Posts Tagged ‘concert’

19 Apr

Joe Brown Billingham Forum 19 April

Posted by vintagerock in Joe Brown. Tagged: , , , , .

Joe Brown Billingham Forum Theatre April 19th 2009

Will raised the idea of  seeing Joe Brown some time ago.  We missed him last time he came to the region; so decided we would catch up with him this time at Billingham Forum Theatre.  We arrive a little late (around 7.40) and Joe is already on stage. The set is a mixture of old favourites including Joe’s own hits, old rock and roll songs and standards. Highlights are Picture of You, See You in My Dreams, Black Betty, and  Hava Nagila. Joe is accompanied by a great band including his son Pete. The show is very good, not surprising I suppose when you consider how long Joe has been in the business. Nice to go to a concert where we are the youngest there ; rather than the oldest!

website: http://www.joebrown.co.uk/

ticket

ticket

13 Apr

John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest Salford April 12 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Barclay James Harvest. Tagged: , , , .

John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest Salford Lowry Theatre Manchester April 12th 2009 (Easter Sunday)

I guess, although I might not have fully realised it at the time, I was pretty into Barclay James Harvest in the 70s.  They were one of the bands who I would go along and see with my mates, and we always enjoyed the show. We sort of took them for granted; they toured a lot, you could always go along and see them; you could rely on them to play well (and they would always finish with Mockingbird).  Somewhere along the way I lost touch with them, and I’d almost forgotten them altogether until a couple of years ago when John Lees’ version of the band came to Newcastle. I went along that night not knowing what to expect and was surprised how good they  were, and how many of the old songs came back to me after 30 years. Since then, I’ve kept in touch with BJH by visiting their website now and then.

So when I saw that they were planning to perform a special concert for fans on Easter Sunday in Salford I decided I’d go along. Laura had heard me playing Mockingbird and After the Day and was intrigued enough to fancy joining me, so we bought two tickets. That was last November; we’ve been looking forward to the show since then.

We set off early after an Easter lunch with the family, and arrived at the Lowry centre at 6pm, with plenty of time to spare. There was time for a pizza in the Quays before we made our way into the Lowry for the show. The Lowry is a lovely venue overlooking the river just next to the Quays shopping centre.

Fans of the band had travelled from all over the UK for the concert; everyone was looking forward to this; so it was going to be pretty special.  A special one-off programme for the concert was included in the ticket price and as a nice touch they had printed the names of everyone in the audience inside. Laura was a little disappointed that the smallest t-shirts available were medium; which would still be like a dress on her; so she decided to pass this time.

First up was support act Claire Hamill, another name from the 70s who seems to have re-emerged recently. She did a few numbers which went down quite well. Then there was a short internal before the main act.

BJH started with For No One and were on great form. The sound was clear and John Lees’ guitar work was as good as  ever. Keyboard player Wooley was in a chatty mood, cracking jokes with the crowd and with the bass guitarist in particular. The set was largely well know favourites from the early albums, each one greeted by a great roar from the crowd. The band clearly enjoyed the gig and played with a lot more passion that the last time I saw them. John forgot the opening lines of Mockingbird, but was forgiven by the audience.   The show finished at around 10.45pm and we headed off home; got back around 1.15am.   Laura’s verdict was that they were OK, but perhaps a little dated nowadays. Me, I thought it was great, and yes it maybe is dated and like going back to the 70s, but I guess thats what I went for anyway!

Set list:

For No One
The Great 1974 Mining Disaster
Poor Wages
Iron Maiden
Child of The Universe
Loving is Easy (X-Rated)
Light at the End of the World
Poor Man’s Moody Blues
Galadriel
Harbour
Suicide?
Medicine Man
In Search of England
H’ors d’oeuvres (someone spell that for me??)
Mocking Bird
The Poet
After the Day

Encores:
She Said
Hymn

website: http://www.bjharvest.co.uk/

programme

programme

 

ticket

ticket

29 Mar

America Sage Gateshead 17 March 2009

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

America The Sage Gateshead 17 March 2009

I’d forgotten how many great songs America had written.  I’ve only seen the band once before; at the Odeon in Newcastle on a double bill with Poco in (I think) 1975. They played the Sage a year or so ago but I didn’t make it for some reason. This time the Sgae was less than half full, but those that did turn out to see the band didn’t leave disappointed.

America is now composed of two of its originals: Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, backed by a group of musicians, some who have been with them for over 30 years.  The songs still sound great. Ventura Highway comes early in the set, and I soon realise that there are a lot of America songs which I remember: I Need You, Tin Man, Sandman, You Can Do Magic. They do a pretty good version of Eleanor Rigby too. During Sandman the backdrop shows shots from the Vietnam war; perhaps a bit dated but fits well actually. The encore is (of course) Horse with no name. All sung great.

After the show I line up and say hello to Gerry and Dewey and get some signatures for myself and for my friend John in the states. 

website : http://www.venturahighway.com/

ticket

ticket

signed flier

signed flier

15 Mar

The Hollies Sage Gateshead March 14 2009

Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: , , , , .

The Hollies The Sage Gateshead March 14 2009

I’d persuaded Marie to go to see the Hollies on our wedding anniversary; so was hoping that this would be a good show which we could both enjoy. This is the 5th time I’ve seen them since the “new” singer Peter Howarth joined the band after the sad death of Carl Wayne.

The Sage was full, which was great to see. Its good that some many people remember those great songs and want to turn out and see the band sing them. The set is, as always, in two parts with the hits spread througout the night. The Hollies have just released a new album and play 3 songs from it; all of which sound good. One of the new songs tells the story of history of the band from the early days. It was written by drummer Bobby Elliot and sung by guitarist Tony Hicks; being the only two remaining original members.

They treat us to all the hits, changing the arrangements of some of them; all of them sounding great. Tiny Hicks still looks as young as ever and plays great (and very under rated) guitar. His electric sitar intro to The Baby is excellent, as is his lengthy banjo intro to Stop Stop Stop.  Peter is left onstage alone to perform a great version of Can’t Tell the Bottom from the Top.

Marie actually enjoyed the concert ; perhaps there’s a chance she might come to see them again next time.

Website: http://www.hollies.co.uk/

Set list:
First Half
Here I Go Again
Just One Look
Stay
I Would Fly
Bus Stop
On A Carousel
The Baby
Sandy (Acoustic)
Then Now Always (Dolphin Days)
We’re Through
Blowin’ In The Wind
Long Cool Woman

Second Half
I Can’t Let Go
Jennifer Eccles
Sorry Suzanne
Yes I Will
One Way Ticket
I’m Alive
Look Through Any Window
I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top (Acoustic Solo)
Listen To Me-Hey Willy-Gasoline Alley Bred
Weakness
Lucille
Carrie Anne
Stop Stop Stop
The Air That I Breathe

Encores
He Ain’t Heavy
Let Love Pass

holliestic

hollies2

hollies

holllies2

15 Mar

Hugh Cornwell Gala Theatre Durham 5 March 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Hugh Cornwell, Stranglers. Tagged: , , , , .

Hugh Cornwell Gala Theatre Durham 5 March 2009

Norm, Will and I went to see Hugh Cornwell at the Gala Theatre in Durham. It was the first time that any of us had seen him since he left the Straglers. The Gala is a nice little theatre in the centre of Durham which gets many touring shows and tribute acts. First up was a local folk singer (can’t remember his name; I ‘m sure Will can remind me). He was OK, but we decided to retreat to the local Wetherspoons for a swift drink before Hugh took the stage.

Hugh is backed by a two piece band (drummer and bass and himself on Fender Telecaster). The bass player is a young girl who plays some great fuzzy bass licks. He played the whole of his new album Hooverdam before moving onto a few old Stranglers tunes. The Hooverdam songs sound very Stranglerish; its clear that Hugh was the driving force behind writing most of the best Stranglers tunes. Hugh and the band seemed really into it, as was the crowd. A great gig.

Set list:  All of Hoverdam, Tank, 24/7, lay back, leave me alone, black hair, walk on by, always the sun, golden brown, no more heroes, down in the sewer.

Website: http://www.hughcornwell.com/

hughtic1

22 Feb

Strawbs Ovington Social Club Feb 20 2009

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

Acoustic Strawbs Ovington Social Club Feb 20 2009

The last time I saw Strawbs was in 1976 at Newcastle City Hall;  was looking forward to seeing them again after all this time. Called of my friend Will on Friday night and we then relied on my new satnav to direct us to Ovington Social Club. The satnav didn’t let us down and took us right to the door of the club; we would have been lucky to find the place without it.

The concert room was already full when we arrived; not a seat left;  so we took a spot standing at the bar. The Strawbs soon took the stage; the acoustic line-up is Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk all of whom are long standing members. Great to see the band in such an intimate setting; they  apparently played here  last year and asked the promoter to book them again.  Dave Cousins and Dave Lambert are both in fine voice and the guitar harmonies are clear and beautfiful.  Tears and Pavan  and the Hangman and the Papist are particularly striking with Dave Cousins on great form; quite doomy melancholic songs. They finish with Lay Down and return for one encore. Will is disappointed that they don’t play Part of the Union; suspect that this is because it is a Hudson Ford song.

Great to see the Strawbs again; I’d forgotten just how good they are. I dug out my copy of the first album and started playing it again. 

website: http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/

 

ticket

ticket

 setlist:

Benedictus/Simple Visions
Tears And Pavan
New World
Another Day
Midnight Sun
Oh How She Changed
The Call To Action

Ghosts
Josephine (For Better Or For Worse)
Glimpse of Heaven
The Hangman And The Papist
Shine On Silver Sun
Cold Steel
Autumn
Lay Down

We’ll Meet Again Sometime

22 Feb

Michel Legrand and Alison Moyet Sage Gateshead

Posted by vintagerock in Alison Moyet, Michel Legrand. Tagged: , , , , .

Michel Legrand and Alison Moyet Ths Sage Gateshead Feb 18 2009

The Thomas Crown Affair is a great film and Windwills of Your Mind is one of my all time favourite songs.  This show was by Michel Legrand and his orchestra with Alison Moyet joining him for a few songs (including Windmills).  I’d read that the first half was instrumental only, with Legrand and his orchestra playing selections from some of the  many film scores which he has written in his long (he is in his late 70s) career.  Alison was due to join during the second half.  So I timed my arrival to hit the interval (I really was just going along to hear Windwills; I also had to be up at 6am the next morning to go to London for a meeting).

My timing jus about worked. I arrived just as the first half was finishing. I bought a programme and took a seat at the back upstairs (I had a cheap ticket; and upstairs was by no means full). Legrand opened the second half with a couple of instrumentals and a song which he sang himself. He then introduced Alison Moyet who sang 6 or 7 songs.  Windmills of  Your Mind was sung as a duet with Legrand; pretty good and great to see the composer playing it. I also recognised What are you doing the rest of your life, and one other which sounded familiar.  Alison left and Legrand and the orchestra played a selection from the theme to the Thomas Crown Affair, which ended the show. There was no encore.

This was quite a different type of gig for me, but I enjoyed it, and was pleased that I had made the effort. I was also pleased that the evening finished quite early (around 10pm) so I could get some sleep before my early start.

legrantic1

legrandprog1

15 Feb

Magazine London Forum

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

Magazine London Kentish Town Forum February 13th 2009

I have fond memories of seeing Magazine a few times in the late 70s and early 80s. In particular, I recall being impressed with Howard Devoto’s stage presence from a show in Redcar where he stared down at the audience from a mike stand which had a platform for him to stand on. And The Light pours down on me, and Shot by both sides are two of my favourite songs. Laura had become familiar with the band  through Morrissey who has covered a couple of their songs in the past. So we both decided we should go along and see them, and made the trip to London on a cold Friday night to see if they would live up to their legend.

The Forum is an old cinema which has been converted into a pretty nice venue. We’d opted for seats upstairs (neither of us like standing all night). The support was Ipso Facto who we’d seen before with the Last Shadow Puppets. They did a short, OK set; but everyone was waiting for the main act. After a very long intro and a short (and strange) spoken piece  from Devoto, the curtain came up; Barry Adamson and Dave Formula came on and started playing the Light Pours out of me. Howard joins them and snarls the vocals; they sound great; really tight and a clear sound.

Laura and I only know a few of the better known tracks; the rest of the crowd seem to know everything. There is one song called “Book” where Howard standards at a lecturn and reads from a big old book. Howard looks pretty good; no hair at all these days but still has the same (quite strange) stage presence. The guitarist does a great job filling the shoes of John McGeogh; he is a wearing a cool red suit and some great red winkle pickers (which look the same as mine!). The last song is Shot by both sides. The crowd goes mad downstairs, lots of people getting flung around. The last encore is  Beefheart’s I Love you Big Dummy (my friend recalls seeing them play this at their first ever gig).

After the show Laura and I push our way against the flow of the crowd to get to the merchandise stall downstairs. Laura buys her customary t-shirt.  Then its back on the tube to our Travelodge room near Kings Cross and back home in the morning. We both agreed it was a jolly good show.

Setlist:

*The Light Pours Out of Me (with epic intro)
*Model Worker (with Obama reference)
*The Honeymoon Killers (with one sassy lady from the support band)
*Because You’re Frightened
*You Never Knew Me (with the same sassy femme)
*Rhythm of Cruelty (following mention of McGeoch)
*This Poison (with sassy femme again)
*A Song from Under the Floorboards
*Permafrost
*The Book
*Twenty Years Ago/Definitive Gaze (a seemless medley)
*Parade
*Shot By Both Sides
ENCORE:
*Thank You (fallentime…)
*Motorcade
2nd encore:
*I Love You Big Dummy

magazinelogo

ticket

ticket

25 Jan

Richard Thompson Gateshead January 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Richard Thompson. Tagged: , , , , .

Richard Thompson The Sage Gateshead January 23rd 2009

1000 years of Popular Music

richardt

Richard Thompson is another act that I felt I should catch up on. I think the last time I saw him he was with his (then) wife Linda and they were supporting Traffic at Newcastle City Hall.

For this tour Richard is performing his own review of 1000 years of popular music, accompanied by Judith Owen and Debra Donkin who provide (excellent) vocals, percussion and keyboards. The set was divided into two halves. In the first half Richard concentrated on old traditional songs, with a selection of folk music, a carol, and Elizabethan songs. After the interval he moved to 20th  century music. This set covered some of my favourite songs: Cry me a river (sung wonderfully by one of the ladies); See my Friends (always one of my favourite Kinks songs); Friday on my Mind (again a great song) and couple of old rock n roll tunes (Drinking wine spo dee o dee). All of these were performed in Richard’s own style with some great guitar work. The encore included a Beatles medley with I want to hold your hand and a couple of other early mersey beat type songs. A good selection of songs, and well performed. An interesting evening.

ticket

ticket

 http://www.richardthompson-music.com/

25 Jan

Buzzcocks Newcastle 18 Jan 2009

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

The Buzzcocks Newcastle Academy 18 Jan 2009

Laura and I decided to go along and see the Buzzcocks at the Academy last Sunday. I hadn’t seen them since their heyday in the late 70s; Laura had heard a few of their well-known songs on the radio and on punk compilations. The gig promised to be good; on this tour the Buzzcocks are playing their first two albums in their entirety alongside all their hits.

The Academy was pretty full downstairs; the balcony was not open for this gig. The crowd were quite mixed, a lot of them were old punks who were sporting Stiff Little Fingers, Damned and Exploited t-shirts. The support act was the Lurkers; another old name from the 70s. We arrived just as the Lurkers took the stage; they were pretty Ok actually; Laura recognised a couple of the songs, and I recalled seeing them in the late 70s in Sunderland at Finos (or was it Lees Club in those days?).

The Buzzcocks came on to a great roar from the crowd and launch straight Fast Cars the first track on their first album. What follows is a set of classic punk pop songs. I’d forgotten just how good they were. Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle still look and sound great and the crowd are well into it right from the start. All the favourites are played : I don’t mind; Ever fallen in love, Promises, What do I get and some I’d forgotten: Fiction Romance, Nostalgia.

Laura counted 23 songs in 2 hours. Great. It doesn’t come much better than this, and gets us both in the mood for the Magazine reunion show, which we will be seeing at the London Forum in a few weeks time.

http://www.buzzcocks.com

http://www.thelurkers.co.uk/

ticket

ticket

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »