Liverpool University, Friday 5th December 2003
For a band associated with all that’s glitzy and at times tacky of the culture that was the 1980’s, tonight’s gig was something else. A cold night in Liverpool at the Liverpool Academy was certainly as far removed from the days of legwarmers and mullets as it ever could be, but an hour in the company of the Human League transported you back to all that was good about the era that style forgot.
Essentially a greatest hits set, with the odd curio thrown in to keep the more ardent fan happy; tonight’s gig showed a band that was still on top of its musical game.
At times Phil Oakey was in danger of losing his voice, but he need not worry as he had the mass ranks of the Liverpool Academy audience to prop him up.
Tonight’s audience were almost as good as the band as a spectacle. The age of the audience was varied from the hardcore that saw them in their heyday, to the younger ones who wanted to do something different on a Friday night.
The make up of the audience was something to behold. When you sit down and analyse the Human Leagues lyrics you do have to say they are not the best. But when you see 40-year-old hairy arsed builders singing along to songs such as ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ it does restore your faith in the human spirit a little.
It was the fourth night of a fifteen-date tour and despite one or two technical difficulties, the band stuck to a tried a tested set list of virtually all the hits.
The stage set was well-designed and afforded Phil Oakey to camp it up from all parts of the stage. Susan and Joanne were perched either side of Oakey when he was front of stage, and at intervals they both disappeared for costume changes throughout the night.
Predictably the last song of the night before the well-deserved encore was ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby’ this was in not the highlight of the set, that was reserved for the final song of the night ‘Together In Electric Dreams’, a song I have never liked was brilliant delivered by the band and sung along by the builders in audience with gusto.
Future plays of this song will conjure up images of tonight’s proceedings. A top gig, if not one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Friday, December 5, 2003
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Radiohead
Manchester Evening News Arena, Saturday 22nd November 2003
Set List: There There; 2 + 2 = 5, Lucky; Myxomatosis; Where I end You Begin; Backdrifts; fake Plastic Trees; Paranoid Android; Sail To The Moon; I Might Be Wrong; Climbing The Walls; My Iron Lung; Sit Down, Stand Up; Scatterbrain; National Anthem; Exit Music; Idioteque; The Gloaming; Go To Sleep; The Bends; Street Spirit; A Wolf At The Door; Karma Police; Everything In It’s Place.
Back in the big arenas after this tours various warm up shows and the last major tours use of big top circus tents. Radiohead may have found the perfect place to deliver to the music they are now performing; the sparse electronica that can sound a little cold and digitised on record, but in this sort of arena bounces around this vastness of the place.
The energetic Asian Dub Foundation, are the tour band of choice for Radiohead. They are a band with a similar message to deliver though from a slightly different direction. There set is one that goes down well with tonight’s audience.
At 9 o’clock sharp the lights dim and the band emerge to electronic white noise. The band launches into in my opinion the single of the year ‘There There’. On record this is a fantastic 5-minute experience – live it is something else, with Guitarist’s Ed O’Brien and Jonny Greenwood pound away thrashing out tribal rhythms at two drums. Before grabbing the guitars to take the song to a different level altogether.
One song in and you wonder how they follow that? Instead of relying on the sure fire crowd pleasers, Radiohead explore the more avant-garde output of their last three albums. The reaction from the crowd to these songs is fairly good. You get the feeling that majority of the crowd haven’t just come to see if they’ll play ‘Creep’ (which they don’t) but that they’ll give the rest of the bands output a listen.
The set draws heavily from the politicised last album ‘Hail To The Thief’. As well as from the other electronic based ‘Kid A’ and ‘Amnesiac’.
The other albums are not neglected though. ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ is given a great reception at its start as to did songs like ‘My Iron Lung’ and ‘Paranoid Android’ a song that just gets better every time that you hear it.
Front man Thom Yorke doesn’t go much on the between song banter but he has something of magnetic personality about him that keeps the crowd enthralled. He was a bundle of nervous energy as he spins around the stage like a whirring dervish. While the band solidly concentrate on getting the sound across.
It was an astonishing performance from a band very much at the top of their game. Tonight was very much the end of phase one as a band what with the soon to expire record contract. Here’s hoping that the next phase is as exciting and varied as the last.
Set List: There There; 2 + 2 = 5, Lucky; Myxomatosis; Where I end You Begin; Backdrifts; fake Plastic Trees; Paranoid Android; Sail To The Moon; I Might Be Wrong; Climbing The Walls; My Iron Lung; Sit Down, Stand Up; Scatterbrain; National Anthem; Exit Music; Idioteque; The Gloaming; Go To Sleep; The Bends; Street Spirit; A Wolf At The Door; Karma Police; Everything In It’s Place.
Back in the big arenas after this tours various warm up shows and the last major tours use of big top circus tents. Radiohead may have found the perfect place to deliver to the music they are now performing; the sparse electronica that can sound a little cold and digitised on record, but in this sort of arena bounces around this vastness of the place.
The energetic Asian Dub Foundation, are the tour band of choice for Radiohead. They are a band with a similar message to deliver though from a slightly different direction. There set is one that goes down well with tonight’s audience.
At 9 o’clock sharp the lights dim and the band emerge to electronic white noise. The band launches into in my opinion the single of the year ‘There There’. On record this is a fantastic 5-minute experience – live it is something else, with Guitarist’s Ed O’Brien and Jonny Greenwood pound away thrashing out tribal rhythms at two drums. Before grabbing the guitars to take the song to a different level altogether.
One song in and you wonder how they follow that? Instead of relying on the sure fire crowd pleasers, Radiohead explore the more avant-garde output of their last three albums. The reaction from the crowd to these songs is fairly good. You get the feeling that majority of the crowd haven’t just come to see if they’ll play ‘Creep’ (which they don’t) but that they’ll give the rest of the bands output a listen.
The set draws heavily from the politicised last album ‘Hail To The Thief’. As well as from the other electronic based ‘Kid A’ and ‘Amnesiac’.
The other albums are not neglected though. ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ is given a great reception at its start as to did songs like ‘My Iron Lung’ and ‘Paranoid Android’ a song that just gets better every time that you hear it.
Front man Thom Yorke doesn’t go much on the between song banter but he has something of magnetic personality about him that keeps the crowd enthralled. He was a bundle of nervous energy as he spins around the stage like a whirring dervish. While the band solidly concentrate on getting the sound across.
It was an astonishing performance from a band very much at the top of their game. Tonight was very much the end of phase one as a band what with the soon to expire record contract. Here’s hoping that the next phase is as exciting and varied as the last.
Sunday, June 1, 2003
Paul McCartney
Liverpool Kings Dock, Sunday 1st June 2003
There is always something special about being on the banks of the River Mersey in the summertime. Especially when an event like this is taking place. The setting sun over the disused docks on the Birkenhead side of the water offers a backdrop that is hard to beat. Even the faint hint of rain is not likely to wash away the atmosphere that had built up in the afternoon preceding the gig.
In front of 35,000 fans from around the world, Macca was coming home – the conclusion of his Back In The World tour.
With no support – who would want that unenviable task. The proceedings started with a dance troop which seemed to go on for an age and just as you beginning to think turn this in, the familiar figure of Paul McCartney appeared on the large screens at the back of the stage, holding that familiar Hofner bass, accompanied by the crashing opening chords of ‘Hello, Goodbye’. Thirteen years on since his last visit, he was indeed back home.
The set list covered all phases of his illustrious 40-year career and was one that owner’s of the Back in The World DVD or CD or visitors to previous concerts would be familiar with, with a few notable additions for the home crowd – ‘Maggie May’ and his first-ever composition ‘I Lost My Little Girl’. With a back catalogue like Paul McCartney’s, the hard part was probably what to leave out.
The classic songs where treated with the respect that they deserve by the fantastic band that McCartney has put together for this our, though with a few embellishments of their own. No more so was this highlighted with the powerhouse drumming of Abe Laboriel during ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ that took a great song to another level.
The set that ran to over three hours had something for everyone and left you not only impressed by the quality of his songwriting, but his stamina too. At 63 years young this was some feat.
The pace at the start of the gig was something else as he rattled through his hits from Wings and The Beatles. As the pace slowed down McCartney turned his thoughts to absent friends. Linda his wife who was up on stage the last time he played here. To John Lennon and George Harrison sadly no longer with us he shared some memories of growing up in Liverpool as well as treating us to a playful tribute to George by playing his classic ‘Something’ on the ukulele.
The band returned and the hits kept on coming. The pyrotechnics on ‘Live and Let Die’ were a particular highlight. This tour contained the most Beatles songs that McCartney has performed live. Some that he had performed live for the first time ever. The time ticked on and the hits kept on coming and the crowd could not have asked for anymore with trusty crowd pleasers such as ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ being sung with equal gusto to that of the band.
Sadly all good things have to come to end and after a generous encore, in which Paul McCartney clearly emotional at the reception he had received. Summed up his feelings by saying. “To be on the banks of the Mersey with you lot is special. Word’s can’t express how I feel tonight.”
‘Sergeant Pepper/ The End’ closed the night’s proceedings leaving those who witnessed the event traipsing off into the night thoroughly entertained and hoping that McCartney would hold his promise to come back and perform much sooner than the last wait for a hometown gig. On the evidence of tonight’s performance one night wont be enough.
There is always something special about being on the banks of the River Mersey in the summertime. Especially when an event like this is taking place. The setting sun over the disused docks on the Birkenhead side of the water offers a backdrop that is hard to beat. Even the faint hint of rain is not likely to wash away the atmosphere that had built up in the afternoon preceding the gig.
In front of 35,000 fans from around the world, Macca was coming home – the conclusion of his Back In The World tour.
With no support – who would want that unenviable task. The proceedings started with a dance troop which seemed to go on for an age and just as you beginning to think turn this in, the familiar figure of Paul McCartney appeared on the large screens at the back of the stage, holding that familiar Hofner bass, accompanied by the crashing opening chords of ‘Hello, Goodbye’. Thirteen years on since his last visit, he was indeed back home.
The set list covered all phases of his illustrious 40-year career and was one that owner’s of the Back in The World DVD or CD or visitors to previous concerts would be familiar with, with a few notable additions for the home crowd – ‘Maggie May’ and his first-ever composition ‘I Lost My Little Girl’. With a back catalogue like Paul McCartney’s, the hard part was probably what to leave out.
The classic songs where treated with the respect that they deserve by the fantastic band that McCartney has put together for this our, though with a few embellishments of their own. No more so was this highlighted with the powerhouse drumming of Abe Laboriel during ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ that took a great song to another level.
The set that ran to over three hours had something for everyone and left you not only impressed by the quality of his songwriting, but his stamina too. At 63 years young this was some feat.
The pace at the start of the gig was something else as he rattled through his hits from Wings and The Beatles. As the pace slowed down McCartney turned his thoughts to absent friends. Linda his wife who was up on stage the last time he played here. To John Lennon and George Harrison sadly no longer with us he shared some memories of growing up in Liverpool as well as treating us to a playful tribute to George by playing his classic ‘Something’ on the ukulele.
The band returned and the hits kept on coming. The pyrotechnics on ‘Live and Let Die’ were a particular highlight. This tour contained the most Beatles songs that McCartney has performed live. Some that he had performed live for the first time ever. The time ticked on and the hits kept on coming and the crowd could not have asked for anymore with trusty crowd pleasers such as ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ being sung with equal gusto to that of the band.
Sadly all good things have to come to end and after a generous encore, in which Paul McCartney clearly emotional at the reception he had received. Summed up his feelings by saying. “To be on the banks of the Mersey with you lot is special. Word’s can’t express how I feel tonight.”
‘Sergeant Pepper/ The End’ closed the night’s proceedings leaving those who witnessed the event traipsing off into the night thoroughly entertained and hoping that McCartney would hold his promise to come back and perform much sooner than the last wait for a hometown gig. On the evidence of tonight’s performance one night wont be enough.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Beck
Beck
Manchester Apollo, Sunday 27th April 2003
Set List: Pay No Mind; guess I’m Doing Fine; It’s All In Your Mind; Cancelled Check; Lost Cause; Do You Realise??; Already Dead; The Golden Age; Tropicalia; We Live Again; Little One; Lonesome Tears ; Nicotine & Gravy; Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods; hollow Log; Ship In A Bottle; Sunday Sun; Nobody’s Fault But My Own; Round The Bend; Loser; One Foot In The Grave; Sunday Morning.
Edinburgh, London and tonight Manchester were the only places that the UK could see Beck promote his latest album ‘Sea Change’. The album much more introspective than his previous major label releases and the delivery is very stripped down – gone are the samples of ‘Odelay’, gone are the styling’s of Prince on ‘Midnite Vultures’. This is very much a return to his earlier work, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in.
It was a set reflected the stripped down nature of the album, with no support and no band. Beck took to the stage backed by varying types of guitars, beat boxes and Keyboards.
The set featured heavily the songs from his latest work and was greeted by an almost reverential hush that descended once the first chord was struck and only lifted at the end of the song to applaud the songs. He won the crowd over from the first chord of the night and he rewarded them with almost two hours of music.
Interspersed in between the music was an amusing and engaging banter that was almost as good as the music that everyone had come to see. Fans probably longed to see him with the full set and exploring his full repertoire, but they couldn’t grumble at tonight’s performance.
His choices of covers were interesting to say the least. The Flaming Lips’ – ‘Do You Realise??’ was expertly delivered, Justin Timberlake’s – ‘Cry Me A River’ was started but never finished, but even the intro was greeted by the warmest of applauses.
‘Tropicalia’ the song from a life Less Ordinary was given an airing and stripped down with only the beat box for backing the song sounded right for tonight’s proceedings.
Not even a few technical problems could ruin Beck’s flow - a swift kick to the offending keyboard solved the problem. ‘Loser’ was the last song of the night and the rapturous applause almost shook the roof off.
He came back on to do ‘One Foot In the Grave and finished the set with the Velvet Underground classic ‘Sunday Morning’.
Two hours of fantastic music sent those home that witnessed this event satisfied and looking forward to seeing Beck return in the very near future with or without the band.
Manchester Apollo, Sunday 27th April 2003
Set List: Pay No Mind; guess I’m Doing Fine; It’s All In Your Mind; Cancelled Check; Lost Cause; Do You Realise??; Already Dead; The Golden Age; Tropicalia; We Live Again; Little One; Lonesome Tears ; Nicotine & Gravy; Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods; hollow Log; Ship In A Bottle; Sunday Sun; Nobody’s Fault But My Own; Round The Bend; Loser; One Foot In The Grave; Sunday Morning.
Edinburgh, London and tonight Manchester were the only places that the UK could see Beck promote his latest album ‘Sea Change’. The album much more introspective than his previous major label releases and the delivery is very stripped down – gone are the samples of ‘Odelay’, gone are the styling’s of Prince on ‘Midnite Vultures’. This is very much a return to his earlier work, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in.
It was a set reflected the stripped down nature of the album, with no support and no band. Beck took to the stage backed by varying types of guitars, beat boxes and Keyboards.
The set featured heavily the songs from his latest work and was greeted by an almost reverential hush that descended once the first chord was struck and only lifted at the end of the song to applaud the songs. He won the crowd over from the first chord of the night and he rewarded them with almost two hours of music.
Interspersed in between the music was an amusing and engaging banter that was almost as good as the music that everyone had come to see. Fans probably longed to see him with the full set and exploring his full repertoire, but they couldn’t grumble at tonight’s performance.
His choices of covers were interesting to say the least. The Flaming Lips’ – ‘Do You Realise??’ was expertly delivered, Justin Timberlake’s – ‘Cry Me A River’ was started but never finished, but even the intro was greeted by the warmest of applauses.
‘Tropicalia’ the song from a life Less Ordinary was given an airing and stripped down with only the beat box for backing the song sounded right for tonight’s proceedings.
Not even a few technical problems could ruin Beck’s flow - a swift kick to the offending keyboard solved the problem. ‘Loser’ was the last song of the night and the rapturous applause almost shook the roof off.
He came back on to do ‘One Foot In the Grave and finished the set with the Velvet Underground classic ‘Sunday Morning’.
Two hours of fantastic music sent those home that witnessed this event satisfied and looking forward to seeing Beck return in the very near future with or without the band.
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