A touch of Kinney

Somehow I've missed that a Blade Runner game mod for Serious Sam 3 came out in 2020. Been playing it this evening, it's a lot of fun and beautifully designed, especially the first episode.

Mod link available at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2300054756%3A (requires Serious Sam 3 to be purchased - only £2.49 at the time of writing at Christmas 2023!).

Queued up outside the Green Note cafe bar in London, peering through a gap in the posters covering the window I noticed a familiar figure, smartly dressed in a white shirt and waist coat, walking to a table by the window, sat down, back to the window and picked up a guitar.

Could it be the same gentleman who I've been a fan of for over twenty years and watched many live streams of at 1am in the morning over the last few years?

Remove some of the posters hiding him and it would have made for a nice photograph, an album cover even?

During the Covid lockdowns, I wasn't working regularly so his twice a week shows on Wednesday and Sunday actually helped me keep a sense of what day of the week it was and gave a welcome escape from the stress of the time.

The doors opened, we went in, second in line - had to get a decent seat of course! I turned around as we went to the ticket table, my suspicion confirmed, it was the man himself! Couldn't help myself, I gave a smile and head nod, returned by Ellis himself. Internally I marked out and my smile never left my face all evening.

Before the show started, Ellis sat back down by the window, warming up and chatting to fans. I waited until a quiet moment, bought a CD to replace one I already own but cannot find anywhere (which no doubt I will find now that I've bought another copy!) and went up to Ellis. I'd finally managed to get a copy of his book a few months ago and as he signed the CD, I asked if I could be cheeky and get him to sign the book as well.

The book I'd found on Ebay, I'd been after it for at least ten years but it's been pretty rare to find it listed. It had been signed by Ellis previously, with a message to someone called Annie. I thought it'd be nice to get it signed again, Ellis signed it - personalised to me. After thanking him, I walked back to my table, beaming.

A gent from the table next to mine came over and told me the book is a collectors item in the world of Ellis Paul fans. He said he'd been to at least 60 shows, going to America to see a large amount of them, lucky guy! Turns out he was a friend of Ellis and Ellis was (is) staying at his for a couple of nights before his next UK show.

Probably the most played album of Ellis's I've listened to is A Summer Night in Georgia. It perfectly captures the live experience of Ellis, absolutely brilliant performances, funny, great stories and crowd interaction. Maybe I'm biased but this evening at the very least matched that.

Finally 8:30 came around, the lights dimmed and there was the man himself on stage, guitar in hand. The show consisted of a mix of his more well known classics, such as 3000 miles, Alice's Champagne Palace and the penultimate song being The World Ain't Slowing Down mixed in with a number of songs off of his new album 55. Every time I listen to 55 my favourite song on it changes. Sometimes Trouble is Good may take the crown however!

The Green Note is small but due to this, wonderfully intimate. Ellis came in to the crowd for some songs, playing some songs fully acoustic. Explanations and stories of his songs, his escapades in the UK so far, his telling of how he'd made the mistake of posting his breakfast on Facebook and getting grief for calling it an English Breakfast - no bacon and tomato is just asking for trouble Ellis!

It was such a great night, definitely the best gig I've been to and met every expectation I had hoped for.

Been rediscovering areas where I used to play and camp as a kid/teenager while I’ve been back at my parents while I have some temporary work. It’s been a little sad to see so many areas that have become overgrown and unused to the point that even the man made trails have been taken over by nature and you can no longer get through.

I’m a tidy person generally but when it comes to dusting these are words to live by. 

 After having yet another listen to the most recent Ellis Paul album (The Storyteller’s Suitcase) I thought it’d be fun to have a quick look on Tumblr for any posts relating to him. I’m quite shocked that there is so little! After having some of his songs featured in films like Me Myself and Irene, Hall Pass and Shallow Hal I’d expected more people to have checked out his work and become big fans. 

I’m sure like a lot of people, my first exposure to his music was the song The World Isn’t Slowing Down which is featured prominently throughout Me, Myself and Irene. As a young 16 year old when I first heard this song, it was my first exposure to a song where I actually appreciated the story being told in the lyrics and was instantly hooked on the beautiful sound of his style of American folk music. 

Growing up and quite often still to this day for most music, my brain seems to focus in more on the instrumental side of songs and finds it reasonably hard to a) understand the actual lyrics being sung without serious concentration and b) decipher what they’re actually about. I find with Ellis Paul songs, his lyrics paint a beautiful picture which tells a story so clearly that for once I can actually appreciate both the instrumental and vocals at the same time. 

If anyone is interested in checking him out, I’d say his most accessible albums are -:

The Day After Everything Changed (2010) - The first six songs are absolute belters and would easily all be in my top 15 songs of his. I would say generally this album has a less folksy sound than his other albums but as an introduction to new fans I think this is the most accessible as a gateway to the rest of his music.

A Summer Night In Georgia (2008)- There’s only two live shows I wish I’d been at in person 1) when this album was recorded (ok technically over two nights I believe for this album) and 2) AC/DC at River Plate. Beautiful live renditions of some of his most beloved songs including the absolutely amazing performance of Alice’s Champagne Palace which I’ve listened to an embarrassing amount of times. 

Say Something - His third studio album from 1993, a good early album to sink your teeth into and has a more minimal production on most of his songs compared to some later albums. 

The Storyteller’s Suitcase - His most recent album (2019) and his most reflective in my opinion. Covering childhood, parenthood, life on the road, new relationships and love, politics and even death. This album also seems a little more “stripped back” in regards to the instrumentals compared to previous albums, its mainly just Ellis, his guitar and piano. 

If you do check out and enjoy his music, please please buy some of his albums to show your appreciation :)