Adam Again

Friday 15th October: Weekends in York are still providing sparse fare in respect of new music to tempt us to the city's bigger venues. Thankfully, while the "clubs" are failing to entice, those pubs which try to drag the punters in by providing musical entertainment (albeit generally in the form of covers bands) are still providing ample opportunities to see some good acts. Tonight it's a rare full complement, including one new-comer, on an even rarer visit to the Punchbowl (Stonegate version) to see someone who is rapidly becoming a favourite.


I suppose, if we were to be totally honest, none of us would have known about Adam Dawson if he hadn't been chosen as Breathing Space's new guitarist. Although he plays regularly in York, it's generally not in a combination of venues we frequent and the nights we frequent them. Tonight, though, is the third time I've seen him, in a third different venue. It's not just the music, either - Adam seems happy enough to take time to speak with the punters and comes across as a genuinely nice guy.

The Punchbowl is a bit of a strange venue for music. The acts perform in one of its three rooms. In fact the room that doubles as a dining area and that people have to walk though to get to the back bar and the, errm, conveniences. The former means that the music doesn't start until food has stopped being server and eaten and the latter means that it can be quite a busy thoroughfare. Tonight, as Adam started his set, all the tables were taken and my usual standing spot was occupied. In fact, by the time we had all turned up I found myself standing through the doorway of the back bar, listening to the music rather than watching the performance and directly in line with the Table.

Why the capitalisation? Well, for me at least the Table has taken on a degree of notoriety. The smaller of two tables directly in front of the stage area it seems that every time I've seen an act at the Punchbowl it has been occupied by people who are determined to shout at each other over the music. Tonight was no exception but it was slightly embarrassing when I pointed out the Table to Adam while chatting to him during his break only to have him tell me that the occupants were friends of his. You know those times when you wish that the ground would open up underneath you...?

Anyway, as the second half of the set started, the occupants of both of the tables in front of the stage had moved, meaning that we got a chance to sit down, a much better view and less shouting. For all its faults, the Punchbowl does serve a very good selection of real ale and is a pretty good venue for music.

I realise that I've yet to mention Adam's performance. The set comprised mostly of songs we've heard him perform before and which are becoming familiar, even if I can't remember what some of them are called or who sang them without resorting to noting down lyrics, hoping I can read my won writing when I got home and Googling. Tonight a mixture of technical difficulties and a voice suffering from a week of teaching meant that Adam felt the need to apologise for a below par sound and to choose carefully which songs to perform. Not that it was too noticeable and it was still a thoroughly entertaining evening.

We were even treated to three of Adam's own songs - two more than last time. Along with the ubiquitous Lazy Susan, his latest single, we got I'm Coming Home and the beautiful and emotional Silver Skies, another track from the single, as the encore. I'd like to think that it was my request that got the latter played but it could just be that he was planning it anyway.

A more or less complete set list for tonight is:
Forever Lost (The Magic Numbers), unknown, Cannonball (Damien Rice), Dream Catch Me (Newton Faulkner), Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's), Sewn (Feeling - not sure about this one), Rule The World (Coldplay), Poker Face (Lady Gaga), Use Somebody (Kings of Leon), Lazy Susan (Adam Dawson), Streets of London (Ralph McTell), Shine (Take That), I'm Coming Home (Adam Dawson), Little Lion Man (Munford & Sons), Sloop John B (The Beach Boys), Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen), Silver Skies (Adam Dawson)

Simon Says...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Small Intake of Breath

Friday 14th August: Crikey! It's been over a month since my last post, which means that it has also been over a month since I went to a gig. I have to admit that, in my opinion, the live music scene in York is a little bit in the doldrums at the moment - even looking at the Duchess's What's On list for the rest of the year there are only a handful of bands that I am actually looking forward to seeing. Although, I was chatting to Bryan Josh during the break, asking him whether there were any plans to perform his solo stuff live in York and it turns out that the first weekend in December is going to be quite busy - Bryan Josh at the Duchess on the 4th, Mostly Autumn at the Grand Opera House on the 5th and Breathing Space at the Duchess on the 6th.

Tonight, however, it's a cut down attendee list (myself and Roy) out to see a cut down band (Breathing Space unplugged , a.k.a. Iain Jennings and Livvy Sparnenn) playing a mostly acoustic set at the somewhat intimate venue that is the Punchbowl. It was reasonably busy, meaning that the area reserved for live music was quite full with some very familiar faces in attendance, including family and friends of the performers. Unfortunately, from where I was standing Livvy was perfectly hidden by a speaker.

This was the first unplugged set the duo have performed and they as much as admitted that they probably hadn't rehearsed as much as they should have done, leading to the use of cheat sheets for some lyrics. Apart from that, however, it was a superb performance. Livvy's voice, not having to fight against the sound of the rest of the band (or, perhaps, the acoustics in the usual venue) was stunning and came across as stronger than normal. My only criticism is that it came across as just a little too strong on a couple of occasions during a cover version of Fields of Gold.

Iain's keyboards, in this case more piano-like than synthesiser, are always brilliant and tonight he showed that he can play both his own compositions using a different style and some more-than-competent cover versions. Tonight was also the first time that I realised that keyboards themselves can be used to keep time during a performance (obvious in hindsight but I'm musically incompetent, remember...) and there were more than a few times when I found myself playing along with Iain (on my leg) where I would normally be doing something similar to the drum line.

Overall, we were treated to nearly two hours of music which added a new dimension to the existing catalogue and provided an insight into the new album (sadly not available tonight, despite the hope of being able to pick up a copy being the main reason I decided to go out on my wedding anniversary...) It's probably not a surprise that the set leaned heavily towards Beneath The Radar, with six songs from it being performed. Perhaps more surprising was that we also heard six covers and only a total of five songs from the first two albums. It may still be too soon the band's career to suggest an album in the format of Bon Jovi's This Left Feels Right, but it may well be an option in the future. The full set list, with sources and a few notes, was:

Coming Up For Air (Coming Up For Air); Clear (Beneath The Radar - the only song from that album written by Paul Teasdale and also available on the cover CD of Classic Rock Presents Prog issue 3); Dusk (Beneath The Radar); No Promises (Breathing Space); You've Got A Friend (Carole King); Belief (Breathing Space); Lantern (Beneath The Radar - performed live for the first time tonight); Fields Of Gold (Sting); Here Comes The Rain Again (Annie Lennox); When I Hold Onto You (Coming Up For Air); Rain Song (Coming Up For Air - in my opinion, the best performance of the night and originally performed by Livvy and Chris Johnson when they supported Mostly Autumn); Autumn Leaves (Eva Cassidy); The Night Takes You Home (Beneath The Radar); Never Make Your Move Too Soon (Bonnie Raitt); Drowning (Beneath The Radar); I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt); Questioning Eyes (Beneath The Radar).

The Cat With No Hat Goes Out Alone

Friday 1st August: With apologies to Dr. Seuss...

It should not have been hard, with just two of us out.
It should have been easy, with problems of nowt.

We planned to go out in the City Centre throng.
But Friday was the 1st and the listings were wrong.

We came up with a plan, it went something like this.
We'd meet at the Punchbowl, to see Johnson, Chris.

According to some, he was starting at eight.
I think Roj was on time, but I was a bit late.

I asked about start times and was told half past nine.
I didn't know Roj had arrived, so that was fine.

I stood by the doorway, with a glass full of beer.
Keeping a watch out for my friend to appear.

After a while, the beer had gone.
Sightings of Roj, there had been none.

I stood for a while in the street looking round.
Still no sign of my friend had I found.

For a few minutes more, I waited alone.
Texting a mate for a number to phone.

I even phoned home to speak to the female.
So she could log on to check my email.

No further updates, so I headed down the path.
To check out Plan B, the band at the Bath.

When I got there of Roj there still was no sign.
The band didn't sound good, it was decision time.

I decided to give the Bath band a miss.
I went back to the Punchbowl to listen to Chris.

By now Roj's number had arrived on my phone.
So I sent him a text and found he'd gone home.

Turns out at both venues, each other we'd missed.
By minutes and we just weren't ready for this.

Although mine was with me, Roj was without phone.
He'd gone home disappointed and left me out alone.

Now, much as I'd like to continue in rhyme.
I'm afraid it has come to gig review time.

Chris Johnson. Formerly of Hazzard County. Formerly of Mostly Autumn. Currently with Fish. Tonight playing an acoustic set in what turns out to be the surprisingly intimate setting of the Punchbowl. Acts play in what is normally a dining area and, while it isn't exactly a separate room from the rest of the pub, the layout means that you can actually listen to the music without having to strain to hear over most of the chatterers.

Slipping forward slightly, to the interval, I overheard Chris telling someone who asked whether he was still playing with Fish that he was but that he was a bit sick of the rock music and wanted to do a bit more folky stuff. That comment goes a long way to explaining tonight's set. It seems that, rather than have a set list, Chris works from a list of songs he knows, playing whatever takes his fancy at the time. Tonight he played the likes of Bob Dylan, The Band (Up on Cripple Creek), John Prine (Grandpa was a carpenter) as well as a handful of traditional Irish tunes such as Irish Rover and Whisky in the Jar. His first song after the break was one of his own tunes which showed a surprising gentleness of playing, compared to the passion in both his vocals and guitar-playing when he is doing covers.

Being honest, being on my own, I had half-decided not to stay for the full set (particularly as it started nearer ten than nine-thirty). However, as time went on, I realised that I was enjoying the music enough to stay and, eventually, left when the music finished at nearly midnight.

There's something about Chris Johnson. For me, I think he was what was missing at the Hazzards gig we went to a couple of weeks ago. It's not that he is Hazzard County, it's more that Hazzard County sound better when he is with them. That's a personal opinion and one I know others don't agree with. Counterpointing that, however, is the impression he gives that he should be doing bigger and better things. There's no arguing that he is talented. The question is whether he should be using other bands in an apparent way of furthering his own musical career, leaving a trail of ex-bands and, occassionally, disappointed fans (of those bands) in his wake.