What was your last concert you went to ?

Charles Lloyd Quartet last night in The Helix, Dublin.

Tenor sax played live is truly a magical experience.

fantastic support with
Jason Moran : piano
Ruben Rogers : Bass
Eric Harland : drums


SJB

Just in from a great Joe Jackson Gig at the Queen's Hall here in Edinburgh. Just Joe on piano, backed by bass and drums rather than the big ensemble he has sometimes assembled.

The set was a mixture of old stuff, mainly from Night & Day and about 6 new numbers which they're heading to the studio to record soon. Sprinkle with a couple of covers from Ian Dury and Frank Zappa and you have a good night out.

The new material was pretty strong on a first listen - especially a new slow number called 'Solo'. For those of you who know JJ, you can guess that's not a cheery ditty.

The crowd were really enthusiastic and Joe genuinely seemed to be enjoying being there.

Well worth catching if your so inclined.

Ian

I went to see Christy Moore 10 days ago in Amsterdam. Christy has a beautiful voice, the choice of the songs were great, especially I liked him singing 'one more cold kiss', that was a song from the heavy band Mountain. Very impressing.
urs

Ian,

I saw Joe Jackson at the Evolution free festival held on the Newcastle Quayside on Bank Holiday Monday and thought he was excellent. Despite having to contend with very cold and windy conditions and possibly the worst sound system I have ever heard at a gig, his playing and singing was first class. Still a sharp act. The last time I saw him live was the Jumping Jive tour at the Mayfair in Newcastle more years ago than I care to remember.

Regards

Nic

Last night, Laura Veirs and the Saltbreakers at the Aladdin Theatre, Portland ,Oregon.

This was the final night of a tour that included a month in Europe and a month in the States. The Saltbreakers are in fact the re-named Tortured Souls ie: Karl Blau on bass,electric guitar,vocals; Steve Moore on keyboards,bass,vocals; and drummer and LV record- producer Tucker Martine.

90 minute set that included all of the Saltbreakers album with a sprinkling of songs from previous albums. No strings, so the sound was less dreamy than some of the album arrangements ... more of a soft rock/folk sound with Laura on electric for all but a couple tunes. Laura exceeded my expectations as a guitarist and maybe as a vocalist as well, though I knew her to be truely excellent in that regard. Her unique songs and Tucker-influenced arrangements were wonderful. A very very enjoyable tour-ending show in Laura's new hometown, Portland.

USA fans note: an upcoming fall opening slot for LV and SB on the next (also Portland-based) Decemberists tour ... they should complement each other beautifully. Might expect some songs with both bands sharing the stage simultaneously.

good listenin'

Jeff A

http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=118125109659660100

Jon Strong - Did a great gig in huddersfield last sunday, was fantastic.

You can hear some of his work here from his 'Follow Me' album on linn records.

A true talent, and one of the best current writers IMO.

Click

Just back from seeing The Who at Wembley. Absolutely amazing those guys really rock. I thought Sundays set from Glastonbury was good but I guess you can't beat the full 2 hour concert set. For once the sound was pretty good.
Down side some one spilt a drink and it got into the bag my programme and t shirt were in that I had stupidly left on the floor(the bag not the drink). C'est la vie!
Just ordered the DVD of the actual concert.

Howard

last weekend went to see my son's art show opening / concert of tunes he wrote. he's a bass player. the venue was an unmarked alleyway door somewhere in east hollywood; went over there, never found it, so i guess i didn't attend (his mom reported that his band started about three hours late, so ...), although i stopped by after work a few days later and figured out which warehouse doorway it was and saw the art show. thought it was really great.

Howard
Bummer about the program and tee shirt.
We bought gabriel tees at Hyde park. They were wrapped in a plastic carrier and then put in a backpack and they were still wet when we got home. That rain got everywhere!

I was tempted by the Who tickets, but I loathe Wembley Arena so much I decided against it. Not sure I want to deface the memory of the gig I saw at the Hammersmith Palais back in late 1970. They were truly awesome that night.

Back on topic, saw Ghosts, the Feeling, Crowded House and Peter gabriel at the Hyde park sogfest on Saturday. Despite the rain, it was a fun event.

I didn't realise Sally had bought another programme on the way out so that's OK, @ £8 each a lot cheaper than Roger Walters £15.
The "Ts" have dried out overnight and look all right.We haven't bought any souvenirs for ages so it irked more.
I had apprehensions about Wembley too, though the sound was pretty good,not great. The test for me will be Rush in November it was pretty dire last year. What really annoys me is I have sent E-Mails to the Rush website and they don't even acknowledge their reciept.So how do you instigate any changes?

Howard

A ex schoolmate of the kids is in The Feeling.

They were very good. Worked hard to get the crowd going. Had some good tunes too. The drummer was in a shirt and tie - very smart! But he played with huge energy. In fact they all did. have ordered their cd from Amazon.

Just back from Manchester. Saw PJ Harvey at the Bridgewater Hall as part of the international festival.

I cannot describe how good this show was.....suffice to say that I still have goose bumps from it. It was just her and some instruments.......her voice was unexpectedly good, i didn't think she would be that good live, but amazing is the best i can do to describe it.

She engaged with the crowd really well too. Made it very intimate and th sound was exemplary. Considering her records normally consist of a band she was able to pull off a solo show with complete aplomb.

I think you can tell i'm already a fan, but i wasn't expecting this .......stunning!!

Ryan

The Blind Boys of Albama at the Sage in Gateshead after a free afternoon of "Americana" bands on the grass outside.

The Blind Boys were excellent, and well supported by an a four piece a cappella group called Mouthpiece. Stil rocking

Nic

Munch,

They were superb, catch them if you can. It was like John Belushi in the Blues Brothers "I can see the light" etc but without the back flips! Met up with some members of the band afterwards to get CD signed, top blokes. Certainly a night to remember.

Regards

Nic

The Antonio Forcione Quartet.
Saw them yesterday late afternoon at a garden concert in a place called Coombe Lodge nr Bath. Beautiful weather and grounds, lovely views and virtuoso playing from Antonio and his group of superb musicians.The music was quite thrilling and the whole event was very intimate and friendly with a healthy dose of humour thrown in.And I got him to autograph a CD.What a great afternoon!
Simon

I was there as well!

What an enjoyable afternoon. Couldn't have been better.

We had a chat with him afterwards and he came over as a really nice guy.

John Kay & Steppenwolf

At the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, MS

Regards,

Larry

I saw Prince at the 02 arena on Friday, he was excellent, seeing him peform makes you realise what a talented person he is, he even had saxophone legend Maceo Parker on stage with him throughout the eve

Just returned from a gig at the Academy in Newcastle, headline act was The Only Ones, supported by local band Penetration.

I was really there to see the lovely Pauline Murray singing with Penetration (again), but thoroughly enjoyed The Only Ones as well, particularly when Pauline added to the backing vocals during the encores.

If there was ever an advert for the effects that heroin can have on you body, the lead singer Peter Perrett was it. Emaciated, but playing tight and sang very well. The rest of the band were excellent and were carrying a few more pounds, as you would expect for their age, but they all looked extremely healthy by comparison.

Regards

Nic

Brian Wilson at the Royal Festival Hall this evening. The first half was all Beach Boys songs, brilliantly executed by a stellar band. The second half was the new song cycle that has received quite a lot of press coverage. My first time of hearing so need to hear it a few more yet, but it sounded pretty fine to me, with some very affecting moments, including a slide collage of BW with his late brothers at various stages of their lives. The first encore was some rousing uptempo stuff, starting with Johnny B Goode and ending with Help Me Rhonda and Fun Fun Fun. BW then appeared back with the whole band and played "She's Leaving Home", rather well as it happens.
As a very long-standing BB fan it was almost enough to see the great man upright and apparently enjoying himself. The quality of the music was impeccable. See him while you can.

Jaimie Collum live in Mexico City
Good performance
Nice music
Great interaction with audience
Sensibly priced

Richard Hawley at the Sage, excellent gig, very tight band and an impressive catalogue of songs. Hawley and his band played note perfect as per the album versions, so it is clearly talent rather than fancy production.

Great repartee from Hawley, obviously playing in some of the rougher pubs in Sheffield teaches you the art of comedy as well as musicianship.

Also very impressed with the second support act, missed the first one, Kate Walsh. Just a girl with a guitar singing songs about love and relationships, but fantastic playing and a lovely voice.

A big thank-you to Diccus for organising the tickets, it was great to meet up. When we are not driving, I suspect more beer/wine will be supped!

Regards

Nic

Just back from Brian Wilson in Edinburgh. Fifth time I've seen him and he was more relaxed than ever before, vocals better than ever. A fantastic mixture of greatest hits, lesser known Beach Boys stuff, and his new piece That Lucky Old Sun which sounds pretty good after only a few listens (yes I'll confess to having listened to downloaded stuff occasionally).

Perhaps my best concert ever.

Just got in from seeing PJ Harvey at Bristol Colston Hall. Absolutely stunning.

quote:

Originally posted by otterman:
Just got in from seeing PJ Harvey at Bristol Colston Hall. Absolutely stunning.

Thanks otterman, looking forward to seeing Polly on Sat at the RFH. I think I'll buy the album after the gig, as it's too short notice to absorb this new musical venture. If anyone else going on Sat, mail me via my profile if you want to meet up.

Denis