2023 gigs.
A list rather than a review but there will be the odd descriptive comment when warranted. The list will include accompanying fine dining.
13.1 Harry Hill. New Theatre, 'Boro. Nuts. Funny af, but nuts.
23.1 Frank Turner, Lottery Winners, Wildwood Buoys. O2 Academy, Leicester. The Marquis Wellington.
26.1 Francis of Delirium, Sloe Noon, Collars. Bedford Esquires. McDs. Great gig. 1st support, quirky (the drummer was also the guitarist), 2nd were superb, reminded me of Slothrust and FoD are always excellent.
2.2 Sprints, Langkamer, Eades. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Amazing, just brilliant. Missed Eades (fucked off 'bout that), Langkamer got me well in the mood and Sprints nailed it. Burger at Herd was one of the best I have ever eaten. Top night.
14.2 Mogwai, Brainiac. Rock City. Horn in the Hand. Brainiac are odd, Mogwai were fucking loud. HitH always delivers when it comes to burgers.
17.2 Doors Alive. Roadmender. Oriental Garden. Great tribute act. Great Chinese meal.
18.2 Dr. Feelgood, Dois Padres. Bedford Esquires. McDs. So glad I made the effort.
22.2 Hotel Lux, Average Life Complaints, The Barratts. The Craufurd Arms, MK. 81 The Original Diner. Three good bands. ALC stood out, HL were so interesting to watch. Burger was just 'good'.
25.2 Total Stone Roses, Oaysis. Met Lounge 'Boro. The College Arms. decent tributes, decent pub-grub katsu curry.
28.2 Young Fathers, Callum Easter. O2 Academy Leeds. Almost Famous. Wow. What a midweek trek, what a gig! YF did not disappoint and CE was intriguing - he played with YF also. And, the best burger I have EVER eaten. EVER.
3.3 Emily Breeze, Andrea Kenny. The Donkey, Leicester. Heritage India. EB was fabulous. The restaurant front of house thought I was a food critic, I am sure of it.
5.3 Grade 2, Clobber, Kings of Pigs. Voodoo Lounge, Stamford. McDs. Sunday gig, G2 were really good.
10.3 Suede, Desperate Journalists. Rock City. Horn in the Hand. DJ were fucking excellent. Also, saw great singer in the Lilly Langtrees pub after the gig....see 06.07 entry.
13.3 Self Esteem, Campbell King, Tom Rasmussen. Cambridge Corn Exchange. Honest Burger. SE was wonderful - great show, great songs, great voice, great live.
14.3 Slow Readers Club, Andrew Cushin. Lafayette, King's Cross. Cut and Grind. I loved this gig. SRC in a small venue - place was bouncing. Katsu chicken burger was good.
16.3 Mike Wozniak. The Core at Corby Cube. Nando's. Wonderful, laugh out loud ramblings.
21.3 Death Cab for Cutie, Slow Pulp. O2 Institute, Brum. Manzils. SP stole the show, DCFC were 'alright'. Great veg madras but with fucking mushrooms.
22.3 The Orielles, Pale Blue Eyes. MASH, Cambridge. Butch Annie's. Brilliant gig. TO were a different band live and PBE will play arenas one day, I'm sure of it. Marvellous burger, marvellous gaff.
24.3 Black Honey, The Howlers. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Bloody excellent night for food and music.
28.3 Anna B. Savage. Village Underground. McDs.
30.3 Jadu Heart, Gglum. Assembly Rooms, Islington. MEATLiquor, GDK. Gglum stole the show. She rocked, actually. I had a balcony ticket but snuck downstairs during a technical hitch with JH's kit; the upstairs bar ran out of beer (wtf?) so I went in search of booze only to find I could walk into the main hall unchallenged! Great burger followed by a really great kebab.
04.04 Gretel Hänlyn, Mary in the Junkyard. The Moth Club. McDs. Great little venue and MitJ were excellent (brilliant drumming and drummer) and GH was fantastic. No overground afterwards but jumped in an Uber to Finsbury Park with two fellas who'd been to the gig #lifesavers
11.04 Big Thief. Hammersmith Apollo. Chicago Grill. I found BT disjointed and out of tune at first, came good toward the end. Burger was fucking huge and beat me. Plus I had to use cutlery to eat it.
14.04 Joe Rooney., A Celebration of Father Ted. The Key Theatre, Peterborough. Interesting evening with the chap that was in one episode of Father Ted as Father Damo.
18.04 Waxahatchee, Indigo Sparks. Earth. GDK. No overground, walked there and back and still made GDK and caught the 23.00 train.
20.04 Fenne Lily, Naima Bock. Islington Assembly hall. GDK. Last minute gig (thanks to ReTickin') and I am glad I made the effort FL and her band (esp. the guitarist) was most impressive - great live sound.
21.04 Lemondaze, Treeboy & Arc. Portland Arms, Cambridge. Butch Annie's. Brilliant live sets from both and a flipping excellent burger.
04.05 Yard Act. Troxy.
05.05 Big Country, Spear of Destiny. Islington Assembly hall.
08.05 Haley Blais, Katie Tupper, Georgia Harmer. Bush Hall. Tiger's Diner. Three great artists and HB's voice is one of the best I have ever heard. Burger was a treat...I shovelled it down!
11.05 Foals. Pryzm Kingston. The first of two shows for the band on the night presented by Banquet Records and they were on top form.
16.05 Lael Neale, Guy Blakeslea. Lexington, Islington. McDs, GDK. LN was simply wonderful. 2-4-1 GDK is always a treat!
08.06 Crawlers. Omeara, Borough. The Kebab Shop. Last minute ReTickin' gig and I am very glad I made the effort. Lamb Shawarma was amazing.
10.06 Diane Cluck, Johanna Warren. Cafe OTO, Dalston. Only went to see JH and it was a performance workshop, so no singing. Not what I expected.
16.06 Arctic Monkeys, The Hives, The Mysterines. Emirates Stadium.
22.06 The Sherlocks. Bedford Esquires. Herd. Last minute gig 'cos Dara O Briain was cancelled due to flooding. TS were cracking.
26.06 Indigo de Souza, Rosie Alena. Village Underground. Fat Hippo, Shoreditch. IdS, and her band, flippin' rocked. I like it when the live performance is a real step up from studio. FH was also cracking.
06.07 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Girl Band. Craufurd Arms. GB were excellent - saw the guitarist/lead singer, Georgie, after the Suede gig 10.03 - chatting after their set, she remembered me! GCWCF lost the plot with the chatting, rowdy audience...it was embarrassing.
07.07 Breanna Barbara, Memory of Speke. Moth Club. Burke's Warehouse. BB was so good, fantastic. MoS were very good. Burger & chips were excellent.
19.09 My Baby. MK11 MB were really good value - rock enthused dance music and the lead singer's voice is exemplary.
22.08 Boygenius, Ethal Cain. Piece Hall, Halifax. 242 mile round trip was just about worth it. Both acts were OK. Venue is special, though.
28.08 Karen Jonas. Great Easton Village Hall.
29/08 Future Islands. Cambridge Corn Exchange. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. FI are so good live. Cajun chicken burger was fine.
05.09 Samia, Art School Girlfriend. Kentish Town Forum. One of the best gigs this year.
23.09 Flock of Seagulls, Enjoyable Listens. Bedford Esquires. Brewhouse & Kitchen. FoS were good value, EL were excellent as always and the burger was fine.
26.09 The National. Ally Pally. Views from the venue were spectacular.
04.10 Sprints. Scala. Ballache getting to the gig 'cos of the train strike, but well worth it. Aftershow gathering at The Lexington warranted an overnight stay!
05.10 Hard-Fi, Tom A. Smith. The Junction. Impressed with HF, even more impressed with TAS and his band.
06.10 The Undertones, Tom Robinson Band. The Junction. TRB were amazing. He is a great entertainer and his guitarist was superb.
18.10 Treeboy & Arc, Bo Gritz. The Moth Club. T&A are seriously good live.
23.10 Lande Hekt, Charley Stone's Actual Band. The Lexington.
26.10 Yumi and the Weather, Sunny Gym. The Craufurd Arms. Only caught the final song from SG but it was excellent. YatW were banging.
30.10 Cash Savage and the Last Drinks, James P. Honey. The Lexington. CSatLD were amazing. The violinist pulled out one of the best live solos of any instrument I have even witnessed.
08.11 Deadletter, The Joy Hotel. The Craufurd Arms. TJH were bloody good...including bass, 5 guitars! D were superb - great front man.
09.11 Nothing But Thieves. World Resorts Arena, Brum (old NEC). £7.50 a fucking pint. NBT is about right.
12.11 This Is The Kit, Gina Birch. The Glee Club, Brum.
15.11 The Murder Capital. Electric Ballroom. Mental gig. Haven't seena mosh pit like it since the 80s. Thoroughly enjoyed this gig.
16.11 Bleach Lab, Wings of Desire. Scala. WoD were right down my street and delivered - a nice surprise as I'd not heard of them before. One of those gigs where support > headliner.
23.11 Bdrmm, Damefrisor. Bedford Esquires. I flipping enjoyed this. B drummer cracked open a bottle of beer with the end of his drumstick which was the coolest thing I have ever seen.
03.12 The Rural Alberta Advantage, Zoon. Lafayette. I was not in the mood for travelling down to this on a Monday night. However, it was well worth it. RAA were every bit as 9, or so, years ago when I first saw them.
04.12 Coach Party, Bedroom High Club, House of Women. O'Meara. A free gig put on by Beavertown brewery and I'd have gladly paid. Each band were great. BHC were brand new to me and were the pick of a fantastic bunch. I will definitely catch all 3 live again.
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