Jeff Beck Manchester Bridgewater Hall 19th May 2014
Went to see Jeff Beck in Manchester last night in the beautiful Bridgewater Hall. After an uneventful drive down the A1 and across a surprising unjammed M62, I arrived just in time to catch support act Mike Sanchez who opened the show with a fine set of boogie woogie piano which made him some new friends.
Jeff Beck came on stage at 8.30pm dressed in a black jacket, waistcoat and trousers, and a white t-shirt, emerging from the wings playing a bright white Telecaster. The Telecaster was soon swapped for a white strat which remained his instrument for the remainder of the evening. For this tour Jeff Beck’s band are: Rhonda Smith bass; Jonathan Joseph drums and Nicolas Meier guitar. They are individually and collectively excellent, provided an accompaniment which blended jazz and classic rock. This time around Beck’s set drew from across his back catalogue, with over-all a heavier rock feel than on previous occasions I have seen him. I am becoming more and more of the opinion that Beck is the greatest living guitarist; he truly understands his instrument and can switch in an instant from the heaviest and raunchiest of rock riffs to the sweetest, most gentle tunes. The set had similar changes of style, from thundering rock reminding of his 70s days with Beck, Bogert and Appice, to Hawaian style, and to his treatment of ballads, such as Danny Boy, where he makes incredible use of tone and moving the volume control up and down. 
You can hear the influences, Hendrix of course, Santo and Johnny, Les Paul, John McLaughlin; all there somewhere in Beck’s playing, and yet he is also very much his own man with his own way of playing. The set was almost totally instrumental with bass player Rhonda Smith taking vocals on a couple of songs. But he held the attention of the crowd throughout. He hardly said a word all night, he comes over as a quiet guy who concentrates on his music, and is aware of his own stature and place in the history of rock. The guy is simply amazing and a genius. The crowd gave him a standing ovation at the end of the show.
The setlist consisted of some of (although not in this order, and I can’t pretend to know all of Beck’s material so have probably got some of this wrong): Loaded; Nine; Little Wing; You Know You Know; Hammerhead; Angel (Footsteps); Stratus; Yemin; Where Were You; Egyptian; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Brush with the Blues; You Never Know; Danny Boy; Why Give It Away ; Rollin’ and Tumblin’ ; Choral; Big Block; Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers; Declan ; A Day in the Life.
Jeff Beck finished at 10.10pm. I was home around 12.45am. I decided to come up the A19, as the signs above me on the motorway threatened a diversion on the A1, but that didn’t really help as the A19 was closed up at Peterlee, and I had to make a detour through Shotton Colliery; the joys of driving late at night.
While driving back I was creating my dream Jeff Beck setlist. Imagine if he put together a set that included (with a guest singer or two): Shape of Things, Morning Dew, Beck’s Boogie, Beck’s Bolero, Greensleeves. Love is Blue, Hi Ho Silver Lining, Keep Me Hanging On, A Day in the Life, Moon River, Jerusalem or Danny Boy, Little Wing, Over Under Sideways Down, You Shook Me. Not that would be something. Ain’t ever going to happen I guess, Jeff Beck is very much his own man, and plays what he feels is right. And that’s, I guess, how it should be.
Posts Tagged ‘jazz’
20 May
Jeff Beck Manchester Bridgewater Hall 19th May 2014
6 Apr
Rip Rig and Panic Newcastle University 30th January 1982
Rip Rig and Panic Newcastle University 30th January 1982
Doing my daily blog is teaching me a hell of a lot about rock music, and refreshing my memories about the bands I have been to see. Today is a good example. I remember seeing Rip Rig and Panic at Newcastle University students union in early 1982, but have to admit to remembering very little about their performance. They performed on a Saturday night, and Marie and I were just as likely to be found in the bar as in the ballroom. I would always watch some of the band’s set, and recall Rip Rig and Panic as being an energetic band fronted by a great female lead singer, with lots of members dancing around on stage and loads of jazzy rhythms. What I had forgotten was that the lead singer was Neneh Cherry, and that the band had in part spun out of the Pop Group. Neneh would have been known to me at the time as the step-daughter of American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, who I had seen touring with The Slits. Rip Rig + Panic were a post-punk band, founded in 1981. They had a short career, breaking up in 1983, and took their name from a 1965 Roland Kirk album. Their line-up was Sean Oliver (bass), Mark Springer (piano, sax, vocals), Gareth Sager (guitar, sax, keyboards, vocals), Bruce Smith (drums, percussion), Neneh Cherry (vocals), Flash (saxophone), Andrea Oliver (vocals), David De Fries (trumpet) and Sarah Sarhandi (viola). Rip Rig and Panic’s music mixed avantgarde elements with jazz, led by Cherry’s great pop/soul singing. Don Cherry guested on some of their recordings. They had very positive reviews from the music press at the time, which prompted me to go and see this gig. Neneh Cherry had briefly been a member of The Slits, and of course she went on to massive success, starting with her single “Buffalo Stance”. She grew up in a musical family, and said she found her voice singing along with Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex: “Music was always there, it was like food in my house. But in my home I had never really found my own thing. I really identified with Poly, the voice. Culturally, she was mixed. I recognized her when I looked at her. One day I was singing along to their records, Germfree Adolescents or Oh Bondage Up Yours!, but I found my voice. And I’ll never forget it happening.” Cherry remembers singing with her dad, Don Cherry, in the voice she had found. “Oh look, I have a voice, it’s been born. It was like an ejection, like a release button. It was like, here you go, do your own thing.” (Wikipedia).
2 Feb
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
The Reading Festival 23rd – 25th August 1974
This was my third visit to the Reading Festival; I felt I was a seasoned festival goer 🙂 . By now a large crew of local people were going to the festival, so there were lots of mates there, and we spent much of the weekend in the pubs in town, and down near the Caversham Bridge; particularly The Griffin. We would nip back to the festival site to catch the bands we wanted to see. The line-up in 1974 wasn’t particularly strong in comparison to the previous couple of years, and quite a few bands who had been advertised didn’t show (notably Eric Burdon, Ronnie Lane and Blodwyn Pig, all of whom I was looking forward to seeing). The Friday line-up was : Nutz, Johnny Mars, Hustler, Beckett, Camel, 10c, Fumble, Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
The first night of the festival saw the triumphant headlining return of the Alex Harvey band, who lived up to their name and were truly sensational. SAHB had appeared low down on the bill the previous year; there will have been many in the crowd who saw that performance, and knew how good they were. Johnny Mars and his Sunflower Blues Band gigged a lot in the early 70s; they played traditional blues; I remember seeing them at Sunderland Poly a few times; pretty good too. Fumble were a rock’roll revival band who also gigged a lot. Beckett were local North East heroes, featuring singer Terry Slesser. The SAHB setlist was something like this: Faith Healer; Midnight Moses; Can’t Get Enough; Give My Regards To Sergeant Fury; The Return of Vambo; The Man in the Jar; Money Honey; The Impossible Dream; Schools Out; Framed.
Saturday line-up: Jack the Lad, G T Moore and the Reggae Guitars, Trapeze, Sutherland Brothers, JSD Band, Procol Harum, Thin Lizzy, Long John Baldry, Heavy Metal Kids, Greenslade, Georgie Fame, Traffic.
Two bands stick in my mind from Saturday: Thin Lizzy who were excellent, and about to break through a year or so later, and Traffic. This was the classic Lizzy line-up featuring front-man Phil Lynott, the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, and Brian Downey on drums; at the time of the Nightlife album; they were at the top of their game. Traffic were excellent. They had just released their album When the Eagle Flies, and their set at Reading featured a few songs from that album, plus some old classics. The line-up at the time was Steve Winwood (guitar, vocals, keyboards); Chris Wood (flute, sax); Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals); Rosko Gee (bass); Rebop (percussion). Stand-outs were Steve singing John Barleycorn, simple and beautiful with acoustic guitar, and Rebop’s congas and percussion throughout. I found a published setlist for Traffic, which shows they played: Empty Pages; Graveyard People; Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring; John Barleycorn; 40,000 Headmen; Love; When the Eagle Flies; Walking in the Wind; Dream Gerrard. I also have it in my mind that they performed Feelin’ Alright, but maybe that’s my memory playing tricks again. Also worthy of mention are Procol Harum (great version of Whiter Shade of Pale and a big success during the late afternoon), the late great Long John Baldry (excellent voice and a hero of mine), Heavy Metal Kids (the late Gary Holton as crazy and manic as ever), and Georgie Fame who seemed a bit out of place as part of the Saturday night line-up, but carried on the jazz and R’n’B tradition of the festival and went down pretty well.
Sunday Line-up: Gary Farr, Chilli Willi and the Red Hod Peppers, Esparanto, Strider, Barclay James Harvest, Chapman & Whitney Streetwalkers, Kevin Coyne, George Melly, Winkies, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Harvey Andrews, Focus.
My main memories of the final day are of Steve Harley. Cockney Rebel had split a few months before the festival, and this one of Steve’s first appearances with his new band. They stole the show; appearing just as it was getting dark; the audience was with Steve from the start, and the performance was a triumph. Tumbling Down closed the set with a mass crowd singalong of “Oh dear, look what they’ve done to the blues, blues, blues”. It was clear that Steve was back, as cocky as ever; 1975 would bring him massive success with Make Me Smile.
I also remember watching Kevin Coyne (Marjory Razorblade), George Melly (a return after his success the previous year) and Focus who closed the show, and were also great, but seemed a little of anti-climax after Steve Harley’s performance.
DJs for the weekend were John Peel and Jerry Floyd. Oh and there were lots of cheers of “Wally”, “John Peels a c**t” (not sure how that one started), and a revolt at the prices of food in the arena, which resulted in a fish and chip van being trashed. Crazy, happy days.
31 Oct
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1974 & 1975
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1974 & 1975. 
I was lucky enough to see the second Mahavishnu Orchestra three times. The first time was at the Knebworth Bucolic Frolic concert in 1974 where they shared the bill with The Allman Brothers, the Doobies, Van Morrison, SAHB and Tim Buckley. The setlist from Knebworth was: Wings of Karma,Sanctuary, Vision is a Naked Sword, Hymn to Him. This was a big band and the line up was: John McLaughlin – lead guitar, Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin, Gayle Moran – keyboards, Michael Walden – drums, Carole Shive – drums, Marsha Westbrook – viola, Phillip Hirschi – cello, Steve Frankewicz and Bob Knapp – trumpet, fluegelhorn, flute, and Steve Kindler – violin. I remember that the band were all dressed in white and that McLaughlin started the set with a short reading, or it could even have been a prayer. 
My next Mahavishnu experience was at Newcastle City Hall in 1975, and the programme comes from that gig. I looked up the meaning of Mahavishnu out of interest, and found this on Wikipedia: “Mahavishnu (Devanāgarī: महाविष्णु) is an aspect of Vishnu, the Absolute which is beyond human comprehension and is beyond all attributes. The term Mahavishnu is similar to Brahman and Almighty Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead”. Pretty deep mystic stuff; eh?! And that about sums up their music; heavy, deep, with superb musicianship, jazz-rock, fusion, challenging, enjoyable, frustrating, exciting, boring; all of those things in part. Like nothing I have seen before or since. The last time I saw John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orhestra was at the Reading Festival in 1975, where they shared a bill with Soft Machine, Robin Trower and headliners Wishbone Ash. McLaughlin is an intriguing character, and undoubtedly a musical genius. He still plays today, and I have just added him to the list of people I intend to try and see again in the next few years.
30 Oct
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973
John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra 1973. 
I first saw John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra at a concert at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. This was the original line-up of the band and featured leader “Mahavishnu” John McLaughlin on virtuoso guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, Jerry Goodman (from The Flock) on electric violin, Rick Laird on bass guitar, and Billy Cobham (from Miles Davis’ band) on drums. These guys were pioneers in so many ways; in McLaughlin’s use of the twin neck guitar which enabled him to switch from 6 to 12 strings, in Jan Hammer’s use of the mini-moog and in their unique fusion of rock, jazz, funk, classical and Indian influences. This was the band which recorded the seminal albums The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1973). Their music was like nothing else I had experienced at the time; experimental yet at the same time heavily orchestrated. Pioneering and fascinating stuff; I was deeply impressed by the musicianship and virtuosity on show. The set is likely to have been drawn from the first two albums and will probably have included tracks like Birds of Fire, Meeting of the Spirits, You Know, You Know, The Dance of Maya, Open Country Joy, Dream, Sanctuary, One Word, Hope, Awakening. All pretty mystical and deep heavy stuff for a young teenager, and quite different from seeing Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin! This was a brave booking for local promoter Geoff Docherty and his Fillmore North (note the misspelling of “North” as “Worth” 🙂 ). This line-up of the Mahavishnu Orchestra split later that year, and McLaughlin reformed the band with a completely new membership in 1974. I saw the new version of the Orchestra on three occasions, and I will write about that tomorrow.
7 Aug
King Crimson Newcastle Odeon 8th December 1972
King Crimson Newcastle Odeon 8th December 1972
My memory has been playing tricks with me again. I was convinced that I saw King Crimson in 1974, around the time of the “Red” album. But no, when I checked, I found that I was wrong again, as I often am these days. The concert that I saw took place on Friday 8th December 1972, when Robert Fripp and his mighty band played at Newcastle Odeon, not that long before the release of their fifth album “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic”. This was the one and only time that I saw King Crimson in concert, and I went with my friend John. Support came from Lloyd Watson who I have blogged on separately, as John and I went to see him playing in a pub in Peterborough a few years ago. Lloyd won the solo category of the Melody Maker competition in 1972, appeared on “The Old Grey Whistle Test” and did two British tours, one supporting King Crimson and the other Roxy Music.
I went along to the Odeon that night with tunes from Crimson’s glorious first album running through my head, hoping to hear songs like “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “Epitaph”. Of course, the band didn’t play either of those tunes. I should have expected that, as the line-up of King Crimson had changed completely (apart from main man Robert Fripp) just prior to the tour. The line-up for the late 1972 UK tour was: leader Robert Fripp on guitar; John Wetton, fresh from Family and now coming to the fore on vocals and bass; Bill Bruford, who had just left Yes, on drums, David Cross on violin, flute, and keyboards; and Jamie Muir on percussion. Newcastle Odeon was a massive venue which was far from full for this gig, and John and I claimed some empty seats, which were much closer to the front than the cheap (60p! bargain :)) rear stalls tickets we had bought. The show was not what I expected. It was much more improvisation, and jazz, than rock. 
King Crimson started with a long instrumental track featuring Cross on violin and Muir on percussion which, based on setlists from the period, must have been “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part 1)”. Fripp remained seated throughout the performance, speaking to the audience only to announce the songs at one point. John Wetton handled the vocals on those songs that had any. But the guy who sticks in my memory from this concert is Jamie Muir. Muir came from a free improvisation background and “contributed an assortment of unusual sounds from a wide variety of percussion instruments, including chimes, bells, thumb piano, mbiras, a musical saw, shakers, rattles, found objects, and miscellaneous drums” (from Wikipedia). His performance that evening was just incredible. The only familiar song was “21st Century Schizoid Man”, which was was the final track and was loud, dark and very heavy. Overall I left the gig unsure as to what I had just witnessed. I found it pretty heavy going at the time. The set consisted of the entire “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” album (which had not yet been released, so the material was all new and unfamiliar to the audience), closer “Schizoid Man”, and some free improvisation numbers. I’ve just googled and found a live recording on YouTube of a gig at Hull Technical College around the same time. I listened to some of it, and it sounds great! This concert is another one that seems much better on reflection than I probably realised at the time (if that makes any sense :)). And its also another concert which I would love to go back in time to, and experience all over again. Setlist from the Hull Technical College recording: Walk On… No Pussyfooting; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part I); Book of Saturday; Robert Fripp announces the songs to be played; Improvisation: Vista Training College Under Spot Light; Exiles; Easy Money; Improvisation: Fallen Angel Hullabaloo; The Talking Drum; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II); 21st Century Schizoid Man. I am pretty sure that the Newcastle performance was a similar set. King Crimson are another band on my ever growing list of bands to see again (if, of course, Fripp ever decides to reform the band).
22 Mar
Steve Howe in concert 1994 and 2010
Steve Howe in concert 1994 and 2010
Steve Howe is an excellent guitarist with his own, very individual style. He cites several guitarists as influences including Les Paul, Barney Kessel and Chet Atkins. When I first saw Steve in Yes in 1971 I was struck by the Gibson ES-175D that he was playing. About this guitar, Howe said: “No one was playing archtop, hollowbody guitars in a rock band. People laughed at me and thought I was really snooty. To me, it was an object of art, it wasn’t just a guitar”. I was blown away by his performance of “The Clap” that night, and have remained a fan ever since. The way that he blends jazz and classical influences with rock defines his uniques style. A few years later I was equally impressed by “Mood for a Day”. I spent ages trying to learn to play it, and never got past the first few minutes. 
I have seen Steve twice in solo concert, both times with my mate Will. The first time was a concert in a small room in South Shields Temple Park Leisure centre, with support from Isaac Gullory. The second was at the Sage more recently when he performed with the Steve Howe trio which features his son Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ. The trio is very jazz oriented, but still perform versions of some Yes classics. For me a Steve Howe concert isn’t complete without “The Clap” or “Mood for a Day” (and ideally both!).
1 Aug
The Crusaders Newcastle City Hall 1980
The Crusaders Newcastle City Hall
Support Randy Crawford (didn’t appear)
I went along with my mate Ian largely to see special guest Randy Crawford, who had just hit the singles chart with “One Day I’ll Fly Away”. She had also previously hit the charts with “Streetlife”, on which she was backed by The Crusaders. However, we were to be disappointed, as Randy was unwell, and did not perform that evening. Interestingly, The Crusaders asked in anyone in the audience was a singer, and a girl got up on stage, and delivered a pretty good version of “One Day I’ll Fly Away”. 
The girl’s name was Debbie, and the Sunday Sun website quoted her recently: “When I was a teenager I used to sing in a band and we all went off one night to the City Hall in Newcastle to see Randy Crawford and the Crusaders. They made an announcement that Randy was ill and asked if there was a singer in the house, and everyone pushed me on stage! I was only 18 but I got to sing with the Crusaders, which was an amazing experience.”
The rest of the show was instrumental, and very jazz-based. Great musician, but we both felt let down by Randy’s non-appearance. “The Crusaders are the epitome of musical excellence- acclaimed the world over by fans and critics alike. Their peers in the music industry refer to the members of The Crusaders as “musician’s musicians”” (from wiki). The Crusaders are: Stix Hooper on drums; Wilton Felder on sax; Joe Sample on piano, and still play to this day. I never did get to see Randy Crawford.
23 Jul
Dr John The Sage Gateshead 22 July 2012
SummerTyne Americana Festival 2012
Dr. John and The Lower 911 featuring Jon Cleary
Plus support Phantom Limb
Dr John took to the stage around 8.45pm last night to close the SummerTyne Americana Festival 2012 at the Sage Gateshead. The Sage was buzzing with crowds who were taking in the music which was taking place in all three halls, and on the concourse. Dr John’s concert was the highlight of the weekend (for me anyway!) and took place in the larger Hall 1. I had been preparing myself for the gig by playing my old vinyl copy of his 1969 debut lp, Gris Gris, which introduced Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack, Jr to the world as Dr John The Night Tripper. Gris Gris combines voodoo rhtyhms with psychedelic rock and New Orleans R&B, and features the song I Walk on Guilded Splinters which had been covered by many artists including Humble Pie and Marsha Hunt. Today Dr John retains some of that image, taking to the stage with his voodoo walking stick, dressed in a sharp blue suit, wearing a cap and his hair hanging in a plat at the back. 
His six piece band featured Jon Cleary, who is a New Orleans style R&B headliner in his own right, on keyboards and occasional guitar. The rest of the band included saxophone, trombone, bass, guitar, and drums. The stage was set with Dr John’s organ and grand piano taking centre stage alongside each other, a stool between them, allowing the Dr to quickly switch between keyboards, and to play both at the same time, which he did once or twice. The set was much more R&B and blues, than voodoo, although flashes of the latter crept in at times, as did New Orleans Mardi Gras. Dr John’s band is just excellent, with each musician great in their own right, and each getting the chance to solo. 
The lady trombone player was particularly outstanding. I recognised some, but my no means all of the songs, and was impressed by Dr John whose singing and playing were just superb. The Dr is a real cool dude, who led his band through a set of songs which would be at home as much in a smokey New Orleans bar, as in a concert hall. The set included his “hit” song Right Place, Wrong Time, and a series of standards, for example: St James Infirmary, Let the Good Times Roll, Making Whoopee. A great set, although I was disappointed that he didn’t play I Walk on Guilded Splinters. I had to leave during the encore to pick Laura up. Setlist included (I have missed a few that I didn’t recognise): Locked down; Down the road; I been Hoodood; Right place wrong time; Let the good times roll (Dr John on guitar); St James Infirmary; Jon Cleary song; Ice Age; Big shot; Making whoopee; Now that you got me; That’s life?; Revolution; Goin’ back to new Orleans; Mardi Gras day. Encore: Such a Night
3 Jul
Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion Stockton Arc July 2nd 2012
Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion Stockton Arc July 2nd 2012
I couldn’t resist taking up the opportunity to see the legendary drummer Ginger Baker at Stockton Arc last night. It was the first time that I have been to the Arc, which is an arts centre venue in the centre of Stockton. Ginger’s current band consists of Pee Wee Ellis on saxophone, Pee Wee was in James Brown’s band in the 60s and is also long-time musical director for Van Morrison (aha I thought I recognised this guy), Alec Dankworth, on electric and double bass, Alec is son of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, and twice named Bassist of the Year in the British Jazz Awards, and Abass Dodoo on percussion. Ginger took the stage spot on the advertised start time of 8pm. The band played two sets of jazz instrumentals. I’m not a big jazz fan, but enjoyed this gig. These guys can really play, and it shows. Great to see Ginger again.
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