With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Siena Root, Elevant and Mind Mountain – Liverpool O2 Arena 2 – Wednesday 14th October 2015 October 18, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:33 pm
Tags: Deep Purple, Doctor (Doctor Who), Elevant, ELP, Focus, Free, Golden Earring, Hard rock, Keith Emerson, Liverpool, Liverpool O2 Academy, Liverpool O2 Academy 2, Mind Mountain, Siena Root

I took a chance with this gig as I had never heard of any of the bands before. Sometimes that doesn’t work out, but this time it did and very much big time in respect of the headliners from Sweden, Siena Root.

Mind Mountain

Before the headline slot though we were presented with two very fine support bands. First up was Mind Mountain. They are a hard rock instrumentalist trio who rock hard enough to make your ears bleed! The rhythm section are damned good, but the guitar/ keyboard player is truly superb. You really need to check this lot out.

Elevant

What can I say about the other support band, Elevant? Well if you took a large portion of classic heavy rock, sprinkled that with some hard riffage, then added a large slice of iconic rock star posing with a pinch of menacing front man stare that should give you a fully baked Elevant. This band rock like a motherfucker!

As for Siena Root, well initially I thought that maybe I’d stepped out of Dr Who‘s TARDIS in the early 70’s. But in a very good 70’s way. This is one supremely talented rock band each one of them is the master of their instrument and the vocalist is sublime. My favourite was perhaps the keyboard player who in a way had a slight resemblance to Keith Emerson off of ELP. But picking a favourite is somewhat difficult given the mega talents on display. They write their own songs and are faithful to analog instruments and recording. Some might argue that they are derivative of many of the great early 70s European rock bands from Deep Purple to Focus, then Free and the aforementioned ELP via Golden Earring. However I say that they take the best elements from 70s classic rock and make it very much their own. This was their first visit to the UK and I hope that they have many more. I will definitely go and see them again. If you get the chance do not miss them. You will not be disappointed!

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Public Image Limited (PiL) – Fibbers, York – Tuesday 22nd September 2015 September 22, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:58 pm
Tags: Bruce Smith (musician), Corporate, Death Disco, Deeper Water, Double Trouble, Fibbers, Fibbers York, John Lydon, John Williams, Know Now, Lu Edmonds, PiL, Poptones, Public Image, Public Image Ltd, Religion, Rise, Scott Firth, The One, This Is Not A Love Song, This Is PiL

To see a band like PiL is a great experience whatever the venue, however to see them somewhere as intimate as Fibbers is awesome. The crowd was perhaps mostly 40, 50 and 60-somethings including a couple of old punks that clearly haven’t moved on sartorially since 1977. But Lydon had all 600 of us in his hands whatever our age or fashion sense. He is a magnificent front man and someone who is impossible to imitate, although many have tried.

The show kicked off with the two opening songs from the new album “Double Trouble” and “Know Now”. The band also played “The One” and an incredibly powerful version of “Corporate” from that same album. The band played supremely well and great credit must go to Lu Edmonds, Bruce Smith and Scott Firth. John Lydon himself was also on his absolute top form. He comes across like a punk librarian spliced with the genes of a Dalek and I mean that all in a good way. (How about John Lydon for the next Doctor Who?) His engagement with his audience is brilliant and his put down of a heckler was hilarious. Incidentally why do people pay to come to gigs and then heckle the band? But as Lydon said to him ” We’ve got your money, now fuck off”!

Plenty of classic PiL cuts were played; “This Is Not A Love Song”, a stupendous run through “Death Disco“, “Poptones”, an inspirational “Warrior”and an excellent and funky rendition of “Deeper Water” from the ‘This Is PiL’ album. Quite a few times Lydon mentioned how hot it was on stage and I can certainly believe him because it was steaming in the audience. The band left the stage for five minutes before the encore and it was an encore worth waiting for. Kicking off with “Religion” followed by “Public Image” and closing with a rousing stomp through “Rise“. Was there anyone in the crowd that didn’t sing along to the last two? I don’t think so. Anger is an energy but there was far more energy than anger in the crowd. I’ve said this a lot recently, but this truly was one of the best gigs I have ever seen. Surpassing by a mile the last time I saw Public Image Limited in 1978 or 1979. If you have never seen PiL then I suggest that you rectify that now!

Public Service Announcement (could that be a parallel band to Public Image Limited?) none of the pictures and video were taken by me at the gig because I watched it through my eyes and not through my mobile phone screen!

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“You’ve heard of the twist, now listen to this” September 21, 2015

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 10:17 pm
Tags: Do The Stanley, Emily Eavis, Glastonbury, Glastonbury Festival, Kinks, Michael Eavis, Pilton Pop Blues and Folk Festival, Stackridge, T Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Worthy Farm

Glastonbury tickets go on sale in a few weeks, I’ve registered, have you? I have been to quite a few festivals, but if I am lucky enough to get a ticket this will be my first Glasto, after all these years!

Anyway take your mind back to the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970. The first thing of note is that it was called something different then, it was the Pilton Pop, Blues and Folk Festival and all festival goers were provided with free milk. Well Worthy Farm is a dairy farm. It was almost 45 years to the day that it took place. The Kinks were originally scheduled to headline the event but were replaced much nearer the start of the inaugural festival on the site by Tyrannosaurus Rex. Obviously this was just before they became T Rex.

For many of you this is probably not new information. However, did you know who opened the festival in 1970 and then returned to the stage at the end of the second day to close it? It was the marvellously quintessential English band Stackridge! They have played Glastonbury more recently too; in 1999 and 2008. So in honour of that achievement I would like you all to get ready to “Do The Stanley”!

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“Confusion in her eyes that says it all”

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 8:01 pm
Tags: Bernard Sumner, CP1919, Electronic, Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook, Pulsar, R2D2, She's Lost Control, Unknown Pleasures

I’m sure that the majority of you are by now familiar with the classic image used on the cover of Joy Division’s album ‘Unknown Pleasures’. It certainly seems to be making an appearance on plenty of items lately; mugs, t-shirts and such. Some of you will also know that the image depicts the radio signature for the first pulsar ever discovered, which was rather unimaginatively named CP1919. Well I say unimaginatively, but it’s not too far from R2D2 is it?

In a recent interview Bernard Sumner off of Joy Division, New Order and Electronic said “Lots of people know that a pulsar is a collapsed star but not everyone knows that pulsars rotate”. He then went on to say “This one goes round at 45rpm” Bernard sometimes wonders if the universe is taking the piss. I certainly think that the universe appears to be voting for a return to vinyl!

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Reading Festival 2015 – Day 3 – Sunday 30th August August 31, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 12:11 am
Tags: Frank Turner, Ghostpoet, Jack Garret, Jamie T, Little Comets, Louis Horslen, Maccabees, Manchester Orchestra, Nick Horslen, Queen, Reading & Leeds Festivals, Reading 2015, Shura, Skinner, Where Fires Are

Where Fires Are – good band, great vocalist and the few songs we heard were pretty good.

Shura – great chilled out dance music. Dance to this lot for too long and you’ll sure need plenty of Sure deodorant though.

Ghostpoet – probably not a real ghost but a bloody good poet. I need to listen to more of his stuff.

Special Guest – at the BBC Introducing stage. I didn’t have a clue who he is. Apparently it’s Jack Garrett. Nope, I’m still none the wiser. But he does have a great voice, which I think would work better with a band. But then again he is also a very talented musician.

Skinner – sexy, sassy, ballsy just like the blurb. But on top of that Skinner has an amazing vocal talent and writes great tunes. The band are damned tight too.

Joel Dommet followed by Russell Kane – awesome comedy, I nearly pissed myself ……… literally! Where’s Megan?

Maccabees – sadly I only caught two songs. But this is a fine British band.

Jamie T – what a great troubadour. I think Zombie is the song of this years festival.

Manchester Orchestra – grungey and when you think of loud, then trust me this band is louder.

Little Comets – they’ve come a long way since I first saw them around five years ago. It’s like Vampire Weekend had a shot of Geordie. Excellent!

Frank Turner – oh man! What a perfect end to the festival, Frank Turner playing most of his best songs on an acoustic guitar for 90 minutes. Including an excellent cover of Queen’s “Somebody To Love” Who needs the Libertines when a legend like Frank is in the house.

Roll on next year. Will the Zimmer Twins be back? Let’s wait and see ………..

To be honest I don’t believe that I would crowd surf there!

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Reading Festival 2015 – Day 2 – Saturday 29th August August 30, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:00 am
Tags: Baby Metal, Bring Me The Horizon, Circa Waves, Fidlar, Marmozets, Metallica, Nick Horslen, Reading & Leeds Festivals, Reading 2015, Royal Blood, Slaves, Spector, Wolf Alice

Baby Metal – not actual babies, but proper pop metal. I am now a big fan of this lot.

Fidlar – no fiddles, they’re not needed, these guys are superb.

Marmozets – even better than last year. Super awesome!

Slaves – the true spirit of late 70s punk lives on in these blokes, although maybe with a sprinkle of Jilted John. A great band though.

Spector – not Phil obviously, but they have got even better than the last time that I saw them.

Circa Waves – confetti waves at the end, this will be a hard band to follow. Brilliant!

Wolf Alice – not big and bad, but not bad. But a bit of a comedown after Circa Waves. We left their set a little early to see Royal Blood.

Royal Blood – a really well deserved Main Stage for this powerful band. The singer did try a little too hard on being cool though.

Bring Me The Horizon – can you actually bring anyone the horizon? I think not, however that really doesn’t matter. This band deserves to be immense. I reckon that they will headline the Main Stage here very soon. Probably on of the UK’s finest rock bands at the moment. I should add that the band’s public service announcement was hilarious.

Metallica – wow what a masterpiece of a show! It worked for the Metallica family and the more casual fans. The music and visuals were supremely good.

the people that we met today made it like a mini United Nations of rock. Two Metallica fans from Belgium and thanks for the band recommendation of Black Box Revelation. Then to the Metallica super fan from Spain who stood in the same spot for twelve hours. Dude we are not worthy. He also pointed out the band’s producer and manager along with members of Slayer in the mixing tower behind us. We also bumped into the Cheltenham crew again and there was not a hangover present in any of them.

two down and one to go, let’s see what day 3 brings! Hopefully no burrying!

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Reading Festival 2015 – Day 1- Friday 28th August August 29, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:40 am
Tags: All Time Low, Bastille, Django Django, Drenge, Limp Bizkit, New Found Glory, Nick Horslen, Palma Violets, Panic At The Disco, Peace, Reading & Leeds Festivals, Reading 2015, Return To Rome, Run The Jewels

Hello dear readers. It’s that Reading Festival time of year again. A time when I give you my humble opinion on all the acts that I get to see. I have maintained a very short review style for this year. I would love to hear who you liked best. My good friend Nick, myself and Richard an honorary Zimmer Twin probably all agreed that Limp Bizkit were superb.

Incidentally I took no pictures or video, because as a fan I prefer to watch the action in real-time and not through a tiny phone screen!

Return To Rome – no don’t go to the Italian Capital, stay here please

Drenge – good band and we didn’t get drenged!

Palma Violets – not from Palma and not very violet but these bastard sons of the Libertines and the Clash are pretty good.

Panic At The Disco – no panic, no disco just a stunning set from an awesome band including a brilliant cover of Bohemian Rhapsody!

All Time Low – not low, quite a high for us. A great band

Bastille – storming (geddit?) a good “afternoon on the Main stage” band. Brilliant covers of “No Scrubs” and “Rhythm Of The Night”. (TLC and Corona)

Peace – not too peaceful thankfully, rather good in fact.

Run The Jewels – well they’re not Run DMC are they?

Limp Bizkit – neither limp nor biscuit, but a band who for me have become top class. Hats off to Mr Durst and co.

New Found Glory – no longer new, no longer lost, but still glorious.

Django Django – I’m not sure which one is Django or indeed which one is Django, but either way they are an excellent band.

Another mission was accomplished in that I don’t see Mumford and Sons. Largely because I no longer see the point of Mumford and Sons anymore.

I should add that given some of the people we met there was definitely something strong in the Happy Meals! Kirsty from Cardiff and Anya from Cheltenham via Ireland, I hope your hangovers/ come downs aren’t too bad! Gary from Cheltenham via Scotland, you’re a top bloke! Finally I haven’t seen many people as excited as Mark the postie from Swindon, he is a big Limp Bizkit fan.

Day 1 was a good’un though. Let’s see what day 2 brings.

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“Pick up your balls and load up your cannon” August 2, 2015

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 5:29 pm
Tags: 21-gun salute, AC/ DC, AC/DC, For Those About To Rock, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

The AC/DC fans among you will be familiar with the firing of cannons during “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)” when they play live. But did you know this 21-gun salute came from the fact that the band were recording around the same time as the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981?

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La Petite Mort, Bull, Avalanche Party and Asio’s Eyes – The Duchess, York – Friday 31st July 2015 August 1, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:54 am
Tags: Asio's Eyes, Avalanche Party, Bull, Joe Bell, Jordan Bell, La Petite Mort, Mike Harrison, Pink Floyd, Simon Pattinson, The Beatles, The Duchess, York

Yet another gig recommended by my good friend Simon Pattinson and yet another one that he has got absolutely spot on. I am sure that he might get it wrong one day, but he certainly didn’t this time. It was also good to catch up with Mike Harrison as well. Once again it was a bargain, no more than five quid for four bands. How good is that?

First up were the magnificent Asio’s Eyes. Imagine Pink Floyd with a lot more punk and funk, perhaps joined by members of the original Parliament/ Funkadelic troupe, a couple of the Damned, add into this the Beatles at their most experimental, are you still with me? Good! Now all you need to do is add a massive dose of psychedelia. Stick all that in the blender, mix it with a few narcotics of some kind and you might well get Asio’s Eyes. Either way I have to say that this band is truly brilliant. It would be fair to say that I have never seen a more psychedelic band (perhaps until later into this gig at least!). I you have never seen them I suggest that you get off your arse and seek them out.

Next up were a band that regular readers of this blog will be very familiar with, the majestic Avalanche Party. One day I will watch them play and walk away thinking that they were far better the last time I saw them. Today was most definitely not that day! How the fuck does a band manage to get so much better every time I see them? I don’t know the answer to that, you’d better ask the boys in Avalanche Party. They were ably assisted tonight by a very talented guitarist from tonight’s head-liners Le Petit Mort. The old classics like “Mountains” were there along with new classics like “Money”. They played a great new song (apologies guys but I didn’t catch the title) and Jordan made another of his excellent incursions into the audience. If you still haven’t seen the amazing Avalanche Party then you haven’t been listening to me. Listen now and get out and bloody see them. That is an order!

Bull were on stage next and their membership includes two members of Worm, whose EP launch I saw at the Inkwell in Gillygate a few weeks back. Simon said that he thought that they sounded a little like the Strokes. He might be right but I saw much more than that. I think there are definitely elements of Frank Black and Bob Mould and even the more experimental R.E.M. tracks. A really exciting and punky band. I would definitely pay to see them again and I urge you to do the same. They are very tight with a really crisp sound and their musicianship is exemplary. Check them out now people!

OK so up until this point Asio’s Eyes were probably the most psychedelic band that I had ever seen. But then came the amazingly bizarre La Petite Mort. When people describe a band or someone as being “out there” I don’t think that they truly grasp what they are saying. But trust me, if there is an “out there” thermometer then La Petite Mort would blow the mercury right out of the top of it. Even if I wanted to say something negative about this band (and I don’t) then I would have to lie. Their playing and their stage presence is something to behold. This is a band that would be perfect for closing the Festival Republic stage at Reading/ Leeds. Are you listening festival organisers. La Petite Mort pull out everything in putting on a show. Guitars, bass and drums obviously. But also saxophone and sitar. On top of that they were joined by members of Asio’s Eyes for a proper bonkers final couple of songs. They finally left the stage after the drums were kicked over and a guitar was hung from one of the lights. If you like your music psychedelic and your bands somewhat mad then La Petite Mort are right up your street. They are definitely on my street and frankly I would go and see them again tomorrow if the opportunity arose. Can I compare them to any other acts or can I slot them into a genre? Nope I don’t think I can. But I can say that they are easily among one of the best bands that I have ever seen!

Finally it’s the public service announcements. None of the videos were filmed by me (all were available on YouTube) and all of the pictures were taken by me on my Nokia Lumia (can I have a new phone for the shout out please Nokia?). Also I had a chat with Tom, the bass player off of Asio’s Eyes and he is a top bloke. To the boys in Avalanche Party, sorry I didn’t get to spend a bit more time with you and where is my physical copy of the EP? 🙂

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Roseanne Cash – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds – Tuesday 21st July 2015 July 25, 2015

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:31 pm
Tags: American Civil War, Black Cadillac, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Brudenell Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Hank Williams, John Leventhal, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Rosanne Cash, Tammy Wynette, The River And The Thread, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

In my teenage years I would never listen to country music of any kind. Largely because my Mum And Dad loved it so in my youthful mind it became uncool. However as I have got older I have grown to love much country music; Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash among many others. But my favourite country artist right now, although it’s fair to say that her songs transcend the genre, is Roseanne Cash. Actually forget the genre comment she is simply one of my favourite singers. I fell in love with her music after hearing the ‘Black Cadillac’ album in 2006. She is an incredibly talented songwriter and she also has an amazing voice.

The show at the Brudenell on Tuesday night was a purely acoustic set which she performed with her supremely talented husband John Leventhal. They both had a great rapport with the audience many of whom have seen Roseanne Cash play live countless times. She mainly sang songs from her wonderfully story filled current album ‘The River And The Thread’. That LP won three Grammys earlier this year. She also had a great story to tell about the origins of the songs from that album too. Notably how the beautiful and melancholy “When The Master Calls The Roll” came to be written. Her son had done a school project on the American Civil War. On the Civil War database they found photographs of two of the Cash family. There are not many pictures on that database and the Cash family had ancestors on both sides of the conflict.

She sang a really moving version of “The Sunken Lands” which is my favourite song from that album. Along with “A Feather’s Not A Bird” and “The Long Way Home”. She played a few older songs, including a couple from ‘Black Cadillac’. There were also a selection of tunes from her album of covers of songs that her father Johnny kept on a list of 100 songs that where in his opinion pretty much all the songs you’d ever need to know. In my opinion that album, ‘The List’, is perhaps one of the finest covers albums ever recorded. She played “Girl From The North Country“, “Heartaches By The Number” and “Sea Of Heartbreak”. John Leventhal took over the vocal support role provided by Bruce Springsteen on the album.

Roseanne and John are clearly very happy together and their understanding of each other is clear. They both come across as very real, very humble and very human. They were also clearly having fun on stage. I will definitely go and see another Roseanne Cash show in the future. Catwoman and I enjoyed this show immensely. I should also mention the marvellous support act Ags Connolly. He comes from near Oxford and his album was recorded in Scotland but it really does have a brilliantly authentic country sound.