Venue:

Echo Arena, Liverpool

Date: 12/12/2018

How do you review a Paul McCartney gig? What metric do you use? The size of the crowd? The length of the set list? There’s no precedent for how the most successful songwriter in history should be presenting himself at 76.

The pre-show “support” is simply a one-hour build up to the great man appearing on stage. The first part is a DJ who mixes stems and loops from McCartney’s 60 year recording career, where nothing lasts longer than 60 seconds before segueing into another song you know like the back of your hand. The DJ then leaves the stage as the screens come on and a slow scrolling vertical digital montage of McCartney’s life rolls down the screen, soundtracked by more McCartney songs. It’s hard to know how long it’s going to be – turns out it’s over 20 minutes. The montage starts with a boy at a window on Forthlin Road, gradually moves through the stages of life, before ending with the image of a CGI Hofner Bass rotating on top of skyscraper with surrounding fireworks. At this point the imagery is matched by a soundtrack of the orchestral crescendo » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Birmingham Symphony Hall

Date: 25/11/2018

Concerns had been raised that given the horrible album and unhappiness in Captain Brock’s starship, these orchestra concerts would be a creative and commercial flop. Not at all; live, this was Hawkwind doing what they do best, with a few orchestral flourishes and sweeps to replace the synths, with a spectacular laser show and slyly witty back projections (the “Sonic Attack” sequence, done like a public information film, was perfect). It wasn’t loud enough for me, but I think it was a good call sonically, as you could hear everything, including the lyrics that brought me back to reading “Science Fiction Monthly” and having Bruce Pennington pictures on my walls in the years before self-abuse and cool. The new band members (Dibs having left due to irreconcilable musical differences) did a good job, with the new bassist wisely adopting the middle name, “Rickenbacker”, and living up to this. Mike Batt was channelling Jocky Wilson, if his shirt was to be anything to judge by. Given the jocularity amongst the band, I reckon he could have got away with a bar of a Wombles song. If only he’d been involved with “The Clangers” – » Continue Reading.

Venue:

02 Institute3, Brum

Date: 23/11/2018

Well this was a treat, a full 28 years from the last time around. And just down the road from where I saw ’em last time, the long gone Mr Bill’s Bier Keller. So how had the decades fared them? I’m no fan of the Institute, but this was in the 3rd room, even smaller than the Institute2, a bijou basement box with a capacity of maybe a couple of hundred. No queues, a walk straight in to a sauna of steaming mannus middleageicus. First on, and worth a shout, were the Stone Mountain Sinners, a rabble of rootsy rockers with more than a hint of cowpunk, minding me a little of the Tansads in their pre-Merry Hell prime, courtesy the male/female counterpoint vocals. A gap nearly sufficient for the solitary barman to serve the thirsty hordes and on marched the Men. 6 of them with the front line of Cush, Swill and Paul unsullied, on guitar/vocals, guitar/vocals and mandolin, augmented by lead electric, bass and drums. No fiddles or whistles this night, this was a pedal to the floor, full-on plugged in music. The bass and the brand new drummer made a » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Scala, King’s Cross, London

Date: 22/11/2018

One of the preconditions for a great gig is that the artist/band are actually enjoying themselves on stage. Israel Nash was having absolute blast.

This was the final night of their European tour, which may have given a supplementary boost to proceedings as Israel and his band didn’t have to save anything for tomorrow. Against that friends in Holland saw him Nijmegen a couple of weeks ago and they reported he was brilliant there too, so maybe he’s giving his all every night.

This was my gig of the year. I’ve seen some top-notch gigs in recent weeks, (Kacey Musgraves, Bruce Cockburn, Over The Rhine) but much as I enjoyed them, they lacked was the joy, exuberance, ecstasy and intensity of this gig.

Whatever, Israel was over to promote his last album, the excellent Lifted and most of the set was focussed on songs from that, but there was plenty from earlier albums too.

The band was smokin’ hot and for people who like guitar duels (that’s people like me) Israel and lead guitarist Joey McLellan had a couple of really storming battles over the evening. I should also acknowledge the » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Halcyon Gallery, 144-146 New Bond Street, London

Date: 10/11/2018

This show will probably be old news to the more on-the-ball Bob-cats among us, but I confess I might never have heard about it if I hadn’t seen mentions on Penn’s (of Penn and Teller) Twitter feed. Consider this my alert for anyone else who would regret missing it if I hadn’t written about it on here. You’re welcome.

This exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery gathers several dozen hand-written Bob Dylan Lyrics, each of them accompanied by a pencil sketch by Bob, along with several of his acrylic on-the-road paintings and, this came as a surprise to me, some examples of his ironwork. The selection is broadly greatest hits, and I don’t think there are any lyrics here which will be unfamiliar to the casual admirer. The more trainspotterish fan will delight in reading every word and spotting subtle changes to lines, the rest of us can just enjoy the art and juxtapositions of word and image.

Regarding the art, there is no doubt Dylan can draw. Time and again I found myself enjoying the fold in a piece of clothing or the flow of a limb » Continue Reading.

Venue:

St. George’s, Bristol

Date: 08/11/2018

Last night I had a religious experience. It happened as I was sitting in the cosy surrounds of St. George’s in Bristol, my favourite venue, somewhere we’ve come to count on for transcendent evenings of great music. I sat six feet from Ryley Walker there when he played with Danny Thompson a year or two back, I saw the soles of Rick Wakeman’s sneakers, heard a squeak from a Steinway’s pedals as he regaled us with solo piano versions of Yes tracks and told us wondrous stories. I’ve danced in the aisles with what seemed like every Asian family in Bristol to the joyful sounds of Alaap, and wept quietly to countless orchestral moments of joy over the years. St. George’s continues to deliver the goods, and last night’s event was another absolute joy. Last night we went to see a singer and her band. She first came to my attention back in the dancing days of the nineties, when she added another layer of exotica to the international conglomerate of music that called itself Transglobal Underground. I bought her first couple of solo albums. She was still finding her way to an » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Robin 2, Bilston

Date: 06/11/2018

I absolutely loved Midnight Mushrumps, me, rushing out to purchase it after hearing snippets on R4: first band to appear on all 4 BBC radio channels, they said, a bit of catnip pomposity for my indubitably then prog-pomp tastes. Bit of a Tubular Bells for mediaevalists would be a lazy way of putting it, or at least the side-long eponymous suite. (In truth I barely bothered with the other side.) So, when I got home for my lunch yesterday, and the yearly programme for this worldfamousinWolverhampton venue had dropped through the letterbox, and I spotted this band were playing there that same day. I was familiar they had reformed, and issued a new record, after a 41 year hiatus, surely a record in itself, so I duly felt it my duty to attend. The Robin I have visited a couple of times. It seems now to be a little down on its luck, though I read it has been taken over and money invested. I suspect the same might be true of the audience, perhaps minus the investment. Uncertain whether it was the carpet or the punters, but there was a distinct » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON

Date: 03/11/2018

A chilly evening in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, which is also where I currently reside. My first time seeing any version of Fleetwood Mac, not just this rather controversial one.

Expectations were not extremely high, I was persuaded to go by a friend of mine who is no fan of the post mid seventies line-up. He is, however, the biggest fan there probably is of the sadly recently departed Danny Kirwan (a member from 1968-72 who later slid into a desperate world of alcoholism and homelessness). Just one of a number of grim tales regarding this band’s ex guitarists. Word on the street was that a Kirwan song would be played.

A decent turn out in the hockey stadium, we settled into our lofty seats in the 300 section and first up was The Chain. Instantly it seemed the harmonies were present and correct and the switch to the instrumental passage at the end ( “Grand Prix” theme music as I will always know it) was genuinely thrilling. Mike Campbell’s guitar work being superb.

A good start, next up stepped Christine McVie somewhat nervously, but beautifully took the lead on » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Glasgow O2 Academy

Date: 05/11/2018

To the Weedge, to see Portland’s top popsters. I was slightly apprehensive, as this was the longest I’ve driven since some spinal cord jiggery pokery earlier in the year, but The Decemberists seem reluctant to play in Embra, so it was that or nothing. Glad I made the trip through – accompanied by @ralph of this parish – because The Decemberists turned in a brilliant performance.

While their setlist had the usual Decemberists role call of tragedy, murders, drownings by river spirits, whale swallowing etc. it was an overwhelmingly jolly occasion. Colin Meloy makes for an effective ringmaster and the band give every impression of enjoying themselves and being glad to be there. Always helps, I find.

Meloy’s voice is, I concede, a sticking point for many. It sounds like a fragile thing yet is revealed in concert to be rather strong too. It sounds as it does not because of vocal frailty but because it is exactly how he wants it to sound. I like it.

The setlist featured latest album I’ll Be Your Girl fairly heavily, which suited me – and indeed the audience, who contributed a » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto

Date: 03/11/2018

The ticket said 8pm sharp and sure enough, at 7:58 the house lights went out and the theme music from Bonanza rang out, followed by the voice of Paul Jones “of the British Broadcasting Corporation” ushering Joe and his band onstage.

The band rip into “King Bee Shakedown”, the first of several songs from Joe’s new album “Redemption”. It’s the only song on which Joe plays a Strat, and his finger picking is something to behold live and (fairly) up close. The sound is possibly the best I’ve ever heard live; there are Joe and 7 others on stage and everyone / everything is crystal clear. There’s no pause before Anton Fig swings into the drum intro to “Evil Mama” – a total steal from the opening to Led Zep’s “Rock n Roll”.

Joe has assembled a tight, heavy hitting band. Alongside Fig (longtime drummer in David Letterman’s Tonight Show house band), ex SRV & Double Trouble member Reese Wynans plays keyboards whilst Michael Rhodes (who has played with everyone from Dolly Parton and Elton John through to Buddy Guy and Brian Wilson) provides the bottom end and a » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The London Library

Date: 14/10/2018

‘Fancy going to see Saint Etienne at the British Library ?’ Well that will be a bit different I thought and so it was. It was on one hand a very intimate gig – probably no more than 300 people. Yet it was held in the vast foyer – and I mean vast –the ceiling about 100 ft above us –great swathes of bare wall and open staircases and I’m thinking this will sound really shit! Anyway the male members of the party dutifully parked ourselves dead centre of the stage equi-distant between the speaker stacks (‘cos we know about these kind of things don’t we?) whilst the ladies went and sat on the side, behind the speaker columns and parallel with the stage – what novices, clearly no idea.

So on came the band and within 30 seconds my worst fears came true as Sarah Cracknell’s beautiful but fragile voice disappeared like smoke into the void. Three numbers in I gave up and wandered down the side to where our other halves were dancing around and seemingly having a great time. The reason being that they were right next to a smallish » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Islington, London

Date: 09/10/2018

Many Afterworders will know The Islington well, home of the Word podcasts and hosting as it does many Massive-approved acts. I’m here to see my friends (and occasional clients) Jimmy Regal and the Royals – so, interest declared, take my review of them with as much salt as you fancy. Jimmy Regal play old-school blues without a bass player. Where most modern blues guitarists echo Stevie Ray Vaughan or 60s Clapton, guitarist Corin channels ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, T-Bone Walker and Hubert Sumlin – clean-toned and heavy on the rhythm. Singer Joff Watkins has the authoritative bark of a Howlin’ Wolf and, most impressively, has The Gift when it comes to playing harp. Jimmy Regal come onstage to about five people and leave a room full and happy.

I thought I’d stick around for the headliners, and this turns out to be a good choice. Until they replace Jimmy Regal onstage, I had never heard one note of Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. The first effect is visual – the rock’n’roll look that tells you synth solos and sequenced beats will not be forthcoming. The Tucos’ bassist is called Patty Two Shoes, which also bodes » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Dublin Castle, Camden.

Date: 03/10/2018

In pursuit of Dave and Derek Philpott’s “Dear Mr. Popstar” we alight at Camden Town tube station, grab a pint and a burger at The World’s End opposite (handy tip, they don’t do any alcohol-free beers) and make our way through the glittering streets of North London to the legendary Dublin Castle, Madness-centric home of The Rock and Roll Book Club, a regular event, this evening hosting not only The Philpotts but also one Bruce Thomas, late of The Attractions, who is here to talk about his new tome, Rough Notes.

Dave is up first, and after a couple of cursory questions regarding the hows, whys and wherefores he is joined by some game guests who recount their answers in occasionally halting tones, principally because the light isn’t so good and a couple of them haven’t brought their reading glasses.

Of these, Will Birch out of The Kursaal Flyers is a dapper raconteur, and Rupert Hine (it’s a lengthy discography, but I maintain that “A Girl Called Johnny” is his finest moment) has clearly been asked to pronounce Taumatawhakatangihangakoayauo-TamateaturipukakapikimaungahoroNukypokaiwhenuakitanatahu at parties a lot. Owen Paul manages to knock a glass of wine » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Birmingham Town Hall

Date: 28/09/2018

Having recently penned some put-down of music deemed worthy, I thought I might be at risk of petard related auto-injury tonight, as I trained it in from Lichfield. Entering the venue I was struck by the sheer forest of facial foliage on display, lumbersexual heaven, making my mere whiskers look strictly amateur. On stage 2 pianolas were tinkling slowly away in unison, stripped of their panelling, displaying the moving parts to the pretty packed hall. Bang on 8 on strolled a zen like figure, dressed in white, hands held in prayer or greeting: “Hello, I am Olafur and I would like to play you some music”. Centre stage, in front of the pianolas, was his grand piano, other keyboards to the side and on top, a couple of mac notebooks nearby. Furthering his introduction, we were asked if we could sing, ahead of asking for a prolonged unison capture of a single note, duly recorded, which acted as a drone for his first piece. Starting with his trademark minimalist near repetition, slowly and unobtrusively his string quartet slunk on and joined in, cello and lead violin right and left of him, 2nd violin » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Egg Center for the Performing Arts, Albany NY

Date: 17/09/2018

Two days earlier I had thoroughly enjoyed a tribute to Gene Clark featuring his son Kai’s band and a host of guest musicians and singers. A special concert, featuring a superb guitarist who was able to somewhat mimic Roger McGuinn’s style on the 3 Byrds songs where that was necessary (Mr Tambourine Man, Feel a Whole Lot Better, Turn! turn! turn!) . I wondered how the Sweetheart of the Rodeo show would live up to that. The rather unwieldly title of this tour reflects, I think, the need to keep David Crosby happy and the aim was to mainly concentrate on the post Crosby era in The Byrds.

Opening with My Back Pages the first set consisted of mainly countryish songs that preceded Sweetheart. As the opening chords rang out, I turned to my concert going companion and said that it sounded just like the Byrds. McGuinn’s voice, never the most expressive of instruments, has weakened but it was recognisably him. Standout highlights of the first set for me were also Time Between and Mr Spaceman,

Following a couple of strong Marty Stuart songs, we got the whole » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville, Spain

Date: 22/09/2018

Mrs Wells are here in sweltering Seville as part of our Iberian/ Moroccan tour. Tomatino was recommended as a performance we should see as the Flamenco festival alternates between Seville and Madrid and we were lucky to be in town for it.

Flamenco, not usually my cup of tea- can be a bit over wrought but this was a stunning display of guitar and vocals. I can’t possibly do justice to the performance so I am going to paste a translation of a review from El Mundo. Quirks of translation notwithstanding the review is remarkable in its depth of knowledge and stylistically fascinating. Tomatito with fire and soul with shrimp REVIEWXX Seville Flamenco Biennial MANUEL MARTÍN MARTÍN Seville Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send by email SEP 23 2018 09:49

A moment of the performance of the Almerian guitarist Tomatito at the Teatro de la Maestranza. OR. ROSEMARY

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The Almerian played with the depth of sound and rhythmic pleasure that the clubs demand

Duquende once again showed that he is the most qualified disciple of Camarón

‘I will live’ Concert: Premiere of ‘Viviré’, by Tomatito / Guitar: » Continue Reading.