Leonard Cohen 3/9/13

The last time I saw Leonard Cohen was almost five years ago when he was a sprightly 74 years old. Five years on and he is still going strong and delivering superb gigs and this one clocked in at 3 hours and 20 minutes of actual stage time. He probably joins The Grateful Dead and Springsteen as the only acts I have seen delivering over 3 hours of music. The backing band was brilliant and while it is slightly invidious to pick out indivduals, Javier Mas on 12-string guitar and bandurria (another 12-string instrument), Alexandru Bublitchi on balkan-style violin and the backing vocalists of Sharon Robinson, Charley Webb and Hattie Webb were all outstanding musicians who I would go to see if they were headlining. The remainder of the band was great too and deserve to be named - Neil Larsen (keyboards),Rafael Gayol (drums),Mitch Watkins (guitar) and Roscoe Beck (bass). The set was not significantly different to the last time we saw him - some classics from the 60's and a good trawl through the back catalogue but who's complaining. The highlights for me are really those songs I particularly liked plus some of the contributions from the band members. On the latter point Javier Mas added some great song intros and short solo breaks in a spanish style on his various 12-string instruments and Alexandru evoked balkan violin whenever he got the spotlight. From the backing vocalists came a couple of the best moments. First Sharon Robinson took the lead for a song that brought the house down in the middle of the set. It was a powerful ballad, 'Alexandra Leaving' a Cohen song based on a Greek poem which was perfect for her voice and singing style. The Welsh audience who perhaps like a ballad more than most gave it an ovation. In the encore section the other two vocalists, Hattie and Charley Webb got their moment and sang a beautiful Cohen song that had the feel of an old English folk song - 'If it be thy will' accompanying themselves on harp and guitar. As far as the expected Cohen set list was concerned I loved 'Bird on a Wire', 'Everybody Knows', Tower of Song', 'Suzanne' and my particular favourite 'First We Take Manhattan' which he saved for the end of the first encore. Who can fail to respond as Cohen snarls the lines 'I don't like your fashion business mister, I don't like the drugs that keep you thin'. Other tracks that I particularly enjoyed were 'The Partisan' and the final song of the evening 'I Can't Forget'. I doubt that he will still be touring in another five years but if he is I might just take a gig in.

Robert Plant 29/8/13

It was unfortunate to have this gig sitting in the balcony the day after the superlative David Byrne/St Vincent gig front row central as anything would suffer by comparison. Robert Plant to his credit is always changing the musical offering and this is the fourth time we have seen him in recent years. On this occasion the band included Justin Adams on guitar and Juldeh Camara on riti and last time we saw him they were the support band so he must have liked what he heard. The support act here were 'The Wild Flowers' who had some nice songs which appeared to have been mostly written by the lead vocalist. I felt that her voice was a bit harsh and not up to the level of the songs but overall it was a pleasant enough band who were obviously enjoying the gig themselves. Robert Plant came on with two guitarists, Justin Adams and Liam Tyson and the usual set up of bass, drums and keyboards. From the start the feeling was 70s blues/rock and Justin Adams surprised me as he was fully in the dynamic-rock-guitarist mode whereas I have seen him previously mostly in world music mode. Having said that the songs chosen included some classic blues numbers and one of the highlights was early on when they did 'Spoonful'. Juldeh Camara came on a towards the end of the track and the vibe altered when he was in the band although his presence on stage was sporadic throughout the gig. The magic he can conjure up on a one-stringed instrument always amazes me and I never tire of hearing him play. Perhaps the best track of the night was another old blues song by Bukka White, 'Fixin' to Die' on which the guitar of Justin Adams was exceptional. So the gig consisted of a mixture of blues tracks, african-influenced tracks and old Led Zep or Robert Plant solo tracks. On the night I preferred the first two elements but it was all done very well as Robert Plant is a fine vocalist and all the band were up to the job. I might have had more to say and appreciated the gig more if 'Wild Wild Life' was not still running through my head from the David Byrne gig the day before.

David Byrne/St Vincent 28/8/13

I did expect David Byrne's latest collaborator to be off-the-wall - it would be surprising if it was otherwise. I wasn't however expecting St Vincent (aka Annie Clark) to be channelling the demented robot from Metropolis. However it was entertaining and she has a great voice and plays an interesting guitar which is quite staccato and electronic but done without being at all screechy. David Byrne is always completely barking and that is also very entertaining but even if it wasn't, his huge musical talent would allow him to get away with whatever stage presence he decides to adopt. The band was extraordinary and I would have to say I have never seen a line-up that comes anywhere near it in terms of the particular mix of instruments. David played some (but not enough) rhythm guitar and St Vincent played the lead guitar role. There was a drummer and a keyboards player - so far so normal. The other eight members of the band all played brass instruments. A typical track might include a Sousaphone, two French Horns, two Trombones , two Saxaphones and a Trumpet. Add to this mix the choreographed moves of the band that accompanied every song and you have an original stage presence. What was incredible from the music perspective was not that the band played a fitting backing for the new album which featured songs written with that line-up in mind but how well they played old Talking Heads covers, all of which sounded fresh and brilliant. I have to say at this point that 'Wild, Wild Life' was stupendous, possibly live track of the year, even in a year that featured a classic Neil Young gig. Back to the start of the gig - there was no support act as such but a forest soundscape played featuring birds and insects. At about the time the gig was due to start there was an announcement by David Byrne from offstage that recording of the gig was allowed but that he hoped people would enjoy the gig directly with their brain rather than via a gadget. Thereafter as people were anticipating an immediate start to the show there was a further ten minutes of soundscape featuring a rainstorm that gradually faded back to birdsong. Then came the band who began with the addictive 'Who' from the new album and followed it with 'Weekend in the Dust'. The whole package just worked straight from the get go. The songs, the band , the vocals - as ever with a David Byrne show everything was planned and precise and musically outstanding. St Vincent was a great collaborator; she has a compelling voice and singing style and plays a wierd guitar style that is both raunchy and soothing at the same time. The next track was one of her songs before the brilliant and atmospheric 'Strange Undertones' from his last solo album. The gig continued with a blend of songs from the new album, St Vincent songs, David Byrne solo album songs and Talking Heads covers all combined in a compelling and flawless set. Highlights from the main set for me were 'This Must be the Place', 'The Forest Awakes', 'Cheerleader', 'Outside of Space and Time' and as mentioned before the utterly perfect 'Wild Wild Life'. The encores included 'Burning Down the House' and 'Road to Nowhere' and encores don't get much better than that. Definite candidate for gig of the year.