Counterfest, Stockton-on-Tees

Counterfest
Arc, Stockton-on-Tees
14.9.2019

Counterfest, the festival of top tribute acts, returned to Stockton-on-Tees for its eighth year.

The music was spread across several local venues, namely: The Georgian Theatre, KU, The Storytellers, The Green Room and Arc. One ticket granted access to all venues and acts, granting music fans an excellent choice of entertainment, as depicted below.

I spent the entire Saturday evening at Arc, where I saw The Straits UK, UK Blondie UK and Aladdinsane.

A sizeable crowd packed into Arc, and there was more than a little ebb and flow throughout the evening as people dashed between the venues to catch their favourite acts.

All three acts provide ample entertainment and stuck to exactly what tribute acts ought to do: minimal chat, maximum music and a sackful of hot songs.

I enjoyed them all and UK Blondie were the pick of the bunch.

It is great for Stockton to unite their top music venues for such a festival and we are looking forward to the next event in this fine series.

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The Goldhawks - Tommy - at the Darlington Hippodrome

The Goldhawks

Tommy - The Album - LIVE!

Darlington Hippodrome

7 September 2019

It was back in April when I became acquainted with the music of The Goldhawks. Back then, they delivered an excellent rendition of Quadrophenia and I was already to experience their take on Tommy.

I didn't have too long to wait - and it was even at the same venue. Between times, I had already been to see The Who at Wembley Stadium, where they had played parts of both classic albums.

The Hippodrome wasn't sold out; in fact the audience was noticeably smaller than in April. I am sure that was no reflection on the prowess of The Goldhawks but perhaps having two shows at the same venue with relatively little time between them was a shade ambitious. The general public may have assumed it was the same show (not everyone is an aficionado).

Tommy is better-known but harder to play than Quadrophenia, due to the extraordinary amount of words. This led to a couple of slips, but certainly nothing serious.

There was a short interval after Tommy and then the band returned to run through some high-tempo hits, which eventually brought everyone to their feet for a rousing finale.

It proved to be a very enjoyable evening. Fans of The Who need to see The Goldhawks in action as soon as possible.

A third show is soon to be added to their repertoire, with Then and Now, a greatest hits showcase, set to hit the stage in Spring 2020. The Goldhawks are definitely ambitious.  Before then, I already have plans to see their Quadrophenia show for a second time.

Follow the news and tour dates over at the official Goldhawks website.

Martha Reeves and The Vandellas at Arc

Martha Reeves and The Vandellas

Arc, Stockton-on-Tees

22 August 2019

This year's 'no holds barred' year of gigs continued with another expedition into soul territory, as a follow-up to my recent evening with Gladys Knight in Birmingham.

Martha (who had just turned 78 in July), together with sisters Lois and Delphine, went through the card and delivered exactly what one expect: an evening of soul, rock and roll and rhythm and blues, with all of the classic songs present and correct. These included Come and Get These Memories, Jimmy Mack, Heat Wave and, of course, Dancing in the Street. Martha prefaced the latter with a list of some of the people who had performed cover versions before going on to say she likes to come over to England just to remind everyone whose song it really is.

Opinions and reviews vary regarding the quality of Martha's voice, but she was on great form at Arc and made a strong connection with the very appreciative audience.

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It was certainly a packed Arc and as the temperature continued to rise the arrival of Heat Wave was most apt.

The evening was very entertaining, yet Martha's wistful moments when she spoke of those who are no longer with us (Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin et al) counterpointed the good times with a poignant reminder that nothing lasts forever. The trick is to catch such legends while you can.

Evita at Regent's Park

Evita

Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park

9/10 August 2019

My fascination with the life of Eva Peron continues and, as promised back in May, I will continue writing about this enigmatic and extraordinary person.

Summer 2019 brought a brand new version of Evita and I was there for two performances to see for myself how this version compared to the rest.

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Regent's Park is always worth a visit anyway and it was easy enough to find the venue.

Open Air means exactly that; there is no hiding place from the elements without leaving the arena and, as one could expect from a British Summer, the heavy downpours were never far away - and umbrellas are not allowed. The rain tested the resolve of the audience. Some passed the test but others did not and there is no re-admittance to the arena until after the interval.

The first of my two visits was on the Friday evening. The weather forecast was dreadful yet the serious rain held off until the very end.

Being outdoors allows the texture and atmosphere change as the light fades. The three photographs below show the stage first before the play started, then at the interval and finally at the very end of the evening.

This was a very different interpretation of the play compared to the others I have seen. The set utilises a minimalist approach, as do the costumes. There are pyrotechnics, streamers, ticker tape and costume changes on the stage.

The songs are the same, of course - but there are some wonderful new routines, with the one accompanying The Art of the Possible being a particular highlight.

Samantha Pauly's Evita is an uncomplicated mixture of the manipulative, ambitious and arrogant. Evita revels in the insults of the disturbed military and upper classes, perhaps overconfident of her power to remain at the top. This is fully in keeping with the ethos of the original play and is a perfectly valid point of view -and her performance is very strong - but I prefer the light and shade of a more ambiguous Eva Peron, which I always find more moving.

In fact the entire cast puts on a great show, with Trent Saunders' Che and Frances Mayli McCann's Mistress being particularly effective.

There is a strong, cynical edge to the motivations of the characters, including the small child who sings Santa Evita. Normally a moving aspect to the play, this time the child is shown to demand money towards the end of the song and even counts it before stashing it into her purse.

Balloons are used as symbol for the fragility of life and reputation. Audience expectations of the arrival of the classic Evita image - blonde hair, magnificent dress and arms raised, typically at a key balcony scene set at the Casa Rosada - are held in check until the tragic end, perhaps suggesting the iconic image and reputation were forged in the post-funeral fires of yet another new Argentina.

I retuned the next day for the matinee performance, which brought different shades again. It also brought a lot more rain.

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Despite the weather, my 11th and 12th experiences of Evita were overwhelmingly positive and I found the new interpretation to be very interesting indeed. It gave me plenty to think about and added new perspectives to Evita's remarkable story.

The play runs until 21 September so perhaps I will be able to see it again before it closes. Meanwhile, there is another version of Evita somewhat closer to home coming up soon and I am already making arrangements...

Killing Joke at Subterania

Killing Joke

Subterania, London

10 August 2019

Another gig, another new venue.

Subterania just sounds right for a Killing Joke gig and their cult following. Indeed, they have history with the venue, having played there numerous times on what is essentially their home turf.

It was a weekend of strange weather and closed underground lines, combining to add difficulties to the experience. However, I found the long walk down Portabello Road to be very interesting and managed to dodge the downpours along the way.

The staff at Subterania were all very friendly and welcoming, which made a big difference. The venue itself is dark and cavernous. I opted for the balcony view rather than chance the mosh pit, which turned out to be a wise move.

I didn't catch the name of the first support act, mainly because it was not on any of the adverts or even announced on the night. They were unusual and very interesting, playing just one song - but it lasted for a quarter of an hour. It is hard to see the extraordinary range of instruments from the dark photograph, but note the chap in the centre is utilising a wooden board for his Sean-nós dancing.

Radical Dance Faction were interesting, too; politically-charged songs with a fusion of punk, dub and ska.

Soon it was time for the main event. The venue was packed by now and the temperature was already rising to an uncomfortable level.

There have been numerous changes over the 40 years of Killing Joke but they are back to the original quartet of Jaz Coleman (vocals). Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).

I had never seen Killing Joke before and was not sure what to expect from their live performance. I had seen Youth before, when he was playing with Jah Wobble in Bethnal Green back in 2016 (what a night that was) so knew that bass would be a prominent feature of the evening.

Jaz was the last onto the stage, all black boiler suit and heavy makeup. The crowd's reaction was extremely enthusiastic and during the second song - the inflammatory Wardance - the mosh pit suddenly became very lively indeed, with all the frantic pushing and shoving one would expect.

Killing Joke's music is hard rock; virtually industrial - dripping with apocalyptical menace.

There was tension in the air and this was apparent on the stage too, with Geordie Walker taking vocal exception to a couple of changes in the running order, which Youth completely ignored.

As the heat reached inferno levels, Jaz collapsed at the end of Loose Cannon. Given the nature of the songs I was initially unsure whether or not this was part of the act but it quickly became very apparent it wasn't. It took a bucket of ice cubes to revive Jaz but he insisted on continuing with the set immediately afterwards.

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In fact the set list turned out to be in a state of flux. When the band left the stage it was assumed by some that would be the end of the evening, but Jaz gamely came back for a pulsating encore.

Youth was last off the stage; he left a bass note ringing out loud as a sonic memento.

The gallery will hopefully convey some of the gigs intensity.

It was certainly a very memorable evening and the temperature never stopped rising as the evening wore on. I had to buy an ice cream on my way back along Portobello Road just to try to cool down a little.

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