Category Archives: Rock music

Bernie Tormé at The Borderline 29/10/14

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

For those looking for fuzzed-up  glam-punk, squealing Hendrix-style feedback and guitar wizardry then Bernie Tormé is clearly the one to look to. In fact, if this is what you are looking for then Bernie Tormé is probably the only one to look to.

Part punk, part hippy, Dublin-born Tormé, first came to prominence in the late 70s/early 80s as the guitarist with Gillan. His distinctive riffing was as much an intrinsic part of that band’s sound as Ian Gillan’s instantly recognizable vocals. There has been something of a slight interlude since I last caught up with Tormé, however. In fact, the last time I saw him was not long after he left Gillan and was busy promoting his then new solo album, Electric Gypsies.

Skip forward thirty years and Tormé is in London’s Borderline promoting another brand new solo album, Flowers and Dirt, with a classic trio line-up of guitar/vocals, bass and drums. The first song they play though is an old one. Hearing them kick off with Wild West, a great energetic song from the aforementioned Electric Gypsies album, was a delight. That’s not to say there was not plenty of room for new material tonight, however. Several songs from Flowers and Dirt make an appearance and although he has never stopped playing and recording, the album may deliver something of a career renaissance for the guitarist and songwriter. It is Tormé’s first solo album in fifteen years and following an enormously successful crowdfunding appeal this summer, it’s been attracting very favourable reviews. Partytown is one of the new songs from the album that’s performed tonight. Raw and raucous with frantic riffing and the type of chorus you can immediately sing along to, it’s classic unadulterated Tormé

Nicely balanced between old and new material, the crowd were given a great set tonight covering various stages of Torme’s career. For me, Lightning Strikes and Turn Out the Lights were both very welcome inclusions from the earlier days. The main set ended with those two early rock n roll classics that were both given a new lease of life by Tormé’s former band Gillan, back in the early 80s: Trouble and New Orleans. As the band are called back on stage for an encore and perform two more covers, Bony Moronie and Jimi Hendrix’s Fire, I did begin wondering why I’d left it quite so long before catching up with this unique performer once more. But it was certainly worth the thirty-year wait.

Setlist:
Wild West
Bullet in The Brain
Blood Run Cold
Turn Out the Lights
Getting There
Partytown
Your Voodoo
Star
Lockjaw
Lightning Strikes
Stoneship
Rocky Road (From Dublin)
Can’t Beat Rock ‘N’ Roll
Trouble
New Orleans
Encore:
Bony Moronie
Fire

http://www.bernietorme.co.uk/

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Bernie Marsden at Jazz Cafe 22/10/14

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

When I first moved to London twenty-odd years ago and eagerly began scouring listings magazines the Jazz Café always sounded to me like it must surely be one of the capital’s coolest venues with unimaginable levels of sophistication for a northern boy like me. It isn’t. It’s pretty much like any other well-run small music venue, as I finally get to find on my visit to see ex-Whitesnake guitar ace, Bernie Marsden.

Whitesnake, with a constantly-evolving line-up, made the transition from bluesy and very British heavy rock band to slick American-based hair-metal outfit. Marsden was very much part of the earlier period. Later on he and his superb band will perform some classic songs from those days: Fool for Your Loving, Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City and Here I Go Again. But anyone wanting a whole evening dedicated to Whitesnake nostalgia is best off looking to other bands on the circuit. Marsden has much broader musical heritage to draw on and a brand new album, Shine, to promote as well. We hear a number of songs from Shine, including show-opener Bad Blood and the ecologically-themed Who Do We Think We Are. Marsden is a guitar wizard but his songwriting, just like in those classic Whitesnake days, is always catchy and melodic, never just a platform for technical noodling. He also gives us a beautiful version of Fleetwood Mac’s Dragonfly, recalling past collaborations with Peter Green, as well as a version of Sitting On Top of the World in tribute to Jack Bruce.

Those early Whitesnake classics drew the biggest applause tonight and were undoubtedly amongst the highlights of the evening. But it’s fair to say there’s much more to Marsden that that as tonight shows.

Setlist:
Strictly Latino
Bad Blood
Wedding Day
Born Under a Bad Sign
Ladyfriend
Who Do We Think We Are?
Dragonfly
Kinda Wish She Would
Fool for Your Loving
Sitting on Top of the World
Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
Walk Away
A Place in My Heart
Here I Go Again
Encore:
Hoxie Rollin’ Time

http://www.berniemarsden.co.uk/

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Ian Hunter at Shepherd’s Bush Empire 4/10/14

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

I first got into Ian Hunter aged fifteen when I bought a second-hand version of Mott the Hoople’s Mott album. Everything about it appealed to me: Hunter’s eccentric but instantly recognisable vocals, Mick Ralphs‘ guitar, the pounding rock piano, the catchy and highly memorable songs. I was a fan straight away and soon began scouring the second-hand shops for other Mott the Hoople albums. Then I moved on to Hunter’s solo career. And while it’s true that some lead singers from classic name bands went on to make some pretty ropey solo albums, I was pleasantly surprised when I bought Hunter’s You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic to find that his solo albums were equally brilliant, too. So it’s fair to say that I’ve followed his career closely for well over thirty years now, eagerly buying every new album as it’s released, seeing him solo on numerous occasions as well as catching both Mott the Hoople reunions.

And so to tonight. Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a wonder in itself. It’s always great to be inside this old Edwardian music hall, seeing it given renewed life as one of London’s iconic rock venues. It’s no stranger to live performances from Mr Hunter and is the perfect setting for this, the last night of the tour. After the support band finish Hunter saunters on stage about 9pm, every inch the cool rock star. It’s scarcely believable he’s now 75 years of age and it’s even more unbelievable he still continues to write, record and perform highly original and consistently good songs that continue to attract glowing reviews. Although he is shrewd enough not to disappoint audiences who want to be able to celebrate some of the classic songs from his earlier career, he has eschewed a life of constantly touring mere greatest hits packages, however. Tonight therefore, we get brilliantly original songs from his more recent career, like When I’m President and Girl From the Office, alongside older solo standards, like Once Bitten Twice Shy and Irene Wilde, as well as a smattering of Mott the Hoople classics, like All the Way from Memphis and I Wish I was Your Mother. It’s a great mix and the quality of the songwriting shines throughout, as does Hunter’s wonderfully distinctive voice which has not diminished with age. He is assisted by his excellent  five-piece backing band, The Rant Band, who each display incredible musicianship, from the slower more poignant ballads to the all-out rockers.

As the main setlist comes to an end and the crowd loudly call for an encore Hunter, invites old bandmate, Mick Ralphs, on to the stage and they launch into Roll Away the Stone, Life (a new Hunter anthemic sing-along from his last studio album) and the inevitable but still brilliant All the Young Dudes.  Indisputable evidence that Ian Hunter remains one of the most interesting and entertaining artists on the planet.

Setlist:
(I’m The) Teacher
Once Bitten Twice Shy
Comfortable (Flyin’ Scotsman)
Something To Believe In
Now Is The Time
When I’m President
Boy
I Wish I Was Your Mother
All American Alien Boy
Black Tears
All the Way from Memphis
Irene Wilde
Flowers
Wash Us Away
Girl From the Office
23A, Swan Hill
Bastard
Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse)
Sweet Jane
– Encore – (with Mick Ralphs):
Roll Away the Stone
Life / All the Young Dudes / (Miss) Silver Dime
Goodnight, Irene

http://ianhunter.com/main/

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Hawkwind at The Old Market, Hove 29/9/14

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Although I’d seen various Hawkwind offshoots composed of various combinations of ex-members, tonight is the first time I’d seen the band, formed in 1969, that continues to carry the Hawkwind name to this day. The Old Market is a small to medium sized venue and is absolutely jam-packed this evening. The audience are suitably attired, looking pretty much exactly as you would expect at a Hawkwind gig, even if some of them have walking sticks. However, there is a healthy smattering of 20- and 30-somethings  throughout the crowd, too. Proof that the band are still reaching new audiences, even today.

I’d not caught Hawkwind themselves before and I’ve never taken LSD before either. However, the light show, a constant backdrop of swirling fluorescent computerised graphics (on top of numerous pints of the venue’s guest real ale) started to give me a reasonable approximation of what it might be like. Talk about putting you in the right mood. The band themselves are great. All the classic ingredients of the trademark Hawkwind  space-rock sound are present: the pounding, rumbling bass; the whoops and bleeps; Dave Brock’s ever present guitar as well as strong and convincing vocals from current lead singer, Mr Dibs. Of the songs, there is a good selection of classic Hawkwind material: Assault and Battery Uncle Sam’s on Mars, Orgone Accumulator, Motorway City all made an appearance. Sadly though, there was no Silver Machine this evening, the band encoring with Reefer Madness instead. My one main quibble.

Wikipedia painstakingly lists thirty-nine different line-up of this band throughout its history, guitarist Brock being the only constant member. However, the current line-up put on an entertaining show that is faithful to the spirit of Hawkwind for anyone who’s had more than a passing interest in the band and well worth seeing.

http://www.hawkwind.com/

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Oysterband with June Tabor at Bexhill-On-Sea 27/9/14

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

If you think you’ve seen the run of charming but fairly samey faded seafront concert venues, Bexhill-on-Sea’s De La Warr Pavilion is something quite spectacular. A beautiful and lovingly restored 1930s modernist building it proves to be a worthy setting for Oysterband and June Tabor.  Following an acoustic set from singer-songwriter (and talented guitarist) Sam Carter as support, the band initially do a set on their own featuring songs from their latest album, Diamonds on the Water, as well as older favourites.  The Wilderness, one of the new ones, was inspired by the band’s trip to Canada where, on a day off from touring, they experienced the natural wonders but also the potential dangers of the Rocky Mountains and its fearsome bear population. “You’re not the master here” goes the chorus of this poignant reflection on man and nature.

After a short break, Oysterband perform their second set with guest singer, the great June Tabor. Both band and singer have illustrious back catalogues and both are stalwarts of the folk and festival scene. But the two combined produce something very special indeed. Their first collaboration was in 1990 on the acclaimed Freedom and Rain album. They followed this up with a further collaboration in 2011, Ragged Kingdom, and live collaborations have continued on and off for many years. Their set tonight delivers songs from both of these albums, a superb mix of traditional folk songs, like Bonny Bunch of Roses and Dark Eyed Sailor, together with inspired folk-rock covers of such marvellously un-folky material as Velvet Underground’s All Tomorrow’s Parties and Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart, which Tabor and John Jones of Oysterband sing as a duo.  Seeing is believing for anyone who has the slightest doubts about the beauty of these songs in the hands of Tabor and Oysterband.

The band has a distinctive sound. It’s folk-rock but, unlike their predecessors who pioneered the genre, having emerged in the late 70s rather than the late 60s the cultural references are different with a more contemporary feel and this is reflected in the sound. Allied with Tabor’s unique voice it is little wonder that this has been hailed as one of the most successful musical collaborations in the world of folk and folk-rock. The audience tonight is clearly in agreement. The appreciation and warm affection for both are clearly apparent throughout tonight’s performance.

http://www.oysterband.co.uk/

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Steeleye Span at New Forest Folk Festival 30/8/14

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

The New Forest Folk Festival is a small-scale festival that takes place on a farm just outside the New Forest on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border . Although it’s only been going a couple of years and is tiny compared to some festivals, they have managed to attract some great acts and some pretty big names, too. Steeleye Span headlining on the Saturday night is quite a coup so kudos to the organisers.

This is a slightly refreshed version of the band since their 2013 winter tour. Long-standing fiddle-player, Peter Knight, left Steeleye Span at the end of last year. The current crop of shows are therefore the first with his replacement, Jessie May Smart. Different members have come and gone over the years, of course, including seemingly irreplaceable ones. But what Steeleye have always managed to do is put together a convincing set of musicians that retains continuity with the previous line-up, draws on the rich back catalogue of the band while bringing in fresh blood or, in several cases, bringing back former members coming in for another crack at it. Smart has wisely resisted any attempt to become a Peter Knight tribute act (where would one start?) Nevertheless, she is a talented musician in her own right and as the band rocks out through their set she delivers some superb fiddle playing.

Just as they have form in successfully integrating new members alongside longstanding ones, so it is with the songs, too. We get a good selection of classic songs from previous decades. Thomas the Rhymer, The Weaver and the Factory Maid, Edward, Saucy Sailor and Bonny Black Hare are all included. But we also get a nice selection from their new album, too: the superb Wintersmith which came out last year. The Dark Morris Song and Wintersmith, inspired (like the whole album) by the writing of Terry Pratchett, are classics in themselves and easily stand up against the older material.

Julian Littman is a great lead guitarist. Joining the band four years ago he really came into his own on the Wintersmith album, contributing some writing credits and lead vocals as well as guitar. With Rick Kemp on bass, Liam Genockey on drums and multi-instrumentalist Peter Zorn, they provide classic folk rock backing to the wonderfully distinctive and beautifully clear voice of Maddy Prior. Steeleye Span have certainly not mellowed with age and their set is most definitely folk rock in all its glory, not simply folk with a bit of electrification thrown in.

As with all festivals when you see one of your favourite bands performing the time just flies by. And before long it’s all over bar the inevitable encore of All Around My Hat. “Don’t get all snooty about it being a hit,” Prior jokingly warned the crowd, “just sing the bloody thing.” And sing it is precisely what everyone did. Actually, I would never get snooty about All Around My Hat. For those, like me, who love both 70s glam rock and traditional English folk music – what’s not to like about Steeleye’s unique version of this song!

So, for those wondering whether it’s worth seeing Steeleye Span: “Is it still Steeleye without Peter Knight? Is Maddy’s voice still up to it? Is the stuff from their new album any good?” The answer is yes, yes and yes.

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Treetop Flyers at Cropredy 9/8/14

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

Treetop Flyers have been a popular fixture on the festival circuit for several years now and I was looking forward to seeing them again.  Singer, Reid Morrison, a regular attender at Cropredy in recent years as a punter, told the crowd he’d promised himself he’d get to sing on that big stage one day. And so he did…

Formed in London in 2009, the band’s influences are not The Kinks or The Small Faces or the Clash but rather the laid-back West Coast rock of bands like Crosby Stills Nash & Young. They are a young original band for the 21st century but one who carry that influence and musical heritage so well. And for sixty minutes or so those of us at the front were no longer in rural Oxfordshire in 2014 but transported back to Woodstock in ‘69.

Treetop Flyers (named after a Stephen Stills song) have perfected their sound and they do it beautifully. From Morrison’s expressive vocals, to the laid back harmonies, the countrified electric guitar licks, the melodic strumming of the acoustic guitar and the infectious boogie, they do sound good. And they’ve got a great collection of self-written songs, too. Rose is in the Yard, Things Will Change and Is it All Worth It are especially worth hearing and lapped up by the crowd, as was there cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary which fitted the mood of the set perfectly.

Still only one album in, 2013’s The Mountain Moves, I’m expecting to hear some truly classic material from this band over the coming years. In the meantime they are a great live band – catch them at a festival or venue near you.

http://treetopflyers.co.uk/

Photo Credit: Shoot the Living

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 9/8/14

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

In the late ‘60s Fairport pretty much invented English folk-rock and since the late ‘70s the band’s Cropredy festival has been an annual fixture for anyone with a love of this type of music. While the festival as a whole tends to offer an eclectic mixture of folk and heritage rock acts, Fairport Convention themselves always headline on the Saturday night. While previous years have offered a marathon three-hour session from Fairport, tonight we have a slightly truncated two-hour set. But we are still given a great selection of songs and tunes in that time. The band are about to release a new studio album so brand new material is introduced alongside old favourites. The first of the new songs is Myths and Heroes. F or anyone concerned that the “rock” element of Fairport’s genetic composition has been downplayed in recent years, they will not be at all disappointed with this, a ferocious and brilliantly played slice of folk-rock.

For me the two strongest tracks on their last studio album of new material, Festival Bell, are undoubtedly Around the Wild Cape Horn and Mercy Bay. I was delighted to see that these two have remained in the set. Both magnificently sung by Simon Nicol, they are now bona fide Fairport classics that comfortably sit alongside older Fairport classics. We do hear plenty of the older classics, too, however. Walk awhile, Crazy Man Michael, Now Be Thankful and Farewell Farewell are all in there, alongside a great version of The Lark in the Morning medley, which set the template for fast and furious electric folk instrumentals on the genre-defining Liege and Lief album back in 1969.

The only thing that really didn’t work for me tonight was the guest spot from vocalist Sally Barker, who sang Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes. Barker is a star of TV’s The Voice, and while her heavily-pronounced, overly-dramatic vocal delivery may be just what is needed for TV talent shows, it was the exact opposite of the calm, understated, crystal-clear beauty of Sandy Denny’s original.

Traditional show closer Meet on the Ledge, written by the band’s original lead guitarist, Richard Thompson at the crazily young age of 17, always provides the collected Cropredy masses with a rousing and emotional final sing-along. But another defining moment of every Cropredy festival is the penultimate number, Matty Groves. The exact origins of the song (an adulterous tale of a Lady and a servant who both meet a tragic end at the hands of her jealous husband) are lost in the mists of time. But whoever originally wrote it must surely never have imagined that several hundred years after it was written, 20,000 people would stand together in a field in Oxfordshire every year and sing along to all nineteen verses at the top of their voices. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Setlist:
Walk Awhile
Crazy Man Michael
Portmeirion
Myths & Heroes
Home
The Happy Man
Theodore’s Song
Around the Wild Cape Horn
The Hiring Fair
The Lark in the Morning Medley
Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
Now Be Thankful
Bring me Back my Feathers
Mercy Bay
Love at First Sight
Farewell, Farewell
John Gaudie
Matty Groves
Meet on the Ledge

http://www.fairportconvention.com/

Previous review:

Fairport Convention at Union Chapel

Howlin’ Rain at The Boston Music Room 23/7/14

Live reviews, Rock music, , , ,

Howlin’ Rain – if there’s one modern band that captures the sound and spirit of those big bombastic soul-infused rock bands like Humble Pie, who relentlessly toured the arenas of America in the early to mid-1970s, it’s them.  Tonight, however, we’re not in Madison Square Gardens or the Hollywood Bowl we’re at a pub venue in north London. Formed by vocalist, Ethan Miller, in Oakland, California ten years ago they’ve now released several superb albums.  Though hardly a household name they’ve built up a loyal following in the UK and the venue is packed out by the time the band come on stage.

Howlin’ Rain have a great collection of songs – even if you’ve never heard them before they sound like you’ve been singing along to them for years, while still remaining fresh and original. The band themselves, with Miller on vocals and guitar, a superb lead guitarist in Isiah Mitchell, wonderfully soulful backing vocals and a magnificently energetic rhythm section, work really, really together. From the slower soulful numbers to the wilder rock-outs, they sound absolutely superb.

I just love the fact that there’s a band in 2014 making music like this, not cover versions, not pastiches but capturing the spirit and essence of a genre dominated by the likes of Humble Pie, The Allman Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival in the early seventies and doing something fresh and original with it. The audience, predominantly male but evenly ranged from early twenties to mid-sixties clearly agreed.

http://www.howlinrain.com

Richard Thompson at Folk by the Oak 20/7/14

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

Folk by the Oak is the most civilised of festivals. Set in the historic grounds of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, those used to turning up and getting frisked by legions for of security guards for taking even as much as a bottle of water in, will find this a very different experience. For this one-day festival punters turn up not only with chairs and food hampers but picnic tables, too.

Such a sedate setting did nothing to dampen the atmosphere down at the front of the stage for Richard Thompson’s set, however. With no backing band for this current series of acoustic dates, it was just Thompson and his acoustic guitar. Introducing Thompson, the festival compere said that this year had seen the biggest ticket sales for Folk on the Oak so far, telling the crowd the inclusion of Richard Thompson on the bill clearly had a lot to do with that. I couldn’t disagree. Thompson has rightly been rated as one of the world’s greatest guitarists but it is a wonder to be there and listen to the truly amazing sounds that one man can produce simply standing on stage playing an acoustic guitar.

A Thompson gig is never simply about watching displays of technical prowess, however. Being such a talented songwriter he has built up a stunning back-catalogue of great songs and he delivered a blinding set, including many of the songs that feature on his excellent just-released CD, Acoustic Classics.  We were therefore treated to stripped down acoustic versions of classic songs like I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight, Walking on a Wire, Down Where the Drunkards Roll and, of course, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. We also got some newer songs that have become classics like Savings the Good Stuff For You, from his 2012 “Electric” album and, from 2007’s “Sweet Warrior” album, Johnny’s Far Away, a modern-day sing-along sea shanty, explains Thompson, set on a cruise ship.  He also did a lovely tribute to his erstwhile Fairport Convention colleague, the late Sandy Denny, by performing a beautiful rendition of Denny’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes.

Thompson has genre-crossing and generation-crossing appeal and tonight the stunning guitar work and amazing songs demonstrate exactly why that is.

Setlist:
When the Spell is Broken
Walking on a Wire
Valerie
Saving the Good Stuff For You
Johnny’s Far Away
Pharaoh
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Who Knows Where The Time Goes
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
Between You and Me
Good Things Happen to Bad People
Beeswing
Wall of Death
Down Where The Drunkards Roll
One Door Opens
Tear Stained Letter

http://richardthompson-music.com/

2014-07-20 19.35.01