Category Archives: GIG REVIEWS

Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON & FRIENDS FESTIVAL, The Vic, Coalville, 20-22 August 2021

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I think it would be fair to say that travelling to the venue on 20th was challenging for most, due to a number of accidents and roadworks everywhere, however, none so much as The Darker My Horizon (TDmH) as their … Continue reading

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Gig review: COLLATERAL – The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 19 August 2021

COLLATERAL- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 19 August 2021

Back at the start of 2020, I began what I hoped would be a big gigging year with Collateral at a packed Cavern. It was also promising to be a breakthrough year for the Kent rockers whose first full-length album … Continue reading

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Gig review: NOZFEST – The 1865, Southampton, 14 August 2021

NOZFEST- The 1865, Southampton, 14 August 2021

Oh, how we have missed rock festivals during the pandemic. 2020 proved to be a write-off as Coronavirus proved more stubborn than originally imagined, and with depressing predictability, as spring turned into summer most organisers gave up the unequal struggle … Continue reading

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Gig review: ATOMIC ROOSTER- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 5 August 2021

ATOMIC ROOSTER- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 5 August 2021

For the past 20 years or so the Eel Pie Club have been keeping alive the spirit of the sixties music scene that was so influential in this part of South-West London. As that decade gave way to the seventies, … Continue reading

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Gig review: SPIKE- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 15 July 2021

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There can hardly be a rock fan who has not seen the Quireboys at some point in the last 35 years and whatever their view of the band, warmed to the bibulous, twinkly, laddish charms of singer Spike. The Quireboys’ … Continue reading

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Gig review: BARE KNUCKLE + MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN, The Victoria,Swindon,18 June 2021

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The Vic in Old Town, Swindon is an established and well-known small music venue. With the current restrictions their capacity is reduced to 36, but they are not shying away from putting live music on and bands are queueing up … Continue reading

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Gig review: PAPA GEORGE AND VAL COWELL- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 28 May 2021

PAPA GEORGE AND VAL COWELL- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 28 May 2021

A return to normality for gigging is a long way off, just witness the continuing cancellation or postponements of shows into 2022. However at least lockdown has lifted enough for a few socially distanced shows to resume. Last autumn I … Continue reading

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Gig review: JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 20 May 2021

JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Cavern, Raynes Park, London, 20 May 2021

If 2020 was a desert for live music, the road out of lockdown in 2021 has been an even longer and gloomier slog. Down in South West London, Cavern owner Noel Nevin has been fighting the good fight to stay … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – Dirty Rockers, Dudley, Saturday 22 May 2021

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I actually can’t quite believe that I am writing a gig review – a real live gig review, not a livestream, live music with an audience, in a rock venue, it’s been way too long. The anticipation of this gig … Continue reading

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Gig review: JOE BONAMASSA – Live Stream, Austin City Limits Live, Austin, Texas – Thursday April 1, 2021

Joe Bonamassa - Live Stream, 1 April 2021

There’s almost an irony about Joe Bonamassa livestream coming from Austin, Texas, which in the late ‘80s was coined ‘live music capital of the world’ by Austin Music Network’s Ronnie Mack, before officially being designated as such in 1991. Quite … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – Dirty Rockers, Dudley, Saturday 24 October 2020

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Rock lives, music lives but only if we support it – our small music venues are on there knees trying to survive and actually attending this gig, nearly broke this rock chick’s heart for a number of reasons….. I have … Continue reading

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Gig review: MARK MORRISS- Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 3 October 2020

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Perhaps it wasn’t quite squarely in GRTR’s ballpark, but the last time bands with guitars dominated the charts, possibly forever, was when Britpop ruled. Led by the likes of Blur, Oasis and Pulp, the movement defined the sound and style … Continue reading

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Gig review: GARY FLETCHER AND NICK RITCHIE – Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 2 October 2020

GARY FLETCHER AND NICK RITCHIE - Cabbage Patch, Twickenham, 2 October 2020

Of course it’s trivial compared to those who have lost loved ones or their own livelihoods, but one of the biggest effects of the Coronavirus pandemic has been cutting live music dead in its tracks. Having been to over 80 … Continue reading

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Gig review: COLLATERAL – Leo’s, The Red Lion, Gravesend, Friday 4 September 2020

Collateral at Leo

After months of musical isolation, what could be better than stumbling on a gig when you least expect it and then re-discovering a stellar band on the rise. They say momentum is everything in rock music, and Collateral aren’t about … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – The Victoria, Swindon, Thursday 27 August 2020

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So it’s Thursday 27 August and the wind down to a long weekend, what better way to get in the mood than to see live music – yes real, live, raw, rock in an amazing venue, the Victoria in Old … Continue reading

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Gig review: TOBY JEPSON – Online, Thursday April 23 2020

Toby Jepson

In these strange and unsettling times one part of the music we love that has been hit hard is that of live music. Currently venues are closed and artists are off the road, many tours and gigs have been postponed … Continue reading

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Gig review: PAUL CARRACK – London Palladium, 14 March 2020

PAUL CARRACK- London Palladium, 14 March 2020

He may not be the household name his talent deserves, but after being a founder member of Ace, singing on some of Squeeze and Mike and the Mechanics best loved hits, and a respected session musician with a long list … Continue reading

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Gig review: JAKE BUGG – Cambridge Corn Exchange, 5 March 2020

A cold Thursday night at the start of March with the country gripped in panic bog roll and hand wash buying, cowering with the media wiped up fear of the Coronavirus. A 26-year-old young man from Nottingham steps out onto … Continue reading

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Gig review: KIEFER SUTHERLAND – The Junction, Cambridge, February 26 2020

Kiefer is now two albums into his country styled music redirection and four years on the road, a very tight band the question is does he cut it? The answer is yes, the type of country Americana that Kiefer peddles … Continue reading

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Gig review: JON BODEN – Cornerstone, Didcot, 5 March 2020

Jon Boden

Back at the Cornerstone, after a very enjoyable gig here back in November 2017, Jon Boden is out on a short solo tour to promote his latest album ‘The Rose In June’. Surrounded by three guitars, fiddle, concertina, an adapted … Continue reading

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Gig review: ROMEO’S DAUGHTER – Nells Jazz and Blues, West Kensington, London, 29 February 2020

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February 29th in a leap year is, by tradition, the one day where a woman can propose to a man. So there was a neat symmetry that a rare gigging opportunity on this day was for a band both named … Continue reading

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Gig review: MYKE GRAY featuring Kim Jennett – Camden Underworld, London, 23 February 2020

MYKE GRAY featuring Kim Jennett- Camden Underworld, London, 23 February 2020

I’ve been an admirer over the years of Myke Gray’s  very fluent, technically accomplished guitar playing style, particularly so as he has always been complemented by powerful, bluesy vocalists, be it in Jagged Edge, Skin or Red White and Blues. … Continue reading

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Gig review: JARED JAMES NICHOLS/COLLATERAL – Gibson Brands Studio, London, 24 February 2020

JARED JAMES NICHOLS/COLLATERAL- Gibson Brands Studio, London, 24 February 2020

One of the most common gripes on social media when bands announce tours is ‘why aren’t they playing anywhere near me?’. With Jared James Nichols and Collateral going on a nine date nationwide spring tour excuses will be thinner than … Continue reading

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Gig review: BLACK SABBATH 50TH ANNIVERSARY PLAYBACK – Number 10, Hackney, 11 February 2020

Black Sabbath 50th

Most of us listen to music while distracted by other things. Commute to work, at home or live venue. But what if there were no other distractions around you? Just you and the music, in the dark – would you … Continue reading

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Gig review: BETH HART – Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, 8 February 2020

Beth Hart has certainly established a large and loyal following in the UK, reward for the magnetic Californian’s intensive touring over here. Way back in 2008, on an early assignment for GRTR!,  I saw her at a tiny club, the … Continue reading

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