Melanie C (Club Academy, Manchester 25/02/12)

basics...
Just three short months after I first saw Melanie C live in Liverpool I saw her again, in Manchester, thanks to a Christmas present from my Mum and sister!! Best present ever! So after a day exploring the Whitworth Gallery (ho hum) and Manchester Museum (very interesting), and a Danish tea at KRO Bar, we went to see Melanie C belt out some tuuuuuunes.

brilliant...
Well it was all brilliant, obviously. It wasn't better than last time, although I liked the support act (Molly McQueen) more in Manchester, and the venue was better in Liverpool (with Melanie C on a raised stage where everyone had a good view), it was just different. The set list was revised too, to 18 songs as follows:

1. Rock Me
2. Yeh Yeh Yeh
3. Weak
4. Northern Star
5. Never Be the Same Again
6. If That Were Me*
7. Fragile*
8. One by One
9. Burn
10. Go*
11. Too Soon*
12. Beautiful Intentions*
13. Drown
14. Next Best Superstar
15. When You're Gone
16. Think About It
17. Stupid Game
18. I Turn to You

The set list wasn't massively different, she still opened with a stonking Rock Me segue into Yeh Yeh Yeh medley type arrangement, and ended with an encore of Stupid Game remixed with Tainted Love and a massively upbeat I Turn To You to jump around to. Replacing Reason, Here It Comes Again, Out of Here, All About You from Liverpool were: an acoustic version of If That Were Me that moved straight into B-side Fragile; Northern Star opening track 'Go'; unreleased - and excellent - Too Soon; and Beautiful Intentions. Yet again, not a single track from This Time, but what was sung was wall-to-wall brilliant, with the new selections surprising and well chosen.

briefly...
Another awesome gig from Melanie C. 

Melanie C (O2 Academy, Liverpool, 04/12/11)

basics...
It's been a very busy month, what with going to Liverpool to see the incredible Melanie C live, then a few days later travelling to London, on to Brussels, Luxembourg, then back to London and Leeds, back to work, Christmas party... I've barely had time to think about what I've been up to, let alone write about it. So other than this update my next will just be a quick overview of what I've been up to. 

brilliant...
I've been looking forward to seeing Melanie C live for MONTHS. I saw her in Blood Brothers in London back in 2009 and loved every minute. Her new album, The Sea, is a real tour de force of up tempo pop classics and a fewer slower but equally punchy tracks that easily rivals Northern Star for all round awesomeness. Less guitar-led and rocky than the last three albums, The Sea sees The C returning to her pop days and delivering songs that were made to be song live. 

The set list was as follows, and includes the majority of The Sea's tracks*, along with past hits and favourites:

Rock Me*/Yeh Yeh Yeh
Weak*
Northern Star
Reason
Here It Comes Again
One By One*
Burn*
Out Of Here*
All About You*
Drown*
Next Best Superstar
When You're Gone
Think About It*
Stupid Game*
I Turn To You

I was thrilled with the set list, although perhaps a tad disappointed that there wasn't a single track from This Time. The list above I got from a website but when we wrote down the songs we remembered after the gig I had 'Never Be the Same Again' as well, which I'm certain she sang, I'm just not sure where it fit in. And it's never been my favourite single so that's fine. 

I completely lost myself in the music and was jumping about like a madman, hands in the air throughout. Highlights were Drown - the line 'there must have been a crack in the ice' was worth the entry fee alone - as well as Stupid Game, the opening Rock Me/Yeh Yeh Yeh medley and every single fucking song! Hands down the best night of my life. Despite my cold, the rain outside and the sweatiness inside the venue, none of it could put a dampener on my evening. Melanie C kicks ass and I really hope to get tickets to her recently announced Manchester gig next year for Christmas. Here's hoping!

briefly...
Best. Gig. Ever.

Bill Bailey: Dandelion Mind (York Barbican, 12/11/11)

basics...
Bill Bailey brings his unique talents to a massive theatre/shed in York, with music, slide shows and plenty of laughs.

brilliant...
I'm so pleased that I've got to see Bill Bailey live as he's one of those comedians I can watch again and again, who is not offensive but has a satirical edge, whose comedy comes from a place of intelligence as well as the absurd, and who brings something fresh to the usual stand up routines - namely a gift for musical instruments. At this gig Bill played guitars of many varieties, the keyboard, French horns (including one that was unexpectedly flat, causing Bill to fall about laughing himself), and a Persian curiosity called an Oud - a half-onion looking thing that is not a bad guy from Doctor Who. From musings on the current state of 'Broken Britain' to slides showing paintings of Doubting Thomas and the wounds of Christ, from a French version of Gary Numan's Cars to a film about self scan supermarket checkouts there was never a dull moment and by the end of the evening I'd laughed myself hoarse. 

briefly...
Absurd, musical, intelligent, hilarious. A top night out.

Jane McDonald in Concert (01/06/11, The Grand)

Almost exactly a year to the day since I first took my Mum and Mum-in-law to see Jane McDonald at the Grand I was there again, with just my mother in tow this time, due to mid-week scheduling and work commitments. As before we were sat in a sea of grey-haired wrinklies, with pockets of gay dotted about the theatre (plus my Mum, who's neither!). And as before, Jane was sensational, very funny, with a massive voice that completely filled the auditorium. 

The set-list was very similar to last year, including the two Dreamgirls songs, the final disco medley, and a few tracks from her last album. Also included this time was a Stevie Wonder medley, a Burt Bacharach tune (Anyone Who Had a Heart), and a few other new songs. One of Jane's backing musicians also took part in a duet and then got a solo spot with a catchy song he'd written himself. Even though some of the songs (and jokes) were the same as last year, we both still had a really good time and would go again next year!

Tim Minchin and his Orchestra (MEN, 17/12/10)

Last night we had our last trip out to an event for the year (next week's holiday in Copenhagen not included) with Tim Minchin at the MEN. We stumbled across the long-haired Australian comic's stand up show on E4 last year and were creased up laughing the whole way through, so I picked up his 3 albums and eagerly booked for the live show. Tim certainly did not disappoint, which is lucky as I think this was the show I'd most looked forward to all year. 

The set list ran as follows (at least this is the tracklisting of the live at the 02 CD), those marked with an * are Tim Minchin 'classics':

1. I'm in a Cage
2. Rock and Roll Nerd*
3. Cont
4. If I Didn't Have You*
5. Thank You God
6. You Grew On Me*
7. The Fence
8. Prejudice*
9. Lullaby
10. The Pope Song (+ Disco)
11. Cheese
12. Beauty
13. Dark Side*
14. Not Perfect*
15. White Wine in the Sun*

Tim has a great voice and he's a master on the piano. His songs are subversive, side-splitting and make a heck of a lot of sense. Tackling racism, bigotry, religion and relationships, Tim's songs often start out sincere enough and then reality and logic creep in as his dextrous lyrics finish off tenets of Christianity, proper child-rearing techniques and prejudice in general. The odd song like Beauty and White Wine in the Sun are less about the funny and are more heartfelt, and provide a real showcase for Tim's emotive voice. 

Songs such as Dark Side and the extremely sweary Pope Song (which sounded like the South Park movie's Uncle Fukka) really showed how much his orchestra added to the aural mix. They turned the songs into real spectacles. Between songs, Tim was very amusing, and proved adept at improvisation too, but it's in the songs that his genius really emerges and shines. I can't wait to rip his live CD to my MP3 player and enjoy these songs, old and new, all over again.

Scissor Sisters (MEN, 11/12/10)

Last Saturday we braved the cold (and a replacement bus service home) to see the incredible Scissor Sisters (and support act Hurts) at the MEN in Manchester. Here's the stonking great set list:

Intro
Night Work
Laura
Any Which Way
She's My Man
Take Your Mama
Whole New Way
Running Out
Tits On The Radio
Something Like This
Kiss You Off
Mary
Skin This Cat
Harder You Get
Skin Tight
Paul McCartney
Comfortably Numb
Night Work
Filthy/Gorgeous
-------------
Fire With Fire
I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
Invisible Light

Excluding the Intro, that's a massive 21 songs, including all bar one from their latest Night Work album. It turned out the show was being filmed too, so I think the show had even more oomph than normal. Jake Shears and Ana Matronic are just phenomenal - Jake's hot half-naked body and Ana's hilarious talky bits between songs had me drooling and in stitches. The Scissor Sisters is what arenas are made for - light shows, dancing, massive up-beat tunes... 

Having said that, Skin This Cat was one of my favourite songs of the evening, possibly because it was more stripped back and just featured Ana and a couple of backing singers/dancers, and it stood out from the huge noise and mania of the other tracks. Filthy/Gorgeous has always been one of my favourites, and it was done justice here. Invisible Light, the extended song at the end of Night Work, is a curio, and a strange end song as it's not got the recognition factor of I Don't Feel Like Dancing, but it worked well, and included an Ian McKellen video element. You certainly get your money's worth with the Scissor Sisters. I can't wait for the DVD.

Goldfrapp (16/11/10, 02 Academy, Leeds)

Goldfrapp was the first gig Andrew and I attended together, 5 years ago. It was in Leeds University's student union, a club called Stylus I think, and it was horribly warm, we were jostled about and had to keep an eye on the clock in order not to miss our train home. Despite this, Alison Goldfrapp was simply awesome. 

This week, we saw Goldfrapp again (when you see Goldfrapp live, it meets you see Alison singing with a band, who knows where the other half of the group, Will Gregory, is), this time at the 02 Academy in Leeds. A bigger, better venue than before, and with home a 10 minute walk away, the experience was much nicer. And more importantly Alison was sounding exquisite. I really like Goldfrapp's Black Cherry and Supernature albums, not so keen on the first one or Seventh Tree, and I've only heard the recent one when Andrew's played it, but I 've liked what I've heard. I was pleased then that the set list (below) featured just 1 song each from the 2 albums I've not keen on, and everything else I knew. 

1. Voicething (Intro)
2. Crystalline Green
3. You Never Know
4. Dreaming
5. Head First
6. Number 1
7. Alive
8. Believer
9. Shiny and Warm
10. Train
11. Ride A White Horse
12. Ooh La La
13. Black Cherry
14. Little Bird
15. Lovely Head
16. Strict Machine

I swear that Goldfrapp never sound better than when they're live. The louder they are the more transcendant is Alison's voice, which has a real operatic quality. There was a preponderance of up-tempo numbers, things only really slowed down for Black Cherry and Little Bird, and Ooh La La, Train and Strict Machine were highlights. Alison was dressed in a strange outfit that looked like an ostrich, which moved as she stood in front of a wind machine, giving an ethereal quality, especially when coupled with Alison's haunting vocals. Occasionally, I can't tell a word of what she's singing, but the noises she makes are so good, I just don't care. A top class gig.

Jay Brannan (24/10/10, Fibbers, York)

Last night we were in York for an evening's entertainment from Jay Brannan. Unfortunately, not many people were doing the same thing, which must have been a bit disappointing for Jay, but he never showed it - and I enjoyed the more intimate feel of the gig. To begin with, me and Andrew sat with our drinks, waiting for the singing to start (this time we'd got to the gig minutes before the doors even opened), when who should walk in but Jay Brannan himself! He asked us if we'd mind moving so he could sell his CDs (brought with him in a carrier bag) from the bench bit we were sat on. Of course we were happy to move.

Once the support act, Marbled, started, we moved nearer the stage and sat at the side, and then Jay Brannan sat by the side to watch too. I wonder how many acts watch their support before going on? The support wasn't bad, but I thought his lyrics were a bit lame. He sounded best when he came down off the stage with his guitar into the middle of the club, in order to try and encourage everyone to move forward towards the stage. 

Once Jay came on, we did move forward, although the 'crowd' must only have been about 50 or so. Armed with just a guitar, Jay sang beautifully, emotionally and perfectly for a full hour, covering album tracks, a couple of covers and some new stuff. Between songs he was charming, witty and had a very cute laugh. I had an utterly wonderful time. After his set, Jay then came back to sell his CDs - I'd bought myself another copy of Goddamned earlier and now I got him to sign it, and me and Andrew both got our photos taken with him. Jay said his music is sad, but his emotive voice and skill with a guitar make me feel uplifted and reassured, and his lyrics are often witty and fun. A perfect evening.

Here's my attempt at a set list, though not in the order he played them, and probably with omissions:

1. Can't Have It All
2. Half-Boyfriend
3. Soda Shop
4. The Spanglish Song (a new one)
5. Housewife (a personal favourite of mine)
6. Goddamned (another favourite)
7. Black Boys on Mopeds (Sinead O'Connor cover)
8. Zombie
9. Beautifully
10. Ever After Happily (I think, could've been a new one!)

Robyn (19/10/10, Academy 2, Manchester)

It's been a busy week, with 2 gigs, a theatre trip, a work awards evening and a fantastic night of dancing. It all began on Tuesday night, with a trip to Manchester to see Swedish pop star Robyn, Andrew's favoured artiste. I liked her eponymous album from a couple of years back, but I've not really heard much of her new stuff.

I was pissed off at the beginning of the night. I really do think I'm too old for gigs at student unions! I don't get why the ticket says the doors open at 7.30pm, posters at the venue say Robyn was due on at 9pm and she didn't actually set foot on stage until 9.30pm. How is this acceptable?! Well because the gig organisers obviously have no regard for people who've been at work all day or are at work the following day. Thanks to the late start, we had to get the last train home, back after half midnight, and I like my sleep. So after standing around for 1.5 hrs (we weren't daft enough to turn up at the time on the ticket), enduring the awful DJing 'skills' of the female chav duo warm up act, I was not really in the mood for Robyn.

Thankfully, Robyn knocked my socks off with an incredibly energetic set that would put Anders from Alphabeat to shame. The set list ran as follows:

1. Intro
2. Fembot
3. Cry When You Get Older
4. Cobrastyle
5. Hang With Me
6. We Dance To The Beat / Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do
7. Love Kills
8. The Girl and the Robot
9. Dancing On My Own
10. Dream On
11. With Every Heartbeat
    
12. In My Eyes
13. Konichiwa Bitches
14. Be Mine!
    
15. Dancehall Queen
16. Show Me Love

A massive 16 songs, including 2 encores, as the crowd was mad for her, none more so than Andrew. Robyn bounded about the stage, munching a banana, looking like something from Live & Kicking back in the 90's, with a fab voice and a great deal of energy. A couple of the tracks from 'Robyn' had their music tracks tinkered with, and I wasn't so keen on that, though for the most part everything sounded great with a live band. I don't know the songs well enough to comment much more, but the evening, once it got started, was a success from where I was standing (just behind a very tall man).

Party in the Park (25/07/10) & Leeds Pride (01/08/10)

Last weekend was Party in the Park, a free pop concert at Temple Newsam that Leeds Council puts on. The lineup wasn't as good as last year, so we were dubious about whether we'd bother going. I'm glad we did though, as we had a fun day out. We didn't see the first couple or the last 2 acts (missing The Saturdays, who we've seen in concert back when they were amazing, and Dizzee Rascal, who headlined last year) as we wanted to get the bus home, but we saw the following:

Project A, Skepta, Fugitive, Beat Bullies, Rox, One Night Only, Scouting For Girls, Jedward (who were booed and thankfully just did 1 song), The Baseballs, Eliza Doolittle, Damage, Dane Bowers (who had a surprisingly good voice), Craig David (who should just give it up), Lee Ryan & Anthony Costa (Costa and Jedward were the 'surprises' we were promised during the show...), Vanessa Amorosi (amazing Australian lady whose latest album I've already bought and fallen in love with), Beverley Knight (best voice at Party, but next time please sing 'Come As Your Are'!), Starman, Gabriella Cilmi (just me and Andrew up dancing for her), Basshunter (got the crowd going and took his top off, so I was easily pleased), The Hoosiers, Alesha Dixon (always worth the admission, with some great dancing, evidence above, and smashing new single 'Drummer Boy'), Professor Green (just shite), Example, The Wanted (hot), Tinchy Stryder, Pixie Lott (yawn), Alexandra Burke (very good), and The Script.

Today I attended another free music event, Leeds Pride in Millennium Square. Featured were a whole host of drag acts, including the brilliant Bears Aloud, Cheryl Hole, the Dame Shirley Bassey Experience and the winner of Drag Idol performing Gaga's Telephone. 

The none drag performers were: Laura Steel, Inju5tice (a new boyband who probably won't trouble The Wanted's rise to the top of the charts), Tameka, Scarlette Fever, and the head line act... 90's Corrie sensation, Adam Rickitt! Adam was looking might fine, as the accompanying pic will attest, and although his voice wasn't the strongest, he still put in a memorable performance of his new single Tonight, and old favourites Everything My Heart Desires and of course I Breathe Again! The encore featured the old version of I Breathe Again with a topless Adam throughout. Call me an easily pleased horny homosexual, but it worked for me! :)

Jane McDonald in Concert (19/06/10, The Grand, Leeds)

Last night I took my Mum and Mum-in-Law to see Jane McDonald in concert, but they were really just my excuse to not go on my own! I was probably the youngest there, and the Mums were probably a good 10 years younger than most of the rest of the grey-haired audience, apart from the two very enthusiastic lesbians sat behind us. I'm used to being the youngest at plays though, I don't know what my peers do for entertainment - unless they're the people we met on the streets walking home at 10.15pm, drunk, loud and (the women) dressed in their underwear.

Anyway, I digress. Jane was absolutely incredible - it's no wonder she had a few standing ovations (though not from us up in the balcony, there's not enough room to move up there once you're seated). She's not only an amazing singer - as evidenced by a brief 1.5mins of opera that went down incredibly well - but she's also a lovely personality, and absolutely hilarious with it. 

Jane lives in Wakefield, so being in Leeds was a bit of a homecoming for her, and it felt like she'd added that little bit extra, plus her mother was in the audience. The first half of the show was a little more ballady than the second, and I enjoyed the upbeat latter a bit more, although that may have been because I knew more of the songs in the second half. I can't find a set list on line for any of her shows (boo!) but I remember her doing the following:

Walk On By, Do You Know The Way to San Jose?, [Italian Opera], Doctor's Orders, One Voice, Even Now (those 3 from Jane, her last album), One Night Only & And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going (from Dreamgirls), [a self-penned ballad in memory of her grandmother], Voulez-Vous, Heatwave... I can't remember the others! But there was a country song, a Motown medley, a disco medley, more Burt Bacharach, Cilla Black covers... Oh and one of her backing singers did Duffy's Mercy. 

The songs covered something from practically every classic genre, and the uptempo disco medley was a highlight. Jane can do a soaring big ballad one moment, crack a few jokes of a particularly northern kind, and then launch into a massive disco number. Her voiced completely filled The Grand and it was an incredible performance that I enjoyed from start to finish.

Alphabeat (The Cockpit, Leeds, 19/04/10)

It's only about 6 months since we last saw Alphabeat at The Cockpit, and since there setlist was the same as last time, but in a different order, there's not much I can add to my last review! This time around they replaced Heart Failure and Ain't Nobody with Fantastic 6 and Heat Wave and moved the new singles to the end, otherwise there were the same call-response bits for the crowd, and the same manic dancing from the lead male. None of this is a criticism though, they were excellent once again!

1. Fantastic 6
2. Always Up With You
3. Go-Go 
4. 10,000 Nights
5. Chess
6. What Is Happening
7. Heat Wave
8. Hole In My Heart
9. The Beat Is...
10. Boyfriend
11. Touch Me Touching You
12. The Spell 
13. DJ
14. Fascination

Pet Shop Boys: Pandemonium Tour (MEN, Manchester)

For only my 5^th arena concert in my 25 years (after Kylie, Will & Gareth, and Girls Aloud twice) we braved the snow, ice and slush between Leeds and Manchester to see the Pet Shop Boys at the MEN last Sunday.

After a run of gigs/concerts at smaller venues (Frankmusik, Alphabeat, Alesha Dixon, VV Brown) it was easy to forget how huge an MEN concert is. The Pet Shop Boys did an excellent job of filling the place with a great number of tracks from their current album, Yes, and their back catalogue.

I only own Pop Art, their greatest hits, so I’m not an expert on the duo, but Andrew has Yes and their Christmas EP so I knew quite a few of their most recent tracks. I find with a lot of PSB songs that I can only recognise them from the chorus as the intros I find difficult to differentiate. That’s not say I think all their songs sound the same, just that I’d be rubbish at the Intros round on Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

There were many songs I knew – Heart, Se A Vida E, Always on My Mind, Go West, Suburbia, etc – and many I didn’t which must have been older album tracks and B-sides. I wasn’t that keen on the Madness cover, My Guy, as I don’t know the song at all, but the surprise extra Xmas encore was great – It Doesn’t Often Snow at Christmas – an ironic choice of title given the state of the country at the moment.  

1. Heart
2. Did You See Me Coming?
3. Can you forgive her?/Pandemonium
4. Love etc.
5. Building A Wall
6. Go West
7. Two Divided By Zero
8. Why Don't We Live Together?
9. New York City Boy
10. Always On My Mind
11. Closer to Heaven/Left to My Own Devices
12. Do I Have To?
13. Kings Cross
14. The Way It Used To Be
15. Jealousy
16. Suburbia
17. What Have I Done To Deserve This?
18. All Over The World
19. Se A Vida É
20. Viva La Vida / Domino Dancing
21. It's A Sin

22. Being Boring
23. My Girl (Madness cover)
24. West End Girls

25. It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas

Neil Tennant was in fine form, his not-quite-singing voice managing to fill the arena, and Chris Lowe was enigmatically silent in charge of the music. Come to think of it, this is one of the few shows I’ve seen this year without a live band on stage. 4 dancers provided most of the spectacle and an intriguing set made up of white cardboard boxes. Initially the boxes were stacked to form two large walls, and then these were eventually pulled down and men in white coats rebuilt the sets during breaks in the songs, and then whatever was built was utilised by the dancers as podiums or to reflect the songs. The dancers’ costumes occasionally reflected the box motif when they came out wearing skin tight spandex-looking outfits with boxes bulging inside them at the calf and arm, topped off with a box on the head. The white boxes of the set also aided in the effects created through the lighting of the stage, with films projected on to them.

For the Xmas encore, the dancers came on dressed as Xmas trees and ‘snow’ was released into the crowd. This last song left me feeling very festive and very happy with the whole show.

VV Brown (The Cockpit, Leeds)

Last Friday I had my third and final jaunt to the Cockpit this year, to see VV Brown. Another artist who my partner likes rather than me, I'd given her album a couple of listens before the gig and enjoyed it. She sounds a little bit sixties, but without being all Duffy and obvious about it. VV Brown does something different with the sound, producing an album that sounds familiar yet very now.

I can't find a proper set list online, but I know she performed the following, just not necessarily in this order:

1. Quick Fix
2. Game Over
3. Leave!
4. Bottles
5. Crying Blood (acoustic version)
6. Crying Blood (reggae version)
7. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Wizard of Oz cover)
8. Viva La Vida (Coldplay cover)
9. Back In Time
10. I Love You
11. Caroline (new song)
12. L.O.V.E
13. Everybody
14. Travelling Like The Light
15. Shark In The Water
Encore: 16. Sex On Fire (Kings Of Leon cover)

So basically she did the whole album, Travelling Like The Light, except one track, plus a new track and 3 covers. A longer set than either Alphabeat or Frankmusik, despite costing half as much and being in a smaller room at The Cockpit. 

As it was a smaller room, the gig felt more intimate somehow, and the atmosphere in the crowd was different - it was an older, more ethnically diverse audience than before. I hadn't realised how young and white the previous audiences were. Not that it matters at all, it was just something that I made note of. This isn't to say that an older crowd didn't know how to have a good time at this gig!

VV Brown came on stage while I was at the bar - when she made her appearance I didn't recognise her behind the massive mask she was wearing. I thought Grace Jones was putting in a cameo! This level of quirkiness continued in various guises, and VV was all the more appealing for it. Inbetween songs she had excellent banter with her fans, and showed she has a sense of humour. Most importantly, she had the voice to back up the personality. As beautiful on the acoustic tracks as she was on the up tempo numbers (and there were more of these than the former), I enjoyed the night immensely. 

The only quibble I had was with the choice of covers - I like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and VV put her own spin on it, but Coldplay leaves me cold, and Kings of Leon... Well, they're not my cup of tea. I wouldn't have minded the Kings song so much if she hadn't done it as an encore. I would've been happier for her to finish on the gorgeous Shark in the Water than to come back to sing someone else's song. When Frankmusik did the same with It's a Sin it worked because he made the song into something else, something quintessentially 'Frankmusik', but the Kings of Leon track was a bit too karaoke and crowd-pleasing. 

The new single, Caroline, was awesome, and I hold out great hopes for VV Brown's second album, due next year, along with Alphabeat's and Frankmusik's! Here's to more gigs in the future.

Frankmusik (The Cockpit, Leeds)

This past Friday night I had my second visit to Leed's Cockpit in as many weeks, and this time we saw Frankmusik. The first support act, Heads We Dance, was very good, but we sat out the second one, Killa Kella (sp?), who was not at all like either HWD or Frankmusik.

Poor Frankmusik (or Vincent to his friends) had a sore throat, but you couldn't tell. After a bit of dodgy sound on the first song when he was drowned out by his band, the gig continued in a uniformly excellent manner. Frankmusik himself is rather cute (as the pics on this post will attest) and oozes charisma, and boy can he sing! But then I have seen him live twice before, at Leeds' Party in the Park and Leeds' Pride.

The set list (we think - can't find the Leeds one online) was as follows:

1. Time Will Tell

2. When You're Around

3. Gotta Boyfriend?

4. Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover)

5. Confusion Girl

6. Dancing in the Dark (? A new track, not sure of the name)

7. Vacant Heart

8. 3 Little Words

9. In Step / Please Don't Stop Frankmusik

10. Better Off As 2

Encore: 11. It's A Sin (Pet Shop Boys cover) / Medley

So that was 8 tracks from his amazing album, Complete Me, a new track, plus a couple of covers (3 if you count the amusing verse of Rihanna's Please Don't Stop the Music, amended to praise our host). The cover of Rehab was so good Andrew didn't even realise what it was until I told him. It sounded so very different to Winehouse's ubiquitous single, as it should.

The majority of the set was upbeat, as much of Complete Me is, so there was much dancing. The only song I missed from the album was Wonder Woman, one of my favourites, but I'll forgive him since Gotta Boyfriend? is my other favourite! Despite having heard this album more often than This Is Alphabeat I wasn't as familiar with the words to Frankmusik's songs in order to sing along for the audience participation bits, which was a shame - it didn't stop me enjoying the show though!

Frankmusik didn't finish on a single, rather his encore was his lovely rendition of the Pet Shop Boys' It's A Sin, alone on stage with his keyboard, which lead into a brief medley of Frankmusik's 'hits'. It was an unusual and perhaps a daring move to finish on a slow song. It worked. Despite the brief (50 minute) set and the bad throat, Frankmusik provided an excellent evening's entertainment. I can't wait to see him again!

Alphabeat (The Cockpit, Leeds)

I’m a fan of Europop, and I do like the Danish Aqua, but my partner is the one who’s into the new Danish sensation, Alphabeat, so we went along to see them perform a gig at The Cockpit in Leeds last night.

In preparation for the gig I’d listened to their first album, This Is Alphabeat, earlier that day, and I’m familiar with the singles, including The Spell, the new one, so I knew what songs to expect. I’ve not been to The Cockpit before – it’s a lot smaller than I’d expected, and would only hold a fraction of the Manchester Apolllo (where I saw Alesha Dixon on Friday), standing room only. Full of indie types too – something I’m definitely not!

Although they only performed from 9pm til 10pm (we got there at 8pm in time for the support act, Kinch, who we listened to from the other room while having a drink. They were ok. If you like that sort of thing. And I don’t particularly) Alphabeat generated a lot of fun and gave a spirited, energetic performance.

I couldn’t take my eyes of the lead male singer, Anders (there are 5 guys and a lady in Alphabeat – 3 of the men are named Anders, and one’s called Troll, or something similar), who was a ball of energy, jumping all over the small stage, enthusiastically beating a tambourine against his torso, and generally getting very excited – I was afraid if he didn’t calm down he’d hurt himself. His performance was mesmerizing, and distracted me from Stein, the female vocalist, who was less animated, but had an equally fantastic voice.

The set list was as follows:

1. Always Up With You
2. Go-Go
3. The Spell
4. Heart Failiure
5. What Is Happening
6. DJ
7. Chess
8. Ain't Nobody
9. Touch Me Touching U
10. 10000 Nights
11. The Beat Is
12. Boyfriend

13. Hole In My Heart
14. Fascination

Of these 14 songs, 6 I knew from the first album, 1 was The Spell, and the others were all new material (apart from the Chaka Khan cover, Ain't Nobody, which I know from the Liberty X version, sad to say). The crowd seemed a bit miffed by some of the new stuff! They’ve got a new album out next year, so of course they’re showcasing new tracks! The singles certainly went down well, to be expected I suppose – it’s always harder to judge new material from a live performance on one listen I think.

I enjoyed Alphabeat’s performance a great deal, particularly when I recognised the tracks! The call-and-response that Anders instigated on a couple of the songs was fun, and it all reached a climax on a high with the single Fascination.

The Alesha Show (Manchester Apollo)

'Welcome to the Alesha Shoooooooooow!!'

There are no words for how much I enjoyed The Alesha Show last night at the Manchester Apollo, but I'll try anyway!

Alesha Dixon looked fantastic in a series of sparkly outfits, some with slinky long black gloves, one an elegant long dress and another with a pink feathery creation on the back. Alesha has killer legs and she had them out all through the show. The dancing was amazing - occasionally she would let the music or her backing singers entertain our ears as she worked on our eyes with some fantastic dance routines. 

The set list ran as follows:

1. 'Welcome to the Alesha Show' - One of my favourites on the album, and it's only an intro! Which says nothing about the quality of the rest of the album I might add. Alesha appeared on stage as in at a stage revue, the pink curtains were pulled back to reveal her sat aloft a trapeze (though sadly there were no Pink-style acrobatics).

2. 'Fired Up' - An interesting first song proper, since it's from her unreleased first album.

3. 'Let's Get Excited' - I certainly did.

4. 'Cinderella Shoe' - Who knows what this song's about, but it's brilliant.

5. 'Chasing Ghosts' - A slower song from The Alesha Show, just amazing really.

6. 'Breathe Slow' - After a costume change into a more conservative looking dress (with a massive slit up it to show off her legs of course) Alesha performed one of her best ballads. No, her BEST ballad. As when I saw her at Leeds' Party in the Park, a lot of the singing was done by the audience. I was afraid at one point it was going to become the hideous dance remix of the song that accompanies the video, but thankfully not.

7. 'Can I Begin' - A lovely number that Alesha explains is about her desire to find new love. Aww.

8. 'Don't Ever Let Me Go'

9. Mis-teeq Medley ('All I Want', 'Can't Get It Back', 'One Night Stand', 'B With Me', 'Why?', Scandalous') - Before the show we were wondering if Alesha would do a Mis-teeq song or two, and tried to think of some. We could only remember (so so so) Scandalous but once Alesha began the medley the 'hits' came flooding back. Mis-teeq reminds me of nights out in Skipton in the summers between university semesters. This section of the evening was much more fantastic than you'd expect, and Scandalous is such a great song. At one point Alesha talked to the crowd and thanked us for our support, and she said that she understands that some people might night have liked Mis-teeq because they were a bit *insert Alesha street-style rap here*!

10. 'Hand It Over' - After the massively up-tempo Mis-teeq Medley things slowed down a bit with this one. I can't even remember it from the album, never mind the show!

11. 'Play Me' - Before my favourite Alesha track EVER, we were treated to a musical interlude of N.E.R.D.'s 'She Wants To Move' and Alesha showed off the moves that made that video so memorable. And then 'Play Me' - if she'd not done this one I think I would've asked for my money back! Well, not quite. I really loosened up and danced to this... but I seemed to be the only one! Maybe because it wasn't a single, but for some reason the crowd wasn't feeling 'Play Me'. Weird. I LOVED IT.

12. 'Lipstick' - The big(?) single from Fired Up, Alesha's unreleased first album (that they were selling in the foyer on memory sticks, an excellent idea, though I already have my imported copy from Japan - good old eBay), I forget how good this one is.

13. 'Knockdown' - The third song from Fired Up (against 10 from The Alesha Show, the new single and the Mis-teeq Medley) is ok, live Alesha turned it into an excuse to get members of the audience onstage to perform a bit of a dance routine. She's so lovely when she's talking to the crowd - not in a cloying way, but in a way that you can tell she genuinely loves what she does, and loves making people happy through the music.

14. 'To Love Again' - The new, Gary Barlow co-written single. This was the first time I've heard this all the way through and I've got to say that I'm not that convinced by it. Alesha's best when she's uptempo, however she's got a beautiful voice for ballads too, as proved by 'Breathe Slow' particularly, but this one's not very exciting. After this song Alesha said her good byes, but of course she had one last song...

15. 'The Boy Does Nothing' - Preceding the song was an opportunity for Alesha to show off what a superb dancer she is - her sense of humour really comes through on many of the routines too. The music sounded a bit 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' until it built up into the fantastic 'The Boy Does Nothing'. An excellent (obvious!) song to end The Alesha Show.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Alesha Show, and I look forward to seeing Alesha Dixon live again soon!