Van Morrison The Sage Gateshead 11 Feb 2012
“No cameras. If anyone takes a photograph he says he will walk straight off stage” the lady at the door told me as I entered the concert last night. Welcome to a gig by the enigma that is Van Morrison. I was seated in a box to the left of the stage, just a few feet away from where the great man would stand. The gig had been sold out for weeks; Van’s legend is as strong as ever, and he is filling halls out again, as it should be. Spot on at 8pm as advertised the band took the stage, followed by Van who walked on from stage left playing a saxophone. They were straight into Brown Eyed Girl; a version with a jazzier feel than the original. Morrison was singing well and you don’t get much tighter than this band. So far so good, I thought. I’ve enjoyed the last couple of Van gigs that I’ve seen, and expected this to be similar. But it was so much better. Last night, I could sense that Van was getting more into the performance as the night went on. Maybe it was because I was close to the stage and could clearly see the expression on Van’s face, but I think it was more than that. I swear I saw him smile a few times, and by the last few songs he was singing with a commitment and passion that I haven’t seen for many years. Between songs he was having some little chats with members of band, particularly the bass player; obviously giving them some instructions as to the next song and the arrangement. I’d love to be able to hear what he was saying. Van himself played sax and harp on several numbers and on Haunts Of Ancient Peace he sat and played at a keyboard, something I can’t recall seeing recently. He even introduced one of the songs and asked us to thank the band several times. The band, by the way, are excellent; switching from jazz to blues to soul, with some great solos, whether it be by the sax player, guitarist or the pianist. By the last song, the old Them classic, Gloria, they were really rocking, and Van was belting out the lyrics. He just gets better. Setlist: Brown Eyed Girl; Higher Than The World; Not Feeling It Anymore/Hurting Game; These Dreams Of You; Enlightenment; All In The Game/No Plan B/No Safety Net; Real Real Gone/You Send Me; Crazy love; Moondance; Into The Mystic; Precious Time; Haunts Of Ancient Peace; In The Garden/Holy Guardian Angel; Fair Play; Ballerina; Help Me; Gloria. I told a guy at work, who used to go and see Van a lot, that I was going to the gig. He told me that he had been disappointed by Van’s performances in the past, and wouldn’t go again. He missed a treat. Wish I had tickets for York tonight, but I checked and its sold out, which is as it should be. Come back soon Van.
Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
12 Feb
Van Morrison The Sage Gateshead 11 Feb 2012
11 Feb
The Rolling Stones Glasgow Apollo May 10th 1976
The Rolling Stones Glasgow Apollo May 10th 1976
I saw the Stones for the third time in Glasgow in 1976. My friend John was at University in Edinburgh and bought the tickets. There was a big sramble for tickets for this tour. I seem to recall that I applied for tickets for Stafford I think, and wasn’t successful; and was delighted to hear that John had managed to get a couple for the Glasgow show. This was my first visit to the legendary, and sadly missed, Apollo; I went to see a few bands there in the 70s. I drove up to Edinburgh to pick John up, and then we drove across to Glasgow. Support came from the American funk band The Meters, who were ok but didn’t stand out to me. We had good seats up in the circle with a great view of the stage. 
The Stones came on and started with Honky Tonk Women. The crowd in the circle were quite reserved, staying in their seats throughout. This was the Stones at the height of their popularity and the start of the mega tour. It was also their first outing with new guitarist Ronnie Wood. Setlist: Honky Tonk Women; If You Can’t Rock Me / Get Off of My Cloud; Hand of Fate; Hey Negrita; Ain’t Too Proud to Beg; Fool to Cry; Hot Stuff; Star Star; You Gotta Move; You Can’t Always Get What You Want; Happy; Tumbling Dice; Nothing from Nothing; Outta Space; 
Midnight Rambler; It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It); Brown Sugar; Jumpin’ Jack Flash; Street Fighting Man. The Stones were great that night, and a Stones concert was becoming an event as much as a concert. After the gig, John and I drove back to Edinburgh and then I drive home to Sunderland. I had a busy week of concerts that week. I’d driven to London and back at the weekend to see David Bowie at Wembley, saw the Stones in Glasgow on Monday and then drove to Birmingham later the same week to see Kiss on their first UK tour. John, Marie and I saw the Stones a few months later at their massive Knebworth show. I’ll write a review of that gig soon.
8 Feb
Van Morrison in concert 1973 – 2007
Van Morrison in concert 1973 – 2007
I’m going to see Van Morrison at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday, so I thought I would spend a little time reflecting on my previous concert experiences of the great man.
I first saw Van Morrison at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. He was performing with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, and it was without doubt one of the greatest gigs I have seen. The passion and soul that Van showed that night was astounding. I’ve seen him several times since, but nothing has matched how he was that night. 
I’ve written separately on that great concert. I next saw Van at one or two festivals, including Knebworth, but didn’t catch up with him again at the City Hall until 1979. By then Morrison was moving in a more pop oriented direction, and although I still enjoyed the gig, the power and passion of that early 70s show was lacking.
I was back at the City Hall for a Van gig in 1983, and to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. It was as if he was going through the motions, and didn’t really want to be there. I talked to other fans who saw him around the same time, and they felt the same. He was back in Newcastle at the Arena as special guest for Bob Dylan in the 1990s once, maybe twice, I don’t remember. I’d lost faith in him by then, and shamefully admit I stayed in the bar during his set. I thought I’d seen the last of the Van I’d seen at that gig in 1973. However, in recent years I’ve been playing Moondance, Astral Weeks and the live album now and then, and have realised just how great his music is. 
So it was in that frame of mind that I went to see Van again at Middlesbrough Town Hall in 2005. I saw glimpses of the old Van again at that gig. The set was short, and Van didn’t acknowledge the audience at all, but he sang well, and it looked like he cared again. The set included some of his well known songs such as Moondance and Brown Eyed Girl, and a bunch of stuff that I didn’t recognise, and I am pleased to say that I enjoyed it. I was sold out again. 
So it was in that frame of mind that I took Laura to see Van at the Sage in 2007. We had cheap seats looking down on the stage from above and once again, he delivered. The set included more classics than in 2005. I think we got Here Comes the Night and Gloria, certainly one of them if not both. Even Laura enjoyed it, and she has become quite hard to please. Those last couple of gigs have convinced me to catch Van each time he comes to the North East.
So I’ll be at The Sage on Saturday to see Van again, and I’m really looking forward to it. I know what to expect, and it should be good. I’ll report back on Sunday and write a review of the gig. I’ll dream a little of that gig in 1973, and be thankful I have the chance to hear some of those songs again, performed by the master who wrote them, and who spellbound me in the City Hall all those years ago.
7 Feb
The Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Edgar Broughton Band in concert 1971 – 2005
Out Demons Out!!!! Rebel rock at its best.
Edgar Broughton is one of my all time heroes. He is the man; period. During the early 70s he was uncomprising, fearless, and a composer and singer of some great rock music. My early memories of Edgar were gigs at Sunderland Locarno and at festivals such as Reading’72 and Buxton’72. Edgar was usually sporting a snazzy karate suit, and singing tracks from the early EBB lps such as Freedom, Evil, American Soldier, Apache Drop Out and, of course, Out Demons Out. Edgar always had a lot to say and wasn’t frightened of speaking out against the police, the government and anything he didn’t feel was right. He was (and still is) a big man with a deep booming voice, often compared to Beefheart. But there was much more to Edgar. His guitar work was pretty tasty and his songs crossed genres, and defied categorisation.
Onstage I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, and he had quite a powerful, almost frightening personality. I saw him in The Locarno a few days before the (in)famous Redcar gig (which I regret not attending) where Edgar and the band turned up and played from the back of a lorry after being banned from playing on the seafront. He encouraged us all to come along to Redcar, to bring our friends and our cars and to screw up the town and the local police force. Edgar ended up spending the night in Redcar jail, and wrote the song “(Judge) called me a liar” about the experience. One night I recall him telling us not to buy the Out Demons Out single, as that would only give money to the record company. Instead he encouraged us to buy a spray can and spray “Out Demons Out” on walls around the time. As we moved into the mid 70s Edgar and the guys had graduated to playing the City Hall circuit. Although the music was still strong, I felt they lost some of the immediacy and passion that I had experienced in a club and festival setting.
The EBB had some great songs. Favourites of mine were The Poppy, Green Lights, Hotel Room and Evening over the rooftops. Listen to their albums if you get a chance. They are much under-rated. As we came to the end of the 70s, The EBB had all but disappeared from the scene. The last time I saw them they were called The Broughtons, and were supporting (Ian) Gillan at the City Hall around 1979. This was at the time of the Parlez Vous English? lp, which is one of the few Broughton albums which I don’t have in my collection. However, this week I’ve just bought a copy on ebay for 99p; I’m looking forward to playing it after all this time!
The band seemed to disappear from view in the 90s. I missed one show locally in the late 80s or early 90s which was while I was on holiday, and still regret it. However in 2006 they were back, and Will and I caught their gig at Sheffield Boardwalk. I went backstage before the band came on stage, said hello to Edgar (Rob) and the guys and got them to sign my gig flyer. The set that night included all of the well know tracks, starting with Evening Over Rooftops and continuing with Speak Down The Wires; the strange story of The Moth; Why Can’t Somebody Love Me; the great boogie of Momma’s Reward; American Boy Soldier with lyrics updated to comment upon modern war; the proto punk metal of Love In The Rain; Hotel Room; and Out Demons Out as an encore. In introducing the latter song Edgar told the crowd that the demons are still out there and explained that we needed to chant; just as we did in the old day! The EBB has sadly split since, but Edgar plays on, as passionate as ever. I saw him last year in York (see my post from August 2011).
6 Feb
Muhammad Ali visits South Shields July 16th 1977
Muhammad Ali’s visit to South Shields July 16th 1977
This isn’t my normal rock music post, but I make no excuses. Muhammad Ali is a hero of mine, and I feel privleged to have seen him. And he waved at me, albeit from a distance!
I remember vividly the day my friend Norman and I went through to South Shields to see Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali and his new wife came to South Shields to attend the local Mosque and have their wedding blessed by the Imam. There were several other events built around the visit, one of which was a tour of the area on a bus, and a visit to the Gypsies Green Carnival. I discovered the small single sheet A4 programme the other day when searching for items to scan for my posts. The programme, which cost 20p, and also gained you entrance to the stadium, shows the schedule for the day. The streets were absolutely packed for this event, and it was almost impossible to get anywhere near the stadium. We were happy just to get a gimpse of the great man, and wave to him with all the crowds. 
There was even a song written specially for the visit: “He’s coming, he’s coming, now who can that be,we know he’s the greatest, Muhammad Ali.” “South Tyneside has waited a long time to see, the biggest, the strongest, Muhammad Ali.” “He floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, our dearest, our fearless, Muhammad Ali.” “The children are speechless, the adults aglee, he came as he promised, Muhammad Ali.” “South Tyneside’s aflutter, the moment is here, he stands like a god does, Muhammad Ali.” “Gypsies Green Carnival, for all to see, we hope it will please you, Muhammad Ali.” “There’s sport and there’s music, displays and then tea, a really good day oh!; Muhammad Ali.” “In aid of our Boys Clubs, and our Queen’s Jubilee, what more could we ask for, Muhammad Ali.” “So look all you people, this programme’s the key, for entrance to see him, Muhammad Ali.” “We thank you dear Ali, we thank you truly, we know you’re the greatest, Muhammad Ali.” Great memories
5 Feb
Maggie Bell and Stone the Crows in concert 1971 – 1974
Maggie Bell and Stone the Crows in concert 1971 – 1974
I saw Stone the Crows in concert three times in 1971 and 1972. The first time was in late 1971 at Sunderland Locarno. This was the original band with Maggie Bell on vocals, and her partner Les Harvey (Alex’s younger brother) on guitar, before he was sadly electrocuted and killed on stage at Swansea Top Rank, by touching a live mike. They also had James Dewar on bass, who went on to have great success with Robin Trower. Maggie was often, and not unfairly, compared to Janis Joplin at the time, and the band were a great blues rock act. Although they were a great live act, they still weren’t that well known, and I recall standing near the front in a pretty small crowd watching Maggie, dressed in a denim jacket and jeans, tearing her way through the set. There was a hard edge about Maggie and her singing, and you felt that her blues matched the tough street image that Glasgow had at the time. I next saw Stone The Crows at the Lincoln Festival, which was their first performance after Les’ death, and Steve Howe from Yes stood in on guitar. 
The Lincoln performance was highly emotional and the crowd gave Maggie the strongest reception of the day, sensing how real the blues was to her that night, coming only a few weeks after she had lost her boyfriend. By September 1972, the band had a permanent new member in ex-Thunderclap Newman young guitar prodigy Jimmy McCulloch, a new album Ontinuous Performance, and a UK tour which called at the City Hall. Support at the City Hall came from Tennent and Morrison (mis-splet on the ticket), although I don’t pretend to remember much about them. Stand out gig tracks throughout those days were Penicillin Blues (I can picture Maggie now singing “You got the needle in me baby”) and a 20 minute version of Dylan’s Hollis Brown, and Niagara. They were a pretty incredible live act, and played some great blues at the time. 
By 1973, Stone The Crows had split, and Maggie had gone solo. I saw her twice in 1974. The first time was on the bill of The Who’s excellent Charlton gig, and the second was at The City Hall, with the wonderful Pretty Things as support. The Petty Things were now label mates, both appearing on Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label. Her set featured largely new material from her Queen of the Night and Suicide Sal lps. She put on a great rock show, but some of the raw power, and blues, of Stone The Crows had been lost. She’d moved to a more traditional heavy rock format (as had label-mates The Pretty Things), and in my mind, it didn’t suit her as well as the blues that she had grown up with. Maggie went on to have a hit with “Hold Me” which she sang with B A Robertson, and she also sang the theme tunes to the TV shows Hazell and Taggart. She moved to Holland and all but disappeared from the music scene, returning to the UK a few years ago. She is now playing solo, sometimes with blues singer Dave Kelly and sometimes in the British Blues Quartet, in the UK, Germany and mainland Europe. I haven’t caught up with her yet, and really must do so; it would be great to attend a Maggie Bell gig again.
4 Feb
The Rolling Stones Newcastle City Hall 13th September 1973 (late show)
The Rolling Stones Newcastle City Hall September 1973
The Rolling Stones returned to Newcastle in 1973, two years after I first saw them at the same venue. This time I was determined to get a ticket when they went on sale, having had to buy one outside the gig on the night in 1971. The tickets went on sale on a Sunday morning, the box office of the City Hall opening specially, as big crowds were expected. So two friends and I decided to queue overnight for tickets to ensure that we go to the concert. We turned up at the City Hall early on the Saturday morning, more than 24 hours before the tickets were due to go on sale. There were already a few people in front of us in the queue as we settled down for a long wait. And wait we did. As the day went on, a few more joined the queue. It wasn’t until later in the day that most people arrived, but by Saturday night the queue was weaving its way round the corner and along the street. The City Hall steps are not the most comfortable place to sleep, and in fact we didn’t get much sleep at all, but the crack with the crowd was good, everyone having fun and feeling pretty good that we knew we would be getting tickets. By the time Sunday morning came, the queue was massive and it was clear that many people would be going home disappointed, even though the Stones were playing two shows. As in 1971, the band were playing an early (6.30pm) and late (8.45pm) show. Last time I went to the early show. This time we were planning to buy tickets for the late show and were feeling very grown up as a result! When the box office finally opened, we were still pretty near the front of the queue and managed to buy tickets in the middle of the second row of the stalls! Looking back I wish I’d had the foresight (and the cash) to go to both shows.
The night of the gig came some weeks later. The support act was Billy Preston, who also, as I recall played keyboards in the Stones band. I knew little by Billy other than his Beatles connections (he played on Get Back and at the rooftop concert) and the hit Thats the way God planned it. As I remember he was pretty good, and got us all singing along to Thats the way God planned it. The Stones came on, exploding into Brown Sugar. My friends and I couldn’t believe how close we were to the band. Unlike the early show in 1971, everyone was up on their feet from the start. The set continued with Gimme Shelter, Keith singing Happy, Tumbling Dice, Star Star (the lyrics seemed very rude to me as a young teenager), Dancing with Mr. D, Angie, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Midnight Rambler, Honky Tonk Women, All Down the Line, Rip This Joint, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man as an encore. The Stones seemed to me to be the perfect rock band at that point, and this was to be the last time I saw them in a venue as small as the City Hall, although not the last time I was so close to the stage. Jagger was the ultimate rock show man, and they all looked young, fit and still hungry to make their mark as the greatest rock n roll band in the world. For us young teenagers that night they definitely were the greatest band we had ever seen, and this was a gig that we talked about again and again, and for a long time after. Its interesting to note that in the early 70s the Stones were not playing any of their early 60s hits on stage, something they have returned to more recently.
3 Feb
Burt Bacharach Edinburgh Playhouse 29 July 2002
Marie and I had tickets to see Burt Bacharach in concert in Manchester in 2000. However, Burt was not well, and the concert was cancelled. Two years later he was due back in the UK, with a show in Edinburgh. We bought tickets straight away and managed to get seats in the middle of the front row. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew all of the great songs, but was unsure how Burt would perform them. 
First up was Scottish singer, Horse, who went down well with the home crowd. Burt, who sat playing a grand piano, was accompanied by a small band and a group of male and female singers who took turns at singing the songs. He performed all of the classics, including (although not necessarily in this order): What the World Needs Now Is Love; Don’t Make Me Over; Walk On By; This Guys In Love With You; I Say A Little Prayer; Trains & Boats & Planes; Wishin’ & Hopin’; Always Something There To Remind Me; I’ll Never Fall In Love Again; Do You Know the Way To San Jose; Anyone Who Had A Heart; Magic Moments; Tower Of Strength; The Look of Love; Arthur’s Theme; What’s New Pussycat; The Man who shot Liberty Valance; Wives & Lovers, He sang the last few songs Alfie; A House Is Not A Home; Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, himself. His singing voice is not great, but it was good to hear the man himself perform these great songs. It was a privilege to see the master perform all of those timeless classics. I managed to shake his hand as he left the stage. A night I will always remember.
2 Feb
Kate Bush in concert Sunderland Empire April 12th 1979
Kate Bush Sunderland Empire April 12th 1979 
I nearly didn’t go to this gig, but I am so glad I did. Marie and I had tickets to see Thin Lizzy at Newcastle City Hall on the same night. I’d already bought the Thin Lizzy tickets before Kate’s gig was announced. I was quite a fan of Lizzy, and went to every tour; however I also quite fancied seeing what this strange lady singer was like. So we decided to forego the Lizzy concert (I can’t remember what I did with the tickets, I may have sold them or given them away….) and to go and see Kate Bush. [In fact, Lizzy were playing two nights, and in the end I managed to get a ticket for the alternate night, and saw Lizzy one night and Kate Bush the next. Result!] I queued for tickets at the Empire the day they went on sale. There was quite a queue when I arrived and by the time I reached the box office all I could get were a couple of seats to the rear of the circle. But never mind, we were in. 
The show itself was quite different to a normal rock show. It was very theatrical, with dancers and Kate herself doing a lot of dancing. The set featured songs from her first two lps, and the hits to date. The sound was impeccable and the performance faultless. She succeeded in bringing the concept to the stage, and blended pop/music, dance and theatre perfectly. I can picture myself now, looking down from the balcony at Kate and her dancers performing Wuthering Heights. Oh to go back in time and relive the experience. Will she ever perform in this way again. I doubt, but I hope so. If she does I will be there, no question. Setist: Moving; The Saxophone Song; Room for the Life; Them Heavy People; The Man with the Child in His Eyes; Egypt; L’amour Looks Something Like You; Violin; In the Warm Room; Fullhouse; Strange Phenomena; Hammer Horror; Kashka from Baghdad; Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake; Wow; Coffee Homeground; In Search of Peter Pan; Symphony in Blue; Feel It; Kite; James and the Cold Gun; Oh England My Lionheart; Encore: Wuthering Heights
1 Feb
Arthur Brown in concert 1973 – present
Arthur Brown is a total one-off. From the moment I saw the guy singing Fire on Top of the Pops in 1968, I knew he was something special. I went out and bought his first lp, which had such wonderful prog tracks as Spontaneous Apple Creation, Child of My Kingdom and Fire Poem, featuring Arthur’s manic soaring vocals and the late great Vincent Crane’s rich swirling Hammond organ. I first got to see Arthur Brown live around 1973 at a Kingdom Come gig in Sunderland Polytechnic Wearmouth Hall. That gig was spectacular, and unlike anything I’ver ever see before or since. 
Remember, this was before Alice Cooper and any other rock theatre, and it was sensational. The stage was set with a massive wooden cross as its centre. Arthur was brought on stage and tied to the cross in a simulated crucifixion, where he stayed as he sang the first song. His voice was so strong, deep, loud and operatic in texture. His hair was very long, and the rest of the band looked pretty menacing, with lots of make up. After the first song Arthur leapt from the cross and started dancing around the stage like a madman. At one point in the set they had a section called The Brain, where one of the band crawled into the audience in a massive brain costume (it worked better than it reads…) followed by another member dressed as a priest. The priest then chased the brain around the hall, eventually capturing it while Arthur sang something about religion screwing up your brain. Pretty heavy stuff, but it worked, and blew my mind as a teenager. At the end of the set all of the band departed, leaving Arthur alone on stage singing a strange rambling song which appeared to be totally improvised. After some time the band came back on stage, captured Arthur, put him in a white straitjacket and dragged him off still singing and screaming. I wish I had this on video. Arthur disappeared for a long time from the scene during the 80s, and reappeared in the UK in the late 90s. The next time I saw him live was at a free open air show in Tynemouth. His set was pretty much as it is today, often starting with Dylan’s Hard Rains Gonna Fall, with Arthur wearing a black mask, eerily tapping a long walking stick on the floor as he slowly walks up to the stage. Other regulars in his set are I Put a Spell on You, Time Captives, Spontaneous Apple Creation, and of course Fire. Sometimes he plays covers such as Green Manalishi, Kites and How Strong my Love is. I’ve seen him a few times over the past 10 or so years. Once in his home town of Whitby (see ticket), and also as support act for Robert Plant, The Pretty Things, where he signed my ticket (I will look that out and scan it in for this post) and Hawkwind. He never fails to amaze, his voice is as strong as ever, and the guy has so much energy. The true God of Hellfire!
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