Forthcoming EP from Danny Fury's Tango Pirates

Danny Fury's musical pedigree includes Kill City Dragons and Lords Of The New Church among others. (I first met him when he came to International Pop Overthrow Liverpool as the drummer for the Plastic Heroes a couple of years ago.)

The new EP from his band Tango Pirates will be available from their webpage soon.  Click here.
Keep up to date with news about the release on their official facebook page, here, or their twitter feed here.
And have a listen to some of their tunes on their ReverbNation page, here.
Or their Soundcloud page here.
Perhaps you like the direct approach - here's the email address.

B-Leaguers debut coming in 2016

I am really looking forward to the debut release from the B-Leaguers.  Here's a little trailer from the band to whet the appetite! And you can find their facebook page here for more info.

Hurry up 2016! 

Just For Fun

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. NO CHEATING!



1. How are you feeling today

Big Girls Don't Cry - The Four Seasons

2. Will you get far in life?

Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) - Janis Joplin

3. How do your friends see you?

Dead Ringer For Love - Meat Loaf

4.Will you get married?

The Riddle (Extended Mix) - Nik Kershaw

5. What is your best friend's theme song?

(Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City - The Mighty Avengers

6.What is the story of your life? 

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror - Elvis Costello

7. What was high school like? 

The Banner Man - Blue Mink

8.How can you get ahead in life?

Go Back Home - Stephen Stills

9. What is the best thing about your friends?

She Likes Rock 'n' Roll - Dave Rave and the Governors

10. What is in store for this weekend?

Wounded - Nik Kershaw

11.To describe your grandparents?

One of a Kind - Dave Rave

12. How is your life going?

Dancing Girls - Nik Kershaw

13. What song will they play at your funeral?

Whatever You Want - Status Quo

14. How does the world see you?

The Whole Of The Moon - The Waterboys

15. Will you have a happy life?

Guilty - The Pearls

16. What do your friends really think of you?

As We Go Along - The Monkees

17. Do people secretly lust after you?

Watching The Detectives - Elvis Costello

18. How can I make myself happy?

I'm Bored - The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

19. What should you do with your life?

The Quest - Donovan

20. Will you ever have children?

High and Lonesome - Jimmy Reed

21.If a man in a van offered you candy, what would you do?

That's The Way It Goes - Billy Fury

22. What does your mom think of you?

Wombling In The Rain - The Wombles

23.What is your deep dark secret?

Gonna Knock On Your Door - The Pete Best Four

24. What is your mortal enemy's theme song?

Feed My Frankenstein - Alice Cooper

25.What's your personality like?

The Needle and the Damage Done - Neil Young

26. Which song will be played at your wedding?

Circle Sky - The Monkees

27. If you were to become the Dictator of a small Eastern-European nation, would you be?

I'm So Worried - Monty Python

28. What are your aspirations?

Carry Me - Crosby Stills and Nash

29.What goes through your head when you wake up?

Footloose - Kenny Loggins

2015 Gigs In Review

Just a year end post to put all the links to my gigs stuff together.

Links to Live Reviews -
The Bonzos
Elvis Costello
King Crimson
Crosby Stills And Nash
Rick Wakeman and Gordon Giltrap
Donovan
Nik Kershaw, Go West and Carol Decker


Click here for all of my Live photographs in one neat collection. (Including from events not fully reviewed here)

Here's some of my favourite gig pics that I have taken this year.
 

Photos of Magenta and Touchstone from Leamington last night.

Great night. If you prefer to view these as a flickr set click here.

A Visit From The Buzzcocks

In work today we were visited by members of The Buzzcocks so I grabbed a quick picture with Steve Diggle.

Nik Kershaw and Go West with Carol Decker - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 15th November 2015

I realise that quite a lot of my gigs tend to be proggy or rock, but I do like my pop music too. If you took a trip back in time and asked 13/14-year-old me what would be the best gig line up I may have replied with this one. Honestly, I poured over articles in Smash Hits, avidly watched them all on Saturday morning TV shows and Top of the Pops etc...

Anyway...I went to this gig with Emma who was rather excited at the prospect of seeing Nik Kershaw, more than I expected to be honest. I do love going to gigs with Emma, she really gets into them and dances away.

The show opened with Carol Decker who was a bit of a hero of mine when I was younger. I kind of wanted to be her when I grew up, she just seemed so rock and roll to my teenage self. She still sounds amazing and belted out the hits, filling the hall with sound. There were two new songs too which will lead me to investigate the new album as soon as I find a few minutes to do so. I barely had time to recover from hearing some of my favourite T'Pau tracks (Sex Talk! Yay!) before Go West and Nik Kershaw appeared on stage to round off the first part of the evening, returning after a short interval to entertain us a whole lot more! 

The set was a whole load of hits, with a smattering of covers. As Emma commented afterwards, you really do forget how many hits they clocked up between them. There was a lot of dancing going on too. It was a brilliant night! Thirty years seems sounds like a long time ago but it feels a lot less than that since I was singing into my hairbrush to these tunes and cutting pictures out of magazines to stick in my scrapbook. 

Highlights - 

 - Carol Decker and her magnificent coat

 - Finally getting to see Go West

 - Don Quixote.

 - Richard Drummie! 

 - Emma's face when Go West sang her favourite Nik Kershaw song.

 - Emma realising that Nik was the perfect sized pop star for her

 - The One And Only!
 - Okay....let's face it, the whole show was one big highlight. I couldn't even be annoyed by audience chatter and people checking facebook because I was having such a brilliant time!

Full collection of photos HERE.

Donovan - RNCM 17th October 2015

It had been a while since I'd been to see Donovan, and somehow the 50th Anniversary tour seemed to be the right time to go and see him again.

Sat cross-legged on a small stage with Kelly, his guitar, Donovan took us all on a trip back through his career. The first half included some more obscure early stuff, but he assured everyone that they were never more than a song or two away from something that they would know.

Purely acoustic until the final number, the set list was full of delights interspersed with tales from the past, all told with fondness and amusement at his own antics.

The show ended with Mellow Yellow, but instead of playing the song on the guitar the single was piped through the sound system while he sang along. There was a meet and greet afterwards, which gig buddy Alix stayed for, but I chose to skip out and head home.

Edit this setlist | More Donovan setlists

Rick Wakeman - Lancaster Priory 16th October 2015

I have fallen a little behind with things, the next couple of posts are a bit of a catch-up.

In October, I went off to see Rick Wakeman with my gig buddy Phil. The concert was in Lancaster Priory and was the first of what they hope will be several Prog at the Priory gigs.

Gordon Giltrap was the warm-up for the main show. I'd never seen him before, I loved his set and sense of humour.

The Wakeman section of the evening was  a bit different to usual. Most of the regular favourites were there, including the Nursery Rhyme Concerto (I think this was only the second time I have heard it live), but due to the Priory Choir being part of the show we got a bit more 1984 stuff. The soloist also featured on Amazing Grace and The Meeting.

Lovely setting, fine show and Rick got his hands on the church organ for Jane Seymour, excellent stuff.

Gordon Giltrap

Rick Wakeman

Crosby Stills and Nash - Manchester 21st September 2015

Venue - Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Gig Buddies - Stephen and Phil
Gig Booty - None, I'm still skint from my last gig!


I don't think I've been let down by a CSN live show since the first time I saw them in 1992. Last night was no exception (once the sound settled down after the first song sounding like we were in an empty warehouse). First thought as they walked on stage was how great Croz is currently looking. This makes me happy as he makes such lovely music and I want him to carry on for a good while yet.

I went to this gig, tired and achy and wondering if I'd make it the end but I needn't have worried, these guys have the power to lift me right up and by the end of the gig I was buzzing from the show.

So many great moments, but I've picked out a few highlights -

 - I love Southern Cross so getting to hear it live is always a bonus.

 - Graham dedicated Our House to the youngest member of the audience, who was seven.

 - There was a good helping of newer stuff from everyone. I particularly enjoyed the Stephen Stills offering Virtual World.

 - Almost Cut My Hair was epic, as usual.

 - The nod to George Harrison in Suite: Judy Blue Eyes at the end. (Stills plays a bit of With In You With Out You)

Some of the audience took a while to warm up, but others were very enthusiastic. I think the two girls dancing on the front row were sat near me last time I saw them at the Manchester Arena.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Edit this setlist | More Crosby, Stills & Nash setlists

King Crimson - Salford 11th September

Venue - The Lowry, Salford
Gig Buddies - None.
Gig Booty - Two shirts, a tour book (with two CDs) and a badge set.


I still feel like I'm struggling to find the right words to describe the experience but here goes -


I'll be honest, it had never crossed my mind that I'd have a chance to seen Crimson - I'm reconciled with the fact that a lot of the people I like are either retired or no longer with us - so when it was announced that a new incarnation of the band was to play my home city how could I not leap at the chance? (And my actual home city, not Manchester for a change!)

The Lowry is very plush and purple inside and, at least from the perspective of being seated downstairs, it feels very intimate. I was at the side of the auditorium, a handful of rows from the back and it was still a good view. At this point I am compelled to point out how fab the audience was around me. The gentleman who ended up sat in front of me was pretty tall and he actually took the time to ask if he was obscuring my view too much and tried to sit as low as he comfortably could. I can't recall that ever happening at a gig before, at least not with someone I didn't know. (Tall friends at standing gigs usually let me stand in front of them)

Back to the gig - the stage set up was a tad different to most gigs. The three drummers were lined up on the front of the stage and rest of the ensemble was on a riser along the back, including Robert Fripp who spent the whole gig perched on a little chair appearing almost oblivious to the fact there was an audience most of the time.

At a lot of gigs, three drummers would have been overwhelming, especially in a small venue like this, but the sound was stunning in both the emotional and technical sense. The interplay of the percussion was fascinating to watch.

The audience around me took it all in with not much more than an intake of breath at the recognition of a favourite track or an excited hiss of quick whispers during the applause. Mesmerising is the word I keep coming back to about the experience. The was no idle chatter from the stage, no faux banter, just the music.

A friendly announcement at the beginning politely requested that technology be put away for the duration, and largely it was. There was a small flurry of attempts to grab a quick snap on mobiles while the band took their applause at the end of the night but other than that the wishes of the band were mostly respected.

A more than satisfactory setlist, a truly astonishing performance and a very appreciative audience made the whole thing my favourite gig of the year so far.

Edit this setlist | More King Crimson setlists

RIP Chris Squire

Elvis Costello - Liverpool 15th June 2015

Venue - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Gig Buddies - Stephen and Ellie
Gig Booty - none, though I was tempted by guitar picks.








The ticket said no support, but there was indeed a support band in the form of Larkin Poe. I didn't see their support slot as I was waiting with Ellie's ticket to get in. However, they did come back on stage later to join Elvis for a few songs.

I love seeing Costello. I've never been disappointed by a gig. A quick count up reckons that I've seen him around eight times now, possibly nine.

Armed with a series of guitars, a piano, a fantastically dressed stage set, and an occasionally used loop pedal we were treated to a career-spanning set list. I'm sure I've expounded on the subject before so here's some photos and the set lists (both the one from the tech desk showing the song choices available and one from setlist.fm showing which ones were performed.)

Now I come to think about it She features in the set list somewhere, I just can't remember where (possibly after Meanest Gal) 

Full set of unedited photos on flickr here.

International Pop Overthrow Liverpool - some links and stuff.

Here's a bunch of links and stuff for the artists I have covered in my IPO Liverpool blogs this year.

Fun of The Pier on Facebook
One Two DIE Four on Facebook also  on Soundcloud and on YouTube
Honeybug on Facebook also on Soundcloud
The Dreamboats website also on Facebook  and on Soundcloud 
Kontiki Suite website also on Facebook
Blake Jones and The Trike Shop website
Las Annettes on Facebook 
The Suns on Facebook
Dave Rave on Facebook also on Bandcamp 

Other links -
International Pop Overthrow website also on Facebook
Minty and The Beeb Go Gigging
My IPO Liverpool photos

Videos: Dave Rave and Hailee Rose at International Pop Overthrow

From Tuesday 19th May at the Cavern Pub.


Beach House


Let's Shake and Come Together

Tuesday at International Pop Overthrow Liverpool 2015

In case you are wondering where Monday is, I didn't go to anything that day. 

Tuesday is the last hurrah of IPO Liverpool and the end of the festival as usual heralds the arrival of Mr Dave Rave. There's no time to miss those who have left at the weekend when the Raver train pulls into town. Anyway, more about him later.



First stop of the evening was the Cavern Back to see Dave Lloyd (of The Suns) and Lauren Daly. The set was mostly 70s easy listening covers with a couple of Suns tracks thrown in too. Crisp, clean guitar sounds and a laid back atmosphere, what more could you want from a Tuesday evening?






At the end of the Lloyd and Daly set it was a short dash across to the Cavern Pub where Dave Rave and co had gone on early. This year Dave was joined by a young singer named Hailee Rose, who has a fabulous voice, showcased in the final song which was a cover of Come Together by The Beatles. (There's video to come, stay tuned)


And then, alas, it was the end of my IPO shenanigans for this year.

Still to come

- a list of proper links and stuff for my favourite artists at the 2015 event. 

- the couple of videos (once I get them all uploaded) 

- and maybe something else. 

Sunday at International Pop Overthrow Liverpool 2015

Sunday has probably been my favourite day so far. What can I say, it involved a theremin!

Blake Jones and the Trike Shop returned to IPO Liverpool resplendent with said instrument. Their line up also involved a flautist.
 A set full of fab tunes was rounded off with a Theremin version of Goldfinger and the song Ross Used To Play Us His Frank Zappa Records which is kind of epic.

I edged forward down one side of the Cavern to grab footage of the theremin on my phone.






It was then time to pop across to the Cavern Pub where I planned to catch the band before Honeybug as I had seen a video of them from the night before.




Las Annettes are from Spain and specialise in catchy, 60s style pop ditties delivered with adorable dance routines. Most of their songs are in Spanish, I videoed one of two that were in English, and all of them sound like they should be well known classics. They were so much fun to watch, and Andy the sound man loved them.







I rounded off my Sunday with the second Honeybug set of the event.

I think by now everyone knows how bias I am about any incarnation of this band. I have known Ni since the first or second year the band played at IPO, back in the days when I worked on the merch stall. Another cracking set, possibly the slightly better of the two this year. I overheard some nice things from people stood around me, and  when they were done one chap even asked me if they would be playing anywhere that day. Sadly however once done it was time for them to head home.

Sunday at IPO is full of goodbyes. Minty and the Beeb left after the Honeybug set too. And several others. Of course some folks are still about like Helen and Mark from Fun Of The Pier, and Dave Rave has arrived and a few others are still to come for the final day tomorrow. I think one of my favourite things about the IPO event is that over the years I have met so many fabulous people because of it and forged good friendships along the way.

Saturday at International Pop Overthrow Liverpool 2015

A light day today, I only saw two bands.

First up was The Dreamboats and they were fabulous. They captured the very essence of early US style rock and roll, before it was filtered to be radio or TV friendly. They did two covers in the set, Hippy Hippy Shake and Johnny B Goode and  their own songs sat seamlessly beside them. I don't how the audience weren't ripping out seats! After they were done I felt like I needed a lie down such was the energy and enthusiasm from the stage.



Here's one of their own numbers.




After a quick refreshment break it was down to the Cavern Pub for Kontiki Suite. I enjoyed their easy going set. There was a country rock feel with a hint of Stills and Young.



They have played at IPO before but I don't think I'd ever ever seen them till now. I think I will be investigating the forthcoming new CD.

Links to artists pages to come, please call back soon to check them out.

Friday at International Pop Overthrow Liverpool

This is going to be brief as I have a day of even more shenanigans ahead.

The day started off quite mellow with a dash up the road from work to catch Fun Of The Pier. I'd never seen them on the back stage of the Cavern so it made a change from trying to tune out all the chatter in the background at the other stages. Loved the sounds from the baby bass especially on the new song they performed. For the end of their set they were joined by Dave Lloyd on guitar, which made up a little bit for me not getting to see his set on Wednesday.

I love Fun Of The Pier, they make me happy, look them up and check them out.

After work in was back down to the Cavern for the evening. One Two DIE Four were on stage when I got there.


They were really good and a little reminiscent of the Killers. Great stage presence and catchy tunes that had me hanging around keeping an eye out for their CDs arriving at the merch table.

Also on the bill last night -

Guy Jones

 Hijinx

Spygenius

Soundserif



And then it was time for my personal highlight - Honeybug.
 
After an enforced absence from last event it was jolly nice to have Ni back at the Cavern, and he brought Ramage with him who was in a couple of previous incarnations of the band. In fact the band was made up of members of Ramage's band so the sound was, well, a tad louder than most people were expecting.  I have seen about half a dozen variations of Honeybug over the years at IPO  and every one of them is my favourite!

With that I had to call it a night and dash off for a taxi. Great day, here's to another one today!

Click here for the flickr photo set for the whole event. 
I will be adding band links later when I have a little more time - please do check back.

Oops.

Well the first few days of International Pop Overthrow Liverpool haven't turned out as expected due to illness on my part. I did manage to catch Alice from Alice and The Lovers at the Cavern Pub on Tuesday but so far that's been my lot!
Hopefully I can jump stat my participation in the festival from tomorrow.

In the meantime here's some photos of Alice from Tuesday evening -



And you really should check in at Minty and The Beeb Go Gigging as they are blogging the event as they go along.

More soon!

It's Nearly That Time Of Year Again! Here Comes The International Pop Overthrow

It's nearly time for the 2015 International Pop Overthrow Liverpool event! Running from the 12th to 19th May this is the 13th year the event has been held in the city. The schedules are jam-packed with bands from everywhere, all handpicked by organiser David Bash.

The schedules can be found on the official IPO website by clicking here.
And you can get some background on the artists on the site too - click here for the direct link.

I am a bit limited on how much of the event I can attend this year, but will attempt to post here as I go along, dependent on coverage and all that.

For more regular updates from the event checkout the official International Pop Overthrow facebook page.

And as ever Minty and the Beeb will be blogging the whole darn thing on their Go Gigging blog!

"You better duck down the alley way"

The day after seeing the Bonzos was spent sight-seeing in London and one of the places that Ellie took me to was the location for the Bob Dylan video "Subterranean Homesick Blues"

It was filmed behind the Savoy Hotel on a tiny street named Savoy Steps, just off Savoy Hill Road. 

It was too good a photo opportunity to miss, even if all I had was a notebook rather than cue cards. 

And just as a reminder, here's a link to the video.

50th Anniversary of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - 17th April 2015

Venue - Koko, Camden, London.

Gig Buddies - Ellie, Neville, Carol-Anne, Tony and Graeme.

Gig Booty - 50th Anniversary Tshirt

I loved the 40th Anniversary Bonzos concerts and felt a little sad that I couldn't get to the last Three Bonzos and Piano show in Milton Keynes last December, so when a Bonzos 50th Anniversary shindig was announced for Camden with the The Rutles as support and the date was doable, how could I not go?!

The tickets were purchased, travel plans hatched, accommodation acquired and as an added bonus a few extra buddies let me know they were going along too! Let The Good Times Roll indeed!

A leisurely train ride from Liverpool and a reasonably simple journey to our Travelodge in Vauxhall meant Ellie and I weren't particularly rushed or harassed upon our arrival at Mornington Crescent tube station.  

One photo opportunity later we were in the Lyttelton Arms and had already stumbled across our first pal of the evening, the lovely Neville and his friend Nick. Carol-Anne and Tony joined us just before it was time to wander across to Koko and there was even a brief encounter with Ellie's friend Jayne who was en route to see Ray Davies. It was quite the social whirlwind. 

Once inside Koko I managed to find my smashing online chum Graeme and his brother for a brief hello before taking up our position for the show I have known Graeme for several years via various social media but this was the first we'd actually met. 

The Koko is a lovely looking venue and considering this was at reasonably short notice for getting everyone together they did a good job with the staging of the show, however it wasn't really the right kind of venue for either the act or the audience.   The Bonzos bits were extremely visual which is a bit of a bugger when you can't see much in an all standing venue. Plus there were times that the band were seated resulting in the audience seeing even less. 

The Rutles, well two of them, Ron and Barry, entertained the thronging crowd with a mixture of

material from both the original soundtrack album and the slightly more recent Archaeology release. There was a memorable drum solo from Mr Wom, which I am still giggling about, and he also got to show off his newspaper tearing skills. There was dancing and singing along a-plenty from our merry band of Rutlemaniacs! 

Instead of thinning out a little in the break the audience became more compact and squished as we waited for the Bonzos. I had hoped to chat a bit more to Graeme but there was no room to move around us. I hadn't expected such a crush for this gig at all. 

The Bonzos, sans Innes for this bit, launched in Jollity Farm with gusto and then led us through some of their more anarchic numbers aided by Legs "Larry" Smith and punctuated with pieces by a street theatre outfit called Desperate Men. As I said, much of this was very visual so from our point of view most of those around us were unaware of the ventriloquist shenanigans during Little Sir Echo or the fact that at the end of Falling In Love Again Vernon Dudley Bohey-Nowell was giving it some welly on a musical saw solo. I knew because I remembered those bits from the 40th Anniversary shows. 

Losing the visual context really did affect things but it was still a tonne of fun. I was particularly amused near the end of this section when Legs appeared resplendent in a turban decorated with an ornate peacock pin (yes I couldn't see very well, but I do have a very good zoom on my camera) and began to sing I'm The Turban Spaceman before being warned by the others to stop as the composer was in the building! Ending with a gorgeously shambolic Sheik of Araby, Roger promised that some of them would be back shortly with Neil. 

Before the next segment of the show we were treated to a showing of an art school film by Neil Innes, a silent movie featuring Roger Ruskin Spear and the much missed Vivian Stanshall. Fascinating to see and a nice way to include Viv in the evening's proceedings.

The second slice of The Bonzos was a slightly less chaotic affair featuring Neil, Roger and Michael Livesley who has been doing the Rawlinson End stuff.  A lot of this bit seemed to involved most people on stage being sat down so once again not much of a chance of seeing anything. There was a belting version of My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe and a rousing rendition of The Equestrian Statue, but it was Urban Spaceman that, unsurprisingly, received the loudest reception of the evening. The b-side of that single rounded off the show, including a divine belch from Roger before The Intro and The Outro was used to let us know just who had been entertaining us all night. 

Before we escaped out into the night the whole ensemble turned their backs on us while they were photographed with the sold out venue in the background. It was only when I saw some of those photos later that I realised there was a couple of packed out balconies above us! 

It really was the end now and time to head out. Saying good-bye to everyone outside Koko, the plan was to head straight back to the  hotel but upon discovering that Graeme was near by, we stopped off to say goodbye and grab a photo of me and him on the memorable occasion of our first meeting. He said lovely things about this blog too, must have been the drink! 

Click the above images for lager versions. Huge thanks to Neville Stannard for the set lists.

A full set of my photos from the evening can be found here on flickr.

---

Next gig - The Bonzos

I am off to see the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band for their 50th Anniversary gig in Camden this weekend.

Here's a jolly nice clip of Death Cab For Cutie from Do Not Adjust Your Set (which I may have chosen for the introduction)



There was a copy of Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse in our house before there was a copy of Sgt Pepper. (Doughnut belongs to Dad and I didn't buy, or even particularly hear, Pepper till around 1987.

Needless to say I am looking forward to the show, especially after the 40th Anniversary tour. I am so pleased to get one more chance to see them. Keeping my fingers crossed for a few of my favourites making the set list.

Support Shindig!

Some of you music lovers out there will probably already know all about Shindig Magazine, and some of you may have casually browsed and/or picked up a copy from the magazine stands encouraged by a cover promising coverage of a band that you thought only you knew about. The publication as always shone a light around the dusty corners of the groovy music scene and offered readers a passionate introduction, or re-introduction, to bands the mainstream media have forgotten or leave behind or can't be bothered about because they don't have Bono in them.

Recently there have been shenanigans with the publishing company which threatened the magazine known and loved by so many, the culmination of which has led to the publishers changing the name and ploughing ahead without (and right over) the editorial team. You can read the official statement from the Shindig Team by clicking here.

Thankfully the corporate bollocks hasn't dampened any enthusiasm and there is a rebirth of Shindig due any moment and everyone will get back to writing about music with their normal passion. And that's the nub of it, Shindig is always by the passionate for the passionate. I know that there has to be some business structure but it's really just all about spreading information, educating, expanding horizons. 

Visit the all-new sparkly Shindig Magazine Website and sign up to their mailing list for news of how to subscribe to the next regeneration of the magazine.

Get social at their facebook and twitter pages and listen to their podcasts on mixcloud

Thanks! 

HRH Prog Photos

Here's the link to my full photoset on flickr

Saturday at HRH Prog 3

The day started with a leisurely stroll to the beach and a bit of a ramble around the headline before another visit to the sci-fi weekender stalls popping back in time to catch some of Steeleye Span's short accoustic set in the side bar.

Then I decided to nip back to the flat for a little rest before we ate and took on the final night.

We got back to see most of JUMP's set, very enjoyable. They were followed by Magenta. I love that there are so many women in prog bands, loads of bands over the weekend had female members all of whom were extremely talented.

Steeleye Span had everyone singing along to All Around My Hat and the dedicated their last song, Thomas The Rhymer, to Terry Pratchett.  I loved the set very much.

The evening and indeed the event, was brought to a close by Rick Wakeman's one man show. He told stories and played the piano and was generally as brilliant as ever.

And then it was all over. Great weekend, really hope to be able tp do it all again next year.

Friday at HRH Prog 3

We wandered off to the sci fi convention bit of the site in the morning for a look around and a bit of geeky shopping spree.

I will try and post lengthier comments when I get back to the land of a decent signal but in brief - Touchstone were amazing - a lot of love in the room for those guys. The Enid blew everyone's mind. And they had timpani, a gong and other items of groovy percussiveness! Mostly Autumn finished off the night with an altered set due to their  drummer having a suspected broken hand in an incident that occured while setting up. He soldiered on bravely playing with just his left hand.

When the prog bit finished we nipped back to the sci fi bit for their finale - a band called Darth Elvis and the Imperials, sadly they were no match for all we had seen before so we ditched that and headed back for the night.