King Charles Man Made Gallery Circus at The Riverside with a bit of Johnny Marr

Last nights gig was my first at The Riverside (formerly Sea), a night club about twenty feet away from the waters of the River Tyne and part of the Think Tank? empire. The gig was absolutely superb apart from the toilets overflowing and leaking onto the crowd below and threatening £30Ks worth of sound console that had to be protected by bin liners, they seriously need to resite the toilets. But I managed to avoid the shower and took a spot behind the consoles which gave us a better view of the bands. The names of the bands run together sound like some kind of profound statement and they all gave an amazing show

Man Made

Man Made on Tour

A three piece, long hair real rock ban, and another case of me not being too bothered about the support band, but I am so glad that I caught them . Shook hand and congratulated the guitarist after the gig and they can grace bigger stages than here. Vocals and guitars blended into excellent songs which made the time fly by and they are playing Think Tank? on March 7th so that gig should be put into your diary straight away but at the moment is not showing up on the web site.


The lead guitarist is Niles Marr son of Johnny Marr and he is pretty good, and that could explain a lot. I am so glad I saw them. Their facebook page is here.

Gallery Circus

I first saw Gallery Circus at a Burlesque night at Bar Loco (I think is was Barcolo then) , and expected a couple of angsty student, they were actually good and one of the highlights of the night. Five years and they are still a two piece playing a non stop exhilarating aural assault that took your breath away.The video for Hollywood drip gives you an idea of why you need to see these guys. Gallery Circus are something else.

By the end of their set, you really had had your moneys worth for the gig and the headliner was yet to appear....

King Charles

The fancy clothes and ringlets have gone , but there's still a fair barnet there, King Charles started with a new song solo, before the band hit the ground running with Mississippi Isobel. Kirsty said that every King Charles gig she goes to there's more and more people know the words to the songs. I still think he's the best thing since Adam Ant and the songs are catch as hell.

Several more favourites were run through before closing the main set with a cover of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" running into Lady Percy, the crowd stamped and chanted for an encore and they werent disappointed. Another triumphal gig for King Charles leaving the fans wanting more and awaiting the new album

Oh by the way , this gig cost £13 , after seeing the acts , double that would have been cheap.

A fantastic night.

Jesus Was A Cockney?

After a mental week , which continues tomorrow, I had a ticket to see The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. I was expecting a punk band with goggles and hats, but that's not what me and the audience got.I was late getting in, but as I got to the top of the stairs the second act had just hit the stage.....

Jordan Reyne:

.. was alone on stage dressed in black, with a pair of horns , and then some eerie backing vocals and a gorgeous voice. She was doing this all with recording loops , effectively recording her own backing live. Although this is an age old process , the first time I say this was John Martyn playing Big Muff on Rock Goes To College in the seventies. You can see it here.

Jordon though just sounded amazing , with great stories and some industrial noise thrown in such as on "Factory Song". Her set was amazing, dark , but with a light Australian audience rapport. I really cant remember such a different sound, the songs are spellbinding and originally minimalist. While it's clever to play complicated stuff , it's even better to make minimalism sound interesting, and the elements of her music may be simple they are woven in to complex wonderful tapestries. Then next ...

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing 

I don't know what I was expecting , but this band are multi dimensional , thoroughly entertaining and consonantly surprising. Visually what you'd expect from a Steampunk band , the bassist reminded me of David Morrisey, but bassist , guitarist and singer were all great at singing and entertaining the crowd. At one point I was thinking Chas'n'Dave meet Anthrax as an analogy, but you have to throw in Music Hall , The Bonzos, Half Man Half Biscuit as pointers , with impeccable comic timing and excellent musicianship. Lot's of audience participation songs such as Charlie and Isembard Kingdom Brunel.There songs are fun but also educational. They even managed to include some of Judas Priest's "Breakin The Law"

Breakin The Law

And the audience loved it , dancing , singing , joining in. Also many of the crowd were dressed in steampunk regalia and the crowd and the band turned a gig into a memorable event.

A fantastic night was had by all , I ended up buying 5 CDs, and will definitely be sing all of these again , you should too.

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.