It is a typically bustling Friday night in the centre of Nottingham as people criss-cross to their various entertainment destinations, whatever is on at the Theatre Royal, Poets of the Fall are headlining at Rock City but it is not difficult to tell who is heading to Rescue Rooms, the odd corpse painted face and..
Robin Trower – Joyful Sky Concert featuring Sari Schorr (3 September 2023)
Veteran guitarist Robin Trower has long favoured the power trio format. His classic material from the Bridge Of Sighs era in the mid-70s featured a drummer, either Reg Isidore or Jerry Lordan, and the brilliant Jimmy Dewar on bass and vocals. Sometimes, when recording, he had a separate bassist; after Dewar’s departure he used a..
Blank Manuskript – 229, London (15 November 2023)
The London prog fans who stayed at home rather than venture out mid-week missed one hell of a treat. According to Julie Andrews in the famous Musical, the hills are alive with the sound of music around Salzburg. But the lovely Austrian city is not exactly bursting with world famous rock artists. Perhaps it’s because..
The Manfreds – Chatham Central Theatre (10 November 2023)
Manfred Mann the band didn’t so much form as evolve – the South-African born band leader and keyboard player Manfred Mann formed a band originally with the multi-talented Mike Hugg, which eventually morphed via many name changes into Manfred Mann and the Manfreds, and then eventually just Manfred Mann. They took on their most recognisable..
Heavenly Cream: An Acoustic Tribute To Cream (Quarto Valley Records)
There can be no doubt about Cream’s legacy as pioneers of rock, blues and fusion – generally touted as the world’s first ‘Supergroup’, (defined as a band whose individual members had already become famous in other acts), they were arguably the template upon which all power trios are based. Bassist, singer and songwriter Jack Bruce..
The Commoners – The Bourne Music Club, Sittingbourne (1 November 2023)
Photos by Will Carter Toronto rockers The Commoners rounded off their UK tour in support of Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton with a headline slot at The Bourne Music Club in Sittingbourne, Kent. It was the Canadians’ second UK tour, having played a double-header with Troy Redfern at the same venue in April, and once..
Genesis Piano Project – Piano Smithfield, Barbican (1 November 2023)
Kromelow’s evident love of this music shone through, and his interpretations shed new light on familiar material. Like most of London’s small venues, the Piano Smithfield is underground. The dark inconspicuous entry might cause one to jump to the conclusion that it is at the seedy end of the spectrum of music establishments, but it’s..
Photo: Ian Jenkinson
Fear Factory – (Rock City, Nottingham, 27 October, 2023)
A belligerent Friday night M1 motorway trek, ridiculously early doors and a queue that snakes around the block to get into Nottingham’s Rock City snakes around the block meaning that opening act Ghosts of Atlantis are playing their last song to a small but appreciative early evening crowd. Ignea. Photo: Ian Jenkinson Ignea. Photo: Ian..
Glenn Hughes / The Damn Truth – Rock City, Nottingham (15 October 2023)
A fascinating show, one band playing monster tracks from 50 years ago, the other performing top quality material only a year old - but they share the same enthusiasm for classic rock, the same belief in "well-being through music", and both featuring absolutely majestic singers. For me, this was sort of a double-header, I love'em..
Soen / Molybaron / Terra – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (13 October 2023)
Friday 13th might have been unlucky for some but not for the music lovers who ventured out in the pouring rain to West London and saw a scintillating show by two of the best progressive metal bands in the business. The venue was the O2 Empire in Shepherd’s Bush, a regal old theatre with a..