ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN / PRIMAL SCREAM AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 21/03/2013

Two weeks after seiing Ron Sexsmith, here I was back at the Royal Albert Hall to see Primal Scream playing within the Teenage Cancer Trust week of gigs curated this year by Noel Gallagher. To tell the truth I wasn't planning on going at first but the addition of Echo and the Bunnymen as the opening act convinced me to buy a ticket (not cheap by the way, 45 pounds for a seat right at the top of the arena, no standing tickets left by the time I had made up my mind). The gig was advertised with at 7.30pm starting time and bang on schedule Echo and the Bunnymen took the stage. Playing half the show in semi darkness (didn't manage to catch a glimpse of Will Sergeant face for the whole gig), the band stuck to the tried and tested with tracks from their 80's heyday with only one song from there reformation period ("Nothing lasts Forever" from their 1997 comeback album "Evergreen"). Mcculloch' s singing was impeccable and the band the epitome of tightness. I'm a big fan of their second period so I don't mind the slight rearranging of their 80's song in a more classic rock way but some fans might miss the "post-punk" edge that the Les Pattison-Pete de Freitas rhythm section. I'll never understand why they're not held in higher esteem when you see how many great songs they've written ("Back of Love, "The Cutter", "Killing Moon", "Lips like Sugar", "Seven Seas" anf the list goes on..). They played for just over an hour, leaving the stage at 8.30. A short break for setting Primal Scream was followed by a short speech by Noel Gallagher thanking both bands for playing that night.

I had seen Primal Scream only once prior to this gig in 2005 at the transmusicales festival in Rennes. They were going to release Riot City Blues album and had Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine on rhythm guitar. The show was fantastic (especially after a dismal performance by The Brianjonestown Massacre) and the tunes from the new record settled in nicely with the old favourites  ("Movin on up", " Swastika Eyes", "Jailbird"). The show at the Royal Albert Hall was also good but the the tunes from their forthcoming album "More Light" paled in comparison to the older numbers. New bass player Simone Butler is good but filling Mani's shoes is a tough job. Bobby Gillespie was his usual self, running from one of the stage to the other (I wonder how many miles he does each night). High point was a fantastic version of the bluesy ballad "Damaged" off Screamadelica. The show would have benefited of being slightly shorter but overall a good performance from the former Glaswegian rockers.

LIVE REVIEW : RON SEXSMITH AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 07/03/2013

I first Ron Sexsmith in 2008 in a really small venue called "La Maroquinerie" (he seems to be playing there every time in Paris). At the time he was touring his "Exit Strategy of Soul" album and due to lack of funds he was touring in a 3 piece format without a drummer. The gig was good but you couldn't help feeling that he seemed to look a bit flustered by his lack of commercial success. Fast forward four years and here I am in the Royal Albert Hall to see the last night of the UK tour that has seen Sexsmith promote his latest release "Forever Endeavour". That show was first advertised almost one year ago but without the rising record sales that Sexsmith enjoyed with his previous effort "Long Player, Late Bloomer" he never would have been able to dream of playing in such a place.

There were quite a few empty seats at the top level of the Arena but the venue was more full than what I expected it to be. This time Sexsmith was playing with a full band (with long-time drummer Don Kerr present contrary to the Paris show in 2008). Set list relied heavily on material from "Forever Endeavour" and "Long Player, Late Bloomer" (half of the almost thirty songs came from these two records). Particular highlights were an extended version of "Snake Road" with nice guitar work from Sexsmith and "Believe it when I see it" (my favourite song on LPLB). We got a sprinkling of songs from the back catalogue which included the usual staples "Secret Heart", "Strawberry Blonde" and "Whatever it takes" (covered recently by Michael Bubble which brought a few welcomed pennies to our friend Ron). It was nice to hear "Lemonade Stand" off the "Destination Unknown" collaborative LP that Sexsmith put out in 2005 with drummer Don Kerr, a good song that brought a much needed up-tempo rhythm to an set list rather heavily reliant on ballads.

I'm a big fan of the "Time Being" and "Whereabouts" albums so I was a bit disappointed that only one song from these 2 records was aired that night ("Not about to loose"). Apart from these couple of minor gripes the gig was really good with immaculate musicianship from the band and nice interaction between Sexsmith and the audience (one reviewer said that he answered every heckle from the crowd which is not far from the truth).