Three for the Price of None

November 17, 2015 • Leave a Comment

13/11/2015

The Ferret Preston

No Hot Ashes

New York Tourists

Dexters

A handful of flying saucer sweets with the band logo on them. If thats not imaginative promotion at its best I don't know what is, although may be a bit dodgy trying to explain to the law why you carry round a bag containing CDs and a jar of sweets. Mr Peeps knows how to promote the No Hot Ashes boys although their music does a good job on its own.

Despite suffering from a cold/manflu frontman Isaac gave it all singing, playing and stumping around the stage. He never fails to give a great performance.

I'm not sure who was to blame or if it was the occasion but the tempo of their already fast tempo songs seemed to increase tonight leaving Matt the drummer looking like oxygen may be required, fair play to him he never missed a beat.

Jack on bass is far too talented and once again provided a great bottom line to the songs. Slightly more refrained than Isaac, Luigi is a quality guitarist and also provides the vocals on some of the tracks.

The boys style has been described as funk with punk with rap. I have never really got my head around these descriptions, I prefer great music, ok music or crap. I may have sub groups such as in the car, chilling or in bad mood type music.

The best thing find 10 minutes have a listen for yourself or even better spend a night watching them. I think they are a great band to watch but what do I know!

New York Tourist are a new band to me and I like them. I'm going to start on the non musical aspect they have a t-shirt design featuring a skull and band name that is one of the best band t-shirts I have seen in a while. If I hadn't been so busy trying to time my shots with the occasional beam of light to hit the stage I would have had one.

BLACKBURN: I give you 1 minutes to recall famous musical acts from Blackburn........ Give in!!

Well this could be one in a short list.

The band to took to the stage with encouragement from the crowd of fans that they had brought with them. They played a great set of drum based rock. All member are talented musicians and together have some great songs.

They have a great set list including my favourite Colours as a local band I hope to see them again soon.

Dexters are a band that I have heard about and seen on listings many times but this was the first time I have been able to watch a full set.

They have been described as the bastard child of The Clash, The Jam and The La's and I don't disagree.

The venue was packed it was very dark, very hot and the music was very loud it was perfect for this band. They play a great set of songs which will soon be favourites of anyone who hears them.

They are on their second albumn and have supported some class acts as well as filling venues in their own right. They are a london based band and I hope they make the return trip up North very soon.

If you want to know how the megaphone comes into play go and see them!

The price of admission for 3 great bands free.

Unfortunately the Ferret is a hard place to take shots it is ridiculously dark and the stage is low but I had a go.

Thanks to Mr Peeps for the invite

Thanks for the bands for entertaining me

Thanks to Ferret for your hospitality.

Labrat

Putting on the Ritz

November 15, 2015 • Leave a Comment

The Ritz Manchester

10 November

Slydigs

Vintage Trouble

A cold wet Tuesday night and road works on the outskirts of Manchester did not put me in a good mood for a night at a gig. I entered the Ritz and my mood lifted as there was already a buzz in the air. The first drum beats and I was in the Slydig zone.

Slydigs are a band that I have been fortunate enough to photograph and watch live on numerous occasions and I can say they just keep getting better. They played a great mix of new songs and some of their classics. The crowd instantly appreciated the quality of their music and would have kept them on stage for the full night.

Photos to follow

It says a lot about Ty Taylor the front man for Vintage Trouble that he had introduced Slydigs to the stage himself. The next time he entered the stage he was wearing a black trousers, cummerbund and red jacket. I have never seen a front man cover as much ground or be as entertaining. During the course of the set he walked along the rail of the photographers pit (the security staff faces were a picture), he climber onto the rail of the balcony to sing down to the crowd and also walked into the middle of the crowd to sing some songs.

I had watched clips of the bands performances but nothing beats seeing them live. It is no surprise that they have an amazing list of artists that have requested the band to open for them. Ty has an amazing voice that men are jealous of and woman become like unstable teenagers falling in love for the first time.

The band are a great tight unit and the advantage of Ty going walkabout is that the musicians get to show their skills including blues guitar as good as you will ever hear.

Look these bands up on line go and see them if you have a bad night there is no hope for you!!

Many thanks to the Slydigs front man Dean for sorting my access

I feel that I was at a gig that will be reminisced over for many years to come thanks to both bands for that.

Thanks to staff and management at The Ritz for a great venue I hope to visit again soon

A Game of Two Halves

October 28, 2015 • Leave a Comment

Sunday 26 October

Night and Day Manchester

No Hot Ashes

Walking on Cars

Sunday night in Manchester and back in Night and Day. It was good to see so many familiar faces and also the NHA boys ready to hit the stage.

The stage was dark as the NHA boys began their set, the loyal fans joined in and sang along to every song. As ever the band showed how they combine skilled musicianship with boundless energy to give a great performance. It was great to hear Easy Peeler played live. The set was finished in style with an amazing performance of Goose.

Really looking forward to catching them at the Ferret Preston in November.

Half time; diet coke and a catch up with a few of the usual suspects. Also a chance to cool off as it was hot in the venue.

Walking on Cars are a new band to me but the large number of Irish accents in the crowd indicated they had more than a few fans waiting for them.

The stage was the typical Night and Day very dark as the band positioned themselves on stage. The music started and a first for me at N&D I was hit by a wall of bright lights. The band had brought their own lighting rig and were not afraid to use it. After some speedy changes to my camera I was able to shoot their set.

They played a great set of songs with a wonderful ability to mix established covers into their own songs.

I hope that they come back to the north west soon as I would like to catch them again. I must also give their support team a shout I have never see a man tune so many guitars during a set.

Thanks to the bands for great performances.

Thanks again to night and Day for their hospitality

Also big thanks to Manchesters own MR Peeps for the invite.

From Shoulder Op to Hip Hop 2

September 21, 2015 • Leave a Comment

My physio is going well and range of movement is increasing so I thought I would see if the shoulder was gig ready. I went for something a bit different an American rap and spoken word artist with support.

Venue: The Ferret Preston

Night: Thursday

Cost: £7 in advance

B Dolan from Rhode Island was headlining on his first trip to Preston. I have heard some of his music before and was excited at the chance to see him live. before he got to the mic a full support had their chance.

Razor Rawks was first to pick up the mic. He is from Preston but now lives the wrong side of the river. He is rightly proud of his home town and this comes through in his delivery no fake accents here. It may not be pretty, it may not be polite but it is honest and it is quality. He does a great political song with clever lyrics such as describing parliament as Eaton Mess. Also loved his use of the line "The kind of beats to snap your neck to". Have a look at his site for more information, tunes and description of Flat Cap Rap.

Roman Scott and wingman Louis (Half Crown Band Member) had travelled from their hometown of Brighton. Randy plays keys and beat box while Louis raps. The boys seemed to be enjoying the tour and have a great song about the homeless as well as showing their free style skills.

If you take a computer game obsessed ex teacher give him a laptop, skills and too much energy you have MegaRaw. He used to teach kids back home in the states but tonight he educated the crowd to his style of Philadelphia computer game influenced hip hop. It took him no time to have the hands up in the air and crowd jumping around. He also showed a great sense of humour messing with auto tune for one of his tracks. His partner in rhyme Storyville had the crowd bouncing and loving his delivery to keep their party going.

Buddy Peace is a digital miracle workerhe mixes scratches and plays digital drums faster than anyone I have ever seen. Do not underestimate him from his appearance he played some amazing mixes.

To be polite B Dolan has a presence. He is built like a brick out house and has a cold sinister stare.

He stood in near darkness and the crowd waited. His dj Buddy Peace dropped a beat and Dolan in a calm collected manner delivered his lyrics. I was transfixed from this point onwards. He has the ability to deliver machine gun style fast gritty hard lyrics and then switch to a moving slower calm monologue. All the time Buddy Peace is keeping the beat with samples, scratches and the occasional Klaxon.

At one point a photographer decided to climb onto the stage to get a different angle. I feared for him as as he was removed from the stage by Dolan who reminded him "This is my work space". I thought I caught a slight smile as he released him but it could have just been the lights.

At one point he killed the beat and delivered a speech worthy of any great narrator both for passion and honesty. Before one song he told the crowd to put away their phones and listen to the song and simply remember it. If I don't get the chance to see him perform again I will not forget the night I witnessed B Dolan.

He has a lot of songs available through his web site. Make sure you check out "who's side are you on" and "film the police" a clever reworking of a classic.

Thanks to the artists for entertaining me

Thanks to The Ferret for their hospitality

Wild Horses wouldn't keep me away

August 16, 2015 • Leave a Comment

Jess kemp at The War Horse Chorley

I was pleased when I read that Jess Kemp was playing a gig in Chorley as it's only a half hour drive from home.

The War Horse is a new build pub in the middle of a large modern housing estate. The pub is part of the Hungry Horse chain and has a large eating area and smaller areas restricted to over 18s. It was in the over 18s area that Jess had set up and was preparing to start her set. The area had a good number of people without being overcrowded. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly as Jess kicked off her set.

I loved her opening comment that the pub was "the nicest smelling venue she had ever played".

I lost track of how many songs Jess packed into the first half of her set. The crowd immediately warmed to her and were singing with her before the end of the first half. The variety of songs she performed is incredible and included Valery, Walking on Sunshine, you got the Love, Summertime Sadness and one of her own songs Forget You.

The crowd were ready for the second half and Jess didn't disappoint. As well as a selection of covers Jess played 2 of her own songs "stars" which has its video released early September and "2 coins" my favourite of her songs. She tried to end the set with her interpretation of uptown funk but her new found fans insisted on more songs and Jess obliged. I really enjoyed the set as well as the pub and hope to return to see more live music.

Thanks to Jess for providing great entertainment

Thanks to Managment at The War Horse for allowing me to shoot in their pub