Tuesday 11th June, Dingwalls, London, Eli Paperboy Reed. It’s a much more mobile ‘Paperboy’ tonight since when we last met a year ago after he had recently suffered a dislocated knee. He’s a busy boy tonight as he joins support act Big Joe Louis for a couple of tracks on harmonica and backing vocals and the relaxed nature of the show tonight provides Big Joe with a longer set than most opening acts are often afforded.
 
We have been with Eli since the start first seeing him eleven years ago and this will be our sixth time in six different London venues and with probably six different line-ups and configurations with and without horns, with brass and without. The constant though is Eli’s enthusiasm, musicianship and that voice. Tonight he is joined by bass, keys, two piece horn section and the happiest smiliest drummer I have ever seen crammed on the small Dingwalls stage.
 
Tonight is very much a career retrospective spanning the last ten years and six albums. Whilst obviously promoting his fine new album ’99 Cent Dreams’ tracks are grabbed from throughout the catalogue with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure but sadly no room for my request for his great version of ‘Ace of Spades’. Maybe next time.
 
It’s a breathless non-stop set tonight kicking off with a superb version of ‘Cut Ya Down’ and the Van Morrisoneque ‘Bank Robber’ from the new album. The band are ‘on it’, tight as a packet of Rizla’s and even a broken string doesn’t stop Eli and after quickly borrowing Big Joe’s SG we are back in business.
 
The balance of the set is perfect with the right blend of high tempo dance alongs interspersed with some time for both band and audience to draw breath on the slower numbers. You can’t help warm to Eli, always with a smile on face and he genuinely looks happy to be here which cannot always be said of some bands. This energy and enthusiasm easily transports itself across to the audience who give it back in spades.
 
On a night where I don’t think a foot was put wrong (no joke intended) everyone leaves in an ultimately better frame of mind than when they entered. The encore starts with a mini tribute to the recently departed Dr John and ends on singalong crowd pleaser ‘Take my love with you’.
 
Probably the best show I’ve seen the Paperboy perform and certainly up there as a contender for my favourite gig of the year so far.
 
Till the next time keep on soulful rockin y’all

​Wednesday 5th June, Village Underground, London, Guided by Voices. So it’s been sixteen years since GBV last graced these shores. And by the way that the songs were sung back at them most of the audience were probably at that gig too. I am breaking my GBV duck tonight and clearly in the minority and after talking with some others present they have a very committed fan base reciting track and album titles at will which is even more impressive when you consider Pollard/GBV release three or four albums a year. It’s difficult to describe the GBV sound to someone who hasn’t heard them but they are a cross between Pixies, REM and a touch of Teenage Fanclub and it’s very much borne out the US guitar scene of the nineties.
 
Before my review a word about the venue. It’s terrible. It’s bad enough that unless you are pretty near the front the sight lines are atrocious on flat floor in this narrow room, the sound is often of dubious quality, they have about four spotlights on stage, only four urinals for the whole venue and no aircon. But tonight we have to queue for nearly half an hour to get into the place and I am sure that a number of people would have missed the start. Despite 21st technology they are checking off individuals names on a clip board and had no idea what to do with my eticket on Dice which wasn’t scanned.
 
Enough about the venue and onto the show. There’s no support and they are on promptly at 8.30 for what promises to be an epic set where they regularly play over fifty songs. Touring in support of just the two albums released this year! the set really does span the last twenty five or so years. The great thing about GBV is that no song outstays its welcome. If you don’t like something then with an average length of probably about two minutes you are not too far from the next great song.
 
The sound and pace to the night is relentless from note one and each song seems to get heavier thanks in no small part to the return of guitarist Doug Gillard and the back beat Kevin March on sticks and harmonies. Its breathless stuff and the occasional feedback feels like a defibrillator restarting your heart. The usual gripe about sound in this venue doesn’t apply tonight as the levels are set to eleven from the beginning and probably hit twelve.
 
Pollard is a witty raconteur and takes comic pops at Trump, Flaming Lips, Aerosmith and REM tonight. Back to the music and there’s enough in the set to keep everyone happy with tracks performed from over fifteen different albums and they could still be playing now and yet have hours of material left.
 
An epic gig and there’s going to be a lot of worn out middle aged men this morning, me included.
 
Till the next time keep on rockin y’all

Tuesday 4th June, The Forum, Kentish Town, London, Rockin the Blues featuring Kris Barras, Walter Trout and Jonny Lang. There was a time in 97 through 98 where Jonny Lang’s debut album ‘Lie to Me’ was played relentlessly in our house and this aural brainwash obviously worked on my son. Twenty one years after I last saw Lang live the same son has bought us both tickets for tonight’s mini BluesFest in North London.
 
First up is a brit, Kris Barras. I’ll be honest I had not heard of him before but he plays a great opening set with a big powerful sound, good voice, strong songs including a solid version of ‘Rock n Roll’. Most of all, given the name of the tour, the solos are most definitely on the rockier end of the blues. It has a feel of early Whitesnake about it who were at their best the finest British blues rock band of their time before Coverdale homogenised their sound for the American market.
 
Next up is the old timer on the bill Walter Trout. He’s certainly lived a life and indeed is arguably on his second after a liver transplant and having to learn to walk and talk and play the guitar again. I didn’t know most of the set but it was certainly a lesson in old school blues. The band are great and the solos while a little samey showcase Trout’s continued dexterity especially at a couple of years shy of seventy.
 
Quite why it has taken so long to see Jonny Lang again is beyond me but after tonight’s show I won’t be leaving it another twenty years. The set is a mix of oldies and new ones which blend together well. What’s clear from the off is that Lang is an extraordinary guitarist. The solos are rich and varied and he is ably supported by a fine band complete with bass player wearing a puppet on his hand. Highlights for me are probably oldies ‘Still rainin’ and amazing version of ‘Lie to Me’ that started off as a reinterpreted acoustic ballad moving effortlessly to a full electric finale. Truly amazing track.
 
The evening is topped by the return of Walter and Kris for a couple where the three protagonists trade guitar solos with each other. Whats notable in this finale is that the Barras solos seem even more energised and he really launches a brutal attack of blues power. A great night that took me back twenty years and also introduced me to new British blues talent.
 
Till the next time keep on rockin y’all

Wednesday 29th May, 100 Club, London, Yola Carter. Its a warm night in the centre of London as we await Bristolian songstress Yola.

Ms Carter has reinvented herself recently dropping the Carter with a newly produced album by Dan Auerbach. It’s a highly polished affair and obviously designed to break the American market. It’s a little over produced for me and a lot of the songs just wash over you and I think that this works against Yola’s stunning vocal talent. It’s a unique voice evoking ‘in Memphis’ era Dusty along with a bite or two from other greats of soul and country. I can’t put my finger on it, whether this is the quality of songs or the shift to a more soulful approach but it doesn’t move me. I do think that the slight move away from the country tinge of her EP has taken a little of her character out of the music.

The same criticism is true for tonight. Backed by a tidy six piece backing band it all feels very safe. The set tonight airbrushes nearly everything that she has done before save one track from her EP or previous band Phantom Limb. Whilst the opening forty minutes was pleasing enough it wasn’t really until ‘It Aint Easier’ that she really lets loose and that amazing voice sends shudders through the room. This is quickly followed by a great cover of Birds of Chicago’s ‘Never Go Back’ and the album’s standout track ‘Faraway Look’. The momentum carries through to the encore of ‘Spanish Harlem’, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ and ‘The Letter’.

So, like the football last night it was a game of two halves with an uninspiring 45 minutes of nice enough music followed by an immaculate display from a unique talent to win the day.

Till the next time keep on rockin y’all

Monday 27th May, Omeara, London, Strand of Oaks. It’s a balmy bank holiday evening in old London Town as we welcome a great double header of Frankie Lee and Timothy Showalter and friends, aka Strand of Oaks.

Its been four years since we’ve seen Frankie Lee at the tiny Social off Oxford Street and as many years between his two albums. Tonight, he’s accompanied by just a pedal steel guitarist, but it compliments his brooding songs perfectly. Its an accomplished short opening set showcasing his excellent new album ‘Stillwater’.

Now the main act. On the back of a return to form new album ‘Eraserland’, although he never really lost his form, Showalter is back in these shores with new band in tow and the welcome return of keys featuring higher up in the mix. It adds another dimension to the sound and allows for a lot more light and shade to proceedings as opposed to the riff heavy metal show the last time we saw them. That’s is not to say that the show does not have its heavy rock moments with the band finding their inner ‘Sabbath’ on an extended jam during ‘Rest of It’.

A humble man who wears his heart very much on his sleeve, the show is packed with sweaty emotion as the excellent band takes us though predominantly tracks from the masterpiece that’s ‘Heal’ along with a fair chunk of the new one. Its by turns, raw and brutal and but also surprisingly sensitive. There’s a couple of hair tingling moments with undoubtably stand out moments for me of ‘Goshen’ and ‘Shut in’. That said the new songs more than hold their own and I really see ‘Eraserland’ as a bit of a sequel certainly musically to ‘Heal’.

The intimacy and the lighting of the venue really add to the show and it really has a feel of just a bunch of mates performing great songs to another bunch of mates and it’s difficult to manufacture that.
​
Much love all round for a great night in what is becoming one of my favourite small venues in London even more so after the recently announced shutting of the iconic Borderline.

Wednesday 15th May, Islington Assembly Hall, London, Mandolin Orange. It’s a big step up for this North Carolinian duo as last time I saw them a couple of years back they were here for a fabulous show in the 200 capacity Lexington. Tonight it’s the Assembly Hall with 900 people.
 
It’s my first show here since the venue had a new sound system installed. It’s a tough act to follow as the sound was always perfect already in what is my favourite mid-sized venue in London. Never over sold, great sound, good sightlines, best concert hall toilets in London but because of its listed status there is no air con which does make for uncomfortable viewing sometimes and the price of a beer is naughty at £6.45 for a pint of IPA.
 
Anyway back to the show. We made a special effort to get in early to see the super talented Michaela Anne. Just an artist and an acoustic guitar and a pure perfect voice. With the atmospheric lighting it created a perfect backdrop to her opening set.
 
Mandolin Orange join a long list of exceptional talent coming out of North Carolina at the moment including Caleb Caudle, Hiss Golden Messenger, Phil Cook and HC McEntire to name a few. Tonight Andrew Marlin, chief songwriter and Mr Mandolin and Emily Frantz are joined by a three piece backing band but they start the set in their usual two piece format.
 
As mentioned before the sound is immaculate, pin sharp and the unique sound of the mandolin fills the whole room and opener ‘Mother Deer’ from the new album ‘Tides of a Teardrop’ sets the scene for the next ninety minutes. It’s a sad song of course as the album is Martin’s reflection on the loss of his mother and there are many moving moments in what is a mandolin masterclass.
 
The set is drawn from across their albums and obvious highlights for me include one of my personal favourites ‘Wildfire’ and ‘Hey Stranger’ from the ‘Blindfaller’ album. There are a couple of really nice moments where a song or two is played ‘bluegrass’ style with the band crowded around one microphone and then for set closer totally unplugged with no amplification at all for a hair tingling finale. This is a band at the top of their game and it’s great to see them upgrading the venue to reach a richly deserved wider audience.
 
Till the next time keep on country rockin y’a

​Monday 13th May, O2 Islington Academy, London, Cassadee Pope. We were first introduced to Cassadee about a year ago when she joined Sam Palladio on stage with the excellent Striking Matches at Bush Hall. Fast forward to March this year and we caught her again playing a short afternoon set in Jason Aldean’s bar in Nashville. So it was great to see her back over here on what she says is her first headlining tour for eleven years since she fronted Hey Monday on the very same stage.
 
This the first time that CMT have taken their ‘Next women in Country’ tour to the UK and given the plethora of talented female country artists over in the states at the moment they could probably run this show every week for a year with a different line-up. Tonight Cassadee is supported by Logan Brill and local girl Twinnie. By local I mean she lives in London although she is clearly from up norf.
 
Both provide strong sets with Logan playing a little bit straighter country while Twinnie adding a dash of pop melody and sass to the show. Both have great voices and luckily in this hit and miss venue the sound is really good tonight. There’s a twist in both sets with Logan segwaying into a bit of Floyd’s ‘Wish you were Here’ while Twinnie unleashes her inner Whitney with a brief blast of ‘I wanna dance with somebody’.
 
Next up is the headliner. The set tonight is an equal balance of tracks from both of Cassadee’s solo albums ‘Frame by Frame’ and this year’s excellent ‘Stages’ with a couple of other songs thrown in for good measure. What’s refreshing is that Cassadee lets the music do the talking, it’s a no frills, no gimmick show, just her, a guitar and the three piece band.
 
At the heart of it all is great songs. I am glad to say that the songs keep their feet firmly in the country ground with some pop touches thrown in but not falling into this country/pop mashup that seems to be inflicting itself on us at the moment. I understand the commercial pressures to cross genres but when you are as good as Cassadee I think she can stand her ground with any country artists out there.
 
Highlights tonight for me were ‘One more Red light’, the Lady Antebellum cover of ‘Need you Now’ where Logan and Twinnie join her on stage and there’s a lovely duo when Sam Palladio joins Cassadee for ‘Think of You’. A great night further showcasing that all of the interesting country music bar a few limited exceptions is coming from women.
 
A word too for the band tonight who were the perfect backing to these three talented women especially the guitarist who played all three sets.
 
Till the next time keep on country rockin y’all

​Tuesday 30th April, the Lexington, London, Nicole Atkins. Back at probably my favourite small venue in London where I have seen some of my most memorable gigs in the last five years. Tonight its country, soul, rock, r&b songstress Nicole Atkins. This is my third attempt trying to see Nicole after having tickets to two London shows last year to be thwarted by snow and last minute holiday I am finally here and boy was it worth the wait.
 
I have seen many bands play a song or two down off the stage in the audience but I have never seen an artist start a set like that. But Nicole Atkins is not any old artist. She has got a sassy don’t give a shit attitude that’s sadly missing in the homogenised world of music at the moment. We need characters and personalities like Nicole to counteract the Swifts and Ezra’s of the world.
 
I’d like to describe Nicole’s voice and style but its equal measure of the dark soul of Amy Winehouse and the torch song qualities of KD Lang, add a dash of Patsy, a soupcon of Peggy Lee and there you have it. Vocal perfection. Tonight we are treated to the full range of her vocals, coupled with some great between song banter, stories and dad jokes.
 
She is joined on stage by what she describes as a scratch five piece band with the guitarist allegedly just joining them at sound check. If true then wow as he certainly had the licks.
 
The bulk of the set still draws heavily from the excellent ‘Goodnight Rhonda Lee’ from 2017 but tonight it’s interspersed with tracks from the new star studded album sadly not out until next year.
 
Highlights for me tonight are probably the Smokey jazz of ‘Darkness turns into day’, the funky ‘Sleepwalking’ and set closer Patti Smith’s ’Pissing in a River’ where she joins us back on the floor before just walking out the back.
 
An exceptional talent, a great voice, good songs and a thoroughly engaging performer.  A tough live act to follow this year.  
 
Just a word for the support act Caleb Elliott who turned in an excellent set tonight as well as accompanying Nicole in the main set. Again good songs with a voice that has a touch of the Ryan Adams about it without all the associated ‘dodgy stuff.
 
Till the next time keep on rockin y’all

Friday 26th April, Union Chapel, London, Ryan Bingham. The Union Chapel is a working church in North London and its moody lighting, high vaulted ceilings, stone walls, wooden pews make it the perfect setting for some great acoustics. Coupled with the supreme talent of Ryan Bingham, we are set fair for a perfect evening. And that’s exactly what we got.
 
With a new album out and a spectacular back catalogue of fine albums to draw from we are treated to ninety minutes of the finest country tunes you could wish for. Bingham is a great raconteur and regales us with stories of his childhood, upbringing, hitch hiking, learning the guitar, rodeos, musical influences and much more. It’s an emotional journey for both him and the audience and at one stage wiping away a few tears he recalls part of his eventful early life which drives home the importance of these autobiographical songs to him. More poignancy with the track ‘Wolves’ about gun crime and the reality of life in the US where he described an event where someone was shot outside his tour bus on his most recent US tour. Whats worse was this was not the first time this had happened.
 
There are lighter moments of course and such a rich and much travelled life can only provide even more material to his musical arsenal.
 
It’s difficult to find fault at all tonight, just a man with an acoustic guitar or two, perfect sound, great songs and that trademark whisky gravelled voice. Of course the oldies are welcomed with open arms but the new rockier tracks more than hold their own even in the acoustic setting.
 
To pick a highlight seems churlish as to denigrate the other tracks but of course ‘Southside of Heaven’, ‘Long way from Georgia’, a slightly reworked version of ‘Weary Kind’ and ‘Hallelujah’ nail it.
 
The dilemma now is do I bin off Band of Horses on the same night in June to see Ryan back again with full band. That’s a first world problem I am happy to have.
 
One final comment for the chapel, get some row and seat numbers to stop the bun fight to get a seat where there is I’m sure more coats left on pews than actual people attending. If the Ryman can do it then so can you.
 
Till the next time keep on country rockin y’all

Monday 1st April, Omeara, London, Chris Shiflett. In his day job Shiflett performs in front of thousands of fans in the behemoth that is The Foo Fighters. Tonight about 300 lucky souls welcome him and three chums to the tiny Omeara club near London Bridge. Poor scheduling meant the gig clashed with Arsenal’s game the same evening and Chris being a fellow gooner requested score updates through the set.
 
Shiflett’ s back catalogue is mainly acoustic led Americana but tonight its full electric with the band which gives his solo output a fresh and different perspective. It’s also provides an indication of the change in direction for his forthcoming new record out in June. Certainly, the first two tracks released ‘This Ol World’ and ‘Welcome to your first heartache’, the latter being a song written for his son warning him about the perils of a first love, back this up. Sadly, the song has lost its message after Chris tells us his son did the dumping of his first girlfriend….and by text.
 
The set is a mixture of his last album the excellent ‘West Coast Town’ and the new one ‘Hard Lessons’ with a cover of a less well known ‘Stones’ tune ‘Star Star’ thrown in for good measure. The band are tight and there’s room for an extended jam with fellow guitarist Brian Whelan trading licks bringing ‘The Hardest Lesson’ to a blistering crescendo. Highlights for me were probably ‘Goodnight Little Rock’ and set closer ‘West Coast Town’.
 
There is much joy in the crowd and the band are clearly having a great time and you feel that this is the stage that Shiflett feels most at home on. Down and dirty and small and sweaty, the new heavier tracks are perfect in this setting. Let the Foos pay the bills and allow Chris to develop his own career. As my group commented it was nice that he does not trade on the ‘Foos’ brand and charge an arm and a leg.
 
Tonight was the perfect kick start of back home gigs after my US trip and The Arsenal won too.
 
Till the next time keep on rockin y’all

PS apologies for the poor quality photos