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Concert
Review by Nick Morgan |
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SPECIAL HOLIDAY WHISKYFUN
REVIEW BARGAIN BONUS
by Nick Morgan |
| NICK
CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS |
| The
Troxy, London
November
29th 2008
This
could be as far east as we’ve ever been
for a gig, in this lavishly-converted 1930’s
theatre of dreams for the slum-dwelling stevedores
and dock labourers of the East End. It was rescued
from bingo-hall dereliction a few years ago, but
already looks a bad bet as its raison d’être
is servicing the needs of corporate clients in
nearby Canary Wharf – you know, the ones
who’ve spent most of the holidays jumping
from high windows at the thought of sending their
third four-wheel drive back to the showroom. And
frankly it’s not best fitted out for gigs
– a carpeted mosh? Too few lavatories, a
rather overcrowded and eventually unnerving exit,
too many stewards not quite knowing what to do,
and an inability to drop the house lights to an
acceptable level. But thankfully the sound is
pretty good, and Mr
Cave and his Bad Seeds are on fire. |
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| If
this year’s Hammersmith
gig, the first outing of the new recession-proofed
stripped-down Grinderman-inspired Bad Seeds sound
that defines Dig Lazarus Dig was good, then this
was even better. From opener ‘Hold on to yourself’
to the final encore ‘Stagger Lee’ it’s
a relentless progression of uncompromising rock
and roll of the highest order. And it’s very
loud, not least due to the indefatigable fiddling
and tinkering of Warren Ellis – “just
how it’s supposed to be”, say one of
our youthful companions. Not everything’s
in full working shape – ‘Nature Boy’,
sounding now as if it belongs to West Hampstead’s
Railway Tavern back in 1975, is still “a work
in progress”, and there’s little that
isn’t given the treatment – including
old songs like ‘Hard on for love’. But
of course Mr Cave can still disarm everyone by dropping
a wickedly funny ballad like ‘God is in the
house’ into the middle of such a maelstrom.
A 9+ gig if ever there was one. - Nick Morgan
(photograph by Kate) |
A
TRIBUTE TO SANDY DENNY
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December 1st 2008 |
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| It
looks as ‘though the late Sandy
Denny might eventually be about to
get some of the recognition that she deserves, but
somehow this retrospective evening doesn’t
quite satisfy. There’s grumbling from the
greybeards behind us, who were expecting a line-up
of the great and the good, most of whom haven’t
shown up. Instead we’ve got an array of young
and largely impressive British talent, such as Mary
Epworth, Jim
Moray, Christina Donaghue and Johnny
Flynn. The house band was made up of various
members of Bellowhead, and Jerry Donaghue, who has
just produced a very well-received album from the
‘lost’ tapes of Denny’s band Fotheringay.
Dave Swarbrick nearly stole the show, and a painfully
theatrical Marc Almond, with Baby
Dee on harp and piano, didn’t. But at
the end of it all there was something unsatisfactory
here – Denny, with her complex songs and even
more complex life, is an enigma that the evening
did little to unravel.- Nick Morgan (photograph
by Kate) |
JOSH
ROUSE
Union Chapel, Islington, London, December 3rd 2008 |
 |
Post
fish and chips it’s off to a very full and
Christmasified Union Chapel for an almost solo Josh
Rouse, who has a retrospective collection
on the market for Christmas. Just slightly overweight,
he looks like a junior professor at an American
college – English Literature I would guess,
probably specialising in Thomas Hardy. Never mind.
He apparently doesn’t like being described
as a ‘blue eyed soul singer’, but that’s
what he is, and he does it very, very, well. |
| There
are a few new songs, all inspired by his current
sojourn in Valencia, but otherwise it’s ‘hit’
after ‘hit’, and the audience go really
crazy, which is a little bemusing because it’s
good, but not that good.- Nick Morgan (photograph
by Kate) |
TRACY
CHAPMAN
Hammersmith Apollo, London, December
15th 2008 |
| There
are few artists who can begin an almost-two-hour
set with a brutally frank song about domestic violence
(‘Last night I heard the screaming’)
and manage to keep the attention of their audience,
because believe me it didn’t get much happier
than this. But the disarmingly self-effacing Ms
Chapman somehow managed it, playing
solo on guitars, and chatting at length in a fairly
autobiographical fashion between songs. The singing
was wonderful, the guitar effective, the songs mostly
engaging and sadly pessimistic. But the weird thing
was the audience – it was as though they’d
been shipped in from a recording of a Bruce Forsyth
TV Special, and yet Chapman’s material is
hardly the stuff of which variety shows are made.
“They’re all American” opined
the Photographer, but I wasn’t so sure. -
Nick Morgan |
A
THOMPSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December
17th 2008 |
| This
show was put together and compered by Teddy
Thompson as a benefit for Amnesty International,
and was notable as it brought Teddy, sister Kami
(she’s had an unfortunate Martha Wainwright
makeover) and mum and dad Richard
and Linda
Thompson on stage together, a very rare sight indeed.
Linda (whose only solo singing was from behind a
curtain) and Teddy seemed to get very emotional
about this, Kami was too busy doing her Martha stuff,
and dad seemed to be suffering from mild jet lag.
“Here’s a song I wrote on the plane
on the way over” – it was called ‘The
wrong presents’ – “I hope it’s
ok. It sounded alright in my head”. They’re
joined by a variety of luminaries who work their
way through a variety of mostly seasonal songs.
“I don’t know any Christmas songs”
said an out-of-sorts Bert Jansch, who had earlier
played ‘Anji’ as a tribute to Davy Graham
whose death was announced the day before the gig.
Glaswegian Brendan Campbell also struggled with
his version of ‘Good King Wenceslas’,
which was a shame as he was a most engaging singer
and guitarist. |
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| Behind
all the soloists was that house band to beat all
house bands, led by Kate
St John, and featuring Roger Eno on keyboards
and David Coulter on guitars, mandolin and saw.
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset sang a seasonal
song from the North East of England which I’m
sure was called ‘The Hexham shaggers’,
whilst New York’s very camp Justin Bond sang
a timely song called ‘The new depression’.
The portly Chris Difford turned up with a song decrying
seasonal excess – I think it might have been
his Christmas single ‘Let’s not fight
this Christmas’, whilst Teddy floated in and
out with various performers (including Jenni Muldaur)
and sang beautifully. Nor should I forget to mention
human beatboxer Shlomo, whose medley of Christmas
carols was to say the least surprising, and wonderfully
joyful. Yes – it was a very pleasant evening. |
| Oh
yes – and there’s a special Christmas
song by Teddy & Co which you can download
from you-know-where and make a donation to Amnesty
– so if you still have any of that seasonal
goodwill about you, you should go and have a look.-
Nick Morgan (photograph by Kate) |
THE
BLOCKHEADS
Shepherds Bush Empire, London, December
21st 2008 |
 |
Well
it’s almost Christmas isn’t it –
and it’s the last gig of a busy year, so why
not indulge in a pure piece of seventies nostalgia?
Not that the
Blockheads would have it that way –
almost half the songs they play are either from
their last album ‘Where’s the party’,
or their forthcoming ‘Looking down a barrel’.
There’s not much to say about these tireless
troubadours that you haven’t already heard.
But I would say that from my vantage point I was
astonished at the complexity of Johnny Turnbull’s
guitar parts (and the ease with which he performed
them, as he hadn’t looked entirely on top
form in the Thai restaurant before the gig), and
of course Norman Watt Roy’s bass playing –
every song a solo. A perfectly satisfying way to
end a year.- Nick Morgan (photograph by Kate) |
Check
the index of all reviews:
Nick's Concert Reviews
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