2013 My Year in Gigs

The Facts and Figures

31 gigs attended plus 2 mini festivals

16 different venues (all but one was in the North East)

Strangest Venue – Modern Towers a turret in the City Walls of Newcastle

Total cost (minus booking fees) £374

Average cost of going to a gig - £13

Most expensive ticket £53 (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)

Cheapest Ticket £5 (Fieldhead, Eliza & the Bear, Hannah Williams)

Bands Seen

Headliner                                            Support         

Glen Hansard                                      The Lost Brothers

Eliza & the Bear #1

Justin Currie

The Travelling Band                            Ellen and the Escapades

The Temperance Movement #1

Hannah Williams

Ajimal #1                                              Trev Gibbs #1

The Heavy                                           The Silent Comedy

David Ford #2                                      Jarrod Dickinson

The Lake Poets #1                              Ajimal #2

Fieldhead                                            A-Sun Amissa/Wreath

Tom McRae                                        Swanns

The Temperance Movement #2

Lord Huron                                          Nataly Dawn/Skylark Song

Eliza & the Bear #2                             Blank Maps /Mickey Moran Parker (at Evo Emerging)

The Lake Poets #2 (Evolution Festival)

Tomahawks For Targets                     North Atlantic Oscillation

Ed Harcourt                                         Catherine AD

Neil Young & Crazy Horse                  Los Lobos

Lanterns On The Lake                         Ajimal #3

Matthew E. White

Andy Frasier

Conquering Animal Sound                Death Row Radio/Shield Patterns

The Temperance Movement #3      The Graveltones

Ethan Jones                                         Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou

Damien Demsey                                 Sam Fender #2

Steven Wilson

KT Tunstall                                          Billy Locket

Danny & The Champions of the World

David Ford

Jack Savoretti

The Lake Poets #3                               Ajimal #4 Trev Gibbs #2

 

The Highlights

In no particular order;

My first gig of the year was Glen Hansard and for a number of reasons I think this was my gig of the year. I have followed Glen’s career from the very beginning but never got a chance to see him live and this gig was ‘epic’ in all proportions, 2hours and 20 minutes long meant the staff at The Sage nearly went into meltdown as the gig swung pass the 11 o’clock curfew. Covers of Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye Can Morrison, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen were woven into a set list that gave me everything I could have wanted (except Falling Slowly that was on the set list but not played). 2 of his songs The Gift and Song of Good Hope would see me through the rest of the year (but that’s a story for another blog) and his album Rhythm and Repose has soothed my troubled mind on a number of occasions when darkness descended around me.

Neil Young not giving a flying fuck about what most of the audience wanted (a greatest hits package) and playing an absolutely mind blowing 2 ¼ hours of pure rock music, he is as relevant now as he was 40 years ago.

The emergence of The Temperance Movement. I saw these guys 3 times last year and seeing them develop as a live band was a joy to watch. They play rock and roll music and they play it well. Watch out for them in 2014 I think it just might be their year.

 Hearing Sam Fender’s voice for the first time was a revelation. He supported Eliza and The Bear and wandered on looking like any other 19 year old, skinny jeans, Shoreditch quiff, deck shoes and a look of apathy that nearly made me head to the bar. Then he started singing and I was transfixed, he has a voice which belies his age and the tunes to back it up.

 The emergence of the North East music scene has been another highlight for me but before mentioning some of the bands it’s worth tipping a hat to Generator who support the music industry in the North East and beyond. Without them I suspect some of the artists in the North East would still be strumming their guitar in their bedrooms. Generator (in my opinion) has given the music industry in the North East a platform and a belief that artists can take their music to the next level and success in an industry littered with ‘if only’ and ‘maybe’s’.

So the bands, I have already mentioned Sam Fender and those that know me will know of my love of The Lake Poets & Ajimal both never disappointed when I say them live last year and I would hope to see albums from both these artists in 2014 to build on the critical acclaim they have both received in the last couple of years. Evo Emerging  a free evening of music spread  over 8 venues in Newcastle showcasing the best of the North Easts music scene gets more and more popular each year and brought to my attention Mickey Moran Parker and allowed me to see Nadine Shah for the first time.

Although not my last gig of the year seeing Danny and The Champions of The World in late November ended my year as Glen Hansard had started it. I have seen Danny play live on numerous occasions over the last 15 years and I have never been disappointed. This gig on the back of the Stay True album (one of albums of 2013) was brilliant The Champs were tighter than ever it was one of those gigs you don’t want to end. I can’t recommend this band highly enough so if you see that they are playing near you go see them, it will only cost you the price of a couple of pints (London prices were used for this calculation) and I guarantee that you will enjoy it.

I have posted some videos of the bands I have seen on my Pinterest page so if you haven’t heard of the bands go take listen and if you like them look them up, buy their music and get along to one of their gigs. As you can see live music (on the whole) isn’t that expensive and it beats sitting in watching The Voice or The X Factor on Saturday nights!

 

 

 

 

2012 My Year In Gigs

So the facts and figures for 2012 look a bit like this;

35 gigs and 2 (mini) festivals

24 headline artists seen for the first time

11 headline artists seen previously.

21 support acts that I can remember

11 different venues

2 Artists seen more than once Danny and The Champions of the World & Karima Francis (3 times each)

6 different towns/cities

£420 spent on gig tickets (excluding booking fees)

Cheapest ticket £6.50 Ellen and the Escapades (excludes a couple of free gigs/guest lists)

Most expensive ticket £55 Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

Average ticket price £12 (you see live music doesn’t have to be expensive!)

Headline Artists Seen   (In no particular order)

North Mississippi Allstars                                                             

The Big Dish

Dr John

Explosions In The Sky

Boo Hewedine

James Vincent McMorrow

Gravenhurst

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

The Smoke Fairies

The Trews

We Are Augustines

Cherry Ghost

Newton Faulkner

The Leisure Society

Efterklang

Danny and the Champions of The World (3)

Michael Kiwanuka

Lambchop

The Lake Poets

Simone Felice Group

Ryan Adams

Chuck Prophet

Karima Francis (3)

Alabama Shakes

Admiral Fallow

Bruce Springsteen

Vintage Trouble

Ellen and the Escapades

Spiritualised

The Civil Wars

Jack Savoretti

Grizzly Bear

Alex Cornish

Father John Misty

Support Acts Seen

King Jim

Phantom Limb

Lanterns on The Lake

Prison Library

Bears Den

Colour The Atlas

John Grant

Billy Vincent

The Staves

Union Choir

Natasha Haws

Simi Stone

Jeb Loy Nichols

The Lumineers

Villagers

No

Favourite Gigs of the Year.

Danny and the Champions of the World The Central Pub Gateshead. One of my favourite bands in one of my favourite pubs, the last gig of the tour on a Saturday night sold out and sweat dripping off the walls. A great gig from a band I have seen many times but this seemed special, final encore of These Days had the support band dancing with locals down the front of the stage. Great night.

The Big Dish – Glasgow O2 Academy I missed seeing these guys 27 years ago when they supported Big Country as I was in the pub and have regretted it ever since. Reformed for a one off gig as part of Celtic Connections I was front and centre for this gig and it didn’t disappoint. Playing to a partisan audience it was worth the wait.

The Alabama Shakes – Manchester Methodist Hall A trip to Manchester to see a band is always a treat and this was a great gig, maybe not perfect but there was a real buzz about seeing this band as they started to break the UK.  The trip was also noticeable for winning tickets to see the Olympics but that’s another story all together....

James Vincent McMorrow – The Sage Gateshead (Hall 2) My favourite venue in the North East and I nearly forgot about this gig as it was so early in the year. JVM just gets better and better and live with a full band was truly amazing. Can’t wait for the new album.

Efterklang and North Sinfonia – The Sage Gateshead (Hall 1) bought on a whim this gig made me smile from start to finish, Efterklang’s Piramida album played with the backing of a full orchestra was just awe inspiring. The support was John Grant which says a lot about the quality of this gig.

.....And The Biggest Disappointments

Dr John I have seen him many times and sadly he this will be my last, a little bit tired to many band solo’s left me looking at my watch hoping it would finish.

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins they admitted they were badly hungover and it showed.

Grizzly Bear not for the gig (it was great) their on line comments afterwards ended up with my tweets on the NME website but let’s not get into that again....

My Year In Gigs Part 2 July - December

The second half of the year started with Eels at Newcastle Academy. Another first for me and they didn’t disappoint. They looked the part, suited booted and wearing shades and cooked up a storm. A stunning version of Sly and The Family Stones Hot Fun In The Summertime seemed perfect for a balmy July evening.

The following night I was across the river Tyne to see Bright Eyes at The Sage Gateshead. They were supported by Jenny & Johnny who with Sleepingdog might just take the award for the best support act of 2011. Bright Eyes or Conor Oberst were brilliant, I was expecting a dark couple of hours what I got was a gut really confident in his own abilities playing with the crowd and pushing the band to the limit. Amazing and unexpected.

So then on to my Birthday. Part of the Americana Festival at The Sage Gateshead Lyle Lovett was booked to play on the 24^th July. I say booked to play as I have had tickets to see Lovett twice before and both times he has cancelled so I wasn’t building my hopes up. Well he did turn up this time and I’m glad he did. Although billed as an acoustic show he still brought an 8 piece band and made my wish he hadn’t cancelled the other 2 shows, cool and confident he delivered a great set, and stories in between songs that just made you want the night to go on and on.

Next up were The Low Anthem and my second visit to Gateshead Old Town Hall. They didn’t come on until 10pm and only played for an hour but want we did get was wonderful. Some very old instruments and an amazing trick with 2 mobile phones made this a great night. I the pub beforehand I was commenting on some weirdly dressed guys having a meal next to us. I realised when the band came on that weird looking bunch were actually the band!!

Next up was my first of 2 trips to Edinburgh, this time to see The National. The Corn Exchange is a nice sized venue and I had been excited about seeing The National for the first time. A great crowd were delivered a great performance from the band, which are at the moment on top of their game. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks played without any microphones was amazing and a moment when the singer put his head through the ceiling had to be seen to be understood! 

Back on home ground to see David Ford opened my account for September. My third fail of the year as I have seen Ford on a number of times before. He never disappoints and assisted by Velvet Hands Arnold and Piss Whisky 1 hour 40 minutes skipped by. A class act live.

Next up in September is a new venue in Newcastle for me The Hoochie Coochie Bar. I luxury bar that appears to be trying to make a name for itself bringing in 80’s soul artists (think Omar, Brand New Heavies etc) Although most of the artists are not to my taste, Skip McDonald caught my eye. Skip played guitar most of the Grand Master Flash huge hits of the 80’s but I know him as the main man behind Little Axe a amazing Blues Fusion band, mixing blues with drum beats loops and elements on dup to make an amazing sound, so the opportunity to see this guy up close and personal cannot be missed.....or so I thought! Playing on his own with a loop he played just over an hour of rambling songs that didn’t seem to have much structure and at points even made up. There were some beautiful moments of clarity which hinted of what might have been but overall it was a disappointment.

My 4^th and final fail of the year as I turned up to see Danny and The Champions of The World. I have lost track of how many times I have seen Danny Wilson (the man behind The Champs) whether with Grand Drive, solo or with The Champs and he never fails to deliver. With a full band he rattled through most of the new Hearts and Arrows album and still held the audience in the palm of his hand. Danny wears his influences of Springsteen and Tom Petty on his sleeve and fans of these artists could do worse than look Danny and The champs up.

October turned out to be a busy month starting with Bombay Bicycle Club at Newcastle Academy. 3 albums in this band grow and grow. They arrived with a confident air and delivered a high energy set culled from all 3 albums. No Leaving Blues which was a disappointment to me, but to be honest it wouldn’t have fitted into tonight set. This band are on the ascendancy and will be playing much bigger venues than this very soon.

The next night I turned up at The Cluny 2 to see one of my favourite artists Karima Francis if you follow me on Twitter you’ll know how much I like this girl, she has an amazing voice that deserves to be heard by a bigger audience. Although I have seen Karima before it was part of a festival so I don’t count this as a fail. We were treated to an amazing night in a tiny venue (maybe a 100 people) where most of the audience knew most of the words. A proud moment came prior to the last song of the night when Karima asked whether I was at the gig, and thanked me for all the promotion I do for her on Twitter! Never had a shout out at a gig before!

So 4 nights later I turned up at Newcastle Riverside (another new venue for me) to see Benjamin Francis Leftwich, I was expecting a lot as the media had made a massive fuss about BFL so I was somewhat disappointed to get 40 minutes of lukewarm songs and a fairly poor cover of Springsteen’s Highway Patrolman. The crowd went mad which amazed me but could only make me think how fickle the music industry is after seeing Karima a few days before a far better artist who so few people know about.

So on to maybe my most anticipated gig of the year. Bon Iver in Edinburgh. The venue Usher Hall was amazing and although our seats were virtually on the ceiling (I kid you not) the gig was simply amazing. The audience was incredible the performance was spellbinding. There were some amazing moments and the ovation the band they got at the end had to been seen to be believed. Awesome.

So my last gig of October and I head Newcastle City Hall for what will be my most emotional gig of the year. Glen Campbell is touring for the final time as he is now suffering with Alziemers so I couldn’t miss the last opportunity to hear Wichita Lineman sung by the man who made it famous. The support Instant People who are made up of 3 of Campbell’s siblings were brilliant and then acted as Glen’s band. I can’t pretend that this will go down as one of Campbell’s best live performances but nobody was complaining. At times he was a little confused and his guitar playing was painful at times but Galveston, Southern Nights, Rhinestone Cowboy and the wonderful Wichita Lineman were dispatched beautifully and the material from the new album Ghost On The Canvas proved that Campbell still has something to offer. A special night.

November started with Lanterns On The Lake a North East band on the rise. A sold out Sage (Hall 2) were treat to an amazing performance as their debut album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home in its entirety. Stand out tracks for me If I’ve Been Unkind and Kingdom were spellbinding. Watch out for these guys in 2012 it could be their year.

I was really looking forward to seeing Turin Brakes a band I have loved since The Optimist album but have never bothered to see live, so it’s with a deep sign that I say something was missing from this gig. Maybe it was me as others that were there really enjoyed it. There was something missing for me, the band seemed to rattle through The Optimist Album (yes it was one of those tours) and then returned for an encore of other ‘hits’. An ok gig nothing wrong with it but not what I was hoping for.

December opened with a trip to Manchester to see Swedish shoe gazers I Break Horses, a meet up with Twitter buddies, Phil, Kirstan and Justine made this trip all the sweeter. The gig was great (at The Soup Kitchen) for a band that seemed confident and assured even though their debut album has just been released.

So my last gig of the year Aloe Blacc at Newcastle Academy, it started badly for me when in noticed that Aloe would be coming to the merch desk after the gig (this is a good thing) however it would cost £10 for a photo and an autograph! The support was a young Australian girl dancing to the music of a DJ, poor doesn’t describe this. So I was needing Aloe to pull this night back with a greatest performance and unfortunately it didn’t happen. The band tried too hard and really were not that tight and the whole thing just didn’t work for me. I left early before he had even sang I Need A Dollar and my final gig of the year was over.....

Aloe Blacc should have been my last gig of the year I had a ticket to see Malcolm Middleton but sadly forgot so missed it.

My Year In Gigs......The First Six Months.

My intention this year was to only see bands I haven’t seen before over the next few paragraphs you’ll see how well I have managed to keep up to that promise.....

Smoke Fairies my year in gigs started with a total unknown band, recommended as one to watch by Classic Rock I wandered along to the Sage Gateshead and paid £9 to see two girls take the stage that looked like they were playing the end of term 6^th form prom. When they started playing I was blown away. A bit like a gothic Clannad these girls have a style unlike anything I have heard before and can play their guitars with style. I was fortunate enough to see Smoke Fairies again at Evolution Festival in May and they delivered again. Watch out for them

Band of Horses were up next and impressed no end even though it was the first gig of the tour. Americana at its best with tight vocals. A great use of film show as a backdrop showed that these guys really know to put on a live show.

Teddy Thompson closed off January, in truth I wanted to see the support who was David Ford and going to see Teddy meant I didn’t break my promise so early in the year. Ford delivered an amazing solo set, and then played guitar for Teddy (a double bonus). Thompson was OK but his style is a bit all over the place, but I went home happy.

February started for me with The Hold Steady, a band I have wanted to see for ages.  I have full on man flu and nearly didn’t go. I did go and the Hold Steady did what they do best, bar room rock delivered on a mass scale and I’m sure they were brilliant, but all I could think of was when would the gig finish so I could take a Lemsip and go to sleep!!

Mogwai blew me away, Hall 1 of The Sage Gateshead was built for classical music but Mogwai’s wall of sound was equally impressive. 5 guys you wouldn’t recognise walking down the street made a noise like no other. Quite stunning.

Elbow were my first fail of the year. I was due to see Iron and Wine (a new band for me) but decided I couldn’t not see Elbow and the wonderful Guy Garvey. In truth I think I should have stayed with my first choice. Elbow were great and showed that you can make an arena seem small, but the set list was nigh on totally from the last 2 albums and they didn’t play Newborn, which is my favourite Elbow track. Don’t get me wrong Elbow were great but I wished I had gone to the Iron and Wine gig.

John Grant was the main man behind a band I loved The Czars who should have ruled the world, but broke up unknown penniless and with major addictions. John Grant is now receiving the success he deserves after releasing his wonderful album The Queen of Denmark. His live show was incredible. Backed only by another piano player Grant stripped his songs to the core, playing most of his latest album and a few tracks from is Czars back catalogue to an audience desperate for more.

My last gig in March was Rumer and what a gig it was. I can safely say it was the worst gig I have ever had the misfortune of going to. I bought the tickets on the back of all the hype around Rumer, talk of Dusty Springfield and Karen Carpenter encouraged me to buy the album, but when I heard the album I wasn't so sure. I hoped that the dull CD would be delivered with passion and vigour that would make the gig great but boy was I wrong. Dull audience, dull band, they looked like they were asleep and in Rumer a front person with no personality. If I could have left I would have a real dirge of a gig!

April was quiet but John Waite finished the month off nicely. Famous for 80’s soft rock hit Missing You, Waite has made a very successful career out of delivering classic melodic rock music and I was hopeful for a slice of this and I wasn’t disappointed. The Cluny is a great small venue in Newcastle that must hold about 200 maximum. As I walked in a familiar face passed me on the way to the toilets, I could place the face so just took my spot in the crowd. The band arrived on stage and my familiar face was playing guitar but why did I know him? I placed him just before John Waite introduced him Kyle Cook, guitarist with Matchbox 20. How if you don’t know, M20 are a huge band used to playing to 10,000+ crowds. To see him playing in such a small venue was amazing and shows that it’s not all about the money. Waite was brilliant an old hand with all the moves. A great night.

Wild Beasts took me to my first new venue of the year, Gateshead Old Town Hall, they were picking venues they thought were beautiful buildings and they weren’t wrong. The band promoting their third album Smother gave a professional and confident performance. The band remind me of The Associates at times and say they are heavily influenced by Talk Talk all of this is music to my ears and I think Smother will be high on all the music magazines Albums of The Year.

Up next James Vincent McMorrow and a sold at gig at The Cluny 2. A singer songwriter from Ireland McMorrow armed only with a guitar and a cup full of red wine, he held the audience in the palm of his hand whilst running through most of the material on his debut magazine and a few carefully picked covers. McMorrow could easily be new singer songwriter of choice for every Tesco’s shopper he is that good. Watch this space.

May continued on with Sufjan Stevens I narrowly missed seeing Stevens in October in Seattle and was devastated to read the stunning reviews of his show, so I anticipated much and Stevens delivered that and so much more! 2 ½ hours on a cosmic journey as Stevens called it. This was simply one of the greatest gigs I have ever been to, space ships, angels wings and a encore of Chicago coupled with hundreds of balloons being set loose from the ceiling, left me leaving the gig with a smile from ear to ear and a belief I had witnessed a genius at work.

On to Low and a special mention to Sleepingdog although Low gave a good performance I was absolutely taken aback by Sleepingdog a duo fronted by Belgium Chantal Acda they make beautiful fragile, landscapes of music that everybody should know about. 

May ended with Evolution Festival a great 2 day festival held on Newcastle Quayside, each year, although the line up is more aimed at a younger audience I have to say Two Door Cinema Club surprised me with a tight energetic performance, I spent most of my time at the Third stage which is held in a big top tent. As Mentioned early Smoke Fairies were great, Karima Francis was adorable (if you don't know her music look her up) and at the recommendation of my Nephew and Niece I when to see Bellowhead who had the whole of the tent dancing and reminded me of The Pogues in their early days.

June and onto my second fail of the year as I went to see Ron Sexsmith its maybe 10 years since I had seen Sexsmith in a very small venue on Newcastle Quayside. At the time Sexsmith came across as a very humble man happy to me doing what he does, and although the size of the venue has grown 10 fold he still seems to have the same beliefs. The gig was good if not a little functional. I enjoyed it but suspect it will be another 10 years before I see him again.

Writing this I realise that May was an epic month and I suspect that it will be very to replicate that again either this year or any other year.  I have already seen a couple of gigs in July and have another 12 lined up so far between now and December, most are bands I haven’t seen before and I’m hoping that Bon Iver in Edinburgh may be my ‘Sufjan Stevens’ for the next 6 months. I have a couple of ‘fails’ already lined up but couldn’t go without seeing Danny and The Champions of The world and David Ford who are both amazing live performers.

When I can I take photographs at gigs, I only use a compact camera and don’t profess to being a photographer but if you want to have a look here is a link to my Flickr account.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/58452315@N08/