So we're off to see the Wizard - well not really but we are at least seeing where he lives. It is Monday night in London which is a day off for the Wizard of Oz musical and a perfect opportunity for someone else to use the Palladium theatre for musical entertainment. Enter stage right Mr Ryan Adams - the alt-rocking, cat loving native of North Carolina.
Ryan pretty much hits London in some shape or form a couple of times a year. The last time I caught him was at Cadogan Hall following the release of his latest album Ashes & Fire and it was a pretty decent solo performance so the bar has been set pretty high.
I am quite surprised about how good my seats are - I have never been to this venue before and, generally speaking, the balconies in London's theatres overhang the back of the stalls. Tonight my seats are in the first row of the lower balcony which I notice overhangs the stalls around the 12th row - result!
The other thing I take note of (given that I am going to see Chris Cornell here in June) is that there is a big gap between the stage and the first seats in the stalls due to the orchestra pit. The result is a bit of a reduction in the intimacy between the artist and the audience but this is what happens when you play venues which are purpose built for musicals as opposed to music.
The opener for tonight is Jason Roberts who declares that he is from Glasgow, Scotland. His set can be described as a number of Scottish tomes set to music which are not necessarily in themselves very musical. They involve tuneless songs of very long stanzas which use phrases like "my bonnie lassie" and which are accompanied by an acoustic guitar which is pretty much made to sound like a lute - man just lose the capo and lute up - it will be a lot more interesting!
Ryan comes on at 8.30pm on the dot -he is just so punctual now! His weapons of choice consist of the twin tricolour guitars, a piano and trusty harmonica. There is a seat with a mic and also a standing position with an additional mic and I always wonder if Ryan's seated posture (which looks completely uncomfortable) just can't be sustained for the whole show :)
He starts with Heartbreaker track Oh My Sweet Carolina. This song is a favourite of mine and it's more than enough to focus the audience's attention. I anticipate that Ryan will be swinging between old and new material tonight and the second track (being the title track from Ashes & Fire) confirms this.
Ryan is a great lyricist, but any punter attending his show needs to be aware that Ryan's muse is pretty much permanently stuck in a dimension which caters for what Ryan himself describes as "miserable bastard music". It doesn't make it any less appealing to me, but then I'm happy to get my misery guts on when required.
Ryan gives us a gorgeous Dirty Rain and Winding Wheel and then heads to the piano for Rescue Blues. Knowing that the subject matter is a little dreary Ryan manages expectations by introducing the next song (Please Do Not Let Me Go) as "another basket of fucking sunshine". Well at least he's got a sense of humour about his misery!
Firecracker - a song apparently about a guy getting drunk and trying to touch someone's boobs - is next. He is in very good form and sounds fantastic and the audience are enthralled.
Of particular comment is his harmonica skills. During Why Do they Leave? the sound resonates throughout the theatre. It's such a small but underrated instrument - tonight it is clear that in the right hands it can really pack a punch.
We then come to the point in the night where Ryan's posture needs correction. He's had enough of his seated Grandpa pose and makes a production of moving all his shit from the chair over to his standing position. We then are treated to a rousing English Girls Approximately - yeah now we are vaguely rocking!
A few songs later Ryan is back over at the piano heading into my personal highlight of the evening which I will call 'Ode to Mr Cat'. Ryan is a big cat-lover (just check out his twitter account) and frankly hearing his off the cuff scat to his 'soft as fuck incorporated' cat makes me wish I could have my own little fluff-ball. It really is funnier than it sounds!
After this brief PC (Pussy Cat) interlude we are hurled back into the joys of Ryan's great back catalog with New York, New York. I said shit, this is a good song - and it doesn't lose anything with this performance.
From the well worn and remembered, Ryan then gets out the cheat sheet (allegedly because he has 'filled up his RAM with bullshit') for Cold Roses tune When Will You Come Home. That one is even better than its predecessor. Stripping everything from these songs other than his voice and guitar really showcases the depth of Ryan's songwriting skills - and yeah he has been known to let his ego get the better of him on occasion (both on and off stage) but if he was to be judged on the music alone it would be hard not to put him up there with some of the best.
'The crazy man with his fucking depressing songs' ends the main set with one of his signatures - Come Pick Me Up. It feels like we're the obedient pet and we've been given a treat - I don't care I'm gonna take it!
Ryan comes on for the encore and declares that at least he is going to leave here happy and launches into Bob Mould's Black Sheets of Rain. It's a one song encore but we really don't need anymore than what Ryan has dished out. The Wizard has conquered the Palladium again - nice one Ryan - see ya next time!
Set list:
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Ashes & Fire
If I Am A Stranger
(Ryan Adams & The Cardinals cover)
Dirty Rain
My Winding Wheel
The Rescue Blues
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Do I Wait
Firecracker
Everybody Knows
Sweet Lil' Gal (23rd/1st)
Why Do They Leave?
English Girls Approximately
Chains Of Love
16 Days
(Whiskeytown song)
New York, New York
When Will You Come Back Home
(Ryan Adams & The Cardinals cover)
Lucky Now
Come Pick Me Up
Encore:
Black Sheets Of Rain
(Bob Mould cover)
Monday 23 April 2012
Friday 13 April 2012
Frank Turner & The Sleepless Souls - Wembley Arena - 13 April 2012
So I know very little about Frank Turner. I know of him but am not really familiar with his catalog BUT my PJ buddy Chris offers up his spare ticket to Frank's Wembley Arena gig in exchange for a place to crash in London - the Gigette is ALL OVER THAT!
We head out to Wembley early in the night to make sure we get the for the openers (of which there are three!) - the first is the solo Beans On Toast who is unusual and amusing and apparently a bit over-awed about playing in front of such a big crowd - to the point where he forgets the words of one song and interrupts two others midway through to jabber on about nothing in particular.
We then move on to poet and DJ duo Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip - to be honest, it is not my thing and me and my gig buddies decide to skip it in favour of food and drink so that we are ready to go for primary opener - Billy Bragg.
I have seen Billy a couple of times before and he does his absolute best to advance Joe Strummer's legacy of using music to be politically outspoken. It's a man with a guitar with something to say and he always commands an audience's attention and it is no different tonight. The only disappointment is that he is pretty much preaching to the converted here (given the nature of his audience ie the indi, hard core crowd who are independent enough to have their own thoughts and normally question authority).
And then it's time for Frank. This is the biggest show Frank has ever undertaken (selling out the 12,500 capacity venue) and we have been told that tonight is being filmed for a new Frank DVD so we are to expect a bit of a greatest hits set list which suits my fellow gig buddies (and huge FT fans) down to the ground.
The crowd are with him with a giant singalong from the get go. They are hanging off every word and it is unlikely that 'the FT' is going to do any wrong tonight.
Due to my complete lack of knowledge of Frank's catalog I am left to simply enjoy the songs and performance as they come. I don't have to wait for my favourite or compare live versions - it's great!
That said, there are a number of highlights:
* Frank's Mum (introduced as one of his biggest musical influences) coming out to do the harmonica solo on Dan's Song;
* Billy Bragg coming out to duet with Frank on Dylan track The Times Are A Changing;
* A rollicking cover of Queen's Somebody to Love;
* Frank getting a tatt live during the encore break to commemorate the occasion;
* Frank reminding the crowd of the unusual nature of the night and in particular that approximately 90% of the crowd has seen him previously in venues where he could sweat on them; and
* The strange (but endearing) way the whole standing section crouches down in honour before Photosynthesis which bears the lyrics:
"I won't sit down, and I won't shut up
But most of all, I will not grow up"
It's a good night of music and well worth the trek out to Wembley. I have to say that I would prefer to see Frank in a smaller venue (I am told he is amazing solo with only his guitar accompanying him) but I am glad to be a participant in the biggest FTHC (that stands for 'Frank Turner Hard Core' for the uninitiated) celebration so far.
Set list:
Eulogy
Try this at home
If ever I stray
Reasons not to be an idiot
Nashville Tennessee
Wessex boy
Peggy sang the blues
I am disappeared
Love ire & song
Glory hallelujah
The real damage
Dan's song
Father's day
Substitute
Long live the queen
I knew prufrock before he got famous
Sons of liberty
Four simple words (new song)
The road
I still believe
Somebody to love
Encore:
The times they are a changing
Ballad of me and my friends
Photosynthesis
We head out to Wembley early in the night to make sure we get the for the openers (of which there are three!) - the first is the solo Beans On Toast who is unusual and amusing and apparently a bit over-awed about playing in front of such a big crowd - to the point where he forgets the words of one song and interrupts two others midway through to jabber on about nothing in particular.
We then move on to poet and DJ duo Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip - to be honest, it is not my thing and me and my gig buddies decide to skip it in favour of food and drink so that we are ready to go for primary opener - Billy Bragg.
I have seen Billy a couple of times before and he does his absolute best to advance Joe Strummer's legacy of using music to be politically outspoken. It's a man with a guitar with something to say and he always commands an audience's attention and it is no different tonight. The only disappointment is that he is pretty much preaching to the converted here (given the nature of his audience ie the indi, hard core crowd who are independent enough to have their own thoughts and normally question authority).
And then it's time for Frank. This is the biggest show Frank has ever undertaken (selling out the 12,500 capacity venue) and we have been told that tonight is being filmed for a new Frank DVD so we are to expect a bit of a greatest hits set list which suits my fellow gig buddies (and huge FT fans) down to the ground.
The crowd are with him with a giant singalong from the get go. They are hanging off every word and it is unlikely that 'the FT' is going to do any wrong tonight.
Due to my complete lack of knowledge of Frank's catalog I am left to simply enjoy the songs and performance as they come. I don't have to wait for my favourite or compare live versions - it's great!
That said, there are a number of highlights:
* Frank's Mum (introduced as one of his biggest musical influences) coming out to do the harmonica solo on Dan's Song;
* Billy Bragg coming out to duet with Frank on Dylan track The Times Are A Changing;
* A rollicking cover of Queen's Somebody to Love;
* Frank getting a tatt live during the encore break to commemorate the occasion;
* Frank reminding the crowd of the unusual nature of the night and in particular that approximately 90% of the crowd has seen him previously in venues where he could sweat on them; and
* The strange (but endearing) way the whole standing section crouches down in honour before Photosynthesis which bears the lyrics:
"I won't sit down, and I won't shut up
But most of all, I will not grow up"
It's a good night of music and well worth the trek out to Wembley. I have to say that I would prefer to see Frank in a smaller venue (I am told he is amazing solo with only his guitar accompanying him) but I am glad to be a participant in the biggest FTHC (that stands for 'Frank Turner Hard Core' for the uninitiated) celebration so far.
Set list:
Eulogy
Try this at home
If ever I stray
Reasons not to be an idiot
Nashville Tennessee
Wessex boy
Peggy sang the blues
I am disappeared
Love ire & song
Glory hallelujah
The real damage
Dan's song
Father's day
Substitute
Long live the queen
I knew prufrock before he got famous
Sons of liberty
Four simple words (new song)
The road
I still believe
Somebody to love
Encore:
The times they are a changing
Ballad of me and my friends
Photosynthesis
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Kylie Minogue - Anti-Tour - Hammersmith Apollo - 3 April 2012
Even before I get to this show I am impressed. The concept is genius - Kylie, no outfit changes, live band, no dancers and only b-sides, demos and rarities - this is the Anti-Tour!
Holy shit if only I could get my other favourite artists to do this!
I've never actually heard of an artist as big as Kylie undertaking something like this. Name me another artist who has sold 68 million records and successfully sold a b-sides, demos are rarities only show internationally - I freakin love it! And so do the 5000 other people at the Hammersmith Apollo tonight.
The vibe is good and the DJ who is warming us up certainly knows which buttons to push - there are some great mash ups with Kylie hits (which we are not going to hear tonight) and by the time our Kylie comes onstage around 8.25pm we are more than ready.
The main set starts off with Magnetic Electric - a bonus track from X and already everyone is singing along - behold the Kylie faithful!
Kylie then bursts into Made in Heaven (vintage 1988) straight after the opening track opening up our Stock Aitken and Waterman (SAW) account for the night. Kylie addresses the crowd soon after reminding them of the purpose of the evening and thereby adjusting expectations - there will be no "La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La" tonight. The crowd do not care and eagerly await the next setlist surprise.
The upbeat Cherry Bomb and B.P.M are next. The band sound good - drums, bass, guitar, keyboards/synth and three backing singers. It really is stripped down and back to basics stuff - it makes a pretty big change from the Aphrodite extravaganza I saw at the O2 last year (complete with Kylie mounting a male angel and riding him through the air!). It's different and intimate and has pretty much sorted the men from the boys in terms of Kylie fans.
There are more singalongs for I'm Over Dreaming (Over You) and Always Find the Time and a song later I am rewarded with one of my favourite Kylie rarities - Tightrope. Woo hoo now all I need is for her to pull out Turn It Into love and my Kylie set list dream will be fulfilled! (I am unfortunately denied all but an acapella chorus of this later on!).
A few songs later we hit an Impossible Princess double-shot - Drunk and Say Hey. That album is my second favourite Kylie album (Fever just can't be beaten!) and then she brings it right down with Bittersweet Goodbye which is an ode to a lost friend. It somewhat sucks the 'up' vibe from the proceedings but she is well aware that is it a bit of downer and immediately heads straight into Disco Down to compensate.
We then tread back into a bit of SAW territory with It's No Secret and Got To Be Certain and Kylie gives a shout out to Pete Waterman who is in the crowd tonight. It's so much fun being back in the 80s with Kylie. Hers was the first concert I ever went to - 1989 at the Melbourne Tennis Centre - and I am pretty sure both those songs were on the set list that night!
The most hilarious part of heading way back into the 80s is that good ol Kyles needs the assistance of lyric sheets for a couple of tracks. This does not apply to the audience who assist her effortlessly - we are so KMHC (Kylie Minogue Hard Core)!!
We are then into encore time and we have a cover (Tears On My Pillow) and then a couple of oldies ending with Enjoy Yourself (the title track from the album of the same name).
This has been a brilliant night and well worth the relatively hefty price tag (£70) - I doubt that we are going to ever see such a performance from Kylie again and I am just glad to have be inside the building for it.
Set list:
Magnetic Electric
Made in Heaven
Cherry Bomb
BPM
Mighty Rivers
I'm Over Dreaming (Over You)
Always Find the Time
You're the One
Tightrope
Paper Dolls
Stars
Drunk
Say Hey
Too Much
Bittersweet Goodbye
Disco Down
I Don't Need Anyone
Give Me Just a Little More Time
It's No Secret
Got to Be Certain
Things Can Only Get Better
Encore:
Tears on My Pillow
One Boy Girl
Enjoy Yourself
More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59794835@N00/sets/72157629370540468/
Holy shit if only I could get my other favourite artists to do this!
I've never actually heard of an artist as big as Kylie undertaking something like this. Name me another artist who has sold 68 million records and successfully sold a b-sides, demos are rarities only show internationally - I freakin love it! And so do the 5000 other people at the Hammersmith Apollo tonight.
The vibe is good and the DJ who is warming us up certainly knows which buttons to push - there are some great mash ups with Kylie hits (which we are not going to hear tonight) and by the time our Kylie comes onstage around 8.25pm we are more than ready.
The main set starts off with Magnetic Electric - a bonus track from X and already everyone is singing along - behold the Kylie faithful!
Kylie then bursts into Made in Heaven (vintage 1988) straight after the opening track opening up our Stock Aitken and Waterman (SAW) account for the night. Kylie addresses the crowd soon after reminding them of the purpose of the evening and thereby adjusting expectations - there will be no "La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La" tonight. The crowd do not care and eagerly await the next setlist surprise.
The upbeat Cherry Bomb and B.P.M are next. The band sound good - drums, bass, guitar, keyboards/synth and three backing singers. It really is stripped down and back to basics stuff - it makes a pretty big change from the Aphrodite extravaganza I saw at the O2 last year (complete with Kylie mounting a male angel and riding him through the air!). It's different and intimate and has pretty much sorted the men from the boys in terms of Kylie fans.
There are more singalongs for I'm Over Dreaming (Over You) and Always Find the Time and a song later I am rewarded with one of my favourite Kylie rarities - Tightrope. Woo hoo now all I need is for her to pull out Turn It Into love and my Kylie set list dream will be fulfilled! (I am unfortunately denied all but an acapella chorus of this later on!).
A few songs later we hit an Impossible Princess double-shot - Drunk and Say Hey. That album is my second favourite Kylie album (Fever just can't be beaten!) and then she brings it right down with Bittersweet Goodbye which is an ode to a lost friend. It somewhat sucks the 'up' vibe from the proceedings but she is well aware that is it a bit of downer and immediately heads straight into Disco Down to compensate.
We then tread back into a bit of SAW territory with It's No Secret and Got To Be Certain and Kylie gives a shout out to Pete Waterman who is in the crowd tonight. It's so much fun being back in the 80s with Kylie. Hers was the first concert I ever went to - 1989 at the Melbourne Tennis Centre - and I am pretty sure both those songs were on the set list that night!
The most hilarious part of heading way back into the 80s is that good ol Kyles needs the assistance of lyric sheets for a couple of tracks. This does not apply to the audience who assist her effortlessly - we are so KMHC (Kylie Minogue Hard Core)!!
We are then into encore time and we have a cover (Tears On My Pillow) and then a couple of oldies ending with Enjoy Yourself (the title track from the album of the same name).
This has been a brilliant night and well worth the relatively hefty price tag (£70) - I doubt that we are going to ever see such a performance from Kylie again and I am just glad to have be inside the building for it.
Set list:
Magnetic Electric
Made in Heaven
Cherry Bomb
BPM
Mighty Rivers
I'm Over Dreaming (Over You)
Always Find the Time
You're the One
Tightrope
Paper Dolls
Stars
Drunk
Say Hey
Too Much
Bittersweet Goodbye
Disco Down
I Don't Need Anyone
Give Me Just a Little More Time
It's No Secret
Got to Be Certain
Things Can Only Get Better
Encore:
Tears on My Pillow
One Boy Girl
Enjoy Yourself
More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59794835@N00/sets/72157629370540468/
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