Posts Tagged ‘rock’

14 Aug

P J Proby South Shields Customs House

Posted by vintagerock in P J Proby. Tagged: , , , .

P J Proby

South Shields Customs House 27 March 2008

P J Proby is the man. Always has been, always will be. It may not be cool to like him these days, and it probably never was, but he has a voice like no other.  Over the years I’ve been to see many great male rock singers: Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, Joe Cocker, Stevie Marriot, Terry Reid, Arthur Brown, Frankie Miller, Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Chris Farlowe ; but to me P J Proby stands apart from all them. This guy has no fear; go to youtube and watch some of those old videos of him in the 60s and you’ll see what I mean.

Its great to see that he’s still going strong and out there. In fact he’s playing more in the UK now than he ever did since the 60s. He out there playing at local theatres and on some 60s package tours but he’s still much more than a revival act.

Norm and I went along to the Customs House which is a smallish (4oo seat) theatre in South Shields to see P J.  We arrived just as he had taken the stage; the place was packed and everyone was already up on their feet. The set was a mixture of ballads, Elvis and Johnny Cash songs; and his own hits from the 60s.

The Johnny Cash set saw P J singing Jackson and Daddy Sang Bass along with his wife. His version of Elvis’ American Trilogy has to be seen to be believed and he still manages to hit all the notes in Maria. Finished off with Hold Me which is still a great rock song, and leaves the crowd screaming for more.

You could buy a DVD of the show from the merchandise stall straight after the show. I settled for a signed magazine with a great write up about Proby’s wild life. A great night; if you get the chance to go and see this guy; do it; you won’t be disappointed.

ticket

ticket

signed magazine

signed magazine

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

13 Aug

Fairport Convention Sage Gateshead

Posted by vintagerock in Fairport Convention. Tagged: , , , .

Fairport Convention

The Sage Gateshead 22 Feb

Support : Anthony John Clarke

Went along to the Sage to see Fairport with my friend Will. This was the first time that I had seen them for around 30 years. I’d been to see Fairport Acoustic at Alnwick Playhouse just before Xmas, and had quite  enjoyed so decided that it was time to see the full band again.

We arrived in time to watch the support act who was pretty good. Fairport did two sets with an interval. I have to admit to not being familiar with much of the material; it was great to hear Who knows where the time goes and Meet on the Ledge again. I bought a signed poster and a programme (pictured below). Quite enjoyed them; will probably go again next time.

my programme

my programme

signed poster

signed poster

website: http://www.fairportconvention.com/

12 Aug

Paul McCartney Liverpool Sound 1 June

Posted by vintagerock in Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Zutons, Yoko Ono. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Paul McCartney, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Zutons, Dave Grohl
Liverpool Sound Sun June 1 Anfield Liverpool

Liverpool Capital of Culture 08

We’d been looking forward to this concert for ages. Pretty powerful stuff; going to see Paul McCartney in Liverpool, as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations in Anfield stadium!!! The tickets had been allocated in a raffle ages ago. We hadn’t been drawn in the first run of the raffle but were lucky in a second draw where both Laura and I were drawn so we could buy two tickets each. Hence four of us; me, Laura, David and Mari went along to this one.

There’d been lots of rumours about the support acts for this concert. Initial promises of lots of international stars didn’t materialise; the story seems to be that the organisers at the Capital of Culture couldn’t deliver on these initial promises and that Paul McCartney’s management came in a late stage to help with organisation. The final line up of Paul with the Kaiser Chiefs and the Zutons plus a “special guest” seemed fine to us anyway. One thing had become clear, Paul was going to perform a pretty full set and not just a few songs as Ringo had at Liverpool the Musical earlier in the year.

We drove down to Liverpool, stopped off at our Travelodge to check out our rooms and arrived at the stadium in plenty of time. We joined a pretty long queue to get in; some people had been there for several hours to make sure that they got a good spot in front of the stage. When we got in Laura and I found some seats in one of the stands, while David and Mari decided to take to the pitch and see if they could get close to the front.

First up were the Zutons. The Stadium is still filling up at this point. David and I had seen them once before at the Leeds Wireless festival on a bill supporting the Who and like last time they were pretty good. Its never easy warming a crowd up when most of them have come along to see the main act, but they did go down quite well.

Next up were the Kaiser Chiefs who were great and are now pretty used to working up a stadium size crowd. They had just done a triumphant home-coming show at Elland Road the week before, and were ready to take on the Anfield crowd. Ricky had the crowd doing mexican waves, and was really working things up. It took the crowd some time to get really warmed up but by the end of the set, everyone was singing along to Ruby, I Predict a Riot and Oh My God. They played for just under one hour, and couldn’t have been much better. Laura, David and I have seen them before at a home gig in Millenium Square Leeds.

Paul came on just after 9pm and gave us some surprises from the start. Hippy Hippy Shake was the first one up. He probably hasn’t played this one since the Beatles days. I’ve certainly never seen him play it on any of his UK tours. Then it was into a set which was pretty similar to his last UK tour apart from Penny Lane which I don’t recall seeing him sing before. The atmosphere was great; the whole stadium singing along to all these classic tunes. You really can’t get much better than singing Beatles songs in the heart of Liverpool with Paul McCartney!! Dave Grohl was the “special guest” and joins Paul and the band for Band on the Run and Back in the USSR (the Foo Fighters are playing in Manchester the next day).

The big surprises come in the encores, when Paul comes back to do A Day in the Life, followed by Give Peace a Chance as a tribute to John Lennon. Yoko is in the audience singing along with us; it doesn’t get much better than this. The verdict from all four of us was that this was a pretty special show and a pretty special day. We drive back to the hotel and watch the highlights on the TV.

programme for the event

programme for the event

my ticket

my ticket

Paul Set list:
Start time: 9:08PM
1. Hippy, Hippy Shake
2. Jet
3. Drive My Car
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got to Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It (tease “Foxey Lady”)
7. My Love
8. C’Moon
9. The Long and Winding Road
10. Dance Tonight
11. Blackbird
12. Calico Skies
13. In Liverpool
14. Follow the Sun
15. Eleanor Rigby
16. Something
17. Penny Lane
18. Band on the Run (with Dave Grohl on guitar and vocals)
19. Back in the U.S.S.R. (with Grohl on drums)
20. Live and Let Die
21. Let it Be
22. Hey Jude
23. Yesterday
Encore:
24. A Day in the Life
25. Give Peace a Chance
26. Lady Madonna
27. I Saw Her Standing There (with Grohl on drums)
End time: 10:56pm (Total time 1 hour 48 minutes) 

Websites:

http://www.paulmccartney.com/

http://www.liverpool08.com/

http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk/

http://www.thezutons.com/

12 Aug

Willie Nelson Manchester Apollo

Posted by vintagerock in James Hunter, Willie Nelson. Tagged: , , , , , .

Willie Nelson Manchester Apollo May 11

Support Act : james Hunter

I had promised myself for some time that I would go and see Willie Nelson. In fact I’d had tickets for a show at Manchester Apollo a couple of years ago but couldn’t make it in the end and had to sell the tickets, which was very frustrating as the tickets were for the front row. This time we had seats about 5 rows back and I persuaded Laura to go along with me to see Willie.

The Manchester Apollo is a lovely old theatre and is sold out tonight. Listening to some of the fans sitting around us; everyone seems to be a seasoned Willie fan; a couple to our right talk about how they have been to all of his UK shows for the last few tours.

First up was James Hunter, who plays his own blend of American style R&B. His style is reminiscent of the 50s, but also pretty individual. He plays some pretty cool guitar and had some great moves. We hadn’t heard of him before, but have heard him played quite a lot on the radio since. He really is very good. Do go and catch him if you get the chance.

After a short interval, the guy that we have all come to see comes on. I am as much attracted by the legend of Willie Nelson as by his music; never been a great country fan; but this guy intrigues me. He looks well and his voice sounds good; he’s still playing the same battered old guitar that I’ve seen in so many photos; it even has quite a large hole in it. All the old favourites are sung; Crazy; Always on my Mind; Me and Bobby McGee, Georgia on my MInd, Help me make it through the night. He changes his red bandanna several times and throws each one into the audience; we don’t manage to catch one. Pretty good overall; although Laura isn’t impressed, and declares that she prefers James Hunter.

 

the programme

the programme

my ticket

my ticket

Willie Nelson website : http://www.willienelson.com/

James Hunter website: http://www.jameshuntermusic.com/

11 Aug

The Police Reunion Tour Manchester Arena

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

The Police

Manchester MEN Arena Tuesday 17 June 2008

This show had been rescheduled from last October as Sting had been unwell at the time. I’d seen the Police many times in the late 70s and early 80s including the original band before Andy Summers joined when they supported (and backed I think) Cherry Vanilla at Middlesbrough Rock Garden and Newcastle Polytechnic. When I get the chance I’ll scan in the programmes and ticket stubs from shows that I have seen in the past including their Milton Keynes Bowl concert, Gateshead Stadium (with U2 support), redaing Festival headliner and shows at Newcastle City Hall and Mayfair.

This time I’m on my own (Laura and David don’t appreciate the Police I am afraid) and I drive down to Manchester after work. I’ve booked a Travelodge room for the night just off the M62, so I don’t have to drive straight back after the show.

I get down in time to catch the support act Starsailor, who are Ok, better than I thought they would be. My seat is at the back left hand side of the arena, not such a good view so I have a walk aorund to see if I can get anywhere better to sit. They have sold tickets for the seats behind the stage but there seem to be some empty seats in there so I go in and sit myself down.  I’ll be viewing the band from behind, but I am only a few rows away. Its also interesting to llok out onto the crowd, and there is a screen above us so we can see what is going on.

Soon they are on, I recognise the first song but not quite sure what it is. Then Bang they are into Message in a Bottle; the place goes crazy; the whole arena is up an dancing and singing along; great atmosphere. And the hits keep coming: Walking on the Moon; Don’t stand so close; Can’t stand losing you. The encores include Roxanne and So Lonley (I had almost fogoetten that one; sounds great). This reminds me just how good they were!

Great to see them again; worth the 8 months wait! 

Set List

Bring on the Night
Message in a Bottle
Walking on the Moon
Demolition Man
Voices Inside My Head / When The World Is Running Down
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Driven To Tears
Hole In My Life
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Can’t Stand Losing You/Reggatta De Blanc

Encore I
Roxanne
King of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take

Encore II
Next To You

the programme

the programme

my ticket

my ticket

     website: http://www.thepolicefile.com/index.php

10 Aug

Lloyd Watson

Posted by vintagerock in 801 band, Lloyd Watson, Roxy Music. Tagged: , , , , .

Lloyd Watson

The Roundhead, Bretton, Peterborough May 17 2008

My friend John lives in the States now and comes over once or twice a year. We try and meet up and go to a gig if we possibly can. This time John fancied going along to see Lloyd Watson, a guitarist who we had both seen supporting King Crimson at Newcastle Odeon around 1974. John could remember more about Lloyd than I could (my memory is really getting quite bad these days); I checked him out on his website; he’d been a winner of the Melody Maker contest in the 70s and had also played with Eno and was a member of 801, a Roxy Music spin-off band, who I’d seen at the Reading festival in the late 70s.

So I pick John up on the Saturday and we make the 200 mile drive down to Bretton which is just outside Peterborough. We find the venue, a pub called the Roundhead quite easily, its at the side of a shopping area. We go off for a bite to eat before the show, and return later.

When we get into the Roundhead, Lloyd comes up and says hello (I have been in touch with earlier to get directions) and seems quite pleased to see us. He’s billed these days as playing “exceptional blues and demon guitar playing” and he certainly lives up to that. He has a unique technique which sees him running both hands up the neck of the guitar and squeezes some pretty amazing sounds out of his strat. His set is mainly covers including Albatross and Layla. The crowd are pretty enthsuiastic and seem to consist mainly of regulars who obviously know Lloyd. Good to see him again after all these years; do go along and see him if you are in the area.

check out Lloyd’s site: http://www.lloydwatsonmusic.co.uk/

801 band Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/801_(band)

10 Aug

Elton John Darlington

Posted by vintagerock in Elton John. Tagged: , , , .

Elton John Darlington Stadium Sat 5 July 2008

I have been to see Elton John many times over the years; the first being at shows in Newcastle City Hall in the 1970s. In recent years I’ve seen him at several local venues; Carlisle Football Ground, Durham Cricket Ground; Newcastle Arena, Raby Castle and this year at Darlington Stadium.

Laura and I bought tickets at below face value on eBay for this concert. Our seats were at the back of the stadium, but given the price we paid for them this was fine with us. We drove down to Darlington, getting a little lost in the centre of town trying to find the way to the stadium; which is out of town. When we reached the stadium we parked the car in a makeshift  car park that a local farmer had set up in a field quite close to the stadium. Laura was quite amused by having to walk past lost of chickens and pigs on the way out of the car park.

We found our way into the stadium, and met up with Paul from work who had bought a ticket outside. We missed the support act (Richard Fleashman) and went to our seats just before Elton was due to take the stage. Elton came on stage and started with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding and then straight into The Bitch Is Back and a couple of songs from Madman Across The Water. This was a very similar set list to that which we had seen last year in Carlisle. He played all the well known ones including Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Daniel, Rocket Man and others.

The security in the stadium wasn’t very tight at all and Laura and I were able to walk around, sit in various parts of the stands, and get down onto the pitch. We ended up right at the front during the last few songs. Elton finished with the customary Saturday Night’s Alright and returned for encores, signing load of fans programmes and other items from the front of the stage. The encores were Pinball Wizard and the usual closer Your Song. The rain held off (it had been pouring earlier in the day) and Elton and the Band played well. I would rate this as a very good, but not great Elton concert. The crowd didn’t really seem to be into it until towards the end; it did seem that many people had just come along for the sake of it; without having a great interest in Elton or his music. This is in stark contrast to the last time we saw him in Carlisle, where the audience reaction was the best that I have ever seen at an Elton concert.

PS I have tired Laura of seeing Elton and she is now declaring herself a non-fan, and vowing not to see him again ( we will see about that : wait till next year)

my ticket

my ticket

the programme

the programme

 

Set list
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
The Bitch Is Back
Madman Across The Water
Tiny Dancer
Levon
Believe
Take Me To The Pilot
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Daniel
Rocket Man
Honky Cat
Sacrifice
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Candle In The Wind
Bennie And The Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
Are You Ready For Love
I’m Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
Encores:
Pinball Wizard
Your Song

Elton John site: http://www.eltonjohn.com/

9 Aug

Pentangle Reunion Tour The Sage Gateshead

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

Pentangle Reunion Tour

The Sage Gateshead July 12

I can’t remember whether I ever saw Pentangle before; I know that they played quite a lot of times at Sunderland Empire and I have a feeling that I might have gone to see them their once in the 70s but I couldn’t swear to it. I’d read a lot of good reviews of the reunion shows, and thought I would go along and see what I made of them.  The Sage is a wonderful venue with a lovely concert hall, and also offers cheap tickets for many of it shows (£7 each). You are seated right up in the top balcony above the stage, but the view isn’t bad, and well worth the price. So I’d bought a couple of these cheaper tickets and went along with Laura to the show.

I have a couple of the albums at home, and had been playing Basket of Light for a couple of days prior to the show to get into the mood; but the only song that I know really well is Light Flyte which came quite early on in the set. I quite enjoyed this concert, they are all excellent musicians and the reaction of the crowd was very positive. Laura wasn’t too impressed; it’s not really her cup of tea.

After the show we lined up and got my programme signed by all members. Laura got a flyer for the show signed.

my programme fully signed by all members

my programme fully signed by all members

ticket for the concert

ticket for the concert

Set list (this is actually the set list from Harrogate that I got from the Talkawhile message board; but I would guess that the Sage show would be very similar; if not identical; apologies if I am way off here!)

Set 1:
Intro
Let No Man Steal Your Thyme
Light Flyte
Mirage
Hunting Song
Once I Had A Sweetheart
Market Song
In Time
People On The Highway
House Carpenter
Cruel Sister

Set 2:
The Time Has Come
Bruton Town
No Love Is Sorrow
I Am A Maid That’s Deep In Love
I’ve Got A Feeling
The Snows
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
No More My Lord
Sally free And Easy
The Wedding Dress Song
“Thank yous…”
Pentangling
encore break
Rain And Snow
Willie O’ Winsbury

Pentangle sites:

http://www.jacquimcshee.co.uk/

http://www.pentangle.info/

8 Aug

John Fogerty Manchester Apollo

Posted by vintagerock in John Fogerty. Tagged: , , , , .

John Fogerty

Manchester Apollo Sun 22 June 2008

John Fogery is someone who I have wanted to see for a long time, ever since Credence Clearwater Revival played Newcastle City Hall, and I missed it. One of my friend’s brother went along and declared it to be the best show he had ever since, topping Hendrix and Cream! I always regretted never seeing CCR, and had read recent reviews of John Fogerty; I knew that he was playing a lot of old CCR material and that was the closest I was ever going to get to see Credence.

I’d bought tickets the morning that they went on sale, and had seats in the first few rows. As the date of the concert got closer I mentioned it David and Laura and neither of them fancied going along so I decided to sell one ticket on eBay. A guy called Ron from Liverpool bought the spare ticket.

So I drove down to Manchester on the Sunday evening and got there around 7pm. I popped in to the pub next door for a drink before the show and was pleased to see so many people with Fogerty and CCR shirts on, and a big queue at the door. I go into the venue, buy a programme and go down to my seat. Have a bit chat with Ron, who is a friendly guy and a big John Fogerty fan. Ron is also going to see him at the Albert Hall on Tuesday night. We are in the second row of the front stall at the side; still a great view from here.

When John comes on the first couple of rows run down to the front of the stage. Ron and I end up right next to the stage to the left of John Fogerty. He starts with Born on the Bayou; the sound is clear loud and he seems on top form. Looks like it is going to be a good night!

Next up is Bad Moon Rising; this was always a favourite song of mine; takes me back to school discos; it sounds great. The we are into Green River; another old favourite. And so it goes on; each song sounds great; event the ones that I don’t know. The first couple of rows are up dancing but the rest of the stalls stay in their seats. The band is great with three guitarists and a great rhythm section. At one point in the set John recalls that he last played Manchester in 1970. A guy in the front corrects him (it ws 71) and points to his t-shirt. On the front he has a copy of his ticket and on the back is a copy of a flier for the gig. John is well-impressed with this and pretends to give the guy his guitar; he does however give him a pick.

The set ends with a great version of Travellin’ Band, and the final number in the encores is Proud Mary. By this time veryone is up and dancing. The show was great; even better than I expected. It must have been great to see Credence Clearwater all those years ago.

I give Ron a lift to the centre of Manchester to catch his bus home, and I start the drive home. Get back around 1am.

my programme

my programme

my ticket (I hate these print-out e-tickets)

my ticket (I hate these print-out e-tickets)

 

Set list:
Born On The Bayou;  Bad Moon Rising; Green River; Lookin’ Out My Backdoor; Don’t You Wish It Was True; My Toot Toot;Midnight Special; Gunslinger; It Ain’t Right; I Will Walk With You; Ramble Tamble;Broken Down Cowboy; Keep On Chooglin’; Have You Ever Seen The Rain; Night Time Is The Right;Comin’ Down The Road; Almost Saturday Night; Long Dark Night; I Can’t Take It No More; Premonition; Down On The Corner;  Rock And Roll Girls; Up Around The Bend; Hey Tonight; Old Man Down The Road; Fortunate Son;Travelin’ Band; Rockin’ All Over The World; Blue Suede Shoes; Proud Mary

 

John Fogerty site : http://www.johnfogerty.com/news.html

 

7 Aug

Leonard Cohen Edinburgh Castle

Posted by vintagerock in Leonard Cohen. Tagged: , , .

Leonard Cohen

Edinburgh Castle Wed 16 July 2008

I hadn’t seen Leonard Cohen since the 1970s, and figured that it was about time that I went to see him again. Laura had also heard a lot of his stuff and quite fancied coming along to see him. She’s really into Rufus Wainwright and his version of Hallelujah had got her interested in Mr Cohen in the first place.

So we take the train to Edinburgh to see Leonard at the Castle. We arrive in plenty of time and go for a pizza in a restaurant just off Princess Street. Then we get ready in our Travelodge which is just at the bottom of the Royal Mile. We then take the short walk up the Royal Mile to the Castle to see the show.

The weather is OK but it does look like it might rain. We have seats on the floor about 20 rows back which is quite a good view of the stage. This is a pretty nice venue in a great setting.  Leonard comes on stage with his band and starts with Dance me to the end of love. His voice is deeper than on the records and he is almost speaking the words but, having said that, he is still singing well and its great to see him. The crowd are clearly excited at seeing a legend in the flesh, and hang on to his every word. However, I would say that I found the crowd quite subdued; there were also quite a lot of people around us who were talking during the show which was quite annoying at times, particularly during the quiet songs.

He does all the well known ones; Suzzane, Bird on the Wire, Sisters of Mercy, So Long Marianne. Great to hear them again sung by the man himself. The rain starts during the encore, and after the show we make the walk down the Royal Mile to our hotel. Back home on the train on the morning after bacon sarnies from a shop down the street. A pretty good trip all in all. Nice to see Leonard again.

the programme

the programme

my ticket

my ticket

 Leonard Cohen site: http://www.leonardcohen.com/

Set list:

Dance me to the end of love
The Future
Ain’t no cure for love
Bird on the wire

Everybody knows
In my secret life
Who by fire?
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye
Anthem

(interval)

Tower of song
Suzanne
Boogie street
Hallelujah
Democracy
I’m your man
A thousand kisses deep (recitation)
Take this waltz

(encores)

So long, Marianne
First we take Manhattan
Sisters of mercy
If it be your will (sung by the Webb sisters)
Closing time

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