The Union - Tuesday 15th December - Relentless Garage, Islington

The first ever gig from the Union. Thunder's Luke Morley joins forces with long-time guitar/vocalist mate, Peter Shoulder. This was at the "Relentless Garage" which used to be the plain old "Garage" at Highbury and Islington. I'm really not into this constant renaming of venues any more than I am renaming of pubs. 

We managed to get returns on the "lottery only" style of ticket allocation, but weren't totally shocked to find the venue not full!

The bar was expensive (and provoked a few comments from the punters) and the headline act played a short but accomplished bluesy set - all filmed for a DVD release next year. It'll be interesting to see how the album turns out too.

Photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/katharinahaack/4271996636/ 

Setlist Easy Street You Know My Name Black Monday Come Rain or Shine Holy Roller This Time Next Year Saviour Watch the River Flow + Lilies Proud Mary

Status Quo - Friday 11th December - Brighton Centre

Much better than Croydon! And the bonus of the legendary Roy Wood as support. Marvellous! 9/10.

Taylor Swift - Monday 23rd November - Wembley Arena

OK, so we booked this on the strength of the "Fearless" album which is really good. Actually, so is the first one "Taylor Swift". And whilst aware that Taylor was a young up and coming artist, until the tickets were booked and we checked her website, we were not aware of her typical fanbase. Young teenage girls. Oh dear! 

This meant 3 things:- 1) The bar was empty and easily accessible! 2) In our whole block of seats (200+) we were the oldest there. 3) In our whole block of seats we were 2 of only 5 blokes. 

Putting aside the above, the show was good - full of catchy pop songs. The screaming between songs got a bit much and during one costume change gap I headed to the bar. On my return, I passed Ms Swift herself on the way to a "B Stage" at the back of the Arena with a security guard and we nodded acknowledgement. I bet she was thinking that I was a bit old to be there! 

She seems a young lady who could go far.

Setlist You Belong With Me Our Song Tell Me Why Teardrops On My Guitar Fearless Forever & Always Hey Stephen Fifteen Tim McGraw White Horse Love Story The Way I Loved You You're Not Sorry Picture To Burn Should've Said No

Status Quo - Wednesday 18th November - Croydon Fairfield Halls

Regular readers will have read enough reviews of Quo on this site to last them a while, so I'll be brief. Pretty good, but not quite up to their highest standards. 7/10.

[later note: It turns out Francis was ill around this time, which may explain the lack of spark]

Rock-Ola - Wednesday 11th November - Eel Pie Club, Twickenham

A first ever visit for us to the "Eel Pie" club in Twickenham. Not the original, this is in the top floor of the Cabbage Patch pub. Rock-Ola are Pete French (who we knew little about) and Bernie Marsden (ex Whitesnake). The first person we saw at the bar on the way in was Neil Murray (Rock bass player extraordinaire) which led us to think it should be good. 

Someone else in front of us signed a few autographs, but we couldn't work out who he was, despite looking familiar (think a cross between Bernie Ecclestone and Ian MacLagen!) 

And guess what? It was good. It's always nice when you take a gamble on some of these shows and it pay off. The set was basically blues-driven with some Whitesnake / Led Zep stuff thrown in. Couldn't tell you what all the songs were, but all were listenable to and the instruments and vocals were performed with passion. And it's not often you get to stand next to an 8/10 lookalike for Avram Grant!

Magnum - Friday 6th November - O2 Academy, Islington

Rammed, rammed rammed!

Yep, it was packed.. could barely get through the door. Once we did (upsetting several people), we squeezed over to the bar (where you could actually breathe and get served!). The show was good (complete setlist change) and featured many songs from the excellent "Into The Valley of The Moonking" album (rubbish title, great music!). Only complaint (besides the crush) was that the show could have been a bit longer.

We walked up past the Union Chapel on the way out. Attempted to gate-crash the last few minutes of the show - I've even forgotten the artists name (I know it's someone Richard likes!) Blagged our way in through an exit, but got in just as she'd left the stage. Unfortunately, no encore, but a nice try!

Oh and I should also mention the torrential rain (we got soaked!) and the very pleasant delights of the Baverian Brewhouse near Old Street.

Setlist
Cry To Yourself
Take Me To The Edge
Brand New Morning
The Moon King
When We Were Younger
No One Knows His Name
Dragons Are Real
A Face In The Crowd
We All Run
Les Morts Dansant
All My Bridges
All Englands Eyes
Vigilante
+
Don't Wake The Lion
The Kingdom Of Madness

Photo - ALX PIX http://www.flickr.com/photos/alxpix/4237450817/

The Mods - Friday 23rd October - Tooting & Mitcham FC

Continuing our regular visits to see Johnny Warman and the boys - this time at the home of Tooting & Mitcham FC - a new venue for me. Pre show, we checked out the delights of Mitcham - the best pub by some distance was the "Hooden On The Green" with excellent darts facilities and attractive staff. Some of the others were a bit rough and ready, but by no means unfriendly. 

The gig itself was of the normal excellent standard. It appears (unfortunately) that guitarist Steve Byrd has been permanently replaced which is a shame. He's even been removed from their website, so I wonder if there was a falling out? That said, his replacement - Gary Grainger - is also one hell of a guitar player, so it was interesting to check out his playing and try to pick up a few tips! We'll look forward to seeing the band again in 2010.

Mott The Hoople - Friday 2nd October - Hammersmith Apollo

Met up with a couple of colleagues by the River before Richard joined us. Had a good chat about record collecting, gigs and the usual rubbish - it turns out we were in the company of a serious Mott The Hoople fan in Steve! Many beers later - and having skipped the support - we were inside for the much anticipated reunion. 

I thought it was a little rough around the edges to start (not surprising), but got better later on. The band did look old though! Ironically, Ian Hunter (70) and Mick Ralphs (65) looked in better nick than the others who were 60 or below. I wonder if that's because they've been musically more active over the last decade? Drummer Dale Griffin wasn't well enough to play most of the set, but did appear for the first encore.

Sitting behind us we spotted Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) and Paul Guerin and Guy Griffin from the Quireboys. Jimmy Page and Mick Jones were also in attendance and I suspect there were a few more "faces" dotted around.

I was gutted to find out that on the Tuesday Joe Elliot (backed by the Quireboys) was the support act, playing a selection of Ian Hunter / Mott The Hoople classics. Why don't they publish these things beforehand! 

Setlist

Hymn for the Dudes

Rock and Roll Queen

Sweet Jane

One of the Boys

Sucker

The Moon Upstairs

Original Mixed-Up Kid

I Wish I Was Your Mother

Ready for Love

Born Late '58

Ballad of Mott the Hoople

Sweet Angeline

Walking With a Mountain

The Journey

The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll

Honaloochie Boogie

All the Way From Memphis

+

Roll Away the Stone 

All the Young Dudes

Keep A-Knockin' (But You Can't Come In)

+

Saturday Gigs

Woodedz - Friday 25th September - Half Moon, Putney

Rhino from Status Quo (and most of his family) playing at the popular Half Moon venue in Putney. The location allowed for a bit of a crawl beforehand and we got to the venue around 9:00 to see Rhino still in the bar. This gave us time for a win on the Quiz machine and a game of Pool where - despite the amount of beer consumed - I was uncharacteristically brilliant. 

The show was good (although it was a shame the late start meant a shorter set) and was the normal mix of solo stuff, Quo Material (mainly lesser played album tracks and 'B' sides) and a smattering of Rock covers.

Pretty much every member of Rhino's family seemed to be in attendance and most performed! All in all, good fun. Didn't hang around to chat afterwards - instead went for a bit more classic rock from the DJ's in the B@1 bar.

Jeff Beck - Monday 21st September - Indigo2

Ambiguously billed as "Jeff Beck with the Imelda May Band", it was unclear if Imelda May and her band were supporting (as they had done on the last tour) or Jeff was joining her band for the evening. A call to the O2 on the day of the show confirmed the latter - no support and Mr Beck in the band. Knowing that this would mean a night of Rockabilly as opposed to Jeff's normal material, in the bar beforehand Dave was making all sorts of threats to "sue Harvey Goldsmith for misrepresentation" etc. As it turned out, there was no need to worry. 

The band were solid, Imelda May's vocals quite stunning and the whole evening was full of enough classic tunes, whatever style they were played in and we all enjoyed it. Ronnie Wood and Jimmy Page were in attendance, but unfortunately had declined the offer to perform - taking a bit of stick from Jeff as a result.

Few performers seem so uncomfortable speaking to their audience, but who cares when the guitar playing is so good. Found out later that Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton are playing the O2 next year. Price £125. Errr... no thanks Harvey. It's good, but not that good. 

Setlist Feel Me Love Tattoo Baby Let's Play Outside Double Talking Baby Cruisin' Train Kept a-Rollin' Poor By My Baby Left Me Rockin' is Out Business Apache Sleepwalk Peter Gunn Remember (Walking in the Sand) Please Mr. Jailor Corpus Christi Carol Lilac Wine Green Onions Casting My Spell The Girl Can't Help It Brush with the Blues Rock Around the Clock Cry Me a River How High the Moon Shake Rattle and Roll Somewhere Over the Rainbow 

Setlist from http://www.songkick.com/concerts/2459851-jeff-beck-at-indigo2