Live gigs - Who you've seen were they good, bad etc.

[elgatonegrofabricwardrobe]

10 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

Mary Wallopers at Liverpool Olympia last night, great fun and already looking forward to seeing them at Bearded Theory. 

 

 

Support from Sexy Tadgh, never heard of them before but very enjoyable. Would go down a storm on the festival circuit.

 

Brilliant gig. Really like the Olympia. Missed the support unfortunately coz we stayed in The Crown too long after getting off the train. Also can't wait to see em at Bearded.

[NorthernSoul52]

19 hours ago, Pipine said:

Juanita Stein from Howling Bells doing a solo show at Hallamshire Hotel in Sheffield.  

She was amazing despite some challenging sound issues - there was a constant feedback kind of noise and a rattling metal noise, guitar lead fails.. had to restart a song.  
 

Best news is that she’s also working on some new Howling Bells material..  very happy with that.
 

 

Saw her eight years ago or so, supporting The Killers of all people. Decent little set, from memory.

[guypjfreak]

Saw pete Doherty again Wednesday night in a tiny venue..had a lovely chat and thought he was great as always..it was nice to see his wife and little girl and his dog who kept strolling across the stage lol..plus it was his birthday so bonus...and sat night saw the DOVES..at the engine room's.. even though the lead singer is being treated for anxiety etc his brother stepped up and it was a great gig..

Both have new albums out..

[OllieMadd]

The Dead South and Corb Land in Bristol last night.

 

Corb Lund blew the main act right off the stage. Dead South were fine, all very samey, but didn't really compare.

[NorthernSoul52]

The Darkness last night in York. Bit of compression across the sound, and wasn't terrifically mixed, but played firmly in good spirits. It was Justin Hawkins' 50th birthday.

[OllieMadd]

24 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

The Darkness last night in York. Bit of compression across the sound, and wasn't terrifically mixed, but played firmly in good spirits. It was Justin Hawkins' 50th birthday.

Had this when I saw them a couple years ago. Shame as I think they're probably pretty good live but just gets lost in the mix

[NorthernSoul52]

It's a recurring problem. Compressor on the microphone is obviously there to keep the sound of the guitar out, but the balance between all instruments is seldom terrific. 

 

Best-mixed show I've seen was their co-headliner with Black Stone Cherry, and I do wonder if they had someone different given it was an arena job. But mid-size venues like this, they're struggling to split.

 

Ash were frenetic in support.

[rwhitehouse13]

Saw Public Service Broadcasting in Truro last night, fantastic gig, really loved it. Support was from She Drew The Gun who were also impressive.

[deschwah]

saw eXTC last weekend.. seriously great to hear those tunes

[Dales]

Wombats again this week but this time at the O2. Great fun as always and big shout out for Red Rum Club another band that really puts a smile on my face.

[archiegow]

37 minutes ago, Dales said:

Great fun as always and big shout out for Red Rum Club another band that really puts a smile on my face.

Seeing love for Red Rum Club will always make me happy, were terrific when I saw them support Blossoms last year! Really hope they keep up their momentum this year!

[Chesh]

Back in 1979 I went to Newcastle City Hall to see Buzzcocks…. 
supported by….

Joy Division. 
 

yup, I’m THAT old 🥸

[Dales]

18 hours ago, archiegow said:

Seeing love for Red Rum Club will always make me happy, were terrific when I saw them support Blossoms last year! Really hope they keep up their momentum this year!

 

I saw them on the Blossoms tour as well. A bit like Blossoms they seem be touring constantly.

[archiegow]

3 hours ago, Dales said:

 

I saw them on the Blossoms tour as well. A bit like Blossoms they seem be touring constantly.

Yeah they do seem to be doing shows very often and they’re covering a good amount of the festival circuit this year. Could see them getting an early Other stage or Woodsies placement at Glasto this year!

[Gnomicide]

I think they're one of those that lost out appearing recently because of the demise of William's Green. They've not been back since playing BBC Introducing in 2019, same time as Kylie was on but still filled the tent.

Edited March 21, 2025 by Gnomicide

[NorthernSoul52]

Mike + The Mechanics last night in Halifax, in their second incarnation. Rutherford has broken his hip, so played perched on a double-seat stool, but his bass skills remain so nonchalantly fluid that it's kind of terrifying.

 

Andrew Roachford still absolutely has the pipes as Paul Carrack's successor, and some of the latter day material had a real rush to the AOR/MOR-pop template they've got going for them. Nic Collins - with better hair than his dad ever had - was very strong on the drums, but the highlight was probably Rutherford's suit - lavender or soft black cherry, but immaculate either way.

[Gnomicide]

28 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Mike + The Mechanics last night in Halifax, in their second incarnation. Rutherford has broken his hip, so played perched on a double-seat stool, but his bass skills remain so nonchalantly fluid that it's kind of terrifying.

 

Andrew Roachford still absolutely has the pipes as Paul Carrack's successor, and some of the latter day material had a real rush to the AOR/MOR-pop template they've got going for them. Nic Collins - with better hair than his dad ever had - was very strong on the drums, but the highlight was probably Rutherford's suit - lavender or soft black cherry, but immaculate either way.

 

Andrew Roachford? Do they do Cuddly Toy?

[NorthernSoul52]

2 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

 

Andrew Roachford? Do they do Cuddly Toy?

They do indeed. It's currently Looking Back - All the Hits and a Drift Into Genesis. That contributed to two and two-halves - full-band arrangements for Land of Confusion and I Can't Dance, plus acoustic segments from Invisible Touch and Follow You Follow Me as part of a medley.

 

Cuddly Toy is the big funk-soul workout near the end of the main set, bleeding into All I Need is a Miracle.

[Quark]

On 19/03/2025 at 08:54, rwhitehouse13 said:

Saw Public Service Broadcasting in Truro last night, fantastic gig, really loved it. Support was from She Drew The Gun who were also impressive.

Ooh that's a lovely twofer 

[DDave]

Melin Melyn at the Deaf Institute. Absolutely outstanding, will be hard to beat that this year I think. If you like the Super Furry Animals, you'll love these. 

[-TLR-]

Roots On The Corner - Tottenham, friday.

 

this was a really great night.

 

Shere Khan / Concrete Lion / Ma-Kaya

 

all sounds were great - i seen Shere Khan a bunch of times, always good, Concrete Lion have one seriously impressive stack...

 

but the night goes to Ma-Kaya - i never seen these guys before and they were just fantastic. clear, heavy sound, great selection, i don't know who the guy was on the mic but he was superb.

 

overall - another really top night from the ROTC crew.

 

Jah Rastafari.

[-TLR-]

 

last tune from friday session.

 

you know when something was just so good you can't stop thinking about it? 

 

(not my video, credit to Shaka Zulu on youtube).

 

 

[T-GreenFieldsInfo]

On 18/03/2025 at 10:00, OllieMadd said:

The Dead South and Corb Land in Bristol last night.

 

Corb Lund blew the main act right off the stage. Dead South were fine, all very samey, but didn't really compare.

This is exactly what we said as we left, we were so pumped after Corb's set and the Dead South couldn't get things going to anywhere near the same extent.

[T-GreenFieldsInfo]

The Levellers in Bath last Tuesday - really was wonderful. Missed off a few big hits but I think that's to their credit and meant the show felt different from the millions of times everyone in that room had seen them before. The Collective really did sound superb.

 

The last half an hour everyone was stood up and jumping around, almost felt like the Glade in 2008(?).

[Fishman]

Airborne Toxic Event in London last week, a run of just 4 shows at the Islington Academy and their first shows over here in a while (10 years?). A great show in a small venue with a very tight band. Hope they are back more quickly next time (is there the demand, though?).

 

However, my one recommendation is to read the singer's autobiography - Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollet. An incredibly raw, poignant, and yet uplifting. growing-up story.