Magnum - Sunday 4th May - Islington Assembly Hall

A new venue for Magnum - The Assembly Hall in Islington. As you know, I'm quite a fan of much of the band's recent output, but the new album - "Escape From the Shadow Garden" is a bit of a slow burner for me.

The fact the show featured quite a bit of new material made me a bit worried, but I shouldn't have. Bob's vocals were good, the band as excellent as ever and the crowd enthused. A minor criticism is that some songs were a bit over-extended, but you really can't go wrong with ta band of this quality.

Setlist
Live 'til You Die
Black Skies
Freedom Day
Dance of the Black Tattoo
Blood Red Laughter
Unwritten Sacrifice
How Far Jerusalem
Les Morts Dansants
Falling for the Big Plan
The Spirit
All My Bridges
All England's Eyes
Vigilante
Kingdom of Madness
+
Too Many Clowns
Sacred Hour

Quireboys - Wednesday 23rd April - Half Moon, Putney

Quireboys night 2. To be honest, I was hoping for a bit of a mix-up of the setlist. That said, it was good enough last night with few obvious omissions that maybe it was not surprising it followed the same pattern. Roses and Rings was excluded and I can't help thinking I missed something else from yesterday's list as this was 20 minutes shorter tonight. It was still good, but felt a bit rushed with little banter between songs. Perhaps the band wanted some time at the bar afterwards! Still if last night was a 9/10 event, this scored a solid 8.

If anyone can correct last night's set it would be appreciated!

Setlist
Black Mariah
Too Much of a Good Thing
Misled
There She Goes Again
Tramps and Thieves
Homewreckers and Heartbreakers
This Is Rock 'N' Roll
27 Years
I Don't Love You Anymore
Mona Lisa Smiled
Sweet Mary Ann
Beautiful Curse
Hey You
Mother Mary
Mayfair
7 O'Clock
+
I Love This Dirty Town
Sex Party

Quireboys - Tuesday 22nd April - Half Moon, Putney

So legend has it that 30 years ago this month, the Quireboys played their first official shows at the Half Moon in Putney. As Spike joked with the crowd, "I'd have been 12!". Not quite. The Quireboys though have been around a fair old while, dispensing top quality bar-room (and arena-filled) entertainment wince the mid 1980's (I first saw them in 1987 at the Reading Festival and was hooked thereafter). 

So, Putney was a great place to keep rock and roll alive with a couple of hundred fans over 2 nights. Back with a bassist and drummer (The Union's Dave McCluskey), this was the boys in full on electric mode. A full on set of nearly 2 hours compromised of the hits, the misses and the near things. In truth, there's barely a dud song amongst them, with the new material standing up well alongside the classics.

Spikes vocals were good and the twin guitars of Paul Guerin and Guy Griffin were superb. A great night had by all.

Setlist (Approx)
Black Mariah
Too Much of a Good Thing
Roses and Rings
Misled
There She Goes Again
Tramps and Thieves
Homewreckers and Heartbreakers
This Is Rock 'N' Roll
27 Years
I Don't Love You Anymore
Mona Lisa Smiled
Sweet Mary Ann
Beautiful Curse
Hey You
Mother Mary
Mayfair
7 O'Clock
Sex Party
+
I Love This Dirty Town

Foreigner - Sunday 13th April - Hammersmith Apollo

So, I just can't stay away from the Hammersmith Apollo at the moment (sorry Eventim, I'm not going to call it the Eventim Apollo - we all know it's really the Hammersmith Odeon [or Gaumont for the really pedantic out there!])

This time headlining are 2 bands I've not seen before - Foreigner and Europe.

First up are FM (who I have seen before). Having researched their setlist (and found nothing we knew!), we only turned up for the last few minutes of their brief set - but they sounded fine.

Taking our nice seats in row N (loads of legroom!), on came Europe. In a high tempo set, Joey Tempest made several references to the "Hammersmith Odeon", recounting seeing Thin Lizzy from the balcony when he was 16 years old.

The band were good and ended with a predictably rousing version of "The Final Countdown".

It wasn't long to wait for the headline act. Having treated myself to their "best of" CD a few weeks ago, I was prepared for a few more of the songs than I would have been. What my lack of knowledge of the band didn't give me was the fact there appeared to be no original members of Foreigner on stage for the first few songs!

We couldn't work out whether this was to allow Mick Jones an ovation when he appeared, or whether he's so sick of playing those first few numbers, he just wanted them out of the way before appearing!

Still, the show was good, whoever was playing. The band were a fair bit heavier and less MOR than I'd expected and the crowd reasonably enthusiastic. We could clearly have done without the keyboard and drum solos though.

The set appeared aimed at the casual fan with all the obvious hits, and for that it worked fine for me. There are probably hardcore Foreigner fans wanting them to "change the set".

So all in all a rarity - a multi act bill which worked well and provided decent value for money for what was on the face of it quite a high ticket price.

Oh, and the "Hammersmith O" is still London's best venue!

Setlists

FM
Tough Love
I Belong To The Night
Don't Stop
Closer To Heaven
That Girl
Crosstown Train
Burning My Heart Down

EUROPE
Riches To Rags
Firebox
Superstitious
Let The Good Times Rock
No Stone Unturned
Carrie
Scream of Anger
Sign of The Times
Cherokee
Rock The Night
+
The Final Countdown

FOREIGNER
Double Vision
Head Games
Cold As Ice
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Feels Like The First Time
That Was Yesterday
Dirty White Boy
Starrider
Urgent
Keyboard and Drum Solo
Juke Box Hero
+
Long, Long Way From Home
I Want To Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded

Status Quo - Monday 31st March - Hammersmith Apollo

Quo Night 3.

I'd genuinely had no intention of doing the Monday night at Hammersmith, but nights 1 and 2 were so good, it made it essential - especially if this is genuinely the last chance to see this line-up.

The venue was much less busy - probably only 2/3 capacity on the floor, so this meant we had easy access to a good spot. We swapped our "normal" front-left position for a front-right one to see Alan Lancaster close up. He seemed revived after a day-off and again the band were on form. A slight bit of feedback disturbed the set part way through, but Rossi was having fun with some searing solo's than were different from the previous shows. Still no jig in Roadhouse Blues, which was a rare disappointment.

I treated myself to the signed lithograph on the way out - it will find pride of place somewhere at home.

All in all though, a fantastic 3 shows. Got to be up there as the gigs of the year.

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
+
Caroline
Bye Bye Johnny

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
+
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
+
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
+
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!