Recent gigs

[Harbottle (Martin)]

Soft Machine - Lichfield Guildhall.

I saw 'Soft Machine Legacy' at Coventry Jazz festival some years ago, and the original always been one of my favourite bands, but as a child of the 70s I had no chance to see them back in the day. So when I saw the current lineup was playing up the road I decided to get a ticket. (Of course, there's a Fairport link here as well.)

John Etheridge pointed out that in the 70s the lineup changed due to arguments over music, sex and money. Now it changes due to the members leaving us. The current lineup is a continuation of the band start as Soft Works over 20 years ago, then morphed in SML and then finally became Soft Machine. It seems to the reason for not using the Soft Machine name was due to Hugh Hopper not wanted to use the name due to his friendship with Robert Wyatt, even though there was no reason they could not.

This current lineup definitely carries on the 'concept' of Soft Machine, with mellow soundscapes similar to the early albums morphing into frantic fusion (Guitar led, like the late 70s albums). Setlist features materials from the early years (Joy of Toy, Out-bloody-rageous, Facelift, Kings and Queens, Tales of Taliesyn) and tracks from their excellent later albums including Soft Machine Legacy albums. Some fantastic soloing from all members, plus Theo Travis providing keyboards and soundscapes when not playing sax or flute. An exciting 2 hours that flew by very quickly.

They also played a couple of a tracks from a new album that is coming out soon!

[mickf]

Thea Gilmore, last night, at The Acapela, Pentyrch. She was on good form and gave us a varied selection of songs from way back, as well a a few from her latest covers album (These Quiet Friends).

Her support act was called Dave, but don't ask me to tell you his full name, as he wasn't introduced. Nor did he say,' Hi I'm Dave (insert surname here) ....'

Dave was actually Philippe Nash   https://www.facebook.com/philippenashmusic

I'm sure Thea said, 'Wasn't Dave good?' Anyway, you live and learn

[mickf]

Ashley Hutchings and Blair Dunlop last night at the Plough, Great Torrington.  First night of their tour of the Southwest, and we got a mix of songs and stories. Ashley hardly played his bass - probably only on 3 or 4 songs - but we got songs going back to Lay Down Your Weary Tune up to some from Blair's new album.  We heard a bit about how the connection with Bob Dylan was made recently (via Nigel Schofield, apparently).  It was a bit chaotic - I'm not sure how much they'd really planned out what they were going to do - and I was a bit concerned when the first half only lasted about 30 minutes, but we did get a full hour or a bit more after the break.

Saw them last night at The Acapela, Pentyrch (near Cardiff). Ashley played bass on 5 songs, one of them being the encore (Leonard Cohen's 'Bird on a Wire'. It was a lovely, intimate concert - maybe a bit too intimate, as the hall was only half full. The Acapela isn't a big venue by any stretch, so it was a real shame that so few people were there. But, I loved it.

[Will S]

You got an encore?!  We got, "That was the last song. The 'shop' is open", and Ashley moved to the table next to him where they had the CDs and LPs on sale.  I'd have loved to hear 'Bird On A Wire'.

[John From Austin]

Bill Murray and his Band of Blood Brothers, last night at the Paramount.

What to say. It was fun to see Bill Murray in the flesh, but the concept was mildly confusing. This appeared to be a bar band, perhaps friends of his, with some modest talent and a deep vein of cover songs at their disposal. The performance was pleasant enough until Bill stepped up to the mic to sing "Tired of Waiting for You" by the Kinks. Not good.

I haven't skipped out early on a show in a long time, but I felt like I had seen all I needed to see after five songs. We were out of there more than an hour before the scheduled end time.

In retrospect, I should have gone next door to see Glen Tilbrook instead.

[John From Austin]

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band / Rodney Crowell, last Thursday at ACL Live!

Rodney Crowell was a revelation. He played with an Australian guitarist and an English fiddler, both of whom relocated to Nashville, Tennessee (where the best musicians live, reportedly). His songs are gorgeous. I will seek out a headlining appearance in the future.

The NGDB were likewise wonderful. There are two original members (lead singer/guitarist/emcee and drummer/harmonica player, both joined 1966), a longtime keyboardist (joined 1979), and two recent additions who replaced original members circa 2018. We left this great show about halfway through, however, because of constant conversation around us. As the evening wore on and people consumed more alcohol, the voices and laughter got louder. Pretty soon our neighbors just forgot they were at a concert. Who was it that said "hell is other people?"

[Peter Allen]

Saw EXTC at the Wrecking Ball Arts Centre in Hull last night , they played "Burning With Optimism's Flames" for the very first time (as EXTC) a standout track from Black Sea
It's a crowd pleasing setlist for sure , mostly the A sides , but a bit like the Kinks , there's plenty of good stuff to be found on the LP's and the B sides , if you care to delve deeper
Credit to them for finishing with "Stupidly Happy" which is not a well known XTC song but allows them to stretch out and play a bit