womb at okasional squat cafe

Right, where was I?

Too much to blog and not enough time. In the last three days I've had about three meals, 3 hours sleep Friday to Saturday, long days and an absolute killer comedown yesterday that culminated in me sitting on the floor in Bury's shopping mall crying on the phone. Someone threw me some change. But only 2p. Stingy bastards - my grief's worth more than pennies.

Anyway, I'm fine now. How are you?

So the Friday before last (I think) Womb played at Okasional Squat Cafe across from the Museum of Science and Industry above Castlefield. The event was Queer Riot against the cuts. It featured a lot more than Womb.

To be honest a lot of the other music, except the DJs at the end, didn't really interest me. Bethany Black gave a great stand-up performance proving (like Stewart Lee) that you can be left wing, a decent person, and still very funny. I'd recommend catching her if you have the chance.

The venue and the atmosphere were really lovely and chilled. It was warm and humid. I was filming (badly) and trying in the dark to figure out the controls once I'd remembered to remove the lens cap. This, and the fact that people were sitting down, inhibited me from dancing. But next time I get moved by the spirit - fuck it, I'm dancing, filming or not.

Jennifer McDonald had recently returned from India and brought singing bowls and bells with her. After one practice session with the the other women this was her first gig with Womb. It was also the first acoustic set Womb have played.

The beautifully resonant new instruments brought a whole set of new textures to the sound filling in the gaps that might otherwise have opened up.

From memory (and one listen to the audio) the set started with tones from the singing bowls. They are incredibly resonant with bassy tones and overtones, the sound travelling well. The tones matched well with the trumpet and saxophone.

In the past the trumpet and sax have sometimes seemed a little more conventional than the other things happening on stage. Here they were part of the overall texture. Sometimes jazzy I detected occasional eastern influences in what seemed to be microtonal playing.

After a while drums and percussion including a beer or cider bottle were brought in. Sometimes pounding, sometimes designed for dancing.

The deep tones, the brass and slowly changing rhythms - that sometimes settled in one place for a while made for a physical, physically satisfying, hypnotic, transcendent experience. This is why I could have danced and forgotten myself. I suspect it's also why someone described the set as shamanic.

I'm not too sure. Maybe it's my misunderstanding of the word, but I always think of the shamanic as being something essentially personal. The shaman reaches a form of ecstasy and perhaps pulls others along, but essentially they're the one having the experience.

For me this was something bigger and more special than that. It was a communal experience. Although Womb had to do the work their performance connected with the audience and fed an energy back into it. This is another reason I should have danced. Imagine the energy and feeling such a special gig might have attained if people had surrendered and danced.

Who knows we might even have got close to the kind of trance I think most of Womb were in for most of the time. Making music with someone is an incredibly powerful and intimate experience - and when it goes so well it's like drugs. And there's the surprise and joy of making something so much bigger than yourself.

For me this was the best Womb gig I've seen. A really beautiful and special night. Many thanks to all the collective - and especially those who played. Thanks to everyone at the gig for making so relaxed and pleasant also.

Yes, I might still be high. Why do you ask?

There are pictures here - I'm sure the video and audio will follow soon.