8/11 Attended by George, Jan, Jo
6/11
w Karen,
7/11
Loud
Jan and Jo got to strum Jim’s guitar.
9/11
Not my favourite music ever, but an enjoyable concert. I’d heard a lot about Kate but never listened much to her albums, so was taking a chance going to this on spec. She’s a marvellous singer with a quaint and unusual voice, and does traditional English folk in straightforward and accessable way. Backing band were subtle and effective and didn’t intrude on her voice.
Kate sang with the band in the first half of the show but I preferred the second half when she played her guitar, either solo or with some sparser arrangements, much more to my liking. As much as I had a nice time, the songs did blur together a bit as the style and pace was relatively samey. Though her voice is lovely the songs and arrangements could have had more variety for me.
6/11 Attended by George & Karen
Wow, these guys are terrific! I’ve never been to see a tribute band before, and I won’t make a habit of it, but I’d go to see Smith’s Indeed anytime and recommend them to any Smith’s fan. Judging by a packed Bongo Club there are loads of Smith’s fans around, many of whom were too young to have been there in the 80s but knew all of the words anyway ! Jan and I sang along at the top of our voices, amazing how all the words come back to you.
Singer Jurgen really has Morrisey down to a tee, flowers and all, and the band were excellent, very close to the original sound. They played two sets, the first being the entire Meat is Murder album in order, then a 2nd set full of hits and classics. Brilliant. What a great night with a fun, celebration atmosphere.
7.5/11 Attended by George & Jan
Magic! Laura Marling is a very special artist and this was a great show with a few unexpected twists. A word first about support bands – Boy and Bear from Australia were interesting, but not terribly memorable. Alessi’s Ark were good for me! I like Alessi a lot and was really looking forward to seeing her again, but I’m not sure she went down as well as I’d expected. I missed part of her first song while coming back from the bar, but soon got into it with renditions of my favourites including ‘The Horse’ and ‘Constellations’ and ‘Hummingbird’. I can’t believe (not sure she could either) that she stopped half way through a song when an audience member coughed loudly … Alessi stopped playing and said ‘Get it all out!’ to much hilarity from the crowd while she dissolved into a fit of the giggles. I like !
Laura took the stage alone which surprised me when I was expecting her band. She started with a stirring version of ‘Devil’s Spoke’ and continued with a most of her set on her own. She explained her drummer was sick, so the band only joined in for a few somgs at the end . Slightly disappointing not to hear familiar songs with band arrangements, but what a superb performer she is. Vocals perfect, guitar playing really deft and also note perfect. The stand out song when the band joined in was ‘I Speak Because I Can’. Not as intimate and memorable a gig, as when we saw her in Tobermory (that would be impossible) but great all the same.
8/11 Attended by George
A bit of a disappointment unfortunately L . I’m not a fan of his band Lau but Kris has a reputation as a fine guitarist and singer so I thought I’d take a chance to go and see him knowing hardly anything about his music (expect a few things on YouTube, particularly a great version of ‘Shady Grove’). Taking Jan along was a mistake with hindsight ! It was a sedate, sit-down (well we had to stand) affair with a mature dedicated folk type audience. Kris appeared with Anna Massie who backed him on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and vocals and played two sets. I can’t tell you much about the second set and encore(s?) because Jan and I left after two songs of the second set. Walking out becoming a bad habit for us! While we could appreciate the fine musicianship, the songs were pretty dour and earnest … Kris’s voice is quite strong, but a bit monotonous. After the first set we thought it might liven up but after two songs of the second set we both thought better of staying with them to the end. Nothing against Kris or Anna, nice traditional Scottish sounding stuff with lovely guitar work … but ultimately pretty boring and not to our taste. Sorry ! 5/10
George Glen 