it’s the little things…

Here and Now, that strangest of bands part hippie part punk and all over psychedelic.

I remember being dragged across the field and down the road to sit on the floor of the C.F.Mott cafeteria to watch a strange band of rogues perform for free. Outside was a bus and a truck with the P.A. Inside was a mad hatters party of noise and scents and whirling dervishes of barefoot girls dancing. I had never seen anything like it before or since.

At the mid point of the concert the roadies and those beautiful barefoot girls passed the hat or bucket to pay for the show.

Then the music started again, beginning as edgy punk and then disintegrating into sonic meanderings reminiscent of Hillage and Gong at other times they sounded like Yes or Genesis but the lyrics were about now. It was a lot for a 13 year old to take in all at once and that smokey hot room lives in my memory as one of those defining moments in life. It was possible to be free and do what you wanted and meander. For awhile it was true.

A week later I learned that they had been the music behind Planet Gong with Daevid Allen, it was strange to think of that but made complete sense.

The next time I saw Here and Now I was older and they were charging a pound to get in, the girls had left and Steffie Sharpstrings had joined Gong, the jams were over and reggae was in and the songs were shorter. It’s not that it was bad, it was just different.

From that 1979 tour is “All Over The Show” an album capturing the intensity, insanity and fun of a Here and Now gig. It’s rough around the edges, the singing is hesitant but it takes you right back. If I close my eyes I can smell and feel that close packed sweaty room.

So I went crazy with the tractor this afternoon and munched up a significant amount of berry bushes, I may get the garden going in time to plant something although I have to build a fence to keep the deer out. I do however need to pull the old barb wire fence that is overgrown with berry bushes and keep mowing the darn berries. Michelle bemoans the berries being gone, there are however others to eat and make pie.

Day 7 zero records bought.