Posts Tagged ‘concerts’

28 May

Marianne Faithfull The Sage Gateshead May 23 2011

Posted by vintagerock in Marianne Faithfull, Wayne Kramer. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Marianne Faithfull The Sage Gateshead May 23 2011
Who is the real Marianne? The innocent young convent-school girl, led astray by Jagger, The Stones and swinging London in the 60s; the broken, junky girl cast aside and living on the Soho streets of the 70s; the reborn punkier reinterpreter of songs of the 80s and 90s, or the respected elder stateswoman survivor who stood on the stage of The Sage this week? Sadly the Sage was pretty empty but those of us who were there witnessed a riveting performance by a lady who has lived a live like few others. She wears her 60 something years with elegance and grace and talked to us, in the way that only Marianne can, as if we are all her friends.
The set was a mix of songs from her new album and old favourites. Great to see Wayne Kramer (MC5) who played some stunning guitar work. Marianne’s voice is deep and rough, but she sings the songs in the way that only she can. Favourites for me were As Tears Go By (still moving), Sister Morphine (dark and chilling) and Ballad of Lucy Jordan. Marianne also (as she does) name-dropped throughout the show, telling us how Keef and Gram Parsons taught her Merle Haggard’s Sing Me Back Home, how she stole Incarceration of a Flower Child from Roger Waters and how she wrote The Crane Wife with Nick Cave. She also (always the rebel) smoked a few ciggies on stage and mocked some guys in the audience who had to go outside to smoke. A great evening, spent with a true legend.
Setlist (something like): Horses and High Heels; Why Did We Have to Part; The Stations; There Is a Ghost; The Crane Wife; Like Being Born; Prussian Blue; Back in Baby’s Arms; Goin’ Back; That’s How Every Empire Falls; Sing Me Back Home; Sister Morphine; Broken English; As Tears Go By; Incarceration of a Flower Child; Working Class Hero
Encore: The Ballad of Lucy Jordan; Strange Weather

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21 Feb

Nazareth & Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Deborah Bonham, Jason Bonham, Nazareth. Tagged: , , , , , .

Nazareth and Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

My first Nazareth encounter was at the Lincoln Great Western Festival in 1972. They came on early on the Saturday morning to a crowd just waking up. At that time they had just released their second album Exercises. I can’t remember a lot about their set that day, except that they seemed good and played a great version of Morning Dew. I saw them around a dozen times in the 70s, witnessing some great shows at Sunderland Locarno, Newcastle Mayfair and City Hall (supporting Deep Purple on one occasion and headlining a few times) and at the Buxton festival in 1973. My last Naz gig of that era was 1981 at the City Hall. I lost track of them for around 20 years, and saw them again a few years ago at Newcastle Arena. That recent gig revived my interest in the band; they still rocked the way they did all those years ago.

So tonight I’m back with my mates Will and Norm to see Naz again; some 38 (ouch!) years since standing in that field somewhere in Lincolnshire. Tonight’s venue is the Newcastle Academy, and the support act is the Deborah Bonham Band (sister of John). When we arrive Deborah and her band are already on stage. They have some pretty good rock songs, and her vocals are excellent; reminds me of Maggie Bell. We get a great suprise for the last couple of songs when she is joined on stage by her nephew Jason Bonham who takes the drum stool; they treat us to a top version of Rock n Roll as their last song.

After a short wait Nazareth take the stage. The current version of the band features two original members: Dan McCafferty on vocals and Peter Agnew on bass. The drum stool is occupied by Peter’s son Lee Agnew who replaced original drummer Darrel Sweet (Darrel sadly passed away a few years ago); and the guitar slot is more than ably filled by Jimmy Murrison (a relative new comer; he’s been with the band since 1994). Nazareth are one band who seem to have improved with age and seem to be better these days than they ever used to. The sound is clear and loud, and Dan McCafferty’s vocals are as strong as they were in the 70s; which is pretty amazing given the way in which he screams the words out in such an effortless manner. Pete Agnew prowls around the right hand side of the stage, with the same familiar grin on his face, and Jimmy’s guitar playing is excellent. The set is a mixture of old and new (they latest album came out in 2008 and is called Newz), and features favourites such as Bad Bad Boy, My White Bicycle, Shanghai’d In Shanghai, Hair Of The Dog, and Love Hurts. They finish with Broken Down Angel which gets everyone singing along. For a few minutes I thought that we weren’t going to get an encore as its after the Academy’s normal Saturday 10pm curfew, but they are soon back on stage. We get a three song encore including the great Razamanaz and This Flight Tonight. We all agree that they can still cut the mustard; great stuff. Out in the cold night; and time for the chip shop.

Setlist: Telegram, Turn On Your Receiver, Miss Misery, Bad Bad Boy, The Gathering, My White Bicycle, Hearts Grown Cold, Shanghai’d In Shanghai, Hair Of The Dog, Holiday, Love Hurts,nBroken Down Angel
encores: See Me, Razamanaz, This Flight Tonight

Nazareth website: http://nazarethdirect.co.uk
Deborah Bonham website: http://www.deborahbonham.com

I hate printed tickets

7 Feb

The Groundhogs and Stray The Cluny Newcastle 3 Feb 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Groundhogs, Stray. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

The Groundhogs and Stray The Cluny Newcastle 3 Feb 2010

Will and I went to see our old hero Tony McPhee with the Groundhogs on Wednesday at the Cluny. This was a true classic rock double header, with the Groundhogs sharing the billing with old favourites Stray. Tony suffered a stroke last year and hasn’t been so well; we were pleased that he was now well enough to play again and were looking forward to seeing him. He hasn’t yet made a full recovery in that his speech is still affected, and as a result his wife Joanna had become an honorary Hog and is deputising on vocals.

The Groundhogs are first up. This is the first time we have had a chance to see the new four piece line-up which includes Joanna on vocals, Tony (of course) on guitar, Dave Anderson on bass and Mick Jones on drums. Its at first strange to see Joanna fronting the band and singing. She really gets into the spirit of it, dancing all over the stage, and making a good fist of the vocal duties. Tony seems to be playing better than the last couple of times we’ve seen the Hogs. He takes over the vocal duties for Still a Fool. Last song is, as always, Cherry Red; the higher notes suit Joanna’s voice well.

After a short break, Stray take the stage. I’d forgotten what a great front man and guitarist Del Bromham is, and how loud a three piece band can be. He obviously loves being on stage, and is still an excellent and very under-rated guitarist. The old Stray tracks stand the test of time, and those from the new album sound just as good. Last up is old favourite All in the Mind, with Del, ever the showman, hanging his Strat from the Cluny ceiling and whipping it with the guitar lead. No strobes, or dustbins with flames and flares like the old days, but just as good all the same.

We have a chat with Del on the way out, and get a poster signed. We ask him if he remembers playing Spennymoor Top Hat in the early 70s (he does) and to pass our regards to our old friend Tony Rolfe who now lives near Del and sometimes plays guitar with him.

A great night. The old ones are still the best.

Groundhogs Setlist: (from memory; I might have missed some) No More Dogging, Eccentric Man, Garden, Still a Fool (Tony singing), Split 1, Split 2, Split 4, Mistreated, Natchez Burning, Cherry Red.

Stray Setlist: Included quite a few (great!) songs from the new album and old favourites Time Machine, After the Storm, Jericho, I believe it, All in your Mind.

Groundhogs website: http://www.thegroundhogs.co.uk/
Stray website: http://www.stray-the-band.co.uk/

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23 Jun

Roger McGuinn The Sage Gateshead June 21 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Roger McGuinn. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Roger McGuinn The Sage Gateshead June 21 2009

Roger tells a good story. We get treated to the story of his life, wrapped around those great songs. And what a life he’s had. From working in folk bands to backing Bobby Darin, to song writing, through the Byrds and beyond. He explained how the Byrds concept was putting a “Beatle beat” to Dylan and folk songs. He played us Mr Tambourine Man, Turn Turn Turn, My Back Pages, All I really want to do, Chestnut Mare (Laura finds this amusing).  Just him on his guitar, swapping between acoustic guitar and his 12 string Rickenbacker, telling his stories and singing his songs to us. He finished with Eight Miles High, explaining that it was a mix of the Beatle beat, John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar. It was good to see him again. The last time I had the pleasure was in Hyde Park on a free show with Roy Harper and Julie Felix.

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6 Aug

The Project!

Posted by vintagerock in Rock Music. Tagged: , , , .

Hi I have just joined wordpress. I intend to use this to create a blog of the many (100s of) concerts that I have attended over the years, and a record of my collection and programmes and ticket stubs. i am still actively going to gigs, and I will try an update my blog with each new gig that I go along to. Expect this to be largely coverage of vintage rock bands. I am 51 years old and addicted to going to see old bands such as the Stones, the Who, Paul McCartney, the Groundhogs, and Wishbone Ash. In the past year I have been to see Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, the Stones, Sex Pistols, Morrissey, Iggy Pop, Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Barbra Streisand, the Cure, Yoko Ono, John Fogerty, The Police, Neil Young, The Spice Girls, Prince, Man, Jethro Tull, Willie Nelson, Fairport Convention, Julie Felix, Sinead O’Connor, P J Proby, Ringo Starr, Van Morrison, the Groundhogs, Ian Hunter, Elton John, Rush, the Hollies, Ian Brown, Portishead, the Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Paul McCartney, Status Quo, Raidohead, Pentangle, Adele, The Streets and others. I will try and write an account of these and the many many other gigs that I have been to over the past 40 years. I am doing this to create a permanent record of what has become a lifelong obsession! I am aiming to add one new review each day for the rest of my life. I am going to start with the most recent and work back, but I will also try and add some from the 70s and 80s soon.

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