The Bonus Discs - Let It Be

Regardless of the new evidence in the companion book and Peter Jackson’s re-cut of the film, that the experience wasn’t as bad as we’ve all been led to believe. Let It Be remains The Beatles’ most difficult album, both during and after its making.

Giles Martin’s new mix of the album is a subtle tweaking rather than a full reimagining. Phil Spector’s orchestrations are still in there. Martin states in the notes that Spector’s mix lacked the sensitivity of George Martin but created a sound of its own which had to be respected.

Personally, I can’t fault Phil Spector for doing what he did to the original Let It Be. The fact he did not share the same vision as The Beatles should have been obvious. The Beatles had washed their hands of the project a year earlier and Spector was handed weeks’ worth of tapes to create something of releasable quality from. He did this the only way he knew how, which was to turn it into a Phil Spector record. I can blame him for being a creepy, abusive murderer but I can’t blame him for doing the job he was hired to do.

Back to the new mix though, and the differences are very subtle – almost to the point of being imperceptible. I played the 2009 remaster immediately afterwards to compare and I was hard pressed to tell the difference. Spector’s syrup is dialled back a bit but not all that much. In any case, if you want to hear the de-Spectored version, there’s Let It Be… Naked, and the Glyn Johns mix, more of which later.

Discs 2 and 3 are split between actual takes, and rehearsals and jams. The content could have fitted on one disc but it makes sense to split, partly because there’s a different theme and partly because this album makes you expect 35 to 40-minute bites.

Because of the live-in-the-studio ethos of the project, the outtakes and rehearsals are the kind of thing that reward repeated listening rather than being mere curios.

Disc 4 is what we’ve really been waiting for though – the first official release of Glyn Johns’ mix of the proposed Get Back album. I haven’t heard any of the bootlegs so this was my first listen. It’s a great snapshot. For me, the problem with it is that it was only ever a work-in-progress mix. Teddy Boy could easily have been jettisoned and the full length version of Dig It was probably unnecessary. Get Back would surely have been tidied up for release if they had seen the project through. On the whole, I prefer the sound of Let It Be… Naked. And there is absolutely no reason why the Naked mix couldn’t have been included in this set.

Disc 5 is a a 4-track EP. Why? I have no idea. It contains the original mix of Across the Universe (fair enough), the Glyn Johns mix of I Mean Mine complete with scratches (why?) plus new mixes of the single versions of Don’t Let Me Down and Let It Be. What the entire box doesn’t include is the original single version of Get Back, either as a remix or the original. Why not?

And so to the Blu-ray which features the stereo mix in hi-res, DTS-HD 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. The surround mix is not mind-blowing but nor should it be. As it well documented, the whole point of the album was to ‘get back’ to basics so being flashy with the surround mix would be further going against the original intention. There also probably wasn’t much more you could do with it. For the most part, the arrangements are spread out a bit more which definitely helps hear details which have previously been buried in the stereo mixes.

I did find the menu animations rather distracting and ended up turning the screen off.

The book is beautiful and is particularly helpful in identifying takes. I hadn’t realised so much of Let It Be… Naked came from the same takes as the original album. I do wish they had saved a page in there for Tony Barrow’s sleeve notes for the Get Back album. The only place they appear in the whole package is on the back of the replica CD cover and it’s bloody hard to read the 4pt type.

Worth paying extra for?
Well, if you’re extremely lucky like I am and happen to have come into some birthday money recently, there are certainly more disappointing things you could spend it on. If you’re itching to hear the legendary Glyn Johns mix though, you could probably go to your nearest purveyor of bootlegs and still come out with enough change to afford the Abbey Road box set.

Let It Be 1987 remaster

Let It Be 2009 remaster

Let It Be 2021 remix

LET IT BE - The Beatles (1970)

It was supposed to be a rebirth. It turned out to be the death throes.

With the news that Peter Jackson will be ploughing through the 96 hours of film shot for an album and documentary originally to be titled Get Back, I thought I’d take another look at the original. The film has never had an officially sanctioned DVD release but there is a version of the original cut issued by United Artists available if you look hard enough.

It is both fascinating and depressing. Paul’s idea was for the band to get back to the ways they used to make music – recording live, no overdubs – and film the whole process. What becomes evident even without the history we know, is that John and George have accepted that the group has all but broken up; Paul is in denial, desperately trying to hold things together; and Ringo is just dutifully coming to work.

The film is basically split into three acts: the Twickenham sessions, the Apple sessions, and the rooftop performance.

It’s immediately evident that attempting to make a record in a film studio was a mistake. The most notable section is the argument between Paul and George. The music is terrible. The environment of the film studio was so cold (both figuratively and literally) that the sessions were abandoned. Recording shifted to the Apple offices in Savile Row resulting in a noticeable improvement in mood. The presence of Billy Preston at these sessions seems to help them keep on track, and it’s here that they actually complete some takes.

Naturally, it’s the rooftop session that is the highlight – arguably the first ever guerrilla gig. Even though they had several weeks of rehearsals under their belts by then, we get the impression that having an audience – even of passers-by – forces them to behave themselves and put in a decent performance. It’s a rightly legendary show, but will give nightmares to anyone brought up with a 21st century understanding of health and safety.

Even though it’s obvious the four of them have completely drifted apart, when they’re playing they still give their all. It also reveals how underrated John Lennon is as a musician. He plays sensitive bass on The Long and Winding Road and Let It Be (despite his distaste for the latter), some blistering slide blues on For You Blue, and one of the most recognisable guitar solos in history on Get Back. It’s worth remembering that none of these were his songs.

Both the film and album were shelved, and only released to satisfy contractual obligations. The film does deserve credit for its honesty. None of the Beatles come out looking particularly good but it’s Paul who comes out worst. In fairness, his domineering is clearly an attempt to give the band direction and delay the inevitable breakup, but it’s not hard to see why none of the Beatles were keen on having the film reissued in any way. One hopes the new edit will not be a whitewash.

The transfer on this version is abysmal so Peter Jackson’s cut will probably be worth the wait if only for picture quality, providing he doesn’t CGI it all into a flaming island castle.

Highlight: The rooftop session
Feature: * * ½
Extras: None
Audio: Dolby mono

Top Ten Awesome Babble Songs

I’m currently reading Hang the DJ, an Alternative Book of Music Lists. It goes beyond the typical Top Ten Guitar Solos and sticks to very specific criteria. The first chapter, written by Owen King, tells you everything you need to know about the type of lists in the book: Ten Essential Stutter songs (for example, Muh-muh-muh-My Sharona and Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes.)

In selecting Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer, Owen King admits it only works if the final syllable is actually ‘far’ and not merely another ‘fah’ which would make it “better suited for the Top 10 Awesome Babble Songs.” Which gives me an idea…

This does not include scat singing or anything similar, but only songs where the babble is an integral part of the song, and often even the title.

10: Doo Wah Diddy - Manfred Mann
It’s really just your typical boy-meets-girl and they fall in love song. Only in this one, they’re singing ‘Doo wah diddy, diddy dum, diddy do.’ As you do.

9: Tutti Frutti - Little Richard
Apart from Mr Penniman listing some of the gals he’s got, the song is almost all babble. Although the title may also be an ice cream flavour an ‘aw rooty’ is allegedly a slang term for ‘all right,’ it hardly enhances the meaning of the song, whatever it may be. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom’s meaning has only come since the song.

8: Be-Bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent
Any song that commits the lyrical sin of rhyming ‘baby’ and ‘maybe’ ensures that even if all the other words are utter drivel, they still won’t be the worst thing about the song. Like Yabba-Dabba-Doo, Be-Bop-a-Lula has no particular meaning but you still know it means something good.

7: Da Do Ron Ron - The Crystals
Another piece of babble that you just know means… something! All the great innocent pop has a sexuality bubbling underneath and you have to figure out what it means for yourself. Bruce Springsteen made it obvious that when they kissed, fire! But in Phil Spector’s teen symphony, when he walked her home, Da do ron ron! If you know what I mean.

6: Hey Jude - The Beatles
Perhaps a controversial choice, but any song where over half of the single’s 7-minute length is: ‘Nah, nah, nah, nananah nah, nananah nah, Hey Jude!’ surely has to count.

If that doesn’t work for you try…

5:  Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da - The Beatles
Far from being a twee nursery rhyme that some people consider it to be, it’s far more political than that. It’s easy to forget this was the time of Enoch Powel and his ‘blood in the streets’ speech. Paul McCartney’s simple story of a multicultural family being just as ordinary as can be, set to a calypso beat, was a sly put-down to all that. While John Lennon might have been more likely to just say, “Don’t be racist, you pigs!” Paul was a bit more subtle than that. Almost too subtle.

4: The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
No-one said babble songs had light or fluffy. Paul Simon has admitted the ‘Li-la-li’ chorus was a simply a placeholder for lyrics that never came, and his embarrassment about it. He shouldn’t be so hard on himself. It works. What I never understood was why in the middle of the chorus of this most gentle and sensitive song, there’s a massive drum hit drenched in reverb that comes at you like a punch in the face. Like a punch in the… oh, right. The Boxer. Now I get it.

3: #9 Dream - John Lennon
John Lennon was a master of nonsense. This is quite a talent. A silly, off-the-cuff lyric from Paul McCartney sounds like a silly, off-the-cuff lyric but John could write about semolina pilchards climbing up the Eiffel Tower like it was the most profound thing you ever heard. You’ve either got it or you haven’t.

In its wider context, the chorus of ‘Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse’ sounds to the monolingual ear like it could be a message to Yoko in Japanese. In fact, they’re just the words John heard in the aforementioned dream. Yet his delivery assures you that there must be more to it than just that.

2: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - The Police
Even as a classically trained post-punk in the late 70s, Sting took himself rather seriously. It’s tempting to think the title and hook of this song might be yet another pretention. It was on an album called Zenyatta Mondatta, after all. Mercifully, there was no deeper meaning. It’s simply a song about being tongue-tied before the object of one’s affections, and who can’t relate to that? It’s meaningless and all that's true.

1: Sussudio - Phil Collins
It’s still a boy-meets-girl song with a babble title and chorus. This time, the narrator invites the listener to say the word because it makes him feel so good. Try it for yourself. Go on, say, “Su-Sussudio.” Does it make you feel so good? Of course it doesn’t!

Phil Collins is problematic on a few levels but there’s no denying he completely nailed it here. Every single line and lick is a hook, and if the first keyboard riff bears a striking resemblance to Prince’s 1999, it’s probably no accident. This is probably the most-mid 80s song ever. You couldn’t design one better if you tried. You want to hate it but you can’t. Admit it.

A MusiCares Tribute to Paul McCartney (2015)

MusiCares is a charity run by the Recording Academy. Each year, in the same week as the Grammy awards, they recognise a Person of the Year with an all-star tribute show. In 2012, that person was Paul McCartney.

As such, the show is very Hollywood – and you can take that any way you like.

It opens with a performance from Cirque du Soleil’s Love, which is less impressive than it really should be away from the custom built room. After that, Paul and band perform Magical Mystery Tour and a shortened version of Junior’s Farm before the guest stars.

For the most part, the covers are more hit than miss. Alicia Keys’ piano version of Blackbird stays just the right side of tasteful. Alison Krauss does a very nice version of No More Lonely Nights with a bluegrass instrumentation. Duane Eddy and Norah Jones are backed by Paul’s band for And I Love her and Oh! Darling respectively. Neil Young and Crazy Horse doing I Saw Her Standing There sounds good on paper but not as good on stage.

Sergio Mendes delivers a very smooth version of The Fool on the Hill. Coldplay’s version of We Can Work It Out is as pleasant and inoffensive as you’d expect. James Taylor bravely tackles Yesterday, the Hamlet’s soliloquy of pop music, backed by Diana Krall. He then backs Krall on For No-one.

The remainder of the show is McCartney’s. This show features the premiere performance of My Valentine before he rejoins the band for Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, followed by Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. For the latter, Joe Walsh and Dave Grohl join in and the 3-way guitar solo becomes a 5-way. It clearly wasn’t rehearsed too much as there is some entertaining confusion as to whose turn it is.

Although most of the performances are interesting, with arrangements that are neither too close nor too far from the originals, the overall show is just a little too made-for-tv.

Highlight: Oh! Darling, For No-one, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five.
Feature: * * *
Extras: None
Audio: Dolby stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS 5.1

50

Look, I bow to no-one in my love of The Beatles but I really don’t give a shit about the impending fiftieth anniversary of the American mass market discovering them. To quote a later icon of British music, America is not the world. I get that 1964 was year-zero for The Beatles as far as a lot of people are concerned, but as far as the actual Beatles are concerned, it was anywhere between two and seven years earlier, depending on where you’re counting from. I mean, for me it was 1986 because that was when I began seriously listening to them, but nobody is ever going to celebrate that anniversary because it’s all about me.

Honestly, I’m glad I was born after Beatlemania because the hype would have pissed me off and it would have made it a lot harder to like them. Discovering them twenty years later allowed me to listen to the music on its own merits.

There is actually an important cultural anniversary connected with The Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, but it’s tangential to The Beatles and will probably be ignored amongst all the hype. It was possibly the first time millions of people had a shared experience of an historic event through live television in a way that became the norm from the first moon landing to September 11th. I could be wrong about that, there may be earlier examples and I’d be interested to hear about them. I considered the Kennedy assassination, but while that was covered live once the story broke, television wasn’t ubiquitous enough for everyone to switch over immediately. People were at work. I’m not saying things had changed three months later, but Sunday evening was a good time for a shared experience through a relatively new medium.

Anyway, that might be a bit too thinky to get a mention during the anniversary specials. Good luck to those looking forward to them. Some of them might tell me that I just don’t get it and they would be right. I know that a lot of people who saw the original Ed Sullivan appearance consider themselves to be The Original Fans. I also know there are still a few thousand ageing rockers from Liverpool and Hamburg who would say, “Oh really? Why don’t you tell me about it?”
  

The Grammy Awards - a (delayed) live ’blog

Let's be honest: awards nights are just an irrelevant circle-jerk and music awards shows are doubly so. The Grammy Awards perhaps have the advantage over plethora of other music awards shows if only because they're the original irrelevant circle-jerk. Having said that, with so few opportunities to present musical performances to a mass television audience these days, perhaps they're a little less pointless than they used to be.

This is actually the first time I've even been moved enough to watch the Grammy Awards since 2006. Since I couldn't watch them live, it's a bit pointless to live tweet so here, in real time but delayed, are my thoughts and observations.

(By the way, I am aware of the irony of writing about something I consider to be mostly pointless and irrelevant, but it's all about the bitching, innit?)


0:25 They're listing performances and collaborations from previous shows "That make history." No pressure, then.

2:20 Live from Beyonce's dressing room?

3:47 This is where I begin to wonder if there will be any female performers wearing pants. I have skipped forward and confirmed that there are.

4:40 I'm getting dizzy. One can only wonder about Beyonce, but at least neither of us is epileptic.

5:15 Hey, how come Jay-Z gets to wear clothes?

5:45 Can't a woman even sing a song without her husband coming in shouting over it?

6:30 I have no idea what that song was about.

7:10 Wonder if LL Cool J is going to apologise for Accidental Racist.

8:45 Isn't it a bit sad to have to remind the crowd of your hits?

9:00 Um, What?? Taylor Swift made is okay for young women to write about what happened to them and how they're dealing with it? I'm hearing generations of writers from Joni Mitchell to Ani Di Franco saying, "Oh PLEASE!"

9:30 The word 'daft' just sounds wrong in an American accent.

10:00 "Four young men from Liverpool." Whoever could he mean? Barbara looks great.

11:45 First awkward scripted joke of the evening.

13:10 Ed Sheerin is still a new artist?

13:30 The grab they played of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis sounded pretty good.

13:50 First speech beginning with, "Whooo!" I bet it won't be the last. Things look pretty chaotic in the audience.

14:50 "We made this album without a record company..." and immediately the 'get off' music begins. Hmm...

15:30 I've heard a lot of good things about Lorde but this is the first time I've heard her music.

17:30 It would have been better if they had live backing singers. It would seem less pre-recorded. I'm sure she's probably singing live but it feels less like it when there are voices coming out of nowhere.

19:40 Apart from the invisible backing singers, that was really good. Extra points for letting the musical performance stand on its own without feeling the need to wow people with a production number. Bonus points for wearing clothes.

21:20 Hunter Hayes. Apparently this is a brand new song.

24:20 Hmm, nice sentiment but not particularly different. Bit of a motivational talk set to MOR music. Sorry.

24:50 "Music is a universal language." Everybody drink!

25:30 A category for collaborations. That makes sense. I like that.

27:30 Good thing Get Lucky was a collaboration with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers so the robots had someone to speak for them.

28:00 Steve Coogan: "What an honour it is to be in the same room and Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney." Yes, it is, and I strongly suspect that's the draw for many of the other guests. Goes and ruins it by talking about reuniting two of the Beatles, but recovers by using it to diss the Jonas Brothers. Macca does self-deprecating finger-point. Drink!

29:00 Katy Perry. Oh shit, they're playing the tape at the wrong speed.

29:30 Okay, if this were Eurovision, we'd be laughing our arses off at this point.

32:15 Somewhere in here, there's a decent song but both the arrangement and performance are trying too hard to make it epic.

33:40 Shout out for Phil Ramone. Nice touch and thoroughly merited.

35:15 Robin Thicke is the one Miley Cyrus was rubbing her arse against, isn't he?

35:30 Oh dear, it's a medley. I hate medleys. If a song is worth singing, it's worth singing all of.

38:00 They're doing it well though. Robin Thicke's voice fits in nicely. He's so much better when he's just singing the song though. There's no need for the melisma.

39:00 Going straight into another performance after Chicago. It seems like they think the actual awards are secondary. They're right.

39:40 Valve lights. Nice. There's something not right about the most Serthern American sounding voice so far coming out of someone from Queensland.

43:00 Nice guitar duet. I'm not a fan of Keith Urban but the boy can play.

43:30 O hai social media reporter! You know we don't need tv to tell us what's on the internet?

48:00 John Legend. Standard romantic song but a lovely simple performance.

51:00 Best Rock Song: Cut Me Some Slack. Look, I love Paul McCartney like a favourite uncle and I love Dave Grohl just for looking as happy as a man with his life ought to be, but this is bullshit. Both the Grammys and the Oscars have a long standing habit of awarding people instead of quality. It's clear that this award was simply for being Paul McCartney and the remains of Nirvana, who never won a Grammy in their day but probably would have if the academy had their time over. Aside from that, Cut Me Some Slack is a dog of a song. It wasn't even the best song on Sound City. It probably also didn't hurt that they premiered the song at the 12 12 12 concert for Sandy relief but that doesn't stop Cut Me Some Sack being a riff in search of a song.

[Aside: The concert in aid of a hurricane striking New York had Paul McCartney, three quarters of Nirvana, Roger Waters, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and a dozen or so other A-listers, all introduced by a whole bunch of movie and tv stars. The Concert for the Philippines had Linkin Park (who organised it), The Offspring and Bad Religion. Think about that for a moment. And I'm not bagging the latter three bands. More power to them.]

Kudos to Krist Novoselic for breaking into the Grohl/McCartney mutual appreciation society and mentioning that for Nirvana's part, fellow nominees Black Sabbath and The Rolling Stones were just as important.

54:30 Taylor Swift. Was thinking this was a bit brave being the second piano ballad in a row, but they've gone the power ballad formula on this one with the fully rocking third verse, then going quiet again. Not my bag, but nicely done.

58:00 If they ever remake The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Bruno Mars could totally star in it

1:01:00 Pink is the latest victim of the great American skirt shortage of 14.

1:01:45 Seriously though, Pink's performance was amazing but it just leaves me wondering, 'Why?' The song became a soundtrack to her acrobatics, which were brilliant in their own right, but only took away from the music.

1:02:30 Oh good, she's found one.

1:04:30 That became an epic in the style of Jim Steinman. It's just a pity I've forgotten how it started because I was looking at what an amazing acrobat Pink is - and she undoubtedly is.

1:05:00 It's over an hour into the show and we're only up to the fourth award.

1:08:15 Black Sabbath: "The Beatles didn't really become The Beatles until they found Ringo." Yep. That's the truth.

1:09:30 Why have they buried his vocal in the mix?

1:10:30 Seems to be a special All-Starr band here. There's Steve Lukather on 12-string and that looks like Don Was on bass...

1:12:30 Peace and Love, Ringo!

1:13:00 Jamie Foxx, you can't do a Liverpool accent. Not even close.

1:14:00 Oh, how dare you ad lib!

1:17:00 Nice acknowledgement of Def Jam.

1:18:30 This is getting a bit Eurovision again - stylistically if not musically.

1:20:30 Jay-Z seems to be into this, but I can't help wondering if he's thinking, "Yeah, did it."

1:21:00 Jazzmaster/Jaguar tremolo yet doesn't appear to be a Fender. I've never seen this before. Has Jazzmaster-looking pickups but likely twin coil. Interesting...

1:23:10 Full points for energy.


1:26:30 That was... interesting.

1:28:20 Wouldn't it have been great if Ennio Morricone had played something. With anyone.

1:29:30 "Changed history forever." Um, that's redundant.

1:30:30 Queenie Eye. Awesome! This walks all over Cut Me Some Slack.

1:33:20 Yoko Dancing to Paul. Beautiful.

1:34:30 One of the saddest things about John and George no longer being with us (apart from John and George no longer being with us, obviously) is that it means Paul and Ringo can't just play together the way they regularly did throughout the 80s and 90s without idiots in the media screaming "surviving Beatles reunion." It makes it so much harder for them.

1:35:00 They didn't even include Best Producer in the telecast? Would they leave out Best Director from the Oscars?

1:38:45 The Lifetime Achievement Award (or, the 'We really should have given you this years ago' award) is being given to The Beatles this year?? I bet they're glad they've finally made it. What was it Stella McCartney said?
The Isley Brothers and Kraftwerk - ditto.

1:41:30 Nice recovery on Highwayman. Now you know it's live. Well done.

1:43:30 Sean Lennon caught in a bit of ironic dancing.

1:55:00 Daft Punk. Brilliant!

1:59:00 Great duet from Sarah Bareilles and Carole King. Interestingly, it follows similar motivational themes to several previous songs tonight, but this is the first one that has really convinced me.

2:04:30 Metallica the greatest example of a band staying true to themselves? Yeah, um, nah.

2:07:00 Kirk Hammet in a Lou Reed t-shirt. Nice.

2:09:15 Lang Lang is going off! This is pretty good.

2:09:45 Oh, they're still doing the Duggada-duggada-CHUNK! bit. Oh well.

2:11:45 Steven Tyler: "Paul, you ought to cover that song." Cute.

2:15:00 Grammy Camp? Egads!

2:16:00 Trombone Shorty. Cool!

2:20:30 Wow!

2:23:00 Okay that was brilliant. I get the feeling there might be a 50th anniversary commemoration of that performance too. Never mind universal languages, let's talk about music as an agent of change!

2:25:00 A music educator award? Excellent idea.

2:43:00 Cutting off the closing act was ridiculous. So they were running over time, so what? Of course that's going to happen in a 3-hour live broadcast. Is this rock and roll or what? It left a sour taste at the end of what was an excellent show.

Yes, I started off snarky, but it won me over. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Grammy Awards were great. Not a completely irrelevant circle-jerk after all. They got it right. And I'm glad Blurred Lines didn't win anything.

One last observation: I spotted in the credits a "Most pit coordinator." That's a contradiction in terms, friends!

I might even watch next year.
Goodnight!

The year in gigs

Judith and Harry’s Holiday Sing Along – Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, 19 December, 2012

Okay, technically this was last year. In fact, there’s nothing technical about it, the show was in December 2012, which was last year and if you’re reading this tomorrow, then it’s the year before. I am including it in this list because it’s where the year in gigs really started for me.

Judith Owen and Harry Shearer’s Holiday Sing Along shows literally came out of Christmas parties they had in their home that outgrew the available space. They have since become an annual thing in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and New Orleans, with proceeds going to local musicians’ charities and in 2012, Hurricane Sandy relief. I’ve been a fan of Harry Shearer, and particularly leShow, for many years now, so when I saw it would be on when we would be in New Orleans visiting dearest’s family, I suggested* it would be great if we could go. *(“Suggested,” as in, “Can we? Can we? Please? Huh? Can we? Please?”)

It was not the kind of show you could go into with any expectations but I didn’t care about that. The chance to see Harry Shearer doing whatever he wants with friends in his adopted home town was too good to pass up. Of course, Judith was the real host, and she did it wonderfully. Drinking, dancing, singing and cameras were all lustily encouraged. It was by no means just the Judith and Harry show. It was a get-together of their friends which, for this show, included The Pfister Sisters, Leah Chase, Phillip Manuel and Phil DeGruy. The Victory Belles from the National WWII Museum just around the corner from the theatre also happened to be in the front row and joined in on a few numbers.  Unfortunately, advertised guest David Torkanowsky couldn’t be there but the blessing in that particular disguise was that stand-in Matt Lemmler performed a solo piano & vocal version of Ode to Joy that was more beautiful than words can express. My throat was lumpy.

The night was an entertaining mix of the reverent and irreverent. Being a family friendly show, parents were encouraged to take young children out for an ice-cream when some of the naughtier numbers came up, like Judith Owen’s sultry version of Spinal Tap’s Christmas with the Devil. As each artist played, the others sat on a couple of couches at the side of the stage, joining in where appropriate – or inappropriate as the case may be. It really did make the small theatre feel like an extension of their lounge room.

The first “half” of the show went until nearly 10pm (from a 7:30 start) and Judith urged everyone to get as drunk as possible during the late 15-minute interval before returning for some real sing-along carolling. Only about two thirds of the audience did return for the sing-along set, which is understandable for those with young children and to be honest, dearest and I were dreading the threat of audience participation in The Twelve Days of Christmas. However, when it came time for that song, Judith divided the audience into twelve groups, one for each day, and there were prizes offered for the best performance-art interpretation of each present for the twelve days. And I have to say, it was a ridiculous amount of fun! I won’t tell you how dearest and I acted out the geese a’laying but I will say that it wasn’t nearly as attention-grabbing as the guys in the next row who were equally praised by Judith for their inventiveness and berated by her for improvising ‘eggs’ out of scrunched-up pages from her lyric sheets.

The evening concluded with Philip Manuel and Leah Chase standing on the edge of the stage with heads bowed and fists raised, Mexico Olympics style, as the rest of the company sang White Christmas.

We had intended to meet my brother-in-law at Loa for drinks after the show but it kicked on so long that the bar was closed by the time the show had finished. It had gone over three and a half hours and didn’t drag once. I even got to meet Harry afterwards and get my CD signed.

Mike Scott – Reading’s, Carlton, 15 January, 2013

Not a gig as such, but certainly a great performance from the head Waterboy. Mike Scott and his band had been invited to Australia to perform at the Sydney Festival and Mike had chosen to come a week early and immerse himself in some of the local culture. He had already picked out a favourite Fitzroy café, proving that he instantly understood Melbourne.

During his week off, he had been invited to do a reading from his memoir, Adventures of a Waterboy at Reading’s book store. Even though I was still adjusting after arriving home from the US, this was a drop-everything moment for me, as it clearly was for many other fans there. Mike read with gusto from several sections of the book, doing all the relevant voices which certainly helped us to picture the Minister he described at a New York Gospel church.

After reading excerpts, he took questions on everything from working with Karl Wallinger, to moving to Ireland, to whether he was aware of Hamer Hall’s no-dancing rule. And following the Q & A, he happily stayed to sign things and have photos taken. I was a bit concerned that he might only be signing his book because I had seen some stores and artists have that rule, but he was happy to sign anything. I felt a bit bad because I had bought his book in the US the previous week having not seen it in Australia. Apparently Reading’s had drafted every available copy in Melbourne into their Carlton Store. Fortunately, they also had the new album An Appointment with Mr Yeats there as well. It was the first time I had seen that album available in Australia too, and I was glad of the chance to justify Readings’ hosting the visit with a purchase.

I was incredibly impressed that he had just shown up on his own, without any agent or manager (he doesn’t have one) and following the event, he just walked off up the road to where-ever he had to go next. So many artists travel in a bubble. They travel the world but see very little of it. While it came as no surprise, it was nice to be reassured that when he visits somewhere, he means it, man.

The Waterboys – Hamer Hall, Melbourne, 30 January, 2013

Although the main reason The Waterboys were in Australia for the first time ever was to perform the An Appointment with Mr Yeats show at the Sydney Festival, their shows in other cities were a mix of old and new. While I always respect the artist’s right to play what they want to play, I admired their professionalism in recognising the fact that long-time fans who had waited decades to see them would be disappointed if they played only new material. So we were treated to a greatest-hits show, although without a whiff of nostalgia, punctuated by segments from the Mr Yeats show.

My friend H-bomb (who really deserves to be listed by the National Trust for his historically significant devotion to live music in Melbourne) had procured the tickets, and then managed to get a couple more, which meant that my friend T, who happened to be over from Adelaide, would be able to come as well. I had forgotten until T mentioned it on the drive up to the show that we had kind of cemented our friendship over listening to This Is The Sea many years ago so it was wonderful to be able to share the show. Unfortunately, H-bomb’s extra tickets were not beside the rest of us, so T had to make do with the front row.

The opening act was Oh Mercy and they certainly won some new fans that evening. I always make sure to be there for the opening act and listen to them respectfully and it was certainly no chore to do that for Oh Mercy; they were excellent.

Oh Mercy

The Waterboys’ set opened, as I had hoped, with Don’t Bang the Drum. The recorded trumpet intro was played as the band took the stage in darkness and then exploded into life as the main part of the song began. I had seen some spoiler setlists from other shows in the tour so I thought I might have a rough idea of what was coming but I was wrong. They were smart and mixed it up. Again, my admiration for them only grew because there are plenty of acts that keep the same setlist for a whole tour. Mike Scott knows exactly how to play the rock star roll, by being as just aloof and exotic as we expect our rock stars to be without ever becoming a dick or giving the impression he doesn’t care. At one point, following one of the quieter pieces, he just stood alone at the mic stand, not saying anything, not acknowledging the audience, just having a quiet think. This went on for several minutes as more and more audience members became more confident about calling out to him. Then he just looked up and grinned and said, “I knew I could draw you out.”

It went far beyond one of the best gigs of the year, it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Having said that, I have to pause and wonder if it’s because I waited so long for it, but no. There have been other tours that I have waited decades for that still didn’t hit the spot quite the way this one did.
Setlist

Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band – Festival Hall, Melbourne, 16 February, 2013

Ringo is now with his 13^th incarnation of the All-Starr band and it has turned out to be a good thing for all of them. If we are going to be brutally honest, none of them could fill the kind of venues they play on a regular basis on their own – perhaps not even Ringo. Together though, they are always reliably entertaining and can put on a show that doesn’t need to be padded out with stories and album tracks.

This year’s model featured Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather from Toto and numerous sessions, Gregg Rolie from Santana and Richard Page from Mr Mister, as well as perennials Gregg Bisonette on additional drums and Mark Rivera (also of Billy Joel’s band) on sax, keyboards and musical direction.

Unfortunately for everyone, the show was at Festival Hall – or Festering Hole, as it’s often referred to by regular gig-goers. It was originally designed as a boxing venue and has the acoustics and seating to match. It’s a bloody sweatbox at the best of times and this was the middle of February which only made things worse. It feels like a large pub, which is fine if you’re going to pogo along to whatever nu-punk band is fashionable this year but really not appropriate for a lot of mums and dads who are there to see The Funny One. Why they chose this venue above other far more comfortable, similar sized venues is beyond me, unless they were going on the fact that this is where The Beatles played in 1964.

There was a lot of chatter around the venue while waiting for the show about how this would actually be the first time Ringo had played there and it took an awful amount of self control not to tell them they were all wrong. Ringo was struck down with tonsillitis in 1964 and forced to miss part of the that tour, which was already booked since the Beatles were being worked like dogs at the time. Jimmie Nicol filled in on drums for those dates, which included the bulk of the Australian tour, but Ringo rejoined the band in the middle of the tour. Melbourne was Ringo’s first show after catching up with the rest of The Beatles, so Festival Hall is possibly the only Australian venue he has played twice (or indeed, three times since an extra date was added this year). Jimmie Nicol has since disappeared from sight, which is interesting given the fact that people who have had far less to do with The Beatles have made a career out of it on the convention circuit.

Be all of that as it may, the show was exactly what you would probably expect. Everyone played three of their biggest hits in between Ringo playing his best known songs from The Beatles and his solo career. There were a couple of surprises inasmuch as they didn’t open with It Don’t Come Easy, instead opting for Matchbox, and Ringo took to the keyboard for the first verse of Don’t Pass Me By. Although everyone knows these are meant to be hits-only shows, I was impressed that Richard Page played a brand new song, You Are Mine. Steve Lukather insisted that everyone stand for his Toto numbers because apparently Africa is a party song. Who knew? I’m sad to say it dragged a bit during Gregg Rolie’s numbers. Black Magic Woman just sounded like every other cover band that does Black Magic Woman even though this band had the real keyboardist and two legendary lead guitarists to play it.

It wasn’t an amazing or moving experience, it was just a fine evening’s entertainment. It has to be said that there is something a little bit sad about Ringo & the All Starrs shows. The elephant in the room is that we have someone who was in the greatest band in history needing help from his friends to put a full-length show together, and the fact that those friends are all giants in their field but not quite giant enough to be leading the band either. Not at a show this big, anyway. And it’s not even that Ringo lacks either the musical or showmanship talents to put on a great show in his own right – it’s just getting past the ingrained, unfair public notion that Ringo was an also-ran in musical history.

You might think that is the case. If you do, all I have to say is this:

Ringo was in The Beatles. And you weren’t.
Setlist

The Hello Morning – Westernport Hotel, San Remo, 24 February, 2013

I first became aware of The Hello Morning when I happened to flick past ABC Dig Radio while channel surfing one night and being absolutely enchanted by a song which I now know to be Poolside Lover. Since it was digital radio, I jumped online to find out what was playing, and began quietly following them.

The Westernport had been doing Sunday afternoon gigs so I went over, and it was an excellent way to spend a stinking hot late Sunday arvo. They were playing in the front bar, just in a corner and the room was small enough that they really only needed the PA for the vocal mics.

The crowd was pretty sparse, so it almost felt like a public rehearsal, which was fine with me. It meant I could listen without the impediment of conversations around me.

There is something of a retro sensibility, with Gretsch guitar, Hammond organ and Leslie speaker, but it’s not a self-consciously old fashioned sound. They also do a smouldering slow version of Ring of Fire.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten bring their case of CDs that day so I couldn’t buy one. Bass player David Oxley very kindly offered to send me one for free but I couldn’t do that working musicians and there would be other chances.

Paul Simon – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 28 March, 2013

Dearest and I had previously seen Paul Simon with Art Garfunkel in 2009 when dearest was only a few hours off the ’plane. What was most impressive about this solo show was that while almost all the songs were instantly familiar, there were only six that were played at both shows. In fact, he only did four Simon and Garfunkel songs and the setlist didn’t suffer for it one little bit. Do you know what I’m saying, Paul McCartney?

The show was opened by special guest Rufus Wainwright who did very well with a 40-minute solo set. An artist of Rufus Wainwright’s stature ought to command an audience’s attention but he was professionally resigned to the fact that he would be accompanying stragglers still finding their seats. It’s a brave thing to do being the opening act at such a large venue on your own. The set was split between piano songs and guitar songs. He did do his version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, which he freely admits is a cover of Jeff Buckley’s version rather than an interpretation of the original. In fact, we really need an international moratorium on covers of Hallelujah. It has become the singers’ Stairway to Heaven – something you do just to prove you can. I’m not accusing Rufus of that, but there shouldn’t be any more.

When he switched to guitar, it quickly became clear that he doesn’t play guitar nearly as well as he plays piano. In fact, he doesn’t play guitar very well at all. I don’t mean that as a criticism by any stretch. While I love hearing great players, I also have no problem with people who are just good enough to accompany themselves at a solo show. It just made his performance all the more gutsy. 

Paul Simon’s set opened with Gumboots, which was the first of several underrated album tracks from Graceland that he included. Banter and interaction was minimal, with Paul speaking just enough say hello and “I love you too,” to a call from the audience before adding (in the nicest possible way), “Not really, I don’t know who you are.”

I was somewhat disgusted to see almost a hundred people get up and leave the auditorium during So Beautiful or So What. I know that two hours can be a long time to go on hard seats without a pitstop, especially if you’re old enough to remember when Paul Simon was up and coming, but I really thought that such a conspicuous exodus during one of the songs from his new album was downright disrespectful. In fact, it seemed a lot of people were there just for the hits. Perhaps I’ve been to enough pub gigs to be immune to noise behind me, so I didn’t really notice the couple behind us talking through Crazy Love Vol. II (a highlight of the show for me – I’ve always loved that song. It’s like a Woody Allen film condensed into a four-minute song) but dearest did and to her credit, she turned around and told them to shut it or take it outside. It does make you wonder why people spend so much money on tickets only to wilfully miss half the show.

I don’t think he minded too much though because they came back for an additional encore of The Boxer (The first encore included a lovely version of Here Comes the Sun). Although clearly planned in the setlist, they gave the distinct impression that they kept that last song up their sleeve for if they felt like it.

Something that is rarely mentioned is that Paul Simon is a seriously underrated guitarist. It’s as if you can only admire an artist for one aspect of his work and since Paul Simon has been given the ‘songwriter’ tag, his guitar playing is overlooked. That’s a pity, because he was absolutely cooking and he knew it.

On the whole, it was an excellent show, although it didn’t come across as an event. They came, they played their music, they did it wonderfully well and they said goodnight. 
Setlist

The Hello Morning – Westernport Hotel, 18 May, 2013

My second Hello Morning gig was on a Saturday night and although I enjoyed hearing them play in the corner in the front bar, I was looking forward to hearing them in the band room.

You can imagine my dismay when I got there to see that they had been shoved in the corner of the front bar again. Not only that, but I’d missed their first two sets. Usually there isn’t any point in going to a pub gig before 9:30 because they’ll still have the football on, and the Westernport has its big screen over the stage. So normally, 9:45 is a pretty fair time to arrive if all you want to do is see the band. However, for reasons unknown, they’d had the band start early in the front bar, without any lights, while the band room was used to show the footy – because where else can you watch the footy on tv? Be reasonable!

On the upside, I did get to hear the set I missed the previous time and they brought some CDs this time, but I really would have preferred it if the venue had treated them like a proper band and I told them so.

This was also the night that gave me flashbacks to things that shit me about pub gigs, like when I’m just standing there quietly listening to the band – specifically, being asked why I’m not getting into it when I am completely into it, I’m just not making a spectacle of myself being into it. It led me to design this t-shirt which you can order in your choice of colours for just $26.94 (or your local equivalent) right here. Bargain? I think so!

Bob Evans – Westernport Hotel, 24 August, 2013

Although it’s about half an hour’s drive away, the Westernport has effectively become my local for live music since all the pubs within staggering distance stopped getting bands except for the occasional hobby band playing Guns’n’Roses covers for beer money.

Bob Evans is the nom de solo of Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah. I have always liked his solo work, which is kind of odd because I’ve never really like Jebediah and still don’t. I had seen him on RockWiz a couple of weeks earlier and loved the song he did but I didn’t realise at the time it was a brand new song.

Laura Imbruglia opened for him. In case you’re wondering, yes, she’s Natalie’s younger sister but that won’t tell you anything about her. Her solo acoustic set had a strong alt-country feel which is slightly softened on her album. Straight to the Bar was a standout for me.

Bob Evans’ set was also solo acoustic. He made up for the lack of spectacle with a cute device of stringing fairy lights around the edge of his guitar. He began with a few planned songs and after that said, “Okay, what do you want to hear?” It was a courageous move and there were moments where he trod a fine line between improvisational and slapdash but he pulled it off extremely well. To his credit, he stuck to his policy of not playing Jebediah songs at a solo show, despite several requests for Harpoon. 

By the end of the show, he had won the audience over and they were participating in his make-it-up-as-you-go-along style. When he was close to the end he said that this is the point where he would leave the stage, wait a minute and come back, so he would just keep going unless everyone wanted to go through the motions. Well, the crowd did want to go through the motions, so he really made them work for the encore.

Cyndi Lauper – Palais Theatre, St Kilda, 29 August, 2013

I found out about this show when I got an email about the pre-sale. (By the way, why do they do this? There’s an agency-member presale, a fans’ presale, a specific credit card presale, all starting at different times before they go on sale to the “general public.” One can only assume they define “general public” as anyone who has never bought a ticket from an agency before, doesn’t have a credit card and has paid no attention to the act before). I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Cyndi Lauper, although I have plenty of respect for her, but dearest quite likes her and the show was coming up close to her birthday so this was her present. It was the first time I had been to a show primarily as Mr L.

There are some shows where you’re aware well in advance of who the support act will be and others where you don’t know until you get there. This gig was in the latter category and I was absolutely thrilled when we got to the venue and learned that the opening act would be Max Sharam. I didn’t even know she was back in the country. I had wanted to see her since she first appeared in 1994. It was a quiet set with just her and a guitarist, and she played guitar herself for a couple of songs. She opened with her biggest hit, Coma, and the rest of the set was previews of songs from her new EP, The Gods Envy, and forthcoming album. She also wasn’t backward telling people to wait outside if they weren’t going to listen to the support act. Good for her!

This was the She’s So Unusual tour, marking the 30^th anniversary of the album by performing it in its entirety. Having seen a couple of shows based around whole albums, I was expecting there to be one set featuring the album and another set featuring other songs, but as it turned out, the entire show was She’s So Unusual. In between songs, she told stories about the making of the album and the times when it was made. This show was just a few days after the whole “zomg, Miley did what?” thing and Cyndi had plenty of choice words for Miley during the storytelling segments, none of them complimentary. While the show may have been one third talking, don’t get the idea that she has slowed down. She performed with an energy that would put artists half her age to shame. We didn’t have close seats, but you would never guess the lady is 60 years old.
Setlist

Nik Kershaw and Kim Wilde – Chelsea Heights Hotel, 17 October, 2013

Okay, let me explain. I’ve got no time for 80s nostalgia, which this tour was unashamedly about. I was there the first time and they were crap. However, Nik Kershaw was several cuts above most of the singing hairdos of the time and I’ve always liked him.

When I booked the tickets for this show, it was the only date on the tour that had been announced, which seemed kind of odd. Later, there was a show announced at the Palais, which wouldn’t have taken much longer to get to, but I was glad I had already booked this show because it’s a big pub with a dedicated band room. The wait was a bit depressing though as all the 80s tragics were out on their (ahem) finery and, as someone who just appreciates the music, I really didn’t want to be counted among a bunch of nostalgic Gen-Xers. I will give credit to the guy who came in white makeup, spiked blonde hair, knee-high Docs and a black and white kilt (cross Johnny Rotten with Julian Clarey and you’ll be most of the way there) but the worst crime was the guy in his late 40s wearing stonewash jeans with pockets all the way down the legs and a tight, light brown collarless leather jacket. Mate, just no!

Nik’s set was excellent and although was a greatest-hits kind of show, he also played the sadly underrated Radio Musicola and a couple of songs from recent albums. 
Setlist

During the break, I relinquished the position I had bagsed down the front for someone who might want it more. I admit to having a crush on Kim Wilde when I was 10 and I still have nothing against her, but I was there to see Nik Kershaw. I did somewhat regret it when the band came back though. Nik had played with Kim’s band backing him and when they came back, Nik played lead guitar for Kim’s set. That’s a nice touch.

Naturally, Kim did all her hits, as well as a cover of Black’s Wonderful Life and great version of I Touch Myself as an unannounced tribute to Chrissy Amphlett. They concluded with a duet of Pink’s Try. 
Setlist

Clannad, Hamer Hall, 26 October, 2013

Some things just fall in your lap. I didn’t find out that Clannad were even touring until I saw a facebook post from H-bomb wondering how on Earth he hadn’t found out until then. He has his finger on the pulse way more than I do, and I’m already on every ticketing agency’s mailing list which means that every week we’re swamped with VIP pre-sale offers for a dozen wretched acts I’ve never heard of. How the hell did we miss this?

There’s no stopping H-bomb though. He got onto Gumtree and found someone selling two tickets. I called and left a message and the seller got back to me. She was a real fan who had an unfortunate scheduling clash, so a week later, we had our Clannad tickets. Front row, if you please!

The word Unique is overused and often misused but it truly applies to Clannad. They are rooted in traditional Celtic music, but not full of endless fiddly-dee rigs and jeels. (notthatthere’sanythingwrongwiththat) They mix the acoustic and electronic in a way that almost completely disguises the synthesised parts. They have done soundtracks and pop songs, and dueted with Bono back when they were the more famous ones. And they’re one of those groups who I have always enjoyed and admired without ever really going out of my way for, so I was really glad of the spur to reacquaint myself with their music.

After the show, they all came out to the foyer to sign things and just about everyone there took advantage of that. The signing lasted as long as the concert. That’s dedication, from both artist and fans.

If anything good has come from the arse falling out of the record industry (and I’m not sure it has), it’s the increased opportunities to see artists live who I never thought I would get the chance to. Even in the first quarter of this year, I felt it had been a vintage year for gigs, but it may be becoming the norm. This Saturday I am going to see the legendary Johnny Marr, two weeks later I will be seeing Edwin Collins and then in April it’s Suzanne Vega. And who knows what might happen in between? I can’t wait.

  

 

All photos by me. Click them and they get bigger.