Category: Music

Gig Review: Jim Bob at The Cluny, 9th November 2022

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Still catching up with the gigs from what is now four years ago. What this process is teaching me is that I really need to be more prompt with these reviews. It’s amazing how much you forget.

This was an early anniversary celebration for me and Geth (those who (a) attended our wedding in November 2012 and (b) have a particular niche music awareness may remember that we did our first dance to Carter USM’s ‘And God Created Brixton’).

Berries were the support act. I don’t really remember anything about them, sorry!

There’s no setlist on setlist.fm for this particular show, but the one listed for the Sheffield date is near-identical from my memory.

As is typical for Jim Bob gigs these days, it was a great mix of Carter classics and solo stuff. Geth and I had really been enjoying the recent solo stuff (‘Battling The Bottle’ and ‘The Summer of No Touching’ are big favourites of mine) so it was a constant vibe. We stood on the balcony platform to the side of the pit (I can’t do pits these days!) so the view was slightly blocked, but that didn’t spoil a thing. (Geth afterwards: ‘that was the best gig I’ve been to all year, and I could only see his feet’.)

I had to crouch down to get this one!

Other than the abovementioned, my highlights were ‘Bloodsport for All’ (though, this being late 2022, my mind did wander to the question of whether the ‘God Save the Queen’ reference should be changed to ‘God Save the King’) and ‘Prince in a Pauper’s Grave’ (my all-time favourite Carter song).

It was a great night and definitely up there with the best of 2022. Jim Bob is playing Newcastle again this spring and I’m sort of tempted!

Gig Review: Duran Duran at BST Hyde Park, 10th July 2022

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Shortly after the Dublin gig, I was off to see Duran Duran again!

I was in London on my own for this one so arrived fairly early for the day-long BST event (Duran were headlining) as I didn’t really have anything else to do. None of the music acts during the afternoon caught my interest, and it was a very hot day (one of those days I feel a bit wistful for currently, writing this from the middle of winter!), so I took the opportunity to chill with my picnic blanket under a tree, enjoy food from the festival stalls, read a book and people-watch. (All the girls were in Veja trainers that summer. That is a very strong memory.)

This was my view for most of the day:

I did venture out to catch a bit of Chic and Nile Rodgers, but the sun was still pretty strong so I retreated back to my tree. I knew Nile would be back on stage with Duran later on!

Thankfully it was a lot cooler by the time the main set started. We were very much in the Future Past era at this point, so the setlist was similar to Dublin (London setlist available on setlist.fm here), but the vibe was very different – equally lovely, but somehow more energetic. I was a long way back in the crowd (BST had a large VIP section so unless you were paying through the nose you couldn’t get anywhere near to the stage) but everyone around me was there to dance. It was a great atmosphere. (And Nile came out as expected to join the band for ‘Notorious’ and ‘Pressure Off’!)

It was dark by the time the band finished and a big crush to get out of Hyde Park… but such a buzz and so worth the trip down to London!

Gig Review: Duran Duran at St Anne’s Park Dublin, 12th June 2022

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This was another COVID-postponed gig, and turned into a bit of a nightmare with the postponed logistics, especially as at some point Geth decided to come along for his birthday weekend. It was a flying visit to Dublin in the end but I really enjoyed it!

It was a bit of a festival atmosphere in St Anne’s Park – love an outdoor gig in the summer. The first support act was Sinead O’Brien. Simon came out to introduce her (something, he claimed, that he’d never done for a support act before). I recall her music being fairly chilled out and a good way to start the show.

A return to blurry gig photography, sorry. Hopefully this will improve over the next few gig review catchups as our phone cameras get better.

The middle act was Goldfrapp, a band that I always quite enjoyed in their hit days, so it was good to have the opportunity to see them.

I think this picture might have been taken of the big screen rather than the band themselves!

In between the acts, it rained a lot 😒 and we made good use of the various plastic bags we’d brought with us.

I tweeted about this gig at the time, so here are a couple of links to my contemporary thoughts:

TLDR: as a gig experience, I probably enjoyed it even more than Birmingham the year before (although that was special in a different way!). Duran played some unexpected songs, and it was a really fun atmosphere, with Geth getting a lot of love from fellow gig-goers as it was his birthday, and lots of dancing in the crowd.

It’s fun to look back at the Future Past era gigs now that I’m used to the band’s Danse Macabre look!

They finished with ‘Rio’, which is fairly standard. Geth was dragging me to the exit during that one as the train back to Dublin city centre was due… and then the train driver waited for everyone anyway, for about an extra 20 minutes!

Setlist.fm has the deets here!

I didn’t have long to wait for another Duran gig, so expect another review soon…

Gig Review: Pet Shop Boys at Newcastle Arena, 27th May 2022

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This was one of the many rescheduled gigs post-COVID. 2021-2022 ended up being a bit unplanned and manic with all the rescheduled events falling where they fell! As such, I’d been looking forward to this gig for a long time, having originally booked it in 2019. I love Pet Shop Boys and I’d never seen them live before.

Minimalist stage setup, which is what you expect with PSB.

There was no support band for this one. This meant more time for more hits! My main memory is that they played absolutely everything – all the hits from the ’80s and ’90s – and there was very little more I could have asked for. Some of the less known ’90s stuff like ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ maybe? Or some of the more recent stuff with which I’m familiar? But I didn’t miss it. This was a bit of a bucket list gig for me, so the hits were what I was there for.

Setlist posted by a setlist.fm user here, which shows you how comprehensive the set was!

One of the recent songs they didn’t play was that ‘Purple Zone’ song that they’d done with Soft Cell (see the Soft Cell review)!

Afterwards, we bumped into our neighbour Mandy walking back from the metro – she’d been to the gig too, so it was great to chat about it on the way home.

A really great experience.

Gig Review: Paul Young / Go West at Sage Gateshead, 14th May 2022

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Another super late gig review! Making an effort to get them done so hopefully I’ll be caught up in a few weeks’ time…

I had remembered differently, but my photo history informs me that Paul Young was actually on first and Go West closed the show. This is why I really need to be more prompt with my gig reviews!

Great band on this tour!

Paul Young gave a great performance and his two backup singers were very memorable. Highlights for me were ‘Love of the Common People’ and ‘Come Back and Stay’ (the latter being one of my favourite songs of all time!).

Good to see this lot again.

Go West were pretty much the same as when I previously saw them with Cutting Crew – it was Paul Young I was really there for. Nevertheless I enjoyed the show, ‘King of Wishful Thinking’ being my favourite track.

The setlist from this exact concert is not available, but here’s the same one from a few days later on the tour.

Importantly, I’m back to ticking off artists on my Band Aid baby bucket list! Paul Young sings the first line of the song, so he’s a good one to collect.

Updated Band Aid baby bucket list progress: song artists 12/37 (32.4%); message artists 2/7 (28.6%); total artists 14/44 (31.8%).

Gig Review: Soft Cell at O2 Academy Leeds, 13th November 2021

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I cannot believe this was four years ago. I have been procrastinating so badly when it comes to these gig blogs.

Leeds is always a vibe though! And we bumped into Geth’s mate Sam and her husband Wayne in the queue. This was for the best because the queue was HORRIBLE. We’d arrived in plenty of time but it took hours and we didn’t get inside until they’d already started ‘Torch’. Thankfully it was the first track, which wasn’t clear from outside!

Marc and Dave! What a duo.

Full setlist was posted by a lovely setlist.fm user here! My highlights:

‘Sex Dwarf’ – this is Geth’s favourite Soft Cell track and we finally got to see it live. Marc Almond doesn’t perform it at his solo gigs as far as I’m aware, so it hadn’t been in the set when we saw him at Electric Dreams.

‘Bedsitter’ – a personal favourite. Great to hear this one again.

‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ – other than the fact that the blimmin’ inflatable pink flamingoes were everywhere again! Put them away, they’re too silly for this lovely song!

‘Purple Zone’ – this was a recent collaboration with Pet Shop Boys. I quite like it.

After the gig we met up with Sam and Wayne again and went for a debrief in the pub, which was lovely!

Debriefing!

Having not got around to posting this until December 2025, I will finish with this: RIP Dave Ball. What a legend. When the news broke, Geth and I were just so glad that we’d had the opportunity to see them play together.

Gig Review: Andy Taylor ‘Rock ‘n’ Raise’ at Wylam Brewery, 15th September 2021

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It has taken me a long time to get round to posting all my gig reviews from the last few years. This one is from 2021 – at the time I reviewed the gig for both Cherry Lipstick and Daily Duranie. The latter is no longer online so I will post a modified version of that review here!

While the Duran gig on Tuesday 14th September was more fabulous than I could ever have expected, I had a very good reason for being unable to stick around for the second night – I already had tickets for another exciting show! I made a quick train journey from Birmingham back home to Newcastle, ready for the long-awaited return of Andy Taylor to the North East of England. Duran one night and Andy the next… quite possibly the closest I’ll ever get to seeing the classic lineup! Wonderful that they were both hometown gigs too.

Andy’s gig was a charity show titled ‘Rock ‘N’ Raise’, with the aim of raising money for charities including the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust. As such, it was a bit of a festival atmosphere with various support acts, all with links to the area. My favourite was North East singer Lorraine Crosby, who is most well-known for singing the female vocal on Meat Loaf’s ‘I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’ and these days performs a Queen tribute act. She has a brilliant voice and would later join Andy for his big finale.

She was also wearing the event t-shirt! I bought one and still wear it regularly.

There was also a charity raffle and auction just before Andy came on, with the auctioned items being a bracelet made specially out of the guitar strings Andy was using that night (to be made after the gig, obviously!) and a signed poster. The two items went for £1,000 each, and I believe were bought by the same person! Great news for the charity and I hope the buyer enjoys them – the bracelet especially would be a very special souvenir!

Andy and the band played a brilliant mix of Duran tracks (including ‘What Happens Tomorrow’, which Andy described as ‘the Duran song that got away’, and ‘Careless Memories’, which I adored), Power Station tracks, tracks off the 1987 Thunder album, and a few Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart tracks with which Andy had originally been involved. It occurs to me that seeing an Andy Taylor gig must be the only way now to see Power Station songs performed by a Power Station member, unless John and the rest of Duran ever decide to throw a few into a set! There were no tracks played from Andy’s new album, so it felt like quite a different show to his last gig at the 100 Club, but that also felt right for the type of show it was. There’ll be plenty of time to hear the new stuff when Andy’s ready for us to hear it. (Note from 2025: and we now can!)

In the stage fog!

Just like Duran the night before, Andy closed his finale with ‘Rio’. Andy’s version was a bit of a party, with support acts joining him on stage and the glorious surprise of Si King from the Hairy Bikers playing the bongos!

Because it was a local-to-me gig I dragged Geth out with me. He really enjoyed it and was able to share my excitement when Andy played ‘What Happens Tomorrow’ as I’d recently been playing Astronaut a lot in the car! He said he’d like to see Andy again so I’ll be buying two tickets for the Cullercoats gig if/when that COVID-cancelled UK tour finally gets rescheduled… Fingers crossed that Andy will eventually make it out there to see all the international fans too – because everybody deserves to see this show.  It was a cracker!

(Note from 2025 – no more Andy gigs as of yet due to his ongoing cancer treatment. This Classic Pop interview from earlier this year is a great, positive read!)

As was my habit in those days, I livetweeted during the gig: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Music Review: Duran Duran: Danse Macabre

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It’s been a while since I did a music review. I don’t think I even did one for Duran’s last album, Future Past, which was released two years ago. But the excitement was high for the new Hallowe’en-themed album, so it’s time to get back into the habit! Thoughts listed track by track…

Nightboat

This re-recording sounds even eerier than the original, and sort of more epic. Like a film soundtrack. It does lose some of the punk energy I loved in the 1981 version, though.

Black Moonlight

This is more of a banger every time I hear it. A ‘dancing around the room’ kind of song! Love that funk bassline. I also love that it’s been all over the BBC this Hallowe’en week.

Love Voudou

A funkier and less spiky update of the original ‘Love Voodoo’ from 1993. I think I prefer this version!

Bury A Friend

My favourite Billie Eilish song so I was excited about this one. It did not disappoint. Fully Duranised and nicely rock-infused.

Supernature

Loses none of the disco feel of the original Cerrone version. Love the backing chorus at the end.

Danse Macabre

Probably the most Hallowe’en-y song on the album. My favourite lyrics (I am a Hallowe’en girl so frankly I was sold from the opening) and it’s another one that’s highly danceable.

Secret Oktober 31st

I always found the original slightly dirge-y (I wrote a piece for Cherry Lipstick to that effect) but this version is a bit better – it has a twinkly lightness about it at the start and then gets a bit filmic by the end. Much more interesting.

Ghost Town

A classic from the Specials back in the day so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They’ve injected it with a lot more fun and it made me smile (and then laugh when it got extra reggae in the middle). A more serious cover would probably have fallen flat but this one struck the right note.

Paint It Black

Another personal favourite from childhood. What I love about the Rolling Stones original is its harsh spikiness and that was lost here. However, it does sound spookier (and the guitars are pleasingly ’80s) so I think it’s a version that will grow on me.

Super Lonely Freak

Duran played this mashup of ‘Super Freak’ and ‘Lonely In Your Nightmare’ when I saw them in Leeds earlier this year. I hadn’t realised it had originated from the Hallowe’en 2022 Vegas gig, but I did enjoy it in concert (even if I was worried for a moment that it had replaced the wonderful ‘Girls On Film’/’Acceptable In The ’80s’ mashup that I love! But they kept that in too so yay). Glad to see it immortalised on record… and the sax section is fantastic.

Spellbound

Being a recovering goth, I am a huge Siouxsie and the Banshees fan. The original has been played at every goth club night since 1981 and so I know it intimately. This version lacks a little of the punk energy, but it would fit in very nicely with later goth rock from the second half of the ’80s.

Psycho Killer

A smoother and more epic version of the Talking Heads original. Gorgeous double bassline (the second provided by Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin, complementing John Taylor) and lovely instrumental work all round.

Confession In The Afterlife

A slow and serious ending to what has otherwise been a fun and danceable album. Pretty tune and a nice guitar solo but it feels like a bit of an odd duck on this record.

Gig Review: Duran Duran at O2 Academy Birmingham, 14th September 2021

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It’s been two and a half years since I last did a gig review on here! I’m a bit out of the habit…

Like many other things in my life post-pandemic, going to gigs is not as frequent an occurrence as it used to be. I like my evenings at home on my sofa and it has to be something special for me to buy tickets these days. However, I have been to a few since the world started returning to normal (nine, by my calculations) and have one or two lined up for the future. It’s probably time I start catching up with some reviews again.

It was, of course, highly appropriate that my first post-pandemic gig back was my first time getting to see Duran Duran. They’ve been my favourite band for years now but for various reasons I just hadn’t had the chance to see them. When a couple of surprise dates were announced in September 2021, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

I reviewed this gig for both Daily Duranie and Cherry Lipstick at the time, so my much fresher thoughts are out there already and I won’t repeat those. Really it’s just nice to look back, in hindsight, at a really special experience – the suddenness of the announcement, heading down to Birmingham for the evening, the incredible atmosphere at the O2 Academy (a much smaller venue than the arenas Duran usually play) and the overwhelming feeling of experiencing something for which I’d waited a long time. Not to mention excitedly livetweeting the gig (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) 😀

Duran Duran

Now, for the first time in nearly four years, I shall update my Band Aid baby bucket list:

Updated Band Aid baby bucket list progress: song artists 11/37 (29.7%); message artists 2/7 (28.6%); total artists 13/44 (29.5%).

Playlist Pick: Arctic Monkeys, ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’

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Rumours of the death of Playlist Pick Wednesdays were apparently premature. New Wednesday series now starting NEXT week instead. I haven’t had time to organise it this week with the game competition deadline and everything!

Today’s playlist pick is another classic from the mid-’00s, which is a period in pop-rock for which I have been a bit nostalgic recently.

I also thoroughly recommend listening to the Anton du Beke cover in order to celebrate his long-overdue installation as a Strictly judge (for 2021 at least…):

We did a quickstep routine to this in the ‘Strictly Dance’ exercise class I attended pre-pandemic. I will get back to that class someday.