New Model Army - O2 Academy Leeds

Obligatory Crap Photo!

Bought tickets a couple of month ago to see New Model Army at the O2 in Leeds. I was expecting a set that featured several tracks from their new album 'Between Dog and Wolf', and predictably the gig started in this vain. I quite like the new material, the tribal beats and quite subdued lyrics do make the album different from other NMA albums. Thankfully I've been listening quite allot so the new songs were all familiar to me. Andrea wasn't too impressed, typically wanting to hear all the old favourites.

The gig went pretty fast, there was some quite unusual stuff, Archway Towers was quite a surprise! My Favourite song was 'Christian Militia', their first encore, by this time I was in the thick of it at the front, throwing my weight (what little I have) about in the ruck, all good fun. Just got to keep smiling as you bounce around off everyone!

I enjoyed the gig, but struggled (as always) with the venue, the O2 just doesn't create an atmosphere that makes you feel that you're seeing something special.

The Levellers - Holmfirth Picturedrome

We got tickets for this sellout gig ages ago, ironically we had 5 tickets and everyone else cancelled, Andrea quickly asked around and we managed to use 4 of the tickets!

The Picturedrome is an ace venue, there are two balconies and a sloping floor to the stage, everyone gets a good view.

Our first encounter with The Levellers was as support for New Model Army when they were promoting their first album 'Weapon Called The Word', they blew NMA away and we were hooked. We've seen them dozens of times over the last 20 odd years. They have a great following and usually there's a great atmosphere at the gigs, their music is really made to be played live.

This time the band weren't promoting a new album so the set had a 'greatest hits' feel to it. I was happy to stand and watch the show but as time went on I struggled to stay still so by mid way through the set I had to push through to the front and jump about with the other devoted fans. Initially everyone was shoving me around, I was wearing my 46 Rossi T- shirt so most people thought I didn't know the music, however after a couple of numbers I was accepted, I know pretty much all the words to every song. It was pretty mad, I love slam dancing, it looks so violent but everyone is smiling, if anyone falls over there is an instant effort to get them back on their feet.

By the end of the night I was ringing wet with sweat and pretty knackered. Andrea joined me at the front for the last couple of songs, the band did several encores, they were surprised that everyone was so enthusiastic on a Sunday night.

Good times, can't wait foot the next time!

The Who - Manchester Arena

Usual poor quality gig photos!

As soon as tickets became available for the latest Who tour I spent a couple of frustrated hours on Ticket Master, what a racket! I had no chance, so put it behind me. Luckily one of Andreas running friends had got spare tickets and was happy to let us have 3 at the cover price. The plan was to ask Jack with us, this would be his first gig, lucky lad. To be fair Jack has liked The Who as long as he's listened to music, Who's Next being his favourite Album.

The gig was a rendition of Quadraphenia followed by some favourite songs, we had all been listening to the album for a couple of weeks.

Finlay was shipped off to friends for a sleep over, we promised to get him toys to the value of the ticket, little gods. We made good time over to Manchester and parked at the shopping centre on Cheatham Hill, Jack wanted to GOTO Pizza Hut for tea, after we finished we jumped in the car and parked nearer the Arena in one the streets at the bottom of the hill. Within a couple of minutes we were in the arena, Jack was gob smacked by the size of everything, 20,000 seats still impresses me!

We sat through the warmup act, Vintage Trouble these guys were pretty good, if you're into Soul,  it was hard work for them, people had paid to see The Who, and no matter how they tried to get people engaged in their polished show it just wasn't happening for them.

After a short break the intro started, the sound of the sea. As soon as the band came on stage everyone stood up, this looked bad for Jack, to deal with this Jack stood on his chair, this made him slightly bigger than me, perfect!

The powerful base riff at the beginning of 'The Real Me' sent shivers down my spine. Time flew by and the stage show was pretty good. The circular screens projected lots of historic social and political video, starting back in WWII, not sure how much Jack understood of all this but it was okay, one or two references were a bit edgy, but in the main it worked well, there was not visuals from the film but this wasn't a problem.

My favourite song was '5.15' which featured John Entwistles wild base solo, projected onto the screens and perfectly synced with the live show.

Jack was getting pretty tired by the end of  Quadraphenia, when they came back on stage to play some of their other hits Jack was puffing and blowing, he did get his head around it when I explained that he'd probably never get this opportunity again.

Baba O'Riley was my favourite track from this part of the show. They didn't perform 'My Generation' which was okay, to be fair they are a bit old for this one! It was a petty they didn't do 'Behind Blue Eyes', but you can't have everything. The last song they played was 'Tea and Theatre' this rounded the evening off nicely.

Jack was happy to be heading home for a good nights sleep, he's got some great memories of his first gig. Lucky lad!

Australian Pink Floyd - Sheffield

We'd had a very busy day, walking up Whernside with a group of friends, heading home with Chinese takeaway before setting straight out of the door and for Sheffield's City Hall. It was touch and go whether we'd make it on time, thankfully we found parking near the venue and made a bee line for the entrance. We even managed to get a drink before sitting down. Mike, a friend from work had again got us great tickets, we were four rows from the front right in the middle.

Just had chance for a quick catch up with Mike before the lights went down and the show started. We were treated to the whole of Dark Side of the Moon, the performance was breathtaking, I've seen these guys lots of times over the years and I'm still amazed at how close this is to the real thing. My attitude is that Mozart and Beethoven's music continues to be played long after they died, Australian Pink Floyd are the equivalent to a modern orchestra playing old classic music, they are the cream of cover bands.

The light show hadn't changed much since we saw them in Halifax last year and they didn't have a huge glitter ball at the end, this hardly mattered.

The second half of the show had music from the many faces of Pink Floyd. I always enjoy anything from Wish You Were Here and they didn't disappoint. Andrea got a little board when They played echos, I guess its one of those songs that goes on too long if you don't know what going on.

We had a great evening and all too soon it was time to heads home. We made good time on the way hone, end of a very busy day, shame we had to go to work on Monday.

New Model Army - Bradford - Live lounge at Utopia

Acustic EP - 1985

It's another one of those 'when I was a lad' moments! As a young and impressionable teenager I remember my first encounter with New Model Army. Back in 1985 Lea, my brother had been down to Rock Off in Bradford and bought 'Better Than Them - The Acoustic EP' because he liked the cover! And so it started. Both Lea and me instantly connected with the post punk rawness and Slade the Levellers story telling. We quickly got copies of 'Vengeance (1984)' , 'The Price (1984)' and 'No Rest For The Wicked (1985)'. These records still remain part of my psyche to this day.

New Model Army had already been through a bit of an upheaval, their original Bassist Stuart Morrow had left the band and had been quickly replaced by Moose Harris. We first got to see the band on the Ghost of Cain tour in October 1986 at the Communal Building within the Bradford Uni campus. Tickets cost £3.50! 

Over the years I've seen NMA dozens of times, I lost interest after the Impurity Album, times we're good I struggled to relate to the bands direction, however recently I've re-engaged with the band. Certainly the banking crisis has created a synergy between my thoughts and some of the modern NMA songs.

So to the gig...

New Model Army (Poor Quality Image)

It's been a long time since NMA did a gig in Bradford, we've seen them a couple of times recently at the O2 in Leeds. The Live Lounge is a new gig venue, something that Bradford really needs. Only a small venue but this made it even better, I've not seen NMA in such a small place before. It was also our first chance to see the new bassist Ceri Monger in action.

There wasn't a support band, however Slade did a half hour acoustic set, kicking off with Notice Me, all good! After this the band soon started and kicked off with Get Me Out, they then worked through a couple of hours of music. I 'had a jump about at the front' to 'Christian Militia' and really enjoyed the evening. The usual antics with all the standing on shoulders, waving arms about routine and slam dancing at the front.

It was a nice thought by Slade to dedicate 'Green and Grey' to the late Rob Heaton and Tommy Tee.

The evening was over all too soon, I would have liked to have heard Vengeance, but there's always a next time!!

Youtube Videos from the Gig.

Notice Me

Get Me Out

Green And Grey

Vagabonds

Frightened

Here Comes The War

No Rest

I Love The World

The Hunt

Ballad of Bodmin Pill

Nothing Dies Easy

The Australian Pink Floyd - Halifax

Usually I buy tickets months in advance of a gig, all the waiting in anticipation can overshadow the show and I'm left a little disappointed. Sometimes unplanned, almost spontaneous evenings turn out to be really memorable... You know where this is going.



When one of my colleagues at work asked if I'd be interested in going to see The Aussie Floyd at the Victoria Theatre, Halifax (his partner didn't want to go) at the last minute I didn't hesitate. I've seen these guys before, probably 10 years ago at Bradford Georges Hall and had a great evening back then.

One Big Kangaroo!!

So me and Pink Floyd.... My first recollection of seriously listening to the Floyd was as a 16 year old stopping at a friends house in Up-state New York, we'd all got really drunk and someone put The Wall on, it left a lasting impression on me. I'd always been into music, but up until this point only listened to a couple of bands seriously (The Jam, Madness, The Specials, The Beat) and this was the start of me opening my ears to all sorts of diverse stuff! 


I soon got myself copies of 'The Wall (1979)', 'Dark Side of the Moon (1973)' and 'Wish You Were Here (1975)'. On returning from America my brother Lea and a couple of friends were shocked and surprised that I had started listening to things that were not being regularly played on the radio, which felt much more mature than the 3 minute verse, chorus routine. It was obvious that I was finding things out for myself and not following the heard.


I have to admit that I have played to death all the Floyd albums, and I do need to be in the right mood to listen these days. I like all 4 (my view) incarnations of the band, (1) Early Syd Barrett led stuff, (2) Everyone (without Syd) pulling together, (3) Roger Waters takes over and finally the (4) Dave Gilmore revival!

The obligatory circular screen

The tickets said 7:30pm, we assumed that the show would start at 8ish and had a drink at the Upper George, to our surprise when we arrived at 7:40 the show was already underway! Our tickets were for the front row, yes we were sat within touching distance with a great view and lots of leg room. It was a bit embarrassing walking right to the front and sitting down when the band had already started playing.


As I watched and the evening progressed my feelings of respect for the Band just increased ten fold. The music was played faithful to how Pink Floyd performed. It felt like the band were a 'Super Pink Floyd'. Two great guitar players who could handle the solos with ease (and do it faithfully), again the singing could have been swapped between 2 or 3 people. There are so many important moments that if not done perfectly would sound really bad, each one handled perfectly.


The lighting again was something special, even if you didn't know the music you could sit back, watch the images on the circular screen and take in the laser and lighting show.


The only concession away from the original Floyd was the occasional reference to Australia. The Prism being Australia shaped, the massive inflatable Kangaroo and the occasional reference to Australia on the backing tapes, these were acceptable and just made you smile.

Best moments, Great Gig in the Sky - 3 amazing singers doing the business. Shine on You Crazy Diamond - beginning guitar part. Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb - Singing along!


As evenings go it would be difficult to improve on this one. The band left stage for a 20 minute break and then played until 10:45am. 


After the show I couldn't thank Mike enough for letting me have the spare ticket, we both had a great evening and I'm sure we'll be seeing The Australian Pink Floyd again soon.


Click Here to see what Mike said about the gig - Full video of Comfortably Numb.

The Damned - O2 Leeds



The Damned - Poor Quality

35th Anniversary tour was an opportunity not to miss. We've seen The Damned several times over the years and this felt like a chance to relive times past!I remember the old days over in Bradford, seeing the band at Rio's behind the Uni. The last time we went was quite funny, all the old punks appear to have matured into middle age, the car park was full of BMW's and Audi's, inside the gig everyone had bald heads and 'middle age spread' which resulted in their bellies popping out of their old leather jackets. (No chance of doing the zip up!).


Andrea had to miss the gig, she'd been sick for a couple of day, not like Andrea.

The show started with a ridiculously (as usual) dressed Captain Sensible setting the scene, in his usual silly way.

'Neat Neat Neat' started the ball rolling as they ripped through 'Damned Damned Damned'. The other Obvious track was 'New Rose', but the band made a good fist of the rest of the album. I went for a 'jump about' at the front, everyone smiling but bouncing off each other like crazy, good fun!

Dave Vanian - Poor Quality

A short break and then they set off through 'The Black Album', again everything was pretty tight. The whole band seemed to be full of life and appeared to be enjoying the atmosphere of an appreciative audience.

A couple of encores, finishing with 'Smash It Up'. A great night. The band stuck to the older stuff and didn't do any of the later material, no Eloise or Phantasmagoria tracks, for some people this might have been a disappointment, but there's always a next time......