Posts Tagged ‘rock n roll’

5 Sep

Muse Lancashire County Cricket Ground Manchester 4 Sep 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Band of Skulls, Editors, Muse. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Muse Lancashire County Cricket Ground Manchester 4 Sep 2010
We were all so impressed with Muse that we fancied going to see them again so Marie suggested that we get tickets for this. The gig had been sold out for months and I started to check Seetickets every day to see if any tickets came up. They didn’t; but we managed to score four tickets on ebay at slightly less than face value. The tickets arrived on Wednesday just a few days before the show. We left at around 4pm and had an uneventful drive across to Manchester, arriving just as support Band of Skulls were finishing. We found some seats towards the side of the side of the stadium with a good view of the stage. Editors were next up and seemed pretty good, although the sound was not great from where we were sitting.
At around 8.15pm Muse took to the stage, starting with Uprising. They were accompanied by a crowd waving flags and banners carrying the key slogans from the song (“they will not control us”; “we will be victorious”). The stage is like nothing you have ever seen before. It must be the most impressive set up out on the road today. It resembles something like a giant building with the band in the centre of it, surrounded by loads of screens with the images flashing between artwork that mirrors the song lyrics and shots from the band on stage. Difficult to describe, it has to be seen to be believed and must have taken days to setup and cost a fortune.
Muse were as awesome as ever. The sound was spot on, the crowd loved them a great atmosphere. At one point they all grouped on a small stage which went out into and above the crowd. From where we were sitting it looked like they were in flying above the crowd. They have to be the best contemporary band out there at the moment; this show takes some beating. Favourites for me were Feeling Good and the closer: Knights of Cydonia. They finished about 10.30. Got out the car park around 11.15 and then got stuck in a diversion off the M62 which delayed us quite a bit. Home at 2.30am.
Laura and I are going to see the New York Dolls tonight at the Cluny Newcastle. Then time for a rest.
website: http://www.muse.mu
setlist:
Uprising
Supermassive Black Hole
New Born
Map of the Problematique
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Guiding Light
Hysteria
Citizen Erased
Nishe
United States Of Eurasia
Feeling Good
Undisclosed Desires
Resistance
Starlight
Time Is Running Out
Unnatural
Encore 1:
Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture
Stockholm Syndrome
Encore 2:
Take A Bow
Plug In Baby
Knights of Cydonia

ticket


programme

31 Aug

The Pretty Things at Colne R&B Festival 30 August 2010

Posted by vintagerock in The Pretty Things, Trevor Burton. Tagged: , , , , , , .

The Pretty Things at the Colne R&B Festival 30 August 2010
The Pretty Things were one of my favourite bands in the late 60s and early 70s. I bought a copy of S F Sorrow for a few shillings in a second hand shop in Sunderland shortly after it came out and played and played it. I couldn’t believe how good it was and yet it seemed that no-one else had heard it at the time. I then saw the band several times in the early to mid 70s. Everything was great about them; Phil May’s hair was longer than mine (made me so jealous) and the mix of R&B, rock and psych in their music was unlike any other band at the time. Its been around 10 years since I last saw the Pretty Things; time to see them again.
I arrived late in Colne on Sunday night having driven across via Harrogate. The Trevor Burton band were taking the stage as I picked up my wrist band for the International Stage and ventured into the Municipal Hall where the action was. Trevor had taken the place of Peter Green who is sadly unwell. His set was a healthy mix of blues and 60s rock; he closed with Traffic’s Mr Fantasy and Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love. After a short break our compere (wearing a fetching sombrero!) introduced The Pretty Things. The time was now 11pm (a bit on the late side for me!). The current line up comprises Phil May and Dick Taylor from the original band alongside Frank Holland who has been with the band for some years and relative new comers George Perez, Mark St John and Jack Greenwood. Didn’t recognise the first number, but they were soon playing songs that I knew, largely drawn from their early 60s hit singles and their 60s and 70s albums. So we got Don’t Bring me Down and Havana Bound early on in the set. The power is still there and Phil May’s voice sounds as strong as ever. The band are all dressed in black suits, white shirts and blakc ties; ala The Blue Brothers (!). After a few songs Phil introduces a couple of songs from S F Sorrow: S F Sorrow is Born and Baron Saturday, for which Dick Taylor takes the vocals. About half way through the set Phil tells us how he used to look up to Dick and Keith Richard at school and how they used to sing together during lunch breaks. This leads into a great short acoustic blues set with Phil on vocals and Dick sitting down playing slide guitar. Frank joins for a couple of the songs on blues harp. Then we are back to the hard edged R&B that the early 60s Pretty Things were known for: Midnight to Six Man, Mona (in tirbute to “their mentor” Bo Diddley), and Buzz the Jerk. On Hoochie Coochie Man Phil tells us that he usually sings the song with his mate Arthur Brown. LSD (is it innappropriate for 65+ men to sing of drugs like this?) leads into the great Old Man Going from S F Sorrow. The encore is Rosalyn which takes us back to the early 60s again. Lots of people dancing and even though it is 12.45am no-one seems to want to go. Great stuff. These guys can still do it and show no sign of stopping now.
So I go out and brave the windy rounds across the moors. Get home about 3am, tired but pleased that I made the trip.

Setlist included (but not in this order):
Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut
Buzz the Jerk
Raining in my heart
The Beat Goes On 
Don’t Bring Me Down 
Havana Bound 
S.F. Sorrow Is Born 
Baron Saturday 
Midnight To Six Man 
Mona 
Hoochie Coochie Man
Come See Me 
L.S.D. / Old Man Going 
Rosalyn

Blues festival website: http://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/

28 Jul

Maryport Blues Festival July 24 and 25 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Booker T, Canned Heat, Maryport Blues Festival. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Maryport Blues Festival July 24 and 25 2010
This was my fourth, and Marie’s second, visit to Maryport for the Blues festival. This year we decided to visit for the Saturday and the Sunday. We drove across on Saturday afternoon and checked in at the Ship, Allonby which is about 5 miles up the coast from Maryport. Allonby is a lovely town with wonderful views of the sea, and a great coastline and the Ship is a nice pub offering rooms for bed and breakfast. On the Saturday evening we ventured into Maryport centre for the blues trail. The place was packed and there were queues to get into all of the pubs, so we retreated to the rugby club where the main marquee for the festival is situated. The Saturday night was headlined by Mica Paris and Booker T. Booker T was excellent. He still uses his famous Hammond organ and Lesley cabinet, and he treated us to favourites such as Green Onions, Time is Tight and great renditions of Dock of the Bay, Ain’t no Sunshine and Hold On I’m Coming. It was a rare chance to see a true legend (his only UK date in the current European tour) and he didn’t disappoint.
We were up early on Sunday morning and had a walk along the beach which blew away the cobwebs and got us ready for the day. We drove into Cockermouth and had a look around Wordsworth’s birthplace before going into the festival later in the day. We passed Paul Jones in the street in Cockermouth; he is in Maryport for the festival and is recording for a three hour special for his Radio 2 Blues show. Headliners were Canned Heat (yes they are still playing) and Robert Cray. It was Canned Heat who I had really come to see. The band consists of the original drummer who has been there throughout since the 60s and the recently returned to the fold Larrie Thompson on bass and Harvey Mandel on guitar. They are billed as the Woodstock lineup as those three guys all played at that famous festival. They open with On the Road Again which sets the pace for a host of blues and boogie tunes, including the other hits Going up the Country and Lets Stick Together. They still sound great; tight as anything, although for me some of the solos go on a little too long.
We return to the Ship on Sunday night and drive home Monday morning. Another great blues festival. The attendance was pretty good (there were rumours that ticket sales were slow and that this may be the last festival due to funding problems); I certainly hope it returns next year and keeps its place as one of the premier blues festivals in the UK.
website: http://www.maryportblues.co.uk/

ticket


programme

28 Jul

Zappa plays Zappa Sage Gateshead July 27 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Frank Zappa, Zappa plays Zappa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Zappa plays Zappa Sage Gateshead July 27 2010
It doesn’t seem a year since I saw Dweezil and the band in Edinburgh, but a year it is and here there are back in the UK. And this time they are playing a lot closer to home at the Sage. Laura has heard a lot about Frank Zappa from her Shift-Static band mates so she agreed to accompany me to this latest feast of Frank’s music. In fact Laura tells me that she has listened to 60 (!) of his albums, which is quite frightening, and makes me realise how little of Zappa’s back catalogue I really know.
We arrive at the Sage around 7.15 and the band take the stage at just after the published time of 7.30. Dweezil’s eight piece band seems to be the same as last year; he tells us that it is the last night of the European tour and that they are planning to have fun tonight. The hall is pretty full downstairs with next level also almost full.
The set is a complete mix of Frank Zappa’s music taken from throughout his career. This means that there only a few that I recognise, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the sheer excellence of the musicianship; these guys must really rehearse to be as tight as this and to recreate the original versions so authentically. Dweezil explains to us that he put the band together to give us all the opportunity to experience the variety and diversity of his dad’s music. He tells us that in the USA Frank Zappa is often seen as a novelty act as the public in general have only got to hear the more cookie songs (Yellow Snow, Titties and Beer etc) and he sort of wanted to put that right. Well he is certainly succeeding in doing so. The band gets a great reception; everyone present clearly loves Zappa music (and they all know more of the songs than Laura and I!). Peaches on Regalia is note perfect and brings back memories, as does Little House I Used to Live in, which is used as a vehicle for improvisation for each band member. Five girls are brought on stage to dance to Keep it Greasy and clearly have a great time. For the last encore we are given the choice of three songs and the biggest roar is for Muffin Man, which sends us all happy. The band close at 10pm clocking at 2.5 hours which is a pretty long set by any standards. It seems to be the norm for Dweezil to hang around on the stage after the end of the show signing autographs for those at the front so we make our way down and I manage to get a flyer signed and a plectrum from Dweezil for Laura.

website: http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/

Setlist (something like):
Purple Lagoon ; Stinkfoot; Bamboozled By Love ; Daddy Daddy Daddy; What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?; T’Mershi Duween; Inca Roads; Blessed Relief; Advance Romance ; The Blue Light; Pick Me I’m Clean; The Little House I Used To Live In; Latex Solar Beef; Apostrophe; City Of Tiny Lites; Peaches En Regalia; Echidna’s Arf; Wild Love; Keep it Greasy; Yo Mama
Encore: Muffin Man

ticket


flyer

28 Jul

Regina Spektor Sage Gateshead 20 July 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Regina Spektor. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Regina Spektor Sage Gateshead 20 July 2010
“Shes a bit like Tori Amos” Laura told me. So on that recomendation we (Laura, Christina, me) decided to go along and see Regina at the Sage Gateshead. Not really knowing much of her stuff (Samson was the only song I recognised) I find it difficult to comment on this one. Laura and Christina enjoyed it and Laura has promised to write a review for me to post here. I’ll post it as soon as she does so.
website: http://www.myspace.com/reginaspektor

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

23 Jun

Roger McGuinn The Sage Gateshead June 21 2009

Posted by vintagerock in Roger McGuinn. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Roger McGuinn The Sage Gateshead June 21 2009

Roger tells a good story. We get treated to the story of his life, wrapped around those great songs. And what a life he’s had. From working in folk bands to backing Bobby Darin, to song writing, through the Byrds and beyond. He explained how the Byrds concept was putting a “Beatle beat” to Dylan and folk songs. He played us Mr Tambourine Man, Turn Turn Turn, My Back Pages, All I really want to do, Chestnut Mare (Laura finds this amusing).  Just him on his guitar, swapping between acoustic guitar and his 12 string Rickenbacker, telling his stories and singing his songs to us. He finished with Eight Miles High, explaining that it was a mix of the Beatle beat, John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar. It was good to see him again. The last time I had the pleasure was in Hyde Park on a free show with Roy Harper and Julie Felix.

ticket

ticket

6 Aug

Chuck Berry Maryport Blues Festival

Posted by vintagerock in Chuck Berry. Tagged: , , , , .

Chuck Berry

Maryport Blues Festival July 25 2008

Support Acts seen: Little Jenny & the Blue Beans and Alvin Youngblood Hart

So its a warm Friday night and I set off for the 100 mile drive to see Chuck Berry at the Maryport Blues Festival. Chuck Berry! The guy is 81 and still playing. I haven’t seen Chuck since the 70s at the Newcastle City Hall and Sunderland Empire. Another show I remember is the nightmare (but so bad it was good in its own way) Buxton 73 festival which was taken over by Hells Angels; Chuck ended up dancing with a crowd of Hells Angels on the stage. So lots of memories and a long long time since I’ve seen the guy play; looking forward to this one. I guess I am not expecting too much; it will be great just to see him again.

The drive over goes quite well. Get lost in Carlisle and stuck behind a tractor on the windy round to Maryport. It starts to pour down with rain just as I enter Maryport. The festival has moved site from the last time I was here a few years ago; its now by the Rugby Club rather than down at the harbour. The car park is a short walk from the site so I don’t get too wet. The main stage is a pretty big marquee; must hold quite a few thousand in there and its pretty full. I feel quite at home in this crowd; lots of old grey haired people round me; many of them sporting t-shirts from other blues festivals.

I catch two of the other acts on the bill who are pretty good. I have a chance to walk around the site; it has quite an impressive camp site with a lot of lovely camper vans (I make a mental note that it would be great to have a camper van and start going to festivals again!).

At aorund 10.30pm Chuck Berry and his band take the stage. The vocal mike doesn’t work for the first song; the crowd is shouting at Chuck and the band to attract their attention but they don’t seem to realise what is wrong. Anyway after the first song is finished the mike starts to work and a mighty cheer goes up from the crowd. Chuck is great. It is hard to believe that he is 81. His voice sounds good and very strong; his guitar is a little out of tune; but then as I rmember it ; it often was. He plays lots of the favourites, No Particular Place to go, Sweet Little Sixteen, etc (but no Johnny B Goode). We all sing along to My DIng a Ling. He has his son Charles playing guitar for him and his daughter is singing and playing mouth harp. She is pretty good and gets a great cheer. The last number sees Chuck inviting girls (and then boys) up on to the stage to dance with him. The stage is soon full and Chuck and the band are hidden behind a sea of dancers. And then its over. He has been on stage 1 hour (as expected) and it was much much better that I had hoped. People start to leave the marquee and the general feeling is that he was great and can still rock. Pleased I went to see the old guy again; a true legend. The drive home seems to fly over; I’m still thinking of Chuck. Get to bed aorund 2am. A good night and a nice festival.

Festival site: http://www.maryportblues.co.uk/

Chuck Berry site: http://www.chuckberry.com/

My ticket

My ticket

wristband for the main marquee

wristband for the main marquee

programme for the festival

programme for the festival

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