Articles

19 April 2010: The Primitives + Lucky Soul - The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham, England, UK

Another day, another reformation. These usually fill me with dread as, with the odd exception (The Jesus and Mary Chain), the happy memories of some wonderful tunes are stealthily stolen away and replaced by a reissue and another hole in your pocket.

But hang on, this one might just be worth it...[more]

Mon 19 Apr – The Primitives, Lucky Soul

11 April 2010: Airbourne + Black Spiders + Taking Dawn - Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK

What better way to spend a Sunday night than going to a gig where you’re only interested in a support band?

The opening act of the evening were Taking Dawn from the good ol’ US of A. For me they were an unknown quantity with an amusing Wikipedia entry which was either penned by the band themselves or some marketing exec trying to build up the hype and shift a few units. First impressions were of being trapped in a time warp from the late 80s or early 90s. Taking Dawn looked and sounded very much in the same vein as Skid Row...[more]

Sun 11 Apr – Airbourne

16 January 2010: Pressgang - Elm Tree, Cambridge, England, UK

I had a few problems getting to (and finding!) the venue, so the band had already started by the time I got there. Shame really, because they were on top form.

The stage was tiny and the venue was one of those narrow pubs that mean that wherever you try to stand you feel in the way - probably great if you just want a pub, but not much good for gigs. Especially bands like Pressgang where people do get that strange urge to dance around a lot...[more]
Sat 16 Jan – Pressgang

19 September 2009: The Wildhearts + Black Spiders + No Americana - Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK

First support was provided by No Americana; 4 young fellas, sounded alright, not really my bag though. The second support act was Black Spiders; loved this lot, whiffs of Sacred Reich, Motorhead and AC/DC which is meant as a compliment, rocked hard and heavy without resorting to the just-need-to-be-fast-to-be-heavy angle - highly recommended. They’re supporting The Answer (a.k.a. poor man’s Black Crowes) soon and I might go along just to catch the Black Spiders.

Rock City had filled up by this stage and I’d guess wasn’t far short, if at all, of being a sellout. It’s great to see people coming out for The Wildhearts once again after a brief lull in their apparent popularity (or marketing)...[more]

Sat 19 Sep – The Wildhearts, Black Spiders, No Americana

11 June 2009: Eastfield + Garden Gang + Paul Carter + Chris Butler - Victoria Inn, Derby, England, UK

It was much later than I had anticipated when I arrived at Derby's Victoria Inn and I was dreading missing the first artist but, a bit of good fortune for me, it was much later than anticipated when Chris Butler appeared on the stage at about 20:30 and consequently I managed to catch all of his set.

Less fortunately, Chris's set had to be cut short to fit all of the acts onto the bill. This meant that we only got four tracks. But, oh, what tracks they were.

Chris is a folk-punk-protest singer and his songs are story-telling...[more]

Thu 11 Jun – Eastfield, Chris Butler, Paul Carter, Garden Gang

29 April 2009: The Sizzling Gypsies - The Enterprise, Camden, London, England, UK

Fortunately for the 30-40 foot-tapping music loving audience in the Enterprise last night, 5 males have been drinking gallons of the stuff.

Raucous vocals, drooling riffs and boundless energy were the first impressions I got from The Sizzling Gypsies. Put these traits together with an ability to write and perform huge songs and it seems all the ingredients are in place. Granted, I’ve only known of the band for roughly 48 hours through my friend Kev who has known the members of the band for several years, but having witnessed 30 minutes of material last night it’s easy to get pretty excited...[more]

Wed 29 Apr – The Sizzling Gypsies

Live at Woodstock (DVD) - Jimi Hendrix (released 19 September 2005)



Everyone knows that Jimi Hendrix was good but seeing him at Woodstock really brings it home.

The fluidity and style with which he played – not to mention the soul – were out of this world. Delays on the day meant Jimi and his band of gypsies didn’t go on stage until 9am which might have been a pain for the festival-goers but it does make it easier to examine his playing all these years later. His dexterity and speed throughout some incredibly complex arrangements is plain to see and it is truly breath-taking.

This DVD is not perfect though. Critics point out that it is not a complete reproduction of the set as two songs with Larry Lee on vocals are excluded. Also, ‘Hear My Train A-Comin’ is only included in amateur black and white footage on disc-2 as the official cameramen...[more]

24 May 2009: The Specials - Millennium Square, Leeds, England, UK

Young and old skankers alike turned out in force on Sunday, to welcome legendary Two Tone ska band The Specials back to Leeds. After a thirty-year absence, Terry Hall marked the Millennium Square leg of the group’s long-awaited reunion tour by apologising for “taking so long to come back”. All was forgiven though, as the diverse congregation of contented cider-infused spectators (save for the few miniature offspring of original ska aficionados) were just thrilled to be present on such a momentous day.

The absence of Jerry Dammers prompted the question of whether relations are quite what they once were in the rude boy camp, however the evening was not sullied by this one exception and the remaining members-Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Roddy Byers, Horace Panter and John Bradbury-performed as passionately and energetically as they did back in 1976, when they first notably Rocked Against Racism...[more]

Sun 24 May – The Specials