Reviews and Recommendations: pop

Wow - what a concert!! I've seen them once before on the Zoo TV tour and this was way better. We got last-minute cheap tickets, so didn't expect a great view & we got what we expected - but the band and the music more than made up for it... [more]

Event Date: August 15, 2009
Event Venue: Wembley Stadium

Wow - what a concert!! I've seen them once before on the Zoo TV tour and this was way better. We got last-minute cheap tickets, so didn't expect a great view & we got what we expected - but the band and the music more than made up for it - and unusually for seats, everyone around us was really into it as well. Apparently they change the setlist every night & tonight's was way better than last night according to their website. It was my wife's first U2 gig & first time at Wembley Stadium & she loved it - despite not knowing all the words of the older stuff.

Highlights for me were the mental disco-bongo remx of the new single I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight and the slower One and Faraway So Close (Until The End Of The World), but in truth, there were no duff songs & the crowd had a blast!

As for the "see everything from anywhere" claim - I can say it isn't true - especially from Level 5 of Wembley Stadium.

Finally a word about the support acts - The Hours seemed good and got the early crowd going, but the sound was awful & the drummer drowned out the singer most of the time. Glasvegas were really boring - can't put my finger on why - the singer has a big voice & was giving it some, but it didn't get the crowd going at all - and they have an odd standing-up drummer woman who only has two drums and a cymbal - it looks really strange!!

To summarise - everyone go & see U2 in concert before you die - even if you hate them - they'll convert you!! [less]

A absolutely amazing evening with Barbara Dickson and her wonderful band of musicians - among whom Troy Donockley and Pete Zorn stood out for their  musicianship and superb singing.  But the star of the evening was Barbara Dickson - sounding better than ever, looking better than ever and... [more]

Event Date: March 7, 2009
Event Venue: Shaw Theatre, London

A absolutely amazing evening with Barbara Dickson and her wonderful band of musicians - among whom Troy Donockley and Pete Zorn stood out for their  musicianship and superb singing.  But the star of the evening was Barbara Dickson - sounding better than ever, looking better than ever and performing a set - that while including many of her hit records -  was grounded in the traditional music which really informs her best work.  For example 'I Know Him So Well' has been transformed from an overblown 80s power ballad into a semi acoustic gem which illuminates what a good song it really is.
Barbara Dickson is one of the finest female singers the UK has ever produced and is a must see artist if you're interested in great songs sung and played to perfection. [less]

Supporting the excellent Ida Maria, VV Brown was a breath of fresh air after the first act, BirdPen's unedited navel gazing sub-thrash prog rock. Her energetic style and catchy tunes soon lifted the mood of the crowd and visibly swelled the numbers in the pit.  Dashing through her numbers... [more]

Event Date: November 27, 2008
Event Venue: Scala

Supporting the excellent Ida Maria, VV Brown was a breath of fresh air after the first act, BirdPen's unedited navel gazing sub-thrash prog rock. Her energetic style and catchy tunes soon lifted the mood of the crowd and visibly swelled the numbers in the pit.  Dashing through her numbers in the tiny 30 minute slot allocated VV even managed to cram in two versions of her then single, "Crying Blood", the second reggae version bringing whoops of joy from the crowd. Mention must also be made of her backing group, who manage to be the perfect foil for her energy and verve whilst holding out personalities of their own. On the whole a refreshing surprise as I had gone to see the headline act and had no expectations of the support. I'm now a confirmed fan. [less]

It's the first time we (my wife and I) have seen him live, and it was a fantastic concert.  He is a great entertainer, full of charisma and energy, and he never sang out of tune.  


He started 20 minutes late, due to a technical problem, but... [more]

Event Date: May 16, 2009
Event Venue: Oxford New Theatre

It's the first time we (my wife and I) have seen him live, and it was a fantastic concert.  He is a great entertainer, full of charisma and energy, and he never sang out of tune.  


He started 20 minutes late, due to a technical problem, but he explained why over the tannoy himself.  There was a good mix of songs – both from the shows and also the 70s/80s; songs that have appeared on his albums.   In between each song, he talked about his childhood in Scotland and in the USA and the reasons for choosing the next song.   Every song hence had a personal story behind it – in the main a funny story, but the occasional sad story.  Every song was therefore sung from the heart with passion – whether it be a ballad, or a disco tune.   He enjoyed laughing and joking with the audience whenever the opportunity arose.  

As well as an excellent group of musicians, he was accompanied on stage for most of the songs by 4 dancers – 2 female, and 2 male.  And there was a very good camaraderie between the 5 of them.  

The show ran for about 2 ½ hours – after about 25 minutes, he was replaced on stage by his Special Guest “Daniel Boys” (one of the auditionees for the TV show Any Dream Will Do)”.  Daniel sang about 3 songs, before John bounded back on stage.  This was replicated in the 2nd half (yes, a gig with 2 halves – I’ve never seen ice cream at a concert before!).   Daniel was just as good as John, and was well loved and appreciated by the audience (which I think was a full house)

Highlights of the evening

1) To mix his Scottish heritage with his love of musicals, he sang, in his Scottish accent, a medley of well known show tunes to Scottish country music.    We fell about with laughter.  

2) His mum (early 70s) and dad (late 70s) joined him on stage to do their own special dance called the Slosh, to the tune of Knock 3 times (which also involved audience participation of clapping and making noises at appropriate points in the song (you had to be there!)

3) All songs were sung with passion and in tune.

4) The female dancers didn’t look too bad!


Lowpoints of the evening

1)       Where we were sitting in the stalls, our views of the percussionist and saxophone player were blocked by speakers on the left of the stage

2)       Some women in the audience becoming over enthusiastic whenever John spoke (shouting “We love you John” whenever the opportunity arose which became irritating after the first few times).

3)       It had to end, as we could have listened to him talking and singing for hours to come.


If he comes to Oxford again, I would definitely recommend it, (we’ll definitely be going again, and again, and again …), but maybe not for non-fans of him, as I think  you have to understand where he’s coming from to get his humour and stories, and understand his personality.  He is Mr Charisma, and Mr Entertainer.  

We are both still humming the tunes he was singing 5 days later. [less]

Myself and wife Shirl have always followed Wet Wet Wet and after seeing Bens Brother as a guest band at a gig by the Wets in London, we did like the sound and thought it might be worth going to see them at one of their live shows. Following the... [more]

Event Date: April 20, 2008
Event Venue: Joiners Southampton

Myself and wife Shirl have always followed Wet Wet Wet and after seeing Bens Brother as a guest band at a gig by the Wets in London, we did like the sound and thought it might be worth going to see them at one of their live shows. Following the concert in London I brought their Betamale cd and again quite surprised by the quality of some of the tracks that they didn't have the chance of playing at Wembley.

So off we went to the Joiners Southampton, on arrival at the venue it was different to what I expected after reading reviews etc on various well known bands that had visited in the past. The venue was quite small and completely different from Wembley. It really is just a pub with a room /small hall at the back. Apart from the venue being very small, it made up for it being so close to the band, on what was an exceptional night of music.

Anyway on to the music, Jamie started off with my favourite track Time, which was then followed by a very good selection of all their songs which both instrumentally and vocally were exceptional. The only downer on the night was that the air con wasn't working and Jamie and the rest of the band must of lost a few pounds in sweat as it was bad enough for the audience, so I have to take my hat off to them for doing so well in uncomfortable conditions.

We will be going back to see them on this years tour and would strongly recommend any one who hasn't seen them to give it a go as I know you will not be dissapointed.

Regards

Tony [less]