A handy trio of gigs

Sorry to say I've neglected the blog so far this year and I still have a lengthy backlog of gigs from 1980 onwards to sort out! Anyway this update deals with the three, very different gigs, up to Augusts Green Man Festival which will be a post all of it's own!

Going back to March 25th and Steven Wilson playing at The Sage, Gateshead as part of the To the Bone Tour. This would be the 6th time I've seen SW. This time round I was all ready to give it a miss and it was at my wife's insistence that we both went. If I'm honest I wasn't really enjoying the To The Bone album finding it a bit lightweight and just not as interesting as his earlier work.

As is so often the case when SW performs, there would be no supporting band, and we would get 2 sets from the man.

Arrived just in time at The Sage and took our seats, which were bang in the centre but towards the back on a slightly rising section. They were a in a great position and turned out to be a perfect spot for tonights show. The show opened with Nowhere Now from the new album, but second song - Pariah - set the tone for the whole show. it's clear a great deal of thought has gone in to the way Steven Wilson presents his music and the presentation of Pariah was stunning with Ninet Tayeb's face being projected in an almost 3D way (she wasn't actually there) as she duetted on the song with SW. The first set felt like Steven Wilson was drawing from some of his more aggressive songs.

After a short break the second set opened with one of my favourite Porcupine Tree songs - Arriving Somewhere but not Here, yes it goes on a bit but its a classic, Lazarus another Porcupine Tree is in the setlist to. So the song selection really took in all times and styles from Steven Wilsons career. Overall though it was the visuals that made the show a special one, I'm still not keen on the new album but next tour, I'll definitely be getting tickets!

At the other end of the scale would be a gig by The Lake Poets at Wylam brewery in Newcastle, this would be on April 30th 2018. The Lake Poets are essentially singer-songwriter Martin Longstaff. Martins songs are very personal and intimate and in a venue like Wylam Brewery worked perfectly. If he's playing anywhere near you I highly recommend you go see him.

Ending this trio of gigs is Sheryl Crow, also playing The Sage in Gateshead on June 21st. Now Sheryl Crow is one of those people I've always meant to go see live, but just never got round to it. Well this time round I did go and managed to catch her on what was a greatest hits tour. Her band were tight and she was on top form delivering a near perfect collection of songs. Loved every minute of it!

You can see the setlist here.

Last and First

Bit of an apology here as it's been a while now since I updated this and I still have gigs from 1979 onwards to add!

I'm going to jump forward to what was my last gig of 2015, Steven Wilson at The Royal Albert Hall, London, Sept 29th.

Supporting was Matt Berry and his band, sadly they suffered from the fate of many a supporting band in that no-one knew any of their songs. They played an interesting set without really hitting any 'wow' moments.

Of course what a near sell out crowd was waiting for was the main event and what a gig this was, featuring a setlist that pretty much covered his whole career from early Porcupine Tree to songs from his latest solo release Hand. Cannot. Erase. Lots of guest appearances made for a great night and visually it was stunning.

Moving on to 2016 and it's that man Steven Wilson again, this time at Newcastle City Hall on Jan 30th. Two sets, the first being a full performance of Hand. Cannot. Erase. Followed by a mix of Porcupine Tree material and 3 songs from the latest release 4 1/2. You can view the set list here.

Sitting near the back this time, I'd left it late to get the tickets, but at least we had a good view of the projections, which were amazing and fitted the whole tone of the gig perfectly. Opening with First Regret, this was clearly going to be an intense first set. Dave Kilminsters guitar playing was simply superb and the band were really on top form as they played the full album.

The second set was for me the better part of the evening, a much heavier sound as the Porcupine Tree back catalogue was raided as well as early solo work, Index was particularly haunting. The stand out's were Lazarus, dedicated to David Bowie and the encore which included some audience participation... yes audience participation at a sit down 'prog' gig as we all got to our feet and sang the chorus to The Sound of Muzak! The highlight was the last song of the night as we were treated to what's probably the best version of The Raven Who Refused to Sing that I've seen. A great start to 2016's gig going.

I'll leave you with a video of that song, it's well worth watching and listening to.

2013 - a year of gigs in review

Still doing my best to get caught up with all those years of gig going, here's a review of 2013. So that only leaves the years 1979 to 2012 to cover!

2013 kicked off with The Pineapple Thief at The Cluny with an excellent performance, I'll definitely be watching out for any more tours. Picked up a card at the gig that gave me a free download of three acoustic tracks, so thanks for that!

The new album 'All the Wars' is the best yet from this 4 piece and well worth a few quid of your money.

Support came from The Red Paintings from Australia, who although not exactly my taste were certainly interesting.

A trip to Brighton in the August brought with it the opportunity to catch Bosnian Rainbows @ Sticky Mikes Frog Bar - great name, crap venue. With a ceiling height of no more than 8' and a stage raised about 6" from the floor, by the time all the 7' people in Brighton had decided to stand at the front it was time to give up any chance of getting a decent view of the band, which is a real pity because they were excellent, playing almost all of their debut album. Definitely one to watch out for and if they ever come to Newcastle, I'll certainly be there.

August Bank Holiday weekend brought the second Stanley Music Festival and a chance to see Dodgy and a full days music for a fiver, clearly the bargain of the summer! Line up was Dodgy, Mitch Laddie Band, Longsands, Ultimate Bowie, Dust Town Dogs, Leesa Mae and Cryptic Metaphor.

We made a family day out of it and very relaxing it was too, though that may have been the effect of the Marstons Ales and sunshine! Who knew Dodgy had released so much sing-a-long material and even though there were probably only a few hundred people (out of a crowd that peaked at a couple of thousand)  there by the time they came onstage at around 6pm, they played their socks off. We were all very much Staying Out for the Summer!

2013 saw 2 Steven Wilson gigs, the first at The Royal Festival Hall, London and then at Newcastle City Hall. This was on the rather excellent Raven Who Refused to Sing tour. Way up in the gods for the London gig, there with my eldest son Daniel the whole gig was simply awesome Steven Wilson never sounded better. An interesting side note, on bass was Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo fame, now Neverending Story was a huge family favourite when the kids were wee ones and who sang the theme song I hear you ask, well it was Limahl also of Kajagoogoo fame! On to Newcastle and although it was good to be up close, second row seats. It was really too close to enjoy the visuals and with the City Hall only about half full it was a curiously flat evening. Opening with Trains and finishing with Radioactive Toy the gig showcased the 3 solo albums. Although not from either of the two gigs, here's the encore from the tour Radioactive Toy