Thursday, 9 June 2011
Tim Richards Trio 4/3/2011
I like to see Tim play when he is in the Midlands. I am not normally seen at Jazz gigs but Tim plays at the bluesy end of Jazz and there is also an element of boogie-woogie in there and I have enjoyed his gigs over the years. This was one of my favourite gigs of his and that was due both to the band and also the material. The band was a tight trio and I was amazed to find the drummer was a stand-in for their normal drummer who was off at Van Morrison's request. The bassist (Dominic Howles)had a great understanding with Tim's forceful keyboards and was an excellent musician in his own right. The new stuff from the album 'Shapeshifting'seemed to move at pace and with intent and I felt there was more than a hint of boogie-woogie at times. But there was also some great melodies in there both standards and Tim's own stuff. There were also some tracks from 'Twelve by Three' and all in all it was an excellent musical evening. More and more I care about the venue, the sound and the occasion (actually I have always cared deeply about sound quality) and this was a nice evening.
Cara Dillon 3/6/11
The support was an enjoyable duo called Winter Mountain.
Cara's band featured partner Sam Lakeman on guitar and keyboards, a second acoustic guitarist and a fiddle player called Emma Sweeney.
She has a great voice, powerful but velvety, does modern and more traditional folky sort of songs and the band were good too. I particularly liked Emma's sound, she had a staccato sort of bowing motion allied to a traditional fiddle style which was slightly different and also engaging. Both guitarists were good albeit they maybe just overshadowed Cara's voice. It may have been that we were so close to the stage that the sound was coming more live than through the mix.
The material was new to me but there was one stand out song which I can't track down on her albums. It's tagline was 'You left me nowhere to go'. I need that track.
All in all a good gig - I would welcome the chance to see her in a better venue than the Nottingham Glee Club and I expect she will be filling better venues in time to come.
Cara's band featured partner Sam Lakeman on guitar and keyboards, a second acoustic guitarist and a fiddle player called Emma Sweeney.
She has a great voice, powerful but velvety, does modern and more traditional folky sort of songs and the band were good too. I particularly liked Emma's sound, she had a staccato sort of bowing motion allied to a traditional fiddle style which was slightly different and also engaging. Both guitarists were good albeit they maybe just overshadowed Cara's voice. It may have been that we were so close to the stage that the sound was coming more live than through the mix.
The material was new to me but there was one stand out song which I can't track down on her albums. It's tagline was 'You left me nowhere to go'. I need that track.
All in all a good gig - I would welcome the chance to see her in a better venue than the Nottingham Glee Club and I expect she will be filling better venues in time to come.
Eric Clapton 17/5/11 & 21/5/11
The annual Clapton residency at the Albert Hall saw me heading down for a couple of gigs as well as the Clapton/Winwood gig that followed.
The two gigs were pretty similar although the second gig edged it for energy and engagement from the whole band. The support of Andy Fairweather-Low and the Low Riders also moved up a notch (and were even better at the Winwood/Clapton gig a few days later).
The band was mostly old favourites, Willie Weekes and Steve Gadd as the rhythm section, Michelle John and Sharon White on backing vocals and the superb Chris Stainton on keyboards and the excellent Tim Carmon on hammond organ. Chris Stainton actually seems to get better as the decades go by or maybe he just gets more lead time these days.
The set was largely pretty standard Clapton tunes - he kicked off with 'Key to the Highway' and included 'I Shot the Sherrif' and 'Going Down Slow' and 'Hoochie Coochie Man' early on. There was a brilliant acoustic set which started with 'Driftin'' which is a master class in acoustic guitar playing and included perhaps the most memorable track for me as it is not a standard Clapton track - 'Same Old Blues' . Layla was also in there. The full band then powered to the end of the gig with standards such as 'Badge', 'Little Queen of Spades, 'Cocaine' and for an encore 'Crossroads'.
Clapton was assured, relaxed and at times stunning, Chris Stainton was outstanding throughout and Tim Carmon did the business when required to. Calpton may not vary the setlist greatly but he always delivers.
The two gigs were pretty similar although the second gig edged it for energy and engagement from the whole band. The support of Andy Fairweather-Low and the Low Riders also moved up a notch (and were even better at the Winwood/Clapton gig a few days later).
The band was mostly old favourites, Willie Weekes and Steve Gadd as the rhythm section, Michelle John and Sharon White on backing vocals and the superb Chris Stainton on keyboards and the excellent Tim Carmon on hammond organ. Chris Stainton actually seems to get better as the decades go by or maybe he just gets more lead time these days.
The set was largely pretty standard Clapton tunes - he kicked off with 'Key to the Highway' and included 'I Shot the Sherrif' and 'Going Down Slow' and 'Hoochie Coochie Man' early on. There was a brilliant acoustic set which started with 'Driftin'' which is a master class in acoustic guitar playing and included perhaps the most memorable track for me as it is not a standard Clapton track - 'Same Old Blues' . Layla was also in there. The full band then powered to the end of the gig with standards such as 'Badge', 'Little Queen of Spades, 'Cocaine' and for an encore 'Crossroads'.
Clapton was assured, relaxed and at times stunning, Chris Stainton was outstanding throughout and Tim Carmon did the business when required to. Calpton may not vary the setlist greatly but he always delivers.
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