Neil Young - Liverpool Arena 13th July 2014

The list of people I am willing to go and see at the Arena in Liverpool is a short one. It's one of my least favourite venues ever. However when Neil Young comes to town and brings Crazy Horse with him you just have to go along.

As you can see from the set list there was a good range of stuff. I was particularly pleased that I got to hear Psychedelic Pill live as I love that track. The cacophonous sounds through the electric bits were something to behold. They vibrated throughout your entire body as guitar licks were traded.

The acoustic bit included a Dylan cover, as featured on the latest album from Neil, as well as Heart Of Gold which was obviously a crowd pleaser. (Well at least everyone seemed to know that one)

Actually there was certainly more back catalogue stuff in the set than I was expecting, though apparently not enough hits to appease some critics.

The finale of an amazing, way out there jam of Like A Hurricane was marred slightly from my point of view by the bloke in front of me lighting up a cigarette (could have even been a joint) and when security arrived trying to fight them off before being escorted off the premises. Anyway, once him and equally drunk/high girlfriend were gone there was a chance to properly enjoy the creative, buzzing mess of a ending. Strings were snapped and minds were blown. I loved it! I was particular amused when I was leaving and over heard a local fan declare "he was alright till he started f***ing about at the end" - but that was the best bit!

Neil sounded great, and looked like he was having a great time on stage, and it was awesome to finally see him with Crazy Horse. 

(Screen grabs courtesy of whichway) 

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.