Jagged Edge - Cedar Court - April 2008

You're going to have to cut me some slack here, because I'm writing this, what, a fortnight after the show? And I've been basking in the Portuguese sunshine for most of that time (when not dodging the Portuguese rain or hiding from the Portuguese wind, that is).

So, how did the Cedar Court gig go? It would be awfully easy to slip into consultant mode, here.

The Cedar Court has many, many problems. First of all, no-one knows the name; to 90% of locals, the hotel at Ainley Top is the Pennine President or the Hilton. Secondly, it doesn't know its market; is it a business hotel, a ramblers' stop-off or a dirty weekend hide-away? Finally (well, not finally, but if they want me to sort out their business strategy they can pay for it) it just comes across as, well, half-arsed; laid out as if for an awards ceremony with staff dressed to the nines, yet serving up pie'n'peas and not even table service? Come on, make an effort...

The WAGs were (understandably) unhappy at being asked to pay but spirits were high by the (unnaturally early) time the boys hit the stage.

doof...doof...doof...doof...DUM-A-DUUUUUM...

Higher Place sounds amazing - the volume's turned down and we can hear every detail. This is going to be good. Well, for us anyway. Polite applause from the assorted birthday parties who have never heard of Journey and were probably hoping for a Robbie Williams tribute act or some Motown covers; they perk up at the mention of Bon Jovi, but they're not familiar with Runaway either. It takes that bloody Aerosmith song to get them onside.

Credit where it's due - we might not have particularly liked it, but DB's reading of the crowd is spot on and we're treated to the poppier side of the Edge with all the Jovi/Europe/Thunder chart-y stuff getting aired.

Part-time roadie (and full-time Brummie) James gives us a couple of his own songs before the second half and pretty damn good they are, too.

The second half sees a full dance floor with an early contender for dancer of the year who seems to have stones in her shoes. A request from the floor brings us another improvised version of Smoke on the Water, the location for which, interestingly, Big Dave moves from Montreux to Montrose. I went to Montrose once (to see Albion Rovers and, yes, we got gubbed); that's not Lake Geneva, that's the North Sea.

Again due to a request, ...Bad Name and ...Prayer are played out of order. This is much more unsettling than it should be.

Anyway, Adagio, Rock'n'Roll, Rosie... too soon (and stupidly early) it's all over. An interesting night - not as good as I'd hoped for, but not as bad as it could have been. The faults were not with band or crew - both were on top form; maybe I'm just becoming too demanding a punter?

See you at Broad Oak (in the rain, probably).

Awards Venue:


Awards Venue (band-eye view):


Full-time Brummie



Full Dancefloor:


Why are the dancing the Y-M-C-A?


New Song - Skip-to-ma-lou-Rosingana:


Portuguese Sunshine:

Jagged Edge - Shipley Tramshed - April 2008

If you think it's easy doin' one night stands
Try playin' in a rock roll band
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll

It's also a long way to the Tramshed if you lose confidence in your sense of direction and try following the road signs to Shipley from the M606. Our detour around a large arc of the Bradford ring road meant we got there about half an hour later than expected, but the party hadn't started without us so no big deal (Linda's nerves notwithstanding).

The Tramshed was considerably busier than on our previous visit but they have plenty of staff on both the bar and working the tables so it runs pretty much like clockwork (even if some of the table staff are a bit too keen to recover "empty" glasses). Other places could learn a lot from the Tramshed. Yes, Rock Café, I'm looking at you.

We weren't anticipating any surprises and, sure enough, the setlist was an unchallenging crowd pleaser.

The sound was a bit hit-and-miss throughout; Dave's keys were overly-prominent in both set openers, the top half of the guitar sound went completely AWOL during More Than A Feeling, the delay on the vocals seemed to be set at about a verse-and-a-half in places. When it came together, though, it was fantastic; Blue Collar Man, Faithfully, Comfortably Numb, Sweet Child o'Mine, Take it on the Run and Rock'n'Roll were all top-drawer performances; Wayward Son would have been on that list too if it hadn't tripped over itself somewhere in the instrumental break.

A good, fun show that knocked off any ring rust the guys might've had before Friday. Am I the only one excited about Friday? It has an "event" feel about it, can't put it any other way. Oh, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the crowd make-up; I'm expecting a bunch of hen parties and work leaving "do"s - can't wait to see the reaction to Adagio from people who think Noel Gallagher is a guitarist.

No offence, folks, but I'll be really disappointed if it's all the usual faces in attendance!

What else to say? Big Dave's big voice is just about back to full strength (hopefully that top note in Rosie hasn't set it back). I've got a theory about that which might just have taken shape by the weekend, so watch this space. Apart from that, schoolnight gigs - well, maybe just Monday night gigs - are a bad idea. Tuesday comes around too soon...


Dann the Mann


Drum'n'Bass


The Blue Boy


Key Player


Scream for me, Shipley