On a bitterly cold night in Sheffield, what better way to warm the heart and soul than by hearing some of the very best live sounds around - no exaggeration. The Backroom stage at the rear of The Greystones is proving to be a consistently fine venue in Sheffield, with a varied line-up of acts..
Delain – Birmingham 02 Institute, 6 February 2020
All gallery photos: Ian Jenkinson The 02 Institute feels like the perfect venue for a Delain show and their brand of symphonic and orchestral metal - the building originally opened in 1908 - the high ceiling and the ornate balcony creates an auspicious and intimate setting. And in this delightful venue, there's more than a..
Sweet – Islington Assembly Hall, 18/12/2019
Andy Scott swaps his red Strat for a gold one which he plays with an (empty) baked bean can for some reason... When I was a kid in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, one of the upsides of catching some flu bug was getting to bunk off school, and another was special radio privileges...
IO EARTH / HEKZ – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, 15/12/19
...there is a trip back to the very first IO album for a tremendous rendition of the epic Creation, which is greeted like an old friend by the assembled throng When you go to a gig, you often tend to learn something new. Sometimes it’s about the bands, sometimes it’s about the venue, sometimes it..
Live Review – The Room & The Paradox Twin
229, London. 16 November 2019 Photos: Simon Green It’s always interesting to step outside of what you believe to be your wide circle of musical knowledge as you quickly realise that your circle is just a tiny circle in a universe of many other circles of almost infinite possibilities. It’s also a good thing to..
Live Review – Monster Truck
The Parish, Huddersfield 22 November 2019 Photos: Ian Jenkinson When we have the sad situation that music venues up and down the land are closing their doors, it is encouraging to see that The Parish in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield is going from strength to strength. A good old fashioned rock pub –..
STEVE HILLAGE / GONG – Liverpool O2 Academy, 23 Nov 2019
Everyone with an interest knows the Steve Hillage story by now. After a few years following his departure from Gong when he effectively had the mantle of ‘aging hippie saviour’ thrust upon him, he abruptly walked away from a style of music which he was quietly revolutionising, and disappeared into the world of trance music..
HAWKWIND / BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA – Manchester Albert Hall, Nov 15 2019
Born To Go unfolds sinuously, visiting areas of deep space all too infrequently explored by latter day Hawkwind PHOTOS: Chris Walkden Amazingly, this current UK jaunt marks the 50th anniversary of Hawkwind as a band, which in itself is quite extraordinary. Of course, Dave Brock is the only original member left, and has been for..
Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons (Nottingham Rescue Rooms, 4 November 2019)
All photos by IAN JENKINSON Saying the word “debut” in the same sentence as “Phil Campbell” still sounds strange. After all, the man has been in the business for more than four decades and spent 31 of those in Britain’s finest rock ‘n’ roll band Motörhead which broke up following the sad death of founder/frontman/icon..
STEVE HACKETT – LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, Nov 11, 2019
It might seem like hyperbole, but the inescapable fact is that Steve Hackett’s live shows just keep getting better and better Over the last few years, Steve Hackett seems to have hit upon the perfect recipe for the format of his live shows: his extended ‘Genesis Revisited’ tours delighted fans, but after a while many..