Oh Heck

Gloucester 15 - Bristol 20

I suppose Peter Buxton was nominally captain so his decision making must take some of the blame for Gloucester’s capitulation yesterday. After a stirring first ninety seconds when the oval was passed majestically through too many hands to count, Allen and Simpson-Daniel looked like the stunning thoroughbreds they surely are, a four try bonus seemed attainable before half-time and the Shed was buzzing, I suppose the tactical reasoning seemed sound: let’s stick the ball up our collective jumpers for the last 78 and a half minutes and try and protect the seven point lead by fronting up to an experienced, gnarled and streetwise bunch of forwards. In hindsight, always dangerous I know, option one should have been to give quick ball to Allen and Simpson-Daniel, option two should have been to give quick ball to Allen and Simpson-Daniel and, if that wasn’t quite working, switching to option three, quick ball to Allen and Simpson-Daniel, might have proved a concept worth flirting with. I’m incredibly disappointed with the city club this morning.

The Secret Machines at Bristol Bierkeller, Friday 24th March

Friday’s Secret Machines concert was more fulfilling. Mixing sturm und drang with the slightest hint of durm und strang, the Texan wunderkinds created a maelstrom of precise, incredibly loud, art-rock. It was a belter. Prefuse 73 didn’t play. That was disappointing.