There is a certain poignancy to the death this week of the great folk hero Pete Seeger, the singer and songwriter of protest songs who helped define the folk music landscape of the last century. There are several of his compositions that I remember from my childhood and they feel like traditional songs passed down through…
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There’s a trip-hop Dixieland jazz-loving collective based in Marseilles in the south of France who I have been a big fan of for the past couple of years. Somewhat elusive and under the radar in the UK, the intriguing posse go by the name of Chinese Man. So who are they? To quote from their website:…
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The Trades in Hebden Bridge I decided would be the right place to experience The Orb for their 25th Anniversary Show. It felt appropriate to be somewhere intimate and immediate, friendly and just a bit off the wall. The Orb are scheduled to play near me at The Forum in Kentish Town, which is a…
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While some people play air guitar, I confess to air violin moments. Ideal material for this innocuous pastime: anything by The Levellers, Peatbog Faeries or Cornish trio 3 Daft Monkeys. I first discovered them at Towersey festival in 2011, followed by an autumn gig at the Half Moon pub in Putney. And here they are…
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There’s a feeling of warmth and unmistakable pride here in Manchester as we await Crosby, Stills and Nash to make their entrance. For Graham Nash, it’s his homecoming gig – the Blackpool-born, Salford-raised kid who helped create hippy history. Carry On is the opener, and it’s those distinctive, urgent vocals of Steve Stills, rising and breaking…
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Laura Marling performing at York Hall, a boxing hall in Bethnal Green, sounds initially like a bit of an mismatch. But during one of her chatty moments between songs, Laura informs us that she used to live locally and she asks the audience for an update on the area. These days, Laura’s an L.A. babe.…
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One of my earliest music memories is Peter Green singing Need Your Love so Bad, and his own composition Green Manalishi (with the two prong crown), which to my pre-teen brain sounded bewilderingly mystical. Strange to now see Fleetwood Mac, in their present form, live in 2013, over 30 years later. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie command the…
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Suede and British Sea Power playing in the grounds of Hampstead’s Kenwood House is an irresistible opportunity, especially as complaints from nearby residents mean concerts here are few and far between. As Suede’s set draws to a close, Brett Anderson remarks how pleased he is to be back in Hampstead, an area he loves. As headliners, Suede are indeed…
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The Bedroom Hour. It was the promisingly sultry name that initially enticed me to check this band out when they popped up on Twitter. First hearing and they’ve got me hooked. There’s an intensity to this five-piece West London band, an immersive quality, a moodiness which draws you in. Their songs have that ability to…
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It’s the fourth of July, we’re at St Giles-in-the-Fields Church, and Simone Felice is obviously enthralled and inspired by the atmosphere of the church and its grand beauty. So much so that towards the end of the set, he bounds off the stage to dance down the aisle, encouraging us to join in with the…
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