What was your last concert you went to ?

Seth Lakeman Shepperds Bush 12/12/09, an excellent but shortish (95 minutes), he certainly knows how to attack a violin.

Support by a London 4 piece, 6 Day Riot, quite excellent, the lead singer/guitarist is pleasing to the eye as well.

Paul Weller - Warwick Arts Centre - on Friday

Another strong set and great musicianship from Weller and the band

Impressive new stuff, lots of 22 Dreams and some great Jam nostalgia moments - Pretty Green, Start, Town called Malice..

The Unthanks - West End centre

Having missed them last time (double booking, communication breakdown) I was really looking forward to this - especially with the expanded lineup.

Sound was spot on - shivers down the spine at times. There is something special about small venues.

Pity they had sold out of the latest CD, Christmas rethink now in order

Simply

Porcupine Tree - Academy Manchester

Very good, really enjoyed it, although a bit loud, ear plugs had to come out.

Enjoying their CD's even more now.

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Academy Newcastle

Ian and Will were on great form with a mixture of old and new tracks to please everybody. The sound system was unfortunately not up to deciphering McCulloch's witticisms between the songs, I can usually understand scouse, but not on this occasion. The singing was however clear and the band were very tight. Great gig rolled back the years for me, and a few others I suspect.

Regards

Nic

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Academy Leeds

Really not my thing, accompanying my girlfriend. I thought that a set of 1 hour 2 mins and a two track encore was very stingy. Sound poor, lighting entirely back lit through smoke, which was a bit posey.

Ian McCullough was a miserable git through out the show.

Am told by my better half that it was good. 'Zimbo' was apparently a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, perhaps not my place to judge, if you are into them, it sounds as though it was good.

Ramsey Lewis Trio.

Jamie,

It sounds like you were short changed, they were on for over an hour and a half at Newcastle an did three encores with 2-2-1 songs.

McCulloch was very chatty and obviously in good spirits at this gig, you just could not decipher what he was saying because of the sound quality.

The lighting was a bit irritating in that they were permanently back lit and the only time you could see the band properly was when a camera flashed from the audience. Quite atmospheric and entirely consistent with their style of many years ago, but could have been varied a bit more. No idea how the rest of the band played their instruments in the dark though.

I think McCulloch is basically shy. Years ago I used to see them and the Teardrops play regularly at the Fan Club in Leeds. After a set the bands usually chatted, drank and mingled with the audience to watch the next band play. When Mculloch came off stage he always disappeared off rapidly down the street to the nearest phone box to call his girlfriend, with the rest of the band taking the piss about him "being under the thumb".

The used to be call "shoe gazers" by the press.

Regards

Nic

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Academy Leeds

I thought that a set of 1 hour 2 mins and a two track encore was very stingy. Sound poor, lighting entirely back lit through smoke, which was a bit posey.

Ian McCullough was a miserable git through out the show.

Am told by my better half that it was good. 'Zimbo' was apparently a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, perhaps not my place to judge, if you are into them, it sounds as though it was good.

The important thing is my other half enjoyed the show.

It really is not my type of music, so the one hour set was not a problem for me, and it was just down the road, so I should not complain.

We were stood next to the sound desk, and could see times for the bands, the support were off by 8.35, the sound check done by 8.50. The Bunnymen were due on at 9.15, they didn't come on until after 9.20, perhaps there was something before the gig had happened that affected their mood. We didn't appreciate being kept for over half an hour once all the soundchecks had been completed.

It sounds as though the Newcastle show had a better feel, glad you enjoyed it.

Keith Urban, Sydney Entertainment Centre December 16th 2009.

Simply amazing. He played for around 2 hours, and wow, what a guitarist and what an entertainer.
So personable, so talented, so involving - not many artists venture actually into the crowd these days but Keith did on numerous occasions, much to the joy of those near the back and much to the joy of many of the girls!
However, he is far more than just a "pretty face". He rocks hard, mixes in some awesome blues & ballads and his songs and guitar playing can make a grown man weep.
Totally brilliant. Five *'s

Here's the set list:

•Hit The Ground Runnin'
•Days Go By
•Stupid Boy
•Where The Blacktop Ends
•You're My Better Half
•Once In A Lifetime
•Making Memories Of Us
•Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
•Sweet Thing
•Til Summer Comes Around
•Raining On Sunday
•Boys of Summer (Don Henley cover) (with Paul Kelly)
•To Her Door (with Paul Kelly)
•Kiss A Girl
•I Told You So
•You'll Think Of Me
•You Look Good In My Shirt
•Somebody Like You
•Encore:
•Tonight I Wanna Cry
•Better Life

Blythe

Thanks for posting your show experience of KU.
I have several of his albums and a live dvd that all coincide with what you wrote - very very talented, spectacular guitar player, wonderful artist who deserves more appreciation.

regards
Jeff A

I went to see Cat Stevens at the Royal Albert Hall the other night.

I was very impressed with the excerpts from his new stage show that I believe were booed in Ireland for some reason. After the interval it was him and his guitar and band and apart from forgetting where he was a couple of times it was a really good performance and the audience response pretty ecstatic.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Anderson:
Blythe

Thanks for posting your show experience of KU.
I have several of his albums and a live dvd that all coincide with what you wrote - very very talented, spectacular guitar player, wonderful artist who deserves more appreciation.

regards
Jeff A

Which live DVD do you have? I have two of his live DVD's, one is "Love Pain and The Whole Crazy World Tour" which is great, however, I prefer the earlier one titled "Livin' Right Now".
Mind you, having now seen him 4 times live, I am totally hooked on his shows!

quote:

Originally posted by blythe:

however, I prefer the earlier one titled "Livin' Right Now". Mind you, having now seen him 4 times live, I am totally hooked on his shows!

I have Livin' Right Now and have transferred the audio track to cd-r so I can play it even more often.

I am envious of you're having seen him in person.

regards
Jeff A

I have also transferred the DVD's audio to CD-R and have it on my iPlod!

He's got a lot more Oomph live!

Rickie Lee Jones at the Fillmore last night.

2 and a half hours, lots of requests including an impromptu "Low Rider", actually played Chuck E, Coolsville, We Belong Together and Easy Money to the surprise and delight of everyone.

Setlist:

Rodeo Girl
His Jeweled Floor
Eucalyptus Trail
The Blue Ghazel
Wild Girl
Bonfires
Chuck E’s in Love
A Tree on Allenford
Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking
Company
Love is Gonna Bring Us Back Alive
Easy Money
Cycles
The Last Chance Texaco
Coolsville
Weasel and the White Boys Cool
Living It Up
Scary Chinese Movie
We Belong Together
Nobody Knows My Name
The Horses
Satellites
Rebel Rebel
Sailor Song
Low Rider
The Moon is Made of Gold

Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest: Mozart Piano Concerto 21 (Jonathan Biss on the keys) followed by Shostakovich Symphony No. 4. Mozart required only half of the orchestra. Shostakovich was thundering, with a superb ethereal ending. Marvelous afternoon.

US @ Coolham Village Hall,27/12.
US are:
Derek Austin ~ Piano Ex - Caravan Keef Harley band
Malcolm Mortimore ~ Drums Ex Gentle Giant Mike and the Mechanics.
Herbie Flowers ~ Bass SKY
Big Jim Sullivan ~ Guitar with everyone.

4 superb musicians really enjoying themselves, as did the small (80ish) audience. Nice jazz.

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
US @ Coolham Village Hall,27/12.
US are:
Derek Austin ~ Piano Ex - Caravan Keef Harley band
Malcolm Mortimore ~ Drums Ex Gentle Giant Mike and the Mechanics.
Herbie Flowers ~ Bass SKY
Big Jim Sullivan ~ Guitar with everyone.

4 superb musicians really enjoying themselves, as did the small (80ish) audience. Nice jazz.

I probably should have gone to that seeing as it is just down the road. Looks like a good line up.

I'm pretty sure you would have really enjoyed it. I'll let you know next time, but they are really popular.
I'll see if it's OK to send you Norma's e-mail and you can get on her mailing list. A country band last Friday Jan and Richard Smith guitarist in Feb.

The Imagined Village at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Monday night. What a fantastic group of musicians (10 on stage!) and very entertaining, with some good banter with the audience. I would recommend going to see these if you have the chance. Chris Wood did the support stint before joining the band for the main show - very enjoyable he was too.

Laura Veirs at Manchester Academy 3 last night. Two support acts - the front man, whose name I can't remember, of The Old Believers playing without the band (not very good, IMO) and then Eric Anderson (the front man of Cataldo, also playing without his band) who I thought was very good. He had a great rapport with the crowd, very witty, interesting lyrics and a good voice (I've since read a review comparing his sound to Death Cab For Cutie if that means anything?). I will look out for Cataldo, probably should have bought a disc at the show.
Laura Veirs was once again very good although the show was a little on the short side - I think about an hour and a quarter. The songs were mostly from her new album July Flame so unfamiliar to some but still well received. Nice to have a chat with her again after the show and with a baby due mid-April I think this tour is going to be quite gruelling!

The Pineapple Thief, Putney Half Moon 23/1/10, small venue 200 ish maybe. Band were pretty good , sounds reasonable too, for a change. Un-fortunately the usually "conversations" going on if you stood at the back.

We aren't as enamoured as Scotty is with this band, I'm glad we saw and enjoyed them , I bought their 2 CD "best of" 3000 Days, and I think that will do me. Just not different enough for me. 7/10 for the gig though.

Nice to meet you again Howard glad you enjoyed the gig.
Regards, Dave

Went along to see Paul Jones and Dave Kelly's acoustic set last night at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen . Fantastic concert , really enjoyed the music and their passion for what they do was obvious . Dave Kelly is a great guitarist and Paul Jones plays a mean harmonica !

The mighty Status Quo at the excellent Harrogate International Centre last night.

Good honest rockaboogie. No pretention, no trying to be 'cool', no insulting the audience, just good honest fun. Something a few more bands could do with trying.

Rossi is an underated guitarist to my way of thinking.

steve