Van Der Graaf Generator Manchester Academy March 26th 2011
I always found Van Der Graaf Generator a tricky band to get into. To me, their songs range from classic progrock (Necromancer, Darkness, Refugees, Killer) through to others which are much darker, intense and, in parts, almost inpenetrable. So I approached last night’s concert at Manchester Academy with interest, and some nervousness; would I enjoy them after all this time?
Last night was the first time I’d seen VDGG since the 1970s, so this was a trip back in time for me. VDGG were one of the first bands I saw at Newcastle City Hall, on the Charisma 6/- package tour; the support acts were Lindisfarne and Genesis. I still remember parts of that night well, Genesis were exquisite (The Knife blew me away; Peter Gabriel used the mike stand as a gun and shot us all), Lindisfarne went down a storm with the home crowd (lots of singing along) and stole the show, and Van Der Graaf were quite perplexing for me. I remember thinking Killer was great, but also losing my way in some of the seemingly endless saxophone solos. I saw them a few times after that, at the Reading Festival, Newcastle Polytechnic, Sunderland Locarno and Redcar Coatham Bowl, and got quite well into them by the time they split up for the last (for then) time in the late ’70s. I missed their show at the Sage a few years ago as I away at the time, so I decided to make up for it last night, and drove across to Manchester to relive a little piece of my youth.
Manchester Academy 3 is a small, dark venue situated on the top floor of Manchester University Students Union building. Last night The Stranglers were appearing next door in Academy 1 and Peter Wolf was downstairs in Academy 2 (must be great being a student in Manchester!). Upstairs the venue was crammed full with 50+ (and 60+) year old fans fans who were waiting expectedly for their heroes. Peter Hamill, Guy Evans and Hugh Banton took to the stage to warm cheers at around 8.30pm and launched into Interference Patterns, which is from their 2008 Trisector album. Peter Hammil’s vocals were as unique and challenging as ever. He alternated between electric piano and guitar, and explained to the audience that he finds the arrangements difficult (and hence has to work from sheets of music). Guy Evans drumming was excellent, as was Hugh Banton’s organ playing; quite intricate with lots of 70s Hammond swirling. The set was largely drawn from their recent albums, with none of the favourites which I so wanted to hear. But this is a band reborn, with the same values and ethos, but a new take on the music. The vocals are still strident and dynamic, but the songs are more complex, there is more guitar and the trademark sax has departed with David Jackson. I still found the songs challenging and dark; I guess I would have found them easier if I’d listened to the recent albums. Most of the crowd around me seemed to know the new tracks; indeed each song was greeted with loud applause and almost reverance. But actually last night I sort of started to get it, and enjoyed the set. If a stranger walked into the hall last night, I swear they would wonder what on earth was going on: a strange manic old guy singing some weird songs, with a crowd of (mostly) older people hanging on every word. But it worked; the musicianship was superb, the vocals ranged from touching and beautiful to manic and almost screaming. Peter ignored the cries for Killer, Refugees (one guy was shouting for Mike and Suzie!) and Darkness, but actually, that was OK. I finally appreciated VDGG for what they are: superb musicians, complex, challenging, difficult, but ultimately satisfying.
Setlist:
Interference Patterns
Mr Sands
Your Time Starts Now
Scorched Earth
Bunsho
Lifetime
All That Before
Still Life
All Over The Place
Over the Hill
We are Not Here
Man-Erg
Encore – LaRossa
website: http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk
ticket
poster with timings that I took off the wall as a momento
Primal Scream Newcastle Academy March 16 2011
Great set by Primal Scream at the Academy last Wednesday night. This was Laura’s first experience of the band live. I’d seen them once before supporting the Stones at Twickenham som years ago and hadn’t been particularly impressed. We’d been looking forward to this for some time, particularly as we missed their last gig in Newcastle (I had very bad flu at the time and we couldn’t make the gig).
This time around the band were showcasing their seminal 1991 album Screamadelica. Th main set consisted of the entire album, with a few other songs thrown in as encores.
We arrived at the Academy shortly before the band were due to come on stage and took our seats up in the balcony. It wasn’t long before Primal Scream appeared to a great reception from the Newcastle crowd. “Are you ready to testify” shouted Bobby Gillespie as they launched straight into Movin’ On Up. Great stuff this. I was surprised to find that I recognised a few tunes, as I am not familiar with Screamadelic at all. I had a picture in my mind of Primal Scream as a sortof Stones clone, but Wednesday night made me realise that they are much more than that: a blend of dance, gospel and great rock n roll, clearly influenced by acid house and rave. Some great visuals with lasers scanning across the crowd, and loud, but clear sound made this a great show.
Laura declared it X I (think that means excellent), and I can’t disagree with that.
Set list : Movin’ On Up; Slip Inside This House; Don’t Fight It, Feel It; Damaged; I’m Comin’ Down;
Shine Like Stars; Inner Flight; Higher Than The Sun; Higher Than the Sun (A Dub Symphony in Two Parts); Loaded; Come Together
Encores: Country Girl; Jailbird; Rocks
Beady Eye Manchester Apollo 6 March 2011
Great gig. Miles Kane was a good support, his material sounding a little like last Shadow Puppets as you might expect. He did a great version of the Beatles’ Hey Bulldog.
Laura and I were upstairs in the circle, where the crowd seem a little more subdued than I had expected. Still there was some singing along to the tracks played over the sound system: Satisfaction, Revolution, Children of the Revolution, God Save the Queen, I can see for miles and I am the resurrection (lots of singing along for this one) were all blasted out to us before the main man took to the stage. Everyone was up for it, but not going mental (expect things were different downstairs). Liam had the usual swagger and was in great voice. The set was all new songs from the album, with no Oasis tracks. The new songs sounded great, and everyone around us knew all the words (we didn’t!). A lot has been said about the songs and many comparisons made with Oasis; to me some sounded great (The Roller, Four Letter Word, The Morning Son, Bring the Light) and the others were OK. The anthems are there, we just haven’t got used to them yet.
Setlist:
Four Letter Word
Beatles And Stones
Millionaire
For Anyone
The Roller
Wind Up Dream
Bring The Light
Standing On The Edge Of The Noise
Kill For A Dream
Three Ring Circus
Man Of Misery
The Beat Goes On
The Morning Son
Encore: Sons Of The Stage http://www.beadyeyemusic.com/
Shift-Static in Sound ’11: Electronica and World Rhythms
Saturday 5 March 8:00 pm Hall Two, The Sage Gateshead
Sound 11 is an annual event which showcases the best in local student music and performance. Shift-Static shared the bill at this event in a three band concert at the end of the evening in Hall 2. The other bands on the bill were Dale Burundanga who (from the programme) “play unique arrangements of Afro-Peruvian tunes”, and Hannabiell and Midnight Blue “with their distinctive African-influenced funk and jazz”. The programme said of Shift-Static: “Shift Static combine warped ambient samples with home-brewed instruments and stunning vocals.”
This was Shift-Static’s highest profile gig to date, and the guys had spent months rehearsing and preparing for it. And it showed.
They came on last around 10.20 and performed a short 30 minute set comprising five of their songs. Each song was performed to perfection with Gordon’s soaring, reverb-ridden lead, Will’s jangling rhythm guitar, Charlie’s samples and beats, Joe’s pounding bass, and Laura’s haunting vocals. The music was accompanied by an excellent light and visual show which had been specially designed for the night by Ed (lights) and Mark and Will (visuals), who are Newcastle students. Laura was dressed in a lovely psychedelic original 60s dress which gave out a nice fluorescent glow under the lights.
You can see them performing Haystacks here:
and Father’s Footsteps here:
Friends and family had assembled to be part of the event and the band didn’t let us down. The performance was stunning, and showed how their songs and approach fits well with a venue of this sort. Can’t wait to see the full video.
Setlist:
IL1 / IL2
Get the Echo
Fathers Footsteps Part 1
The Furrow
Haystacks
Thin Lizzy Newcastle City Hall 8 Jan 2011
I’m back in 1972. Its a Friday night and I’m in the upstairs bar of Sunderland Locarno (“the Mecca”). There’s a tall black guy standing next to me. He’s chatting away in a strong but soft Irish accent. He seems a friendly guy; looks like he could be in a band. An hour or so later the night’s group take to the stage. They are called Thin Lizzy, and the guy from the bar is the front man. None of us have heard of them; someone tells me that John Peel plays them quite a bit and that they have an album out called “Shades of a Blue Orphanage”. They play pretty well; the front man has great presence, the guitarist is pretty good and the drummer’s impressive. I find out later that the tall guy is called Phil Lynott and the other members are Eric Bell on guitar, and Brian Downey on drums.
Roll on a year. I’m watching Top of the Pops and Thin Lizzy are on my TV playing an Irish-folk sounding tune “Whiskey in the Jar” which has a great guitar riff. Next day I go out and buy the record. My journey with Lizzy is beginning.
Over the next few years they play Sunderland a few more times, hitting the stages of the Mecca and the Rink. They appear down the bill at the Reading festival once or twice. Each time I see them they are getting stronger and tighter, but they seem to be missing out on the big break.
We’re now in 1976 and Thin Lizzy have just released the Jailbreak album. The Boys are Back in Town is out as a single and suddenly they are everywhere. I buy the Jailbreak album and play it and play it. Thin Lizzy start to headline and sell out Newcastle City Hall and other major venues. We all go to see them at the City Hall on the tours that follow: Johnny the Fox; Bad Reputation; Black Rose. I stand in the field at Reading with 30,000 other people when they headline in 1977. At this stage Thin Lizzy are at the top of their game and can’t be matched as a live act. I go to every tour and can’t get enough of them. At this time, they really are the greatest live band on a good night.
Then come the later tours: Chinatown; Renegade; and finally Thunder and Lightning; which becomes their farewell tour. At these shows Thin Lizzy are OK, but they seem increasingly tired. Or maybe I am just becoming tired of seeing them. When the end comes in 1983 it feels sad; but sort of inevitable.
The next time I see Phil Lynott I’m in Middlesbrough Town Hall and he’s fronting his new band Grand Slam. Its July 1984. Phil looks tired and unwell. The band are OK, but not great. There aren’t many in the audience. Sort of sad to see. A couple of years later Phil sadly passes away.
Over the next twenty odd years I don’t have many Thin Lizzy things in my life. I think of them sometimes and visit the statue of Phil off Grafton Street when I visit Dublin which, because of work, is quite often. I even get a guy to take a photo of me next to the statue (the photo is now lost on an old camera and computer). I have most of the lps, but don’t play them very often.
Roll forward to 2007. A group of us go to see Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and Styx at Newcastle Arena. I’m intrigued by the inclusion of Thin Lizzy on the bill. How can there be a Thin Lizzy without Phil? Anyway they seem pretty good (as good as any support act can be in a big arena) and perform credible versions of all the well-known songs.
I’m now in 2011 at the back of a packed City Hall waiting for Thin Lizzy to take the stage. I’m wondering what this incarnation of the band will be like. Will it work? Can it work? How can the new Thin Lizzy, who might be considered a tribute band by some, sell out the City Hall?
I’ve prepared myself by playing the Live and Dangerous double lp. My favourites were always Emerald and Cowboy Song. I’d forgotten how good they were.
The current line-up is Scott Gorham on guitar, original drummer Brian Downey, keyboardist Darren Wharton who was in the early 80s Lizzy, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, former Whitesnake bassist Marco Mendoza and singer Ricky Warwick from The Almighty.
Thin Lizzy explode onto the stage with Are You Ready. They’re loud and sound pretty true to the original. Ricky Warwick hails from Northern Ireland and his voice sounds like Phil’s. The twin guitar sound is as great as it ever was, and Scott Gorham looks good, the only visible difference being the lack of that great long mane of hair that I was always so jealous of. The crowd is up on their feet throughout and everyone is singing along. I get to hear my favourites Emerald and the Cowboy Song and also a great version of Whiskey in the Jar, with Vinnie Campbell squeezing wonderful licks from his guitar. As I recall they went through a spell of not playing Whiskey in the Jar during the 70s; its great to hear in included in the set tonight. Now and then the screens at the back of the stage show images of the old band and of Phil.
So did it work? Definitely. The current band consists of the right blend of previous members, excellent musicianship and Irish heritage to do justice to the material and to pay tribute to Phil in a fitting way. It reminds me how great the old rock bands were (and still are in this case). Its no good dwelling on, or comparing with, the past anyway. Lets just be grateful that there is still a Thin Lizzy out there playing Phil’s music; and doing a pretty damn good job of it too.
Roll on next tour. I guess that my journey with Thin Lizzy isn’t quite over yet. Is it really almost 40 years since we saw Phil in the bar in Sunderland? Where did the years go?
Selist: Are You Ready; Waiting For An Alibi; Jailbreak; Do Anything You Want To; Don’t Believe A Word; Dancing In The Moonlight; Massacre; Angel Of Death; Still In Love With You; Whiskey In The Jar; Emerald; Wild One; Sha La La La; Cowboy Song; The Boys Are Back In Town
Encore 1: Rosalie; Bad Reputation
Encore 2: Black Rose
Coldplay Newcastle Tyne Theatre 20 Dec 2010
I was lucky enough to score a ticket to this “secret” gig which Coldplay were playing for Crisis, a charity for the homeless. The two gigs, one in Newcastle and one the night before in Liverpool, were announced around one month ago. The venues were kept secret until 24 hours before the gig; all we were told was that it would be an intimate (1000 seater) venue in Newcastle. Tickets went on sale online: a small for local residents, some for general sale and some for auction. By the time I managed to get through to the website (a few minutes after they went on sale) all that was left was single seats. So I bought myself a ticket; although I am not a massive Coldplay fan, I quite fancied seeing them in such a small venue.
As the day of the gig drew closer, I’d sort of figured out that the venue was likely to be the Tyne Theatre. There aren’t many venues of that size in Newcastle and they was a break in the Pantomime run on 20 December! Others on the Coldplay Forum seemed to be of the same opinion. And sure enough on Sunday, I received an email from Crisis telling me that the venue was indeed the Tyne Theatre and instructing me to go along to the Metro Arena to collect my ticket.
So on Monday night I got the train through to Newcastle for the gig. A short walk through the snow to the Arena and I picked up my ticket: Row S in the Stalls! Not a bad position, and to be honest any seat in such a small venue would be fine. Another short walk to the Tyne Theatre and time for a quick drink before time for the support act. Our comperes for the evening were local guys Ant and Dec, who did a great job warming us for the main event. The support act was The Choir With No Name, who are a London based choir of homless people. They aren’t great singers but did a grand job of covering some favourites and got the crowd singing and clapping along with them.
There was a wonderful atmosphere in the theatre. The crowd was made up of Coldplay fans who had come from far and wide. Hearing people around me talking I could see that some had come from all over the UK and Europe. I saw one guy arrive during the interval without a ticket. He explained in a German accent that his plane had been delayed four hours, and that he had just been to the Arena to pick up his ticket and it was closed. The guys on the door seemed to let him in without too much discussion.
After a short break and a build up by Ant and Dec, Coldplay came on stage, starting with Yellow. By now I’d realised that this was a pretty special event. I also realised how many Coldplay songs I actually knew. Lots of singing along in the big choruses (Vida la Vida in particular), and the band looked like they were very much enjoying playing in a small venue. During the encore Chris Martin annouces that they is someone who wants to come on stage and say something. A guy and his girlfriend come up on stage and he kneels down and proposes to her (quite a few people shout “say no!”). The band finish with Christmas Lights, accompanied by and Ant and Dec who are both dressed as Elvis and are playing voilins.
All in all a pretty special event, which I feel lucky to have experienced. Perhaps I am a Coldplay fan after all.
Time for pattie and chips from the corner fish shop and then I catch a metro home.
Setlist: Yellow; Lost!; God Put A Smile Upon Your Face; Cemeteries of London; Trouble; Glass of Water; Til Kingdom Come; Shiver; In My Place; Lovers In Japan; Death And All His Friends; Clocks; Viva La Vida; Fix You
Encore: Politik; The Scientist; Christmas Lights
Coldplay website: http://www.coldplay.com
Choir with no name website: http://www.choirwithnoname.org
Crisis website: http://www.crisis.org.uk
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
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.
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
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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