Anna Coogan @ CCA, Glasgow 05 October 2013

I have always been interested in how people find out about an artist. Back in my youth, and hay, I admit, it wasn't this century, it seemed so much simpler. We gathered around the radio on a Sunday night to listen to Radio One on the BBC and catch the 'Hit Parade'! It was easy but it also meant that we all listened to the same stuff, but now, ha! We have the internet, blogs, Sound Cloud, My Space, FaceBook, YouTube etcetera, etcetera, etcetera......

So how did I get to hear about Anna Coogan, you might ask. Well, a friend invited several of us to his house to attend 'a house' concert. This was a new idea to me but seems fairly popular on the other side of the pond. Put simply, an artist is invited to perform in a 'fan's' house and the attendees pay a nominal sum for the pleasure! As it turned out, it was a pleasure, a pleasure indeed! Afterwards I spoke with Anna and when she told me that she was playing a gig in CCA I took the opportunity to go and listen to her again. 

Therefore, on a relatively mild October evening I went to the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) on Glasgow's Sauchiehall St, named after the sauchie haugh or willow meadow which once surrounded the area around the early 1800's, and settled down in anticipation of a great show.

Anna, born in Seattle, raised in Boston and now resident in upstate New York was once a whitewater kayaker and a fisheries biologist! She is also a former opera singer with a fine sense of song writing in the 'story telling' mould. Indeed, some of her latest songs (a few of which were 'outed' at the CCA) will be recorded over the next few weeks have a strong Scottish flavour, based as they are on a book of Scottish poems. She acquired the book for 'hee haw' (as we say around here!) from her local library. The opening song was True Love (I believe, but it may have a different title!) and it is a wonderful example of her current infusion of Scottish lyrics and musical phrasing. It is full of insightful imagery of Glasgow, the Clyde, Scottish hills and glens and all this from a young Americana singer

On the night, Anna who has been compared to artists such as Kelly Willis, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, was dressed in a bright red and white dress and the almost obligatory 'cowboy boots'. She settled on to the stage and played a handful of songs whilst accompanying herself on a clear, crisp electrified acoustic guitar. Her 'patter' between songs was entertaining and informative as she explained how she came to write each song. The song Auchengeich was about the mining disaster of 18 September 1959 in which 47 men died. The youngest was 22 and the oldest 62 years of age. It was a particularly emotive example given that the Auchengeich mine was in Lanarkshire, just 20 minutes down the road from Glasgow.

Another example of her attention to detail in her lyrics came in her rendition of the wonderful song from her The Nowhere, Rome Sessions album from 2012 called Red Shoes, Black Dress. The song, about procrastination in love, includes the lyrics:

"Some day when you wake up, babe, you won't be so young any more. You won't be so young any more. So the next time babe, that you fall in love, don't you make her wait, oh give her the stars above, give her the sun and moon. Take her on a honeymoon, oh give her a Diamond ring, oh give her everything. Don't you make her wait......". 

Her explanation about the song she wrote with J D Foster called Just To See How It Feels about thinking what it would be like to not be married was also illuminating especially as she wrote it during a visit from her in-laws! Come Ashore from her 2011 album The Wasted Ocean was a real delight and the stripped down version added to the intensity of the lyrics. Another thoughtful and insightful song was The Birth Of The Stars, written in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings last year, however, even a song such as this was sung with an upbeat sense of hope. I am always extremely impressed by an artist who can command a stage and has the confidence to sing solo such poignant lyrics! By the reaction of the enthusiastic and receptive audience, I would say that I wasn't the only one to appreciate her heartfelt lyrics and melodic guitar playing. 

Anna brought her show to a close with May You Have The Wind At Your Back which has a very Scottish phrasing to the musical accompaniment and a wonderfully soulful sound to it. She also invited the audience to participate in the final chorus singing "May you have the wind at your back tonight, may you have your limbs, may you have your life, may you hold on to each other tight, may have the wind at your back tonight ". Given the oblong nature and acoustics in the voluminous venue at the Centre for Contemporary Arts it was a very effective & emotive experience and I feel that this song will serve her extremely well in the years to come. 

I for one, am looking forward to the results of her imminent recording sessions........

Check out Anna Coogan here.....

A Sudden Burst of Colour @ King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow 01 October 2013

I was first introduced to A Sudden Burst of Colour on a night out with a friend who told me of a young instrumental band from Motherwell, some 15 miles south east of Glasgow, who were "making waves" on the local music scene. So when I found out that they were playing at King Tuts I went along to see what I thought for myself.

By the time I entered the recently renovated King Tuts Wah Wah Hut on St Vincent St, on the fringes of Glasgow's central business district, I had listened to a couple of the band's videos on YouTube and was keen to hear more. The most evident reference to their style and sound would be another local band Mogwai, and one of the obvious similarities between the two bands is the lack of lyrics. Stuart Braithwaite, one of Mogwai's singer / guitarists once said "I think most people are not used to having no lyrics to focus on. Lyrics are a real comfort to some people. I guess they like to sing along and when they can't do that with us they can get a bit upset." This doesn't seemed to have stood in the way of Mogwai on their way to success and I see no reason for it to do so for the young lads in A Sudden Burst of Colour. It certainly didn't seem to 'upset' anyone on the night!

On our way up to the venue I was taken with the names recently added to the stairs, acting both as a roll call of superb bands and a reminder of what a great wee place King Tuts is. There have certainly been many wonderful nights in this small but vibrant little venue. 

On the night I would guess that there were some 50-70 people gathered in front of the small stage with many more milling about in the adjacent bar area or just popping in to catch a glimpse of whoever was playing. The band came on stage at about 20:15 and their set consisted of only 4 songs, however, with each one lasting around 5 or 6 minutes we got to hear them for the next half hour or so. 

The lads lined up on stage with Liam Shaw on drums at the back and centre, Callum Brand on lead guitar to our left, Calum Farquharson on bass in the middle and Luke Duncan on rhythm guitar on the right.All of the band were born in 1993 except 'the old' boy Luke who is a year older at 21 and the band have been together since March 2012! 

A Sudden Burst of Colour

Callum Brand

The band's opener was Afterglow which started with a low thrum of guitar and some simple bass lines and then the drums came crashing in to pound out a metronomic beat over which Callum Brand laid some fine high end guitar notes. It had the audience nodding their heads and tapping their feet from the outset and as the song progressed there was some fine interplay between the drums / bass and the two guitars culminating in a thrash of staccato sounds which then eased off and the drum and lead guitar took over to provide a quiet section before the whole delicious cacophony came back together to bring the song to a thumping close.

I was very impressed with the drumming which, probably due to the lack of the traditional verse / chorus / verse lyric structure, was given space in the songs to act as an equal rather than the more usual 'time keeper'. Liam played some great stuff and the use of his symbols added significantly to the over all sound.

Calum Farquharson

Another song, Riptide again had Liam's drumming as an integral part, especially at the start when he thrashed out some solid, sonorous beats. Calum Farquharson played fittingly fine rock steady bass & along with Liam the two of them provided a concrete platform to the song. Calum reminded me of the late, great Ian Kevin Curtis and I half expected him to grab the mike and start singing!

Some of the musical references I detected, apart from the generic East African style guitar i.e. single notes picked from the higher register of the fretboard (a sound favoured by the likes of Vampire Weekend), were Hank Marvin, John Martyn, the American collective Friends of Dean Martinez and a smoother version of Wooden Shjips. As the quotes from the band's web site (www.asuddenburstofcolour.com) make clear their musical style is ethereal, imaginative, pleasingly melodic and they create evocative soundscapes to boot! As Cast the Net Promotions say of their music on the web site”Think somewhere in the massive void between Massive Attack and The Deftones” and you have them to a T! I was to learn later that the band's musical preferences include Deftones, Incubus and the multi-instrumentalist DJ Matt Preston aka Phaeleh from Bristol.

The lads then finished off their potent, professional and studied performance with the track Zen (which is right up there with Friends of Dean Martinez's opener Landfill off their Lost Horizon album) and showcases the band in a more subdued, subtle and mellow vein. Throughout the song Luke's rhythm guitar 'harmonised' fluently with Callum 'Brandy' Brand's lead and there is some wonderful picked guitar work by Callum two thirds of the way in as the track starts to build in intensity (again fine work from drummer Liam) before fading out on a few solo guitar notes. Sublime!

The band were to release their independently produced début 3 track EP ‘Reborn’ in April 2013 and it is available in both physical and digital formats, which can be found on the Music / Merchandise pages of their web site. The EP was officially released at a sold out show in Glasgow on April, 5th 2013 and the band are currently working on their second EP which will be completely self produced, engineered, mixed & released in due course.

So to recap, if you like mood music which paints wonderfully imaginative images with fine and delicate brush strokes and evokes wide open soundscapes. Or indeed, you like the pumped up quasi thrash metal guitar sound, then this bunch of talented young lads cover the spectrum. Oh, and you can use your own imagination to add 'pictures' to the tunes, you really don't always need lyrics to guide you there! 

To hear the band, click this link.....

To see other photos taken that night, click here.....

Set List:

Afterglow (on EP)
Riptide (new)

Let go or be dragged (new)

Zen (on EP)

To visit the band's web site, click here....

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.....