GRASSY NOEL AND APE at THE SUNDAY SONICS

A Sunday afternoon art happening in a secret location up the London Rd in Hastings.

A chance to introduce visiting friends and their children to the most momentous, electrifying and inspirationally cauterising outfit on these islands Grassy Noel Mackem and APE.

The stars of the last TMR, December 14 2013 (have to update that info elsewhere on this site) GN and A certainly did not disappoint.

It is never short of astonishing that noise terrorism/ holy drone music of this potency and articulacy should be free at the point of entry/submission.

But that makes it all the better for us as we get to see the close up in all their intensity and heart healing kindness.

Yesterday's show, part of the Danny Pockets curated Sonic Sundays an anarchic satellite of Hastings Fat Tuesday was a singular Grassy Noel out because of the presence of Trevor Watts local Hastings sax hero.

Watts is vivid music history in active, living form and to see him perform at full tilt , standing right on the level with him was a we're not worthy but boy are we bowled over sort of honour.

Watts and drummer John Stevens formed the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, a crucible of British free improvisation in possibly the most pivotal musical year of the Common Era, 1965.

Paint It Black, Bringing It All Back Home, Miles ESP et al..

And Watts was back with the SME, after a while a part with own group Amalgam, when he met fellow Yorkshireman and future APE coronet player Paul Shearsmith in South London in 1973.

So there it was the Yorkshire free Jazz Bredren, Watts and Shearsmith reunited down on the coast exploding on the 50th Anniversay of SME's creation with the redoubtable Man from Mulligar, the extraordinary percussive and elemental guitar of Keiskei Matsu and the eloquent , Tubby Hayes channeling (?), beauty of Big Mike Walter.

All told simply the best thing you can experience in a live context here and now, there and then..

This clip gives but a glimspe into the wonder they and their cohorts created. Unforgetttable stuff, not least when Shearsmith began banging fuck out of a bombshell casing and Noel , Talking Musical Revolutionary Par Excellence, engaged a young pre teen kid in some cathatic yelling into the mic. Terror and kindness. Thats what we like!