Home and Ivor Cutler

A truly dreadful trip home on the MV Hrossey, 14 and a half hours of misery, not really because of feeling sick in the dreadful conditions, but just the discomfort and inability to sleep.
Susan reminded me that I once wrote: "The difference between the ferry and the 'plane is this: On the 'plane, you're afraid of dying. On the boat, you wish you were dead." Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but I'm still feeling a tad discombobulated. Especially with income tax returns and VAT to deal with.
Friday's Ivor Cutler tribute gig at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen went pretty well, I think. The Fence Collective contingent (King Creosote, Pictish Trail, Jo Foster, MC Quake, Dougie Paul)were good-humouredly ragged, but effective. Loved the way they all cheerfully admitted to having heard only one Cutler album, Velvet Donkey. Watch out for Jo Foster in future- any woman who performs wearing wellington boots and allegedly ate three portions of lasagne pre-gig should be taken seriously. Michael Marra was great, as you'd expect, as was The Artist Formerly Known as Sid Ozalid. Although I have to admit that I have, for the time being, had my fill of Cutlerisms. I'm in the mood for something a bit less concise (cue enormously loud blast of The Hold Steady doing The Swish from their first album).