Friday 26th May 2006, Liverpool Academy 2
Set list: The Sea is Wide, Small World, Black Lucia, Stray, Rock Gods, Western Skies, How Men Are, The Birth of the True, Down the Dip, Hymn to Grace, Reason for Living, Bigger Brighter Better, Somewhere in my Heart, Oblivious, The Boy Wonders, We Could send letters, The Bugle Sounds Again, Over You.
Roddy Frame is another of those musicians who has undeservingly dropped off the cultural radar but is an artiste that is producing work comparable to his halcyon days.
With a new album ‘Western Skies’ to promote Frame, was back in Liverpool one of his favourite stomping grounds just one of many dates on a fairly comprehensive UK tour.
It is probably the last time for a while that the audience could probably see Roddy in this intimate acoustic setting, recent interviews have indicted that he is looking to put together a new touring band.
‘Surf’ and the latest record are records that are suited to being played in this style given the stripped down nature of the recordings. There is a healthy dose of older material played tonight as well and it is interesting to hear the older Aztec Camera material given a new lease of life in this format.
Roddy Frame stepped out to a rapturous applause, which showed no sign of abating all night. His beaming smile and his opening chat with the crowd indicated that he was up for tonight’s performance. He was playing to a partisan crowd who were up for old and new tunes in equal measure.
They even cheered the opening chord – which prompted Frame to tease the audience with a couple of bars from a Bob Dylan tune. ‘You are cheering and you don’t even know what is yet,’ he joked.
He didn’t disappoint with the choice of songs played tonight. The second song tonight was ‘Small World’ a song non-partisans would be familiar with as it is the tune for BBC’s Early Doors.
The newer stuff from ‘Western Skies’ was well received, especially ‘Rock God’ which began with Frame talking about his own heroes and Edwyn Collins who had recently visited. Frame informed the audience that he was on the mend and in good form after his brain haemorrhage last year.
The crowd were in as equally good voice as the turn they had come to see. ‘Oblivious’ ‘The Boy Wonders’ and ‘How Men Are’ were all sung with as equal aplomb by the audience as they were by the guy who had crafted them.
He finished with a number of classics from ‘Hard Land, Hard Rain’ – with ‘Down the Dip’ mutating into Dylan’s ‘It’s Alright, Ma’ with an extended section that saw Frame’s silhouette projected onto the backdrop in true rock god pose.
Tonight was something else and if he can be this good in this acoustic setting, one can only imagine how good he would be with a band behind him.
Showing posts with label Liverpool Academy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool Academy. Show all posts
Friday, May 26, 2006
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Love with Arthur Lee
Friday 24th January 2004, Liverpool Academy
The current vogue is for nostalgia tours for bands trying to eek out one last big payday before Butlins and summer season beckons, bands who meant nothing in the first place trading on perceived former glories. You can see it now – summer 2010 - Blue, Busted and Blink 182. Performing on Hear and Now 2010.
This is certainly not the case with Love who are touring an album that was released thirty years ago and still sounding fresher and more interesting than anything that is currently being released. It’s payback time for Arthur Lee whose life can certainly be described to be colourful, to say the least.
Arthur Lee released a couple of years ago after a twelve year stretch in prison, having fallen foul of the three strikes and you are out rule, Lee is certainly is in the mood to make up for lost time.
Though not strictly Love - Arthur Lee’s current incarnation backed ably by the band Baby Lemonade are about fulfilling the legendary status of Arthur Lee.
It could be argued that Liverpool is Lee’s spiritual home and tonight’s audience was certainly a who’s who of the Liverpool music scene – both new and old. It is one of the requirements in this cities musicians apart the obvious albums to own a copy of ‘Forever Changes’.
The band was greeted by a rapturous reception by the audience much to the delight of Lee. The night started off with a storming version of ‘Little Red Book’ and a few other tunes warming up to the main part of the show. Love were soon down by a string quartet for the start of the run through of ‘Forever Changes’ from start to finish.
The familiar tones of ‘Alone Again or’ written by Brian McLean (sadly no longer with us) prompted the crowd to acknowledge their appreciation. They continued to do so at every change of tempo during the song. The band could have gone of there and the ticket price would have been more than covered.
Thankfully they didn’t and the rest of ‘Forever Changes’ was brilliantly played by the musicians on stage and received by the Liverpool crowd. ‘A House is not a motel’ was superbly executed and was given a fresh impetus by the band. Though liberties weren’t taken with the music, the band did add their own stamp on the songs. Even the string quartet seemed to be enjoying the songs as much as the audience.
The later section of the gig saw other Love albums showcased – songs such as ‘signed DC’, ‘My Flash On You’ and ‘She Comes in Colours’. He paid tribute to his friend John Lennon, before playing ‘Everybodies Gotta Live’ which segued into ‘Instant Karma’.
Lee even slipped in a new song ‘My Anthem’ though sounding a little too much like Big Country for comfort; this was well received by the audience. To be fair he could have played a Spice Girls song tonight and the reception would not have been any less ecstatic.
The sad part about tonight’s gig was certainly that it had to end, but not before the promise of a return from Arthur Lee. If that gig is half as good as tonight’s then it will be one that I won’t want to miss. Tonight was nothing short of brilliant and was well worth leaving the house on a cold January night.
The current vogue is for nostalgia tours for bands trying to eek out one last big payday before Butlins and summer season beckons, bands who meant nothing in the first place trading on perceived former glories. You can see it now – summer 2010 - Blue, Busted and Blink 182. Performing on Hear and Now 2010.
This is certainly not the case with Love who are touring an album that was released thirty years ago and still sounding fresher and more interesting than anything that is currently being released. It’s payback time for Arthur Lee whose life can certainly be described to be colourful, to say the least.
Arthur Lee released a couple of years ago after a twelve year stretch in prison, having fallen foul of the three strikes and you are out rule, Lee is certainly is in the mood to make up for lost time.
Though not strictly Love - Arthur Lee’s current incarnation backed ably by the band Baby Lemonade are about fulfilling the legendary status of Arthur Lee.
It could be argued that Liverpool is Lee’s spiritual home and tonight’s audience was certainly a who’s who of the Liverpool music scene – both new and old. It is one of the requirements in this cities musicians apart the obvious albums to own a copy of ‘Forever Changes’.
The band was greeted by a rapturous reception by the audience much to the delight of Lee. The night started off with a storming version of ‘Little Red Book’ and a few other tunes warming up to the main part of the show. Love were soon down by a string quartet for the start of the run through of ‘Forever Changes’ from start to finish.
The familiar tones of ‘Alone Again or’ written by Brian McLean (sadly no longer with us) prompted the crowd to acknowledge their appreciation. They continued to do so at every change of tempo during the song. The band could have gone of there and the ticket price would have been more than covered.
Thankfully they didn’t and the rest of ‘Forever Changes’ was brilliantly played by the musicians on stage and received by the Liverpool crowd. ‘A House is not a motel’ was superbly executed and was given a fresh impetus by the band. Though liberties weren’t taken with the music, the band did add their own stamp on the songs. Even the string quartet seemed to be enjoying the songs as much as the audience.
The later section of the gig saw other Love albums showcased – songs such as ‘signed DC’, ‘My Flash On You’ and ‘She Comes in Colours’. He paid tribute to his friend John Lennon, before playing ‘Everybodies Gotta Live’ which segued into ‘Instant Karma’.
Lee even slipped in a new song ‘My Anthem’ though sounding a little too much like Big Country for comfort; this was well received by the audience. To be fair he could have played a Spice Girls song tonight and the reception would not have been any less ecstatic.
The sad part about tonight’s gig was certainly that it had to end, but not before the promise of a return from Arthur Lee. If that gig is half as good as tonight’s then it will be one that I won’t want to miss. Tonight was nothing short of brilliant and was well worth leaving the house on a cold January night.
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