A fun day out.

Great to see Ten Benson play for the first time in years delivering a bit of a greatest (should have been) hits set with original drummer Karl back in the fold too.

Almost as good was the Rock 'N' Roll Dog Show featuring rounds like 'Waggiest Tail'

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Such a pleasure to witness O'Hooley & Tidow's return to The Cellar on Saturday evening - an all round success with a good sized audience in - a lovely atmosphere - and two outstanding performers.
There were moments when the delicacy of Belinda's keyboard playing ushered in an aura of rapt marvel from the audience - and this was stroked to another level of pleasure by the velvet etched harmonic tapestry that she weaved with Heidi. Utterly delicious.
Too many highlights to mention but Two Mothers, Like Horses, Made In England and especially Beryl were the stand-out moments for me - cascading harmonies soaring to a crescendo against dramatically pulsating piano work in a tribute to the triumph against all the odds of cyclist Beryl Burton.
Joni Mitchell's 'The River' was meant to be the final song of the evening but a vibrant Cellar audience were having none of that and so two encores followed - the last delivered a cappella from the middle of an extremely appreciative crowd.

Steve Kelly 5th April 2017.
#Aberteifi #Cardigan #WelshMusic #LiveMusic #CellarCardigan #Quaystreet #ohooleyandtidow #bbcfolkawards2017

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This was the loudest and best concert I had ever been to; Support act Shanghai were bloody hurting my ears but Quo ramped it up further when they came on stage opening with one of my all time favourite Quo tracks Juniors Wailing, also impressed with several tracks from Blue for You Album notably: is there a better way, Rain, Mystery song then the usuals Caroline as encore Forty five hundred times, big fat mamma, don't waste my time. Had seen the band twice before this in 74 and 75 but this was and still remains my top concert. I remained a loyal fan seeing them in Paris, Holland and venues all over the UK up to and including 1982. When they ditched hard rock, John Coghlan and eventually Alan Lancaster and became a pop rock commercial group. I gave up on them.
Saw them twice more: in 2000 and I think 2006 in Perth Western Australia entertainment centre and the famous in last century tour at Burswood Theatre. The old stuff was still good but can't stand the pop crap.
Shame if they had stuck to the hard rock formula I believe they would have been as big as AC/DC.

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Opening gig for Teenage Fanclub's tour, they were very good. No idea what they played as I don't know any of there songs but it was an enjoyable gig.
Spinning Coin need a singer and a better sound balance

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Would've got a 10 only Damien in the band had a broken ankle, his leg was in a cast and he had difficulty playing. There were the odd moments when he would lose concentration, balance or something else and strange notes would eminate from his guitar. He at one point when finishing a number on an accoustic guitar played the wrong ending note and he visibly slumped his head forward in a dispondant manner. You couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. In true Wall fashion " The Show Must Go On "

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I was really looking forward to this gig, mainly because of Caravan, whose material I knew quite well by this time, but also as a mate of mine bought 'Turn Of The Cards' by Renaissance the previous year and had played it a lot whenever we went round to hang out. I think I'm right in saying that during the tour, the bands had taken it in turns to headline, but I'm not sure.
The following is taken from my diary of the time:
"We arrived at the Corn Exchange and had to join a huge queue of people waiting to get in; not as bad as it had been two years ago when we saw Focus there though, and we eventually got in. By the time we'd been to the bar to get some drinks Renaissance were starting their set, so we hurriedly found a place to sit down. (Note: The Corn Exchange is a seatless venue but for this gig the audience had decided to sit on the floor - they obviously knew it was going to be a long night.) The band sounded great from the off; Annie Haslam not only looked incredible but had a beautiful yet powerful voice, and at one point bassist Jon Camp played a great solo accompanied by his own echo. After a fantastic set that lasted nearly two hours and included 'Mother Russia', the band left the stage to deafening applause and cheering.
Before Caravan came on there was a BTM Records promo slide film shown on a screen at the back of the stage, with pictures and musical excerpts of other artists on the label, including Curved Air, Climax Blues Band, Trace and Wishbone Ash alongside Caravan and Renaissance of course.
At around 10:30 Caravan appeared and opened with 'Memory Lain, Hugh'. Each member of the band played extremely well, including the somewhat egotistical (it says here) viola player - Geoff Richardson - who also contributed guitar and flute at times. They featured some tracks from 'For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night' and some new ones from their forthcoming LP to be called 'Toys In The Attic' which apparently is an American expression meaning madness, according to Geoff. (Note again: by the time the album came out it had been re-named 'Cunning Stunts' instead, probably due to Aerosmith having made an album called 'Toys In The Attic', and beat them to it.) Their last number was the one I'd been waiting for and which I'd occasionally dared to shout out for - the lengthy 'For Richard', which was superb. After that they went off but soon came back and encored with a really lively piece appropriately entitled 'Hoedown', again from 'For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night'. The night's concert ended at around 12:25, a total of over four hours of live music and it had been thoroughly enjoyable and real value for money."

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Here's what I wrote shortly after the gig: "A great night. Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe were excellent musically. Ian Dury was unbelievable. Only the twat Wreckless Eric let things down a bit - apart from the single his stuff was rubbish. Overall EC was probably best - did a great encore of Alison."

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A show limited to 1000 punters enjoyed the Lips run through "The Soft Bulletin" album in random order. Most of the songs were heavily reworked arrangements from the now 20 year old classic album. It didn't matter, the band was tight and all the songs sounded great. The crowd screamed "Wayne". Lots of confetti, bubbles and blow up dolls added to the spectacle. The venue was great and the house sound was great. The crowd screamed "Wayne" again. There was a five song encore where the Lips unleashed "She Don't Use Jelly", "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Pt.2)", "Are You A Hypnotist", "It's Summertime" and "Do You Realize??" just for good measure. The crowd screamed "Wayne" some more and everyone left happy. A memorable evening out.

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http://www.music-news.com/review/UK/13000/Live/Petula-Clark?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
While mostly known as a singer, Clarks impressive career actually spans back to 1939 - and she has also been a successful actress (on stage and screen) and songwriter.

The word retirement is apparently not in her vocabulary, as 2017 saw her (at 85 years young) release a new album, "Living For Today" (Sony), and is currently fronting her first US tour in eons. Clark performed at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Massachusetts on December 22, 2017.

A natural spitfire, she opened with her 1966 tune, "You and I" (which was later featured in the 1969 film "Goodbye Mr. Chips," for which Clark co-starred with Peter O'Toole), which flowed into "Meant To Be" before she unearthed,"Don't Sleep in the Subway," a bouncy harmonious song, that almost masks the more serious subject matter of one partner warning her stubborn significant other against braving the elements after a quarrel.

A sensual rhythm section filled cover of the Peggy Lee classic "Fever," showed Clark can still be sassy. Clark spoke of her admiration for Lee, and how she initially had refused to cover Lee's vintage number (fortunately, her mind was changed as it was a marvelous rendition). Clark donned an Irish brogue for "Look to the Rainbow" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” Both of these tunes are from the 1968 movie/musical, "Finnians Rainbow" (which Clark starred in with Fred Astaire. The film was also directed by a very young Francis Ford Coppola).

A huge admirer of the Fab Four, Clark covered both The Beatles "Blackbird" (which she joking said was written by "Stella McCartneys father"), and John Lennons "Imagine." Lee also reminisced about meeting Lennon in Canada during his famous "bed in". "Fever" and Blackbird" are both included on her new disc.

Not just intent on playing her greatest hits, Clark ventured into Broadway territory crooning out "With One Look," from Sunset Boulevard (not surprising, as Clark had performed the part of Norma Desmond on the stage), and early 80s rock, covering Steve Windwoods 1980 infectious tune, "While You See A Chance," although Clarks version was a much more slowed down take on the song.

Another nice surprise was a visit back to her pre-British Invasion hit "This is My Song" (which had been made famous by silent film legend, Charlie Chaplin (Clark told a story of once going to Chaplins home. And from what she said, he could make a good cup of “English tea”).

Clarks most well know song, "Downtown" (which also found a new life in 2016, with its inclusion in the commercial for “WWE 2K17,” a professional wrestling video game) brought the audience to its feet. before she ended the night with "Rainbow."

It was a grand return for such a multi-talented legend.

John Reed

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
By Fran Brancatelli
CLC Observer - Wednesday, September 2, 1987

The Rock and Roll Caravan starring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers invaded Jones Beach for a night of solid Southern Rock.

Petty opened the show with "Think About Me" from his latest album Let Me Up I've Had Enough. Petty continued to crank out hits like "Breakdown," "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "An American Girl." He also layed two more cuts off the latest album -- "Jammin' Me" and "Runaway Trains" -- but his performance was highlighted by his performance of such classic tunes as "The Waiting" and "Refugee."

Besides playing his own songs Petty did a good rendition of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and also borrowed tunes from Bob Dylan, The Clash, and Chuck Berry.

The Del Fuegos, a band from Boston which plays a blend of country-rock music, was the Caravan's opening act. They were followed by the Georgia Satellites, who strolled onto the stage to the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies. The Satellites sounded great live, and really warmed up the crowd for Petty by playing their recent hits -- "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" and "Battleship Chains," as well as other tunes.

From beginning to end, the Rock and Roll Caravan provided a night of great rock, the chance to hear an accomplished musician, but two up and coming bands.

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I don't remember a lot about this gig other than Paul was great, the support band was Brinsley Schwartz, with another bassist who sang, Nick Lowe....it was also my 27th birthday, and I bought some extra tickets for friends, who then couldn't attend.

Not being a ticket tout, my wife and I got there a bit early for the gig, and I tentatively asked a couple of people if they needed tickets.....I had three spare, and a crowd got around me and literally begged me for the tickets, and eventually gave me double the face value, although I was willing to sell them on at the original price. I don't think the touts were happy as they were selling tickets for at least five times the original cost.....and a tout offered to buy my tickets....I told him to get lost...

Linda McCartney must have been in the band, although I don't recall her, but Denny Laine was there, and the rest of the band were....who knows, one of them might have been Hamish from Average White Band.

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Roy Orbison Mines Some Old Gold
By Peter Watrous
The New York Times
Sunday, July 31, 1988


Roy Orbison, who played at Pier 84 Wednesday night, got right to the point: he opened his show with his hit ''Only the Lonely,'' setting the open spaces in the tune's arrangement ringing with his quivering, over-ripe falsetto.

For the next hour or so, Mr. Orbison, a genuine American eccentric, brought out his hits - ''Blue Bayou,'' ''Pretty Woman,'' ''Dream Baby'' -songs that have permeated the American consciousness. Singing in his gilt-laden, extreme voice, he turned ballads into dreamlike, claustrophobically intimate set pieces. Mr. Orbison knows how to freeze time, so that every element of a song gleams as if magnified, and he would insert into tunes sections where the instruments would fall away to expose his voice. The audience, standing up and singing along, was ecstatic.

Mr. Orbison, dressed in his trademark black shirt and pants and sunglasses, also tore up rock-and-roll tunes; though he's known for his ballads, he started his recording career as a rock singer. He may be America's finest white blues interpreter; dropping a couple of pounds of ornamentation from his voice, he sang such standards as ''I Got a Woman'' and some of his earlier tunes, including ''Ooby Dooby'' and ''Candy Man.''

Of all the rock-and-roll singers of his generation, Mr. Orbison is the least obsessed with masculinity; the music and his voice and words are unmenacing and complex. He has perfected an odd vision of popular music, one in which eccentricity and imagination beat back all the pressures toward conformity, and after 30 years of singing, he's as good as ever.

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Status Quo was exciting to watch...esp., one song, I don't remember the name of the song, but it was long...they had 3 guitarists out front, each guy playing what appeared a seemingly different song, but the faster they played the closer in harmony they became - when the crowd noticed, it seemed the whole arena came alive and started to buzz, by the time all three guitarists were playing the notes, the crowd was going crazy with excitement.
Robin not have to take a backseat to anyone. I remember the many, many speakers hanging from the ceiling as he brilliantly played, calmly standing in his white suit.

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Petty, cool customer of rock, warms up for Summit stand
By Marty Racine
Houston Chronicle - Monday, July 8, 1985

The man in black and red was again cool as ice but he never sounded hotter.

Tom Petty, buoyed by being down in Dixie on his "Southern Accents "tour, took enough inspiration from a cheering "Texas" crowd of 12,000 Sunday night at The Summit to finally get loose like he'd always threatened but never allowed in all the other shows I've seen him perform.

The Florida native liked this rebel yell. And he responded by melting that cool demeaner which throughout his career has distanced his brand of songwriter rock 'n' roll from the emotion you'll receive from, say, Springsteen or Seger.

He and longtime band the Heartbreakers integrated "Southern Accents" conservatively within the set, starting out with such older material as "American Girl, You Got Lucky" and "Don't Do Me Like That" before talking Dixie.

About four or five songs in, after shedding his black topcoat with a Dixie flag for a liner and when the "nerves had worn off" - Houston and Dallas are among a few select cities across the country which actually make a performer of this caliber nervous with anticipation - Petty announced that, now, "anything can happen." He was at ease as I'd never seen him. (His previous show here was a full two years ago, and, unbeknown to the audience, he was suffering from a severe toothache.)

Augmented by the Soul Lips, his three-piece horn section, and the Rebellettes - Carroll Sue Hill and Pat Peterson - the Heartbreakers produced a full sound that coalesced as the evening grew hotter. The pacing was brilliant.

Lead guitarist Mike Campbell played the cool role with proper reserve, but his playing soared; drummer Stan Lynch has a very concise attack, needing little of the animation that most big-rock drummers rely upon. Bassist Howie Epstein, the newest Heartbreaker, doubled on vocal harmony and mandolin; and Benmont Tench, also an in-demand Los Angeles session man, alternated between organ and piano.

But it was this man Petty, a most mysterious figure who grants few interviews and whose career has been - or was - beset by contractual problems with record companies, who commanded the stage in his usual black duds and that patented Rickenbacker guitar.

Oh, he did change guitars on virtually every number, but he along with Peter Townshend has made the Rickenbacker - a difficult guitar to handle - a rock 'n' roll icon which few care or dare employ.

In keeping with that cool Petty image, the set Sunday night was draped in slate-colored vinyl, like marble, and filled with backlit light show that had a Confederate flag drape down as the band went into "Southern Accents" and "Spike", the latter one of his best new songs on which sax man Jimmy Zavalo unleashed a great harmonica solo.

Other hard-edged renditions included "I Need To Know, Change of Heart" and "Refugee," the best song off "Damn The Torpedoes". Petty's voice was strong and pure, and the sound system delivered it all.

Petty clearly was elated at being among Southern accents again, at the reception from this Houston crowd.

It was enough to get the mystery man, the cool customer of rock, warmed up.

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Tom Petty's Back, And The Waiting Was Worth It
By Rick Kogan
Chicago Tribune - Monday, June 24, 1985

It doesn't take much courage, just three days into the sunniest season, to declare Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Saturday night concert at Poplar Creek the best show of the summer.

But such was the potency and unabashed rock and roll drive of the performance that Saturday night's show could--and should--retain its lofty ranking throughout the summer.

Admittedly, there were some tentative moments. This surely can be attributed to the band's not having toured for two years; only three weeks into this current American swing, there still are a few kinks to work out. It was obvious that the players were still feeling their way around a few of the evening's selections.

But this did little to dim an otherwise striking evening.

Showing no ill effects from the broken hand he suffered eight months ago, Petty played and sang with dominant control. His voice was especially controlled and efficient, more and more Dylanesque but nevertheless distinctive and full of articulate impact.

Abetted by those wizard Heartbreakers--most stunningly lead guitarist Mike Campbell, who had some breathtaking solo excursions--and backed by a four-man horn section and two striking singers and minor percussionists, Petty provided an occasionally captivating and consistently stimulating gathering of his material, leaning most heavily on his current album, "Southern Accents." Indeed, the most effective number of the night was "Don't Come Around Here No More," that paean to psychedelia, which came complete with a nostalgic light show and elicited a sustained and joyful standing ovation.

One of the most interesting things about Petty's music is its ability to communicate on multiple levels--to hard-core rockers and to those looking for a little substance with their sounds. Both crowds turned out in abundance.

And both crowds found special satisfaction in the songs from "Southern Accents," songs able to carry thoughtful and carefully crafted embellishments --horns or background vocals--without damaging the rock and roll core. The total package is most welcome on this sometimes one-note scene.

"It Ain't Nothin' to Me" was particularly appealing. A collaborative effort between Petty and David Stewart of the Eurythmics, its strong rhythm-and-blues feel is at once dangerous and uplifting. Other selections from that determinedly adventurous album--the title song included--provided not only examples of Petty's craftsmanship but his desire to push and expand his talents.

Though "Southern Accents" material dominated the show, Petty included a good number of songs from bygone albums, some of which held up better than others. Though "Listen To Her Heart" was missing its previous razor-sharp teeth, "Don't Do Me Like That" and "The Waiting" were as vigorous as ever, that latter number positively refreshed.

Clearly, Petty and his mates (Benmont Tench on piano and organ, Howie Epstein on bass and Stan Lynch on drums) were grateful for the strong reception they received Saturday night.

This early into the summer and onto the road, it's nice for them to know they are again welcome, to realize they still have exactly what it takes to make rock and roll something memorable.

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Tom Petty
By Harry Sumrall
Saturday August 1, 1981 The Washington Post

Tom Petty is a tuxedo in a world of leisure suits, Jamaican coffee in a world of Sanka, a Rolls-Royce convertible in a world of K cars. Not to overstate the matter, but Tom Petty has class.

Last night, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers curled a few acoustic tiles at the Merriweather Post Pavilion with a performance that was loud, raw, smooth, polished and brought off with style and panache. In short, a near perfect rock 'n' roll show.

Like many artists of the early '80s (George Lucas also springs to mind), Petty is aderivative creator -- he takes the devices of an earlier era (in this case '60s rock in all its guises) and adds his own personal touches. The result is music that is at once old and new, nostalgic yet fresh and surprising.

Backed by the Heartbreakers, a sturdy and sensitive group, Petty mixed R&B, folk rock and ybritish blues with a vaguely new-wavish approach.His vocals and stage manner were drawn from various musicians -- Dylan, James Brown, Roger Daltry, Ray Charles (to name but a few) -- yet somehow the end product seemed to be Petty himself. Likewise, his own songs and the classics that he also featured were welded together into a seamless whole -- songs such as "I need to Know" mixed quite comfortably with "Hit the Road, Jack."

He opened his encore with the first notes of "It's Alright," the number the Stones used for their finale in 1965. A nice touch to a very, very nice concert.

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Petty And Lone Justice Home Again At Forum
Saturday August 3, 1985 Robert Hilbrun
The Los Angeles Times



Tom Petty and Lone Justice both had something to prove in their homecoming performances Thursday night at the sold-out Forum. Only Lone Justice fully succeeded.

Petty and his augmented Heartbreakers band played relatively long (nearly two hours) and most definitely hard in their first local appearance in two years.

And there were glorious moments as they reprised many of the inspiring anthems--from the opening "American Girl" through "Refugee"--that established Petty a few years ago as one of the most popular and respected figures in American rock.

For all its crowd-pleasing vigor, however, the concert failed to resolve a problem that has been nagging Petty ever since his hugely successful "Damn the Torpedoes" album in 1979: the suspicion that this slender, Florida-born rocker has peaked.

That view is supported by the sales charts. None of Petty's post-"Torpedoes" LPs, including the current "Southern Accents," have shown the commercial punch of that collection. But the suggestion of decline is refuted by his post-"Torpedoes" music itself--at least most of it.

While much of the "Hard Promises" and, especially, "Long After Dark" albums did sound similar to Petty's earlier work, there was an increased subtlety and sophistication in Petty's lyrics, which are chiefly uplifting expressions about innocence and desire.

The problem is that sophistication isn't what much of Petty's "Torpedoes" audience wanted. They were eager for more of the hard-edged, ringing-guitar rockers. So, here was a man who was getting better as a writer--yet finding a large part of his audience slipping away. That dilemma apparently confused Petty, who spent several agonizing months putting "Southern Accents" together.

The result was a schizophrenic package in which Petty dug deep into his Southern background for some thoughtful, endearing songs about the struggle to achieve your dreams. So far so good. But Petty also worried about restoring his commercial momentum and overcoming the criticism that his music was sounding too much alike.

Working with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who guested on guitar on a few numbers Thursday, Petty came up with some psychedelic and horn-accented touches in the album. While the songs did introduce new strains musically, they lacked the imagination and purpose of his best work.

The Forum show was as schizophrenic as the album.

The best songs from "Southern Accents"--including the title track and "The Best of Everything"--defied you to think this man isn't growing as a writer. He sang them with an intimacy that made them the highlights of the evening.

However, the other new songs--including "It Ain't Nothin' to Me" and "Don't Come Around Here No More"--seemed disturbingly insignificant. Because of this conflict, the "Southern Accents" material failed to center the show. This left the old numbers as the dominant element of the evening, which gave the show a definite "oldies" feel at times.

The show had the appearance of newness, with the quintet expanded to include three horn players and two female backup singers, but they seemed window dressing.

The Heartbreakers tour continues with shows Sunday at the Universal Amphitheatre, Monday at the Pacific Amphitheatre, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Wiltern Theatre and Friday at the San Diego Sports Arena, but Petty must already be looking to the future.

Every album is crucial in the fast-changing world of rock, but Petty's next one seems especially important. The best moments of Thursday's concert demonstrated that Petty is still a strong talent but needs to listen more to his heart.

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In Concert
By Mike Joyce July 4, 1980

Call them what you will, The Blues Brothers put on a wild and exhilarating show at Merriweather Post Pavilion last night.
From the moment John Belushi first spiraled across the stage, heels over head, until the final encore when the young crowd greeted "Soul Man" with tumultuous applause, The Blues Brothers sustained a level of energy and excitement they never came close to achieving in their recent movie.
Wearing their faded suits and performing before a mock-up of a gas station, complete with pumps and a pay phone, The Blues Brothers staged an R&B party for a solid two hours.
Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are hardly the musical equivalents of the master musicians they emulate, but they certainly are no embarrassment to the blue-eyed soul.
Singing in a husky, almost hoarse voice, Belushi's feeling and affection for the music was undeniable, and Aykroyd contrubuted far more on harmonica than the simple tremolos some have suggested.
What's more, their band, which features the veteran guitars of Matt Murphy, Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn and a blasting Stax-inspired horn section led by Tom Scott, is the finest working in rhythm and blues today.
Last night they made The Blues Brothers worthy of the classic tunes they performed.
From The Washington Post 1980

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On the first day of our holidays in Biarritz/Bayonne my wife and me saw a poster in town advertising tonights concert. Amazing holiday start. The open air arena in Bayonne was otherwise used as a bullfight arena. There is a perfect sight from every seat here.
The concert was brilliant. I was expecting David Lindley playing guitar and was dissappointed at first that he was not in the band. But new guitarist Rick Vito was great also, made a big impression on me. Actually the whole band played an awesome set.
Anyway ... can't say much about the setlist but Jackson sang all his at the time well known songs, everything the fans expected.
A perfect night under the sky in the south of France.

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This was the Stranglers first tour of Australia in 1979. This gig on the tour and the band's experience while in our town would later provide the inspiration for the song "Nuclear Device" you know "Brisbane men stay at home all night because I've outlawed all of the vice". The show was in a pub crammed with about 500 people and the band walked off after about 30mins then got involved in a fight with some (about 20) of the crowd. Jacques unstrapped his bass and was wielding it as a weapon against the more crazed members of the audience. Earlier Jet Black was knocked senseless while playing under a hail of full beer cans. Hugh was gobbed on continuously throughout the show and copped a few beer cans himself. David fared better being able to hide a bit behind his keyboards. So an eventful evening but not much of a show and a disappointing night for most in attendance especially the band.

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This, on the face of it should've been a good night, unfortunately it turned out to be one of the coldest summer solstices in living memory. Being perched on the clifftops overlooking the Irish Sea only served to exacerbate the situation with the wind coming off the sea making the temperatures plummet even further. I felt sorry for the guys in Horslips as by the time they came on it was freezing and they could hardly play their instruments at all. So all-in-all a pretty gruelling event and one not to be repeated

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Based on the success of the BBC4 music show The Transatlantic Sessions and Following the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow early in the new year, a selection of artists from the Transatlantic Sessions part of the festival will make a short tour in these islands: four dates in England and one (Thursday 4 February) in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast. The package consists of Shetland fiddle maestro Aly Bain and dobro legend Jerry Douglas, Nickel Creek vocalist/fiddler Sara Watkins, O brother where art thou? soundtrack star Dan Tyminski (aka the singing voice of George Clooney), Eddi Reader, Tim O’Brien, Darrell Scott, Karen Matheson (Capercaillie), Bruce Molsky and Cara Dillon and 'the ultimate house band'. The BBC4 shows were made available to buy on DVD also

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I must admit that this was one of the few concerts I have ever attended that I was quite disappointed at. Other than the one hit "867-5309/Jenny", the show was really flat and the crowd uninspired.

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Fantastic show. Burton Cummings is the consummate professional, always striving to give his best performance. The set list was full of many Guess Who and solo standards sure to please his audience. His band, The Carpet Frogs, were spot on also. I'll say one thing, Burton can sure work up a sweat! Wish he performed in the northwest U.S. more often.

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I saw Bowie's first tour of Australia in Nov.1978 and it was magnificent. It was the same band and stage set up as the Stage live album and set included everything from the album plus Jean Genie, Alabama Song, Rebel Rebel and probably others as well. There were two sets and three encores and the whole thing was a tour de force. So when he returned in '83 I was well primed for a second helping. I'd heard the live worldwide broadcast of the Canadian show that promoted the tour and was very impressed. My brother was working in the hotel Bowie was staying at had guaranteed me an invite to the after show party.
So everything was perfect but I hadn't banked on the impact that new noise laws would have on the show. The council had set a 100dB limit on all shows just prior to Bowies arrival. A passing motorbike registered 104 dBs just before the show started. The support act the Models were past their prime but were OK if a bit on the quiet side. When Bowie hit the Stage the crowd registered 110 dBs but Bowie and his band kept to the limit and when heard my foot tapping along to "Starman" I realised this was no rock 'n' roll show and despite the fabulous sets, slick playing and a good performance from Bowie in difficult circumstances the whole thing whimpered to an anticlimactic end. Keyed up for the after party my brother was organising cabs outside the venue, who are you going with he asked me as I shambled out. I was so pissed off I told him I couldn't be arsed and toddled off home. Couldn't be arsed to meet Bowie, damn you Brisbane City Council.

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(This is from my 1975 diary):
We arrived at the Corn Exchange and joined the queue, which moved a bit at first but then stopped for quite a while before moving again. We paid our £1.20 to get in which was pretty reasonable. We went and stood by the stage (NB this was a standing-only venue at the time) right at the front and could see Ray Shulman behind the equipment and when he noticed us standing there he feigned a 'surprised' look - open jaw and hands held-up - so he must have recognised us from the Hemel Hempstead gig. We then went and sat down on the floor, as most of the audience was doing by that time in front of a handful of idiots who seemed to have been drinking more than they could take and were beginning to get noisy, and consequently they spoiled Michael Moore's set, which irritated us as he was good as usual. One of my friends was especially annoyed by their manner. After the interval, Gentle Giant came on and opened with "Cogs In Cogs" again, which was superb. During "Funny Ways" Kerry Minnear stepped forward to play his vibes solo, wearing an open fronted silk shirt, and behind us one of the idiots there shouted out "Oooh TITTIES!" When the number had ended, Derek Shulman came up to the front microphone and said that it was apparent that some people had come to the gig just to get drunk and make a nuisance of themselves; most of the audience at the gig seemed to agree and a ripple of applause went round the room, then Gaz (my buddy) turned round to the source of the noise and shouted at them "Yeah why don't you f*ck off you silly c*nts!" It was undoubtedly Derek's announcement that did the trick as the disruptive element quietened down (probably feeling embarrassed at being called out for their behaviour), and the rest of the performance was undisturbed and very well received. When I got back home after the gig I listed to the whole of "Three Friends" LP and I really rate GG as a very special band.

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I noted at the time that Clover were "trash" and I walked out. GP & The Rumour were excellent, sticking faithfully to the arrangements on record, but with tons more energy.

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My diary notes that the lead singer of the Tyla Gang was "a fat balding bloke who jumped about a lot - stupid prat". The PA broke down, delaying AC/DC's set until about 10pm. Apparently, they "got better as the night went on" and were "quite enjoyable". Damned by faint praise, I would say.

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Terry Slade (real name Alcock) had a tremendous voice, range and stage presence. Peter York (real name Childs) was an outstanding guitarist. It was my pleasure to manage them and other groups from Sheffield in the 1960s.

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I was nt a big fan of Bowie really but what a great gig this was. If I remember correctly he did two gigs that day . I went to the earlier one

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