Posts Tagged ‘gigs’
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).
7
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
The Hollies 2005, 2006 and 2007
After the sad loss of Carl Wayne, The Hollies were once again left without a lead singer, and with a somewhat uncertain future. The band decided to continue and Peter Howarth was announced as the replacement lead singer in October 2004. Unlike Carl Wayne, Peter was not a household name, having enjoyed a career as a session singer, work in theatre and as backing singer for Cliff Richard. 
Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I’d seen Peter in concert once or twice, most notably as one of the singers in The Who’s Quadrophenia show in Hyde Park. The first chance I got to see Peter Howarth perform with The Hollies was at a free concert one Summer Sunday afternoon in South Shields Bents Park in August 2005. I went with David to this gig which was a shortened set and very much a greatest hits show. Peter delivered the songs well and it was clear that The Hollies were very much back in business. 
The first full Hollies concert I saw with Peter Howarth was at Sunderland Empire in 2006. I then saw the band twice in 2007, at Harrogate Centre and at the Sage Gateshead. 
Peter has fitted well within the band, bringing his own personality to the performance. As well as an excellent singer he is also an accomplished guitarist, which has allowed The Hollies to experiment with new arrangements of some of the songs. In particular, Peter often performs a very different acoustic solo version of Can’t Tell the Bottom From the Top.
I’ve seen the Hollies a few times since 2007 at the Sage Gateshead, and have already written on those gigs. I continue to enjoy The Hollies in concert and can’t get enough of those old songs. Typical setlist from recent Hollies show: 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. Interval. 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. Thanks to John who sent me the old 60s programme pictured here. Now thats a concert I wish I had attended 🙂
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.
5
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Hollies Sunderland Empire 2001
The Hollies decided to continue when Allan Clarke retired, and the replacement was announced as being Carl Wayne, the 60s pop star who had been front man in the Move, and had also been an actor in the midlands soap Crossroads. I wasn’t sure how well this would wrk at first, but had to go along to see the band and find out how Carl shaped up. The first chance we got to see the Hollies with Carl was when they visited the Sunderland Empire theatre in 2001. I went along with Marie, and as soon as Carl took to the stage with the Hollies it was clear that he was an excellent choice as lead vocalist and front man. He was an experienced professional and had the stage presence and professionalism to take on the role. His singing was also excellent and suited the Hollies songs. The set consisted of the usual hits, along with favourites Soldier Song, Butterfly, The Baby, and Too Young to be Married. Covers included Blowing in the Wind from the Hollies sing Dylan album which brought back memories of seeing the band play that track during a Hollies TV special in the 60s, Peggy Sue Got Married from their Buddy Holly album which featured the band singing and playing along with the voice of Buddy Holly, and Blackbird by the Beatles. 
The arrival of Carl Wayne in the band also allowed the band to extend their set further, including a couple of Move tracks Flowers in the Rain, and my favourite Blackberry Way. They went a step further (and possibly a step to far :)) and included Tiger Feet from bass player Ray Stiles’ old band Mud. A great show, the Hollies proving that they were very much still a great live active, and Carl Wayne acquitting himself well. Setlist: I’m Alive; Here I Go Again; Jennifer Eccles; Just One Look; On a Carousel; Soldier Song; Bus Stop; Flowers in The Rain; Butterfly; I Can’t Let Go; The Baby; Blowing In The Wind. Interval. Stay; Sorry Suzanne; Yes I Will; Look Through Any Window; Peggy Sue Got Married; Blackbird; We’re Through; Too Young to be Married; Carrie Anne; Stop Stop Stop; The Air That I Breathe; Blackberry Way; Tiger Feet; Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress. Encore: He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother; It’s In Every One Of Us. The last encore was It’s In Everyone Of Us, a David Pomeranz song which featured in the Dave Clark musical Time, and was recorded by the Hollies on their album 5317704 (hOLLIES upside down in digital number view). Ray, Carl and Tony performed the song a cappella with Bobby standing behind looking on, which was a great end to the set. The band have continued to end their set in a similar way with an a cappella version of the song Let Love Pass. “It’s in everyone of us, To be wise, Find your heart, Open up both your eyes, We can all know everything, Without ever knowing why, It’s in everyone of us, By and by and…”
4
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Hollies Sunderland Empire in the 90s
The Hollies toured quite regularly in the 80s and 90s often calling at Sunderland Empire theatre. By 1991 the line up had stabilised to original members Allan Clarke (vocals), Tony Hicks (guitar) and Bobby Elliott (drums), alongside Alan Coates (vocals, guitar), Ray Stiles (ex-Mud, bass) and Ian Parker (keyboards). Stiles and Parker remain in the band to this day. The set during those days continued to focus on the many hits, alongside a few albums tracks and covers. Towards the end of the 90s it was widely reported that Allan Clarke’s wife was very ill with cancer, and he missed a few shows. John Miles stepped in at short notice and covered for Alan at a handful of shows (now that would have been interesting to see), and some shows were postponed and rescheduled. The Sunderland Empire show in 1999 was one gig which was affected. I received a call on the night of the show to tell me that it wasn’t happening. 
However it was rescheduled shortly afterwards. I went with David and I remember them playing After The Fox from the film of the same name, complete with Peter Sellers’ voice, which amused David. The Hollies continued to be professional and perfection itself in concert, playing all those great songs to sold out crowds. At the end of the tour Allan Clarke announced his retirement from the Hollies. It was generally felt that the band would find it difficult to continue without their lead vocalist. However, continue they did and in 2000 Alan was replaced by 60s star Carl Wayne of the Move. I saw the band a couple of times with Carl, and I’ll write on those gigs next. The Hollies setlist from 1999 was: Here I go again; Jennifer Eccles; Just one look; Sandy (Springsteen cover); Stay; After the fox; Bus stop; Running through the night (the B side of I’m Alive), 
Not that way at all (the B side of Sorry Suzanne); Butterfly (this a beautiful sing from the album of the same name. I remember seeing Cilla Black sing this one on her TV show in the 60s!); Im alive, When I’m dead and gone; On a carousel; Interval. 
I cant let go; Sorry Suzanne; Yes I will; King Midas in reverse; Were through; Peggy Sue got married (from their Buddy Holly album which was their latest at the time); Blackbird (a cover of the Beatles song)
; Look through any window; Carrie Anne; Stop Stop Stop; The air that I breathe; He Aint heavy; Maybe baby / Lets dance (rock n roll medley); Long cool woman.
3
May
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Hollies Middlesbrough Town Hall 1985
The next time I saw the Hollies was at Middlesbrough Town Hall with my mate Dave. We had seats right up in the upper gallery. The place was packed and the band put on their usual top class show. As usual there was no support and two sets with an interval in the middle. The Hollies were having a bit of a resurgence in popularity, having hit the charts with the Holliedaze medley and completed a reunion tour of the USA with Graham Nash. 
A typical Hollies set in the 80s consisted of a selection of the hits: I Can’t Let Go; Just One Look; Bus Stop; On a Carousel; Look Through Any Window; Stop Stop Stop; Carrie Anne; Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress. They would also play some great album tracks such as the ballad Soldier’s Song (written by Mike Batt), Too Young to be Married (written and sung by guitarist Tony Hicks) and The Baby which was a single from the short period when Mikael Rickfors replaced Alan Clarke on vocals. The set would also feature a few covers including excellent versions of Springsteen’s Sandy and Prince’s Purple Rain. The last couple of songs would always be (of course) The Air That I Breathe and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. Great stuff.
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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