Johnny's in the basement, mixing up the medicine / I'm on the pavement, thinking about the government

As a self-confessed rubbish blogger it's time for me to play 'catch up' again with two outings rolled up into one blog.

Friday 15 October - saw a well attended outing to The Punchbowl in Stonegate to see Adam Dawson singing / playing his acoustic thing. We were treated to a variety of covers, performed in Adam's own personal style, as well as some of his original material. Of the covers we had songs recorded by such diverse acts as Lady Gaga, Damien Rice, Newton Faulkner, Coldplay, Ralph McTell, Mumford & Sons etc. But I particularly enjoyed his own songs; Lazy Susan, I'm Coming Home, and the fantastic Silver Skies. Very highly recommended.

Friday 22 October - and we pass up the opportunity to see Adam again, he might think we were stalking him, to see The Mothers at O'Neills. Now we've caught them before, 10 March 2009 actually, and on that occasion we only saw the first half of their act before moving on to watch another band. Tonight we had the same option but relented to watch the entire performance, which was really very good indeed.

I haven't been able to find out much about the band members themselves. The vocalist is Jon Stewart who also sings with The Supermodels and the bass player is Stuart 'Stu' Fletcher (ex-Seahorses, The Blueflies, The Yards, Rick Witter and The Dukes). Of the lead guitarist and drummer I'm afraid I have no details. Jon has a superb voice and they rattled off a string of covers. To the best of my recollection we had; Take Me to the River (Al Green), I Heard It On The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye), Mr Brightside (The Killers), You Really Got Me (The Kinks), The Seeker (The Who), Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon), Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (James Brown), I Predict A Riot (The Kaiser Chiefs), Back In The USSR (the Beatles) which segued into Jumping Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones), Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan), In The Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett), Valerie (The Zutons) Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Tainted Love (Soft Cell), The Jean Genie (David Bowie), The Snake (Al Wilson). Basically an excellent set delivered by a top notch band. Highly recommended.

Sing it loud, sing it sweet / With hellfire fury, stomping your feet

Yep, I've been a bit remiss with postings of late, but in fairness I have been a busy bunny. As this blog was originally set up to be simply a log of gigs we'd seen that's more or less what I'm going to revert back to to get through the backlog.

Wednesday 15 September - and we were at Stereo in York for four acts, two of whom were new to us, or were they? We kicked off with Marbled (and on MyFace ) or should that be Marble D? All a bit strange, but basically a man and guitar which he played with nifty finger-picking. None of the songs actually stuck in my consciousness at the time but in attempting to track down some details about him I noticed a few York connections in the shape of Dave (NZ) Keegan and Sam Forrest (Nine Black Alps, Boss Caine) working with him on his EPs.

The second performance came from Gary Stewart with a more folksy style of playing. Gary was joined on-stage for his third song by Rich Huxley of Hope&Social and then the penny dropped, Gary is the current drummer with H&S. Apparently most of the songs were from his debut album, Boy Cries Wolf.

Act three was the ubiquitous GT Turbo aka Boss Caine aka Dan Lucas (on MyFace). It's hard not to like GT's style of music or maybe I'm just getting familiar with it. Tonight there seemed to be some new tunes and GT was joined on stage by first Tim Fox, and then Vinny North, both wielding harmonicas and both last seen in Hijack Oscar and the Fox-North Coalition (the band, not the government formed by Charles James Fox and Lord North in Great Britain that held office during 1783).

Finally, we moved forward for the highlight of the evening, Hope&Social who blessed us with tunes from both of their albums; Architect Of This Church and April. I did bring my kazoo but it wasn't required. I did take some photographs though. Despite seeing them fairly recently, tonight they were even better than ever and flinging themselves around the stage like crazy. It was a wonder nothing got broken. The highlight, as ever, was the acoustic sing-a-long to Looking For Answers. What a brilliant evening out.

Thursday 16 September - and the first outing to the newly refurbished Fibbers to see Shed Seven on the first of their 20th anniversary home-coming gigs. This was a big bash for us and my daughters and their partners had come along as well. The venue was much bigger inside than previously and the sound quality was quite good. I knew it was a sell-out gig but it was extremely crowed inside and I strongly doubt that everyone would have been able to get out in an emergency. The air conditioning was next to useless and dribbling a constant stream of water onto people's heads. Not a good start. The support act was Chris Helme (ex-Seahorses, ex-Yards, now a solo artist) and he had plenty of local support. Two of us were down at the front and I was singing along to most of his songs. After Chris had finished the front section filled up with what seemed to be a contingent of football louts, chanting and jostling each other. We moved out to the sides but it was very claustrophobic and one of our party, being pregnant, wasn't enjoying herself. They were good, very good indeed, but when they went in at half-time we all decided that we'd had enough and left, which was disappointing because the music was great but the venue let it down. For the first half they played; Dirty Soul, Speakeasy, Long Time Dead, Mark/Around Your House, Stars In Your Eyes, Sensitive, Dolphin, Ocean Pie, and On An Island With You. The second half, which we did not see, apparently consisted of; Disco Down, Bully Boy, Where Have You Been Tonight, High Hopes, She Left Me On Friday, On Standby, Going For Gold, and Getting Better. For the encore they played Missing Out and Chasing Rainbows.

Tuesday 21 September - was our second attempt to dip our toes in Fibbers. We were hoping that it would be less crowded this time as we were off to see Manchester band Oceansize. Sadly, it was an unmitigated disaster. We set off but half way into town I got a 'phone call to say that it had been cancelled. We met up with a couple of chaps in the Blue Bell on Walmgate where we found out that the sound requirements of the band were beyond the resources of Fibbers. In an effort to get around the problems they had wheeled out the old mixing desk but it blew a fuse every time their equipment was plugged in. I also understand that there was a lack of mains sockets at the stage end of the venue. In the end the band called it off and returned, very disgruntled, to Manchester. Fibbers had to print an apology in The Press and are, apparently, working to address the problems. Not good.


Thursday 30 October - and with some trepidation we headed for Fibbers again, this time to see The Union. Once we were inside, things weren't too bad. The air conditioning appeared to have been fixed, the second bar area was curtained off, it wasn't so crowded and certainly not as hot. Bar prices were through the roof though at £4.80 for a bottle of Peroni and a small coke. Support came from GT Turbo but he was more or less finished by the time we got there. Now, technically speaking this was a double headline as Ricky Warwick had the show booked but The Union piggybacked on it at his request. Because he was playing solo he went on first. Ricky is probably best known for being in The Almighty and is the newly appointed lead singer of Thin Lizzy. Most of his songs appeared to be from his latest album, Belfast Confetti plus his latest single The Whiskey Song. Although he played acoustic, he played with vigour and energy. He's gonna make a hell of a front-man for t'Lizzy. Brilliant. And so to the main event and we were right down at the front but there was no jostling down here. No giants with big hair to stand in front of us. Altogether a much more enjoyable and appreciative crowd.

The Union consist of Luke Morley (ex-Thunder) on lead guitar and Pete Shoulder (ex-Winterville) on second lead and vocals. For the tour they were joined by ex-Thunder bassist Chris Childs and a drummer whose name I believe to be Dave McCluskey. Apologies if I'm wrong. They came on to Part Of The Union (The Strawbs) and immediately belted out most of their eponymous album bar except that they excluded Amazon and played a new track, Rollin', instead. The final song of the encore was a cover of Proud Mary (written by John Fogerty and first recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival). The middle eight turned into a highly entertaining 'guitar war' between Morley and Shoulder. Most of the audience seemed to be fans already and there was plenty of clapping and singing along. Luke's guitar playing was sublime and Pete has a truely fantastic voice. This was quite possibly my gig of the year. Highly recommended.

Play the best song in the world, or I'll eat your soul.

Friday 10 September - Good music in York seems to have been a bit thin on the ground over the last couple of weeks but tonight we are in the Royal Oak in Goodramgate to see Adam Dawson perform. Adam joined Breathing Space as their new guitarist in July of this year. Tonight he was doing a solo gig, singing and playing acoustic six- and twelve-stringed guitars, mostly covers.

This was the first time we'd seen Adam although The Druid had caught him in July. Adam is an affable chap with a great sense of humour. He was quite happy doing covers on request if he was familiar enough with the lyrics or if he could get the audience to join in with him, which we did. Everyone loves a sing-a-long.

From memory, Adam treated us to; The Cave, Little Lion Man (Mumford & Sons), Mr Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan), Hotel California (The Eagles), Space Oddity (David Bowie), Rule The World (Coldplay), Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), Poker Face (Lady Gaga), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Shine (Take That), When You Say Nothing At All (Ronan Keating), Tribute (Tenacious D), Streets Of London (Ralph McTell), Wild Rover (Trad.), Dream Catch Me (Newton Faulkner), Wonderful Tonight, Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton), Dedicated Follower of Fashion (The Kinks), Use Somebody (Kings of Leon), I think it was Take A Chance (Magic Numbers) and two renditions of Lazy Susan (Adam Dawson) one of which was demanded as an encore.

Adam has a fantastic voice and a great guitar style. I haven’t caught the new incarnation of Breathing Space yet but look forward to doing so. I’ll also be looking out for more solo gig from the boy Dawson, highly recommended.

Do all that I can to heal you inside / I'll be the angel on your shoulder

It's been a while since we've been out in York on a Friday evening, partly because Fibbers is closed for refurbishment and partly because The Duchess doesn't seem to have much going on. All of which reduces us to watching covers bands at either The Roman Bath or The Terrace. That's not to say that other venues such as The Basement or Stereo have been lacking, but none of their acts has actually caught our eye, or ear.

This week however, we were pleased to see that Rubber Bullets were playing at The Terrace. Now we first encountered these guys back in April this year at the same place and were very impressed at the quality of their singing/playing and the material they cover, quite unlike most of the cover bands we watch.

Rubbers Bullets are 5-piece from York comprising Eddy Andersen on vocals, Dan and Phil Hardcastle on guitars, Andy Miller on bass, and Mark Lee on drums.

Tonight they gave us (not in this order); Rock 'n' Roll Star, Supersonic, Cigarettes and Alcohol (Oasis), Shoot The Runner, Underdog , Reason Is Treason, (Kasabian), Jailbird, Get Your Rocks Off (Primal Scream), Geraldine (Glasvegas), North Country Boy (The Charlatans), She Left Me On Friday (Shed Seven), Sun Goes Down, Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Fake Tales of San Francisco (Arctic Monkeys), The Bucket, Molly's Chambers (Kings of Leon), The Riverboat Song (Ocean Colour Scene), Sally Cinnamon, She Bangs The Drums (Stone Roses), Song 2 (Blur), Common People (Pulp), Love Is The Law (The Seahorses), and Golden Touch (Razorlight). Every song was performed extremely well and made for a fantastic night's entertainment. Highly recommended so check them out.

You're all I have in this teenage twilight, Your golden hair and pale blue eyes

Sunday 4 July - I know! Sunday! It's mad isn't it! But it's for a good reason, Ash are playing in the Duchess. Now the last time I heard these live was way back at one of the Leeds festivals, when we couldn't actually get inside the tent to see them and had to sit on the grass outside and listen. They were so loud that it really didn't make much difference, and frankly, tonight was almost the same, very loud, and very hot indeed.

We got all the greatest hits; Lose Control, Goldfinger, Girl From Mars, Kung Fu, Oh Yeah, Let It Flow, Angel Interceptor , Lost In You etc. A couple of their new singles, which I didn't recognise, but enjoyed anyway. And a few, more extended, dance-like tracks; one I didn't catch the name of, the other was Twilight Of The Innocents, extremely good, and I don't like dance music. Without doubt this was the gig of the year for me and my ears were still ringing two days afterwards. Fantastic.

Friday 2 July - and a strong turnout at the Roman Bath, not least to exchange tickets for various events. I forgot and left mine at home so I'll have to post them off to The Druid, drat. Anyway up, tonight we are blessed by the presence of a superb covers band The Mojos. Regular readers (ha ha) will be aware that we've seen these on a number of previous occasions, 'cos basically they're very, very good and we know that we will have a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I'm relying on my miserable memory here but I distinctly remember them playing; Free (All Right Now), Jamiroquai (Cosmic Girl), Bad Company (Can't Get Enough Of Your Love), Nina Simone (Feeling Good, in the style of Muse) , Toto (Hold the Line), Whitesnake (Here I go Again), AC/DC (Highway To Hell), Kaiser Chiefs (I Predict A Riot), Robbie Williams (Let Me Entertain You), Chic (Le Freak), Dire Straits(Money For Nothing, Sultans Of Swing), The Killers (Mr Brightside), Queen (One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down), Primal Scream (Rocks Off), Stevie Wonder (Superstition), The Jam (Town Called Malice), Muse (Uprising), and Jackie Wilson( Higher and Higher). There may well have been others but the John Smith's was going down too well for me to recall. Thoroughly recommended.

She likes the boys in the band, She knows when they come to town, Every musician's fan after the curtain comes down

Friday 25 June - and tonight we eschew covers for some more original material in the shape of three bands playing at Fibbers, or do we? First band on the bill are a group that we've seen no less than three times before, Astrae (on MyFace and SpaceBook). They are a York-based alt-rock band (Haxby's finest) consisting of James A Hutchinson (Guitar / Vocals), Jack Beavers (Guitar / Synth / Vocals), Ali Thynne (Drums / Percussion), Rio (Keyboard / Synth), and T-Bone Malogus (Bass). As we've seen them before, you can read my previous reviews by typing their name into the Search box. Tonight there was no drummer which gave their set a sort of "unplugged" sound. James' continues to impress me with his energy and the power of his voice (think Robert Smith of The Cure). This band is really growing on me and this was an excellent start to the evening.

The next act we had also seen before, The Bitter Image. Another York-based band, their sounds have a hint of QotSA about them; heavy-ish rock, bit melodic, bit quirky. But, there's something about them that doesn't quite gel. Dom (Wells, lead singer rhythm guitar) is a bit too clean-cut for the lyrics that he sings. His neat hair cut and appearance is at odds with songs of blood and angels and demons. The other problem, for me, is that Jonny (Wells, lead guitar) seemed to be playing some excellent solos but they were lost in Dom's rhythm playing and an over-mix of the drum (Dom Smith) and bass (Jim Buck). Shame, if they didn't drown Jonny out I would have enjoyed this band so much more.

And so to the top of the bill, a Glaswegian outfit playing under the moniker of A Joker's Rage. Actually all the members of this band play in a whole fistful of other bands and AJR is just one avatar of their communal work. Their charismatic front man is Zakk Taylor, they have a fiery guitar-smith in the shape of Gary Johnstone, and Neil MacDougall (drums) and Graeme Glancy (bass) make up the engine room. There's a bit of funk, some heavy rock, some rapping, all sorts. The audience certainly lapped it all up. We were treated to a couple of covers as well; on the anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson we got Dirty Diana, and for their encore we all sang along to Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name. Very entertaining, but of the three, Astrae were the ones that stood out for me.

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light

Friday 4 June - Sorry but I'm a bit behind with my gig write-ups and they may be a tad on the short side, but hey, I only started doing this to keep tabs on which bands we'd seen. Unfortunately my system fell over on this occasion because I forgot to check if we'd seen Graf Zeppelin before. We had. They were fantastic last time and just as good this time too. Playing in the Roman Bath, so free music, and hailing from Doncaster, GF are; Richard Oxby on vocals, Raith Wilson on guitar, Daz Chandler on bass, and Jon Booth on drums. They don't look like Led Zep, but they do exactly what it says on the tin, they play like Led Zep. They're flippin' brilliant.

Friday 11 June - and Bad Dog are playing in the Roman Bath tonight. I checked this blog. We hadn't seen them before. Except that we had, but I forgot to blog it. Bugger! Anyway, Bad Dog are a femme-fronted four piece rock covers band formed by Steph and Andy who formerly played as part of Steve Steinman's major theatre shows The Meatloaf Story, Meatloaf Trilogy and Vampires Rock. Together with Ben and Mike, Bad Dog put on an excellent rock show covering artists such as; Queen, Tina Turner, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, Bad Company, AC/DC, Status Quo , Kings of Leon, The Kinks, The Beatles, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Blondie, and of course, Led Zeppelin. Very theatrical, but very, very good indeed.