Posts Tagged ‘music’

17 Oct

Cliff Richard and the Shadows Newcastle Arena October 12

Posted by vintagerock in Cliff Richard, The Shadows. Tagged: , , , , .

Cliff Richard and the Shadows Newcastle Arena October 12th 2009
Watching Cliff’s TV show every week. Going to see Summer Holiday at the pictures. Wanting a strat like Hank’s. Spending hours learning how to play “Apache” and “Wonderful Land” and still never being able to play them properly. Buying an old 78 of “Travelling Light” and playing it again and again. Watching Cliff on Eurovision and willing “Congratulations” to win (it didn’t ; of course). Cliff and the Shadows bring back lots of memories for me. They may not exactly be cool these days, but back in their day they meant something to lots of us.
So I collected all those memories together in my head and went along to Newcastle Arena to see Cliff and the Shads for one more (and probably the last) time.
And there they were; just three rows away form me ; on the stage playing all my favourites: In the Country; Apache; FBI; Summer Holiday; Don’t Talk to Him; On the Beach; Bachelor Boy, Atlantis, Travelling Light, Time drags by. Finished with the Young Ones. Lots of references to “The Toon”;a great homecoming for Hank and Bruce.
Great show; great memories; Cliff and Hank look great; Cliff’s voice is great (and its his 69th birthday the next day!); Hank plays great! 

SETLIST
Fist half:
WE SAY YEAH
IN THE COUNTRY
GEE WHIZ IT’S YOU
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
LIVING DOLL
DANCING SHOES
I’M THE LONELY ONE
A GIRL LIKE YOU
DO YOU WANNA DANCE
SHADOWS – SHADOOGIE / WONDERFUL LAND / THE SAVAGE /SLEEPWALK
HIGH CLASS BABY
I COULD EASILY FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE
SEA CRUISE

Second half
C’MON EVERYBODY
DYNAMITE
LUCKY LIPS
TRAVELLING LIGHT
TIME DRAGS BY
ALL SHOOK UP
PLEASE DON’T TEASE
SHADOWS – APACHE / FOOT TAPPER / ATLANTIS / FBI
I LOVE YOU
THE NEXT TIME
DON’T TALK TO HIM
ON THE BEACH
SUMMER HOLIDAY
BACHELOR BOY
NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN
IT’LL BE ME
VISIONS
Encores:
MOVE IT
SINGING THE BLUES
THE YOUNG ONES

i hate ticketfast printed tickets

i hate ticketfast printed tickets

programme

programme

10 Oct

Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Deep Purple, Jon Lord. Tagged: , , , , .

Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009

I’ve alway liked Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra album, and I regret that I never saw them perform it live in concert. I remember seeing it on TV in the late ’60s and bought the lp at the time. I used to play that album and the Moodie’s Days of Future Past again and again on my record player. So when I saw that Jon Lord was planning to perform the work at the Usher Hall I couldn’t resist buying a ticket. The concert sounded pretty interesting from the word go. The plan was for Jon to rehearse with young music students from Stevenson College in Edinburgh and from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. These young people would be the group for the night and also form members of the orchestra. Sounded like a great opportunity for some young scottish musicians to work and perfrom with a legend. The final performance was to be with Jon Lord, a 100 piece orchestra and the group of young musicians. The Usher Hall has recently reopened after being refurbsihed. So this seemed a great opportunity to see one of my favourite pieces of music performed in a great setting.

As it happened I was feeling pretty tired on Monday night; I was still recovering from the trip to London to see Mott the Hoople a couple of days earlier; and couldn’t really face the 250 ml round drive to Edinburgh after work. But I convinced myself it would be worthwhile. I arrived in Edinburgh around 7pm and went into the Usher Hall to find my seat and buy a programme (a bargain at £2!).

The first half of the show consisted of Phil Cunningham, traditional musicians and the orchestra from the Royal Scottish Academy and Stevenson College playing some traditional tunes. This was a nice start to the evening and brought us to the interval at around 8pm.

Around 8.30pm the lights went down and Jon Lord, Stevenson’s six piece rock band Concertium and the orchestra took to the stage. The conductor for the evening was Paul Mann who has conducted this work with Jon before. The Concerto is in three movements; Slow, Fast and Slow as Jon told us. The performance stayed true to the original and was played brilliantly by the young musicians, most of whom were first year students. The three movements seemed to be over in no time at all. The band were first class, the guitar solos were fluid and seemed improvised yet also stayed true to the original as played by Ritchie Blackmore. The vocalist, Grant Barclay, was superb. And Jon’s swirling Hammond (hired, I noticed, from Vintage Hammond Hire Scotland!) took us all back to the 60s. This was a concert unlike any I have ever seen, blending orchestral music with rock in the unique way that the Concerto does. After a standing ovation, the musicians returned to the stage and Jon introduced us to ” a song from the same period”. The first few notes of Child in Time raised an immediate cheer from the audience and we were treated to a breath-taking version of the Purple classic with faultless vocals from Grant Barclay. As Paul Mann said at the end “Ian Gillan would have been proud”.

The show was over at around 9.45, and I reached home shortly after midnight, tired but pleased that I had gone. The concert was excellent; something that I will remember for a long time, and I may not gate the chance to see performed again.

website: http://jonlord.org/

programme

programme

ticket

ticket

3 Oct

Mott the Hoople Hammersmith Apollo Friday 2 October

Posted by vintagerock in Mott the Hoople. Tagged: , , , , .

Mott the Hoople London Hammersmith Apollo Friday 2 October 2009

Its 7am and I’m on the train back to Newcastle, still not quite over how good last night was.

So there I was in Hammersmith, along with fellow fans who have come from all over the world to see something that we all thought we would never see; the original Mott the Hoople on stage together again. I’ve waited a long time for this; its 35 years since I stood in a muddy field in Buxton and watched them headline the first night of a pretty grim festival, and play what was to be one of their last UK gigs. Last night I was in a somewhat more comfortable spot in the fifth row of the stalls; waiting to see a band who gave me some great nights in my youth.

Mott don’t get the respect they deserve. When I told people that I was going to see the reunion; most could only recall All the Young Dudes. But in their day there was much much more to Mott than that. Before they had the hits and became some sort of pop glam band, they were one of THE live acts on the circuit. Mott the Hoople in the early 70s were wild, heavy, funny and loud and Ian Hunter and the rest of the band had a rapport and bond with the audience that was like no other. The 5 or 6 times I saw them are fast becoming faint memories, but I do remember just how good they were. So when tickets went on sale earlier this year for this show, I just knew that I had to go along. I’ve been waiting ever since to see just how the band would rise to the challenge.

The support act was Gemma Ray who put up a fair show to a pretty empy hall. Everyone was waiting for the main act, and the bars and foyer were crammed with fans high in expectation. At around 8.45 a voice told us that “Mott the Hoople are in the house” and everyone was up on their feet from the very start. The lights went down and the band took the stage; this was the original early 70s line-up of the band: Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, (Pete) Overend Watts, and Verden Allen. Buffen, the original drummer, is not too well these days and his drum stool was covered by Martin Chambers (of the Pretenders and a long time friend of the band) during the main set with Buffin joining for the first encores.

The set was a mixture of album tracks from the first few lps and the hits. I’d read reports from the night before that the band weren’t fully together. Well last night they were on top form. Ian is amazing for a guy who is around 70 years old. His voice was strong and he sounded the same as ever, belting out the vocals and haveing some cheeky crack with the crowd. Pete Watts was clearly loving every minute of being back on stage, coming down to the front and playing to the crowd. Mick Raphs played well, although his voice was somewhat starined on Ready For Love. Verden’s keyboard sounded great; the swirling Leslie effect just the same as it was all those years ago. Martin Chambers couldn’t have done a better job at filling Buffin’s drum seat.

The crowd loved it. Everyone seemed to know every word of every song. Mick Jones of the Clash was in the row in front of me along with his mate Tony James; he had a big smile on his face. Last night was clearly bringing back some memories for him. Ian told us that Jimmy Page was also in the hall.

The moment that Buffin took the stage alongside Martin for Roll Away the Stone, Dudes and Keep a Knocking’ was particularly touching. He was clearly weak and was helped up into his kit. Once there however, he played well and the smiles across his face told us that he was delighted to be up there. After all it seems it was he and Verden who were behind making the reunion happen. Its wonderful how the band have handled Buffin’s health issues and made him part of the show.

Highlights for me were Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen, Wish I was your Mother, Mountain, Roll Away the Stone and All the Young Dudes. Actually all of the hits were great and we all sang our hearts out. It was all over too soon and I thought the crowd were never going to stop singing “Goodbuy” (or leave) after Saturday Gigs.

Setlist:
Hymn For The Dudes
Rock’n’Roll Queen
Sweet Jane
One Of The Boys
Sucker
The Moon Upstairs
The Original Mixed Up Kid (Sit-down, acoustic)
I Wish I Was Your Mother (Sit-down, acoustic)
Ready For Love (Mick, lead vocal)
Born Late ’58 (Pete, lead vocal/lead guitar, Ian on bass)
Ballad Of Mott
Angeline
Walking With A Mountain
The Journey (Ian takes to piano)
Golden Age of Rock’n’Roll (Stan, Tracie etc… on backing vox)
Honaloochie Boogie
All The Way From Memphis

Encores…
Roll Away The Stone
All The Young Dudes
Keep A Knockin’

Saturday Gigs

website: http://www.mottthehoople.com/
Ian Hunter website : http://www.ianhunter.com

my ticket

my ticket

programme

programme

3 Oct

AK-7 Chester le Street Friday 25 September 2009

Posted by vintagerock in AK-7. Tagged: , , , , .

AK-7 Chester le Street Friday 25 September 2009

AK-7 are an up and coming band from the North East who play their own songs and some rock covers; including classics by Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, and more up to date songs by Muse and others. Christina’s brother is drummer in the band and Laura has been along to see them several times with Christina and her family. Their singer has recenlty left, and as they had a gig lined up in Chester le Street, Christina and Laura have taken up the mike(s) and were tonight taking the lead vocal duties.

The gig was at a private retirement party and is at a social club in Chester le Street. Laura has been rehearsing for some time for tonight, and Marie and I were (for the first time) allowed to come along and see her perfoprm. The club is in the middle of a housing estate and took a little time to find (mental note: I must take my sat nav next time I go to an unfamiliar place). When we arrived we joined Christina’s family and their friends on table towards the back of the hall.

Before long the band took to the stage. Laura and Christina took turns at lead vocals. They were both in great voice and the band, who are all still quite young, are all talented musicians. The set was a mixture of rock classics and a couple of songs written by the band. Highlights for me were Christina singing Blondie’s Call Me and Laura singing Whole Lotta Love. A good night with a great young band (and a great buffet!).

website: http://www.myspace.com/ak7ne

The setlist included (I think; Laura will correct me if this wrong!): Vertigo- U2; Hanging on the telephone- Blondie; I love rock n roll- Joan Jett and the Black Hearts; Blacknight- Deep Purple; Hysteria- Muse; Holiday- Green Day; The World Is Waiting- AK7; Tie your moher down- Queen; Question of time- AK7; Sweet Child of Mine- Guns N’ Roses; You give love a bad name – Bon Jovi; Whole lotta love – Led Zeppelin; Call Me – Blondie.

13 Sep

Fleet Foxes Newcastle Academy Sep 9 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Fleet Foxes. Tagged: , , , , .

Fleet Foxes Newcastle Academy Sep 9 2009
Laura and her friend Christina and I went to see Fleet Foxes at the Academy. Laura and David had heard quite abit of their material and had recommended them to me. A few people at work had also expressed interest in them. The stuff that I had heard reminded me of late 60s American folk rock; Crosby, Stills and Nash in particular, but you can also hear Simon and Garfunkel, the Zombies and Fairport Convention in there.
The Academy was packed when we arrived. This show had been sold out for weeks. The crowd was pretty mixed; for once I wasn’t the oldest person in the building. The support act were just finishing; they seemed OK.
Fleet Foxes came onstage around 9pm to a great roar from the crowd. Their strong harmonies sounded great live, but we all felt that this wasn’t the best venue for them. The acoustics aren’t great and the chatting of the crowd was in danger of drowning things in some of the quieter moments. They would be much better placed in the Sage or the City Hall. I didn’t know many of the songs; Laura and Christina seemed to know them (mental note: I must listen to current CDs more). We all enjoyed the show; please come back and play the Sage next time!

ticket

ticket

12 Sep

Tori Amos Manchester Apollo Sunday 6 September 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Tori Amos. Tagged: , , , , .

Toris Amos Manchester Apollo Sunday 6 September 2009
Review by Laura
I began listening to Tori around the age of 14, discovering her on a mix tape my friend had created for me. Since then I’ve bought a number of her albums and always expressed an interest in seeing her when she next came to England. So, when a few months ago dad told me of some up-coming British dates, I did my best to persuade him to book tickets. This wasn’t a difficult task and so on Sunday afternoon around 3 pm, dad and I took a slow drive to Manchester, not quite sure what to expect from the evening’s concert.

We arrived at the Apollo in good time and noticed a gathering of fans grouped around the stage door. After joining them it became clear that they were expecting Tori to make an appearance. However, as the time approached 7, when the theatre doors were due to open, it became clear that no such appearance was to take place, so dad and I took our positions in the long queue to enter the building.

After Dad got a programme and I bought a t-shirt, we took our seats in the centre of the tenth row of the stalls, with an excellent view of the stage. The support act (One Eskimo) took to the stage around 8 o’clock and proved to be quite interesting. They had a unique sound, traditional folk fused with complicated rhythms, keyboard effects and trumpet solos. Dad and I both enjoyed their 30 minute set.

At 9 o’clock Tori finally appeared to a very enthusiastic reception. Her opening number was a highly energetic version of “Give” which fused seamlessly into “caught a lit sneeze”, both of which received an excellent response from the crowd. Tori’s voice was incredibly strong, live performance perhaps doing it more justice than any recording I’ve heard of her. As well as her vocal ability, I was also impressed and fascinated by her piano playing. I’ve never heard somebody both play and sing so well simultaneously.

After opening on such a high, the rest of the concert did not disappoint. Tori gave each song she performed a new energy, favourites such as “Cornflake Girl”, “Welcome to England” and “Precious things” sounding better than ever. The audience appeared to be mesmerised by her and were completely silent throughout, apart from the long and enthusiastic applause which greeted and followed each number.

After closing with a spectacular version of “black vine”, tori re-appeared to perform “Big Wheel” and “Tear in Your Hand”. Despite the set being a little over 2 hours, the time flew by and before I knew it I was back in the car, driving home. Dad and I both agreed it had been a fantastic night. I’d have liked to have seen her perform “winter” or “Jacky’s Strength”, never mind though, maybe next time.

website: http://www.toriamos.com/
setlist:
Give
Caught a lite sneeze
Cornflake Girl
Icicle
Pancake
Space Dog
Lust
Jamaica Inn
Welcome to England
Northern Lad
Take me with you
Mother
Putting the Damage on
The power of orange knickers
fast horse
precious things
black vine

encore:
Big Wheel
Tear in your hand

i hate print out tickets

i hate print out tickets


programme

programme

27 Aug

Hawkwind 40th Anniversary show London 29 August 2009

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

Hawkwind 40th Anniversary Happening Porchester Halls London 29 August 2009

Marie and I spent our August bank holiday going to see Hawkwind at their 40th anniversary show in London. The gig was in Porchester Halls near Notting Hill, just a few streets away from where they played their first ever gig as Band X 40 years ago. The concert had been billed as an all day “happening” with special guest.
We travelled down to London the day before and spent the Friday evening having a walk around Notting Hill; having a drink and something to eat.
On the Saturday we went along to Porchester Halls at around 1pm, to find out the running order for the day. As we entered the hall we were presented with a great goody bag which contained a CD produced for the day and other items. We pleased to see that Hawkwind were doing an early acoustic set, in additional to their main set which was going to close the day. We watched this set and then decided to return later in the day. We spent the afternoon having a walk around Hyde Park, and returned to the Hall around 7.30pm. Huw Lloyd-Langton was on stage performing an acoustic set which included Hurry On Sundown and a few bluesy songs. After a short break the main avent, Hawkwind, took to the stage. The current line up is led by Dave Brock, the only constant after all these years. Marie and were standing at the side of the stage close to the front. The show was great. Hawkwind really seem to back on form these days. I went to all of their tours throughout the 70s, seeing them many times from 71 onward, but lost faith somewhere in the 80s and have only started going to see them again in the 2000s. This was classic Hawkwind at their best; a mixture of classic tracks, including Silver Machine played better than I have seen it for years. Great lights, great dancers, friendly crowd, what more could we ask for? Perhaps a few more of special guests as promised? Who cares. Its great to see the band playing as well as this. Roll on the Newcastle Aacedemy in Deecmber!

setlist: intro / warriors / assault and battery / golden void / where are they now /
lighthouse / space is deep poem / angels of death / wraith / green machine /
spirit of the age / silver machine / sentinel / lord of light / poem / magnu
/ brainbox pollution /you’d better believe it / right to decide / hassan i sahba / jam / hassan i sahba / fahrenheit 451

website: http://www.hawkwind.com/

ticket

ticket

hawkwind

27 Aug

U2 Sheffield Don Valley August 20th 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Elbow, U2. Tagged: , , , , .

U2 Don Valley Stadium Sheffield 20th August 2009
Support Act : Elbow

Somewhere along the line the rest of the family have lost faith in U2, so they couldn’t be tempted to join me and I ended up going along on my own to see them in Sheffield’s Don Valley stadium. To be honest I wasn’t too sure about going myself, but I figured It would probably be worthwhile. I’ve seen U2 9 or 10 times since the early days when they supported the Police at Gateshead Stadium, and played Newcastle Mayfair. So I set off around 4pm to drive to Sheffield. The traffic was OK until I reached the M1 a few junctions away from Sheffield, at which point I crawled for the rest of the journey. When I got off the motorway the police were directing cars into a car park near Meadowhall which is fair walk from the Stadium (I didn’t realise you could get the tram along there!).

By the time I had walked to the stadium Elbow were coming to the end of their set. I bought myself a programme and made my way down onto the pitch which was packed with fans. I wandered around to look for a good spot and realised that the 360 degree spider stage really did give a good view from all angles. After a short wait U2 took the stage at around 8.30. The sound was loud and clear and the crowd were really into it. And the stage and lighting were the best I’ve ever seen, much more impressive than other recent big shows such as the Stones Bigger Bang, Muse or Take That. Bono and the Edge took turns in coming into the crowd on walkways which revolved around the stage and took them to different parts of the stadium, giving everyone a chance of a good view. The set list was a good mix of old and new; highlights for me were Vertigo (the crowd really jumping to this), Sunday Bloody Sunday and The Streets Have no Name.
I left during the encores to get to the car and get out in good time and was home by 12.45 (while some people I heard on BBC Radio Sheffield were still in the car park). So yes I did enjoy U2 this time and probably will go again next time. Perhaps there will be time to convince the family its worth the effort next time.

Set list: Breathe; No Line On The Horizon; Get On Your Boots; Magnificent; Beautiful Day; Elevation;I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For;Happy Birthday;Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of;Unknown Caller;The Unforgettable Fire;City Of Blinding Lights;I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight;Sunday Bloody Sunday;Pride (In The Name Of Love);MLK;Walk On;Where The Streets Have No Name;One
Encore(s): Ultra Violet (Light My Way);With Or Without You;Moment of Surrender

website: http://www.u2.com

programme

programme

ticket

ticket

28 Jul

Eric Burdon at Maryport Blues Festival July 26 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Eric Burdon, Maryport Blues Festival, The Animals. Tagged: , , , , , .

Eric Burdon and the Animals
Maryport Blues Festival July 26 2009
Marie and I went across to the Maryport Blues Festival on Sunday specially to see Eric Burdon and his new Animals. We hadn’t planned on going to Maryport this year, but when I heard that Eric Burdon had been added as a late replacement for Taj Mahal, we decided to make the journey over to Cumbria to see him. We last saw Eric at Newcastle Tyne Theatre a good few years ago and his visits to the UK are all too rare these days.
We arrived in Maryport during the afternoon and had a few drinks in a couple of pubs on “the trail” catching a few bands on the way. We made our way up to the main marquee just before 7pm and took our places in the front row of people, right on the barriers. Eric and his band took the stage at aorund 7.15 starting with When I Was Young. Eric looks and sounds great, his voice is still strong. The set was a great mix of old songs. Eric was followed on stage by Ruby Turner, and by this time the marquee was full. We left around 10pm ; got home aorund midnight.

A great night

Setlist (something like, have probably missed some):
When I was young
Don’t bring me down
San Franciscan Nights
Don’t let me be misunderstood
The Night
Boom boom
I believe to my soul
It’s my life
Paint it Black
Encores:
We gotta get out of this place
House of the rising sun

programme

programme

ticket

ticket

19 Jul

Bruce Springsteen Glasgow Hampden Park July 14th 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Bruce Springsteen. Tagged: , , , , .

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Hampden Park Glasgow July 14th 2009

A fair few years have passed since I first saw Bruce at Hammersmith in 1975. I’ve seen him a few times since over the years, and in recent times I’ve really got back into him again. Laura likes the well known songs, Born to Run, The River etc, so decided that she would join me this time and see the Boss for herself. This gig promised to be something special. Its been some time since Bruce last played Glasgow and a lot of people were really looking forward to this.

We set off around 2pm to give ourselves plenty of time to drive up to Scotland and stopped off at Gretna for a short break. The drive was fine and we arrived in Glasgow around 5pm. I’d expected Hampden to be well signposted but soon got lost and ended up driving around the city centre. Driving past Central Station I saw a massive queue of people who were obviously off to the concert. So I stopped and offered a lift to anyone who could direct us to the stadium. We were quickly joined by Alan, Sandra and Janie who had come from Ayr and were pleased for the lift as they directed us up through the town to Hampden. We arrived in the Stadium carpark aorund 7.15; just in time to buy a t-shirt for Laura, a programme for me and a couple of (pretty disgusting and expensive) hotdogs.

Bruce and the band took the stage around 8pm. For the next three hours we were treated to a great show by what must be one of the best live bands on the planet today. Bruce seems to have unstoppable energy and really seemed to put everything into the show. And the Glasgow crowd wsere up for it. Lots of singing along (to every song; put me to shame). At one point Bruce goes down to the front and collects cardboard signs from the crowd and then palys some of the requests from the cards including Incident on 57th Street, which he hasn’t played in the Uk since the 75 Hammersmith shows. Clarence gets a special cheer from the crowd; he looks great. Bruce finishes with Twist and Shout (I was hoping for Mony Mony).

After the show the police keep us in the carpark until around midnight. We got home at 3am;and I’m up at 7am for work; tired but it was worth it.

Setlist:
Flower of Scotland: [Nils solo accordion intro]
Badlands
Out in the Street
My Lucky Day
She’s the One
Outlaw Pete
Working on the Highway
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Atlantic City
Raise Your Hand (instrumental)
Incident on 57th Street
Pink Cadillac
Cover Me
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The River
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run

Encores:
Hard Times
Thunder Road
American Land (with Evan Springsteen)
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Twist and Shout

ticket

ticket

programme

programme

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »