Venue:

Islington Assembly Hall, London

Date: 21/11/2019

‘Some artists would be thrown by having an election during their tour – I am not one of those people’ proclaims The Bard Of Barking as he launches into a firey ‘Thatcherites’ on the 1st night of his three night run in the capital. Coldplay aren’t the only ones who are trying to tour with an eye on their carbon footprint although I think it makes more sense when he’s playing the States and flying to each venue.

The format of the tour is first night – career spanning set, 2nd night – Life’s A Riot/Brewing Up/Taxman and last night – Playtime/Don’t Try This/Bloke – although not played in their entirety, just ‘selections from’. Some of the in between song “raps” each night are similar as he addresses the current political and social malaise but 42 different songs are aired across the run (43 if you count a radically reworked with modern references ‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’ on Night 1)

It really interesting to see a progression of his song writing from the social and political themes to the more personal politics of life. Not to say that his » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Oxford Academy aka the old Zodiac for you 90s indie kids

Date: 04/07/2019

“Twenty two years ago to this very day we were stood on this stage” announced Stuart Murdoch, “how has your life been?”. The last of these small warm up UK shows for a US tour ahead of their Boaty Weekender cruise gave the band a chance to shake the setlist up a bit. Whereas Sheffield & Manchester got a fairly usual set with firm favourites like ‘I’m A Cuckoo’ & ‘Me & The Major’ we in Oxford were shown, what I think sportsball commentators term ‘strength in depth’.

A sizeable chunk of tonight’s set was taken from ‘Fold Your Arms Child, You Walk Like A Peasant’ – a less celebrated entry in their canon and one which I don’t actually own. Then again I’m not a massive fan of one of their most celebrated ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’ so go figure. I am a bit of a late passenger on the B&S Express – I got on board with The Life Pursuit and worked my way backwards. An acquaintance played me Tigermilk back in 1999 and I have fond memories but I » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Old Market, Brighton & Hove

Date: 04/06/2019

‘I think there will be something in our repertoire tonight to satisfy even the most jaded of audience members, including those who might only recognise one or two song – probably sung by someone else’ grins new septegenarian Nick Drain Lowe from the low stage of the Brighton Old Market. Despite being many years down the rock n roll road he appears to still be having a whale of a time. Backed by surf garage band Los Straitjackets in their Mexiacan wrestler garb he’s already given his his initial solo statement ‘So It Goes’ (BUY1), ‘Ragin’ Eyes’ and ‘Without Love’ with an effortless grace and cool.

Still whippet thin and in crisp white shirt, this silver fox has left the crooning at home for the most part and got his dancing shoes on. With a new EP ‘Love Starvation’ folowing on from last years ‘Tokyo Bay’ he indeed has songs of all kinds to despense. This aims to be a rather civilised evening – doors open at 7pm, the excellent support set from rockabilly riot Howlin Jaws at 7.30 with Nick done and dusted by 10pm sharp. Which means » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Bill Murray, Islington

Date: 24/05/2019

Our hero stumbles onto the stage with a pint, bundle of A4 with unkept hair and grey beard (Julian Assange has let himself go…..Father Abraham from The Smurfs has let himself go…..) for this hastily scheduled Work In Progress show for his Work In Progress show at the weekend. He later reveals that a visit to the doctors earlier that day produced an offer of ‘seated activities for the over 50s’ and the enquiry “have you got someone to look after you at home?”

In the autumn thru spring Stew will have his regular several month residency at the Leicester Square Theatre with ‘Snowflake-Tornado’ and some of the material from this first gig might well appear. So I’m not going to spoil it. An obscure reference garners a response which he hopes will also work in audiences of more than the 60 people crammed into this hot room at 6pm on a Friday in May.

His first sketches of a hour long comedy set are better than some stand ups entire career. Will be fascinating to see how it is honed and perfected between now and October but it went down » Continue Reading.

Venue:

London’s Union Chapel

Date: 02/05/2019

This was my 15th or 16th time seeing Becky & Rachel Unthank and like other artists I have seen many times it’s the fact that each time can be different which keeps me coming back and keeps their live shows fresh. Over the years I have seen them a 5 piece, ten piece, with an orchestra, the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band and The Army Of Generals. Their constant search for the new and unearthing their traditional folk roots to a wider audience brings Becky, Rachel with violinist Niopha Keegan sans fiddle to “one of our favourite places to play”.

The Unthanks often joke onstage about their mournful and depressive reputation with songs of lost love, unhappy marriage and death but god I adore proper melancholy. Their opening trio of tunes are soaked in dark duende, sung in the half light of the setting sun through the chapels large stained window. Niopha takes lead on ‘Weary From Lying Alone’ showing off a deeper tone than the sisters – and as they point out as she intros the song “we don’t usually let Niopha speak cos people realise she’s nota Geordie’.

The uptempo ‘Sandgate » Continue Reading.

Venue:

EartH, Hackney, Dalston, Stoke Newington, That London

Date: 06/05/2019

‘It always makes us nervous playing new songs’ says Richard about mid gig, ‘ I hope you don’t mind’.

A wag in the audience suggesting they play some old is jovially called a ‘see-you-next-Tuesday’ before the band launch into ‘Tonight The Streets Are Ours’ after which Hawley gives the fella a thumbs up and grin. Its been two and a half years but at the opening night of his two night stand in the capital its very much business as usual

EartH, down one end of Stoke Newington High Street, was once a Savoy picturehouse which fell into disuse during the 80s cinema slump, faded into a snooker hall and then pigeon roost & toilet. A multi million pound grant has seen it reopen as a multi use venue although a bar & restaurant tacked on the side is the most obvious sign of where the cash has gone. The actual auditorium is shorn of any fittings, seats or facilities – beer is sold in cans and its £2 to hire a cushion to save your bum chaffing on the stone steps. However as Richard described it as “a » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington

Date: 16/04/2019

I will start out by saying that this play by Samuel Beckett focuses on a woman buried up to her waist in a mound of earth. She monologues her thought processes and every fleeting idea occasionally interrupted by her barely glimpsed companion. I am not as well versed in theatre as I would like so can understand how this might not sound like a good night out.

What ‘Happy Days’ in fact is, in this production at the Tower Theatre, is a funny surreal look at a woman’s life stuck in a moment that she can’t get out of. Winnie (Ruth Sullivan) is a outwardly cheery sort, atop a slate mountain with her large bag of objects and precious things that help her cope each day. Her husband, Willie (Ian Hoare), is visible only behind a paper with his straw hat and hankie but his interjections and grumbling are vital to the show.

However this is very much Ruth Sullivan’s play and her performance is absolutely knockout. She has a lovely light comic touch, bringing a real energy to the text’s rhythmic repetition. Her characters constant chatter rather than becoming annoying is » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Leicester Square Theatre, London

Date: 07/04/2019

The Tony Hancock that embodied the voice of Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock had been dead over a decade before I started asking my parents to play that record about the man talking to the man in a boat and at a hospital donating blood. That album being ‘The Radio Ham / The Blood Donor’ on Hallmark Records (aka March Arch label HMA228). walk into any charity shop today and you can pick a copy up for a quid. I often have just to give it to people as it is genuinely in my top ten albums ever made – for its comedic skill in the performance and writing.

Unlike the TV versions Hancock is not relying on cue cards or in the case of The Blood Donor, concussed after a car crash so gives much better performances. The foundations of my love of comedy can be traced back to that record that I know every click, pause, breath and line by heart as I do a Beatles album. As a kid I laughed along despite not understanding references to Neville Chamberlain, Kuala Lumpur and Rob Roy. This was the post » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Union Chapel London

Date: 16/03/2019

I grew up connecting songs with prison. One of my touchstone records that I wore out was Johnny Cash live at San Quentin with his hastily penned title track that tears the walls down and takes the roof off with its bitterness and fury. Todays sets provided by members of the Distant Voices collective, written in conjunction with serving prisoners looked beyond their current surroundings, often backward with regret but forward with hope

What made this event truly special was that we were able to gain insight into the people and the stories behind the songs. Not what these people had done to end up where 0they were but how their lives shaped where their imagination took them. Presenting the songs featured on the album ‘Not Known At This Address’ and beyond, Emma Pollock, Jo Mango, Louis Abbott & Donna Maciocia. gave voice to those often forgotten by society.

Some of the songs delved into the life story of the inma8tes with ‘I Will Not Follow Him To The Grave’ showing the influence that Liam Forsyth’s brother had on his life and how that will shape his future. Emma Pollock, ex-Delgados, gave us » Continue Reading.

Venue:

JW3, Finchley, London

Date: 07/03/2019

For the past couple of years I have marked International Women’s Day by attending events organised by Green Note, last years curated by Kathryn Williams and this year by Michele Stodart – bass face extraordinaire from The Magic Numbers.

In reality nights like this can be mixed affairs with varying quality and degrees of success when interpreting songs in often vastly different arrangements but this evening flowed perfectly representing the many stages of womanhood.

What I enjoyed about this years event was the slightly wider breadth of age and experience gracing the stage which opened up themes and insight through their and other artist’s eyes. There was a strong mix of covers and original material throughout with accapella trio The Rosellas kicking us off with a sweet ‘Que Sera Sera’. Margo Buchanan gave ‘At 17’ a wistful and dreamlike quality that made a familiar tune sound fresh once more. She later joined Charlie Dore for an impromptu comic double act as they discussed their hero, Joni Mitchell, before a simply beautiful version of ‘Both Sides Now’ that even captivated this casual fan of the lady.

Charlie’s own song ‘All These Things’ which » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Bridge Theatre, London

Date: 30/03/2018

“I live my life in the city There’s no easy way out The day’s moving just too fast for me”

I don’t need to consult my copy of York Notes to tell the minstrels noisily belting out songs from the small platform at the centre of the slowly filling mini coliseum aren’t strictly quoting Bill S’s work. They are on hand to rile up the holiday crowd to welcome Caesar, rattle the teeth of the more well healed populous in the seats, segueing from the Burnage boys via Katie Perry, Survivor and Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. We boo as we are scolded for celebrating Caesat and forgetting Pompey before the great man enters the area like, well, a baseball hatted demagogue we all know so well. Flags are waved, chanting erupts as the crowd parts – the first of many times during the performance that we will be gently and sometimes speedily shifted as the hydraulic floor of the theatre creates rooms and platforms.

It goes without saying that the main cast are absolutely splendid, the steely resolve of Michelle Fairley’s Cassius moulded like a film noir assassin » Continue Reading.