Posts Tagged ‘music’
31
Aug
Posted by vintagerock in The Pretty Things, Trevor Burton. Tagged: blues, concert, gig, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 1 comment
The Pretty Things at the Colne R&B Festival 30 August 2010
The Pretty Things were one of my favourite bands in the late 60s and early 70s. I bought a copy of S F Sorrow for a few shillings in a second hand shop in Sunderland shortly after it came out and played and played it. I couldn’t believe how good it was and yet it seemed that no-one else had heard it at the time. I then saw the band several times in the early to mid 70s. Everything was great about them; Phil May’s hair was longer than mine (made me so jealous) and the mix of R&B, rock and psych in their music was unlike any other band at the time. Its been around 10 years since I last saw the Pretty Things; time to see them again.
I arrived late in Colne on Sunday night having driven across via Harrogate. The Trevor Burton band were taking the stage as I picked up my wrist band for the International Stage and ventured into the Municipal Hall where the action was. Trevor had taken the place of Peter Green who is sadly unwell. His set was a healthy mix of blues and 60s rock; he closed with Traffic’s Mr Fantasy and Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love. After a short break our compere (wearing a fetching sombrero!) introduced The Pretty Things. The time was now 11pm (a bit on the late side for me!). The current line up comprises Phil May and Dick Taylor from the original band alongside Frank Holland who has been with the band for some years and relative new comers George Perez, Mark St John and Jack Greenwood. Didn’t recognise the first number, but they were soon playing songs that I knew, largely drawn from their early 60s hit singles and their 60s and 70s albums. So we got Don’t Bring me Down and Havana Bound early on in the set. The power is still there and Phil May’s voice sounds as strong as ever. The band are all dressed in black suits, white shirts and blakc ties; ala The Blue Brothers (!). After a few songs Phil introduces a couple of songs from S F Sorrow: S F Sorrow is Born and Baron Saturday, for which Dick Taylor takes the vocals. About half way through the set Phil tells us how he used to look up to Dick and Keith Richard at school and how they used to sing together during lunch breaks. This leads into a great short acoustic blues set with Phil on vocals and Dick sitting down playing slide guitar. Frank joins for a couple of the songs on blues harp. Then we are back to the hard edged R&B that the early 60s Pretty Things were known for: Midnight to Six Man, Mona (in tirbute to “their mentor” Bo Diddley), and Buzz the Jerk. On Hoochie Coochie Man Phil tells us that he usually sings the song with his mate Arthur Brown. LSD (is it innappropriate for 65+ men to sing of drugs like this?) leads into the great Old Man Going from S F Sorrow. The encore is Rosalyn which takes us back to the early 60s again. Lots of people dancing and even though it is 12.45am no-one seems to want to go. Great stuff. These guys can still do it and show no sign of stopping now.
So I go out and brave the windy rounds across the moors. Get home about 3am, tired but pleased that I made the trip.
Setlist included (but not in this order):
Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut
Buzz the Jerk
Raining in my heart
The Beat Goes On
Don’t Bring Me Down
Havana Bound
S.F. Sorrow Is Born
Baron Saturday
Midnight To Six Man
Mona
Hoochie Coochie Man
Come See Me
L.S.D. / Old Man Going
Rosalyn
Blues festival website: http://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/
9
Aug
Posted by vintagerock in Eric Burdon, Ray Stubbs and his Amazing One Man Blues Band. Tagged: blues, concert, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock. Leave a comment
Eric Burdon Newcastle O2 Academy 8th August 2010
So Eric Burdon returned to his home town for a show some 8 years since his last appearance at the Tyne Theatre. Sadly Eric’s visits to the North East are few and far between. Support came from Ray Stubbs Amazing One Man Blues Band who I haven’t seen for some time (must be 30 years since I last saw him). Ray was onstage performing some blues tunes to a fairly subdued crowd when we arrived. After a short break Eric’s band took to the stage, starting with an extended introduction to When I Was Young, Eric joining the band to cheers from the crowd. The set was similar to the one he played at Maryport last year, with a few changes of song. Eric was in great voice; his voice is still strong and powerful and he was clearly enjoying himself performing in front of a home town crowd. The band are excellent, each of them great musicians in their own right. Old hits such as Don’t Bring Me Down, Its my Life and We Gotta Get Out of this Place fill the hall with their roaring choruses. They may all sound somewhat dated these days but they are stil great to hear. Marie and I both enjoyed the show; hope he doesn’t leave it so long to return next time.
Setlist included the songs below; I know that I have missed some blues tracks that I didn’t recognise:
When I was young
Don’t bring me down
San Franciscan Nights
Don’t let me be misunderstood
River Deep Mountain High
Boom boom
Invitation to the White House
It’s my life
We gotta get out of this place
House of the rising sun
Eric Burdon website: http://ericburdon.ning.com/
Ray Stubbs website: http://www.myspace.com/raystubbsonemanband
I hate print out tickets
flyer
28
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Booker T, Canned Heat, Maryport Blues Festival. Tagged: blues, concert, festival, folk, gig, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Maryport Blues Festival July 24 and 25 2010
This was my fourth, and Marie’s second, visit to Maryport for the Blues festival. This year we decided to visit for the Saturday and the Sunday. We drove across on Saturday afternoon and checked in at the Ship, Allonby which is about 5 miles up the coast from Maryport. Allonby is a lovely town with wonderful views of the sea, and a great coastline and the Ship is a nice pub offering rooms for bed and breakfast. On the Saturday evening we ventured into Maryport centre for the blues trail. The place was packed and there were queues to get into all of the pubs, so we retreated to the rugby club where the main marquee for the festival is situated. The Saturday night was headlined by Mica Paris and Booker T. Booker T was excellent. He still uses his famous Hammond organ and Lesley cabinet, and he treated us to favourites such as Green Onions, Time is Tight and great renditions of Dock of the Bay, Ain’t no Sunshine and Hold On I’m Coming. It was a rare chance to see a true legend (his only UK date in the current European tour) and he didn’t disappoint.
We were up early on Sunday morning and had a walk along the beach which blew away the cobwebs and got us ready for the day. We drove into Cockermouth and had a look around Wordsworth’s birthplace before going into the festival later in the day. We passed Paul Jones in the street in Cockermouth; he is in Maryport for the festival and is recording for a three hour special for his Radio 2 Blues show. Headliners were Canned Heat (yes they are still playing) and Robert Cray. It was Canned Heat who I had really come to see. The band consists of the original drummer who has been there throughout since the 60s and the recently returned to the fold Larrie Thompson on bass and Harvey Mandel on guitar. They are billed as the Woodstock lineup as those three guys all played at that famous festival. They open with On the Road Again which sets the pace for a host of blues and boogie tunes, including the other hits Going up the Country and Lets Stick Together. They still sound great; tight as anything, although for me some of the solos go on a little too long.
We return to the Ship on Sunday night and drive home Monday morning. Another great blues festival. The attendance was pretty good (there were rumours that ticket sales were slow and that this may be the last festival due to funding problems); I certainly hope it returns next year and keeps its place as one of the premier blues festivals in the UK.
website: http://www.maryportblues.co.uk/
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programme
28
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Frank Zappa, Zappa plays Zappa. Tagged: blues, concert, folk, gig, gigs, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Zappa plays Zappa Sage Gateshead July 27 2010
It doesn’t seem a year since I saw Dweezil and the band in Edinburgh, but a year it is and here there are back in the UK. And this time they are playing a lot closer to home at the Sage. Laura has heard a lot about Frank Zappa from her Shift-Static band mates so she agreed to accompany me to this latest feast of Frank’s music. In fact Laura tells me that she has listened to 60 (!) of his albums, which is quite frightening, and makes me realise how little of Zappa’s back catalogue I really know.
We arrive at the Sage around 7.15 and the band take the stage at just after the published time of 7.30. Dweezil’s eight piece band seems to be the same as last year; he tells us that it is the last night of the European tour and that they are planning to have fun tonight. The hall is pretty full downstairs with next level also almost full.
The set is a complete mix of Frank Zappa’s music taken from throughout his career. This means that there only a few that I recognise, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the sheer excellence of the musicianship; these guys must really rehearse to be as tight as this and to recreate the original versions so authentically. Dweezil explains to us that he put the band together to give us all the opportunity to experience the variety and diversity of his dad’s music. He tells us that in the USA Frank Zappa is often seen as a novelty act as the public in general have only got to hear the more cookie songs (Yellow Snow, Titties and Beer etc) and he sort of wanted to put that right. Well he is certainly succeeding in doing so. The band gets a great reception; everyone present clearly loves Zappa music (and they all know more of the songs than Laura and I!). Peaches on Regalia is note perfect and brings back memories, as does Little House I Used to Live in, which is used as a vehicle for improvisation for each band member. Five girls are brought on stage to dance to Keep it Greasy and clearly have a great time. For the last encore we are given the choice of three songs and the biggest roar is for Muffin Man, which sends us all happy. The band close at 10pm clocking at 2.5 hours which is a pretty long set by any standards. It seems to be the norm for Dweezil to hang around on the stage after the end of the show signing autographs for those at the front so we make our way down and I manage to get a flyer signed and a plectrum from Dweezil for Laura.
website: http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/
Setlist (something like):
Purple Lagoon ; Stinkfoot; Bamboozled By Love ; Daddy Daddy Daddy; What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?; T’Mershi Duween; Inca Roads; Blessed Relief; Advance Romance ; The Blue Light; Pick Me I’m Clean; The Little House I Used To Live In; Latex Solar Beef; Apostrophe; City Of Tiny Lites; Peaches En Regalia; Echidna’s Arf; Wild Love; Keep it Greasy; Yo Mama
Encore: Muffin Man
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28
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Regina Spektor. Tagged: blues, concert, folk, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
Regina Spektor Sage Gateshead 20 July 2010
“Shes a bit like Tori Amos” Laura told me. So on that recomendation we (Laura, Christina, me) decided to go along and see Regina at the Sage Gateshead. Not really knowing much of her stuff (Samson was the only song I recognised) I find it difficult to comment on this one. Laura and Christina enjoyed it and Laura has promised to write a review for me to post here. I’ll post it as soon as she does so.
website: http://www.myspace.com/reginaspektor
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4
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Curved Air, Glastonbury, Gorillaz, Muse, Ray Davies, Rolf Harris, Stevie Wonder, Stranglers. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, music, pop, rock. Leave a comment
Glastonbury Festival Pilton Farm 25-27 June 2010
So we (me, Marie, Laura, David) decided to sample the delights of a modern festival. It’s 30 years since I last when to 3 day festival and stayed for all 3 days (Reading 1980), so I was quite excited about this. We travelled down on Wed and arrived Wed night. Thursday was spent exploring the massive site and on the evening we sampled Nik Turner’s Space Ritual and Curved Air (who we hardly saw as the tent in which they were playing was completely packed). Highlights were singing along to Rolf Harris who opened the Pyramid stage on Friday, Gorillaz, Muse who were just awesome on Saturday, and Ray Davies and Stevie Wonder on Sunday who turned out all the hits for us. We all had a great weekend; the festival is so big we gave up on the idea of trying to see all of the bands that we had planned and just enjoyed the event; which was great.
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4
Jul
Posted by vintagerock in Paul McCartney. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, music, Paul McCartney, pop. Leave a comment
Paul McCartney Glasgow Hampden Park 20 June 2010
Laura and I went to see Paul McCartney at Hampden Park last Sunday night. Support came from Sharleen Spiteri, who put on a good set for the arriving crowds. There had been talk of a half empty stadium, but by the time Paul took the stage the place was packed. It has been around 20 years since he last played in Scotland and the crowd were well up for seeing him and joining in. So lots of singing along all night. The set was a mix of Beatles classics, Wings tunes and Paul solo material. Personally I could have done with a little more Beatles, but the set was pretty faultless. Highlights for me were I’ve Just See a Face, Day in the Life, Hey Jude and (surprisingly for me) Mull of Kintyre, for which Paul and his band were joined onstage by a massive pipe band, and we all joined in with a massive Hampden singalong. Great stuff. Laura had been a bit luke warm about going, but seemed to enjoy it. We were out of the carpark around midnight and home around 3am, pretty tired, but worth it.
Setlist: Venus and Mars / Rockshow; Jet; All My Loving; Letting Go; Drive My Car; Highway; Let Me Roll It; The Long And Winding Road; Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five; Let ‘Em In; My Love; I’ve Just Seen A Face; And I love Her; Blackbird; Here Today; Dance Tonight; Mrs Vandebilt; Eleanor Rigby; Something; Sing The Changes; Band On The Run; Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da; Back In The USSR; I’ve Got A Feeling; Paperback Writer; A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance; Let It Be; Live And Let Die; Hey Jude
Encore: Day Tripper; Lady Madonna; Get Back
Second Encore: Yesterday; Mull Of Kintyre; Helter Skelter; Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End
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13
Jun
Posted by vintagerock in Donovan. Tagged: concert, folk, music, pop, rock. Leave a comment
Evolution festival Donovan May 31 2010
We all (me, Marie, David and Laura) went along to the Evolution festival on bank holiday Monday primarily to see my old favourite Donovan who was playing on one of the three stages in a large marquee.
Donovan was great as ever. His set consisted of a selection of his songs (Laura and I knew all of them). He started with Catch the Wind and also played Mellow Yellow, Colours, Josie, Sunshine Superman, Sunny Goodge Street, Elenor, Hurdy Gurdy Man, Googoobarabajagal (bet I spelt that one wrong), Follow the sun, Jennifer Junipet, Universal Soldier and a great version of Atlantis for an encore. I will have missed some from the list ; I’m sure. The crowd loved him. Everyone seemed to know the songs and sang along. A great night had by all.
pass for the day
13
Jun
Posted by vintagerock in Shift-Static. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, music, pop, rock. Leave a comment
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
Posted by vintagerock in AK-7. Tagged: concert, folk, gig, music, pop, rock. Leave a comment
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.
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