13 Jun
Shift-Static Hyem Cafe 30 May 2010
Shift-Static shared the bill with half a dozen local bands tonight. We were treated to an acoustic set as not all members could make tonight. The set contained a couple of new songs and went down well with the crowd. Last gig before Uni holidays; look forward to a return after the Summer.
website: http://www.myspace.com/shiftstaticmusic
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running order of bands
13 Jun
AK-7 Marquis of Granby 23rd May 2010
The Marquis of Granby is a lovely pub on the road from Gateshead to Consett. AK-7 were playing there on a Sunday night to a crowd of locals and friends and family. This was the first time out for a new set of speakers in the PA system and also the chance to try out a couple of new songs. The set was, as usual, split into two spots. Christina, Laura and the lads were all on top form and their blend of rock and pop songs went down well with the crowd who gave them a great reception.
22 May
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood Wembley Arena London 21 May 2010
Two old friends together playing some great music and clearly having fun.
And we also had lots of fun too. Friday night and Clapton and Winwood take the stage together for the second of two nights in London. Its only a few months since I was sitting in the O2 seeing Clapton with Jeff Beck, and tonight I’m back again in the capital seeing another great guitar pairing. Tonight was very different to the Clapton/Beck show. For one thing Clapton and Winwood have a recording history together in terms of the Blind Faith album, much of which was played on Friday night. Also the two legends took the stage togther throughout (unlike the Clapton/Beck show where the two guitarists did their own sets and then came together at the end of the show). Anyway enough of comparisons; its not fair to make them; as I say; these shows were very different.
Last night was a real musical treat. These guys are playing better than ever. ‘m not sure I’ve ever see Clapton play better or seem more comfortable and relaxed on stage. And Steve Winwood’s sining was spot on. The last time I saw Steve at the Sage Gateshead I thought his voice was showing a little strain. Not last night. His vocals on Georgia were stunning, as was his guitar playing; some great swapping of licks between the two.
For me highlights were Pearly Queen (always loved the song), Georgia, Can’t find my way home, and Voodoo Chile. Clapton’s playing on Voodoo Chile was totally on the ball and the song brought the show to a great climax. Everyone was on their feet at the end and the band came back for an encore of Dear Mr Fantasy which is another personal favourite of mine. You don’t get much better concerts than this, certainly not in terms of muscianship. I would have liked to heard them do No Face No Name No Number which is on the live CD, but I guess you can’t always get everything you want.
I’m up at 5.30am again to get the first train back up north. I should be back home around 10am.
Set List:
Had To Cry Today
Low Down
After Midnight
Presence Of The Lord
The Shape I’m In
Glad
Well Alright
Tough Luck Blues
Pearly Queen
Forever Man
Midland Maniac
Going Down
Georgia
Drifting Blues
How Long
Layla
Can’t Find My Way Home
Split Decision
Voodoo Chile
Cocaine
Dear Mr. Fantasy (encore)
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22 May
Rod Stewart Newcastle Arena 18 May 2010
I always try and get along to see Rod. I guess I’m looking for glimpses of Rod the Mod, and Rod and the Faces. He still has the rocker within him, but in recent years I do worry that it is becoming more and more submerged in middle of the roadness. So I nearly didn’t go this time, fearing that I might be disappointed and put off by the ticket price (£70). But a couple of days before I spotted a single ticket on eBay and nabbed it for £25 (result! Many thanks Andy from York). The Royal Mail didn’t let Andy and I down and, as planned, ticket arrived by special delivery on the morning of the show. So I was all set to go along.
I arrived at the arena just as Rod was due to take the stage. The place was packed; this guy can still draw the crowds. The first couple of songs, Love Train and Some guys have all the luck, set the tone for the night, which was a mixture of soul classics and Rod hits. These were all delivered faultlessly; Rod’s voice is still good, the band are excellent and the show is very slick. The crowd loved it. For me the highlights were the old ones: Handbags and Gladrags and Maggie May. I slipped out during the encores (Sailing; followed by Baby Jane) to beat the rush in the car park.
So I still got my glimpses of the old Rod; but fear that they are less and less each time. Will I go next time? Maybe.
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22 May
Randy Newman The Sage Gateshead 16 May 2010
Laura and I had similar views about this one. We both knew some of his better known songs, and quite fancied seeing him, but neither of us can pretend to be great fans, or to know even a small proportion of Randy’s massive back catalogue. So we decided to buy tickets just a week or so before the gig, at which stage the only seats that were available were in the upper level, looking down over the stage.
We arrived in time for the start, as we knew that there was no support act and that Randy would be doing two sets. He took the stage at around 8pm and sat down at his piano. We were then treated to set list which consisted of what seemed to me to be a complete review of his career. He played all of the songs that I hoped to hear, and a whole lot more that I didn’t know. So we got Small people, Mama told me not to come, Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear, You can keep your hat on, You and Me Babe (is that the correct title? I didn’t know he wrote that one! I need to check who had a hit with it in the 60s!). We also got more recent material from the Toy Story films. All of these were interspersed with some great funny little stories. I don’t know how many songs he sang, but there were lots of them.
Laura and I both enjoyed it and were pleased that we made the effort to go along and see him.
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9 May
Ray Davies The Sage Gateshead 4 May 2010
Laura and I went to see Ray Davies and his band at the Sage on Tuesday night. We arrived just as the support had finished and checked out the merchandise stall. As is often the case, there were no small ladies shirts for Laura so we passed on buying anything. Saw quite a few old friends upstairs in the bar and then took our seats (in the front row tonight!). We’ve seen Ray quite a few times lately and always enjoy hearing his classis songs. He soon took the stage accompanied by his guitarist and they launched into a set which contained many of the old Kinks favourites. Ray joked about using the “K” word; but he is clearly very proud and fond of his own musical heritage. After quite a few songs the rest of the band came on and gave us electric versions of Kinks song and some newer Ray solo material. Quite a bit of chat with the audience, with perhaps a bit less than usual about his childhood with his brother Dave. It was all over too soon with Lola as the last number and no You Really Got Me tonight. As usual a great night with a true legend of British music. But how good it would be if Dave was up there with him. Come on Ray and Dave lets see a Kinks reunion before we all get too old.
Setlist:
This Is Where I Belong
I Need You
Where Have All The Good Times Gone
Morphine Song
Tired Of Waiting For You
Set Me Free
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
Sunny Afternoon
See My Friends
I’m Not Like Everybody Else
Nothin’ In The World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl
Too Much On My Mind
A Well Respected Man
Autumn Almanac
Till The End Of The Day
Waterloo Sunset
Victoria
20th Century Man
The Tourist
The Hard Way
All Day & All Of The Night
Working Man’s Cafe
Celluloid Heroes
After The Fall
Encores:
Imaginary Man
Lola
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25 Apr
Peter Hook The Sage Gateshead 20 April 2010
Unknown Pleasure Spoken Word with compere Howard Marks
The evening was a chance to hear Peter Hook talk about his life with Joy Division, New Order and the Hacienca club. The stage was set out with several of Hookie’s bass guitars and various memorabilia from the bands and the Hacienda. Howard Marks came on and introduced Peter Hook who strapped on his bass and treated us to a couple of instrumentals. Then it was into the Question and Answer session with Howard Marks asking questions on behalf of the audience (we had all been invited to write questions on a card before the show). Some interesting insights into the early days of two great bands and “how not to run a club”.
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28 Mar
The Who play Quadrophenia The Royal Albert Hall London 30 March 2010
I’m sitting on the early train north coming home after seeing The Who perform Quadrophenia in its entirity at the Royal Albert Hall last night. I’ll try and review the show as honestly as I can below.
I suppose I didn’t want to raise my hopes too much for this one. Although I’ve seen The Who perform Quadrophenia before on the 73 tour and in Hyde Park in the 90s, I am not a massive fan of the album. Also I’ve seen The Who a few times recently where Roger has had some problems with his voice. Still I went along with an open mind last night.
In fact it couldn’t have been better. For me this was the best Who show I have seen for many many years. And it was more of a performance than a straight Who concert. The band played Qaudrophenia straight through with no other songs and no encore. And it was everything Quadrophenia should be: interesting, challenging, sad, rocking and a celebration for all of us of a great band and a great rock opera. The standard Who line-up (Roger, Pete, Rabbit on keyboards, Zak on drums, Pino on bass, Simon on second guitar) was augmented by a string section, brass section and guests. The sound was big and powerful and gave justice to the album tracks. A screen above the stage showed us the story of Jimmy with clips from the film and from the past, Brighton, mods and rockers etc. Eddie Vedder took the part of the Godfather (doesn’t he look like Jim Morrission?) and Tom from Kasabian gave a great performance as the Ace Face (great suit and cute Bellboy uniform!). Roger’s voice was pretty strong mostly; but he did seem to be suffering towards the end. Pete played great, and towards the end was really bashing away at his guitar. Some excellent acoustic guitar and vocals from Pete on the quieter songs. I was on the floor towards the left of the stage six rows back from the front. Everyone around me was up on their feet from the start and stayed like that throughout. Lots of fists in the air, everyone seemed to know every word of every song. There were obviously Who fans from all over the world there. An awesome, faultless performance. I thought the crowd wouldn’t leave the hall and I guess many were disappointed that they didn’t come back and play some classics. But you know what, for me it didn’t matter. The show was just perfect as it was. There were cameras around me; it looks like this will appear as a DVD; which would be great. Some fans on the message board have been gossipping that this could be the last Who show. Somehow I doubt it; I suspect however it could be the last time we see Quadrophenia performed in its entirity like this. Pleased I went, last night I saw glimpses of the old classic Who; the greatest rock band in the world.
set list:
I Am the Sea
The Real Me
Quadrophenia
Cut My Hair
The Punk and the Godfather” (with Eddie Vedder)
I’m One
The Dirty Jobs
Helpless Dancer
Is It in My Head?
I’ve Had Enough (with Eddie Vedder and Tom Meighan)
5:15
Sea and Sand (with Eddie Vedder and Tom Meighan)
Drowned
Bell Boy (with Tom Meighan)
Doctor Jimmy
The Rock
Love, Reign O’er Me
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28 Mar
Patti Smith Sage Gateshead 25 March 2010
Patti returns to the Sage for an evening of poetry, songs and readings from here recent book Just Kids which is about her old friend Robert Mablethorpe. She is accompanied by guitarist Tony Shanahan and is appearing in Hall 2, which is the smaller of the Sage’s beautiful concert halls. Last time she packed the larger Hall 1; tonight’s show in Hall 2 has been sold out for weeks.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but knew that any Patti Smith concert was going to be special and different, no matter the format she chooses to present to us. She took the stage around 8pm. The show was a mix of readings from her book Just Kids and songs on which she was accompanied by Tony on guitar and piano. Most of the songs weren’t familiar to me, but it was a great opportunity to see her perform them in such an intimate venue. The stories about her youth in New York with Robert Mablethorpe were fascinating. Patti has a unique rapport with the audience, many of whom had come a long way to see her. Almost everyone in the front few rows seemed to know each other and could be heard swapping comments on other shows from the tour; quite a few seemed to have seen her in Glasgow the night before.
Patti had us all sing happy birthday to a lady in the audience (much to her embarrassment). She finished with a great version of Because the Night. For the encore she was persuaded to sing Rock n Roll Nigger by a lday in the front row (“come on Patti; you sang it last night in Glasgow”!); this merged into Gloria which closed the night.
Patti is unique, challenging and sometimes scary and was no less than all that tonight. I bought a signed book as a souvenir of the evening.
setlist: something like: Grateful, Just Kids, Mother Rose, Just Kids, Wing, Birdland, Just Kids, Dancing Barefoot, Just Kids, Improvisation/My Blakean Year(aborted), My Blakean Year, We Three, Just Kids, Beneath the Southern Cross, Just Kids, Because the Night, (encore): Rock n Roll Nigger; Gloria.
website: http://www.pattismith.net/
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28 Mar
Suede Manchester Ritz 21 March 2010
Its Sunday night and Laura and I have just about recovered from our Dubliners experience on Friday. Tonight we are standing in a packed Manchester Ritz nightclub, waiting to see the second appearance of Suede in seven years. The band are reforming to play a one-off gig at the Albert Hall on Wednesday for the Teenage Cancer Turst, and have decided to add two warm-ups. The first was last night (Saturday) at the tiny 100 club in London. Tonight is in Manchester.
The Ritz is a smallish nightclub just next to Oxford Road station. It is completely jammed packed; full of Suede fans from all over the country; everyone high in anticipation of seeing something really special. The support is Hoodlums who are OK, but everyone is waiting to see the main act. After Hoodlums leave the stage we are warmed up by some classic tracks by the Clash, the Smiths and others. Soon the volume is cranked up and the Sex Pistols’ Bodies roars out around the club. Then we are into the Intro music and at around 9.15 Suede take the stage starting with Europe is our Playground. The crowd go absolutely mad from the word go. Everyone knows and sings all the words. Laura and I are standing in a safe position at the side downstairs, the crush at the front looks wild. Brett Anderson and the band are obviously enjoying being back. Brett looks great and dances and sings like its 15 years ago. We get all the hits: Trash (the crowd go mental), Animal Nitrate, Film Star, She; they finish with Beautiful Ones. Its surprising how many I can remember and how great they sound. Its a long time since I’ve seen a band like this in a small club (too many arena shows) and its over all too soon. Laura is delighted as they play Two of us (her favourite) for the last encore. We all file out into the street and join the queue in the NCP carpark. We get home around 1.30am our heads still buzzing with Suede tunes.
Setlist : Europe Is Our Playground; She; Trash; Filmstar; Animal Nitrate; Heroine; Pantomime Horse; Killing Of A Flashboy; Can’t Get Enough; Everything Will Flow; He’s Gone; The Next Life; The Asphalt World; So Young; Metal Mickey; The Wild Ones; The Drowners; Beautiful Ones.
Encore: Obsessions; The 2 of Us.
Suede website: http://www.suede.co.uk/
Brett Anderson website: http://www.brettanderson.co.uk/
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