Nine Feet Underground

A lot of people seem to go to gigs to hear the headline act, but nothing more (not to mention those who don't seem to go to hear the music at all?)  I'm  always keen to hear the support, especially if I've never heard of them as you never know what you'll find. And so I found myself at the front of the stage in SUB89 waiting for Tom Hickox to take to the stage. Never heard of him or heard anything by him, so looking forward to hear what he does. As the hour of 8pm arrived, he took to the stage and seated himself behind a large electric piano, joined by Sam Grimley on various guitars. From his opening number, I was struck by his voice - he really has presence on stage. For the first song or two I just thought, 'yeah, he sounds OK, but...', and wasn't really drawn in. A couple of songs had great stories behind them, and his spoken intros to 'The Lisbon Maru' and 'The Dubbing Artist' were intriguing.  The song that really land...

Last time I saw Genesis - at Knebworth in 1978 - Steve Hackett had already left the band and they'd just released the aptly titled, 'And Then There Were Three'.  Looking back at the albums Genesis released after Steve Hackett left  - and I include 'And Then There Were Three' in that number - it's clear that, whatever the song credits may suggest, he had a big influence on the sound and songwriting and his departure coincided with the end of my interest in their albums.  I'd go further and say, lyrically at least, losing Peter Gabriel also negatively affected the songwriting, though that's one for another day... From Hillage to Hackett in twenty-four hours - and, a fter the magnificence of Gong and Steve Hillage's performance in Aylesbury the previous night, this was going to have to be good, though several sources had suggested we'd not be disappointed. Friends met, drinks in hand, we took to our seats in the circle, front row ...

Steve Hillage live twice in the same year?  You spoil me... ...not only that, but  a chance to see Gong live playing their own new songs as well as playing as Steve Hillage's band is an opportunity not to be missed... ...and so it was, on a cold and wet Friday evening in November, I began the 35 mile drive North to Aylesbury in the rush hour. After a meal with a good friend it was off to the Waterside Theatre, a venue I'd never visited before, to the gig hosted/promoted by the legendary Friars Aylesbury music club. Seated at the back row in the circle provided a perfect view of the stage: question is would the sound be any good? Bang on 7:30pm Gong took to the stage, fronted by Kavus Torabi, and from the off any doubts about the acoustics were dispelled - the sound was clear and sharp. Kavus even remarked on how impressed they were with the acoustics when they set up and rehearsed earlier that day. Kavus made it clear this wasn't going to be a Gong nos...

Gnod playing in Reading?  At South Street Arts Centre! I cannot miss this... A cold Thursday night beckons, get there early, get some drinks in and see the support, Typical Hunks, a local band.   Checked them out on Bandcamp, sound OK - always good to hear new bands. Yep, nicely set up for the evening. Typical Hunks took to the stage - a two-piece, guitar, bass and a drum machine - let's hear it for the trusty drum machine, a revival, perhaps? Didn't warm to them at first, but as the drum machine cranked up, more rhythmic numbers were played. Bass lines and drum patterns snaking around each other, sprinkled atop with angular, spiky guitar lines and equally spiky vocals.  The magic formula slowly emerged. Thirty minutes or so later, they were spent, done. Would I seek them out? Maybe - if they were on the bill, I'd watch them. Figure there was a kernel of something in their tunes that could become something interesting... Grab another drink ahead of Gno...

Acid Mothers Temple have been on my 'must see' list for some time, but for one reason or another I've missed out on tour after tour, so the chance to see them in Oxford was something I couldn't miss. My son and I arrived early for the gig in time to grab some excellent Turkish food and drinks before heading a few doors down to The Bullingdon.  Who should we see hanging around outside, waiting to get access to the inexplicably locked dressing room, only  AMT in civvies, and I couldn't resist taking a shot of them, though I did stop short of getting a selfie! Organised/promoted by Divine Schism, the gig was originally to be hosted at The Jericho Tavern, but for some reason at the last minute it was moved a few miles down the road to The Bullingdon on the Cowley Road.  The downside of the move was that the curfew in East Oxford was 10, rather than 11 in Jericho, and with a bill including two local bands, it meant sets were to be kept tight and equipment ch...

After June's relative gig madness, the months of July and August were gig-free, partly due to my European travels, so it was good to be back at South Street Arts Centre in the last days of September. Better still it was to see the man behind of one of my top 5 album's of 2018, Bill Ryder-Jones. Support act was Lucy Gaffney, ably assisted by her brother, Thom, on guitar and occasional backing vocals. As far as I can tell Lucy has no material released under her own name (she and her brother have recorded together under the band name MMODE) though during the set she mentioned she was working on an EP with James Skelly of The Coral. (Note: The image above is not mine and comes from Lucy's FB page) It was a good set and a great warm-up for Bill: there were songs that struck a chord and Lucy's voice has a strength and depth that brought life to the songs. It will be interesting to see what the recorded songs are like and whether she records with a band or jus...

On arrival at the gig, everyone was given a card before being seated, the front was a black and white image of the photo above, the back, more interestingly, contained the words below: Birmingham Symphony Hall is the largest gig venue I've attended in a while and an opulent setting for a rock gig, even one as left field as this one. The PA announced we should be seated by 7:25pm as the gig would start promptly at 7:30. I had a great view of the stage from the front row of the upper circle. The stage was laid out with a bunch of tables at which randomly selected audience members were sat, and, of course, a grand piano - for this was to be an entirely acoustic evening, with Nick on piano and vocals only. Bang on 7:30 the lights dimmed, the stage only illuminated by the lamps on the tables of those lucky enough to be seated there, and the recording of Nick reading his poem 'Steve McQueen' (from the film 'One More Time With Feeling') played across th...

Gaz Coombes' career, post-Supergrass, has been on an upward trajectory over the past three or four years. Starting with debut solo album 'Here Come the Bombs', 2015's 'Matador' and most recently, last year's 'World's Strongest Man', his solo albums have been critically well-received and increasingly successful. The latter pair of albums have been especially good and so the chance to see Gaz solo, in a relatively small venue, was a chance not to be missed. Before Gaz on stage, however, was support, Chris Simmons, a new name to me and one I thought I'd investigate via the medium of Spotify, ahead of the gig. In the cold light of recorded sound, I have to admit, I was kind of 'Meh' about his songs: there was something, but to be honest, there are probably even more identikit male singer-songwriters, aspiring to be the next Ed Sheeran (Lord, have mercy on my soul), than there are the female equivalent, and that is saying somethi...