Live gigs - Who you've seen were they good, bad etc.

[Boomtowner]

.First thing back for me was Beautiful Days, first time for us, but it's been on my wife's bucket list for ages. It was lovely to be back in the fields with like minded folk,but can't say we'll be rushing back. Too close in the calendar to Boomtown and not enough late night activities. Stand outs were Frank Turner, Alabama 3, 4 Poofs and a Piano, Lottery Winners and Imelda May.

 

Bizarrely, the first gig back a couple of weeks later was the Lottery Winners in Leeds, this had been scheduled for March 2020 and many times since. Tom is a fantastic front man and has a great sense of humour. Definitely worth checking out live. It was great to be back in a small venue again. Made me realise how much I'd missed it!

 

Two weeks later it was the Lottery Winners again, this time supporting Frank at Lost Evenings, it was a great day. Frank was, as always, on form. Personal highlight was a surprise gig by Beans on Toast, which I found about from Jay himself, over a beer in a bar. He's an absolutely lovely bloke and we exchanged a few Boomtown stories. I'd only popped to the bar to get a drink, my wife thought I'd got lost.

 

The Reytons were next, this has been my favourite gig since the return. Great crowd, good venue. One of my most listened to bands over lockdown and they didn't disappoint. Think early Arctic Monkeys. Someone on here described it as Indie landfill, but they're much better than that!

 

The Lathums followed at the O2 Leeds. Venue is stupidly overpriced on its drinks and does a terrible selection. It will make me think twice before considering this venue again. Crowd were also a bit meh, a lot of bad mannered folk who talked over the acoustic numbers. The lead singer is incredibly talented but it felt like two different shows. One with him solo, and one with the band. The latter was definitely better!

 

Bootleg Beatles on a freebie ticket followed. A very strange, seated gig complete with screaming teenagers. I kid you not! It could be one of my more surreal gigs, and I've had the misfortune to see Henge!

A couple of weeks off and then a busy November. Living being back watching live music.

[found home in 2009]

Went to see Level 42 supported by Johnny Hates Jazz last night. Was a Christmas present to my girlfriend, to be honest I hate 80s music so didn't go in with high expectations.

Johnny Hates Jazz was a bit cheesy, there were a couple of times I thought the drummer or guitarist had a cool groove going on, but the keyboards sounded so dated and the singer was how I would imagine it if Alan Partridge went on Stars in Their Eyes as David Bowie.

Level 42 were a very pleasant surprise. Obviously really talented musicians and the guys in the brass section of the band looked like they were having so much fun it was contagious. By the end it turned into a total party even though it was meant to be an all seated gig. My girlfriend commented they would have been a much better finish to Glastonbury than the Cure (who she dragged me too then ended up not enjoying). Do think they would make an amazing West Holts or Park headliner.



 

[Jay Pee]

11 minutes ago, found home in 2009 said:

My girlfriend commented they would have been a much better finish to Glastonbury than the Cure (who she dragged me too then ended up not enjoying). Do think they would make an amazing West Holts or Park headliner.

Streuth !! Level 42 on The Pyramid?  Laughing like a drain here

[Alex DeLarge]

Caught Bo Ningen in Sheffield on the 7th of October.

I'd seen then once before at Reading, but the relentless, pulsating noise they create works much better in a smaller venue. It was during this set where I realised how rhythmic and danceable their music actually is. The entire crowd was dancing throughout the set and despite the fact it was mostly the same level of intensity, there was only the odd moment where the energy dipped. I'd highly reccomend them if you like the more extreme ends of noise rock and shoegaze.

Saw Fontaines D.C. on Saturday night as well.

I was worried that their first album's subtle eclecticism would be lost when they played live, but the venue's sound meant that everything they performed had a distinct character. Their frontman tried to be intense and brooding, but even he seemed to enjoy himself after a while. The crowd were full of students and 6music dads, so I wouldn't be surprised if a few of you lot were there. I did notice a slight energy dip in a few tracks from A Hero's Death, but I think that their sound is so irresistible everything they played worked well.

[idb]

1 hour ago, Boomtowner said:

The Lathums followed at the O2 Leeds. Venue is stupidly overpriced on its drinks and does a terrible selection. It will make me think twice before considering this venue again. Crowd were also a bit meh, a lot of bad mannered folk who talked over the acoustic numbers. The lead singer is incredibly talented but it felt like two different shows. One with him solo, and one with the band. The latter was definitely better!

I was also at that gig having followed The Lathums from the start playing small venues and seen their rise to stardom. It was originally due to be held at the Uni, but was upgraded. I too hold a dislike to most O2 venues and don't even attempt to buy a beer there.

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, found home in 2009 said:

Level 42 were a very pleasant surprise. Obviously really talented musicians and the guys in the brass section of the band looked like they were having so much fun it was contagious. By the end it turned into a total party even though it was meant to be an all seated gig. My girlfriend commented they would have been a much better finish to Glastonbury than the Cure (who she dragged me too then ended up not enjoying). Do think they would make an amazing West Holts or Park headliner.



 

Now this is either a sign that Level 42 are utterly amazing or that your girlfriends taste doesn't chime with mine at all. I'm not a huge Cure fan but I don't think many acts have sounded better than them on the Pyramid Stage over the years. 

[found home in 2009]

1 hour ago, gigpusher said:

Now this is either a sign that Level 42 are utterly amazing or that your girlfriends taste doesn't chime with mine at all. I'm not a huge Cure fan but I don't think many acts have sounded better than them on the Pyramid Stage over the years. 

I think she went to Cure loving 2 or 3 of their hits and discovered she wasn't that into the rest of the music. She probably only knew a few Level 42 songs before it, but loved the whole night.

I went into the Cure knowing that I liked their hits, but found a lot of their stuff similarly paced and thought I might find it a bit of a slog, and it lived up to expectations.

Level 42 I went into thinking the bassist was good, but their music was too 80s for my liking, but ended up loving the whole thing. Obviously a very different energy the 2 bands are going for. Only really made the comparison to the Cure as they were both 80s bands I went to for my girlfriends sake. If seeing Level 42 reminded me of any other act I'd seen at Glastonbury it would have been The Mothership Returns - George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic & The Family Stone. Both have a rock element plus a funk element and are good fun whilst being virtuoso musicians.

[found home in 2009]

2 hours ago, Jay Pee said:

Streuth !! Level 42 on The Pyramid?  Laughing like a drain here

Yeah I was amused at the idea of them headlining Pyramid nowadays when she suggested it (they did headline in the 80s). Do think they'd still do a good job of headlining a smaller stage. If my suggestion of Park or West Holts was too ambitious they'd definitely go down a storm headlining Avalon or Pussy Parlure.

[gigpusher]

14 minutes ago, found home in 2009 said:

I think she went to Cure loving 2 or 3 of their hits and discovered she wasn't that into the rest of the music. She probably only knew a few Level 42 songs before it, but loved the whole night.

I went into the Cure knowing that I liked their hits, but found a lot of their stuff similarly paced and thought I might find it a bit of a slog, and it lived up to expectations.

Level 42 I went into thinking the bassist was good, but their music was too 80s for my liking, but ended up loving the whole thing. Obviously a very different energy the 2 bands are going for. Only really made the comparison to the Cure as they were both 80s bands I went to for my girlfriends sake. If seeing Level 42 reminded me of any other act I'd seen at Glastonbury it would have been The Mothership Returns - George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic & The Family Stone. Both have a rock element plus a funk element and are good fun whilst being virtuoso musicians.

I'll be honest I don't remember much Level 42 (a little too young for them - how nice it is to be able to say that!!) but I might give them a listen based on your review!

[Gnomicide]

I remember Level 42. They were shit.

[Jay Pee]

44 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

I remember Level 42. They were shit.

Level 42 plank spanking.

[Quark]

Laura Marling at Brighton Dome last night, first time I've ever done a seated gig but after the run at work I've had recently I was quite happy to park myself down for 90 minutes!

Always liked what I've heard of LM but never really delved into her stuff and I'd not seen her live before, so went in with little in the way of expectation. Bloody lovely stuff. Her voice is fantastic live, and I genuinely didn't realise what a great guitarist she is.  Very dry and self effacing chat between songs as well.

Was a lovely venue to see her in as well, the Dome really suits that kind of thing for me.  No pics this week as taking photos would have ruined the ambience a bit!

[benali]

Lounge Society, Honeyglaze and Keg in Southampton last night. 3 ridiculously good bands for £9.

Keg are the best new live band around. I'll probably bore everyone by going on about them relentlessly.

[gigpusher]

37 minutes ago, Quark said:

Laura Marling at Brighton Dome last night, first time I've ever done a seated gig but after the run at work I've had recently I was quite happy to park myself down for 90 minutes!

Always liked what I've heard of LM but never really delved into her stuff and I'd not seen her live before, so went in with little in the way of expectation. Bloody lovely stuff. Her voice is fantastic live, and I genuinely didn't realise what a great guitarist she is.  Very dry and self effacing chat between songs as well.

Was a lovely venue to see her in as well, the Dome really suits that kind of thing for me.  No pics this week as taking photos would have ruined the ambience a bit!

Is her guitar tech still helping her take her guitar off and on or is her back recovered now? I think folk artists get good at the patter because when you are doing gentle songs in this day and age you need to be good at winning over crowds who are used to chatting and staring at phones. 

[gigpusher]

20 minutes ago, benali said:

Lounge Society, Honeyglaze and Keg in Southampton last night. 3 ridiculously good bands for £9.

Keg are the best new live band around. I'll probably bore everyone by going on about them relentlessly.

Love when you get a night like that. It's such a bargain when you get 3 great bands. 

[BlueDaze]

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Laura Marling at Brighton Dome last night, first time I've ever done a seated gig but after the run at work I've had recently I was quite happy to park myself down for 90 minutes!

Always liked what I've heard of LM but never really delved into her stuff and I'd not seen her live before, so went in with little in the way of expectation. Bloody lovely stuff. Her voice is fantastic live, and I genuinely didn't realise what a great guitarist she is.  Very dry and self effacing chat between songs as well.

Was a lovely venue to see her in as well, the Dome really suits that kind of thing for me.  No pics this week as taking photos would have ruined the ambience a bit!

Agree, she is absolutely captivating live.. such a pure voice.

she could sing the bar menu and make it sound great.

[theesundayroast]

52 minutes ago, benali said:

Lounge Society, Honeyglaze and Keg in Southampton last night. 3 ridiculously good bands for £9.

Keg are the best new live band around. I'll probably bore everyone by going on about them relentlessly.

How was Honeyglaze's non released stuff? I'm in love with Burglar but haven't been able to catch them live as of yet.

I'll have to check out Keg, can't say I've listened to them before but if they're anywhere near the other two bands on that bill I'm in for a treat!

[Quark]

1 hour ago, gigpusher said:

Is her guitar tech still helping her take her guitar off and on or is her back recovered now? I think folk artists get good at the patter because when you are doing gentle songs in this day and age you need to be good at winning over crowds who are used to chatting and staring at phones. 

Yep, didn't realise that's what it was. 

Crowd wasn't chatty and phones weren't too bad, but I was amazed by the number of grown adults that are incapable of sitting through a 90 minute gig without needing to get up and either go to the loo or to the bar. Most were doing it between songs which wasn't so bad, but honestly couldn't believe people's inability to sit still!!

[gigpusher]

2 minutes ago, Quark said:

Yep, didn't realise that's what it was. 

Crowd wasn't chatty and phones weren't too bad, but I was amazed by the number of grown adults that are incapable of sitting through a 90 minute gig without needing to get up and either go to the loo or to the bar. Most were doing it between songs which wasn't so bad, but honestly couldn't believe people's inability to sit still!!

Yes we had a really well behaved crowd as well but that's probably because she has that respect now. I just notice almost all folk acts I see are good at the patter and I think it must come from learning it when you are on the way up and not well known and you have to exude some authority over the almost feral crowds ie when they were support acts etc. 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by gigpusher

[Quark]

Just now, gigpusher said:

Yes we had a really well behave crowd as well but that's probably because she has that respect now. I just notice almost all folk acts I see are good at the patter and I think it must come from learning it when you are on the way up and not well known and you have to exude some authority over the almost feral crowds ie when they were support acts etc. 

 

Everyone was definitely there to see her 🙂

[Gnomicide]

13 minutes ago, Quark said:

Yep, didn't realise that's what it was. 

Crowd wasn't chatty and phones weren't too bad, but I was amazed by the number of grown adults that are incapable of sitting through a 90 minute gig without needing to get up and either go to the loo or to the bar. Most were doing it between songs which wasn't so bad, but honestly couldn't believe people's inability to sit still!!

Noticed this at Jamie Cullum the other week. Seemed to be the same people time and time again too. But the crowd were remarkably quiet, even during a pretty dull support act.

Got a seated gig next week (Billy Bragg), would much prefer it was a standing one for him but seen him there before and it was fine, if a little strange.

[Boomtowner]

22 hours ago, idb said:

I was also at that gig having followed The Lathums from the start playing small venues and seen their rise to stardom. It was originally due to be held at the Uni, but was upgraded. I too hold a dislike to most O2 venues and don't even attempt to buy a beer there.

I was excited to see them, they were supposed to play Y Not, and along with The Reytons and The Snuts, they were the new bands I was really looking forward to but alas it never happened.

What do you think to the acoustic middle bit, I'm really unsure. They seemed to get the audience going and bring them down again. My wife loves those songs but with people talking over them, they seemed to lose the crowd something. They definitely lost the crowd in our vicinity.

[benali]

1 hour ago, theesundayroast said:

How was Honeyglaze's non released stuff? I'm in love with Burglar but haven't been able to catch them live as of yet.

I'll have to check out Keg, can't say I've listened to them before but if they're anywhere near the other two bands on that bill I'm in for a treat!

To be honest I hadn't listened to Honeyglaze that much before so not sure which songs counted as being released or not.

Really solid live though. The bassist has a droll patter, seemingly enjoyed telling the crowd how highly he rated the hand dryers in the gents toilet.

[Quark]

26 minutes ago, Boomtowner said:

I was excited to see them, they were supposed to play Y Not, and along with The Reytons and The Snuts, they were the new bands I was really looking forward to but alas it never happened.

What do you think to the acoustic middle bit, I'm really unsure. They seemed to get the audience going and bring them down again. My wife loves those songs but with people talking over them, they seemed to lose the crowd something. They definitely lost the crowd in our vicinity.

It worked OK when I saw them in Brighton and he did the solo bit, might just have been a bad crowd for it?

[idb]

1 hour ago, Boomtowner said:

What do you think to the acoustic middle bit, I'm really unsure. They seemed to get the audience going and bring them down again. My wife loves those songs but with people talking over them, they seemed to lose the crowd something. They definitely lost the crowd in our vicinity.

43 minutes ago, Quark said:

It worked OK when I saw them in Brighton and he did the solo bit, might just have been a bad crowd for it?

Might have been down to the crowd. No doubting he's got a great voice and could just do an acoustic gig on his own (I do believe the delux version of the album has a few stripped back songs on it)