John Waite - Sunday 8th May - Borderline

A genuine "double bill" here with the excellent John Parr opening with a brilliant short acoustic set.

I don't know too much John Waite material, but so good was he that I bought his new CD (autographed!) from the merchandise stand. Great music in one of my favourite small venues!

Oh and a "Ling Alert" number 3!

John Parr Setlist
Coming To The Borderline
The Best A Man Can Get
Naughty Naughty
At The Cathedral
Oh Well
Guitar solo
St. Elmo's Fire

John Waite Setlist
Change
Back On My Feet Again
Evil
Mr. Wonderful
Better Off Gone
In Dreams
Best Of What I Got
Whenever You Come Around
Downtown
Suicide Life
If You Ever Get Lonely
Love's Goin' Out of Style
Drum solo
Missing You
Rough &Tumble
Sweet Rhode Island Red
+
Head First

Magnum - Saturday 30th April - Shepherd’s Bush Empire

It's fair to say I wasn't sure about this in advance. In my opinion the latest Magnum album is their weakest for ages. Luckily for me, the set featured only the best couple of songs, plus some old favourites and some newer "goodies". Good to see the floor fairly full and the band enjoying themselves. I still believe the future is bright for Magnum.. They are too good for it not to be!

PS "Ling Alert" number 2, as expected!

Setlist
Back to Earth
When We Were Younger
Wild Angels
Brand New Morning
How Far Jerusalem
Spin Like A Wheel
Les Morts Dansant
The Moonking
Freedom Day
Black Skies
All My Bridges
All England's Eyes
Kingdom Of Madness
+
Vigilante
On A Storyteller's Night

Paul Rodgers - Monday 25th April - Southend Cliffs Pavilion

Richard and I spent the afternoon watching Sutton United claim the Ryman League trophy. Then it was a multi-train trip to Westcliff for a great night of music. First up were Joe Elliot's Down 'n' Outs playing their selection of Ian Hunter / Mott The Hoople related stuff. Despite Joe's sore throat, this was good.

The interval bought the first of an expected 3 "Ling Alerts" in succession (that's the spotting of journalist Dave Ling, who seems to be at nearly every gig I go to!)

Now Paul Rodgers solo shows can be a bit "hit and miss" depending on the setlist and how long he fancies playing. Here we were treated to a long set and great material. Oh, and it almost goes unsaying - the vocals were fabulous. A great show!


Setlist:
Walk In My Shadow
Wishing Well
Mr Big
Feel Like Makin' Love
Mr Midnight
Be My Friend
Fire And Water
Running with the Pack
Bad Company
The Stealer
Seagull
My Brother Jake
Little Wing / Angel
Shooting Star
Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy
Can't Get Enough
+
Ride On A Pony
All Right Now
The Hunter

Scouting For Girls - Friday 8th April - Wembley Arena

A trip to North London for the "hometown gig" from Roy Stride and the boys. As predicted, we were amongst the oldest in the crowd, although to be fair they attract a very varied audience.

Playing highlights from both albums, this was a solid show and the confidence the band has gained since their debut was evident. Good pop fun! Off to see them again in the summer.

Setlist
Little Miss Naughty

Famous

It's Not About You

Posh Girls

Love How It Hurts

I Wish I Was James Bond

Silly Song

The Airplane Song

Heartbeat

Rains in L.A.

Take a Chance

Elvis Ain't Dead

The Mountains of Navaho

Keep On Walking

This Ain't a Love Song

+

1+1

Michaela Strachan

She's So Lovely

The Mods - Saturday 2nd April - All Saints Hall, Whetstone

Off to the All Saints Church Hall in Whetstone - a fair old trek, but it is for the Mods, one of our favourite local bands. Tonight they are doing a "full Who show" in a venue played by the Who in 1964.

Richard was right to query that last statement when we arrived as this was like so many Church Halls up and down the country and it's amazing to think that superstar bands of the past played venues like this when they were up and coming. It was quite a weird setup, with tables and chairs at the front and standing near the mixing desk at the back. The "bar" was even stranger - a counter in the cafe where the server had to rush out to a fridge in the back to get beer priced at a uniform £2 a bottle.

Still, the show was good although the audience were very unenthusiastic at the start. The band took a midway break - partly I suspect to the lack of reaction they were getting (through no fault of their own). The second half bought a livelier reaction from the crowd (alcohol induced?) and gradually people stood up and danced.

I enjoyed it, but whether the band will return to this neck of the woods I'm not sure. We had a lengthy trip home for the full length of the Northern Line and a I slept well afterwards!

Roger Daltrey - Thursday 24th March - Royal Albert Hall

So, Roger Daltrey plays Tommy in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Not quite as good as if The Who were playing, but a fair substitute.

Good performance - easy money on the "bet" front (Pete Townshend shows up for Acid Queen and Baba O'Riley) and a worthy cause.

Setlist
Overture
It's a Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Eyesight to the Blind
Christmas
Cousin Kevin
Acid Queen (with Pete Townshend)
Do You Think It's Allright
Fiddle About
Pinball Wizard
Doctor Jimmy
Go to The Mirror
Tommy Can You Hear Me
Smash The Mirror
It's a Boy
I'm Free
Miracle Cure
Sensation
Sally Simpson
Welcome
Tommy's Holiday Camp
We're Not Going to Take It
+
Days Of Light
Pictures of Lily
My Generation
I Can See for Miles
Young Man Blues
Baba O'Riley (with Pete Townshend)
Without Your Love

Elton John & Ray Cooper - Friday 28th January - Royal Opera House

Elton has done a few of these "smaller" shows recently - Obviously the one I went to at the Roundhouse last year, but also the Union Chapel in Islington. This one at the Royal Opera House was a benefit for the Royal Society of Music (Elton is a patron) and featured percussionist Ray Cooper who I hadn't seen for years. Not being able to afford the 4 figure stalls seats (!) we were really "up in the gods". And - huge mistake - picked the wrong side of the venue, meaning we couldn't actually see Elton as he played the Piano!

I'm not going to go into too much depth, but it was pleasant enough, but some of the lesser known numbers weren't up-tempo enough for my liking. Ray Cooper was his normal excellent self (and from our distance still looked the same as 20 years ago) - and he provided the most amusing moment when he "forgot" to bang the massive gong which had taken hours to set up!).

Not quite enough to hold my full attention for the 2 hr show though. Mental note to self - "Go to see Elton when he has the full band"


Setlist
Elton Solo
Sixty Years On
The Greatest Discovery
When Love Is Dying
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)
Philadelphia Freedom
Your Song
+
Elton with Ray Cooper
Funeral for a Friend / Tonight
Better Off Dead
Levon
Gone to Shiloh
Indian Sunset
I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
Take Me to the Pilot
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Bennie and the Jets
Crazy Water
+
Elton Solo
Candle in the Wind

Apart From Rod - Wednesday 26th January - Half Moon, Putney

Another trip to Putney and an enjoyable evening of Rod Stewart's early hits played by the original touring band from the era. Had a nice chat with Jim Cregan afterwards who seemed a very pleasant chap. Also spotted Queen backing vocalist Zoe Nicolas enjoying the show at the front, although she turned down Robert Hart's offer of a duet for "Stay With Me".

Killing Cancer Concert - Thursday 13th January - Hammersmith Apollo

When tickets went on sale for this, my immediate thoughts were:

1. Got to go to that. 2 of my all-time favourite artists (The Who & Bryan Adams) plus 2 others I like (Debbie Harry and Jeff Beck).
2. It's at the best venue in London - yippie
3. It's on a Thursday night and I'm free
4. It's for a good cause
5. And .... it's how much !!!?

The last issue was likely to cause concern as Richard and I thought we couldn't justify £132 for a ticket. This was luckily resolved by Rich managing to acquire a pair of "bargain" £49.50 standing tickets (back of the stalls) the nano-second they went on sale.

So we got in quite early to nab a standing spot and were quite please with the view, standing about 4 feet from people who had paid considerably more for the luxury of a seat. The early entry to the venue managed to confuse me enough that I knocked a substantial amount of beer out of the hand of a fellow punter as I swung 'round to talk to someone. Cue a trip to the bar to buy him a replacement!

Anyway - the show. Due to start at 7:30, it kicks off at 7:45 with an intro from Harvey Goldsmith. After that and a few videos it's time for some music. I've never been a fan of Richard Ashcroft and the 4 acoustic numbers he performed here were never likely to change my mind. Competent, but forgettable.

Roger Daltrey and band then appeared for a couple of obscure Blues numbers. Now I would happily watch Roger perform any stuff he wanted, but a full set of this style would be a bit challenging. Still, 2 songs worth was fine and a bit different.

We'd speculated on the acoustic numbers Bryan Adams would play on the back of his recent "Bare Bones" tour and he opted for a few old favourites like Cuts Like A Knife and Straight From The Heart as opposed to maybe more obvious hits. Still, after a quiet start, the audience seemed to like him. He also invited a beneficiary of the charity (who's name he mixed up with the Teenage Cancer Trust (!)) to come and duet on "When You're Gone" which was a nice touch.

Then an interval followed by Jeff Beck. Mr Beck was on fine form. Backed by the rest of the Who's band (ie no Daltrey or Townshend), the highlight for me was an excellent "A Day In The Life". Then Debbie Harry pops up for Heart of Glass and Call Me which I bet Mr Beck has never played before. Still, this was excellent and Debbie was in good voice. After another Blondie number it was time for the main event - The Who.

This is who nearly everyone had come to see and a storming trio of numbers kicked things off - Townshend on great form and Daltrey's voice strong.

Sadly as Won't Get Fooled again ended, off went Townshend and we got some more blues from Daltrey and Beck.

The Ensemble all re-appeared (minus Ashcroft) for a lengthy "Join Together" with Daltrey and Adams swapping lead vocals. And then off they went. H'mm wait a minute - it's only 10:25 (ticket said 11pm curfew). As the crowd yelled for more, Harvey came back, said goodnight and the house lights came up. Now don't get me wrong, the show was really good, but if you are paying £130 as many did, is it not reasonable to expect more than 21 songs over 2.5 hrs? Or at least more than 4 from the Headliners?

If I'm being unfair there and Townshend's hearing problems were shortening things, then 1 or 2 more songs from each of Ashcroft, Adams, Harry & Beck would have spun things out to an acceptable degree. So, despite a feeling of being sold slightly short, the excellence of what we did see outweighed the negatives.

Let's hope for a full Who show sometime soon.

Setlist
Richard Ashcroft
Sonnet
Space And Time
Lucky Man
History

Roger Daltrey
Freedom Ride
Gimme A Stone

Bryan Adams
Run To You
Cuts Like A Knife
When You’re Gone (Duet)
Straight From The Heart

Jeff Beck
Beck's Bolero
Hammerhead
A Day In The Life

Jeff Beck & Debbie Harry
Heart of Glass
Call Me

Debbie Harry
One Way Or Another

Who
Baba O’Riley
Who Are You
Won’t Get Fooled Again

Roger Daltrey & Jeff Beck
I’m A Man (Mannish Boy)

Ensemble
Join Together

Best & Worst 2010

Happy New Year to all.

Here's my annual look back over the year from a "best of" and "worst of" perspective of the 31 gigs seen during 2010 (ironically - exactly the same number as last year!)

Best Gigs 2010

1: Belinda Carlisle - Jazz Cafe
Forget the fact that this was "acoustic", this was Ms Carlisle at her most enchanting.

2: Francis Rossi - Her Majesty's Theatre
Unexpectedly good!

3=: Bachman & Turner - Relentless Garage
3=: Cheap Trick - Shepherd's Bush Empire
Always good when acts who you don't know that well put on a great show!

Most Disappointing Gigs 2010

1: Band of Skulls - Electric Ballroom
I wasn't expecting much and I didn't get it!

2: Leon Russell - Jazz Cafe
Sound problems on the vocals made this much anticipated show a bit of a let down.

3: Sheryl Crow - Borderline
Could have been so much better!

"honourable mention" to "Plan B" for the worst performance of this year (or pretty much any other) when guesting with Elton John. I still can't quite describe how painful it was!


Best Venue 2010

1: Forum, Kentish Town.
2: Borderline

No gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo robs it of its normal top spot!


Worst Venue 2010

1: Roundhouse
(I know it's iconic, but a few more toilets and a chance of getting to an outside bar surely isn't too much to ask!)

Interesting that I have managed to avoid the O2, Wembley and Hammersmith for the whole of 2010. Can't remember the last time that would have happened. Must be the cost of the shows there!


Good in 2010

1: Less and and less drunks at gigs. Mind you with the bar prices as they are that's no surprise.
2: Local Bands. Great shows (and good value) from the likes of "The Mods", "Apart from Rod" etc.


Bad In 2010

1: Prices. Surely there will be a point where more people say "no thanks".
2: Merchandise quality just isn't tempting enough still for most artists.

Have a great 2011!