Archive for the ‘Voodoo Radio’ Category

11 Sep

Inspiral Carpets The  Fire Station Parade Ground 9 August 2024

Posted by vintagerock in Inspiral Carpets, Voodoo Radio. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

This was my first experience of witnessing Inspiral Carpets live. It was also my first experience of visiting The Fire Station Parade Ground which is a superb outdoor venue at the rear of the main Fire Station building. Both the band and the venue exceeded my expectations. It was a great night with a band I have been meaning to see for some time.

The Fire Station website: “After a successful sell out 19-date run with fellow Madchester icons Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets are delighted to announce further live shows in 2024 including The Fire Station’s Parade Ground. These shows will be “a celebration of the music we created, which has brought so much joy to people over the last 35 years,” the band say. A vital component of the infamous ‘Madchester’ movement, Inspiral Carpets formed in Oldham in 1980.

Known for hit singles such as ‘This Is How It Feels’, ‘Saturn 5’ and ‘She Comes in the Fall’, they remain much-loved not only in Manchester but across the UK. These shows follow an eight-year break since Inspiral Carpets last took to the stage in 2015 following the tragic loss of their close friend and drummer, Craig Gill. A year later, they went on an indefinite hiatus.”

“Craig’s death had a profound effect on many people. The outpouring of love from around the world at the time gave some comfort to his family and friends as we all tried to come to terms with what had happened.”

On the reformation, the band are keen to emphasise the celebratory nature of the forthcoming live shows, giving fans a chance to sing along to their favourite hits and commemorate the life of Craig. “We know this will be an emotional journey for a lot of people, not least Craig’s family. We hope you’ll join us as we celebrate some of the music we created, and which has brought so much joy to people over the last 35 years.”

“We have never played in Sunderland before, so we are massively looking forward to the show. See you down the front.” – Stephen Holt. “We gigged all last year and after a successful run with our friends Happy Mondays, we’re back on the road. It will be fantastic to play for the people of Sunderland. We can’t wait.” – Clint Boon.

Jackie and I ventured out on a cool evening to see a very cool band (pun intended) at an increasingly becoming very cool venue and the place to go for music in Sunderland. The Parade Ground was full when we arrived. We had missed support band Voodoo Radio (unintentionally, I must emphasise) who are led by a crazy lady drummer and her father on guitar. Chris and I saw them a few weeks ago at Stockton Georgian Theatre and really enjoyed them. They were supporting The Wedding Present, and I reported on them in that blog entry.

We arrived just as Inspiral Carpets took to the stage. I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. The singer Stephen Holt is a great front man with strong vocals, cool hair, and very cool mod/psychedelic clothes. The lineup has changed many times over the years and the current touring band is Graham Lambert lead guitarist (1980–1995, 2003–2016, 2022–present), Stephen Holt vocalist (1983–1989, 2011–2016, 2022–present), Clint Boon on keyboards and backing vocals (1987–1995, 2003–2016, 2022–present), Kev Clark drummer (2022–present) and Oscar Boon bassist (2023–present).

They are all very dapper in their mod/psychedelic clothing and their music is a mixture of 60s/80s poppy tunes led by swirling Farfisa organ and strong, loud vocals. Magic. “Cool as f**k. The return of the Madchester legends. Currently touring UK & Europe.” proclaims their website. And it ain’t far wrong. I don’t know any of the songs but in a strange way they all sound familiar. The set list below is drawn from recent shows.

I am not sure if the encore really did include “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians but that song almost sums up the sound of the band: organ – led, punkish vocals and early psychedelia. It doesn’t get much better for a cool (in both senses of the word) evening of music in the open-air.

Many thanks to Jackie for the photographs and Chris for navigating the site. Bring back the 1960s, mod, psychedelia, and rave culture.

Setlist (something like): Generations; Weakness; Butterfly; Move; She Comes in the Fall; Directing Traffik; Two Worlds Collide; How It Should Be; Let You Down; Find Out Why; Uniform; Sackville; This Is How It Feels; Keep the Circle Around; I Want You; Commercial Rain; Dragging Me Down. Encore: Joe; 96 Tears; Saturn 5.

4 Aug

The Wedding Present & Voodoo Radio Georgian Theatre Stockton 2pm 16 June 2024

Posted by vintagerock in The Wedding Present, Voodoo Radio. Tagged: , , , , , .

My blog friend Mark recommend I go and see The Wedding Present at Stockton Georgian Theatre as he was going to see them all three shows there. I could only manage to get tickets for the Sunday afternoon concert. The other shows were all fully subscribed. So, carer Chris, Norm and I turned up at 2 PM just-in-time to catch Cumbrian support act power pop-punk pair VOODOO RADIO consisting of singer/drummer Paige and her guitarist father Tony.

Their website states: “The duo started rocking the tunnels of Leicester Square tube station, London in 2018, stopping commuters and tourists alike in their tracks with a mesmerising ‘summer of 76’ power-pop sound. Tony, a seasoned performer was inspired by hearing Slaves on the radio and suggested to young Paige: “get two shoe boxes, anything that’s like a drumstick – a table knife and a wooden spoon and see if you can sing and play rhythms whilst hitting a beat” – Paige certainly could, and Voodoo Radio were manifested.”

“Since gaining a record deal last year with Holy Dotage Records the Cumbrian duo have been played on BBC Radio 6 by Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson. They were also record of the week on BBC Cumbria and have had various interviews. Tom Robinson also choose Voodoo Radio as one of his top 5 up and coming acts to look out for 2022. Summer hit Ice Cream Man was recently played on Absolute Radio by Frank Skinner. Last Year the duo played festivals such as Kendal Calling, Headlined the BBC Introducing stage at Coast Roads Festival, Guilfest, Front Row Fest, Micks Mayhem Punk Fest, Twisterella, Undercover Fest, Alternative Aycliffe to name a few.”

We had quite a struggle finding the venue, but eventually we managed to do so. Once inside, we took a vantage point upstairs which gave us a great view of the proceedings. Before seeing the support act Voodoo Radio, Chris and I went downstairs to the merchandise stand, and queued to purchase a couple of books and a George Best T-shirt. The lady on the stand promised that The Wedding Present front man and author David Gedge would sign the two books at the end of the concert.

Once back upstairs I asked Chris if he would go downstairs again and purchase two Voodoo Radio drumsticks, signed by Paige which he kindly did. Voodoo Radio played their set, Paige banging away at her drums, while Father Tony played excellent guitar. After this, Norm treated me to a pint of Guinness, before headliners the Wedding Present took to the stage. My friend, Mark who had travelled from down south to see his favourite band, introduced himself to me and told me how great they had been the previous evening.

The Wedding Present are excellent. David Gedge is clearly the front man of the band. They begin with “Brassneck” which sets the tone of the afternoon. Gedge, halfway through the concert, introduces “Rachel”, as the new guitarist. It is very clear that the band have a strong following, Gedge saying “Hello” to many of their fans who have no doubt travelled some distance to witness the afternoon concert. The final track is “Bewitched” afterwards we go downstairs and join the queue to get our books signed.

Their site states that: “They have had eighteen UK Top 40 hit singles… not bad for a band that has, from its inception, stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game. It all started in 1985 when David Lewis Gedge boarded a National Express coach in London with 500 records packed into a pair of his mother’s suitcases and, in this fashion, delivered the band’s debut single Go Out and Get ‘Em, Boy! to a distribution company in Yorkshire. That pioneering spirit has been at the core of the band’s philosophy ever since. From George Best, “an unmitigated delight” [NME], the first full-length release on their own Reception Records onwards, the band has charted an appealing, if often eccentric, course of its very own.”

“With their early releases The Wedding Present had acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly honest love songs immersed in whirlwind guitars, so it was extraordinary that Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela, with the band exploring traditional Eastern European folk music, should be their major label debut for RCA Records. “(They) carry off what is basically a bold experiment with verve” [NME]. However, this was soon followed by the more traditionally incendiary Bizarro, “simply unbeatable” [Melody Maker] which featured their first hit single Kennedy.”

“The next step, made with characteristically twisted Wedding Present logic, was to enlist the aid of the noise-mongering [and, at that point, relatively unknown] sound engineer Steve Albini. The resulting Seamonsters, recorded in the snowy wilds of Minnesota in just 11 days, suggested a more thoughtful Wedding Present. The Guardian newspaper noted that: “Albini has given The Wedding Present considerable weight, with Gedge’s voice trickling between banks of scowling guitars. Indeed, the singing ranged from sensual whispering to feverish screams.”

An excellent concert by a tremendous band. Thanks to Chris for the photographs and navigating the site. Thanks to Norm for going outside, finding our taxi, and asking him to wait for us while we had the books signed.

VOODOO RADIO Set: (something like) Eat Your Words; Pretty Boy; Basic Bitch; Slag Bank; Ice Cream Man; Dog; Stupid Humans; She’s so Toxic; Space Girl; Turn out the Light.

wed11Wedding Present Set: Brassneck; We Interrupt Our Programme; Dalliance; Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm; What Have I Said Now? Rachel; It’s a Gas; Gazebo; Don’t Talk, Just Kiss; Come Play With Me;     Crawl; Catwoman; No; Kennedy; Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft; Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me); Take Me!; Bewitched.