The Mathew Street Festival

An all too rare trip into Liverpool city centre these days for me. I have not worked in the city centre for over three years now. Apart from the odd gig or pint,I never make it back into Liverpool as much as I would like. The excuse this weekend was for the annual August Bank Holiday Mathew Street Festival at the Pier Head.

I hadn’t attended the festival in a number of years with it having previously been a staple of the Clark calendar. It has certainly evolved into something more akin to a proper festival these days – instead of the usual cornucopia of Beatles cover-bands.

Don’t get me wrong I love the Beatles, but usually after a weekend in Mathew Street. I normally go into Beatles cold turkey in September - as I’m usually Beatled-out.

It was good to see the weather didn’t spoil the proceedings either - it was a glorious day to be on the waterfront.

What was also great was the fact that walking from Lime Street station to the venue, the amount of different foreign accents that I heard. It’s great that Liverpool can attract these visitors and augers well for the 2008 City of Culture celebrations. It made me proud to be a Scouser, albeit one exiled in St Helens. There were hardly any of the usual knobheads out in force that usually mar any occasion in Liverpool…which was a bonus.

I was primarily there to see The Wonder Stuff who were on top form as they usually are these days. The band weren't helped though by the sound which was a little muddy from my point mid-way back - the mix was a little too much lead guitar and the drums - with not much of anything else.

The set was the tried and trusted festival set and the hit Size of a Cow made it back into the set after a long absence. Size of a Cow is something of a millstone being as it is the bands biggest hit (Dizzy apart), the problem is that it’s not a true representation of the bands other material.

Front man Miles Hunt was strangely subdued today - hardly any between song banter, which is normally a feature of the proceedings - this may have been something to do with the previous night's excesses at a gig in Cumbria and the un-rock n roll Sunday afternoon start.

There performance may have even convinced a mate - a nonbeliever of The Wonder Stuff's talent that they are in fact pretty good. Though at some considerable cost to me - I'll have to stand through a James Morrison gig in the near future!!!

The other bands I managed to see included The Lightening Seeds and Shack, both local favourites. I had seen The Lightening Seeds the other week in Blackburn at another festival – but I wasn’t too impressed that day. I have to say they were much better here today and they played all the usual songs that you would come to expect and saved the obvious Three Lions to last. Ian Broudie even updated the lyrics to 40 years of hurt.

The last band I saw was Shack. They are a band that I love and I have most of their stuff that they have released down the years. I have even seen them live a few times too and they have usually been on the money.

They were a shambles today - they even had to be warned about the in between song profanities that didn’t go down too well with the family crowd. As beautiful and poetic as they are on record, they were the polar opposite today.


I slopped off before the end of the set to soak up some of the atmosphere amongst the tourist and locals alike in Mathew Street. It was good to be back at the Mathew Street festival and here’s to next year and my return to being a festival regular.

The Raconteurs

Liverpool Carling Academy, Monday 20th March 2006

Set List: Level, Intimate Secretary, Hands, Steady as She Goes, Together, This House Is Not A Motel, Store Bought Bones, Call It A Day, Yellow Sun, Broken Boy Soldier, 5 On The 5, Blue Veins, Headin’ For The Texas Border.

Tonight had the feeling of one those seminal gigs that everyone in attendance will talk about in years to come.

This is no newly fated NME hope. This is something different. Not many new bands receive the kind of rapturous applause that they did on their entrance to the Academy’s stage. No other band that have yet to release an album would see their new material applauded like old favourites. In fact most new bands would normally expect a passive crowd with arms folded in the come on entertain us stance.

Well no other band contains both Jack White and Brendan Benson – two old friends from Detroit all the way over in Liverpool for the debut for their new musical venture.

The word side-project is a word that often provokes dread. It’s a term that usually provokes fear of something woeful and self-indulgent. But that is certainly not the case with the Raconteurs.

Augmented by Patrick Keeler on drums and ‘little’ Jack Lawrence from The Greenhornes on bass - as well as Dean Fertita. It is these extra hands on deck that allows Jack White the luxury of being able to cut loose musically. In the White Stripes the onus is on White to carry the sound – tonight he can revel in fact that he has a band to help him out.

‘Level’ is a swirling psychedelic beast that opens the proceedings to the second biggest cheer of the night. The first biggest comes three songs in when White removes his leather jacket.

They aired the yet to be released new album ‘Broken Boy Soldier’ in full with the addition of new song ‘5 on the 5’ as well as a couple of covers the highlight of which was Love’s ‘A House Is Not A Motel’ – a song dedicated especially to Liverpool by Jack White - seemingly pleased that his band had chosen the city for his first live venture.

The limited release single ‘Steady as She Goes’ went down well with the capacity crowd at the Carling Academy as well as its b-side ‘Store Bought Bones’. Were again treated like old favourites.

They played for over an hour with a set of songs that are certainly in keeping with the influences of the illustrious front two. The sound has been described in some quarters as Cat Stevens meets Led Zeppelin. Benson’s pop sensibilities certainly compliment the bluesier guitar work of White.
They finish with the Flamin Groovies cover and they certainly know how to leave their crowd wanting for more.

Roll on the release of the album in May – which from tonight’s expectant audience is almost an eternity away.

Echo and the Bunnymen

Liverpool Carling Academy, Saturday 17th December 2005

Set list: Going Up, Show of Strength, Stormy Weather, Bring on the Dancing Horses, Seven Seas, The Disease, Scissors in the Sand, All That Jazz, The Back of Love, The Killing Moon, In the Margins, Never Stop, Villiers Terrace, Of a Life, Rescue, The Cutter, Nothing Lasts Forever
Lips Like Sugar, Ocean Rain

It’s Christmas, time for the now traditional seasonal Bunnymen hometown gig. This year sees a second night added.

It has been a good year for Bunnymen fans – it was the year, which saw the release of ‘Siberia’ – an album that has been described as a return to form and one that certainly evokes memories of the past.

It may well have something to do with the fact that Hugh Jones who’d previously produced ‘Heaven Up Here’, back on production duties. The talk of a classic Bunnymen album is probably not that wide of the mark.

Numerous reviews have alluded to a return to form – though this is seemingly always the case with new Bunnymen releases. It certainly has its fair share of magical moments that will keep the diehards happy. It is an album that has been described by Ian McCulloch as coming in from the cold hence the title ‘Siberia’. It’s a position that normally fires the band to record their best work especially when they are written off. It’s an album that sees the main protagonists on top form.

The so-called return to form is also a good recipe for the live dates and tonight sees the Mac and Will certainly on top of their game. There is certainly no feeling of going through motions after last night’s home gig.

The set list has a familiar ring to it. Though it may be a tried a tested format it is invigorated by the inclusion of ‘Going Up’ to start the proceedings. There is also the inclusion of a number of new songs from ‘Siberia’ that are not out of place amongst the list of classic Bunnymen tunes.

The two singles ‘Stormy Weather’ and ‘In the Margins’ plus ‘Scissors in the Sand’ are given an airing tonight. They are well received by the fans and certainly compliment the rest of the bands twenty-five year plus material.

Now with a collection of records going back over a quarter of a century there is always going to be the odd song omitted from the set list that disappoint the diehard. One song I was glad to see omitted was ‘Over Wall’ – my recently sprained ankle certainly would not have lasted another 8 minutes longer tonight – normally I would feel short-changed by its omission.

It was another cracking live experience to keep the home crowds happy for another year. Though on tonight’s form I think it would be advisable for the band to book a third night next year.

Half Man Half Biscuit

Thursday 13th October 2005, Live at the Liverpool Carling Academy

Set List: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train), Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus, CORGI Registered Friends, Running Order Squabble Fest, If I Had Possession Over Pancake Day, Restless Legs, Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off, For What Is Chatteris, Monmore Hare's Running, Them's the Vagaries, 99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd, - Hallelujah/Vatican Broadside, C.A.M.R.A. Man, Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo, P.R.S. Yearbook, Quick The Drawbridge, Paintball's Coming Home, Tending the wrong Grave for 23 Years , All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit , Them’s The Vagaries , Letters Sent , The Len Ganley Stance , Footprints, Look Dad No Tunes , I Think We're Alone Now , We Built this City on a Trad. Arr. Tune, Everything's A.O.R., Twenty-Four Hour Garage People, A Country Practice. Encores: Venus in Flares, Joy Division Oven Gloves, The Trumpton Riots.

Has it really been seven years since the four lads that shook the Wirral ventured through the Birkenhead tunnel to perform in Liverpool?

The band would baulk at the use of the word career to describe what they do. They would no doubt be as shocked by that statistic as would they by the fact that they are now in the third decade of their existence as a functioning band.

Tonight was certainly a good night to reflect on what had gone before given that tonight was the culmination of day of celebration for the life of the late great John Peel who passed away last year.

Today up and down the country events were taking place to celebrate the life of the DJ that had enjoyed the music of Half Man Half Biscuit and had afforded the band numerous Peel sessions. In attendance tonight was Peel’s wife Sheila and family.

Tonight’s set covered all points of the bands career as well as including a number from the latest album ‘Achtung Bono’. Highlight were my personal favourites from the new album ‘Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo’ and ‘We Built this City on a Trad. Arr. Tune’.

The set also included the now traditional cover version – to some bands the selection would seem slightly ironic but for Half Man Half Biscuit there covers are always played in all seriousness. Tonight’s chosen tune was 80s pop starlet Tiffany’s hit – I Think We’re Alone Now’ – And to think I thought the fact they did Status Quo’s Caroline all them years back was strange.

All the ‘Twenty-Four Hour Garage People’ and ‘99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd’ were wheeled out and sung word-for-word by the majority of the audience.

‘All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit’ was greeted with cheers especially by those resplendent in afore mentioned football kit. The band finished with ‘The Trumpton Riots’ and it is hard to feel disappointed by any song omissions from the set list. It certainly felt like a greatest hits set tonight

Here’s to the next Liverpool gig let’s hope we don’t have another seven years before we wait to see them cross the Mersey.

Echo and the Bunnymen

Friday 17th December 2004
Liverpool Carling Academy

Set List: Going Up, With a Hip, Rescue, Seven Seas, Dancing Horses, Buried Alive, Crocodiles, Back Of Love, The Killing Moon, Never Stop, Zimbo, Villiers Terrace, Show Of Strength, Lips Like Sugar, The Cutter, Nothing Lasts Forever, Loose, Joe, Over The Wall, Ocean Rain.

In what looks like becoming a regular occurrence the Bunnymen took to the stage for this pre-Christmas show, with no album to promote Ian and Will rattled through a set of classics and old favourites; that kept the audience, who had braved Liverpool’s traditional Christmas party night suitably rewarded.

Ably supported by actor John Simms’s band Magic Alex, who share The Bunnymen’s, Velvet Underground fixation highlighted by including a version of the Velvet’s ‘Here comes The Man’ in their set.

The Bunnymen started off with tunes from the first two albums ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘Heaven Up Here’ ‘Going Up’ and With a Hip - a departure from their usual opener ‘Rescue’.

Mac was his usual self as a front man engaging in a bit of banter with the crowd; it must have been Christmas as he even had something positive to say regarding Liverpool’s recent derby defeat by Everton.

The set list covered the usual territory with songs from various points of their collection.

The encore saw the usual standards, ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, ‘Over The Wall’, ‘Ocean Rain’. All delivered impeccably and in good voice from Mac. These tunes were interspersed ‘Loose’ the Stooges cover last played under the guise of Electrafixion.

They even had time to include a new song ‘Joe’ which augers well for the new album due next summer. Without doubt a top gig it had every element that a great Bunnymen gig should have. The band is certainly maturing into the great British band that they had always promised to become, but had always managed to find a way in shooting themselves in the foot.