Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth - Classic Grande - 13/12/10 (Glasgow)

I've seen Steve Conte a few times over the years playing with the New York Dolls, and then again more recently with the Michael Monroe band, and the one thing that every gig has had in common is that it has been glaringly obvious that Steve could never be considered a hired hand.
When he is within the ranks of a band you get a full on strutting rock god filled with the confidence, the talent and the swagger to take a performance to a whole new level.
To paraphrase Dirty Dancing “No one puts Steve in the corner” and what I mean by that is his star shines as bright as the brightest.
No one has the ability to place him in a position of playing second fiddle. Steve takes command of every stage he sets foot on, and that's a fact.
It's like a rock and roll truism that can be carved in stone. Steve Conte + Guitar + Stage = Good Times.
So with this in mind I wasn't going to miss out on seeing him fronting his “Crazy Truth”.
A band whose album has barely left my stereo since I picked up a copy the last time Steve rolled into town with the New York Dolls.
I just knew that seeing him take centre stage was going to be a full throttle affair, but I'm getting ahead of myself here
The night actually started with half a bottle of red wine consumed on the journey to Glasgow to ward off the cold and take the edge off.
We had the album pounding out on the stereo the whole way there and like the wine it was hitting the spot. The combination of the buzz from the wine and the rock and roll was ideally setting me up for the night to come.
Once we managed to get into the city centre and find a parking space there was just time for another quick drink and then it was time to meet Steve for an interview. So of course that's what we did.
The Crystal Palace, the bar we were in, is only a few yards away from the Classic Grande were Steve is playing so it is easy to make yourself available from there just in case the arranged times aren't running as smoothly as they should.
No worries tonight though, because at 6 on the dot we are in the venue watching The Melodramas running through an impressive soundcheck and chatting to Steve.
Steve himself is a nice guy, generous with his time and open to answering whatever is thrown at him.
He comes across as being pretty focussed and knows what he wants to. I got the impression that he has one eye on the present and the other on the future at all times.
I actually liked his straight talking style. Even when he does play with an answer he lets you know exactly what he means with an arched eye, a smile on his lips or a dismissive shrug.
Let's just say that he is a confident communicator and it would be difficult to misconstrue what he is saying.
Once the interview was finished we shuffled off to the Crystal Palace again to take advantage of their mucho cheapness alcohol offers.
By the time we did return to the venue Eddy and the T-Bolts were midway through their pop-punk, rock heavy set and I was a bit annoyed with myself for allowing the lure of a drink to distract me from catching them from start to finish.
They're one of the better bands treading the boards in Glasgow. I'd rank them up there in my own personal top five.
Very tight songs, a bit of humour and an excellent frontman. A band who really shouldn't be missed, even if I partially did do just that this time.
Next was perennial favourites of mine. The guys who have been rocking all of my 2010. The mighty “Tragic City Thieves”.
What more can I say about these guys that I haven't already. They are an eight legged sleaze machine and no one, that's right, no one, in Glasgow comes close to doing what they do.
There's a whole fistful of new songs in the set and over the next couple of months they are back in the studio to lay down their second album.
That will be two in less than a year.
This band are literally firing on all cylinders and laying the groundwork for a bigger and brighter future for themselves with blood, sweat and glitter.
All that is going to be required is for them to be in the right place at the right time and they will be jettisoned to the fore of the UK's rock scene.
Next up is The Melodramas. A band who are having a second run at the UK in support of Steve, and it is obvious within the first couple of minutes of them taking to the stage that they are a worthy addition to the bill.
All around me I was hearing who people thought they sounded like and no two people were saying the same. For me I thought they were like the Coral stealing some of the Cures bass lines and then reassembling the sound to have a faster and punkier edge to it.
The band as whole fit well together and give the impression of being well road tested. It's a solid and impressive outing for them and I'll definitely be buying their début when they finish it and if they come back to this neck of the woods I am in no doubt that I would venture out to see them again.
The night was always going to be Steve Conte and the Crazy Truth's though.
From the first slash at the guitar it was full on rock and roll.
Virtually the whole album gets a run through and sounds physically more aggressive.
Steve's guitar playing is fluid throughout. It's as if his instrument is an extension of him and the guys in the Crazy Truth are cemented into the groove right alongside him.
It really is electric.
I've seen plenty of guitar heroes over the years and a few of them can carry a tune, and likewise I've seen some singers who are pretty hot playing the guitar, but it's rare to get someone who isn't a jack of all trades but a master of them all and Steve Conte is one of that rare breed.
LA Woman is woven into a track seamlessly and if Jim Morrison could have been there then I bet he would have had a smile creasing his face.
At the end of the show Steve tells us that Ginger has been opening his eyes to some new bands and the Rezillos are one of them. It's his cue to then rattle through a cover of their cover of Fleetwood Mac's “Somebody is going to get their head kicked in tonight.”
For a Scottish crowd it is the ideal finisher to a set that was full of high points.
Thankfully it will not be long before Steve is back in Glasgow as the dates for the Michael Monroe tour have been announced, and if we are lucky then maybe some time in the future he will be back to once again show us what he can do in his own right.

APRIL 2011
The Michael Monroe Band.

4th – Brighton, Concorde 2
5th – Bristol, Academy 2
6th – Exeter, Phoenix
7th – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
8th – London, O2 Academy
9th – Leeds, T.J.’s
11th – Norwich, Waterfront
12th – Newcastle, Academy 2
13th – Sheffield, Corporation
14th – Manchester, Academy 3
15th – Glasgow, Garage
16th – Nottingham, Rock City
17th – Birmingham, HMV Institute

Steve Conte on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Conte/342874415037

Funny week

Similar to everyone else with kids the run up to x-mas has been a financial nightmare. Work has been an intellectual black hole as usual and the weather - while not as extreme as some would claim - has been a bit of a hassle.
Yet this week has jumped up and applied for the post of most bizarre of the year.
To say it's been a bit of a roller-coaster would be an understatement.
Monday morning I was up and battling the elements to get to Glasgow and score a wristband for my daughter to attend a meet and greet with her fave band JLS.
Mental as.
I stood in arctic condition from 7.30 am with loads of kids and cougars and actually managed to get one for her though.
So whose the Daddy?
Tuesday was taken up with meeting the four lads who shook the world circa 2010.
To be honest they were very nice and meeting them blew my daughter away.
Little things like this I find to be emotionally hard going.
It's been a terrible year with the kids losing their mother and other hassles that pale into insignificance next to that, but none the less can't be ignored and need dealt with.
So something like this that transported my daughter from the hurt for a single afternoon is something that I treasure, and although the guys in JLS don't know it I will always owe them one for taking the time out to chat to her and autograph a book and her hoodie.
All in all apart from that it has been a pretty much forgettable week though.
Work, sleep, work, pay bills, work, sleep, work, but then there was a glimmer of hope on Thursday night that the week could be snatched from the jaws of boredom when my brother called to ask if I wanted a couple of free Paul Weller tickets.
His mate in Inverness was holding out for the weather to clear a bit, but finally bit the bullet and accepted that a trip to Glasgow was out of the question due to the road conditions.
Obviously I accepted the offer, but to get them I would have to rely on him posting them registered mail on the Friday morning and that they would arrive on the Saturday to allow us to go to the gig.
If you knew my brother then you would collectively refuse to hold your breath and simultaneously cross your fingers as reliability is a foreign nation that he has rarely visited.
The other problem was that Royal Mail had withdrawn their next day guaranteed delivery service due to the weather conditions.
Now normally, and as others would attest, I've got shit luck.
In fact shit luck is the only luck I have.
So if I was to say to anyone that I was waiting on tickets being sent one day to arrive the next for a concert that night then the normal response would be that they would drop and roll on the floor laughing.
The chances of a favourable outcome would be considered slim to fuck all of it happening.
..................but they just arrived.
So tonight...weather condition permitting, Kel and me will be seeing Mr Weller.
You might think from my excitement that I'm a huge fan, but I'm not really.
However I do think that his latest album is the dogs bollocks and it's rare for me to get a freebie like this. So bring it on.
Then this morning we were offered a place to crash if we wanted to head down to Newcastle next May for the Evolution festival headlined by The Stooges.
Oh yes please.
That will do nicely kind sir.
Lets just say I could get used to this sort of thing.

Spear of Destiny - Ivory Blacks 27/11/10 (Glasgow)

Glasgow is busy tonight. Madness, Biffy Clyro, nomeansno, Saw Doctors and Frankie Boyle are all filling the larger and more well known venues, while every pub and club also appears to have something to offer.
For me there is only one attraction though, and that's Kirk Brandons Spear of Destiny who have slipped in a late show in Ivory Blacks to promote the new album and give us a run through of some classic tracks.
Unfortunately while Glasgow is busy Ivory Blacks is not.
Similar to the last Spear of Destiny show in the ABC2 attendance is rather uninspiring and it is something that is starting to piss me off because I know why it is happening.
It's all down to lack of local promotion. That's it in a nutshell.
Instead of putting some posters up and distributing flyers there seems to be a reliance on word of mouth amongst fans to pass on that the band are playing, and to be frank the SOD grapevine isn't working.
My fear is that if this lack of promotional work continues then an artist fronting a band that I admire, and enjoy watching play live, will think that there is little point in returning.
How crap will that be?
So before I move onto the actual review I'm going to paraphrase Kennedy and ask Kirk Brandon fans to think not what Kirk can do for them and instead what they can do for Kirk.
The next time he, or his band are up north, I want to see facebook, twitter and myspace ablaze with the news.
Don't be content with picking a ticket up for yourself, but instead ask some mates along for a night out.
Remind people how good Spear of Destiny are by posting up youtube videos online with a link to the date they are playing.
Just get involved because anyone who was at the Ivory Blacks show knows that he, and the band, deserve to be playing in front of larger and more enthusiastic crowds.
Right. Rant over and onto the gig.

New album “Omega Point” is being touted as a real return to form, but I would take issue with that as a return to form hints that a band had lost their mojo and that's not an accusation that could be levelled at Kirk Brandon and his Spear of Destiny.
Proof of this is prevalent throughout any live show that anyone is lucky to attend.
New and old material sit shoulder to shoulder in solidarity showing that they are a band who have never lost their form.
As the opening chords, keyboard flourishes and pounding drums confidently charge out of the starting gate Kirks voice soars and takes charge.
This is why over the years I keep coming back to see Kirk Brandon.
He doesn't do lacklustre gigs. He puts vein popping effort into every single show.
The man can raise the hair on the back of your neck with his powerhouse vocals and the current line up of SOD are the tightest band that I have ever seen playing with him. I was impressed last time they played, but even more so this time.
It's down to the balance.
While I stand there stage front I don't get a nudge towards the past, but instead find myself watching a band who don't do nostalgia, but instead weave old and new together and create a moment that is immersed in the present.
It's simply fantastic.
If I was offered the chance to see anyone else who was playing in Glasgow this night I would have politely told them no thanks.
By the time they are midway through Kalashnikov I'm blown away.
If I had my way then this gig would have been in the Barrowlands in front of a sold out crowd, but as it's not my call I guess I will just have to live with Kirk playing more intimate shows.
Last song of the set Young Men was a sublime effort in maintaining control on the edge of losing it, while for the encore they ran through a rousing Liberator that had a few bodies who should know better thrashing about a bit.
It was the perfecting ending to pretty much a perfect night.
If I was to be picky I could say that the set wasn't long enough, but to be honest Spear could play for a few hours solid and I would still say that.

I suppose it's here that I should practice what I was preaching earlier and tell everyone reading that Kirk will be back in February to do a solo acoustic show in Kilmarnock.
Tickets will be on sale in the next week or so. Here's a wee flyer for it if you want to punt it about this internet webby thing.

100% confirmed

The riot that wasn't a riot.

My heart swelled with pride yesterday when I watched the students march on Whitehall.
Why shouldn't it?
According to the coalition trolls who were frantically out in force across social networking sites - most mirroring the behaviour of the foul mouthed and less than intelligent guests of the Jeremy Kyle show that they loathe - I should be loudly condemning the violence, the disorder and the civil disobedience.
Without any sense of humour involved the very same trolls are happy to advocate the "cracking of student oiks heads" by the police though.
There is also a partially hypocritical statement from Camerons spokesman who appears to have a rather one sided view of any violence and intimidation displayed on the day.
Well I'm sorry, but I don't condemn their actions at all.
I will not condemn anyone for exercising their right to protest.
Especially when their reasons for doing so are altruistic.
One point the media, and those who support the coalition, are happy not to raise is that those young men and women who were out protesting are actually doing so for those who will follow them into further education.
It's not all about them.

They also don't want anyone to consider that this was simply the cause and effect reaction to the ideologically driven, and draconian, policies that their coalition are attempting to bully through parliament.
Without them there wouldn't be anyone protesting on the streets at all.

So while they wilfully point the finger at anyone who doesn't agree with them, they should maybe be taking a step back and considering what the real catalyst for this action was.
That they refuse to do so hints that they want nothing more than a deferential society.
One that is willing to accept the widening gap between those who have and those who have not, and guess what side of the fence they will be on?
Let us not lose sight of what is actually happening here though. This is not about a police van being vandalized*, a bus shelter being trashed or some windows being smashed.
This is people publicly opposing the dismantling of the welfare state, the moving of education out of reach of a whole segment of society, the draconian cuts to the public sector, the attack on the NHS, the tax avoidance of the wealthy and the bail outs of the banks (while the bankers continue business as usual) to name just the tip of an iceberg that is floating in public view.
History is littered with similar actions and they all have a common thread, and that thread is that any government who fails to listen to the people will regret stepping down that totalitarian path.
In fact above every door of every building that houses politicians they should carve the words “Without the support of the people we are nothing.”
It would be nice if they didn't need to be reminded of that, but are we in any doubt that they do?

We have had decades of acting like apathetic turkeys voting for x-mas and now due to this government relentlessly pushing us all into a corner, over what feels like a very long six month period, we have started to push back.
Make no mistake. This is the start and I applaud it.
We have still to see the disabled, the unemployed, the carers and more taking to the streets.
Unless this government start listening then their actions will do nothing more that swell the ranks of the dissenters, and there is no evidence that they will listen. So bring it on.
As it is Clegg and his Lib Dem cronies don't appear to be able to differentiate between a pledge and a promise. Say one thing and do another is their mantra it would seem. Yesterday he even stated for the record that regardless of the amount of protest and dissent that Cameron and himself would not be considering any changes to the tuition fees policies.
A rough translation could be “Say what you want because we don't care.”
Hopefully this attitude that they are displaying is starting to sink in with the general public and they will receive the reaction that they deserve.

*eye witness report from Whitehall.

Heiko Khoo – Police planted an old police van in Whitehall in the middle of 4000 demonstrators, we asked the police to remove it, they refused. Police only 20 yards from the van refused to protect it. They wanted it to be attacked. The 'attack' on the van was an excuse to kettle 4000 people for 8 hours, some 11 years old. We had no water or toilets for 5 hours.

Wedding Bell (ends)

Doff your cap and have a tug on your forelock you dirty prole for we be about to have a royal wedding.
Well that's the advice that Simon Heffer – he of the Telegraph – appears to be dishing out.
Apart from the offensively lofty attitude he has on display it is also a rather outdated mindset isn't it?
If you were wanting to find a common consensus with his views then I suspect that HG Wells would have to lend you his time machine.
Either that or visit your local Conservative party offices on a Friday afternoon after they have had a liquid working lunch.
(That's when they let their hair down and drunkenly advocate that fox hunting doesn't go far enough, and instead it should be used as a population control measure on council housing estates - allegedly)
Old Simon very nearly avoids addressing the fact that as we are picking up the tab for this wedding that it just might be a justifiable reason for some of us daring to express a view, but he covers this by holding the opinion that similar to Victorian children we should be seen and not heard.
I mean how dare we even consider that we should have an opinion on the matter, never mind voice a concern about its costs.
That we are going to pay for it isn't an irrelevance.
Its simply our duty it would seem.
I suspect if he had his way then those of us who are working would be forced to do an extra shift a week and the unemployed would be taking a cut in their benefits to pay for it.
The whole tone of his article harkens back to the days of pomp and circumstance, god save the queen and an unquestioning attitude to those that we should consider to be our betters.
The class divide is everything.
The elite will decide the path we walk on and those of us who have nothing will carry the load down it for them.
What a crock.
It's 2010. Not 1910.
This isn't the great rock and roll swindle. We have our very own “not so great royal wedding swindle” going on and people like this oaf are blatantly telling us that we should be basking in the reflective glory of a couple of toffs getting hitched at our expense.
Did this fool not expect that there would be a backlash.
Against a backdrop of “we are all in this together, we all need to economise and tighten our belts, we can only guide this country through a recession by cutting public services, we will all have to pay more and expect less, and cuts, cuts and more cuts” headlines, the “oooh lets have a royal party and you can pay” from those who have bags of cash themselves was never going to fly past unopposed.
Next they will be telling us that while they said that there was no money in the national pot they have just found a few billion down the back of the couch that they are going to lend to a mate - who might not ever be able to pay us back - rather than use it to pay the bills that they keep telling us need to be paid.
Nah. That would be just one step too far though. I'm being silly.
They couldn't cut front line public services and then do something like that could they?
WHAT? They are?
No way.
Seriously?
The mind boggles.
I'd doff my cap at the audacity of that if I hadn't sold it on ebay along with my forelock.

No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones

Well you can drop Elvis out and add in The Who and the Kinks instead and lets start a discusssion.
Mr Kenny Helwig, he of the days of our youth blog, started the ball rolling on this through a facebook post and I've picked it up.

So here's what Kenny posted.

Okay, here is the question

The Who
The Beatles
The Kinks
...The Rolling Stones

Who is your fave????????????

Me? The Beatles, followed closely by The Rolling Stones

and my response.

In order of preference.
The Rolling Stones
The Kinks
The Who
The Beatles.
...
The Stones grabbed me as a kid and never let go. There was something wild and subversive about them that in hindsight probably geared me up to delve into punk.
Of course as I got older and immersed myself further into music and its history I could see their influences and even took on board that much of their bad boy image was a media invention, but none the less they had the biggest impact on me.
The Kinks are sublime. Rays lyrics are beyond reproach and are what drew me in. Take there biggest tune Lola as an example. An international hit whose subject matter is shagging a tranny.
Get in there. Subvert, subvert, subvert. Fantastic.
The Who are simply the template for a rock and roll band brought to life. They balanced between sanity and insanity and delivered classics while doing so.
That I haven't placed them higher is just down to personal taste.
Listen to Live at Leeds and be blown away. I love them because I feel that they walked the walk rather than just talked the talk.
The Beatles. Love them to, but in my mind - probably because I live in the UK and grew up listening to them - I can't help but see them as a mainstream band.
They were a hit making machine and regardless of their counter culture credentials that came later I just can't see them in any other way than being chartbusters.
Similar to the Stones their media image stuck with me.
Maybe that's not fair, but it's just the way it is.
They were too white bread for me in so many ways.
I can sit back and look at the depth of their career and appreciate that in a short length of time they set the benchmark for excellence.
How can anyone really argue against that
I do in fact like them, appreciate them and will sing along when I have a Beatles day, but purely down to personal choice the other guys come in before them.

Borland by John Grant

Local fiddle player - or should that be alt-fiddle player as he has always lived both in the past, present and future when it comes to playing his instrument of choice - John Grant has recently added author to his list of accomplishments with the release of his début "Borland".
I got a sneak preview of it before it went to press and was suitably impressed.
We on the west coast of Scotland much prefer to keep praise to a minimum when it comes to friends and are loathe to admit that anything they have been involved in is any good.
To be frank telling someone that their efforts aren't completely shit is about the highest compliment a man could receive.
So in the spirit of that I have to say that "Borland" isn't completely shit at all.

Here's the selling blurb and if you wish to purchase a hard copy or even an online one then the contacts are at the bottom of the page.

"A personal account of growing up in late twentieth century Kilmarnock, Scotland. Love, life and honouring friendship through traditional music.

At the age of nineteen, Scottish traditional fiddler John Grant embarked on a journey to immortalise all who inspire him in life through traditional music. This book describes the journey - sometimes hilarious, sometimes painfully sad, never dull or predictable.

Taking the reader on a journey as diverse as the "Save Johnnie Walker" campaign through to touring Europe with psychobilly band The Termites, this is a must read for everyone interested in traditional music and Scottish life with 51 pieces of sheet music enclosed within the book"

http://www.scruffyred.com/
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/seonaidhgrannd

Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds - Soundhaus (26/11/09)

My name is Kid….and I am from Mars……

It sometimes felt that this was the gig that was never to be.
It’s a tale of double bookings, incompetent local promoters and a hero who rode in to snatch victory from the jaws of ineptitude.
It all started as these things often do as a random run of events.
I slipped on Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds latest platter and midway through giving it a spin thought ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if the band were to play Glasgow’.
That thought rattled about inside my head for a while. An itch that I couldn‘t scratch.
So I let my fingers do the walking across the keyboard only to find serendipitously that the band were indeed playing.
Coincidence? Kismet? Does it really matter?
Then when I read on my initial excitement was cruelly dashed.
Kid Congo was explaining that due to a double booking at the Captains Rest the band were without a venue for the gig and the show was in the lap of the gods.
I rushed off a message to the band throwing a Glasgow promoters name forward in the hope that a last minute salvage job could be worked out.
CJ of ’The Tragic City Thieves’ jumped aboard and frantically called around looking for a venue to host the band. Unfortunately, just like Joseph and Mary in the lead up to little baby Jesus being born, there were no doors open to him and he came up empty.
It wasn’t looking good.
Then out of the blue a bulletin appeared on myspace. A new venue was secured and it was happening.
Details were sketchy.
All I knew was that the show was going ahead in the Soundhaus and the doors would open at 10pm.
That was enough. The bare bones is all you need. Everything else is just meat.
On arriving KelC and myself were the first in the door and my paranoid self jumped forward laughing and whispering that no one was going to turn up and the gig would be cancelled.
Then the hero of the hour stepped forward, a guy name Alan, and introduced himself.
This was the fella who sorted everything out last minute. Not a promoter, or a chancer looking to make a quick buck, but a simple fan.
The whole night was his baby from start to finish and everyone who was there owes this guy a drink. Fuck it. I’d buy him two simply for reaffirming my faith in the goodness of people.
There is a small feeder bar/chill out room adjacent to where the bands play and it is in here we are ushered for a pre gig DJ set.
The sounds hit the spot.
From classic 60s R and B to the some proto punk rock with a bit of Bo Diddley telling us he’s a gunslinger, it was all good, and as the time drew closer to Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds playing we were treated to a plundering of tracks from ’Songs the Cramps taught us’.
By now my negative outlook on the attendance figures was slipping away as people started to crowd the bar.
Two acquaintances arrived from my home town. Christ knows how Gav and Billy found out about it, but including ourselves that was four brave souls from deepest darkest Ayrshire that had made it.
Not bad for a place that thinks jungle drums are at the cutting edge of communication technology.
The crowd swelled some more and this was a testament to Kid Congos pulling powers as there was barely any time to promote this show. A good portion must have been there through word of mouth alone.
We finish our drinks and head in for showtime.
It’s only a couple of minutes before The Pink Monkey Birds wander through the crowd and take to the stage resplendent in their mariachi suits. A sense of anticipation ripples through the crowd and Kid Congo joins them.
I had a preconceived idea that as a front man he may have been workmanlike, possibly even a tad uncomfortable assuming the role of focal point for a band, but I was so wrong.
Kid Congo controls the stage. Up front is where he should be. He has the mojo going on.
Psychedelic garage is pumped out and we are lapping it up.
By the time they reach ‘I found a Peanut’ from ‘Dracula Boots’ everyone is singing along.
The band are weaving magic up there on the stage and the audience are spellbound. Events become blurred. Kid Congo tells us that they already have a new album finished.
It’s coming out early next year and we should watch out for it being released as five seven inch singles. They give us a taster by playing a song that may or may not have been called ’When I was a punk’. A track that is blisteringly good.
As would be expected there was a strong contingent of Cramps fans in the audience and they were in a lather when Kid dedicated ’I’m Cramped' to the memory of Lux before following that on with the Gun Clubs ‘For the love of Ivy’.
Someone leaned in and said that it doesn’t get any better than this. I think he was being specific, but when I agreed I was meaning the gig in its totality. The covers, or audience pleasers if you want to call them that didn’t overshadow the bands own material at all. The quality of the show started on a high and refused to dip throughout regardless of where the songs played came from.
For me this year has been one of the best ever for gigs and this one has just rocketed into the top five.
The cover of Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads Goo Goo Muck finished me off.
In hindsight the Captains Rest couldn’t have handled this and the larger Soundhaus was a far better option.
I’m tired now. I’m emotional. I’ve waited a long time to see this guy and his band and my high expectations were more than matched.
There are more UK dates and then they are crawling through mainland Europe. So don’t be square daddio and make it your mission in life to catch one of the gigs. You will not be disappointed.