'She' at The Georgian Theatre

'She'

The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees

15 February 2020

What’s in a name? Last year I had an excellent time watching The Hootones delivering a fabulous evening of music designed to celebrate the musical voice of iconic women. The evening was billed under the name of Gypsy and it sold out completely.

It seemed only a matter of time before a return show was announced and Gypsy was subsequently to return almost exactly one year after the first event. It is a strange world at the moment and Facebook comments appeared, questioning the use of the controversial word ‘Gypsy’; before too long, the name of the evening was changed to She. Maybe the online comments influenced the change; maybe they didn’t. If they did, it is with great irony that a fabulous group with nothing but good intentions of providing an uplifting evening of entertainment should be hit with accusations of negative connotations, but that appears to be the way the cookie is crumbling at the moment.

Anyway, there was no holding the Hootones back when they hit the stage to entertain another sell-out audience with a pulsating performance of crowd-pleasing songs. The set list brought a couple of changes from last year, most notably with Jolene, when Elaine Palmer - who had opened the show - returned to the stage to take the vocals.

Set List

Edge of Seventeen
Everywhere

Dreams

Black Velvet
Because the Night
Big Yellow Taxi

Jolene

Broken Glass

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Papa Don't Preach

Venus

Heart of Glass

Sweet Dreams

Walk Like and Egyptian

Encore

Like a Prayer

The Hootones not only sound great, but they look fabulous too. Too often we see performers who have either forgotten - or never even know - how to dress for a show. Who wants to look just like the bulk of the audience? The Hootones have more than enough in terms of image, energy and musical ability to sell out The Georgian Theatre - and they could easily do it more than once a year. The fact that people still turned up in the middle of one of the worst storms we have seen in years speaks volumes. This was an excellent and uplifting evening. More, please.

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Sound of the Sirens at The Cluny 2

Sound of the Sirens

The Cluny 2, Newcastle

20 February 2020

Sound of the Sirens have been one of my favourites since I first discovered their unique music a couple of years ago.

I first saw them in Manchester last March and then again in London in November. I was then very pleased to find out they were coming somewhat closer to home and immediately snapped up a ticket for their Cluny 2 show.

In fact this my second trip to The Cluny in the space of two weeks, the slight difference being the switch from Cluny 1 to Cluny 2 (just next door.) The last time I had been to Cluny 2 was to see the emotional farewell performance of Bridie Jackson and The Arbour back in 2016. How time flies.

Abbe and Hannah's carefully crafted songs have a power all of their own. They are thought-provoking, empowering and completely original. During the songs, they sing as one; a united, defiant voice. It is only during the post-song chat when the differences in their personalities emerges, with Abbe frequently dropping heavy hints about Hannah's untidiness and accident prone nature, although it could hardly have been Hannah's fault that the keyboard failed to work, causing a hasty shuffling of the set list. It was, however, Hannah who somehow managed to send the guitar stand on an unceremonious journey to the hard flood and, coupled with the tale of Hannah managing to somehow lose the doors of two vans the evidence starts to stack up.

The set list was a strong one, featuring all the big-hitters such as The Voices, Chaos, and (best of all) Together Alone and there was even a cover of the James song Sit Down.

New music is definitely in the pipeline and it may arrive before the end of 2020. Meanwhile, another tour would very welcome indeed.

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Jah Wobble and The Invaders of the Heart at The Cluny

Jah Wobble and The Invaders of the Heart

The Cluny, Newcastle

6.2.2020

My first Newcastle gig of 2020 (don't forget, Gateshead is not the same place) saw the return of Jah Wobble and The Invaders of the Heart to the North East. This was my sixth time in the company of this extraordinary group and it was just over a year since they last played at The Cluny.

Together with the core Invaders - Martin Chung on guitar, Marc Layton-Bennett on drums and George King on keyboards - Jah and his mighty bass guitar played for over two hours, thrilling a packed-out Cluny with a fabulous set taken from all cross his lengthy career.

We started with a couple of numbers from the latest album, Ocean Blue Waves: the title track and Safe Passage. All of the classics were present and correct, including Public Image, Becoming More Like God, Visions of You and Poptones, as were the likes of Everyman's an Island, Java and The Chain. Jah likes to put in the Get Carter theme when playing in Newcastle and this occasion proved to be no exception.

Jah likes to throw in the occasional surprise. Last year, it was little spoken word. This time it came when he briefly left the stage to return wearing a Hard Hat and High-Vis Vest. Perhaps he had recently experienced vexations at the rise in Health and Safety procedures, or maybe it was a nod back to his time working for London Transport back in the mid-1980s, when music was temporarily put aside for a soon-to-be-aborted side step into 'real life.'

Work-wise, it has been one exceptionally busy start to the year and I loved being able to lose myself inside the musical extravaganza presented by the genre-defying Jah Wobble and The Invaders of the Heart. Hopefully there will be more opportunities to see them in action before the year is out.

Meanwhile, the new music just keeps coming. Later this month there will be Youth Meets Jah Wobble: Acid Punk Dub Apocalypse on which the bass will be doubled as the two long-time friends and collaborators will no doubt push things to the limit. Indeed, the album is one of the most anticipated of the year and will feature several guest vocalist, including Hollie Cook and Aurora Dawn.

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She Drew The Gun at The Georgian Theatre

She Drew the Gun

Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees

31.1.2020

It was a pleasure to be back at the Georgian Theatre as part of the Independent Venue Week. Long-term readers will have some idea of the sheer range of acts I have seen in action in this most intimate of venues.

She Drew the Gun - together with support from both Eve Conway and Jodie Nicholson - spent the evening celebrating Independent Venue Week (supported by BBC Sounds.)

All three acts were new to me. The headliners, who would have a very good chance of taking the title in a contest of ‘unusually-named acts’ (although it would be tough if they found themselves up against Joan as Police Woman) were described on the Georgian Theatre’s site as making ‘impassioned, hypnotic and darkly ornate psych-pop built around the lyrically evocative songwriting of singer-guitarist Louisa Roach.’

The set list drew heavily from the well of 2018’s Revolution of the Mind, presenting a set of high-powered, politically-tinged songs delivered with a very telling confidence.

The venue was packed out, which is impressive for a relatively new and still somewhat obscure act. There was a strong connection with the audience and everything was played with the greatest sincerity. At one point, Lousia Roach took time out from singing and playing to present a heart-felt spoken word piece on the importance of independent venues, without which new acts would really struggle to be heard.

It was a fine evening and hopefully She Drew the Gun will return to Stockton in the not too distant future.

Jodie Nicholson

Eve Conway

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Project 30, Year 3: Semi-final Update

Congratulations to Peter Harker who has made it through to the final of the Rapidplay Championship after a hard-fought match against Mike Pointon.

Mike took the lead but Peter fought back over the course of the last two games.

Peter can now relax until the other semi-final match, scheduled for later this month, has been played.

Semi-final Rapidplay Results

Matt Jackman v Sean Marsh (scheduled for mid-March)

Peter Harker 2.5-1.5 Mike Pointon (the first game was a draw, Mike won the second and then Peter won the third and fourth games)

The semi-final games of the KO tournament were played last night and after many adventures both games ended in favour of Matt and myself.

Semi-final KO Results

Matt Jackman 1-0 Royce Parker

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Sean Marsh 1-0 Richard Harris

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The KO final will be played some time after the remaining Rapidplay semi-final match has been completed.

2020 Durham County Chess Congress

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The Durham County Chess Congress will be held on the weekend of 1-3 May 2020 at the Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel.

Organiser Mick Riding and his team have worked very hard to bring their plan for the congress to fruition and everyone is hoping it will attract the support it deserves.

Here is a summary from Mick.

'Three tournaments each with a prizes of £500, £250, £125 + two x £50 grading. All guaranteed.

NCCU support with their three main individual awards up from grabs plus a British Championship qualifying place

A wonderful playing venue in a very accessible location (Darlington centre) by road or train.

Discounted accommodation at the playing venue (Kings Mercure, Darlington) and alternative accommodations starting from £50 for one person, two nights

A full spectrum of town centre amenities including parking.

Chess Direct bookstall.'

The full details and an entry form can be found over at the excellent website.

I have known Mick since the early 1980s (since I first played in the Durham County Chess Congress, in fact) and I know he has put so much work into this project.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the congress is on the same weekend as the Fourth Teesside Megafinal but I honestly don't care in which of the two events the juniors of Teesside would prefer to play. Just get out there and play chess!