- Live Reviews
I think the last time I saw Super Furry Animals was in a tent, at V festival many moons ago. It's that long since I have visited the V festival!
At that time, the band in crash helmets if I recall correctly, were one of the hardest working outfits in the land, yet our very own home-grown version of the Flaming Lips seem destined to be just that, a hard working band who had reached their capacity audience.
Fast forward 6/7 years or more after the band members have been off to do their own thing such as Gruff Rhys; successful solo ventures and Guto Pryce and his wife Lindsey Leven's outfit Gulp and now the band have reformed for a sold out UK tour and festival appearances (including Glastonbury and a headline slot at the Green Man Festival).
Rest assured the band have returned, healthy, refreshed and full of all the madcap mayhem of the legendary gigs that preceded their hiatus.
Kicking off the tour are three sold out nights in the 1,600 capacity Great Hall of Cardiff University's Students Union and the place is wedged by the time the band took the stage at 8.45 pm, following a gritty opening set from The Magic Numbers.
The evening with Super Furry Animals is actually a joyous 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of greatest hits. Even with the re-issue of Mwng the next day, it's pretty much all the albums getting an airing. Everybody seemed happy up on the stage and the 25 song set really motored with the added attraction of dry ice and laser for added effect.
Gruff brought out the famous helmeted face for the lengthy encore which ended with band in their yeti costumes blasting out 'The Man Don't Give a F*ck'.
A very special gig indeed as I am should everyone will experience a show on this tour. A national treasure, or more music to come, at the moment I don't think anyone knows so, her's looking forward to the same all over again at The Green Man Festival in August!
Pete
SET
(A) Touch Sensitive
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
Do Or Die
Ice Hockey Hair
Demons
Northern Lites
Ymaelodi â'r Ymylon
Y Gwyneb Iau
Nythod Cacwn
Pan Ddaw'r Wawr
Run! Christian, Run!
Hello Sunshine
Hometown Unicorn
Zoom!
Arnofio / Glô in the Dark
Something 4 the Weekend
Gwreiddiau Dwfn/Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion
Slow Life
Juxtapozed With U
The International Language of Screaming
Golden Retriever
Receptacle For The Respectable
Fire In My Heart
Mountain People
The Man Don't Give a F*ck
- Live Reviews
A Thursday evening in springtime is the setting for Nick Cave and some of his Bad Seeds to play the Theatre Royal venue in Nottingham as part of their short UK tour.
Tickets for all dates went in a flash when they were put on sale and the venue is packed to the rafters as the band take to the stage at 8.30pm. Although billed as a solo show, the band includes Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey Thomas Wydler and Barry Adamson all members of the Bad Seeds.
The band all had their own space in front of an initially red velvet curtain back drop under blue lights on a dark stage, all a very appropriate smokers' lounge setting for Nick's dark and wondrous tunes.
'Water's Edge' from latest album, 'Push the Sky Away' and 'The Weeping Song' from 1990's 'The Good Son' kick the show off in fine style, to be followed by 'Red Right Hand' from 1994's 'Let Love In'. The magnificence of Nick's current and back catalogue is already self-evident to all after just three songs in. Warren Ellis seated and mainly on guitar is an equal star of the show and is the usual foil for Brother Nick opposite.
Still sticking to the set list, ' Brompton Oratory' is followed by a spellbinding 'Higgs Boson Blues' which leaves the audience pretty much in awe. Here's where the banter really starts, and the set list becomes a thing of the past as the crowd holler of this song and that. 'Tupelo' is the loudest or, clearest shout and the band immediately proceed to blast through the song.
It then becomes open season to get your song played, some do, and get hilariously rejected. The atmosphere is fantastic and the music sublime. A delicious 'And No More Shall We Part' from the 2001 album of the same name is played for one particular audience member who had written to Nick previously. The show is that intimate!
Songs from 'Push the Sky Away naturally feature heavily but they are so strong that they just fit in seamlessly.
The encore includes a spine chilling version of 'God is in the House' after which the band change course to 'pop land' and give us a joyous 'Breathless'. This song seems to come about after someone at the front tells Nick that they got married to this particular tune. It's unclear whether it Nick's version of the song used at their nuptials or not, which causes much hilarity.
Two and a half hours after we started, the set closes with 'The Lyre of Orpheus' and 'Push the Sky Away'. This was nothing short of an incredible show and one that will live in the memory for some time to come.
Pete
Original Set List
Actual Set List
Water's Edge
The Weeping Song
Red Right Hand
Brompton Oratory
Higgs Boson Blues
Tupelo
Mermaids
The Ship Song
Into My Arms
From Her to Eternity
West Country Girl
And No More Shall We Part
I Let Love In
Up Jumped the Devil
Black Hair
The Mercy Seat
Jubilee Street
Encore
We No Who U R
God Is in the House
Breathless
Stranger Than Kindness
Jack the Ripper
The Lyre of Orpheus
Push the Sky Away
- Live Reviews
Major Americana / bluegrass man and Old Crow Medicine Show, songwriter Gill Landry is supporting Laura on this tour. A fabulous 30minute set (apart from the audience noise) set the tone for the evening. Its' a shame that many people in the audience didn't actually know what they were missing when it was staring them in face, obviously during the midpoint of many many conversations!
The stage backdrop for Laura Marling and here band has a desert (Mojave?) landscape, and as she walks on, picks up the national steel guitar and launches in 'Howl', the first track from the new album, the effect is nothing short of mesmerising. The band join her on stage quietly and just seamlessly join into the song which moves pretty much without pause though to four songs from 'Once I was an Eagle'
The lion's share of songs comes from the new album 'Short Movies' and a fair chunk of 'Once I was an Eagle'. An acoustic guitar only makes an occasional appearance during the set as the National Steel and electric guitars take prominence. It's not that any reinvention was required for Laura, it's just on this tour you can witness an artist taking her art form to a totally different level. That stay in LA seems to have worked wonders.
The band were tight and happy, even a few humorous moments like when Laura thought she was witnessing someone in the audience climbing on the shoulders of someone else "A first for a Laura Marlin concert" only to realise it was a guy taking his jumper off
The ninety minutes of the set whizzed by to the point where Laura explained as normal that she does not do encores although, the previous night she actually did (at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank) to please her Dad, when she played ' Daisy' which is her Dad's favourite song from the Short Movies session (it didn't make the album) and Laura also played that song for us tonight.
The set ended with Worship Me and Short Movie and then they were gone and the venue pretty much emptied within ten minutes.
What an incredible show, Laura Marling has introduced herself to rock n roll and added yet another string to her already impressive bow.So if you can get to see a show on this tour, then do so, you could just end up amazed.
Pete
Set-list
Howl
Take the Night Off
I Was an
You Know
Breathe
I Feel Your Love
How Can I
What He Wrote
Rambling Man
Love Be Brave
False Hope
Master Hunter
Strange
The Muse
Sophia
Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)
Blues Run the Game
Daisy
Worship Me
Short Movie
- Live Reviews
A series of sold out gigs in London’s Lexington, where post punk legends Wire first started their eclectic Drill festival in 2010 – 35 years after their first sweaty anarchic gigs at the likes of the 100 Club and the Roxy. Each Drill is different, and this one is just the band, in a small venue, with a specially selected support each night.
Tonight it is psychedelic Londoners Orlando. Turns out by coincidence I know one of them…new keyboardist Phil, aka Cambridge stalwart the Man from Uranus, well known for his wig out live shows. Here he is part of a tight combo, replacing Charlotte from Ash, whose DJ work now leaves her time for little else.
The band's enveloping instrumentals are reminiscent of Goat, with sparkly 60s sci-fi clothes instead of tribal gear. Stereolab might be another reference, with chanted vocals on psych-pop numbers like 'Theme for a Telepathic Amphibian' – the title perhaps giving further clues to the music – or not!
They set the stage well for Wire, who are uncompromising and still true to their original punk ethic. Colin Newman quietly in charge, Graham Lewis in trademark beret, Robert (Gotobed) Grey on drums, all original band members, plus Mathew Simms adding a touch of youth. Everyone in black.
They play no hits or old numbers. The first half is all from the excellent new album just called Wire, including catchy number 'In Manchester', which recalls Buzzcocks pop. The second half is much darker and harder, riff after riff, lyrics screamed or spoken, the epic album finale 'Harpooned' culminating in Drill, the never-ending song that gives the festival its name.
In Brighton’s superb Drill last year they played it first with a stage full of guitarists, then with headliners Swans – here it is just the four of them, powering into the night alone – apart from a room packed with adoring fans.
Kevin Hand
Tour dates
April 20 - SOUTHAMPTON – Engine Rooms
April 21 - RAMSGATE – Music Hall
April 22 – NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms
April 23 – LIVERPOOL – Kazimer
April 24 – HEBDEN BRIDGE – Trades Club
April 26 - ABERDEEN – Lemon Tree
April 27 - GLASGOW – King Tuts
April 28 - LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club
April 29 - MANCHESTER – Club Academy
April 30 - BRISTOL – Fleece
- Live Reviews
I’m not sure there’s a great deal more to say about current darling of the music press Courtney Barnett. We know she’s Australian, and more specifically from Melbourne, we know she writes engagingly about the more mundane aspects of life, and we know she’s just released her debut album to great critical acclaim, but what I didn’t know was how that would translate live.
After what seemed like an interminably long period following the support band leaving the stage and her over fussy roadies making sure every square inch of the stage was just so, on she walked with the minimum of ceremony with the other 2 members of the band and began playing Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party. This took the sweaty, capacity Leadmill by surprise and it wasn’t quite the explosive start we expected.
It took until the 5th song for the audience to really get going and that was because it was History Eraser from her debut EP release. I’m guessing that as the bulk of the set focussed on the debut album, most of us have only had a week or so living with it so don’t know them off by heart yet. The exception of course was the fabulous single Pedestrian at Best which closed the main set to a enormous ovation.
A couple of encores later, and she and her left handed Fender Strat were done.
So in summary for me, a good if not great gig, by a massively talented young songwriter and guitarist who will only grow and grow as she releases more material. Catch her at a small venue while you can.
Keith @kjsmith4082
- Live Reviews
I’m not sure there’s a great deal more to say about current darling of the music press Courtney Barnett. We know she’s Australian, and more specifically from Melbourne, we know she writes engagingly about the more mundane aspects of life, and we know she’s just released her debut album to great critical acclaim, but what I didn’t know was how that would translate live.
On Monday night, her mostly sold out tour rolled into Sheffield and the Leadmill - surely at the rate she is gaining momentum this will be the last tour at venues of this size.
After what seemed like an interminably long period following the support band leaving the stage and her over fussy roadies making sure every square inch of the stage was just so, on she walked with the minimum of ceremony with the other 2 members of the band and began playing Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party. This took the sweaty, capacity Leadmill by surprise and it wasn’t quite the explosive start we expected.
It took until the 5th song for the audience to really get going and that was because it was History Eraser from her debut EP release. I’m guessing that as the bulk of the set focussed on the debut album, most of us have only had a week or so living with it so don’t know them off by heart yet. The exception of course was the fabulous single Pedestrian at Best which closed the main set to a enormous ovation.
A couple of encores later, and she and her left handed Fender Strat were done.
So in summary for me, a good if not great gig, by a massively talented young songwriter and guitarist who will only grow and grow as she releases more material. Catch her at a small venue while you can.
- Live Reviews
From the off the crowd were ready for The Devil Makes Three to take the stage in the intimate Scala in Kings Cross, London. It became clear why in short order. Mixing bluegrass, blues and ragtime (amongst others) this old-timey guitar, banjo and double bass 3-piece filled the room with infectious and energetic melody, for which the crowd showed their noisy appreciation from start to finish.
The band played music from all of their albums, bouncing effortlessly from one track to the next. Lead vocals provided by Pete Bernhard, with atmospheric harmonies from Lucia Turino (double bass) and Cooper McBean (banjo/guitar) each also taking turns on lead vocals during the show. Starting with Beneath the Piano - setting the up-tempo scene, moving into Stranger, and the crowd-pleasing The Bullet and All Hail. Next up a couple of Doc Watson and Elvis Costello covers. Gracefully Facedown and Hallelu continued the pulsating rhythm.
The tone took a noticeable shift with the melancholic bleating of Graveyard. This more modern-sounding folk tune centred attention on the more sober tone of the bands lyrics, which are so often expertly obscured in some of their more musically upbeat tracks. We were then back to elbow-thrusting, foot-stomping stuff featuring Dead Body Moving, Worse or Better, and Old Number 7.
The band came back for 3 encores, For Good Again, Bangor Mash and St James and exited to the baying of the crowd of long-time fans and new recruits, myself included.
The Devil Makes Three play a few more European dates before heading back to USA for shows through to August. I'm not sure when they plan another trip back here but keep an eye out. They are well worth a watch.
Gráinne saw The Devil Makes Three live at Scala in London, UK, 26th March 2015
- Live Reviews
Weddings, Funerals and reformed band gigs all have a number of things in common. The anxiety of what to wear, will Aunty Joan turn up in the same AC/DC fly on the wall tour shirt? Are they in it for the money, why did Aunty Joan marry successful 90 year old local butcher Mr Collins the month after they met? And most importantly will it be a good night out? Aunty Joan likes Bingo!
GUN had me excited but worried, a favorite band of mine, whom Apple are currently advising me that 3 tracks of Swagger are in my top most played tracks listing. According to the law of foggy memory a faded ex-girlfriend is best remembered as part of your heroically romantic misspent youth and not someone you suggest joins you and your wife for a curry in Shoreditch on a Wednesday.
My point is, that like my rambling, sometimes it’s worth squeezing into the tour shirt and making the effort. The truth is that on this drab Tuesday night in a venue that has more viewing restrictions than the East Stand at Southend Utd GUN were magnificent.
I had been lucky enough to hear the new album ahead of release and wondered how it would sit with their crowd pleasing back catalogue, again fears allayed it was epic, clearly the crowd were long time fans and played their part to the max, from the first spiritual refrain of new track Let it Shine and on to the obligatory Word Up they were so well versed it was almost Wagnerian.
'One wrong turn', Title track 'Frantic' and recent single' Labour of Life' all played brilliantly within a hit laden set that ran the best part of 2 hours without a moments respite. There was no band political rhetoric just a celebration of what they do best by rocking your world apart with glorious anthems.
A band this good deserve to return to the heights of yesterday and the new album supports that. This is a band that has played alongside the Stones, Bon Jovi, SimpleMinds and more and, their effervescent performance throughout was wonderful to experience. This is a short tour and I think that anyone getting the chance to see them close it out in hometown Glasgow at Barrowlands is going to die rock happy.
Let's hope this is the second coming for a band that is one of Scotland's lost treasures that needs to be saved for the nation.
Iain
@docswallow
Set list:
Let It Shine
Don’t say it’s Over
Better Days
One Wrong Turn
Something To Believe In
Money
Hold Your Head Up
Real World
Higher Ground
Frantic
Taking On The World
Inside Out
Word Up
Steal Your Fire
Encore:
Labour Of Life
Shame
- Live Reviews
Well, you just have two admire these musician’s who just never seem to stop working and who put so much effort into their craft, even on a school night in Cambridge.
Emily Barker and Gill Sandell, most recently part of Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo, have now spilt off into a sub branch of the parent company and are putting a few shows on together in support of Emily’s new record, the Toerag Sessions and Gill’s fine new album with Chris T-T called Walk Away, Walk Away.
An impressively raw set of songs from local resident Paul Goodwin, set the seen for Emily and Gill to hit the stage at 9.30pm and leave around 11pm having delivered a beautifully varied and engaging set of songs that stirred the memories, to songs only just recorded and not yet released.
Gill Sandell had an array of instruments at her disposal, acoustic, electric guitars, flute, accordion and with a dusky singing voice made for evening time (just the one shot at a solo song), she harmonises sweetly.
Emily on acoustic and electric guitars has a voice that just evokes the widescreen landscape of her native homeland in Australia. Songs go from heartbreak to wonderment and she really can keep an audience captivated for any length of time.
The Toerag Sessions record will be particularly sweet as it is just Emily solo, with harmonica and guitar and songs from her entire career going as far back to early Cambridge days with the Low Country. So last night, was an apt homecoming.
Pete
The Toerag Sessions is released on Easter Monday, 6th April and there are various options to pre-order via Pledge Music
Remaining dates with Gill:
Wed 25 Mar - Burnley Mechanics
Thu 26 Mar - Wakefield Unity Works
Fri 27 Mar - Bury The Met
Sat 28 Mar - Morecambe Hothouse
Sun 29 Mar - Halifax Square Chapel
- Live Reviews
Well they promised us a light show, and it's already kicked in as part of the warm-up to The Charlatans a DJ set from One Beat Records is laying down some disco funk, the mirror ball above the stage is glittering through the smoke and the over 40s who make up most of tonight's crowd are getting up for a big Friday night trip down memory lane at The Civic.
What stops tonight being a tribute act is that The Charlatans have just come through another band tragedy (the death of drummer Jon Brookes in 2013) and released 'Modern Nature' their best, most upbeat album in many years.
At the appointed time the lights dim, the low funky bass and keyboard intro to 'Forever' creeps out of the PA and the band, with Pete Salisbury of The Verve and others occupying the drum stool tonight, as he does on several tracks from the new album start the groove. Lead singer Tim Burgess with his now familiar but still badly dyed (we can see your roots Tim) blonde, Andy Warhol style long bob taking the first of many crowd photos which litter his Twitter account. The stabbing keyboard intro to 'Weirdo' starts the first really serious bout of crowd bouncing, which continues through 'North Country Boy' and 'Tellin' Stories'.
The pace slows for 'Trouble Understanding' the best track from 'Modern Nature' with its lovely, lazy piano and the killer chorus “ Never Ending' also from 'Modern Nature'. We to need be held to be aware of own our bodies. Nature is trouble understanding.”, followed by the appropriately titled 'Let the Good Times Be
The tumbling, thumping piano from 'One To Another' gets the whole room bouncing again, the audience temporarily losing the years between 1997 and 2015 in a mass of sweaty limbs and shouted vocals. Tim with a broad grin on his face is taking more crowd shots to document the fun down the front. The final three tracks of the main set ' How High',' The Only One I Know' and 'Come Home Baby' keep the pace going through to the end of a triumphant return.
First encore is 'Blackened Blue Eyes' from 'Simpatico' and “this is for Jon Brookes” (the band were formed in the West Midlands, later moving to Cheshire) they finish as ever with 'Sproston Green'. Tim departs the stage after the vocal is finished leaving the band to keep the audience dancing for a couple more minutes. As they bring the show to a close the back screen has a fitting and appropriate tribute to Jon Brookes which gets a respectful round of applause.
With the cool light show, a band on top form playing songs from a memorable back catalogue and a great new album, let the good times be never ending; welcome to the best over-40s disco in town.
Alisdair Whyte
- Live Reviews
JJ Grey & Mofro played to a sold out gig in London last night before their tour continues through Europe with sadly no other gigs planned for the UK.
Support was Marc Broussard a bluesman from Louisiana who treated us to eighty minutes of superb blues and soul with his voice and fine acoustic guitar playing. Some of JJ’s band joined him for the last few numbers. This tour looks like being one hell of a party!
JJ Grey & Mofro filled the air with their southern blues, soul and funky rock which, really is stuck in the seventies but still feels so fresh in 2015. They are a tight seven piece band well used to playing together and you could see they were having as good a time as the audience. That feelgood factor was infectious.
Their new album Ol’ Glory was released a few weeks ago. (our review is here) and this took the lion's share of a lengthy set.
JJ says “slow your life down by paying attention, you will be more creative”. That’s a good message to take away! “thankyawl” he said in appreciation “thankyawl to you to” we thought.
We need to look out for their return to the UK and hope we won’t have to wait too long!
Ken
- Live Reviews
Ólöf Arnalds opened the show with her unique voice and beautiful songs. Although it's hard not to make Bjork comparisons, it's easy to see her talent is special. Her songs demonstrated a wide range of guitar skills that would make anyone swoon, and her lyrics were touching without being cheesy. A bit of a result really.
Jose Gonzalez was the main draw for the evening, and although being a man, most likely, known for his covers (The Knife, Massive Attack, Kylie Minogue), he's back with a new album full of exciting new material. Complete with band, he played songs from that pulse racing record as well as making time to include the 'hits'. This included Heartbeats during a solo set half way through the evening which was followed by the classic pop ditty turned into a sorrow filled number, 'Put Your Hand On Your Heart' by Kylie Minogue.
A complete set full of fantastic guitar playing and a mixture soulful and enigmatic songs that had the crowd hooked.
@thejoeeley
