Sari Schorr - Saturday 27th April - The Grace, Highbury

Brief review:  Following Sari's excellent support slot with the Sweet a while back I thought it worth checking out her solo show. I didn't now much of the first part of the set (including 4 Robin Trower songs), but it was a solid blues rock show with her trademark vocals to the fore.

The Grace is the new name for "Upstairs at the Garage" in Highbury. To be honest, it's not a great venue from an audience perspective, being quite long and narrow. But at least the sound was decent.

Venue and View:  Standing at the back.

Setlist
The Circle Is Complete
The Distance
Joyful Sky
Peace of Mind
Hometown Girl
Ain’t Got No Money
Demolition Man
Ordinary Life
Damn the Reason
Aunt Hazel
Beautiful
Highway 69
Valentina
Maybe I'm Fooling
+
Black Betty
I Just Want to Make Love to You
Rock and Roll

Guitar Heads - Monday 22nd April - Cavern, Raynes Park

Brief review:  Jim Kirkpatrick, Paul Rose, Chris Childs and Harry James. Four of the finest musicians you could wish to see get together for their debut gig in Raynes Park. Apparently that afternoon was the first time that all 4 had been in the same room together and the setlist was made up on the spot.

Suffice to say, nobody would have know as the covers played were absolutely spot on in terms of sound, feel and quality. I had never seen Paul before, but will be checking out his playing elsewhere!

Venue and View:  Standing, half way back.

Setlist

Tyla - Friday 19th April - Aces and Eights, Islington

Brief review:  A brand new venue for me in Islington. Tyla's show was in a similar vein to others I've seen - lots of stories - many amusing, interspersed with his songs through the ages.

Venue and View:  Seated at the rear of the small downstairs venue.

Setlist
Heroine
State I'm In
Angel
How Come It Never Rains
Billy Two Rivers
Last Bandit
Drunk Like Me
How the Beautiful Fall
Ballard Of The Knucklemen
Trail of Tears
Errol Flynn
Satellite Kid

Abba Voyage - Sunday 7th April - Abba Arena, Stratford

Brief review:  ABBA. Well holograms of ABBA to be correct. So not really a concert, but still an impressive show. There is a live band playing on the songs too to a sold out arena (as it seems to be night after night). And to be fair I enjoyed it and am glad I went, but would leave it a while before going back.

Venue and View:  Mid way back on the right.

Setlist
The Visitors
Hole in Your Soul
SOS
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Chiquitita
Fernando
Mamma Mia
Does Your Mother Know
Eagle
Lay All Your Love on Me
Summer Night City
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Voulez-vous
When All Is Said and Done
Don't Shut Me Down
I Still Have Faith in You
Waterloo
Thank You for the Music
Dancing Queen
+
The Winner Takes It All

Friday 29th March - Bootleg Blondie - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  Excellent Blondie tribute. I'd not seen the band before but would happily go and see them again. I particularly liked the attention to detail, such as the song-appropriate outfits that the singer (another Debbie) wore.

Venue and View:  Standing

The Who - Wednesday 20th March - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  Night 2 of the TCT Who shows. Slightly cheaper seats to the side, but the front row gave an excellent vantage point. As ever, the second show sees the band with more rehearsal time under their belts and arguably a better performance than on Monday. A highlight and change in the set was The Acid Queen. Regular readers may recall that I don't think Eddie Vedder is a great singer, but - to be fair - he did a decent guest spot here.

Venue and View:  Front Row in the left hand side-stalls.

Setlist
[With Orchestra]
Overture
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
The Acid Queen
Pinball Wizard
We're Not Gonna Take It
Who Are You
+
[Band Only]
The Kids Are Alright
Substitute
My Generation
Cry If You Want
You Better You Bet
Won't Get Fooled Again
Behind Blue Eyes
+
[With Orchestra]
The Punk And The Godfather (with Eddie Vedder)
I'm One
5:15
The Rock
Love, Reign O'er Me
Baba O'Riley

The Who - Monday 18th March - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  Night 1 of 2 Who shows this week in aid of Teenage Cancer trust at the Royal Albert Hall. Expensive, but great seats purchased. the band were on decent form, albeit predictably under-rehearsed. Pete Townshend seemed to catch them out in the first song by launching into I Can't Explain which he later claimed was on his setlist and not the others. But it was good to see the band in full electric mode for much of the set and the orchestra tracks worked well. Looking forward to the 2nd show in a couple of days.

Venue and View:  3rd row seats, right of centre.

Setlist
I Can't Explain
+
[With Orchestra]
Overture
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Pinball Wizard
We're Not Gonna Take It
Who Are You
Eminence Front
+
[Band Only]
The Kids Are Alright
You Better You Bet
Substitute
My Generation
Cry If You Want
Won't Get Fooled Again
Behind Blue Eyes
+
[With Orchestra]
The Real Me
I'm One
5:15
The Rock
Love, Reign O'er Me
Baba O'Riley

Guitar Legends - Friday 15th March - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  My previous review of the Guitar Legends would have mentioned that I didn't think the vocals were up to scratch. I therefore was slightly reticent about seeing them again, but as Richard hadn't seen them, he persuaded me to go. And I am glad I did as I had no such complaints this time around. An expected set of Rock classics with a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure.

Venue and View:  Pretty central standing of a reasonably spacious floor. Easy access to the bar.

Slade UK - Saturday 9th March - Charles Cryer Theatre, Carshalton

Brief review:  The excellent Slade tribute band come to Carshalton for an intimate show. They are an excellent act combining the key hits with some great deeper dives into the catalogue such as "Gypsy Roadhog" and "Dizzy Mama". Keep On Rockin'!

Venue and View:  Seated a few rows back on the right

Kaiser Chiefs - Thursday 7th March - Pryzm, Kingston

Brief review: Having very much enjoyed Ricky and the boys at the church carol service last year, an album launch show at the intimate Pryzm seemed too good to miss. And indeed it was excellent with "Beautiful Girl" the standout new song for me plus the expected hits towards the end of the short set.

Venue and View:  Front left on the floor

Setlist
The Job Centre Shuffle
Everyday I Love You Less and Less
Beautiful Girl
Modern Way
How 2 Dance
Burning in Flames
Never Miss a Beat
Ruby
I Predict a Riot
Reasons to Stay Alive
+
Oh My God