Taylor Swift - Sunday 9th June - Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Brief review:  A family trip to what I think is my first ever gig in Scotland. We couldn't get tickets for any of the Wembley shows, so not wishing to miss the global superstar that is Miss Swift we decided to make a weekend away of it (as did pretty much everyone else staying in the Scottish Capital from what we saw!). 

Now, my other family members are more Swifties than me these days and my song knowledge runs a bit dry after the excellent "Red" album meaning I don't really know 2/3 of her output. But that doesn't stop this being an amazing show. And show is the word - so much thought has been given to making everyone in the vast arenas on the tour feeling involved. That said, we felt very lucky to have the front pitch tickets and be relatively close to the action.

A fantastic experience!

Venue and View:  Pitch standing - Front half, left hand side.

Setlist
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down
Lover
+
Fearless
You Belong With Me
Love Story
+

22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well
Speak Now
+
Enchanted
+
...Ready for It?
Delicate
Don't Blame Me
Look What You Made Me Do
+
Cardigan
Betty
Champagne Problems
August
Illicit Affairs
My Tears Ricochet
Marjorie
Willow
+
Style
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams
Bad Blood
+

But Daddy I Love Him / So High School
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Down Bad
Fortnight
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
+
Dorothea
Haunted
+
Lavender Haze
Anti‐Hero
Midnight Rain
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma

Jon Bon Jovi - Thursday 30th May - Pryzm, Kingston

Brief review:  Here's something I didn't expect to write - "Bon Jovi" does a show in Kingston! To be fair, Jon isn't playing unfortunately, it's more a Q&A and playback of some of the best tracks from the new album.

Jon is a good interview, being informative, sharing about his recent illness and desire to get back on stage. He was also amusing and caring - especially when a couple of audience members fainted and had to be treated (and one carried out) - it was very hot. He went to check on their wellbeing during a break.

Let's hope for some full shows in 2025 or 2026.

Venue and View:  Standing - Front left. Hot!

Quireboys - Sunday 26th May - Triangle, Deptford

Brief review:  Launch Party for the new Wardour Street album from 'Quireboys' (as this incarnation with Spike seem to have settled on). A slightly chaotic brief show (it was a freebie for pre-orders of the Boxed Set), the whole thing was held together by the brilliant Luke Morley (of "Terraplane" as he was constantly teased) in a sort of musical director role.

On this showing, the album should be good.

Venue and View:  Very small venue - standing, effectively 2nd row to the left.

Warner E Hodges - Friday 24th May - Camden Club

Brief review:  What a thoroughly nice chap Warner is. He was generous enough to have a chat with us after the show and we talked about his upcoming trip to Spain to see a couple of AC/DC shows (he is a huge fan!).

The show tonight was really good with Warner's own brand of Southern Rock interspersed with a couple of choice covers. A brand new venue for me too which was fine apart from the high (even for London!) drinks prices.

Venue and View:  Standing - front and central.

Bryan Adams - Wednesday 15th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  The third and final night of Bryan at the RAH. One of the reasons these shows have been so good is in addition to the variety of songs played across the 3 nights is the fact the full 5 piece band get involved (long term readers may recall my dislike of the 3 piece line-up sound a while ago with only one guitar). 

Tonight's album is the one that has been toured over the last couple of years - "So Happy It Hurts". It's a decent album generally, but has a couple of real duds on it - most notably the dreadful "On The Road". Still, that is done and dusted early, and the rest of the show bought a very enjoyable 3 nights to a decent conclusion. The 3 shows are due to make a boxed set in the future, so a purchase will no doubt be on the cards.

Venue and View:  Floor standing, 2nd row on right

Setlist
Set 1: So Happy It Hurts
Kick Ass
On the Road
I've Been Looking for You
Always Have, Always Will
Just Like Me, Just Like You
Never Gonna Rain 
You Lift Me Up 
Let’s Do This
I Ain’t Worth Shit Without You
Just About Gone
These Are the Moments That Make Up My Life
So Happy It Hurts

Set 2:
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
18 til I Die
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Kids Wanna Rock
Heaven
Go Down Rockin' (with Midnight Rambler snippet)
It's Only Love / The Best / What's Love Got to Do With It
You Belong to Me (with These Boots Are Made for Walkin' snippet)
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
I Will Always Return 
Here I Am 
When You're Gone 
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Run to You
Summer of '69
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart
All for Love

Bryan Adams - Tuesday 14th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  Night two of three and tonight's album is the classic "Reckless". Surely one of the best rock albums of all time, this was always likely to be the most in demand of the 3 shows. And it didn't disappoint - another great performance from Bryan and the boys.

Venue and View:  Stalls - Side on to the stage on left.

Setlist
Set 1: Reckless
One Night Love Affair
Somebody
Reckless
Run to You
Heaven 
Kids Wanna Rock
Let Me Down Easy 
She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
It's Only Love
Long Gone 
Ain't Gonna Cry 
Summer of '69

Set 2:
Kick Ass
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
On the Road
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Go Down Rockin'
You Belong to Me
I've Been Looking for You
Never Gonna Rain 
You Lift Me Up
When You're Gone 
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Always Have, Always Will
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
So Happy It Hurts
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart 
These Are the Moments That Make Up My Life 

Bryan Adams - Monday 13th May - Royal Albert Hall

Brief review:  The first of 3 consecutive nights of Bryan at the Royal Albert Hall. Each features a different album played in full, followed by a hits set. Tonight it's the 18 Til I Die album, which is a mixed bag of the brilliant and dull to be fair. Still, the live renditions are solid - although some people online are complaining about shorter versions than the record. Black Pearl was excluded - maybe for lyrical reasons - although this wasn't clear.

A highlight for me was actually sitting on the stage. This gave a great perspective as a one off and because the show was being filmed for TV and DVD, I was given a plain black "front rows" branded event T-Shirt to wear which was nice. And Keith Scott decided to join us during the show for a guitar solo which was extra special.

Venue and View:  On stage! 2nd row behind the band

Setlist

Set 1: 18 Til I Die
18 til I Die
Do to You
Let's Make a Night to Remember
(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear
Star 
It Ain't a Party... If You Can't Come 'Round 
You're Still Beautiful to Me 
I'll Always Be Right There
We're Gonna Win 
I Think About You 
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Set 2
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
Just Like Me, Just Like You 
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Heaven
Kids Wanna Rock
Let’s Do This 
It's Only Love / The Best / What's Love Got to Do With It
You Belong to Me
I've Been Looking for You
When You're Gone
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Just About Gone 
So Happy It Hurts
Run to You
Summer of '69
I Ain’t Worth Shit Without You 
Cuts Like a Knife
+
Straight From the Heart
All for Love

Scouting For Girls - Saturday 4th May - Preston Park, Brighton

Brief review:  Part of the Foodie Festival series, the late afternoon was spent wandering the food stalls, drinking beer and even sitting in on the dreaded "Chilli eating competition" - largely as they had seats available!

But the main reason we were here was to see SFG who delivered a brief but punchy set including an excellent version of Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" which Ray revealed was his favourite Bond theme song.

Venue and View:  Front right standing.

Setlist
Heartbeat
This Ain't a Love Song
Famous
Posh Girls
I Wish I Was James Bond
Nobody Does It Better
Glow
Elvis Ain't Dead / Can't Help Falling in Love
She's So Lovely

Johnny Warman - Friday 3rd May - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  The evergreen Mr Warman. I've lost count of how many times I've seen him at the Boom Boom and elsewhere and he always delivers. This was the 60's and 70's Rock Show version of his "Magic Bus" lineup and featured rock classics from those eras. I just hope the promotion issues at the Boom Boom get sorted and the shows actually get advertised to increase the audience numbers.

Venue and View:  Standing on the floor, central near the front.

Robert Hart's Bad Company - Wednesday 1st May - Half Moon, Putney

Brief review:  Robert Hart, Dave "Bucket" Colwell, Pat Davey and Harry James make up this collection of largely ex-members of Bad Company and associated acts. Hart and Colwell have legitimate claim of being in the actual Bad Company of course as latter day members. And here we get the greatest hits of Bad Co with a couple of Manfred Man's Earth Band and Free hits for good measure. Seriously good stuff.

Venue and View:  Left hand side of the stage, a couple of metres back.