Click here to read my review of the new LP from Funeral Shakes. A big thank you to those lovely folks at 3 Songs & Out for giving me the opportunity to review this fine album.
“Averageism EP” – Tax January 21, 2018
Sometimes you have to make a choice as to which gig you want to go to when there is a clash. Last Friday I went to see Absolute Bowie at Fibbers in York, sadly this meant that I missed a great line up put together by Northern Radar at another fabulous York venue; the Crescent. Who did I miss? The Televangelist, Dvsk, Tax and the Honey Smugglers, that’s who. But I did meet up with Northern Radar Head Honcho Simon Pattinson after the show along with some of Tax, including the drummer and Millie (with an i, e) who isn’t their manager but perhaps should be! Millie gave me a copy of the new Tax EP ‘Averageism’. I promised to take a listen to it and maybe review it for this blog. What some of you don’t know is that if any singers or bands give me some of their music to review I will always listen to it, but I will only review it if I like it. Personally I don’t think it is fair to lumber upcoming bands with a negative review. But this is most definitely NOT a negative review!
This five track EP is without a doubt, bloody awesome. It was produced by Liam Watson, and as many of you know his cv includes the White Stripes. Tax, from York, are refreshingly original, but in terms of influence I can hear some heavy punk and post punk vibes, the Adverts, PiL, the Fall, the New York Dolls and early 70s Glam Rock. The EPs title track is probably my favourite after the third listen, any song that mentions James Last, Ian Brown, Burt Bacharach and uses the words moron and twat in the lyrics is alright with me. Aside from the tightness of the band what really impressed me was the lyrics; “Out For Lunch” has a brilliant couplet in “I’ve got a handshake like an earthquake”, play the track loud enough and it might even move the gauge on a Richter scale recorder. “Clone” sounds like something the Adverts TV Smith might have recorded in the late 70s, very LoFi but with more balls than the usual LoFi sound. The EP is completed by the excellently titled “Piss” and “I’m A Presenter On The TV”. If you haven’t seen Tax or heard them then I suggest you do something about that right now! But careful how you search for them, you might end up reaching some pretty dull accounting sites! Click here to find them on FaceBook and click here to find them on Soundcloud. Personally I can’t wait to see this lot play live now!
Absolute Bowie – Fibbers, York – Friday 19th January 2018 January 20, 2018
Regular readers of this blog will know not only that I am a massive David Bowie fan, but I am also a bit of a Bowie snob. I have never been a particular fan of tribute bands. I have seen many and a handful have been very good, but the majority were mediocre at best. However just over a year ago at the fabulous Fibbers music venue in York I reluctantly decided to go and see Absolute Bowie. This is an act that many in the industry refer to as the best Bowie tribute by far and many of the reviews bear that out. Click here to read my review of that gig. I loved last years York show so much that I had to come back again in 2018. This time I persuaded my good friend and fellow Bowie fan Simon Hernaman and his wife Marie to join me. Was last year a one off or is the magic still there? You should read on to find the answer to that question.
The first set was a Ziggy set with John O’Neill in fine form as Bowie’s earliest and probably most iconic character. The costumes, the mime driven dance moves and most importantly for me the authentic sounding Bowie vocals from O’Neill. None of this would of worked however without the support of the excellent band; Chris Buratti on guitar, makes an excellent Mick Ronson in the first set, Fabio Cashio a stunningly talented bass player, Alex Paollilo on keyboards and drummer Alessandro Ricardi. There were many highlights in the Ziggy half of the show and it sounded great from where I was in the crowd although there seemed to be some problems with at least one of the monitors. Particular highlights were “Moonage Daydream“, ” The Man Who Sold The World“, a truly majestic “Life On Mars” and “Starman” which had everyone in Fibbers la-la-la-la-ing like lunatics. First set closer was “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide“, what else could it be? I do not believe that there was a single person in the crowd that didn’t sing along to every song with 100% passion.
Which Bowie would we get from John O’Neill in the second set? It was Serious Moonlight Bowie; bleached blond hair, wearing a pastel suit, unfastened bow tie and braces. In terms of where these songs were drawn from it was a much wider period than the Ziggy set ranging from 1974 to 1983. This band match their talent with confidence, to open with “Station To Station” would not have been attempted by lesser tribute acts, but Absolute Bowie pulled it off completely and followed that with a mesmerisingly funky version of what in my opinion is one of the finest cuts on the ‘Station To station’ album, “Stay”. Whilst we are on funk I have to mention “Fame”, I think Mr Bowie himself would have enjoyed that. We were treated to “Ashes To Ashes”, Let’s Dance” and “China Girl” from the 80s. The encore was for me perhaps the finest part of an amazing night. We were hit with “Space Oddity” which was introduced with a blast of ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra” which was used as the theme to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey‘, “Heroes” and a stonking version of “Rebel Rebel” that may well have brought the ceiling down had it gone on any longer. If you have seen Absolute Bowie before then I know you will see them again, I certainly will. If you have never seen them before what are you waiting for?
Public service announcement – all videos found via YouTube but all the pictures are from the delightful Mr. Simon Hernaman’s mobile phone 🙂
“We’ll build a glass asylum, with just a hint of mayhem” January 8, 2018
Regular readers of this blog know that I am a big David Bowie fan. This began in July 1972 when I witnessed that now-iconic performance of “Starman” on BBC’s Top Of The Pops. I was lucky enough to see him play live ten times from 1976 to 2004 and I still buy every release, and to be fair there have been many since his death nearly two years ago. I recently received the latest in the seven-inch vinyl picture disc series, the 40th-anniversary release of the “Beauty And The Beast” single. It has a terrific version of “Blackout” on the B Side. Today would have been the Dame’s 71st birthday, I know to many of you that probably sounds old, but it is only 12 years older than me! Obviously like many fans, I was saddened by his passing, but I am still somewhat freaked out by the amount of on-line Bowie fans that still speak of their despair at his loss, how they still wake up crying.
But enough of that morbidity, I do still celebrate the birthday of the late David Robert Jones. On a work day that means that I wear my David Bowie cuff links as I did today. I also received a few more David Bowie related books at Christmas, I think I now own around 70 in total. One of those Christmas presents was ‘David Bowie – A Life’ by Dylan Jones. Jones met and interviewed Bowie on many occasions and he uses that material along with old and new interviews with many people who were a part of the world of David Bowie. This includes the Spiders From Mars, Dana Gillespie, Bob Harris, Earl Slick, Mike Garson, Carlos Alomar, Peter Frampton, Nina Simone, Mick Rock, Nick Kent, Charles Shaar Murray, Bebe Buell and Coco Schwab to name just a few. The book is organised chronologically and is incredibly well put together. In my opinion it is beyond doubt the best Bowie biography for many years and easily the best to be published since his demise. It is tasteful and manages to unearth a few things that personally I had never read before; How he had tried to reform the Spiders From Mars in 1978 and how in the US in the early 1970s someone turned up at his hotel suite and offered him a still warm, dead body to have sex with. In respect of the latter he was apparently visibly shocked and upset and turned the offer down. When he lived in Mustique at a property he used to own there he often referred to one drink from the cocktail menu in Basil’s Bar as a Penis Colada.
This evening I have also dug out the magnificent Alan Yentob documentary ‘Cracked Actor’ from the mid-70s. It is a fascinating portrait of a talented man in a spiral of cocaine addiction and ensuing paranoia. In many ways it is a magnificent insider view of the transition from the Halloween Jack character of the post-apocalyptic tales on ‘Diamond Dogs’ into the white soul boy of ‘Young Americans’. If you have never seen it, whether you are a fan or not you should check it out. From just the social history perspective it is truly fascinating. This is a bit of a Bowie ramble I know, but I haven’t done a Bowie post for a while, well apart from the specific one about the song “Andy Warhol” back in December. I don’t really need an excuse to play some Bowie tunes, but a 71st birthday and the impending second anniversary of his death works for me. Let’s celebrate the Dame’s wonderful recordings together, what is your favourite David Bowie song? My top three favourites are currently; “Quicksand”, “Young Americans” and “Lady Grinning Soul“.
As a footnote the eagle-eyed readers and bat-eared listeners may have sussed out where I took the title of my blog from, go on take a guess!
Avalanche Party – Fulford Arms, York – Saturday 30th December 2017 December 31, 2017
What could be more fitting for my last gig of 2017 than an evening in the presence of one of the finest British bands of their generation Avalanche Party. They get better every time I see them, so did they improve yet again? Well you will have to read on to discover that. This show was the 100th that has been put together by those lovely folk at Behind The White Door and in addition to Avalanche Party they booked some proper humdingers.
It all kicked off with one of the best young bands in York, the Black Lagoons. This is the third time that I have seen them and so far they have never failed to impress me. The fashion influence on some of the band is very rockabilly style. But this is not who they are musically. There is a tiny bit of that genre, there is a hint of prog and there is definitely a psych vibe going on. Can I narrow that down to maybe Psychabilly? But labelling bands is ultimately futile isn’t it? Unless that label is along the lines of good or bad and the Black Lagoons are bloody good. Link Wray would be proud of the lead guitarist and the rhythm section is akin to the Who’s powerful engine room of Moon and Entwistle. I think the band could interact with the audience a bit more, but that is easily fixed. If you get the chance to see them, then take it!
The audience gets a Nosebleed!
Next up were Nosebleed from Leeds who gave us a full on punky garage onslaught. This trio may well have taken their stage wear style from the Hives and they are just as entertaining. They milked their audience invasion opportunities really well and their sound came across like Steve Jones in his Sex Pistols days multi tracking. Stand too close to the speakers with this lot and you might well get a Nosebleed. They are a well oiled and rehearsed band that seemed to enjoy every moment of their time on stage (or in the audience)!
The Snakerattlers are Naomi and Dan who are also the funky, punky people who run Behind The White Door. A hard rocking duo with a boy and girl in the line up might often be compared with the White Stripes, but don’t. They are so very different. Their fast paced punk styled songs smack you in the face until you submit to their Snakerattler charms. I would love to know how Naomi got so much noise from just two drums and a cymbal. Dan’s guitar skills are well honed and powerful. I must confess that I didn’t really like their first tune but the rest of their set was stunning. They have a new album coming out in 2018 and I can hardly wait to hear it. Feel free to send me a copy for review guys! 🙂
So now for the headliners, Avalanche Party were they better than the last time I saw them, well of course they were. This is now the seventh time that I have seem them live. In fact there are only two acts that I have seen more often; David Bowie (10 times) and Frank Turner (11 times). The band kicked off with a barnstorming “I’m So Wet” and never let up until they blew the roof off with an explosive and bombastic “Solid Gold” to close their set. Other highlights were “Let’s Get Together” and a new song, “Heaven’s Creatures” given its first ever live outing. Jordan Bell is now without doubt a seasoned crowd surfer and this along with his invading the crowd with mic stand guitar just adds to the showmanship that this band have developed over the past few years. The Yorkshire Post named Avalanche Party’s set at the Kazoopa Festival in Leeds as their gig of the year and no wonder. The show tonight was full on pomp, spectacle and exactly what great rock n roll should be. If you haven’t seen this band yet then why not? I order you to see them in 2018 and if you don’t then I will need a note from your parents telling me why!
Public Service Announcement – all the pictures, apart from the gig poster, were taken by my mobile phone (hence the poor quality!). The videos are all found via YouTube.
The Icicle Works – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds – Friday 8th December 2017 December 12, 2017
Strangely the December 8th show is not on the poster!
Amazingly this was the first time I had seen the Icicle Works. Led by Ian McNabb they have been around for nearly 40 years since forming in Liverpool in 1980. It is criminal that their chart success has been so limited. In the UK they only made it into the top 50 singles chart once. That was back in 1984 with “Love Is A Wonderful Colour” which reached number 15. The band release five studio albums between 1984 and 1990. Since 1993 McNabb has issued eleven albums. His second solo album, ‘Head Like A Rock’ from 1994 was recorded with Crazy Horse and was nominated for the Mercury Prize that year. Sadly it lost out to M People. A point which McNabb poked excellent fun at during his set at the Brudenell.
This show was billed as an Icicle Works gig, although we were treated to a few McNabb solo outings as well. Ian McNabb is a stunningly talented singer songwriter and guitarist. His older songs have really stood the test of time well and the newer songs sound fresh and sometimes edgy. At times his playing reminded me of Neil Young at his best perhaps during his ‘Weld’ album days. The band played two sets with a fifteen minute break, by my estimation they were on stage for just under three hours. That is on a par with some of the best Springsteen shows for length. It would be difficult to pick out any low points from the show. But particular highlights in the first half were Icicle Works songs; “Evangeline”, “Seven Horses”, “Starry Blue Eyed Wonder” and a McNabb solo tune, “Hurricane Elaine”.
The second set was relatively evenly split between Icicle Works songs and Ian McNabb solo excursions. The best of the second set for me were; “I’m A Genius”, “Fire Inside My Soul”, “Understanding Jane” and “Clarabella (Come To The Window)”. The latter is the mountainous, emotional blockbuster of a song that closes his new album ‘Star Smile Strong’. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, I honestly would have gone home happy at the end of the second set, the band came back to the stage for a heartfelt, soulful and powerful encore of three Icicle Works classics; “Love Is a Wonderful Colour”, “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” and live favourite “Hollow Horse”. McNabb and his and; Matthew Priest on drums, Richard Naiff on keyboards and Roy Corkhill on bass, were on top form and seemed to enjoy the night immensely. The crowd joined in a spirited romp through “Happy Birthday” to celebrate Richard Naiff’s birthday that day. Do not wait as long as I have to see this band, get out to hear them at your earliest opportunity, you will not be disappointed. My thanks to Andy Golborne for his great musical taste and for getting the tickets for this show.
Public Service Announcement: All photos sourced via Google searches and videos courtesy of YouTube searches
Bull, Crybaby, The Sunset Radio & Glass Traps – City Screen Basement, York – Thursday 23rd November 2017 November 25, 2017
Four bands for under a tenner at the City Screen Basement in my adopted city of York. Stuff Black Friday this is indeed a bargain given the calibre of the bands on stage at this gig. First up were the Glass Traps and this lot would have fitted perfectly into the post punk environment of the late 70s/ early 80s. I can sense a bit of Tom Verlaine and Television along with a smattering of 60s style psych garage rawness. This young band is very tight and play like they have put in the time rehearsing. Their versatility is strong given that three of them are able to sing lead vocals. A very talented band from York! Click here to hear their excellent new song “No Tomorrow”
The next band is not one that I had heard before, but I definitely will again, positive proof that York has a thriving music scene with some truly marvellous bands. The Sunset Radio produce excellent power pop and oh so much more. Personally I heard shades of the Jam and the Levellers at times with a nice slice of the Manic Street Preachers. In fact I reckon their lead vocalist could give James Dean Bradfield a good run for his money. They might not look like punks but they project a great punk style and attitude in their music. Introducing some powered up punk snippets of “La Bamba” and “Twist And Shout” into their final song (which I think was called “Burning Up”) was genius!
Second on the bill were the the magnificent Crybaby. I saw them over a year ago at the Crescent in York. Click here for my review of that gig.Crybaby are yet another stunning band from York. I suspect that I may be guilty of overusing words like punk and punky in this review. But Crybaby are a punky, hard rocking bunch with a dash of the Killers about them. Some of their songs suggest to me what perhaps Oasis might have become had they taken a more heavy approach after their first two albums. A big shout to their drummer too, he is bloody ace. Has he been injected with some of John Bonham’s DNA?
Finally it was time for the headliners another of York’s finest bands, the mighty riffmonsters that are Bull. A band that I last saw in 2015, click here for that review. This is a band that everyone needs in their life. At times they appear shambolic, but it is easy to see that they are in fact totally on top of their game. Their gargantuan Godzilla sized sound is built around some stunningly simple yet exquisite songs. Those tunes evoke everyone from the Ramones to Elvis Costello via Nick Lowe and the Pixies. They have moments of quietness that jump to frenzied sonic magnificence. Punk happened back in the 70s to allow the creation and generation of bands like Bull. To summarise, Bull are fucking brilliant!
Images were ‘borrowed’ from each bands Facebook page and the videoes were found on Youtube.
Average White Band – Leeds Irish Centre – Wednesday 22nd November 2017 November 23, 2017
It is now just over 45 years since I went to my first gig (the Jackson 5 if you’re interested) and here I am still going, as are the incredible Average White Band. I saw them once in London back in the 70s and they were great back then. I can honestly say that they still are, in fact they are better than great. The Irish Centre is a magnificent venue, although this is only the second time that I have been here, the last was many years ago for Chumbawamba.
It always amazed me that a bunch of white Scottish blokes managed to out funk and pour more soul into their songs than some of the finest black soul and funk musicians that the USA could muster. When I first heard that phat slab of funk that is “Pick Up The Pieces” back in 1974 I assumed that it was by someone like the BarKays. I believed that for weeks until I read an article in the UK music press, probably Blues and Soul magazine.
There may only be two original members of AWB left in Onnie McIntyre (guitar) and Alan Gorrie (bass, keyboards and lead vocals), both of whom can still find the funk, but they have picked some stunning players to join them in the seven piece band that blew the crowd away at the Irish Centre tonight. I think they all deserve a mention; Rob Aries (keyboards and bass guitar), Cliff Lyons (alto and tenor sax), Fred Vigdor (tenor sax and keyboards), Rocky Bryant (drums and percussion) and Brent Carter (Lead Vocals).
When someone describes a band as ‘tight’ the Average White Band epitomise and define what it is to be a ‘tight’ band. At times they showed that they could have been backing James Brown and would never have been fined by the Godfather of Soul for playing a bum note. All the really big hits were aired tonight; “Pick Up The Pieces”, “Cut The Cake” and a stunning encore, with full crowd participation, of “Let’s Go Round Again”. Yes even I shook my rump to the funk on that one. The occasional deeper cuts were played, with “When Will You be Mine” being a particular highlight. The Average White Band have enjoyed success with some cover versions of songs that they really made their own. Particularly soul standard “Walk On By” and a version of “Work To Do” that in my opinion tops the original by the Isley Brothers. Both of these tunes were given full and funky workouts tonight along with a new take on another Isley Brothers classic “Harvest For The World”. This was a truly exceptional performance from a band that remain at the top of their game. I would also like to thank my gig buddy Audrey for making this such a fun night.
BAD SOUNDS – COMMUNITY ROOM, BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS – WEDNESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2017 November 16, 2017
Click here to read my review of Bad Sounds in Leeds. You will be so disappointed that you weren’t there! A big thank you to those lovely folk at the Hype Media for getting me a review slot!
‘Roach’ – Aerial Salad November 12, 2017
Manchester has produced many fine bands over the years and with pop punk trio Aerial Salad I think you can add another to that esteemed list. Formed in 2016 and Jamie Munro (Guitar & Vox), Jack Appleby (Drums) and Michael Wimbleton (Bass Guitar) claim influences from Jawbreaker, Green Day and Weezer to name but a few. I can hear elements of old school punk like the Damned, Sham 69 and the Clash along with a hint of ska punk a la Reel Big Fish. ‘Roach’ is a classy début with hard-hitting life stories and a wall of punk sound that smacks you in the face from the opening bars of “Habits And Problems”. When I listening to “97” I am gobsmacked as to how three people can make such a full on barrage of solid guitar attack.
“Worst Case Ontario” sounds musically like the Undertones and Jamie Munro gives it his best Jimmy Pursey vocal. Aerial Salad are bona-fide rockers who have some great songs, magnificent musicianship, punk attitude and to top it all it feels like they enjoying the bloody hell out of it all. The album has twelve tracks and there is not a dud among them, all I wanted to do after my first listen was to play it again. My favourite tracks after two listens are “Alone Forever” and “Dunhills” but that will probably change after the third. This record is most definitely crammed with top tunes. The album is out now on London-based label Plasterer Records. I definitely want to see this band live, how about Reading/ Leeds 2018? You can still catch them on their UK tour this month. If you have been to any of the shows feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments below. Dates are (can you come to York or Leeds next time please lads?);
08 Nov – Exeter, Cavern
09 Nov – Southampton, Joiners
10 Nov – Brighton, Sticky Mikes
11 Nov – Bristol, Louisiana
12 Nov – London, New Cross Inn
13 Nov – Watford, Flag
14 Nov – Bradford, Big Bang Theory
15 Nov – Glasgow, Bar Bloc
16 Nov – Newcastle, Jumping Jacks
17 Nov – Scunthorpe, Lincoln Imp
18 Nov – Morecombe, The Carleton
19 Nov – Stafford, Redrum
20 Nov – Worcester, Marrs Bar
21 Nov – Canterbury, Lady Luck
22 Nov – Norwich, The Owl Sanctuary
23 Nov – Chester, Live Rooms
24 Nov – Derby, Hairy Dog
25 Nov – Abertillery, Dolls House
A big thank you to those lovely funky punky folk at Wall Of Sound PR for giving me the chance to review this album.
