First night out with Di in the wheelchair- scary but everyone opens doors for you - good access at the Barbican though the sound up in the “slips” was a bit off centre until the ears got used to it. Not seen Paul Carrack before but got good recommendations from various people. Slick but safe was my first thoughts. He got the very middle aged audience up onto their feet by halfway through the set and played all the old Mike and the Mechanics favourites and more. The band were excellent though the use of two drummers ( the other from the support band) seemed a bit pointless and many of the songs seemed bit ploddy on the rhythm. Came out to a snow storm …….

set time 1hr 30 ( finished at ten. ) Support for whole tour - Tinlin

The very OTT British Bluesman Larry Miller appearing at the Duchess - he’s been around on the live scene for a good few years now but lesser known in terms of album sales. Some good self written material though plus a few covers ending with a classic version of Parissiene Walkways Great fun in a sort of Stevie Ray Vaughn meets Rory Gallagher style . Put my earplugs in this time - too much time at the front of the Duchess this month is a sure way to tinnitus.

Set time 1hr 45
Support Tom Atkinson Band

A selection of York bands in the Oxjam fest - £7 for a wristband - call in and out of as many venues as you like - saw at least 2 songs from about ten bands during the day Excellent idea Oxfam and hopefully looked like a success. Great venue at the Attic in Kings Square.
Mark Wynn, King Courgette 2 of my favourites York buzzing with music all day Pity about the moron drinkers occupying the rest of our beautiful city .

Support from the excellently LOUD Virgil and the Accelerators.

Wilko Johnson HAS to be watched pressed to the rail at the front of Fibbers just slightly to the right of centre. Get there at the start - forget the bar or the toilets - hold your position and wait. Wilko together with Norman Watt Roy is one of those combinations you must see close up. The set is always the same - a few old Feelgood numbers thrown in , Wooley Bully , Johnny B Goode - as the temperature rises the sweat starts to pour off them until the stage is awash. The familiar red Tele was replaced halfway through the set by an identical one when a string broke. Curly Pink Guitar Lead and Fender Amp ( which blew up before the encore ) The stage strutting machine gunning style is unique. The crowd seemed larger than usual - probably due to Wilko making more TV appearances of late.
Doesn’t get much better than this……

Wednesday - City Screen for the night to see the Led Zeppelin film “Celebration Day “ One off showing. Though it will be it on DVD soon no I always prefer to see this type of film on the big screen - the sound quality in the City Screen is excellent . I never saw Zep in the 70s unfortunately but this made me realise how good they must have been. John Paul Jones looking a bit tired and bewildered at first but Plant and Page still able to get straight into their Rock God persona . Some superb drumming from son of Bonzo.

My very talented guitar teacher Mark Hopwood and the great voice of Dave Brough in their acoustic duo role-- a very small crowd in the Roman Bath - usually packed with regular drinkers. A quiet relaxing hour of well crafted acoustic covers of 60s 70s and 80s classics. No video of this one but plenty clips of them on U Tube
Was going to see Rozi plain in the Basement bar but too late to justify paying for a ticket -

Midway through Rocktober and this was one of the best nights yet - the Valmores from York and Childhood who were from North London were a good build up as the crowd slowly increased to about 100 to see the excellent Palma Violets - one of the only bands i can remember who made it to the front of he NmE before releasing a single. Check it out on http://www.palmaviolets.co.uk/

The driving rhythm and high energy vocals reminded me of something from the late 70’s - the reaction of the audience ( Oh to be 17 again !) was a sure sign of why these boys will go far. Short songs -no nonsense- do very little but do it well - no fancy guitar solos here.
So glad I didn’t miss that gig - will this be one where i can say “ I saw them in York before they were famous … or are they famous already ?…..
The single is on good old Rough Trade so a few happy memories of a previous life. Just the sort of band they would have signed 30 years ago .

Caught the last bit of Joe Below’s set at the Volunteer Arms in Holgate after a delayed curry due to the race crowds. . Seemed to be a few last minute substitutes in the rhythm section for some reason so songs seemed to be a little unrehearsed - still made little difference to the set - a few hesitant starts and finishes but great blues/pub rock from these boys.
Check out the Volunteer Arms if you havn’t already - always good blues on a Saturday

Great name - where did that come from i wonder
The Post Office Club is a little known venue down Marygate - stares from several ageing ex postman as you go through the bar. Typical Working Mans Club venue . Raised seating , wooden dance floor - the sound is very good too and the Drinks are 1990s prices

Last time i saw the Astronauts was at the Rowntree Park peace Festival I think and been meaning to see some more ever since . Two good support bands all heavy rock stuff. The audience of about 80/90 was a bit thin i thought considering the quality of the artists and the amount of publicity Given that there were three bands with 4 members each + friends that makes the paying audience a lot smaller. I have seen Stu Fletcher play bass in the Mothers and other bands and he was well on form - very versatile and skilled player.

Check out this bands website they will go far ….. http://www.wecouldbeastronauts.com/

no way tonight --- would have gone to see Nine Black Alps at Fibbers but things too hectic today so had night off more tomorrow

I used to see Gypsy Bill busking in York a good few years ago and always stopped to listen . One off the best slide players I have seen he is a totally natural player . Accompanied by Del on double bass this is the best night of Delta blues you will ever see
First time I have been to the Royal Oak in Goodramgate for a while- enthusiastic crowd of Blues fans young and old. Why every tourist in York is not crammed in here I cannot understand.
Worth seeing just to listen to one of my favourite guitars. Bill’s “National” steel guitar is older than any of the audience and has a sound like nothing else.

KOKOMO

Had to have a day off Tuesday as went to a funeral… goodnight mum … xxx.

The Rock link was there though … the Hotel in which we had the drinks afterwards was the once well known Blisworth Hotel ( now renamed) near where i lived as a kid the venue where i actually went to my first proper gig at the age of 15 … Sept 1970 It was Van der Graaf Generator ( early prog rock big in their genre at the time for those who never heard of them)
More to the point the DJ at the gig was The “John Peel Medicen Light Show” . I remember the night fairly clearly . Peel dressed in a Donkey Jacket playing Jethro Tull etc all night and those oil wheel lights . Nostalgia or what ….


also Mum liked Tom Jones so we listened to “Green Green grass of Home at the end of the service !

Barbican - easy walk to get there - great to have a venue in York of this size… had Pete as a substitute for Di who is still in Hospital - she insists i keep going to all the gigs - keep me busy till she recovers.
Great Seats F23/22 right in the middle a bit back from the front where the acoustics are better. The support James Walborne was a great half hour of excellent blues style acoustic guitar with self written songs.
A brief ice cream interval and Ray Davies came on to a short musical intro - all very show biz but worked fro me. A few acoustic numbers with his guitarist whose name I missed. The band seamlessly came on stage to perform rocking versions of all the great Kinks hits followed by several encores of Lola etc with the audience well into the clapping/ chorus chanting. Must admit i’m not a great fan of all that audience participation stuff - ( I pay to see the performer ) but Ray got away with it Ok. And he brought the support back on for a couple of songs which shows respect. Brilliant entertainment - inventive versions of classic songs from one of Englands all time great songwriters. Sorry no Pics Cameras banned at this venue

set time 1 1/2 hours

Duchess .. caught last bit of the Chris Johnson/Heather Findlay Support - would have been nice to have seen some more but hospital visit caused late start tonight

The sound in the Duchess is dire - sort of hits the ceiling then bounces back down at you like a muffled wave of mud. This does not help any band. Was not overall impressed by the Zombies - a mixture of new songs and old all sounding a bit the same with a lot of chat about the history of the band in between. Colin Blunstone had a sort of smug look about him that put me off. They said they’ve been on the road for 51 years which seems impossible. Got the feeling the ageing audience were a bit disappointed apart from the few devoted fans at the front Anyway enough slagging off that one A after 1/2 the set i detached my feet from the floor and left .

Hello all - slight hiccup to the proceedings as my partner Di had an accident and is in Hospital with a broken Hip …… so may be a few dates missing. Tried the Walter Trout tickets on Freecycle at last minute but too short notice so thats one i can’t write about

more tomorrow - Di has insisted that i carry on the mission alone but not sure yet ! Tomoroow night still on for Zombies at Duchess hopefully ...

Easy walk to the Golden Ball for their regular Thursday night live music. Took pot luck as they don’t usually have the same regular band . Tonight was Blue Saloon - good solid Blues/rock doing covers of all the classic Chicago and Texas Blues artists.
Veterans of the York music scene I think, these are a great bunch of musicians. A shame a few more fans of good Blues weren’t in evidence. The Golden Ball is off the tourist trail and I think a bit more promotion of this type of gig would bring in the punters. If I was visiting York on a rainy Thursday night I would be over the moon to find something like this .

No website for the Blue Saloon boys ??

http://www.goldenball-york.co.uk/

Not a good idea to stand still for too long in the Duchess- chances are your feet will stick to the floor ! This venue reminds me ( not in a bad way ) of places I went to see bands in around 1970 - Low ceiling, black painted walls, posters in the loos - Nothing changes …..but the music gets better ! Smoke Fairies were not originally on my list but thanks to a mention by Richard Hawley on his website and a few recommendations ( thanks Karen) I decided that this was a must see. Badly promoted though as the crowd was a bit thin - 100 at the most - not helped by a rainy night. Not going to say much but superb live performance ranging from folk to rock and check out their CDs . Ace version of “Sanctuary” was the only non original song.
Set time 1hr 30

Support - Bears Den

http://www.smokefairies.com/

Waited a long time this year to get to see Richard Hawley - lots of sell outs - he even played Pocklington Arts Centre recently , but last night was an extra date in one of my favourite venues.
Support from Lisa Hannigan put me in a good mood - not one of those support acts where you wish they would finish soon - lovely voice and an excellent tribute to Levon Helme with a version of “Night they drove old Dixie down”

Once the talkers, chewers, farters and leg jigglers around us has settled down the audience were well behaved. A good mix of young and old - lots of “Vintage” clothing and a few Hawley “lookalikes”

The Guitar techs were busy tuning in the wings through the support - a brief interval and straight into ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge” - Title track of Hawley’s new album. Guitars appeared from stage right for every song. Gibsons, Gretches and Rickenbackers - this man obviously loves his classic guitars , though two or three would have been sufficient. Keeps the roadie in a job though. A lot of the guitar playing was done by Shez Sheridan. Even the bass player used three guitars .
Full praise to Richard Hawley , he thanked his audience and his fans numerous times and is grateful for his rise to fame from busking on Sheffield streets . A bit too much football talk for my liking but great rapport with the audience .
Also full marks to the sound crew - the acoustics are good in that hall and they made the most of it - perfect clear vocals in even the loudest of songs .
“Seek It” and “Don’t Stare at the Sun” my favourite songs , and a guest appearance by Martin Simpson at the end.


Set time 2 hours 10mins http://richardhawley.co.uk/home/

Easy start to the month - a relaxing evening in the Maltings with a nice pint of Erdinger . Chris Johnson who arrived last minute ( thought my first gig was going to be a no show ) did the quickest sound check possible, and then entertained us with a excellent selection of Dylan, Young etc performed with energy and enthusiasm to an audience not all attentive to be honest - a selection of Arriva and Post Office after- work drinkers and real ale enthusiasts. I stayed for the first set. Favourite was Promise of a Man one of my favourite Neil Young songs
No photos or videos of this one - not enough light.

Chris is supporting The Zombies on Saturday which may also be on my list

Morning all ---- Events started a day early with a recently added Sept 30th gig at the Picturedrome in Holmfirth to see The Magic Band. Saw them in March at the Duchess but decided that the offer of a lift with four other long time Beefheart fans was too good to turn down. Thanks to Pete for the invite who unfortunately fell down the stairs while doing the hoovering one hour before setting off so we had to leave him behind. Luckily a visit to A and E showed no serious damage.
Magic Band - the tightest bunch of musicians you will ever see were on form after a few technical problems at the start. Only two gigs in the UK this time so audience was from far and wide.
John “Drumbo “French sings in true Beefheart style - a good few old favourites plus new material .
Youngest members of the group guitarist Eric Klerks and drummer Craig Bunch hold their own with 3 of the original members. The nearest thing you could get to bringing back the spirit of The Captain !

Big Eyed Beans Encore

Set time 1hr 45

Support by the Scaramanga Six