| Author | Message | ||
     Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1584 Registered: 04-2005 |
Dominique A last Friday in Bordeaux. As usual, a most excellent evening in the presence of Monsieur A. Accompanied just by a pianist (occasional electronics) and a double bassist, this concert was based around his recent re-recordings album ("Quelques Lumières"). Some songs maybe worked better than others in their new formats...one of my favourites was definitely "Le Sens". His (dry) sense of humour was apparent as he introduced us to "Patricia", his new guitar. "Why that name you may ask ? Well to me she definitely has pronounced feminine traits. Maybe I need to stop there as I'm on dangerous ground" ("un terrain glissant") | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1585 Registered: 04-2005 |
Oops slip of the finger in the name of the thread. Hope it's not just one gig in the whole of 2025  | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 829 Registered: 08-2005 |
I'm off to see Graham Gouldman on Friday, but as of today I've bought a ticket to see the Tubs next Tuesday. Until a few hours ago I'd never heard of them, but an article in the Guardian today https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/m ar/19/the-tubs-owen-williams-cotton-crow n-mental-illness, and a quick squizz on YouTube, and I'm hopeful. It helps that I like a bit of jangle-pop. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4951 Registered: 03-2005 |
I also found that article interesting Simon. I might have had a 2025 gig entry for Adwaith on the first Thursday of March during my early March visit to the U.K. but unfortunately I took it for granted that any band I wanted to see would never sell out so I didn't consider buying tickets until after I got into town. And I was so sure of the obscurity of my taste that I didn't try until only a few days before the show and I was out of luck. I thought "how many people in London besides me are going to want to see this band that writes all their songs in Welsh?" Wrong!! | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 830 Registered: 08-2005 |
Two very good and very different gigs. Graham Gouldman and his excellent semi-acoustic combo - with occasional electric guitar - played 22 or 23 songs from his songbook. This featured songs from 1965 to the present day, taking in Bus Stop, No Milk Today, For Your Love, I'm Not in Love before finishing with Dreadlock Holiday. This was a sellout 500+ at the all-seated Cheese and Grain in Frome; with my 62-year-old knees I prefer sitting... The sound quality was among the best of any gig I've ever been to, and my wife (whose hearing isn't great) and I thanked the sound crew afterwards. I guess being largely semi-acoustic it's easier to keep the bass and drums in check, but it really was exemplary. I didn't need my sound-reducing ear plugs! ******** The Tubs played an hour-long set in the upstairs room of a Bristol pub - a sell-out 140 capacity venue! This cost about £13 and included a support band playing their very first gig. This was a standing event but I nabbed a stool at the back by the sound desk, so all was well! | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 2353 Registered: 10-2006 |
A 13-quid pub gig, fantastic! I empathise with your knees, Simon, younger than mine though they are. Seated gigs are the only way to go now! Speaking of which, Bavarian tickets for Robert F won’t become available till late July, a frustratingly long time to have to wait. Would have been good to get all the logistics sorted out a bit earlier. We’ll see. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 831 Registered: 08-2005 |
I must keep an eye on the bands at Bristol's Louisiana pub (where I saw the Tubs) and the Exchange, where I saw Grant Hart years ago. They both have multiple gigs per week, and I can get the train from Bath, have a pizza or other early evening meal, see the gig and get the last train back to Bath. One of my old school friends is part of a membership scheme for the venues and he went to an astonishing 160 gigs last year...! No more gigs confirmed (apart from Robert Forster) in October but I'll probably see the Undertones in Bath in My - standing downstairs, seated upstairs! | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 577 Registered: 05-2005 |
My concerts to come, Dominique A, Soccer Mommy, Stereolab, The The, hopefully Barbara Carlotti. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss the Robert and his Swedish band's concert. At that time I plan to attend the cycling world championship in Rwanda (among other things in the country). | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 845 Registered: 08-2005 |
Just bought a ticket for the Throwing Muses on a fan-to-fan resale website for cost price. It was sold out a while ago so I'm very pleased about that. And TROU, good work on attending the cycling in Rwanda. I'm jealous - I'm a cycling journalist and that's one of the many countries in Africa I haven't been to, along with all but two others!! Let's hope the political situation is stable. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 849 Registered: 08-2005 |
Went to see Peggy Seeger 90th Anniversary Tour gig yesterday and she was excellent. She was accompanied by her two sons Neill and Calum MacColl (sons of Ewan MacColl, half-brothers of Kirsty MacColl), who played a variety of instruments - guitars, slide guitar, dulcimer and what I've just discovered is a psaltery. Fantastic mix of folk and protest songs from the 1930s to the present day. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 850 Registered: 08-2005 |
The Throwing Muses a couple of weeks ago. Great mix of old and new - the recent album was well represented. But I'd have preferred a better sound mix. Kristin Hersh on guitar and vocals was accompanied by a cello, drums and bass. But both the drums, played by her partner, and bass, played by her son, were too loud for my liking, swamping the vocals. This is a regular rant of mine. Is it just me? Do the people manning the sound desks not hear the same as I do?! The exceptions over the last few years have been Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins where the sound was as crisp as could be - perfect; and Graham Gouldman in concert, but that was an acoustic/semi-acoustic gig. Pretty much every full-on band I see is either too loud or have a mix that isn't ideal. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 851 Registered: 08-2005 |
The Saints '73-'78 are playing Bristol later in the year and I'll probably go with my brother-in-law. He goes to very few gigs these days and tries to avoid standing gigs, but as I thought might be the case, he'll make an exception for this. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 853 Registered: 08-2005 |
Just bought my ticket for David Byrne in Cardiff... next March. It's the most I've spent on a ticket, 70-odd quid, but he's one of the few acts I'd spend that much on; Kate Bush would be another. But his gig at the State Theatre in Sydney in, I think, 2002 is in my top five gigs ever, out of, I'm guessing 500-plus. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 873 Registered: 08-2005 |
Chris Difford of Squeeze fame in a solo gig at an intimate venue in Bath, where I saw Steve Kilbey years ago. He's great value - one hell of a back catalogue (one most bands would kill for) and 50 years of anecdotes made for a great evening. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 10848 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw King Missile play their first ever gig in Australia last week (40 years into their career). There were about 100 people at the show, 93 of whom were male. It was a fun gig, but they didn't play Mr Johnson, which is my favourite of their songs. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 878 Registered: 08-2005 |
Most of the gigs I go to have more men than women, though not by that large a disparity. But I can spot the gig goers as I get nearer to the venue: men of a certain age with thinning hair (like me) and carrying a little extra weight (most even weightier than me). This getting older lark, eh? That said, my next gig in nine days' time is a certain Robert Forster in Cardiff. Anybody here going to the gig and fancy meeting beforehand? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 10849 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw a three-band gig on Friday night, two from Sydney - headliners The Electorate and first on Moderate Lovers - and one from Brisbane, The Valery Trails. All were great. I can't remember the last time I saw a three-band show were all three were so good. | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 379 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hey Pádraig, I saw The Electorate a few months ago at a pub in Newtown in a joint bill with Victoria. Was really impressed and disappointed I couldn't make their Friday gig. Will look out for Moderate Lovers and The Valery Trails. Can also highly recommend Victoria who have a new album in the works. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 10854 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hi Mark! Good to hear from you. One day we are going to have to finally meet. Remember a couple of years ago it turned out we were seated very close to each other at a Lindy Morrison gig without realising it? Nick Kennedy, The Electorate's drummer, works in Red Eye, as you probably know. He is also on the soon come new Apartments album. I'm listening to Victoria now. I like it already. Some links for anyone who is interested: https://victoriatheband.bandcamp.com/alb um/treats-lp https://theelectorate.bandcamp.com/album /by-design https://moderatelovers.bandcamp.com/albu m/crayon-shades https://thevalerytrails.bandcamp.com/alb um/winter-palace | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 381 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks for the links Pádraig. And yes, one day we will finally meet. There must be so many gigs we've both been in attendance at over the last decade! On a related note, what a shame The Great Club in Marrickville closed. That was one of my favourite venues in Sydney. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 10859 Registered: 05-2005 |
I hadn't heard about The Great Club closing. That's a real pity, it was a great venue. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1595 Registered: 04-2005 |
Just back from 3 weeks holidays in Bonnie Écosse ! And I managed 3 gigs in that period in Edinburgh. Edwyn Collins – Queen’s Hall – supposedly his last ever tour so I couldn’t really miss that. But I had never seen him since his strokes and whilst everything was fine and dandy I did miss the old sense of spontaneity. Mixed emotions. I do really like his last record too and it was slightly disappointing that he concentrated on old OJ songs rather than his more recent stuff. Sorry if that sounds a bit churlish PS Forgotten how absolutely crap the Queen’s Hall is as a venue for this type of concert. Totally lacking in atomsphere, despite the capacity only being around 800. Maybe it works fine for string quartets ? Robert Forster – Pleasance theatre – accompanied by his excellent Swedish band. He first announcement from the stage was to tell us that « before you, you have a musician on drugs » ! He had been in bed all day ith the flu and the only part of the city he had seen was the inside of a Sainsbury’s supermaket. But he seemed fired up by his band and the crowd and in the end despite a slightly husky voice it was a wonderful evening. Indeed on a couple of song he said it was the best versions that they had played on the tour. There was a special poignancy too for « Breakfast on the Train » given that the story happens in Edinburgh and he said that they had been looking forward to playing that song in the city since the beginning of the tour. Su-a Lee and Hamish Napier – Portobello Town Hall – some friends of ours who organise house concerts at theirs had already organised a concert with this cellist from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and her folk musician partner last year. It was such a success that they decided to hire the local town hall and repeat the event but this time in front of 450 people. An absolutely lovely 2 hours in the company of 2 very talented people. For the encore Su-a brought out her musical saw for a stunning version of « Somewhere Over the Rainbow ». | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 890 Registered: 08-2005 |
The Psychedelic Furs at the O2 Bristol last week. I've now seen the Furs on numerous occasions, probably only behind the Go-Betweens/solo Forster/solo McLennan and... The Fall! Richard Butler is still in very, very good voice, and while I'd have like a few more songs (Into You Like a Train and Alice's House), I very much like the fact that they played the hits that everybody wanted to hear... yes! It was a very 1980s-centric setlist, which brought back a lot of very good memories; the 1980s were a very good time for me. And talking of the 80s, I'm on a massive eBay selling splurge at the moment. I've made good money selling late 1980s/early 1990s Mambo clothing (I sold a Reg Mombassa T-shirt for £94!) but band T-shirts are big too: £85 for a 1986 Cure tour shirt, 50-odd for a Mighty Lemon Drops shirt and 40-odd for an REM Green shirt. They've been in a plastic crate for years and I don't wear them... It's not so much for the money, but I've got so much stuff!! | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 579 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bar Italia concert in Liège, based on rave reviews of a band I knew nothing about. In any case, great raw rock music that immediately reminded me of many bands I like. The singer is a real head-turner. It's great to see bands like this emerging. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 10868 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw The Apartments play a secret gig in a church hall in front of about 100 people last night. It was fantastic. They played Things You’ll Keep, which alone was enough to make it all worthwhile. Every other song over two hours was also great. Oh, what a night. PMW was in fine form and even funnier than the two previous times I’ve seen The Apartments. |