Gigs to come

I seem to have booked a few tickets for things recently. My poor bank balance is quaking but I'm quite pleased to have lots to look forward to before the end of the year. 

So far the gig list looks like this - 

2nd July - Monty Python (not strictly a band but there will be music so...) - O2 Arena London

13th July - Neil Young - Liverpool Arena

28th September - Michael Nesmith - Birmingham Town Hall

29th October - Asia - RNCM Manchester

8th December - Sabaton - The Ritz Manchester

13th December - Status Quo (with Chas 'n' Dave) - NIA Birmingham

14th December - Mostly Autumn - The Stables Milton Keynes

I'm hoping that the recently announced King Crimson tour will find its way to the UK, I will definitely find money in the gig budget for that. And there will probably be a few spur of the moment things too, if I have the spare cash at the time.

Thankfully I don't have to start wrapping my head around logistics for the gigs next month, but after that I really need to get my head round the travel plans! 

Dave Rave - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Pub (two shows)

Chris, Dave, Simon and Mark

What on earth can I say about Dave Rave that I haven't already said in the past? He arrives on the scene like he's never been away. He makes friends wherever he goes and consequently he can't always get from A to B without stopping for a chat with people.

Any show from Dave is guaranteed to be fun. His energy is boundless and infectious and can even fire up an audience on a sleepy Monday afternoon in the Cavern Pub (and a Tuesday evening too!)  If you're toes aren't at least a-tapping during his set then there's something missing from your soul.

I am of course biased...


A careering-spanning set on both occasions (there was a third set that closed the event but I'm afraid it made for too late a night when I had to work the next day) with a smattering of covers to boot, kept the audience thoroughly entertained.

Unfortunately I managed to mess up some of my filming but I did capture two covers. The first is from the Monday and features Steve Moray on guest vocals. (He had literally walked into the venue about five or ten minutes before being called up on stage.) And the second is from Tuesday evening and features drummer Chris Peck on vocals.

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Thomas McConnell - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Club (Back)

Thomas McConnell is the latest in the long tradition of Liverpool singer/song writers. His songs are lyrical and a mostly guitar driven. He's getting about a bit so definitely one to keep an eye on.
The Cavern back is a big room, more so the less people that are in there but he filled it with his sound very well, especially for a Tuesday afternoon.

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Dr. Cosmo's Tape Lab - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Club (Back)

Billing themselves as Glasgow's newest supergroup this duo consists of Joe Kane (The Owsley Sunshine) and Stu Kidd (The Wellgreen) and they pretty much had us hooked from the first song which is also the opening track of the CD they were plugging on stage. In a moment that could only ever happen in the Cavern Club they actually signed someone's bare backside in a publicity stunt to boost sales!
The quirky set was a joy to behold, especially the Rockney styled Pie, Mash and Liquor which was about a time travelling Astra.


Afterwards I was compelled to purchase the CD, though I forewent having any of my anatomy signed, so you can expect some thoughts on that coming soon once I've had a proper chance to digest it.

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The Soundcasters - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Club (Back)

This was my first time seeing these guys but it wasn't their first IPO. By the end of their first song I was kicking myself for not having seen them sooner.

As they started to play there was a wonderful moment when a large group of their family and friends suddenly appeared in the venue, much to the surprise of the band on stage.

The performance was clean and crisp and the sound was great. They seemed to like dropping into a bit of a reggae beat, and even did a quick raggae cover. Their own stuff was hook laden and catchy and sent me straight off to the merch table at the end of their set to pick up a CD.

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Tony Hazzard - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Club (Front)

Not everyone will know the name but I bet a lot of people will know some of the songs he has written.

He opened his set with You Won't Be Leaving, a song that should be familiar to my Noonatic friends, and he ended it with Fox On The Run which was a hit of the Mike d'Abo era Manfred Mann. In between he enchanted most of the audience with some fabulous melodies including a song written for Lulu and one about being jealous of Paul McCartney's songwriting skills.

I say most of the audience because unfortunately there was a rather loud group conversation going on during his set on the front stage.  It seemed that the babble was preventing him from hearing his own playing. This is annoying enough at the best of times, but more so when it is someone of his songwriting talent. who I really wanted to hear.

Pushing that quibble aside aside, it was a thrill to see him perform and I hadn't had an early start the next day I may have endured a longer stay on Mathew Street on a Friday night to take in the second set.  However once this set was over I had to do the sensible thing and call it a day.

I hope I get another chance to see him perform again, maybe in a proper venue, as I was completely enthralled.

 

Fun Of The Pier - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Pub

I was very sad when I thought I was going to miss seeing Helen and Mark at this year's event, but in the end Stephen popped into work for an hour on the Friday afternoon so I could run up the road and catch their first set.

Helen said the first song "Inconsiderate" was for me. I'm sure sure that sounds a bit iffy to anyone who doesn't know the song. but it is a tune for all of us who hate the type of people who go to gigs and then gab to their mates throughout, thus spoiling it for those of us who have handed over our hard earned dosh to actually hear the band. It's one of my favourite songs.  As you will tell from the video below, sadly the Cavern Pub is a venue that suffers from audience noise. The event is (mostly) free and lot of pub regulars aren't really interested in the acts on the stage.

It was a set full of old favourites, soon to be favourites and a cover of a Frank Turner song, (I think I shall investigate him a little further when time allows) all beautifully delivered by Helen and Mark. It made for a nice little break from the hubbub of a busy day in work.

 

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Dave Lloyd - International Pop Overthrow - Cavern Club (Front)

A great advantage of staying out for the second Sons Of Jet set was that I was able to catch Dave Lloyd's solo set in the Cavern Club. Dave is in The Suns who are a regular IPO Liverpool fixture.

Armed with just a guitar and his voice Dave filled the archways of the club and seemed to over power the usual chatting you get from people passing by the front stage.

It was a fabulous set and I was really glad I'd decided to not be sensible and to stay out.

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