Upcoming Gigs

Reasonably quiet for a couple of weeks. Here are the shows I have lined up so far:- Tommy Vance Tribute Night (Royal Albert Hall) - Features Judas Priest, Scorpions, Ian Gillan & Friends and Boned. This is part of the series of concerts for the excellent Teenage Cancer Trust (https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/main/). Got good seats (5 rows from front). A bit more than we wanted to pay, but should be good fun - hopefully a few guests (c'mon Roger, you know you want to!) - and it is for charity. 

The Who Convention (Bush Hall, Shepherd's Bush) - A couple of Who tribute bands and the Casbah Club (feat Simon Townshend)

The Pretenders (Camden) - should be good, never seen them before.

John Fogerty (Hammersmith Apollo) - At last !! Been waiting to see him for years. Hope I'm not disappointed!

Bon Jovi (St Mary's, Southampton) - Not until June, got much better (and cheaper) seats than could have at yet-to-be-finished Wembley.

Robbie Williams (Wembley Stadium). It may be finished by September (?) and we'll be up in the "gods" on the last night. Also, must get round to deciding whether to go to Bob Catley at the Camden Underworld at Easter.

I was thinking of going to see Gretchen Peters in Camden last week (on the off-chance Bryan Adams may show up), but got the date wrong and missed it. Never mind, he didn't show! Considered buying Whitesnake tickets yesterday for Hammersmith, but decided £32.50 + rip-off Ticketmaster fees (making it over £40) made it a bit expensive, although I did enjoy last year's show. 

Tony Jepson is playing a small gig in New Cross next month and I can't make it. Pity! Now what I'm really waiting for are some Who dates (although the rumoured Hyde Park festival style show is not really my thing - intimate warm up show anyone?) and hopefully, some Billy Joel UK dates for the first time in over a decade once his US East Coast tour finishes. Oh, and if Bryan Adams gets closer to London than Norwich (!), I'll be up for that too. Also, Status Quo seem to be likely to do Epsom Racecourse for the third year running in July, so that should be good.

Thunder - Hammersmith Carling Apollo - Saturday 4th February

What a difference! For Thunder, the same set (almost), a full crowd (downstairs only) and this was great! Everything seemed to flow better, sound was good - vocals and guitar excellent and what a great show. Strange how it sometimes works like that. 

Toby Jepson seemed to be trying a bit too hard - his vocals were a bit dodgy - guitarist still hadn't has a reality check. But as I say the night belonged to Thunder - well done guys. A nice touch was the jam with the support bands on Elton's "Saturday Night's (Alright For Fighting)" (strangely, Toby's guitarist was the only one missing - still in the dressing room admiring himself presumably) and an epic (18 minutes!) Dirty Love.

Classic Stuff!

Setlist

Loser

Amy's on the Run

Higher Ground

I'm Dreaming Again

You Can't Keep a Good Man Down

Like a Satellite

Ball and Chain

Empty City

Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)

Love Walked In

Fade Into the Sun

I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll

+

An Englishman on Holiday

A Better Man

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (with Toby Jepson and Roadstar)

Baby, Please Don't Go

Dirty Love

Thunder - Brighton Dome - Friday 27th January

Another half day from work to allow an exploration of the establishments of Brighton. Had a pleasant crawl (in the snow !!) of the Kemptown area - all of which were new pubs for me. Some highly impressive pool playing was shown too. 

First time for me at the Dome - very impressive venue - not so the bar prices - OUTRAGEOUS! Thankfully after the afternoon, we weren't too thirsty! 

We skipped the option of the first support - seen them when they were "Hurricane Party" - not bad, but not really my thing. Toby Jepson was good, with a set full of Little Angels material. Only annoyance was his guitarist. The word "tosser" springs to mind. How can someone fancy himself so much? The girls around us were in 2 camps - either laughing / fake vomiting or feeling very uncomfortable with his posturing and leering at them. Top tip - keep your shirt on and play the music! Oh, actually there was another annoyance. The 2 guys who thought it was acceptable to mosh into everyone around them for "Too Much Too Young" and knock half the crowd over (it wasn't as if there wasn't plenty of room).

Anyway, once another guy and I had errr.. educated them on their behaviour they calmed down a bit. Suffice to say, security were useless. Next up Thunder. On paper, a decent set. In reality, something missing for me. I've seen Thunder a lot of times and they are always good. There was just something tonight that meant it was OK, but not great - couldn't put my finger on it why. Still - An Englishman On Holiday is always one of my favourites. The last train to Croydon from Brighton (23.05) meant we have to leave "Dirty Love" mid-way through. 45 minutes in Croydon waiting for a connection meant a total journey home of nearly 3 hours - no fun!

Setlist

Loser

Amy's on the Run

Higher Ground

I'm Dreaming Again

You Can't Keep a Good Man Down

Like a Satellite

Ball and Chain

Empty City

Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)

Love Walked In

Fade Into the Sun

I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll

+

An Englishman on Holiday

A Better Man

Dirty Love

Toby Jepson Setlist

Breakdown

Kicking Up Dust

Boneyard

Forbidden Fruit

Don't Pray for Me

Unwind

Young Gods (Stand Up, Stand Up)

Radical Your Lover

Too Much Too Young

Deep Purple - Astoria - Tuesday 17th January

My first live viewing of Deep Purple. Got in early for a change and witnessed that great rarity - a half decent support band. Called "The Answer", they may actually have a future ahead of them, with some Plant-esq vocals and a hint of AC/DC in the sound. A couple of catchy songs too - new EP out soon apparently.

I was quite impressed by Deep Purple. However, a lot of the regular fans seemed upset at the amount of "new album" material and there was a fair bit of heckling. It probably didn't help that Ian Gillan clearly didn't know the words for the first few songs! One of the things that is always a bit of an issue is the set mix for new and old fans. The regulars are probably sick of the "hits" churned out year after year, but as a "newbie", I was delighted to hear Highway Star, Smoke On The Water and Black Night. Indeed, I'd have been happier too if they'd done Woman From Tokyo and Strange Kind of Woman, whereas for someone like Status Quo for example, I'd happily miss out some big hits, for some more "hardcore" classics. 

Anyway, I was impressed by the musicianship of Deep Purple - especially Steve Morse. A couple of Amstels in the Tottenham (previously Soho's worst/smokiest pub?) rounded off a nice evening.

Setlist

Pictures of Home

Things I Never Said

Wrong Man

Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic

Living Wreck

Rapture of the Deep

Back to Back

Before Time Began

Contact Lost

Guitar Solo [Steve Morse]

The Well-Dressed Guitar

Lazy

Keyboard Solo

Perfect Strangers

Junkyard Blues

Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming

Space Truckin'

Highway Star

Smoke on the Water

+

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

Black Night / Bass Solo

Status Quo - Brighton Centre - Friday 9th December (Cancelled)

Found out this was cancelled on the morning just before travelling. Rick Parfitt had been diagnosed with probable throat cancer - sad news indeed. That may have also explained him being "out of sorts" somewhat last week at Croydon. (Happily a few weeks later, after laser surgery, he has been given the all clear) - although unhappily it sounds as if Mike Peters of the Alarm may not have been so lucky. Best wishes to him too.

Magnum - Astoria - Thursday 8th December

Earlier in the year Magnum celebrated the 20th Anniversary of release of the "On A Storytellers Night" album with a couple of shows showcasing the entire album. The show at the Astoria in April was packed and filmed for a DVD - "Livin' The Dream" which is worth buying. Judging by the size of the audience, maybe going for a repeat performance so soon was a mistake - the venue was barely half full. Still, that doesn't detract from some excellent music, with the delights of Tony Clarkin's song writing and under-rated guitar playing. Something similar for "Vigilante" next year maybe? 

The early kick-out from the Astoria meant we were able to visit a couple of bars. Garlic and Shots was its normal gothic-self and for a bit of variety we followed this up with a "camp" half in the Admiral Duncan (a famous gay pub in Soho) - some interesting "people watching" - complete with pink Christmas Trees! Then on to the Intrepid Fox for a bit of beer 'n' metal!

Setlist

Brand New Morning

Back Street Kid

Need a Lot of Love

Soldier of the Line

We All Run

Vigilante

Kingdom of Madness

Keyboard & Guitar Intro

Sacred Hour

+

How Far Jerusalem

Just Like an Arrow

On a Storyteller's Night

Before First Light

Les morts dansant

Endless Love

Two Hearts

Steal Your Heart

All England's Eyes

+

The Last Dance

Basement Jam - Sunday 4th December - The Boathouse, Twickenham

A rare treat. An invitation only show entitled "Basement Jam", This internet broadcast is the culmination of the last couple of years of the "In The Attic" internet video podcast from Rachel Fuller (often assisted by Pete Townshend).

The intimate show here features the normal guests from recent months (see Bedford Arms entry) and culminates with a fantastic acoustic set from Pete Townshend interspersed with a few stories and history of the room that we are in (Oceanic Studios at The Boathouse)

It's a bit like being invited round for tea by one of your musical heroes, so suffice to say I enjoyed my evening!

Setlists

Pete Townshend
Drowned
Greyhound Girl
Blue Red and Grey
In the Ether (with Rachel)
Just Breathe (with Rachel)
Sunrise (with Rachel)
Behind Blue Eyes
Let’s See Action

Rachel Fuller
Into My Heart
Ghost in Your Room
Imperfection,
Cigarettes and Housework
Happy to Be Sad
Spin
Pleasure Seeker
Jigsaw,
Shine (with all)

Simon Townshend
Save Me From Me
Comeback
Soul Searching
Girl In New York
The Way It Is
Sex Change

Foy Vance
Crosstown Traffic (Hendrix)
Gabriel & The Vagabond
Don’t Please Yourself
Indiscriminate Act of Kindness

Mikey Cuthbert
You
Tourist
Plasticine
Clever Girl
My Pigeon Friend

http://petetownshend.net/in-the-attic/attic-jams

Quireboys - Mean Fiddler - Friday 2nd December

A similar set to that played at the excellent Kingston Peel show earlier in the year. A sparse audience though, which was a shame. Spike rambled on between songs and was, as normal, encouraging the crowd to buy him a drink! Often the band would start the next song just to shut him up! All in all, a good show - the Quireboys are a real "good time" band with some excellent songs and deserve a bigger audience.

Status Quo - Croydon Fairfield Halls - Tuesday 22nd November

Same set as Oxford last week, although played with less enthusiasm. Maybe it was our "Royal Box" seats overlooking the stage, or maybe something else, but this didn't seem to have the energy of the Oxford show. Rick looked particularly under the weather and withdrawn. All in all, not a bad show (Quo's rarely are!), but not their best by any stretch of the imagination.

Setlist

Caroline

Something 'bout You Baby I Like

Don't Waste My Time

Forty-Five Hundred Times

Rain

All Stand Up (Never Say Never)

The Oriental

Creepin' Up on You

Belavista Man

Mystery Song / Railroad / Most of the Time / Wild Side of Life / Rollin' Home / Again and Again / Slow Train

Gerdundula

Drum Solo / The Killer

Roll Over Lay Down

Down Down

Whatever You Want

Rockin' All Over the World

+

What You're Proposing / Down the Dustpipe / Little Lady / Red Sky / Dear John

Big Fat Mama

Junior's Wailing

Rock and Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny

Status Quo - Oxford New Theatre - Friday 18th November

As the last train home was going to mean missing half the show, we decided the Oxford Tube was the best bet from Central London. Very efficient service it was too. Also, bearing in mind Oxford's reputation, it seemed rude to pass up the opportunity to visit some of the City's public houses, so a mid-morning start was in order. Starting in the Cowley Road area - there were a very decidedly dodgy characters hanging around on street corners, eyeing up everyone and garbling into mobile phones. Probably being naïve here, but I'm assuming "do you know where the station is" is code for "do you want to buy any drugs?". The pubs weren't up to much - indeed many didn't seem to bother opening on a Friday Lunchtime. There were a couple of second hand records shops though, so that was a bit more interesting. 

The city centre itself was much better for pubs, with the best being The Turf Tavern, The Bear and the slightly out of town, Jude The Obscure. Anyway, enough of that - how was the show? Well, excellent now you come to ask. We had decent-ish seats - central in the 7th Row. The band seemed on top form (despite being a bit tired from the "warm up" mimed appearance on "Children In Need" earlier in the evening).

The only disappointment was the removal from the set of the new album title track - "The Party Ain't Over Yet", which was a shame as I hadn't heard it live. One thing we did notice was that Francis seemed to be enjoying himself much more when he was using his famous green Telecaster as opposed to any other guitar and as a result the show seemed quite "guitar heavy" - and that's good in my book! Got out in time to get the late "Oxford Tube" back to London and made the connection at Victoria with seconds to spare. A tiring, but fulfilling day all round.

Setlist

Caroline

Something 'bout You Baby I Like

Don't Waste My Time

Forty-Five Hundred Times

Rain

All Stand Up (Never Say Never)

The Oriental

Creepin' Up on You

Belavista Man

Mystery Song / Railroad / Most of the Time / Wild Side of Life / Rollin' Home / Again and Again / Slow Train

Gerdundula

Drum Solo / The Killer

Roll Over Lay Down

Down Down

Whatever You Want

Rockin' All Over the World

+

What You're Proposing / Down the Dustpipe / Little Lady / Red Sky / Dear John

Big Fat Mama

Junior's Wailing

Rock and Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny