Posts Tagged ‘rock’

28 Mar

Jethro Tull Newcastle City Hall 27 March 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Jethro Tull. Tagged: , , .

Jethro Tull Newcastle City Hall 27 March 2010

Norm, Will and I went to see Jethro Tull at the City Hall last night. We are all long time fans of the band and must have each seen them 15-20 times. The City Hall was, always packed full of ageing rockers to see Ian Anderson and crew. We had a quick look at the support act, but retreated to the bar, saving ourselves for the delights of Tull. They took the stage around 8.40 and started with Ian on a small acoustic guitar playing Dun Ringill from the 1979 Stormwatch album. The set was a mixture of old songs with quite a few from Stand Up. As always the band delivered, with Ian as lively as ever, giving us some great flute playing. His voice isn’t quite as strong as it used to be and he does seem to have difficulty hitting some of the higher notes; but Hey its great to see him still out there doing it (he’s 63!) and long may he do so. A night of some fine rock and great nostalgia for us; roll on next time!

Setlist (something like): Dun Ringill; The water carrier; Life is a long song; Eurology; Nothing is easy; A new day yesterday; Songs from the wood; Fat man; Bouree; Too old to rock n roll; Birthday card at Christmas; A change of horses; Bug: Martin Barre solo; Budapest; Aqualung
Encore: Locomotive breath

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28 Mar

Patti Smith Sage Gateshead 25 March 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Patti Smith. Tagged: , , , , .

Patti Smith Sage Gateshead 25 March 2010
Patti returns to the Sage for an evening of poetry, songs and readings from here recent book Just Kids which is about her old friend Robert Mablethorpe. She is accompanied by guitarist Tony Shanahan and is appearing in Hall 2, which is the smaller of the Sage’s beautiful concert halls. Last time she packed the larger Hall 1; tonight’s show in Hall 2 has been sold out for weeks.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but knew that any Patti Smith concert was going to be special and different, no matter the format she chooses to present to us. She took the stage around 8pm. The show was a mix of readings from her book Just Kids and songs on which she was accompanied by Tony on guitar and piano. Most of the songs weren’t familiar to me, but it was a great opportunity to see her perform them in such an intimate venue. The stories about her youth in New York with Robert Mablethorpe were fascinating. Patti has a unique rapport with the audience, many of whom had come a long way to see her. Almost everyone in the front few rows seemed to know each other and could be heard swapping comments on other shows from the tour; quite a few seemed to have seen her in Glasgow the night before.
Patti had us all sing happy birthday to a lady in the audience (much to her embarrassment). She finished with a great version of Because the Night. For the encore she was persuaded to sing Rock n Roll Nigger by a lday in the front row (“come on Patti; you sang it last night in Glasgow”!); this merged into Gloria which closed the night.
Patti is unique, challenging and sometimes scary and was no less than all that tonight. I bought a signed book as a souvenir of the evening.
setlist: something like: Grateful, Just Kids, Mother Rose, Just Kids, Wing, Birdland, Just Kids, Dancing Barefoot, Just Kids, Improvisation/My Blakean Year(aborted), My Blakean Year, We Three, Just Kids, Beneath the Southern Cross, Just Kids, Because the Night, (encore): Rock n Roll Nigger; Gloria.

website: http://www.pattismith.net/

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28 Mar

Suede Manchester Ritz 21 March 2010

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

Suede Manchester Ritz 21 March 2010

Its Sunday night and Laura and I have just about recovered from our Dubliners experience on Friday. Tonight we are standing in a packed Manchester Ritz nightclub, waiting to see the second appearance of Suede in seven years. The band are reforming to play a one-off gig at the Albert Hall on Wednesday for the Teenage Cancer Turst, and have decided to add two warm-ups. The first was last night (Saturday) at the tiny 100 club in London. Tonight is in Manchester.
The Ritz is a smallish nightclub just next to Oxford Road station. It is completely jammed packed; full of Suede fans from all over the country; everyone high in anticipation of seeing something really special. The support is Hoodlums who are OK, but everyone is waiting to see the main act. After Hoodlums leave the stage we are warmed up by some classic tracks by the Clash, the Smiths and others. Soon the volume is cranked up and the Sex Pistols’ Bodies roars out around the club. Then we are into the Intro music and at around 9.15 Suede take the stage starting with Europe is our Playground. The crowd go absolutely mad from the word go. Everyone knows and sings all the words. Laura and I are standing in a safe position at the side downstairs, the crush at the front looks wild. Brett Anderson and the band are obviously enjoying being back. Brett looks great and dances and sings like its 15 years ago. We get all the hits: Trash (the crowd go mental), Animal Nitrate, Film Star, She; they finish with Beautiful Ones. Its surprising how many I can remember and how great they sound. Its a long time since I’ve seen a band like this in a small club (too many arena shows) and its over all too soon. Laura is delighted as they play Two of us (her favourite) for the last encore. We all file out into the street and join the queue in the NCP carpark. We get home around 1.30am our heads still buzzing with Suede tunes.

Setlist : Europe Is Our Playground; She; Trash; Filmstar; Animal Nitrate; Heroine; Pantomime Horse; Killing Of A Flashboy; Can’t Get Enough; Everything Will Flow; He’s Gone; The Next Life; The Asphalt World; So Young; Metal Mickey; The Wild Ones; The Drowners; Beautiful Ones.
Encore: Obsessions; The 2 of Us.

Suede website: http://www.suede.co.uk/
Brett Anderson website: http://www.brettanderson.co.uk/

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28 Mar

The Dubliners Newcastle City Hall 19 March 2010

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

The Dubliners Newcastle City Hall 19 March 2010
Laura bought tickets for me, her and her friend Jo to see The Dubilners as birthday presents for Jo and I. The Dubliners are a band who I have only recently got into, and I’ve never seen them before. I have only recently realised just how influential they are.
The current band has one original member Barney McKenna who has been with the band since they started in 1962 and another John Sheahan who joined in 1964. The other three members have joined along the way, replacing members who have left or sadly passed away. Two of them, Sean Cannon and Eamon Campbell, joined the band in the 80s and Patsy Watchorn joined more recently in 2005.
The concert was entitled “Time to remember” and was centred around the theme of remembering the three members of the band who are no longer with us: Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly and Ciaran Burke, and celebrating their life and legacy. This was done by John telling a little story about each of them, reading a poem and then showing some vintage video footage, with the band playing along with it.
The City Hall was packed, I would say 90% full, and the crowd were obviously all fans of many years and knew the words to every song. The Dubliners came on stage and were soon playing The Rocky Road to Dublin with everyone clapping and singing along. The set was in two halves with a mixture of old songs, reels, and stories and video footage of the departed members. Star of the show was Barney who spent most of the evening sitting on a stool, playing his banjo and cracking jokes to the crowd, who loved him. For me the other highlights were the video footage of Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The video of Luke singing “Maids when youre young never wed an old man” was great; the power of Luke’s voice and performance stood out for me. Have a look at it on youtube (link below). For me, the vocals didn’t match those of the old band; which just made me wish that I’d gone to see them at their peak in the 60s or 70s.
They played many old favourites including The Wild Rover, Finnegan’s Wake, Black Velvet Band. They finished with Whiskey in the Jar and the encore was Molly Malone. The set was well over two hours.
We often use the word “legends”; well last Friday night we saw a band that truly match that word in every sense. A great evening spent with a band who have lived and sung Irish folk music for almost 50 years now. Laura and Jo enjoyed it too; we all thought that it was great (thanks Laura for buying the tickets!). Pity they didn’t play Seven Drunken Nights Jo.

website: http://www.thedubliners.org/
youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8mfGX4Z1dE

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flyer

14 Mar

Steve Howe Trio Sage Gateshead Mon 8 March

Posted by vintagerock in Steve Howe, Yes. Tagged: , , , .

Steve Howe Trio Sage Gateshead Mon 8 March
Will and I went to see the Steve Howe Trio at the Sage on Monday. Laura and her friends were in Hall One watching Grizzly Bear (must admit I didn’t know who they are) while we were in Hall Two for Steve. Steve’s Trio consists of himself on (of course) guitar, his son on drums and a fine keyboard player. He opened the first set with a jazzy version of He Ain’t Heavy which was rather appropriate as I had been to see the Hollies two days before. The rest of the set, which was in two halves, consisted of instrumental versions of Yes classics and some jazz pieces. Steve is undoubtedly a fine guitarist, but I found the material a little too jazz-oriented for my liking. Highlight for me was a great version of Heart of the Sunrise.

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7 Mar

The Hollies Carlisle Sands Centre March 6th 2010

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

The Hollies Carlisle Sands Centre March 6th 2010
The Hollies missed out the North East on their spring 2010 tour so I decided to make a visit to Carlisle to see them. The Sands Centre is a nice venue just out from Carlisle city centre. I arrived early and took my seat in the circle. Just after 7.30 The Hollies took to the stage, starting off with Here I Go Again. The sound was clear, but a liitle on the quiet side for me; it could have done with a little more volume. Highlights for me in the first set were Bus Stop (always been a favourite song of mine) and the Baby which starts with a great solo from Tony Hicks on his electric sitar. The first half closed with a new(er) song, So Damn Beautiful.
After a short break they are back with more hits. Highlights were King Midas in Reverse (don’t think I’ve seen them play it before), Stop Stop Stop with a great banjo solo from Tony and Peter Howarth’s solo acoustic version of Can’t tell the bottom from the top. They finish with Air that I breathe and He ain’t Heavy, with Let Love Pass as the final song. I get out into the car park at around 10pm and I’m back home for around 11.45pm. It was great to see them again, the old songs still sound great.

setlist:
First Half: Here I Go Again; Just One Look; Stay; I Would Fly; Bus Stop; On A Carousel; The Baby; Sandy (Acoustic); Then Now Always (Dolphin Days); We’re Through; Long Cool Woman; So Damn Beautiful
Second Half: I Can’t Let Go; Jennifer Eccles; Sorry Suzanne; Yes I Will; King Midas In Reverse; I’m Alive; Look Through Any Window; I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top (Acoustic solo); Listen To Me; Hey Willy; Gasoline Alley Bred; Weakness; Lucille; Stop Stop Stop; Carrie Anne; The Air That I Breathe; He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother; Let Love Pass

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

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flyer

7 Mar

Shift-Static Bridge Hotel Newcastle & Pure Sunderland March 2010

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

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

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

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21 Feb

Nazareth & Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

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

Nazareth and Deborah Bonham Newcastle Academy 20 Feb 2010

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

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

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

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

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

I hate printed tickets

14 Feb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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programme

14 Feb

Judy Collins The Sage Gateshead February 9th 2010

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

Judy Collins The Sage Gateshead February 9th 2010

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

website: http://www.judycollins.com

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