Posts Tagged ‘music’

7 Mar

Shift-Static Bridge Hotel Newcastle & Pure Sunderland March 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Shift-Static. Tagged: , , , , .

Shift-Static The Bridge Hotel Newcastle March 4th 2010 and Pure Sunderland March 7th 2010
Shift-Static played the Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on Thursday night. They were first on stage and shared the bill with three other bands, including headliners Polarsets. They came on stage around 8.30pm to a small but appreciative crowd. The sound tonight was very clear, the mix was great, and their wonderful sounds filled the small upstairs room in the pub. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.
I have vague memories of being in the venue before; I seem to recall seeing some local bands there in the 70s, but can’t remember who. I finished the evening by being an honorary roadie; Laura’s keyboard is heavy to carry downstairs!
On Sunday night they played Pure in Sunderland, as part of a competition. They played really well; best time I’ve seen them. They went down well with the crowd and got through to the next round! Great stuff!

website: http://www.myspace.com/shiftstaticmusic

ticket

21 Feb

Nazareth & Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Deborah Bonham, Jason Bonham, Nazareth. Tagged: , , , , , .

Nazareth and Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

My first Nazareth encounter was at the Lincoln Great Western Festival in 1972. They came on early on the Saturday morning to a crowd just waking up. At that time they had just released their second album Exercises. I can’t remember a lot about their set that day, except that they seemed good and played a great version of Morning Dew. I saw them around a dozen times in the 70s, witnessing some great shows at Sunderland Locarno, Newcastle Mayfair and City Hall (supporting Deep Purple on one occasion and headlining a few times) and at the Buxton festival in 1973. My last Naz gig of that era was 1981 at the City Hall. I lost track of them for around 20 years, and saw them again a few years ago at Newcastle Arena. That recent gig revived my interest in the band; they still rocked the way they did all those years ago.

So tonight I’m back with my mates Will and Norm to see Naz again; some 38 (ouch!) years since standing in that field somewhere in Lincolnshire. Tonight’s venue is the Newcastle Academy, and the support act is the Deborah Bonham Band (sister of John). When we arrive Deborah and her band are already on stage. They have some pretty good rock songs, and her vocals are excellent; reminds me of Maggie Bell. We get a great suprise for the last couple of songs when she is joined on stage by her nephew Jason Bonham who takes the drum stool; they treat us to a top version of Rock n Roll as their last song.

After a short wait Nazareth take the stage. The current version of the band features two original members: Dan McCafferty on vocals and Peter Agnew on bass. The drum stool is occupied by Peter’s son Lee Agnew who replaced original drummer Darrel Sweet (Darrel sadly passed away a few years ago); and the guitar slot is more than ably filled by Jimmy Murrison (a relative new comer; he’s been with the band since 1994). Nazareth are one band who seem to have improved with age and seem to be better these days than they ever used to. The sound is clear and loud, and Dan McCafferty’s vocals are as strong as they were in the 70s; which is pretty amazing given the way in which he screams the words out in such an effortless manner. Pete Agnew prowls around the right hand side of the stage, with the same familiar grin on his face, and Jimmy’s guitar playing is excellent. The set is a mixture of old and new (they latest album came out in 2008 and is called Newz), and features favourites such as Bad Bad Boy, My White Bicycle, Shanghai’d In Shanghai, Hair Of The Dog, and Love Hurts. They finish with Broken Down Angel which gets everyone singing along. For a few minutes I thought that we weren’t going to get an encore as its after the Academy’s normal Saturday 10pm curfew, but they are soon back on stage. We get a three song encore including the great Razamanaz and This Flight Tonight. We all agree that they can still cut the mustard; great stuff. Out in the cold night; and time for the chip shop.

Setlist: Telegram, Turn On Your Receiver, Miss Misery, Bad Bad Boy, The Gathering, My White Bicycle, Hearts Grown Cold, Shanghai’d In Shanghai, Hair Of The Dog, Holiday, Love Hurts,nBroken Down Angel
encores: See Me, Razamanaz, This Flight Tonight

Nazareth website: http://nazarethdirect.co.uk
Deborah Bonham website: http://www.deborahbonham.com

I hate printed tickets

14 Feb

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck O2 Arena London Sat Feb 13th

Posted by vintagerock in Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck. Tagged: , , , , .

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck The O2 Arena London Sat Feb 13th 2010

I couldn’t resist going to see this double bill. Not sure I would make the trip to London to see either separately in concert (although they are both great); but seeing them together was just too tempting.
I’ve seen Clapton many times over the years. He never fails to impress, but there have been times when I’ve felt he was just going through the motions. However, the last few times I’ve seen him (at Newcastle and Sheffield Arenas and at the Cream reunion in the Albert Hall) he seemed to me to be enjoying being up there again. His blues were back and he was playing guitar in a way that I hadn’t seen for many years.
Beck to me is something else. I first saw him at the Grangemouth festival in the early 70s when he was leading Beck, Bogart and Appice and I’ve seen him in Newcastle a few times since. He never disappoints; and (to me) he stands alone. He manages to produce sounds from his Strat that no other guitarist can; his use of tone and dynamics are outstanding.
So Clapton and Beck together in London at the O2 on a Saturday night. Should be great!
I take the train to London on Saturday afternoon and check into my hotel opposite Kings Cross Station. Have taken my laptop so I do some work, type some emails and then it’s off to the show. I get the tube to Greenwich and arrive at the O2 at around 7.30pm.
I buy a programme and take my cheap (£75 ouch!) seat in the upper tier (couldn’t justify paying £125 to be downstairs). The view is OK actually. Just after 8pm Jeff Beck and his band take the stage. He is accompanied by a full string section sitting to the left of the stage.
I can’t say that I am familiar with much of Beck’s material. It’s mainly instrumental and very jazzy, but mixes styles throughout. One minute we get rock, Hendrix, and then he becomes Hank Marvin, Les Paul and Santo and Johnny. Except its unfair to compare his music with any of those; Beck has his own style and sound. I much prefer the slower ballads. His instrumental version of The Beatles Day in the Life has to be heard to be believed. Joss Stone comes on and sings for a couple of songs and we also have an appearance by one of the Corrs who plays violin. The sound is surprisingly clear given the size of the arena. The mix of Jeff’s guitar, his band (who are great; particularly the lady on bass) and the strings fills the hall with great music. They leave the stage just after 9am and there is a short interval.
At around 9.20 Clapton and his band take the stage. The first few songs see Clapton seated with an acoustic guitar, singing the blues, accompanied by piano. After a few songs the rest of his band join, and we get I Shot the Sheriff, Cocaine, Wonderful Tonight and Crossroads. All played great, no surprises, with some pretty good solos from Eric. At around 10.20pm Eric and his band leave the stage for a few minutes.
They soon return, accompanied by Jeff Beck; and the two legends launch into some great blues and pretty tasty guitar work. They play a selection of old blues standards including Shake Your Money Maker, I Need Love, trading licks off each other. For me, Beck’s playing is much more interesting, and he steals the show. My highlight of the night is a great version of the old standard Moon River. It starts with some restrained and careful lead from Beck, and as the song develops Clapton takes the vocals. Eric always did have a soft spot for singing standards. It reminds me of when I saw him at Hammersmith Odeon in the mid 70s and he started the show with Charlie Chaplin’s Smile. I was surprised that a rock star would sing a ballad like that but it was also a high point of that show. They finish with Sly Stone’s Take You Higher and leave the stage around 11pm. Quite a few people leave to catch trains at this point. I make my way downstairs to catch a better view of any encore.
And what a surprise we get for the encore. I’ve never seen Beck play Hi Ho Silver Lining and never dreamed I would. The thought of him playing it tonight hadn’t even crossed my mind; I assumed it was almost a no-go area for him. But as I enter the lower tier I hear the familiar start to that tune. Clapton takes most of the vocal duties, with Beck taking a verse later on. 20,000 people sing along at the top of our voices. People are up and dancing all over the arena. Beck plays the solo as on the record; it sounds awesome. A perfect end; couldn’t be better.
So a great night, worth the trip for Day in the Life, Crossroads, Moon River and Hi Ho Silver Lining. I climb on a packed tube back to my little hotel room in Kings Cross.
Can’t wait for Clapton and Winwood at Wembley.

Jeff Beck set included: People Get Ready; A Day in the Life; I Put a Spell on You (with Joss Stone)

Eric Clapton set included: Driftin’ Blues; Layla (unplugged); Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out; Tell the Truth; Key To the Highway; Wonderful Tonight; I Shot the Sherriff; Cocaine; Crossroads

Jeff Beck & Eric Clapton together set included: Shake your money maker; Moon River; Outside Woman Blues; Little Brown Bird; You Need Love; I Want to Take You Higher
Encore: Hi Ho Silver Lining

Eric Clapton website: http://www.ericclapton.com
Jeff Beck website: http://www.jeffbeck.com

ticket


programme

14 Feb

Judy Collins The Sage Gateshead February 9th 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Judy Collins. Tagged: , , , , , .

Judy Collins The Sage Gateshead February 9th 2010

Last year I bought a couple of old Judy Collins albums at a local car boot fair. When I got home and played them I realised how beautiful her voice is, and how important she was in the 60s US folk movement. I’d only been aware of Send in the Clowns and her version of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now but listening to those albums, and some web surfing, soon made me realise that there is much more to her than that. She was, of course, the inspiration for Stephen Stills’ Suite Judy Blue Eyes, and a friend of all the major folk rock stars in the 60s.
I’d never been to see Judy in concert before. She played at the Sage a couple of years ago and I didn’t make it, so I was pleased to see that she was returning, and bought a ticket. The concert was in the smaller hall and had been sold out for some weeks; there are still a lot of people who want to go along and see her.
I missed the support and arrived just in time to grab a drink before the show. Judy came on stage at around 8.50pm. She looks great, her hair is white now (she is over 70 years old) and her voice is as clear and sweet as ever. She intersperses the songs with some tales of her life in the 50s and 60s. How she met Barbra Streisand before she hit the big time, and how she was a friend of Leonard Cohen and he came to her house and sang Suzanne to her before he recorded it.
With her acoustic guitar and accompanied by Russell Walden on grand piano, her wonderful voice filled the small hall and captivated all of us. The songs were a good mix of old folk songs and ballads, and included, of course, Both Sides Now, Send in the Clowns, the Beatles Blackbird, Cats in the Cradle and a lovely version of Over the Rainbow. A great way to spend a Tuesday evening in the company of a true legend, whose voice is as clear as it is on the old albums that I have (and without the scratches and clicks). I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to have lived such an exceptional life, and to continue to travel the world, singing great songs to people.

website: http://www.judycollins.com

ticket

7 Feb

The Groundhogs and Stray The Cluny Newcastle 3 Feb 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Groundhogs, Stray. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

The Groundhogs and Stray The Cluny Newcastle 3 Feb 2010

Will and I went to see our old hero Tony McPhee with the Groundhogs on Wednesday at the Cluny. This was a true classic rock double header, with the Groundhogs sharing the billing with old favourites Stray. Tony suffered a stroke last year and hasn’t been so well; we were pleased that he was now well enough to play again and were looking forward to seeing him. He hasn’t yet made a full recovery in that his speech is still affected, and as a result his wife Joanna had become an honorary Hog and is deputising on vocals.

The Groundhogs are first up. This is the first time we have had a chance to see the new four piece line-up which includes Joanna on vocals, Tony (of course) on guitar, Dave Anderson on bass and Mick Jones on drums. Its at first strange to see Joanna fronting the band and singing. She really gets into the spirit of it, dancing all over the stage, and making a good fist of the vocal duties. Tony seems to be playing better than the last couple of times we’ve seen the Hogs. He takes over the vocal duties for Still a Fool. Last song is, as always, Cherry Red; the higher notes suit Joanna’s voice well.

After a short break, Stray take the stage. I’d forgotten what a great front man and guitarist Del Bromham is, and how loud a three piece band can be. He obviously loves being on stage, and is still an excellent and very under-rated guitarist. The old Stray tracks stand the test of time, and those from the new album sound just as good. Last up is old favourite All in the Mind, with Del, ever the showman, hanging his Strat from the Cluny ceiling and whipping it with the guitar lead. No strobes, or dustbins with flames and flares like the old days, but just as good all the same.

We have a chat with Del on the way out, and get a poster signed. We ask him if he remembers playing Spennymoor Top Hat in the early 70s (he does) and to pass our regards to our old friend Tony Rolfe who now lives near Del and sometimes plays guitar with him.

A great night. The old ones are still the best.

Groundhogs Setlist: (from memory; I might have missed some) No More Dogging, Eccentric Man, Garden, Still a Fool (Tony singing), Split 1, Split 2, Split 4, Mistreated, Natchez Burning, Cherry Red.

Stray Setlist: Included quite a few (great!) songs from the new album and old favourites Time Machine, After the Storm, Jericho, I believe it, All in your Mind.

Groundhogs website: http://www.thegroundhogs.co.uk/
Stray website: http://www.stray-the-band.co.uk/

ticket

31 Jan

Buffy Sainte-Marie The Sage Gateshead Jan 28th 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Buffy Sainte-Marie. Tagged: , , , , , .

Buffy Sainte-Marie The Sage Gateshead Jan 28th 2010

On several occassions I have gone along to see a legendery performer, only to be disapointed. Tonight wasn’t one of them. Buffy Sainte-Marie certainly fits into my definition of a legend. She started singing in the early 60s and was a contemporary of Dylan and Joan Baez, she’s written some great songs, a few of which have become standards. My first encounter of Buffy’s music was when I went to see the film Soldier Blue when it came out in 1970. Of course I’d heard Universal Soldier by Donovan, but wasn’t aware that Buffy had written it. More recently I bought a copy of her first lp on eBay, enjoyed it, and decided that it was about time I went to see her in concert.
The Sage was about 3/4 full downstairs for Buffy. I came along a little late and missed the support; he was autographing CDs in the foyer when I arrived. I took my seat near the back of the hall and about 5 minutes later Buffy took the stage. At 68 she looks great and is clearly still enjoying performing. The set is a mix of her well known songs and others from her albums. Her band are, like Buffy, of native American descent and between the songs she tells stories of native American life, still “a teacher” (her words) and passionate about civil rights. Her songs are all sung beautifully; many of them drawing from native American culture and music. It was quite a short set, but I sensed as I left that everyone had enjoyed it. Particular favourites for me were Universal Soldier (of course), Cripple Creek (great mouth-bow; I think that is what you call it?) and Until its time for you to go (Buffy proudly tells us how this has been covered by Elvis and Barbra Streisand).

Setlist: I don’t know Buffy’s songs well enough to list them all, but the set included the songs below:
Little Wheel spin and spin
Cripple Creek
Universal Soldier
Soldier Blue
Up where we belong
Until its time for you to go
He’s an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo
No No Keshagesh
Starwalker

website: http://www.creative-native.com/

ticket

24 Jan

The Prodigy Bridlington Spa 22 January 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Prodigy, The Prodigy. Tagged: , , , , .

The Prodigy Bridlington Spa 22 January 2010
David and Laura have been telling me for some time that we should go and see the Prodigy. We missed them at Newcastle Arena last year, so when the chance came to see them in a small(ish for them) venue, I decided that we should buy tickets and see what they were like in concert. I’d read a lot about Bridlington Spa being a great venue to see a band, so a trip to the seaside seemed in order.
So it was that we set off to drive over the Yorkshire moors on a cold, wet and foggy night. Not the best night to make the trip, which took us almost 3 hours (lots of fog and traffic on the moors) but we got there safely and in plenty of time. We went straight into Bridlington centre and found a nice cafe where we sampled their finest fish and chips, which set us up nicely for the show. At around 8pm we went along to the Spa for the concert.
The Spa was already packed when we got in. I was pleased to find that there was a balcony where we could sit down (me being too old for the mosh pit). Luckily we managed to get three seats, looking over the side of the stage. A support act (not sure who) was just finishing; they were followed on stage by South Central, who had some great tracks; lots of sampling and pretty loud; they really got the crowd going.
The Prodigy came on and were something else again. I’d sort of figured what they would be like in my own mind, and they surpassed that; they were unlike anything else I have ever seen. The crowd went totally wild and were 100% into them. Lots of moshing, and crowd surfing; sweat dripping off the walls. Very (but not too) loud; relentless beats; lots of swearing. Keith and Maxim are great frontman; don’t know where they get all the energy from. They constantly run back and forth across the stage and work the front row along the barrier. To my shame I only knew one song fully (Firestarter) and sort of recognised a couple of others. But that didn’t matter; you don’t need to know the songs to enjoy a gig like this. The set was about 75 minutes, which is just about right; given the high energy nature of the whole show. David wandered downstairs for part of the show, and made his way back upstairs towards the end.
We all enjoyed it and thought they were great.
Rather than brave the moors I drove back via York which took around 2 hours. We got home around 1.15am.

website: http://www.theprodigy.com

setlist:
Intro
Worlds On Fire
Breathe
Omen
Posion
(Jaws Fill)
Warriors Dance
Firestarter
(Action Riff)
Run With The Wolves
Voodoo
Omen Reprise
Invaders
Diesel Power
Smack My Bitch Up
Take Me To The Hospital
Out Of Space
No Good
Their Law

ticket


programme

23 Dec

Hawkwind and Arthur Brown Newcastle Academy Dec 19th

Posted by vintagerock in Arthur Brown, Hawkwind. Tagged: , , , , .

Hawkwind and Arthur Brown Newcastle Academy Dec 19th
Will and I went to see this great double bill at the Academy last Saturday. Hawkwind are celebrating 40 years on the road, and Arthur Brown has been treading the boards for more than that.

We knew the gig was set to start early (the ticket said 6.30 start) so we left in plenty of time to make sure (we thought) that we were there to catch Arthur. We arrived at around 7pm and Athur was already on stage. He’s still a great showman with some mad dancing all over the stage, and great costumes including a sunflower. He did a wonderful version of Fire, backed by a guitarist and keyboard player.

A short break and Hawkwind took to the stage at around 8pm. They have obviously put a lot into this stage show. The lighting is super-psychedlic and the two girl dancers had endless costume changes, starting off as robotic androids, becoming grim reapers for Angels of Death, and transforming into sea creatures in another song. There were many more costumes changes, so many that I can’t remember them all! Hawkwind are playing better than ever these days, with Dave Brock and the band really seeming to enjoy themselves. The set was a mixture of old and new, including old favourite Silver Machine. A few more old favourites would have been welcome (I wanted Master of the Universe and Will wanted the full version of Space is Deep), but hey you can’t complain; its great that the band are still gigging and playing as great as this.

set list: (something like; may not be exactly right) : Lighthouse; Fahrenheit 451; Sentinel; Space is Deep (spoken); Angels of Death; Silver Machine; Green Machine; Wraith; Prometheus; Warriors; Magnu; Tide of the Century; You’d Better Believe It; Levitation; Right to Decide; Spirit of the Age; Encore: Hassan-i-Sahba

website Hawkwind: http://www.hawkwind.com/
website Arthur Brown http://www.arthurbrownmusic.com/

I hate print-out tickets

13 Dec

Ian Brown Newcastle City Hall 14 Dec 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Ian Brown. Tagged: , , , , .

Ian Brown Newcastle City Hall 14 Dec 2009
Laura and I arrived pretty early to an empty City Hall. We were a bit worried at first that no-one was turning out to see Ian Brown on such a cold wet night. We needn’t have been concerned; all of the Ian Brown fans must have been in the City Hall bar and the local pub, as the hall was packed by the time the god-like genius took to the stage.
A DJ warmed us up with some great 60s music: Love, Terry Reid, Hendrix, Northern Soul; pretty cool stuff.
First up were the Shoks who played to a pretty deserted hall; but were OK and went down well with those who were there watching them. Then after a short break the main man took to the stage.
This was only the second time we had seen Ian, the first being in the Newcastle Academy a year or so ago. If anything he was on better form at the City Hall. He connects with the crowd in a way that no-one I have seen does. Lots of great patter and joking with the crowd, and he succeeded in getting us all to join in with his dance moves; seeing the crowd all doing shoulder shuffles (you have be there to understand) is something else.
The set was all pretty new to me; Laura seemed to know most of the songs. She remains fascinated by one of his new songs “Stellify” which is a great track and has the line “Ribbon in the sky” in it. Laura and I went to see Stevie Wonder last year in Manchester and Ian was sitting a couple of rows away from us. At the show Stevie got us all to sing along to a song which had the lyric “There’s a Ribbon in the Sky”. Soon after Ian must have written Stellify; influenced by the Stevie song. So seeing him sing it has a particular connection for Laura and me. The only Stone Roses track was Fools Gold which was one of the encores.
I can see a blend of influences within Ian’s music: 60s, northern soul, dance, psychedelia; they are all thre in varying degrees. And the guy himself is ultra-cool and seems on top of it all. A great night; Laura and I vowed to go and see him every time he comes to the North East.

Setlist: (something like):
Love Like A Fountain
Golden Gaze
Time Is My Everything
All Ablaze
Longsight M13
Keep What Ya Got
Save Us
Crowning Of The Poor
Corpses
Laugh Now
Vanity Kills
Own Brain
Marathon Man
Sister Rose
F.E.A.R.

Encores:
Fools Gold
Stellify
Just Like You

Website Ian Brown: http://www.ianbrown.co.uk/
Website The Shoks: http://www.myspace.com/theshoks

ticket

13 Dec

Madness Newcastle Academy 12 December 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Madness. Tagged: , , , .

Madness Newcastle Academy 12 December 2009

Madness. The Nutty Boys. The Toon. Saturday night. Lots of beer; some drunk; some thrown around. The Academy; packed and hot. Me and Laura standing at the back safe (and boring?) away from the crush. Lots of mddle aged men wearing a fez (or a pork pie hat). Black and white checks. Bootlace ties. Very loud. Lots of fun. Lots of dancing. Start off with One Step Beyond. Baggy trousers. House of Fun. Finish with Night Boat to Cairo. Great night; great fun.

website: http://www.madness.co.uk/

Setlist:
One Step Beyond
Embarrassment
The Prince
NW5
My Girl
Dust Devil
Sun & The Rain
Iron Shirt
Clerkenwell Polka
Bed & Breakfast Man
Shut Up
ERNIE
Forever Young
House Of Fun
Wings Of A Dove
Baggy Trousers
Our House
It Must Be Love

Encore:
Tarzan’s Nuts
Madness
Night Boat To Cairo

programme


I hate print-out tickets

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