Gigs 2024

[captainkurtz]

The Black Crowes - Newcastle City Hall - 17th May 2024
Frankie Boyle - Newcastle Tyne Theatre - 19th May 2024. - TICKETS SOLD
Bruce Springsteen- Sunderland - 22nd May 2024
Tool - Manchester Arena - 1st June 2024
Foo Fighters - Hampden Park - June 17th 2024
Saucerful - Gateshead Sage - June 22nd 2024
Pearl Jam - Manchester - June 25th 2024  IF PRICES DROP!
AC/DC - Wembley Stadium - July 7th 2024
Randy Feltface - Tyne Theatre - 12th July 2024
Mr Big - Newcastle NX - 19th July 2024
Living Colour - Newcastle NX - 24th July 2024
Julie Byrne - Gateshead Sage - 25th July 2024
Future Islands - Newcastle City Hall - 31st July 2024
Taylor Swift - Wembley Stadium August 17th 2024
PJ Harvey - Gunnersbury Park - August 18th 2024
PJ Harvey - Halifax Piece Hall - 20th August 2024
Ben Elton - Tyne Theatre - 2nd September 2024
The Lemon Twigs - The Grove, Newcastle - 9th September 2024
David Gilmour - Royal Albert Hall - 11th October 2024
The Pretenders - Sage - 17th October 2024
Steve Hackett - Sage - 19th October 2024
Nick Cave - Leeds Arena - 2nd November 2024
Robert Plant - Stockton Globe - 6th November (rescheduled from 1st May)
Milton Jones - Newcastle City Hall - 23rd November 2024
Harry Hill - Tyne Theatre - 17th May 2025

[Nickslikk2112]

Riverside were simply stunning in Birmingham last night. They weren't too bad in Norwich on Sunday, but last night was special. Gone was Polish Melancholy and in its place full on Powerful, Pogoing Metal, maybe a slight exaggeration, but not far off it. Mikal Lapaj must be the happiest man in ROCK, never looks like he's not enjoying himself.

I think an enthusiastic audience helps, I don't normally like whooping hollerers, but the bloke next to me really got Riverside going. He was ENTHUSIASTIC, made Captain Ron look like a wallflower. He also thought that I must be a Rock Star, because of my deportment

And how could I forget, trains willing I do it again three times next week

[dom]

Great!  Looking forward to Thursday.  Off to see John Cooper Clarke tonight

[Thenop]

Just back from the Masters of Reality gig. Chris Goss injured himself a couple of days ago so he to sit.
Show itself was good, kicking off with the Blue Garden is a winner of course. He had Alain Johannes in guitar so they played Hanging Tree. Lots of MoR classics passed by, mostly from the debut.
My favourite song of theirs they did as well: Third Man on the Moon, brilliant, that made my evening 

[Nickslikk2112]

Back from the second half of my Riverside tour. How good was that.

The London show at Koko was fantastic, bit louder and more bassy than the previous two I saw and the audience were up for it, surprising for a London crowd - then again most people weren't from London, bloke next to me had come down from Sheffield.

Bristol on Monday maybe not quite as good, but the audience weren't quite as up for it, but Riverside were still on top form.

I think they saved the best until last though, luckily that was the show Mrs S got to see. Mikal was completely up for it, the guy is bonkers. I forgot to ask Mariusz when I net him and Mikal if he as just as happy off-stage or whether he strangled puppies. Not only were the band on top form but was also got an extra song in Left Out real icing on the cake.

The only downside is that going to see Riverside seems to lessen my misanthropic sociopathy and I'll voluntarily chat to people. Talked to a Dutch guy at Bristol Station who's seen Riverside 66 times, makes my 16 look weedy. Talking to a lady from Finland too who'd been at Bristol and was on the train to Manchester and I met the French lady who I saw at the three shows I did last year, even gave her a hug and mwa-mwahed, which is not me at all.

Still think it funny that I'm now recognised by the band, but Ali of this here parish - nice to see you again - said I was easy to spot, must be because I'm the devastatingly handsome, tall, slim,  silver fox of a man.

[captainkurtz]

Tool - Manchester Arena - 1st June 2024
Foo Fighters - Hampden Park - June 17th 2024
Saucerful - Gateshead Sage - June 22nd 2024
Pearl Jam - Manchester - June 25th 2024 
AC/DC - Wembley Stadium - July 7th 2024
Randy Feltface - Tyne Theatre - 12th July 2024
Mr Big - Newcastle NX - 19th July 2024
Living Colour - Newcastle NX - 24th July 2024
Julie Byrne - Gateshead Sage - 25th July 2024
Future Islands - Newcastle City Hall - 31st July 2024
Taylor Swift - Wembley Stadium August 17th 2024
PJ Harvey - Gunnersbury Park - August 18th 2024
PJ Harvey - Halifax Piece Hall - 20th August 2024
Ben Elton - Tyne Theatre - 2nd September 2024
The Lemon Twigs - The Grove, Newcastle - 9th September 2024
David Gilmour - Royal Albert Hall - 11th October 2024
The Pretenders - Sage - 17th October 2024
Steve Hackett - Sage - 19th October 2024
Nick Cave - Leeds Arena - 2nd November 2024
Robert Plant - Stockton Globe - 6th November (rescheduled from 1st May)
Frank Skinner - Newcastle City Hall - 16th November 2024
Milton Jones - Newcastle City Hall - 23rd November 2024
David O'Doherty - Tyne Theatre - 1st February 2025
Harry Hill - Tyne Theatre - 17th May 2025
Jack Dee - Tyne Theatre - 9th October 2025

[captainkurtz]

I'm definitely going to spend less money on gigs next year...sheesh...

[Matt2112]

Fri 9th Feb
STEWART LEE, Leeds Playhouse ****
Sat 16th Mar
SIMPLE MINDS, Manchester AO Arena ****
Sat 13th Apr
PAUL FOOT, Halifax Square Chapel
Thu 18th Apr
STEWART LEE, Bradford St George's Hall
Fri 3rd May
MOVING PICTURES, Leeds Brudenell ****
Sun 5th May
FM, Leeds Brudenell
Wed 22nd May
RICHARD MARX, London Royal Albert Hall ****
Thu 23rd May
YES, Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Thu 13th Jun
SHERYL CROW, Halifax Piece Hall
Sun 16th Jun
NILE RODGERS & CHIC, Halifax Piece Hall
Fri 21st Jun
THE KILLERS, Manchester Co-op Arena
Sat 31st Aug
BRAVADO, Sheffield City Hall
Tue 22nd Oct
The Libertines, Leeds O2 Academy*

2025

Sat 25th Jan
MICK MILLER, Bradford Tapestry


* Chaperone duty

[Matt2112]

So, then, Richard Marx at the Royal Albert Hall - two firsts for me.

The first thing to note of course is that this iconic arena is every bit as grand as it appears on the telly, so I really enjoyed drinking it all in (with the help of some Stella ) for a good few minutes before showtime, especially as all five tiers of the place were almost fully occupied.

I had a fairly central 7th row seat, which was obviously great for the view, but to my initial shock and surprise turned out not to be so great for the sound, which was too tinny for my liking and suffered from far too much reverb. I seemed to be in a sort of "non-sweet spot", beneath the house PA and too far from the on-stage amps. So the disappointing sound defied my high expectations, but the more Marx played through a tremendously well chosen two-hour set-list, abetted by three classy band mates on guitar, bass and drums, the less it was of an issue.

Yes, all the 80s US number 1 smash hits were present and correct, albeit re-imagined with other songs from the era to various extents to sound more contemporary and, by necessity, dropped down a key or so - Marx is 60 now and has lived most of his life without that hot-brushed mullet, soaring vocal range and chorus pedal-drenched sound of the early years...glorious as all that was.

But he still has that melodic voice - it still cracks impressively into a slightly gravelly RAWK tone in the higher registers and still retains a mellifluously smooth croon during the slow numbers: Right Here Waiting, of course the ultimate smooch song that alone will handsomely fund his retirement, is the obvious show closer and he performs it beautifully, both on piano and vocally.

It was worth the wait - and at £75.00 for a prime view, I suspect a hell of a lot better value than for certain other rock veterans playing the famous old hall this year.

Rating: ****

[captainkurtz]

Tool - Manchester Arena - 1st June 2024
Foo Fighters - Hampden Park - June 17th 2024
Saucerful - Gateshead Sage - June 22nd 2024
Pearl Jam - Manchester - June 25th 2024
AC/DC - Wembley Stadium - July 7th 2024
Randy Feltface - Tyne Theatre - 12th July 2024
Mr Big - Newcastle NX - 19th July 2024
Living Colour - Newcastle NX - 24th July 2024
Julie Byrne - Gateshead Sage - 25th July 2024
Future Islands - Newcastle City Hall - 31st July 2024
Taylor Swift - Wembley Stadium August 17th 2024
PJ Harvey - Gunnersbury Park - August 18th 2024
PJ Harvey - Halifax Piece Hall - 20th August 2024
Ben Elton - Tyne Theatre - 2nd September 2024
The Lemon Twigs - The Grove, Newcastle - 9th September 2024
Crowded House - The Cavern Club, Liverpool - 6th October 2024
David Gilmour - Royal Albert Hall - 11th October 2024
The Pretenders - Sage - 17th October 2024
Steve Hackett - Sage - 19th October 2024
Nick Cave - Leeds Arena - 2nd November 2024
Robert Plant - Stockton Globe - 6th November (rescheduled from 1st May)
Frank Skinner - Newcastle City Hall - 16th November 2024
Milton Jones - Newcastle City Hall - 23rd November 2024
David O'Doherty - Tyne Theatre - 1st February 2025
Harry Hill - Tyne Theatre - 17th May 2025
Jack Dee - Tyne Theatre - 9th October 2025

Forgot about Crowded House. Not sure if I'll make it.  See what the record is like..

[Ali]

7 Jan. British Lion, Camp&Furnace, Liverpool
28 Jan. Spock's Beard, Brudenell, Leeds
17 Feb. Marisa and the Moths/Elvana, O2 Academy, Liverpool
29 Feb. Mostly Autumn, Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge, N.Yorks
7 Mar. Franck Carducci and the Fantastic Squad, the Cavern, Liverpool
9 Mar. Enuff Z'Nuff, Tivoli, Buckley
20 Apr. Mörderstein (Rammstein tribute), Tivoli, Buckley
3 May. Dea Matrona, Arts Club, Liverpool
4 May. Rosalie Cunningham, Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
6 May. Jethro Tull, Philharmonic, Liverpool
10 May. Marisa and the Moths, Star & Garter, Manchester
11 May. Symphonity/Temperance/Sirenia, Club Academy, Manchester
14 May. Black Crowes, Apollo, Manchester
15 May. Green Lung, Arts Club, Liverpool
21 May. Riverside, Ritz, Manchester
26 May. Yes, Philharmonic, Liverpool
1 Jun. tool, AO Arena, Manchester
19 Jun. Del Amitri/Simple Minds, Pavilion, Llangollen
22 Jun. Mostly Autumn, Crescent, York
30 Jun. Mostly Autumn, Robin, Bilston
11 Jul. EXTC, the Cavern, Liverpool
24 Jul. The Warning, Camp & Furnace, Liverpool
27 Jul. Living Colour/Mr Big, O2 Academy, Liverpool
2 Aug. Franck Carducci and the Fantastic Squad, Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton
8 Aug. Rosalie Cunningham, Zanzibar, Liverpool
30 Aug. The Bee Tellers/Zio, Citadel, St Helens
22 Sep. Albert Bouchard, Alexander's, Chester
9 Oct. Steve Hackett, Philharmonic, Liverpool
12 Oct. Blues Pills, Band on the Wall, Manchester
22 Nov. Mostly Autumn, Tivoli, Buckley

[Nickslikk2112]

For the first time in my life I actually got round to seeing Yes live.

Now, I thought they would be maybe at best, but I was pleasantly surprised. Steve Howe leads them very well and Machine Messiah was a very good start to the first set and Turn of the Century an excellent conclusion to the first set.

Second set highlight was the 20 minute condensed Tales from Topographic Oceans which Mrs S claims never to have heard before. Mrs S enjoyed the whole show more than me.

[Fishy]

It ain't Yes...