Category Archives: Live reviews

Live review: Jerry Lee Lewis at The London Palladium 6/9/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , ,

When his first British tour, and seemingly his entire career, ended in scandal and chaos over revelations about his 13- year-old bride back in 1958, few would have predicted that not only would Jerry Lee Lewis be one of the last 50s American rock n roll stars alive and still performing, but that he’d be marking his 80th birthday with a sell-out performance at the London Palladium. But, against the odds, it is Jerry Lee Lewis that can claim to be last man standing.

Following a cheesy introduction from former radio DJ, Mike Read, and a warm standing ovation from the Palladium audience, Lewis slowly makes his way to the centre-stage grand piano looking every one of his 80 years. But as soon as he starts to play that piano his fingers are as nimble and his playing as electrifying as when he made his US TV debut almost sixty years ago, a clip of which we are shown in a short film before Lewis comes on.

He’s not going to jump up and down and play the piano with his feet tonight, but he still plays as if his life depends it on it. As well as rock n rollers like Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen and, of course, Whole Lotta Skakin’ Goin’ on and Great Balls of Fire, we get some of the beautifully expressive slower numbers from his country phase, like She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye and Over the Rainbow.

One of the temptations for big name performers of advancing years is to fill the stage with so many extra musicians and backing vocalists that the stage can end up looking as crowded as the auditorium. Lewis avoids this with the same simple the lead guitar/rhythm guitar/bass/drums set-up backing him that he’s had for most of his career. And it’s testimony to his presence as a vocalist/ pianist and of the superb musicianship of his backing band that this is precisely all that’s needed.

It’s a triumph of a performance. And while it was never going to be possible to see most of his contemporaries, I can at least say I got to see Jerry Lee Lewis live in London. One of the last of the original rock’n’roll greats.

Setlist:
Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee
Down the Line
She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye
Before the Night Is Over
No Headstone on My Grave
See See Rider
Sweet Little Sixteen
You Win Again
Why You Been Gone So Long
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
Over the Rainbow
Mexicali Rose
Great Balls of Fire

Home

2015-09-06 18.37.11

ahab at Cropredy 14/8/15

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

On my first visit to Fairport’s Cropredy festival in 2010 one of the upcoming bands that, for me, proved to be one of the highlights of that weekend was ahab. And it appears that many others that weekend felt the same way about this newly-formed alt-country band back then, too.

ahab went on to travel the world, make several albums, work with Stone Roses producer John Leckie, jiggle their line-up around a bit; and then, to the disappointment of many fans, promptly called it a day (at least temporarily as members each began to work on other musical projects). However, ahab acknowledge that Cropredy 2010 provided them with their big break. So five years later they are back, in their original line-up, to say thank you to the festival crowd that helped them on their way.

It’s a great performance. A classic slice Americana. Lovely harmonies. Upbeat melodies. Beautiful musicianship. And some great songs they’ve written, too, like Lightnin’ Bug and She’s Wearing Red as well as a brilliant cover of Wagon Wheel. Who’d have thought that they originated from Hackney not Tennessee?

The band were clearly very emotional to be back at the place where it all took off for them and seem genuinely moved by the warm  response they get from the Cropredy crowd. After a million thankyous to the crowd they then ask us the one question they perhaps shouldn’t have asked: “Do we look any older since we were last here?” “Yes!” we all shout back. “I love them,” whispered my friend, “but it looks like they’ve done a fair bit of partying over the last five years.”

A great sound, a great festival band and some great songs. It really would be a great shame if this really is the last we hear of ahab. Given the response the band get from the crowd and given how much they clearly enjoyed doing this gig, I doubt it will be. Let’s hope that’s the case.

Setlist:
Lightnin’ Bug
Lucy
Wish You
Run Me Down
Mischievous Side
Call a Waiter
Wearing Red
Uptight
I’ve Been Raining
Fathers Eyes
Rosalie
Million Reasons
Joanna
Rosebud

2015-08-13 16.10.31

AC/DC at Wembley Stadium 4/7/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , ,

“Rock is dead” pronounced Kiss’s Gene Simmons, never a man to hold back on his opinions. But that would seem a highly difficult concept to explain to anyone seeing 80,000 people flooding into Wembley Stadium for AC/DC on this hot July evening.

Of course, Simmons was talking about the rock bands of the future, but more of that later.

Five years since their last world tour ended and five years since they last played in Britain, the band’s recent well-publicised problems (founder Malcolm Young tragically forced into retirement by dementia and drummer, Phil Rudd, removed from the band following court appearances on a range of charges including murder threats) have done nothing to dim the level of interest and excitement in this latest tour.

And what a memorable night this has turned out to be. For a gig this size the sound is utterly brilliant, helped I am sure by the huge wall of Marshall Amps neatly stacked up across the back of the otherwise Spartan stage. Stevie Young, replacing Malcolm, delivers the grinding trademark guitar sound made famous by his absent uncle; while Chris Slade, back with the band after an absence of two decades, is a hugely powerful drummer ensuring he and bassist, Cliff Williams, provide an unrelenting rhythm throughout the evening. Vocalist, Brian Johnson, is in excellent form for a man of his age and Angus Young’s lead guitar is as spellbinding as ever.

It’s the songs, though, that really make AC/DC the band that it is.  They begin the show with the title track of their 2014 album, Rock or Bust, and return to the album for two other songs later on. But apart from those,  together with Thunderstruck from their 1990 album, Razor’s Edge, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Train from 2008’s Black Ice (their first 100% bona-fide classic song since For Those About To Rock in my view) ; the setlist is not dramatically different from when I saw them for the first time, 34 years ago, aged 15. But that is precisely what I and everyone else present want. A gloriously good-natured capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium sing along to classic after classic: Back in Black, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap; High Voltage, You Shook Me all Night Long; TNT, Whole Lotta Rosie…

The two hours whizz by and a following a spectacular version of Let There Be Rock and a lengthy guitar solo that’s still as manic as anything I ever saw from Angus Young thirty-odd  years ago, the crowds are calling for an encore and the band return to the stage for an unmissable Highway to Hell and a spectacular For Those About to Rock, complete with canon gun fire and pyrotechnics.

While rock music has undergone many different permutations, adaptations and reinventions since rock ‘n’ roll first came on the scene, apart from the increase in power and volume, AC/DC’s songs and riffs have not really deviated from that basic musical template that was set for rock ‘n’ roll back in the mid-fifties.  This must have played a major part in the band’s success and longevity, playing songs that are accessible, instantly recognisable and that can be sung along to in a way that most heavy rock or metal bands could only dream of.

And when AC/DC finally stop playing, these 80,000 people here tonight (representing a very healthy mix of male and female fans and a hugely varied range of age groups from teens upwards) are they all going to give up on live rock music altogether? I very much doubt it. Rock is very much alive and AC/DC, themselves, are playing a big part in ensuring it will long outlive them.

Setlist:

Rock or Bust
Shoot to Thrill
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Play Ball
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderstruck
High Voltage
Rock ‘n’ Roll Train
Hells Bells
Baptism by Fire
You Shook Me All Night Long
Sin City
Shot Down in Flames
Have a Drink on Me
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway to Hell
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

http://www.acdc.com/

11707624_10153458459376449_9087496687700488117_n

Blur at Hyde Park 20/6/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

To say that much of the music of the 80s left me cold is something of an understatement. Even though it was the era I came of age in, exploring music and bands of earlier decades held much more appeal. But when Blur and Britpop appeared my appetite for new music and new bands was dramatically awakened, like hitting a second bout of teenager-dom. I’d just started Uni in my late 20s as a mature student and Parklife was rarely off the juke box in the Goldsmiths college bar in 94.

And two decades later Blur are going strong and headlining Hyde Park once again, something they have done more than any other band according to the official blurb for this summer’s series of gigs in the Royal Park. And having seen them here in 2009 for their fantastically received reunion it’s good to be seeing them again. Unlike 2009, however, Blur have a new album to promote and they open with Go Out from this year’s The Magic Whip. Imagery from the album cover (featuring a big Mr Whippy) dominated the graphics on the big screen and they even have an ice-cream van on stage with Damon Albarn handing out cornets to hungry punters at the front. They play five songs from the new album tonight. It’s a strong album with strong tunes but the sound and feel is unmistakably Blur and they fit in well to the overall set. That not to say, however, there’s not a huge selection of classic Blur that everyone can sing along to, including There’s No Other Way, Beetlebum, Tender, Song 2, This is a Low and, of course, Parklife, with Phil Daniels coming on stage to reprise his famous spoken commentary (and hand out a few ice-creams, too, of course…)

The crowd is hugely good natured and it’s very much a communal celebration in Hyde Park. These songs have stood the test of time and are rightly held in great affection, as are the band who play them. Blur helped give a much-needed shake-up to a dreary and uninspiring UK music scene twenty-odd years ago and the love for the band tonight is testimony as to why they have been so important. Now let’s hear it for a Supergrass reunion…

Setlist:

Go Out
There’s No Other Way
Lonesome Street
Badhead
Coffee & TV
Out of Time
Beetlebum
Thought I Was a Spaceman
Trimm Trabb
He Thought of Cars
End of a Century
I Broadcast
Trouble in the Message Centre
Tender
Parklife (with Phil Daniels)
Ong Ong
Song 2
To the End
This Is a Low
Stereotypes
Girls & Boys
For Tomorrow
The Universal

http://www.blur.co.uk/

10351528_10153422590761449_8524852322004721168_n

Fotheringay at Under the Bridge, London 19/6/15

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , ,

Sandy Denny was the finest British female singer-songwriter that ever lived. Fotheringay was the short-lived band she formed in 1970 on leaving Fairport Convention.  It lasted less than a year, but forty-five years on the surviving members have reformed for a short tour and are playing their first London gig since 1970. Band reunions can elicit mixed reactions and some questions went through my mind on this one. However talented the remaining musicians are, would this be a worthwhile exercise with the band’s two main front-people, Sandy Denny and her husband Trevor Lucas, long since deceased? As soon as the band come on stage, though, and open with Nothing More, the opening number on the original Fotheringay album, all doubts are set aside.

Joining original Fotheringay members, Jerry Donahue, Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson, are Sally Barker and Katheryn Roberts doing the Sandy parts and PJ Wright stepping into Lucas’s shoes. I’ve long been impressed with Katheryn Roberts but Sally Barker I was rather rude about when I saw her guesting on a jarring version of Denny’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes with Fairport last summer. But both were hugely impressive tonight. While avoiding doing a “Now Matthew I’m going to be…” impersonation they nevertheless deliver the songs faithfully, passionately and beautifully. I’ll take my criticism of Barker back – she was utterly wonderful tonight in bringing alive these four decade-old songs. Singer/guitarist PJ Wright could not have been a more appropriate choice for singing those songs that Lucas had originally written and performed also, his rich voice perfectly capturing the spirit of the original Fotheringay recordings. Jerry Donahue’s beautifully expressive guitar work is always wonderful to hear, and I’ve seen him with numerous combinations of musicians in the past, but this was very special.

Fotheringay’s short but remarkable life meant their back catalogue was never extensive. But they play all the songs any follower of the band would expect and special highlights for me included John the Gun, Knights of the Road, Late November and a sing-along Peace in the End, the closer before the final old—school rock ‘n’ roll encore.

Apart from the occasional guests, Denny’s most famous ex-band, Fairport Convention, always eschewed the temptation to recruit another female vocalist on the grounds that Denny is irreplaceable. That she is irreplaceable goes without saying. But what the Fotheringay reunion demonstrates is that Denny’s songs undeniably sound many, many times better delivered with a female vocal, as they were originally conceived.

Well done Fotheringay, old and new, for putting this reunion together and for pulling it off so magnificently.

Setlist:

Nothing More
The Sea
Ned Kelly
Winter Winds
John the Gun
Gypsy Davy
Knights of the Road
Banks of the Nile
Bold Jack Donahue
The Way I Feel
Solo
I Don’t Believe You
It’ll Take a Long Time
Too Much of Nothing
Late November
Peace in the End
Memphis Tennessee

http://www.fotheringay.com/

11430097_10153420186476449_2539299592351938725_n

Live review: Status Quo – Aquostic at Hammersmith Apollo 26/4/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Status Quo are a band that stopped worrying about critical acclaim and musical credibility long, long ago. After the band’s 70s/early 80s peak we’ve seen cringe-worthy covers albums, sing-along football songs, bizarre collaborations with the Beach Boys; in fact you name it, they’ve tried it. Even the well-received reunion of their classic 70s line-up in 2013  was immediately followed by a cheesy mafia comedy film set on a tropical island.

So the idea of a Status Quo acoustic album and tour could be dismissed as yet the latest undignified attempt in a long line of pointless gimmicks. Except that… the album was actually rather good. And following a strong reception to a one-off acoustic show at the Roundhouse last year, touring it was an inspired idea. More than simply strumming along to some old hits, however, the band took the trouble to create completely reworked arrangements for the album and they are replicated here tonight. The acoustic guitars and harmonica are complimented by a range of other instruments, including mandolin, accordion, viola, cello and violins. Joining the modern era line-up of Status Quo (Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andrew Brown, John Edwards and new-boy Leon Cave) are an additional nine musicians as well as two female backing singers, all of whom, Rossi tells the crowd, played on the album.

Rather than the usual Quo gig, the elegant lighting, back drapes and stage full of seated musicians looks more like the setting for a 1950s dance band. The sound is still unmistakably Status Quo but the light and breezy arrangements and sensitive vocals show off the quality of the songwriting and bring out new depths to often familiar songs. A beautifully laid-back version of early 80s hit “Rock ‘n’ Roll” is a particular highlight and there are some lovely reworkings of earlier material like “Reason for Living”, now re-imagined as a folk-rock rock classic. Rain is given a makeover as a countrified acoustic blues and a classically-infused Mystery Song, with exquisitely catchy string accompaniment, is another highlight. Of course many of the best known classics are included, too, like Caroline, What Your Proposin’ and Down Down.

The set proper is finished with Whatever You Want and Rockin All Over the World, the acoustic treatments creating the perfect setting for a mighty communal sing-along. Thankfully the post 1983 material has been kept to a minimum in favour of earlier classics, but they encore with a nicely sensitive version of Rock ‘til You Drop. That is then followed by the gimmicky jig, Burning Bridges. It wouldn’t be my choice for a Quo encore but the crowd lap it up and you can forgive the band one lapse of good taste after such a stunning evening.

Set-list:
Break the Rules
Again and Again
Paper Plane
Mystery Song / Little Lady
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Caroline
What You’re Proposing
Softer Ride
Down Down
Pictures of Matchstick Men
Down the Dustpipe
All the Reasons
Reason for Living
Rollin’ Home
Don’t Drive My Car
Claudie
Rain
Marguerita Time
Nanana
Whatever You Want
Rockin’ All Over the World
Rock ’til You Drop
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)

http://www.statusquo.co.uk/

Previous Review:

Status Quo Frantic Four reunion

The Who at The O2 23/3/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

As one after another of the renowned sixties beat groups hit their 50th anniversary it’s fair to say my adopted city of London did pretty well  in churning out what would be some of the biggest and most influential names ever:  The Stones, The Kinks, The Small Faces and, of course, The Who. So it seems entirely appropriate to be sitting in London’s largest and most prestigious music venue to be celebrating The Who’s anniversary fifty and a bit years after the release of their breakthrough single, I Can’t Explain. It would have been fifty years exactly but for Roger Daltrey’s bout of laryngitis last year.  But the o2 is full tonight and last night for the rescheduled dates.

The band, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey being supported by a strong cast of supporting musicians including Zak Starkey on drums begin, appropriately, with a brilliantly energetic  I Can’t Explain and proceed to rattle their way through the sort of classics that anyone with a Who Greatest Hits album would expect: Substitute,  Who are You, My Generation, Join Together, You Better You Bet and much more. Some suitably retro Mod-inspired 60s graphics accompany the band on the big screen throughout. We then begin to meander into the more experimental rock opera phase. Not the side of The Who I warm to the most but nevertheless it’s performed well, gives Townshend the chance to flex his creative muscles and Daltrey the chance to relax his vocal chords on a couple of numbers. It’s all finished off with a blistering Won’t Get Fooled Again.

“Hope I die before I get old” is the line that critics have always thrown at the two surviving members of The Who whenever they decide to take to the road. But in a strange and prophetic way the lyrics have turned out to be absolutely true. The post-war baby boomer generation have refused to become old, certainly in a way that any previous generation could possibly have recognised. Rock ‘n’ roll not only changed what it meant to be a teenager forever, it has also changed what it means to be a pensioner forever. Happy 50th The Who!

Setlist:

I Can’t Explain
Substitute
The Seeker
Who Are You
The Kids Are Alright
I Can See for Miles
Pictures of Lily
My Generation
Magic Bus
Behind Blue Eyes
Join Together You
Better You Bet
I’m One Love, Reign O’er Me
Eminence Front
So Sad About Us
A Quick One (While He’s Away)
Amazing Journey
Pinball Wizard
Sparks
See Me, Feel Me
Baba O’Riley
Won’t Get Fooled Again

Home

17902_10153203005886449_3368494201503833379_n

Slam Cartel at New Cross Inn 15/3/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

This is a band that had been vaguely on my radar for some time, but a local gig just up the road for me in New Cross provides an easy opportunity to get better acquainted with the driving hard rock of Slam Cartel. And I’m pleased I did.

Formed in 2009 and releasing their debut album in 2011, this is a band that is well worth catching. There are some classic hard rock influences, some Seattle-style grunge influences and a powerful but melodic feel to their overall sound. It works well. Undergoing various line-up changes since their formation the band has now settled down to Gary Moffat (lead vocals), Damo Fawsett (lead guitar), Terence Warville (rhythm guitar), Mark Neudeck (bass) and Steve Campkin (drums).

The New Cross Inn, which I spent many nights in when I was a student over the road at Goldsmiths, has undergone something of a makeover since my student days. The big Victorian circular bar, which dominated half the pub and always made the experience of seeing a band or even the DJ an extremely cramped affair, is no more. This creates a lot more room in the pub. But does mean there’s now a lot more space to fill and, sadly, this Sunday night gig a very sparse affair. The band do not let this dampen their performance though. Charismatic and flamboyant frontman Gary Moffatt performs as if the band are playing to a packed house at the Hammersmith Apollo or taking the stage at Sonisphere. But rather than this all looking rather incongruous and a little ridiculous in a half-empty pub in New Cross, the band carry it off. Incredible energy (and volume!), strong songs, catchy choruses, driving guitars and powerful drumming – this is a band that should be playing to much bigger audiences than those of here tonight.

Opening with the wonderfully infectious Wishing Eye, the opening track of their debut album, they immediately command attention with a song that gets you enthusiastically nodding along as if you’ve known it for years.  Other songs in the set like Free Again and Vanishing Worlds exemplify that same energy. Lead vocalist Moffat picks up a semi acoustic guitar for the slower and more atmospheric Breathe, which is followed by an airing for the bands great new single Hypnotised. Less raw with more of a commercial feel it’s a good showcase for hopefully bringing the band to the attention of a wider audience. After a minor technical hiccup the set is finished off with another track from the original album, Sundown.

Although a disappointing turnout this was a great gig with incredible energy and the band are now firmly on my radar.

Setlist:

Wishing Eye
Free Again
Vanishing Worlds
Hold Me
Handful of Dreams
Breathe
Hypnotized
Sundown

http://www.slamcartel.com/wp/

10428593_10153185727246449_9150280010603030561_n

Sam Kelly Trio at The Green Note 23/2/15

Folk music, Live reviews, , , , , ,

While I like to experience new acts, particularly new folk acts, I usually discover them as part of a festival line-up, or as support act to someone I do know or because I know one or more of the musicians from another project. It’s rare that I’ll go to a gig for someone I’m completely unfamiliar with, purely on spec. But the Sam Kelly Trio gig at Green Note in Camden caught my eye and here we are.

Singer and acoustic guitarist, Kelly, is joined by Jamie Francis on banjo and Evan Carson on drums/ bodhran. Although Kelly is clearly a talented singer song-writer, the trio set-up gives a real extra buzz to the performance. And although there’s a wide-range of material, from traditional English folk, to self-written, to country to traditional blues and more, the banjo gives the band a nice kind of Americana feel while at the same time remaining very, very English. And it gives the trio a clearly identifiable sound across the different types of material.

Tonight is the EP launch for their five-track release, Spokes. And for an event like this what would make more sense than performing the whole thing from start to finish in full? So after an initial selection of songs, ranging from country to blues, Kelly announces that this is precisely what the band will do. Highlights include a brilliantly lively version of traditional sailor’s song On Board a 98, which tells of a young man press-ganged into a life on the sea. The Kelly-penned Healing Hands is much gentler but a really beautiful song in the set. After performing all but the last track on the EP they do a couple of instrumental numbers and a Dylan cover then, called back for an encore, Kelly takes the stage alone to perform the final track from the EP. This is The Unquiet Grave, just him, his lovely vocals and beautiful acoustic guitar.

Tonight was a complete punt on a (to me) hitherto unknown act. But I’m glad I’ve become acquainted with the Sam Kelly Trio and I can see them going down a storm on the summer festival circuit.

http://www.samkelly.org/

11001742_10153134802641449_6565356293149104174_n

Never A Hero at The Black Heart, Camden 15/2/15

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Like countless teen wannabes before them, guitarist Mickey Thin and his mate Daisy Lai formed a band at youth club. They were even lucky enough to get the chance to record an EP. Once inside the studio, Mickey and Daisy ,the band’s drummer, soon dumped their mates to join forces with the producer’s own band instead. Alternative metal band, Never A Hero was born.

Six years on and tonight this five-piece from Suffolk are at The Black Heart in Camden Town on the final night of their current tour. It’s a Sunday night. The venue is hardly packed and, thankfully, numbers are boosted by members of the other two bands on the tour sticking around for the final set. But the energy of the gig is incredible and the enthusiasm of the crowd is so infectious, at times it gets hard to believe they are not actually performing to a much larger audience in a much bigger venue.

The band (Phrixus – Lead Vocals, Mickey – Vocals/Guitars, Kaji – Lead Guitar, KB – Vocals/Bass and Daisy – Drums/Samples) bring together a range of musical influences. “Throw keyboards, heavy metal and pop into a tumble drier and this is what comes out,” claimed Thin recently. You get plenty of good, hard, aggressive, grungy guitar riffing, of course, but that’s combined with melodic vocals, catchy harmonised choruses and some real nice guitar solos. Now on to their second (just released) album they have a good selection of strong material available, like the excellent Nightboy which had everyone bouncing around and joining in the chorus.

Kiss’s Gene Simmons recently pronounced that rock as an art form is dying. What he probably meant is that rock may not be churning out a succession of future multi-billionaires anymore. But who really cares about that? Bands like Never A Hero prove that rock is far from dead.

http://www.neverahero.net/

10991353_10153114929651449_9074854887845056148_n