Bob Catley - The Underworld, Camden - Sunday 16th April

Ho hum, Camden again for the 3rd gig running. This time is the compact "Underworld", located, surprisingly enough, under the "World's End" pub. On the journey up, Richard reminded my of the last time we went to a Camden gig on an Easter Sunday. We assumed the last southbound tube would be a bit earlier than normal and so got to the station around 23:45. They had all gone! That had meant a triple night bus disaster getting home. Keen not to repeat that experience, we checked the timetable this time. 23:20 last tube. Very early, but at least we knew! 

As we crossed towards the venue to buy tickets and were a bit surprised to see a queue (it was around 19.15). So, off for a San Miguel in the Camden Tup at a bargain £3.40 a throw! After that, went back to the venue (which had now opened) to buy tickets. The £12 advance had become £15 "on the door" - that's a fair old markup really, but probably no worse that paying the booking fees if you booked early. Came to the conclusion we didn't fancy seeing the support, so set off on a mini pub crawl instead. Average price of a pint stayed well over the £3 mark - Camden residents must be rich! Cheapest was the exactly £3 pint of Becks in the Dublin Castle - another music venue where I'm yet to see a show. 

We were just too late to enter the "Easter egg painting competition" in another pub - damn! Anyway - into the venue just before nine to be surprised by how quiet it was. I guess the numbers "56" and "57" on our tickets should have been a clue. I don't know if it was because it was an Easter Sunday or people just couldn't be bothered, but Mr Catley deserves much better support than the 100 or so souls here. Also, I think he'd be better off playing somewhere else in London (Barfly, 100 Club, Borderline, Half Moon Putney ?)

Anyway, enough of that. As we know from past experience, it doesn't matter if Bob is playing to 100 or 30,000 - he always gives his all and has one of the best voices in rock. Tonight we got a selection of highlights from his solo albums (including the new "Spirit of Man") and a couple of Magnum songs (Days of No Trust - done acoustically and Lonely Night). Some of the new songs are quite catchy (I've only played the album a couple of times) and there were a few favourites. 

Richard and I had a bet whereby we had to neck a quantity of beer if Bob uttered the word "Gandolf" - thankfully only 2 large swigs needed! (don't ask about this strange betting thing we do!). All over by 22:25 and off to the Halfway House for a final pint and to watch some excellent VH2 videos leaving plenty of time for a relaxed tube journey home. Bob always puts on a great show - hopefully a few more people will make it next time.

Setlist

Moment of Truth

Blinded by a Lie

Dreams

Scream

Spirit of Man

Return of the Mountain King

Stormcrow and Pilgrim

Days of No Trust

Lonely Night

My America

+

The Pain

The Pretenders - Koko, Camden - Friday 7th April

Back to Camden, well Mornington Crescent actually (Richard still hasn't figured out the rules for the game of the same name) for a slice of the 80's. A brief crawl around a few dodgy pubs near Kings Cross first (including a "best of 5 darts match which I lost 1-3). We passed some very suspect places. "Massage offered - tourists welcome!" said one sign on a run-down establishment. I bet they are! - wonder how much people get fleeced for in there? 

Despite the distance, Richard wanted to walk to the venue - I suggested a bus. "There, it took 5 minutes" he panted when we arrived. I look at my watch - ahh - it's a mere 18 minutes of brisk walking since we left the last pub. I suggest he buys a watch. Anyway, the Koko - a new venue for me. First impression - "Employ more bar staff !!". 

A new band too - I've been keen to see the Pretenders for a while, but never had the chance. Got to a midway point on the floor - reasonable view. Band came on and were, well, how can I say, pleasant. I was expecting a bit more "attitude" to be honest, but Chrissie Hynde's distinctive voice kept things ticking over. Unfortunately, that's all that really continued. As expected, the show was being filmed for DVD (there seemed little other point for this "one off") and that will surely show a very static 30-something audience nodding politely with a bit of cheering after some songs. 

Now, I know I'm falling into the "not really a fan, play the greatest hits" category, but I would like to have heard a bit more of the familiar stuff. At least we got "Brass In Pocket" and "Back on The Chain Gang" amongst others, but there was little to set the pulse racing. Chrissie Hynde was good (she looks exactly the same as 25 years ago - at least from our distance), the rest of the band OK, but this really show lacked something. Richard has seen them 4-5 times and said that this was by far the most disappointing. 5/10 for me - I'm not sure I'll risk giving them another go, which is a shame. 

We finished off back at the "Somerstown Coffee House", which we had passed on our epic walk earlier. Risked a pint of Red Stripe - I'm sure Mrs B suffered the snoring as a result later!

(http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/25/25936/Somerstown_Coffee_House/Euston) 

Next up - Bob Catley at the Underworld on Easter Sunday.

Setlist

Not a Penny

Pack It Up

Talk of the Town

Hold a Candle to This

Never Do That

How Do I Miss You

Thumbelina

Day After Day

My City Was Gone

Kid

Back on the Chain Gang

Fools Must Die

Cuban Slide

Porcelain

+

Message of Love

Don't Get Me Wrong

Mystery Achievement

+

Stop Your Sobbing

The Wait

Brass in Pocket

The Answer - Barfly, Camden - Wednesday 5th April

I saw the Answer support Deep Purple a few months back and thought they were good. I was sure Richard would like them too, so it was off to a new venue for me (after our office pub quiz where Richard was our "ringer"). 

The Barfly is a small dark room above a pub near Chalk Farm. As it happened we had plenty of time and I even got to have a brief chat with the singer outside on the stairs before they went on. He seemed a decent guy and was obviously pleased that they were attracting punters who hadn't seen their own shows before. Anyway, I thought they were really good - shame they were only on for about an hour, but it is a real mix of classic Free / Led Zepp etc in their sound, but with the individuality of their own songs. Impressed enough to buy both CD EPs, we headed home quite early. I'm sure I will see them again.

The Who Convention - Bush Hall, Shepherds Bush - Saturday 1st May

Having just about woken up following last night's epic journey home, we were off again - this time to Shepherds Bush for the Who Convention. I don't mind admitting I'm always slightly nervous about the word "convention" - it instills fear of nerdy trainspotter types who want to swap lists on their top five all-time Who songs which have been played live on all continents etc. Thankfully, nothing could be further from the truth - the crowd were just a group of genuine fans, here to meet each other and enjoy some tributes and the music.

We got there at 3.00pm - checked out the bar (of course) - £3.00 for a can of lager - h'mmm. Listened to "Irish Jack" telling stories about his time mingling with the Who in the 60's. Quite interesting for a while, but not the best sound to hear him.

Next up were "Who's Who", a tribute band I've seen a number of times. Here, they performed Quadrophenia in its entirety. Whilst that is a fine album (in the main), there are a couple of low points, and it did drag just a little bit. Still, the band were good and the drummer does a fine impersonation of Keith Moon.

We then used our "pass-outs" to pop down to the "Goldhawk" for a quick beer and to give my bad back a rest. Followed by a bit of food, we were back having just missed the start of Simon Townshend's set (with his band the Casbah Club). Simon was playing much of the stuff I'd heard him do recently at Balham and Twickenham, including the excellent, "oldie, but goodie", "The Way It Is".

Shortly after this, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I assume it is someone else returning after a visit to the bar / toilets, but as I step aside to let the person through I see he is a diminutive middle aged chap in glasses, carrying an overcoat and newspaper, looking more than familiar. "That doesn't half look like Roger Daltrey" I say to Richard. 10 seconds later, the swarming crowd and camera flashes confirm I am right!

After another song or 2, Simon invites Roger on stage where he thanks us for our support (of the band and charity) and gives an update on the new Who album. It appears he doesn't understand the concept (who does?), but likes the music! Hope we do too. He needs to get back the Royal Albert Hall, so asks the crowd if there is anything else they want from him. "Sing us a song!" is the overwhelming response, which seems to surprise him! After discussion with Simon, he sings an excellent "Behind Blue Eyes" with newspaper tucked under his arm! "MORE!!", yell the crowd. Roger looks at his watch... "Sod it, OK!"... Simon suggests "Substitute" and this is delivered... awesome. Roger departs with "I'll send your regards to Pete" and our day is made.

Simon Townshend completes the set with the bizarre "Sex Change" after which Richard and I spot "Gazza" (Gary Hurley, not Paul Gascoigne!) and go to have a quick chat. He is hoarse (with either yelling or singing!).

We pop out for another few quick halves and some new pubs (I win at pool - Richard accuses me of cheating as he always does - presumably for potting more balls than him - again!) and return to see the final band of the night "The Wholigans". They hail from Florida and the singer sounds exactly like Roger Daltrey! My back is killing me by now, so I escape upstairs and grab a stool. Very impressed by the band, although they seem to have a bit of a problem with their bassist who is subjected to a few snide remarks and looks.

All over by half past ten, so a quick dash to the 220 bus stop and back to Putney for the end of Match of The Day and a final beer in the "Larrick". Another tiring, but rewarding day.

Tommy Vance Tribute - Royal Albert Hall - Friday 31st March

OK Let's Rock! A tribute to Tommy Vance, DJ most famed for his legendary "Friday Rock Show" on Radio 2, in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Featuring the might of Judas Priest, The Scorpions, Ian Gillan & Friends and Boned, you would have thought that this would have been an instant sell-out. It wasn't! I suspect the £50+ price tag was a problem, and the advertising beforehand maybe wasn't the best, but it was nowhere near full. People in the choir seats were moved to better front-of house seats for "production reasons" (ie "we need to fill them up!") and the circle looked sparse. Anyway, this didn't bother us and we were lucky to have an excellent 5th Row view. 

We decided against getting there for "Boned" (we checked out the "Gloucester" pub instead - not bad), so can't comment on them. We also went to the Queens Arms and DID see the legendary "three legged dog" (check out http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/65/6520/Queens_Arms/South_Kensington) to see what I'm on about!)

Mr Gillan & Friends were next and we were in plenty of time to see them. The band featured Harry James from Thunder and Dean Howard. Now I'm assuming he is the guy who used to be in T'Pau, but he looked very different, so if someone could confirm that, I'd be grateful. They played a selection of material, some of it OK, but at this sort of event you really don't want to be hearing the words "... and here's another one from my new album...". ZZzzzz. Still, "Black Night" finished things off and finally got the audience up and running. 

 Next up were The Scorpions, introduced by Bruce Dickinson. I saw them at Hammersmith last year and thought they were pretty good - here they were excellent! Lots to please the crowd and I managed to snaffle a drumstick (thanks Klaus!) and a plectrum (thanks Rudolph!). Richard even nabbed the setlist afterwards which showed that they played the following:- 

1. COMING HOME 

2. BAD BOYS RUNNING WILD 

3. THE ZOO 

4. LOVEDRIVE 

5. WIND OF CHANGE 

6. TEASE ME PLEASE ME 

7. BLACKOUT 

8. BIG CITY NIGHTS 

9. ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE 

After that excitement, Richard and I went off for a bit of "celeb" spotting around the venue (did I ever tell you about the time I met Archbishop Desmond Tutu here? No? Some other time then...), but with no joy. Dave, in the meantime, was chatting with his mate, photographer Ross Halfin (check out his excellent site and diary... http://www.rosshalfin.co.uk ). Ross is a fan of JP and the Scorpions and was working for the night - there are some comment on his diary. 

Back just in time for Judas Priest. After a brief speech from promoter Harvey Goldsmith and a touching film about the work of the charity, they were introduced by Roger Daltrey "You all know what's coming next", and the band started. Rob Halford appeared 3/4 of the way through the first song and seemed on good form. "It's Friday night at the Royal Albert Hall and the the Priest is BACK!" he roared to much approval. A solid set (motorbike included!), running well over the allotted 45 mins meant the big get-together of all the bands for the final number, Take On The World, finished around 11.30. 

Judas Priest Setlist

Electric Eye

Metal Gods

Heading Out to the Highway

Judas Rising

The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)

Diamonds & Rust

Turbo Lover

Breaking the Law

Hell Bent for Leather

Living After Midnight

Take On the World

Dave scuttled off for his last train, complete with a set of back-stage passes in his pocket. Oi !!! Our night was not quite over though. Outside the venue it was raining heavily, so we jumped on a bus to Kensington High Street, A quick beer there and off to the tube for the 12.30 train... errr what train? OK then, the last train to Wimbledon, the 12.50... errr right! Finally turns up at 01.35! Home via nightbus about 02.45 - lovely! Texted Dave whilst we were on platform waiting for tube and he was already home (with the passes!).

Anyway, a good but expensive and tiring night out. Check out the charity website here:- https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/main/

Thunder – Hard Rock Cafe London – Wednesday 15th March

Sounded great – a free acoustic show by Thunder and a new venue for me – I didn’t even know the Hard Rock had a basement music venue. Having missed out in the ballot for the 50 spaces on the guest list, the advice was “get there early” to have a chance of getting in. H’mmm – doors were at 7.00pm and I couldn’t leave work much before 5, so would that be early enough? The answer was a resounding “yes” – got to the venue at 5.35 and was 2nd (yes, 2nd!) in the queue! Well done to George for getting there first around 4.30, shame you had to stand for so long!

Richard joined me about ten past six after I’d redirected countless tourists (invariably American!) to the restaurant entrance at the front. Suffice to say we got in easily (could have turned up at half eight and strolled in) and got a good viewing spot in this tiny venue. After a couple of outrageously priced pints of Fosters (£3.25), support band “The Rymes” took the stage. Pleasant enough acoustic guitar playing and singing from 2 twentysomething guys and a couple of catchy tunes. 

At 8.40, the band we’d really come to see took the stage and played the following set (all acoustic)

Stand Up 

Amy's On The Run 

I'm Dreaming Again 

Higher Ground 

River Of Pain Low 

Life In High Places 

Everybody Wants Her 

I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll 

The band were on good form (even though Danny made a few mistakes – e.g. expecting a guitar solo when there was a harmonica one etc – maybe he forgot it was acoustic). Ben and Luke got a bit confused as to who was doing lead vs rhythm in a few places, but ultimately this was a good fun 45 minutes worth of quality material. For those of you who didn’t bother going – you missed out. The audience certainly enjoyed themselves and we saw a few familiar faces (hello to “Blondie-girl” from Guildford!). Also apologies to Luke if you are missing a plectrum or two – I have one of them! Still not entirely sure what the point of the show was, or indeed what it was to promote, but I'm not complaining !! 

The show was followed by a mini-crawl around Shepherd’s Market and saw the end of the West Ham – Bolton Cup tie. All in all a nice evening. Booked to see “The Answer” at Camden’s Barfly in a couple of weeks. Saw them support Deep Purple earlier this year and they were pretty good, so should be interesting. At last a good value show too - £6 is much more like it (as opposed to me refusing to pay £75 +b/f for the Eagles at Wembley).

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