Posts Tagged ‘music’
24
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Foot Village, P J Harvey, Portishead. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
Portishead and P J Harvey at I’ll be your Mirror London
Laura currently declares Portishead to be her favourite band, and I’ve quite fancied seeing Polly Harvey for some years so this lineup, coupled with the All Tomorrows Parties brand (ATP were promoting this event), made this in-door festival something worth going to. We took the train to London and dropped our things off at the usual Kings Cross Travelodge, and made our way to the venue for around 7pm. First stop was the merchandise stall, where Laura bought a festival t-shirt and was also recognised by the members of Foot Village who had played earlier in the day. Shift-Static supported Foot Village at the Head of Steam in Newcastle a couple of years ago, so Laura was delighted that the band still remembered her (and her shoes!). We then made our way to the Great Hall. The Alexandra Palace is a lovely venue, and has hosted many legendary events in the past including Pink Floyd’s 1968 Technicolour Dream and Zeppelin in the 70s.
P J Harvey came on stage promptly at 7.45 and played to a tightly packed hall. We were sat on the disabled platform, which was to the left of the stage and gave us a good view of the proceedings. Her set was unfamiliar to me, and was drawn largely from her latest album. Dressed all in black, she has a strong voice, and certainly went down well with the crowd. OK but not quite as epic as I had expected. She was on stage for about one hour, and after she had finished the hall emptied while people explored the other halls.
At around 9.30 Portishead took the stage, by which time the hall had filled up again. They delivered an excellent set. Beth’s vocals were amazing, as was the guitar work. Great use of dynamics and a very crisp, loud sound with great psychedelic 60s-ish visuals.
Portishead finished at 11pm prompt and we made our way back to our hotel via the shuttle bus to Wood Green and the tube, which all worked very well. We were back watching the TV and the sad news about Amy Winehouse by midnight.
Portishead setlist: Silence – Mysterons – The Rip – Sour Times – Magic Doors – Wandering Star – Machine Gun – Nylon – Over – Glory Box Chase The Tear – Cowboys – Threads – – – Roads – We Carry On
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24
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Judas Priest, Queensryche. Tagged: concert, concerts, folk, gigs, heavy metal, metal, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock n roll. 1 comment
Judas Priest Newcastle Metro Arena 20 July 2011
I went along with a group of mates (Will, Will’s on Jack, Ter and Ritchie) to see Judas Priest last week. Priest are part of our collective youth; a band that we all went to see lots of times throughout the 70s and early 80s. This tour, the Epitaph tour, has been billed as their last world tour, so we all figured that we should catch them this time. Ter, Will and I saw the Priest a few years ago at the arena, and were looking forward to this one. Support came from Rival Sons(?) and Queensryche, who are one of Ter’s favourites, so we made sure that we arrived on time for them. Queenrsyche lived up to Ter’s memories, but it was the main band that we had all come to see. Priest came on stage around 8.45 and launched into a set whch covered, as promised, something from every album in their 40 year career. So we got favourites such as Victims of Change and their great covers of Diamonds and Rust and The Green Manalishi. Singer Rob Halford left the singing entirely to the crowd for Breaking the Law. Quite a few good songs were missing; why no Ripper? In some ways, Priest have become almost a parody of themselves, with lots of chains and metal on display and Rob Halford taking a number of costume changes, each one being completely over the top. And the music is super crafted metal, with great guitar from Glen Tipton and a new guy (K K Downing retired just prior to the tour) and incredibly strong vocals and screams from Rob. Rob still rides his Harley onto the stage, and we all still lapped up the old rockers. Great stuff from a great band; it’s sad that this may have been the last time we will experience the Priest. We all went home fully satisfied; they don’t make bands like this any more.
Setlist: Rapid Fire; Metal Gods; Heading Out to the Highway; Judas Rising; Starbreaker; Victim of Changes; Never Satisfied; Diamonds & Rust; Dawn of Creation; Prophecy; Night Crawler; Turbo Lover; Beyond the Realms of Death; The Sentinel; Blood Red Skies; The Green Manalishi; Breaking the Law; Painkiller
Encore: The Hellion; Electric Eye; Hell Bent for Leather; You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’; Living After Midnight
I hate printed tickets
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9
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Bjork. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Bjork Manchester Festival Campfield Market July 10 2011
Laura and I went to see Bjork perform her new work Biophilia as part of the Manchester Festival. Laura proclaimed it the best gig of her life (!). I found it challenging, amazing and somewhat odd. We saw Sean from Corrie in the queue outside.
Setlist: Thunderbolt; Moon; Crystalline; Hollow; Dark Matter; Hidden Place; Mouth’s Cradle; Isobel; Virus; Jóga; Sacrifice; Sonnets/Unrealities XI; Where Is the Line?; Mutual Core; Cosmogony; Solstice
Encore: One Day; Unravel; Declare Independence
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9
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Morrissey. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Morrissey Middlesbrough Town Hall 8 July 2011
Great show from Morrissey last night. Middlesbrough Town Hall is a wonderful venue and just the right size and atmosphere for Morrissey. Laura was looking forward to this, having missed his Glasto set by going to see Radiohead on the Park stage. Good mix of solo and Smiths songs. The crowd was a little subdued, but Mozza seemed in relatively good spirits. At one point there seemed to be a problem with the sound and the whole band left the stage while it was sorted out. I found Meat is Murder particularly good; Morrissey has changed the lyrics to something like Eat Meat Murder. It took me back many years to seeing the Smiths on the Meat is Murder tour at the City Hall. It was a powerful song then, and still is now. Laura was pleased that There is a Light was the encore.
Setlist: Panic; First Of The Gang To Die; You’re The One For Me, Fatty; Shoplifters Of The World Unite; Everyday Is Like Sunday; I Want The One I Can’t Have; I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris; You Have Killed Me; Action Is My Middle Name; I Know It’s Over; Satellite Of Love; People Are The Same Everywhere; Alma Matters; One Day Goodbye will be Farewell; Ouija Board, Ouija Board; Meat is Murder; Speedway; Irish Blood, English Heart
Encore: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
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9
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Roger Daltrey, The Who, Tommy. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Roger Daltrey plays Tommy The Sage Gateshead 4 July 2011
Tommy was one of the first albums I ever bought. I can picture myself in Binns record store looking through the album sleeves. I remember choosing between The Crazy World of Arthur Brown lp and Tommy, and taking the Who album home and playing on my uncles radiogram.
I wasn’t too sure how this was going to be. I’ve seen a couple of Who shows over the last few years where Roger’s voice hasn’t been too good, so I must admit I had doubts about how he would cope with a full Tommy show. I needn’t have worried. This was so much better that I hoped for. There were a few times when I wondered if Roger’s voice would hold out, but it seemed to get stronger as the night went on. Roger was clearly enjoying himself and has assembled an excellent band who truly do justice to the Who’s rock opera. Simon Townsend (Pete’s brother) is a great sideman for Roger, and at times sounds (and looks) like his elder brother.
This was a marathon two and a half hour show, with Roger going on to play some great Who tunes. Not sure when I last saw the Who play Pictures of Lilly or I Can See for Miles (my favourite Who song), but its certainly a long time ago and it was great to see and hear them played again. Simon took vocals for Going Mobile and did a great job of it. A great night. I could go and see him again tomorrow and wouldn’t be bored. Made me realise just how great the Who were, and how much they still mean to me. Hope Pete returns and I get to see The Who again one day.
Set list (Tommy): Overture; It’s a Boy; 1921; Amazing Journey; Sparks; Eyesight to the Blind; Christmas; Cousin Kevin; The Acid Queen; Underture; Do You Think It’s Alright; Fiddle About; Pinball Wizard; There’s A Doctor; Go to The Mirror; Tommy Can You Hear Me; Smash The Mirror; Sensation; Miracle Cure; Sally Simpson; I’m Free; Welcome; Tommy’s Holiday Camp; We’re Not Gonna Take It
Who classics and others: Who Are You; Pictures of Lily; Tattoo; I Can See for Miles; Behind Blue Eyes; Real Good Looking Boy; Days Of Light; Going Mobile; Young Man Blues; Baba O’Riley; Red Blue Grey
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9
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Leon Russell. Tagged: blues, concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Leon Russell The Sage Gateshead 29 June 2011
A good show from a true legend.
I arrived just after 7.30 and was surprised to find Leon already on stage, singing Delta Lady. I took my seat at the end of the front row. The hall wasn’t that full (a shame); I’d only bought my ticket on the day. Leon has amazing hair and beard and truly looks the old rocker that he is. He’s also clearly frail and walks badly, but his voice has held up and he sounded great. You have to admire the guy: he’s played with them all, starting with Jerry Lee Lewis and then working with Dylan, Joe Cocker etc. Great to see him. A privilege; he’s someone I’ve wanted to see for ages and ages. He finished around 9pm (he is an old guy), and I was home around 9.30pm; an early night!
Setlist (something like): Delta Lady; Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms; Stranger in a Strange Land; Sweet Little Angel; Lady Blue; Kansas City Woman; Dixie Lullaby; Let the Good Times Roll; Baby What (Do) You Want Me to Do; Back to the Island; Wild Horses; A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall; Hummingbird; I’ve Just Seen A Face; Tightrope; Georgia on My Mind; Prince of Peace; Out in the Woods; I’ve Got A Kind Hearted Woman; A Song for You; Jumping Jack Flash / Poppa Was A Rolling Stone / Paint It Black / Kansas City
Encore: Great Balls of Fire; Roll Over Beethoven
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9
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in B B King, Beyonce, Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Glastonbury, Morrissey, Paul Simon, Pulp, Radiohead, The Wombles, U2. Tagged: blues, concert, festival, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
I’ve taken a long time to get round to writing anything about this Glastonbury; I seem to have been catching up on things at work and home since we got back.
We (Me, Marie, Laura and David) all made the journey to Pilton Farm this year, again hiring a campervan. This year’s weather was quite a bit different from last year, with lots of rain earlier in the week, making the site very muddy. Our van got stuck deep in the mud on arrival and, after lots of pushes from staff and others, we were finally towed into the field by a giant tractor. As last year, we studied the clashfinder and made lots of plans of who we were all going to see; however the reality was very difficult, with the mud making it very difficult to make great trecks across the whole site from stage to stage. I’d particularly wanted to see the old-timers on the 71 stage, but in the event, didn’t get much of a chance to do so.
Friday was pretty wet and all of the walkways were deep in mood. It was really hard work walking through the mud which was very sticky; wellies were coming off and people were falling over…..
71 stage: managed to wander over through the mud and saw Martin Stone playing some pretty solid blues/rock. David was over there earlier and caught Noel Harrison singing Windmills of my Mind.
B B King: Some great guitar from a legend. Much better than I thought he might be.
Radiohead: Laura and David went over to the Park stage to see Radiohead do their special guest spot. They returned quite disappointed; apparently the sound wasn’t great, and the set focussed on the more recent albums.
Morrissey: Marie and I watched Morrissey’s set while David and Laura were at the Park seeing Radiohead. He was pretty good, although he didn’t seem in a great mood, telling the crowd “I know you’re all waiting for U2; I’ll sing fast”
U2: By now the rain was really coming down. The set had a good selection of old favourites, and Bono was out to impress. Fraid the rain got the better of us in the end, and we retired to the van.
Saturday was much better weather wise with no rain at all. The mud was drying out, but still very deep and sticky on the walkways over to the Other Stage and Arcadia.
Pulp: The highlight for us. When we heard Pulp were reforming I promised Laura (and myself) that we must see them. So when we heard that they might be Saturday’s special guest at the Park stage, we had to go over and see. And Javis and crew didn’t let us down. The field was rammed; they had to close the gates. Everyone was singing along, and I was surprised how many songs I knew. Started with Do You Remember the First Time? The whole field went mental and sang Disco 2000 and Common People like their lives depended on it.
Coldplay: OK; not my favourite band but seemed to go down well with the crowd.
Chemical Brothers: Laura and David went across to the Other Stage for The Chemical Brothers and seemed to have a great time too.
Sunday was red hot.
The Wombles: This was the highlight for Laura. Mike Batt and co played Avalon in their suits. Started with Remember you’re a Womble and finished with the Wombling Song. The tent was packed; everyone determined to have a great sing-a-long. Shame we missed out on getting a Wombles mask, but Laura bought a t-shirt.
Paul Simon: A good set.
Beyonce: I just didn’t get this. Laura thought she was great, but Marie and I weren’t too impressed. Yet when I got home, the first thing everyone I saw said to me was “did you see Beyonce?” and then told me how great she was on the TV coverage. It seems to me that it may have looked better on TV than from the field itself. Everyone around us didn’t seem to be getting into it.
We left straight after Beyonce and, after getting the van pushed out of the mud by a group of friendly guys, we drove all through the night and were back home at 8am on Monday. It took Marie and I 3 hours to clean the mud from the van, before we returned it to the hire company….
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19
Jun
Posted by vintagerock in Cayte Webber, Ringo Starr. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
Ringo Starr & his All Starr Band Liverpool Empire 18 June 2011
I’d been looking forward to this for some time. Its been 13 years since Ringo last toured the UK with his All Starr Band; I remember regretting not going to see them on that tour. Since then Laura and I saw Ringo at the Capital of Culture Opening concert; he sang three songs. So this was my first full scale Ringo concert experience. This visit of Ringo to Liverpool was quite controversial as a result of his comments on the Jonathan Ross show; where he in effect slagged off his home city. I’m sure Ringo wanted to make amends and saw this concert as one way of doing so.
I arrived at Liverpool Empire around 6.30pm and parked up in the Lime Street NCP car park. There were a smattering of Beatles fans waiting outside the stage door for Ringo. The accents around me told me that that the concert was being attended by fans from all over the world; lots of American visitors in evidence. Around 7pm they opened the doors and I joined the queue entering the venue. The Empire is a lovely old theatre with all of the original decor; the last time I was here was to see Alice Cooper on the Welcome to my Nightmare tour (1976?). I buy a programme and pass on getting a signed drum skin (£250 a pop!).
The Ringo set up works like this. Ringo has an “All Starr Band” whose members have some level of stardom in their own right and the show is a combination of Ringo songs, Beatles tracks on which Ringo sang, and songs from the band members (they get to do two each). For this tour the members are Rick Derringer (McCoys; Johnny Winter), Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Richard Page (Mister Mister) and Wally Palmar (Romantics? can’t say I remember them). Looking at some of the past line-ups, there have been stronger versions of the band; past members have included Jack Bruce, Ian Hunter, Gary Brooker, Joe Walsh and others.
I take my seat which is around a dozen rows from the front, giving me a great view of the stage; which is set up with a large star behind the drum kits. It is clear that everyone around me is a massive Beatles fan. A guy in front of me is sporting a tattoo of Paul on one arm; and the Beatles signatures on the other. There are lots of Beatles t-shirts on show. One couple have matching badges (“I Love John” and “I Love Ringo”). There seem to be hardly any scouse accents, and sadly there are some empty seats up in the gods. Did Ringo really upset everyone that much? I guess scousers don’t forgive or forget easily.
Pretty much at 7.30pm on the dot the support act Cayte Webber takes the stage for four songs which are OK and warm the crowd up. Then after a short interval (at around 8.15pm) Ringo joins us to a great reception; everyone is on their feet and cheering. First up is It Don’t Come Easy which sounds great and brings back memories, followed by Honey Don’t from Beatles for Sale and Choose Love (I assume this is a newish Ringo song?). So far so good. Next Rick Derringer takes to the front of stage and leads the band into Hang On Sloop from his band the McCoys; which knocked Yesterday off the No 1 slot in the States in 1965; we all sing along; great. Then Edgar Winter, who is a mad character, and Wally Palmer with a song I don’t recognise (guess it was a hit in the USA). Ringo is back on drums to sing I Wanna Be Your Man (from “that other band I used to be in”). Gary Wright sings Dream Weaver (takes me back to the Frampton Comes Alive tour when he was support act) which he tells us was inspired by Indian text given to him by George Harrison. Richard Page (Mister Mister) gives us Kyrie, which I recognise; a very strong voice; but I’m not too keen on USA AOR.
Ringo tells us “I love Liverpool” on a number of occasions to cheers from the crowd. He introduces The Other Side of Liverpool by pointing out that his Auntie Ev (who is 92!) remembers those days, and that she is in the audience. I look around and see an elderly lady in the row behind me wearing a laminate pass. Then we all sing Yellow Submarine; it doesn’t come much better than this; I’m in Liverpool Empire singing Yellow Submarine with Ringo (and his Auntie Ev singing in the next row!). More follows; with each member getting to do one more song.
Ringo introduces Boys as “a song I used to do with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and I’ve done ever since. I love the song.” They finish with Photograph, With a Little Help from my Friends (more mega singalongs) and a snippet from Give Peace a Chance. Then he’s gone; its 10.15pm and I’m back into the car, up the M6 and across to Scotch Corner (rainy and foggy); back home at 1.15am. A wonderful night that I won’t forget for a long time. Long live Ringo! Peace and Love.
Setlist: It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo); Honey Don’t (Ringo); Choose Love (Ringo); Hang On Sloopy (Rick Derringer); Free Ride (Edgar Winter); Talking In Your Sleep (Wally Palmar); I Wanna Be Your Man (Ringo); Dream Weaver (Gary Wright); Kyrie (Richard Page); The Other Side Of Liverpool (Ringo); Yellow Submarine (Ringo); Frankenstein (Edgar Winter); Peace Dream (Ringo); Back Off Boogaloo (Ringo); What I Like About You (Wally Palmar); Rock N Roll Hootchie Koo (Rick Derringer); Boys (Ringo); My Love Is Alive (Gary Wright); Broken Wings (Richard Page); Photograph (Ringo); Act Naturally (Ringo); With a Little Help From My Friends (Ringo)
i hate printed tickets
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19
Jun
Posted by vintagerock in KIngs of Leon, White Lies. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Kings of Leon Stadium of Light Sunderland 17 June 2011
Support came from White Lies.
David and I went along to see Kings of Leon on Friday. We arrived in time to see White Lies who sounded OK; very Joy Division or Editors ish. KOL were very late in coming on stage (around 9.30pm); I think they were delayed in arriving. But that didn’t put a damper on it. From the word go they had the crowd singing along. Lots of stadium anthems. The Sunderland crowd loved them. But different to Take That!
Setlist: Four Kicks; Taper Jean Girl; The Bucket; Radioactive; My Party; The Immortals; Fans; Back Down South; Birthday; Crawl; No Money; Charmer; Mary; Notion; Closer; Pyro; California Waiting; Molly’s Chambers; On Call; Knocked Up; Use Somebody; Sex On Fire; Black Thumbnail
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30
May
Posted by vintagerock in Pet Shop Boys, Take That. Tagged: concert, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Take That Stadium of Light Sunderland 31 May 2011
This was the second time that Marie and I have been to see Take That at the Stadium of Light, the last time being during the Circus tour of a few years ago. We were expecting a very spectacular show which would live up to their last performance here, and were also looking forward to the added extra Mr Williams having rejoined the band. As we entered the stadium we could hear special guest The Pet Shop Boys finishing their set with West End Girls. This time round we had tickets which allowed us to stand on the pitch or take a seat in the lower tier. Having arrived late, there were no seats to be had, so the pitch it was. This was OK for me, but Marie couldn’t make out much of the stage from within the vast crowd.
The set was divided into four: Four lads (no Robbie) singing reunion material; then Robbie, then stuff from the new album; and finally material from the old days. The show was pretty spectacular, and the crowd reaction as mad as ever. Robbie has an ego and confidence never seen before in a human being! and he delighted the crowd. But we both felt that overall it wasn’t quite as good as last time. Difficult to put a finger on why. Perhaps this was because we were on the pitch rather than in the seats where we had a better view. It has to be said that shows like this are great for Sunderland, and the four Take That shows will have done a lot for the local economy. Roll on Kings of Leon in a couple of weeks. Guess that will be a different sort of show with a very different crowd.
Setlist: Rule The World; Greatest Day; Hold Up A Light; Patience; Shine; Let Me Entertain You; Rock DJ; Come Undone; Feel; Angels; The Flood; SOS; Underground Machine; Kidz; Pretty Things; Million Love Songs/Babe; Everything Changes/Back For Good; Pray; Love Love; Never Forget; No Regrets; Relight My Fire; Eight Letters
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