet tickets, which got me in the front row...



( Cut for Longest Johns... )

Last weekend the Longest Johns did a set at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival, and the festival livestreamed most of the performances, and they are still up for now, so it's a great opportunity to see what they are all about.



It's back!

Last Wednesday I was in Lichfield for my third Longest Johns concert this year. This time it was part of a local arts festival, and in the Cathedral (see above) so they had to adjust the song list to cope with the acoustics, but that was fun because it meant they sang some of their older, vocal harmony based songs that I hadn't heard live before. As this was a seated show, I took my album book to get signed, and a photo, as before. (No, JD and Robbie haven't changed outfits since the picture in March. ;-D) My shirt is some of Adam Chance's merch and JD asked to take a picture with me to send to him, which was fun.

( More memories )

Rob sounds so beautiful on this version of the classic song, another collaboration with Don McLean.

After seeing them in Oxford back in the middle of March, I was umm-ing and ahh-ing about seeing them again on this tour - I really wanted to, but wasn't sure about taking more time off.

Then I realised the last show was in Bristol on Saturday evening, and I could get there after work, so it had to be done... The Bristol Beacon (a originally Victorian concert hall) would be their home town gig, and the biggest headlining show they'd ever done. Fans flew in from Europe and even the US, and it was a great party.

https://www.bristol247.com/culture/music/review-the-longest-johns-bristol-beacon-uncontrolled-joy/



Singing with the lovely Nati Dredd, who opened for them, and was well worth seeing as well.

Last year was dealing with the effects of a misbehaving gall bladder - finally removed in October.

I did get to see Home Free live finally, I was able to see all three of their UK shows at the end of September and meet them in Birmingham. That was a particularly special show, because I was notified by friends that one of my other favourite groups, the Longest Johns, were in the audience as well, as guests of Home Free, and I got to speak to them as well - real-life crossover...

Then a couple of weeks ago I saw the Johns live in Oxford for the first time, another great show. They're still at the level where they can offer to meet everyone after the show, so this time I got a picture.



They said they remembered me from Birmingham, and I promised I'd wear a Longest Johns shirt next time I went to a Home Free show.