The Answer - Wednesday 29th July - Borderline

The Answer - what to make of them? If you look back at the entries I've made over the years of this blog, you'll get the impression I don't know if they are a great band who are on my essential "to see" list each tour or frustrating in that I can take or leave them. This show unfortunately veered towards the latter for me.

The band have "downsized" for this show to the intimate Borderline - usually one of my favourite venues, but unpleasantly crowded on the floor here. Predictably loud, this could have been a great show - with the ingredients of great vocalist, excellent lead guitar and fine musicianship all round. So why wasn't it? Setlist and songs.

I'm the first to admit I am a casual fan - owning most of their albums, but not all. I also don't know all the songs. However, I would have expected to know at least a few of these. In fact it wasn't until the very end that we got something even close to what would be on anything I'd call their "best of". And the reason for that is the songs. They are almost all forgettable to my ears. I probably have many on CD, but couldn't tell you without looking up the titles. I've said it before, it's a real shame for a band this talented.

Sadly an excellent "Under The Sky" and Cormacs's earlier efforts to rouse the crowd with a bit of wandering could not salvage the evening for me.

Setlist
I Am What I Am
Spectacular
Red
Demon Eyes
Gone Too Long
Aristocrat
Long Live the Renegades
Preachin'
Last Days of Summer
Strange Kinda' Nothing
New Horizon
Raise a Little Hell
Nowhere Freeway
Under the Sky

T'Pau - Saturday 25th July - Jazz Cafe

Carol Decker

A few weeks on from the acoustic show, here's the full T'Pau show - a rearranged affair at London's Jazz Cafe.

The band were in "rock" mode tonight and a lively (but brief) set appeared to be enjoyed by all present. I do think for £26, the crowd can expect to see a bit more than just over an hour of headline act though. Still, quality beats quantity and this was possibly the best of the T'Pau shows I've seen over the last couple of years. Carol's vocals were spot on and the band seemed very up for it this evening.

Picking the best of the new "Pleasure and Pain" album alongside the classics from "Bridge of Spies" plus a view highlights from other albums presented a good mix and I'm very much looking forward to the 2016 tour.

Setlist
Thank You For Goodbye
Secret Garden
Island
Monkey House
I Will Be With You
Read My Mind
Nowhere
Misbelieving
Say You Will
Valentine
Running Away / Sex Talk
Bridge Of Spies
Heart & Soul
China In Your Hand

Roxette - Monday 13th July - O2 Arena

A welcome return to the UK for Swedish hitmakers Roxette. The lower half of the O2 Arena was packed (good to see for a Monday night) and we had managed to nab half-decent seats in the 4th Row.

The show started with the slightly dis-concerning sight of Marie Fredriksson being led to her seat on stage, clearly walking with difficulty. Obviously, she has overcome a major illness over recent years and it is fair to say she was shown a lot of love from the crowd. Marie remained seated for the whole show, whilst partner-in-crime Per Gessle took on the more active roles in running around the stage, encouraging the crowd plus amusing band intros.

Vocally, Marie took a little while to hit top gear, but after a few songs the spine-tingling voice that gave us power ballads such as "It Must Have Been Love" & "Listen to Your Heart" was back to it's recognisable self. The musicians in the band were excellent too and some improvised AC/DC guitar licks plus a storming "God Save The Queen" added to the fun.

Per likes to throw plectrums into the crowd during most songs, although it was a shame that whoever was sitting centrally in row 10 must have got pretty much all of them - maybe we was aiming for someone specific!

It is listening to a set such as this you realise what great material Roxette have. I particularly enjoyed "Fading Like A Flower" and "Dangerous". The sing-a-long from the audience suggested I was not alone.

Setlist
Sleeping in My Car
The Big L.
Stars
Spending My Time
Crash! Boom! Bang!
Crush on You
She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)
The Heart Shaped Sea
Watercolours in the Rain / Paint
Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed for Success / Dangerous
Joyride (with "God Save the Queen" intro)
+
Listen to Your Heart
The Look

Pete Townshend's Classic Quadrophenia - Sunday 5th July - Royal Albert Hall

So, a bit more Who-related music, this time in the fine setting of the Royal Albert Hall and a box no less, courtesy of a kind colleague of Richard.

The classic Who rock piece has been given an orchestral makeover and score by Rachel Fuller, partner of composer Pete Townshend and was presented here in it's entirety with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Main vocals were supplied by Alfie Boe, ably assisted by Billy Idol, Phil Daniels and Mr Townshend himself, albeit only occasionally.

Now, I wasn't quite sure how this was going to be. On the album, Alfie Boe's vocals are quite a culture shock compared with the Roger Daltrey sound we know so well singing these songs and the mix seems to lack some of the music. Presented here though, it all sounded a better blend of sound and there is no doubting Mr Boe's vocal talents.

An enthusiastic audience lapped it up - Billy Idol was in good voice and Pete Townshend looked very suave in his tux. We knew he would only appear for a handful of songs, but the crowd reaction when he did paid homage to the event and the material.

So a thumbs up from me - having played the album again at home, it's unlikely to get much of an airing compared to either the original or soundtrack versions, but a good night none the less.

Setlist
I Am the Sea 
The Real Me
Quadrophenia 
Cut My Hair 
The Punk and the Godfather 
I'm One 
The Dirty Jobs 
Helpless Dancer
+
Is It in My Head? 
I've Had Enough 
5:15 
Sea and Sand 
Drowned 
Bell Boy 
Doctor Jimmy 
The Rock 
Love, Reign O'er Me 
+
The Real Me (with full cast)

T'Pau - Thursday 2nd July - Royal Vauxhall Tavern

T'Pau's first ever acoustic-only show. The venue was the Royal Vauxhall Tavern - one of London's premier gay venues. Maybe not unsurprisingly this was a venue I'd not been to previously - it's not your typical rock club. As 2 straight blokes, we were probably not the standard clientele, but staff were welcoming, bar was good and an excellent view of the stage obtained. Plus what can you say about a hall with 6 glitter balls! An enthusiastic audience lapped up Carol Decker's in between song chit chat - much of which seemed adapted for the venue!

Anyway, she was in good voice, the band on good form and the hour long set was great fun. A surprise cover of the Eagle's "Hotel California" was a highlight and the other songs worked well in a stripped down format.

Looking forward to the full electric show next month.

Setlist
Secret Garden
Monkey House
Make Love To Me
I Will Be With You
Say You Will
Nowhere
Read My Mind
Demolition Man
Valentine
Hotel California
Heart & Soul
China In Your Hand

The Who - Friday 26th June - Hyde Park, London

I Can See For Miles. And we needed to.

So, probably my last Who show of the year (4 in a couple of months isn't bad going). An unpleasantly busy Hyde Park and a massive Golden Circle area (£100 + a ticket) meant that even being only 7-8 yards back from the main barrier, we were still at least 130 yards from the stage. Even being near a speaker this meant with Hyde Park's ridiculous noise restrictions the audience could chat or sing easily over the volume of the band - and we are talking The Who here - not some acoustic folk outfit.

It really is not a great environment to see anyone. Earlier, I'd caught the end of the Kaiser Chiefs from about half a mile away - I think they were predicting a riot of some sort, but it was too quiet to be sure. Paul Weller was good, but the reaction to the Jam material (2 songs only) must tell him he needs to include more in a festival set.

The Who, from what we could hear, were good, if not at their devastating best. The fear is that this could be their last ever London show, so it was at least captured for a DVD. The view from the stage must be great, but surely London can find a more appropriate outdoor summertime venue.

Final note on the state of some people leaving the venue. Many were passed out or literally being carried / dragged by friends or family due to over indulgence. Really - what is the point? You can imagine their conversation:-
Q: What did you get up to at the weekend?
A: I went to see the Who - cost me £75 and the same again on beer.
Q: What was it like?
A: No idea.

I call that a Bargain...

Setlist
I Can't Explain
The Seeker
Who Are You
The Kids Are Alright
Pictures of Lily
I Can See For Miles
My Generation
Behind Blue Eyes
Bargain
Join Together
You Better You Bet
I'm One
Love, Reign O'er Me
Eminence Front
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Pinball Wizard
See Me, Feel Me
Baba O'Riley
Won't Get Fooled Again

ZZ Top / Thunder - Wednesday 24th June - Wembley Arena

Drummer Frank Beard and colleagues

A rare jaunt these days to Wembley - or the SSE Arena as it appears to be branding itself. Whatever they call it, they need to sort out their catering - 20 minute queues to get a beer is not on. Competent staff and a bit of pre-pouring isn't difficult surely!

We were here primarily for Thunder. Having grabbed a decent spot near the front, they entertained with a decent (but short) set of classic hits and new material. All seemed to be well received.

Having moved a bit further back for the headliners, the first 3 or 4 songs were good. Then I thought we hit a bit of a lull. I've seen ZZ Top 4 times previously over the last 25 years and it's always been hit and miss for me - sometimes great, but sometimes a little self indulgent and the songs merge together. Thankfully this time around, the lull was brief and from "My Head's in Mississippi" onwards the show was fantastic. Jeff Beck joined for the encore on his birthday - looking much more youthful than his 71 years and was rightly given an ovation (and some cake!).

Setlists

Thunder

Dirty Love
River of Pain
Black Water
Wonder Days
Backstreet Symphony
Love Walked In
The Thing I Want
I Love You More Than Rock 'N' Roll

ZZ Top
Got Me Under Pressure
Waitin' for the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Gimme All Your Lovin'
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
Pincushion
I Gotsta Get Paid
Foxy Lady 
Catfish Blues 
Cheap Sunglasses
My Head's in Mississippi
Chartreuse
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs
+
Rough Boy (with Jeff Beck)
Sixteen Tons (with Jeff Beck)
La Grange / Sloppy Drunk Jam (with Jeff Beck)
Tush (with Jeff Beck)

Spike's Free House - Sunday 7th June - Borderline

Luke Morley & Spike Gray

Spike from the Quireboys is a big fan of Frankie Miller and 70's legends Free. This show was designed to showcase the material of both the Scottish Rocker and Free. Andy Fraser - Free's bass player was due to be in the band, but his untimely passing a few months ago turned this into a fitting tribute to his music as well.

Spike had assembled a first class band - featuring members from many of my favourites - Luke Morley (Thunder), Mark Stanway (Magnum), Simon Kirke (Free) and Nick Malling (Quireboys). Spike was full of his normal summer spirit and entertained the crowd between songs with a few comments. The music was King here though and an entertaining set was of the highest quality. It would have been great to have been a little longer, but I guess if the aim was to send the crowd home wanting more then it was mission accomplished.

There did seem to be a few people under the influence (indeed there was an unpleasant smell of vomit in the venue) and a few female audience members barely able to stand. Shame they won't remember much of this. Finally, 1 point scored for a Ling-alert!

Setlist
Be Good To Yourself
Wishing Well
Cocaine
My Brother Jake
A Bottle Of Whisky
Intensive Care
Fortune
Mr Big
The Other Side Of Town
Living In A Cheap Hotel
The Hunter
Cold Cold Nights
The Brooklyn Bridge
All Right Now
+
Darlin'

Scouting For Girls - Saturday 23rd May - Leestock

A longer-than-anticipated family trip to deepest Suffolk for the 2015 Leestock festival. We were attending primarily to see "Scouting For Girls", but we were in time to add another chart act to our list by seeing "Dodgy" as well. Earlier bands in the day were mainly of the local variety and with children in tow, we thought that attention spans may be tested too far with lots of unknown music.

Dodgy were OK - they saved their 2 hits until the end, which got people up on their feet. Their drummer added a bit of chat between songs, some of which wasn't entirely appropriate for the youngsters in the crowd.

Scouting for Girls were excellent - choosing a festival friendly set of hits (largely from their excellent first album) and a couple of choice covers - "Live and Let Die" and a surprise of "Livin' On A Prayer" in the encore. The set was only just over an hour which was a shame, but from the crowd reaction, everyone seemed happy. A swift exit during the last song ensured we were out of the car park and on the long journey home just before 11pm.

Read all about the Leestock festival here.

Setlist 
Heartbeat

Famous

It's Not About You

Gotta Keep Smiling

I Wish I Was James Bond

Live and Let Die

Love How It Hurts

Elvis Ain't Dead

Posh Girls

Keep On Walking

This Ain't a Love Song

Livin' on a Prayer

Michaela Strachan

She's So Lovely

Johnny Warman - Monday18th May - Bull's Head, Barnes

This "Total Who Show" to celebrate 50 years of the Who was billed as "unplugged". The venue is the rear stable-type room at the rear of the excellent Bull's Head in Barnes. When seated, the capacity looks to be less than a hundred and the usual Monday evening events are of the blues and jazz variety.

The evening started with a young female singer - songwriter (sorry I can't remember her name) who, armed with an acoustic guitar, sang some of her own material interspersed with some covers including a very nice version of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time". All very pleasant.

Caught out by the very quick turn-a-round, I was at the bar when the band opened with Baba O'Riley. Acoustic it was not. Returning to our front table seat, we then enjoyed 100 odd minutes of classic, ear shattering versions of Who classics. Phil Spalding was guesting on lead guitar and his effortless playing was spot on. Bass, Drum & Keyboard duties were more than competently filled too and Johnny Warman's usual excellence enthralled the small crowd, some of whom politely heckled about "when is the unplugged bit?".

Actually, that does raise a semi-serious point. I was looking forward to hearing the Who songs in an acoustic setting and had bought tickets and travel on that basis. I really enjoyed the evening as it was played, but what if I hadn't? The show had been especially billed to highlight the unplugged aspect.

Anyway, a moot point for me as it was excellent anyway. I shall be back for more - with volume or without.