Panic Room
The Peel Rooms, London
27th March 2010
Band takes on equipment, pigeon-holing and venue……..and wins
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Tag Archives: live show
Along Came…… Alice
Alice Cooper
The Theatre of Death Tour 2009
Hammersmith Apollo
6th December 2009
A couple of years ago I did an interview with Alice Cooper when he was touring the UK promoting an autobiographical volume “Golf Monster” which taught me more about that game with the stick, the little ball and the hole than I’ll ever need to know. As a consequence, I was invited to write a little promotional material for his SPV release “Along Came A Spider” which is for my money the best album he has made for several years and one of the best of his career. After that there was talk of touring the album which came to nothing and in its place, Alice has been touring a show called “Theatre of Death” which finally reached London this weekend.
“Theatre of Death” is essentially a Greatest Hits show with the added visual attraction that Alice dies five times during the course of the show. Support for the tour is Manraze. Manraze feature Phil Collen from Def Leppard and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols and certainly have the fire and panache to carry off a great visual show but on this evidence, they just don’t have the songs. If you were going to return home after the show with memories of any of the choruses, they were certainly going to come from Alice’s portion of the night and not from Manraze.
Alice’s set was being filmed for a prospective future DVD release and he showed that, like him or hate him, he is still the consummate showman. Tonight he was given a lethal injection from a huge comedy syringe, he was hung by the neck until dead, he was executed by guillotine and died in a magician’s sword trick or two but still came back to thrill the audience with a full-blooded encore of “Schools Out”.
The songs ran the whole gamut of his career from his first group of albums through his commercial rebirth with “Poison” to “Vengeance is Mine” from the recent “Along Came A Spider” record I mentioned.
However, that song aside the set was light on songs from his most recent albums and this is the downside of playing the hits. The commercial market for singles from someone like Alice is dead and so while the albums continue to sell well you’re unlikely to see him locking horns with Lady GaGa in the UK Top 40 singles chart anytime soon. If I was selecting Alice’s set I would choose more material from the new album, from “Last Temptation”, from “Brutal Planet” but it is a small complaint when we have just a rich smorgasbord in front of us.
And it is the visuals with Alice that will keep you coming back for more. He goes through more costume changes than anyone in the rock world this side of Stevie Nicks. He waves a sabre at the crowd, unloads “Alice” dollars in their direction and throws out necklaces of “Dirty Diamonds”. That he manages to do all this without hardly missing a beat is truly a feat of energy and stagecraft. Alice is not going to see 50 again but he is lean and has enough momentum to carry him for the beginning of the show to the end and then some.
Vincent Furnier with his golf club and his Bible has, thankfully, cleaned up his act, but Alice is still the reprobate villain of the stage we know and love and long may he run.
Past or Present…… Tense
Gary Numan
The Pleasure Principle Tour 2009
The Junction, Cambridge
1st December 2009
Numan has decided to perform “The Pleasure Principle” album as it was, back in the day, in 1979. Out comes the skinny tie and digital synthesizers with patches to emulate the sounds produced by the analog models that were used on an album that has become highly esteemed in recent years. In 1979, Gary Numan was disparaged by the critics. Now they love him.
When Numan toured two previous classic albums – Telekon and Replicas – he updated the sound of those albums to fit his current style. This time there is no such tampering but there will be a second set featuring songs which are not from The Pleasure Principle and those songs will be presented in Gary’s current modus operandi. It will be interesting to see which wins – the new against the old – not only artistically but in the view of the crowd.
The Junction is a fairly bog standard rock venue. Standing only. Cramped. Dark. Your shoes keep sticking to the floor where drink has been spilled on a previous night and little effort has been made to clear up. The sound reproduction is good but the stage is small. This, in itself,is a problem. Numan is jammed behind a keyboard for most of this first set and reproducing the old keyboard sounds on the modern synths takes little effort on the part of the band. All very static. This used to work in the old days on huge stages with vast light shows. It is a testimony to the ability of this band that they still manage to hold your attention.
The songs are well performed but the performance is rather sedentary and there is a great sound but not much to watch. The set list has its brave moments, not too many acts would open their show with two instrumentals. The second of these is “Airlane” which heralds an in-order run through of the album. High points? “M.E.” and the seldom performed “Conversation”. On “Tracks”, Numan blows the lyric completely. During “Asylum” the stage is rearranged for the second half. Once the table that Numan’s keyboard is stood upon is taken away and Chris McCormack straps on his electric guitar the whole feel of the show changes.
Whether because he is now able to perform in his preferred style or whether because being out from behind the keyboard frees him, Numan is now much more energetic and moves around the stage with poise, mystery and momentum.
The first song in this section of this set is the yet unreleased “The Fall” which bodes well for forthcoming releases. “Halo”, “Jagged” and “Haunted” from recent albums are all performed well but it is ironic that the high points of the second half are a storming “Down in the Park” and a version of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric” which alternates between a gentle piano-like sound and thunderous keyboards and guitars. There is clear evidence that whatever the quality and energy of his performance, Numan’s songwriting is no longer what it once was. Too often his recent lyrics address his dislike of religion and playing on this one lyrical note can soon become tired whatever your own views. In this regard using a burning cross on his video screen – an image with racial and Ku Klux Klan overtones as well as religious ones – was not exactly his most sensitive decision.
Aside from this the visual elements of the show work well and the show builds towards a dynamic conclusion with “We Are So Fragile” (old) and “A Prayer From the Unborn” (fairly new). Ironically, the restricted movements of the first half giving way to the torrent of activity of the second gives the illusion of a build in energy which works well. In reality, both halves of the show work well in their own way and the performance is a huge success.
This is likely to be the last of these album-revisited tours that Numan will do. It is hard to see him performing the excellent “Dance” album with the current configuration of his band. The last model of combining the old and the new has worked well and will hopefully bring some of his old audience to a greater appreciation of the newer material and performance style. Hopefully, they won’t notice the falling away of the songwriting content as much as this reviewer does. But that is something only Gary can address and the increasing gap between his studio albums suggests he is not close to finding an answer..…….
Judie Tzuke – 30 years – A Celebration
Thirty years of any career deserves a celebration. Surviving thirty years in the MUSIC industry is a particular accomplishment. And so friends, fans and family were called together to honour Judie Tzuke.
Arriving early at The Bedford in Balham, we were able to take seats at the front of the stage.
Compere for the night, Vin Goodwin opened the evening’s events with a satirical take on Judie’s best known song “Stay with Me Till Dawn”. Vin was a charming and affable presence to host the events and as he left the stage he was replaced by the heavily pregnant, Mia Silvas. Mia took lead vocals on the next song, “Bully” and was supported by Bailey and Tallula Tzuke. Vin’s opening satire had reminded us that Judie is best known for her ballads and an aggressive and fiery rocker like “Bully” is a necessary balance. In some ways, it is surprising then that not more of songs of this kind were used and the evening did rather concentrate on those self-same ballads.
Between the ballads and the occasional rocker, more than 20 musicians took the stage. Speaking poignantly of Judie’s role in encouraging their musical and personal development, there were those who had written with Judie and those who had performed with her and recorded with her. The few for whom great distance meant they could not be present had sent their video greetings. Judie’s former keyboard player and co-writer, Bob Noble sent his greetings from the United States. Lucie Silvas who is also now living in the U.S. and whose solo career Judie helped to launch not only sent a message but her version of Judie’s wonderful song “Joan of Arc” was recorded and played – and accompanied by video images that Vin had developed for the occasion.
Tony Moore contributed his version of Judie’s mid-paced, mid-life crisis number, “the Cup of Tea Song” which he stretched out to meet the needs of his voice, whilst Tom Baxter performed three songs with his band that Judie had helped him write for his own albums: “Icarus Wings”, “Skybound”, and “Love is Not Enough”.
Mia Silvas
Highlights included Lorna Blackwood delivering her own version of one of Judie’s strongest recent songs, “Dark Days”, and Vashti’s take on “All at Sea” which originated on the same album.
Many of these very capable singers commented how difficult it was to sing songs which Judie had written for her own range and for her own sense of melody. Bailey recalled how she had forced her Mum to sing “Choices You’ve Made” on a recent tour before finding how difficult that rocker is to sing and promising never to obligate her in that way again.
Ms Tzuke’s ear for young and up and coming talent was shown by the performances by Laura and the Tears (“See You Later”) and Tim Deal (“Parallel Lives”) both of whom have emerged under Judie’s tutelage.
One of Jude’s first compositions was “Ladies’ Night” and there was something particularly poignant about hearing it performed by her eldest daughter as Bailey returned to the stage following on from a gentle performance of the beautiful ballad “One Minute” by Mia.
Bailey Tzuke
Only one thing remained to round out the evening – the chant of “Jud-ie” went up and the lady in whose honour the whole evening was put together was encouraged to come to stage. Visibly moved by the whole occasion, Ms Tzuke, the elder, complied. Joined by Richard Cardwell, she first performed a beautiful version of “Man and A Gun” from her “Wonderland” album. This was followed by the predictable but essential “Stay With Me Till Dawn. Friends old and new – Mike Paxman, Ben Mark et al – joined her on stage. Pax took his signature solo on the hit and rousing applause and standing ovation aside before we knew we were spilling out into the night.
Quite wonderful
.Judie Tzuke
I Hear You Are Singing A Song of the Past……. I See No Tears
Steely Dan stopped touring in 1974. Halfway through a UK tour, vocalist Donald Fagen was taken ill and the tour was going to be reorganised but it never was. For the next six years, Dan became the consummate studio band …… but they never returned to the stage. After 1980s “Gaucho”, they called it a day and Donald Fagen’s solo career was launched with the very successful “The Nightfly”.
Fast forward to 2009. Steely Dan playing live in Hammersmith, London. These days they spend far more time on the road than they do in the studio. Since Walter Becker and Donald Fagen decided to do it again, they’ve made only 3 albums – 2 studio, 1 live. And tonight, they will feature only 1 song written since the aforementioned Gaucho album. The difference is that now that Becker finds long periods spent in the studio finding the right note a little tedious and both principals are now very comfortable on the stage. And so you go back, Jack,……..
The band minus Becker and Fagen open the show with a mellow reading of Oliver Nelson’s “Teenie’s Blues”. The crowd react as Walter and Donald enter. They’re an ungainly presence. Walter now quite portly. You wouldn’t notice him if you passed him in the street. Donald with that “skeevy look” in his eye. They lead the band into a blues which turns out to be a massively overhauled version of “Reelin’ in the years”. Memories of the recent Dylan tour where the words were the same but the melodies were a distant memory. This one works quite well but it is a very different sound than the original.
Much more faithful to the album is “Time Out of Mind” from the 1980 set. Becker and Fagen have managed to coax their audience into responses which match a jazz performance than a rock show. Solos are politely applauded and professionalism is very much the order of the day.
The live Steely Dan experience depends on a full band to make these songs come alive. Lead guitar duties are shared by Jon Herington and Becker with Herington taking the lion’s share. Keith Carlock has been handling drumming duties with the band for 10 years and he is a crowd favourite. Bass is Freddie Washington. Hidden away from sight on a second keyboard is Jim Beard. In addition, we have a four piece horn section and three backing vocalists. Fagen describes them as the “Left Bank Orchestra” (Left Bank being the chosen name of the tour) and he is not far wrong.
Another reshaped early hit follows with “Showbiz Kids”, driven by a slinky bassline by Washington and a remodelled chorus which is led by the vocals of Tawatha Agee, Janice Pendarvis and Catherine Russell.
1973 is the flavour of the day and we move on to “My Old School” with the horns making a powerful presence. Jim Pugh is on trombone, Roger Rosenberg is on baritone sax with Walt Weiskopf on alto and tenor. Marvin Stamm completes the quartet of wind instruments with his trumpet.
“Bad Sneakers” originally appeared on 1975’s Katy Lied and its jaundiced worldview suit Fagen’s voice well. He looks and sounds world weary. He resembles that Uncle who knows better than we do but is too polite to mention that our optimism and enthusiasm will soon be crushed by the weight of the world we live in.
Carlock’s rhythmic sense is called upon in a vigorous reading of “Two Against Nature” which reminds us that there has been life since “Gaucho”. The album that this was the title track of was lauded by their peers back at the turn of the millennium but the boys mean to pay little regard to it or to its less successful follow-up “Everything Must Go”, this evening. Tonight, we’re stood squarely in the past.
After that momentary wander for perhaps the best performance of the night, it’s back to ’75 for “Black Friday” for a very bluesy version of that track. After that we push forward just a little for 1977’s “Aja”. This is a song with lots of space for the soloists to excel and spread out. Fagen’s Yamaha Melodica leads the melody for the first section before Weiskopf on tenor is spot-lit with accompaniment from the full drums of Keith Carlock. The doubting lilt on Mr Fagen’s voice on “they think I’m okay, or so they s-a-y” is just wonderful before a Carlock solo takes over. All of this adds up to a wonderful moment in time.
“Hey Nineteen” is one of the a large number of songs in the Dan repertoire which features the story of an older man hitting on a younger girl. Becker’s guitar work is always clearly thought-out and never uses one note where nine will do. His rap about the wonders of the “Cuervo Gold” in the midst of this song, however, is one he has been perhaps doing for just a few too many years and its perhaps time to give it a rest. Great trombone solo here from Jim Pugh.
The lady vocalists take over the lead in a reading of “Parker’s Band” from Pretzel Logic before the song becomes a work out for the horns. They are more than equal to the task.
A pair from “Gaucho” is next. Prior to the show I’d said to a companion that tonight I would settle for the inclusion of “Glamour Profession” and the exclusion of “Bodhisattva” (perhaps one of the more over-worked Dan live choices). After a perfunctory “Babylon Sisters”, the opening chords of “Glamour Profession” are struck and I’m a happy man. This tale of how extra curricular activities threatens to derail a West Coast basketball team is well-handled with great keyboards from Fagen and Beard.
Every Steely Dan show features at least one lead vocal from Mr Becker. On his latest solo effort, Circus Money, his voice sounds more confident but singing live still doesn’t seem a comfortable fit. He gives us a passable run through of “Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More” before stepping back to his comfort zone.
Then its back to the Aja album for three tracks: “Deacon Blues”, “Josie” and “Peg” which provide the fullest audience reaction of the night so far. These are divided by the old Supremes hit “Love is like an itching in my heart” which provides the backdrop to the introduction of the various members of the band.
After “Peg” the band leave the stage to tumultuous applause only to return moments later with an extra member. Elliot Randall played the original lead on “Reelin’ in the Years” and because they are in the guy’s hometown and even though it means it’s the second performance of the number tonight, it’s time to revisit that song like it used to sound in 1972. The performance brings the house down.
During the encore, it all became too much for one old gent who leapt to the stage and led Security a merry dance as he sprinted ‘round the band. And the band played on…..
Final encore was “Kid Charlemagne”. Elliot remained on stage but left the major work to Jon Herington who rounded a sterling night for him.
This performance at the Hammersmith Apollo (nee Odeon) recalled some great days gone by. It remains to be seen whether the Dan can grasp the difficult nettle and produce a new album which they can embrace with the same enthusiasm that their audience brings to their old material.
Walter Becker
Freddie Washington and Donald Fagen
Jon Herington
Donald Fagen
Tap into Tap!
For a band with such a long tenure in music history, the public profile of Spinal Tap is a strange one. They straddle the major eras of rock music like a huge Viking warrior straddling a ….er……. Viking wench, I suppose….. and a huge Viking wench at that……… but they go mostly unacknowledged. When the discussion turns to the greatest bands of the last forty years, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are always mentioned whilst the Tap are overlooked. Cruel.
You’ll remember how they started out in the Sixties in the now almost forgotten London borough of Squatney as the Originals. A name dispute led to them being renamed The New Originals. As they tried to tap in to the Merseybeat boom and overcome coming from the wrong town, they became “The Thamesmen”. Eventually as flower power spread to the British shores, they changed their name to Spinal Tap, once again just a little behind the wave of history. After this they became one of the bands at the forefront of the Original Wave of British Heavy Metal, as it is almost never referred to.
Despite all this activity, it is almost impossible to find in the stores, on ebay or on various collectors websites any of their albums prior to 1984. 1984 is a year that will live in every Tap fan’s mind as a date of infamy. This is not because it is the date that George Orwell chose for his apocalyptic vision of Britain’s future – not many Tap fans are that well read. But rather because it is the date that Marty DiBergi chose to film his infamous Rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, a film which since its release has haunted the band and which they have found hard to live down.
It is ironic then that because of the curious and continuing unavailability of any of their albums prior to their period with Polymer records, they are left not to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the collapse of the New Originals or some imaginative early highpoint in the musical synthesis of two of the band’s principals, Nigel Tufnel and David St Hubbins, but rather the twenty-fifth anniversary of the movie. An ill run of fate indeed.
Even their great album of that year “Smell the Glove” seems to have been renamed “This is Spinal Tap” and re-released on Polydor records as the film’s soundtrack. Oh, the irony.
Spinal Tap hate the film with a venom, of course. Try not to mention to them the name of their former manager, Ian Faith, who led them into the debacle and allowed cameras on tour. Avoid reference to Jeanine Pettibone (later Jeanine Pettibone-St. Hubbins according to some sources)- the New Age wanderings of that lady is something that David still finds hard to live down. The trappings of the film that led to their ridicule have been cast aside. There will be no “pods” on stage in future performances of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Creation”. Foam models of Stonehenge’s triptychs have been eschewed in favour of more reliable inflatable versions.
Unfortunately, Spinal Tap’s bad luck is not able to be isolated to the period of the film. Nor is it entirely in the past – their long history of past bad luck (if that is the word) is perhaps best located in the long list of drummers who have lost their lives in service of the band. Who can forget John "Stumpy" Pepys (bizarre gardening accident), Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs (choked on someone else’s vomit), Peter “James” Bond (spontaneously combusted), Mick Shrimpton (exploded on stage) or Joe “Mama” Besser (disappeared in mysterious circumstances)? Many have. No, the run of ill luck has followed them to this date. The enthusiasm for their “Unstoppable” World Tour was sapped when three U.S. actors, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer (sometimes Simpsons voiceover artist) who have apparently a long association with the band, headed out on a tour which featured many of Tap’s songs. As a result the Unstoppable tour was, um, stopped. The band instead played their world tour on one night in one city. Returning to their beloved London, they took over Wembley Arena (only a stones throw from Squatney if you have a good arm and a bad eye) to celebrate the release of the new album “Back From The Dead” even whilst promoters insisted on linking the gig to THAT film. What else could possibly go wrong?
Last time the band made a new album, 1992’s “Break Like The Wind”, Ric Shrimpton (ill-fated brother of ill-fated Mick Shrimpton) (see above on drummers) sat on the stool. Caucasian Jeffrey Vanston was on keyboards. Shrimpton (the younger) has had to pass his stool (not surprisingly) to Gregg Bissonette (for the album) and Skippy Scuffleton (for live performances). Vanston has survived (he is a keyboard player, after all) but prefers to go by simply CJ in these economically-reduced days. More importantly the band’s heart and mainstays, David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls are all present although curiously their names have been omitted from the booklet that accompanies their new album – although their signatures are present. Lack of creativity has been a big problem in the band’s current work – most of the tracks on the new album are outtakes from earlier recording sessions or reworkings of their classic hits. How would they fare in the live arena?
Well, things did not begin well. After a laidback if prematurely concluded set from The Folksmen (themselves victims of a music documentary – “A Mighty Wind” – which made light of bassist Shubb’s sexual reorientation, he prefers to be called Martha these days), – a band who despite their very different musical style seem to spend an awful lot of time with the Tap – if they’re not careful they’ll begin to resemble each other, Spinal Tap were late to the stage. To add to the difficulty a badly placed green room camera was clearly showing that the band were playing video games back stage rather than heading for the stage. Fortunately, the technical team were able to show a video of “Majesty of Rock” to fill the absence. It reminded us that the Majesty of Rock promo clip, was perhaps the cleverest and subtle video ever to be seen on the MTV channel.
When eventually our errant metallers make it to the stage, the entire audience rises to their feet as a man (or as a woman if you prefer, there will be no sexism tonight). The crowd-pleasing “Tonight, I’m gonna rock you tonight” is the opener followed by that hymn to Dog Handling , “Bitch School”. The band are tight and on great form. David St Hubbins in great voice, “Bitch School” brought an excellent solo from Nigel Tufnel. It may seem that Derek Smalls strikes his one fist in the air pose a little too often but to those schooled in Tap, the subtle nuances and meaning of each salute are obvious.
Tufnel changes guitar for the thoughtful “Back From the Dead” which is the title track of the new disc:
“We’re back from the dead
Climbing from the coffin,
We don’t come here often
Or so it is said”
(Guest, Shearer, McKean, Vanston, 2009)
Tap have a way of breathing stale old life into even the most timeworn clichés. It is on this track that Vanston really begins to make his presence felt.
Spinal Tap are a band with a great musical heritage and it would be a waste of an evening to dwell only on the new album (which is after all mainly reworked old songs – there is continuity here). So next they turn to a song from their late sixties debut (which is coincidentally also on the new record in a reggae version) – “(Listen to the) Flower People”. Marvellous harmonies and the spirit of an era captured perfectly.
On the album “Break Like the Wind” the vocal work of Timothy B. Schmit (of the Eagles) and Tommy Funderburk (of Zoe) were featured on the track "Cash on Delivery". No such luminaries are available tonight for the performance of that song but Skippy Scuffleton’s drum intro and a fiery guitar solo from Tufnel raise this above the average.
The age old question of balancing friends and wealth is addressed in the social commentary that is “Hell Hole”. The technical glitch of the early evening doesn’t make the band any more reluctant to revisit “Majesty of Rock” which we have already seen on the video screen, It is only now that we really begin to understand the profundity of this band:
“When we die, do we haunt the sky?
Do we lurk in the murk of the seas?
What then? Are we born again?
Just to sit asking questions like these?
I know, for I told me so,
And I’m sure each of you quite agrees:
The more it stays the same, the less it changes!"
(Smalls, St Hubbins, Tufnel © 1992)
The barber takes a pole, indeed! In half an hour, we have visited the late Sixties, the Eighties, the Nineties, and the new album. But what were Tap before they were Tap? They were The Thamesmen. And it is time for “Gimme Some Money” that band’s first single. Is it not clear where the Beatles found their early sound?
During downtime in Tap’s recording history they have often thought of composing a musical about the life of Jack the Ripper. Finally after 28 years the first song of this important concept is complete. This song will be the title track of the whole musical, if it is ever finished! “Saucy Jack” transports us back to a golden age of variety, music hall and late night murder.
New track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare" is so vivid an experience that you begin to feel that you’re caught up in a whole evening of such trauma. Surely, they cannot continue at this pace…….?
“Cups And Cakes” is a welcome relaxed moment amongst the lyrical and musical activity, as we take a leisurely walk through an English country teatime, led by Vanston’s keyboards. But the aural assault is only momentary. “Sex Farm” has been transformed, on their new album, into a funk number with a little rap thrown in for good measure. If I hadn’t already mentioned the subtle lyrical imagery in this review now would be a good time to do so.
“Clam Caravan” began life as a Tufnel solo track but again the original recording is difficult (if not impossible) to find. The casual listener can hear the band’s version on “Break like the Wind”. The song was going to be called “Calm Caravan” until a spelling mistake saved it from this trite fate. Tufnel’s didgeridoo solo is a high point which would make Rolf Harris blush.
“All the Way Home” is the first song that Tufnel and St Hubbins ever wrote together and this skiffle-blues deserves to be performed again for that reason only. A young talent which has not yet fully developed can be heard.
The Live Earth concerts a few years ago are well remembered for saving the world and transforming our culture completely. Where would we be without Al Gore? Perhaps more significantly they are to be remembered for the live debut of “Hotter Than Hell” which brought the nightmare of rising temperatures home for the first time to so many. Tonight, in sweat-soaked, summertime, London, it all seems so pertinent.
“Diva Fever” is another tribute to the female on a night which is short on that kind of thing. But the band are not only interested in carnal matters but like to dwell on the spiritual too. Cue Stonehenge, suitably accompanied by an inflatable model of part of the historic site and the obligatory small people that are so associated with the Drudic culture. Unfortunately, the inflatable deflates on top of the tiny people – but no concert can be expected to go ahead without the occasional technical hitch.
Festival culture is commemorated in “Stinkin’ Up the Great Outdoors” before we are reminded what the world was like before we screwed it up with “Rock And Roll Creation” and indeed, it was good.
To the delight of the guy at the front of the stage in the ELP t-shirt, Keith Emerson joined the band for “Short and Sweet”. Never try to upstage these guys again, Mr Emerson, it doesn’t work.
More guests for “Big Bottom” but they knew their place. Justin Hawkins, Andy Scott (from Sweet), Freddie Washington (from the current Steely Dan touring band). Oh and about 30 girls hired to wave their posteriors at the audience. They wind up the set with “Heavy Duty” which aptly summarises the content of tonight’s show.
But there is no stopping a good thing and back they come for an encore of “Break Like the Wind”, rich in atmosphere.
So, Spinal Tap. What can you say? Will anybody ever top them? Will anybody’s legacy so accurately sum up the behemoth that is rock music? Only time will tell, but I doubt it!
Nigel Tufnel – Lead Guitar
David St. Hubbins – lead vocals
Derek Smalls – bass
Andy Scott of the Sweet with Spinal Tap
Carry on Camping!
A Camp
6th of May 2009
King’s College, London
I always thought that the weak strand in Nina Persson’s previous attempt for world domination by music was the band’s name. The Cardigans. I mean the Cardigans! It’s not a name to set the world alight. Their first couple of albums had an unusual pop pastiche going on which made them huge in Japan but meant some corners of the rock world viewed them with suspicion. This part of their career came to climax and crescendo with the worldwide hit "Lovefool" but Persson and her fellow Cardigans wanted more than a reputation for perfect pop. Ironically, the album (Gran Turismo) which gave them their best known rock anthem "My Favourite Game" was mainly dominated by synthesiser sounds. Acoustic guitars were more to the fore on the best of their later albums, "Long Gone Before Daylight" (2003) but by this time their commercial, if not their creative peak had passed and the album was largely bypassed in the U.S. and the U.K..
In 2001, having decided that she perhaps need an outlet other than the Cardigans, Nina had finished off an album which she had begun with a loose collaboration of her musical friends. Because it was going to be a one-off and because it was intended to be a ragged gathering of musicians who by chance found themselves under the same roof, she called it "A Camp". It wasn’t meant to be a serious longterm commitment, more a holiday from The Cardigans. So a camp it was and "A Camp" would do.
Persson’s musical mainstay on the album was Nathan Larson, bass player and multi-instrumentalist. Another guy who played on some of the tracks was Niclas Frisk. After that it was back to the Cardigans for two more studio albums including the aforementioned "Long Gone Before Daylight" and a "Best of" which seems to have finally drawn the curtain down on the band. At least for now.
When she decided to work again with Larson and Frisk, this time in a proper band with a long term future, the name "A Camp" was resurrected. Perhaps, band names just aren’t Nina’s strong suit. It must be a nightmare to market.
On Wednesday, A Camp brought their first fullscale European tour to its conclusion before heading out to the States. The second album "Colonia" has been well-received by the press but has perhaps not created the same underground frisson as the first. But how do they fare live?
Well, tonight is a triple-bill with Leona Naess performing an off-beat and charming acoustic set to open. Second up is Kristofer Astrom who doesn’t really have the voice to match his obvious guitar skills.
The main content though is definitely "A Camp". They eschew any Cardigans material opting for a set which is 8-parts new album, 6-parts first album and two covers. The opener "The Crowning" is ideal territory for Persson’s vocals and her dramatic Hollywood-style poses. There is something about the way that the Scandinavian voices the English language on lines like "Let’s raise our glasses to murderous asses like you" which is totally charming and so chic.
Both Larson and Frisk cut dramatic figures in perpetual motion, their guitars pointed skyward. There is indeed a point in the evening when the stage movements and shape-striking does become a little repetitive but this is no major problem. The show continues cutting its way through ballads that emphasise Nina’s vocal qualities and striking lyrical sarcasm to more upbeat songs with great hooks like "Frequent Flyer" and "My America".
Low point? As on the new album, the male vocal on "Golden Teeth and Silver Medals" doesn’t quite cut it. Tonight, Astrom, the support act, handles the duties and he is no better than Nicolai Dunger on the record. The song is perhaps, anyway, a little too Eurovision.
The two covers were well-chosen. First, Grace Jones’ "Done it Again" led by the bass and tightly performed. As an encore, we were given David Bowie’s "Boys Keep Swinging". By this time it was a moment for the band to rock out and the sound became a little bit of a mush, something that Persson’s guidance for the sound guys had carefully avoided the rest of night. But this was fun and the audience sang a long and a great time was had by all.
A great time was had by all. That might just sum up the night. But that name……. A Camp. A Camp! Now that might just halt the next attempt at world domination.
The cards are no good which you’re holding, unless they’re from another world.
Date: 25 & 26 April 2009
Artist: Bob Dylan
Venue(s): The O2, Greenwich, London & The Roundhouse, Camden, London
Immediately following Bob Dylan’s shows in London this weekend I read droves of reviews complaining. Now I would have expected them to complain about some things – the engineering works that meant there was no tube service heading in or out of North Greenwich on Saturday, the hours of queuing outside of the Roundhouse on Sunday and the insensitivity of the door staff in closing off the toilets, hours before the concert, to those who were having to wait outside, perhaps. But whilst these matters got their own fair share of deserved criticism, it was the artist’s performance which took the lion’s share of negativity – a verdict which left me rather bemused.
One member of the public posted on a messageboard that it was a good thing that Dylan insisted on not using the large screens at the o2 and that he couldn’t work out which one of the distant figures on the stage was Mr Dylan – because if he couldn’t have figured that out, he would have marched down the front and punched poor Bob on the nose.
Now I’ve been a Dylan fan for over thirty years and I know all about the variable quality of his live shows and his periodic apparent disinterest in what the show amounts to and all the rest – but these shows were Dylan at his idiosyncratic best. Sunday night the O2 was the host to that other giant of popular music "Girls Aloud" and if you want to hear crystal clear versions of all the hits just as they were originally recorded, bright colours and dance routines then perhaps that was the show you should have been at. But if you’re going to see Bob Dylan at least judge him on his ability to reach his apparent goals. He will trawl through all his catalogue of songwriting and redesign the melodies on a whim. He won’t talk to the audience much if at all (let’s be fair when he has done this – for example, at his gospel shows in the early 80s, nobody wanted to listen). He won’t pick up his guitar and pretend this is 1962 just because you want him to. But if you want to hear an artist recreating songs from his best known to his most obscure, then perhaps this is the place for you.
The fans are apparently quite happy with his current tour. The band isn’t the most adventurous. He changes the bulk of his setlist most every night – although some of those who watch closest tell me that they can guess what he is going to play according to what night of the week it is. The opener changes each night – The Wicked Messenger, Rainy Day Women, Maggie’s Farm, Gotta Serve Somebody but often according to which day the calendar shows. For example, Sunday night seems most likely to be gospel night. One audience was recently treated to Gotta Serve Somebody, I Believe in You, Every Grain of Sand and Tryin’ to Get to Heaven. Monday night had none of these. There is a kind of perverse logic to all this.
The two nights, then, were very different affairs with the Roundhouse proving the better show partially because of the increased intimacy and better atmosphere of the smaller venue.
Highlights? Saturday had an excellent version of "Things Have Changed" with Donnie Herron echoing the riff on violin. "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" was all bent out of shape but still has power to make you think about humanity’s inability to treat all of society like human beings. There was a powerful and echo-ey version of "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" which was driven by Tony Garnier on double bass. "Po’ Boy" and "When the Deal Goes Down" were full of all that is best about Dylan’s current work and were drawn close to the versions that you would be familiar with from the albums. For me, the best was "Workingman’s Blues #2" with Dylan cherishing each line and obviously enjoying himself. Saturday also produced indistinct, poor versions of "Rollin’ and Tumblin’" and "Honest with Me" so this was far from a flawless show – but it was good.
Sunday was better. Nothing here was fumbled just different degrees of high quality. The older songs "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right", "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", "Tangled Up in Blue", "Like A Rolling Stone" were straightforward enough renditions and kept the crowd on board when perhaps the attention of the casual visitor might be tempted to drift. "Million Miles" and "High water (for Charley Patton)" were rumbling, threatening and apocalyptic. The peaks were "Ain’t Talkin’" and "Tryin’ to get to Heaven" where the lyrics were biting and heartfelt.
So Dylan in London wasn’t quite a triumph but this was a very good weekend indeed for music . He will always divide opinion (for what it counts for, I think it’s probably part of his intention) but for those who get it, these were shows we should be talking about for years to come.
Stardust memories
Those with a taste for the history of Rock ‘n’ roll could do much worse than catch the show that I saw last night when it comes to their town. I don’t often do nights out in mainstream theatres on the outskirts of London but I’m very glad that I made the journey last night. Let me explain.
It begins with what will be a difficult proposition for some. Alvin Stardust is a very under-rated talent.
For those who don’t know, the man who was born Bernard William Jewry first made his breakthrough in the early sixties dressed in gold lame and fronting a band called the Fentones. He had become Shane Fenton, signed to Parlophone records and recorded a single called "I’m A Moody Guy" (a title which would be singularly appropriate for the persona he adopted a decade later). In the period 1961-1964, his singles continued to chart, albeit with decreasing returns. Consequently, he never made an album at the time and ended up on the cabaret circuit a few years later.
In 1974, a promising songwriter, Peter Shelley, came up with a song called "My Coo Ca Choo" which his label, Magnet, felt was a surefire hit but they didn’t thing Shelley could carry an image which would help the song maximise his potential. Shane Fenton was considered as the vocalist and the record company came up with idea of relaunching the rock ‘n’ roller with a new image and new name. In 1973, Fenton became Alvin Stardust and the budget was spent on black leather in which he was clad from head-to-foot for his first Top of the Pops appearances. Stardust became one of the key figures in the late-period of Glam rock; his black leather providing an ideal juxtaposition to the usual glitter and make-up.
"My Coo Ca Choo" stayed in the charts for six months, peaking at no. 2. Stardust had some better songs up his sleeve – but his first hit became his best remembered and because of its longevity, his highest seller. It was followed by "Jealous Mind" which reached no. 1 but stuck around for a shorter time and then "Red Dress", "You, You, You", "Tell Me Why" and "Good Love Can Never Die" which all reached the top 20.
As glam gave way to new wave and punk, Alvin’s singles and album didn’t sell so well. His first three albums all spent good time on the charts but he has not seen an album on that list since. His singles over the next four years were mainly covers but delving into rock n roll’s vaunted history with Cliff Richard’s "Move It" and Johnny Kidd’s "Shakin’ All Over" could not get him back into the top twenty. One final stab with a tense version of Bruce Springsteen’s "Growin’ Up" also failed and Magnet didn’t renew his contract.
He did a couple of seasons on ITV’s remake of the old rock ‘n’ roll show "Oh Boy" and working alongside the young Shakin’ Stevens and the older Joe Brown and Lulu kept him in the public eye.
New wave was in full swing by 1981 when one of its most iconic labels "Stiff" announced a new signing. Alvin Stardust. Stardust debuted on the label with another cover from the earlier days of rock ‘n’ roll and giving it a pop rockabilly lilt, he took "Pretend" into the top 10. He followed this with a version of Pat Boone’s "A Wonderful Time Up There" which did well on the continent but less well here in the UK, despite an appearance on the Morecambe and Wise show and the same guitar sound which had powered "Pretend". The lit fuse really didn’t ignite fireworks and Stardust was swept aside by the lesser talent of Mr. Stevens who would continue to work a similar formula for the next 6 years.
Alvin had a quiet time until 1985 when moving from Stiff to Chrysalis, he hit no. 7 with a Mike Batt composition "I Feel Like Buddy Holly" which played to Stardust’s rock ‘n’ roll roots but sounded more like a latter day Cliff Richard. This sound continued to dominate with a big hit on the maudlin "I Won’t Run Away" and a less than successful run as the host of BBC’s "Rock Gospel Show".
I’m one of those people who is interested in musicians of many different stripes and their careers and I have the blessing and the curse of an encyclopaedic knowledge on the subject. I’d been aware of Alvin Stardust from my youngest years so when his management invited me to interview him in the 1990s, I jumped at the chance. The interview came to naught but I was impressed with him as a person and I’ve kept up with his career since.
I’m always surprised (or maybe not) when he is disparaged in the press or on TV. As a performer, he is peculiarly aware of his strengths and despite one or two wrong turns in his career, he remains an engaging talent and probably the vocalist of his generation and genre whose chops remain the strongest.
His latest tour plays to those strengths – spelling out the history of rock ‘n’ roll, and his interest in it, through versions of his favourite songs from the era before the interval and revisiting his own place in its annals in the second half of the show. Big Mama Thornton, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Bill Haley, – even Shane Fenton- their best known songs are all there. And the performer of the songs met most of them and played with some of them – quite a pedigree.
Weaknesses in the show? None that I can think of. The poster says a celebration of 50 years of rock ‘n’ roll and the show delivers exactly that. Inevitably, and quite rightly, Alvin’s hits are middle and centre – this is no tribute show – but it is the way that he understands and accurately places those songs in the flow of the music from the 50s and 60s which is so impressive.
His band is tight and inventive. He has Des Tong from Sad Cafe on bass and his long time guitarist Glyn Davies to handle the lead solos while Alvin himself handles the acoustic rhythms.
Choice of venue? A little too middle of the road for my tastes (The Beck Theatre, Hayes, for the record) with a slightly out-dated ban on cameras which means no pics from the show in this report.
After the show, I was able to catch up with Alvin (likeable as ever) and Des Tong. Sad Cafe were one of the very best live bands of their era and I could have traded stories with Mr Tong for a long time. Grateful thanks to him for chatting and answering my questions.
For me, as good as I’d expected perhaps better. For you, a surprisingly good night out if you can get past those preconceptions.
Living with the past
Going to concerts is a strange game. I’ve been listening to music seriously now for thirty years and more and taking in live shows for more than twenty five. My problem is that I never seem to outgrow the music I once enjoyed and I never tire of finding new bands and sounds to enjoy. It makes for a wide-ranging taste and a smorgasbord of shows to choose from. Having said that last week (this was before the dreaded ‘flu) saw more grey hair on a stage than I’m used to. Ian Anderson and Martin Barre have had this little band called Jethro Tull going now for a few years and occasionally I’ll stop to see them and consider whether they can still cut the mustard. May 2008 in Lancashire suggest they still can though Ian’s voice is not what it once was and he has to over-rely on that flute just a little too much. They played for well over two hours and interestingly drew material mostly from their first three album although for me the highlights (Thick as a Brick, Heavy Horses, Aqualung, New Day Yesterday) were mostly drawn from a little later in their career. Tull, these days, are mainly a live band and seem to have little time devoted to developing new material. It would seem sensible to reverse that trend – rest Ian’s voice, see what this current bunch of musicians can develop in the twenty-first century – before they inevitably call it a day.
Set list (I think this is right but I’m older than I used to be):
My Sunday Feeling,
Living In The Past,
One For John Gee,
So Much Trouble,
A Song For Jeffrey,
Nursie,
Griminelli’s Lament,
Sossity: You’re A Woman/Reasons For Waiting,
Fat Man,
Serenade To A Cuckoo,
A New Day Yesterday
Bourée
For A Thousand Mothers,
We Used To Know/With You There To Help Me,
Dharma For One
Heavy Horses,
Farm On The Freeway,
Thick As A Brick,
Aqualung,
Locomotive Breath
Jethro Tull, Live May 2008
……. and a pair of Ian Andersons
If there was a downside to this concert, it was the drum solo. Why do must rock drummers persist in believing that there is any rhythm or motif to their efforts in hitting as many parts of their kit as often as they can. Please leave it to your infinitely more capable jazz brethren.
twilightdawning 