The Chestwigs Wear The Fox Hat!

Last night I visited The Old Fox in Felling for the second time. There were a lot of posters for upcoming gigs , notably AKQ Stottin on the 29th of November, which I can't make because I'm on holiday. Last night was to see the brilliant Star Spangled Chestwigs , and was chatting with all the band before the gig and Adas told me that this was where they played their first gig around 1992/3. So tonight was the first gig they'd played since Maz and Shev rescued the place from being turned into flats. So actually a historical event really, my favourite live band on the North East circuit returning to where it all started.

Shev is an Abominable Showman

Anyway last night Shev eschewed his usual sparkly dress in favour of either a Gorilla suit , or he's come out about his bodily hair problem, but he was a consummate frontman leading a crowd in a rousing "SHITE" chant.

The layout of the Old Fox means that it's difficult to take photos or video when there's a decent crowd in , so I didn't get many pictures or take any video. Actually this is a good thing because in makeds you concentrate on what you're there for rather than trying to take pictures.

THe SHITE List

The sound was excellent and the crowd had a great time, I did take a photo of the "SHITE LIST" so I know all the songs that were played last night, and there were a lot. They show no mercy to Abba , The Sweet , Slade , Kenny Rogers and John Denver.

Also included was stool racing and a touching rendition of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads".

Another brilliant night and was great talking to the band before hand , also an excellent crowd and don't think it will be too long before I get back down there, you should too , it's straight off Felling Metro!

The Australian Connection

My last three gigs in Newcastle have had an antipodean theme running through the. There has been a Nick Cave night, Dave Swarbrick regaled us with tales of his time in New South Wales and tonight Pauline Murray was playing a warm up gig for her Australian tour.

The location was the Tyneside Bar and Cafe which is a great venue for intimate acoustic gigs.

Pauline Warms Up

I spoke to Pauline , before and after the gig , and she was lovely and engaging, signing CDs for many people and talking and finding time for everyone. Unfortunately I'd left my wallet at home so could n't buy a copy of the CD (which you can get here) but I will get myself a copy tomorrow, I owe her for an excellent gig.





To be on a stage with just you and an acoustic guitar must be daunting , but the guitar sound and her voice perfectly complemented each other and and sounded full and warm , making the hour she was onstage seem like five minutes to the appreciative audience. Australia is certainly in for a treat and hope she will treat the UK to some more solo outings.

It's funny , while Penetration were one of my favourite bands I never saw them in my youth but have seen them twice recently, so this was the third time I've got to see Pauline. Click here to see the other gigs I documented.

Tonight Pauline played a selection of new songs , Invisible Girl's songs and Penetration songs including Lovers of Outrage, Don't Dictate before finishing with a surprise excellent Australian standard. Although I knew the band versions of the songs the stripped down acoustic performances by Pauline showed how brilliant they are.

All in another great night at the Tyneside provide by my a wonderful singer, and the company of friends old and new. A great night.

Cave Night On Tyneside

To mark the release of the Nick Cave film "20,00 Days On Earth" last Friday the Tyneside Bar and Cafe hosted a night of Nick Cave music featuring the bands The Girl With The Replaceable Head, St James Infirmary and Stagerrin' Jon Lee and The Good Eggs featuring my friends Jon Lee, Sheena Revolta and Bethany Elen Coyle all looking the part and sounding wonderful.

Good Eggs

To a backdrop of Niclk Cave behind his deck The Good Eggs opened with "Where The Wild Roses Grow" with Jon taking Nick's part and Bethany being Kylie to excellent effect. Next guest was Sheena Revolta and the band entertained with another four songs as I drank fruit juice and had a blueberry muffin (my tea) , definitely not your average night out. Afterwards I chatted with Jon and Sheena (who gave me a big hug) and the crowd and performers were all having a great time.

Next up were the entertaining St James Infirmary , apparently from Ashington who were funny and treated us to for more songs after explaining about the contract they had with the Tyneside.

Finally The Girl With The Replaceable Head ghosted on to complete the night, at times sounding almost ethereal , although the bassist sported a beard you could hide a badger in.

All in all a great night, talked and chatted with some great people , and now just need to see the film. Ironically the song "Stagger Lee" has just come on the player so will have to have that as the post song.

The Fantastic Mr Old Fox

Shev's Fayre

Two of my great friends rescued The Old Fox in Felling from bing turned into flats. The location is fall off Felling Metro and then into the front door, it's probably almost more convenient for me than The Doll at The Black Bull, but anyway.....

Coming it it's a fantastic atmosphere, and everyone was really friendly and talkative, I'd gone with my friend Lynn so obviously she knows everyone in the world, but this isn't a pub review, however it's one of a group of three pubs plus Jaz's Fish Bar withing sight of each other. If the original singer with Marillion has a Jazz Club would it be Fish's Jazz Bar? Whatever.

Rigid Digits in Stage

Anyway the the icing on this cake was the excellent Rigid Digits , a Stiff Little Fingers tribute band with a brilliant front man who was extremely affable and friendly despite me mistaking him for the guy out of AKQ Stottin.

The venue is small but the sound was great and the band opened with "Roots ,Radicals,Rockers, Reggae" and their set makes you want to get out your SLF albums when you get home.

The between song banter is great with the odd swear word thrown in in the best possible taste. They are definitely another of my favourite live bands and you should catch them if you can. A brilliant gig , great attitude and great fun.

Part of a fantastic night at The Old Fox in Felling.

If My Memory Serves Me Well .... Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick At The Tyneside Irish Centre

The Dynamic Duo

A couple of weeks back I came across an advert for Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick playing live in Newcastle. In fact it was at the Tyneside Irish Centre , a venue I've played at many times. The last time I saw these two play it was on major stages , so , as I say , the intimate setting sort of surprised me, but I know Martin Carthy has played La Rosa in Whitby before (He lives in Robin Hood's Bay).






Anyway I was lucky to chat with both of them and they were great to talk with . I said that I'd first encountered the pair on a John Peel session playing "Price Heathen" , which Martin acknowledged was an incredible song. I also said my favourite Dave Swarbrick moment was the live version of Fiddlestix on Fairport Live which I said I wouldn't  think they would play which raised a laugh. The fiddle playing is so fast I can't even think about it in my head , maybe that's just me being low.

Anyway I can still remember most of the songs played , which is unusual for any concert that I go to , you remember highlights , but seldom the order in which they were played. Also almost every song , with chat took ten minutes , amazing regimentation for such a laid back and brilliant concert.

Set 1:

• Sovay
• The Death of Queen Jane 
• (Forgot)
• Three jigs and reels
• My Son John (updated for Iraq and Afghanistan)
• John Barleycorn 

Set 2:

• The Royal Oak
• Brave Admiral Cole
• (Forgot)
• Three jigs and reels
• (Forgot)
• Byker Hill

 Encore:

• New South Wales

Dave Swarbrick told a great story about his time in New South Wales , and Martin said that Martha hald told him that leaving the stage and coming back for an encore was a waste of time.

But it was a brilliant night and I felt privileged to have been there.

Another Great Night At Think Tank?

Punishment Tour

I nearly didn't make this gig tonight, the tickets could only be delivered by post if you ordered on line, RPM had not been informed of the gig and are the normal outlet in Newcastle for Think Tank? tickets , and Think Tank? weren't answering the phone, so I hoped I could pay on the door, and they let me in when I got there.

When I got in I noticed a lot of people were putting in ear plugs. The gig to me didn't sound too load , is that because I'm getting old or are todays youth soft/sensible? I remember Ted Nugent said "If It's Too Loud, You're Too Old" yet HE wore earlpugs, but we all know he'sa numpty.

Almost two months back I had my first gig at Think Tank? in Newcastle (apparently the question mark is part of the name) , essentially to see Bad Pollyanna, who were third on the bill with Ayria and Inertia. I was really impressed with them that night , and they were on with two excellent bands.

Tonight they were as part of the support on the William Control Punishment Tour , along with AshesToAngels and local lad Nic Wood.

The gig was better attended than the last one , and the atmosphere great, everyone one was friendly and dressed as you'd expect on what essentially was a GOTH night, but I was expecting three bands so was surprised when Nic Wood took the stage,

Nic Wood

Nic Wood @ Think Tank?

Nic Wood is a nice guy , and to talk to him he's really engaging and fun , and so is his onstage banter, however though he only has an acoustic guitar, the songs and performance are an incendiary fire storm, the guitar style wandering into flamenco on speed with needles. It isn't easy listening but the crows loved him and worth seeing if you get the chance , although thanks to Youtube youcn without leaving your chair! My friend Jane said "He's mental, but good mental" , an excellent evaluation and a great opener for the night. The video below is Nic at the O2 Academy

Bad PollyAnna

Bad Pollyanna were the band that I'd come to se, and are great promoters of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation (Click on the link to find out more and support them, and if anything were better than last time, although you would expect that. It surely cant be long before they are headlining at bigger venues than this. They were the purest Goth act on the night and the sound and performance was perfect. Opening with "Monstrous Child", they went through their excellent repertoire which I am a lot more familiar with including "Define Me" and "Hollow". After the gig they asked to meet with fans for photographs and I saw a lovely one of  Olivia with my friend Barbara's niece Melissa. Incidentally the drummers name is Valerian , a name used by Gary Numan when he was in Tubeway Army! All in all another brilliant gig.

AshesToAngels

AshestoAngels are a Bristol band who play very fast with smiles on their faces and my first impression was Slipknot without the masks on speed. I tried to get pictures but the singer was all over the stage like he was on a rocket powered pogo stick, as the set progressed either the songs got better or I got more used to the sound, but by the end of the set I thought they were great and so did the crowd. I can't remember any of the song names , but 666 was shouted a lot during the opener. I didn't know if I'd stay for long after Bad Pollyanna, these guys kept me there with a brilliant set. I don't know if they played Dorian but the video is great, see this and you'll want to see them.

William Control

William Control were the band most of the crowd had come to se, with the crowd chanting "William". The band look amazing , I was thinking Michael Buble via The Addams Family and early Alice Cooper. They showed great taste by coming on to Sam Cooke's "Touch The Hem Of His Garment", both appropriate and inappropriate at the same time , a wonderful gospel song to introduce a very darkside band!.

The vocals were excellently stylised and enunciated and supported by an excellent, if disturbingly attired, band. Not for the faint hearted , very dark , but again they should be playing bigger venues. They were, for me, a great finale to another great night at Think Tank? The crowd were ecstatic and I assume went home wanting more.

The Price We Pay was the opener last night, to give you an idea of what they sound like.

Two Sevens Clash again with Culture

One of my favourite albums of the seventies was Two Sevens Clash by Culture, which I was introduced to by the late great John Peel (Tom Ravenscroft's dad). I was surprised to see a facebook post for Culture , appearing at the Cluny supported by the Rasites a British Roots band , so quickly checked up and yes this was Culture. Th eplace was full not rammed and there was some dub playing until the Rasites came on about 9 ...

The Rasites

The Rasites

Immediately engaged with the crowd, and playing songs and grooves that whether you knew them or not , you were into within seconds of them starting. The crowd were under their spell and they started with an instrumental before launching into songs. I'm sorry I cant give you a tracklist but I would definitely pay to see this band and by the time they said they were playing their last song after a half hour the crowd were in love with them.

Culture

Culture backed by The Rasites

Then the surprise was that the Rasites bassist said Culture were coming on and the Rasites stayed as the backing band. The magic of Culture is that as soon as a song starts you are into it whether you know it or not and the crowd were dancing and singing along with all choruses, with lots of references to Jah , Rastafari , and Ganja with a chant of "Legalize It" which is a sentiment any sensible person would agree with.



The place was hot as were the band who still cut it and this was the fourth brilliant gig I have been to this August and we are only two and a half weeks it. There is another on this Friday but tonight has been a Culture night and I will be checking out the Rasites again. If you get the chance to catch Culture on this tour do it, you will not be disappointed and if you see the Rasites on any bill check them out , they are a brilliant band.

OK that's it , I'm off to bed now.