Recent gigs

[Nick Reg]

The recently reformed Bright Eyes with a 14 piece band at a packed Manchester Apollo. Absolutely superb and a great mix of material old and new. Conor and Mogis were extremely revved up and put on quite a show. Bought the tickets 2 or 3 years ago but it was well worth the wait. The support, Penelope Isles, were interesting too.

[JohnP69]

Tenderlonious and Jaubi last Sunday at The Crescent in York.

Jazz flute over traditional Pakistan music.

Just gorgeous!

And a great venue too,well worth checking out.

[David V B]

Saturday evening at Wallingford Bunkfest. Edward II were as good as ever, but the main event was the last ever gig for the Blues Band. I last saw them 30 years ago, but they were still great, excellent musicians every one. They will be sadly missed.

[John From Austin]

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Moody Amphitheater, Austin, last night!

They're coming to Ireland and Scotland in October-November, so don't miss it. As I anticipated, it was a magical evening. My only quibble is the omission of "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson," which is my favorite tune from Raising Sand. Otherwise, it was perfection.

The venue is quite pleasant. Easy in, easy out, with multiple state employee parking garages nearby. They could use a few more food vendors, but they have abundant bathroom and bar facilities. A very nice addition to the Austin music scene and I look forward to returning.

Next week - Rufus Wainwright at the Paramount!

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Moody Amphitheater, Austin, last night!

They're coming to Ireland and Scotland in October-November, so don't miss it.

That all sounds great, John!

I thought it was Robert Plant’s Saving Grace with Susie Dian, not Alison Krauss, doing some dates in Scotland later this year.

We considered going down to one of those, but logistically it won’t work out.

Hope you are right, but can’t see it online yet.

[davidmjs]

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Moody Amphitheater, Austin, last night!

They're coming to Ireland and Scotland in October-November, so don't miss it.

That all sounds great, John!

I thought it was Robert Plant’s Saving Grace with Susie Dian, not Alison Krauss, doing some dates in Scotland later this year.

We considered going down to one of those, but logistically it won’t work out.

Hope you are right, but can’t see it online yet.

Yep.  And Ireland.  And all sold out.

[John From Austin]

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Moody Amphitheater, Austin, last night!

They're coming to Ireland and Scotland in October-November, so don't miss it.

That all sounds great, John!

I thought it was Robert Plant’s Saving Grace with Susie Dian, not Alison Krauss, doing some dates in Scotland later this year.

We considered going down to one of those, but logistically it won’t work out.

Hope you are right, but can’t see it online yet.

Yep.  And Ireland.  And all sold out.

Of course you're correct. I see that Alison and Robert did the Europe thing earlier in the summer. Alas, if history is our guide, they will put the project to bed again after they finish the current U.S. tour. All good things...

[mickf]

Oysterband (at the Acapela in Pentyrch, near Cardiff). Great gig played to a full house - I think they could have sold out a hall twice the size. A mixture of old and new stuff with some keen audience participation. My only gripe is that the vocals were often lost somewhere in the mix. Not the band's fault, but a little irritating nonetheless.

[wayne stote]

Barnstormer with a support poetry set from main-man Atilla The Stockbroker.

Excellent folk rock with the expected political edge. Didn't realise that Atilla was such a versatile musician.

[Will S]

It was a week ago, but we went straight off on holiday and the internet at our holiday cottage wouldn't let me access Talkawhile - apparently it is 'tasteless'!  

So, after 2 and a bit years, 2 postponements, several line-up changes and the death of David Longdon, I finally got to see Big Big Train.  And they were immense!  It was very hard to believe that this was only the second gig this line-up had played.  They were so tight, and the new members, including new lead singer Alberto Bravin, were just spot-on.  They got standing ovations from about the first number on.  They are a band who really understand light and shade, and the brass section really add something to their sound too.

I belive the show they played a few days later in the Netherlands has been filmed for a future release, and if so I'll be looking forward to that.

Thumbs up to Norwegian support band Dim Gray as well, who also went down very well, and whose keyboard player also stood in for BBT.

[Jules Gray]

we went straight off on holiday and the internet at our holiday cottage wouldn't let me access Talkawhile - apparently it is 'tasteless'!  

 

Jules

[John From Austin]

The pride of British Columbia and Quebec, Rufus Wainwright, at the Paramount Theater in increasingly congested downtown Austin, Texas, last night!

As expected, he is an exceptional performer and personality. He may be the most gifted vocalist I've seen in performance. (He treated us to a selection from one of his operas, demonstrating appropriately operatic skill.) He is also charming and funny (e.g., "I met the Queen twice. It was twice in the same day, but she was wearing a different outfit, so I met her twice." After an exquisite rendition of "Hallelujah": "I performed that song for now-King Charles III, and he said to me: 'That was a Leonard Cohen song, wasn't it? Has he got his money back?'''

I cannot recommend him highly enough.

[Jules Gray]

The pride of British Columbia and Quebec, Rufus Wainwright, at the Paramount Theater in increasingly congested downtown Austin, Texas, last night!

As expected, he is an exceptional performer and personality. He may be the most gifted vocalist I've seen in performance. (He treated us to a selection from one of his operas, demonstrating appropriately operatic skill.) He is also charming and funny (e.g., "I met the Queen twice. It was twice in the same day, but she was wearing a different outfit, so I met her twice." After an exquisite rendition of "Hallelujah": "I performed that song for now-King Charles III, and he said to me: 'That was a Leonard Cohen song, wasn't it? Has he got his money back?'''

I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Excellent review and transcript of Mr Wainwright's patter. I enjoyed that.

Jules

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

The pride of British Columbia and Quebec, Rufus Wainwright, at the Paramount Theater in increasingly congested downtown Austin, Texas, last night!

As expected, he is an exceptional performer and personality. He may be the most gifted vocalist I've seen in performance. (He treated us to a selection from one of his operas, demonstrating appropriately operatic skill.) He is also charming and funny (e.g., "I met the Queen twice. It was twice in the same day, but she was wearing a different outfit, so I met her twice." After an exquisite rendition of "Hallelujah": "I performed that song for now-King Charles III, and he said to me: 'That was a Leonard Cohen song, wasn't it? Has he got his money back?'''

I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Excellent review and transcript of Mr Wainwright's patter. I enjoyed that.

Jules

Wonderful!

[ColinB]

Me and MrsB were at Martyn Joseph's Pipefest at Lancaster Uni yesterday.

The afternoon session started with a discussion about how recent events - mainly Covid - have affected the performers. Inevitably plenty of quite downbeat comments until Ben Savage started one of his replies by saying "I made a lot of cider." There followed a Songwriter Circle, the songs being interspersed with Patrick Jones' poems.

Patrick was first on in the evening and read some wonderful poems ranging in subject matter from browsing LPs in a record shop to being stuck in an abusive relationship. Then on to the music. We had seen Ben and Hannah Sanders earlier in the summer and their singing and guitar playing are something quite special. I've know Stephen Fearing's music for a few years having been sent promo copies of a couple of his albums but he tends to record with a backing band. On his own, I was very impressed with his guitar playing and it was one of those cases of when you finally see someone live, you really appreciate how good they are. Probably the highlight of the day for me.

Martyn was someone I'd only seen once before - also in Lancaster but playing support to Show of Hands. I hadn't been all that impressed with him on that occasion but he played a good set last night. He brought on the others on a few songs, on one Patrick read a poem with Martyn playing guitar and singing the chorus. They have been working on a collaboration which I think will be worth listening to. Songs from his new album 1960 sounded good and he obviously enjoys playing at this event with it being something of an annual pilgrimage for many of his fans.

[David V B]

Thanks for this. It was the first Pipefest we had missed for several years, because of an imminent house move, so very grateful for the feedback. Always a lovely day with a good opportunity to chat to the artists. Having to make do with Chris Wood at the Holywell tonight.

[ColinB]

Thanks for this. It was the first Pipefest we had missed for several years, because of an imminent house move, so very grateful for the feedback. Always a lovely day with a good opportunity to chat to the artists. Having to make do with Chris Wood at the Holywell tonight.

I've written a longer review on my blog. Martyn made came over and had a chat with me and my Mrs at one point... which was nice.

https://colinbertram.blogspot.com/2022/09/martyn-josephs-pipefest-at-lancaster.html

[John From Austin]

Roxy Music 50th Anniversary Tour, with special guest St. Vincent, last night, Moody Center ATX (that's Austin, Texas)!

St. Vincent is an intriguing performer. Her music is very modern but she's exhibiting strong symptoms of early '70s soul. She's very mannered, in a good way. She concluded her 45-minute set by thrashing her guitar and stalking off the stage, leaving her band to take a bow. It felt like an homage to Prince "fainting" and being carried off, which itself seemed like an homage to James Brown. The older, seated audience was appreciative, but I suspect she prefers a big dance floor in front of the stage. I can see her having a long career, and headlining festivals.

Roxy Music were great. Bryan Ferry was front and center, of course, and he remains one of the coolest performers in the business. His vocals are pretty muted these days, but he was supported by three backing singers who bolstered him all night. The other core members (Phil, Andy and Paul) were featured at various points, with Phil and Andy performing extended solos that were rapturously received. Some songs were positively mesmerizing, and when they wanted to rock (Do The Strand, Love is the Drug), they pulled it off admirably.

Roughly 6,000 Austinites showed up, which is more than 10 times the number who could have shown up to Roxy's last reported Austin show at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1976. Time well spent, and highly recommended.

[davidmjs]

Roxy Music 50th Anniversary Tour, with special guest St. Vincent, last night, Moody Center ATX (that's Austin, Texas)!

St. Vincent is an intriguing performer. Her music is very modern but she's exhibiting strong symptoms of early '70s soul. She's very mannered, in a good way. She concluded her 45-minute set by thrashing her guitar and stalking off the stage, leaving her band to take a bow. It felt like an homage to Prince "fainting" and being carried off, which itself seemed like an homage to James Brown. The older, seated audience was appreciative, but I suspect she prefers a big dance floor in front of the stage. I can see her having a long career, and headlining festivals.

Roxy Music were great. Bryan Ferry was front and center, of course, and he remains one of the coolest performers in the business. His vocals are pretty muted these days, but he was supported by three backing singers who bolstered him all night. The other core members (Phil, Andy and Paul) were featured at various points, with Phil and Andy performing extended solos that were rapturously received. Some songs were positively mesmerizing, and when they wanted to rock (Do The Strand, Love is the Drug), they pulled it off admirably.

Roughly 6,000 Austinites showed up, which is more than 10 times the number who could have shown up to Roxy's last reported Austin show at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1976. Time well spent, and highly recommended.

She already does headline festivals and has been active for the best part of 2 decades since she joined the Polyphonic Spree.  She's 40 next week.

When I saw Roxy in '99 (I think) I was amazed by how focussed on the noisier weirder stuff from the first 3 albums rather than the lounge lizard stuff they were.  I keep thinking that was just a blink of an eye ago but hey, St Vincent was still a teenager back then

[Will S]

Jim Causley and Mark Norman last night at Holsworthy Library.

This is part of a tour they are doing, supporting libraries in Devon.  There were only maybe 25 or 30 of us there - but that pretty much filled the library! - and will hopefully have done some good to library funds.

They took it in turns, with Mark Norman (folklorist) sharing about both the history of folklore and song collectors in Devon, and then some of the folklore and stories, and Jim Causley singing 3 or 4 songs that tied in with each bit of what Mark had been sharing.  A thoroughly informative and entertaining evening.  Well worth looking at Jim's website to see where else they are doing it for any other Devonians here.