Venue:

Portland Arms, Cambridge

Date: 14/06/2019

Fonda 500 had a few years off recording before last year’s ‘I Heart Fonda 500’ album and hadn’t visited Cambridge for ten years. Anyhow, here we were on a Friday night for a run through their 20 years of metronomic hits. Lead keyboard mangler Simon still wears his woolly hat (“it smells like a horse”) pulled down to his eyes to attack his Casiotone MT-65, ladybassist Bod still makes grown men swoon, guitarist Nicholas and Jonee flank either side of the stage, and drummer Ian hides behind his kit except for his brief lead vocal during ‘I.a.m.a.d.r.u.m.m.e.r.’ A set drawn mostly from the last two albums kicked off with I Love Stereo ‘Cos Stereo’s Good For Me, The Sounds Sound Warmer when the Sound is Shared With You, Je m’appelle Stereo got the audience dancing, Jenny #1, both Golden Digits of Devilry and Mathematiques from last year’s album, early single Computer Freaks of the Galaxy, and we all threw caution to the wind during set finisher Electronique Bee 101. Between songs, Simon cracked jokes, threw sequins into the crowd, blew up and let off balloons, and sent up the serious muso stereotype.

The » 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:

Sydney Opera House

Date: 30/05/2019

The last of five nights performing the Disintegration album + assorted non-album tracks from that era as part of Sydney’s Vivid festival. The Cure are a band I’ve always liked a lot, but never gotten deeply into, although sitting next to a fairly rabid fan at work for the past couple of years has at least started to remedy that.

Demand was high for these gigs, so much so they had to run a ballot for the chance to buy tickets, and this fifth night was added due to the first four selling out quicker than you can say “pass the lipstick Robert”.

Kicking of with Delirious Nights we were treated to a batch of b-sides and demos, setting the scene for the dark and brooding Disintegration. The band, made up of Smith, Gallup, long time members Roger O’Donnell and Jason Cooper and relative newcomer Reeves Gabrels, were tight, very tight, and what must have been intense rehearsals to recreate the album showed. Finishing with a superb Babble, the band left the stage for a few minutes as the wind chimes started for the beginning of the album. Live, the album sounded » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Soup Kitchen, Manchester

Date: 29/05/2019

This Swedish trio have been treading the boards for a while. Their new one ‘Are You A Dreamer’ is a cracker. Their influences are writ large – and admittedly somewhat well worn – 60s Soundtracks, psych, library music. The most obvious comparison is Stereolab in their more playful mode, or Broadcast before they went down the occult wormhole. However, they do it so very well and on this new record they really put their own stamp on it and have a melodic warmth and openness to their sound which is very appealing. On stage they have no rhythm section, relying on the beat and bass looping on a sampler which is somewhat of a hindrance but I guess born out of financial necessity for a touring band playing tiny venues. I find myself moving closer to the stage – everything else is played live so lovely twangy/vibrato guitar, the vocalist has a couple of synths and another keyboard player has a Moog connected to some analog FX and a Mellotron (well a digital version of same which does a very good impersonation of that classic Flute sound etc) with echoey vocals floating on » 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:

Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath

Date: 21/05/2019

First time have been to a seated gig at the Hare and Hounds but it was a welcome change. Stumbled across this gig by accident a couple of weeks ago and glad I did because Peter Case is someone I have wanted to see for a long time since I heard his debut album in 1986. But first Sid Griffin came to the stage – full of funny stories he definitely has a sunny disposition and a decent back catalogue to choose from. However in my opinion he is better suited to the raucous sound of the Long Ryders. His set covered songs from the Ryders, his solo stuff and also Coal Porters. It was okay but nothing in it to elevate it to greatness. Before the show I had wondered who would headline as Sid Griffin possibly better known over here. 30 seconds into Peter Case’s set all doubts were removed. He was simply brilliant from start to finish. Many songs from his most recent release Hwy 62 and covers by amongst others Memphis Minnie, Leadbelly, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. An excellent raconteur he also had the audience joining » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Open, Norwich, and Union Chapel, London

Date: 21/05/2019

What a difference a lighting rig can make.

I have loved Thea Gilmore’s music for most of the couple of decades that she has been releasing superb, occasionally dipping to merely very good, albums and always catch a gig on each tour as well as buying every album in the week of release. This time The Light and I plumped for a train and Travelodge trip to Norwich rather a school night visit to London and the chosen show, at Open, fell on the day of release of Small World Turning.

Matt Owens, formerly of Noah and the Whale, played a short but amiable opening set before reappearing on electric bass with Thea’s band, along side Katriona Gilmore, no relation, on a variety of stringed instruments (right handed fiddle but left handed mandolin oddly enough) and Thea’s musical and life partner Nigel Stonier. At times the bass dominated the acoustic guitars, and I wondered about the lack of drums.

The performance was highly enjoyable with plenty of songs from the new record and a smattering of old favourites, notably a couple from 2001s Rules for Jokers, but … It » Continue Reading.

Venue:

London Palladium, that London

Date: 14/05/2019

So I went to see a hologram. And you know what? It was rather good. The Zappa Family Trust, never slow in identifying new ways of monetising their late father, have assembled a touring band comprising some of Zappa’s most competent and least imprisoned members to accompany a full height hologrammed Frank, captured from 1974 footage. I brushed off the sneers of some of the Zappa cognoscenti and joined Billy Bragg, Steven Wilson, Nick Beggs and Carl Palmer to witness what I imagine will soon be a common sight – your favourite inconveniently dead star brought back to life to dip into his/her back catalogue and your wallet.

The hologram was actually the weakest part of the show, looking highly fake and rather small, being set back behind a scaffold structure that forced the drums over to the left. Thankfully, it only appeared on four songs. The taped period guitar solos were all outstanding – and unfamiliar to me, despite owning everything released from 73/74. The vocals were a bit echoey and distant – odd given how well recorded everything from that era sounds on disc. The visuals however were superb, featuring » 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:

State Theatre, Sydney, Australia

Date: 10/05/2019

I have to say I never go to these tribute shows, I hate the whole idea of them, and there seem to be more and more of them about these days. But on this occasion there was, first of all, the opportunity to hear pianist Mike Garson, and secondly, my mate Snapper was doing the lighting and offered me free VIP tickets. So I thought why not?

So the good things first – it was an excellent band. Mike Garson was in superb touch on the piano – some kind of Roland electronic faux-grand (apparently they couldn’t get a grand piano into the dear old Art Deco State Theatre), although for a lot of the piano solos he used a Kronos keyboard. He was also MD and did all the introductions, a very friendly persona, and many respectful mentions of DB. Gerry Leonard on guitar was superb, doing all the lead parts. Like Jon Hetherington in Steely Dan these days he plays almost note for note versions of the great solos we know and love (in this case Ronno, Fripp, Belew etc), but injects his own phrasing and sounds to keep it » 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:

The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Date: 06/05/2019

West Side Story is older than me, first being performed on Broadway in 1957. The story itself is as old as the hills, based on Romeo And Juliet, which, in turn can be traced back to Ovid’s Pyramus And Thisbe in 8AD. Arthur Laurents wrote the book, including the ‘jibba-jabba’ pseudo-street talk. Leonard Bernstein wrote the music, Stephen Sondheim debuted as a lyric writer and Jerome Roberts oversaw the concept and choreographed the show.

The 1961 film cleaned up both at the box office and at the Oscars. Rita Moreno as Anita was the first Latina actress ever to win an Oscar. The soundtrack won a Grammy and was number one for a whole year.

In 1984, Leonard Bernstein wanted to emphasise the operatic nature of the music and re- recorded a double album of the score with classically trained singers led by Kiri Te Kanawa as Maria, José Carreras as Tony and Tatiana Troyanos as Anita. All the hit songs, Something’s Coming, Maria, Tonight, America, I Feel Pretty and Somewhere, shone through.

The show returns to Manchester, the city that first brought it to the UK public’s attention in 1958. » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Hammersmith Odeon, that London

Date: 04/05/2019

Wow. I mean Wow!. Sod that, I mean WOW!!!! I am still reeling. Shows like this a few and far between, this feeling more akin to a religious experience, entering as an interested acolyte, leaving positively evangelical. As a latecomer to DCD, via, first, the solo records of singer extraordinaire, Lisa Gerrard, and, secondly, the records of Brendan Perry, no slouch himself in the vocal department. And I have picked up some of their later stuff, including last years terrific ‘Dionysus’, where they provide the missing link between Banco de Gaia and his source material, organica/dance, if you will. But this tour was not, apparently and emphatically, to showcase that but to air the lesser known alleys of their 28 year, on and off, existence. The UK got but 2 dates in this ‘Life and Works, 1980 – 2019’ world tour, both at Hammy Odeon, last night and again tonight. Both sold out. A fairly blank stage forms the set up, with several keyboards and many percussion kits, including an orthodox ensemble, midline at the back. At the front the stage seemed split, stage left, between the hammered dulcimer of Gerrard, and » Continue Reading.

Venue:

Cafe Oto

Date: 14/04/2019

Although the book launch happened three weeks ago I am only now putting finger to keyboard to write this review. I stayed in London for a week after with only a dodgy tablet to use (since repaired and now broken again after falling down the stairs this morning, both of us that is)

Because of my tardiness and feeling strangely strange I was beaten to this review by the Sun which says that the band played ‘with wit, warmth and some of the old wide-eyed wonder.’

Arriving early at the sold out show I rested my weary bones on a seat outside and watched as the queue built steadily with a preponderance of mostly silver-haired folks. People had travelled far and wide to be there.

Iain Sinclair (filmmaker and friend) started proceedings off with a talk about the Strangelies in Dalston (which I why the launch took place in Dalston) and the band and Adrian read the parts of the book about their stay with Renchi, (an old school friend of Tim Goulding’s), Goulding’s new shoes from the Kingsland Road and early gigs.

Then to the band proper Tim Booth, Ivan Pawle and » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Roundhouse, that London

Date: 03/05/2019

Well this was fun! A full 42 years since I last darkened their doors, here was I back in the drizzle of Chalk Farm Road, queuing up with more eager elders than a post office on pension day. And hasn’t it polished up well? No sooner inside than a tap on the shoulder, and it was @philpirrip, each of us gagging for a pint. After a brief check of our credentials, concerts seen and records heard, in we went to catch McNally Waters. Strange, I thought, that the support group for a Pink Floyd offshoot, if I can call them that, should contain a Waters, and, of course, it was indeed the son of Rog. Quite the wrong band for this evening, they weren’t bad, playing a very Band like set of songs, ragged harmonies and tinkling piano. Only an incongruous drum solo reminded us we were in dinosaur territory. So much for nepotism, they played perhaps 30 minutes, and, in another setting, outside, mid-afternoon at a festival, I think they would go down as well as a pint in the sunshine. A short break and momentous music, all feedback and 60s » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Mill,Digbeth

Date: 02/05/2019

I first saw Alabama 3 in their acoustic incarnation at SXSW in Austin in 2008. I was bowled over and saw them about 7 times in the next 3 or 4 years which was easy enough to do as they are one of the hardest working bands on the circuit. I bought all their albums including fan site releases. In short I was a big fan and then about 3 years ago I kind of stop following them – they played Birmingham shows but I was absent. I only saw that this gig was on 4 days before the actual show but as it was the acoustic band that excited me all those years back I decided to go. The show perfectly encapsulated what I found exciting about them and what had also made my interest wane. They are ramshackle and that is part of their charm, Hearing We don’t danse to Tekno anymore and Speed of the Sound of loneliness brought those memories flooding back but there was a feeling that they haven’t evolved in any significant way which is a little disappointing.There were a couple of new numbers released sine I stopped » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Smokehouse, Ipswich.

Date: 03/05/2019

Robyn Hitchcock at the intimate and bijou The Smokehouse in the heart of swinging downtown Ipswich. A career-spanning ad-hoc set which climaxed with a stunning encore version of Visions of Johanna. A word, if I may, for the exemplary engineering – the guitar sounded like a twelve string at times, and the ‘tween song instructions regarding the effects (“A bit of rock n’ roll echo on this one”, “Like George Harrison being double-tracked in 1967”, “Like someone playing along with a Richard Thompson album in the next room”) were all adhered to strictly to the letter. “I’m going to count down from five to one, and then pan the stereo while ladling on a lot of echo and reverbing that in turn” led to a positively Roundhousian 1967 vibe at one point. (Ed. – please insert ‘Sonic Cathedrals’ reference here).

Kudos too, to opener Polly Preacher, whose effects-laden guitar and harmony-enabling bass player led us to an interval conversation about who is our favourite ‘Polly’.

The audience:

A bit Life of Brian “Are there any women here..?

It made me think..

I must look up Robyn Hitchcock’s cat’s Instagram profile. His account of » Continue Reading.

Venue:

de Montfort hall, Leicester

Date: 26/04/2019

Three nights of Marillion; three different 2.5 hour sets, including the rarely played “life is the road”, 2000 obsessive fans, (thankfully) only one track from pre-1988, some of the fanciest visuals possible for the progressive band that sings of love, laughs at itself, makes mistakes, and, 30 years into their career, still makes music you want to hear (not something that can be said about many of the original progressive greats who have made a lot out of a very thin creative period, when you think about it). The lead singer gave it loads (actually, they all gave it loads, and they were all apparently delighted by the event and the reception), and the band were mostly tight. When they weren’t, it was endearing, as there was a lot of music to play, and this was busy stuff. Each night was a delight, with enough variation to not be bored at any point.

The audience:

Marillion muthas, proudly uncool (a t-shirt for sale even says “Marillion: Uncool as Fuck”), mostly of a certain age and bigger boned. More women and children than you might think, I think because this was a family » Continue Reading.

Venue:

The Forum, Melbourne

Date: 23/04/2019

There’s a lot of reasons why I might attend a gig and whether or not I enjoy it.

Let’s start with why go? Love the band Know some stuff but want to explore more A bit meh on record but supposed to be great live Want to stretch your boundaries, explore something new Great venue, always rocks, good sound, comfy seats etc. Superb musicians Partner loves em/ want to impress partner current squeeze

Then there is whether or not you like the gig or not Band on fire/off night Sound great/shit Excellent seats/crap seats, clear line of sight/tall bloke with afro right in front of you Great time with partner, mates, people around you right into it / annoying bunch of bastards Good mood /bad mood: drugs working/ working against you Set balance just right / too long, too short

So the whole thing is a matrix. So how did it all pan out seeing Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.

So why did I go?

LSATDP were here as a sideshow to the mega Byron Bay Blues Festival held in Northern NSW. I don’t go anymore preferring to see a few » Continue Reading.

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.