Magnum - London Astoria 2 - Sunday 18th November

A trip to the West End for the Brummie rockers. An interesting train journey up (with "Nutters 'R' Us" out in force - I think our American friends use an excellent term - "Whack-job"), where we avoided getting attacked by lunatic in commando gear and then out at Victoria in the pouring rain to catch a 38 "bendy bus". This got stuck in traffic along Piccadilly, so off we got and legged it to the nearest bar - absolutely soaked. After a mini-crawl of 3 half pints, I grabbed some "food" in the gourmet capital of London, McDonalds. It was there that I bumped into Thunder's Harry James ('Arry, 'Arry!), recognisable by bald head and Crystal Palace scarf. It transpired he wasn't drumming tonight, but was going to have a few beers instead. Good man! Just time for a beer in the "new" Intrepid Fox rock bar and it was time to go into the venue.

The show itself was good. The Mean Fiddler is back as the "Astoria 2" these days, but inside it's still the same maze of stairs and doors. Got down near to the front on the left and were treated to over 2 hours of Magnum classics, including the whole of the "Wings of Heaven" album. A busy, if not full, crowd seemed to enjoy the whole thing and were enthusiastic in their participation, no doubt aided by the Red Stripe and Tuborg available. The live CD of the show, due next year, should be a good one.

Status Quo - Croydon Fairfield Halls - Friday 16th November

Our annual jaunt to the Fairfield Halls for some more Quo. A bit of light refreshment in "The Brief" beforehand and then onto the venue. It always amazes me how elderly the staff are here - I can only assume they work on a voluntary basis.

Anyway, we had good seats in row "E" which turned out to be the 3rd Row in front of "Rhino". Not surprisingly, same set as last week. There was also a bit of trouble with a very drunk/stoned bloke causing trouble, although apparently the night before there had been a more serious altercation at the front. What is the point in turning up to these things in that sort of state? Anyway, my prediction is that by the next time I see Quo (Brighton next month), "Gravy Train" will have been dropped from the set.

Status Quo - Southend Cliffs Pavilion - Friday 9th November

The start of the "In Search of The Fourth Chord Tour" (well second night anyway). Will they change the setlist we were asking pre-gig. Errr... predictably not much at all, which is a real shame. Despite claims from the band that "they try other stuff in rehearsal which may or may not work", the reality is that most of the set is the same as last year (and the year before).

But to be fair, that doesn't make it a bad show - it's just a bit frustrating as it could be even better with a bit more thought and effort. The Cliffs Pavilion was sold out and we couldn't get near the bar when we arrived. Not a big deal as we had sampled a couple of Southend's "finest" bars before the show. Managed to get a good spot 10 yds or so from the barrier behind some very excitable lads who had clearly enjoyed the bars more than we had. Despite their drunkenness, they at least bumped, barged and jumped with each other as opposed to innocent bystanders and didn't cause too much trouble apart from annoyingly throwing their empty plastic glasses when they'd finished. The nearest bouncer seemed to be paying more attention to the blonde girl in front of him than any crowd control issues!

Anyway, as I say, predictable set, with the addition of 2 tracks from the new album (Beginning of The End - good, Gravy Train - not so much). The songs seemed to be played with enthusiasm and were quite "heavy" which is always good, although the elongated drum solo was (like pretty much every drum solo I've endured) quite skilful, but pointless. They really should be banned!

Best surprise of the evening was the extended "Bye Bye Johnny" with completely different arrangement from normal - I thought it was excellent.

Setlist:
Caroline
Something 'Bout You Baby I Like
Don't Waste My Time
4500 Times
Rain
Paper Plane
Beginning of The End
Gravy Train
All Stand Up (Never Say Never)
The Oriental
Creepin' Up On You
Proposin' Medley / Big Fat Mama
Gerdundula (with Drum solo)
Roll Over Lay Down
Down Down
Whatever You Want
+
In The Army Now
Rockin' All Over The World
Bye Bye Johnny

Ian Hunter - Shepherd's Bush Empire - Sunday 28th October

Seating on the floor of SBE? Never too sure about that, but as we were in the 3rd row I certainly can't complain about the view. Show started a little slowly but by the end I was really enjoying both the new songs and the classic hits.

For the encore Ian was joined by Mick Ralphs (Mott The Hoople/Bad Company), Verden Allen (Mott The Hoople) and guitarist Chris Spedding (Chart Act !!) as well as predictably, Tracy Hunter!

The classic "Saturday Gigs" was played in it's entirety.

All in all, MUCH better than the Pigalle Club show earlier this year!

Paul McCartney - Roundhouse - Thursday 25th October

After the hassle of getting tickets (crashed websites, phone system dying etc), I was not happy to receive an email from the Roundhouse saying that they were not sending out tickets, but I had to go to the venue early in the day to collect a wristband. As I work in London I was able to do so - I'm sure many were not so lucky - hope this isn't the shape of things to come for big name acts.

Anyway, after a long queue to get in, I was able to get near the front and enjoy the rarity of seeing a "living legend" in such a small venue. A set featuring lots of Beatles songs went down well and the whole thing was on BBC TV and Radio, The cameraman even decided to zoom in on me for some reason during "Get Back".

Setlist
Magical Mystery Tour
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life
Dance Tonight
Only Mama Knows
C'Moon
The Long And Winding Road
Follow The Sun
That Was Me
Here Today
Blackbird
Calico Skies
Eleanor Rigby
Band On The Run
Back In The USSR
House Of Wax
I Got A Feeling
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude
Let It Be
+
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There
Get Back

Joe Brown / Dave Edmunds - Fairfield Halls - Thursday 4th October

First gig for a while (none in September, what's going on there?).

Had booked this on the strength of Dave Edmunds alone. As it turned out he and Joe Brown shared the stage for some of the night and also did solo stints. Edmund's guitar playing once once again to be admired and I actually enjoyed Joe Brown and his band too. I was the second youngest person in the audience (Richard beating me!). Should have asked for half price admission!

Status Quo - Bedford Park - Sunday 5th August

Charity Shield (oh all right, Community Shield) at Wembley - United winning thanks to Edwin's 3 penalty saves! - for me then a high speed dash to the station to get to Bedford and meet Richard. Excellent outdoor bill for us - Quo supported by the Quireboys. Greatest hits from Spike and the boys and a solid performance from Quo in front of a decent crowd - although we had to leg it during the encore to have any chance of getting home. 

One downside for me are enormous insect bites on my legs. One is so painful on my ankle, I can barely put weight on my leg today - that can't be right!

Scorpions - Hammersmith Apollo - Monday 30th July

Hammersmith -Still the best venue in London and this was one of the best shows of the year. Skipped all but the last song of the seemingly drugged/drunk/not bothered (delete as applicable) Michael Schenker, but enjoyed over 2.5 hours of classic German Rock! 

Uli Jon Roth joined the rest of his former bandmates and even if this is not your style of music, you would not have argued with the show as a pure performance. "Are you with us tonight?" asked vocalist Klaus Meine. Oh yes!

Slade II - Canazaro House, Wimbledon - Thursday 26th July

Slade II - I refuse to call them "Slade" without Noddy and Jim. Support provided by "The Bay City Rollers" (well, Les McGowan and chums anyway). Small crowd (less that 200) for an outdoor "festival", but actually good fun none the less. Even found a pub on Wimbledon Common I'd never been to!

Concert For Diana - Wembley Stadium - Sunday 1st July

Sure you saw this on TV if you were interested. The only thing I will say is that the sound seemed much better in the venue than on television. Oh, and Kanye West.... What's all that about? A suitable toilet break anyway.