Here's my debt to you, I wanted to say I breathe for you / But you are a world away, a world away

Friday 21 January - Musically, there hadn’t been much to tempt us out so far this year, but tonight we were off to Fibbers to see four bands that I’d seen before, so I was pretty sure that we were going to enjoy ourselves.

I’m still not happy with Fibbers as a live music venue. It has no character and the drinks are exorbitantly priced. Anyway, we arrived about half way through the first of four acts, Boss Caine (Dan Lucas). The crowd was a bit thin on the ground but those that were there made up for their lack of numbers by the volume of their chat, all of which left Dan struggling to be heard and reduced his songs to a rather lacklustre drone, even when accompanied by Vin North on harmonica for the last two or three songs.

The second band to play were The Blueprints. Now I’d not seen these since early 2008 and the band have undergone some changes since then; Stuart Allan (vocals and guitar) and Russ Broadbent-(drums and vocals) still form the core of the band, with new (to me) boys Mark Waters (bass) and Tom Williams (keyboards and vocals) joining them. Their style of playing was also greatly improved. I quite liked them previously but tonight they really blew my socks off with their up-lifting, indie music and slightly squeaky vocals. Recommended.

Band three were one of my favourite York bands, 98Pages (and on FaceSpace), a power blues trio consisting of Martyn Fillingham (guitars and vocals), Jase Brooks (bass), and Andy Black (drums). Their debut album Broken Homes And The Halfway House was released in 2009 and since then they have added an enormous amount of new material to their canon of work. I only recognised about three of their songs. The new stuff is louder, darker, cleverer, but there’s more soft material too, edgy, moody. Martyn speaks of wanting to release some EPs and maybe another album this year; well he has plenty to pick and choose from. This band is really taking off, very highly recommended.

The headline act tonight was The Buccaneers. Originally a three piece consisting of Andre de Gaye (guitar & vocals), Leo Wild (bass), and Jonny Gatenby (drums & vocals), their ranked swelled in April 2010 with the addition of Vin North (acoustic guitar & harmonica) previously of Hijak Oscar. On previous occasions I’ve been somewhat underwhelmed by The Buccaneers style of garage R’n’B and I’m afraid to say that was the case tonight. Maybe it was because The Blueprints and 98Pages were so good, maybe it was because the clubbers had started trickling in early and were busy chatting away, oblivious to the fact that a live band was playing. Whatever, I simply felt a bit disappointed. Sorry guys.

Top five albums of 2010

Having mulled over my 2010 album purchases, I think I'm ready to declare my top five, except that I'm going to be awkward and have six and a special mention. Hey, they're my rules OK?

The special mention goes out to We're Here Because We're Here, the eighth studio album from Anathema which was released in 2010 but I didn't get it until 4 January. It's an extraordinarily beautiful album with multi-layered vocals and weird time signatures that just ticked every box for me on the very first listening. If I'd bought it in 2010 it would be in my top six, but I didn't.

So here are my top six album purchases of 2010:

In at six; the eponymous debut album from Yorkshire soundscapers Lost From Atlas. Instrumental math rock is alive and thriving in the hands of this late teen trio who how show a maturity transcending many of their peers who might have settled for a comfortable life of repetitive monotony. It's fantastic to see new blood producing such high quality material.

At five; The Minerva Suite the second offering from Mexicolas. Hot on the heels of their outstanding debut, X, comes this not quite so outstanding but nevertheless fantastically good bit of alt.indie from Jamie Evans.

Number four in the chart; Black Rock by Joe Bonamassa, the tenth solo album release from the 32 year old blues man. A finely crafted melange of originals and covers of songs from Leonard Cohen Jeff Beck, Otis Rush and Willie Nelson. Each track is magically transmuted into Bonamassa's unique style and polished to a high gloss.

Into the top three; Someone Here Is Missing, the eighth studio album by The Pineapple Thief and sporting cover art by Storm Thorgerson. Nine tracks of their trademark bittersweet progressive indie rock. Each song is tightly constructed and exquisitely recorded as Bruce Soord pours his heart all over his sleeve and into our ears. It's not all about the lyrics either, in between the words the rest of the band flexes quiet and loud like a musical muscle. Set the volume to 11 and stick your ears between those speakers.

Just missing the top slot, so that'll be number two then; April from Leeds fan-friendly band Hope&Social. Released on a pay-what-you-want basis this is another great album from the artists formerly known as Four Day Hombre. There's cheery great lashings of verve and energy, sing-a-long choruses, just a smidge of melancholia, then more dollops of Northern pep and wide-eyed musical wonders. But, don't just listen to the music, go and see the band live, they're even better and so much fun. Truly a joy to listen to.

And so to the number one; another eponymous debut, this time from The Union. The Union are a new band formed by Luke Morley, formerly the guitarist for legendary UK rock band Thunder, and ex-Winterville vocalist/guitarist Peter Shoulder. The album consists of twelve Americana-influenced songs with, as you might expect, superb vocals and outstanding guitar work. But don't be thinking that the tracks sound the same, oh no, each is a mini-masterpiece from the all out rock of Step up to the Plate, to the blues slide of Come Rain Come Shine, and the more stripped down acoustic tracks such as Lilies. They picked up The Classic Rock Award for Best New Band and ChildLine Rocks chose This Time Next Year as their first official charity single. Definitely the best album of 2010 and definitely the best live gig that I've seen in a long time.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind?

The end of another year and so here's a round up of what I've been up to musically. I've bought 38 albums this year, 13 that were actually released in 2010, the rest being a mixture of recent and classic releases that I've only just caught up with.

Among the old stuff is material by The National, Nils Lofgren, Starsailor, Super Furry Animals, Pink Floyd, Alter Bridge, Elton John, Newton Faulkner, Transatlantic, Lacuna Coil, Astra, Thriving Ivory, Jeff Buckley, JJ Cale, Mumford & Sons, Them Crooked Vultures, and The Reasoning.

The new releases were; Mexicolas The Minerva Suite, Lost From Atlas Lost From Atlas, Hope&Social April, Cheap Trick The Latest, Engineers In Praise Of More, Oceansize Self-preserved While The Bodies Float, The Union The Union, Iron Maiden The Final Frontier, Feeder Renegades, The Pineapple Thief Someone Here Is Missing, Kids In Glass Houses Dirt, Joe Bonnamassa Black Rock, and You Me At Six Hold Me Down. Looking back over this list I can see that it's a pretty eclectic mix; power-pop, blues, prog, indie, metal, rock, you name it.

We've seen 21 live gigs this year, seven covers bands; The Mothers, Rubber Bullets, The Mojos, Graf Zapplen, Bad Dog, Skint, and Flood Damage, the rest were artists presenting original material. At some of the gigs there were supporting bands that deserve mention as well so the line up of bands we saw this year comprises; Chantel McGregor, Dorien Starre, Comply Or Die, Adam Dawson, The Union, Hope&Social, Shed Seven, Ash, A Joker's Rage, Astrae, Morpheus Rising, GUN, Hazzard County, Boss Caine, Surprise...Fire, and The Hummingbirds.

Sadly, we missing the new lineups of Breathing Space and Mostly Autumn, but maybe next year. I've noticed this year that I am leaning somewhat in the direction of prog-metal, or at least prog-something. This isn't intentional, it's just the type of music that I'm enjoying at the moment. Having said that, my top band has got to be The Union who have delivered an outstanding rock album and a blistering live show this year. Roll on 2011, I think it's going to be another good one!

I am so innocent I swear to God oh but you pressure me / And I can't help but unwind

Friday 10 December - and as we rocket towards the end of the year the music is getting sparser, but in no way is the quality suffering as tonight two of us brave the snow and ice to see The Chantel McGregor Band at Fibbers. Now I've seen Chantel five times before, usually playing in a pub, but now she is writing her own material and doing a proper tour.

The turn-out tonight was disappointing low, probably in part due to the weather. We arrived in time to catch the last three songs being played by Steve Fulsham from Hull who was doing an acoustic set without the rest of his band. He sounded good, very good, and I'd like to hear more of him so I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Given that the crowd was a bit thin, we moved right down to the front next to the barriers and in a prime viewing position. In hindsight we were probably a bit too close to Martin Rushworth's drum kit and were therefore getting the benefit of the stage sound as well as through the speakers, but hey ho. The other member of the band was Richard Ritchie playing on a lovely looking 5-string bass.

Chantel took to the stage in her M&S slipper socks and immediately swung into action. As I have previously enthused, Chantel is a superb guitarist and has a great voice to boot. I didn't manage to get a set list but I'm pretty certain that she played Bridge To Better Days (Joe Bonamassa), Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson), Come Back To Bed (John Mayer), Up In The Sky (Joe Satriani), Daydream (Robin Trower), High (Richie Kotzen), New Day Yesterday (Jethro Tull), and Sloe Gin (Joe Bonamassa). We also had a fair smattering of her own compositions; I'm No Good For You, Fabulous, Not Here With Me, Freefalling, Caught Out, and Like No Other. I have to admit that didn't really know what to expect of her own material, fearing that she wouldn't be able to pull off sufficiently sophisticated solos, but she blew my socks off with a range of musical styles, thoughtful and sometimes funny lyrics, and guitar solos to die for.

Between the songs there was a constant, endearing stream of anecdotes; snippets from Chantel's life ranging from buying dresses and perfume that she didn't want, ribs and chips, Dr Pepper and the women's toilets.

Finally, she encored with what she called her "15 minute" song which started with Had To Cry (Blind Faith) but may have segued into something else by the end, and an acoustic version of Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac).

We had a fantastic night's entertainment and I desperately implore readers to at least check out her videos on YouTube, but if you like virtuoso guitar playing get along to one of her live gigs. Very highly recommended.

I heard you cry in your singsong voice / We didn't have a choice but to sit and watch you die in the February air

Friday 19 November - I have to admit that I was a bit half-hearted about going out tonight as the only original music in town was at The Duchess where Dorien Starre were playing. Now I know I saw these back in September 2008 at Fibbers and I'm sure that I've seen them at The Stone Roses Bar, but they've always left me somewhat underwhelmed.

My trepidation was not helped when we arrived at The Duchess to find ourselves in an audience that seemed to consist solely of sixth formers. We felt like parents intruding at the end-of-term disco.

Anyway, tonight's support bill kicked off with Likely Lads an enthusiastic bunch of youngsters who managed to pull off a number of quite well constructed tunes even though I was unable to make out the titles. There was a tendency to slip into ska-by-numbers but generally I thought that these were rather good. They also used a word that I used to use darn Sarf but never heard before oop North; "you nuggets" (weird or strange person, usually when they have done something silly). The audience certainly seemed to enjoy them, so that was a reasonable start to the evening.

The second aural offering came in the form of people: in airports a 4-piece indie-rock outfit from York and Leeds. Formed in 2006 by Shed Seven bassist Tom Gladwin and singer/songwriter Paul Downes the line-up was completed in 2007 with the addition of Jimmy Greenall (guitar and backing vocals) and Ken Sayers (drums). These, on paper, sounded quite interesting but I'm afraid they never really took-off and I can't really put my finger on why. Musically they were mediocre, one song blurred into another. It was all a bit plodding, as if the whole experience was just a bit dull as far as the band were concerned and that certainly came across in their music. Sorry guys, it just wasn't that good.

I had no great hopes as Dorien Starre took to the stage. Based in Leeds, the band consists of: Leo Derevonko (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Alex Derevonko (bass guitar & backing vocals), Ian Talton (lead guitar & backing vocals), and Andrew Ackroyd (drums & woodblock). Back in March 2010 the Duchess hosted the Hive Live competition for top local acts. The winners were Dorien Starre and this was them returning to show-off the product of the recording prize they won. Frankly, they blew my flippin' socks off. I don't remember any of the songs from my previous encounters with them, but this was like listening to a different band altogether. I believe we were treated to; Wager, Nightline, Cartel, Glances, Wolves, Dwelling, I Can't Sleep, and Soho, but there may have been more than this. Certainly this was a band on form and one that is definitely going places. Highly recommended.

Black man gotta lot a problems, but they don't mind throwing a brick / White people go to school, where they teach you how to be thick

Friday 12 November - I spend a lot of time listening to cover bands, some of which are very good, and also bands that produce their own material in genres which I'm comfortable in listening to. Sometimes though, it's good to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. Tonight was one of those occasions. Andy and I were in The Basement in York to immerse ourselves in hardcore punk. Before I start I should point out that, throughout the night, I had no idea of song titles, and could barely make out any discernable lyrics whatsoever, so you won't be getting any lists of tracks.

The first band caught us flat-footed as they weren't even on the bill and it was only thanks to a chat with 'Taffy' who turned out to be the guitarist's Dad that we discovered that they were called The Vexed. A York band, they consisted of; Bilo - drums/vocals, Dicko - bass/vocals, and Jim - guitar/backing. Dicko played bass like it was a lead guitar, Bilo beat his drums like a maniac, but Jim, although grinning like a Cheshire cat, seemed slightly out of place. Apparently he had previously played lead in a rather less punk band which meant that he wasn't sporting an outrageous hair-do or black clothes with spikes and studs.  The vocals were pretty much just shouting as far as I could make out and I understand that Dicko was later coughing blood in the toilets and that this was perfectly normal. We were located to one side of the speakers and so were saved from the full aural blast. It's not my kind of music but the audience seemed to enjoy them and were singing(!?!) along, so I guess they were ticking somebody's boxes.

The second act was one of two tonight that had crossed the Channel from France to entertain us. Monsieur Marcaille was a one-man outfit with two bass drums at and operated by his feet, and a cello electrified with some hocus-pocus. He started by whipping off his Meatloaf t-shirt and then launched into trash-metal mayhem generating sounds that were never meant to be wrung by such a classical instrument. In between each song he spat on the floor and put a single finger up to his audience, and somewhere in the middle he emptied the contents of one of his nostrils as well. So, France does have talent and Mr Cowell needs to know about this chap, the quintessential French performer.

We never even saw the third act coming. Charogne Stone, tonight's second French act,  quietly set up his drum kit and backing track machine in the stairwell up to the bar. All of a sudden the ambience was shattered as he regaled us with sub-two minute screeching and drumming of the most frenetic kind. His drum sticks were a blur to me, I kid you not. Okay, I might not like the music but I had to admire his skills as a drummer. First rate.

All of which led to the final act of the night. Originally bottom of the bill but now thrust into the lime-light came Comply or Die apparently returning from a tour of the UK following the release of their debut album. The band comprises; Smell- vocals, Gottie -guitar/vocals, DD - drums/samples/programming, and Lee - bass. The first two songs were kind of RAtM in style mostly led by Lee's superb bass licks but by song three, Gottie's high slung guitar had really swung into action and the music turned more ska-based. The final song returned to the bass-driven RAtM style but by now Gottie seemed demonically possessed and flung himself and his guitar to the floor in front of the stage where he lay twitching.

Whilst I personally won't be looking out for any of these bands again, I can see that each would appeal to their individual audiences and their performances were very professional within their genres.

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.