Posts Tagged ‘music’
12
Dec
Posted by vintagerock in The Pogues. Tagged: blues, concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, R&B, rock. 1 comment
The Pogues Newcastle Academy 14 Dec 2010
I’ve only seen the Pogues once before back in the 80s supporting U2 at Murrayfield. This winters tour has been billed as the farewell Christmas tour, so I figured that it was time to catch them again while I still had the chance. Laura fancied seeing them, as she has taken a liking to Fairytale of New York, and has recently sung it at a gig with her friend Will.
We arrived around 8.30pm, after the support act has finished, expecting the Pogues to take the stage around 9pm. The venue had advertised their start time as 8.50pm. What actually happened was a long wait while the crowd got increasingly restless, with some people starting to “boo”. I’ve never see the Academy as full as this. You couldn’t move at all downstairs. Laura figured that the crowd would be quite wild at a Pogues gig, so we stayed at the back in a safe spot.
We were beginning to think that Shane had let us down, but around 10pm the Pogues came out to a great (and impatient!) roaring welcome from the crowd. Shane was in good form, was singing well and seemed pretty sober. The crowd went mental (it was a good idea to stick near the back of the hall), the band played their all, and we all got to sing along to The Irish Rover, Dirty Old Town and (of course) Fairytale of New York. Great stuff; gets you in the mood for Christmas.
Setlist: Streams of Whisky; If I Should Fall From Grace With God; The Broad Majestic Shannon; Boat Train; A Pair of Brown Eyes; Tuesday Morning; Sunnyside of the Street; Repeal of the Licensing Laws; Body of an American; London Girl; Thousands Are Sailing; Dirty Old Town; Bottle of Smoke; Sickbed of Cuchulainn
Encore 1: Sally MacLennane; Rainy Night in Soho; Irish Rover
Encore 2: Fairytale of New York; Fiesta
Pogues website: http://www.pogues.com
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12
Dec
Posted by vintagerock in Belle and Sebastian. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Belle and Sebastian Sage Gateshead 5 Dec 2010
Laura had said for some time that she would like to see Belle and Sebastian, so when I saw that they were coming to the Sage I bought us two tickets. She promised me that I would enjoy them; I was certainly looking forward to the gig, and I was even missing Hawkwind who were playing at the Newcastle Academy on the same night.
The support act was a comedy act who Laura said was good, so for once we went along early to catch the start of the show. Glad we did. The double act was centred around a single story intertwined with songs; quite different, but pretty interesting.
After a short break, Belle and Sebastian took to the stage. They were accompanied by a full orchestra and their songs certainly benefited. From our seats half way back in the stalls, the sound was perfect and filled the hall. I can’t pretend to know many of their songs, but Laura had prepared a CD of a few of their better known tracks for me to play in the car before the gig. I can hear shades of 60s music in there: Donovan (the band are from Glasgow), Love, even Burt Bacharach. The gig itself was great, with the band going down really well with crowd. At one point the singer gets a few crowd members up on stage to dance with him.
A grat gig by a band who have a very strong following.
Setlist: I Fought in a War; Dirty Dream Number Two; Piazza, New York Catcher; I’m Not Living In The Real World; If You’re Feeling Sinister; Lord Anthony; I Want The World To Stop; Sukie In The Graveyard; The Fox In The Snow; I Can See Your Future; (I Believe In) Travellin’ Light; Write About Love; Dear Catastrophe Waitress; I Didn’t See It Coming; The Boy With The Arab Strap; If You Find Yourself Caught In Love; Simple Things; Sleep The Clock Around
Encore: Another Sunny Day; Me And The Major
Belle and Sebastian website: http://www.belleandsebastian.com
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28
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Hermans Hermits, The Tremeloes, Union Gap. Tagged: concert, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock n roll. 2 comments
The Tremeloes, Hermans Hermits Tyne Theatre 26 Nov 2010
This was another gulity pleasure night with Will and I going to see these 60s bands at the Tyne Theatre. The weather was awful last night and I rand Will to say that I didn’t fancy driving through the snow to Newcastle. Will offered to drive us and saved the day. The weather did put a lot of people off, however, apparently 900 tickets had been sold for the show but only around 600 people turned out on the night because of the poor weather conditions.
We arrived just before the show started and bought a programme and raffle tickets to win a guitar which had been signed by all the bands.
Compere (yes! this was a cheesy 60s show after all) for the evening was Alan Mosca from teh Dreamers who was both entertaining and annoying. First up was Union Gap who have no members from the US 60s band with Gary Puckett. None the less they did respectable versions of Young Girl, Lady Willpower and other 60s hits.
After a short break Hermans Hermits took the stage. This band have kept going since the 60s, but only the original drummer Barry Whitwam remains from the band who had all the hits. Peter Noone left to go solo in 1971, and the band has continued to tour since then, playing all the hits. So we got I’m into Something Good, Silhouettes, No Milk Today, Kind of Hush and many others. All delivered well.
Last act of the evening was the Tremeloes. They have two original members Dave Munden who drums and sings (and has been in the band since 1958: frightening!) and Rick Westwood on guitar. All of the hits were played and sounded great; pretty true to the originals (Dave sand most of them originally). Particular favourites for me were Here Comes my Baby and the encore Even the Bad Times are Good. I even sort of enjoyed Silence is Golden. Not sure the leather trousers are appropriate these days however lads.
The show finished with all of the bands on stage playing rock n roll standards and Rick playing the signed guitar which some lucky guy (not us) had won. Around 10.30 we went out into a very cold and snowy Newcastle. Some chips at the corner fish shop and then Will braved the roads (which were terrible) and got us home safely.
Alan (our compere) told us that they will be abck next year.
I hate printed tickets
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21
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Status Quo. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, R&B, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Status Quo City Hall Newcastle 24 November 2010
I’d been looking forward to this, but when the night came I wasn’t that excited about going. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Status Quo, but the set lists don’t change much from year to year and it has all been getting a bit samey for me. Also it was pretty cold and I didn’t fancy going out.
Anyway along I went to the City Hall, and I arrived just as the support act was finishing. After a quick visit to the bar, I took my seat half way back in the stalls. It wasn’t long before the familiar Quo drone heralded the arrival of the boys, starting as always these days with Caroline. The set was pretty much the same with a few changes, but actually I did enjoy the show more than I had expected. Francis in particular was on top form in one of his great cheeky moods, with lots of banter with the crowd. And he played more and better guitar solos than he usually does. Rick on the other hand seemed quite reserved and his voice seemed to be suffering. All in all a pretty good show; perhaps not top form; but better that last year at Sheffield Arena.
Setlist: Caroline; Something ’bout You Baby I Like; Break The Rules; Mean Girl; Softer Ride; 4500 Times; Rain; Beginning Of The End; Medley: Mystery Song / Railroad / Spinning Wheel Blues / Wild Side Of Life / Rollin’ Home / Again And Again / Slow Train; The Oriental; Creepin’ Up On You; For You; In The Army Now; Drum Solo; Paper Plane; Roll Over Lay Down; Down Down; Whatever You Want; Rockin’ All Over The World
Encore: Don’t Waste My Time; Rock ‘n’ Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny
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14
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in The Hollies. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
The Hollies Sage Gateshead 14 Nov 2010
Will and I went to see the Hollies last Sunday night at the Sage Gateshead. I’d scored a couple of cheap £7 tickets up in on the top level above the stage; the height can be a bit dsconcerting but the view is still good. As ever the band were 100% professional and presented us with an evening of classic 60s songs. Peter Howarth is now no longer a newcomer and is as much a part of the Hollies sound as the others. Tony Hicks looks great; its hard to believe that he has been doing this since the early 60s. He displays some nifty fret work on his electric sitar during the intro to The Baby and some great banjo to take us into Stop Stop Stop. Peter tells us that Tony is “a great innovator” so it must be true! Seriously Tony is a very under-rated guitar player; it always good to see him. Bobby keeps the beat on track at the back.
Another great show by a band who just keep on going. Will found it a bit dated but had to admit that they were good. Roll on next tour.
Setlist:
First Half: Curly Billy; I Can’t Let Go; Jennifer Eccles; Sorry Suzanne; King Midas In Reverse; Then Now Always (Dolphin Days); She’d Kill For Me; Sandy (Acoustic); Just One Look; Yes I Will; Stay; Look Through Any Window; Blowin’ In The Wind
Second Half: I’m Alive; Long Cool Woman; Bus Stop; On A Carousel; The Baby; Weakness; Listen To Me; Here I Go Again; Hey Willy; Gasoline Alley Bred; Carrie Anne; Stop Stop Stop; The Air That I Breathe; He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother; Let Love Pass
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13
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Motorhead. Tagged: concert, gig, gigs, heavy metal, music, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. 3 comments
Motorhead Newcastle City Hall 10 November 2010
“We are Motorhead and we play Rock and Roll”
Lemmy: “Is it loud enough?” Crowd: “No!!!”. Lemmy: “Then we’ll turn it up. I don’t f***ing care if you go deaf. I’m f***ing deaf already”
Its been around 25 years since I last saw Lemmy and crew. I thought it was about time I put matters right; plus I managed to score a ticket for £15 on ebay (whoopee!). I’d almost forgotten how great the loud, uncompromising Motorhead experience can be. Not much has changed over the years. The guitarist and drummer are different to last time I saw the band (no Fast Eddie any more), but Lemmy looks pretty much the same and the sound (and volume) hasn’t changed at all. One thing had changed: I didn’t see Lemmy in the bar on the bandit where he could often be found in the late 70s. I enjoyed this much more than I expected. I must remember to go and see Iron Maiden next year!
Setlist: We are Motorhead; Stay clean; Back in line; Metropolis; Rock out; OTT; One night stand; Thousand names; I got mine; Know how to die; Tragedy; Power; Brazil; Killed by death; Bomber; Ace of Spades
Encore: Born to raise; Overkill
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13
Nov
Posted by vintagerock in Anderson and Wakeman, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Yes. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, prog, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
Anderson and Wakeman Sage Gateshead 8 November 2010
Will and I went to see Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman on Monday at the Sage Gateshead. The two former members of Yes have toured before together, however this is the first time that they have come to the North East and hence the first time that Will and I had seen them in this formation. The show was billed as The Project 360 Tour and featured a selection of new songs form their new album The LivingTree (they called this part of the show the “recital”) and many old Yes favourites (the “recycle”!). The show was in two halves with a short internal between. Will and I had wondered on the way through whether the two guys would be accompanied by a band; in fact there was no band. The show was centred around Rick on two keyboards and Jon on acoustic guitar and vocals. We were treated to lots of banter between the two of them, which highlighted their very different personalities; Jon still very much an old hippy, Rick a bloke who would be more at home in the local pub.
The new songs sounded OK, and were very Yes like, but it was the Yes classics that the pretty full house had come to see. These included Yours is No Disgrace, Sweet Dreams, Time and a Word, Roundabout, Starship Trooper, And you and I, Owner of the Lonely Heart; I amsure I will have missed some.
The first thing that I must say is that Jon’s voice is amazing; still as strong as it always was, and that he had no problems at all in reaching any of the notes. The arrangements of the Yes songs took some getting used to for me. I missed hearing a band; but having said that it was still great to hear those wonderful songs sung by Jon again.
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24
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in John Cooper Clarke. Tagged: comedy, concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, Poetry, pop, punk, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
John Cooper Clarke Whitley Bay Playhouse 22 Oct 2010
So the Manchester punk bard comes to Whitley Bay (and he thought it was Whitby!).
Laura has been listening to quite a lot of John’s material and has wanted to see him for some time. For me it must be 30+ years since I saw him, probably supporting the Buzzcocks or Penetration or some other punk band of the late 70s. The Whitley Bay Playhouse has recently been renovated and this was our fist visit to this particular venue. We arrived while the support act was on stage, and decided to partake in ice cream (Laura decreed the honey flavour glorious).
John took to the stage around 8.45pm and treated us to some jolly good banter, lots of dry humour peppered with expletives, and northern observations that only John can create. The poems came thick and fast, and included old favourites such as Beasley Street which was given a revamp to bring it up to date with contemporary society (Beasley Boulevard), Twat, and Evidently Chicken Town. All of these were delivered at break neck speed in his monitone Mancunian manner. John looks pretty much as he did in the 70s in a tight black suit and wearing some great chelsea boots.
Laura said it was great, which I had to agree with.
Setlist (something like): Hire Care, Adverts; Limerick; The List; Beasley Street; Beasley Boulevard; Twat; Crossing the Line; Things are Gonna Get Worse; Evidently Chicken Town.
i hate printed tickets
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24
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, The Kaiser Chiefs. 1 comment
Robert Plant Sage Gateshead 20 Oct 2010
This gig came on a hectic day for me. I had a meeting all day up in Dundee and wondered if I would make it back in time. I needn’t have worried; the meeting was over by 3pm, I got a train pretty sharpish, a quick change of trains in Edinburgh. and I had time to go home and get changed before going along to the Sage.
Robert Plant took to the stage around 8.45, accompanied by his all American Band of Joy. The music is a mix of deep south country rock, blues and gospel with some pretty wild guitar and exquisite steel guitar. I bought the Band of Joy album a few weeks ago, so most of the tracks were familiar to me. Robert seemed very relaxed and was obviously really enjoying himself with the band, who are great musicians in their own right. Highlights for me were Monkey, a great moody track from the recent album and Tangerine, which was kept pretty true to the original.. The Led Zep numbers were given remodels into the vibe of the new band, which worked pretty well.
A great concert from a hero who never ceases to amaze and please.
Website: http://www.robertplant.com
Setlist (something like): Tall Cool One; Angel Dance; House Of Cards; Please Read The Letter; Misty Mountain Hop; Rich Woman; Twelve Gates To The City (including sections of In My Time Of Dying); Tangerine; Somewhere Trouble Dont Go; A Satisfied Mind; Move Up; Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down; Monkey; Central 209; Houses Of The Holy; You Cant Buy My Love; Down To The Sea; Gallows Pole
Encore: Another Tribe; Rock and Roll; Goodnight acapella
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24
Oct
Posted by vintagerock in Joe Bonamassa. Tagged: blues, concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
Joe Bonamassa Newcastle City Hall 17 Oct 2010
Will and I decided to go along to sample the mighty Joe Bonamassa who seems to have gone from playing small blues clubs to massive headline status in a very short space of time. Neither of us were familiar with Joe’s material but had heard great things about the man and we were thus looking forward to this. We were seated a little from the front (the front block seats were £50 ouch! is this what stardom means Joe?) but with a good view. There was no support and Joe was on stage shortly after 8pm. The stage set and lighting was impressive, but its Joe’s playing that everyone was there to see. The Hall was full of 50+ something men and you just know that everyone in there played guitar and was hanging on Joe’s every lick. And there were plenty of licks to hang on to. The set was pretty standard blues with some rock numbers thrown in, all showcasing Joe’s impeccable technique. Joe has lots of guitars and at one point he straps on a Les Paul which he tells us used to belong to his hero Paul Kossoff and throws himself into Free’s Mr Big. Its sort of weird to think that the last time I saw that guitar it was Paul who was playing it. There is an acoustic set where he shows us just how great (and fast) he can play and he finishes with some rockier numbers which include riffs borrowed from Led Zeppelin 2. Will and I both think he was great, although we agreed that some of the blues numbers were rather samey. So we are off for some chips and then home.
website: http://www.jbonamassa.com
setlist: Cradle Rock (Rory Gallagher cover); So Many Roads; When the Fire Hits the Sea; So, It’s Like That; If Heartaches Were Nickels; Slow Train; Steal Your Heart Away; Sloe Gin; The Ballad of John Henry; Happier Times; Never Gonna Make You Move Too Soon; The Great Flood; Young Man Blues; Woke Up Dreaming; Mountain Time
Encore: Bird on a Wire (Leonard Cohen); Just Got Paid (Z Z Top)
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