Awesome, radical/Awesome, totally bodacious/Awesome, radical

Friday 19 December - Part 2 - and the evening got off to a spankingly good start when six Friday-Nighters met up at Restaurant Bari for a pre-Christmas meal. The food was great and then five of us headed towards Fibbers where we were going to finish the evening off listening to a couple of new bands.

We came in shortly after Leeds-based band Pulled Apart By Horses had taken to the stage. Not that they were on for long. The lead singer, Tom Hudson, seemed to have difficulty staying behind the barriers and insisted on throwing himself into the crowd, beating eight type of... noise... out of his guitar as he flailed about on the floor. I understand that this is par for the course for this band whose members often end up in hospital by the end of the evening. Honest to goodness, I couldn't tell the difference between one song and the next. Grungy, distorted guitars and shouty vocals spat at no one in particular combined to create a driving punk/sub-pop noise didn't really float my boat at all. Ten out of ten for energy though.

The head-lining band was Leeds melodramatic indie popsters Grammatics. They started well with Owen Brinley's fragile voice weaving a tantalising spell over sympathetic melodies from cellist Emmila Ergin, but it rapidly descended into quirky time signatures and an overwhelming surge of drum n' bass (courtesy of Dominic Ord and Rory O'Hara). Even when Saltaire songstress Laura Groves joined the band for a couple of numbers, she was drowned out. I've nothing against varying time signatures, if it's done properly. In this case my body spent too much time not knowing what to do in-between the top-tapping 4/4 beats. Sorry, but I won't be queuing up to see either of these bands again in the near future.

2008 A musical retropective

Friday 19 December - As is customary at this time of year I'd like to give a quick musical retropective of 2008 from a personal point of view, both live gigs and albums released this year.

I've probably been to see at least one band every week of the year. OK, many of them were covers bands, and I saw some more than once, but there was a fair sprinkling of original bands. Of the gigs that don't make it into my top 10, special mention must go to; Black Diamond Heavies who were certainly original, Acid house crusties Alabama 3, Lecorum and Royworld who have the decency to be original sounding Indie bands, Wild Messiah for being a bit wild, With One Last Breath for being loud, and Tidal Fury and Heaven's Basement 'cos I like 'em. So here is my top 10 countdown for live gigs in 2008, in reverse order:

10 The Corrections - saw them supporting Make Model at The Junction when they blew away the headline act.

9 Yards/Runaway Sons/Jim Gipson - their combined gig at The Post Office Club when everyone was on top form.

8 Longview - did almost the entire gig at The Duchess using un-released material. Still so good that I forked out for their one (and so far only) album, Mercury.

7 Hope&Social - TAFKAFDH (The Artists Formerly Known As Four Day Hombre), perennial favourites, played The Duchess and Fibbers and I caught them both.

6 Black Stone Cherry - southern fried rock with attitude. I had their first album before seeing them at Fibbers, then got the second one as well! Brilliant.

5 Chantel McGregor - I'm running out of superlatives for this girl. OK she does covers, but; Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriana, Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton... and she really does sound like them! Caught her for the first time in June at The Roman Bath and went back for a second helping at the same place in September.

4 Breathing Space - a band that have matured incredibly in this last year, Livvy's voice is superb. I caught them twice at The Roman Bath, in February and November. Thanks to Tim Hall for pointing out that John Hart (sax and Yamaha WX7 wind synthesizer) is now a full-time member of the band, I wasn't aware of that when I blogged them last time.

3 Mostly Autumn - one of a prog rock tangle of bands, Livvy and Iain from Breathing Space are also in this band. They release a fine album this year, Glass Shadows, and I thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas show in November at The Grand Opera House.

2 Mexicolas - Birmingham power-trio that released their debut album, X, in February and I saw them in March at Fibbers. Fantastic music. Volume turned to eleven but delivered with clear vocals and superb instrumental work. Incredibly, they were better live then their awesome album.

1 Uriah Heep - I really wasn't expecting this one. A bunch of '70s proggers turned in the best album of 2008 and delivered a blistering live set at The Duchess in November which has me wondering if anything in 2009 can possibly top it. I look forward to finding out!

And so to the second half of my musings, my top 10 albums. Obviously not everything released in 2008 passed by my ears so I can only rate those albums that I actually acquired. I think I only made one duff purchase this year, and even that, Elliott Minor, wasn't too duff. Mention in despatches for; Pendulum In Silico for an album that I liked in a genre that I don't, Duels The Barbarians Move In for living up to expectations with their second album, The Dodos Visiter for wearing weird on their sleeves, Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes for wearing whimsy on their sleeves, The Mars Volta The Bedlam in Goliath for wearing surreal on their sleeves, and Sigur Rós Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust for wearing sleeves. So here is my top 10 countdown of album in 2008, in reverse order:

10 Oasis Dig Out Your Soul - the Gallagher bros dish up their finest effort since Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? A true return to form.

9 Kings of Leon Only By The Night - If you like KoL, you'll like this.

8 Mostly Autumn Glass Shadows - yes it's a bit Pink Floyd, yes it's a bit Genesis, but overall, mostly it's brilliant.

7 Elbow The Seldom Seen Kid - Mercury prize winner and deservedly so.

6 Black Stone Cherry Folklore & Superstition - a fantastic follow up to their eponymous debut.

5 Feeder Silent Cry - Feeder losing the whinging attitude of their last couple of lbums and coming on much heavier.

4 Guns n' Roses Chinese Democracy - massively over-produced. Bit of The Darkness, bit of Linkin Park, but over-arching everything is Axl's distinctive vocals (well it is practically a solo project). A real grower.

3 Thunder Bang! - Thunder kicking back at a world that likes to kick them, then ignore them. Shades of the '90s, but Thunder continue to evolve their sound and songs and once more prove to be at the forefront of classic British rock.

2 Mexicolas X - a sprinkle of The Police, a pinch of Red Hot Chili Peppers choppy guitars, a generous bunch of Stereophonics vocals, and a ladleful of singalong-a-QOTSA choruses. Mix well and serve with a side salad of Feeder. Thirteen fantastically constructed tracks, packed with swagger, big riffs and gravely vocals.

1 Uriah Heep Wake The Sleeper - Their first studio album for almost ten years, produced by Mike Paxman, and it's simply stunning. Not a duff track in sight. They are Deep Purple for the '00s. Huge.

You’re not where you are/Only where you want to be

Friday 12 December - it had been a long week and to round it off I'd made an horrendous hash of organising our Friday entertainment schedule. We'd planned to see four bands that we hadn't heard of down at Fibbers; Blessed By A Broken Heart, I Am Ghost, Devils Gift, and Fei Comodo for just £6. Bargain, except it was actually £12 which is a bit steep if they turned out to be naff. So at the last moment we switched venues to O'Neill's on Low Ousegate where The Mojos were playing, a York 5-piece covers band, extremely professional and very good indeed.

The Druid fell by the wayside. Caught out by a combination of foul weather and buses not bothering to turn up, he realised that the gods were against him and shuffled back home. 'A' was a bit adrift, the band had already started playing, but he brought along his son, Dan, who is studying at Hull University. Dan knew his music and we discovered a shared enthusiasm for Australian drum n' bass outfit Pendulum. I'm a particular fan of Propane Nightmares and Granite off their In Silico album.

Anyway, back to the band in hand, who consist of: Dave (vocals and guitar), Andy (lead guitar and vocals, uses the same chip shop as me!), John (bass guitar and vocals), Mark (keyboards), and, standing in for Phil, Hannah Dickinson (drums). Hannah also has her own band, (Hannah and the Junk Funk).

Now I nabbed the set-list off Mark (keyboards) but they didn't play everything in the order on the hymn sheet and there were I few extra bits. The first half of their set comprised some or more of: I Want To Break Free (Queen), You Are All I Have (Snow Patrol), Ruby (Kaiser Chiefs), Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry/ELO), Another One Bites The Dust (Queen) with a segue into Superstition (Stevie Wonder), Valerie (The Zutons/Amy Whitehouse), and Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News).

They then took a break for refreshments before kicking off again with: Don't Sop Me Now (Queen), Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams), Summer Of '69 (Bryan Adams), Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits), Hold The Line (Toto), Le Freak (Chic), Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), Do They Know It's Christmas? (Band Aid), Gimme Some Lovin (Spencer Davis Group/Blues Brothers) with a segue into I Believe In A Thing Called Love (The Darkness), Sweet Child o' Mine (Guns n' Roses), Jump (Van Halen), Merry Christmas Everyone (Slade), and Rockin' All Over The World (Status Quo). Also, someone in amongst that lot I'm sure I also heard Livin' On A Prayer (Bon Jovi), 500 Miles (The Proclaimers), Beautiful Day (U2) and This Love (Maroon 5), although they did a big medley in the middle where they bombarded us with masses of riffage which filled my head with all sorts of extra stuff.

All-in-all it was an excellent performance. I'm not a big fan of funk, but the few funk tracks they played got a large number of ladies up and dancing, which is always a bit of a bonus.

We poured back into the black night where a sub-zero gale threatened to tear the frozen lips off our faces so we didn't hang around and swiftly made our separate ways home.

It’s not my style to crash and burn

Friday 28 November - November has been a bumper month for music this year. It kicked off with the release of Bang! by Thunder, then we had Uriah Heep playing at The Duchess, next was Breathing Space (on SpaceFace) in the Bath, and finally we are at the Grand Opera House to watch Mostly Autumn (on SpaceFace).

I first stumbled upon MA back in 2000 during the "York Live" music event when I took my three daughters to the Theatre Royal. The first act was the Lo Beams, whose lead singer/guitarist was lil' Chris Johnson (more later, just remember the name). Then we were treated to MA who only performed 4 songs, but each one was about ten minutes long. There were two lovely lady singers at that time, Angela Gordon (another name to file in your short-term memory) and Heather Findlay. Finally, we had Chris Helme doing his acoustic thang. 'Twas a brilliant gig, but back then I knew nothing about the incestuous relationships between York musicians. There's a review of sorts here.

Tonight was the comeback gig for MA's Heather Findlay who has been on maternity leave and the kick off for their latest tour. I've said it before, the Grand Opera House is a bit of a weird gig for a rock band because it's a seated venue, and I like standing up and wobbling about a bit (used to be called dancing before I got old). The line-up of MA has changed slightly since since I last saw them (I have seen them a couple of times since 2000). Angela left and had a baby, Scarlett, and lil' Chris piggy-backed with them for a while before he joined Fish's band. The current line up is: Bryan Josh (lead vocals, lead, rhythm electric & acoustic guitars), Heather Findlay (lead & backing vocals, percussion, acoustic guitars & whistles), Anne-Marie Helder (keyboards, guitars electric rhythm, & acoustic, flute, and backing vocals), Andy Smith (bass), Liam Davison (guitars), Iain Jennings (keyboards), Henry Bourne (drums), and Olivia Sparnenn (vocals and backing vocals).

I arrived bang on 19:30 and rushed straight to my seat where the other guys were already waiting. After a brief interval the show started. Now I'm not really up to speed on all of MAs work and my memory is rubbish at best, but the first half consisted of eight pieces, starting strongly with Fading Colours, then an early flutely thing, Flower for Guns, Unoriginal Sin (those two off the latest album), First Thought, Simple Ways, Evergreen, and a cover of Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas. Then there was a fifteen minute interval when I tried to convince the guys that we should buy ice-creams but instead settled for muscling through the heaving crowd at the bar to the merchandise stall where I parted with real money for a copy of their latest album, Glass Shadows.

The sound was great, but I have to say that it was only Bryan and Heather that could clearly be seen. The rest of the band were pretty much in shadows or at either side of the stage, or shoved right to the back, poor Livvy. Anyway, the second part kicked off and here I really cannot be sure of the order of play. Certainly we had Heroes, Tearing at the Faerytale (dedicated to the late Howard Sparnenn), Spirit of Autumn Past (1 & 2), Broken Glass, Pocket Watch, Above the Blue, Until the Story Ends, A Different Sky, Caught in a Fold, Carpe Diem (with Troy Donockley on mutant bagpipes - uillian pipes allegedly), and a couple of others songs. Bryan was a wizard on guitar, Andy "The Crow" brilliant on bass, Henry superb on skins, Iain outstanding on keyboards. Anne-Marie worked tirelessly on keyboards and flute, venturing onto the stage just occasionally so that we could see her. Livvy provided a haunting counterpoint to Heather vocals, and Heather was just sublime. The band went off and the audience went mad for an encore.

Now MA usually perform a Christmas show in York and that's exactly what we got for our third helping. Haether came back on stage and she was joined from the wings by none other than Angela Gordon, then sneaking in from the back was lil' Chris. Together they sang Silent Night as a three-part harmony. It was superb. Then the rest of the band piled onto the stage, it was getting crowded now, and donned reindeer deely-boppers and flashing Santa hats. The audience was on its feet and the band tore into a cover of The Pogues' Fairytale of New York with a long middle section consisting of a flute duet between Angela and Anne-Marie. The final, final song was a cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody with Liam and the whole audience on vocals. Ian "The Judge" Naylor and baby Harlan (wrapped in bright red) came on stage for the big line up/bow, then we all shuffled out into the chill night. Looks like Christmas came early in York this year.

The gig finished about 22:30 so we had time to get to The Roman Bath for a swift pint before closing time and to catch the last four or five songs from Stealer who were playing. Needless to say, I didn't get to bed until about 01:00 again. Ho hum.

How I’d love to hold you in my arms again/But I can’t hear the rain

Friday 21 November - We work hard during the week and then try to cram so much into the weekend. What crazy animals we are. Anyway, this weekend kicked off with a visit to The Roman Bath to watch Green Mac (and on SpaceFace), a Fleetwood Mac covers band that specializes in music from the Peter Green era, i.e. the more bluesy stuff. GM are a Leeds-based four piece and comprises: Dusty Miller (lead vocals/guitar), Steve Harrop (2nd guitar), Trevor Birkinshaw (bass/vocals), and Peter Tallent (Drums). Dusty is the main man, he has supported Peter Green and the Splinter Group, and even contributed to his official biography. Steve is a musician and teacher and plays over a dozen different instruments. Trevor has supported, amongst many others, Free, Manfred Mann, Yes and Chicken Shack. He has a weakness for Fender basses so was happy to down-size to four strings to join Green Mac. Peter is one of the band's founder members and plays in the Mick Fleetwood style, not surprisingly. They played all the great titles from the early Fleetwood Mac stable; Black Magic Woman, Shake Your Money Maker, Man of The World, The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown), Oh Well, etc. They even slipped in Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls Of Fire, and there was a sneaky segue into The Shadows' Apache. There were a couple of moments when the timing wasn't quite spot on, but overall they were extremely good. Highly recommended.

Saturday 22 November - was the usual crush when I tried to do some Christmas shopping in town. I think I'll go back to ordering stuff online. I was a bit sad today because I discovered that I've lost my p-pod. I had it in my coat pocket and when I pulled out my woolly hat, I must have pulled the p-pod out with it and dropped it on the ground. I re-traced my steps but was unable to find it again. Not that it's of any use to anyone. You need the special USB connector to up/download stuff and to charge it up, so whoever has picked it will have listen to my music and chuck it when the battery runs out. Still, it gives me the opportunity to order a new Zen Mosaic, hurrah!

On the plus side there was a full turn out in the evening when we all assembled at The Roman Bath to watch Breathing Space (and on SpaceFace), not that there was much breathing space inside the Bath :-) For those who don't know Breathing Space, shame on you! I've reviewed them before so search this blog for more details. Basically they started as a solo project by Iain Jennings (Mostly Autumn) with a few of his Mostly mates before putting together his own touring band and retaining Mostly's backing singer Livvy Sparnenn on vocals. BS are not a covers band, they are a full-on touring prog-rock band with two albums under their belts and a third in production. We were treated to almost the whole of their second album, Coming Up For Air, a couple of tracks off the first, and a few tasters of new material that they are working on. Iain and Ben Jennings on keyboards create an ambient soundscape, driven by the drumming of Barry Cassells, and overlaid with the intricate guitar work of Mark Rowen (guitar) and Paul Teasdale (on bass), all this is topped by poised and searing vocals by Livvy whose voice just seems to get better and better. Also guesting was John Hart who plays a mean sax, especially on The Senses, and Head Above Water, as well as complementing the overall sound of the band with a sprinkling of his Yamaha WX7 wind synthesizer. This is cathedral-rock. They sound like Runrig, in their Mara era, Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here, and any early Genesis for the guitar work. The whole gig was an outstanding performance but especial mention must go to Coming Up For Air, When I Hold On To You, and Rain Song which were truly sublime.

BS's last gig this year is scheduled to be at the Lucorum at Barnsley on Thursday 27 November with Quecia. Livvy and Iain are appearing with Mostly Autumn at the Grand Opera House on Friday 28 November. More details of future gigs are on their website.

Sunday 23 November - was a family day, two daughters and their partners, their brother, my dad and my grandson were all over for Sunday dinner. The afternoon was spent building and painting a small army of Necron warriors (Warhammer 40k plastic figures, very sad, great fun) with my grandson. They do look good even if I say so myself. Back to work on Monday, ho hum.

Tonight you’re gonna overload your mind

Monday 17 November - what puts a gig into the top five or ten of a person's lifetime? Well, personally it's seeing a huge band, playing really well, at a smallish venue. So for me that includes; Genesis (Duke tour) and Thin Lizzy (Black Rose tour), both at the Portsmouth Guildhall (many years ago!), Thunder and Deep Purple, both at the York Barbican, and Thunder again at Sheffield Town Hall. Tonight I'm hoping to add another band to that list, Uriah Heep appearing at The Duchess in York, a venue a fraction of the size of my previous top gigs.

But we start with the support act, and let's face it, who in their right mind wants to be the support act to such a legendary band? Maccara would. I'm not sure when or where they originate from, the UK according to SpaceFace. Vocalist Holly Evans is Scottish with a soft accent that drips like honey on your ears when she speaks, but when she sings she has a powerful Siouxie Sue rock voice that belies her slight frame. Lead guitarist Boanecker ILLY (what's with the capitals?) comes from Sri Lanka, bassist Nic Klaus (is that a joke?) looks/sounds Germanic, but I'll give you Tom Kirkham (drums), and Andy Brook (guitar) are probably from the UK. The band itself only seems to have been around since 2007 or 2008 and also appear to have had a previous singer, Laura. I've no idea what any of the songs were called but they started off extremely heavy metal and then half-way through the gig changed to playing heavy reggae. Sorry, that's that only way I can describe it. The volume was sky high and yet Holly's voice was crystal clear, a testament to the sound engineer and proof that it can be done even against such high volumes of music. The Druid was so impressed that he purchased a preview copy of their album, and got it signed by Holly and ILLY. When we looked the CD over we spotted that the producer was noted as Francis Rossi. Yep, it was indeed produced by the frontman of the Quo.

So to the main event, Uriah Heep. Now I have to admit that I'm a bit of a Heep virgin. I first heard Overload on a Classic Rock cover CD, liked it so much that I bought the album, Wake The Sleeper, and that's how I started. Fortunately for me their latest album is what t'Heep are touring with so I knew that I could expect plenty of material that I was familiar with and a sprinkling of old (but new to me) stuff to boot. They didn't disappoint. Quite how they managed to get a stadium-sized outfit like t'Heep on the stage at The Duchess was nothing short of a miracle. Wake The Sleeper is their twenty-first album (but the first in a decade) and the current band line-up is: Mick Box (guitar/hair) the only member from the band's founding in 1969 who is still active with the group, Bernie Shaw (vocals) a Canadian, and since 1986, the lead vocalist, Phil Lanzon (keyboards) also in the band since 1986, Trevor Bolder (playing a D'Alegria Defender TB 4-string fretted signature bass) he of the Spider From Mars, was in t'Heep 1976-1981 and then re-joined in 1983, and Russell Gilbrook (drums) who joined in 2007 and is regarded as one of the UK's finest drummers and drum clinicians.

They were, frankly, awesome; totally full-on, technically prefect, utterly superb, and with an immediate and fantastic rapport with the audience. Quite the best live band I've seen in years. The Druid had his jaw permanently dropped to the floor. So what did they play? The opening three songs were lifted straight from tracks 1-3 of their latest album: Wake The Sleeper, Overload, and Tears Of The World. Then a couple of oldies: Stealin' from their sixth album Sweet Freedom (album released September 1973) this is probably their best known single reaching #18 in the UK chart in 1973, and Sunrise from their fifth album Magician's Birthday (album released November 1972). Next, two more from the album: Heaven's Rain and Light Of A Thousand Stars. Another oldie and one that I really enjoyed despite not having heard it before: Gypsy from their first album Very 'eavy... Very 'umble (album released June 1970) which was released as a single in 1997. Then another four from the latest album: What Kind Of God, Shadow, Angels Walk With You, and War Child. Finally they played two more oldies: July Morning from their third album Look At Yourself (album released October 1971) released as a single in North America in 1973 but not in the UK, the single featured Manfred Mann playing on synth, and Easy Livin' from their fourth album Demons And Wizards (album released May 1972). The band went off, the crowd went wild, and the band came back. For an encore they played a track that Bernie billed "as much as your song as ours": Lady In Black from their second album Salisbury (album released February 1971), released as a single in 1989 and again in 2001. It was, Mick quipped, "Like playing in someone's front room." As the background music started up, the band remained on stage leaning over the barriers to shake hands with the audience for a good five minutes before most of them left, leaving Mick and Bernie hugging each other and waving to the crowd; a fitting end to a truly spectacular performance.

Hey girl in your summer blouse walking down the beach road from your house

Saturday 15 November - was the second outing of the weekend, commencing with a visit to Akbar's in York, an Indian restaurant that I hadn't tried before. It was nice and roomy inside and, for 18:00 on a Saturday, surprisingly packed. The service was excellent and we could see all the chefs beavering away in the kitchen. The pickle tray was superb and for the main course I had a prawn balti which was tasty and spicy, about as hot as was comfortable for me. After eating we made our way to the Grand Opera House in York to watch "Music of the Commitments" featuring two of the original cast of the Peter Parker film. The music was great and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but... (drags soap box into view...) For me there are two main types of music; stuff you sit down for (Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn), and stuff you stand up for (everything else). Some music appeals on a mental/emotional level, and some at a physical/emotional level. The Commitments music, being soul, is firmly in the second category so what possesses the promoters to put such shows on in a seated venue is beyond me. Back to this show in particular and I really did enjoy the music, I sang along and stood up and danced (in my limited way) in a tiny space between the seats, but I really didn't appreciate being introduced to every member of the band three times during the performance, listen to rubbish jokes between the songs, and I don't need to be told when to clap along. Grrrr.

Friday 14 November - kicked off a long weekend of music starting on Friday with a different watering hole to haunt, O'Neill's in York, an Irish bar which of course confuses me when I try to get a beer, so I ended up with a pint of Caffery's. That was OK. I was a little early so worked my way to the back of the bar where the band were busy doing their sound checks and found a tall chair to sit on and try to look cool. I think it may have worked rather too well as I was immediately pounced upon by a youngish lady who was obviously a smoker and pretty much wasted already. Fortunately I adopted my excellent "I can't see you, go away and pester someone else" pose and despite laying her extremely cold hands on my upper thighs she soon gave up to be sick somewhere outside. A and H turned up a little later and we were also joined by Legs Elanovitch, the Russian spy-mistress.

The reason we were here was to watch a band that we had seen before, Skint (and on FaceSpace). Skint are: Rich Graves (lead vocals), Stew King (lead/rhythm guitar), Ian Moore (drums), Gav Cator (rhythm/lead guitar), and Paul Teasdale (bass/vocals). Paul also plays bass in Breathing Space. They played a superb set of modern indie/rock covers. Due to the fact that in order to avert a new Cold War I was obliged to neck a vodka between pints #2 and #3, my brain was left a little woolly but I managed to blag the set list (actually a list of band names or songs titles but not both) and have re-assembled it for your delectation: The Strokes (Last Night), Kings of Leon (Molly's Chambers), Oasis (Supersonic), The Kooks (She Moves In Her Own Ways), Editors ( All Sparks), Artic Monkeys (Scummy Man), Green Day (Boulevard Of Broken Dreams), Wombats (Kill The Director), Kaiser Chiefs (I Predict A Riot) QotSA (No One Knows), Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars), Kings of Leon (Red Morning Light) Graham Coxon (I can't remember the name of this one!?!), Buzzcocks (Ever Fallen In Love), Therapy (Screamager), Jet (Are You Gonna Be My Girl), The Automatic (Monster), Velvet Revolver (can't remember this one either), Fratellis (Chelsea Dagger), Arctic Monkeys (I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor), Electric Six (Gay Bar), and The Hives (Hate To Say I Told You So).

Skint are a really top notch covers band, and I'm not on commission, honest guv.

If ever see the day when all innocence is gone/Then what have we become

Wednesday 12 November - recorded at Walton Castle in Somerset and both released on the same day, Thunder has finally delivered the goods with their part 3 of 3 EP, The Joy Of Six, and their ninth studio album, Bang! The album consists of 12 tracks:

1. On The Radio - opens the album with a typical heavy Thunder riff and lyrics digging at the two-faced nature of the music business, talk about biting the hand that feeds...


2. Stormwater - is a Zep style (think Celebration Day) musing on Hurricane Katrina ploughing through New Orleans.


3. Carol Ann - is the morning after the night before when a guy wakes up after a one-night stand to find a woman's number on the back of his hand, and he can't remember what happened. "are you a babe, or do you look like a man?"


4. Retribution - is a languid, jazzy lament of lost love.


5. Candy Man - a classic Thunder stomp in the style of The Rolling Stones. Plenty of na-na-na's and a sing-along-a-chorus. Fantastic guitar work by the boy Morley.


6. Have Mercy - a bluesy, banjo-led, slide-guitar number with a sprinkling of voodoo harmonica. This could be the new single from The Answer or some other contemporary southern-fried rock outfit.


7. Watching Over You - is a power ballad, could be Aerosmith or Bon Jovi.


8. Miracle Man - is a powerful rocking song with lyrics akin to Genesis's Jesus He Knows Me, but way heavier. I can just see the fans singing along to this one.


9. Turn Left At California - the band go acoustic for this traveller's tale. More banjo and harmonica. Quite why he's heading for the borderline we never find out. This is probably the most 'country' track on the album.


10. Love Sucks - The first notes are pure Guns 'n' Roses, epic wailing Slash-style guitar work. It also features great harmonising vocals, a funky bass line, fantastic guitar work, and great keyboards from Ben Matthews. A stand out track.


11. One Bullet - is an acoustic rebuke of society's spiralling apathy to gun crime and the general loss of innocence among our children, "Now he's wrapping his fist 'round a gun/And somebody dies".


12. Honey - Back to classic Thunder hard rock for the closing track which is about chucking his woman out of his life, "So take your Prada and your Jimmy Choo's/That warpaint that covers your lines/Dumb magazines, you can stick them all/Right where the sun never shines". So, not bitter then?

Yes, there are still shades of 1990 here but Thunder continue to evolve their sound and songs and once more prove to be at the forefront of classic British rock. I highly recommend buying this album.

Wanted to die this morning when I opened up my eyes/Exploding head, on top of my bed

Friday 7 November - first stop, The Duchess to take a punt on three bands that we haven't heard of before. Leading the charge tonight was York heavy metal band, With One Last Breath. They cranked up with an ominous rumble of bass and an ear-splitting scream that sent my two colleagues scrambling for the ear-plugs. These guys are loud, these guys are heavy! For the slower bits think Deftones. For the faster stuff, think Trivium or Dragonforce. I couldn't hear a word but they made fantastic noise. WOLB are a 4 piece consisting of; Sam Graves (lead vocals/guitars), Jake Holmes (bass/vocals), Joe Graves (guitars/vocals), and Chris Bowling (drum). We particularly liked the bass player's style. I would definitely see these guys again. So a pretty good start to the evening.

Unfortunately, they proved a hard act to follow. Next up were another York band, The Bitter Image, another four piece consisting of; Dom Wells (lead vocals/guitar), Jonny Wells (guitar/vocals), Jim Buck (bass/vocals), and Dom Smith (drums). I'm hard put to describe their sound, kinda of heavy rock but a bit more melodic. The drumming was excellent; the guitar playing was competent but not up to the standard set by WOLB. Overall I was disappointed.

The final act came from Ireland. In Case of Fire were the winners of the MTV Spanking New For 2008 and have been touring with 30 Seconds to Mars, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Funeral For A Friend. They've also played with Ash and Biffy Clyro. ICOF are a power trio and the line up is; Steven Robinson (vocals/guitar), Mark Williamson (bass), and Colin Robinson (drums). For three young folk they make a huge noise. The vocals seemed rather muddy though and the songs were mostly short, about 3-4 minutes, and lacked the complexity and richness that WOLB had shown. They were better than the Bitter Image but failed to surpass the performance of WOLB.

As it was still early when we emerged from The Duchess, we sauntered over to The Roman Bath to catch the second half of the performance by Yorkshire covers band Left Hand Drive (sorry couldn't find a BeBoFaceSpace link). LHD are three blokes, lead guitar and vocals, a bass player, and a drummer. Sadly, by this time the beer was flowing freely, but here is what I can remember of them playing: Bad Company (Can't Get Enough), Cream (Crossroads), Then Lizzy (Whiskey In The Jar), Muddy Waters (Hoochie Coochie Man) Jimi Hendrix (Hey Joe), Bo Diddley (Who Do You Love), Fleetwood Mac (Black Magic Woman). The lead guitar/vocalist was extremely good and I would definitely like to see a full performance.

One bullet, one gun, one dead but we all bleed some

Friday 31 October - and I started off in Ye Olde Starre Inn in York for my tea and to meet up with a few folk from work. I was a pleasant enough start to the evening but I had to break off near nine o'clock to get to The Roman Bath where two of us were going to watch Raw Gallagher, a Rory Gallagher tribute band playing only his music, the blues, rock, slide and acoustic from the early days of Taste, through to the 70's and 80's, up to his final work.

Now I have a pretty wide knowledge of music in general and like to think that I can talk reasonable coherently about most artists, but I've never heard any of the work of the Irish blues/rock guitarist, Rory Gallagher.

I have to confess that I didn't recognise a single song that the band played, but hey, they played them all really well and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I did manage to blag the set-list so here is what they played; Messin' With The Kid, Bullfrog Blues, Moonchild, Walk On Hot Coals, A Million Miles Away, Shadow Play, Bad penny, Laundromat, Follow Me, Continental Op, I Aint No Saint, Tattoo'd Lady, Crest Of A Wave, Philby, For The Last Time, Shin Kicker, Calling Card, Used To Be, In Your town, Secret Agent, Sinner Boy, and a medley of Fuel To The Fire/Toredown/What In The World/I Take What I Want.

Raw Gallagher are a 3 piece band from South Yorkshire comprising Steve White on lead guitar and main vocals, Ron Villers on bass, and John Moloney on drums. Their website seems to have vaporised so I can't give you a link, but I do highly recommend watching them.

Saturday 1 November - and we are off to Fibbers for the first time in a long while. Since we were last here the place has been refurbished, well the bar counter has been replaced and there are some bar stools, and some of the art work has come down, and there is screen over the stage showing forthcoming gigs, and only one beer on tap, Tetley's (I don't count Guinness as a beer). It's a bit dire actually. Still first band up were 98 Pages and crikey they were good. I can't find a MyFace page. Rooted in Blues, their raw sound is certainly a welcome blast of fresh air. They're a 3 piece, lead guitar, bass and drums. Imagine Jack White on lead and bass and a decent drummer. Wow. Very good and I highly recommended that you check out this band.

The headline act were Black Diamond Heavies who are straight out of Nashville, Tennessee and sound like a freight train derailing. John Wesley Myers on vocals and keyboards, and Van Campbell on drums produce a punk-country/voodoo/garage blues/gospel revivalist noise. Myers is actually the son of a Baptist preacher, looks like Iggy Pop and plays like John Lord. Van bashes the skins like John Henry Bonham. Mad as a box of frogs. For an encore they trashed their way through Nutbush City Limits. Fantastic stuff.

As the band left the stage and the background music started to pump up, the doors opened allowing a flood of Goths and lederhosen-clad Austrians in for club night. No probs with the Goths (I look like Nosteratu in a bad light myself), but the Austrians were just a tad freaky, and so we legged it across to the centre of town and The Roman Bath in time for a final pint (of decent beer) and the last twenty minutes of Van Hooligan. VH are a Rock covers band from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, who play covers by Van Halen, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Sabbath, Motley Crue, Scorpions etc. The crowd were very lively and at one point a chap fell through a set of stacked speakers and toppled a lighting rig. Many hands helped to haul everything back into place. Nobody hurt, nothing appeared to be damaged. All a bit of a comic end to the evening.

I wanna run/I want to hide/I wanna tear down the walls/That hold me inside

Saturday 25 October - I've just had a very enjoyable, long weekend. I was visited by an extremely old friend (i.e. I've known him a very long time, not that he's incredibly ancient!) and his wife and three young daughters. They travelled all the way from Portsmouth to York to spend some time with me and my daughters, arriving around tea-time on Friday.

On Saturday we went to my grandson's sixth birthday party in Tadcaster where I had great fun joining in with the children's party games. In the evening my friend and I went out to the Roman Tin Tub to watch Storm, the Huddersfield 4-piece rock covers band. I've reviewed them before and they're very good. From memory we were treated to: Van Halen (Jump), The Jam (Town Called Malice), The Darkness (I Believe In A Thing Called Love), Prince (Purple Rain), The Who (Won't Get Fooled Again), Bryan Adams (Summer of '69), Thin Lizzy (The Boys Are Back In Town), The Undertones (Teenage Kicks), U2 (Where The Streets Have No Name), Wilson Pickett/The Commitments (Mustang Sally), Bon Jovi (Bed of Roses), Buzzcocks (Ever Fallen in Love), Alvin and the Chipmunks? (Let's Do The Time Warp Again), Madness (Baggy Trousers), as well as tracks by Coldplay, The Clash and The Beatles, and a bunch of medley's. There was some audience participation when three ladies were dragged into the band's area and asked to play tamborines and supply backing vocals for Mustang Sally. Sadly, the band suffered a 'Black Lace' moment in performing Let's Do The Time Warp Again, when trying to encourage the audience to come up with rude words. Everyone was curiously shy about swearing into a microphone. Still, the band recovered their credibility enough to receive shouts of 'encore' at the end, and we all went home happy.

On Sunday we trod the tourist trail in York taking in the city walls and the Jorvik Viking Centre. We also indulged in an activity known as geocaching which basically involved using a GPS tracker combined with small clues to locate caches of small items that other geocachers (or whatever the collective noun is) had hidden, usually in places of interest. These items then get moved to other caches in different locations. It's a bit like a treasure hunt. If you want to know more take a look at www.geocaching.com. It's not as nerdy as it sounds and a couple of us have now been sucked in. We did some more geocaching on Monday combined with a little bit of shopping in the city, rounding off the day with a roast dinner plus trimmings. A fantasic time was had by all and it was a bit sad when they departed for home on Tuesday.

Cos when she sang out that melody/I heard a sound like a backstreet symphony

Saturday 18 October - I wasn't out on Friday (family commitments), but instead braved the crowds on Saturday for the return of a great classic rock covers band, Freeway (on SpaceBook), to the Roman Tin Tub. Freeway consist of; Steve Smurthwaite (vocals), Mark Hopwood (guitars), Pete Harwood (guitars), Colin Paterson (bass), and Paul "Gibbo" Gibbons (drums).

I've reviewed them before but this was the first time that I'd seen the band since the untimely demise of their former drummer, Howard Sparnenn. Once more they really produced the goods, kicking off with Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, and powering on with the likes of; Whitesnake (Slide It In, Crying In The Rain), Black Sabbath (Paranoid), Judas Priest (Breaking The Law), Queen (Tie Your Mother Down), Cream (Crossroads), Thunder (Back Street Symphony), Free (Wishing Well), Bad Co. (Can't Get Enough Of Your Love), a medley of Deep Purple (Hush, Strange Kind Of Woman, Black Night, Woman From Tokyo), more Lizzy (The Boys Are Back In Town, Rosalie), UFO (Doctor, Doctor), Kinks (in the style of Van Halen) (You Really Got Me), and Guns 'n'; Roses (Sweet Child Of Mine).

Pete Harwood has a new band project, Morpheus Rising, and I'd be very interesting in checking them out sometime. Meanwhile, Freeway are back at the Tin Tub on Saturday 29 November, Boxing Day Friday 26 December, and Saturday 17 January.

Cold sweat, hot sweat, fast asleep in the crow’s nest

Friday 10 October - Ah ha, here comes the weekend, and tonight we are off to The Roman Bath to watch The Penetrators. No, not a punk band, rather a classic rock covers band covering songs from the '60s to the '00s. But I recognise these chaps setting up their equipment and the chalk board tells the story, it's The Mojos, again! Apparently one of the members of The Penetrators had a sudden family illness and they had to cancel at the last moment so Dave, Andy, Jon, Phil and Mark stepped up to the... mark (sorry). I wasn't bothered, I really like The Mojos anyway and one of our party was a self-confessed Mojo virgin, so he was in for a great night too.

The Bath got very crowded during the evening and at one point it looked as though we might be crushed when a kebab smelling drunk tried dancing and nearly fell over. Actually, he did fall over later in the evening, falling into the area where the band were playing and narrowly avoiding disaster. We had a brilliant night, with great music and then spent a long while hanging around on the pavement outside, putting the world to rights. I finally crawled into bed at 01:15. Oh my head.

Now. You may be wondering what all this junk is that's started appearing on the right-hand side of my blog. LibraryThing is a social website for recording the books you own. Listal is a similar site covering a variety of media; books, music, movies etc. I'm using these sites to record the books and music that I own. Why? Well, if my house burns down, assuming I'm not in it at the time, I can reconstruct my library and my music collection. Plus it gives friends the opportunity to see what I have in case they want to borrow stuff. Both of these are work-in-progress, I have over 400 CDs, so you'll have to wait a while to see the complete collection. Watch this space.

And the same when autumn comes/Cold air I breathe in my lungs

Wednesday 8 October - OK, I wasn't out last weekend, so I'll treat you instead to a roundup of the platters that have been gracing the decks at Scary Towers. There's a few, so I'm not going to bore you with a track by track review, just a general overview of each.

No particular order but the first one on the pile is Long-View's Mercury with a bonus CD of re-mixes Subversions. We caught Longview (they've dropped the hyphen) at The Duchess on Friday 26 September, and jolly fine they were too. In fact I enjoyed them so much that I didn't buy a CD there and then. I went to t'interweb and ordered their album from (LAYP.COM, re-arrange these letters) where the album was £7.99 but only £4.99 if you purchased it with the bonus re-mix CD. How mad is that? Anyway, the re-mixes are OK, nothing to write home about, but the album itself is absolutely storming. Think very early Coldplay or anthemic Embrace at their peak. Top buy.

On the same night we saw Lecorum, whom we had seen before, I really like these chaps, so much so that I did dip my hand into my wallet to purchase a pre-release version of their Cartoon EP. A piano-led indie rock band, and I mean that in a good way, these are a bit like early Four Day Hombre. Another good purchase.

Now, the fact that Elbow won the Mercury Music prize 2008 came as no surprise to me as I already have their third and forth albums; Leaders of the Free World, and The Seldom Seen Kid. I was looking forward to listening to their first two offerings; Asleep In The Back, and Cast of Thousands. Sadly these didn't live up to Elbow's later work. I don't mean that they're rubbish, far from it, but they lack the rich texturing and sheer lusciousness of the later two. I think I've been spoilt by listening to them out of order.

At the same time as I acquired Elbow, I also got my hands on the Melvins' (A) Senile Animal, a different kettle of kittens altogether! This is the 2006 release from the American sludge metal band that first formed in the 1980s. I quite liked these but feel I will have to invest more time listening to them. They remind me of Tool or Mastadon, or rather, their sound has obviously influenced these bands 'cos the Melvins came first! More listening required.

Let's go back in time now. I've always longed to get my hands on King Crimson's 'observation' In The Court Of The Crimson King, and it finally bubbled to the top of my 'to buy' list. OK, it's pretty old, originally released in 1969. The band roster at this time comprised: Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake (he left just prior to the album's release), Michael Giles, and Peter Sinfield. This is the2004 24-bit re-master. Frankly, this could have been released yesterday. The most well-known track is 21st Century Schizoid Man, but surprisingly this is the one track that seems at odds with the rest of the album and has aged accordingly. The rest of this brilliant CD consists of some of the finest jazz/rock fusion I've heard in a long time. Highly recommended.

And so to Laura Marling's Alas I Cannot Swim. What, you might ask, possessed me to make such a left-field purchase? I'm very fussy about my solo female singers. Well it came as a sort of recommendation. I'm a great fan of the highly readable Inspector Alan Banks stories of Peter Robinson. For one thing, the action takes place in the fictional town of Eastvale set in North Yorkshire, so there are lots of references to places in York and Leeds that I'm familiar with. Secondly, Robinson's character plays a lot of music as he solves various crimes, and his musical tastes overlaps my own an awful lot. It's pretty spooky. His latest novel, All the Colours of Darkness, references Laura's album. So I bought it. I can be quite impulsive. It's very good, with a quirky sound and great lyrics. But I don't sing/hum along, so it sort of fails on that score.

Next up two more bands that we've seen recently. The Dodos album Visiter is first off this pile. The Dodos are an American indie band, sometimes labelled freak-country, although I seen/heard a few bands that are a lot more freaky than these! Re-creating their live performances, this is, instrumentally, a rather spare work which means that when the electronic guitar is used, you really feel the benefit. It's a mixture of light psychedelia, intelligent pop, and dirty bluegrass. Long's vocals sometimes leave you wanting more but he really pulls it off in the album's closing track, God? with his nervous quivering and strident cries. Good stuff. The second CD from this clutch is an old classic, Alabama 3's Exile On Coldharbour Lane. Well, I say classic, but I'm not really into the acid-house dance scene, although live I enjoyed them immensely. Maybe that was because their music has seeped into my brain over a number of years (Exile was released in 1997), because I was singing along to Ain't Going to Goa, Woke Up This Morning, and Speed of the Sound of Loneliness (a cover of the John Prine classic). Singing along, so it must be good, even though I baulk at admitting it.

My next purchase was inspired by seeing the pocket-sized guitar wizard(ess), Chantel McGregor play For The Love Of God by Steve Vai. Now I like virtuoso guitar playing but have no albums of this guy, so I bought his 1990 album, Passion And Warfare. Basically this album is fourteen guitar instrumental tracks with a bit of chat/lyric here and there. If you like fretwork onanism (and I do), then this album is an essential purchase. I could listen all day to this stuff, if only there were more tissues in this damn box!

Coming more up to date now, Only By The Night by the Kings of Leon plopped through my letter-box in the last few weeks. It's pretty much what we've come to expect from KoL, especially Crawl, Sex On Fire, and Use Somebody, but I was a bit disappointed. Basically they don't seem to have progressed from their earlier work, this is just Because of the Times volume 2. Not a bad thing, but not a great thing either.

And finally, hot off the CD pressing machine comes, Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul. I've heard some withering comments about Oasis recently, and I know that they tread a fine line between pub rock and Beatles pastiche/homage, crikey, John Lennon himself appears on I'm Outta Time. However, it ain't 'alf bad, in fact it's pretty damn good. OK I could witter on endlessly about Oasis finally reaching the Beatles true psychedelic-era sound, but they do it so well that it sells itself. I don't care if it sounds like they recorded it in a haze of hashish and opium, I like it. There's a bit of George Harrison-like guitar work on I'm Outta Time, Dear Prudence at the end of The Turning, but also a bit of The Who in the mix, and even Pink Floyd on the opener, Bag It Up. So stick yer hands in yer pockets and yer fingers in the air for the return of the champs. Buy it.

You're the girl with the iron mask/I'm the boy with the heart of glass

Friday 26 September - and tonight we were off to The Duchess to re-visit a band that we've seen and liked before, Lecorum (and on MyFace). Last time we saw them they were playing support to Royworld at Fibbers, tonight, second support to Longview. Are they going down in the world? Well no. It's just that the other bands were flippin' brilliant as well.

Lecorum are a Hull-based four piece consisting of: Chris Howard (vocals, guitar), Damien Johnson (piano), Fletch (bass), and Joe Nicholson (drums). Formed in late 2006 and playing their first gig in 2007 they've opened for some big names in music including; Orson, The Hoosiers, Alphabeat, Cherry Ghost, Tiny Dancers, The Sunshine Underground, Palladium, and The Automatic. Given their pedigree and the fact that I've seen them before, and they were great, I expected more people to have arrived early but there was probably only about twenty of us which was a big shame for everyone who wasn't there. The band didn't care though and put great effort and energy into their playing. The music? Well, they bill it as 'pumping, piano-led indie' but that's not a lot of help is it? Think MSP (old school), Longpigs, kinda quirky indie. Anyway, fantastic tunes, many of which you can listen to on MyFace or download from I-suck-Tunes; Cartoon, Anyone Who Seems To Care, Mix Tape, Sleep Walk, Going, Connected?, Hide Away, Down and Tired, Clockwork. I liked them so much that I bought their new EP Cartoon, and it takes a bit for me to part with cash at a gig! The sound was, I have to say, mixed a bit too loud. I don't direct this at Lecorum, but rather at the gig as a whole, as it was too loud for all the bands. This led to a lot of the extremely good vocals being lost in fuzzy guitar sounds and the bands were all asking for extra volume on their mics, which was not really the actual problem. [Steps down from soap-box.]

Band two were Domino State, a London-based quintet comprising; Tim Buckland (guitar), Matt Forder (vocals), James Machin (guitar), Wil Padley (bass), and Rich Simic (drums). At this stage I have to point out that the three bands on show tonight are cast very much from the same musical mould, and in this sense complement each other in the very best of ways. Domino State sound like an un-gloomy Puressence, maybe a bit like The Killers, or The Editors. Their songs veer from stadium anthems (What's The Question), to sonic soundscapes (Safe Now). Iron Mask built brooding epic guitar melodies from Tim and James, while Matt's haunting vocals fluttered over the top, optimism emerging from darkness with harmonica thrown in for good measure. Top stuff.

And so to the head-liners, Longview (and on MyFace), also from London (well from all over, but probably more spiritually from Manchester), who consist of: Rob McVey (guitar, vocals), Aidan Banks (bass), Doug Morch (guitar), and Ulrich Schnauss (keyboards). By this time the place had really filled up a lot more, although I was still only about four people away from the front of the stage. I'm still not sure I know how to describe their sound. It's a bit like early Four Day Hombre, plenty of keyboard leads, wailing vocals, softly whispered lyrics, interspersed with thunderous drums and grievous bodily harm to guitars, and some prawn behind you talking all the way through it. Yes it's really that good.

We have the anthemic Still bulging with beautiful harmonies, spine tingling ethereal guitars, but it's played hard and gritty, they really mean it. Coming Down, with chords and structure that implanted themselves in our brain forever. It really should be called Going Up as three quarters of the way through we got shredding guitars with McVey and Morch mooching about the stage in a frenzy of activity while Matts drums built to the shattering crescendo. The painfully beautiful In A Dream with ethereal guitar sounds from Morch and syrupy dripping vocals from McVey and Banks. Further, a song so big they had to release it thrice (well maybe it was due to contractual wranglings). I'm still looking for comparisons; anthemic Embrace, the ambience of Elbow? Oh, just get out there and listen to them.

Apres show we ambled across the road to The Terrace to check out a band called Seed. The place was deserted; about four punters at the bar, a few couples snogging in dark corners and someone on a gaming machine. Oh, and the band. I'm no idea where they're from but they played their own material which seemed to me to be a cross between the sing-along-chorus style of Oasis and the delicate story-telling of Del Amitri. Seed were just three blokes, electric lead, bass, and acoustic guitar and vocals. They were very good

Recollect me darling raise me to your lips/Two undernourished egos four rotating hips

Saturday 20 September - and York is heaving tonight, lots of small groups, couples, and marauding packs of hen parties in pink Stetsons. I ducked into The Roman Bath, glad to be out of the flow of human traffic. It was getting crowded already and rightly so as The Mojos were playing here tonight. I've reviewed these guys before so regular readers will be aware that this York 5-piece covers band are extremely professional and very, very good indeed. They play classic covers from the '50s right up to the present day. The band consist of: Dave (vocals and guitar), Andy (lead guitar and vocals), John (bass guitar and vocals), Mark (keyboards), and for one night only, Hannah (drums). I'm sure I heard Dave say that Hannah was only sixteen and played in her own band (Hannah and the Junk Funk). I tell, you that girl sure could play, amazing.

The band kicked off with Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd), and they were just finishing as my friend arrived, shouldering his way through a now densely packed bar. Now here I'm going to cheat because Andy (lead guitar) provided me with the set list after their gig. This means that I don't have to rely on my brain cells surviving the onslaught of John Smith's in order to let you know what they played. So the rest of the first-half consisted of: Bohemian Like You (Dandy Warhols), Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry), I Want To Break Free (Queen), You Are All I Have (Snow Patrol), Another One Bites The Dust (Queen) with a segue into Superstition (Stevie Wonder), Ruby (Kaiser Chiefs), Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News).

During the break we were visited by Legs Elenavitch, the Russian Spy. She was dressed in a very alluring manner and it soon became clear why as she started pumping us for information about the siting of American missiles on Polish soil and the plight of the South Ossetians. As the band prepared for the second half of their act, Legs excused herself and headed off into the night. Up to no good I'll be bound!

The second half consisted of: Don't Sop Me Now (Queen), Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams), I Believe In A Thing Called Love (The Darkness), Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits), Hold The Line (Toto), Summer Of '69 (Bryan Adams), Gimme Some Lovin (Spencer Davis Group), Sweet Child o' Mine (Guns 'n' Roses), Jump (Van Halen), Livin' On A Prayer (Bon Jovi), Rockin' All Over The World (Status Quo). And in the midst of all this is a mega-medley consisting of (according to Dave) fourteen songs. I was too busy playing 'spot-the-riff', where John (lights at the The Duchess) proved how good he was, to count them, so I'll take his word for it.

The Mojos were, as expected, excellent, and I thoroughly recommend them to anyone who has seen them yet. By a strange coincidence, as I was walking home and listening to my p-pod, which was on shuffle, I was listening to Gimme Some Lovin' as covered by Thunder. Top track.

Friday 19 September - and all four of the Friday-Nighters are out to see one of our favourite local bands, Hope&Social, at The Duchess. We all arrived pretty early and I have to say that punters were very thin on the ground. Still, sipping my Theakstons XB, I didn't much care, more room for me as I settled in to watch the support bands.

First up were Blue Jupiters. These are a 3-piece outfit from Thirsk and Ripon currently being managed by Mike Heaton (drummer for Embrace). The line-up consists of: Ben H (guitar, keys, and vocals), Simon Goff (bass, strings and backing vocals), and Ben Middleton (drums and backing vocals). They started off, like so many indie bands do, with the machine-gun style of guitar playing where one song sounds the same as every other. Things improved after about four tracks when they were joined onstage by a chap who played keyboards and they slowed down to what I would describe as a normal tempo. Aall of a sudden they were really pretty good. If they can shake off the formula-indie sound, this band has great potential. Stand out songs for me: Never the End, Pipe Dreamer, Temporary Love, Bury You Alive, and Pawn And King.

Second on the bill were Leeds-based Dorien Starre. The band consist of: Leo Derevonko (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Alex Derevonko (bass guitar & backing vocals), Ian Talton (lead guitar & backing vocals), Andrew Ackroyd (drums & woodblock). The Yang to the Blue Jupiter's Yin, these started off slow and then degenerated into the formulaic indie guitar shredding. Again, what a shame. I liked Bonnie, and Evergreen Girl, but in a league of it's own was Human Future. What a brilliant song.

It was time for Hope&Social (on MyFace) and I was disappointed for the band at the lack of people that had turned up. From a purely selfish perspective it was great. I ended up two feet from the stage and there was little or no talking going on. For the uninitiated, Hope&Social are a Leeds 5-piece formerly known as Four Day Hombre with a small clutch of quality CDs to their name. The band consist of: Simon Wainwright (vocals/guitars/piano), Rich Huxley (guitars/vocals/piano/rhodes), Ed Waring (keyboards), J (bass), on drums, I think his name was Mike, not the usual chap anyway, ooh and there was a trumpet players as well called James. This gig was part of a tour to promote their first offering under the new moniker, a 5 track ep. The band played the new material plus old 4DH tracks from the albums Experiments In Living and One Footer Louder - Acoustic In Harlem. It was a fantastic gig especially when Simon got the audience to press closer to the stage and he and Rich sang/played without microphones to us, and winding up with the audience singing along on backing vocals. Brilliant. Of the new material I especially liked These Walls, Heaven Falls, and Buzzer Goes. I'm looking forward to the album with baited credit card.

The night was relatively young, so on leaving The Duchess we headed across to our usual watering hole, The Roman Bath, where a covers band called Go Commando were playing. The only lasting impression I have of the band is when they played Don't Leave Me This Way as part of a medley I believe. I used to like the song when it charted for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and later for Thelma Houston, but it was sullied by The Communards version. Ah, that's what two pints of XB and one of John Smiths does to my brain

To pull my ribs aparts/and let the sun inside

Saturday 13 September - Woah, what's this? Going out on a Saturday? Is that allowed? Well it is if I'm off to see a 'loud' band, hah, hah. A solo outing to The Duchess to see Heaven's Basement supported by Tidal Fury and Undergrass. Why? Well, Thunder are touring the UK from 21 November until 30 November with support from Heaven's Basement and GetVegas, so they must be pretty good to start with. Secondly, HB have been to York before in 2005 as Hurricane Party (with The Glitterati and The Black Velvets), and again in 2006 when I saw them at Fibbers in their guise of Roadstar (with The Answer and Rose Hill Drive). That was some gig!

I arrived towards the end of set of the first band, Undergrass. Undergrass are a four piece band from York consisting of: Phil Goodrick (lead vocal), Rob Lumby (lead guitar), Danny Lee (bass), and Dave Chitty (drums/backing vocals). Forged in late 2006 when Lumby and Lee were attending the Access to Music College in York, they found vocalist Phil Goodrick busking in the streets of York and brought in drummer Dave Chitty to complete the line up. I only caught the last two songs but they are very much in the 70's rock style of The Answer or a Black Stone Cherry-lite. Apparently they are taking part in the next set of Orange Unsigned Act, so one to look out for in the future and on the brief performance that I witnessed, a band that will be getting bigger very soon.

The second support act was Tidal Fury (and on MyFace), another York four-piece consisting of: Graham (vocals/rhythm guitar), Fin (bass), Mick Moran (lead guitar), and Steve (drums). In 2007 they supported acts such as The Towers Of London, Switches, Hydrogen and Dirty Rig. Sometimes I hang my head in shame when I think of all this talent in York that I've never heard before, and I go to gigs practically every week! These are great, with a poddle-haired, stadium sized, classic rock sound and superb widdly guitar solos, but with a modern, Indie twist. Stand out songs for me were: Crazy Child, Lay Down And Take It, Dirty Girl, Velvet Star, Dance Like You Mean It, LiveIt Up, Stay With Me 'Til Summer, and the eponymous Tidal Fury. Brilliant, but the evening wasn't over yet.

After they split from their previous management in early 2007 Roadstar reformed as Heavens Basement (as in mainman Richie Havenz';s 'basement', geddit?) in early 2008, but this is a different band from Roadstar. HB are a full-on sleaze-rock band in the style of Aerosmith or Alice In Chains. The band consist of: Richie Hevanz (vocals), Sid Glover (lead guitar), Jonny Rocker (rhythm guitar), Chris Rivers (drums), and Rob Randell (bass)

Unfamiliar as the songs were to me it didn't matter one bit because Graduation, Mirrors, Never Write A Love Song, Sacrifice, Saint Routine and Executioners' Day (that's the ones I can remember the names of) are all going to be song titles that people will be talking about in the future. They play with a demon-stoked energy reminiscent of a young Def Leppard, but with way more attitude. Most of the crowd had obviously seen/heard the band before as they seemed to know most of the words and were singing along. I felt a bit like a gate-crasher at a private party, but it was a throughly fantastic night and I look forward to seeing these guys again.

See the marionettes makin' puppet plans/See, he's pulling the strings, see the puppet dance

Friday 12 September - When I get a new CD I like to load it up onto my Zen Stone Plus so that I can listen to it on the move. The Zen software uses Gracenote to get album and track metadata for the MP3 files. Imagine my delight when I discovered that my two latest acquisitions are so obscure that Gracenote can’t identify them. Result! So what were they then? Well, bit of a cheat as they are both from the same band Curved Air.

Who? Curved Air were a pioneering British prog- rock group formed in 1969 from the remnants of a band called Sisyphus (Monkman and Pilkington-Miksa). The founding musicians came from quite different artistic backgrounds, classic, folk, and electronic sound, which resulted in a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. They were one of the first rock bands to feature a violin. The band released seven albums in as many years before calling it a day. They still kept bubbling under though, and an album of studio work from 1973 surfaced in 1990 and the group performed together briefly releasing a live album of this concert, Alive 1990, which was released in 2000. A Live At The BBC was released in 1995. They have recently reformed and are touring with a sort of greatest hits with, Reborn. Since leaving the band Monkman, a member of Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, has played with John Williams in a group called Sky. The reformed band has three of the original line up; Sonja Kristina Linwood, Darryl Way, and Florian Pilkington-Miksa. Whilst the core of the band remained intact, they did have a number of notable musicians pass through their line-up; Ian Eyre (bass), Mike Wedgwood (bass, later in Caravan), Eddie Jobson (keyboards and violin, later in Roxy Music, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and UK), John G. Perry (bass, ex-Caravan), Stewart Copeland (drums, later of The Police), and Tony Reeves (bass, ex-Greenslade, Colosseum, John Mayall). All of which brings me to my latest CDs which are the first two albums by the band.

Their debut album, Airconditioning, was released in November 1970 and reached number 8 in the UK albums chart in December 1970. It’s notable for a rock interpretation of a Vivaldi piece by Darryl Way (think of Darryl as a fore-runner of Nigel Kennedy) and the fact that it was also released as the first vinyl picture disc in a limited edition of 20,000. Sadly the sound quality of the picture disc was somewhat impaired by the early technology. I understand that the CD version hasn’t been re-mastered and to be honest the first track has some vocal wobbles that I can’t believe are down to Sonja.

The line-up for this album consisted of; Sonja Kristina Linwood (vocals), Darryl Way (violin), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums), Andy Christie (guitar), and Chris Harris (bass). For me the stand out tracks on this album are the lengthier pieces; It Happened Today with Sonja’s double-tracked vocals, Stretch a sort of modern/classical piece with disjointed time signatures and heavy use of violin, Screw sounding like early Genesis reminds me somewhat of the Beatle’s Eleanor Rigby, the chugging beat of Blind Man, and Hide and Seek. Vivaldi is of course excellent, but a bit of an anachronism within the context of the rest of the album. The most commercial tracks were released as a single, It Happened Today / Vivaldi / What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up, and was released in 1971.

In my opinion this was Curved Air not really knowing where they were going, just sitting down and making music that they liked. There is no development. But that said, still a fine album.

Their second album is called Second Album. It reached number 11 in the UK Charts on 9 October 1971, and the single Back Street Luv / Everdance became a UK number 4 chart hit on 7 August 1971. The line-up for this album consisted of: Ian Eyre (bass), Sonja Kristina (vocals), Francis Monkman (guitars, keyboards, VCS3 synthesizer), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums), and Darryl Way (violin, piano, vocals)

With the introduction of a VCS3 synthesizer this album seems much more focussed, yet also has a greater variety of styles. To me it’s a much stronger offering, more personal and mature than their first. The album opener is Young Mother with its echoes of Pink Floyd’s On The Run or early Genesis, particularly in the jazz-styled synth work. This is followed by the outstanding single Back Street Luv, really the only piece of their work that I actually recognised before buying these albums. Dark and brooding verses are interspersed with boppy choruses. Jumbo is almost like a song from the musicals with Sonja singing in the style of Elaine Paige. Not literally, but that kind of singing where each note of the tune matches a word in the lyric. It’s a beautiful ballad reminiscent of Renaissance (the band not the era). Track 4 is You Know, great guitar work but possibly the weakest track on the album. The final track on side one is Puppets, a beautiful yet menacing tune with a clockwork beat.

The side two (like a CD has sides!) only has three tracks and opens with Everdance which featured on the B-side of their second single. A driving violin led tune played in a ‘gypsy’ style. This is followed by another anachronistic offering, the rather odd Bright Summer’s Day. Musically it sounds a bit like Cockney Rebel and would actually have fitted better on the first album. The last track, at almost thirteen minutes long, is the epic Piece Of Mind. This starts with tribal drumming, synth-brass, violin and a heavy piano. The tempo changes and we are drawn up into a crescendo, then quiet. There is a beautiful piano and strings section as we set off again getting more and more frantic, then quiet. Some subdued drumming and piano work underpins Sonja reading a passage from TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. The music starts again and we’re off to Arabia for a bit in the style of Emerson Lake and Palmer before reverting back to the sea-like drumming and piano which gradually fades into the distance.

I paid less than a tenner for these two albums, definitely a bargain. For punters wanting a greatest hits I guess that their latest, Reborn is probably the best bet. It does lack Piece Of Mind but then all their compilations do, which is a shame.

Well there's a red house over yonder/That's where my baby stays

Saturday 6 September – Come hell or high water, and the Ouse was pretty high in York today, nothing was going to stop us from being at The Roman Bath tonight. It was one of those rare occasions when we had a full turn out. Tonight, the Chantel McGregor Band!

I've enthused about Chantel before on this blog so I don't have to tell you what an amazing guitar virtuoso she is. Where Hendrix sweated and agonised over his solos, Chantel reproduces them with an air of nonchalance as if it's as natural to her as sipping tea and eating a kebab. She is stunning, awesome, gorgeous, a prodigy, and the sweetest, most self-effacing guitar-goddess on the planet. Ta.

Her fingers darted over the frets like spiders legs weaving a web on a speeded-up film and the four of us were reduced to watching, spellbound, incapable of doing anything other than dribble beer down our throats in silence. I didn't know some of the songs they played, but luckily the lady provided me with her set list. By way of a change I have provided some links to YouTube videos of some of her performances. They don't do her justice. It isn't possible. You just have to see her live. I urge you, you really have to see her live.

Had To Cry Today (Blind Faith), Badge (Cream), Lie No. 1 (Joe Bonamassa), Stormy Monday (T Bone Walker in the style of Clapton), Up in The Sky (Joe Satriana), Miss You Hate You (Joe Bonamassa), All Along The Watchtower (Dylan in the style of Hendrix), Landslide (Fleetwood Mac), I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt), One Of These Days (Ten Years After in the style of Bonamassa), Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac), For The Love Of God (Steve Vai), Purple Haze (Hendrix), Red House (Hendrix), Daydream (Robin Trower), Voodoo Chile (Hendrix), New Day Yesterday (Jethro Tull in the style of Bonamass).

Other stuff by Chantel that’s on YouTube, and video links from Chantel's website.

You can light the fire inside your head

Friday 5 September – OK, it’s going to be a busy weekend, so let’s get right on with it. Friday night is a bit of a punt, we’re off to The Duchess for what looks like an interesting line-up. First on the bill is York-band Airheads, actually five guys from Huntington in York the band consists of; James Rodgers, Harry Owen, Tristan Kirkpatrick, Ash Lovelace, and James Blackburn. They’ve supported bands such as Look See Proof, Glasvegas, Team Waterpolo, Disarm and PARKA, but for tonight are self-confessed “Duchess virgins”. I arrived about half way through their gig. Shame on me, because they sounded really good. Two things stood out. 1 they had a stonking great synth in the middle of the stage. 2 one of the guitarist was wearing no shoes, just stripy socks. In that way he reminded me of the rhythm guitarist from Scary. Whatever happened to them? Anyway, Airheads produced great sounding synth/pop/rock with catchy, melodic riffs underwritten by the synth line, reverberating guitars, solid bass lines, and precision drumming. Top notch. I will definitely be looking for these guys again. Their next gig is at Fibbers on 19 October when they support Team Waterpolo and Defend Moscow.

So, the evening was off to a good start and the Theakstons XB was sliding down beautifully. The second act was Euros Child the former vocalist and keyboard player from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. He was being assisted by some chap who played guitar and drums, but I’m afraid I’ve no idea who he was. Sorry. I’m assuming that most of the material played was off his latest solo album The Miracle Inn, as it sounded to be in English and his previous two albums had featured vocals in Welsh. The set kicked off with three or four guitar-based songs that gave an impression of Simon & Garfunkle at their height. Pretty damn good I thought. Unfortunately Euros then switched to keyboards and the wheels starting coming off. It was like listening to the Pet Shop Boys but without the catchy choruses. The songs started, drifted about a bit, and then ended. They just didn’t go anywhere. I wanted to like him. He has a fantastic voice. But it really didn’t float my boat.

And so to the headline act, The Dodos, a duo from San Francisco consisting of; Meric Long (vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards), and Logan Kroeber (backing vocals and percussion). They are joined on this tour by Joe Haener who filled in the gaps with glockenspiel, a half-pint piano/keyboard affair, and a dustbin for a bit of extra oomph in the drum department. I kid you not. The band created beautifully orchestrated pieces of music, ranging from soft chanting and wistful lyrics, to escalating primal screams and frantic strumming. The drumming was driving and frantic and the sound was enhanced by Kroeber having a tambourine strapped to his foot! The music? Well it’s psychedelic/folk. Think of Fleet Foxes, White Denim, Bon Iver, The Hold Steady, or Athlete on speed. It’s folk and anti-folk, guitars played hard and fast but remaining acoustic. The set kicked off with some traditionally formatted songs, among them Walking and the single Red and Purple with its tribal drumming (think West African Ewe drumming and gamelan). The set then veered off into much longer tunes, exploring sonic landscapes, so difficult to describe as mere songs in a conventional sense. A particular highlight for me was Fools, a track from their new album Visiter, with feedback drenched slide guitar and ramshackle drums bashing away in the background. The band was in its best prog-mode on Joe's Waltz. The first four minutes devoted to a sombre, down-tempo ballad that gave way to a three-minute, near-punk thrasher where Long was insisting to the song's subject that they "need help." Long used agile, feverish strumming on his guitar and had a sweetly awkward voice. Kroeber drummed with a fury forged from his prog-metal background. Absolutely first-rate and thoroughly recommended.

Despite The Dodos playing an hour long gig it was still reasonably early when we left The Duchess so we headed into the heart of York to round off the evening at The Roman Bath. The band playing here was Dufflegoat, a York three-piece consisting of; Roger Newton (guitar, backing vocals), Tony Gilpin (Bass, lead vocals), and Paul Marshall (drums).

Obviously we only caught about a quarter of their set but the band managed to rattle off an impressive array of covers from; Led Zep, Voodoo Chile, Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix), Won’t get fooled again (The Who), Warpigs (Black Sabbath), and apparently only the second time of playing it, The Green Manalishi With the Two Pronged Crown (Fleetwood Mac). Pretty blooming good and well worth checking out properly when they next play in York, Thursday 20 November at The Stone Roses, or Sunday 7 December at The Roman Bath.

Well my name's John Lee Pettimore/Same as my daddy and his daddy before

Friday 29 August – Well we considered dropping into The Duchess to see Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band but the gig had sold out already so we settled for an evening of covers at The Roman Bath. According to my sources, The Mojos were playing tonight, however, I checked The Mojo's website and that had them playing on Saturday, so it was anyone's guess who might be playing. It turned out to be Travelin Band, a group we’ve seen before albeit only half their set previously.

The band apparently started life in 2004 as The Outlaws but there has been a few comings and goings and the current line-up is now billed as; Tony (Oscar) Smith - Vocal and Rhythm guitar, Steve (Crazy Horse) McLeod - Lead guitar and Backing vocal, John (The Russian) Mitchell - Bass guitar, and Paul (Big foot - Almost ) Drums. I have to say that the drummer looked different from when we saw them last, so this information may not be entirely accurate.

I think a couple of them play in, or have played in, a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band. Steve has the band’s name etched into the frets of his guitar so you can guess where their main influences come from! Tony is also a big fan of John Fogerty, he of Creedance Clearwater Revival and various solo efforts.

The range of covers they performed was similar to other covers bands we’ve seen but they also pulled out a few tracks that I only vaguely recognised, and some that left me baffled. I'm usually quite good at playing 'spot the tune'. The drumming did seem to be mixed a little too loud, and the lead guitar not loud enough, but hey, they’re playing in a pub, not the Albert Hall. I also found the vocals a bit flat on some of the songs. But I’m not really complaining, just trying to tell it like it was.

I can’t remember all of the covers they played (I had three lip-smacking points of John Smith’s and my brain cells were dying like lemmings) but here is a selection of the ones I did remember, in no particular order:

Bad moon rising, Travelin' Band, Up Around The Bend, Rocking All Over The World (John Fogerty), Rocking in the free world (Neil Young), Gimme three steps, Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Johnny B Goode, Roll over Beethoven (Chuck Berry), Old time rock and roll (Bob Seger), Copperhead Road (Steve Earle), Crossroads (Eric Clapton), Battleship chains (The Georgia Satellites).