Don't Panic!

Friday 18th September: Tonight it's a trip to the Duchess for what was, for me, the most anticipated gig of the year so far, with headliners Panic Room having released my favourite album of last year. Before them, however, were two support bands that we hadn't seen before and knew very little about.

First on stage was Satori from York. Their set had begun when I arrived (after keeping Roj and his niece waiting outside for a short while due to a hole in the road on my trip in) and I think it's fair to say that they grabbed our attention right from the start. I'm sure that, at one point, vocalist Stewart King said that this was their first gig. Whether that was actually as Satori I'm not sure - the MySpace link above is tagged Stewart King and the album, called Satori, is released as Stewart King. (Maybe King's going the Iain Jennings, Breathing Space route...) Anyway, it was a very assured performance which included some varied songs, incorporating straight and melodic rock with a hint of blues influence. I don't think there was a duff song in the set and King's vocals, helped by a dose of reverb, came across as clearly as any I've heard at the Duchess.

Both Roj and I were so impressed with Satori that we splashed out the princely sum of £4 for a copy of the album. (Discussing limits of what we would pay, prior to wandering over to the merchandise area, we had settled on £10 - they really were that good). Satori, the album, is currently the soundtrack to this posting and, despite being a very quiet production is almost as good as the live set. Containing mostly songs that we heard tonight, it highlights the variety which was on show. Highlights for me are Embodiment Of Fire (which really reminds me of something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it), Nothing Can Grow Here, (the sublime) Runaway and If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going. The band line-up on the album is different to the band that played tonight, with King himself apparently playing the majority of instruments, P. G. Branton (tonight's drummer) playing on just four of the eight tracks and Paul Teasdale (Amberstone, Breathing Space) playing bass on S.A.R.

This was an excellent start to the evening and the album is definitely worth checking out (I know I can bang on about this at times but these small, unsigned, local artists often need all the support they can get and can you really go wrong for £4?)

Next on stage were Harrogate rockers Kasiuss and they upped both the energy noise levels. Satori may have set tonight's bar but, for me, Kasiuss leaped over it. As, ever, I will point out that the rest of the group (we had now been joined by Andy), while liking Kasiuss, preferred Satori. Harder and heavier than the openers, but with some superb keyboard sounds occasionally rising through the crashing guitars, these guys had energy to spare and really seemed to enjoy playing. Unlike Satori, I had heard of Kasiuss before, but only because I knew that they had supported ZU2 a few weeks ago (and are scheduled to do so again in April). A couple of people mentioned a potential Muse influence but I'm a bit behind when it comes to listening to them, so can't comment myself. Sadly, there is no recorded material available at the moment, but they are apparently going to be producing something soon - something else to add to my wish list.

And so, looking like elder statesmen of rock compared to the support bands, Panic Room took to the stage. Would they be worth the wait? One of the things I was worried about was whether the band would be able to reproduce the mix of styles and influences prevalent on debut release Visionary Position. I needn't have been. Although the set list was quite heavily biased towards the second, as yet unreleased album Satellite, the tracks that they did play from VP included some of my favourites - Apocalypstick, full of Eastern Promise, and seemingly Terminator inspired Elektra City are both epic tracks and, while the latter was a shortened version lacking the free-form jazz piano ending, both were played brilliantly. Indeed, the new tracks showed that Satellite will have as much, if not more, diversity. There's more science fiction in Dark Star, I Am A Cat sees Anne-Marie Helder at her most provocative and encore song Satellite featured some superb guitar work from Paul Davies. An added bonus was Blood Red Sky, from Anne-Marie's solo E.P. The Contact. The tracks above aren't the full set list - just the ones I can remember. My only gripe - where was the brilliant Firefly???

For all the power of Panic Room's music, this was a very quiet performance. There was little movement on stage, with the band seeming just to get on with the job of playing their music. Only Anne-Marie put on a true performance, gesticulating during vocals and moving about stage when not playing guitar (including a twelve-string for the encore). In some ways this almost seemed to put her in the limelight, with the rest of the guys being just her backing band. That's a shame as they are incredibly talented musicians. I'm sure that it's not an intentional impression and that they are aware of it - after all, it's a bit difficult for Gavin (drums) and Jon (keyboards) to move around stage a lot - but maybe Alun (bass) and especially Paul (guitars) should come out of the shadows a bit more.

In spite of that, though, this gig met and exceeded my expectations and my anticipation was justified. Panic Room are as good live as they are recorded and we were lucky to have support bands of the calibre of tonight (bands that could easily headline any normal Friday at the Duchess).

Musical Purchases

Thursday 17th September: What's this? A mid-week posting? Yes, I have realised that I've been a bit lax in blogging this year. Unless I've been to a gig, I've not had much to say and little time to say it in. So, I thought I would share my thoughts on some recent CD purchases. For the most part, these won't be reviews (partly because I haven't actually listened to some of them yet) but a bit of a ramble around my reasons for buying. So, in no particular order...

First up is Architect Of This Church, first release by Hope & Social (although they have released albums under their previous name of Four Day Hombre). If you want it to be, this could be bargain of the year - the album is available for download for just 1p or as a physical CD for just £2.95 from here. You can pay more if you feel so inclined and, as these guys are one of my favourite and one of the most entertaining live acts around, I decided to pay £5 for the CD. Most of the songs are familiar from recent live shows and, therefore, the album was almost instantly accessible to me. The opening track, Living A Lie, does sound a bit like a cross between Coldplay and the Kaiser Chiefs and I think I have referred to the overall Coldplay similarities when reviewing H&S gigs but that isn't to say that they don't have their own identity. This is a cracking album, recorded in the crypt of a church and highlights include King Of Spain, San Francisco, Looking For Answers and the sing-along song from live performances, this time performed with a full choir (the title escapes me...) These guys are brilliant performers and really deserve supporting. Go on, click the link above and buy the album - for those prices, you really can't lose.

Next up is Porcupine Tree's latest offering, The Incident. This was a bit of a shot in the dark for me but, potentially, another bargain. I generally say that prog rock is my favourite genre of music but I have recently come to realise that I'm basing that statement on a very narrow knowledge of both the music and what bands actually perform it. The Prog specials put out by Classic Rock magazine are opening my eyes to a whole slew of new (and old) bands and this is one of them.

As the opening (and title) track of this album ended up at fifty-five minutes in length, the album itself ended up as a double CD and, with a handy little pre-order code, I managed to get it for just £6.95. It arrived just yesterday and I have had a chance to half-listen to the first CD. It's probably my preconceptions but I have to say that it's not what immediately springs to mind when I think of prog, although that may be that my ideas are still mired in the past Golden Age of the genre. On first pass, this album sounds like a cross between the prog metal musical offerings of the likes of Dream Theater (although I've only heard one track by them) and the vocals of lighter prog. It's almost as thought Steve Wilson's vocals are too light for the music, but it seems to work. This one needs listening to properly and when I get the chance I suspect it will be a grower.

Bruce Springsteen is another of my favourite live acts, but from a different era - when I still bothered to see big bands in stadium concerts. Working On A Dream is his latest studio album, released with very little fanfare, early this year and, in past times, would have been an instant purchase for me. However, I haven't been that impressed with his recent albums as they seem, to me, to lack the punch of his mid-80's to early-90's albums. Consequently, I waited until I could pick this one up cheaply. Today it was in one of HMV's 2 for £10 offers. I've not heard any of this one yet and, being honest, I'm not sure I'm that excited about it. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells is, almost certainly, his most famous album and now over thirty-five years old. This is the 2000 remastered release. I've been aware of this album since I was at school and, while I know I have heard bits of it, I don't think I've ever heard it all the way through. Again, though, it has been covered in the Classic Rock Prog specials and is probably one of those albums that should be in most (if not all) collections. Being in the 2 for £10 offer gave me the perfect excuse to add it to mine and I am looking forward to hearing this one.

Somehow, Thunder have completely bypassed me - despite being British, playing heavy metal/rock and being around for about twenty years (although just disbanded). I have, however, seen their drummer, Gary "Harry" James perform live with Breathing Space at the Night For Heroes gig and fellow blogger and gigger (bligger?) Roj raves about them having brought his daughters up on a semi-strict diet of their music. (Apparently there were tears after the disbanding announcement. His daughters were a bit upset as well...) Anyway, still in HMV's offers section, I could pass on an opportunity to purchase The Very Best Of Thunder, a 3CD set of hits, B-sides, classic album tracks and live favourites. I'm guessing I'm going to like this one.

Queen were always one of my favourite groups. There's no denying that Freddie Mercury had a fantastic voice and that Queen as a whole produced some of the best and most varied music out there. I was lucky enough to be offered tickets for what turned out to be their final tour and the Wembley gig was my first experience with stadium gigs.

I've not heard any of the material that "Queen" (Brian May and Roger Taylor) released with Paul Rodgers but I heard good things about the live shows. The Cosmos Rocks will probably end up being the last album to feature new music by "Queen" and I can't help think that I'm going to be at least a bit disappointed when I listen to it. But, being a bit of a completist (although most of my Queen material stuff is on vinyl and I don't have a record player...) and at just £3 I'm willing to take that risk.

Finally, and the soundtrack to this posting, comes The Last Waltz by The Band, and another confession that I'm a bit musically ignorant.

We used to see a band called Hazzard County a lot. They were a blues/rock/country covers band and experts Roj and Andy used to play "spot the original artists" whenever we saw them play. They used to perform a few songs by The Band, all of which I liked and I kept thinking that I should add some of their stuff to my collection. However, every time I saw a CD I put it back as I couldn't see Bob Dylan in the line-up and assumed it was another band called, errm, The Band. Today, I picked up this CD saw that one of the tracks was Up On Crickle Creek - one of my favourites from Hazzard gigs - so I bought it. On closer inspection, and with guidance from another fan at work, I finally realised that Dylan wasn't actually a full member...

The Last Waltz was a live performance by The Band in 1976 and was billed as the end of their touring career. Filmed by Martin Scorcese (oh great, something else I've go to track down...) it is seen as one of the best concert films and features guest appearances from just about everybody who was anybody at that time - Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and many more (including Dylan).

The second CD is just about halfway through as I type this and, it turns out, Up At Crickle Creek is the only song I have recognised from the Hazzard gigs. There are other songs I recognise, including a version of Who Do You Love and the whole thing is superb.

So there you go, a run-down of my some recent purchases. A fairly eclectic mix, I think you'll agree.

Close to the Gates of Delirium

Saturday 12th September: When it comes to playing 70's prog-rock, I tend to dig into my CD collection and pull out some Genesis or Pink Floyd. I have a handful of Yes albums but, despite Close to the Edge being one of my favourites of all time, they don't seem to get played as much. Thinking about it, I find that strange. Yes are, after all, quintessentially prog with twenty minute songs often with symphonic structures, sometimes bizarre changes of timing, cathedral-like keyboards and incomprehensible lyrics sung with multi-layered vocals. I like them but, for some unfathomable reason, I hardly ever play them.

Like most bands from that era, the chances of seeing them live are slim and the chances of seeing a classic line-up are slimmer still. Arguably, if you saw the current line-up of Yes, you could be mistaken for thinking that you were watching a tribute band with Rick Wakeman's son playing keyboards and Canadian Benoit David, recruited from tribute band Close to the Edge, standing in for an ill Jon Anderson.

Tonight, however, it was the gigging B-team attending the Duchess for Seyes, a less well-known tribute band from the North West of England. To be honest, it's a good job we decided to go, as our attendance may just have pushed the audience over twenty-five people.

Seyes consist of Phil Bernia (vocals), Tim Locklear (guitars), Tim Rothwell (drums), Pete Greenwood (bass and vocals) and Chris Bradshaw (keyboards and vocals) and they had an impressive amount of equipment dotted around the stage. I counted eleven different guitars, including one slide and one double-necked twelve-and-six string. Despite the vast array of equipment, however, they were perhaps the most uncomfortable-looking band on stage, with Bernia looking decidedly nervous and Locklear at one point looking as though he had only just remembered that he should be playing a different guitar at that time. Being fair, Greenwood looked to be very composed and seemed to be conducting the rest of the band whilst playing some excellent bass.

For me, one of the best aspects of Yes was always Jon Anderson's somewhat unique voice and Bernia, despite his apparent nerves, managed to reproduce his tones pretty well. Was he aided electronically? I don't know (and I'm not sure I care). With Greenwood and Bradshaw sharing backing vocals, the multi-layered effects were reproduced superbly. Locklear was more than adept on the guitars while Bradshaw's keyboards included the soaring church organ sounds that make Yes tracks somewhat unique. Nestled away at the back of the stage, behind the biggest drum kit I think I've seen at the Duchess, Rothwell drummed his heart out, sometimes managing to hit so hard that you felt the vibrations.

While being a tribute to a band that produced such complex music may not be the easiest thing to do, one upside may be that you don't actually have to learn too many songs. Tonight's performance lasted just under two hours (including encore) and consisted of just nine songs. I didn't recognise the first song (and couldn't remember any lyrics to look it up when I got home) but the rest of the set consisted of I've Seen All The Good People, Close To The Edge, And You And I, Siberian Khatru (Yep, the whole of the CttE Album), Gates Of Delirium (celebrating Relayer's 35th anniversary), Heart Of The Sunrise, Roundabout and Starship Trooper.

I may not have been the most knowledgeable Yes fan in the very small audience but I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Having only ever heard studio recordings, I can't say whether the band reproduced the live sound accurately but I did hear one other audience member remark to his wife that their rendition of Close To The Edge was not a bad effort. Certainly by the time they started playing it they seemed to have lost a little bit of the nerves. The Starship Trooper encore was superb and seemed to include and extended instrumental section that showed just how good these musicians really are. It may have been that I knew most of the songs but, after what seemed to be a poor start, the sound seemed to be mixed as well as you can get at the Duchess, with all the instruments being heard individually and Bernia's vocal being very clear.

This was an assured performance of some incredibly complex music which, being honest, deserved a much larger audience. In some ways I hope that the lack of attendance was simply due to this being a tribute as, in my opinion, Yes's music is equally as enjoyable as that of the other giants of 70's prog. Now, if only I could remember to play the CDs more often.

Simon Says...

Friday 28th August: It's the weekend of the Leeds and Reading festivals and, with so much musical talent on show just twenty miles away who does the group plump to go see?

(Well, being honest, one self-confessed Little Boots fan hasn't been seen for a few days so he may well be camped out in a muddy West Yorkshire field...)

The rest of us, however, look through the slim pickings of the What's On listings for York and decide to forgo the overblown festival performances and take a chance on Simon Snaize at the Punchbowl. At least, that was the plan - regular readers may remember that any deviation from one of our norms usually ends in some sort of disaster. The full plan called for Roj to call in and checks out the talent on show at another venue and to let the rest of us know by text if that was a better option. Things started to go wrong for me when, halfway between bus-stop and Punchbowl, I realised that I hadn't picked my phone up and seemed to be taking a turn for the worse on arrival at the Punchbowl, slightly later than I anticipated to see that Dave Keegan was down as playing there and there wasn't a Roj or Andy in site.

(Just to point out that I'm not saying Dave Keegan wouldn't be worth seeing just that if you expecting one act and get another, it can thrown plans a little awry.)

So, thinking I may have missed the all important text, I bought myself a drink and settled down to see if the others turned up. It turned out that Simon and Dave were playing as a duet that night so, when the music started, I shuffled through into the performance area to at least catch the beginning of the act before deciding whether to move on. A few minutes later I was relieved to be joined by Roj, who confirmed that this was the best option and that he had texted Andy to let him know. So, where was Andy???

That question was answered a few minutes later when Roj received a phone call from Andy who was standing outside the Punchbowl, wondering where we were. For those of you unfamiliar with York's various watering holes, it's worth pointing out that there are two Punchbowls in the city centre, roughly at opposite ends. Andy joined us after a brisk walk through the evening air and arrived with a bit of a thirst. I love it when a plan comes together.

So, what about the (other) entertainment? Simon and Dave are both past members of Hazzard County, a covers band we used to see regularly after gigs at Fibbers. Now, however, they play acoustic guitars and perform a mixture of similarly styled covers from their Hazzard days and their own songs. Tonight covers included Woody Guthrie's California Stars (a Hazzard favourite) and songs by various New Zealand singer songwriters (apologies for being so vague but I also forgot to pick up pen and paper...). At least some of the original songs will, presumably, be on their forthcoming album. There was also a song based on a poem be Henry Longfellow but I can't remember whether it was a cover or an original.

They play together superbly and harmonise their vocals beautifully and tonight's set was totally live, with no electronic aid. At one point Roj and I found ourselves wondering where the violin track was coming from before realising that Dave's guitar had some sort of built-in effects doohickey. Whatever it was it sounded great and had us fooled for a few minutes.

During a break in their set we were treated to three songs by one of the audience (obviously it was planned - not just some bloke who got up and decided to sing). If his name was ever thrown, I'm afraid I didn't catch it. He explained that the first song was inspired by the Fleet Foxes and, it has to be said, it did sound a bit similar. But then, so did the other two. He was OK, but needed a bit more volume in my opinion.

Quite early in the evening, I overheard one audience member saying something along the lines of, "forget the crap that's on X-Factor, this is real talent." I can't help but agree. Overall, this was a pleasantly entertaining, if slightly less than musically memorable, evening.