3292 - Absolute professionals

Just got home from the Absolute Bowie
Gig at the Ruby Lounge, it was good stuff
Though many guitar solos deafened me
I was right by the speaker, made me deaf
The first part of the set were highlights of
The Ziggy Stardust songs, the middle was
The mid-70s funky pop, enough
People were dancing, Golden Years
And though less funky, also Life on Mars
The third part was the least interesting to me
But still good in parts, though of course the guff
Of Let's Dance had to be played, yes of course!
Tired myself earlier writing poetry
And finished Fifty Shades, no that's no bluff!

Sat 22 Aug

3287 - Rubies and diamond dogs

Didn't get the FFS tickets, for
Fuck's sake, but never mind, ambiguous
About it anyway. I'm looking for-
ward to Absolute Bowie, taking place
Saturday night. No drive-in, I confess
Nor is the Ruby Lounge gig on Tuesday
But we'll find out, is there life on dancefloors?
Not only in Warszawa, but UK
There'll be both sound and vision, and so may
Boys keep swinging, let's dance, Queen Bitch, you whore
From station to station, we'll be heroes
Be my wife, Jean Genie, no I won't say
Even Andy Warhol he was a bore
But in our rooms we won't be breaking glass

3286 - Oh FFS

Need to get tickets if any are left
For the FFS gig, I'd like to see
Sparks and Franz Ferdinand combined. A deft
Talker, Louise, who I met Saturday
Is going, and although it's patently
Not as good as seeing a Sparks gig, I
Might enjoy this nonetheless, and I'll see
The Mael brothers again. Three years gone by
Since I saw them live, and it was a high
And Saturday, something I don't do oft
Watch a 'tribute' band - Absolute Bowie
Sounds potentially fun, fake oddity
Not done much today, just watched films and stuffed
My face! Well yesterday was mainly beer!

3274 - Reggae Reggae Sauce

A good night at the Worst Comedy Night
In Salford, hosted by old Dave Turquoise
I was dog tired, pints shook in my hand, plight
Portended disaster, plus there was noise
Throughout, dub reggae wid de ridmic ploys
For de jerk chicken cookery routine
De backgroun' music helped de girls an' boys
Get into de riddim. Twenties and teens
Mebbe didna get all dem ref'rences
But overall despite my old stage fright
I remembered de lyrics an' jokes, those
Cringeworthy old chestnuts, dose ol' baked beans
So now I'll jus' settle down, tiredness quite
A ting of de past, like reggae reggae sauce

Tue 4 August

3263 - Johnny B. Deade

Friday night in, a little bit of beer
Just wondering whether to get more bottles
Before a prog at ten that's on Beeb Four
About the death of rock n roll, the skulls
Of rock n rollers laugh at the feeble
Bores of today, their strings pulled by the Man
OK so was Elvis, original
He was, devoted to the blues back then
A frontier pioneer, or just a man
From the backwoods, where formed a new culture
That spread round the world with shakes and rattles
It's all down to business, all determined
By money men, not art, art keeps you poor
But I stick with it, cos I'm not fickle

3262 - Shock defeat for the Grim Reaper

After work I went film-watching again
Been to three films at Home this month. Tonight
It was a film about Wilko Johnson
Not much about his music, but his fight
Against pancreatic cancer, giant
Tumour eventually being cut right out
In an operation, leaving him quite
Free of cancer, it seems. Saw him about
Three months ago at The Ritz - he was flout-
ing the idea of death, illness or pain
After tonight's film, they discussed the sight
We'd just seen, and Wilko's successful bout
With the Grim Reaper, Julien Temple sayin'
How much fun they had filming it. Good night!

3250 - Madchester United

Here we are, two thirty at night again
It seems so long now since I met Josie
And we went to Old Trafford once again
The foreign tourists in their numbers be
Takin' their selfies in front of Bobby
Denis and Georgie Best, finger pointing
I wonder how long this will last, now she
Is getting into music, referencing
Nineties Britpop and house, she's digging
The stuff I dabbled with when I was an
Oldie already, rave beats set to the
Old songs from the sixties, recycling
Mixing, nothing new, good stuff, yes, but then
As long as it sells, people are happy

Sat 11 July

3243 - Quays to the city

A warm day, went out in shorts and t-shirt
On the train to see Jo, had a coffee
At Tania's, her back's broken but not worse
Than it was before her brace (fits nicely)
Avoiding in Ramadan the city
Centre where possible, we caught the bus
Part way to Salford Quays, got off safely
Despite a madman on the bus, then passed
Some time in Costa, and sat on the grass
Then sat by Man U's stadium talkin' bout
Britpop and Madchester, that's what Josie
Likes now, the Gallaghers from Oasis
Blur and the Stone Roses, she knows their 'shit'
While it's all funny memories for me

3242 - Poor young soul

Straight after work I went to Home, the new
Trendy cinema, the new Cornerhouse
In Tony Wilson Place (ha ha!), and you
Know it's near the 'Hacienda' flats that house
The spawn of the rich, beards and lower face
With hairy covering, and the men too
Why did I go to Tony Wilson Place?
To see the film 'bout Amy You-Know-Who
It was fun watching clips when she would do
Her fun teenage stuff, but it seemed although
She was a top singer from those young years
With good friends, she needed weed and booze too
Everything else was bound to happen to
Her, talent notwithstanding, poor lil mouse

3241 - Worry flurry

Now for today, what happened, not a lot
Back at work after one day off, and now
I'm feeling tired. I know that I should put
An advert up for the room, start to show
It off to potential renters, allow
Me to improve my lifestyle, get money
Although I admit I'm worried somehow
Who will it be, will we get on, will he
Or she be clean, well-behaved, trustworthy
However, I think probably I will not
Do that tonight. Energy-wise, I'm low
Might play guitar, Chevalier and Rossi
And then Serge G are next up, they are hot
Stuff to play along to (tu sais) you know

3239 - In a pint pot

Listening to 'In A Rut' - no special cause
Except it's on my headphones, my playlist
Just got in from work, left there 'early doors'
(Yuk, I hate that phrase!) Next I shall get pissed
Starting off at the Brewdog, then visit
A few more places maybe, during which
Time I'll discuss with John recent tourist
Activities of ours, then we will switch
To planning our jaunt in September, ditch
Suitcases, just a bag each, not all floors
We'll be on, or pavements, but hills that twist
And potholes in the Balkans. Had some chips
At lunchtime from the Hip Hop Chip Shop - now's
Tea-time but think I'll miss it, miss miss missed

3237 - Make it hard

Completely forgot to do yesterday's
Sonnet diary. Well, remembered at one
Point, but then forgot again as I based
Myself in the moment, distracted from
A magazine, a TV show. Early on
I painted walls and window sills all white
Trying to cover discolouration
Brown stains and dirty fingerprints. It's nice
Now but not even. Guess I need advice
In decorating technique in this place
Played guitar, struggled at first, the volume
Was a bit quiet to hear the music, plus
I wore my Soviet hat and some dark shades
To make it harder like a performance

About Sun 28 June

3235 - Flaming flamenco

As predicted, I'm continuing to drink
Following last night's excess of booze
The sun still shines, it's rays have yet to sink
These summer nights are kind of an excuse
It invites partying, you cannot lose
But then so does the winter when it's dark
All seasons point at me like they accuse
But let's accept their dictates and their mark
It's useless to resist, it is mere talk
Life is being alive, no time to think
Just watched a great TV prog 'bout the blues
Not from the States, but Spain, flamenco rocks
Great gypsy passion, dancing, guitar, drink
And cigarettes, flame on, how can you lose?

3224 - The fun factor

Think I'll play some guitar soon tonight, not
Doing anything special. I won't paint
The spare room tonight. Its final white coat
Can wait a day or two, but what won't wait
Is guitar practice. My skill will grow faint
If I don't put in a shift frequently
So tonight, when this sonnet's done, a great
Time - some dance, some reggae and R and B
It's time to forget about jihadi
For a minute and produce western art
Decadent art maybe, not of the saint
But then it's a craft, so is comedy
Like fishing or carpentry, could be lost
If someone preserves not just the ancient

3218 - Yesterday, today, tomorrow

Oh no, we didn't win the quiz tonight
First time we've not won when I have been there
A sinking feeling, when losers unite
I'm doing my best to fend off despair
Maybe my mistake was offering no prayer
Still there's always tomorrow, so they say
Next time maybe we will win once more
Trying to write this before a new day
Don't think I'll do it, one minute away
Can write quickly, but not that quickly write
Listening to Paperback Writer, writer
The Beatles on my headphones, Yesterday
It was yesterday when I heard that, right?
But now it's today, tomorrow is here

Tue 9 June

3212 - The axe man really doth cometh

I've had a blast, playing some mean guitar
This evening after work, played Serge Gainsbourg
Followed by Steve Winwood and Traffic, far
From tired at first, exercised on the rug
Then got out the axe, got the playing bug
Some great tracks, among my faves, hypnotic
Inspiring me to cut a bluesy rug
My hands a blur, a fretboard fanatic
Frenetic fingerwork, be arthritic
Before too long at this rate, thrilled to core
At being able to play this stuff, a dog
On heat couldn't be quite as ecstatic
And now feel like a marathon runner
After crossing the finish line, a star

3207 - Blossoms in the spring

Been on a rare gig night out to see a
Young up and coming band called the Blossoms
It's probably just Blossoms, but who gives a...
Anyway, that aside, I touched some bums...
Oops, sorry, ha ha, no, really, sir, none
Were deliberately touched, couldn't not
Crowd was dense, I touched a boy's bum
Too, and deffo didn't mean to do that
It's payday, it's here again at long last
This month I must buy a bed for the spare
Room, but wait, first I should put some
Fresh white paint on the walls so that the flat
And that room is attractive to renter
Then maybe I'll be coining some big sums

3201 - The Pound of Music

My feet ache, as they did regularly
On my recent European holiday
The Eurovision Song Contest's on, they
Are about to vote. Really hope that they
Show some shots of Vienna, where I strayed
Just over a week ago! A great place
So many elegant streets, and much I'd
Like to have seen but didn't have time. Grace
And monumentality, grandeur, space
No, they're going to have an Austrian spree
But in song on stage. Oh well. It's OK
If I want Austrian images, could face
For first time ever, perhaps, just maybe
Watch 'The Sound of Music'! Could be worse, eh?

3169 - Rock around the clock

A lovely sunny day and lovely lunch
At the new Dockyard just over the bridge
It's a good place when it comes to the crunch
It's better than anything in the fridge
But of course you can't always have that binge
Most days you have to cut your cloth and save
Just now and then you can see to that itch
But most times you must make yourself behave
And act sensibly and try to be brave
Since then I've had a good evening of grunge
Playing guitar, I've improved just a smidge
As we do each time we try to improve
There's no secret, you just find time to punch
The clock at the place where you feel most rich

3168 - Beer giggles

The gig went OK, some audience looked tired
I don't blame them after some of those acts
Some boring readers meant the fun retired
And when I went on, atmosphere was flat
But Pearl came and she said there were some laughs
She also appreciated my cover
Of Nina Simone, but with changed lyrics
Difficult stuff but I put it over
And that gives me confidence for future
My rehearsals paid off. Easy to read
Stuff from a page, easy even with gags
But harder without a piece of paper
I have admired performers who have tried
To memorise their stuff, and they get claps

Mon 20 April