Am conscious that this blog is turning into a list of the gigs and events I attend. Ah well, its my page anyway!
Writing has taken a bit of a back seat for the last few weeks. Work has been busy, but really interesting, and I am now in the position where hopefully come September / October I will be in a new house of my own. It’ll be smaller than where I am now, without a home office however I hope to use the space to allow me to focus more on me, and to allow writing to be back at the centre of my routine.
Anyway, back to recent events. June. A plan that was originally going to one show, turned into a couple of shows and before you know it I had booked the week off work and had four shows all booked.
Monday night was Jason Isbell in Manchester. A new theatre for me, the Bridgewater Hall is awesome for acoustics and I had a great seat. I would prefer to stand for a ‘rock’ show but it was all seated. Its fine when he is solo but when the whole band is with him it mellowed the atmosphere.
He doesn’t have a record to promote this time so as well as the crowd pleasers we got some deeper cuts including Danko / Manuel. If Jason is ever in my city, or even close, I will be there. His story telling is second to none, he might be the best current writer out there. Interestingly his last album was his ‘divorce’ album, which leads me nicely onto night two.
A night in Manchester was followed on the Tuesday morning with a train to London. I am growing to really love London, I would not want to live there but it does offer so much and its pretty easy to get about.
This gig was at a tiny venue called the Tabernacle, near Notting Hill. I went early, not having been before. I saw the famous bookshop from the movie and found the venue late afternoon. A lovely little place (see the image below) the beer was remarkably cheap – about £4.50 a pint – nearly half of what I paid elsewhere. It has a great vibe, a downstairs bar had a band jamming away all night. I spent a few hours in the beer garden, chatting to other gig goers.
The link to the night before is that Jason Isbell’s ex-wife is Amanda Shires – who I was here to see. She too had released a divorce album – Nobody’s Girl. Let’s just say she was more blunt in her songs, and from media reporting she definitely felt like the wronged party (not that these things are ever one sides). Songs like The Details, Piece of Mind and Lose It For A While all hit home with me. The timing of the album’s release was also a good or bad coincidence depending on my mood!
The venue probably held 100 or so, and Amanda toured with a keyboard player only supplemented wth her fiddle. Second row seats meant it was a great experience and the show was effectively paused while I went to the loo! Yes, that’s how intimate it was. At the end I had the pleasure of meeting her and on telling her about my own situation she gave me a pep talk and told me about some of the nastier songs she had written about her ex that weren’t allowed on the record.
The evening ended up with me being pissed in the only pub in Notting Hill and having to get an Uber back to my hotel!
So, Wednesday was to be a slower day, as I carried a bad head with me. In the day visited an iconic place in rock history. Battersea Power Station featured on the front of Pink Floyd’s Animals album in 1977. After years of being abandoned it has now been transformed. Someone described it as the Trafford Centre meets Dubai. I have never been to Dubai, but yeah it’s posh. Impressive insides with lots of smart shops and eateries, surrounded by ultra modern apartment blocks, bars, and restaurants. It’s a little bit soulless I would suggest. However, after wandering for a few hours it was time for my 3rd show in 3 nights. This was the show I booked last thing, realising I had a night to kill.
I crossed back over the Thames and went where the Chelsea Pensioners are – adjacent to the site of the flower show they have shows in the summer. An 80s show – poor Heaven 17 opened with most people still queuing for food and drink in the heat but they did really well. Tony Hadley was absolutely fantastic as a front man (random fact – I once sat next to him at a Duran Duran concert about 33 years ago) focussing on all the big Spandau Ballet hits.
Headlining was Holly Johnson, former front man of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. That was who I had come to see – it really was a name that I wanted to tick off the list. Frankie were huge in the mid 1980s, burning brightly before disbanding after a second album. Holly has an amazing voice and an incredible Scouse sense of humour. Welcome To The Pleasuredome is possibly the best produced album of all time – it is perfect and hasn’t aged in 40 plus years. To finally hear the hits like Relax, Two Tribes and The Power of Love was great.
As with the night before I went solo, but soon made friends there. I have gone solo to gigs for years, I would rather not but I will be damned if I miss out because of others! Finally, last but not least after Thursday night in my bed I was back off to Anfield to see Zach Bryan. Before returning north I visited a few of London’s famous museums.
Lots of people said “Zach who?” when it was announced he was headlining a stadium show in Liverpool, however it sold out and its clear he is very popular. His shows are simple – no effects or lights to note, just a huge band (circa 20 on stage including fiddles, horns, backing singers) most of which were wearing Liverpool FC shirts. It follows the trend of Garry Tallent of the E Street Band wearing an LFC cap last summer.
He seemed overwhelmed at times at the crowd reaction and 50,000 fans mostly wearing cowboy / cowgirl outfits (I was one of those who didn’t!) danced the night away.
When I got home I was exhausted, it had been a great week in terms of a break from work and personal issues. And people pay a fortune for guidance on personal matters, and I got it from a straight up star! All shows were different, different styles and crowds and it was the smallest one that will remain with me longest.
