What was your last concert you went to ?

Kate Rusby at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall last night.
With no support act, the show consisted of two sets approximately 50 and then 55 minutes long. There was a nice selection of songs going back to the early albums and a few tracks from 'Awkward Annie', all beautifully sung and played by her small band in a typical folky simplistic form. Andy Cutting on accordian was superb.
There was plenty of humourous (defying the folk background!) interaction with the audience and the sound quality was pretty good, as usual - "The Phil" remains one of my favourite concert venues.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
Unlike the people behind me on the way out, I did not find the stripped-down two-piece combo to be a disappointment (and actually don't how you could!!) but rather to be a performance which was both very accomplished and rather moving.

I went to see the Eels play in Oxford. I quite liked the stripped down sound but did think it worked better on some songs than others. A few songs could have done with a few more instruments to flesh the sound out. The sound where I was sitting (under the circle) was quite bad as the high notes were bouncing off the ceiling and making the music harsh. Much worse than my CDX2 ;-)

It was nice to meet James and his wife at the Eels gig - Cambridge Cornex. Having seen the Eels documentary twice in 3 days I decided it would good to live the life of the 'Rich' me for a while. I bought a pint of murphys and a cheeseburger in the bar! It's amazing to think that with all the traumas in Eels life his music could be depressing. Thankfully he is able to communicate with his audiance with a dry sense of humour and real good tunes. It was certainly unusual to see a 1 hour film about the person who would perform live afterwards, but this let you into Eels mind more than an interview could. The two performers worked really well and the showmanship (swapping at the drum kit without missing a beat) on 'Novacane' was great fun. I would like see the Eels band now to compare.
As a comparison I saw David Sylvian last year at the RFH and it was so ponderous and depressing. I had to fight to stay awake. Oh and the one thing DS had in common with Eels father was that he hardly said a word. I love David's music at home but if I ever see him live agian, I'm taking smelling salts.

Denis

quote:

Plenty of clever rock references throughout the whole set (Deep Purple, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Jimmi Hendrix, Metallica etc.). Amazing guitar skills from both R&G. Best concert so far this year for me.

His background is a metal/ Metallica type band, she is trained in Flamenco hence the blend, and superb it is too.

Last night, technically, Chris Rea at the Royal Albert Hall. An absolutely excellent gig.

Last night - more or less -, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Dionysos w/ special guest Olivia Ruiz, and Keziah Jones at the Caprices Festival.

Dionysos was really stunning, and this band is really worth a listen.

Maurice

Gilberto Gil at the Sage Gateshead last night.

Not very often that you get to see the Brazilian Minister of Culture playing a gig. Can you imagine the British equivalent?

Excellent set, mainly solo, but augmented by his son , also on acoustic guitar and light percussion at various points. A very interesting fusion of samba, reggae, and African music that was very easy on the ear.

Regards

Nic

Two concerts in two days last week, both in Manchester.

Thursday night, Van Der Graaf Generator at he RNCM and on Friday Jean Michel Jarre at the Opera House.

Both were quite excellent, VDGG as a three piece are now very tight. A great mixture of old and new tracks.

Peter Hammill's voice as powerful as ever, Hugh Banton's keyboard and pedal playing is something to really see live. For me Guy Evans is the best drummer I have seen live (and I have seen Bruford, Peart, Art Blakey, etc.)such precision, but with feel, both light and driving. Still my favourite band both live and studio.

Jarre was a little gentler, but seeing Oxygene performed with the original analogue instruments had such a rich and gentle sound that has been lost by digital technology. Another wonderful concert.

We missed the first five minutes as Manchester has deliberately misleading road signs, and there was no support despite what the tickets said.

The anniversary CD & DVD release is well worth getting. As the reviews say, the CD is of little interest, but the DVD of Jarre and his fellow musicians playing Oxygene and the new variations is fantastic. You can get it in 3D if you so wish, but 2D is fine for me.

I hope some of you manage to catch the London concerts by both these bands this week, you will be in for a treat with either concert.

Jamie

Jamie,

Sounds great. Have to say I would like to have seen both of those shows but just a bit too far to travel. Doubt they will come down under but you never know.

I have never seen VDGG but did see the Jarre Docklands show years ago. I imagine seeing him in a small venue is a very different and worthwhile experience. What else did he play besides Oxygene?

Adrian

Hi Adrian

This is the setlist from this year's shows as taken from a bootleg recording of the Amsterdam show

01. Jarre's Introduction (spoken)
02. Tuning The Old Ladies (getting the analogue synths to warm up and make the right sounds)
03. Prelude
04. Oxygene I
05. Oxygene II
06. Oxygene III
07. Variation I
08. Oxygene IV
09. Variation II
10. Oxygene V
11. Variation III
12. Oxygene VI
13. Variation IV
14. Oxygene XII
15. Oxygene XIII

The show was about 1 hour 50 minutes, including the spoken intro, the variations extend Oxygene to over an hour. As I said we only got there at the start of Oxygene I.

Tracks 2-12 are on the anniversary DVD I mentioned above which is a live performance in a large studio space, but without audience called 'Live in your Living Room'.

The warmth of the analogue synths, and an excellent PA did make it quite an aural experience. The visuals were very simple, just a few lights for most of the show, a huge mirror was lowered at an angle from the end of Oxygene II until Oxygene 5 which gave the audience a lovely view of what the band were doing. There was a back projection for the last part of Oxygene.

Jarre has three other musicians with him on stage.

In his blog about the tour Jarre said that the Manchester gig was the best performance so far, and that the audience were very appreciative.

This is the first time I have seen Jarre, but being a fan of the old electronic bands like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and their newer followers like Redshift, the small venue and the focus on the instruments was exactly what I wanted to see.

Jamie

Thanks a lot. Makes me want to see it even more now. I have the CD/DVD so will give that a watch soon.

Cheers

Just got back from the Sydney Opera House where we had superb seats for Air.

Summary from my wife was awesome (she does not say that too often) and she had a grin on her face all throughout the show. I was captivated by just how simple it all was but complex at the same time. They oozed French style and the use of electronics was amazing. Great drummer as well. So, so cool.

Saw the Black Dyke Band last night at the Gandhi Hall at Leeds met University. They played a new piece by Elgar Howarth which was a bit hard for me, but they also played the Enigma Variations. The latter suit brass very well in my opinion. All in all, sublime. The standard of their playing is astonishing.

Saw KT Tunstall last nite - excellent sound and an excellent performance - highly recommended!

Just got in from Jose Gonzalez at UEA Norwich. Very similar highly enjoyable set to last autumn at Cambridge. But acoustically the venue was much more sympathetic this evening, with superb sound quality.

Took a few piccies with my wife's new Christmas camera - if any came out in focus I'll post one or two.

James

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
Just got in from Jose Gonzalez at UEA Norwich. Very similar highly enjoyable set to last autumn at Cambridge. But acoustically the venue was much more sympathetic this evening, with superb sound quality.

Took a few piccies with my wife's new Christmas camera - if any came out in focus I'll post one or two.

James

Well ... they're ALMOST in focus... (especially smaller (sorry) - my first use of Photobucket, and I don't know how to adjust image size.)

Was a highly enjoyable evening James - would have preferred KT at the UEA (standing) and Jose at the Ipswich Regent (seated) though - must be getting old!

You and me both, RoyalBlue! Bring on the comfy chair!

I saw Steve Earle last night. Great show. His wife Alison Moorer opened and joined him on a few songs as well.

Matt

Not really a concert but we went to 'La Traviata' last night (the opera, not the pizzeria!) - bloody excellent it was too.

Next up Karine Polwart on Sunday

Ian

I went to see Christy Moore on Monday in the intimate Whelan's in Dublin.

A superlative performance along with Declan Sinnot on guitar. My first time seeing him live outside of festivals and one really felt in the presence of one of the few greats, a Ewan McColl, Woody Guthrie type integrity before you.


Wonderful versions of Dylan's Hatti Carroll and Thomson's Beeswing, everything from "the Cliffs" to Biko, Ride on to Hiroshima Nagasaki.


I feel lucky to have been at such a concert.

If he's on tour near you during the year I'd highly recommend it.

SJB

Went to see Aussie Pink Floyd Last Night

Awesome - really nice show and a great rendition of Great gig in the sky

A Must see if you, like me, never got the pleasure of seeing the really band live

Karine Polwart on Sunday night at Queen's Hall.

Excellent gig, the strength of her songwriting shines through with no weak songs in the whole set. Mostly songs from here first two albums with one or two from this year's two albums. The highlights for me came from the Fairest floo'er album where she sang 'Dowie Dens of yarrow' with just a simple piano accompianment. She seemed very relaxed and chatty with the audience and produced plenty of laughs.

A good night out.

Ian

Just returned from KD Lang at the State Theatre Sydney.

The lady is very talented and the show was superb. The audience loved it with standing ovations and there were moments where her voice was out of this world.

A superb night out.

MilesSmiles - do not miss - she is back May 2/3.

Adrian

Although it was last week, I went to see The Australian Pink Floyd at Leicester De Montford Hall.
Friends had told me were very good indeed last time they saw them.
I had my doubts having seen the "real" Pink Floyd some years ago, including Dave Gilmore playing Comfortably Numb....

Well, all I can say is the Ozzy band did NOT disappoint! They really were very good indeed so good that had it been the real Pink Floyd playing, to the same standard, I would not have been disappointed.
Very good stage show with good use of lasers and video screen showing appropriate footage.

A most enjoyable evening where the Ozzy lads played stuff from "One Of These Days" right through to most of "The Wall" and beyond....