Venue:

Meeniyan Hall, country Victoria, Australia

Date: 16/04/2019

Lukas Nelson arrived onstage jetlagged or stoned or both wearing Tom Petty’s top hat, literally and left the stage 2 and half hours later having given us a fantastic show of Americana, classic country and classic rock plus even a bit of James Brown soul with the moves and the screams to boot.

A 5 piece band with Lukas the star attraction and a star he is. Mrs. Wells reckons the marriage is over and she’ll be heading over to Austin to stalk Lukas. Great voice, can sing anything. Yes, he sounds like Willie, especially on the high notes but he ain’t no copy. Pretty fine guitarist too. Some lovely solos on his Les Paul Junior. Sort of a cross between the sweetness of Dickey Betts and the angularity of his Dad. No slouch on acoustic either.

My mate, a serious music fan said that was an excellent show for quite a poor songwriter. That set me back as he went on to say, “mainly the lyrics are the weak point”. And I guess if you compare him to the old man; how old was he when he wrote Crazy; » 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:

The Tanks, Tate Modern, London

Date: 12/04/2019

This was a truly unique musical experience, though I can admit to only enjoying about 15% of the complete performance. Some forty years ago, Gavin Bryars got hold of a fragment of tape of a homeless man singing an unknown religious melody – “Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet”. He created a loop of it, so that it ran for as long as anyone cared to play it for. Bryars composed music to play along with the voice. Over the years he has released a number of versions of performances of the piece, constrained only by the medium – a vinyl version (24 minutes), a tape (30 minutes), the on to a CD version at 74 minutes. There was also a version performed with Tom Waits. Last night through to this morning Never Failed Me Yet had its ultimate performance. A non stop 12 hour rendition, starting at 20:00 Friday evening and ending at 8:00 this morning, performed at The Tate, with free admission. I went along for the first hour and arrived back in time to catch the final 45 minutes. The performance opens with the old man’s voice. He » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Rock City, Nottingham

Date: 09/04/2019

I remain, I feel, in a minority here, a sole figure occasionally banging on about this band. and now, on the cusp of their 4th full length recording, here was the opportunity to catch them live, so very glad it was taken. Strange, I would think their brand and style catnip to our increasing and increasingly grizzled ranks, they taking the cream of 1980s “big music” and drawing it into a credible new century focus. Originally a trio, now a duo, the band is from London, yet is undoubtedly a celtic band, the sound and the phrasing of the lyrics unmistakably of their forbears. (Bear’s Den. Bearsden. In Glasgow. Geddit?) Chock full of the chiming anthemic stylisations of Big Country, U2, early Waterboys and, yes, even Simple Minds, heavy on the chorus pedal and lots of harmonics, the songs all have a wry yearning feel of a life just escaping ones grasp or hold upon. But, with the addition of a folk application of banjo, as an occasional lead instrument, definitely not bluegrass/country banjo: think the banjo in Del Amitri, and the genius of occasional mariachi trumpet, and the sound is whole. I » 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:

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore

Date: 01/04/2019

When this concert was announced just after the new year, my first reaction was “the blues guy that has recently toured with The Dead”. Conversely, my younger son (16) immediately asked to go and see as he knew him from his pop hits and social media – I actually had no idea that he listened to him, but he actually knew more of his songs than I did (I recall asking on here for recommendations a few years ago when he started with the Dead). My elder son (18), who actually plays guitar, was not interested as he was “too pop” – I think he’s become a rock snob already.

The concert sold out immediately which surprised me as its a 10,000 capacity venue. There was a huge buzz about the concert – again, it was the younger crowd that drove this.

Anyway, to the concert itself…. an almost three hour long concert with a 20-25 minute break in the middle. First part was the full 7 piece band (including the ever dependable Pino Palladino on bass) for about an hour. After the break came a 4 song acoustic set with just him » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Soup Kitchen, Manchester

Date: 29/03/2019

Last time I saw Miki Berenyi fronting a band on stage it was in a draughty, half empty Manchester Academy, mopping up a rescheduled final gig for the short lived Lush reunion which appeared to have ended rather abruptly. Lush, hats off to them, honoured the booking and Mick Conroy of Modern English was drafted in as a last minute replacement for Phil King but…it had the vibe of a party where someone has started mopping up spilled drinks waiting for people to go home. The Merch stand were having a Fire Sale…you can guess the rest.

Happily – it seems working with Mick lit a new spark and 3 of this final line-up of Lush (Berenyi, Conroy and former Elastica Drummer Justin Welch) have re-emerged with a whole new band and they’re joined by former Moose guitarist KJ “Moose” McKillop. I’ll refrain from calling them a 90s Indie Supergroup because that would be terribly crass, not least because they’ve made some effort not to sound like their former bands and this is a fresh start.

The venue is yer typical indie grotspot the members of Piroshka will feel very » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Rock City, Nottingham

Date: 26/03/2019

Despite being a fully paid up member of the denim and leather brigade in the 80s, I’ve never seen UFO live before, never even owned an album. The closest I got was when “Lights Out” was a track on the “Live and Heavy” compilation I had as a boy, and the first gig I ever went to was MSG, who played “Doctor, Doctor” and “Rock Bottom” as encores. You know a fair few UFO songs though, despite them never quite cracking it as a “big” act, remaining generally a Championship team, if you’ll forgive the football analogy. But of course, their “Lights Out” double live is a thing of rare respect, universally held up to be one of the greats. I didn’t own that either. (See above) So, my first UFO gig is their farewell tour. This is a band who released their 4th album when Barry Sheene was world 500cc champion the first time. Me and the band are 51 as I write… Tara Lynch (“Gui-Tara” apparently…) gets the place warmed up with some full on shredding rock instrumentals and a decent tune or three, getting a decent response for her troubles. » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Stevenage Multiplex

Date: 21/03/2019

The much awaited film in tribute to Joni Mitchell. I was slightly surprised to find it is a film of a live concert rather than a full career retrospective which is what I’d expected. With this in mind, it all comes down to the quality of the performers as the material, we can assume, is impeccable. First the band – as great as you’d expect, led by drummer Brian Blade who is good in everything he lends his sticks too. Also nice to see Scarlet Rivera on violin and occasionally piano and Greg Leisz as ever quite superb on steel, lap and guitar. First up to the mic is Norah Jones, not at the piano, singing “Court and Spark”. Opening the show and with that song is a big ask and Norah looks faintly terrified. Her voice doesn’t soar, rather adopts the husky tones Joni acquired later in her career after decades of tabs. An OK start but…. Then we have Diana Krall doing a jazzy version of “Amelia”, but where I expected it to really float it kind of hangs in a reverential state of limbo, lovely, but unsatisfying somehow. Rufus Wainwright does » 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:

London Palladium

Date: 16/03/2019

That was it; coming up for 44 years since I first him and more than 20 gigs later I’ve seen my last Roy Harper performance. As he told us, he’s 78 next June and so this is his farewell tour (though he dropped a couple of hints that it may run for a while longer – I don’t believe him).

I really wish that I could report that he went out with a mighty bang. He didn’t, though it was a lot more than a whimper. It just didn’t hit the heights I have been hoping for since I bought my ticket many months ago, though it contained many fine moments.

The good news for us Harperphiles is that there will be at least one more record, but the three new songs here were a microcosm of the evening; the second new song, utilising the tune of Times They Are A Changin’ was about cyberspace and clickbait and was to my years a crock of shit. The first new song was a rage filled recounting of the injustice he underwent inspired by the court case where he was prosecuted in a post-Savile accounting for » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Robin 2,Bilston

Date: 13/03/2019

Had been looking forward to this night for a few weeks as big fan of both Glenn and Wilko. The Robin is a venue that supports a lot of tribute bands and some medium size acts. I have been many times before but this was the first night I had been where it was completely sold out.Glenn come on stage promptly at 8pm looking dapper and the picture of health. He engaged with the audience from the off with a few of Squeeze’s top songs Cool for cats, Pulling mussels and Up there Junction. He added a couple of his solo songs and some splendid covers in the form of Oh Well, I hear you knocking and Always something there to remind me. Highlight of the evening however was a brilliant Tempted which was prefaced by a superb electric guitar intro. He is such an inventive player and this was a perfect finale to a fabulous set. Hope to see him with Chris later in year. Then onto Wilko – saw him 2 years ago in Leamington and he was excellent. Tonight he was decidedly average. Going through the motions, not engaging with the » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Lexington, London

Date: 13/03/2019

Wednesday night finds us in North London at the Lexington, a 300 person capacity venue we’d not been to before, to see Plastic Mermaids. They’re a five piece from the Isle of Wight that have been releasing music since 2014 who I have been somewhat obsessed about for the past eight months or so. So far my experience of the band has been limited to their three released E.Ps and their presence on youtube, with their homemade videos something truly to behold. Musically (to my ears) the band seem to pull on late nineties influences- Soft Bulletin era Flaming Lips, 3 EPS Beta Band with the occasional bowed guitar (a la Sigur Ros).

Support came from Cousin Kula who had a polished, seventies/eighties AOR sound to them. A more contemporary reference point might be Tame Impala. Mrs. Paws enjoyed them.

This was my first opportunity to see Plastic Mermaids since first hearing them back in August and I’ve been counting down to this all month, as such an hour set felt like not quite enough. Their set covered they career so far with material from all three of their E.Ps as well » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Betsey Trotwood, EC1.

Date: 14/03/2019

And so to the heart of London’s swinging Clerkenwell, where former The Church, All About Eve, The Saints and current Anekdoten guitarist Marty Willson-Piper is paying for his Roy Harper ticket by initially doing an acoustic gig, which has blossomed into a short UK tour. Downstairs at The Betsey Trotwood is not a big room, and so lends itself ideally to the sort of intimate soiree we are about to experience. Accompanied by wife Olivia on vocals, fiddle and octave violin – who brings great depth, atmosphere and warmth to proceedings – Marty swaps between twelve string guitars (one of which appears to be principally gaffa tape) and brings us a wide ranging selection from his back catalogue of seventy-odd albums, collaborations, productions and guest spots including a handful from The Church’s Heyday and a very creditable Farewell Mr. Sorrow, in between rambles, reflections on mortality, a reading and the occasional impact rectification of a recalcitrant DI box. It is terrifically enjoyable, and it’s almost impossible not to be swept into MW-P’s intimate world of hand-crafted stage lighting, guitar geekdom and genuine affection for the form.

The audience:

Friendly, accomodating, the sort » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Train departing and returning Queenscliff Victoria, Australia

Date: 09/03/2019

The Blues Train has been operating since 1994 but this was our first experience. It is a great initiative for the musicians who get regular gigs and the local community as most people stay in the area. Locals don’t seem to mind as you get plenty of waves from the houses along the line.

There are four carriages and you get nominated a sequence when you book. Each “set” goes for about 40 minutes then you stop at a station, take a pee fuel up on more booze and decamp to another carriage for another artist. Our trip started with a band doing electric Chicago blues. Pretty good without being outstanding. Then a funky dance carriage where the seats went along the carriage ( Church pews, as it happens) for a bit of dancing. Probably better if that was the last carriage when everyone was fully charged but that is the luck of the draw. Some nice John Lee Hooker style solo blues followed and the night ended with a guy on amplified acoustic. The train was sold out(it was a long weekend) but most trains are booked out, » 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:

Hamer Hall, Melbourne Arts Centre

Date: 01/03/2019

Wynton Marsalis is widely recognised as a wonderful trumpet player but he still gets a bad rap. All those high falutin, high end, semi-corporate gigs. Very worthy in his quest to preserve and educate on the great traditions of jazz but just a bit too earnest and a bit too well scrubbed. Then there are all the collaborations with artists from various fields. I dialed him up on YouTube and what comes up – Wynton and Clapton doing Layla. For fuck’s sake!

But I bought a ticket so what’s the thinking? Well his playing, his tone is wonderful. He has brought over the Jazz Lincoln Orchestra and this collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra should be interesting.

My hopes were raised when a friend of a friend who was in the percussion section of the orchestra was in raptures over the rehearsals. How WM explained what he wanted, the fact that he just sat down chatting “such a lovely humble person”.

Well humble he was I tell ya. About 3 solos the entire night and all from 4 rows back in the JLO where you could only see the top » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Institute, Birmingham

Date: 27/02/2019

And so to the Institute in Birmingham to see Long Island’s finest, in the company of Daughter Moles and a friend of hers, BOC being friend’s second ever gig. Appearing at the Institute. Birmingham’s approximately fourth biggest venue marks a little bit of how the Cult’s appeal has become more selective. Let’s dispose of the support, Temperance Movement, who are the exact centre of a triangle featuring Free, AC/DC and Bad Company. The singer fulfils the rule that if the singer plays no instrument in a band they are always the most annoying member.

Dead on 9pm the Cult are on to the sounds of the Game of Thrones theme. Time has wrought its ravages on founder due Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma in subtly different ways. Eric appears freeze dried. There’s not a lot of movement or facial expression going on from Eric, a an vibe enhanced by the permanent shades. Buck however has comfortably spread, appearing now a bit like a seventies Elvis if he worked in IT. They’re flanked by rock-steady bassist Danny and newbies Jules on drums and Richie on guitar. Oh Richie. Eric and Buck don’t move around » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Betsey Trotwood, Farringdon, London

Date: 23/02/2019

I may already have seen my favourite gig of the year and it’s only February.

A night filled with song, musicianship and love saw 12 musicians crammed into the tiny upstairs room of the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon, as well as the lucky 30 or so paying audience members they managed to squeeze in as well. I say paying, but at a tenner a ticket I reckon the entrance fee must just have covered the cost of the room, mics and camera. I can’t believe the singers were doing this for anything other than the love of the music, and the couple of bottles of Jack Daniels which circulated freely among them.

The musicians involved were [deep breath] Partick Ralla, Michele Stodart, Louis Brennan, Felix Holt, Zak Hobbs (Richard Thompson’s grandson, fact fans), Ren Harvieu, Romeo Stodart, Laura Tenschert, Angie Gannon (making three out of four Magic Numbers on the bill) Robert Chaney, Naomi Larsson and Joe Harvey-White (the evening’s organiser). Before the event I had wondered how they were going to get that many people on and off stage, even allowing for the 3 hours scheduled. In the event » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Resort World Arena (NEC), Birmingham

Date: 23/02/2019

A splendid double bill from a now-Beckerless Dan, and a percussion-heavy Steve Winwood. Both did excellent sets of their most well-known tracks, Winwood only doing one song from his solo work (a shame, in my book, as the eponymous album and “Arc of the Diver” are particularly brilliant). That said, this is a guy who could do a 3-hour set and leave some fans disappointed, such are his musical bones. Steely Dan were as tight as a gnat’s chuff, and sounded very classy, with a PA that did wonders even in a grim box like the ‘Resort World Arena’ (forever the NEC to me, mate). The lights were slick and pretty but a little over-busy I thought, but that’s a churlish complaint given that back catalogue, which was heavily (6/7 tracks) oriented to “Aja”, with a couple of slight surprises (I expected a duet with Steve Winwood, and they did so on “Pretzel Logic”), “Green Earrings”, and a couple of semi-solo pieces (“Cubano Chant”, “”Keep the Same Old Feeling”, and “A Man a’int Supposed to Cry” by the band to open, break, and end the set). Don was cheerful, and slyly » Continue Reading.

Venue:

O2 Academy 2, B’ham.

Date: 16/02/2019

I suppose my expectations were never set too high, given Evan Dando’s reputation, and, on that basis, I got my moneys worth. Overall I liked it, despite the chaotic and seeming unrehearsedness of the show, the atrocious sound balance and the often cluelessness as to what he was actually playing. (His? Mine? The band? The soundman? A little, perhaps, of each.) Yet, every so often, and tantalisingly randomly, the clouds parted and a song would emerge in an eye blinking fragile beauty. One such was the opener, Speed of the Sound of Loneliness, the sole contribution from Varshons 2, the release thereof being purportedly the rationale of the tour. Dando’s agreeable tenor has deepened a little, with the country-rock jangle of the band pitched just as you would imagine how Dando would tackle this standard, and I drew a sigh of relief. But this was clearly the lull, as there followed a storm of short and squally songs, some recognisable and some not, mainly emanating from the early Lemonheads songbook, guitars all ramped up to 11, feedback screeching, whether or not invited, both probably. Where discernible, memory kicked in to sweeten the » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Colchester Arts Centre

Date: 24/01/2019

The term “Nice blokes” doesn’t do this duo justice at all. Pre show, Damian walked around the hall personally shaking hands and chatting to the gathering audience. A giant of a man with a voice to match that normally competes with heavy metal exponents “Headspace”, is on the road with Adam Wakeman (son of Rick) an acoustic guitar and a grand piano.

The pair work together in a number of guises with other bands and line ups, but this time it is just the two of them. Hot on the heels of their album “The Sun Will Dance In It’s Twilight Hour”, this tour steps through their catalogue with the addition of some acoustic covers, most notably Iron Maiden’s “The Evil That Men Do”. Less expected were a couple of show tunes from Les Mis which represent a Damian’s stint in the show. For his part Adam Wakeman commands a few solo spots including a Jazz rendition of Black Sabbath material.

The show is very informal with plenty of banter and chat between themselves and to the audience. Lovely chaps certainly, but they really overdid this, particularly with a not terribly funny routine about » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Hawth, Crawley

Date: 16/01/2019

Bennett,Wilson Poole brought a touch of sunshine to a damp and chilly Crawley last night. I, and I’m sure many others (from the remarks I heard whilst leaving) let the venue feeling uplifted by a set of wonderful songs beautifully sung and backed with fine guitar playing (especially Tony Poole’s exquisite jangly 12 string Rickenbacker). The band performed the whole of their debut album plus tracks from their previous bands Grand Drive,Dreaming Spires and Starry Eyed and Laughing. They also previewed a couple of tracks which have been cut for their eagerly awaited follow up album due later this year. They finished with a rousing version of the Wilburys “Handle with care”. It’s only January but I may well have seen the best gig of the year

The audience:

Mainly men “of a certain age”

It made me think..

What absolute joy can be gained from listening to accomplished musicians doing something they love and at which they shine. I floated out of the venue

Venue:

Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings Heath, Birmingham

Date: 10/01/2019

Well I wasn’t originally going to review this show, feeling it might prove even a bit too niche for the AW f***ies, few as we seem to be. But I couldn’t let it lie, not after listening to their superb and imaginatively titled 3rd album, III, purchased for a princely tenner at the gig. So peel back your senses or pass on the other side, oblivious in your ignorance. I first came across two of this trio, Tom Moore and Archie Churchill-Moss, fiddle and melodeon respectively, a year ago, they being (new) members of Jim Moray’s False Lights, reviewed here a year ago. (Look it up!) Some years before, in 2011, in conjunction with Jack Rutter, they had won the 2011 Folk on 2 Young Artists of the Year, producing a couple of well received albums, I and II, before diversifying into other work, both musical and breadwinning alike. Now they are back in this original format, still looking improbably young to my ancient eyes. So to the concert. The Kitchen Garden Cafe is tiny, seats crammed into the tiny space, ahead of a small ground level stage area. Tonight, » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Sunflower Bar, Belfast

Date: 30/12/2018

The audience:

I had a few friends in the crowd and doubtless Petesy had many, many more there. Certainly, the room seemed to be awash with ‘old punks’ – ‘Trouble Songs’ author Stuart Bailie, Rudi mainman Brian Young and various other characters from Kyle Leitch’s days as the guv’nor at Caroline Records, Anne Street. The bonhomie was terrific. I was wearing a Mahavishnu Orchestra T-shirt – I was the guy the punk wars were fought over – and nobody punched me on the nose. That can only be a good thing. We sorted out that old Harp Bar/Pound Club antipathy last night. Now we just need to sort out Stormont.

It made me think..

The musical connections, camaraderie, positive energy and good vibes (no pun intended) apparent in all these adventures thus far can only lead to more great things down the line.