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.
1 comment:
Oh yes, that was a good one - coming in a month where I saw Uriah Heep (in Manchester), Opeth, Marillion and Fish, it was a good way to end the month!
After the gig I headed down to the Old White Swan, when I had the pleasure of meeting half the band - just hope I didn't give Anne-Marie Helder my cold.
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