LIVE REVIEW : THE JAYHAWKS AT SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE 18/07/2014

​

This short European tour of The Jayhawks could be subtitled "the second coming of the band's second incarnation". After reforming the band with founding member Mark Olson in 2008 for a rather glorious one off show at the Azkena Rock Festival festival in Spain (or more accurately in the Basque county) which led them to rekindle their writing partnership with an excellent Olson-Louris collaboration called Ready For The Food released in 2009 and a not so good Jayhawks album  : Mockingbird Time in 2011. After a the lengthy tour the band parted again in 2012 with Olson going back to his solo work. The bands two landmark albums : Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass were re-released in 2011 and this month sees expanded of their 3 post Olson LP's : Sound Of Lies, Smile and Rainy Day Music coming out on Universal Music. Although not as essential, they contain good songs and see the band trying to free themselves from the sound they were known for, although they ended up returning to it in the end.

The Shepherd's Bush Empire is the perfect sized venue for a band like The Jayhawks and after an excellent opening set by The Rockingbirds (a good match as they play a similar brand of Americana), the 1997 line-up (which means Kraig Johnson instead of Mark Olson) came on stage to a warm welcome from the audience. The Jayhawks post Olson despite several contributions from bass player Marc Perlman and drummer Tim O'Reagan was pretty much the Gary Louris show and the fact the best of the post Olson albums is the one where he wrote most of tunes (Rainy Day Music) confirms that. The band opened the show with Smile's lead single I'm Gonna Make You Love Me. They were remarkably tight for a band that had played less than 10 shows together after a two year break with Louris throwing some really inspired guitar solos. All the albums were given their share with a few tracks from the Olson days included for good measure (Blue, Waiting For The Sun, I'd Run Away). Highlights were the tunes from Rainy Day Music with an excellent version of Tampa To Tulsa (Tim O'Reagan on vocals on that one) but that album is an embarrassment of riches anyway (Angelyne, Stumbling Through The Dark, All The Right Reasons...). Kraig Johnson's presence give Louris the occasion to play a couple of numbers from their side project Golden Smog. Not a band known for their exuberance on stage, the last number of the night saw Louris stepping down from the stage and finishing his solo in the alley between the stage and the stalls. 

LIVE REVIEW : BILL WYMAN'S RHYTHM KINGS AT THE ROSE THEATRE KINGSTON 30/07/2014

Bill Wyman has spent the last 18 years touring Europe's theaters with his band. A loose collective, it has featured some outstanding musicians (Gary Brooker, Georgie Fame) and served as launchpad for others (Mike Sanchez, Martin Taylor). The Line-up for the show at The Rose Theatre featured returning member Andy Fairweather Low who had a few days available in his busy schedule with his own band The Low Riders and newcomer Hamish Stuart from The Average White Band and a member of Paul Mccartney's band from 1989 to 1994. Stuart was deputizing for an absent Albert Lee who was touring America with his own band. Others members include horn players Frank Mead and Nick Payn, singer Beverley Skeete, drummer Graham Broad, keyboard player Geraint Watkins and the band leaders Terry Taylor (guitar) and Bill Wyman (on bass of course).

​

The Rose Theatre is a 900 hundred seat auditorium and can be reached walking from Kingston train station in less than 10 minutes walking (or 4 minutes running as I hat to catch the 22.48 train to Waterloo after the gig...). My seat wasn't the best in the house as i was in fart left of the upper circle which means I didn't see much of Andy Fairweather Low apart when he took centre stage to sing. Bill Wyman came on  first and thanked everybody for coming and introduced the band members one by one. They have got a singer for every style of music, Beverley Skeete can tackle every soul number that you could think of (excellent version of It's a Man's World and I Put a Spell on You). Hamish Stuart with his sweet voice can do anything from soul (He Was Friend Of Mine) to Rock'n'roll (I'm Ready). The musicians are all top notch which resulted in some particularly fine performances. Andy Fairweather Low's sung a superb version of Route 66 on which he replicated Keith Richards's solo note for note. Geraint Watkins as usual was outstanding whether tackling the boogie woogie classic Chicken Sack, a Howlin Wolf Cover (300 pounds of Joy) or a Chuck Berry Number (Johnny B Goode, the arrangement of which was a carbon copy of the one he does with his band The Mosquitos).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFIc5lqqY4o

The evening was divided into two halves and you can see that great care had been put into the set list has the two hour show just flew by. The between song activity was also great with Frank Mead and Watkins competing on who would make the most long winded song introductions. Watkins Howlin Wolf story was a cracker. The evening finished with another Chuck Berry Cover (You Never Can Tell), featuring Bill Wyman on lead vocals.

http://billwyman.com/

LIVE REVIEW : ALAN PRICE AT THE BULLS HEAD BARNES 11/09/2014

Alan Price and his band have been playing a monthly residency at The Bulls Head for a long time. At first it was to keep the band in practice in between tours but for the past two years it has been the only place where you can catch Mr Price and his associates. 

The Bulls Head has been recently refurbished following a change of ownership and what used to be the music room has been swallowed up by the rather posh Gastro pub (7 pounds for a sandwich... gulp) while what used to be a Thai restaurant at the back has been converted into a music venue with separate bar. The room is pretty small (150 people at the maximum) and you feel privileged to be able to catch such a great musician in such an intimate venue. 

​

Price arrived at 8.30 and announced that following an accident with his golf cart a couple of days before the gig, his left was very swollen and with a straight face said that he we weren't pleased with the performance, we were more than welcome to ask for our money back at the end of the evening. He started the first song solo and was gradually joined by the whole band. Each band member was given space to express himself with guitarist Bobby Tench covering Carlos Santana's Black Magic Woman (introduced by an absolutely hilarious speech from Mr Price) and Zoot Money covering Louis Jordan's Let The Good Times Roll and his own Ain't Nothin' Shakin' But The Bacon. Price is renowned for his in between song banter with some of his speeches exceeding the actual length of the songs. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVZrpGjopmI

We were treated to a medley of songs from the soundtrack of the O lucky Man movie for which Price received a Bafta ("It's somewhere in the garage" said our host). An extremely good cover of Jackson Browne's "Say It Isn't true" featuring a blistering guitar solo from Bobby tench was the highlight of the evening closely followed by a fantastic medley that grouped together Money, Little Richard's Lucille and The Box Tops's The Letter. No "House Of The Rising" that night but we still got a fare slice of Mr Price's most famous ditties : We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear, Just For You and The House That Jack Built. The rhythm section of Peter Grant and Darby Todd were given their spot in the sun too, each having their own solo's to showcase their dexterity. 

To check Alan Price live dates at The Bulls Head please go to :

http://www.geronimo-inns.co.uk/london-the-bulls-head/events

LIVE REVIEW : IAN MCLAGAN AT THE HALF MOON PUTNEY 04/07/2014

Currently promoting his new album United States, Ian Mclagan the legendary keyboard player of The Small Faces and The Faces stopped at The Half Moon in Putney to play a three night residency. Mac has been living in Austin Texas for the past twenty years where he has put together a new version of his Bump band and recorded 5 albums in his own house. He rarely comes to Europe (his last UK tour was in 2011) so this was a rare chance to catch him live in one of London's most iconic music venues.  The show featured just Mac and his bass player John Notarthomas  After a short introduction from John, Mac came on stage and launched straight into Hello Old Friend, a song he wrote for his former band mate and friend Ronnie Lane. 

Songs from United States formed the bulk of the set but Mac didn't forget his past with excellent versions of Get Yourself Together and Cindy Incidentally. The songs were interspersed with anecdotes and stories about his his Irish family and how he came to join the Small Faces which enabled him to say a few "nice" words about their former manager Don Arden. Another funny remembrance was when he recalled landing in an O'Neill's pub after a rehearsal for a tour with Billy Bragg in search of some company (which propelled several members of the audience to buy him pints of Guinness despite him saying that he would only have drink after the gig)  I thought that the bass and keyboard combination would be a bit strange but John and Mac have been playing together for so long that they managed to pull it off with ease. Towards the end of the gig he apologized for promising to bring the band for his next UK tour during his last visit to The Half Moon and failing to do so. He then urged us to come and visit Austin and see the band at The Lucky Lounge where they play each Thursday from 6pm to 8pm. After two hours of dyed in the wool rock'n'roll on the rather worm stage of The Half Moon the show closed with a lovely version of one Ronnie Lane's greatest songs "Debris" closing off a splendid gig admirably. Ian then spent the next hour chatting with fans and signing copies of his fantastic autobiography "All the Rage".  If you can't afford the plane ticket to see the Bump Band, I highly recommend The Live At The Lucky Lounge CD that features highlights from two gigs recorded in April last year. Review first Published On Louder Than War on the 9th of July 2014.

http://louderthanwar.com/ian-mclagan-the-half-moon-putney-live-review/

LIVE REVIEW : SUNNY AFTERNOON AT THE HAMPSTEAD THEATRE 10/05/2014

With the announcement of the shows transfer to the west end next October it's more than time that I published my review of the performance I saw last month... I must admit that I didn't have high expectations on this musical but as I'm huge Kinks fan I simply couldn't miss it. It had some official band input in it as it's based on a story by Ray Davies and I was curious how it would compare to "Let It Be", the lousy "musical" about The Beatles I went to see last year. The show's first run from the 24th of April till the 25th of May at The Hampstead Theatre and following its success will be reprised at the Harold Pinter Theatre in October.

The Hampstead Theatre is a small venue with only 325 seats and we were right in the middle with a perfect view of the stage. The story starts with the beginning of the band when they were playing dances and parties backing future manager Robert Wace. It then charts their rapid ascension to fame following the release of You Really Got Me and the numerous problems they had with the music industry culminating with the band being banned from touring america for 5 years. Despite a couple a couple of inaccuracies and a few historical short cuts, the play is rather splendid with really good historical detail. All the main players in the Kinks 60's story are there (impresario Larry Parnes, Music publisher Eddie Kassner, producer Shel Talmy, managers Robert Wace and Greenville Collins, Rasa Davies and all the members of the Davies clan). Ray (really good performance by John Dalgeish) is pictured as the thoughtful, shy one while Dave (played a bit heavy handedly by George Maguire) is pictured as a raving lunatic, only interested in partying and raising hell. The songs are perfectly slotted into the story and some more obscure Kinks tracks get an airing (who would have thought they'd manage to fit Maximum Consumption, from 1972's Everybody's in Showbiz album). It's a musical so everything is slightly tweaked to come up with a happy ending thus bypassing several important elements (Pete Quaife the bass player leaving two times and being replaced by John Dalton for example) and as the show culminates with the band playing Lola at the Madison Square Garden, it conveniently skips the hit and miss Rock Opera albums of mid seventies and Ray Davies public breakdown during an open air gig in London in 1973.

Nevertheless it's a remarkably entertaining show which made excellent use of its cast (who double on instruments and acting parts for most of them) and set with good historical detail and a good story. It's more than a jukebox musical. Don't miss it when it plays in the west end !!!

LIVE REVIEW : MICKEY JUPP AT THE RIGA MUSIC BAR SOUTHEND ON SEA 14/06/2014

The problem with going to a lot of gigs is that they all tend to start blending into each other after a while but my first Mickey Jupp gig was a momentous occasion for me. I've only recently discovered his music but I've spent numerous hours listening to his songs over the past year. After a coupled of unconfirmed shows in Southend last March got called off, two gigs at Southend's iconic music venue The Riga Music Bar got announced for mid-June. Rubbing my hands in delight, I convinced my girlfriend that he would be the perfect occasion to visit Southend for the first time.

After having a nice meal in a small cafe just down the road from the venue, we made our way to the venue. The Riga is quite small but it has the perfect size and shape for a rock club. There's a few tables at the back and a row of seats against the wall on the left, the right side of the room is taken up by the bar area. The Riga is a venue that Mickey Jupp has played in many times over the years. He started playing gigs in the Cricketers that's just round the corner from the club.

Opening act was the The Blues Spiders featuring Mickey Jupp fan Russ Cottee on guitars (he likes the guy so much, he even parted with a beautiful Gibson 335 to offer it to the great man for his birthday). I understand they've only been together for a few months, but despite a few rough edges, the performance was pretty impressive with some really nice slide parts from Russ. After a short break Mickey Jupp and his band came on stage (with Mickey wincing slightly at the MC's intro describing as a Southend legend). Featuring his long-time musical foil Mo Witham on guitar, Dennis Masterton on bass and former drummer of The Paramounts (later to become Procol Harum), Mick Brownlee, the band opened the show with "Cheque Book", a song that Jupp often chooses to open his gigs and which was first published on the Legend album in 1971 (commonly known as The Red Boot album). The setlist featured quite a few new songs from the four albums Mickey has put out over the last few years (you can purchase directly from the man himself via Paypal). Particular highlights were nice versions of "Trying to Unlike You" and "Song For Holly" and a rousing "I Should Be Lovin' This" written 20 years ago while Mickey was on his way to tour Sweden with The Refreshments. The set divided in 3 parts didn't bypass his more famous tunes with all the classics getting an airing (Standing At The Crossroads Again, Switchboard Susan, Big Black Cadillac and many more). Some rarely aired numbers were played, Don't Talk To Me from 1980's Oxford album introduced by Mickey as "the nearest to a hit record I ever got".

Even though the band played remarkably well for an outfit that gets together only a couple of times per year, I could feel Mickey getting frustrated with Mick Brownlee's drumming. I can only say one thing : "everything sounded fine from our side". The crowd participation grew as the night went on which Mr Jupp seem to appreciate a lot (especially during the singalong on One night with You). The band closed with a rather rocking 3rd set that ended with a cover of Bye Bye Johnny and Rockin Robin as an encore.

LIVE REVIEW : LUKE HAINES AT BUSH HALL 03/06/2014

I had left Mr Haines last London gig slightly disappointed. After the glorious evening that was The North Sea Scrolls at St Pancras Old Church, that solo gig  in the wonderful setting of the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall didn't tick all the boxes for me. I think it probably had something to do with the song selection that relied strongly on Haines's then latest release "Rock'n'Roll Animals", a great album but not one that I think withstands the solo acoustic treatment too well. I wasn't particularly excited by the couple of new songs from the forthcoming New York in the 70's album either ("Alan Vega Says" and "Lou Reed Lou Reed") . However when a full band gig at Bush Hall was announced and with the promise of a full performance of the Baader Meinhof album thrown in the mix, I know I had to attend or I would regret it till the day I died.

It was only my second visit at Bush Hall and I was wondering if the sound was going to be better than the one for Electric Soft Parade gig last November which was pretty cavernous (much better it turned out to be). Haines was backed for the gig by a young rhythm section (different guys from the ones that were backing him when I first saw him in Manchester in 2009). The venue was almost full, clearly proving the Baader Meinhof album's followers is growing, almost 20 years after its rather muted release. Haines had left his usual black Les Paul at home and had pulled out his Telecaster from the After Murder Park - Baader Meinhof period out of its cupboard for the night. The first part of the show was the new album "New York in the 70's" in its entirety and the whole thing was great from start to finish. I haven't heard the album yet but I've read it's supposed to be quite synth heavy but the power trio versions were fantastic. Haines seemed to be enjoying playing with a band again after spending a few years playing solo gigs. After finishing the last song from the album "NY Stars", Haines announced there was a change of plan and that he was going to play all his B-Sides backed by an Orchestra before launching into Baader Meinhof. Although he plays the track regularly at his solo gigs, this full band version really gave the song its full power. Highlight was an absolutely fantastic version of "Mogadishu", probably the best song ever written on Somalia's capital.

After a short break, Haines came back on stage to play a few songs on his acoustic guitar. Starting with "Inside The Restless Mind of Rollerball Rocco", he followed it with "Rock'n'roll Animals" and "21st Century Man" (that included "Junk Shop Clothes" in the middle). The full band came back on stage to reprise "Lou Reed Lou Reed" to close a rather glorious evening.