Joanna Newsom and Roy Harper The Sage Gateshead Tues 21 Sep 2010
Laura and I are going to see modern psych-folkie Joanne Newsom on Tuesday at the Sage. My knowledge of her is scant; I know she plays a harp and some say that she sounds like Kate Bush. But the real reason that I am going is to see my old hero Roy Harper who has come out of retirement for this. I’ve seen Roy many times over the years. The first gig ever went to was The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band with Roy and Yes support, and the last time I saw him was with David at the 100 Club in London. I thought that might have been my last chance to see him, but here we are with him coming out to support Joanna.
It was great to see Roy again. He came on prompt at 7.30 and played a short set of pretty well known Roy songs. We got the usual chat between songs, which was great to hear again. Seeing Roy is always like seeing an old friend again, and this seemed even more the case than ever. His voice was as strong and passionate as ever. At the end he told us that there would probably me one more time that he’d come and see us. He has apparently been saying the same thing at every night of this tour, so I read into that he is going to do one more final tour. I think he is 70 next year, it would be fitting to have a 70th birthday tour so we could all see him again one more time.
Joanna Newsom was OK, but we didn’t know the material and for me it was always going to be an anti-climax after seeing Roy.
Roy Harper setlist:
Highway Blues,
Don’t you grieve,
Frozen Moment,
Francesca
Green Man
Me and My Woman.
Roy Harper website: http://www.royharper.co.uk/
Joanna Newsom website: http://www.dragcity.com/artists/joanna-newsom
ticket
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