All Hail The Gothfather

"You know the way it throws about it takes you in and spits you out
It spits you out when you desire to conquer it to feel you're higher
To follow it you must be clean w/mistakes that you do mean
Move the heart switch the pace,look for what seems out of place"

Cuts You Up-Pete Murphy

I've stated in previous blog entries that I was a late developer where xc is concerned but in 08 I ran the Deer Park 8k xc and fell in love w/ that course and that race then came the achilles injury to kybosh 09 and base mileage in 10 and 11 wasn't looking good either,the original date Oct 28th clashed w/ a trail race which meant my ride to Flemington was heading to Evansburg.....till the freakish weather that weekend when we got rain and snow and the USATF NJ 8k xc c'ship got cancelled,the tentative rescheduled date was Nov 5th....same day as the Bridge Run 10k and that had been my target race for ages so it wasn't looking like it was going to happen....till the race was re rescheduled for last Saturday,Chuck (Mr XC I swear that man is the only runner I know who uses track season to get ready for xc season!!)said he was going if I wanted a ride...hell yeah! and w/ that we were off to Flemington New Jersey.

Out to Flemington b4 10am which allowed enough time to register ($20 a far cry from the $45 the Rothman 8k was asking for this morning) and a jog of the main loop that makes up the course,it was pretty much how I remembered it from 3 years ago if only a lot muddier but it's a sad day when you start bitchin' about mud at a xc race,you might as well take up mall walking when that happens!

Opted for arm warmers and gloves even though the sun was out when the gun went off at 11am,the last thing I needed was my finger tips feeling numb on either of the two loops w/ said gloves and arm warmers in my backpack in the trunk of Chuck's car!quite why most of the 175 runners lined up to the left of the starting line when the course narrows at the top of the first hill was somewhat of a mystery to me Chuck and Brent as we looked for a straight run to the first hill,the course narrows a bit early on so it's key to get a clear start and I did just that,I knew from the Jack St Clare xc 5m at Belmont that I couldn't live w/ Brent.....I'm giving the guy 13 years but if I adopted the same tactics as I did at the Bridge Run and tucked in at the rear of the chase pack I could be in for a good day.

As the course unfolded I could see the leader already ahead of the chase pack of 9 runners w/ me back in 12th,w/hindsight I wish I'd gotten on to the rear of the pack as they might've pulled me along to a slightly quicker time,except for a brief battle w/ one of the Garden State Track Club runners as we duked it out for 11th I spent most of the 8k race in no mans land,there were no clocks or mile or kilometer markers out on the course so I've no idea of my splits,according to the post race results I ran 5.44 pace throughout the race.

I knew from our pre race jog of the loop where the mud was out on the course and made sure to keep my footing,heading into the second loop I could hear footsteps behind me and managed to keep my would be opponent at bay until we rounded the batting cages where he opened up a gap on me I was never able to close,back to 12th but every once in a while where the course would twist and turn I could check behind me where the 13th place runner was.....roughly the same distance behind me that I was behind 11th place so providing I stayed on my feet I'd be good for 12th.....that's easier said than done in xc racing as holes,mud,tree roots etc tend to pop up along the course but I kept my footing and finished 12th in 28.45.5.

Pre race I'd set a target of 28.30 so to only be 15 seconds off given the conditions underfoot seemed acceptable,12th out of 175 runners 4th masters finisher overall 2nd in the 45-45 age group and my second fastest 8k xc time, my pr was here in 08 28.16.6. all in all a good mornings work.....but my day was only half way through.

Pete Murphy has sung two of my all time favourite songs "Bela Lugosi's Dead" w/ Bauhaus and "Cuts You Up" from his "Deep" album,I was lucky enough to catch Bauhaus in 98 when they reformed only to split up again but Pete has continued to put out great solo albums throughout his career although his recent solo offering "Ninth" is his first solo effort in several years,the chance to catch the "Godfather Of Goth" or as we like to call him the Gothfather was too good to turn down....although driving back to Philly in the afternoon having gotten up at 7am and now looking at a few more hours on my feet didn't seem like the great idea I had originally dreamt up but you only live once and who knows when he'll next tour again......bollocks to being tired!!!

If I've learnt one thing in almost 31 years of concert going it's that it's often well worth getting to the gig early to catch the opening act,sometimes they blow(Yip Yip Coyote,Coyote Shivers) sometimes they go on to headline(The Alarm,Talk Talk) and sometimes they're really good.....my recent list of gigs have had several note worthy opening acts and tonite was no different.
The Hustle Club weren't originally listed on the bill but I enjoyed their high energy short set"Children Of The Underground" and "Fuck Shit Up" were two songs that stood out from the New York based 5 piece.
Five years ago when I went to see Placebo at The Electric Factory on the "Meds" tour She Wants Revenge opened,9 times out of 10 if you read an article on She Wants Revenge it'll mention Joy Division,kind of how almost all articles on Interpol do likewise,Interpol really impressed me when they opened for U2 this summer and second time around w/ She Wants Revenge I came away from their set as a fan of this California based foursome,I've already ordered their first two cds used on Amazon and in time their new offering "ValleyHeart" will find it's way onto my ''must have" list,while I doubt Hustle Club have any Youtube clips I'm confident SWR do,if you like your music dark,moody and w/ a dance vibe She Wants Revenge are worth checking out.

And so to the main event,Pete Murphy rocked The Troc no if,ands, or buts backed ably w/ a tight 3 piece band Pete and his band plundered Pete Murphy solo songs old and new and old Bauhaus favourites.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that "Seesaw Sway" off of "Ninth" didn't make the setlist in Philly but "Peace To Each" and "I Spit Roses" both did and his encore alone was worth the price of admission,"Cuts You Up" and "Ziggy Stardust"
Watching Pete in full flow it's hard to miss the David Bowie and Iggy Pop influences and in a year we mourned the tragic loss of Mick Karn if you haven't checked out the 1984 collaboration of Pete Murphy and Mick Karn on "The Waking Hour" by Dalis Car you might want to give it the once over