The Black Crowes Manchester Academy 24th March 2013
This was the first night of the Black Crowes’ “Lay Down with No 13” world tour which sees them taking to the road again after a short hiatus. I’ve only seen the Crowes once before, when they appeared low down the bill at a Donington Monsters of Rock festival (which was headlined by AC/DC) in 1991. My friend John is a massive Crowes fan and goes to see them regularly in the USA, where he lives, and I figured it was about time that I went to see what all the fuss was about. I must admit to being a little nervous about driving to Manchester again, after the difficult drive that Laura and I had across the M62 when we went to see Johnny Marr at Manchester Ritz on Friday. And two long night drives in three days is a bit much for me now. But hey I had a ticket and really wanted to see this band, so I set off around 4pm to make sure that I arrived on time. As it happened the roads were clear and the drive was problem and event free, so I arrived at the venue early at 6.45pm after a short stop off at a service station. I joined a massive queue outside the Academy which is situated in the heart of the University quarter of Manchester. After a short and very cold wait I was in the venue which soon filled to capacity. The Academy is an all standing venue with no public balcony. I made my way to the front of the hall and got myself a spot pretty close to the stage. There was no support act and the Black Crowes came on stage, to a great roar from the crowd, around 8.15pm; shortly after the advertised time of 8pm. I must admit to knowing very little of their material although John gave me a DVD which I’ve watched and enjoyed. The first number was Jealous Again, which seemed familiar, and I recognised some of the better known songs such as She Talks to Angels and Thorn in My Pride. Apart from that much of the rest of the set was unfamiliar to me, but pretty enjoyable none the less. I lasted the first few songs in my spot near the front before I decided to have a coke and take in the view from the back of the hall. Black Crowes’ music shows lots of 70s influences; I could see shades of the Faces, the Stones, Humble Pie, the Allmans and Free in there, which can’t be bad. The band were on great form, with some great guitar work from Rich Robinson and newcomer Jackie Greene (this was his first gig with the band). Singer Chris Robinson has a wonderful soulful rock voice and seemed genuinely pleased to be back in the UK. The crowd, who were a mix of old hippy types and heavy rock fans lapped it up and sang along to many of the songs. There was a short acoustic set in the middle of the show. I enjoyed them as I knew I would, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen an American rock n roll act like this, but I would have liked to know more of the material. I was pleased to see Hard to Handle (which I remember seeing them play in 1991) and Hush as part of the encore. The set was around 2 hours, finishing at approx 10.15pm. I picked up a setlist online this morning, and see that the fourth song was Traffic’s Medicated Goo. To my shame I didn’t recognise it last night. A great gig. Thanks go to John for alerting me to the Black Crowes. The drive back was also uneventful; I got home around 1am. Setlist: Jealous Again; Thick N’ Thin; Hotel Illness; Medicated Goo; Sister Luck; Wiser Time; She Talks to Angels; The Last Place That Love Lives; Whoa Mule; My Morning Song; High Head Blues; By Your Side; Thorn in My Pride; Remedy; Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution; Soul Singing. Encore: Descending; Hard to Handle; Hush; Willin’
Posts Tagged ‘R&B’
25 Mar
The Black Crowes Manchester Academy 24th March 2013
23 Mar
Johnny Marr Manchester Ritz 22 March 2013
Johnny Marr Manchester Ritz 22 March 2013
Laura is a big Smiths fan. She has seen Morrissey several times and saw Johnny Marr play with the Cribs, and loves anything to do with the Smiths. This was our first opportunity to see Johnny solo, so as soon as tickets went on sale, we bought a couple for this home coming gig, which sold out quickly. We drove down to Manchester yesterday afternoon with plenty of time to spare, to allow for bad weather. Diving wasn’t too bad, although it was very slow going across the M62 because of snow and long queues. We arrived in Manchester around 5pm and went for a pizza in Revolution. Manchester Ritz is a great, quite small, venue in the centre of the city. Laura and I have been there once before to see Suede, a few years ago. We entered the venue around 7.15pm, in time to catch support act Furs, a London-based band who played some pretty good 60s tinged music. Laura bought a signed vinyl copy of Johnny’s new album; The Messenger, and I bought a set of badges. Johnny Marr took to the stage at 8.30pm to a great roar from his home crowd. The Ritz looms large in Smith history, as it was the first venue they played back in the early 80s, a fact that Johnny made reference to. The set was a mix of songs from the new album, Smiths songs and songs from his time with Electronic, the dance supergroup that he formed with Bernard Sumner of New Order. 
The new songs are good, with a few pretty strong tunes, but it was (of course) the Smiths tracks that got the best reception from the Manchester crowd. Laura was particularly pleased that he chose to play London, as it is a relatively unknown Smiths song. Standouts for me were a great version of I Fought the Law ala the Clash (took me back), and an astounding version of How Soon is Now? Johnny handles vocal duties himself, and did a great job too. There was mega singing along and dancing to How Soon is Now? and There is a Light. A pretty special night, which we both really enjoyed. Johnny Marr finished at 10pm prompt; there was a curfew as the Ritz turns into a club night at 10.30pm on a Friday. The snow was coming down quite heavily as we drove back across the M62 and the journey was pretty scary; thankfully we got home safe around 1am. Setlist: The Right Thing Right; Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before; Upstarts; Sun And Moon; Forbidden City; European Me; London; Lockdown; The Messenger; Generate! Generate!; Say Demesne; Bigmouth Strikes Again; Word Starts Attack; New Town Velocity; I Want the Heartbeat. Encore: I Fought The Law; Getting Away With It; How Soon Is Now?; There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.
18 Mar
Daryl Hall and John Oates Newcastle City Hall 1977
Daryl Hall and John Oates Newcastle City Hall 1977
Hall and Oates were back in the UK for another tour less than a year after their first full trek around the country in 1976. They were now a little more well known although their biggest success in this country was yet to come. Hall and Oates were massively successful between the mid 70s and mid 80s. From their official website: “From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, Daryl and John would score six #1 singles, including “Rich Girl” (also #1 R&B), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (also #1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch” 
from their six consecutive multi-platinum albums—’76’s Bigger Than Both of Us, ’80’s Voices, ’81’s Private Eyes, ‘82’s H2O, ‘83’s Rock N Soul, Part I and ‘84’s Big Bam Boom. The era would also produce an additional 5 Top 10 singles, “Sara Smile,” “One on One,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Say It Isn’t So” and “Method of Modern Love.”” Although the previous paragraph refers to their success in the USA, Hall and Oates have also had over 20 UK chart entries. 
The facts that I find when I do a little research on acts for this blog often surprise me. I remember, of course, hits like “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”, “Maneater” and “Family Man”, all of which reached the top 20, but I didn’t know that they had had so many hits in the UK. I enjoyed the two Hall and Oates concerts that I attended in 1976 and 1977, but haven’t seen them since those days. My friend John saw them more recently at on the Big Bam Boom tour in 85 at a concert in the Montreal Forum, and sent me a scan of the programme (see right). John says: “This was probably at the peak of their success, fueled by heavy rotation on MTV they became the best selling duo of all time with a succession of hit singles and albums. I actually liked them a lot and while I did not see them in the late 70’s I became a fan around that time with She’s Gone, Sara Smile and Rich Girl”
17 Mar
Daryl Hall and John Oates Newcastle City Hall 1976
Daryl Hall and John Oates Newcastle City Hall 1976
I first heard of Daryl Hall and John Oates in 1976, when there single “She’s Gone” was released. They seemed to quickly become a very trendy band and those who were in “the know” told me how good this band were. Those who were into the disco movement, and frequented local clubs like Annabel’s, were raving about the blue-eyed soul of these guys. So when they toured and came to the City Hall, Marie and I went along to see what all the fuss was about. Hall and Oates were still relatively unknown to the general public and most concert-goers at the time, however they still managed to attract a reasonable crowd. Support came from the Chanter Sisters. Note the misspelling of “Oakes” rather than “Oates” on the ticket, another pointer to the fact that Hall and Oates were not that well known. 
Hall and Oates had played a well received UK debut concert at the New Victoria Theatre in London in 1975, but this was their first full UK tour. She’s gone rose to Number 7 in the UK chart and the band were starting to grow their own audience in the UK. My memories of this are of a great gig, with strong vocals by Daryl Hall. I didn’t know any of the material other than She’s Gone, so found it a little hard going at times, but overall I felt it was a good show. A DVD of the guys live from that period exists. They perform some of their greatest blue-eyed soul hits from their early hit albums “Bigger Than The Both Of Us”, “Abandoned Luncheonette” and “War Babies”. Track Listing: Rich Girl; Do What You Want, Be What You Are; Is It a Star; Abandoned Luncheonette; Ennui on the Mountain; Gino the Manager; Sara Smile; Room to Breathe; Johnny Gore and the C Eaters. I guess the set at the City Hall in 1976 will have consisted of some of those songs, although I am certain that they also plated She’s Gone. I hadn’t realised that Rich Girl was so early; I certainly hadn’t heard it at the time, but it looks like they may well have played it at the gig I attended in 1976.
16 Mar
Steve Hillage Newcastle City Hall 1979
The last time that I saw Steve Hillage in concert was in 1979 at Newcastle City Hall. By then he had released seven solo albums, was several albums on from his classic L lp and the audience was dwindling a little. The things I remember most about Steve in concert are his epic performances of the songs from L and his use of what is termed “glissando guitar”. I wasn’t sure of the origin or meaning of the term so I googled it. Many thanks to Chris D from the seven string forum for explaining glissando guitar for me: “I think this got called “glissando guitar” first by Daev Allen from Gong, who as far as I know pioneered this technique. Steve Hillage also used this a lot. Glissando is the musical term meaning “slide” but glissando guitar isn’t “slide guitar” as you know it.The sound you get is a lush drifty synth/string effect, it sounds cool & is easy to do, although trying to explain it seems complicated”. It seems the technique involves removing the tremolo arm and jiggling it across the strings while using a wah wah pedal for effect. Whatever it is, it certainly gave a unique sound to much of Steve’s guitar work at the time.I have also been reading quite a lot about System 7, Steve’s latest band. I didn’t realise how influential he has been in the dance scene and it the acceptance of dance at Glastonbury. So I making myself another promise which is to try to see System 7 when the opportunity next arises. Support act for the 1979 tour was Trevor Rabin who would go on to join Yes. Typical setlist from the 1979 tour: “The Salmon Song”, “Unzipping The Zype”, “Hurdy Gurdy Glissando”, “Light In The Sky”, “1988 Aktivator”, “Unidentified (Flying Being)”, “UFO Over Paris”, “Activation Meditation”, “The Glorious Om Riff”, “Activation Meditation”, “It’s All Too Much”, “Electrick Gypsies”, “Talking to the Sun”
15 Mar
Steve Hillage Newcastle City Hall 1977
Steve Hillage Newcastle City Hall 1977
Steve Hillage toured a lot during the late 70s. I attended most, but not all, of the gigs he played in Newcastle during that period. He called at the City Hall twice in some years, and I didn’t catch all of those gigs. I did attend his 1977 concert at the City Hall, and pretty fine it was too. Steve was a guy of several faces: the quiet bearded hippy from Gong, the somewhat unlikely guitar hero who emerged during the late 70s, and he even popped up onstage at the Reading festival as a special guest of Sham 69, which was a very unlikely pairing (and didn’t go down well with some of the skinheads in the crowd, as I recall). 
A further side of Steve has emerged in recent times, as the leader of electronic ambient new music visionaries System 7. During the years I am blogging about here, Steve was very much a guitar man, releasing a clutch of pretty fine albums, and playing some pretty good gigs. Support came from Glen Philips on this 1977 tour. The tour waa to promote Steve’s latest album Motivation Radio and the set was drawn from that album and his previous album L. I found a setlist from the Glasgow gig of the tour on the Glasgow Apollo site. I would imagine the set at Newcastle will have been similar to this: It’s All Too Much; The Golden Vibe; Unidentified (Flying Being); Light in the Sky; Radio; Aftaglid; Electrick Gypsies; The Salmon Song; Solar Musick Suite; Saucer Surfing; Searching for the Spark; Hurdy Gurdy Man; Hurdy Gurdy Glissando; Not Fade Away
14 Mar
Steve Hillage live in 1976
I first saw Steve Hillage live at a free concert in Hyde Park. That was in the hot summer of 1976, where he played on a bill headlined by Queen. I’d heard of Steve through his work with Gong, and seen that band at Newcastle once, but wasn’t really prepared for how good he was that day. The sounds of his psychedelic guitar work filled the park with great versions of Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man, and the Beatles All Too Much. The line-up of Steve’s band that day was Steve Hillage on guitar and vocals, Clive Bunker (ex Tull) on drums, Colin Bass on (of course!) bass, Christian Boule on guitar, Phil Hodges on keyboards, Basil Brooks on synthesiser and Miquette Giraudy on synthesiser and vocals. This show was their live debut and pretty good it was too. I’ll blog separately about the rest of that day on another occasion. A group of us went down on the train with a day return. The line-up was Queen, Kiki Dee, Steve and Supercharge. Happy days. This debut performance was soon followed by release of the album L, which my mates and I bought through a “record club” that we ran at the time, where we took turns in buying an album, and then passed it around between us. L is a very strong album, with great swirling psychedelic sounds, Steve’s glissando guitar, and lots of rich synth sounds. By the end of the year Steve was headlining his own tour, and selling out concert halls up and down the country. A group of us went to his gig at Newcastle City Hall. Support came from Nova who were an Italian progressive rock/jazz fusion band based in London. This was the Electrick Gypsies tour which showcased tracks from L, with extended guitar solos. Pretty cosmic stuff, very much of its time, and great fun as I recall.
13 Mar
Status Quo Reunion Tour Manchester Apollo March 12th 2013
Status Quo Reunion Tour Manchester Apollo March 12th 2013
When I was growing up with rock music in the early 70s, there was a band who played great rock and boogies, put on amazing concerts, and released a sequence of great albums. They toured constantly up and down the country, and played at all the festivals. They were championed by John Peel, and wherever and whenever they played a loyal group of denim clad fans turned out and gave them the best reception that you could wish for. Sadlt somewhere over the years the members fell out, which resulted in acrimony and legal wranglings. The band reformed reformed with a couple of original members and started to tour again. They managed to regain some of their former glory, and many of us stayed with them, or in my case regained the faith and started to go and see them again. Over time the band lost the respect of the media and in the public consciousness the band became something from the past, and often the subject of some mockery. That band was (and is) called Status Quo.
Last night I saw that band again. I didn’t quite realise how important the event, or indeed the event was, until I got into Manchester Apollo last night. You could just feel the anticipation. This was the reunion we had all hoped for but we thought would never happen. The Apollo was packed to the rafters; these reunion gigs sold out quickly and more dates were added. The support band The Treatment put on a good show; they are a your rock band from the AC/DC mould with hints of glam. The crowd gave them a warm reception, but we were all there for one thing. To see the Frantic Four, the Mighty Quo reunited and ready to rock us like the old days. We had our doubts; would it still be the same? Was it really that good anyway? Could they still do it? After all these are older guys, and time must have taken its toll. The stage was set with a backdrop of the Hello album, the lights went down.
8.35pm. On the dot. As advertised. Jackie Lynott’s recorded introduction from the Live album roars out over the PA: “Is there anybody out there who wants to rock? Is there anybody out there who wants to roll? Is there anybody out there who wants to boogie? Tonight! We have the number one rock’n’roll band in the land! Will you welcome? The magnificent! STATUS! QUO!” And the curtain drops and it starts. The four are there and ready, standing in front of lines of AC30s and Marshall stacks. The first thing I noticed was the volume. And the clarity of the sound. And looking down from the slipper at the left side of the circle, the crowd are going crazy downstairs (all standing). The band all look well and they seem genuinely pleased to be together, old wounds have been healed, and they seem to be mates again. So it has finally happened. I got to see the original line-up again: cheeky Francis (didn’t he used to Mike in the days when I first got into this band?) Rossi, human rock rhythm machine Rick Parfitt, pure hard rocker bassist Alan Lancaster and solid powerhouse drummer John Coghlan. Much has been written about Alan’s ill health; well last night he seemed just fine and the fist few songs featured his vocals. I’d forgotten how important he was to the band. Important for his vocals, for his solid bass, and for maintaining the heavier and rockier side of the band. The opener was Juniors Wailing just as it was when I first saw Status Quo. Is it really 42 years ago since I first saw them? Where have all the years gone? Francis was on great form. Not as much cheeky chat as usual, but there was some, but great guitar playing. Slick, fluid and very loud. Rick looks slim and healthy with a new short hair cut and sporting a leather jacket. He kept the pace and the rhythm up throughout, sometimes it looked like he might explode. John Coghlan sat on a raised drumstool, twirling his sticks as he did in the old days. It felt right to have him and Alan back there, and I realised just how important John’s drumming was to the Quo sound. The set was drawn from the Live album, and the early 70s period, with a lack of the hits. No Caroline or Rocking All Over the World. Instead we got In My Chair, Backwater, Don’t Waste My Time, Big Fat Mama. This was a lean, loud, heavy rock n roll machine. It made me realise just how great the old band were in the 70s. Their old mate Bob Young joined them on mouth harp on Railroad and closing song (the Doors) Roadhouse Blues. The guy a couple of seats away told me that he had flown over from New York for the gig. I can’t express how good it was. Amazing; breath taking, emotional, and just good honest simple rock.
Setlist: Junior’s Wailing; Backwater; Just Take Me; Is There a Better Way; In My Chair; Blue Eyed Lady; Little Lady; Most of the Time; (April), Spring, Summer and Wednesdays; Railroad; Oh Baby; Forty-Five Hundred Times;Rain; Big Fat Mama; Down Down; Roadhouse Blues. Encore: Don’t Waste My Time; Bye Bye Johnny
12 Mar
The Magic Band The Cluny Newcastle 11 March 2013
The Magic Band The Cluny Newcastle 11 March 2013
I went to see the reformed Magic Band last night at the Cluny. The Magic Band reformed in 2003, minus Captain Beefheart (who sadly passed away in 2010). The current line-up includes members John French (aka ‘Drumbo’, who first joined the band in the 60s) on lead vocals and mean harp playing, ‘Rockette Morton’ (who was also with the Captain in the late 60s and early 70s) on bass and Denny Walley (aka ‘Feelers Rebo’ who joined the band during the 70s) on guitar. These three old-timers are joined by Eric Klerks on guitar and Craig Bunch on drums. My first surprise was how packed the place was. The Cluny was full of 50 and 60 somethings, largely but not exclusively male, who knew every word and gave the band a great reception. 
The second surprise was just how good the Magic Band of today are, and how true to the original they play the songs. Drumbo is a great front man and has the Captain’s vocals off to a T. I remember the first time I heard Trout Mask Replica, when it came out in the late 60s. I just couldn’t believe what was coming out of my stereo. The strange disjointed sounds were so different to anything else around at the time, and when you put on top of that Beefheart’s strange growls, you had an album the like of which had never been heard before. The music still sounds kind of weird today, but it remains clear how deeply routed in the blues it was, and how important a part of the music Drumbo and the others were. Oh, and it was just great to hear Diddy Wah Diddy live. If you are into Beefheart and you get the chance to see this band, do go along. Many thanks to Drumbo for signing my poster. Setlist: My Human Gets Me Blues; Low Yo Yo Stuff; Diddy Wah Diddy; Bass solo; When It Blows Its Stacks; Hot Head; Dr Dark; Circumstances; On Tomorrow; Alice in Blunderland; Suction Prints; Hair Pie Bake I; Steal Softly Thru The Snow; Owed T’Alex; Click Clack; Sun Zoom Spark; Moonlight on Vermont; Big Eyed Beans From Venus. Encore: Floppy Boot Stomp
Just remembered I also saw the Magic Band when they were touring as Mallard in 1976 or 1977 at the Mayfair and the Reading festival.
11 Mar
Hooker and John Dowie 1977 Sunderland
I think Hooker were a local band, but recollect little about this gig. I do know that I had heard of John Dowie and we turned up early to catch his set. John Dowie was one of the first acts to be signed to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records label, contributing three comedy songs to the first Factory release, A Factory Sample, along with Joy Division, The Durutti Column, and Cabaret Voltaire. His best remembered song remains the satirical “British Tourist (I Hate the Dutch)” from his debut EP Another Close Shave, issued by Virgin in 1977. It was this type of comedy punk that he was playing at the time of this gig. I think his band was The Bog Girls Blouse. In more recent times John Dowie has collaborated with Phill Jupitus and Neil Innes. One of the many great things about the punk era was that it provided a platform for new (and sometimes crazy or wacky) talent to come through, and that is exactly what John Dowie was.
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