End of the Seventies

Not only were the seventies coming to an end, but my time at Newcastle College of Art was also drawing to a close. Time to get a proper job and stop being a student, although I don't think my Dad ever thought that being a Graphic Designer was a 'proper' job!

Anyways it must have been an intensive year because as far as I can remember there were no gigs attended in the run up to that final end of year show and leaving.

First gig of 1979 turns out to be The Police    in June, at Newcastle Mayfair, I remember it as being sold out and that The Police were great fun live, Andy Summers guitar playing particularly impressed. Though I never cared much for the band on record I do have 2 or 3 Andy Summers solo albums.

Time to find some employment and Sheelagh and I decided to take a summer job outside London in a sleepy town called Chigwell. One of the great advantages of living a Tube ride away from central London was that we could see live music pretty much every chance we got. We saw many a local band and pub band, none of which I can truly remember, but we did get to visit the famous Marquee Club right in the heart of Soho. The band we chose to see... The Ruts, I have no idea why! Arriving at the venue, me long hair and leather jacket and jeans, Sheelagh I think had a denim mini on, the crowd on the other hand were all spiky hair, studs, piercings and chains. We stood out like a sore thumb! Not that there was any hassle at all, everyone just there to enjoy the music. Entering the darkness that was the Marquee, we ordered a couple of drinks and made our way to the back of the venue to get a decent view. First up were the Piranha Brothers who I'm sure performed energetically but I simply don't remember them at all. Sadly the same has to be said for The Ruts who have completely slipped from my memory.

The next big gig in London I do remember... Gary Numan at Hammersmith Odeon. I believe it's available as a DVD now. Support came from Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, just the two guys and a tape machine, centre stage. Don't really recall what they played but it was very odd to see a spotlight fixed on the tape deck!

Gary Numan put in a fabulous performance with an impressive stage set, running through tracks from Replicas and The Pleasure Principal. I do remember being impressed by a track called Bombers, so much so I went out and bought the debut Tubeway Army album in the hope it was on there.

Soon though it was time to return to the North East and find that elusive 'proper' job. There was just one more gig before the year end, Steve Hackett at Newcastle City Hall. This was probably around the time of the Defector album and the set list no doubt featured a few songs from it. I remember the gig as being peculiarly flat, possibly due to having seats in the balcony. It was only the last 3 or 4 songs that brought the audience to life, I'd guess it was Spectral Mornings that closed the show.

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.