WLDFLWRS/Last Waltz

WLDFLWRS/THE LAST WALTZ

Musician Pub 30th August 2024

Fascinating show last night at The Musician Pub, the band WLDFLWRS brought their "THE LAST WALTZ" show, reliving parts of THE BAND's legendary last performance

They played a short introductory set "to warm up" featuring a couple of Dylan songs and some of their own songs.

Really good set, the bands own songs are excellent, very influenced by the work of Bob/The Band but high quality.

A fine tight band, musically excellent with good voices and really good harmonies

After a short break the Last Waltz theme was being played as they came back to deliver THE LAST WALTZ show, kicking off with "Up on Cripple Creek" and "The Shape I'm In" before continuing with a host THE BAND classics (virtually all of the Bands songs from their heyday are classics!) and included a few of the pieces perfromed by the guests... Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan... on a personal level I could have lived without the Morrison & Clapton pieces, never my favourites...

Wildflowers excelled with the two really big ones, "The Weight' and "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down" and especially ""I Shall be Released" where the singer handled Richard Manuels high register vocals with assurance.

After this they came back to do Neil Young's "Long May you Run" as an encore... a fine performance of a great song, but although it is their regular closer, slightly incongruous in the context of the show.

A hugely entertaining show, and although the band were excellent, delivering some quality covers of this great music maybe they were hampered by the absence of their keyboard player... the keyboards being integral to the Band's sound but none the less, a fine performance by a fine band... thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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The Platforms

THE PLATFORMS

The Donkey: 25th August 2024

That was a great way to spend a sunny Bank Holiday Monday... with a good crowd in the garden of The Donkey listening to The Platforms.

The band are basically a glam rock covers band, but also have other strings to their bow... As they took the stage and rocked into "Blockbuster" the singer appeared from the back of the audience singing... and spent a fair bit of the afternoon walking through the audience while singing.

In theory I shoulddn't be enjoying this... most of the bands covered are not really to my taste (except Sweet, one of the very best and most creative bands we've seen) but I love the performance.

A real good time good fun party atmosphere created from the first note as the band rip through a couple of hours worth of covers familiar to everyone... everyone saying "ooh this is... " as the opening bars sound.

The set list includes a host of familiar songs such as "Shang a Lang" a T-Rex medley, Queen medley, Bowie, Suzi Quatro, and many more... ending with "Rockin' all over the World", "Hi Ho Silver Lining" "I'm a Believer" and "Tiger Feet"... the whole set was high paced and kept the dancers dancing and singers in the crowd singing right through to the end...

The band are really tight and musically excellent and deliver a quality high energy show... a great atmosphere throughout and a great time had by all.. .if you haven't seen the Platforms I recommend you give them a try, even if you you think you don't like glam-rock. You cant fail to love this band... great fun and highly entertaining throughout...

If i have a minor gripe, i could live without the Buggles & Bon Jovi... but thats nit-picking!

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Teiger/Amy DX/JJ Lovegrove

TEIGER/AMY DX/JJ LOVEGROVE

Firebug 25th August 2024

From Orso in the afternoon, the timings were perfect to look in at the August Bank Holiday FREE Alldayer and Firebug's 20th Birthday! to catch three quality acts.

First up after I got there was JJ Lovegrove who delivered a great set. Singing beautifully over her keyboard and backing tracks, the music varies from swirling almost orchestral to much more sparse, at all times really engaging. JJ's voice is wonderful and her singing strong and confident making for a really great and hugely enjoyable performance...

After a short break up stepped Amy Dx, this time with a band, she had been playing gigs solo recently. A really good band, with David Masson on guitar and the bass and drums from TEIGER.

A fine band, David's guitar work was top notch and the rhythm section strong and creative

Up front Amy was on top form, singing powerfully and with great passion... she has a great voice and stretched it through a very intense set of mainly newer material. I believe this band are working with her on her next album which sounds as though it will be a cracker.

One of the strongest sets i've heard from Amy... superb, really loved it.

Finally, for me, was Teiger. I'd seen this band on the same gig last year and was looking forward to seeing them again... and they didnt disappoint. They were terrific... their music is impossible to pigeon-hole, they play truly original material with great assurance and quality. the rhythm section of Jon and Philip are powerful and relentless in their free flowing style while Talie commands attention with her superb and engaging singing and guitar work. The band in someways seems like two separate entities... the rhythm section and the guitar/vocals... but they make a glorious cohesive whole creating some fabulous music... great band and terrific set

Time and other commitments meant i only had a couple of hours to attend and I am sure there were many other great performances that i didn't get to see... but I thoroughly enjoyed the three superb performances i did get to see

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Matt Kenesen/Paddy McCullough/Joe Pike/Nicole Mary

MATT KENESEN/PADDY McCULLOUGH/JOE PIKE/NICOLE MARY

Orso 25th August 2024

Last Sunday of the month, so back to ORSO for an afternoon of Music in Street as organised by Paddy McCullough

Paddy had arranged to have a break and attend as an audience member so Matt Keneson took over as host and opening act.

Great to see Matt in this setting playing solo, as I am more used to seeing him fronting his excellent band. Matt was warm and engaging playing a really fine set, mixing his original songs with some well-chosen familiar covers, including Neil Young (Heart of Gold) and Bob Dylan (All along the Watchtower). Matt has a great warm voice and is a fine guitar player, and delivered an excellent set. Quality!!

The next advertised act failed to materialise so Paddy stepped up to fill the slot. As ever his set was warm and hugely enjoyable, mixing his originals with covers.. again a Dylan cover (I Want You) and Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic". Having not planned to play he struggled with an unfamiliar guitar, but it didn't really show... he did a fine job as always.

Next up was JOE PIKE, who proved to be a fine singer and guitar player... He has a really good voice and sings with confidence and assurance. He also mixed his own songs with some covers. His own songs are really good, though sadly many of his covers come from sources that are just not my taste (Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift) but he played them beautifully... I would love to see him writing more and concentrating on his own excellent material... Thoroughly enjoyed his set.

Last up was a new name, and a bit of a surprise package, NICOLE MARY, a young lady taking her first steps in performing. Nerves were getting the better of her in her first song, but she mastered them and continued singing well and gaining confidence as she went on. It is lovely to see young people starting out in performance and keeping real music alive... hugely promising and enjoyable performance...

keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues