Things I Enjoy
One of my favourite lady blues guitar players was on form at the Manchester Ritz.
Blues and rock come easily to Joanne, and she soon had the whole place rocking. I’m sure it’s almost impossible to stay still when listening to good music.
I’ve seen Jon Boden as part of Boden and Spiers with John Spiers. More recently he was the front man for the brilliant Bellowhead. This time he was touring with the Remnant Strings – three talented ladies who play violin, viola and cello.
Jon is a very good storyteller, and his ‘Songs from the Floodplain’ album is a good place to start if you’ve never heard any of his work.
The performance was very enjoyable, and the evening flew by…
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen Seth Lakeman.
I think the first time was in 2008 at Shaw Playhouse. He was touring with a young lady named Jenna, and Steve Knightly from Show of Hands. Steve was wanting to show off the talents of the two younger West Country singers.
A very enjoyable evening became memorable at the start of the second half when Seth performed Kitty Jay. The whole audience was blown away. I’m not surprised that it has become the song he is most well known for.
It is interesting how Kitty Jay has developed over the years. The intro and the outro are considerably longer that the first performance I heard, but every time I hear it, it steals the show.
What a cracking venue for a rock gig!
Manchester Cathedral was a fab backdrop for Melissa Etheridge, supported by Lucy Spraggan.
I didn’t even know that the Cathedral was a gig venue, but I wasn’t disappointed. The sound was rich and the gothic surroundings made it sound ‘big’.
Melissa was in fine voice, the atmosphere was friendly, and the crowd was bouncing.
I admit that I had no idea who the support was going to be. When I found out it was Lucy Spraggan, I wasn’t much more the wiser.
Turns out that she’s a Yorkshire lass with a cracking voice and a way with words. Well worth checking out on youtube – look out for ‘Tea and Toast’.