Deborah Bonham–The Duchess, 26/04/13

If there’s one thing that tonight’s gig, along with another recent one, has taught me it’s that siblings (or other relations) of more famous musicians don’t necessarily pull in an audience.

When we arrived at the Duchess tonight Scream Arena were already on stage – start times seem to be getting earlier – and we only caught the last three songs of their set. The first opened with a heavy bass and drum but soon morphed into something sounding more like Led Zeppelin, while Forever and Knave Of Hearts each seemed to increase the “rock” sound. Each song was punctuated by guitar solos from, I think, Alex Mullings who also provided some nice backing vocals, along with drummer Mario Bennison, over Andy Paul’s at time impressively ear-splitting screamed vocals. I’ve seen this band a couple of time before but not for over two years and, although I recognised the name, I didn’t recognise them. Looking back at past reviews, it seems that they were growing on me and, while three songs perhaps isn’t quite enough to form a full opinion, there was nothing in tonight’s performance to suggest that they won’t continue to do so. I’m hoping it won’t be two more years before I see them again. At least three brought along a few of their own fans, without whom the place would have been very empty.

Steve Rodgers is the son of Paul (formerly of Free, Bad Company and, in my opinion, an ill-advised attempt to keep the Queen brand live) and, in terms of looks, you can tell. A carpet had been laid out after Scream Arena had left the stage and Rodgers performed the vast majority of his set seated on a chair in the middle of it, with a single glitter lamp adding to the slight “hippy” feel of the layout. After his first song, Freedom, Rodgers introduced his backing band and, making light of the rather sparse audience, asked, “who are you?” The ballad 100 Times was followed by The River, which showcased an apparent spiritual side as Rodgers introduced it as about “the river of life”. The song itself has a nice, almost gentle, rhythm throughout the first section before it suddenly gets livelier. A switch to electric guitar gave Runaway Train a more Bluesy sound, after which Rodgers continued to engage with the audience, asking what was worth seeing in York. Strangely, nobody seemed to be able to recommend anything. Sticking with the electric, Rodgers changed to a finger-picking style of playing for the next song which, with his drummer on shaker and tom-tom and minimal bass showcased his distinctive vocals and, once again, built beautifully. It was back to acoustic for the next song – the first of two that were introduced as “this is called…” before the title was mumbled away from the microphone. Rodgers had a relaxed style and an easy rapport with the, to him, near-invisible audience. After a couple of slower, gentler songs, the next was faster and vocally, with it’s repeated lyric “went down to the river”, had a slightly Gospel sound, while Sunshine had a sort of Indian feel to it, reminiscent of sitar and tantric chanting and, again, giving the act a hippy air. The final song of the set saw Rodgers finally standing up and singing acapella, with more Gospel style vocals and all three musicians clapping along to the rhythm. Rodgers’ easy-going style and strong vocals and the variances in terms of music style, made his set enjoyable but, for me, there was nothing stand-out enough for me to buy the CD that was on sale tonight. Having said that, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing him again.

I have a reasonably vivid (for me) memory of when I first came across Deborah Bonham. It was 1985 in the sadly-missed Red Rhino Records in York and the sleeve of her debut album, For You And The Moon, leapt out at me in a combination of attractive young woman on the sleeve and a surname that just had to mean she was related to Led Zeppelin’s John. This was, of course, before the days of the internet and, even after buying (and enjoying) the album, it was many years before I found out that she was, in fact, his younger sister. Despite not having played the album for an even longer time (I haven’t had the means to play vinyl for years) her name stayed on my radar and I was disappointed when an advertised support slot at The Duchess last year was soon cancelled. Tonight she was headlining the same venue, her first ever performance in York, and there was little that was going to keep me away. Sadly, there didn’t seem to be the same attraction for many locals and, while the audience had by now swelled slightly, there was still room for some of its members to move chairs up to the stage barrier.

At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that Ms Bonham is a British, albeit taller, version of Stevie Nicks – the faux-medieval style dress (long and comprised of crushed velvet with flouncy sleeves), the long blonde hair, the bare feet (hence, presumably, the carpet). Once she starts performing, however, there is a big difference. Bonham’s style is Blues-based rock (and nearly a world away from the more mainstream debut album), which shouldn’t have surprised me given the number of times Chantel McGregor has mentioned performing with her at Blues festivals. After a short, rocky opener, she took time to acknowledge the audience, seemingly not phased by the lack of numbers. She seemed quite happy that people had turned out at all and certain that there would be more next time she played York. Since For You And The Moon Bonham has only released three albums, the latest, Spirit, so far only available on this tour. Feel So Alive, from it, and Jack Past 8 from her last album, the appropriately titled (for tonight, anyway) Duchess saw Bonham energetically dancing around the carpet, arms waving and apparently directing her drummer. Pretty Thing was dedicated to a member of the audience who had sent Bonham a card and some wine then there was a change in tone, with I Need Love not only slowing the pace but being much more soulful and emotional both on terms of the vocals and Bonham’s physical performance. It also included a great bass line from Ian Rowley, one of the most chilled out bass players I have come across, playing perhaps the most beautiful bass guitar I have ever seen. Rowley moved to mandolin for Fly, another track from the new album and it was during this song that I noticed that Bonham’s necklace was in the three-circle shape of her brother’s Led Zeppelin sigil. Spirit In Me saw the instrument “musical chairs” continue, with keyboard player Gerald Louis briefly moving to acoustic guitar, while Painbirds saw him back on keyboards which were both more prominent and haunting. Bonham was clearly enjoying herself, flashing wide smiles (and sipping whisky) between songs, frequently reaffirming her gratitude that we had made the effort to come out to see her and explaining the background to some of the tracks. Take Me Down was written years ago but the full version, featured on Spirit, was so liked by the band that they decided to release it as a single, with a video and were excited and pleased to find out that it was number one in Reverbnation’s rock chart, despite feeling that it had more of a country style and by her own admission, not actually knowing what being number one on Reverbnation meant. Grace saw another change in style, this time to a more heavy Blues sound and it became noticeable that Bonham wasn’t afraid to back off to allow band members room to showcase their solos. The brilliant No Angel was a return to the more soulful vocals, this time over Blues music – it was both mellow and passionate somehow mixed into one with Bonham kneeling and pulling the microphone stand down towards her one minute then standing and stamping the rhythm as her vocals got more powerful towards the end of the song. Duchess was the only song that could be said to reinforce the Stevie Nicks image, heavily featuring Louis’s keyboards and powerful drumming while Devil’s In New Orleans was more upbeat and catchy, almost poppy, with Bonham, on tambourine, and those of the band who were free to move about making full use of the stage area. The almost raucous ending of that song was counterpointed by the final song of the set. The Old Hyde, named after the farm she grew up on, was written for lost family members, to celebrate their lives. “C’mon Bonzo,” came a shout from the audience as the keyboard-drenched opening led into powerfully emotional vocals. This truly was a song to lose yourself in and you could almost have heard a pin drop as Bonham, eyes closed, swayed along to a short, subtle guitar interlude. The mood was lifted once again with the encore with the drummer recreating John Bonham’s most famous introduction as the band launched into Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll, a fitting tribute performed with unrestrained vocals.

The small crowd proved to be a slight bonus at the end of the night. After a few minutes, Bonham came out to sign CDs for anybody who wanted her to, greeting each person with a hug and taking time to chat with them properly, her only complaint being the lack of light near the merchandise table. A brilliant performance from a true professional and thoroughly nice lady, I hope that she does return to York and that, if she does, more people make the effort to see her.

Scream And Panic

Saturday 18th September: These days, if there's a band that I like playing York it doesn't matter if any of the gang are going to see them. If I've got nothing else on, I'll go on my own. Tonight, it's the third visit to our city by Panic Room and nothing was going to stop me keeping my 100% attendance record.

First support came from Scream Arena, another band I'd seen before. Tonight they were a lot less flamboyantly dressed than last time and gave the impression that they weren't trying as hard to project an almost archetypal image of a rock band. Yes, vocalist Andy Paul still looks like a singing Slash, but those of the rest of the band who were, last time out, rather flamboyantly dressed had toned down their appearance this time. Musically, pounding drums and crashing chords were mixed with some intricate solos and sometimes ear-piercing vocals to produce some pretty good heavy metal, which I enjoyed more this time than I did last. Admittedly, the lyrics were hard to make out most of the time, but that's not unusual with live music. In this case, the vocals somehow seemed to be clearer when Paul was backed by other band members. The first time I reviewed the band, I wasn't that impressed. This time, I found myself liking them more. Maybe familiarity, in this case, breeds enjoyment. House of Pain remains the standout song, but the rest of the set wasn't half bad.

Chris Johnson has more than one link to Panic Room and associated acts so it was, perhaps, no great surprise to see him on stage tonight. A talented musician, song-writer and singer, past member of Mostly Autumn and current guiding force behind Parade, Chris generally performs solo with an acoustic, albeit effects-aided, guitar and tonight was no exception. He played songs from his solo career (Luckiest Man Alive), from Parade (the wonderful Dogs and Come Alive) and one he wrote with Mostly Autumn (Science And Machinery, which appeared on the special edition of the Heart Full Of Sky album - sadly not the version I own). All were played with energy, a clear voice and a seeming reluctance to make eye contact with the audience. Not that that matters - this was another good set from one of York's most multi-dimensional artistes.

Since the last time I saw Panic Room, they have had a slight line-up change. Bass-player Alun Vaughan has left the band to pursue other bass related activities and has been replaced by Yatim Halimi, and, it has to be said, I don't think I've ever seen any string member of the rhythm section enjoy himself as much as Yatim did tonight. Dancing, singing backing vocals and jumping around stage, all the time wearing an ear to ear grin, he was fantastic and much more "front of stage" than Alun ever was. That's not a criticism of Alun, just an indication of how different the two performers are.

This being the Satellite Tour, much of tonight's set-list came from the band's second album. But mixed in with the likes of Freedom To Breathe, Yasuni, Dark Star were a sample of songs from Visionary Position. Anne-Marie Helder performed Elektra City superbly, using hand gestures and subtle changes in head position to accentuate the "technological" side of the song, while Reborn and Apokalypstick were welcome returns. There was a small part of the set where the vocals seemed to go a little muddy and, indeed, Anne-Marie herself sounded just a little hoarse for a while in the middle. Given the amount of effort she puts into her vocals, however, that's perhaps no surprise. I have to say that The Fall was, for me, spoiled a little by the vocal effects used during it, but that was a minor blip.

Panic Room recently recorded a song for a CD to be given away with an issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine. In celebration of the reunion of Emerson, Lake and Palmer at this year's High Voltage festival, a number of modern prog bands were asked to record cover versions of ELP songs and Panic Room chose Bitches Crystal. Sadly, legal matters mean that the CD has yet to see the light of day (and may never do so if I read a comment in the latest issue correctly) but the band have decided to add their song to the current set-list. I'm not at all familiar with the original, but tonight's version was brilliant. Like most PR songs, it was atmospheric and bordering on epic, with key parts for all the musicians and great vocals.

As usual, the musicianship was astonishing, with Paul Davies' guitar-playing being, at times, nothing short of astonishing. Unlike some prog rock bands, there's no over-reliance on keyboards - Jonathan's playing adds dimension to the songs without being intrusive - and Gavin's drums were, as ever superb. Yatim even managed to provide a small bass solo during the encore of Satellite, without resorting to playing funk as some bass players are wont to do. Panic Room are one of my favourite bands and seem to get better every time I see them.

Screaming In The Arena

Friday 19th March: First up tonight was a quick dash into taown after work to see my daughter and her schoolmates, along with children from three other schools, sing in York Minster. I have to say I was very impressed. The children, all aged around seven and eight, performed something in the region of fifteen songs (each school had one song to themselves and the rest were joint efforts) the vast majority of which were in foreign languages. It went some way to explain why Elizabeth had been walking around the house singing gibberish for the last few months. The whole thing seemed to go off without a hitch and everybody involved deserves masses of plaudits for the amount of effort that went into the event.

Then, after a quick tea with Elizabeth and Debbie, normal musical service was resumed with a trip to the Duchess for something a littlebit louder.

First up tonight was Scream Arena, a full on heavy metal band from the York area. I've not come across these before and lead singer Andy announced that this was their first gig of 2010, after a somewhat radical change in line-up. Everything about this band is big - big lads, with (for the most part) big hair and a very big sound. The fact that they were laying in front of tonight's lead act's equipment made them look like they were filling the Duchess's stage. Unfortunately we had, for some reason, decided to stand at the back and this made the vocals and, indeed, the music a bit indistinct which, possibly, gave me the impression that this band were more style than substance. The fact that some of the members seemed to have gone out of their way to dress like some of the more fanciful characters from metal was also a bit distracting from the act itself. The only song that stood out for me at the time was set ender House Of Pain, with incredible druming from Stix. Nothing else in the set really grabbed me and they are, perhaps, just the wrong side of too heavy for my tastes. (That said, I'm typing this while listening to the tracks available on MySpace and quite enjoying what I'm hearing - it's a lot more melodic than I remember tonight's set being.) I don't think I'd be first in line to see Scream Arena headline a gig but, on the flip-side, their being a support act wouldn't put me off. Scream Arena are currently recording their debut album and an E.P. is already available. It's entirely possible that more familiarity with their output could change my mind about their live act.

I have to admit that I was feeling a bit nervous as Morpheus Rising took to the stage. This would be the third time I had seen them perform (which surprised me - I thought it was more) but the first time that Roj had managed to catch them. I was afraid that I'd done too much of a job of bigging them up and that Roj, who I would say has similar musical tastes to me but much wider appreciation and knowledge, would be disappointed. We had moved slightly further forward for this set and familiarity of the music certainly helped in this case - I recognised most of the songs from previous outings gigs, although I did have to check whether the last two were new as they didn't ring any bells with me. It turns out they weren't and that it was possibly just the better sound in the Duchess made them sound different. (Alternatively, my memory is finally failing me...) There was a moment of slight panic when I realised that Andy Smith wasn't playing bass - given some of the recent musical news around York, I was hoping that another band weren't going through a line-up change. However, it turned out that Andy was at Cheltenham for the races and Stealer's Andy Gooby was just filling in. Not that I noticed any difference, you understand. The full, although too short, set was made up of Save The Day, Brave New World, the soon-to-be-classic Fighting Man, Lord Of The North, Gypsy King and, my favourite of the night, Hold On. It's getting harder to find things to say about this band (particularly as I know that at least one member reads this blog regularly) but suffice to say that, as usual, the music was superb and the vocals were a lot better than the last gig down the road. An excellent set from an excellent band who I hope will be around for some time to come.

(Did Roj like them? Suffice to say, he was checking his pockets to see whether he could afford an album. Unfortunately, the debut has yet to be recorded. Come on guys - get a shift on...)

Headlining tonight were Gun, appearing in York for the second time in nine months and promoting their new mini-album (EP by any other name?) Popkiller and with a new drummer, Paul McManus. I saw them at the previous gig and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite not knowing any of their output. To this day I can't say for certain whether I remember them performing Word Up or the original version by Cameo. If Morpheus Rising weren't quite as heavy as Scream Arena, Gun continue the trend downwards - more rock than heavy. They are masters at what they do, though and have the audience (which seemed to mainly consist of hardened fans who knew all the back catalogue) fully engaged in the bands performances - arms were waving, hands clapping and lyrics being sung back at the band with gusto. Again, not too many of the songs rang bells with me but the new stuff sounded good - I particularly liked Seraphina and Let Your Hair Down (something I can no longer do, sadly...). Toby Jepson's vocals were clear enough that you could hear the lyrics even if you didn't already know them and the songs are catchy enough to dance (bounce?) along to. It may not be metal, but Gun certainly rocked the Duchess tonight.