Die a little more each day, need a vision or a tourniquet

Friday 9 September – and the first musical outing for me in a long time. The Summer festivals mopped up a lot of the good acts from the gig circuit this year, but the closing months look as though they are going to be busy as I took the opportunity to get tickets for no less than four dates over the next two months.

We met up at the Black Swan on Peasholme Green, all of us reluctant to pay the exorbitant prices charged in Fibbers these days. When we arrived at the venue the audience was very thin on the ground even as the support act kicked it. I assumed that the majority of punters were coming along later. All of which is not to say that the support were poor, because I for one really enjoyed them.

David R Black hail from Manchester and consist of; David R (guitar/vocals),  Sarit Black (bass/backing vocals), and Paul “Pai” Williams (drums).  David R himself looks a bit like Heath Ledger's The Joker, but without the makeup, so Heath Ledger with The Jokers hair I guess. I haven’t heard any of their material before. David's vocals started off sounding a bit like Brian Molko but seemed to get stronger as he went on. By the time he got to Signals, a brilliant track off their Heart And Stars album, he was sounding like Peter Gabriel. I caught the names of a couple of other tracks; Ezra (from Secret City) and No Code (also from Hearts And Stars). Sarit provided a very heavy line of bass riffs and backing vocals that were a tad too indistinct in the mix for me, I would have liked to have heard more of her voice. Meanwhile, Pai thumped out a rich mixture of rhythms, sometimes simple, sometimes complex, that drove the songs along.

As the introduction music started for Panic Room I took a brief glance around and was amazed to note that there were probably no more than 40 people in the room, a very poor turnout for a Friday evening. Panic Room, whom we’ve seen a couple of times before, are; Anne-Marie Helder (vocals, rhythm/acoustic guitars), Paul Davies (lead/rhythm/acoustic guitars, backing vocals), Jonathan Edwards (keyboards), Yatim Halimi (bass), and Gavin Griffiths (drums). I’m not completely au fait with PRs material but did recognise; I Am A Cat, Dark Star, Satellite, Sandstorms, and Bitches Crystal (a cover of the ELP song). There was a new track, I think it was called Promises, that will feature on their third, as yet unnamed album.

Anne-Marie vocals were on top form, justifying her winning “Best female vocalist of 2010” by readers of Classic Rock presents Prog. Paul noodled effortlessly, his guitar looking minute in his huge hands. The highlight for me though was Yatim and his superb bass playing. His style reminds me of Pino Palladino or Mick Karn, coaxing a fretless bass effect from a clearly fretted, six-string bass. Top music, but a shame that more people didn’t turn out to see them.

Tortured spirits cry / fear is in their eyes / ghostly images die

Friday 11 February - and three of us are out tonight at Fibbers to see a band that we know are going to be good. First of all though there was support, apparently garnered at the last minute, from another chap that we've seen before, Marck Whiley aka Marbled (and on MyFace). I last saw Marck supporting Hope & Social at Stereo. His songs didn't latch into my consciousness at the time and on this occasion it took a little while for me to twig as to who he was. Tonight he was using a double mic with echo on one of them which gave an added layer to his singing, and he has a great voice. The problem I have is that his songs tend towards the miserablist, and that can make for a dull set. However, he did leave the stage and come amongst the audience for a couple of songs, including a Valentine's Day number which he used to serenade a young lady. The second unplugged song was The Beat Goes On about comparing songs and bands to those he heard in the sixties.

The headliners tonight were Panic Room (and on MyFace). The current line-up sports a new bass player in the form of the energetic Yatim Halimi who joins top prog vocalist/guitarist Anne-Marie Helder, lead guitarist Paul Davies, keyboard player Jonathan Edwards, and drummer Gavin Griffiths.

Now at this point I have to confess that I only own their first album, the extremely good Visionary Position and a lot of the set was taken from their 2010 album, Satellite. This is by way of excusing my lack of knowledge of the songs that I heard.

They came onto the stage amid smoke and twiddly lights (in the capable hands of Andy "The Crow") and some rather sonorous music from what sounded like a brass band, before crashing into Freedom To Breathe. This was followed by some top prog tracks from Satellite before the first track that I recognised, the robotic Elektra City, followed by Reborn. Apparently the band are writing new songs as they tour and one of these was the outstanding Song For Tomorrow. Towards the end we had Apocalypstick and a cover of Bitches Crystal. Originally from ELP's 1971 album Tarkus, Panic Room had recorded a version that was due to be released as an disc of ELP covers by Classic Rock magazine. Due to copyright publishing problem the disc was never released, which is a shame. The set closed with the intense metal track Dark Star and spaced-out epic ballad Satellite. For an encore we got another just-penned song that the band think might end up being called Promises, it's that new! Very highly recommended.

Panic Room are very much a band waxing so it's unlikely that will we see their likes for a good while in York, unless the new Barbican pull their fingers out and start booking some decent acts. I can but hope.

I kiss you with my apocalypstick / I kiss you and the world is mine

Friday 18 September - and a great line-up of music this weekend that kicked off at The Duchess with three bands, two of which I'd never heard of. The Druid, Andy and I were joined for the evening by my niece who was up for The National Bat Conference at the University of York. The Druid and I had to coordinate our arrival as I had his ticket, and I managed to let him know that I was outside the venue by accidently sending him a blank message instead of calling him on my mobile. Such is my mastery of modern technology!

Anyway up. First band was Satori who turned out to be singer-songwriter Stewart King with a bunch of musicians who are helping him tour his album, called Satori. They played a stonking set. To say it was heavy rock would be to deny the diverse nature of the songs. Some were very 'eavy, some more bluesy, and all delivered with assured and dynamic vocals. Standout tracks for me were definitely; If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going, and the brilliant S.A.R. So impressed were we that the Druid and I bought an album apiece at the bargain price of just £4. On listening to the album on Saturday morning I have to say that I was underwhelmed by the production mix. The sound focuses much more on King's voice and the instruments are almost incidental, especially the guitars. In fact, the only track that really compared to the live performance was S.A.R. King's MyFace site does admit to a poor quality recording studio that has delivered a far from a professional product. So, great live, but I can't really recommend the actual album. The price probably reflects what you get.

Round two saw Leeds/Harrogate band Kasiuss take to the stage. Kasiuss started life as a two-piece but their ranks have now swelled to four, probably because the original two members found it impossible to musically multi-task live. Certainly they were a bit heavier than Satori, but they also carried off their tunes with a slick professionalism. The Flame, Killing Time, and City Lights were stadium-sized guitar rock anthems. More interesting was Rain with superb keyboards and a tempo that had my feet tapping. On the other hand, vocals were showcased by the slower-paced Midnight. Apparently they are currently working on an album, and I would certainly be interested in getting that. They are also supporting ZU2 (a U2 tribute band) at The Duchess on Saturday 24 April 2010.

And so to the headline act, Panic Room a band whose members comprise current and ex-members of Karnataka, Mostly Autumn, and Fish's band. Their first album, Visionary Position was released in 2008 and yet only three songs from that album made it onto tonight's set list. They kicked off with three tracks from their forthcoming Satellite album; rocker Freedom To Breathe, a groove-laden, big-chorused 5th Amendment, and a dark, moody Yasuni. The mood was lifted with the first VP track, Reborn and then we heard another new one, Go, rather too funky for my liking, but a demonstration of the wide range of styles that the band can deliver. The mid-point of the set, Blood Red Sky, was taken from vocalist Anne-Marie Helder's solo EP. It started quietly before turning into a heavy behemoth of a track. I Am A Cat was possibly their weakest performance, a quirky piece of fluff at odds with their usual material. This was followed by the second VP offering, Elecktra City, with its sci-fi, robotic theme. Then three more new tracks; heavy metal Black Noise, groove/rock Sandstorms, and intense metal Dark Star. The last was definitely my favourite of the evening, which bodes well for the new album. The last song was the hypnotic, Apocalypstick, full of eastern promise and the final VP track. For their encore we were treated to the forthcoming title-track, Satellite, a spacey epic ballad and a perfect end to the performance.

I very much enjoyed their first album and would heartily recommend it. This was the first time that I'd seen Panic Room and on the strength of this I would also recommend seeing them live and getting the their next album. Top class entertainment. All three bands were easily worthy of headline status.

Saturday 19 September - The Druid, I imagine, probably ended up in a ditch somewhere as he was at the York Beer & Cider Festival. The more sober amongst us waited for the evening when pocket chanteuse Chantel McGregor popped into The Roman Bath to give us a tune. Regular readers will realise that I'm being ironic here. Chantel is actually THE best guitar player that I've ever seen. After seeing her I can't pick up my own guitar for weeks because I feel so inadequate. The band includes Martin Rushworth on drums, Alex Jeffrey on bass, and of course, Chantel herself on guitar and vocals. I managed to half-inch the set list, but they don't seem to ever stick to the script. What I can confirm is that they played Bridge To Better Days and Sloe Gin (Joe Bonamassa), Voodoo Chile and Red House (Jimi Hendrix), Daydream (Robin Trower), Had To Cry Today (Blind Faith), One Of These Days (Ten Years After), Lenny (Stevie Ray Vaughan), For The Love Of God (Steve Vai), and White Room (Cream). Not in that order, and there were others that I'm ashamed to say I didn't recognise. But all were played with a nonchalance that belies her virtuoso performance. I count myself privileged to be witness to these events. Very highly recommended.