By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong...
Well, maybe not, but the Huddstock crowd was into three figures when we arrived, and half of them seemed to be the Still Buzzin' entourage!
First band, 10 Floors Below Society were well into their set and my first thought was, "Oh god, I hope we're not in for an afternoon of Coldplay wannabes".
Actually, TFBS didn't make me want to kill anyone; decent tunes, well played. The singer looked a bit uncomfortable stuck behind his keyboard, mind. Or maybe it was just that he looks uncannily like William'n'Harry's locked-in-the-attic secret brother?
Next were Still Buzzin'; our reason for being there early. This lot have been heavily plugged on these boards, haven't they? A good, fun set which led to the invention of our pastime for the afternoon – Edge Bingo, or the "what songs won't the Jaggies be playing?" game.
Very good covers of When September Ends and I Predict A Riot were overshadowed by a storming version of Hanging On he Telephone. Guys, you have no idea how close you came to being burned inside a giant wicker Debbie Harry. Covering Blondie is dangerously close to sacrilege in my book, but you pulled it off – back of the net!
Singer Nat has a fabulous set of pipes - thought about having a go at any Annie Lennox numbers?
Oh, yeah - scratch Jaggie song number 1 - It's My Life
With all due respect to those who'd already played, Red Star were the first act of he day who looked like a rock band. The singer, Will, prowls the stage like the bastard offspring of Johnny Lydon and Joey Ramone and sports the best sideburns since Charlie George. His attitude is love-me-or-loathe-me-you-will-not-ignore-me and, on top of all of this, he can actually sing! The acapella introduction to the set was almost prog rock-like and the music, although obviously heavily influenced by punk, Oasis and assorted other Manchester bands, owes more to Sunshine of Your Love than Wonderwall.
Me likey!
Oh, Red Star also gave us our first mad dancer of the day, a borderline-anorexic named Gordon.
Next up were Chasing Amy, a band popular at the YorkVic, apparently.
They opened with Teenage Kicks which, I have to say, was a bit creepy coming from a bloke on the wrong side of forty. Among unusual covers (I have never heard anyone play a Cult cover - Li’l Devil was pretty damned good), the Amy boys went overboard in helping us chalk off songs from the Jaggie set as favourites like Sweet Child o' Mine and Whole Lotta Rosie were "borrowed". The vocalist sounded a lot like Feargal Sharkey on the higher-pitched numbers and a bit like Larry the Lamb on more than one occasion.
Now, here's a confession; I likes me a bit of well-executed soul/ska. The whole Two Tone thing blew up when I was at high school and, much to the wife's dismay, I know all the words to Too Much Too Young to this day.
I had high hopes for Northern Beats, but they didn't quite scratch me where it itched. "Best dancers of the day" to their little group of followers, though, and their guitarist wins the "least rock'n'roll name at the festival" award. Cecil, mate, you need a nickname.
Remember that first time you bumped into one of your old schoolteachers in the pub and it took a few seconds to recognise them in unusual surroundings? Top marks to whoever lifted Give Me What’s Mine for interval music – it sounded fabulous through the big PA! Give me a shout if you want the rest of the album – a real overlooked 80s gem.
But then…
Aaargh! My ears! Bleeding! The noise! Make it stop!
It's official. I am Getting Old. It is the duty of youth to produce music which their elders do not understand. When they fail to do this, we end up with a hundred Coldplay soundalikes.
Ridgevex fulfil their duty admirably and I salute them for that.
But can they do it somewhere else in future?
Oh, mad Gordon had a dance partner by now – a somewhat larger chap the sun was slowly turning into a pink Tellytubby. I’ll bet he suffered come Sunday morning.
Bongos and a trumpet made an appearance on-stage and my heart sank just a little.
From what I could gather, Steam Powered are a sort of local blues/jazz/funk supergroup. Sounding like Robert Johnson meets Carlos Santana this is not normally my idea of fun but, given the weather and the vibe of the day (man!), a perfect fit.
Anyone get a full house in Edge Bingo? I was waiting for More Than A Feeling for my fourth corner.
Jagged Edge opened with the Higher Place/Runaway/Don't Want To Miss A Thing trifecta and, for the first time all afternoon, Dave B was looking chilled (stressful day behind the desks, eh?).
I don't know how well it fed back to the stage, so I'll tell you - that bloody Aerosmith song got the biggest, most overwhelmingly positive reception of anything, by anyone, all afternoon.
Danny's solo was awesome. I think he got The Bumper Book Of Guitar Hero Poses for Christmas as he made use of the extra stage space to throw all the shapes from Aldo Nova to Zakk Wylde.
Love Walked In led to Separate Ways (top vocal from Dave R) and Don't Stop Believing before Comfortably Numb inspired all the stoners to light up (again). Danny owned the stage.
Way too short a set, but that's the nature of festivals.
Modeliste were nex...
Oh who cares? The headliners have left the building...
Footnote:
Anyone else been watching Any Dream Will Do? We got home in time to see Lee doing a damned fine Living On A Prayer and it got me thinking; that Will from Red Star? He could be Joseph.
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Saturday, 12 May 2007
Jagged Edge - Hartlepool WMC - May 2007
Once upon a time, in those happy, clappy carefree years BM (before marriage) we all used to have season tickets at Leeds Road. Part of the masochistic ritual of being a Town fan was to take in at least one away game per season. These occassions, awaydays to near-neighbours (Bradford, Sheffield, Barnsley), journeys into the unknown (Bristol, Stoke) or expeditions into deepest, darkest Lancashire (Oldham, Rochdale) were all unique experiences; exciting and terrifying in equal measures and never, ever disappointing.
It was the spirit of these old times which took us to
Hartlepool Working Men's Club, 12 May 2007
We approached the venue with trepidation; it resembles those "secure facilities" the BBC reporters in Baghdad broadcast from - thick, brick-proof glazing and surrounded by an 8-foot high steel fence; "Toto, I don't think we're in Gledholt anymore."
Fortunately, we found some familiar, friendly faces in the hall and settled down for a night of high jinx and laughter.
"Eyes down for a full house!"
Oh dear. Albert Haller the Bingo Caller has been booked as support act.
Someone cracked a joke.
Someone laughed.
"A little order, please!"
The command was issued in the same tone of voice (albeit different accent) I last heard about 20 years ago when a 7'6" biker in a Glasgow eastend pub told me I'd spilled his pint. I didn't argue then and I'm considerably slower and less pissed these days.
We shut up.
The band played their first set to a generally receptive if not exactly enthusiastic audience. Old Albert, doing his best impression of that guy in the Wheeltappers' and Shunters' Social Club (I'm not the only one who remembers that, right?) had said that they'd be playing for 30 minutes, but thankfully, that message hadn't reached the guys who gave us a normal-length mix of Journey, Jovi, Aerosmith and Boston before a really good and appropriately-spaced-out-feeling Comfortably Numb.
As soon as the stage was clear, Albert was at it again.
How long? Half an hour? I don't know, I'd lost the will to live.
They do take their bingo seriously in Hartlepool.
The second set opened and I was surprised at the number of unlikely-looking people who were word-perfect in Journey-ese; don't judge a rocker by her floral-patterned Etam dress, I guess.
The dance floor was kept full with G'n'R, Free, Bad Company and Bon Jovi numbers and a number of requests were being passed to Dave B by now; happy birthdays, happy anniversaries etc. I must confess, I wanted one of them to say "Can you play The Crystal Chandeliers" but the only surprise was the jammed version of Smoke On The Water the boys knocked out.
Special credit to Dave R here - his, erm, improvised lyric probably went un-noticed among the drinking hoards. How can someone with so much hair not know the words to Smoke...?
A somewhat curtailed Adagio led into Rock'n'Roll and ...Rosie as usual; a rockin' good end to an interesting night.
Nice to know away matches are still fun.
It was the spirit of these old times which took us to
Hartlepool Working Men's Club, 12 May 2007
We approached the venue with trepidation; it resembles those "secure facilities" the BBC reporters in Baghdad broadcast from - thick, brick-proof glazing and surrounded by an 8-foot high steel fence; "Toto, I don't think we're in Gledholt anymore."
Fortunately, we found some familiar, friendly faces in the hall and settled down for a night of high jinx and laughter.
"Eyes down for a full house!"
Oh dear. Albert Haller the Bingo Caller has been booked as support act.
Someone cracked a joke.
Someone laughed.
"A little order, please!"
The command was issued in the same tone of voice (albeit different accent) I last heard about 20 years ago when a 7'6" biker in a Glasgow eastend pub told me I'd spilled his pint. I didn't argue then and I'm considerably slower and less pissed these days.
We shut up.
The band played their first set to a generally receptive if not exactly enthusiastic audience. Old Albert, doing his best impression of that guy in the Wheeltappers' and Shunters' Social Club (I'm not the only one who remembers that, right?) had said that they'd be playing for 30 minutes, but thankfully, that message hadn't reached the guys who gave us a normal-length mix of Journey, Jovi, Aerosmith and Boston before a really good and appropriately-spaced-out-feeling Comfortably Numb.
As soon as the stage was clear, Albert was at it again.
How long? Half an hour? I don't know, I'd lost the will to live.
They do take their bingo seriously in Hartlepool.
The second set opened and I was surprised at the number of unlikely-looking people who were word-perfect in Journey-ese; don't judge a rocker by her floral-patterned Etam dress, I guess.
The dance floor was kept full with G'n'R, Free, Bad Company and Bon Jovi numbers and a number of requests were being passed to Dave B by now; happy birthdays, happy anniversaries etc. I must confess, I wanted one of them to say "Can you play The Crystal Chandeliers" but the only surprise was the jammed version of Smoke On The Water the boys knocked out.
Special credit to Dave R here - his, erm, improvised lyric probably went un-noticed among the drinking hoards. How can someone with so much hair not know the words to Smoke...?
A somewhat curtailed Adagio led into Rock'n'Roll and ...Rosie as usual; a rockin' good end to an interesting night.
Nice to know away matches are still fun.
Sunday, 15 April 2007
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?
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?
Thursday, 12 April 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Rock 4 Kids Charity Gig - Slaithwaite, March 2007
Rock 4 Kids - Colne Valley Leisure Centre, 24 March 2007
Ah, dear, dear Slawit. It's a funny place; whenever I visit, I feel as if I've just doubled the gene pool.
And labels are funny things, especially when applied to music. If you've never heard a band before, all your preconceptions are built on the label someone has stuck on them. We all do it; music is one of the few things which haven't been "PC"ed yet - it's still acceptable to dislike various types of music; you don't have to tolerate other people's (lack of) taste and accommodate their wishes; you can just tell them to **** off and turn your Walkman up to 11.
Hence, without fear of imprisonment, I can state that hip-hop makes me run screaming from the room, that opera leaves me cold and that MariahHoustonDion is the three-headed beast in the Gospel According to Tommy.
Two labels always make me nervous, though. The first is "alternative"; alternative to what, exactly? The second is "Indie".
Now, I'm old enough to remember what "Indie" meant; it was a post-punk thing, independent record labels releasing material the big boys wouldn't touch. It was Postcard (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera), Rough Trade (Scritti Politti, Spizz Energi) and Factory (Joy Division). Not any more; "indie" these days seems to mean blokes with guitars playing vaguely 60s-revivalist stuff; The Answer and Kaiser Chiefs have a lineage that goes back through The Jam to The Small Faces and The Kinks; a very London-centric commercial sound; and the big labels love it. What's "indie" about that?
So you see, Friends of Dave had all this to contend with before they'd even played a note, and all because of a label. They opened the show with a Snow Patrol number and, right away, you could tell they were enjoying themselves (even if they looked as if they should be in the pub along the road watching the England game). What's not to love about a band with Lee Hurst's long-lost brothers playing lead and rhythm guitars? Material was as you'd expect - Kaisers, Killers etc - a good start to the night.
Next up was Vital Signs. They were billed as "Colne Valley's answer to The Commitments". Now, there's another label for you. One which displays a singular lack of ambition. You wouldn't get a comedian calling himself "Lindley's Jim Davidson"; you wouldn't get on the shortlist at Home FM if you called yourself "The Simon Bates of Dalton".
Simon Cowell would have had a field day with them; this was really, really bad karaoke. Hook up a dynamo to the recently-departed James Brown because he's spinning in his grave a damn sight faster than those turbines on the Civic Centre roof; "I Feel Good" appeared to start in 3 different keys. They almost rescued the set with a politically-corrected "Sweet Home Alabama" but, from there on in, they clearly started making it up as they went along. The random song selector threw up Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Bryan Adams (I giggled at the thought of Dave hastily rewriting the Jaggies' setlist), Oasis and - horror of horrors - REM (the appearance of a mandolin onstage these days has the same effect a saxophone used to because, just as "sax = Baker Street", "mandolin = Losing My Religion"). The cherry on the cake was the inclusion of "Pride" by the most over-rated band in living memory, U2. This was clearly shoe-horned in because the singer thinks he's Bono. Someone needs to tell him he isn't.
I thought the mini-moshers in the crowd were really cute. Everyone should have one as a pet, but they're messy little critters, aren't they?
It's over 20 years since my college mate, Brian, started raving about this new, super-charged rock music he called "thrash". He dragged me along to a gig in Glasgow (2 quid, if memory serves; bear in mind that it used to cost a fiver to see the top bands at the Apollo at this time, kids; none of your £80-to-stand-in-a-field nonsense back then) featuring two up-and-coming acts of the genre. Anthrax were really funny. Noisy as hell, but heavy on the humour. Metallica scared the living bejesus out of me.
Icarus very much reminded me of Anthrax. The image is straight out of 1985 - Dom should have arrived on a skateboard! Thrash musicianship is under-rated; the key and tempo changes are legion and unpredictable to the casual ear but Icarus were very tight; a very talented bunch of guys (much more so than they deserve to be at that age). I was particularly impressed by the brave but expertly executed cover of Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera" (even if it was a bit rushed to begin with; it's fast enough guys, you don't need to prove anything!) and the great Sabbath medley. Nice touches of humour; they didn't take themseves too seriously under the lights, though singer/lead Sam could smile a bit more off-stage! Oh, bassist Dan looks like Captain Caveman.
Y'know what? I'm going to let someone else write up the Jaggies' set. I'll only make one comment; "Faithfully" has the potential to be very, very special, but that's my school disco memories you're playing with, boys - it needs a bit of polish yet...
Whatever happened to number 48?
Ah, dear, dear Slawit. It's a funny place; whenever I visit, I feel as if I've just doubled the gene pool.
And labels are funny things, especially when applied to music. If you've never heard a band before, all your preconceptions are built on the label someone has stuck on them. We all do it; music is one of the few things which haven't been "PC"ed yet - it's still acceptable to dislike various types of music; you don't have to tolerate other people's (lack of) taste and accommodate their wishes; you can just tell them to **** off and turn your Walkman up to 11.
Hence, without fear of imprisonment, I can state that hip-hop makes me run screaming from the room, that opera leaves me cold and that MariahHoustonDion is the three-headed beast in the Gospel According to Tommy.
Two labels always make me nervous, though. The first is "alternative"; alternative to what, exactly? The second is "Indie".
Now, I'm old enough to remember what "Indie" meant; it was a post-punk thing, independent record labels releasing material the big boys wouldn't touch. It was Postcard (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera), Rough Trade (Scritti Politti, Spizz Energi) and Factory (Joy Division). Not any more; "indie" these days seems to mean blokes with guitars playing vaguely 60s-revivalist stuff; The Answer and Kaiser Chiefs have a lineage that goes back through The Jam to The Small Faces and The Kinks; a very London-centric commercial sound; and the big labels love it. What's "indie" about that?
So you see, Friends of Dave had all this to contend with before they'd even played a note, and all because of a label. They opened the show with a Snow Patrol number and, right away, you could tell they were enjoying themselves (even if they looked as if they should be in the pub along the road watching the England game). What's not to love about a band with Lee Hurst's long-lost brothers playing lead and rhythm guitars? Material was as you'd expect - Kaisers, Killers etc - a good start to the night.
Next up was Vital Signs. They were billed as "Colne Valley's answer to The Commitments". Now, there's another label for you. One which displays a singular lack of ambition. You wouldn't get a comedian calling himself "Lindley's Jim Davidson"; you wouldn't get on the shortlist at Home FM if you called yourself "The Simon Bates of Dalton".
Simon Cowell would have had a field day with them; this was really, really bad karaoke. Hook up a dynamo to the recently-departed James Brown because he's spinning in his grave a damn sight faster than those turbines on the Civic Centre roof; "I Feel Good" appeared to start in 3 different keys. They almost rescued the set with a politically-corrected "Sweet Home Alabama" but, from there on in, they clearly started making it up as they went along. The random song selector threw up Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Bryan Adams (I giggled at the thought of Dave hastily rewriting the Jaggies' setlist), Oasis and - horror of horrors - REM (the appearance of a mandolin onstage these days has the same effect a saxophone used to because, just as "sax = Baker Street", "mandolin = Losing My Religion"). The cherry on the cake was the inclusion of "Pride" by the most over-rated band in living memory, U2. This was clearly shoe-horned in because the singer thinks he's Bono. Someone needs to tell him he isn't.
I thought the mini-moshers in the crowd were really cute. Everyone should have one as a pet, but they're messy little critters, aren't they?
It's over 20 years since my college mate, Brian, started raving about this new, super-charged rock music he called "thrash". He dragged me along to a gig in Glasgow (2 quid, if memory serves; bear in mind that it used to cost a fiver to see the top bands at the Apollo at this time, kids; none of your £80-to-stand-in-a-field nonsense back then) featuring two up-and-coming acts of the genre. Anthrax were really funny. Noisy as hell, but heavy on the humour. Metallica scared the living bejesus out of me.
Icarus very much reminded me of Anthrax. The image is straight out of 1985 - Dom should have arrived on a skateboard! Thrash musicianship is under-rated; the key and tempo changes are legion and unpredictable to the casual ear but Icarus were very tight; a very talented bunch of guys (much more so than they deserve to be at that age). I was particularly impressed by the brave but expertly executed cover of Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera" (even if it was a bit rushed to begin with; it's fast enough guys, you don't need to prove anything!) and the great Sabbath medley. Nice touches of humour; they didn't take themseves too seriously under the lights, though singer/lead Sam could smile a bit more off-stage! Oh, bassist Dan looks like Captain Caveman.
Y'know what? I'm going to let someone else write up the Jaggies' set. I'll only make one comment; "Faithfully" has the potential to be very, very special, but that's my school disco memories you're playing with, boys - it needs a bit of polish yet...
Whatever happened to number 48?
Sunday, 11 February 2007
Jagged Edge, Waterloo, February 2007
Waterloo Bowling Club. It's not the first place you'd think of for a romantic assignation but, way back in 2000, that's where my then-girlfriend wanted to spend Sunday afternoon.
"There's a really good band playing - I've seen them before; they do all the sort of stuff you like!"
I recall being quite impressed by the turnout and laughing when I heard Journey's "Escape" album being played beforehand. Did this lot really think they should have Journey supporting them?
The band - named "Impossible Dream", or something equally banal - hit the stage to a decent response and proceeded to turn in pretty good versions of a variety of AOR and soft rock classics. To be honest, they weren't that memorable; the singer could hold a tune and the guitarist desperately wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. They should have let him do "Eruption" and get it out of his system, but he had to settle for "Jump".
After an hour or so, the singer announced that they were taking a break and that, later, he'd be joined onstage by some old friends for a reunion of sorts. The buzz picked up.
The band which took the stage in the second half was a different kettle of fish altogether. The chemistry between then was plain to see; a tight, cohesive sound with strong vocal harmonies - now I was sold.
Six and a half years later, Jagged Edge are back at the Waterloo. The crowd's big again, but now the faces are familiar. The setlist is as strong as ever, with the usual numbers from Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Thunder and Pink Floyd jostling for space with more than usual from Journey (as the boys perfect their set for the Journey Convention later this month) and a couple of not-played-in-yonks numbers ("Jump" and "Summer of '69") on which the band were joined by their former bassist (an increasingly regular occurence - there seems to be a never-ending stream of ex-Jaggies!).
The lightshow seemed to work particularly well on this occasion, but the main thing was the sound - absolutely top-drawer; the best I've heard the boys sound in ages (hangovers not withstanding!)
Oh, and that girlfriend? She hasn't been for quite some time. These days I go to gigs with my wife.
Funny, they look a lot alike...
"There's a really good band playing - I've seen them before; they do all the sort of stuff you like!"
I recall being quite impressed by the turnout and laughing when I heard Journey's "Escape" album being played beforehand. Did this lot really think they should have Journey supporting them?
The band - named "Impossible Dream", or something equally banal - hit the stage to a decent response and proceeded to turn in pretty good versions of a variety of AOR and soft rock classics. To be honest, they weren't that memorable; the singer could hold a tune and the guitarist desperately wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. They should have let him do "Eruption" and get it out of his system, but he had to settle for "Jump".
After an hour or so, the singer announced that they were taking a break and that, later, he'd be joined onstage by some old friends for a reunion of sorts. The buzz picked up.
The band which took the stage in the second half was a different kettle of fish altogether. The chemistry between then was plain to see; a tight, cohesive sound with strong vocal harmonies - now I was sold.
Six and a half years later, Jagged Edge are back at the Waterloo. The crowd's big again, but now the faces are familiar. The setlist is as strong as ever, with the usual numbers from Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Thunder and Pink Floyd jostling for space with more than usual from Journey (as the boys perfect their set for the Journey Convention later this month) and a couple of not-played-in-yonks numbers ("Jump" and "Summer of '69") on which the band were joined by their former bassist (an increasingly regular occurence - there seems to be a never-ending stream of ex-Jaggies!).
The lightshow seemed to work particularly well on this occasion, but the main thing was the sound - absolutely top-drawer; the best I've heard the boys sound in ages (hangovers not withstanding!)
Oh, and that girlfriend? She hasn't been for quite some time. These days I go to gigs with my wife.
Funny, they look a lot alike...
Saturday, 22 July 2006
Some blokes from work, escaping the day job
A few of my friends are musical and take part in the sort of band-based incest which made Pete Frame a millionaire.
Dave and Stuart (both gtr/vox) are both 60s nuts and fancy themselves as Huddersfield's Lennon and McCartney but have become rather reclusive of late. Phil (drums) normally plays with D&S and just likes hitting things. He looks about half of his 38 years when he's got sticks in his hands. Pat (bass) takes himself way too seriously but is more talented than I'd ever tell him.
Pat plays in 3 different bands - a swing outfit (which he started about a year before Robbie had the idea but which has got a lot of bookings in the back of Mr Williams' popularity), an Irish band (he really is a "Pat") and a rock/blues band.
It was the last of these which played at the weekend, with Phil sitting in for their usual drummer. The two guitarists wouldn't look out of place in the Queen Vic - very Mitchell bruvvers.
Opening with "Dancing In The Moonlight" was a bit of a miss-step, I thought. The pub wasn't overly full and a fair few of the younger ones looked blankly at each other before heading for the trivia machine. Can't fault the sound balance, though; the twin guitars were excellent and Phil's "rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat" fills were wonderfully authentic!
The set was a really good selection of songs with the usual pub band standards mixed with a few unexpected tracks I hadn't heard in years. For every "All Right Now" there was a "Can't Fool The Blues" (a song by Bruce-Baker-Moore), for every "Black Magic Woman" a "Renegade" (yep, a Styx cover version. What would HMHB make of that?)
Highlight of the night - "Shooting Star". The old Bad Company track which was a staple at our students' union rock discos back in the day. Great song, great memories.
Lowlight of the night - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Urgh! Better than the original but still fucking shite. Ufucking2 didn't write a decent song after their second album. I am right about this. In years to come, I will be lauded as the person who showed the world that Ufucking2, The Office and Chris Morris were the turn-of-the-millennium emperor's new clothes.
We don't get out much these days, but I think we're going to have to make the effort to take in some of the other bands playing locally. There seems to be quite a thriving scene going on largely built, it would appear, by ageing rockers whose kids have finally flown the nest. It might only be nostalgia, but at least it's good nostalgia because, as we all know, rock achieved perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Dave and Stuart (both gtr/vox) are both 60s nuts and fancy themselves as Huddersfield's Lennon and McCartney but have become rather reclusive of late. Phil (drums) normally plays with D&S and just likes hitting things. He looks about half of his 38 years when he's got sticks in his hands. Pat (bass) takes himself way too seriously but is more talented than I'd ever tell him.
Pat plays in 3 different bands - a swing outfit (which he started about a year before Robbie had the idea but which has got a lot of bookings in the back of Mr Williams' popularity), an Irish band (he really is a "Pat") and a rock/blues band.
It was the last of these which played at the weekend, with Phil sitting in for their usual drummer. The two guitarists wouldn't look out of place in the Queen Vic - very Mitchell bruvvers.
Opening with "Dancing In The Moonlight" was a bit of a miss-step, I thought. The pub wasn't overly full and a fair few of the younger ones looked blankly at each other before heading for the trivia machine. Can't fault the sound balance, though; the twin guitars were excellent and Phil's "rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat" fills were wonderfully authentic!
The set was a really good selection of songs with the usual pub band standards mixed with a few unexpected tracks I hadn't heard in years. For every "All Right Now" there was a "Can't Fool The Blues" (a song by Bruce-Baker-Moore), for every "Black Magic Woman" a "Renegade" (yep, a Styx cover version. What would HMHB make of that?)
Highlight of the night - "Shooting Star". The old Bad Company track which was a staple at our students' union rock discos back in the day. Great song, great memories.
Lowlight of the night - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Urgh! Better than the original but still fucking shite. Ufucking2 didn't write a decent song after their second album. I am right about this. In years to come, I will be lauded as the person who showed the world that Ufucking2, The Office and Chris Morris were the turn-of-the-millennium emperor's new clothes.
We don't get out much these days, but I think we're going to have to make the effort to take in some of the other bands playing locally. There seems to be quite a thriving scene going on largely built, it would appear, by ageing rockers whose kids have finally flown the nest. It might only be nostalgia, but at least it's good nostalgia because, as we all know, rock achieved perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
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