Jagged Edge - Golcar British Legion - April 2007

Y'know how sometimes you put something down and you can see in your mind's eye where you left it but you can't quite put your hand on it?

Maybe it's my age, but I did that with a word recently; it was at the Slaithwaite show and I was buggered if I could find it. This afternoon, it popped back into my mind, but more of that later.

Winkle Club Benefit. Golcar British Legion, 15 April 2007.

Unusually, we got to hear a bit of the boys' soundcheck today and rather enlightening it was, too. The brothers Rosingana have a very exciting version of The Trees by Rush hidden away in their not inconsiderable repertoire which I'd like to hear and I really, really want to hear all of Carry On Wayward Son, because that teaser was just awesome.

I expected this afternoon's set to lean heavily on that from Thursday and so it turned out, but the variations were just enough to keep us from getting complacent; we had Journey, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon, Pink Floyd; all good, crowd-pleasing stuff in the first half. In the second, Don't Stop Believing and a bunch of oldies - (Love is Like) Oxygen, Jump and Bed of Roses - were highlights, but I don't want to spend too much time on the songs this time out (other than to complain about the absence of Faithfully).

Big kudos to the sound guys - this was streets ahead of the Rock Cafe sound throughout - the harmonies sounded great and the instrumental/vocal mix was spot-on.

Dave Bamforth excelled on his big ballads; Don't Want to Miss... (NOT my favourite song, normally) and Bed of Roses sounded better than they have in ages; I don't think I'm the first to suggest that the Jaggies' Bed of Roses is better than the original.

Anyway, "Soaring" was the word I mislaid. Careless of me, really - it doesn't hide itself particularly well between "soap" and "soave" in the OED - but I couldn't find it until this afternoon.

"Soaring" is the word I wanted to (indeed, am about to) apply to Dave Rosingana's backing vocals; his Wanted, Dead or Alive could strip paint at 50 yards; you're left wondering if he really needs that microphone.

Best things about today? A lot to choose from. The best news for the band is that I heard a fair few Jaggie-virgins saying they'd be back. My good lady was delighted to see Dave B's leather strides make a rare appearance in the first half (honestly, if it wasn't for Lady Bamforth, I'd find this really worrying).

Worst thing? Well, it's probably the last gig we'll be at until Huddstock, so someone else is going to have to contribute to this thread between now and then.

Now, can someone tell me what a winkle club does?

Jagged Edge - Rock Cafe, Huddersfield - April 2007

The Rock Café's usually a nice spot for a quiet pint of an afternoon, but I really don't rate it as a live venue, especially for the Jaggies. The sound's always a bit iffy (moreso than normal, tonight) and the boys deserve a proper stage. Hey, just my opinion…

Higher Place is a great set opener (as a Perry fan, I've never really rated Augeri-period Journey, but this is an exception) and leads us into a fine set of JE standards with a few not-heard-in-a-while tracks to keep us on our toes; it's great to hear More Than A Feeling and Take It On The Run again.

One thing the Rock Café does allow is for us to study the craftsmanship that goes into a JE show. Getting up-close'n'personal makes it easy to pick out the different parts in the harmony that we take for granted; it means we feel Alan's (under-appreciated?) drumming; it lets us taste the sweet, sweet chemistry the boys have (sorry, this is starting to sound all NME, isn't it?)

You know the band are on form when they're ready for a break before you are; tonight's is one such performance. Dan, whether producing a note-perfect Schon reproduction or improvising like crazy over Dave's lush keyboards is absolutely smokin', his fingers utterly mesmerising as he fits more notes to the bar than Mariah "warbling harridan" Carey.

The second half is a romp; Sweet Child o'Mine, a version of Faithfully which is a massive step up from the Slaithwaite show, Give Me All Your Love Tonight (look, Whitesnake are not, never have been and never will be "heavy", OK?) and the obligatory Bon Jovi singalong lead us into Dan's solo and the encores.

I love the change in dynamic the band undergoes when Dave'n'Dave swap roles; the gum-popping bassist becomes a different person when he takes the lead and (literally) lets his hair down. Old Percy Plant himself would love tonight's Rock'n'Roll and ...Rosie was a blast as always.

Thanks guys, great show. What's that? Time for one more?

Oh boy, Girl Can't Help It is an earworm to keep me going until…



OH YA BEAUTY! I've got tickets for Sunday!