These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things – Part Four – Gigs

A calendar notification popped up on my phone last Friday: “Yes at the Royal Albert Hall, 8pm” it said, to which I could only mutter under my breath, “No, Springwatch on BBC2 in my living room.”

 

Yes at The London Palladium in 2018

Recent years have been something of a golden era for me in terms of going to see live music, and in 2019 I saw 35 bands or artists in 23 shows, ranging from opera, through BBC orchestral performances, to major rock bands, at venues as diverse as The Royal Opera House, Temple Church, Boston Music Rooms, and the Hammersmith Apollo. This year has been somewhat different so far, and sadly it’s unlikely to change much.

 

Before the coronavirus pandemic that sent us into lockdown and caused the closure of the clubs, concert halls, and theatres that I would otherwise have been visiting, I managed to see Joe Stilgoe and The Guildhall Studio Orchestra performing songs from the movies in January, and in February, Alice’s Adventures Underground at The Royal Opera House. Joe Stilgoe (some of you may recall his father, Richard, who is probably best known for performing comic songs on Nationwide and That’s Life!) was very entertaining; Alice’s Adventures, not so much.

 

Joe Stilgoe 

I should have seen Lifesigns in Southend in mid-March, but although there were then no restrictions yet in place, the threat of the pandemic was such that I decided to err on the side of caution and stayed at home.

 

Lifesigns at Resonate, 2018

Since then, gigs involving Fish, and Doris Brendel, Jump, Fischer-Z, Yes, and Roger Hodgson have been cancelled completely or rescheduled for later this year or in 2021, although I’m doubtful that those that have been moved for later in 2020 will take place. I’m supposed to see Steven Wilson in September, Cosmograf, Sparks, and Level 42 in October, Steve Hackett, and Genesis in November, and IQ, and Lonely Robot in December – I would be surprised if these go ahead, and not sure how comfortable I’d be about attending even if they do.

Doris Brendel

 

If I’m honest, I’m probably missing going to gigs more than I’m missing going to football matches. I’ve seen some great shows in recent years [1] with stand-outs including such diverse acts as Steven Wilson, Steely Dan, David Byrne, Chic, and Steve Hackett. I’ve seen few that have disappointed apart from one rather amateurish performance of Tubular Bells (not to be confused with the magnificent Tubular Bells For Two), a slightly underwhelming show from Blue Oyster Cult, and The Flower Kings, about whom I was somewhat indifferent. Oh, and a couple of operas (Jack The Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel, and the previously mentioned Alice) that really did nothing for me.

The brilliant Tubular Bells For Two 

 

David Byrne. Picture: Getty Images

There was a time when I would go to see a band and would want to know all of the material they would perform; these days, not so much, largely because many of the bands that I have seen in recent years have produced many more albums than I have had the opportunity to listen to. For instance, I saw Marillion last year, despite having heard only a handful of the fourteen albums they have released since Fish left in 1988, and enjoyed the songs that were new to me just as much as the ones I knew. Likewise, Gary Numan; the last album of his I bought was Telekon in 1980, but I thoroughly enjoyed his more recent material when I saw him.

 

Gary Numan

Then there are the support acts, the good, the bad and the indifferent. I once saw Bryan Ferry completely outshone by his support act, Londonbeat; I saw Dire Straits (who were excellent), supported by the wonderful Fischer-Z; I saw Doris Brendel support Fish and was so impressed that I now go to see her as much as I do to see him when they play gigs together. Seeing a band I’ve not heard of, and thoroughly enjoying them, is one of the things that makes going to shows so rewarding; Harry Payne (who supported Marillion last year), was one such.  And when I went to The Stone Free Festival at The O2 a couple of years ago, principally to see the Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman version of Yes, I was blown away by Roger Hodgson, not that I was unfamiliar with his work with Supertramp, but I had rather taken him for granted. There are some support acts that are at the opposite end of the spectrum; we’ll draw a veil over them.

 

Roger Hodgson at the Royal Albert Hall, 2019

As a rule of thumb, the bigger the artist, the bigger the venue. The bigger the artist, the harder it can be to get tickets; the bigger the venue, the further from the stage you’re likely to be, the more you’ll have to pay for the ticket and refreshments, and the bigger the queue for the toilets. More and more, I’m happier in smaller venues like the Islington Assembly Hall, The O2 Islington, or Dingwalls, venues where it’s mostly standing and you can get closer to the stage. The Hammersmith Apollo remains near the top of my list of favourite venues; The O2 at Greenwich is near the bottom, but it has to be tolerated to see the big names. Likewise, Wembley Arena, which has the added disadvantage of being so time-consuming to get home from.

 

After over forty years of going to gigs, it’s nigh-on impossible to give a definitive list of the best I’ve been to and the criteria are something of a moving target, but here are some that I’ll never forget, including one (David Byrne), of which the NME said, “may just be the best live show of all time”:

• Ian Dury and the Blockheads – Hammersmith Odeon – 1979
• Genesis – Earls Court -1977
• David Byrne – The O2 – 2018
• Tubular Bells For Two – Union Chapel – 2017
• Big Big Train – The Anvil, Basingstoke – 2018
• Porcupine Tree – Indigo at The O2 - 2008
• Steely Dan – Wembley Arena – 2019
• Frost* - Dingwalls – 2017
• Steve Hackett – Hammersmith Apollo -2019

I’d like to think that the best gig I’ll ever see is one I’ve not been to yet. When – or indeed if – that happens, I’ll let you know.

 

 

 

[1] See posts under The Prog Blog