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Gig Time. Marillion Weekend 2019 at Leicester DeMontfort Hall on 26th/27th/28th April 2019

Marillion

Not many bands can hold a weekend festival all on their own. Marillion manage to 🙂

Three evenings might sound like a tough one to do without repeating material, but with 30+ years of material to draw on, the band have lots to choose from.

Marillion

The enormous screens on the backdrop were made good use of. The graphics were some of the best I’ve seen at a concert. The light show and lasers were pretty good too.

The music is the most important thing though, and the first two evenings were largely a best-of from the H era. Most people remember Fish fronting the band, but it’s worth remembering that H has been with the band for 30 years. The songs on Friday seemed to be the shorter ones, with longer ones saved for the Saturday.

Marillion Weekend 2019 – finger lights

The Sunday evening was dedicated to one particular album – Happiness is the Road.

As seems almost traditional now, the crowd surprised the band with a light show of our own. We were sat on the next to back row in the circle, so the picture really captures the sight of all those lights.

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Gig Time. Holy Moly and the Crackers at The Band on the Wall on 13th April 2019

The Buffalo Skinners

Support was provided by the Buffalo Skinners, a group from the north east that I’d never heard of before the gig. Upbeat and bouncy, they were a good choice to warm up for one of my current favourite bands.

Holy Moly and the Crackers

I’m waiting for the mainstream to catch on to this very talented group. They have a funky sound which mixes distinctive beats, up tempo brass, wonderful lyrics and not-to-be-mistaken-for-anybody-else vocals.

The whole place was bouncing from start to finish, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them again at Moonbeams in July.

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Gig Time. Keston Cobblers Club at the Deaf Institute on 11th April 2019

Keston Cobblers Club

The Keston Cobblers Club play a brand of upbeat, joyous anglicana, which is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The band all seem to play several instruments, so some songs are mainly keyboards and guitars, whilst others are heavy on the brass.

We first saw them supporting Bellowhead on their farewell tour. Seen them a few times since at the Band on the Wall and the RNCM.

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Gig Time. Le Vent du Nord at the Stoller Hall on 7th April 2019

Le Vent Du Nord

The Stoller Hall is a performance space in Chethams School of Music near Victoria Station in Manchester. The acoustics are sweet 😉

Le Vent du Nord are French Canadians, and they do Quebec folk music. I don’t understand a word they’re singing, but it sounds good regardless.

We first saw them at Moonbeams festival, and were suitably impressed. After a couple of trips to the Waterside in Sale to see them since, it was good to see them try Manchester for a change. A highlight for me was an acapella song which really made use of the theater’s acoustics.

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Gig Time. Noble Jacks at the Deaf Institute on 5th April 2019

Noble Jacks

A very enjoyable way to spend a Friday evening at the Deaf Institute in Manchester. The Noble Jacks supported by local band Carl North and the Lonely Hearts.

We saw the Noble Jacks last year at Bury Met when they were supporting the Eskies. Having had such a good time then, it was good to see them back in Manchester.

Modern folkies with a lot of bounce, they don’t do the finger-in-your-ear variety of folk. My favourite song of the evening was The Blacksmith Stomp, which is very aptly named.

Carl Noble and the Lonely Hearts

I’d not heard of the support band before the gig even though they are local. They had some good songs though, and some catchy tunes.

Folk with a bit of a country feel at times. Might have to keep an eye out for them playing again.

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Gig Time. Jon Boden and the Remnant Strings at Bury Met 13th March 2019

Jon Boden and the Remnant Strings

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…

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Gig Time. Seth Lakeman at RNCM 4th March 2019

Seth Lakeman

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.

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Gig Time. Melissa Etheridge at Manchester Cathedral 18th February 2019

Melissa Etheridge

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.

Lucy Spraggan

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’.

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Gig Time. Beans on Toast at Gorilla 13th February 2019.

I know, I know – I’m tardy in posting again. Sorry. Oh Well, here goes 😉

Beans on toast at Gorilla in Manchester. Supported by Benjamin Folke Thomas, with Jess Morgan opening up proceedings.

Jess Morgan

May as well start in chronological order for a change.

Jess Morgan chose a good selection of her own songs to get the evening under way. The tempo of her songs was right for a warmup – i.e. not too slow. I enjoyed her set, particularly the song about drivers in Birmingham driving like fishes swim. I’ve never driven around Birmingham, but I’ve been a passenger – and her description is spot on 😀

Benjamin Folke Thomas

I’ve seen Benjamin Folke Thomas at the Cropredy Festival some years back.

He’s from Sweden, but I think he must have spent a lot of time in the UK, because he has a very British sense of humour.

His most memorable song of the evening was Stuff of Dreams – about a dream where he beats Paul Newman (The Hustler) at pool.

Beans on Toast

Jess Morgan and Benjamin Folke Thomas were both in the band for the headliner Beans on Toast.

Beans on Toast is probably best know for his song MDMAmazing about getting stoned at a festival.

His more recent stuff though, is more about bamboo toothbrushes or the birth of his daughter. The subjects of his songs may have changed a bit, but his style is still the same.

Think middle class lefty protest songs, and you’ve probably got a good idea of what to expect. Definitely worth checking out if he’s playing nearby.