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Let me take you to two concerts by the same artist, playing the same album, thirty five years apart.

Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive

Wembley Empire Pool – Saturday 23 October 1976

Cambridge Corn Exchange – Saturday 12 November 2011


Well what can I remember of that night back in 1976. Peter Frampton was at the height of his worldwide fame. Almost every home in the western world that loved rock music and owned a record deck, would have had a copy of ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ in their collection.

Wembley Empire Pool (now Arena) was packed (imagine the scene with the Artic Monkeys playing the same venue today). More long hair in the place in those days, sweet smoke (that’s not dry ice) filled the place. Support was keyboard maestro Garry Wright ex- Spooky Tooth, who had a popular album out at the time called Dream Weaver but Frampton got all the God like treatment. A full on 70’s Rock Show and a band in their prime. Ticket price £2.40 (yes, Two Pounds and Forty Pence).

Fast forward Thirty Five years, No support this time but a three hour show none the less. Peter has bass player Stanley Sheldon in the band who would have been at that Wembley show as well. Peter’s long blonde curls have gone, receding hairline and turning grey like most of the (this time around, seated) audience from that era, he still plays a mean guitar.

The almost two hours Frampton Comes Alive section of the shows flashes by like a time machine, with some great video backdrops from that 70’s peak. The 2011 band gels extremely well, Adam Lester on guitar is a great foil for Mr Frampton and the album is enthusiastically reproduced. A great two hours!

The second set is a bit patchy, but  there is a Humble Pie highlight, a decent cover of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun and some great musicianship throughout and, a few years on, its £27.50 for the ticket. 

Pete

Cate le Bon kicks off proceeding tonight. a lovely lady, great voice, great songs and a second album surely just around the corner??? Purely on eclectic guitar with an attentive audience, this was a very nice opening set. 

St.Vincent, with band (and added Cate le Bon) were visually spectacular and engagingly original from the off, (being part of part of Sufjan Stevens' touring band, certainly has had an influence) with Annie able to draw your attention like a magnet.  

A well drilled and extremely tight musical unit delivers a seventeen song set drawn across Annie’s three albums to date. Electric energy abounds on stage. You get the impression that Annie certainly seeks perfection from those around her (even the sound guy!) but sadly the energy is not replicated by an almost reverential seated audience, who I guess at the end of the day, are just awe struck.

 

Mark Stewart popped up to sing along to the Pop Group’s ‘ She Is Beyond Good and Evil’ which left Annie seemingly awe struck herself and tempted to veer left and play the rest of the Y album!

 

This was a tremendous show and demonstrated yet again what a unique talent Annie Clark is.

 

 Pete

 

Set

1.Surgeon  

2.Cheerleader   

3.Save Me From What I Want  

4.Actor Out of Work  

5.Chloe in the Afternoon

6.Dilettante  

7.Cruel   

8.Just The Same But Brand New  

9.Champagne Year  

10.Neutered Fruit  

11.Strange Mercy  

12.She Is Beyond Good and Evil ( Mark Stewart Pop Group)

13.Northern Lights

14.Year of the Tiger  

15.Marrow   

 

Encore:

16.The Party

17.Your Lips Are Red  

 

 

A set lasting two hours and 15 minutes, not bad for a band who have been around in various guises, for over 40 years. Yes provided  good coverage of what the crowd wanted to hear, Yours is No Disgrace, And You And I , Roundabout, Wondrous Stories, Starship Trooper were all there, as was the nucleus of the band.  

Central focus a wiry Steve Howe, as technical and spectacular on guitar as ever .  Chris Squire seems to morph more into Gene Simmons each time I see him. A giant of a man, he stomps and commands the stage with various bass guitars (one upright) churning out a menacing vibe. That’s an idea let’s swap Chris and Gene around ! Alan White, solid if a little stilted is a powerhouse. Time marches on for all of us though I guess. 

I have never been a close follower of Turin Brakes indeed I have never actually heard the Optimist LP all the way through until Monday night.  

This was the first night of a 10th anniversary UK tour of the said record. The venue was around ¾ full and with little in the way of lighting effects the band played the Optimist LP front to back.

 

Soon into the groove the next fifty minutes were enjoyed by both the crowd and the band.

This formed the first part of the set and after returning to the stage the band continued for another hour or so, turning out song after song for the back catalogue and a new ep.

 

The Monday Blues are quickly consigned to the bin!

 

Pete

 

 

 

This was the third night of celebrations for the 15th birthday celebrations of the Fortuna pop record label. Boss of said label ‘Sean’ was the subject of much adulation all night long.

The Ladybug Transistor formed in the mid1990s in Brooklyn. I only discovered the band this year on the launch of their latest album, Clutching Stems. A quite remarkable band, this year’s LP was their sixth! Not a million miles away from the National in sound, but more with a Neil Hannon vocal style and a Belle & Sebastian stage presence I guess. A very nice set, even when they get the said ‘Sean’ onstage for the last song, that he is more than reluctant to sing or play guitar too. Just excellent though to see the band live and hopefully, more next year!!!?? 

 

Tender Trap are led by Amelia Fletcher. The five strong band are a bouncy happy smiley indie band aith a great pop spirit  so you can forgive some of the odd missed notes and vocals sequence as they jump around the stage. Songs come from the first album Dansette, Dansette plus a new song from the record the band are now recording, which should be out in time for them to conquer the UK festival afternoons next summer .

 

Darren Hayman(ex Hefner) & The Secondary Modern are a full band tonight (including Allo Darlin’s bass player) and are in prime form. Half a dozen songs played with gusto, banter in freefall between songs it’s a great set of songs from the Essex landscape.

 

On the Merchandise stand there is a 6 track 10" EP from Darren in a hand screen printed sleeve, which, comes with digital download code and Darren's choice of loose leaf lapsang souchong (I could not make up my mind what the package contained when I got home late last night, so had to look it up) and a recipe for Julia's Christmas Cake. Fika Recordings are here where you can find Christmas in Hayworth.

 

Allo Darlin' are the epitome of a good night out, bright shiny indie things they had the audience’s toes tapping and hips swaying within minutes of the opening song. Like Tender Trap a second album is underway and with Darren Hayman’s violin player tagging along, he makes it a collaborative night.

Australian singer  Elizabeth Morris leads the band with her ukulele ,occasional  electric guitar and fabulous voice and personality. This band will be around for a long while to come. 

 

All this for £11.50 a ticket. just wonderful and happy Birthday Fortuna Pop!

 

Pete

 

 

The thought of heading across to Portsmouth on a Sunday evening is never an exciting one, but the prospect of seeing one of our favourite bands in a small venue made this a must-see gig.  

It was the first night of a 16 night tour so the down n dirty surroundings of 'The Wedge' provided a great launch pad and certainly lead us to keep an open mind on what to expect.

 

Support was Tanya Auclair, songstress hailing from 'West London via Canada and Rwanda' with loads of cleverly used loops using drumsticks, guitar and vocals. She did a 25 minute set; sadly the chatter level grew as her set progressed.

 

Guillemots took to the stage to a classical music backdrop and launched into Kriss Kross, opening number from their Red album. This is an edgy number and set the tone for much of the set - ie a very together band, individually highly accomplished, delivering a superb show.

My previous Arctic Monkeys shows at the Astoria, Brixton, La Zonta Rosa and the megazone of Glastonbury really was no preparation for Alex Turner’s persona at the 02 last night. Like the Vaccines intro music, American Rock n Roll radio which they weren’t but, Alex Turner most certainly was.

Leather jacket, quiff, hair combed through a few times during the show (combs available on the merch stand). The new album continues the American odyssey the band seems to be in the midst of.

Matt Helders, is as much a star of the proceedings as front man Alex.  A more solid drummer  would be hard the find.  Thunder behind the kit and two out of three catches after the throwing the stick in the air segments. Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley guitar and bass respectively continue to make this a growing band.

It takes some doing just to get your head around how far and fast this band they go but, there is still the dark humour and the earthy lyrics. A show just scrapping in at 90 minutes could have been much longer after four albums but it’s still a non stop music feast through those records.

Let’s hope next time out it’s not ‘American Express presents The Arctic Monkeys’!

Pete

I have decided that the Roundhouse, whilst a spectacular place for a concert, is just not that brilliant for viewing. Half the Wilco set crushed up the front ,half behind the mixing desk meant a disjointed show, viewing wise, as you lose all the atmosphere up at the back. This was however a great set that comfortably covered the band’s history with a massive chunk of the new record.

We went as far back as ‘Shouldn't Be Ashamed’  from AM and all points leading up to The Whole Love. It’ did seem to me a bit low key but that could have been because I was waiting for the current dynamic version of Via Chicago, which didn’t arrive until the next night. My Recent Wilco gigs have also been at festivals and also seemed to be more urgent. As I reflect  on set list however I think I’ll be enjoying the ipod playlist over the next couple of months.

Pete

 

Where to start, numerous Ryan shows under my belt already and this is the second London show for me this year, following the Barbican gig in June.  I have seen Ryan play over the years in many different forms, with band, solo, playing with other bands. Focussed, unfocussed, sullen, happy, quiet, chatty, but throughout all of that, there are the songs and their delivery which remains for me spine tingling every time out. 

At the moment we have the cool, focussed, amiable Ryan. Fine new album just released (Ashes and Fire) and a back catalogue to make even more seasoned veterans weep.

 

Anyway back to the start. A healthy queue outside the venue early on as, a venue official  wanders down the line shouting, no recording no video no pictures,. even on phones etc etc etc. The Union chapel is a jouous church for a concert and being there ‘early doors’, pretty much guarantees a decent pew.

 

Chris Stills (Stephen’s son) provided a strong set to start and is well worth checking out on record and live. As you would expect (being in the genes) a good guitarist and interesting songs.

First things first, water £2.70 a bottle (rip off) Richmond Fontaine T Shirt £10 (bargain!) and beer is the usual £4 plus. 

It was a predominantly male audience (more so than your average gig) - much to Laura Gibson’s horror, when she remembered that her T-shirts on the merchandise stall were covered in bunnies. Not that she really needed to worry as she had all the big butch guys (with sensitive hearts) eating out of her hand and singing along by the end of her set. Doubt she sold many T-shirts though.

 

Laura Gibson is a fine Americana / folk talent. Distinctive songs and vocals, and possessing a cute shyness, like Laura Marling way back when. This Laura delivered a lovely set of original songs plus Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Perhaps to tie in with the current Nirvana over-hype machine which is on the roll) but a good gravelly version, none the less. Some nice home spun tales as well.

Tom McRae came out quietly, bashfully, didn't speak, didn't introduce himself but launched straight into the haunting 'You Cut her hair' - chills ran down my spine and the hair stood up on the back of my neck and arms, goose pimples everywhere. The deep tone of the Cello went right through my belly and the violins and viola that accompanied the song, seemed to cling on to his very word.  

The Papiersaal is an old paper mill situated in the heart of Zürich in Sihlcity. Done up beautifully inside, the acoustics suited the quartet and McRae's acoustic guitar.
 
McRae likes Zurich, having played in the Electric Plant in Selnau on his last trip, this visit to another vamped up old part of town, seems to suit him. He also is proud of the String Quartet that accompanies him and he introduced us to them, gradually throughout the show.  

The lone Josh T. was supported by The Tenebrous Liar & Rich Warren, The latter also being the drummer in the former.

Richard Warren had a brooding presence, much like the entire atmosphere of the night. Some raw blues tunes acoustic and electric. New album out 17th October, Wayfarer, with a stripped down mix free with Bucketfull of Brains Great start.

The Tenebrous Liar, are a three piece down the Post Rock route band, indeed close to a ‘Fall’ type Post Rock band. Just a type of band you would expect at Birmingham’s Supersonic festival, with a wall of sound, single pitched vocals and a dark attitude. Interesting evening. 

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