Stephen Kellogg @ The Art School Cafe / Bar, Glasgow 25 September 2013

I first heard of Stephen Kellogg at around lunchtime on the day of the gig. A friend of mine wanted a night out and looked to see who was playing in town on a cool September Wednesday night. So this being Glasgow there were several choices and, having done some quick research on Stephen's music, we decided to pop along and listen to him.

Sam Bradley

However, before we get to Mr Kellogg, I would like to tell you about a young Londoner called Sam Bradley who was the support act. Like Stephen Kellogg, I hadn't heard of Sam before lunchtime on the day either! However, Sam has been performing music since he was 17 and has fine tuned his style and voice beautifully. He has released two EPs along the way which débuted at number 1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts in the US. In addition, he has contributed a song (Never Think) to the soundtrack for the movie Twilight that was co-written and sung by his long-time friend Robert Pattinson. So not a bad resume! 

On the night he played electrified acoustic guitar and seemed to be full of excitable, nervous energy which translated itself into humorous anecdotes between songs. This was typified when he introduced a song called Little Sister which he wrote with his mum about his cousin! He also advised us that he had just returned from a lengthy stint in Canada and the States where he has been plying his trade. Furthermore he then informed us that he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of Glasgow due to having played here a few times previously. I say Glasgow, but as it transpired he knew the adjacent 500 yards like the back of his hand but was totally lost beyond the Noodle Bar, the Garage and Broadcast!

What I liked about Sam from the outset was his voice. It is mellow, interesting, infectious and capable of being raucous or gravelly as required. His guitar playing was unfussy, simple, uncomplicated and effective. His lyrics are good too and much of what he sang had a joviality to it which suited the mood he was creating with his snappy links between songs.

A stand out song on first listening was Hippy For A Night which showcased his humour as well as his guitar playing and during its introduction he explained that it was based on "festivals and shit" at which point there was a cough from the audience and Sam then apologised and said "Sorry Sir, festivals and stuff"! At one point he also said he felt like he was expected to perform some magic tricks given the white clothed table at his side!

Then after about 40 mins Sam took his leave and I was feeling that our choice of gig was turning out to be inspired! If you like the sound of Sam Bradley then check out his EP Zuni which includes a great song called Passport.

Check out Sam Bradley here.....

Stephen Kellogg

After a short break during which the venue's staff brought out tables and chairs to accommodate the late comers Stephen Kellogg bounded on stage and launched into the Satisfied Man a great opener from his former band The Sixers album The Bear.

First impressions were of an embryonic Springsteen, in looks at least and he had that infectious smile, backed up with gleaming white teeth! This kid could go far on looks alone, however, he writes great lyrics set to catchy tunes to boot. 

We were treated to the solo début album opener Lost And Found five songs in and by now Stephen had been joined by long time friend and former Sixers band member Sam "Steamer" Getz on pedal steel and electric guitars. Sam's introduction really helped to round out the songs. As those of you who read my blog regularly will know, whilst I really like the stripped down simplicity of solo acoustic guitar, I find it a limiting format for the artist to express the full depth of their musical style and so it was good to have the two pals on stage to play off each other.

Sam Getz

I should point out that this was a 'solo' Stephen Kellogg venture to showcase his great, recently released CD Blunderstone Rookery but I think it would help to put his achievements into perspective by pointing out that with his band the Sixers Stephen played over twelve hundred shows before hanging up his spurs in November 2012. As a band their album Glassjaw Boxer was voted a top 5 album of the year in 2007 by USA Today and their release The Bear was voted best album of 2009 by No Depression. Not too shabby as we say around these parts!

The 37 year old Mr Kellogg, from Northampton Massachusetts, was naturally full of 'vim and vigour' and he bounced about the small stage as he worked his way through his set and the equally youthful Mr Getz at 30 years of age kept time immaculately, swapping guitars and pedal steel regularly. The music they made and their timing was obviously made possible from their years on the road together.

Stephen & Sam

Sam & Stephen

There was also a nice moment of 'camaraderie' when Stephen invited his 'new buddy' of 48 hours, Sam Bradley back up on stage to duet on the song On the Road Again. Sam seemed a little hesitant to join the limelight along side Stephen but soon they were both harmonising extremely well and they seemed to enjoy the experience!

There were also a couple of funny moments which went some way to define the difference between the two sides of 'the pond' between Scotland and the USA. The first came when someone in the audience encouraged Stephen to 'goan yersel'. This clearly flummoxed him as he turned to Sam to see if he had understood. At this point someone else from the audience advised Stephen that "It was a good thing" but he was clearly none the wiser! The second was during a song about drinking when he asked what a notable local drink was and after Lanlique and Buckfast were offered up, Stephen settled on Tennants, and so our humble pint was glorified in a song!

Stephen's solo section

At this point in the show Sam left the stage and over the next few songs I was reminded of a young Paul Simon in much of how Stephen sang his lyrics and what lyrics they are too. Check out the majestic Thanksgiving from his new album or the afore mentioned Satisfied Man from the album The Bear. He pounded out his songs, stamping his foot on the stage to keep the beat. 

The word that sprung to mind was 'serendipity' meaning a happy accident or pleasant surprise. This show was turning out to be both in shed loads!

Sam then returned for a few more numbers before the lads finally left the stage to rapturous applause from an animated an enthusiastic audience. 

Stephen & Sam 'on the floor'

Fortunately, there was the minimum of fuss over the 'obligatory' encore (although much deserved in this case!) and the guys came back on stage to sing three numbers, the middle of which See You Later, See You Soon they sang from the floor of the venue with guitars 'unplugged' and this reinforced the intimate feel of the show.

So to recap: a great night out, three very talented men, some wonderfully thought provoking lyrics, a few pleasant drinks, good company and excellent music. Not bad for an impromptu Wednesday night out!  

Check out Stephen Kellogg here.....

Set List:

Satisfied Man
Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts
Forgive you, Forgive Me
4th of July
Lost and Found
The Brain is a Beautiful Thing
Milwaukee
Start the Day Early
In Front of the World/Die on the Road/Ghost
On the Road Again - with Sam Bradley
Tweet Sheet/Dickens
Good Red Wine
Gravity
The Bear
Thanksgiving

Encore
Good Old Days
See You Later, See You Soon - from the floor
Men and Women

Check out the other photos I took on the night here.....

Roger Waters - The Wall @ Manchester Arena, 16 Sept 2013

We descended on the Phones 4 U Arena (as it is currently called) in Hunts Bank, North Manchester on a soaking wet Monday night. The lines of people snaked along every road adjacent to the venue and the touts were out offering to buy and sell tickets with 30 mins to go before 'kick off'. Clearly there was a major event about to take place and I was pondering the fact that It is not often that one gets to see a body of work which one has grown up with being performed and interpreted by the author. Therefore, I was really looking forward to the show. On 30 November the album will be 34 years old, older than many I saw queuing up to get in!

The arena holds 23,000 and was full on the night with the exception of an area high up at the back of the venue which was curtained off. This was presumably due to the fact that the light show was housed below this bank of seating. As the place filled up we were treated to various world music songs over the arena's sound system and at one point during a gap between songs a wag shouted out "You. Yes you. Stand still laddie"! It would be fair to say that the band would be playing to an appreciative audience!

The show begins.....

And so at about 20:30 the show began with a flash of light, a burst of colour and a crescendo of sound. From the outset it was clear that this was going to be 'theatre' as much as a musical concert in the traditional sense. Indeed at times in the second half it was like being in a iMax theatre! From the start there were 'soldiers' with flags held aloft rising to the heavens above the band who were dwarfed behind the half erected wall of the title.

The sound quality was impressive which in large venues is not often the case. The location of the speakers meant that we were often assailed by sounds behind us as well as to our left and right. Indeed, a remarkable aural experience was about to unfold! 

Meanwhile on stage the wall slowly rose and the light show began to get into its swing. It is such a simple idea but so very effective. A real explosion of sound and vision, a true double whammy, married together by some of Pink Floyd's greatest songs.

 

The Wall is a rock opera that centres on Pink, a character Waters modelled after himself, with some aspects based on the band's original leader, Syd Barrett. Pink's life experiences begin with the loss of his father during WWII (Syd lost his father in the war), and continue with ridicule, abuse and torment from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother and finally, the breakdown of his marriage. These factors all contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall. The abusive teacher took on a life of his own when Another Brick in the Wall was released as a single and provided the band's only number-one hit (the last No 1 of the 1970s) in the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany and several other countries.

These puppet characters suddenly came to life and became a bit of a perspective altering feature. One moment we were concentrating on 'Pink' (in the form of Roger Waters) as a small, diminutive figure on stage and the next we were taking in these giant apparitions, five times life size! After a fine rendition of Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) Mr Waters thanked the kids for their singing and advised us that each show has local children up on stage to sing the chorus. How thrilled would these youngsters have been to have been part of this particular show? Meanwhile the wall got ever higher and blocked out the band block by block.

The idea for The Wall came to Waters on Pink Floyd's '77 In The Flesh tour which was their first playing large stadiums. On the final date in July in Montreal a small group of noisy fans near the stage irritated Waters so much that he spat at them (that might sound 'odd' today but back in 1977 the Punk movement was well under way and spitting was seen in a different light). He was not the only band member who felt disaffected by the show, Dave Gilmour refused to perform the usual encores. Later that night Waters spoke about his feelings of alienation and he expressed his desire to isolate himself perhaps by building a wall across the stage to separate the performers from the audience, and so The Wall was born! 

The Wall explores the ideas of abandonment and isolation, Pink is oppressed by his overprotective mother and tormented at school. Each of these traumatic episodes become "bricks in the wall". Pink eventually becomes a rock star, his relationships marred by infidelity, outbursts of violence and drug use. He finishes building his wall just as his marriage crumbles, completing his isolation from human contact.

During this part of the show, several well know logos were projected on to the backdrop, including Mercedes Benz, McDonalds, the Dollar sign, the Star of David, Crucifixes, Shell and the Hammer & Sickle. It seemed that no one was to be spared blame for the 'ugliness' being portrayed on the Wall. These 'culprits' were seen later emblazoned on a giant inflatable pig as it hovered menacingly above the crowd! It all seemed a little scatological and a bit 'off beam' but can one blame Mr Waters for having a dig at these corporate giants? 

In the show, Part One came to an end as the band, now invisible behind the wall, left the stage. During the break it acted as a backdrop for people recently killed in war or by acts of terrorism. Again we were treated to some interesting World Music and one of the tunes played was Amazing Grace by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. It seemed particularly fitting.

Part Two began, as side three of the original vinyl album does, with Hey You and the whole song was played out by the band, invisible behind the wall, which by now was 'blank' but soon was being used to great effect again. 

During the song Is There Anybody Out There? a large pair of eyes stared out at the crowd as several blue arc lights swept around the hall picking out patches of the audience. This all made for a thoroughly engaging show and added to the visual impact. 

Comfortably Numb (which came about when Waters was injected with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour) is one of the outstanding songs on the album and the live rendition was magnificent. The guitar solo by Dave Kilminster was outstanding, although sadly, given the distance we were from the stage, we were unable to enjoy watching him play. 

Hidden behind his wall, (although the band were now on stage in front of the wall!), Pink's crisis escalates, culminating in a hallucinatory on-stage performance where he believes that he is a fascist dictator performing at concerts similar to Neo-Nazi rallies. And so Roger Waters donned his fascist coat, gloves and shades and with a megaphone and machine gun he spouted his warped vision of the world. It was an unsettling experience and gave a hint at how powerful men of history have been able to manipulate the masses to their way of thinking. 

Pink then sets his men on fans he considers unworthy and in 2013 some of the original words may sound uncomfortable to many but I was glad that we haven't yet reached the stage of censoring lyrics to appease the easily offended. By this stage in the proceedings, whilst I was in no way offended, I was beginning to feel quite uneasy. Like many my age (born in the 50s as The Police once sang!) I had grown up with the music and my own mental images of what it all meant. However, here we were witnessing what the author had in mind when he wrote it all those years ago.

Incidentally, at 70 years of age George Roger Waters looked in rugged rude health and his singing and bass playing were extremely good. I would also like to mention the band and singers all of whom were exceptional and they really brought the whole show alive on the night. Credit to them that they made it all sound so fresh and vibrant given they have been touring the show since September 2010!

So back to the show! By now, tormented with guilt, Pink places himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall", opening Pink to the outside world. It was during this section of the show that I felt I had wondered into the local iMax cinema as much of what was projected on the backdrop was from the 1982 film. However, this is no criticism as seeing Gerald Scarfe's wonderfully warped, writhing, wriggling characters on such a scale was thrilling, another mind expanding experience! 

As the show drew to a close the wall collapsed and the band assembled on stage again to sing the final song Outside The Wall using the tune to the introduction of the first song of the night In The Flesh? thus bringing the show full circle. The song was a great, soothing counterpoint to the tumultuous and tormenting finale to the 'wall' and contains the line:

"After all, it's not easy banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall"

which summed up the night for me. At times I felt it wasn't easy but I was sure as hell glad that I had banged my heart against this particular "mad bugger's wall".

The following musicians have played on the tour:

Roger Waters – bass, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, trumpet on "Outside the Wall"
Graham Broad – drums, percussion, ukelele on "Outside the Wall"
Jon Carin – keyboards, guitars, lap steel guitar, programming, acoustic guitar on "Outside The Wall".
Dave Kilminster – guitars, banjo on "Outside the Wall", bass on "Mother"
Snowy White – guitars, bass on "Goodbye Blue Sky"

Harry Waters – Hammond organ, keyboards, accordion on "Outside the Wall"

G. E. Smith – guitars, bass, mandolin on "Outside the Wall"

Robbie Wyckoff – lead vocals (songs or parts of songs originally sung by David Gilmour)

Jon Joyce – backing vocals

Kipp Lennon – backing vocals

Mark Lennon – backing vocals

Pat Lennon – backing vocals

David Gilmour – guest guitarist and singer at Waters' London O2 show, 12 May 2011, pre-recorded harmony vocals on "Is there anybody Out There" line.

Nick Mason – guest percussion at Waters' London O2 show, 12 May 2011.

Check out other photos taken at the show.....

As a foot note, the show started on 15 September 2010 and finished on 21 September 2013 and by 21 July 2012 some 3,299,740 tickets had been sold (representing 98% of those available) and had made a gross revenue of $377,368,148 / £248,129,746! As I said at the start - a major event, indeed some might say, a phenomenon!

Dawes @ Broadcast, Glasgow 2 September 2013

There were a good number of folk, whose early flush of youth wasn't this century, in the bar upstairs before the gig and looking at them it was clear that many hadn't been out to see a band in quite some time! This is the appeal of Dawes. The tickets advised that the show would start at 20:00 and by 20:45 there was still no action and a few of the 'irregulars' were getting a bit concerned. Ah, the joys of live entertainment!

However, the 'doors' did eventually open and we were allowed down to the basement were we thought that we were going to expire in the crush and heat. Then at about 21:00 Marcus Foster came on stage to get things off to a sweaty start. 

Marcus played solo electrified acoustic guitar for most of his set, switching to electric guitar for a couple of his songs towards the end. His sound was akin to a pumped up Billy Bragg and, in parts, Tom Waits and his guitar playing was the kind where the notes in the the solos had space to stand out, if you know what I mean! His singing was earnest and powerful and I really enjoyed his set so I checked out his album Nameless Path (he performs with a band on it) from which many of the songs came and was further impressed. I should mention the fact that the small venue was packed and with the temperature ever-rising Marcus was clearly suffering (the sweat was running out of him!). However, he stoically played on and for that I congratulate him!

Check out Marcus here.....

So next up and somewhat later than expected, but none-the-less welcome for that, Dawes came on stage at about 22:00 to a rapturous welcome. The packed crowd was well warmed up, both by Marcus and by the room temperature. I reckon it was the hottest gig I have attended! The band kicked off with Side One, Track Two the funky, groovin' From a Window Seat the first single from the current album Stories Don't End and built it from there. 

Tay Strathairn

The band hail from L. A. and consists of (from left to right!) Tay Strathairn on keyboards / Taylor Goldsmith on lead guitar and vocals / Griffen Goldsmith on drums / Wylie Gelber on bass. Having just seen them on the Woods Stage at the End of the Road Festival I knew that we were in for a treat. However, 'up close and personal' in a small venue the lads seemed more relaxed and the music flowed magnificently from them. We were treated to songs from each of the three albums to date and Taylor's guitar work was spot on. I particularly enjoyed the solos on Fire Away, From The Right Angle and A Little Bit Of Everything.

Meanwhile Tay played some great laid backed piano and organ and used two padlocks to magnificent effect on several numbers. He placed them on certain keys so that they played a continuous note whilst he laid down the rest of the keyboards. His introduction to, and playing on, A Little Bit Of Everything was just superb! 

Griffen Goldsmith

Griffen was steady and pulsating on drums and played some fine rim shots! His facial expressions were a joy to behold as he really expresses himself and was clearly enjoying the gig. Oh, and his singing and harmonies were terrific. 

Taylor Goldsmith

The folk-rock music that the band play has at times been described as a kind of Laurel Canyon sound and has its roots in several bands including Neil Young and his former musical pals Crosby, Stills & Nash. This is especially evident in their harmonies, listen to Love Is All I Am from their début album North Hills (wonderful keyboards on the album version by former band member Alex Casnoff incidentally) to see what I mean. 

Wylie Gelber

In addition, I particularly like the way Taylor uses his guitar as an extra 'voice' on many of the songs. It adds significantly to the emotion of much of the band's work and the last songs on the first two albums bear testament to this fact. The stand out song on the new album for me is Someone Will and on the night Wylie played some real bouncy, pumping bass rhythms whilst Taylor picked out some fine solos, a joy to hear live. 

The band write some fine lyrics too. The afore mentioned Someone Will, A Little Bit Of Everything and Time Spent In LA are all worth a listen and the latter song opens with:

"These days my friends don't seem to know me

without my suitcase in my hand

and when I'm standing still I seem to disappear"

Also, the great song From The Right Angle starts off with:

"You found me on the other side of a loser's wining streak"!

Tay & Taylor

At one point Taylor commented that his lyrics were all based in truth but, and I think that I heard him correctly, that he had little experience of the words to the song Bear Witness. All I can say is, as someone who has had experiences like these, he has nailed the sentiment wonderfully. Also, his guitar solo on this song was sublimely subtle and poignant. 

As I mentioned before, the venue was a small, low ceilinged basement below a pub and on the night it was a sell out which made it extremely hot. By half way through the set the band members were onto their second set of towels and the audience were shedding loads of perspiration too! It was only later that I realised that my camera lens was coated in condensation which effected many of my photos on the night, But hay, we had a fantastic night and the band were on top form, I guess it helps when they have such great songs to perform!

We had a wonderful night and I think that the band enjoyed it too. I went home happy as I had heard my three favourite songs in the one set: 

Peace In The Valley / Someone Will / A Little Bit Of Everything.

Something tells me that the next time I see Dawes it will be in a much bigger venue so thanks for a superb gig lads and haste ye back!

Set List:

(22:00)
From A Window Seat
The Way You Laugh
Most People
Fire Away
Bear Witness
Western Skyline
From The Right Angle
Something In Common
When My Time Comes
Coming Back To A Man
Just Below The Surface
Peace In The Valley
Time Spent In LA
Someone Will
A Little Bit Of Everything

Encore(23:20)

Hey Lover
If I Wanted Someone (on the set list but not played)
(23:25)


Check out Dawes here.....

Check out the photos I took on the night.....

The End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset, UK 29 August - 1 September 2013

95 bands on 4 stages, a silent disco, a forest disco, a comedy tent hosting some 20 acts, a cinema tent showing 30 films, 27 workshops, 6 bars, 10 art installations, a woodland library, a healing retreat offering 36 treatments, countless stalls and 29 different food outlets. Not a bad wee set up for four days!

I arrived by plane and auto mobile in sunny North Dorset (I decided to forego the train!) at about 14:30 on Thursday 29 August, having set off from Glasgow at 06:00 and the queues were already forming at the check-in tent. There was a palpable sense of anticipation which rippled along the lines of eager festival goers and there was a feeling of good natured  camaraderie as we snaked our way along the dusty country lane that led to the end of the road!  

Once there, the surrounding fields were quickly transformed into an army of tents of all shapes, sizes, colour and designs as people marked out their territory that would be 'home' for the next four days. As I was 'glamping' it didn't take long to get settled in and I was soon out exploring the 'festival village' getting my bearings and sussing out the various bars and numerous food stalls, although, as the festival proper didn't start until the following day, some outlets were still setting up. No matter, there was still plenty on offer for the 'early birds'!

At this point I would like to mention the extremely well designed guide book which became essential as the days went by. So a big thank you to the editor Rich Thane and the 'all too numerous to mention' crew of writers, illustrators, photographers etc. who produced the book.

On the first night, there was a limited amount of music on show, however, there were still 5 acts to be seen in the Tipi Tent (in association with Communion Records on the Thursday) and I caught a few of the early bands from a distance but saw my first act at 22:00 and so the weekend began.........

Deap Vally in the Tipi Tent

The band hails from L.A. California and consists of Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums, vocals). These two are a striking pair, having Jimmy Page hair (coloured flaming red - Edwards and blonde - Troy) and I just loved the fact that the duo first met at a needlework class where Edwards taught Troy how to crochet! Given that their music is a crashing blend of Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes and the singing style leans towards a raucous Tina Turner, it says a great deal that they bonded over their love of the blues from such an inauspicious start. The gig was exhilarating, energetic and vibrant and just what 'the doctor ordered' to kick start my festival!
7 / 10

Lindsey Troy

Julie Edwards

Check out Deap Vally here......

Meanwhile outside, there were revellers with wine boxes, walking sticks, 'stagecoach' style baby trolleys with solar powered fairy lights, bandanas, people sitting on hay bails round a fire, bright lights around funky food stalls................  

Mark Mulcahy on the Garden Stage

Mark, on electric guitar, performed with bass and drums which provided a tight, compact sound to fill out his songs. These were mainly from his latest album "Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I love you" and by the end of the set, judging from the audience's reaction, that was just what those listening thought! Mark, who took to the stage at 15:00 with a bright afternoon sun overhead and butterflies flitting about, was dressed all in white which made me think back to the Devo days of yore. I was much taken with the drummer who also added poignant keyboards to many of the songs and this was a combination that I had not seen before, a drumming keyboard player! Their sound was good, the chat between songs entertaining and there was a wonderful Dylanesque quality to much of the music.  

Bass

8/10

Drummer /  Keyboard

Check out Mark Mulcahy here......

A quick 'hello' to Martin, Simon & their pals who we met during this set and were great fun throughout the rest of the festival whenever we met up. Thanks for the tips & advice! Also, a passing comment on the lad who performed an impromptu juggling act after the gig. Great stuff and all part of "the show".

Doug Paisley on the Garden Stage

Mother & baby peacock

This set was a one man band and I felt that Doug was somewhat dwarfed by the stage. However, he held our attention by playing some great guitar (some of which sounded quite Spanish!) and he regaled us with humorous stories between songs. One of which included offering to sell us some peacocks which had wandered along in front of the stage at one point! Doug, a 'left hander' from Toronto, Canada, played a great alt. country set which showcased material from his up and coming new album along with some fine renditions of earlier material. At times his singing reminded me of Kenny Rodgers although he looked more like a young Kris Kristofferson or Doug Clifford of Creedence Clearwater Revival!

8/10

Doug Paisley

Check out Doug Paisley here......

After some R&R and sampling a few wonderful local beers, including Zig Zag, Red Hunter and Sundancer to name but a few, I made my way back to the Garden Stage at 20:00 to catch some more music........

Matthew E White on the Garden Stage

As a 31 year old from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Matthew E White has shot to fame in a short period of time on the back of his cleverly titled début album Big Inner (say it quickly!) Amongst other accolades it was Uncut Magazines' Album of the month on its release last year. The 6 piece band filled the stage and were well spread out which gave us a more interesting visual experience compared to the earlier shows and, as night was now falling, the light show added to the overall experience. The band were on great laid back form and the keyboards and lead guitar were particularly good filling in the spaces between Mr White's sonorous, soulful, passionate singing. 

8/10

Matthew E White

Check out Matthew E White here.....

RM Hubbert in the Tipi Tent (in association with Uncut)

My first gig on Saturday morning was the talented, technically gifted solo act of RM Hubbert who hails from Paisley, Scotland although, as he explained during his between songs banter, he now lives on the Ayrshire coast. Robert took to the stage bare footed and proceeded to play some excellent soft, soulful 12 string Spanish guitar based on flamenco structures and techniques and sung some thoughtful lyrics as he played his way through his 45 minute set. Along the way we learned a bit about his emotional and mental states as he recounted various stories about his life and loves. Most of it was funny and humorous but clearly he hasn't had his troubles to seek. In parts I was reminded of early Lloyd Cole and the late Jackie Leven and his latest album Thirteen Lost & Found won the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2013 beating albums by Emeli Sande, Calvin Harris, Django Django and The Twlight Sad amongst others.

6/10

RM Hubbert

Check out RM Hubbert here.....

Pokey LaFarge on the Woods Stage

Next up was Pokey LaFarge and his snappily dressed 5 piece band. Pokey hails from Bloomington, Illinois and he was somewhat taken with the wonderful late summer weather that had hung around all day. I have to say, he wasn't the only one! The band were a wonderfully visual experience as well as sounding great and I would have awarded them the best dressed band award, if there was such a thing! Their sound is steeped in roots music and they are ambassadors for the 'old-time' genre, expounding the glories of early jazz, hot swing and ragtime blues. I would make special mention of the thoroughly entertaining Ryan Koenig on harmonica, snare drum and wash board. His thoughtful beard stroking was a joy to behold! He had a cool, cowboy thing going which contrasted well with Pokey's RAF style suit outfit. As I said a visual experience to behold!

8/10

Pokey LaFarge

Ryan Koenig

Check out Pokey LaFarge here.....

So now we get to the reason why I had travelled over 400 miles to get to the festival: Dawes! However, when I booked the End of the Road tickets back in May I did not know that the band would be stopping off in Glasgow 2 days after this gig. However, fear not, I made it back in time to see them on the Monday night! (See my review of their gig in Broadcast, Glasgow). Also, a quick hello to Ken Beveridge (the alcohol researcher!) who I met at the Dawes gig. Thanks for the tips about various bands!

Dawes on the Woods Stage

Like Deap Vally, Dawes are from L.A. California and are a 4 piece band who play folk rock and to date, they have 3 albums to their name. As they took to the stage at 15:30 the sun was starting to shine directly on the audience. This gave us an outer warmth to go along with our inner glow which was being stoked by the combined talents of the lads on stage. In particular, the lead guitar solos by singer/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith and the animated drumming and facial expressions of his brother Griffin were note worthy! However, Wylie Gelber on bass (looking like a latter-day Ramone!) and the cool, laid back Tay Strathairn on keyboards were also top notch. The set was mostly taken from the new album 'Stories Don't End' of which 'Someone Will' was a stand out but we also had the sublime 'Peace in the Valley' from the début album 'North Hills'. It was well worth the journey!
9/10

Dawes

Taylor Goldsmith

Check out Dawes here.....

One thing that appealed to me over the fist couple of days was the fact that most of the bands on show were from the lesser known reaches of popular music. No Miley Cyrus or One Direction here! The 'up shot' of this was that there were no TV cameras present. This meant that there were no 'wannabes' cluttering up the first 10 rows from the stage therefore those of us who wanted to get 'up close and personal' could do so without much hassle.

A few more observations as the days passed by were: post men and women on bikes; folk playing chess under the stars; families spread out on the slopes in front of the various outdoor stages, some sitting on camping chairs, others on the grass; wasps; an overheard snippet as I passed a security personnel "The lost teddy has now been found"; wasps; a Tudor style house; people on tandems; 'toy town' fire engine; wasps; kids using crushed beer cans as 'roller skates'; people over come with fatigue and more wasps!

Fossil Collective in the Tipi Tent

Martin had told me about Fossil Collective so I headed into the Tipi tent to catch them at about 22:00 on the Saturday night. This folky two piece had swollen to a five piece and I was much taken with their tight harmonies and their great guitar work and melodic piano to accompany their singing. To my ear they sound like an English version (they hail from Leeds) of the Fleet Foxes (no bad thing) and I really enjoyed their excellently crafted harmonies and their luxuriant, vibrant singing all put to floating, wispy melodies. A relaxing, swaying Saturday night was enjoyed by those of us who had packed out the tent.

7/10

Fossil Collective

Check out the Fossil Collective here.....

Daughn Gibson in the Tipi Tent

Daughn Gibson

Drummer

Another serendipitous find for me was the next 'band' up in the Tipi Tent, the enigmatic Daughn Gibson. A singer-songwriter and former drummer from Carlisle Pennsylvania, with a smidgen of Jim Morrison about him but very reminiscent of Scott Walker. He was an intriguing performer who sang and played a mini keyboard from which he extracted some weird and wonderful sounds! On the night, Daughn was joined by a drummer and a guitarist who played both lead and slide guitar to great effect. Both guys (sorry I couldn't find out who you were!) added great additional layers to the overall sound which was close to that found on the two albums released to date.

8/10

Guitar & Slide

Check out Daughn Gibson here.....

I felt I was on a roll now and decided to catch the last of the night's official acts so next up were Joe Gideon and the Shark, great name..........

Joe Gideon and the Shark in the Tipi Tent

Quoting from the wonderful programme here is what it says about Joe and the Shark:

"A semi-regular at the End of the Road, London siblings Joe and Viva (the shark) eke out an inventive take on post-punk - one that draws out involving narratives that reference Nick Cave's apocryphal catharses".

I wasn't too sure what to make of that. It didn't read as a 'ringing endorsement', however, I am open minded, especially where music is concerned' and so I gave them the benefit of four songs by which time I had noted the following:

"tub thumping lunacy from over active Shark. Joe played lead and bass guitar, neither to great effect and the spoken/singing style was derivative and dreary. The Emperor isn't wearing any clothes"

One review I read (http://thequietus.com/articles/11215-joe-gideon-the-shark-freakish-review) whilst generally extolling the virtues of the band's album 'Freakish' described Joe's delivery as an "unremarkable monotone". Maybe I was just too tired by then as after all I had been on the go for three and a half days!

2/10

Viva Gideon aka the Shark

Joe Gideon

(PS: 
As I said, I am open minded so I have given the new album 'Freakish' a couple of listens since, however, I am still less than convinced)

Check out Joe Gideon and the Shark here.....

By now it was 02:00 on Sunday morning and the festival was really thrumming. The beer and food stalls were still doing brisk business and there was a crescent moon out in a clear sky. Dew lay heavy under foot and those still about were wrapped up against a cold late August night. Time to turn in........

Sunday started early thanks to some noisy neighbours but that's camping for you! However, I made good use of the ear plugs that we had bought on the first day and was able to get a few more precious hours of sleep! After a great shower and a well received bacon roll and coffee, I was ready to tackle what was next up on the agenda. I caught some of Frontier Ruckus on the Woods Stage whilst enjoying a pint of some local real ale, of which there were 57 to choose from! I was really looking forward to hearing Houndmouth on the Garden Stage at 12:30 but for some reason they were unable to perform, so things kicked off with Damien Jurado.

Damien Jurado on the Garden Stage

I had heard great reports about Mr Jurado, a singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington and so I was delighted that his one man show lived 'up to the billing'. He took to the stage mid afternoon and there were high floating clouds dotted about the light blue September sky. With the sun periodically on our backs and shafting into the depths of the stage, Damien Jurado sat, hunched on a chair, regaling us with songs and humour. I particularly enjoyed his finger picking and he produced some wonderfully melodic sounds from his electrified acoustic fender guitar. Things became rather surreal when he asked, seeing as he was in England, if there were any Nigel's in the audience. If there were, they kept quiet! Undeterred, Damien asked if there were any Bernie's, Thomas's or Steve's at which point he hit 'pay dirt'! Steve (if that was really his name) began to over play his part when Damien said he could guess Steve's date of birth. We all waited eagerly to see if he could do it, having guessed April correctly (?) he then chose 24th and on hearing it was 'correct', Damien leapt about the stage like some demented half wit only to find out that Steve was joking. It was then that Damien took control again by saying that for the rest of the show he would sing only to Steve and so he sat staring right at him! It all made for a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining set, not least because of the wonderful, lilting, swaying guitar playing!
8/10    

Damien Jurado

Check out Damien Jurado here.....

Bo Ningen on the Big Top Stage

             Yuki or Kohhei                                                              Mochan                                           

Next up was another band recommended to me by various folk I had been speaking to, the extremely energetic Bo Ningen from Japan. To quote from their web site they are:

"enlightenment activists from far east psychedelic underground"

The band are an androgynous 4 piece consisting of drums, two guitars and a singing bassist and they were a riot of acid-punk noise, long flowing gowns and hair. A veritable visual and aural feast which pumped and pulsated at a rollicking pace as they fired through one song after another with little time in between. On stage they were loud and the somewhat high pitched vocals by Taigen were at odds with the deep, brash, thumping, pounding sound produced by the band. Mochan kept the beat metronomically whilst Yuki and Kohhei swirled and danced around the stage lashing out guitar cords and solos like two whirling dervishes! I came out of the Big Top tent feeling as though I had seen Black Sabbath on speed shaken up with a good measure of the Wooden Shjips! A wild, joyous experience indeed and there were plenty of banging heads to testify to this!

7/10

Taigen

Check out Bo Ningen here.....

Caitlin Rose on the Woods Stage

Caitlin Rose & band

Caitlin Rose, a quirky 26 year old country singer from Nashville, Tennessee took to the Woods Stage with her 5 piece band at around 17:45 on the Sunday night . There was a large, enthusiastic, appreciative audience assembled for her to play to. Her singing style has been compared to Patsy Cline, Iris DeMent and Lorretta Lynn and she reminded me of the great singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell, also from Nashville! With two albums to her credit, along with a 7 track EP, she had a reasonable back catalogue from which to chose but naturally she showcased her current album 'The Stand-in'. The band were tight and obviously enjoying themselves, although I felt that Andrew Combs on acoustic guitar and vocals seemed a bit superfluous. I was later to learn that Andrew is in fact the support act on Caitlin's current tour (see my review of her gig in the ABC Academy in Glasgow) and that he was on stage as a guest! The rest of the band (drums, bass, lead electric guitar and pedal steel guitar) played some great stuff and I particularly enjoyed the interplay between the lead and the pedal steel guitars. Some fine solos were laid down around which Ms Rose wove her delicate vocals to great effect.

8/10

Caitlin Rose

Check out Caitlin Rose here.....

Another of the bands I had picked out as ones to see were New York's / Philadelphia's the Walkmen. So I headed off to the Garden Stage one last time.

The Walkmen on the Garden Stage

The 5 piece band set off at a rollicking pace at about 20:15 and tore through their hour long set, rocking & rolling us along the way. I was blown away by the power of lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's vocals which live were especially impressive and over all the band were loud and raucous which was just grand! Whilst the band were excellent, I would like to make mention of Paul Maroon who played guitar and piano. His solos on both instruments were a delight. Combine the quality of musicianship with the pop / rock melodies of the songs and you have a winning formula, I would also add that, as with many bands, catching them live really does add another dimension to their sound. Thrilling, pumping, rhythmic, soaring, pounding, we got it all and the light show helped to add a fabulous visual dimension to the set. At the end I felt drained and exhilarated and a little deaf to boot. Great stuff!
8/10

The Walkmen

Hamilton Leithauser

Check out The Walkmen here.....

Andrew Barr

So that wrapped up my weekend at the End of the Road Festival. However, before I sign off I would like to make mention of a couple of 'unofficial' late night gigs that I caught on the Sunday night in the Tipi Tent. The Barr Brothers were first up. An imaginative 4 piece including guitar, drums, bass and harp! I say drums, but part of the drum kit was a tyre-less bicycle wheel and there was a harmonica and organ thrown in to the mix for good measure and great effect. Their sound is reminiscent of the Low Anthem and as if to underscore the fact, Daniel Lefkowitz (a former member of the Low Anthem before starting Futur Primitif) was invited on stage to sing a rousing version of Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone. This had the packed crowd singing along with gusto! I was also taken with the strange but simple use of thread which Brad Barr (one of the two brothers of the title) wrapped around his guitar string and when he pulled it away from the instrument it created an ethereal violin-esque sound! Odd but simply effective and I was thoroughly entertained by the band.
8/10

The Barr Brothers

Sarah Page

Daniel Lefkowitz & Brad Barr

Check out the Barr Brothers here.....

Next up was Caitlin Rose and her band and they played a less formal set than what we had heard earlier in the day, but none the less enjoyable. Unfortunately, Caitlin's voice was suffering and it got worse as the set progressed. Even the throat lozenge supplied by an audience member didn't help, however, the crowd took it all in good spirits. Another thoroughly enjoyable gig by Ms Rose and her band. 

7/10

Caitlin Rose

The Tipi Tent Bar

There was more music to be had but I was flagging having seen nigh on 20 bands and heard countless others over 4 days, so I headed back to my tent to 'sleep the sleep of the just'! So before I finish up, I would like to congratulate and thank the End of the Road team Simon, Sofia, Chris, Philip, Jemma, Molly, Jason and Sophie for putting on an excellent festival of wonderful bands all supported by fabulous food and drink outlets. It was truly a magical and liberating four days, thanks again and I hope to be back next year..................................................

Big Top Tent

Entrance to the Garden Stage area

The tea Stop (great bacon rolls!)

"Yours truly"

Feel free to click this link to see more photos taken over the weekend:

Check out some of the other photos I took over the weekend here.....