Hayseed Dixie–The Duchess, 25/06/13

Photos included in this posting were taken by Marc McGarraghy, whose work can be found on Facebook or the Yellow Mustang website. Thanks, as always, go to him for allowing me to use them.

There’s a minimalist feel to The Duchess tonight and it’s nothing to do with the size of the crowd, but with the stage layout. Instead of the usual array of electric guitars, drums and amplifiers, there are just a few acoustic acoustic instruments lying in their respective cases and one microphone in the centre of the stage. Oh, and an empty fridge…

Soon, Nicole Maguire, dark-haired, dark-eyed and petite takes her place in front of the microphone and, with acoustic guitar, starts her set with (I think) Run With Me, from her debut album What You Really Mean. It’s a simple tune, played in a finger-picking style and delivered in a strong, clear voice which is perhaps just slightly over-amplified tonight. Nicole has been the support for the UK leg of Hayseed Dixie’s latest tour, an experience she describes as “interesting” before asking us to pray for her for the remaining couple of dates. “We have respected you totally,” comes a shout from the back of the stage. “I’m the calm before the storm,” she quips before starting her next song. I can’t remember whether I was noting down song-titles or lyrics, but I’ve got That The Long Way Round for this one and Time Won’t Slow Us Down for the next, neither of which, if they are titles, are from the album. The next one is, though, and it’s the title track and a lovely one at that. “Consider this the quietest song you’re going to hear all night,” she intones before Hard Love and I could listen to her speak with that Irish lilt all night long. This song must be the one people are listening to when comparing Nicole to Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie. The final song of the set, which I definitely didn’t catch the title of, sees John Wheeler join Nicole on stage, playing violin alongside her and, for the next three minutes, they are known as “Hayseed Trixie”. The additional instrument gives the song a bit more musical body and seems to give her vocals a bit extra to sit in front of, making them sound slightly less loud than the rest of the set. (I wasn’t tempted to buy the album on the night but, having heard samples from it since, Nicole’s voice is a lot quieter and softer on it and there’s more of a band than a solo artist feel to it.) As the song ends, there’s much hugging between the two and Nicole leaves the stage, thanking that audience and flashing her beguiling smile.

During the break, after microphone stands have been placed along the front of the stage, it becomes apparent, as if it hadn’t been before, what the fridge is for as the members of Hayseed Dixie start filling it with various drinks. Wheeler himself walks on with a bottle of Black Sheep in each hand, bending down to place them under his microphone and accidentally emptying the contents of the open one under his arm onto the stage… and the electrics. Quickly unplugging a cable and throwing it towards the back of the stage, he towels things dry before plugging back in. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. He looks like he knows what he’s doing. Maybe it’s happened before.

Eventually, with fridge (or beer holder on microphone stand) filled, the band take to the stage and launch into a blistering instrumental opener during which “Reverend” Reno’s fingers and banjo get’s a thorough warm-up. The Dixie’s main attraction is their Bluegrass covers of heavy metal songs, originally primarily those of AC/DC (hence their name) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the first tonight. Equally inventive, though, are their own songs, usually of a humorous nature, and Kirby Hill sees “Deacon” Reno’s fingers flying across the most beat-up mandolin you are ever likely to see.  There’s a break between this and the next song, perhaps to allow breaths to be taken, and John Wheeler chooses to natter away in what sounds to be German before handing his guitar to the Deacon and taking up violin for All Night Long, bow arcing round in circles in-between playing. A fast and furious version of The Cars’ My Best Friend’s Girl and there’s no let up in the frantic pace as it leads into Detroit Rock City, originally by Kiss but, like many of these covers, almost unrecognisable from the original. Next up came something that I’m not even going to pretend that I knew, although I’m guessing it was from the band’s 2011 album Sjt Munchs Drikkeklubb Band, which was almost entirely in Norwegian. After another of the band’s originals, Tolerance, there was just time for a quick stare into the audience from John Wheeler before Ace Of Spades. Wheeler peppers the spaces between songs with various calls for the audience to drink along with the band and seemingly random pieces of chat, the first of which tonight was a discourse on “modern art”, which was followed by a modern art – i.e. freestyle, with a quick snatch of Freebird thrown in to put the Deacon off – opening to Hells Bells. Imagine, if you can, the album version played at single speed,but without the high-pitched vocals. There’s more chat, this time a story about Wheeler being propositioned by a woman in a hotel bar in Norway ("I take it you enjoyed the show…?” “What show?”) before the band play the best killing song in the world, Bohemian Rhapsody, and the best drinking song in the world, Eine Kleine Trinkmusik, as they spread their repertoire into the world of Bluegrass covers of classical works. A version of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, with the slowest opening ever is followed by Alice Cooper’s Poison after which Wheeler start’s a tirade against the promoter of tonight’s gig. Apparently the sound isn’t what the band wants because, despite letting the promoter know well in advance that they need an analogue, rather than digital, mixing desk, he has failed to provide one because they hadn’t had enough pre-sales, which is more than a little strange given the crowd that the band have pulled in on both occasions that I have seen them. Anyway, because he has been “so cheap”, Wheeler decides to announce the promoter’s email address to the audience, more than once, encouraging us all to berate him, I hate to think what his in-box looked like the next morning, but the band seemed particularly annoyed by the whole thing.

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Hayseed Dixie frontman – John Wheeler

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Alien Abduction Probe, perhaps the band’s funniest song (Unanswered questions tortured me\Like how they unlocked the door\Why’s my rectum sore?\Why do I twitch when I watch E.T.?), and Corn Liquor, inspired by Wheeler’s grandfather, who made the best corn whisky in the world, see the band continue with their energy-sapping set. At various times, each member steps forward, away from their microphone, between the monitors to the very front of stage, allowing the audience to see their fingers flying across the strings, fixing them with stares and mugging for the various cameras and phones pointed at them. Thankfully, bass player Jake “Bakesnake” Byers doesn’t move too far away from his drink – I’m standing right in front of him and, to be frank, he scares me more than a little. Not that I’d try messing with Wheeler either, even if I were sober. Quite clearly, the audience member who decides to start heckling him during his latest discourse – this time into the way different nations swear – is a long way off sober. Apparently he wants the band to play music, rather than speak and when Wheeler’s initial suggestion that he stays at home and listens to records, doesn’t shut him up, he decides on a more direct approach and suggests that they, errrm, meet outside after the show. Eventually the drunken fool gives up and the band play their own She Was Skinny When I Met Her, which leads into the similarly themed Fat Bottomed Girls. They would probably have started it sooner if he hadn’t heckled – c’est la vie…

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Jake “Bakesnake” Byers, “Reverend” Don Wayne Reno and “Deacon” Dale Reno

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There are more originals with the shotgun wedding song Moonshiner’s Daughter followed by the brilliantly titled I’m Keeping Your Poop. As if by design, it takes until halfway through Highway To Hell, the final song of the set, for a string to break and running repairs are made to Wheeler’s guitar off-stage while the audience clamour for more. Returning to the stage, and still re-tuning, Wheeler brags that that band have played nearly a thousand shows over their fourteen year history, pointing out that rarely has an artist who has their big hits played on Radio One had a career that long. Nor, it should be added, quite as energetic as these guys. Returning to the promoter-and-mixing-desk theme, the band play their own Rider Song, which should adequately explain to anybody exactly what it is that they need to on a show – there’s no big rock star demands here, just a case of ale, a case of lager, ice to keep it cold and some specifics regarding equipment. There are many bad cover versions of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb out there but few anywhere near as good as this band’s version, with its instrumental madness between vocal sections, which sits in the middle of Wheeler and the Reverend’s take on Duelling Banjos, and ends the show on an incredible high. It may be the speed that they play their songs (I have seen one report that there may be a plan for them to play their ten-track AC/DC tribute album through in thirty minutes) but few bands manage to fit in over twenty songs, as well as entertaining (whatever the heckler thought) chat into their sets, and to keep up the level of energy seen tonight. Highly recommended for fans of lively music with an exciting, funny twist.

Mostly Autumn–The Duchess, 22/06/13

Photos included in this posting were taken by Marc McGarraghy, whose work can be found on Facebook or the Yellow Mustang website. Thanks, as always, go to him for allowing me to use them.
It’s probably no coincidence that Mostly Autumn’s Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn chose the Summer Solstice as the date for their wedding. After all, with it falling on a Friday this year, it gives them the whole weekend to spend time together and recover from the big day, right? Wrong. Instead they chose to spend the Saturday evening, with the rest of the band, performing a celebration concert for their fans, friends and family.
As The Duchess filled up with familiar faces The Judge took to the microphone to introduce the newly-weds, who came on stage to generous applause and cheers, Bryan, long hair tied back and beard neatly trimmed, in a long-tailed jacket and Olivia looking stunning in her wedding dress. “She really hasn’t thought it all through, has she?” quips Bryan at one point, to the amusement of the crowd.
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Bryan Josh – Already looking contented with married life

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Launching straight into the set, the band started with Winter Mountain before moving on to Never The Rainbow, Olivia coping well with a boots-and-dress combination that wasn’t, presumable, designed with moving backwards and forwards to and from a microphone in mind. Slowing it down, and giving Bryan a bit of a breather, they moved onto Unquiet Tears, a piano-driven track from the Ghost Moon Orchestra album, which really showcases Olivia’s vocals. After the criticisms of the sound here last weekend, it’s near-perfect tonight. Where I’m standing every instrument can be heard in the mix and the backing vocals from Anne-Marie Helder – playing “all sorts of things” for what is, presumably, a final time with the band – are clearer than I’ve ever heard them. Simple Ways gives way to Changing Fast, during which the lyric “lucky man” sees Bryan throw a knowing glance in Olivia’s direction. The ever-lovely crowd pleaser Evergreen is followed by a departure from the Mostly Autumn back catalogue as Olivia is joined by Iain Jennings - who sneakily adds a few notes from Here Comes The Bride into his introduction – on keyboards and Anne-Marie on flute and backing vocals for Rain Song, more familiar to me as a Breathing Space song than from when Olivia and Chris Johnson performed it when supporting Mostly Autumn. Slow Down, from Bryan’s solo album Through These Eyes follows, with Olivia’s haunting vocals at the end sounding superb. In fact, with Deep In Borrowdale up next, her vocals seem to be getting stronger all the time.
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The newly-crowned Mrs Olivia Sparnenn-Josh

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Drops Of The Sun gives another example of how good the sound can be, with Alex Cromarty’s pounding drum opening seeming to reverberate around the venue. After Nowhere To Hide, Bryan uses an e-bow for the opening to Wild Eyed Skies, producing a lovely guitar sound over a huge bass rumble before Iain’s piano and Olivia’s vocals come in. Passengers, another crowd-pleaser, is followed by The Dark Before The Dawn, during which Anne-Marie’s flute floats gracefully through the rockier song. Olivia asks whether we are all having a good evening - and the resulting cheer seems unanimous – before dedicating her tour de force, Questioning Eyes (the final of which sees Alex going wild on the drums), to her Mum and late Dad, who had made the previous day a day to remember. She’s still going strong, seemingly enjoying every minute on stage, while Bryan has occasionally been taking to a tactically-positioned chair, looking tired or, perhaps, nursing a hangover. Despite him claiming not to have been drinking yesterday, Olivia’s, “Yeah, right!” says otherwise.
After a brief break, the band return to the stage for the somewhat inevitable encore. “What an evening. What a weekend!” enthuses Bryan before playing Heroes Never Die with an incredibly powerful performance. The evening draws to a close with a song that, embarrassingly, I have forgotten, perhaps due to the fact that I was marvelling at the, if anything, even more powerful performance by Olivia who, at times, seemed to be fighting her emotions. Afterwards, with the band taking their customary bows, The Judge and another roadie showered them all with confetti, before the happy couple were able to take their own bows, thanking the audience with their wide smiles and, eventually, sharing a kiss.
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The happy couple.

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I have seen Mostly Autumn every year since 2008 but this is only the second time I have seen them perform away from York’s Grand Opera House. I much prefer seeing them in a “proper” music venue. Not only does it feel more like a rock gig, but it’s possible to get so much closer to the band, giving you the chance to see their performances much more clearly. Personally, this is the best gig I have seen by the band - it must have been the celebratory atmosphere tonight.
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Mostly Autumn – Bryan Josh, Alex Cromarty, Andy Smith, Olivia Sparnenn-Josh, Anne-Marie Helder, Iain Jennings and Liam Davison.

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The Consortium Tour–The Duchess, 16/06/13

It sounds like a good idea on paper – bands pooling resources, effort and fan bases rather than competing. Touring together to build each other’s profiles and show that bands can work together to bring their music to a wider audience. Then the Consortium Tour hit York… and the hordes stayed away.
I don’t know whether it was because it was a Sunday, the first warm, sunny evening we had seen for a while or because it was Father’s Day. Maybe it was just that the music-lovers of York hadn’t heard of or didn’t know enough about the bands. Whatever the reasons, to say that the band members outnumbered the audience is a bit of an understatement. There were even faces familiar from many other similar gigs conspicuous by their absence. Still, it has to be said, the three bands shrugged off what must have been disappointment and gave their best efforts, both on stage during their performances and off stage supporting each other. Unfortunately, there was more (slight) disappointment to come.
Things started well enough when Ryan James took to the stage, resplendent in his steampunk hat and retro military jacket. Sitting on a cajon behind keyboards and surrounded by various pieces of percussion, Ryan introduced himself as the acoustic part of the evening before launching into a nicely varied and occasionally incredibly moving set, regaling us with tales, as well as songs, of past loves. Essentially a seated one-man-band, Ryan’s music comprised of sparse piano lines mixed with the various percussion and rich, deep and solemn vocals which in places had a degree of “showman” to them. His unintroduced opener was eclipsed by Breathe And Let Go, a “battle-cry to love” which was fast and lively, with an almost Country feel to it and hints of Cotton Eyed Joe in places. Machine featured more of a haunting piano sound while Jerusalem, inspired by an ex-partner who disturbingly and, from Ryan’s point of view, dangerously kept a dark secret, was a powerfully emotional mix of sombre prayer and tribal chant. Whoa, introduced with a story about homophobic bouncers, was designed to generate positive energy and the sparse crowd, helped by the other bands, managed to clap and sing along brilliantly – maybe it was the fact that there was so few of us that made it more difficult for people to drop out. Probably the campest cover version of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face (yes, really…) I will ever hear was followed by Over The River, Trouble and Digging Up The Mountain, the latter about being broke, needing a drink and being angry with God. All the songs mixed simplicity – there were no grandiose musical interludes, the lyrics were generally short and snappy – with complexity in their structure, with rhythmic changes seeming to feature in most of them. River Of Bones had a theatrical feel to it while Serenade returned a lighter tone to the set, a tone which continued into the humorous banter around how to produce the band names -Sankara is pronounced “Shankara”, “We are Not-ter-mine-us,” shouted Maria, from the audience” and “I am Rye-ann Jam-ess…” – and then the set ended with another unintroduced song, this time performed mostly a capella, except for a small amount of percussion and featuring some incredible yodelling that put the likes of Focus to shame. A nicely entertaining start to the evening.
With Noterminus on stage, the military jacket theme was continued and brought slightly more up to date by bass-player Scott Owen-Midlane’s World War One stylings. Without preamble, Maria Owen-Midlane’s wordless vocals built into a scream, with Scott taking over vocal duties just before the music burst into thunderous noise which all but obliterated the vocals which, in turn, looked as though they were getting stronger as the song went on. Yes… “looked”. I have previously enthused about Maria’s vocals, both live and recorded, but tonight they were swamped by the music. I’ve never felt knowledgeable enough to comment on whether the soundman is doing his job properly but, given that two members of tonight’s audience (both musicians) took to social media the next day to lambast his contribution, I suspect that tonight’s sound could, and should, have been much better. One person’s response that it’s difficult to get the sound right in The Duchess unless there are a fair few people to soak up some of it seems to hold water but it’s worth noting that this write-up concentrates more on the performance than the sound. It’s also worth noting that I struggled to hear the titles of those songs that were introduced. The second song of the set saw the guitar riffs drowning the vocals again, but this time those riffs were much darker. As the only front line musician freed from microphone duties, guitarist Paul Reynolds was giving an energetic performance, wandering about stage and engaging in a few power-stances. Not that Maria and Scott were lacklustre when not on their respective vocal duties. Muted Creatures is a towering, dark and moody song but unfortunately the spoken word sections which are so clear on Haselupker’s Ink, the band’s debut album, were just indistinct tonight. There was a lot about the performance that reminded me of The Reasoning, a band that Maria has provided backing vocals for, but of a time before Maria was a member and the line-up was quite different to what it is now. This was especially apparent during Fast One which, with its dual vocals, epic nature and crunching guitar line, was the best song of the set so far but only served as a springboard for the remaining two tracks of the set. They built in momentum and power,  ending the set  with some great dirty riffs, powerful drums from Vinden Wylde and what I can only assume were fantastic vocals.
Sankara have a similar line-up to Noterminus and, therefore, suffered a similar fate when it came to the sound mix. After a quick, “Good evening York”, Gareth Jones went straight into an impressively held wordless cry but, once the music started, his obvious vocal power was once again swamped. “We’re not a Micheal Bublé tribute band, this is how I choose to dress while in a rock band,” he explained after the first song, referring to his suit and tie. Full Flow, from the band’s debut EP Enigma, confirmed that as they launched into a full-fledged classic rock track and followed it with the even heavier In God We Trust, opening track of Guided By Degrees, their first (and current) full-length album. The opening of Enigma saw a change of pace and tone as Gareth moved to keyboards for a piano sound that was allowed to breathe and, being quieter, allowed his vocals to come through much more clearly. Eventually even this song surrendered to the harder rock sound, with the guitars of Jay MacDonald and Paul Wilson coming through stronger towards the end. Doll’s House saw Maria scurrying around the venue trying to find a way back onto stage to perform a duet with Gareth and finally, because of the piano opening and sparse guitar sections, her incredible vocals were allowed to shine in a song which, not surprisingly contained the best and most emotionally powerful vocals of the night, from both singers. There was more piano during Lullaby For A Lost Boy, a song about homelessness with it’s roots, I believe, in Gareth’s day job, but this it eventually gave way to another grinding guitar riff in the latter section. There was more heavy riffage in the next song, which was written by MacDonald and was “about shagging”. Sadly I didn’t catch the title. Chasing The Sun continued the heavy feel, with some brilliantly pounding drums once again from Wylde. (Yes, the bands share a drummer.) The set ended with a song which seemed, from his performance, as though it should have showcased Gareth’s powerful voice before a brief encore of somebody else’s song. It was introduced but, at that point, Maria wandered up to me to tell me I looked like somebody she knew and I didn’t catch the title. Nor did I recognise it. Overall, the mixture of riff-driven guitar tracks and piano led songs meant that this was a nicely varied set, somewhat different to what you normally get from a rock band.
Despite the sound quality, I thoroughly enjoyed this gig. The audience may have deserved better from the venue but the bands, despite deserving a bigger audience, came out and gave their all. I can only imagine how much harder that is than thinking, “well, if the punters can’t be bothered…” The upside of the lack of numbers was that I got to spend some time chatting to Maria (and another audience member, Steve Lord, who had made the trip over from Leeds) who eventually coaxed me back inside to get the CDs I had purchased signed by the bands. She and the others who found time to come out and say “hello” couldn’t have been nicer and seemed genuinely pleased that anybody had turned out to see them. These bands may not come back to York again, but at least I got to see them once.

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.

David Knopfler–The Duchess, 18/04/13

If I hadn’t already bought a ticket for tonight’s gig, I doubt I would have gone. The previous night’s strong winds (or, rather, the noises the house made because of the wind) had kept me awake most of that night and, being frank, I was knackered. But I had a ticket and, being a Yorkshireman, I wasn’t going to waste it.

Tonight was one of those times that The Duchess populated its floor with a collection of chairs, sofas and tables, with candles providing a certain ambience. Arguably it was a good move as it made the place look a bit fuller than it would have done if the small crowd had all been standing. With a bottle of Hobgoblin in hand, I took up position on one of the small sofas and settled down to enjoy the gig.

The first thing that struck me when See Through Eyes came to the stage was that Matt Smith (Doctor Who) had been de-aged and had, apparently, taken up keyboards. It turns out, however, that it wasn’t him, but Dan Mathieson who, along with Sam Ayres (guitar and vocals), Andy Richards (guitar) and John Azopardi (cajon and vocals) make up this York-based alternative rock band. Their first song, I Love You (But Please Stop Talking To Me), started off well but seemed to lose a little momentum in the middle. You Made Me had a bigger sound with some nice guitar work, with both guitarists switching between strumming chords and single note effects. So far, over the music, Ayres’ vocals had come across as a little strained but a cover of Chasing Cars showed that, with a softer sound all round, they could be much better. The next song, which I think was called The Song That Is Saddest continued the upswing in quality but was spoiled slightly by some over-complicated keyboard sounds that seemed to be pulling against the rest of the song, although the whole thing came together brilliantly in a short instrumental section towards the end. Fable was being played live for the first time and was another step up in both ambition and quality. Again the lead vocals were a little strained in places but overall they were good and the larger vocal contribution from Azopardi, weaving in and out of those of Ayres, created some nice harmonies. Final song The River started more gently but built in a fascinating way. Few bands manage to play a set in which the quality rises throughout but See Through Eyes certainly managed it tonight. They reminded me a little of Pelico, but with bigger songs. The band has only been together since 2011 and despite, in my opinion, needing a little more polish they show definite promise.

It probably comes as no surprise that David Knopfler has a slightly more famous brother and they founded a band together back in the 70’s, with David playing on the first two albums before leaving during the recording of Making Movies in 1980 and pursuing a solo career. Tonight he is joined on stage by Harry Bogdanovs and they switch between playing as two guitarists (generally Knopfler on rhythm and Bogdanovs on lead) or, at times, with one or the other on keyboards. The set was delayed for a few minutes while the spaghetti of cables across the front of the stage was sorted out but when it did start, Knopfler produced some lovely mellow vocals which had a slight hint of Dire Straits to them, his singing voice sounding eerily like Mark’s even though there was little hint of the expected regional accent when he spoke. Somewhat appropriately, given the events in Boston a few days earlier, the song, which wasn’t introduced, included the lyrics “sometimes people can be mean.” Knopfler spends a lot of time in America these days and I wonder if the choice of song was deliberate. The next song was introduced with something along the lines of, “I used to be in a beat group, between the wars. Here’s something you might recognise,” and turned out to be Wild West End, a Dire Straits song I’m not familiar with. Knopfler took up a twelve-string guitar for Deptford Days, explaining that Deptford is where he met Bogdanovs many years ago. The lyrics seem to explain how they met and how their friendship grew. Perhaps unfortunately, both this song and the next, King Of Ashes, had a feeling of Dire Straits unplugged – not necessarily a bad thing from my point of view, but I would question whether Knopfler would want to be forever associated with his former band in that way. A switch to keyboards for Hard Times In Idaho, however, changed the sound a lot. A new song, the lack of lighting around the keyboard didn’t help Knopfler see the lyrics (he played most of the set with a music stand, presumably holding the lyrics, close by) and there was a suggestion that he might have to “wing it”, but the story of an old man riding his horse through the Idaho Winter was beautiful in its simplicity, while If God Could Make The Angels was quite simply stunning in its beauty. The more up-tempo 4U is the duo’s “Rabbit Song”, a reference to the repeated “Run Rabbit Run” lyric. Me And Billy Crowe, was inspired by a friend’s wish that he could play with his childhood friend again. A catchy sort of Bluegrass song it changed the musical tone again and the audience needed little encouragement to clap along to the rhythm.

After a short break, the pair returned to the stage with Underland, a more political song inspired by the many American families being made homeless by the financial crisis with the occasional use of angry expletives countering the otherwise mellow vocals. Perhaps slightly strangely juxtaposed with it was Here In Genoseo, a sort of lullaby inspired by him discovering his young daughter writing “I Love Home” in crayon all over the family’s 1820s American House. This was followed by a song the music for which was written during the recording of the Dire Straits album Communique, although the lyrics were added much more recently. Comments he made before playing it, mentioning that Mark didn’t need any more songs or any more money, hinted that all is not right between the brothers but that is just supposition on my part and as Knopfler himself ended the comments with, “not relevant.” The song had a definite Dire Straits sound, as he explained it might do, so much so that you could almost hear Mark singing it. Tears Fall, another lovely song, was followed by Grace In The Gutter, during which Knopfler played a much more intricate guitar line than during most of the rest of the set. “Everybody has a Devil song and this is our rock and roll Faustus,” explained Knopfler before playing Easy Street, a brilliant song comprising of growly lyrics, blues style music and some great dual guitar-playing. The set ended with a song written by Knopfler and a friend in Nashville, with each of them having their own idea of what it should be about, meaning that the end result – America - is either a song about unrequited love or a diatribe against George W. Bush.

This was a nice, relaxing gig and that’s probably why I enjoyed it more than I expected to, given my state of mind as I left the house. Not only was the music excellent, but Knopfler took the time to explain the background to most of the songs, as well as exhibiting a nice dry sense of humour and an easy rapport with the audience. It’s well known that, at the end of most gigs, I buy a CD (or two, or three…) Tonight I was determined not to, for purely financial reasons. Phrases along the lines of, “I will be coming out to sign them” however, will always sway me and I walked away with a copy of Songs For The Siren. It turns out that it’s not a good idea to, accidentally, rub your thumb across a newly signed CD cover, though… (Thankfully, I missed the actual signature and managed to smudge just the dedication.)

Blackbeard’s Tea Party–The Duchess, 06/04/13

Strange, when I arrived at the Duchess tonight I could have sworn that the doors hadn’t opened but when I got inside there was more people in there than had been in front of me in the queue and the first act was already on stage.
Andy Doonan’s vocals reminded me of somebody but I don’t think it was the Bon Jovi comparison that I have seen bandied around. Listed on his website as a solo artist, Andy started tonight’s set with a nice song - Hometown - playing acoustic guitar, alongside Sam Smith on electric guitar and Chris Dickinson playing a cajon. The second song, a cover that was naggingly familiar, as if I knew it but under a different arrangement (it turns out that it was Be Somebody, which explains the familiarity), saw them joined by Joe Doonan and Becca Yeadon on backing vocals and this “squad rotation” continued to varying degrees throughout the set. Right Now was a lovely, quiet song which showed off Andy’s impassioned vocals while the next, Stumbling was more upbeat, as was Remember The City Lights which saw the Sam move to keyboards and Andy himself partake of a bit of harmonica action. Andy’s latest single, Here You Are, a kind of soft-rock ballad without the shudder that those words sometimes conjure up, is available as a free download on his Facebook page and was next to be played before he moved to keyboards for Sky On Fire from, I believe, a forthcoming E.P. The mix of piano and electric guitar gave this song the fullest sound of the set. Overall, a pleasant start to the evening and another artiste added to my ever-growing list of those to look out for.
After a quick turn-around, Vinnie and the Stars took to the stage. Or, at least, The Stars did, playing a funky drums, bass and keyboard opening before announcing Vinnie Whitehead’s appearance on guitar, greeted by cries of, “We love you Vinnie,” from the audience. On stage, the band looked a bit of a mixed bag, the keyboard player and bass-player looking like escapees from a Madness tribute band and generic rock band respectively, while Vinnie himself, with his baseball cap and thick silver chain was almost the poster-boy for Yorkshire Hip-hop. His vocals were a strange sort of mixture of sung rap and funk (maybe that’s what Hip-hop is…), and came together with the music in an enjoyable, toe-tapping way. For the most part, the set had a light feel to it, but Nonsense was louder and came over as a bit angrier, while another song had a pseudo-political protest feel to it, if only in the performance as I couldn’t make out to many of the lyrics. With time running out, Vinnie announced that they were going to have to speed through the last two songs, rather than cut either of them. I’m Not From America… I’m From Hull was a humorous rap, performed slickly and with a vague party-band feel to it, while the last song was back to the funky rap stylings. Comprising at least two styles of music that I don’t actually enjoy shouldn’t have worked but this set was, in fact, very enjoyable. I doubt I would buy any albums, but I certainly wouldn’t shy away from seeing this band live again.
I’ve wanted to see Blackbeard’s Tea Party for a while now, without actually knowing why. It’s probably the write-ups they get on what’s-on listings, which usually mention things along the lines of “formidable live act”. It certainly isn’t any degree of knowledge about them or their music. But, let’s face it, when has that ever stopped me seeing a band? Tonight is the first night of their first U.K. tour, one to promote the release of their third album – Whip Jamboree – the first with Stuart Giddens, who I have seen previously as one half of the duo Stuart and Pip. How this band ever play the likes of The Fulford Arms, I will never know (unless I head over there to see them sometime). The Duchess was as full as I think I’ve ever seen it and the audience was buzzing. They had already given both support acts good receptions and were clearly looking forward to the headliners. Unfortunately, I now found myself towards the back of the crowd, peering at the stage across a sea of heads, a sea which included a veritable tsunami of six-foot-plus fans right across the middle. So, any observances in the following aren’t from the best of positions…
Blackbeard’s Tea Party play folk music and it’s almost too easy to characterise at least some of the band members as archetypes from folk (or, perhaps, fairy) tales of old. There’s the slightly cheeky village lad whose voice can charm anybody, the beautiful May Queen with her long flaxen hair, the mighty-thewed giant able to rip tree stumps out of the very ground (and hang them round his neck to play as drums) and… well, I could go on but I didn’t get a good enough look at others in the band (and one might not take too kindly to being called Lob…). But what of the music? Well, the band play a mixture of their own compositions and updated arrangements of more tradition stuff. Tonight’s set was comprised of what sounded like, to my folk-uneducated mind, shanties, drinking songs, jigs and, perhaps, reels but all with a modern flavour through the inclusion of Martin Coumbe’s electric guitar and Tim Yates’ bass. Arriving on stage to the rather un-folk sound of an air-raid siren and a huge bass and drum rumble, the band launched straight into a sea shanty and the crowd was already bouncing. The next song saw vocalist Stuart Giddens adding a melodeon to the line-up, which was completed by Laura Barber on fiddle and Yom Hardy and Dave Boston on a multitude of percussion between them, but with no conventional drum kit in sight both played mainly with their hands, with Yom’s hair flying and Dave, who was generally standing up, occasionally stretching his arms wide and appearing, like a modern-day Atlas, to be holding up the Duchess’ ceiling. Both played with physical flourishes that, if nothing else, showed just how in time with each other they were. For me, most of the time it was near impossible to tell whether songs were followed by instrumentals or whether the instrumentals were just extensions of the songs but every track got a rapturous reception from the crowd who, if not more folk-minded than me, were at least more familiar with the band’s output. One example of the modern updating came with Landlady, the band’s version of Jake Thackray’s The Lodger, with music by Laura and added lyrics from Stuart who, before playing it, announced, “Hang on to you hats, ladies and gentlemen. This one’s dirty.” There was something almost pantomime-like in the performance of it. The New Jigs, taken, appropriately enough, from the new album was dedicated to Dave Boothroyd, producer of said album, who Stuart credited as inventing the new music genre of “tech-folk”. During the set, each band member seemed to get a small solo spot during the songs but, about halfway through, the spotlight was most definitely on Laura, who performed a short fiddle number with the rest of the band fist-pumping to the rhythm until they all came in for the end of the track. The whole performance was energetic, the band generally smiling and enjoying themselves and rarely still on stage, whether it was Dave wandering around, one of the others joining him on the drum platform or the whole front line leaning slowly from side to side in unison. The slightly off-the-wall feel continued as Lankin, a “miserable folk song”, was greeted with cheers as Stuart described what it was about (effectively, a builder breaking into a house and killing a child…) and was followed by Rackabella, a “pork-pie hunting” song, about which I wasn’t privy to the in-joke. A couple of tracks later and Stuart called for the people in front to create an open space to accommodate a “surprise” as the next track was accompanied by The Black Swan Rapper, who performed an intricate, energetic and acrobatic dance with rapper swords. As they departed the floor, the rush of people to get back to the front was almost as awe-inspiring as the rapper team had been. Landlord was another saucy song and, I think, one that I’ve heard in another guise as the line “tomorrow we’ll be sober” sounded familiar and was followed by the intriguingly titled Chicken On A Raft which, rather than being about floating poultry, was written by Cyril Tawney about an unpopular dish of fried egg on fried bread that was served during his time in the Navy. The set finished with Polka Against The Clock which is one of those songs that sounds chaotic, as though the various instruments are pulling against each other rather than working together, but somehow still works.
After a short break the band returned for an encore, with Stuart looking like he had just stepped out of the video for Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing (how much less “folk” can day-glo sweatbands be…?) and, after another instrumental, the evening ended with the title track of the new album, a rousing sing-along that seemed to encapsulate the character of the whole show. Inevitably, on the way out, I visited the merchandise table and bought the entire back catalogue. While I expect the albums to be good, I suspect it won’t be as good as seeing the band live.
As I mentioned, I had wanted to see this band for a while. Now that I have, I want to see them again. Soon. It may be my own local bias but, while Blackbeard’s Tea Party update folk music in much the same way that acts such as The Albion Band do, they seem to do it with even more energy. Very highly recommended.

Amplifier–The Duchess, 18/03/13

Photos included in this posting were taken by Marc McGarraghy, whose work can be found on Facebook or the Yellow Mustang website. Thanks, as always, go to him for allowing me to use them.

Somehow there was a strange feeling about tonight’s gig. A few days before, Amplifier had posted a mock-up Daily Mail cover announcing their “final” UK tour, along with a warning that unless enough people turned out to see them, they wouldn’t be able to afford to tour their home country again. Then it was announced that local band We Could Be Astronauts would be providing support (and, presumably, bringing along a few of their own fans). And then they weren’t and support would be provided by, I was told, an act who had “bought in” to the tour.

Anyway, as with the last time I saw Amplifier, when I arrived at The Duchess it was cold and the doors were late opening. Marc was already in the “queue” and, after saying “hello” I ended up right at the front with him, soon joined by Roj and Lynn. That probably shows how much of a draw Amplifier can be as this is the first time that they have been to a gig in months and it was a Monday to boot. As we chatted, a young guy was soundchecking on stage, standing behind a flight case which had a guitar case balanced on top and a few bits of tech perched on that. Then he disappeared…

…only to reappear without any sort of preamble or announcement a few minutes later, complete with acoustic guitar, singing in the middle of the audience. Charlie Barnes, I found out afterwards, describes his music as “big morbid death pop”. His first song featured sort of Spanish style guitar-playing with lots of stomping and crouching over and heartfelt vocals which eventually turned angry and shouty. Yeah, I guess his description kind of works. For the rest of the set, Charlie returned to the stage, back behind his technology, which seemed to include backing tracks and a loop machine. The next track included an ethereal backing track and softer vocals and loop effects. At times, Charlie seemed to be struggling to play the guitar and keep up with whatever he needed to do with the various pedals and switches – his hand flitting between instrument and tech – but, not being familiar with the music, I couldn’t tell whether he was having to miss anything out. Eventually the vocals were ramped up to something more raw and emotional than soft and that seemed to be de rigueur for a lot of his set. Between songs, he came across as amiable, with a gentle sense of humour, covering the slightly drawn out passages of retuning and tech-fiddling with light banter, such as telling us that his upcoming album was being produced by Amplifier’s own Steve Durose which, to say the least, was exciting him slightly. When he got going he was very good, his vocals never being overwhelmed by the music or the effects. My favourite track was the last of the set, which opened with Charlie producing his own percussion effects by tapping the microphone and clapping. These effects, along with a backing track were, I think, looped into the main section to give a lovely atmospheric track which was slightly spoiled (for me) by another, albeit small, shouting section towards the end. Roj was impressed enough to not only compare him to Martin Grech but to purchase a copy of Charlie’s first album – Geek. If I’m honest, I would have liked a copy, if only to see whether the recorded material came across as slightly slicker and whether the louder vocal sections weren’t quite as raw. Sadly, though, I was on a budget tonight. Maybe next time.

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Charlie Barnes

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As Charlie’s flight case was removed from the stage and we resumed chatting, I noticed a few more resonances of the last time Amplifier played York – the front of the stage was barren of monitors but filled with the impressive arrays of effects pedals that had been in evidence last time and various members of the crew and band were wandering around dressed completely in black and the same Octopus-bedecked ties as last time. At that point somebody decided to sound check the drum kit, hitting it with enough force that I thought one of my legs, which was right next to one of the side speakers, had been blown off… Tonight, it seemed, was going to be loud.

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That’s some serious pedal rigs

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One thing that was different this time round was the line-up. Last time, Amplifier had been a three-piece, with Steve Durose performing only on the tour. Now they are a four-piece (although Neil Mahoney has been replaced on bass by Alexander Redhead) but they have a fifth member on stage – Charlie Barnes was not only the support but also adding to the band’s live sound by playing keyboards, guitar and extra drums, as well as providing extra vocals. You can tell that a band play prog when they have announced a two hour set but the set list only lists twelve songs (and there isn’t much in the way of between song banter). Tonight’s set opened with Mary Rose, from new album Echo Street, which opens with a nice bass line before the rest of the band come in with power from the guitars and drums making the track explode into life in what could be said to be Amplifier’s signature style. Sel Balamir had already asked, “Why does the singer get the worst mic stand?” and the offending article was hastily replaced after the first track, leading to even more shenanigans when, due to it standing on, rather than between, the multitude of cables, it wouldn’t quite sit how he wanted it to. To be honest, with its proximity to the edge of the stage and the amount of readjustments being made, I’m surprised the thing managed to stay upright for the whole set. With Echo Street only having been released a few days before the gig, the set was peppered with songs from the band’s back catalogue. The Wave and Interglacial Spell, both from the previous release Octopus, followed with the raw power, three guitar wall of sound of the former giving way to the frantic and very impressive drumming of the latter. Asking the audience whether anybody had heard the new album prompted such responses as, “I’ve heard half of track two,” which was appropriate as that track – The Wheel – was next up. With a slightly less powerful sound, its nice twitchy guitar line was almost hypnotic and combined well with sections of soaring keyboards. Extra Vehicular, also from Echo Street, had another different sound, an almost country-rock guitar sound and ballad-like vocals interspersed with bursts of incredible power, with guitarists and bass-player alike almost dancing across their vast arrays of pedals. Sel’s use of the Wah-wah was particularly nice. Going right back to their debut album, Motorhead saw the band change to all-black guitars, a move which was ultimately short lived as Interstellar, a track that was was quietly dedicated to a deceased friend, saw Sel break a string and have to go back to his original white guitar mid-song. Interstellar itself starts off with a musical box opening before, once again, bursting with incredible power. Gentle, quite sections are few and far between when Amplifier are playing but UFOs, another from the debut album is one. By now the stage was more often than not enveloped with dry ice, giving the lighting a spectral look. The power was back with Fall Of The Empire and, with Charlie making more and more frequent excursions away from his enclave of instruments, the four guitarists could be seen squaring up as though battle-lines had been drawn across the stage. The set ended with a combination of the old, Panzer, and the new, Where The River Goes. The latter consists of repetitive lyrics over atmospheric guitars and pounding bass and, while you suspect it is eventually going to explode it actually builds more slowly than you expect, using speed over gradually increasing power to fantastic effect.

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Amplifier

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Returning to the stage to acknowledge the shouts for more, Sel explains that this has been the “worst gig” in his twenty years of gigging because the band basically “can’t hear anything.” Funny, I was led to believe that in-ear monitors were better than stage ones. With Alexander Redhead quipping that he didn’t know before tonight that he could “play bass entirely using his sense of smell” it was up to the audience to convince them that the performance had been better than the band seemed to think. With curfew time approaching, one of the two encore tracks was dropped, leaving oldie Airborne, the most atmospheric track of the evening as the sole extra. Appropriately the band gave it everything, with Sel and Charlie literally, as well as musically, bouncing off each other. Encore complete, Sel took the time to jump off stage and acknowledge everybody in the front row, either with a hand-clasp or embrace, a gesture that made nearly getting ear-bleeds from standing too close to the speakers almost worth it.

The audience wasn’t bad for a gig at The Duchess, well into three figures (just like last time) and the merchandise table seemed to be doing a brisk trade. Hopefully that means that, as well as this not ending up being Amplifier’s last UK tour, they will return to York on future tours.

Morpheus Rising–The Duchess, 15/03/13

Photos included in this posting were taken by Marc McGarraghy, whose work can be found on Facebook or the Yellow Mustang website. Thanks, as always, go to him for allowing me to use them.

When I first heard about tonight’s gig, at the back end of last year, it was my first “must see” gig of 2013. Morpheus Rising and Also Eden had previously shared the bill in York at Fibbers for the late-2011 release of the former’s debut album – Let The Sleeper Awake – which, unsurprisingly, made my top ten of that year. That night, I also picked up also Also Eden’s full back catalogue and, while their 2011 release – Think Of The Children – didn’t quite make my top ten, it wasn’t far outside it.

Not long before the gig, however, it was announced that Also Eden had had to pull out due to circumstances beyond their control (presumably the collapse of the Y-Prog weekend in Sheffield, which the band were due to play on the Saturday). My heart sank a little more when it was announced that Bastrad had been recruited as a replacement on the night. I had seen them twice before, both times supporting Morpheus Rising and, while past reviews showed that I was warming to them, they didn’t exactly fill me with as much excitement for the evening as Also Eden.

My main criticism in the past seems to have been that the vocals were a bit strained. This time out, there had been a change in the line-up, with guitarist Martin Drury taking over vocal duties and Steve Bull replacing previous vocal Tristan Fayers on bass. There is a youthful exuberance to Bastrad’s performance and it sort of straddles the line between fun (which, let’s face it, is the raison d’etre for most local bands – of any that think they are going to make lots of money and fill arenas, most are sadly deluded) and something bordering on immaturity. The first couple of songs were heavier than I remembered, mostly noise with a lot of running around stage and posturing. By the third song, however, I was becoming a bit more interested. This one opened with a bass line before continuing with pounding drums and some nice guitar work which made it slightly more atmospheric while somehow a little darker. The noisier, heavier sound soon returned, but with occasional glimpses of more interesting, melodic guitar work poking through. Also unusual was a lively drum solo courtesy of Martin Durrant, which led into a short instrumental section – I can’t think of many (if any) other local bands who have attempted, let alone made work, as long and impressive a drum solo as this one. Supernatural High was the first song title I made out (why do so many bands struggle to speak clearly between songs?) and the song itself had another nice bass line and some great fast vocals which, even if a little repetitive, proved that Bastrad have moved on since the last time I saw them. Another instrumental followed, this time a solo guitar was eventually joined by drums. Personally, I enjoyed it but the audience seemed to be becoming more ambivalent and a bit restless. The high energy Drive, a song I remembered from last time out, increased the tempo on stage again before the appropriately named Adios ended the set.

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Bastrad

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Honestly, I enjoyed Bastrad’s set more than I expected to. Overall, they are possibly too far towards the heavier side of heavy metal, but this line-up seems to have overcome the vocal problems and tonight’s performance was, if not exceptional, at least entertaining. The band have an album (well, mini-album, according to the event details) launch coming up at Fibbers at the end of May and, you know what, I’m quite tempted.

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Damien Sweeting and Pete Harwood from Morpheus Rising

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Tonight is the eleventh time I have seen Morpheus Rising and I freely admit that they are one of my favourite York bands (even if that is an ever-growing number). There is a kind of nostalgic appeal – I have mentioned before that some of their obvious influences, the likes of Iron Maiden and Saxon, are the sort of bands that first got me into music. Tonight’s line-up saw Andy Gooby (“Spare Andy” or “Stand-in Andy”) taking Andy Smith’s place on bass, presumably on a temporary basis. He has done so in the past and, whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem to upset the balance or camaraderie of the band – there is always a feeling of them playing with such ease and enjoying being on stage together. Pete, tonight sporting one of the new Morpheus Rising hats and, therefore, looking slightly comical and (it has to be said) gnome-like, plays guitar with a cheeky abandon while Daymo always appears more intense and contemplative. The two of them effortlessly trade guitar sections but it is when they play together and alongside each other that you can see just how tight they are, with fingers flying across the frets and across the strings in near-perfect union. Gibbo’s drumming is, as usual immense, but having the dual role of master of technology which, to say the least, isn’t behaving as well as it could do tonight, seems to be perturbing him just a little. Whatever gadget the band uses for their backing tracks (it looked like an i-Pod from where I was standing) seemed to crash, leading to tonight’s version of Fighting Man being performed without strings before help from off-stage was called to fix the problem. Simon’s vocals still seem to be growing and tonight, he had completely ditched the slightly nervous laughs which have punctuated his between song banter in the past, and I hadn’t noticed how off-putting they were until they had gone.

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Pete Harwood, Simon Wright and Damien Sweeting

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But the best news? Peppered throughout a set of favourite tracks from Let The Sleeper Awake were the first new songs I have heard. Say Something had to be restarted due to mistakes in the first attempt but when it eventually got going it featured some nice wah-wah effects from Pete. It’s not radically different from anything on the first album, but just different enough to show progression. In some ways, especially from the snatches of lyrics that I heard clearly, Nameless sounds even more like Iron Maiden than any of the band’s other tracks while Bending Light has a bit more of an experimental sound. It includes an unusual guitar riff that I can only think to describe as “tinny”, although that makes it sound unpleasant and it’s far from that, as well as a section which Pete played by running some sort of gadget across the strings. I have no idea what it was or what it does (or even how to Google it) but it sounded nice. Mix these in with “classics” like Daylight, Quench Your Thirst, Fear Of Nothing, Gypsy King (with the usual exquisite guitar from Daymo), In The End, Save The Day, Shades Of Grey and the wonderfully grinding Lord Of The North and you have a great set. There’s no grandstanding or over-the-top posturing, just a nice, clean performance with occasional nods to the fans – Pete flings used plectrums into the audience (sadly my catching skills let me down and, despite the one thrown in my direction ending up at my feet, I didn’t react quickly enough to pick it up first) while Gibbo hands over his drumsticks (and flicks sweat into the crowd!) at the end of the set. Technical issues and mistakes notwithstanding, Morpheus Rising just keep getting better. Hopefully new tracks mean a new album is one the way. In the meantime, you can catch them live in York supporting prog band Panic Room on June 29th or Austrian rock band Cornerstone on August 9th, both at The Duchess (or at other venues across the country – see the website for details).

Siblings–The Duchess, 28/02/13

After a couple of recent gigs featuring bands that are being touted, by one source or another, as “the next big thing”, tonight we see some smaller (in exposure if not necessarily in talent) bands.

Apparently Jake Robinson, who seems not to have an actual music page that I can link to, was a late replacement as opening act. At least in physical terms, he can’t be described as small – standing at well over six feet tall – but he is another York-based solo artiste, this time playing electric guitar, that I haven’t come across before. His set had started when we arrived and first impressions were that his vocals were a bit “off”. That might just have been nerves, though, as by the second song they had improved a lot. Tuning issues, for which he apologised, notwithstanding the use of electric guitar was interesting, giving a bigger sound than the more usual acoustic and Jake utilised a number of playing styles, sometimes in the same song. With friends appearing in the audience, he seemed to relax even more and he started some understated banter between songs, with As We Die being dedicated one audience member who also got an apology for having such a depressing track dedicated to her. Depressing it might have been but, even so, Jake still managed to make it sound light. A quick check with the sound desk as to whether he had time for one more revealed that there were actually ten minutes of his set left. The first half of this was filled by the only cover of the set – Neil Young’s Old Man (Andy thought he recognised it, I confirmed with Jake himself) – with the final song, With Me, another of his own. A promising start to the evening.

A couple of posts back, while reviewing Pine For Cedars debut EP, I wrote that I thought that the band needed “to be seen live to get the full effect” of their music. Tonight was my first opportunity to confirm that. Drummer Jamie told me that if he’d known I was coming down he would have put me on the guest list – a nice sentiment but, given the cheap ticket price (£4 for three bands – why don’t more people take a punt on local live music at prices like that?) I don’t really see how any of tonight’s bands, let alone the venue, could make any money out of this gig. The band played an eight song set, including the instantly recognisable four from the EP and at least one new track, which I think was called Believe. Their structure-defying math rock sound is definitely reminiscent of Lost From Atlas (who have now, apparently, split up), with added vocals, the layers of which are produced by having Mike Fong sing backing vocals to Rob Lettice’s lead. I’ll Wait, with its atmospheric opening and bursts of power is even more haunting played live, while Taking Over retains its pop hints but has a bigger sound than on the EP. It’s easy to see that Jamie’s drum lines are more complex and challenging than anything I saw him perform with Dream Of Apollo. As he put it, the latter used “time changes but not time signature changes”. One day I’ll understand comments like that, at the moment I know it has something to do with counting. Anyway, I was right – the EP is good, live the band is even better. One to watch out for and definitely one I hope to see again.

Siblings hail from Ashbourne in Derbyshire (and I can’t work out whether they are. Siblings, that is…) Watching the stage being set up for them was interesting. I had assumed that, as with a lot of support bands, Pine For Cedars had borrowed at least some of the headliner’s drum kit. However, Jamie’s was removed completely and that of Siblings was scattered across the front of the stage. When the band appeared, they played in one line across the stage, with bass-player JD also playing the bass drum and vocalist Nathan doubling-up on snare drum. I’m told that Steele, who tonight played mandolin, is the only “proper” drummer in the band. Strange stage-positioning and instrument-sharing apart, the band’s first song didn’t really do anything for for me – it seemed to build up, but never actually went anywhere. Something about the second song, though, immediately brought to mind Hope & Social, perhaps more in the vocal harmonies and lightness of sound than the actual song itself. That lightness of sound gives the band’s output a kind of Summertime feel – something about it evokes an overall image of bright days and an impression of being outdoors in the sunshine – and the band would probably seem more at home on an outdoor festival stage than in a gloomy club. One much gentler sounding song is even called Summer’s End. The performance, in terms of music and  vocals, was very tight and polished and the sound was mostly playful and light. Currently with only an EP released, if Siblings ever release an album it could be the soundtrack to bright, sunny days (assuming we ever see any of those again…)

The Virginmarys–The Duchess, 26/02/13

It was a last-minute decision to go to tonight’s gig. The first I heard of The Virginmarys was a few weeks ago when Toby Jepson mentioned, during his gig, that he was producing their debut album. Toby’s audience had made generally approving noises, enough so that I was at least tempted to turn out when I saw that they were playing York just a a few weeks later. A quick listen to some of the tracks available on-line made my mind up for me.

I hadn’t heard of either of tonight’s support acts either. (It always surprises me just how many local bands there are out there.) There doesn’t seem to be much information about The Dead White Doves available and, to start with, I didn’t think I was going to like them. Their first track was loud and shouty, one of those musical styles that doesn’t do too much for me. Thankfully, they soon moved more towards rock than punk and, eventually, dovetailed into a much more blues-based rock style. Still loud, but musically and vocally much more pleasing to my ear. Mixing the blues with riff-driven rock, including one song that had a distinctive Quo-style riff, the threesome played a tight set with some very nice guitar work from Ben Rowe and lead vocals from bass-player Mike Dunn which, by the end of the set, were almost clear (something that a lot of support bands seem to struggle with in The Duchess). Special mention goes to Chris Mayes on drums – I always like watching drummers but there was something about his style as he played energetically but with such obvious enjoyment that I could have watched him for hours. There was definitely a lot for me to like in this opening set of the evening…

…and that, unfortunately, is more than I can say for the next act. And The Hangnails bill themselves as a Punk/Blues duo and, I was told by one audience member who knows him, that the guitarist (I’m not sure whether that is Martyn Fillingham or Steven Reid) can play the Blues “like a demon”. Sadly, tonight’s set was more Punk than Blues and definitely too close to the former for my tastes. The songs were a mixture of chaos and a lack of subtlety, with scream/shout vocals, and the occasional between song howl into the microphone, that evoked images of 70s underground punk clubs. Or, at least, how I imagine such clubs looked as, clearly, I have no experience of them. Despite all that, it was obvious that the duo were proficient at what they do. It’s just that what they do isn’t the sort of thing I like. They did redeem themselves slightly with Meet Me By The River, which was by far their best song, but even that was spoiled by some unnecessary histrionics at the end. Sorry, guys, but not for me.

The Virginmarys hail from Macclesfield and have been around since 2006, releasing a series of EPs and “mini-albums” before the full debut album, King Of Conflict, that they are currently touring to promote. The aforementioned Mr Jepson thinks they are going to be big, but also commented that it looks like they might break the States before their home country. They took to the stage to the indistinct sound of a voice-over and immediately launched into a kind of heavy rock with slight hint of an “indie sound”, with frontman Ally Dickaty constantly scanning the large audience with his intense gaze. As befits a band that have been together for so long, the performance was tight and seemingly effortless, despite the huge sound being generated. Effortless, that is, apart from Danny Dolan on drums, who frequently started songs standing up, slamming the sticks down from above his head with powerful abandon. This was a no-nonsense set – the songs came fast and furious, with little in the way of chat between them – and it wasn’t until half a dozen songs in that the light-show kicked in, banishing the gloom that had pervaded the stage for most of the evening. Most of the tracks were big, epic (at least one had a touch of Muse about it), although one or two were slightly more restrained. A couple were performed just by Dickaty, presumably in much the same way that the bonus CD included in the special edition of the album is made up of him playing acoustic versions of the band’s songs. The audience were lapping it up, with requests for Bang Bang Bang being shouted out and a mini dance area being formed off to one side. At the same time, however, the crowd seemed to be thinning a bit and, by the encore, which consisted of another quieter solo and ended with the much-requested Bang Bang Bang, there seemed to be a lot less people watching. Overall, I enjoyed the set enough to buy the album but whereas I normally complain that sets are too short, in this case, at fourteen songs plus the encore, it was just a bit too long. Maybe it was my unfamiliarity with the music but there seemed to be just slightly too little variance in the set.

Aynsley Lister–The Duchess, 23/11/12

It was a bit of a tough choice tonight. Over at Fibbers, The (partly) new line-up of the Heather Findlay Band were playing and I had been planning in going along since the date had been announced. The rest of the gang, however, were leaning more towards seeing Aynsley Lister. It would have been at least slightly churlish to go against the flow, especially given that not only hadn’t we seen him before (and, therefore, we would be hearing some new music, as opposed to Heather’s gig which would consist totally of songs I knew * ) but it had also been quite some time since we had all been out to a gig together.

So it was that we met up, albeit briefly, at The Duchess. Let me explain – as usual, Andy and I planned to meet up before the gig to sample some proper beer at a nearby pub. I had phoned the venue earlier in the day to ask what the stage times were and had been told that the support act would be starting at eight o’clock, so that’s when we aimed to get there. As it turned out, there was no support act (this was the second time this week, that I know of that somebody had been wrongly told there was) and Lister wasn’t due to take the stage until eight thirty. Anyway, Andy and I decided to head back out for another pint, leaving Roj and Lynn to enjoy their Duchess soft drinks. So much for “haven’t seen each other for ages”… Anyway, we still managed to catch up a bit when we got back as the gig eventually started much closer to nine!

Aynsley is a Blues guitarist and while his opening number was immediately recognisable as Blues, the slower Early Morning Dew had more of a Country feel to it, showing that he incorporates other influences into his music. While he doesn’t sweat and strain over his playing like some guitarists, it couldn’t be said that he plays with the apparent ease of the likes of Chantel McGregor. His playful banter and vague likeness to Hugh Grant, however, seems to endear him to one audience demographic. As he introduced new song Inside Out there was a cry of, “I Love You” from one woman, closely followed by, “I love you more” from her husband. It turns out that they had, apparently, spent nine hours driving up from Bournemouth for tonight’s gig. A few more random shouts led me to suspect that I had arrived in York just as the pubs opened for the day – a suspicion that seemed borne out when the woman caused a slight problem for Aynlsey (not to mention those of us behind her in the queue) when he was trying to sell CDs after the gig.

Eric Clapton is one obvious influence on Aynsley’s guitar work – the piano opening  to What’s It All About soon gives way to something that instantly reminded me of Clapton’s theme to the 80’s drama Edge Of Darkness. Later in the gig, there was a similar trip down memory lane during Texture Of Your Skin. Variation came along in the shape of a re-working of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, which was interesting but, I’m afraid, did nothing for me and, as much as it pains me to say so, I actually preferred the original. A cover of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, however, bordered on sublime and featured a really nice piano solo, while a couple of originals, including Sensible Love with it’s alternating slow and fast section, showcased the music on offer.

Another influence became apparent during the set closer. Early Morning is a much more Rock and Roll track which, at least partly due to the guitar used by Aynsley, combined with the retro sound and intricate guitar work, couldn’t help but bring to mind images of Michael J. Fox playing during the Under The Sea Dance in Back To The Future.

Sadly the venue’s early curfew (see last post) meant that we only got one encore. It seems that the woman mentioned earlier had come all that way to hear Purple Rain in particular. I’m not sure whether it was planned as the encore all along but her request was granted. I’m also not sure how Aynsley feels about somebody requesting a cover, as opposed to one of his own tracks but it has to be said that it is, in fact, quite a good version.

Compared to others, this may not have been the best value local gig we have seen (£12 for about one hundred minutes of music isn’t bad, but why are support acts suddenly such a dying breed?) but it was a reasonably impressive performance that introduced me to yet another modern blues guitarist and one I wouldn’t be averse to seeing again.

* As I understand it, from reading other reviews, Heather’s band did play one new song tonight.

Martin Barre’s New Day–Duchess, 20/11/12

It might be a Tuesday night, but there’s a legend in town. Martin Barre has been the guitarist with Jethro Tull for forty-three years. Only Ian Anderson has been in the band longer and he formed it. With the band taking a break from touring for a while Barre, who won a Grammy for his playing on Crest Of A Knave, has put together a band to play classic Tull material, amongst other things. I don’t know, maybe these guitarists think their finger will seize up if they stop playing for a while… There are a few Jethro Tull albums in my collection but I’m not such a big fan that I would recognise many of their songs. Still, this was too good an opportunity to miss.

With no support, the set opened with Barre, Hilaire Rama (bass) and George Lindsay (drums) playing a bluesy instrumental, the guitar playing over a lazy rhythm section. Eventually, the rest of the band – Pat O’May (guitar), Dan Crisp (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Frank Mead (flute, sax and harmonica) – arrived on stage. Crisp’s vocals had the characteristic inflections of those of Ian Anderson, if not the familiar tones, giving the impression that this was not just the sort of tribute act who try to reproduce the sound of a band exactly. After playing To Cry You A Song, Barre introduced the band, quipping that they were going to play “the Tull songs that I like”. There was lots of banter between songs, most of which must have been in-jokes for Tull fans, of which there were many in the audience, judging by the number of band T-shirts. Much of it went over my head. It wasn’t just Tull, though. Barre also played Blues numbers, such as Watch Your Step, that influenced his career and that he played in the Birmingham clubs in the mid-sixties, as well as examples of his solo works, like After You After Me, from his 2003 instrumental album Stage Left, which showed some sumptuous twin guitar work.

White Innocence, a rare Tull track, was followed by another of Barre’s solo pieces, The Potion, with O’May taking over on vocals and featuring some impressive guitar work. Not as impressive, though, as the crazy time signatures of A Passion Play, Part II with it’s gorgeous sax opening. The Blues influence continued with Steal Your Heart Away, another song from the mid-sixties, this time played in the style of Joe Bonamassa. Barre introduced the next track as from an album that has been “quite popular this year” and even I got the reference, with 2012 being the fortieth anniversary of Thick As A Brick (and the year that Ian Anderson released its sequel). More blues followed as Mead came centre-stage to take the lead vocals and to give it his all on harmonica on Sugarbabe, originally recorded by Buster Brown in 1962.  Then it was back to Barre’s solo work with Mysere, which continued the blues feel, before he announced that the band would be taking a fifteen minute break.

It was a bit surprising, therefore, to see him and Crisp back on stage after just five minutes, performing Still Loving You Tonight (one of the tracks that I do have in my collection). Apparently Barre had only just been told about the venue’s ten-thirty curfew. It was nearly ten o’clock and the band weren’t even halfway through the set. There followed frequent annoyed (at the venue, not at the band) shouting from the audience as Barre tried to decide which songs to cut from the second part of the set, declaring the situation “a nightmare” and ten-thirty as a “ridiculous time to end a gig”. Things livened up with the playing of a jig, which eventually turned into Hymn 43 from Aqualung (another track in my collection), during which Barre and Crisp swapped guitars for mandolins (or the like). The tracks in this section were coming fast and furious, as Barre attempted to make up time, his dislike of the curfew becoming more and more evident (as was that of the crowd). Eventually, after Mead had once again taken the lead for Song For Geoffrey and O’May had performed another stunning, slightly heavier instrumental, which included a wild sax section, and with the clock moving inexorably towards ten-thirty, the band played Living In The Past, one of Tull’s best known songs. Amid shouts of “carry on!” Barre asked if anybody from the venue was around. Nobody came forward, so he decided to just carry on. and played another instrumental before finishing the set (at around ten to eleven, yay!) with A New Day Yesterday.

The calibre of musicians on stage meant that this was a high-standard show, even taking into account the rushed feeling of the second half. As a whole, it was a lot more blues-orientated than I expected. Having said that, Jethro Tull started out as a blues band and have reportedly denied the “prog” label that is often used for them. I can’t help feeling, though, that the Duchess isn’t doing itself any favours as a live venue by having such an early curfew, especially as they don’t seem to tell the artists in advance (at least in this case). I know that the nightclub which invariably follows a live gig brings in a lot of money and almost certainly helps keep the live music side of the business going, but does it really take that long to get ready for it? I also wonder whether Barre will want to return to the venue, given some of his comments from the stage.