Antonella Ruggiero 22/12/2018

Just managed a final gig for the year whilst in Lecce. We were passing a theatre on 21st Dec and noticed that a singer was playing the next day. I was amazed to get good seats and the theatre was maybe only two thirds full for what was a major performance. I counted around twenty violins/violas plus five cellos and three double basses in the orchestra. Antonella had an operatic style of voice which was a treat to listen to. She sang a collection of songs from around the world (she said). The only one I could actually name from the main set was 'Guantanamera'. The encore consisted of a couple of carols 'Adestes Fideles' and 'Silent Night' sung in Latin and German respectively. Not a lover of carols in general but they were pretty neat. The whole gig was a joy and the theatre was amazing too.

Carmina 15/12/2018

Carmina are quite fluid in their line up so the first time I saw them they were a duo, the second time a trio and this time a four-piece. The addition this time was an excellent electric piano player, Geoff Castle, who added an up-tempo jazzy keyboards to the guitars of Rob King and Paul Bradley. Front and central as before were the vocals and wind instruments (saxes, recorders etc) of Pippa Marland. There was a Christmassy bent to the gig with one French Carol ans some other nods towards this being a Christmas Concert but essentially this was a similar set to the previous gig with a number of their own compositions interspersed with a few covers. The covers this time included 'Killing the Blues' (popularised recently by Alson Krauss and Robert Plant but written by Roly Salley), 'Graceland', 'Into the Mystic' (Van Morrison) and as a final track before the encore 'Heroes'. Memorable songs were also 'Bird of Paradise', 'Landmarks'and 'Twenty Three (in the Morning)' but the whole gig was of a level and excellent. A word about the brilliant venue - Part Y Seal, a cointry house near Grosmont. A fantastic drive along deserted lanes, a beautiful secluded house, an amazing buffet, an intimate auditorium and being part of an audience of thirty or so. Just wow!

Bruce Molsky 3/12/2018

We had seen Bruce Molsky a couple of times as part of the Transatlantic Sessions shows and also a couple of times as part of a trio with Aly Bain and Alle Moller but this was a chance to see him on his own and it was a real treat. The show was in The Wardrobe Theatre which is an intimate space for about a hundred spectators and ideal for an acoustic one man show. The majority of the songs were on the fiddle which is what Bruce is best known for but I particularly loved some of the guitar songs he played. There was one based on guitar playing of Joseph Spence (Bimini Gal)' and one was by Dennis 'Little Hat' Jones (Kentucky Blues). Of the fiddle tunes, 'Forked Deer' was particularly memorable. For me the guitar and fiddle tunes overshadowed the banjo tunes but that sounds harsh as they were also great. All in all this was a beautiful and intimate gig in a great atmosphere with a musical scholar who also played with real feeling and skill.

Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita 15/11/2018

This was the third time we went to see this unusual duo - the first two times being on their 2014 tour. This time they were touring a new album 'Soar' which I wasn't aware of before the gig. Support was from Gwyneth Glyn who came on with a band of Welsh musicians including Dylan Fowler on guitar, Rowan Rheingans on fiddle and Gillian Stevens on a Cello-like instrument (and also some ancient stringed thing). The set was Celtic folk and was beautifully sung and played. Catrin and Seckou came on and opened with the opening song on Soar -'Clarach'. It was an astonishingly beautiful and moving piece. Having got the gist that this was about the first Osprey to be born in Wales in recent times and about her journey to Senegal the music really evoked that story. the set continued with mostly stuff from the new album. There was notable piece based on Bach's Goldberg Variations called 'Bach to Baisso'. The last track of the main set was something I knew and was brilliant and then the encore was a great version of 'Bamba' from their previous album together. Throughout the music soared and swirled, question and response between the instruments was sublime. Great evening of stunning music.

First Aid Kit - 6/11/2018

It was back to the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena for this gig but a very different set up to the David Byrne gig ten days prior. Then we were fourth row from the stage in a seated auditorium and the sound and visuals were excellent. This time we were seated behind the standing majority, a long way from the stage and the stage was a blur and the sound pretty average. The Staves were the support and this trio delivered the impeccable sound of three perfectly harmonized voices. I would certainly see them again headlining in a smaller venue but it was a little difficult to fully appreciate them in this venue. First Aid Kit came on in glittery dresses and with a stage presence to match - a noticeable difference to the first time we saw them nearly four years ago. The band was a pedal steel guitarist (Melvin Duffy), a drummer and a keyboard player. Klara who handles the majority of the vocals also plays acoustic guitar and Johanna sings and plays bass. They played a number of tracks off the new album but not as many as you might expect, plus a selection from the previous albums and a cover that they sang with The Staves. That was my highlight of the show together with 'Emmylou' of course which is classic pop/country Swedish style. The encore was pretty high quality as well 'Rebel Heart' and 'Fireworks' off the new album (It's strange to hear the lyrics 'I saw the fireworks at your house last night' on November 6th) and then 'Silver Lining'. It was also strange to find neighbours of our just two seats away on the same row in such a large venue. Pluses from the gig - the harmonies of First Aid Kit and The Staves, Klara's fantastic voice, The minuses - another set that was too short (16 shortish songs is not enough), sound and seating not really good enough and the rock star stage presence that felt rather inappropriate for the songs. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/first-aid-kit/2018/motorpoint-arena-cardiff-wales-39649ff.html

Karine Polwart - 1/11/2018

I knew almost nothing about Karine before this gig - I had just heard a couple of songs I liked and at the same time the gig came up so I bought some tickets. She was great; she had me at song one. That was a long but brilliantly witty diatribe against Trump with lots of musical variation in the song. Thereafter she was more a traditional Scottish singer/songwriter with folky roots. The band included her brother on guitar and Inge Thompson on Accordion and drums and percussion and backing vocals. Karine played a Squeezebox and a guitar. She did a couple of covers - a great song by Frightened Rabbit which I didn't know and late on a version of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' which was much much better than the original. Various tracks from her new album such as 'Cornerstones', 'I Burn but I am not Consumed' and 'Suitcase' persuaded me to get the album and the whole gig was interesting, enjoyable and quality stuff. I very much enjoyed Inge's one solo track which involved drum and vocal loops.

David Byrne - 27/10/18

We saw the earlier version of this tour back in June and were so blown away we just had to have a reprise. This time the support was different - billed as Benjamin Clementine but actually after one solo track he brought on wife plus two others and it became the Clementines. She contributed as much as he did - she has a great singing voice, sort of folky but with power and volume when required. I didn't take much to the early tracks but the latter half of the set included some interesting songs - one about a fat man in Vegas and another involving keeping calm. David Byrne for his part produced almost the same set list and the same moves from this show, which is what I expected. The single very welcome change was the introduction of 'Road to Nowhere' as the first encore song (replacing 'Dancing Together'). Given that the first encore comes right after the astonishing live 'Burning Down the House' which finishes the main set, it was a good change to add another classic storming track. For my part I enjoyed 'Once in a Lifetime' much more this time. I don't know whether the change comes from them or me but who cares. Absolutely classic stuff. If he comes back in another four months I'll go again.

Richard Thompson - 17/10/18

First there was Joan Shelley plus guitarist Nathan Salzburg. She folky with a sweet singing voice and an acoustic guitar, he also with an acoustic guitar with an attractive twang to its sound. Together they produced an understated set of songs with some quality that made me want to give them another listen at some point. Memorable were 'Push and Pull' and 'If the storms never came'. Although from Kentucky they brought a Canadian flag on stage to celebrate that day's law change! Richard Thompson arrived on stage with a drummer and bassist plus a second guitarist who supplemented the trio on some songs with some background rhythm guitar. The drummer was Michael Jerome who we have seen with him before and he is an outstanding drummer. He launched straight into a song off the new album 'The Bones of Gilead'. The title and words and indeed the rhythm of the song shout Richard Thompson - it's difficult to think of anyone else who could have written it. It becomes clear that this is guitar virtuoso night. He plays in several guises and this one is where he delivers astonishing electric guitar and the very extended solo during the third song of the set shows he means business. There were more extended solos and the one later on in 'The Storm Won't Come' pinned me back to my front row seat. The set had a number of songs from the new album '13 rivers' plus of course a number of back catalogue favourites and a couple of Fairport songs. 'Beeswing' stood out for some beautiful and delicate acoustic guitar,, 'Wall of Death' because it's such a great song, ditto '1952 Vincent Black Lightning' and 'Put it there pal' for another astonishing extended solo. The second encore finished with 'Take a Heart' a 1965 hit for Coventry band 'The Sorrows'. Like the first song - very Richard Thompson. I need to see him at least once a year so I hope he's back in 2019. Outstanding. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/richard-thompson/2018/the-forum-bath-england-7b96fafc.html

Low - 15/10/18

I try and avoid standing gigs in overcrowded venues but Low are a band I'll put up with it for. I am always glad to do it and this was no exception. Support was a duo called Keto. The main thrust of the sound was the female vocalist who also played guitar whilst her collaborator played either guitar or keyboards. At their most dynamic and frenzied they were on a par with the calmer elements of the singer Redwood (seen as support a couple of gigs ago) but there were some superficial similarities in the vocal style. I preferred Redwood - partly the minutiae of the lyrics were not to my taste. Low cam on as a trio with bassist Steve Garrington. I liked the way they reverentially brought their own instruments on - no rough roadie allowed to mess with their stuff. Steve is a great creative and interesting bassist who fits right in with the idiosyncratic Low sound. There is no band remotely like them partly because of Alan Sparhawk's edgy and unique guitar - he plays chords that are either in the furthest reaches of the chord book or more likely not even in them. Then there are the exquisite vocals of Mimi Parker and Alan's vocals are pretty damn good too and the two voices blend brilliantly. They started with the opener on the new album ('Quorum') but it was a bit less white noiseish than the album version and then moved onto some old favourites; 'No Comprendre', 'Plastic Cups' and 'The Innocents'. I particularly love the last of these because of Mimi's vocals. Then there was a group of songs from the new album with a couple of other songs I didn't know thrown in. The one really long song featured some frenetic playing from both guitar and bass racking up the speed and volume with some of the bass being experienced through the skin. Great stuff. After that section there was a return to some older stuff including 'Spanish Translation', 'Nothing but Heart' and 'Holy Ghost' - this last again being Mimi's vocals front and centre. 'Lies' was next and then just a few more songs before the encore of 'Murderer'. What a great and uplifting gig. To hear top-notch original music played with verve and enjoyment. Standing for 4 hours without a drink in the overheated hall - a pleasure. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/low/2018/trinity-centre-bristol-england-7b969e4c.html

Andy Fairweather-Low 11/10/18

We've caught the A F-L show a few times now but he is always worth going to see when he is close by and he couldn't get much closer than the Savoy in Monmouth. This time it was with the High Riders rather than the Low Riders which basically meant it was the Low Riders quartet plus a couple more horns and a keyboard player. His shows tend to follow the same format - a mixture of stuff from his extensive back catalogue and covers of some classic songs in the various genres he dabbles in - Country Blues, Soul and Rock mainly. Much of the setlist is in reference to his history - he starts by playing 'Route 66' ('the first solo I ever learnt') and near the end of the set he played 'Peter Gunn' immediately followed by 'Apache' and then 'Hideaway'('the music I listened to when I was growing up'). These three tracks rings similar bells for me so that was a highlight. In belting out 'Peter Gunn' and also the soul stuff he is much assisted by Nick Pentelow on tenor sax who is very good but also an excellent trumpeter and completing the super horn section was a bass saxophonist. The soul section began the second set and was another highlight. I think A F-L said it was the songs Otis Redding started with when he played the Colston Hall in '66 - I am sure A F-L was there. Also much enjoyed was 'Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out', 'Hymn for my soul' and 'When Things Go Wrong' but none of it was not enjoyed. He plays guitar with a fluency and ease that arises from 50 years of playing and changes guitars, styles and sounds seamlessly. Well worth the trip out and I'll go next time as well.

Elles Bailey - 27 September 2018

I went to this on the back of a storming support set at the Monmouth Festival in August. The venue, Marrs Bar in Worcester, was nicer than expected, friendly and not too crowded or noisy. Support was from a local singer songwriter who went under the name Redwood. She was excellent belting out anguish at high volume like a a very shouty Kate Bush. I particularly liked 'Bleed' but the whole set was good. On came Elles Bailey and she and the band were high energy from song one. She did a couple of new songs which were being played live for the first time and also one other addition from the Monmouth set which was a brilliant cover of the classic John Prine song 'Angel from Montgomery'. That showed off not just Elles' voice but also the skills of the keyboard player, who was a new addition to the band. He was brilliant and was given plenty of solo time to show off his talent. As at Monmouth I loved the Muscle Shoals song 'Perfect Storm' but all of the set is top quality. The band is excellent and it was a great evening.

Youssou Ndour - 30 August 2018

This was a much anticipated gig but turned out to be quite a strange cultural collision but very enjoyable nonetheless. The thing is that Youssou Ndour has an extraordinary voice plus the best musicians (especially drummers) that Dakar can provide. First off we had the bonus of Seckou Keita playing a short set on the Kora with vocals which was brilliant as per usual. I clocked that he played a Youssou Ndour song and that was a highlight of his set for me, hearing the melody of that song played on the Kora rather than through vocals. Meanwhile the audience was puzzling me. The gig was supposed to start at 7:30 sharp with Youssou starting at 8:05. When Seckou Keita came on at 7:50 there was a smattering of people in the standing area downstairs and mostly empty seats in the balcony. The West Africans who were in the audience were largely glammed up and taking selfies and chatting rather than listening. Youssou came on at 8:35 and the audience had built up somewhat but the people around us arrived after 9pm, also glammed up, talking and taking selfies. The music was great, that unique voice, extraordinary percussion from four drummers, one on conventional drum kit the other three on African drums, up to three guitarists plus a bassist, two keyboards players, two backing vocalists, a sax player and the most amazing dancer. That's two gigs in a row at the Symphony Hall featuring multiple drummers and a dancer. I couldn't put a name to most of the stuff he played but it all had that feel of rich melodies, driving percussion and that expressive voice over the top. I did recognize '7 Seconds' and right at the end, brilliantly and unexpectedly 'Redemption Songs'. Strange atmosphere in the audience but worth the trip to Birmingham.

Elles Bailey - 3 August 2018

Another support act at The Monmouth Festival that took my fancy. She is a Bristol-based bluesy singer and I went based on a quick youtube of a song from her album. She was much better than I expected, the whole band had a great sound, the music was just to my taste and she stomped around the stage belting out vocals like a cross between Bonny Bramlett and Janis Joplin. The genre of the music was shown by the three tribute songs she had written - one was to Muscle Shoals, one to Chess and one to Janis Joplin. The first of those called 'Perfect Storm' was about my favourite track conjuring up brilliantly the Muscle Shoals sound. Up to that point I had been trying to place the sound and that gave me the clue as one of the main influences. The guitarist was not quite on it at first but he got better as the gig went on and he played lots of slide and by the end he was banging out screeching solos in fine style. The bassist, keyboards and drummer were all on the same page and showcased their talents during brief solos. Elles vocals were front and centre though and there was an edge of huskiness to the voice that suited the music perfectly. There was a fine Levon Helm cover, the Chess tribute featured a lot of great howling,, the moving Janis Joplin tribute was called 'Girl who owned the blues', 'Wildfire' was a great finish to the set. All in all an unexpectedly uplifting experience.

Fleetwood Mac - June 1980

Fleetwood Mac are a band with an amazing history, the late sixties line up with the astonishing Peter Green, the addition of the brilliant Christine Perfect to the line up, the defection of Jeremy Spencer mid-tour to join the Children of God, Peter Green's troubles, the parachuting in of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks - it all seems like too much for one band. Of course the various iterations were quite different in what they produced musically and whilst I had been mainly a fan of the early stuff I was bowled over by 'Rumours'. What makes that album for me is the contribution from the two women in the band, Christine Perfect and Stevie Nicks - their singing astonishing and the best songs, in my view, written by them. The tour I saw was officially a tour of their following album 'Tusk' which had had mixed reviews and which I didn't really know but I, like most of the audience, wanted to hear the Rumours' songs and the band didn't disappoint. The only songs I can recall at this distance that weren't from Rumours are 'Tusk' itself and 'Rhiannon', both of which made an impression. The highlights though were as expected the singing of Christine and Stevie and songs such as 'Gold Dust Woman', 'Oh Daddy', 'Don't Stop', 'You Make Loving Fun' and the superb 'Songbird'.

Speak Brother 31 July 2018

They were one of the support acts at The Monmouth Festival main stage and they seemed interesting from their youtube stuff. I had thought they would be sub-Fleet Foxes but in fact they were more sub-Mumford and Sons quite English and folkie but with a full sound. The band was drummer, bassist, keyboards and two guitars with the rhythm guitarist doing the main vocals. The set was interesting and deserved a bigger audience. Songs I liked were 'Magnificent' and 'Lion's Roar'.

Rosanne Cash 26 July 2018

This was a 'Colston Hall gig' taking place at St Georges because of the hall closure and the place was rammed on a very hot day. That was pretty much forgotten once the excellent set started. I was expecting Rosanne to sing good songs but the unexpected bonus was the guitar playing of hubby John Leventhal. I found his acoustic guitar playing both very expressive and precise and subtle and it was perfectly attuned to the songs. The set was pretty varied ranging from Appalachian folk standards to 'Ode to Billy Jo' to 'Farewell Angelina' to many of the Americana songs written by Rosanne and by Rosanne and John. She started with the three excellent songs from her 2014 (and most recent) album, 'The River and the Thread', written in and about the delta. She included some Johnny Cash recommended songs from the list he produced for her of all time Americana classics and a great John Hiatt cover of 'This is how we make a broken heart'. A gig to put you in a good humour.

Natalie Merchant 17 July 2018

We went to this gig largely on the back of loving the song 'Motherland' which has been covered by other people such as Christy Moore. Also intriguing was the location - at the Grade 1 Listed Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham. It was a good call - Natalie turned out to be a great vocalist and was also an entertaining character as evidenced by her insistence on having the external doors open to keep the place cool despite the management's objections. There was no support just Natalie on vocals and her husband on guitar accompaniment and there was an informal and chatty interaction with the audience. She started straight off with the aforementioned 'Motherland' and it was amazing to hear her sing it. I was wondering how the rest of the gig was going to be now I had just heard my favourite song but actually it was great; her singing was more powerful than I anticipated, the songs were great, the ambience brilliant. Particular highlights were a song called 'The Living' - bleak but powerful and a couple of songs that followed soon after; 'Golden Boy' and 'Carnival'. The encore was strange - a couple of songs with guitar and vocals as before then hubby left the stage and Natalie moved to the shiney red keyboard that had been stood there untouched and flicked through a music book settling at random on songs and playing them 'until I make a mistake'. A couple of songs got all the way through and others just ended half way through. I wondered whether they were old 10,000 Maniacs songs that she hadn't played in a long time. An excellent and entertaining gig.

Calan 23 June 2018

Calan are a Welsh band playing traditional and folky music. I saw them a couple of years ago in our village hall under a subsidised scheme and here they were at Catbrook Village Hall. They are seriously good musicians: Angharad Jenkins on fiddle, Alice French on harp, Sam Humprhys on guitar, Patrick Rimes on fiddle, bagpipes etc and Bethan Rhiannon on accordion, vocals and clog dancing. The clog dancing is a real highlight and we had three examples during the show. The other stand out for me is the harp playing and it is a great instrument that gives some Welsh ambiance to the sound. They played a lot of stuff off the recent album 'solomon' and I particularly loved 'The Lullabies' but actually it was all good music and a great atmosphere.

David Byrne 17 June 2018

An extraordinary gig - I guess it has resonance with some of the old Talking Heads gigs but nothing like anything I've seen before. It was theatrical but in a very good way, not just some business to tart up an underlying blandness as is seen so often in rock theatrics but absolutely as one with the music. Also unusual to see the Symphony Hall on their feet within minutes of the David Byrne coming on and that was due to the excitement being generated on stage. First off the support was Laura Mvula who was also unusual the line up was her on vocals and keyboards and Troy Miller on keyboards and drums (mostly played simultaneously). At times the two keyboards were in 'organ' mode which filled the hall with resonant and surprising sound. She was delighted to be playing her home town hall and whilst I wouldn't go overboard on her voice the music was different and interesting. Good dancing from her too. The stage was cleared until all that remained was a table with a model of the human brain on it and a chair. David Byrne came on sat on the chair, picked up the brain and starting singing. The musicians (11 of them) came on as needed, all in light grey suits, all of them wireless so there was no equipment on stage once the table and chair were removed and all part of a choreographed routine that was pretty mesmerizing at times. There were six percussionists which allowed amazing rhythms to be played (perfect for David Byrne) a guitarist, keyboards player, bassist and two dancers/backing vocalists who led the dancing and were brilliant. David Byrne played a lot from the new album but mixed in some old Talking head's faves such as 'Slippery People' , 'This Must Be the Place', 'Once in a Lifetime' and 'Born Under Punches'. Stand outs for me from the new album were 'Everybody's Coming to My House', 'I Dance Like This' and 'Every Day is a Miracle'. Of the Talking Head's songs I loved 'Slippery People' and 'This must be the place'. I love the song 'Once in a lifetime' but this version was perhaps a little staccato for me. However the best of the night was saved for the last track - a stupendous, epic, percussion fest version of 'Burning Down the House'. The audience was jumping. There was a couple of songs as a first encore including 'The Great Curve' followed by a second encore of the protest song 'Hell You Talmbout' reading out the names of African Americans shot by police. Then that was it - shame it had to end but the upside is I have tickets for the Cardiff leg of the tour later in the year. Roll on October.

Gretchen Peters 2/6/2018

Gretchen is rapidly becoming an all time favourite - her albums and gigs get better and better. This is true for the latest album which can stand with the amazing 'Blackbirds' album and for this latest tour. First off was Kim Richey as support act - she was an alt-country singer songwriter who's been around a while although I can't say I have heard her before. It was a good set of her songs and she finished off with a Kris Kristofferson cover. Gretchen came on with hubby Barry Walsh on piano and accordion and two guitarists from Ulster, Conor McCreanor on bass and lead guitarist Colm McLean. The gig just kicked off in top gear and went from there. She started with the opening couple of tracks of the new album, 'Arguing with Ghosts' and 'Wichita' and then hit 'The Matador' (from Hello Cruel World) and 'Blackbirds'. Then a slew of tracks from the new album and 'Say Grace' was amazingly powerful and 'Dancing with the Beast' ditto. And then possibly the best song on the album 'Disappearing Act'. The next four songs were Gretchen Classics the last two being the phenomenal 'Five Minutes' and the superb'Idlewild'. The band were tight and very musical with Colm's lead guitar ( a great sounding gold guitar with some sort of soundbox and a D style of logo) and Barry's piano and accordion in perfect harmony. Kim Richey ahd come on as well starting with 'Say Grace' to add backing vocals and the whole thing was just humming along. I love Gretchen's singing but it is the songwriting that makes the gig special. For an encore the band decided to 'have some fun' which was provided by the uptempo 'Why you been gone so Long' with Barry and Colm trading breaks for some time. The band went off and then Gretchen unplugged, came down into the front row, stood next to me apologised in advance in case she might spray me and sang a beautiful acoustic 'Love that makes a Cup of Tea'. I don't know whether the back of the balcony could hear it OK but I don't really care. Wow.

Mabon 5/5/2018

One of my favourite things is walking to a great gig in the village where you live. That was afforded to me last night as Mabon played our village hall. They have played together for almost 20 years so they are very tight and there is also a good line in banter throughout the show which shows they still get on after 20 years. The music was just up my street - celtic basically, with some jigs, plenty of reels, some airs, one Bretonny tune (Drum and Briezh)and so on. Oliver Wilson-Dickson on fiddle and Jaime Smith on accordion are the stars of the band but Matt Downer on bass, Iolo Whelan on drums and Paul Rogers on guitar all contribute to the brilliant overall sound. 'The Accordionist's Despair' was an opportunity for Jamie Smith to show off his dexterity at speed on the accordion but in general the standard of the songs was at a level from start to finish. The audience loved the show, the band clearly enjoyed it too and I got to walk home. Perfect.

Eric Bibb 4/5/2018

The support was a young exuberant singer/songwriter from Nottingham called Rob Green. He was an usual act with his own style of singing and a lot of chat and he wanted a lot of audience participation which he got. It's unusual for a half-hour support act to get a standing ovation but Rob got one. Eric Bibb came on with Michael J Browne who also played guitar (and mandolin on a few songs). Michael J Browne in fact took most of the lead guitar and he was good. He played slide sometimes and even channelled Robert Johnson a couple of times. The other two members of the band came on after a couple of songs. They were bassist xxxxx and the excellent drummer yyyyy who I noticed straight away as he did great percussion with just a couple of shakers. The things that struck me was how good a singer Eric Bibb is for his style of country blues. He is also an excellent guitarist although understated most of the time. Only near the end where he took some lead work were his skills on obvious show. He did some covers as well as his own stuff, particularly from his latest album 'Migration Blues'. 'Going Down the Road Feelin Bad' is of course a great tune and shortly after he played 'Needed Time' a great song and the gig seemed to lift a level. Right after that he did a song featuring 'going to the station' and then a Tampa Red song and it was all good stuff. Other songs were 'Panama Hat', 'Diegos Blues' and 'New World Coming Through'. Great entertainment delivered in an understated ambience (apart from Rob Green obvs).

The Jam 6/11/1980

Although not a fan of punk, a la Sex pistols, I was enjoying The Jam singles in 1979/1980 and so I decided to check out The Jam when they played at Brighton Centre. Support was the local band The Piranhas who played sort of punky ska including a sax player. I really enjoyed their set - it was certainly out of the ordinary for me. The Jam were also surprisingly good - I was expecting to enjoy their songs but I hadn't realised how good a guitar player Paul Weller was. I wasn't much impressed with the bassist Paul Foxton but Weller's skill and focus stood out. I can't say I remember what they played except I remember 'Eton Rifles' which was a particular favourite of mine.

Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joan Armatrading - 15/7/1978

I normally avoid festivals but EC and Dylan appearing at Blackbushe Airport together was too much to resist. Both were in great form in 1978 before inevitable decline set in over the decades. The day was warm and dry, the crowds were HUGE but despite that it was an enjoyable gig. I remember being surprised that EC came on relatively early to be followed by Joan Armatrading and then Dylan did the last set. The sound was not brilliant but all three artists overcame that and Dylan played for a long time including loads of his classic stuff plus songs from 'Street Legal' which had been released recently. I imagine I can remember 'Key to the Highway' from EC and 'Changing of the Guard' from Dylan as they are both particular favourites of mine but that might well be false memory syndrome. I certainly remember the litter devastation at the end as we dispersed.

Beth Nielsen Chapman & Robert Vincent - 30/ 3/2018

I include the support act in the gig title as he was the reason I bought tickets after seeing him perform a couple of tracks on TV. It was a shame he only had 30 minutes to share his songs which he delivered with a strong distinctive singing voice and accompanied by his own guitar and fiddle/banjo/mandolin from Robbie Taylor. They were two Liverpudlians but the music was pretty much Americana with some blues and country influences there. They played mostly tracks from his new album 'I'll Make the Most of my Sins'. Beth Nielsen Chapman is one of what seems to be a very long list of Southern US singer songwriters that can also be loosely included under the label of Americana. She reminded me a bit of Linda Rondstatt in her singing style and the songs were strong and interesting. She did a lot of stuff from her new album ('Heart of Glass') which has consistently good songs. I remember 'Come to Mine', 'Epitaph for Love', 'Rage on Rage', 'You're Still My Valentine' and 'If My World Didn't Have you'. For an encore they did 'All you need is Love' The band included Robert Vincent, Robbie Taylor and a pianist/bassist/keyboards player called Ruth Trimble who got to do one track of her own. In between songs she chatted about the source of the songs and the state of politics (no friend of Trump). A nice evening and St Georges should have been sold out.

Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - 19 March 2018

This was the fourth time we have seen Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham as a duo and we have seen Aly a couple of times in a trio as well as regularly at the Transatlantic Sessions concerts. Every time I am amazed at his dexterity, timing and astonishing dynamic musicality and he is now into his 70s yet I notice no diminution of his skill. Phil Cunningham is also an astonishing musician both for his amazing skill on the accordion and for the beautiful airs that he writes prolifically. Together they present a relaxed intimate set with chat and anecdotes in between every set of tunes. They were on excellent form - I particularly enjoyed 'The Hangman Reel' which was I think the only song played on a second differently tuned fiddle. Also all of the slow airs and indeed all of the reels and jigs and anything else they played at St Georges last night....

Carmina - 9 March 2018

A last minute spot was Carmina playing at Brockweir. I last saw them in a local pub but this was a much better setting with good sound and an attentive and appreciative audience. This instance of Carmina was a threesome with the two main protaganists (Pippa Marland vocals and saxes, and Rob King, guitar) augmented by Paul Bradley on guitar. Paul was a particularly jazzy and unorthodox guitarist and it worked really well as part of the overall sound. They have an original sound and you can feel the influences strongly, folk, celtic, jazz. The compere introduced them as Celtic Soul and the band very much liked that appellation. Of their original songs I particularly liked the opener ('Bird of Paradise'), 'Sleep', 'Song for Pepper' , 'carol' and 'Concord'. The covers were also well chosen with a sandy Denny song and 'Into the Mystic' as one of the two Van Morrison covers. However the highlight of the gig for me was a stunning version of 'Heroes' which showed a whole new side of this classic Bowie song. It had Paul and Pippa on vocals and some great guitar and sax playing and was slower and much more purposeful than the original. That was the last song before the encore of a rousing 'Big Yellow Taxi'. Excellent gig.

Cara Dillon - 6 March 2018

My first gig at St David's Hall level 3 space. The sound was not brilliant which is essentially a product of the stone walls, pillars and other hard surfaces I guess but they did provide seats, they did close the bar during the performance and the audience was most attentive so all in all a pretty good venue. Cara Dillon's voice is pretty much as good as it gets folk-wise and this intimate show with just Sam Lakeman accompanying on piano and guitar gave the vocals maximum exposure. The whole gig was of a level because her voice is so compelling but I also liked the choice of songs which included the delightful 'Hill of Thieves', 'The Banks of the Bann', 'The Leaving Song', 'Jacket So Blue', 'She's Like The Swallow', 'There were Roses', 'Lakeside Swans', Bright Morning Star and 'The Shores of Lough Bran'. The encore was the moving 'The Parting Glass'. There was a great atmosphere around the gig - both performers and audience obviously enjoying it. Very nice.

Transatlantic Sessions 6/2/2018

The annual roadshow that is Transatlantic Sessions fetched up in Bristol for a second time( and last time for a couple of years as Colston Hall is shutting from June until 2021). The usual top notch backing band saw the familiar faces of Aly Bain, Jerry Douglas, Danny Thompson, John Doyle, Russ Barenberg, Mike McGoldrick, John McCusker, Phil Cunningham, James Macintosh and Donal Shaw whilst this years guest vocalists were Daoiri Farrell, Suzy Bogguss, Secret Sisters, Julie Fowlis and Shawn Camp. Of those guests I particularly like the Secret Sisters for their harmonies and songs whilst Suzy Bogguss has a great country voice and Julie Fowlis a great folk voice. I was a bit 'meh' about Shawn Camp who had nothing striking about his singing. As usual Aly Bain's playing is mesmerically and compellingly brilliant, Jerry Douglas is a joy on the dobro and the band musicians are impeccable. There was the usual highlight of a Phil Cunningham air and the tunes led by Aly and John McCusker. Perhaps this year there was not a combination of song and vocalist that pinned me to my seat (as Rhiannon Giddens did a couple of years ago) but I shall certainly check out the Secret Sisters and I'll be back for more when I can.