Status Quo - Saturday 29th March - Hammersmith Apollo

Night 2 of classic Quo. And arguably, this was even better than last night. Another packed house, although we managed to get a bit closer to the front. Band were on top form again.

Alan Lancaster still looks a little frail and struggles to walk. Quite how he and Francis were playing "football" to injure Rossi's leg is anyone's guess. But again, it was a joy to see 4 musicians with such history enjoying their playing and the crowd.

Making a note to purchase the live CDs over the weekend.

Setlist
Junior's Wailing
Backwater / Just Take Me
Is There a Better Way
In My Chair
Blue Eyed Lady
Little Lady / Most of the Time
Rain
(April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays
Railroad
Oh Baby
Forty-Five Hundred Times / Gotta Go Home
Big Fat Mama
Down Down
Roadhouse Blues
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Caroline
Bye Bye Johnny

Status Quo - Friday 28th March - Hammersmith Apollo

The Frantic Four "reunite for one final time" says the poster. Well that's good news for us Quo fans who thought last year may be our only chance to see the classic Quo line-up.

A packed Hammersmith Apollo waited eagerly to see the band, with support coming from Wilko Johnson. Nice to see him again - shame that Roger Daltrey was busy across town at the TCT shows.

The atmosphere was never likely to meet the 2013 noise levels and excitement, but Quo came on to a rousing welcome. The set was very similar to last year, although I must confess to having to play "Gotta Go Home" before the show to remind myself of it!

I know there are some fans who will only see this line-up and not the current Quo line-up. I enjoy both, but there's no doubting this is the real deal. Heavy, more rehearsed than last year and all the band seemed to enjoy it this time around which was nice to see. How about a 2015 reunion?

Wilko Johnson Setlist
All Through The City
The More I Give
Dr Dupree
Going Back Home
Roxette
Don't Let Your Daddy Know
Back In The Night
She Does It Right

Quo Setlist
Junior's Wailing
Backwater / Just Take Me
Is There a Better Way
In My Chair
Blue Eyed Lady
Little Lady / Most of the Time
Rain
(April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays
Railroad
Oh Baby
Forty-Five Hundred Times / Gotta Go Home
Big Fat Mama
Down Down
Roadhouse Blues
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Caroline
Bye Bye Johnny

The Mods - Saturday 22nd March - CSC, Cheam

A private charity show from The Mods - less than 5 minutes from home. That'll do nicely. This was my first time seeing the band since Johnny Warman was replaced by Tim Huggins on vocals. Maybe comparing them would be disrespectful as both have different styles. The new singer has a good range of vocals, but has a way to go to match Mr Warman's showmanship and crowd encouragement.

I think this could be described as a tough gig for the band. An empty dance floor in front of them and people packed at the back near the bar and sitting in seats elsewhere. Still a strong performance got some people on their feet later on. I guess that's the danger of being a house band at an event, rather than the main event themselves. Still, good performance + good band = good evening.

http://www.the-mods.com/index.html

Graham Bonnet - Wednesday 19th March - The Garage, Islington

A relative rarity for me these days - a headline act who I have not seen before. Sold on the premise that there was likely to be mainly Rainbow material played, this looked like it may be a nice evening out. And so it proved. Whilst not the most celebrated of the Rainbow vocalists, Graham fronted a solid set - with a backing band who had apparently only had 20 minutes rehearsal. I gather he'd flown in from LA - makes you wonder if the band were a sort of Rainbow / Deep Purple tribute band? Would their vocalist then get upset? They were certainly more than adequate in any case.

Mr Bonnet has quite a distinctive style - not sure I've ever seen a rock vocalist open their mouth so wide. Hardcore Rainbow fans tell me the material he sang on his only album with the band wasn't the best, but here all sounded fine and there were a few "favourites" thrown in for good measure - some of which he didn't sing on the original records.

Venue was a bit busier than anticipated - over half full and the show was good enough to make us book up for the next leg of the tour down the road in December. Maybe the set may have expanded by then.

Setlist
Eyes of the World
Love's No Friend
Since You Been Gone
Bad Girl
Makin' Love
Keyboard solo [Temple of the King / Tarot Woman (intro) / Toccato and Fugue / Mr. Crowley / Perfect Strangers]
Kill The King [Instrumental Version]
Drum solo
Catch the Rainbow
All Night Long
Lost in Hollywood
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Long Live Rock And Roll

Who's Who - Friday 7th March - Half Moon, Putney

So here's a show I wasn't expecting to be at. When a previous social engagement finished earlier than expected I found myself heading home on the district line. I had a vague recollection that a gig had clashed on the day, so a quick trawl of the internet showed Who's Who at the Half Moon. A quick check of the watch showed I might just make it if I was quick.

So, I turn up (suited and booted) with a "goody bag" containing bottles of wine and beer (after a "long sporting lunch" with Alastair Cook, Brian Moore and Ieuan Evans - hic!). I imagine I looked quite out of place.

Still, the set played was top notch as always. A mix of hits and hardcore classics from the Live At Leeds era - the snippet of Roadrunner was a welcome inclusion. Slight hilarity when popping to the main bar to get a drink I was given a real glass rather than a plastic one. The barman looked at me a bit strangely when I said I was in watching the show. Still - well worth the detour!

Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey - Tuesday 25th February - Shepherd's Bush Empire

Now I must admit the career of Wilko Johnson has largely passed me by, having not really been too aware of Dr Feelgood's material over the years. Obviously his very sad terminal illness has made the news and the collaboration with Roger Daltrey made this appear to be a fitting event to celebrate his achievements. So, feeling a bit like a gate crasher, it was a bit strange to be amongst the few who didn't know all the words at this show. The venue was also absolutely packed - the busiest I have seen it on the floor for some time, making us wonder if there were some interlopers with seated tickets!

Wilko started off on is own and looked good (remarkable in fact for a man with his condition). His "trademark" is obviously the speedy glide around the stage - very effective.

After a while, Roger Daltrey appeared and they rattled through the songs from the new album (Going Back Home). Playing and vocals were excellent and the crowd appreciative. In fact, I'm doing Daltrey a disservice - vocals were fantastic. Let's hope he keeps using that voice to good effect for a few more years yet.

Setlist
All Right
Barbed Wire Blues
The More I Give
Dr. Dupree
When I'm Gone
Roxette
[with Roger Daltrey from here onwards]
Going Back Home
I Keep It to Myself
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
Keep on Loving You
Some Kind of Hero
Ice on the Motorway
Sneakin' Suspicion
Everybody's Carrying a Gun
Keep It Out of Sight
All Through the City
I Can't Explain
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I Keep It to Myself (2nd play)

Taylor Swift - Tuesday 11th February - O2 Arena, London

Back to the O2 for the last night of Taylor's tour - this time with Mrs B in tow who has been enjoying the "Red" album in the car. Last minute seats meant we had a restricted view, slightly behind the stage, but as with last week there was so much going on this didn't matter too much.

A fractionally older audience on average tonight and a slight setlist change with "Long Live" replacing "Fearless". Easy money on the special guest as Ellie Goulding appeared for "Burn" (as she had done on a number of the US dates).

Again, another "straight through" set with no break for an encore. All done by 10:30 and a quick dash for the pre-booked River Boat. Booked as contingency to the days tube strike (which was cancelled), a nice sail down the Thames rounded off another fun evening.

Setlist
State of Grace
Holy Ground
Red
You Belong with Me
The Lucky One
Mean
22
Long Live
Sparks Fly
Burn (with Ellie Goulding)
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well
Love Story
Treacherous
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Quireboys - Sunday 9th February - Borderline

"We're the Quireboys and this is acoustic Rock and Roll!" says Spike by way of hello to a packed Borderline. After a brief interlude following the successful electric tour in support of their excellent last album, "Beautiful Curse", the boys are back on the road - this time without a drummer (probably a welcome relief seeing how many they get through!)

A set of classic and new material is interspersed with some amusing anecdotes. Spike cheerily teases that 'Pretty Girls' "could never have been written in Swansea" and regularly name-checks Guy Bailey who is predictably in the crowd. The band are on great form - they are quality musicians to a man - and the material very much suits a bar-room acoustic atmosphere.

Highlights included "Mona Lisa Smiled", "Misled", "Beautiful Curse" and of course "I Don't Love You Anymore".  Lots of crowd participation, a few beers held aloft and I'd wager that pretty much everyone went home happy.

"Thanks for keeping Rock and Roll alive!" says Spike at the end. It's our pleasure.

Setlist
Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You
Devil of a Man
Beautiful Curse
There She Goes Again
Roses & Rings
Mona Lisa Smiled
Twenty Seven Years
Whippin' Boy
Hello
Misled
Pretty Girls
Have a Drink on Me
Chain Smokin'
Mother Mary
Sweet Mary Ann
Hates To Please
7 O'Clock
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I Love This Dirty Town
I Don't Love You Anymore

Taylor Swift - Saturday 1st February - O2 Arena, London

It's been a couple of years since I've seen Miss Swift live and in that time she has morphed into one of pops global superstars. 5 sold out nights at the O2 (with a date in Berlin in between) mark the last shows of this leg of the "Red Tour", supporting her amazingly successful album of the same name.

We had deliberately secured tickets high up on pre-sale as we were taking a small person for her birthday treat. It turned out that they were slightly higher than anticipated, but as the show encompassed the whole arena , that didn't really matter too much. What was more of a concern that everybody stood up, meaning lots of carrying for dad (me!) and standing on seats. Still, the large screen helped and the sound was good quality.

Support was from boy band The Vamps. They were OK and their closing cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia" proved popular.

Taylor's show itself was on a grand scale. There is an argument that her songs work just as well as a band stage show with her on guitar, but this was truly a performance with dancers, circus acts, a 'B' stage, moving platforms, flying baskets etc. Vocals were generally pretty good and the (mainly female) audience ecstatic. Ed Sheeran was the first special guest of the week, singing Lego House. An exhausting show for the road crew ended with the recent hit - "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". Taylor and her crowd certainly will.

Setlist
State of Grace
Holy Ground
Red
You Belong with Me
The Lucky One
Mean
22
Fearless
Sparks Fly
Lego House (with Ed Sheeran)
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well
Love Story
Treacherous
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Toby Jepson - Wednesday 29th January - Cape of Good Hope, London

A freebie show near Great Portland Street in one of London's newer "Rock Pubs". Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson playing an acoustic set in support of the relaunch on Total Rock Radio. A smallish back room of the pub and a few dozen punters were treated to an impressive 45 minutes of solo material and a few choice LA classics.

Rich and I had a few legs of darts afterwards and a chat with the friendly bar staff who generously made no move to get us out even though we were the last customers. Let's hope the venue is a success - we hope to be back.

Setlist

Unwind

Motivated

Raising My Own Hell

Shadow Boxing

Small Talk

Don’t Prey for Me

Ain’t Gonna Cry

My Forgiveness

Four Letter Word

The Way That I Live

Young Gods / Backdoor Man / Young Gods (medley)

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Kicking Up Dust / Too Much Too Young (medley)