Tinariwen 28/7/10

I have seen Tinariwen fairly regularly over the last few years so I was in two minds about going. However last time Ibrahim had been ill and the lead role was shared reasonably equally between three of this music collective. This gig turned out to be the exact opposite. Basically Ibrahim took the lead throughout except for the first track of the encore which he ducked out of. There were two percussionists, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist and one male and one female backing vocalists and all were familiar personnel. They played without a support came on prompt at 7:30 and rolled out the groove for an hour and a half. It was good to hear it again. It rolls over you and envelops you and takes you to a place that is just them and damn it if it doesn't remind you of the desert. 'Imadiwan' as second track of the encore was the highlight - they had built up a head of steam by then. The encore was enlivened by a tuareg supporter who got up on stage to dance holding their flag. It took security some time to react and yet when they did it was of course with inappropriate force. The band didn't seem to mind.

Elizabeth Cook 21/7/10

Some gigs are classic, not just for the music but for the whole deal, and this was one of them. I hadn't even heard of Elizabeth Cook until Nanci Griffiths sang one of her songs and praised her at a gig in January. I bought a CD and then just a couple of days before this gig saw that she was playing in a pub venue in Leicester. We ended up sitting at a table a few feet from the stage drinking Peroni and chatting to fellow audience members until an excellent support singer-songwriter came on. He was Joe Fournier from Nova Scotia and I liked him to the extent I tried to buy a CD after but they were sold out. He was feisty and slightly grizzled and a good guitar player and his songs were interesting both musically and lyrically.

Elizabeth came on as part of a trio - guitarist Tim Campbell and upright bassist Bones Hillman with her on guitar and vocals.

She came across as genuine alt-country through and through. She said her dad even did a stretch for making moonshine.

She started with 'Blackland Farmer' off the new album and that established the genre and it was just great from the start.
'Mama's Funeral' stood out for me but then so did 'Heroin Addict Sister' definitely. And 'Girlfriend Tonight' which she did early on, was Classic Romantic Country done exactly right. 'El Camino' also went down well. As well as singing her own songs Elizabeth also did some covers such as 'The Day I started loving you again' and 'Storms never last', both beautifully delivered. In fact there wasn't a dud track in the whole gig and she came across like she was actually pleased to be playing in front of 50 or 60 people in a Leicester pub. She should be filling De Montfort and maybe she will next time she hits Leicester.

What's more the girl even did some clog dancing and it looked good (although the overall effect was lessened by the fact she had to do it on a carpet).

Her encore was a couple of classic covers, firstly 'Sunday Morning' and then 'Cash on the Barrelhead Son'. You have to be good in my book to sing Velvet Underground and Gram Parsons classics - and she was.

Robert Cray 12/7/10

This was a late decision and partly because I wanted to see Andy Fairweather-Low who was the support act.

Andy F-L had a four piece band with him on acoustic guitar, bass and drums and a sax/clarinet player. Early on he played a few delta country blues tracks then a few songs that had been covered by other artists and I particularly liked 'Hymn for My Soul'

Nick Pentelow played a dynamic and upbeat sax and clarinet and A F-L is a fine guitarist. Near the end he played the obligatory 'Wide-eyed and Legless' and the Paradise song. I always seem to enjoy gigs with Andy F-L, perhaps because I usually see him with Clapton but this was an excellent support act.

Robert Cray was also in a four-piece band with bass, drums and a fine keyboards player, Jim Pugh.

I think Robert Cray is a great blues guitarist but I don't naturally empathise with the fusion elements he brings to the blues with his soulful singing and funky beats. This was really shown up when he played the classic blues 'Sittin' on top of the world'. This was the highpoint for me, the guitar was superb and the singing bluesy and full on. Other tracks were good and I enjoyed the performance. I would however prefer a whole session of pure blues from Robert Cray.

He didn't just roll out his all-time most popular songs and I liked that. He did play 'Right Next Door' and 'Bad Influence'(covered by Clapton) but the songs that stuck out for me included 'The One in the Middle' with a superb Jim Pugh solo and right near the end of the encore 'Back Door Slam' where Robert really got the guitar into gear.

All in all an enjoyable gig but it is soon fading apart from 'Sitting on Top of the World'

Grateful Dead 25/5/92

Another unforgettable Dead gig - they all are. This time we were in California on holiday and it seemed churlish not to make a detour to see the Dead at the Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View. The setting was beautiful, the weather hot and the Dead were as compelling as ever. We sat on the grass and chilled. The set was mostly fairly standard Dead songs including one my very favourites in 'Tennessee Jed'. The big surprise for me was when they launched into a cover of 'Baba O'Reilly' which then morphed into a Beatles song. I haven't checked whether this was something they did often but I have never seen it on any recordings. This was not Dead at the peak of their powers but the gig still ranks and the ambience was perfect.

Jackson Browne/David Lindley 1/7/10

I saw Jackson Browne for the first time just last year and as he is getting on a bit now I sort of assumed that this gig would be similar - which would not have been a bad thing. However this was a much changed gig and one of the obvious differences was David Lindley playing a very wide range of stringed guitar-like instruments. We had last seen Lindley playing with Ry Cooder around 15 years ago at this very concert hall and it was a joy to hear him play again. In general the gig last year was a very intimate gig and featured a lot of the more introspective Jackson Browne songs whereas this was more expansive and upbeat.

It started however with a set from just Jackson, David and a percussionist. The first song featured Lindley playing a hawaiian style of guitar and singing which he continued for a Springsteen number 'Brothers Under the Bridge' which was new to me. The trio then did 'Looking East' with JB on vocals and Lindley playing this amazing 10-string jobbie with the end of the neck at right angles. he produced this sound out of it that I am sure it was not designed for but was pretty compelling.

The first set eneded with 'For Everyman' which was pretty powerful as played by theis trio.

The second set brought the full band on although without Lindley for the first few songs.

He started with a few tracks from 'Time the Conqueror' and the first oldie he did was 'In the Shape of a Heart' which he followed with 'Your Baby Blues' By this time Lindley was on and he played a final note to that track that was just perfect.

A few tracks later there was a bit of a pause and the guy right in front of me yelled out for 'Carmelita'. JB just did it after going round and explaining to the band and swapping of instruments etc. It was great. The gig had really taken off by then, really as soon as Lindley came on with the band. The last few tracks were 'Mercury Blues' which was a highlight followed by 'The Pretender' and 'Running on Empty' which actually were also highlights. At the encore he again took a request and changed what he was going to do and dished up my favourite Browne song 'Late for the Sky'

The whole gig was full of energy and brilliant musicanship from everyone. The drummer Mauricio Lewak should get a special mention here but also the guitarist Mark Goldenberg who on a couple of tracks traded licks with David Lindley. There wasn't the same gamut of introspective early songs as last time but I do like to see artists dishing up new approaches and content tour by tour.

The only criticism I would have of the gig was the sound quality and particularly on JB's vocals. It may have been exacerbated by our position in the third row as the speakers seemed to be pointed behind us but the Royal Concert Hall normally does good sound so it was a shame they were not up to standard. Lindley's pickin' came through fine though.