Recent gigs

[Dan O.]

Suzanne Vega in Guildford last night...sublime.
Always nice when a concert totally exceeds your expectations.

Playing both her Solitude Standing and the rockier, more challenging 99.9F° albums in full backed by a cracking band (guitarist Gerry Leonard, bassist Mike Visceglia and drummer Doug Yowell), the sold-out crowd wouldn't let her go until she'd delivered a brace of classic encores followed by a DNA Remix-style version of Tom's Diner. Will definitely go and see her next time she comes to a venue near me !

Set 1 - Solitude Standing :

Tom's Diner
Luka
Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
In The Eye
Night Vision
Solitude Standing
Calypso
Language
Gypsy
Wooden Horse

Interval

Set 2 - 99.9F° :

Rock In This Pocket
Blood Makes Noise
In Liverpool
99.9F°
Blood Sings
Fat Man and Dancing Girl
(If You Were) In My Movie
As A Child
Bad Wisdom
When Heroes Go Down
As Girls Go
Song Of Sand

Encore :

The Queen & The Soldier
Marlene On The Wall
Left Of Center
Tom's Diner (DNA Remix style)

PS Somebody generously filmed the encore of Tom's Diner :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHYlqTUBC0

[GubGub (Al)]

Suzanne Vega in Guildford last night...sublime.
Always nice when a concert totally exceeds your expectations.

Playing both her Solitude Standing and the rockier, more challenging 99.9F° albums in full backed by a cracking band (guitarist Gerry Leonard, bassist Mike Visceglia and drummer Doug Yowell), the sold-out crowd wouldn't let her go until she'd delivered a brace of classic encores followed by a DNA Remix-style version of Tom's Diner. Will definitely go and see her next time she comes to a venue near me !

Set 1 - Solitude Standing :

Tom's Diner
Luka
Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
In The Eye
Night Vision
Solitude Standing
Calypso
Language
Gypsy
Wooden Horse

Interval

Set 2 - 99.9F° :

Rock In This Pocket
Blood Makes Noise
In Liverpool
99.9F°
Blood Sings
Fat Man and Dancing Girl
(If You Were) In My Movie
As A Child
Bad Wisdom
When Heroes Go Down
As Girls Go
Song Of Sand

Encore :

The Queen & The Soldier
Marlene On The Wall
Left Of Center
Tom's Diner (DNA Remix style)

PS Somebody generously filmed the encore of Tom's Diner :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHYlqTUBC0

She was great in Brighton last year doing the same set. She refused to do The Queen and the Soldier though and was quite disparaging about it. I don't think she likes it very much. Clearly audience opinion has prevailed.

[ColinB]

Ken Nicol and Becky Mills played at the Kenlis Arms just north of Ken's hometown of Preston. They said it was the first gig they'd played together in a while apart from a couple of gigs in Scotland. One of those was in Inverness where they played to not very many people in a large venue - I'm guessing that was the Eden Court theatre.

Last night was the first time I'd seen either of them and I came away wondering how I hadn't seen Ken before as he's such a good guitarist. Becky did songs from her new album which has been inspired by different generations of her family and Ken played a mix of things including a couple of tracks from his collaboration with Ashley Hutchings. Highlights included Gypsy Hill about his days living in a house there with Pete Zorn and 10 Pound Poms about the Brits who went to live Down Under on the £10 boat tickets.

Ken is appearing at The Cumbria Guitar Show in Penrith next Sunday and Becky is playing in Southport with Ashley on the 20th Sept.

[Jim G]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

[Andy]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

He sang that at Wickham, too, at 90 miles an hour.  Not my favourite rendition.

[RobertD]

Was at Runrig's last ever gig last night at Stirling and WOW!!  A real celebration of the back catalogue. Support from Donnie Munro and Julie Fowlis who both performed Runrig sons in their sets and joined the band later.

Runrig were unbelievably good. There's utube videos of various parts of the show and a DVD in the pipeline which will be worth checking out.

An amazing and fitting end to a 45 year career.  The songs and music will undoubtedly live on, I include a number of their songs in my sets and 'Loch Lomond' is and will remain the 'traditional' end to most weddings and parties in Scotland.

Thanks for the report on this. I have watched a few bits on Youtube, especially the last words and Hearts Of Olden Glory. Seeing Malcolm Jones' face made the lump in my throat even bigger. I genuinely had tears streaming down my face. But the music lives on and as I've said on here before, Runrig were truly unique. I was playing some old stuff for a friend lately and he remarked they had a sort of U2 sound. To which I said fair enough, in Runrig's peak of commercial success they got hit with the 'Scottish U2' tag. Which singularly missed the point. First Runrig has a lot more years under their belts, and 2, U2 never promoted Irish culture and language the way Runrig did. That's not a diss, its just a truth. I will really miss these guys.

[davidmjs]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

He sang that at Wickham, too, at 90 miles an hour.  Not my favourite rendition.

Not heard these versions, but as a general rule, I love Richard's solo renditions of MotL.

[Albie]

Reverend Paytons Big Damn Band last night. Brilliant, loads better then the dull over-hyped Seasick Steve. There's a lot of noise for only three of them as well.

Playing a few places (Nottingham, Brizzle, Newbury are three I remember them mentioning) before moving on. Well worth seeing, only my second time, but superb again.

[GubGub (Al)]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

He sang that at Wickham, too, at 90 miles an hour.  Not my favourite rendition.

Not heard these versions, but as a general rule, I love Richard's solo renditions of MotL.

I read that as "I love Richard's solo renditions of Mott". Now that I would like to see.  

[Jim G]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

He sang that at Wickham, too, at 90 miles an hour.  Not my favourite rendition.

I am not a fan of Meet on the Ledge as normally sang by our Fairport chums, with the risk of alienating the majority of rest of the board, I always find it a bit dreary and delivered in a over-sentimentalised manner (however that doesn't stop me singing along) but I must say that I really enjoyed Richard's faster version.

[davidmjs]

(Sir) Richard Thompson at Beautiful Days last night. Brilliant set including stuff from his forthcoming album also the inclusion of Meet on the Ledge in the middle of the set which went down very well and was nice to hear without the prospect of having to leave the auditorium after!

He sang that at Wickham, too, at 90 miles an hour.  Not my favourite rendition.

I am not a fan of Meet on the Ledge as normally sang by our Fairport chums, with the risk of alienating the majority of rest of the board, I always find it a bit dreary and delivered in a over-sentimentalised manner (however that doesn't stop me singing along) but I must say that I really enjoyed Richard's faster version.

The only bit I really loathe is that delayed drum beat that they introduced in the '87 version...and have never been able to shake off since.  It's been annoying me for 3 decades  

[Shane (Skirky)]

Gretchen Peters and her exemplary and complementary band (no drummer) at Snape Maltings. Two sets, lovely sound, lots of new material and a smidgin of politics. As my companion noted - “She does kill a lot of people in her songs, doesn’t she?”. No room for Independence Day, sadly. One thing I hadn’t realised is that the central floor space is unseated, but they do issue a type of those low floor-level chairs you sometimes see at festivals. Given the average age of the audience I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still a few folk trying to rise to their feet this morning.

[Nick Reg]

Gretchen Peters and her exemplary and complementary band (no drummer) at Snape Maltings. Two sets, lovely sound, lots of new material and a smidgin of politics. As my companion noted - “She does kill a lot of people in her songs, doesn’t she?”. No room for Independence Day, sadly. One thing I hadn’t realised is that the central floor space is unseated, but they do issue a type of those low floor-level chairs you sometimes see at festivals. Given the average age of the audience I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still a few folk trying to rise to their feet this morning.

Very dark and very wonderful. Her set at Shrewsbury was my "Rosanne Cash" moment.

[Alan2]

Bridget St. John last night.  A lovely set, met her and bought a CD too. The only thing wrong was the person I went with, without whose driving I wouldn't have made it, was bored to tears. It didn't cost her to be bored, just 2 hours out of her life.  (I got the tickets).  

[davidmjs]

Bridget St. John last night.  A lovely set, met her and bought a CD too. The only thing wrong was the person I went with, without whose driving I wouldn't have made it, was bored to tears. It didn't cost her to be bored, just 2 hours out of her life.  (I got the tickets).  

I hate it when that happens.  I went with a girlfriend to see Robin Williamson and John Renbourn in Mold about 8 years ago, and she was so not getting it (and making it very clear).  We split up soon afterwards... Glad you enjoyed Bridget...I'm not going to be able to see her this time I don't think...Exeter was on a school night, and I can't make any of the others...  

[Alan2]

Bridget St. John last night.  A lovely set, met her and bought a CD too. The only thing wrong was the person I went with, without whose driving I wouldn't have made it, was bored to tears. It didn't cost her to be bored, just 2 hours out of her life.  (I got the tickets).  

I hate it when that happens.  I went with a girlfriend to see Robin Williamson and John Renbourn in Mold about 8 years ago, and she was so not getting it (and making it very clear).  We split up soon afterwards... Glad you enjoyed Bridget...I'm not going to be able to see her this time I don't think...Exeter was on a school night, and I can't make any of the others...  

For the record, my companion was courteous and patient all through, even applauded, and we're still friends.  And afterward said she was glad I'd enjoyed it.  I had expected her to at least half- like Bridget St John, given that she's of an age with me, and used to sing and play guitar herself, but there you go, no accounting for taste.  

[John From Austin]

Michael Nesmith and the First National Band, last night, Paramount Theater, Austin!

It was a fantastic, and very emotional show.  He played only one Monkees song:  Papa Gene's Blues.  He started crying when he explained that he wrote it for his first wife, who passed away a few years ago.  

In the end about 500 people turned out, and he showed no signs of disappointment.  (I did hear the bartenders complaining.)

[ColinB]

Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar played a blinder last night here in Lancaster. The only awkward moment was near the start when Greg admitted that he'd been offered a place at the Uni but turned it down - one of those jokes that unfortunately fell flat. But Ciaran had a nice line in taking the audience's side and there was some great banter between songs.

Musically they were excellent, especially Ciaran's fiddle playing. Greg's voice has quite a rough edge to it (if that's the right description) and takes a bit of getting used to but his guitar playing fits in perfectly with C's fiddle. Ciaran took lead vocals on "We Are Leaving" which is quite an emotional number, I'm guessing, written about migrant workers who are now heading home as the UK is a less attractive place to live and work.

We had a George Benson song from the Folk Fever album which they contributed to. They were heading off south straight after the gig as they were performing at Hyde Park this afternoon.

Upcoming tour dates - http://www.russellalgar.co.uk/gigs.php

[davidmjs]

The only awkward moment was near the start when Greg admitted that he'd been offered a place at the Uni but turned it down - one of those jokes that unfortunately fell flat.

It might be argued that's a little but precious of the locals?!

[ColinB]

The only awkward moment was near the start when Greg admitted that he'd been offered a place at the Uni but turned it down - one of those jokes that unfortunately fell flat.

It might be argued that's a little but precious of the locals?!

Well it's risky making a joke about the place you're playing. If the gig had been in Morecambe it would have gone down better as there's some local rivalry there but not only were they in Lancaster but were also on the university campus.

He came back to the subject later saying that he was from the posh part of Liverpool - Chester, which got a laugh and explained that a friend of his had told him that Lancaster was too near his home and that he should study further away so he ended up in Exeter.

He made a better joke when he told us which guitar tunings he was using. He then said he'd rather get it out of the way and tell all of us than just one person at the end of the gig.