Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
12
May
Posted by vintagerock in Idlewild, Iggy and the Stooges, Iggy Pop, Sons and Daughters, Sunshine Underground, The Horrors, The Stooges, Young Knives. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Iggy Pop Leeds Harewood House Rock the House Aug 31st 2007
This charity open-air gig saw Iggy appearing with the reformed Stooges in the form of the Asheton brothers, Scott on drums and Ron on lead guitar, with Mike Watt on bass. Support came from Idlewild, The SUnshine Underground, Sons & Daughters, The Horrors, The Young Knives and the Dirty. It was 20 years since I had last seen Iggy in concert, and the added attraction of the reformed Stooges convinced me to go along to the gig. David and Laura also fancied it so came along with me. We arrived quite early for once and saw most of the bands. I remember being quite impressed by The Horrors, who played some pretty good rock n roll, quite punky with big hair. The event was not well attended, there can’t have been more than a few thousand there, in a venue that probably holds 20,000 or so.
Iggy was on usual manic form and it was great to hear the old Stooges songs again. The set was all Stooges material, no Iggy solo, including I Wanna Be Your Dog, TV Eye, 1969 and Real Cool Time. The show also included some songs from the new Stooges album The Weirdness. During No Fun Iggy invited the crowd to join him up on stage. Fans started climbing over the barriers and the stage was soon completely rammed with everyone jumping around and going crazy. The artist and the audience becoming one and the same. Good fun; a great gig.
Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Live on the 15th of August, 2006. Budapest, Sziget Festival. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Derzsi_Elekes_Andor
Setlist (something like): Loose; I Wanna Be Your Dog; T.V. Eye; 1969; Real Cool Time; Fun House; Skull Ring; Trollin’; My Idea of Fun; She Took My Money; I’m Fried; No Fun.
11
May
Posted by vintagerock in Iggy Pop, Psychedelic Furs. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. 2 comments
Iggy Pop Newcastle City Hall 1980 and 1987
Iggy continued to have success in the 80s; everywhere I went I would hear “Lust for Life” being played. He also visited the UK a few times; I saw him twice at the City Hall during this period, in 1980 and 1987. The 1987 gig was around the time Iggy hit the charts with “Real Wild Child”, his cover of the old Johnny O’Keefe song. I remember these gigs as crazy nights with Iggy taking his stage performance to the limit, as he usually did. Support at the 1980 gig was the Psychedelic Furs, who had just released their first album. 
Iggy’s set contributed to draw from Stooges’ days and his solo releases. Although the ticket from the 1980 gig refers to Iggy as “Iggy Pop and the Stooges” his band didn’t contain member of the original Stooges. The next time I saw Iggy was around 20 years later, by which time he had reunited with the Stooges. I’ll write on that gig tomorrow. Setlist from 1987: I Got a Right; Real Cool Time; 1970; Gimme Danger; Some Weird Sin; Winners & Losers; Shades; Five Foot One; Real Wild Child (Wild One); Dirt; Down on the Street; The Passenger; Blah-Blah-Blah; Search and Destroy; Sister Midnight; Raw Power; Sixteen; I Wanna Be Your Dog; No Fun; I’m Sick of You; T.V. Eye;
10
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Fall. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, new wave, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Fall York Fibbers May 9th 2013
Laura and I went to see The Fall last night at Fibbers in York. We had promised each other that we would attend a Fall gig as soon as the opportunity came, having missed the last couple of times they came to the north east. Laura was intrigued to see them because of their legendary status and because many of her friends are big fans, and for me it was a chance to catch up on a band that I hadn’t seen for 33 (!) years. I have to admit never quite getting The Fall. The only other time I saw them was at a gig at the Newcastle Tyne Theatre in 1980. So I felt it was definitely time to put that right. We arrived at Fibbers around 8pm as people were just starting to wander in. The support band …And The Hangnails are a local Yorkshire punk/blues outfit and warmed up the crowd well. They played a short set, starting at around 9pm. The Fall took to the stage around 10pm. I’d read some stories of Mark E Smith leaving the stage and singing some of the set from the dressing room, and mixed reports of recent performances. Last night Mark seemed to me to be on pretty good form. He snarled the vocals, and they were pretty incomprehensible at times, which I guess is par for the course. He seemed in quite a good mood, although he did leave the stage several times, returning pretty quickly on each occasion. The band all left after 7 or 8 songs, and we thought that they were not going to return, but they were soon back to play several encores. I can’t pretend to know their material but did recognise White Lightning, which the crowd all sang along to, and for which Mark was accompanied by another singer. Recent single Bury also went down well with Mark snarling and spitting out the words. Its always difficult to fully enjoy a gig when you aren’t familiar with the material, but I reckon that last night was a pretty good showing by The Fall. The crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it, and gave the band a good reception. I know that The Fall have some of the most committed fans of any band, and many will have travelled from far afield for last night’s gig. They won’t have been disappointed. I hope that the guy I chatted to earlier in the evening enjoyed it. He’d come quite far and had been a bit disappointed by a recent Fall performance at Clitheroe. Laura and I left during the encores just before 11pm and suspect we may have missed a song or two (now there’s a reason for going to see The Fall again 🙂 ). Got home around 12.30am. I think I’m starting to get them, and thinking about it, would like to see them again next time they play close by, but I really must listen to their material (which may be difficult as I see that they have released around 30 albums!). Setlist (from the Fall fansite): Victrola; Strychnine; Hot Cake; Chino; Sir William Wray; Hittite Man; Bury; Duped; Loadstones; Sparta; Kinder of Spines; Jetplane; Blindness. Not sure this is actually what was played. They certainly also played White Lightning and there may be a couple on that list that weren’t played.
9
May
Posted by vintagerock in Iggy Pop, The Adverts. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, prog rock, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Iggy Pop Newcastle City Hall September 1977 and Redcar Bowl
My writing takes me to the letter “I” and I’m going to start by reflecting on my memories of Iggy Pop in concert. I’ve already written, when I covered David Bowie, about seeing Iggy at Newcastle City Hall with Bowie on keyboards in 1977. I’d also seen Iggy on the TV (was it on the Whistle Test?) throwing himself into the crowd and spreading peanut butter all over his torso at a late 60s gig in the USA. I’d read the reviews of his seminal, wild gig at the Kings Cross cinema (and regretted not going). I’d seen the Sex Pistols play the Stooges’ No Fun the year before, so knew a little about the Iggy legend and his impact on punk. The City Hall was barely half full for the Iggy/Bowie gig in March 1977. 
As I recall Iggy was good, but not as wild as usual. He was however back to play to a packed City Hall later in the year and went totally crazy, climbing all over the amps, rolling around the stage, with his trousers coming open. Support was the Adverts, who were also great, featuring TV Smith and Gaye Advert, and playing their singles Gary Gilmore’s Eyes and Bored Teenagers. A few years later I caught Iggy again at Redcar Coatham Bowl (with the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock on bass), he was smoking on stage and flicking lit cigarettes into the crowd (how times change…).
Iggy was totally crazy and seemed to have no fear at all in those days. There was always an edge of madness and danger around his gigs; you felt that the guy was totally out of control and that anything could happen. His craziness encouraged the crowd to do likewise with lots of stage invasions. He has taken stage invasion to its extreme in recent years, inviting the entire crowd to come up and join him when he plays No Fun! I found a published setlist from the City Hall in 1977 which seems a little short. I am sure he played more songs than this, including old Stooges favourites: Sixteen; Lust for Life; The Passenger; I Got a Right; Gimme Danger; Success; Fall in Love With Me; Neighborhood Threat; Nightclubbing. I saw Iggy a few more times and will write on those over the next few days.
8
May
Posted by vintagerock in Gorillas, Hammersmith Gorillas. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, music, new wave, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The (Hammersmith) Gorillas Middlesbrough Rock Garden 1977
The Gorillas made a name for themselves on the London pub rock circuit in the mid 70s, fronted by the manic Jesse Hector who had the most amazing sideburns, was totally crazy on stage and was, by all accounts, a larger than life personality. Jesse Hector formed the Hammersmith Gorillas in 1971 and their debut release was a cover version of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”. In 1976, they played at the infamous Mont-de-Marsan Punk Festival in the south of France along with The Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods. They were also getting rave reviews for their gigs in London. I’d read some of the reviews in Sounds and NME, so when we saw that they were playing at the Middlesbrough Rock Garden Marie and I went along. Roger Armstrong recalled their unforgettable live act in the press at the time: “This was rock and roll as she is spoken, yelled, ranted, torn apart and not quite put back together again.” At the time of this gig the Gorillas had released a single “Gatecrasher” and their album “Message To The World”. This was at the time of punk, and the band’s energy had many similarities with other bands of the time. The gig was poorly attended, but that didn’t stop Jesse and co from putting everything into the performance which was as crazy and energetic as I had expected. I always thought that the Gorillas deserved more success and Jesse certainly agreed, declaring The Gorillas to be “the future of rock music”. However, for whatever reason it wasn’t to be, and time passed them by. I’m pleased I got to see them this once, as they rarely played outside London. Hector now works as a cleaner at The Royal Geographical Society, and was the subject of a documentary film in 2008, A Message To The World (Wiki).
6
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Hollies Sunderland Empire 2003
The Hollies returned to Sunderland Empire in 2003. By now I was getting used to seeing Carl Wayne in the lead vocal spot. I went with David and we both enjoyed the gig. Drummer Bobby Elliott described Carl as “a fearless performer and powerhouse singer”. Sadly Carl played his last concert with the Hollies on 10 July 2004 in Norway. Shortly afterwards he was admitted to hospital for tests, where he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and he passed away a few weeks later, aged 61. The Hollies were once again left without a singer, and an uncertain future, but the band again decided to continue, this time with the introduction of a less known vocalist Peter Howarth. I’ll write tomorrow of my first concert experiences with that particular line-up of the Hollies. 
Setlist: Long Cool Woman; Here I Go Again; Jennifer Eccles; Yes I Will; Look Through Any Window; Sandy; Listen to Me; Butterfly; I’m Alive; I Can’t Let Go; Fire Brigade; We’re Through; On a Carousel; Blowin’ In the Wind. Interval. How Will I Survive; Sorry Suzanne; Just One Look; The Baby; Soldiers Song; Gasoline Alley Bred; Too Young to be Married; Bus Stop; Blackberry Way; Carrie Ann; The Air That I Breathe; I Can Hear The Grass Grow; Stop! Stop! Stop!; Tiger Feet; He Ain’t Heavy; It’s In Every One of Us.
1
May
Posted by vintagerock in Alex Harvey, Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Sensational Alex Harvey Band returns 2004
I was in two minds about going to this gig and revisiting my memories of the great SAHB gigs I saw during the 70s. I’d seen a SAHB gig advertised at a pub in Felling and couldn’t quite believe the band had reformed without Alex. I didn’t go to that gig, but when I saw the band were touring in 2004 I couldn’t resist in the end. David was studying in Leeds at the time, and I’d already been to the Roscoe with him once to see the Groundhogs, so we decided to go along. The new band line up was the original SAHB band (Zal Cleminson guitar, Chris Glen bass, Hugh McKenna keyboards, and Ted McKenna drums), with the brave Max Maxwell on vocals and stepping into the big man’s shoes. 
The place was completely packed and the band got a great reception. Max did his own take on the songs, rather than trying to recreate Alex’s personna, which was probably the best way to approach it. Zal still had the make up. They played all the favourites that night. A live CD Zalvation: Live in the 21st Century was released a couple of years later, and includes the following tracks: Faith Healer; Midnight Moses; Swampsnake; Next; Isobel Goudie; Framed; Give My Compliments To The Chef; Man In The Jar; Hammer Song; Action Strasse; Vambo; Boston Tea Party; Delilah. The set that night was similar. It was good to see the old songs played again, and Max did a great job. But for me the night was tinged with sadness for the great man for wasn’t there and yet was as much there as any of us. PS note the typo on the ticket 🙂
30
Apr
Posted by vintagerock in Alex Harvey, Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
SAHB without Alex Redcar Coatham Bowl 1977
In early 1977 Alex Harvey was busy producing an album Alex Harvey Presents: The Loch Ness Monster. The album is spoken word, apart from a very short track at the end, and features Alex interviewing locals and an eye witness about Nessy. The album is now very rare and quite sought after. While he was bust tracking down Nessy the rest of the band decided to record their own album and went on tour to promote. Several of the tracks on the album were instrumentals, and on those tracks which had vocals they were handled bu Hugh McKenna, Ted McKenna and Zal. Alex does not appear on the album, but he is pictured on the back tied up and gagged while the other four members sing into a microphone. A group of us went to Redcar on a Sunday night to see SAHB (without Alex), as they were billed. The gig was good and featured tracks from Fourplay. I remember hoping they would play some SAHB songs, but I guess I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Set list: Smouldering; Chase it into the night; Jungle Rub Out; Big Boy; Outer Boogie; Love You for a Lifetime; Young and Rich (a Tubes number); Stay (a Bowie number); Pick it up and kick it; Too much American Pie; Theme from King Kong. Encore: Zal’s Riff.
29
Apr
Posted by vintagerock in Alex Harvey, Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 4 comments
The New Alex Harvey Band Newcastle City Hall 1980
The last time I saw Alex Harvey in concert was at Newcastle City Hall in January 1980. Alex left SAHB in 1977, after their performance at the Reading Festival. He released a solo album, The Mafia Stole my Guitar, in 1979. This gig was announced at relatively short notice, with very little publicity. I went with Marie, unsure as to what to expect. The concert was very poorly attended with the crowd filling only the front section of the stalls. There can’t have been more than 200 people there. I read that at a gig at his home venue Glasgow Apollo the night before, they were giving tickers away in the street to try to fill the venue. Alex was dressed in a white jacket, black shirt and white tie; very much the gangster image. His band featured Matthew Cang on guitar, Simon Charterton on drums, Tommy Eyre (who had been a member of SAHB in the last days) on keyboards, Gordon Seller on bass and veteran sax and horns player Don Weller. The set was a mix of tracks from the new album and a few old favourites (Midnight Moses, Framed, Delilah I think) plus a couple of covers: Shaking All Over, and Just a Gigolo feature on the album, but I also recall Alex playing a couple of other older standards. As a performance it was ok, but I had the grandeur and madness of SAHB in my mind, and I’m afraid this didn’t compare to Alex’s past glories. A couple of years later Alex sadly passed away as a result of a heart attack after a gig in Belgium. He was 47. We will never see the like of Alex again. He was larger than life, crazy, without fear, and for a few short years SAHB were the best live act on the circuit, and were one of the bands who laid the foundations for the punk revolution which was to follow. Vambo Rool.
28
Apr
Posted by vintagerock in Alex Harvey, Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy rock, music, new wave, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 8 comments
Sensational Alex Harvey Band on tour 1976
SAHB toured again in May 1976. I have a programme for the tour, which I think must have come from The Who concert that I attended at Charlton at the end of May 1976. SAHB shared the bill, headlined by The Who, with Little Feat, The Outlaws and Roger Chapman’s Streetwalkers. I’ll blog on that event when I come to cover The Who. I also have a vague memory of sneaking into the City Hall to see the encore of a SAHB gig at Newcastle City Hall that year. The band played two nights at the City Hall in early May as part of the tour, with support from Pat Travers. I didn’t buy a ticket (big mistake, in hindsight) as I knew I was going to see them at Charlton at the end of the month. I’d been out in Newcastle, and wandered along to the City Hall with a couple of mates. The gig was coming to an end and the doors were open to let people out. We wandered into the Hall and caught the band playing Delilah and The Faith Healer. The programme for the 1976 tour comes in the form of a comic book, complete with a free banger (see below) just like the ones that came free with our comics in the 60s. The cast was: The Teacher: Alex Harvey; The Actor: Zal Cleminson; The Punk: CHris Glen; The Buffer: Ted McKenna; The Professor: Hugh McKenna; Dr Killjoy: As himself. The story is Vambo v Dr Killjoy with, SAHB as superheroes saving the word through Vambo Rool! The story starts: “England is under the oppressive rule of Dr Killjoy – Sinister head of the Ministry of Boredom! His rule has ground the will from the people.” Vambo coming to the rescue…
Vambo, featured in the song Vambo Marble Eye, was a teenage punk and super hero of the future. When performing the song Alex would spray paint an imitation brick wall with the slogan ‘Vambo Rool.’ Alex and band were one of the best live bands around at the time, and certainly went down well with the Charlton crowd. I saw Alex and the guys once more after this tour, at the (very very muddy) Reading Festival 1977, which was their last live performance. Alex was reportedly not so well by that stage of their career, and it wasn’t their best gig, but still a strong point of the festival. I did see Alex once more in concert in 1980 and I’ll blog on that gig tomorrow. Typical setlist from the 1976 tour: Love Story, School’s Out, Tomahawk Kid, Isobel Goudie, Dance to you Daddy, Amos Moses, Framed, Midnight Moses, Vambo Marble Eye. Encore: Delilah, The Faith Healer.
This charity open-air gig saw Iggy appearing with the reformed Stooges in the form of the Asheton brothers, Scott on drums and Ron on lead guitar, with Mike Watt on bass. Support came from Idlewild, The SUnshine Underground, Sons & Daughters, The Horrors, The Young Knives and the Dirty. It was 20 years since I had last seen Iggy in concert, and the added attraction of the reformed Stooges convinced me to go along to the gig. David and Laura also fancied it so came along with me. We arrived quite early for once and saw most of the bands. I remember being quite impressed by The Horrors, who played some pretty good rock n roll, quite punky with big hair. The event was not well attended, there can’t have been more than a few thousand there, in a venue that probably holds 20,000 or so.
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