Stolen Earth–The Duchess, 16/06/12

“I’m glad there’s a crush barrier,” said Nick Hall as he and Michelle Plum (formerly of Chumbawamba) took to the stage as Plumhall. I assume he was referring to the, at the time, disappointingly small crowd, rather than a worry that those leaning against the barrier might try to storm the stage, but you never know. Joined tonight by Charlie Daykin on keyboards, Plumhall played an entertaining mix of acoustic songs with nice harmonies both vocally and from their guitars, with the keyboards augmenting the sound superbly. They were also one of the most engaging support bands we’ve seen, entertaining the audience not just with their music but with between song banter – starting a competition to find out who had travelled furthest to get to tonight’s gig, as well as inviting us to come up ideas for their back-up plan of “dual tribute bands” (to which we added Barry Whitesnake and Guns and Rose Royce). The nine-song set was mostly original but also contained two covers – Silence Can Be Gold (Waking The Witch, another of Michelle’s previous bands) and Won’t Give In (The Finn Brothers). My favourites of the set were one that I didn’t catch the title of but which saw Michelle playing solo guitar with Nick providing backing vocals during the second half and Nick’s own, powerful (almost angry) Never Forget My Name, written during a recent visit to South Africa where he came across a museum of slavery. Plumhall next play York during the York 800 Mor Music Festival on 7th of July.

…and, finally, it’s here. The launch gig for Stolen Earth’s debut album – A Far Cry From Home – and, after, a number of support slots over the last few months, a chance to see them headline again on a bigger stage. In fact, one of the most noticeable things was the amount of room the band had given that they weren’t crammed in between other equipment, giving those not restricted by their own instruments more freedom to roam. Being the album launch, the band played every song from it (nearly in order, with just Tuscany Sun and Into The Virgin Snow being reversed), but opened with one track that didn’t make the album – I Live, if I recall correctly – and also included Clear, written by Paul Teasdale for Breathing Space’s last album. There was also the first performance of a new song, tonight performed without the rhythm section, with Adam on acoustic guitar and John providing some very subtle keyboards and vocals from Heidi and Adam, it came across as a little bit folky with a hint of Fleetwood Mac. Apparently it is a work in progress and may evolve into something more but, as it is now, it’s quite lovely.

The overall performance was as strong as ever. As usual both Adam and John played with a calmness that belies their skill, although John’s keyboards are still a little lost in the mix (it’s a pleasure to hear them properly on the album, which has been produced superbly and has a much cleaner and clearer sound than the live performances). Paul and Barry work hard as rhythm section – Paul, in particular, had a nice bass section, which I don’t remember hearing before, in the middle of the set-opener. Heidi’s vocals came across a lot better tonight (which might be down to me having heard the album a few times prior to the gig and, therefore, knowing the lyrics better) and she survived a head/microphone clash after a late grab for a floor-based plectrum with dignity and, apparently, confidence intact. The audience had swelled from the beginning of the evening as well and, it is perhaps testament to the band that some of that audience had travelled so far for this gig – I know from personal experience just what a trek it is from Norfolk and if it was true that one person had come up from Penzance then he has my admiration… Perhaps strangely for an album launch gig, the question of “who’s got the album?” from the stage was greeted with a near-universal affirmative. But, then it was funded by those who pre-ordered and, I would guess, a lot of the audience will have been hardcore fans, especially given that this was a hometown gig. Stolen Earth take to the road over the next few weeks, with a mini-tour taking in Hartlepool (last night, as I type), Norwich, Wakefield, Bilston and culminating in a performance on the main stage at the Cambridge Rock Festival. My guess is that they’ll pick up a number of new fans along the way.

May–A Round-up Part 2

Thursday 31st May: The second and final part of my round-up of May’s gigs, featuring slimmed-down reviews. For an explanation of the sudden (and hopefully, on my part anyway, temporary) change in format, see the last post.

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Saturday the 19th. My lift to tonight’s gig had had to change his plans, so it was either drive myself – which wasn’t really an option given that the gig was in a real ale pub – or cycle. Thankfully the weather held and, after a small amount of cajoling from one of the band, I made an almost last-minute decision to attend. It might have been the rush to get out that caused me to turn up at the wrong pub. It was only after I’d ordered a pint in the Fulford Arms, and noticed the poster advertising a different band to what I was expecting, that I realised that I should be at the Waggon And Horses and that I didn’t actually know where it was. Thankfully, the barmaid was able to give me directions (I’d practically cycled past it already…)

Dream Of Apollo were playing the Waggon’s regular Saturday night acoustic slot. It was a slightly smaller line-up than normal, with drummer Jamie missing and Rhys, newly returned from his Antipodean nuptials, playing the first acoustic bass that I remember seeing. It was, possibly, a bad night to attempt to play music in a pub, with a number of people watching the Champions League final in the main bar. (I had, I’m a little ashamed to say, already given the match more attention than I had given to David Breslin, who provided support tonight.) The band played in a smaller “room” to one side of the pub and, I’m told, that it would have been easier to hear them properly if I had been in the room itself, rather than standing in the doorway. Most of the songs, however, are familiar enough to me now that I don’t have to hear them fully, so I was able to keep half an eye on the football, which eventually finished during the band’s break, much to the delight of a portion of the attendees. Peppered among the familiar were a couple of new songs – All For You and Your Loving Arms – as well as a couple of songs I hadn’t heard for a while, including the wonderful blackly comedic Dead Pets. The band battled gamely against the football while it was still on - bringing to mind a previous evening when they played a pub gig while Andy Murray played tennis on the TV – before eventually being allowed to shine during the second half of their set.

The Waggon itself looks to be nice venue for acoustic music. Those that were there for the music were friendly, even if some of them appeared to be there more the atmosphere, spending more time talking about who else they had seen perform that week than actually listening. Again, I’m told I could have avoided that by going into the room itself. Unfortunately it is, perhaps, just a little too far off the beaten track to consider it as a regular venue.

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Thursday the 24th was the first evening this year when two gigs I fancied clashed. I decided to forego Girls With Guitars (the description sounds better than the name) at Fibbers and, instead, see another long-established prog group at the Duchess.

This being a band who started out in the seventies, it seemed almost inevitable that Stolen Earth would be supporting. With hands presumably still aching from signing two hundred copies of their debut CD, A Far Cry From Home, the night before the band took to what must have been an incredibly hot and sticky stage (the May heatwave was making the Duchess feel something akin to Hell) and, once again, seemed to hold the audience entranced. It might simply be that fans of the bands they are supporting “get” what Stolen Earth are doing musically but this band seem to get a much better reception from the off than most other supports. Tonight’s set had, again, been tweaked slightly from the previous time we saw them. Highlights included Soul In A Jar, with Adam teasing notes out of both acoustic and electric guitars, and Silver Skies, the sound for which was much better than at Fibbers a few days ago. From the third song onwards, just after she asked for more vocals in her monitor, Heidi’s vocals hit top form, with the lyrics coming across much more clearly. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting more familiar with the songs. As usual the set ended with the brilliant Perfect Wave, which got a near-rapturous response from the crowd, almost certainly due in no small part to the very Pink Floyd-like instrumental section.

I’m fairly certain that, many years ago, I had an album by Dutch proggers Focus on tape. If I remember rightly, a friend of mine had bought it, didn’t like it and gave it to me. It must be about thirty years ago, but that album was probably Moving Waves, containing the (in)famous yodelling track Hocus Pocus, and was probably my first dalliance with prog rock. From tonight’s crowd it seems that not only are Focus still a big draw but that their fans cover a wide spectrum – from the usual middle-aged beer-bellied men right through to more attractive, younger women who looked barely old enough to be drinking.

Taking to the stage to a kind of science-fictional choral opening, the band played an energetic, mostly instrumental set, although some compositions also featured founding member Thijs van Leer, now in his mid-sixties and apparently as mad as a box of frogs, on vocals, even if said vocals, for the most part, weren’t words. Yes, there was yodelling. For most of the set, van Leer sat behind a battered old Hammond organ, with “Focus” spelled out on it in black tape. Alternating between two microphones, depending on what effect he required, he played the organ and flute (occasionally at the same time) while frantically and wild-eyed conducting both the band and the audience. The rest of the band were all allowed their moments to shine – Menno Gootjes on guitar was incredible throughout, moving from studious calm to a finger-flying solo with ease, Bobby Jacobs performing the very best bass solo I have ever heard and, being a fan of good drumming, I was more than pleased that Pierre van der Linden performed two solos, a shorter one at the end of one song and a proper one towards the end of the set. Putting the set together from throughout the band’s history, including the forthcoming Focus 10, we were treated to an hour and a half of superb, if slightly quirky, music which, despite having its roots in the seventies, still sounds incredible today. As the band left the stage, the audience shouted for more but Van Leer himself returned to the stage to apologise that there was no time for an encore due to the venue having to get ready for a “pop-show” (he meant the following club night). Disappointment all round.

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And that’s it. May 2012, overall the busiest month I have had for local gigs (so far…) And there could have been more – apart from missing Girls With Guitars, I chose not to see Blackbeard’s Tea Party (supported by the incredible What The Cat Dragged In) and Only The Young (who some friends will be enjoying even as I write this) and missed Cryptic Age’s album launch due to having to work in Scotland that day.

As far as I know, I’m only going to three gigs in June, and each is separated from the next by at least a week. So, with a bit more free time, hopefully normal service will be resumed soon.

Planetary Curve

Wednesday 9th May: I don’t know whether the support slots that Stolen Earth have been playing recently – The Strawbs, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, Colin Blunstone and, tonight, Curved Air, all with roots in the 70’s and, in all but one case, with prog sensibilities – have been a conscious choice by the band, with a view to building a fan-base by playing to audiences who would be predisposed to their music. Whether it was or not, though, the reception they get every time means that it’s working. By the third song of tonight’s set people were taking notice, something that doesn’t always happen with support bands. I even heard one punter, standing just behind me, telling whoever he was with that he was “enjoying this already”.

The set had, once again, been tweaked. This time it included the gentler Soul In A Jar and Silver Skies, both of which see Heidi playing the low whistle, which we hadn’t heard since last year’s Christmas gig. I suspect the ever-changing set-list not only gives the band more chances to practice all their songs ahead of June’s album launch gig, but also aligns their output more to the headliners, increasing the chance of picking up new fans. Tonight’s sound was, mostly, the best we’ve heard since that Christmas gig. In my opinion, though, it needed to be a bit quieter during Silver Skies, a lovely emotional song which tonight suffered slightly from a bit of “booming”. Ending, as usual, with what is almost certainly going to be the band’s anthem (initially, at least), the superbly Floyd-ian Perfect Wave, we were treated to another short, in terms of number of songs if not in length, but highly enjoyable set. Apparently, there had been a few technical issues, which had been solved with the cooperation of the headliners, before the gig started. You couldn’t tell. It’s not long until the debut album – A Far Cry From Home – is released and I’m looking forward both to it dropping through my letterbox and to hearing the full set once again.

I understand, from a few friends just slightly older than me, that posters of Sonja Kristina adorned many a teenaged boy’s bedroom wall during the early 70s. I missed out on that pleasure by a few years, being just nine when the band split in 1976, and had only heard of Curved Air through word of mouth. A couple of years ago, after reforming in 2008, they were due to play York and I had a ticket – that gig was cancelled and I was told tonight (by the person who had the other one) that it was because only two tickets were sold. I don’t know how true that figure is, but there was a lot more sold for this gig and, as seems to be the norm for gigs by 70s bands, there was a more than reasonable crowd. Sonja, now in her sixties but still showing a hint of past glories even if she can’t lay claim to a youthful figure anymore, is joined by just one original member – the marvellously named drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa. Rounding out the rest of the band are Kit Morgan (guitar), Robert Norton (keyboards), Chris Harris (Bass and backing vocals) and Catweazle look-a-like Paul Sax (violin). 

It’s Sax who took the lead during a stirring instrumental track before Kristina entered stage left for an energetic, if slightly underwhelming vocal, performance of It Happened Today. This was followed by (I think) Young Mother which included a wonderfully dextrous keyboard solo in its middle section. Originally, Curved Air mixed prog rock with classical and folk influences, the latter being apparent in Melinda, with its gentler start and Kristina on acoustic guitar. The quieter sound allowed the vocals to come across much more clearly showing the Kristina still has a good voice as well as a formidable stage presence. Mixing the rockier with the slower, the set continued with Propositions, Screw and the lovely piano opening of Easy. It wasn’t until Hide And Seek, a much rockier number featuring a staccato drum-line, that we get the first noticeably guitar-led song, showing how much prominence the keyboards and violin have been given so far. This was followed by Midnight Wire which featured a range of guitar work from subtle to near-screaming and, finally, some good vocals during a louder song. Unfortunately, the sound seemed to be wandering at this point and The Purple Speed Queen suffered from the bass suddenly being too high. After his time in the spotlight, Morgan left the stage and Kristina once again took up the acoustic guitar for Elfin Boy, which was followed by Phantasmagoria (with Morgan back on) and the epic Marie Antoinette which showed exactly how powerful Kristina’s vocals could be (and proved to be my favourite song of the set). Everdance was followed by the only Curved Air track that resides in my CD collection (until tonight, that is), but this version of the band’s 1971 top ten hit, Back Street Luv, was more the album version than the one that I vaguely recognise. The set ended with Metamorphosis, with it’s near classical piano opening leading into crashing drums and a superb guitar solo, and then a continuation of the instrumental opener with some fast and furious violin playing from Sax. There was no encore but, after nearly and hour and three quarters of quality music, you could hardly complain.

A magazine review of another gig on this tour includes the quote “Curved Air’s music may not have aged as well as some of their contemporaries, but equally there’s no denying that they remain formidable live”. In hindsight, I’d have to say I agree. I walked away from tonight’s set having had my expectations of Curved Air exploded. With their much touted folk and classical influences, I expected something a little gentler or, perhaps, less rockier. I also expected the music to be slightly more dated than it sounded tonight. Having bought a two-CD retrospective and listened to some of it, I think that the originals sound more like what I was expecting. It seems that the live set has been spruced up and modernised slightly. While I like both, I know which I prefer.

After the gig, Kristina came to the merchandise table to sign purchases and chat to fans, meaning that I got to say a few words to a 70s icon. Be still my beating heart…

Ash ‘n’ Earth

Saturday 14th April: I nearly didn’t make it to tonight’s gig. While making my way home from that afternoon’s Leeds match I had my first ever car breakdown. Luckily, apparently due to some sort of premonition, I had taken out breakdown cover just that morning. Therefore, thanks to a quick response from the RAC (who didn’t know that I was planning to go out) and a lift from Andy (who did), I managed to get there with minutes to spare. Sadly, in the rush I forgot to pick up anything that I could use to take meaningful notes, so this review is more or less from memory.

Tonight’s support came from Stolen Earth - who are now just a matter of weeks away from releasing their debut album – whose set has been described to me as their “rockier” one. Short though it may have been, it certainly had enough content to allow most, if not all, the band members their time in the spotlight. The near improvisational opening to I Live and the always excellent swansong of Perfect Wave allow Adam Dawson to show off his superb guitar playing, with the latter also giving Paul Teasdale a chance to pluck his stuff during its bass-heavy opening. Bitterness Fades allows the keyboards of John Sykes a more prominent role in proceedings and the light relief of the opening to Tuscany Sun showcases Heidi Widdop’s acoustic guitar. All through the set Barry Cassell’s drums provide a solid background to the songs. It was almost certainly due to the slightly different set that, even though we had only seen the band perform a few weeks ago, tonight sounded completely fresh and even managed to surprise, with the almost space-rock mid-section of Unnatural Disaster being something that I don’t remember hearing before. Unfortunately, despite the usual high standard of music, Heidi’s vocals were a little swamped tonight, which slightly took the edge of the overall performance. Hopefully, the sound will be better-handled at the album launch gig in June as we already know that, in the right circumstances, this band can sound superb.

Wishbone Ash are one of the older prog-rock bands that I have only just come across. I only own one album by them – the much-admired Argus – and have only listened to it a couple of times. Martin Turner was a founding member of the band, playing bass and providing vocals for it for the first decade, before leaving in 1980. In 2004 he formed Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash as a touring band to perform classic material (although they have also re-recorded Argus as their sole studio album) and it is this incarnation that we are seeing tonight. Despite being in his mid-sixties, Turner is still energetic and, let’s say, slightly full of himself (in a good way) on stage and this was the most energetic performance of the “older” bands that we have seen recently. The set’s opening song, The King Will Come, was the only song that I at least vaguely recognised, despite two tracks from Argus (Warrior and Sometime World) being included. After the first song, Turner promised that the band – Dave Wagstaffe on drums and Ray Hatfield and Danny Wilson on guitars – would be playing us “some hippy music from the 70’s”, but we got so much more than that. In a varied and entertaining (although, I am informed, shorter than usual) set, we got a slice of old style folk (Lady Jane), something that could almost be described as jaunty (Sometime World), something much rockier (No Easy Road), a touch of the Blues (You Turned A Blind Eye) and even something more akin to melodic AOR (Living Proof). There was also a stunning instrumental section which, despite starting out in a more simple manner than most modern prog, managed to get more complex, louder and somehow bolder as it went along. This may be the closest I ever get to seeing the original Wishbone Ash, and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. As, apparently, did the musicians, especially the front-line who spent much of the set flashing smiles and pulling faces at the audience and even resorted to a bit of showboating during the final song of the encore. Definitely worth checking out if you like classic 70’s rock.

  

Zombie Invasion

Friday 10th February: I can’t think of many gigs I’ve been to in York where there has been a “Hollywood celebrity” in the audience…

Stolen Earth are seemingly on an ever-steeper upward curve. After a handful of gigs in 2011, a debut album is due in June, with a launch party planned at The Duchess on the 16th and a further few promotional dates, including a second appearance at the Cambridge Rock Festival, already announced. Before all that, though, they seem to be warming up by providing support for a number of bands/artistes who have their roots in the late 60s and early 70s, having already appeared with Roger Chapman (Family, Streetwalkers) and with upcoming gigs with Curved Air and Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash. Tonight saw them play a short but enthralling set of just four songs. This was the first time they have performed at The Duchess but the sound was superb, which bodes well for the album launch. Heidi’s vocals, still soulful, were somehow more silky and were showcased brilliantly during Tuscany Sun, while John’s keyboards were more prominent than I remember them from the previous two gigs but never swamped the overall sound. Given the wintery weather outside Into The Virgin Snow seemed a very appropriate choice of song and Perfect Wave appeared to be just that, with the song seemingly rolling out from the stage in, well, waves before Adam once again launched into his quite simply stunning guitar solo.

I freely admit that I’m not a big fab of 60’s pop music – too much of it sounds very similar to me (although, I have been chastised for saying so…) – and when Andy started getting a little excited that Colin Blunstone was going to be playing York, my first reaction was, “Who?”. I don’t think I would even have been able to come up with The Zombies if I had been asked to list bands from that era, but I did know She’s Not There, perhaps their most famous song. During tonight’s two-part set (with, it seemed, a rather long break) we were treated to songs from throughout Colin’s near fifty year career, included with the aforementioned She’s Not There were solo efforts I Don’t Believe In Miracles, Caroline Goodbye, Misty Roses and Time Of The Season. There was also Old And Wise, which he recorded with The Alan Parson Project and covers What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted, Tracks Of My Tears and On The Air Tonight. The sheer range of his career meant that I was entertained, rather than bored as I could have been if it was just sixties pop. Colin’s voice is still near crystal clear, especially between songs when he fired off entertaining and insightful snippets about most of the songs he performed and made light of his age and forgetfulness. While not exactly lively on stage (he is, after all, in his mid sixties, perhaps not quite as young as some of his publicity shots imply) he remains a strong vocal performer and is surrounded by a talented band – Pete Billington (whose varied keyboards were a highlight for me), Pat Illingworth (drums), Chris Childs (bass, also of The Union) and Tom Toomey (guitar, also a Zombie). This might not have been high on my list of gigs to attend this year, but it ended up being more entertaining than I expected.

…and the “Hollywood celebrity”? A certain David Gest was spotted. Apparently you can’t open a door in York without bumping into him at the moment.

A Bit Of Christmas Stollen

Saturday 17th December: It was, perhaps, a mark of how much Stolen Earth had impressed our seemingly increasingly disparate group of gig-goers when we saw them at the Post Office Club a few months ago that I was not only joined tonight by Roy, on a rare outing, but that Andy (who generally can’t commit more than a few days in advance) had also splashed out on tickets weeks ago. Add my wife to the mix and we had a reasonable turn-out.

Tonight’s gig had originally been advertised at Fibbers but, for various reasons, had later been moved to The Victoria Vaults, as smallish pub on the outskirts of York’s town centre. It was billed as an “intimate” gig but I wasn’t quite expecting how small the venue actually was. Even with Barry swapping full drum kit for a smaller, electronic version, the band took up about half the available floor space, with bass-player Paul tucked away behind one speaker stack and only John having more then enough room to move about in. (I guess that’s the advantage of playing keyboards – you get to build yourself a little fort in the corner.) The limited number of tickets available meant that the audience, while perhaps not having enough space to swing much more than a small cat, weren’t too squashed together, even if some of them were positioned away in little nooks and crannies around the bar. Having said that I did, once again, seem to get stood next to the one couple who were determined to talk very loudly during the performance, pausing in their chat only to politely applaud each song as it finished. Again, I ask, why buy a ticket???

It may have been a small venue, but it was a big performance. The set contained pretty much the same songs as the last time we saw them – I Live, Bitterness Fades, Mirror Mirror, Tuscany Sun, Unnatural Disaster, Soul In A Jar, My Lips Are Too Dry, Into the Virgin Snow, Silver Skies and Perfect Wave – but the sound was superb. So much so that I took time out to thank the soundman for a job well done. Each instrument was clear in the mix and both Heidi and Adam’s lead and Paul’s backing vocals came across superbly. Add to that a light show which never seemed to overwhelm, despite the amount of equipment on show giving the impression that it could have done, and we got one of the best pub performances that I can remember seeing.

Of course, being a Christmas gig, there were the obligatory Christmas songs and, towards the end of the set, Santa hats were donned as Heidi took as short break and the rest of the band performed I Believe In Father Christmas and Stop The Cavalry (with Barry’s facial expressions and near-comedy drumming during the latter providing no small amount of amusement). Heidi them returned for a brilliant rendition of A Spaceman Came Travelling.

There is a lot of variety in Stolen Earth’s songs, from the ethereal dual-acoustic, low whistle infused Soul In A Jar, through the atmospheric bottle-neck playing of Into The Virgin Snow all the way to the screaming guitar of My Lips Are Too Dry, but my highlight of the night was Perfect Wave which contained a brilliant solo from Adam, during which he could almost have been channelling Dave Gilmour, so Floyd-like was it.

With an album due out next year and a tour to promote it, Stolen Earth could well be a band on the verge of big things.

Stealing The Show

Saturday 17th September: When the support act took to the stage at the Post Office Social Club tonight, my first impression was that they seemed a little out of place opening for what we were expecting from the headliners. The two tank-top clad ladies, one with acoustic guitar and the other with (I think) some sort of Mandolin, practically screamed “Folk music!” at the audience who, practically to a man, would have been expecting something a bit louder later on.

Two are Helen Turner and Sharon Winfield, who have been writing and playing together since 2006 and have released two albums (One and Two). Tonight’s opener, Morecombe Bay (which, like most of tonight’s song, appears on neither of those albums – and may or may not have been about the cockle-pickers who were drowned there in 2004) sounded a little discordant to me, with a handful of out-of-place “twangs” seemingly intruding into the playing. As the song progressed it became much more flowing, with tight playing and nice harmonies. Grandfather’s Ghost started more softly, leading into a powerful chorus, while Spontaneous came across more as folk-pop than straight folk. One guitar was replaced by a concertina for Dunwich, a hauntingly beautiful song about the small town in Suffolk which has been falling prey to coastal erosion since the 13th century. Raven Mother was based on the German insult, Rabenmutter, for working mothers but I couldn’t hear the lyrics clearly enough to work out whether Helen and Sharon were angry about the term, whether they were being ironic or whether they were simply poking fun at it. The simple guitar work and powerful lyrics of Guns, written about the Columbine school shootings, but just as relevant to those that have happened since, didn’t get the attention they deserved as the swelling crowd also meant increasing background noise. With its lively tone, Shoulder upped the pace a bit, while Witch Song made good use of the girls’ vocals to represent the horror of a woman accused of being a witch during the 1645 trials. Sisterhood, telling the story of women’s rights campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft, ended the set.

Between the songs there was an entertaining line in sometimes self-deprecating humour – “When she was pregnant, we used to play the ‘guess which of us is pregnant’ game. I think I came off quite badly in that.” And the perfect timing of the very funny introduction to Sisterhood simply can’t be reproduced on the printed page. The various themes behind their lyrics may not always be uplifting, but the songs themselves are thought-provoking and, being contemporary in style if not always in content, were certainly more appealing to me than the traditional folk music I have come across. Two may have looked a strange choice of support act, but they certainly entertained my little group and seemed to go down well with a large portion of the whole audience, getting a good reception and seemingly shifting a number of CDs after their set, including a couple to yours truly.

At the beginning of the year, Breathing Space announced that they were splitting up and you could almost hear the sigh of disappointment from their fans. It didn’t take too long for four of the final line-up – Heidi Widdop, Paul Teasedale, Adam Dawson and Barry Cassells – to announce that they were to form a new band, recruiting John Sykes, a past band-mate of Barry, to play keyboards. And so Stolen Earth was born. The band’s first outing was a few weeks ago, at the Cambridge Rock Festival, but tonight is their York launch gig and unsurprisingly the quite large audience features a fair few familiar faces, many of them regular fans of the Mostly Autumn “family” of bands, to which Breathing Space belonged.

Stolen Earth are not, however, Breathing Space resuscitated. Guitar-driven, with Adam alternating between effortless noodling and brash strokes across the strings, rather than keyboard-led they have opted to move away from the proggy ambience of the previous band and towards a rockier sound, the sweeping songs belonging more to the A.O.R. genre, but without the pomp and bombast often associated with that style of music. The new sound is probably better suited to Heidi’s vocals, which are very different to Livvy’s (Breathing Space’s original vocalist). I know that there have been some comments about the sound quality and there were problems with feedback during some parts of the gig. Personally, I thought there was little wrong and was impressed that Heidi’s acoustic guitar could be clearly heard throughout the set. The only “complaint” our group had was that Heidi’s vocals were a little lost in the mix, something which I think was at least partly down to “new song syndrome” – it’s always easier to hear the vocals when the songs are familiar to you and your brain can fill in the gaps.

Tonight’s set, though, was almost totally unfamiliar. Opener I Live begins with a staccato drum beat before bursting into some fairly heavy guitar while Bitterness Fades features a more jangly style with a slightly 60’s feel. Mirror Mirror saw Adam taking over the vocals, appropriately enough seeing as it was one of the tracks on his Lazy Susan single, and had a fantastic sound, with all the instruments coming through. Tuscany Sun is a slower, ballad-like song which, with the help of a video posted on youtube, has already garnered the band airplay on European radio. Unnatural Disaster is, perhaps, the song most like those of Breathing Space (and had already been performed by that band), with its prominent keyboards, fast drum-line and nice guitar and bass solos. With Soul In A Jar, the band edged slightly into Mostly Autumn territory, if only because of the inclusion of some low whistle from Heidi, while Adam started off with an acoustic guitar before moving back to the electric for a rousing middle section leading into John’s lovely ending. My Lips Are Too Dry, which somehow reminded me of both Bon Jovi’s Cowboy and Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again, featured some very strong vocals from Heidi, helped along with a healthy dose of reverb, while Adam came to the fore once again, playing bottleneck guitar during Into The Virgin Snow. A couple of covers followed. The first had us guessing for a while as Adam’s noodling intro seemed to morph around Pink Floyd and The Animals before finally settling into The Eagles’ Hotel California, then Paul switched four strings for twelve for a version of Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Adam took over the vocals again for a reworked version of his own superb and very emotive Silver Skies and the set ended with the epic Perfect Wave, perhaps the proggiest song on show tonight with a nice change of pace at the end and some superb screaming guitar. The obligatory encore was Clear, Paul’s own song from Breathing Space’s third album, showing that the past hasn’t been completely forgotten.

There were a few hints of nervousness during the set – Adam getting “guitar not turned on” and “guitar not plugged in” mixed up and Heidi dropping her guitar while adjusting a mike stand – along with a slight sense of amazement that so many people had turned up to see them, but overall this was a very assured performance by some top class musicians. The demise of Breathing Space may mean that one branch of the Mostly Autumn rock family tree has been trimmed but, from tonight’s showing, it’s obvious that a seed has broken free and is growing into a strong sapling just outside the shadow of the “parent” band.

2011 – A Personal Preview

Friday 25th February: With no plans to attend a gig this weekend (never fear, though, I have one planned for Monday…), I thought I would treat my faithful reader(s) to a preview of which albums I’m looking forward to so far this year, along with one or two that I hope will see the light of day sometime in 2011.

So, in no particular order, here are my “must buys” so far…

First up is Out Of An Ancient World, by Marc Atkinson’s Riversea. I’ve seen Marc play live a couple of times and have both his solo, acoustic albums, but this has all the hallmark’s of a big project. Ex-York resident (and biggest Dr Who fan… ever!) Marc will, once again, be playing acoustic guitar and has been joined by Brendan Eyre on keyboards, along with a whole host of guest’s (from the York area and further afield) to provide the rest of the music and backing vocals. I’ve heard just the one track, played live back in December and haven’t taken advantage of any of the preview clips available on MySpace or dotted around Facebook but, with the project billed as acoustic/progressive/rock, as well as with the amount of talent to be found in the project, there’s something about this album which is calling out to me, helped in no small part by the stunning cover by Ed Unitsky. Out Of An Ancient World was due to be released around Easter time, but I think that may have slipped slightly recently.

Marc is also involved in Sangreal, the second release from the new, third version of Mandalaband. This album sounds very much a concept piece, as were the first three, and tells the story of the Holy Grail as seen in the Romano-Spanish version – the history of the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper (as opposed to the King Arthur version). Marc seems to have upped his contribution from the last album, providing lead vocals for five or six of the fourteen tracks and backing vocals for others. The album also includes the last song Woolly Wolstenholme (Barclay James Harvest) recorded before his death last year. The previous album, BC – Ancestors, was one of my favourites of recent times and the newly re-mastered re-releases of the original 70s albums may sound a little dated now compared to the prog rock being released today but that doesn’t matter to me (after all, I’ve only just discovered Camel and Caravan…)

I like to think that I’ve been a fan of Chantel McGregor from the beginning of her career but I know that, although I first saw her live while she was still playing The Roman Bath, with no entry charge, she had been performing for quite some time. On a personal note, she was the first artist to put a link to this blog on her website, an act that I was honoured by. The pocket prodigy plays guitar like nobody else I have seen and now, after completing her degree, she has had the time to concentrate on writing her own music and has recently been recording her debut album which is due for release in April. Some of the new songs have already made it into her live set and sat comfortably with the Hendrix, Cream, Trower, Fleetwood Mac, Bonamassa, etc. covers that she was known for performing. With details of the recording being blogged on a daily basis, we are promised the likes of a “13 minute epic”, a “swampy, bluesy thang” and “progging it up a bit”. The only downside is that we won’t get Chantel’s rambling monologues, usually about dresses, take-away food or equipment malfunctions, between songs. (Unless she goes down the Seasick Steve route, of course…)  If you are a fan of the blues, this is one album you must look out for.

The first and, so far, only time I saw Haze play live was back in 2003, in the Bay Horse (now Stereo) in York and they were, therefore, my initiation into the world of live prog-rock. A magazine review of a more recent gig jogged my memory and alerted me to the fact that they were still around, if only sporadically. I had a brief email conversation/trip down memory lane with bass-player and vocalist Chris McMahon before buying a copy of a double live CD from their 30th anniversary tour, only to find that some of the songs had been lodged in the back of my brain for all those intervening years. Now performing more regularly  as Treebeard, a more folky, “heavy wood” ensemble, Chris recently decided to write a new Haze album, their first studio album since 1987’s Stoat And Bottle, although an album named Haze was released in 1994 by World Turtle (Chris and his brother Paul) and contained material that would have been on Haze’s third album. A new album so soon after I get in touch? Coincidence? Almost certainly, but I’m still looking forward to it.

As the year goes on, there are bound to be other releases that I look forward to as eagerly as the ones above, they are just the ones I know that are on the horizon. I also know that Hope & Social have started work on their third album, but that’s as much detail as I have at the moment.

If I could have a wish list, however, it would probably include the following (some of which may be in the pipeline already):

A second album from Boss Caine – it’s hard to imagine a better album than last year’s The Ship That Sailed but if main man GT Turbo can put together another mix of old and new and manage to include some of my favourites from his live sets, it might just be possible.

A debut from Stolen Earth – formed from the ashes of the recently disbanded Breathing Space and featuring the writers of the new songs we heard live during that band’s final gig back in December Stolen Earth are, arguably, the most exciting new band in York at the moment. I don’t know whether the band has enough output for an album yet, but they are trying to get on the bill for this Summer’s Cambridge Rock Festival and, I’m told, are aiming to put together some demo material to help promote the band.

A second album from Parade, or whatever they are going to call themselves to avoid confusion with the same-named pop band. New material is being written, but a release date (and new name) has yet to be announced.

A second release from blues-rockers 98Pages – they will almost certainly always be better to see live than listen to recorded but the new songs performed recently are part of a batch that have been written with an eye to either release a second album or a series of EPs. My vote goes to the album format.

There’s bound to be more. I’ve concentrated on smaller and, for the most part, local bands, most of whom I have seen perform and some of whom I have become friends with (if only through social networking). Bigger, more “established” bands that I like are bound to be working on new albums and, when they arrive, there is a very good chance that they will be added to my collection, but the ones I have listed are, in my opinion, bands that deserve supporting. I realise I’ve leaned somewhat in the direction of progressive rock but, given my tastes, that’s to be expected. I doubt that any of the albums will be inaccessible to general music fans, though. So, if you like music why not keep an eye out for one (or more) of the albums and try something a bit different?