Posts Tagged ‘concert’

1 Nov

Green Day Manchester MEN Arena October 30th 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Green Day. Tagged: , , , , , .

Green Day Manchester MEN Arena October 30th 2009

I had promised David and Laura that we would go to see Green Day when they returned to the UK. Although they have been around for some 21 years; I’ve never fancied seeing them until recently; largely because of the American Idiot album which we all liked, and their growing reputation as one of the best live acts in the world. So on Friday we braved the rush hour traffic down the A1 and across the M62 to the vast MEN Arena to see if they would live up to their reputation.

We got to Manchester in time for something to eat at Nandos in Printworks and went into the MEN around 7.45pm, having missed the support act Prima Donna. Laura was sitting with me and David was in the next block on his own (there was a limit of two tickets per person for this show).  Green Day were advertised as coming on stage at 8pm. Around 8.15pm a giant drunken rabbit took to the stage drinking out of two cans and started dancing to YMCA to the delight of the audience. I guess this was a sign of what was to come. Green Day took the stage at around 8.20 to a great roar from the crowd. Billy Joe worked the crowd from the start. Lots of singing along; several fans were brought up on stage to sing lead vocals and then asked to stage dive into the crowd. Lots of effects; explosions, flames, etc. And the show was very long at around 2 hours 40 mins. Underneath it all lies a great rock band. The favourites are all played, and played very well and we do enjoy it. But there is something of the pantomime to it, which the kids in the crowd of course love.  

We meet up with David at the end of the show; we all agree that it was good but perhaps a little long and too geared towards the kids in the crowd. We get home around 1.15am.

website: www.greenday.com

Setlist:

Song of the Century;21st Century Breakdown;Know Your Enemy;Viva la Gloria!; East Jesus Nowhere;Holiday;
The Static Age;Burnout;Are We the Waiting; St. Jimmy; Boulevard of Broken Dreams; Hitchin’ a Ride; When I Come Around; Give me Novacine; Brain Stew/Jaded ; Knowledge; Basket Case; She; Welcome to paradise;
King for a Day; Shout /Orgasim Addict/Teenage Kicks/Champagne Supernova/Satisfaction; 21 Guns; American Eulogy
Encore: American Idiot; Jesus Of Suburbia; Minority

Encore 2: Last Night on Earth; Wake Me Up When September Ends; Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)

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1 Nov

Classic Legends of Rock Tyne Theatre Oct 28th 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Focus, Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, Strawbs, Wishbone Ash. Tagged: , , , , , .

Classic Legends of Rock Newcastle Tyne Theatre October 28th 2009

Featuring Focus, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, The Strawbs

Went along with Will and Norm  on Wednesday night for our second dose of Classic Legends Rock. We saw the tour last year in Harrogate; this year it came closer to home at the Newcastle Tyne Theatre. The only change from last year was that the Groundhogs have been replaced by Strawbs. This is sadly because Tony McPhee has recently suffered a stroke, and although reports are that he is recovering well, he is not yet well enough to join the tour.

First up was the Strawbs who delivered a short set of classic folk-rock. Dace Cousins is, as always, the showman of the band delivering the songs with his own very characteristic vocals. After a short break Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash take to the stage. Tonight they deliver the enitre classic Argus album, followed by a great version of Jailbait. Focus keyboard and all-round character Thys Van Leer joins them on organ for one song. I find it hard to decide which of the current versions of Wishbone Ash is truer to the original. In my view they both deliver and are well worth seeing. If anything Martin Turner’s band are closer to the original albums; tonight they could have done with a being a little louder for me. Coincidentally Andy Powell’s Wishbone Ash were playing the night before at Newcastle Academy. I decided to give them a miss this time, but have promised myself that I will catch up with them next time  they come to the North East.

Closing the show was Focus. Last time I thought their set was a little too long and some of the solos a little too drawn out. Tonight I felt it was just the right length. Thys is as eccentric as ever and plays his Hammond organ wonderfully. The guitarist is spot-on; musically this band can’t be faulted. We get great versions of House of the King, Hocus Pocus and Sylvia.

Verdict: Three great bands; all playing well and playing the songs we  wanted to hear. A good night.

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24 Oct

The Dead Weather Newcastle Academy October 21 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Jack White, The Dead Weather. Tagged: , , , .

The Dead Weather Newcastle Academy October 21st 2009

The Dead Weather are Jack White’s latest band. The fact that Jack White is in them raised enough interest in David, Laura and myself to go along and see them at the Academy on Wednesday night. None of us have seen Jack White before; we had tickets for the White Stripes the last time they were due to come to Newcastle, but the show was cancelled when Meg became unwell. The nearest that David and I got to seeing Jack was when he walked past us at a Dylan gig in Manchester a couple of years ago. Support came from Creature with the Atom Brain (great name), who we all agreed were not too hot. It wasn’t too long before Jack and the band took to the stage.  Jack played drums for most of the night, only coming to the front to sing and play guitar in a couple of songs. But the front person role is well covered by the singer Alison Mosshart (of the Kills), who runs round the stage like a whirling dervish. The music is very blues-based with many clear 60s influences. I can hear Beggars Banquet Stones, Dr John, The Cramps, Bo Diddley in there. Great guitar riffs played on cool-looking Gretch guitars and a square Bo Diddley guitar at one point. We all agree that they are pretty good, but to be honest, the songs begin to sound a little samey as the night goes on. It would probably be better if we had listened to the album. I certainly had heard nothing at all by them before going to see them.

website: http://www.thedeadweather.com/

I hate Ticketfast printed tickets

I hate Ticketfast printed tickets

17 Oct

Cliff Richard and the Shadows Newcastle Arena October 12

Posted by vintagerock in Cliff Richard, The Shadows. Tagged: , , , , .

Cliff Richard and the Shadows Newcastle Arena October 12th 2009
Watching Cliff’s TV show every week. Going to see Summer Holiday at the pictures. Wanting a strat like Hank’s. Spending hours learning how to play “Apache” and “Wonderful Land” and still never being able to play them properly. Buying an old 78 of “Travelling Light” and playing it again and again. Watching Cliff on Eurovision and willing “Congratulations” to win (it didn’t ; of course). Cliff and the Shadows bring back lots of memories for me. They may not exactly be cool these days, but back in their day they meant something to lots of us.
So I collected all those memories together in my head and went along to Newcastle Arena to see Cliff and the Shads for one more (and probably the last) time.
And there they were; just three rows away form me ; on the stage playing all my favourites: In the Country; Apache; FBI; Summer Holiday; Don’t Talk to Him; On the Beach; Bachelor Boy, Atlantis, Travelling Light, Time drags by. Finished with the Young Ones. Lots of references to “The Toon”;a great homecoming for Hank and Bruce.
Great show; great memories; Cliff and Hank look great; Cliff’s voice is great (and its his 69th birthday the next day!); Hank plays great! 

SETLIST
Fist half:
WE SAY YEAH
IN THE COUNTRY
GEE WHIZ IT’S YOU
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
LIVING DOLL
DANCING SHOES
I’M THE LONELY ONE
A GIRL LIKE YOU
DO YOU WANNA DANCE
SHADOWS – SHADOOGIE / WONDERFUL LAND / THE SAVAGE /SLEEPWALK
HIGH CLASS BABY
I COULD EASILY FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE
SEA CRUISE

Second half
C’MON EVERYBODY
DYNAMITE
LUCKY LIPS
TRAVELLING LIGHT
TIME DRAGS BY
ALL SHOOK UP
PLEASE DON’T TEASE
SHADOWS – APACHE / FOOT TAPPER / ATLANTIS / FBI
I LOVE YOU
THE NEXT TIME
DON’T TALK TO HIM
ON THE BEACH
SUMMER HOLIDAY
BACHELOR BOY
NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN
IT’LL BE ME
VISIONS
Encores:
MOVE IT
SINGING THE BLUES
THE YOUNG ONES

i hate ticketfast printed tickets

i hate ticketfast printed tickets

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10 Oct

Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Deep Purple, Jon Lord. Tagged: , , , , .

Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009

I’ve alway liked Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra album, and I regret that I never saw them perform it live in concert. I remember seeing it on TV in the late ’60s and bought the lp at the time. I used to play that album and the Moodie’s Days of Future Past again and again on my record player. So when I saw that Jon Lord was planning to perform the work at the Usher Hall I couldn’t resist buying a ticket. The concert sounded pretty interesting from the word go. The plan was for Jon to rehearse with young music students from Stevenson College in Edinburgh and from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. These young people would be the group for the night and also form members of the orchestra. Sounded like a great opportunity for some young scottish musicians to work and perfrom with a legend. The final performance was to be with Jon Lord, a 100 piece orchestra and the group of young musicians. The Usher Hall has recently reopened after being refurbsihed. So this seemed a great opportunity to see one of my favourite pieces of music performed in a great setting.

As it happened I was feeling pretty tired on Monday night; I was still recovering from the trip to London to see Mott the Hoople a couple of days earlier; and couldn’t really face the 250 ml round drive to Edinburgh after work. But I convinced myself it would be worthwhile. I arrived in Edinburgh around 7pm and went into the Usher Hall to find my seat and buy a programme (a bargain at £2!).

The first half of the show consisted of Phil Cunningham, traditional musicians and the orchestra from the Royal Scottish Academy and Stevenson College playing some traditional tunes. This was a nice start to the evening and brought us to the interval at around 8pm.

Around 8.30pm the lights went down and Jon Lord, Stevenson’s six piece rock band Concertium and the orchestra took to the stage. The conductor for the evening was Paul Mann who has conducted this work with Jon before. The Concerto is in three movements; Slow, Fast and Slow as Jon told us. The performance stayed true to the original and was played brilliantly by the young musicians, most of whom were first year students. The three movements seemed to be over in no time at all. The band were first class, the guitar solos were fluid and seemed improvised yet also stayed true to the original as played by Ritchie Blackmore. The vocalist, Grant Barclay, was superb. And Jon’s swirling Hammond (hired, I noticed, from Vintage Hammond Hire Scotland!) took us all back to the 60s. This was a concert unlike any I have ever seen, blending orchestral music with rock in the unique way that the Concerto does. After a standing ovation, the musicians returned to the stage and Jon introduced us to ” a song from the same period”. The first few notes of Child in Time raised an immediate cheer from the audience and we were treated to a breath-taking version of the Purple classic with faultless vocals from Grant Barclay. As Paul Mann said at the end “Ian Gillan would have been proud”.

The show was over at around 9.45, and I reached home shortly after midnight, tired but pleased that I had gone. The concert was excellent; something that I will remember for a long time, and I may not gate the chance to see performed again.

website: http://jonlord.org/

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3 Oct

Mott the Hoople Hammersmith Apollo Friday 2 October

Posted by vintagerock in Mott the Hoople. Tagged: , , , , .

Mott the Hoople London Hammersmith Apollo Friday 2 October 2009

Its 7am and I’m on the train back to Newcastle, still not quite over how good last night was.

So there I was in Hammersmith, along with fellow fans who have come from all over the world to see something that we all thought we would never see; the original Mott the Hoople on stage together again. I’ve waited a long time for this; its 35 years since I stood in a muddy field in Buxton and watched them headline the first night of a pretty grim festival, and play what was to be one of their last UK gigs. Last night I was in a somewhat more comfortable spot in the fifth row of the stalls; waiting to see a band who gave me some great nights in my youth.

Mott don’t get the respect they deserve. When I told people that I was going to see the reunion; most could only recall All the Young Dudes. But in their day there was much much more to Mott than that. Before they had the hits and became some sort of pop glam band, they were one of THE live acts on the circuit. Mott the Hoople in the early 70s were wild, heavy, funny and loud and Ian Hunter and the rest of the band had a rapport and bond with the audience that was like no other. The 5 or 6 times I saw them are fast becoming faint memories, but I do remember just how good they were. So when tickets went on sale earlier this year for this show, I just knew that I had to go along. I’ve been waiting ever since to see just how the band would rise to the challenge.

The support act was Gemma Ray who put up a fair show to a pretty empy hall. Everyone was waiting for the main act, and the bars and foyer were crammed with fans high in expectation. At around 8.45 a voice told us that “Mott the Hoople are in the house” and everyone was up on their feet from the very start. The lights went down and the band took the stage; this was the original early 70s line-up of the band: Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, (Pete) Overend Watts, and Verden Allen. Buffen, the original drummer, is not too well these days and his drum stool was covered by Martin Chambers (of the Pretenders and a long time friend of the band) during the main set with Buffin joining for the first encores.

The set was a mixture of album tracks from the first few lps and the hits. I’d read reports from the night before that the band weren’t fully together. Well last night they were on top form. Ian is amazing for a guy who is around 70 years old. His voice was strong and he sounded the same as ever, belting out the vocals and haveing some cheeky crack with the crowd. Pete Watts was clearly loving every minute of being back on stage, coming down to the front and playing to the crowd. Mick Raphs played well, although his voice was somewhat starined on Ready For Love. Verden’s keyboard sounded great; the swirling Leslie effect just the same as it was all those years ago. Martin Chambers couldn’t have done a better job at filling Buffin’s drum seat.

The crowd loved it. Everyone seemed to know every word of every song. Mick Jones of the Clash was in the row in front of me along with his mate Tony James; he had a big smile on his face. Last night was clearly bringing back some memories for him. Ian told us that Jimmy Page was also in the hall.

The moment that Buffin took the stage alongside Martin for Roll Away the Stone, Dudes and Keep a Knocking’ was particularly touching. He was clearly weak and was helped up into his kit. Once there however, he played well and the smiles across his face told us that he was delighted to be up there. After all it seems it was he and Verden who were behind making the reunion happen. Its wonderful how the band have handled Buffin’s health issues and made him part of the show.

Highlights for me were Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen, Wish I was your Mother, Mountain, Roll Away the Stone and All the Young Dudes. Actually all of the hits were great and we all sang our hearts out. It was all over too soon and I thought the crowd were never going to stop singing “Goodbuy” (or leave) after Saturday Gigs.

Setlist:
Hymn For The Dudes
Rock’n’Roll Queen
Sweet Jane
One Of The Boys
Sucker
The Moon Upstairs
The Original Mixed Up Kid (Sit-down, acoustic)
I Wish I Was Your Mother (Sit-down, acoustic)
Ready For Love (Mick, lead vocal)
Born Late ’58 (Pete, lead vocal/lead guitar, Ian on bass)
Ballad Of Mott
Angeline
Walking With A Mountain
The Journey (Ian takes to piano)
Golden Age of Rock’n’Roll (Stan, Tracie etc… on backing vox)
Honaloochie Boogie
All The Way From Memphis

Encores…
Roll Away The Stone
All The Young Dudes
Keep A Knockin’

Saturday Gigs

website: http://www.mottthehoople.com/
Ian Hunter website : http://www.ianhunter.com

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3 Oct

AK-7 Chester le Street Friday 25 September 2009

Posted by vintagerock in AK-7. Tagged: , , , , .

AK-7 Chester le Street Friday 25 September 2009

AK-7 are an up and coming band from the North East who play their own songs and some rock covers; including classics by Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, and more up to date songs by Muse and others. Christina’s brother is drummer in the band and Laura has been along to see them several times with Christina and her family. Their singer has recenlty left, and as they had a gig lined up in Chester le Street, Christina and Laura have taken up the mike(s) and were tonight taking the lead vocal duties.

The gig was at a private retirement party and is at a social club in Chester le Street. Laura has been rehearsing for some time for tonight, and Marie and I were (for the first time) allowed to come along and see her perfoprm. The club is in the middle of a housing estate and took a little time to find (mental note: I must take my sat nav next time I go to an unfamiliar place). When we arrived we joined Christina’s family and their friends on table towards the back of the hall.

Before long the band took to the stage. Laura and Christina took turns at lead vocals. They were both in great voice and the band, who are all still quite young, are all talented musicians. The set was a mixture of rock classics and a couple of songs written by the band. Highlights for me were Christina singing Blondie’s Call Me and Laura singing Whole Lotta Love. A good night with a great young band (and a great buffet!).

website: http://www.myspace.com/ak7ne

The setlist included (I think; Laura will correct me if this wrong!): Vertigo- U2; Hanging on the telephone- Blondie; I love rock n roll- Joan Jett and the Black Hearts; Blacknight- Deep Purple; Hysteria- Muse; Holiday- Green Day; The World Is Waiting- AK7; Tie your moher down- Queen; Question of time- AK7; Sweet Child of Mine- Guns N’ Roses; You give love a bad name – Bon Jovi; Whole lotta love – Led Zeppelin; Call Me – Blondie.

13 Sep

Fleet Foxes Newcastle Academy Sep 9 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Fleet Foxes. Tagged: , , , , .

Fleet Foxes Newcastle Academy Sep 9 2009
Laura and her friend Christina and I went to see Fleet Foxes at the Academy. Laura and David had heard quite abit of their material and had recommended them to me. A few people at work had also expressed interest in them. The stuff that I had heard reminded me of late 60s American folk rock; Crosby, Stills and Nash in particular, but you can also hear Simon and Garfunkel, the Zombies and Fairport Convention in there.
The Academy was packed when we arrived. This show had been sold out for weeks. The crowd was pretty mixed; for once I wasn’t the oldest person in the building. The support act were just finishing; they seemed OK.
Fleet Foxes came onstage around 9pm to a great roar from the crowd. Their strong harmonies sounded great live, but we all felt that this wasn’t the best venue for them. The acoustics aren’t great and the chatting of the crowd was in danger of drowning things in some of the quieter moments. They would be much better placed in the Sage or the City Hall. I didn’t know many of the songs; Laura and Christina seemed to know them (mental note: I must listen to current CDs more). We all enjoyed the show; please come back and play the Sage next time!

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12 Sep

Tori Amos Manchester Apollo Sunday 6 September 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Tori Amos. Tagged: , , , , .

Toris Amos Manchester Apollo Sunday 6 September 2009
Review by Laura
I began listening to Tori around the age of 14, discovering her on a mix tape my friend had created for me. Since then I’ve bought a number of her albums and always expressed an interest in seeing her when she next came to England. So, when a few months ago dad told me of some up-coming British dates, I did my best to persuade him to book tickets. This wasn’t a difficult task and so on Sunday afternoon around 3 pm, dad and I took a slow drive to Manchester, not quite sure what to expect from the evening’s concert.

We arrived at the Apollo in good time and noticed a gathering of fans grouped around the stage door. After joining them it became clear that they were expecting Tori to make an appearance. However, as the time approached 7, when the theatre doors were due to open, it became clear that no such appearance was to take place, so dad and I took our positions in the long queue to enter the building.

After Dad got a programme and I bought a t-shirt, we took our seats in the centre of the tenth row of the stalls, with an excellent view of the stage. The support act (One Eskimo) took to the stage around 8 o’clock and proved to be quite interesting. They had a unique sound, traditional folk fused with complicated rhythms, keyboard effects and trumpet solos. Dad and I both enjoyed their 30 minute set.

At 9 o’clock Tori finally appeared to a very enthusiastic reception. Her opening number was a highly energetic version of “Give” which fused seamlessly into “caught a lit sneeze”, both of which received an excellent response from the crowd. Tori’s voice was incredibly strong, live performance perhaps doing it more justice than any recording I’ve heard of her. As well as her vocal ability, I was also impressed and fascinated by her piano playing. I’ve never heard somebody both play and sing so well simultaneously.

After opening on such a high, the rest of the concert did not disappoint. Tori gave each song she performed a new energy, favourites such as “Cornflake Girl”, “Welcome to England” and “Precious things” sounding better than ever. The audience appeared to be mesmerised by her and were completely silent throughout, apart from the long and enthusiastic applause which greeted and followed each number.

After closing with a spectacular version of “black vine”, tori re-appeared to perform “Big Wheel” and “Tear in Your Hand”. Despite the set being a little over 2 hours, the time flew by and before I knew it I was back in the car, driving home. Dad and I both agreed it had been a fantastic night. I’d have liked to have seen her perform “winter” or “Jacky’s Strength”, never mind though, maybe next time.

website: http://www.toriamos.com/
setlist:
Give
Caught a lite sneeze
Cornflake Girl
Icicle
Pancake
Space Dog
Lust
Jamaica Inn
Welcome to England
Northern Lad
Take me with you
Mother
Putting the Damage on
The power of orange knickers
fast horse
precious things
black vine

encore:
Big Wheel
Tear in your hand

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i hate print out tickets


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27 Aug

Hawkwind 40th Anniversary show London 29 August 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Hawkwind. Tagged: , , , , .

Hawkwind 40th Anniversary Happening Porchester Halls London 29 August 2009

Marie and I spent our August bank holiday going to see Hawkwind at their 40th anniversary show in London. The gig was in Porchester Halls near Notting Hill, just a few streets away from where they played their first ever gig as Band X 40 years ago. The concert had been billed as an all day “happening” with special guest.
We travelled down to London the day before and spent the Friday evening having a walk around Notting Hill; having a drink and something to eat.
On the Saturday we went along to Porchester Halls at around 1pm, to find out the running order for the day. As we entered the hall we were presented with a great goody bag which contained a CD produced for the day and other items. We pleased to see that Hawkwind were doing an early acoustic set, in additional to their main set which was going to close the day. We watched this set and then decided to return later in the day. We spent the afternoon having a walk around Hyde Park, and returned to the Hall around 7.30pm. Huw Lloyd-Langton was on stage performing an acoustic set which included Hurry On Sundown and a few bluesy songs. After a short break the main avent, Hawkwind, took to the stage. The current line up is led by Dave Brock, the only constant after all these years. Marie and were standing at the side of the stage close to the front. The show was great. Hawkwind really seem to back on form these days. I went to all of their tours throughout the 70s, seeing them many times from 71 onward, but lost faith somewhere in the 80s and have only started going to see them again in the 2000s. This was classic Hawkwind at their best; a mixture of classic tracks, including Silver Machine played better than I have seen it for years. Great lights, great dancers, friendly crowd, what more could we ask for? Perhaps a few more of special guests as promised? Who cares. Its great to see the band playing as well as this. Roll on the Newcastle Aacedemy in Deecmber!

setlist: intro / warriors / assault and battery / golden void / where are they now /
lighthouse / space is deep poem / angels of death / wraith / green machine /
spirit of the age / silver machine / sentinel / lord of light / poem / magnu
/ brainbox pollution /you’d better believe it / right to decide / hassan i sahba / jam / hassan i sahba / fahrenheit 451

website: http://www.hawkwind.com/

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