Mostly Autumn–Grand Opera House, 06/12/12

Photos included in this posting were taken by Marc McGarraghy, who is on a year long project to generate donations for MacMillan Cancer Support from his live music photography. More details can be found on his fundraising community Facebook Page.

Mostly Autumn’s Christmas gig at the Grand Opera House in York is turning into, it seems, the annual “Dad and daughter” gig as Elizabeth, showing great taste in music for one so young, decided to accompany me for the second time, even after falling asleep during the second half last year.

There seemed to be a few other regular attendees missing from the crowd, perhaps due to the fact that it was a Thursday. For the past few years there has been a kind of mini-Mostly Autumn festival in York, with the main gig taking place on a Friday or Saturday and other, related bands, booking gigs on the other day (and, once, on the Sunday afternoon as well), giving fans an excuse to spend the weekend in York. Stolen Earth did play a gig the next evening but, having the main event on Thursday would have meant an extra day off work for most travelling fans.

As last year, the gig started with the instrumental Distant Train, with just Bryan Josh (guitar and vocals), Iain Jennings (keyboards) and Anne-Marie Helder (keyboards and flute) on stage, slowly being joined by Andy Smith (bass), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Liam Davison (guitars). Eventually, lead-singer Olivia Sparnenn appeared - her black dress, both figure-hugging and diaphanous, and silver headband giving her an ethereal Galadriel-in-mourning look – and the band played Unquiet Tears and King Of The Valley, both from this year’s new album The Ghost Moon Orchestra, before diving into the back catalogue with Never The Rainbow and Evergreen, the latter which I unfortunately missed due to Elizabeth suddenly needing to, ahem, leave her seat for a while….

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Livvy Sparnenn

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We made it back in time to hear Bryan introduce The Last Climb which, as usual, featured a lovely flute solo from Anne-Marie. Next came a song which I think was Changing Fast, from the Weather For Poets bonus CD that came with the special edition of the new album. The first set ended with Livvy’s own Questioning Eyes, a very personal song which she dedicated to her sister for a recent “special” birthday.

The second half started with The Dark Before The Dawn, from The Last Bright Light (my personal favourite MA album) before heading back to the latest release with Drops Of The Sun. Two songs from Go Well Diamond Heart – Deep In Borrowdale and the brilliant Ice – bookended a superb version of Passengers, then it was back to the new album again with Wild Eyed Skies. Gavin made a brief (and extremely rare) excursion from behind his drum kit for a nice new, more acoustic arrangement of Pure White Light, during which he sat on and played an old speaker. The Last Bright Light was followed by  two of Bryan’s personal songs - Heroes Never Die, written about his father and new song Tonight, about his uncle – both prompted by loss but both about celebrating life.

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Bryan Josh and Andy Smith

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After a brief exchange at the start of the encore with a woman in the audience who was trying to encourage the rest of us to stand up (I’m not sure whether she had drunk too much but she was trying to suggest that people shouldn’t act “old” at gigs and, while Bryan agreed, he explained that the next song was laid back and they would only have to sit down again when it started….) we were treated to Top Of The World, which does indeed start in a laid back manner but also included the best instrumental section of the night. Then, as is traditional at this gig, Christmas hats and covers of festive songs made an appearance and the crowd finally did take to their feet. Livvy reappeared on stage in a much shorter white dress (and, thigh-length shiny red boots) to sing I Believe In Father Christmas before the band launched into Fairytale Of New York which saw them joined on stage by Heather Findlay (a surprise to me as I had spotted her in the audience during the break but, sitting further forward than her, hadn’t seen her leave her seat) for a cheekily impassioned performance during which she and Livvy shared the female vocals sections. Finally, Liam, took over vocal duties for Merry Christmas Everybody.

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Heather Findlay and Livvy Sparnenn

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This was the fifth time I had seen Mostly Autumn at the Grand Opera House and it is by far the best. Livvy is now completely assured both on stage and with her vocals. Songs such as Changing Fast, with it’s harder, rockier chorus, show that she can match Bryan for power and, especially during Ice, her smile simply lit up the stage. There seemed to be less banter this time around, both from Livvy and Bryan (although the latter did still give us his spiel about Christmas during the encore) but that didn’t detract from the feeling that this annual hometown gig holds a special place in the band’s collective heart. Hearing the songs from the new album mixed in with older material drives home just how much heavier and rockier some of them are compared to the older stuff, especially as performed live – Drops Of The Sun, for example, bereft of Troy Donockley’s Uillleann pipes, opens instead with rubbed guitar strings over almost doom-laden keyboards. Tonight’s light show was spectacular, its vivid and vibrant colours providing a superb backdrop and easily the best I’ve seen at this venue. One thing I have come to realise is that music is a very visual experience for me. By that I mean that I can pick out individual performances more easily if I can see the individual performer. Tonight was the first time I have been seated so as to be able to see Anne-Marie clearly at her keyboards and this meant that I was more easily able to pick out and appreciate her backing vocal sections. She was particularly impressive during Questioning Eyes.

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Heather, Bryan and Livvy

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One thing that does annoy me at MA gigs is that I always seem to get seated near to somebody who, at some point, will come out with a snide comment. Not loud enough to be classed as heckling, but clearly audible to those sitting around them. Tonight, as Bryan introduced Heroes Never Die, one person behind me quipped, “Get over it, Bryan.” While I, personally, find that bordering disrespectful, given why the song was written and what it means to Bryan, I also find it strange that there seems to be a section of the fanbase who don’t like it. I freely admit that it is one of my favourite MA songs and would no sooner want them to drop it from the set as I would, for example, want Led Zeppelin to drop Stairway To Heaven, Deep Purple Smoke On The Water or Lynyrd Skynyrd Freebird. Thankfully, as usual, the song was followed by extended applause from the audience.

Oh, yes, and Elizabeth managed to stay awake for the whole gig this year.

Autumn in York

Saturday 19th November: I sometimes get the feeling that Mostly Autumn’s annual Christmas concert at the Grand Opera House is a sort of “comfort” gig for both the band and the audience. For most of the former, it’s a hometown appearance, with an audience which seems to consist largely of long-term fans and more than a few friends (and family). For the audience, or at least some of those who review the gigs (and who, collectively, travel hundreds of miles to see the band at various venues), there almost seems to be a lack of expectation – not that they will put up with any old dross (and not that they would get that) but that, somehow, the band can be forgiven if the performance isn’t quite up to the standard of other gigs on the tour. From a personal point of view, I only ever see them play York so can’t compare the performances, but for the last few years the gigs, with their Christmas song finales, have formed an integral part of my festive season. Oh, and it’s one of the few gigs I go to that is completely seated so, arguments about the merits of seated gigs over standing ones notwithstanding, that makes it a bit more comfortable as well.

This year, I had offered Elizabeth – my nine-year-old daughter – the option of coming along to what was to be her first full-length gig (beating my record by about six years) and, being a girl of varied and, for the most part, very good musical taste, she readily accepted.

With no studio album to promote this year (although the new live album – Still Beautiful 2011, which contains much of the set from tonight, taken from a performance earlier in the year – was promoted quite heavily) the set list had been tinkered with to present a sort of “best of” tour using material from the full thirteen year history of the band.

The set opened with the ambient instrumental Distant Train before launching into Answer The Question, which gave us our first taste of Livvy’s vocals. Last year I commented that I thought she had yet to hit her stride in the live performance. This time around she was, for the most part, quite simply stunning. Vocally stronger and looking a lot more relaxed – “She’s having a good time, “ pointed out Elizabeth as she watch Livvy smiling and dancing around the stage – as well as throwing the odd quip Bryan’s way and appearing a lot more comfortable (there’s that word again) with the audience, she seemed to own the stage a lot more than last year. Evergreen followed, again showing how much improved Livvy’s vocals were but also highlighting the incredible job Anne-Marie Helder does as backing vocalist. The more macho Deep In Borrowdale and Something Better, with Bryan taking over lead vocals, changed the tone of the set for a while but the former still showcased Livvy towards the end. Then it was back to Livvy for an impassioned rendition of Passengers. (I realise that I seem to be going overboard on Livvy’s vocals, but that’s an indication of, to me anyway, how much she had improved since the last time I saw her perform.) The set continued with the brilliant Ice, my personal favourite from the last album, which gave Iain Jennings, on the keyboards, a chance to shine then moved on to The Last Climb, which saw Anne-Marie front and centre for a lovely flute solo. Questioning Eyes, previously a Breathing Space song and a very personal one for Livvy provided a powerful end to the first half of the evening.

By this time, it was obvious that Elizabeth was flagging a bit, despite it being nowhere near her normal Saturday evening bedtime. An ice cream was a reward for her being dragged along to the merchandise stall so that I could pick up a copy of the latest album and she promised that she would try to stay awake for the second half, which started with Fading Colours and continued with Caught In A Fold, The Dark Before The Dawn and Nowhere To Hide. Then Bryan announced Spirits Of Autumn Past, before leaving the stage to allow the band’s unsung hero, Liam Davison to open the track with a wonderfully varied guitar piece, alternating between crashing power and delicate intricacy. “You should buy his album, it’s incredible,” extolled Bryan as he returned to the stage for the main part of the track. I have and I agree, it is. The somewhat overblown Go Well Diamond Heart followed and, once again, the dedication to our fighting forces was greeted with applause. Half The Mountain was followed by Hold The Sun and by now Elizabeth was actually nodding off – twitching at any loud bits of songs and waking up to applaud what she had only heard in dreams. I’m fairly certain that her sleepiness was nothing to do with the performance, which was superb. The set drew to a close with The Last Bright Light, Forever Young, which again brought forth a powerful performance from Livvy, and And When The War Is Over…

I managed to rouse Elizabeth for the encore which began with the band’s anthemic Heroes Never Die. Livvy, with just Iain on keyboards, then performed a beautiful version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow before the whole band donned red cowboy hats for the traditional Christmas ending, this year trimmed to just one song – I Believe In Father Christmas – due to the earliness of the gig. “We couldn’t get a gig here in December due to the pantomines,” complained Bryan.

I started by saying that I felt that expectations are never that high for this gig. Whatever the audience expected this year, they were treated to the best Grand Opera House performance that this relatively new fan has seen. (This was my fourth such gig.) The set was brilliantly put together, containing old and new favourites and a nicely varied mix of songs and the band not only played superbly but looked as though they were having a good time. Everything seemed to gel and the interaction with the audience – whether it was Bryan’s delightfully rambling stories behind the songs or Livvy’s more succinct introductions – was spot on. Add tonight to the blisteringly good performance from Heather Findlay last night and you get one of the best Mostly mini-festivals that I can remember.

And, thankfully, Elizabeth tells me that she enjoyed it as well, despite missing out on getting Bryan’s hat by just two people.

Mostly New

Saturday 4th December: ...and it's time for the now annual trip to see Mostly Autumn at York's Grand Opera House. Much has already been said, by better writers and critics than me, about the line-up change resulting from Heather Findlay's departure from the band and with Go Well Diamond Heart marking a return to form for one of my favourite bands I was really looking forward to tonight's gig. Overall, I have to say that it lived up to expectations. However, some of the following may seem a little controversial.

The first set started with an instrumental introduction while album covers and photos of band members, past and present, were projected onto a screen above the stage. I think I can understand why this was done - the message seemed to be that the band were experiencing both a departure and a new start and that this was a new chapter in their history - but, at around fifteen minutes long, it did start to overstay its welcome just a little and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when the band finally took to the stage and started playing Deep In Borrowdale, the rocker from the new album. What followed was a mix of songs both old and new, including two from the second disc of the special edition of Diamond Heart (The Sound Of The World and the superb Ice) and the live staple Spirits of Autumn Past. I had a vague feeling that this set was a bit more Bryan-centric than previous times when I had seen the band and this seemed to be confirmed by watching the That Night In Leamington DVD the next day. (Although it is possible that the Leamington gig, given its significance as Heather's swansong with the band, was more tailored to her and that I just have a bad memory.) Livvy only really seemed to really front Passengers and Questioning Eyes, a personal song that she has brought with her from Breathing Space. One highlight of the set was a guitar solo from Liam, used to introduce one of the songs (I forget which - there's that bad memory again) and give most of the rest of the band a few minutes off stage. This solo seemed a little more intricate than those of Bryan and if it is the sort of thing that can be found on Liam's recent solo album I will definitely be seeking out a copy.

After a short break the band returned to the stage and started the second set with Fading Colours then continued with most of the remaining songs from the standard release of Diamond Heart, including the lyrically challenged Something Better, For All We Shared and the title track, during which some effective light effects were added to the sounds of war to provide a somewhat harrowing backdrop to the song. Back To Life showed that Livvy has, indeed, got a superb voice and was the best song she performed all night. In fact, she seemed to almost be finding her voice so far into the evening as this was followed by Slow Down (from Bryan's solo album, Through These Eyes) for which she provided some stunning backing vocals and, shortly afterwards, she performed Evergreen very well. As usual, the main set ended with Bryan's dedication to his father, Heroes Never Die but the band soon returned for an encore which included Forever Young and the brilliantly performed When The War Is Over, before regaling us with the usual Christmas songs and, from Livvy, an unaccompanied version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

As usual, it's a treat to see arguably one of York's biggest bands perform in their hometown. I'm never sure of the Opera House as a venue but maybe that will be put right when York's Barbican opens again next year. I couldn't help thinking, though, that this year there was just a little something missing. Livvy isn't bad. In fact there's very little wrong with her performance except that she doesn't seem to have the vocal power that Heather had (something I think I've also mentioned when reviewing Breathing Space). One thing that did strike me was that, when Heather sang, I never really noticed Livvy or Anne-Marie's backing vocals but, when Livvy was singing tonight, it was easy to pick out Anne-Marie. It might just be a matter of time or it might be that the sound mix and, indeed, set list is being tweaked to make up for the new singer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pining for Heather to come back - Livvy isn't Heather and there will, inevitably, be a change in the band dynamic - but I certainly can't agree with the person sitting somewhere nearby who, when Bryan jokingly said, "some of you will have noticed that Heather isn't with us tonight" was heard to mutter, "thank f*** for that."

A Mostly Pleasant Autumn Evening

Saturday 5th December: ...and, as bands continue to morph into other bands, the Mostly Autumn themed mini-festival continues as three of us (again not the usual three, although the usual three for this particular gig) make our way through the damp evening to York's Grand Opera House for the Mostlies themselves.

In the case of this gig, we more or less knew what to expect. But there was to be a couple of surprises. After getting my lost (probably thrown away) ticket reprinted by the lovely "Rocky K" in the box office, we decided to head directly to our seats as there wasn't long to go until the advertised 8pm start. As we had our tickets (including my nice shiny new one) checked, we could hear the strains of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall coming from the auditorium. Good choice of music and, if last year was anything to go by, just a recording being played to entertain those who took to their seats early. So, imagine our surprise when we got through the door and found a duet on stage, belting the song out (errm, somewhat incorrectly due to a couple of technical issues, but they admitted to that). There was a man on guitar and a woman on bass and, technical issues aside, they played well. I'm not sure what the second song was - it sounded like a Floyd song but not one I recognised. I've tried to Google the lyrics I can remember but only come up with something by Stephen Stills and I don't think it was that one. At the end of their set, they did announce their name but, being honest, not very clearly and none of us caught it. It was a shame, really, that there was no notification of any sort of support act as we would probably have made a bit of an effort to get their earlier. (Late edit, a combination of posts on the Mostly Autumn forum reveal that the duet was The Secrets, the lady was original MA singer Heidi Widdop and that they would be on stage from 19:15...)

Then, to what I assume is a standard entry, Mostly Autumn took to the stage. Five of the line-up had been seen as part of at least one of the acts we had seen the previous night. (Chris Johnson joined some of them on stage for one song later on, making a total of six crossover artists.) It's a little hard to add anything to the review I posted last year. This is the annual Christmas show for York so is probably a little different to other gigs throughout the year.

With the Mostlies, you pretty much know what you are going to get. The ladies will look stunning, the playing will be superb and Heather's voice will be clear and emotive. With no studio album release in 2009, there was no new material to showcase so, for the most part, the two-part set contained the staples from their back catalogue. In fact, there was quite a crossover between the songs performed last year and the ones performed tonight. There were differences (or my memory is failing me) between the two years but I couldn't accurately document them. The first set almost matched the track listing on Live 2009, part 1, although Shrinking Violet was in the set but not on the CD.

The second set started with the ladies (including Heidi from The Secrets) and Chris Johnson performing Silent Night, a cappella - the first of tonight's seasonal songs. I don't think any of us could remember all the songs performed after this if we tried but it was less like the track listing on Live 2009, part 2 than the first set was to part 1. Nonetheless, it included the staples and missed some favourites out.

It's the encore when the Christmas part of the show takes off properly, with versions of the likes of Faerytale Of New York and Merry Christmas Everybody performed while Heather, in the slinkiest "Santa" dress you are ever likely to see, runs around trying to put Christmas hats on the rest of the band. (Strangely, Iain Jennings' red woolly hat made him look more like Bennie from Crossroads than anything Christmas-linked...) Again, Heidi took to the stage to perform alongside Livvy on backing vocals and I think a heavily disguised Chris was playing guitar during the final song. Being a Christmas show (and, probably, being a Mostly Autumn show), there were humorous moments. There was also one rather large sombre moment. I'll come back to that later.

It's more or less impossible to comment on the band's performance. Anybody who knows them will know that they play and sing brilliantly, those that have never experienced them may well wonder how a ten-year-old band that they have never heard of could be that good. I've now seen them twice and thoroughly enjoyed both times. I'll almost certainly see them again and I'll almost certainly enjoy them as much next time. For me, at least, their music is that good. As an aside, I was missing one studio album, which I was planning to pick up that evening. Checking the web-site earlier in the day, I was a little dismayed to find that it was listed as "Temporarily out of stock". I still visited the merchandise table as there was other things I intended buying. There, on the table, was the CD I was looking for. In surprise and despite it having the title on the cover, I asked the guy behind the table, "Is that The Last Bright Light?" "Yes," he replied, "it's the last The Last Bright Light." I snapped it up before anybody else did. How lucky???

Now, about sombre bit. And I apologise in advance if I offend anybody here but it's my blog and these are my opinions....

Quite early on, Bryan had announced that the band had a very special guest coming on later and towards the end of the second set and just before what turned out to be a rendition of Heroes Never Die, the band melted off the stage and were replaced, without any introduction by a man who started talking about Afghanistan and our forces out there. He introduced the special guest - 25 year old Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, recently announced Yorkshire Man of the Year for 2009. Ben suffered horrific injuries in Afghanistan and was joined on stage by his mother and commanding officer in a few minutes which couldn't help but tug at the heartstrings. There was talk of the conditions facing the forces in Afghanistan and details of the charity Help For Heroes, before Mrs Parkinson was presented with a large bouquet of flowers and Ben was presented with a framed Heroes Never Die t-shirt. We were informed that there would be collecting buckets for the charity as we left the gig and Bryan was asked to dedicate Heroes Never Die to a number of soldiers from Ben's regiment who had lost their lives in service to their country.

Now, I have no issues with most of that. I have supported the charity in a number of ways over the last few months. I'm not political and, despite knowing two people (one army, one RAF) who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq recently, my opinions are basically formed by BBC news reports. I support the fact that our troops are over there while thinking, with my limited knowledge, that there are probably ways that things that could be made better for them. I sympathise with the injured and the families of those who have not returned. I had absolutely no problem showing my support for Ben and his colleagues with the rest of the audience and would almost certainly have dropped some cash into a bucket if I had simply seen it on the way out. I also understand that music is a powerful tool for raising awareness of charitable issues.

However, I also believe that there's a way of doing these things. If you went to Live Aid, you had no right not to expect to be preached at by Bob Geldof. Unfortunately, this felt a bit like hijacking a Christmas show by one of my favourite bands to get a message across, especially since there seemed to be no link between the band and the introduction-less man, except that he had sent his brother two MA CDs while was posted over there. I still put cash in the bucket and I still have all the same feelings I listed above, I'm just a little disappointed in the way it was done.

Anyway, enough soapbox ranting (and apologies again for any offence caused). Overall, this was an excellent gig and continued what is turning out to be a very good weekend.

White Men Can Play The Blues

Friday 22nd May: ...and in attempt to counter the disappointment of not being at Wembley on Sunday I'm taking a punt with two artistes who are unknown to me, although one does come highly recommended (by both Roj and my highly-knowledgeable colleague Phil). We're also not at any of our usual venues - tonight it's York's Grand Opera House. In the Dress Circle. Seated. It's really warm and, to my embarrassment, I find myself nodding off a couple of times.

Tonight's support act is Ian Siegal, a British blues guitarist, with Andy Graham on bass and Nikolaj Bjerre on drums. If there's such a thing as traditional blues, Ian comes close to playing it, to the point that I originally thought he was American. The band's short set was a joy to listen to with some very original guitar-playing styles and an easy-going vocal style. I found it difficult to distinguish the lyrics but I think that was more down to the acoustics of the venue and unfamiliarity with the songs, rather than any deficiency on the part of the band. Bjerre's drumming was simple yet very effective - he's another proponent of the small drum-kit, a la Jan Akkermann's drummer from a few weeks ago - while Graham's style verged on humorous, with a touch of funk underlying some of the bass-lines.

The short support set was over all too quickly, but it was an almost perfect set-up for the main act.

That main act was one Johnny Winter, 65 year-old, Grammy nominated Texan Blues guitarist, and personal guitar-hero of fellow blogger, Roj. As I said, Mr Winter comes highly recommended and the more I hear of the blues, the more I like it, so tonight should be a winner.

The set starts with Johnny's band (Paul Nelson on guitar, Scott Spray on bass and Tony Beard on drums) on stage without the main man. After a short instrumental, Johnny shuffles onto stage, looking as frail as you are ever going to see a live act. He spends the entire set sitting on a chair, playing some kind of small, cut-down version of a guitar. (I'm no expert, but I'm assuming it's the dew-dropped shaped, headless Steinbeger, mentioned in this review which, being professional, is much better written than mine.) Apparently, it's not just his age, but the fact that he damaged a hip while escaping a house fire a decade ago.

Anyway, while he may not be the most dynamic act I've ever seen, his voice is superb (like dark chocolate running over velvet when he speaks, which isn't that often). Again, I struggled a bit with the lyrics and, not being familiar with Winter's history or (being honest) a lot of his musical roots, I failed to spot some of the more famous tracks. Winter plays a combination of blues, rock and rock-and-roll (it's safe to say that I'm not a huge fan of the latter) and plays then well. I have to admit, I found the small guitar to sound a bit strident and preferred it when Winter swapped to a more traditional instrument (a Firebird, I think) for the encore - it had a much cleaner sound. His was a no-nonsense performance - he introduced each song, counted it in and performed it, letting his fingers doing the talking.

From some of the shouts coming from the audience, there appeared to be some long-time fans at the gig. I suspect, but can't be sure, that at least some of them would think that Winter was now past his best. From my point of view, as a "newbie", he was an excellent performer, although possibly not up the standard of the recommendations I was given. Maybe it's the case that legends have to grow, rather than being discovered. I think overall, I preferred Ian Siegal, although I wouldn't think twice if given the opportunity to see either act again.

At the end of the gig, warm, slightly drowsy and in need of liquid sustenance, we headed off to the Roman Bath where the lasers, muscle-shirts and rocks covers of Storm, were in evidence. We've seen these before and they, more or less, perform the same sort of covers as most bands we see at the Bath, but they are pretty good and, although in a different class to the main gig, were a good enough way to finish off the evening.

A Mostly Impressive Gig

Friday 28th November: I still find it difficult to believe that, until just over a year ago, I hadn't heard of Mostly Autumn. York-based, prog-rock (with more than a hint of folk), eleven years old, extremely talented and, somehow, completely off my radar until I took a chance and went to the launch of Offerings by Odin Dragonfly.

Yet, in some ways, it's not that surprising. Despite a country(world?)-wide hardcore of truly dedicated fans, the Mostlies still come across as a small band that have somehow made it reasonably big. The band members are people you could pass in the street and not have an inkling that they were, at least in the minds of some people, rock gods. Being York people, you occasionally see them in local pubs (usually when music is involved) and, if you timed it right, you could probably bump into some of them in the supermarket. Their style of music isn't the most popular around and, unless you listen to the likes of Planet Rock, you aren't likely to hear them on the radio. Modern progressive rock seems to exists solely on the foundations of word of mouth and links on the internet.

However, since I discovered them, Mostly Autumn have become one of my favourite bands and though them I have come across a few similar outfits. Currently, Mostly Autumn (or, perhaps more specifically, Bryan and Heather) appear to be the music centre of a whirlpool of talent. Past and present members link the band to Panic Room, Breathing Space, Fish, Coverdale's Night, Odin Dragonfly and, probably, many more. Just following links from those bands can open up a world of exciting and interesting music.

When Mostly Autumn played their York gig last year, I missed it and went to see a Led Zeppelin tribute band instead. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the latter's performance and vowed that I would take the next opportunity to see the former. So, when tickets went on sale for tonight's gig at York's Grand Opera House, I bought mine almost straight away. Despite it being month's away, my anticipation was high.

Tonight's gig was the first after a four month break due to the birth of Heather's son in October. Heather herself looked radiant in a series of simple black and red dresses. The relatively small stage meant that, from where I was sitting, I could hardly see anything of Iain Jennings, only saw Anne-Marie Helder whenever she ventured from behind her keyboards to play flute or guitar or Livvy Sparnenn, who looked incredibly lonely so far back on the stage by herself. The rest of the band were fully visible, however, with Bryan and Heather front of stage (but who was that third microphone for?), Andy Smith alternating between pacing around like a caged tiger and retreating to his corner, Liam Davison rarely coming forward from his central position and Henry Bourne, of course, staying in place behind the drums.

The set itself contained about an even split of songs that I did know and ones that I didn't, although their were more from the latest album, Glass Shadows, than I had expected from reviews of other gigs. The vast majority of songs were excellent. My only complaint would be that the simple repetitive keyboards of Above The Blue was pretty much repeated a handful of songs later - once was just about bearable, the second time was bordering on monotonous. It should be said, though, that Heather's rendition of Above The Blue was absolutely superb. A lot of the band's songs are written, from the heart, as personal tributes or celebrations of life. Powerful songs that, in some ways, batter the audience on an emotional level (as Bryan himself pointed out). Heroes Never Die and Tearing At The Faerytale aren't the kind of songs you hear from "ordinary" bands and the audience loved them. A Different Sky is an entirely different type of song - the archetypal three-minute pop song - and was almost a breath of fresh air compared to some of the others. Songs such as Evergreen and The Spirit Of Autumn Past are typical of the style of the band and are personal favourites. There were (obviously) more but I either can't remember them or didn't know them.

Mostly Autumn are, without doubt, an ensemble band. Yes, Bryan is the heart and guitar of the band and Heather is the voice, but everybody has their part to play and, tonight, they did so admirably. Iain's keyboards soared, Anne-Marie's flute was used to great effect and the various guitarists were brilliant, while the backing vocals added just the right amount if variation to to the main ones. Towards the end of the show, the mystery of that third microphone was solved - Troy Donockley appeared on stage to perform a tune on the Uillean Pipes and continued to play for the remainder of the gig, providing accompaniment on the pipes, various whistles and guitar. The whole performance was highlighted with a much smaller and much less subtle, but no less effective, light-show than you would normally expect from a rock concert.

Despite it still being November, Christmas was an ongoing theme during the gig. The first half was ended with Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas, while the encore started with Heather singing Silent Night accompanied by former band-members Angela Gordon and Chris Johnson. Bryan then proceeded to tell us how the band see Christmas as a special time for family and friends before announcing that they were really going to "*&%$ing ram it down our throats..." What followed almost needed a bigger stage as the whole line-up ended the show with Fairytale Of New York and Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody, while wearing suitably festive headgear. At one point, Livvy was joined at the back by Heather, Angela and Anne-Marie - that's not a bad-looking backing vocals line-up in anybody's book.

Throughout the show the band appeared to be having fun on stage. At the end, the audience (finally) got to their feet and gave them resounding applause.

Forget Chinese Democracy being the most anticipated album of the year. Tonight's gig was my most anticipated of the year and it lived up to those expectations. To my mind, there isn't another band quite like Mostly Autumn. Conversely, Mostly Autumn are like quite a lot of other bands, but I don't mean that in any disparaging way whatsoever.