6 Music Festival Day 3 - With A Baggy Finale

PSB at the 6 Music Festival at the Sage

This was the main day that I wanted to see , though every day was worth going to see. Today was great because it was shared with a lot of friends who I went with , as well as a few who I didn't know were going. We started with an attempted lunch at the Central who unfortunately ran out of food due to the overspill for the 6 Music Festival.

We then went for coffee at The Baltic before wandering into the Sage for the first act. It turned out that John Hopkins the headliner in Hall 2 had pulled out resulting in lots of clashes for me. British Sea Power, Nadine Shah (the stand in act and so brilliant) , and King Creosote to start off with , then Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wire and Gaz Coombes next up and the night finished with a choice of The Charlatans , The Maccabees and Teleman . This is just my own personal tastes but as I said in my last post Festivals just mean you miss out on some good stuff because , in your opinion, there's better stuff to see. This festival worked extremely well because it's still very cold outside and the festival was completely inside in The Sage.

The only problem is that the concourse stage resulted in a crushed crowd for the popular acts such as Public Service Broadcasting, they need to think about re siting the Concourse Stage , maybe at the West End so that you can use the whole of the concourse to watch the gig.

Anyway like yesterdays post this was my choice of viewing and listening:

British Sea Power:

 This was the first difficult decision of the day especially given that Nadine Shah was now playing . I caught some of King Creosote while helping my friend Bethany get her guitar and bags to to the cloakroom after being escorted there by security, They seemed to be under the impression that she was some kind of guerrilla busker!

Anyway I went into Hall 1 and  British Sea Power were already under way accompanied by on stage flora although the fauna was absent. The sound all over the Sage is the best I've heard anywhere and British Sea Power used it to full advantage.

I must confess , despite owning several albums , I don't know any songs by British Sea Power apart from "Waving Flags" , just love allowing the whole album to wash over me, and their set was treated in the same way. Very powerful rock, and a brilliant start to the night.

Gaz Coombes:

A lot of people thought Gaz Coombes would be "all right". About fifteen minutes in they were shoe horning people into seats. Gaz and the band were not highlighted on stage , but the songs were fantastic and I think a lot of people will be ordering a copy of Matador on the back of this performance. I can name check songs such as Buffalo , 20/20 and Detroit because I've been playing the album for a few weeks after hearing songs on BBC 6 Music.

The sound was amazing and the crowd, like me , loved every minute. By the end of this set you had had your moneys worth for the festival.

Neneh Cherry:

Neneh Cherry had the second smallest band I'd seen at the festival, just here , drums and keyboards / electronics. Despite the minimal line up the sound filled the hall and the songs had the crowd going. Her music is beat heavy but she does sing and her father ,  trumpeter Don who died twenty years ago, would have been so proud and impressed with her.

Public Service Broadcasting:

This was on the concourse and because so many people wanted to see it, it ended up with an , in my opinion, dangerous crush in front of the stage. I moved out to the side and enjoyed another brilliant set featuring excellent visuals , material from the new album "The Race For Space" culminating with the now classics "Spitfire" and "Everest". It's not often you get educational great music , but with these guys you do.

The Charlatans:

 The final set of the festival for me and Hall 1 was so packed that I ended up in the back row at the top of level 3. The band looked a long way off but immediately the crowd were "up for it, mixing new material with classics like "One To Another" , "The Only One I Know" and "Country Boy" before finishing in a glorious finale of "Sproston Green"

A brilliant end to a brilliant festival.  Now it's time to come back down to earth.

Lord Rochester Sets Sail In The Schooner

Didnt expect to be writing this post , but my friends Dave and Julie Campbell have taken over The Schooner in Gateshead and last night was the first gig featuring the excellent Lord Rochester. I'd seen Lord Rochester at the Central Bar (then under the tenure of Mr Campbell) on the recommendation of someone or otrh , and he's one striking dude with his Bo Diddley sound and custom square guitar, backed by the equally excellent Lady Muck on bass and Siberian Tim on Maracas driven drums (something you don't see every day) . There's a few tracks from the night on my youtube channel here

Lord Rochester's website is here with all the details of how they came into existence, plus the albums and singles available , though you can grab a copy of the excellent Hey Here. I also noticed the Mods and Rockers EP here and the only download I could find is Deathbed.

Needless to say the venue is excellent and the setlist was just one good song after another mixing originals with Bod Diddly and Chuck Berry classics such as Almost Grown.

If you get a chance to see them , do not miss them,

Summertyne 2012

Again we have had excellent weather and excellent music for the Summertyne Festival of Musical Americana . The big guns appeared in Hall One and numebred among them John Hiatt , Wanda Jackson and Dr John. In the Sage itself there were lots of displays and exhibibition , then amazing , in my mind , were Geoff Marston's Suitcases Full Of Blues , truly original works of art. The Jumpin' Hot Stage stage was home to some amazing performances , of which I saw three , interluded by the Hot Dog Eating Competiting and The Central Gateshead overseen by Dave Campbell . The winner took the golden Dog with 11 in the alloted ten minutes , with a couple of creditable ten , but nowhere near the world record 69 !! .

Anyway back to the musical acts I caught:

• Errol Linton , and excellent blues harpist with a superb backing band , and a great voice. Well so good that I made sure I got hold of his CD "Mama Said" from the stall next to the stage.
• Interlude for Hot Dog Competition at The Central
• Mary Jean Lewis & The Starlight Boys were next up , a well turned out Western Swing style combo , sparking some inpressive dancing among the crowd. I find this type of music a little sedate but I was way in the minority in this crowd . Very well received.
• Finally the band I had come to see , the Swiss Zydeco influenced Mama Rosin. As expected they played a storming sent giving their washboard and triangle plenty of hammer. "La Pistolet" appeared as the penultimate song in their main set , before the band were recalled for an encore.

A wonderful finish to a wonderful day. My CD colletion and general well being extended by the experience !!