September 2013

8 September – I saw the 2013 Diana Jones album The Museum Of The Appalachians Recordings mentioned in the No Depression newsletter and decided to give it a listen on Spotify. This was based solely on the fact that I’d visited the Museum in 2001. I was glad I did because it’s a fine piece of work and I bought a copy. Recorded sitting around a microphone in one of the cabins in the Museum grounds, with two accompanying musicians on fiddle and banjo and Jones singing and playing guitar, these are songs that could have been written any time in the last 150 years.

A first trip to The Hop in Wakefield is my chance to see her play live. The show would, in all honesty, have been better if she’d been accompanied by the musicians who played with her on the album. Despite that she’s an excellent singer and guitarist and the audience, the GLW and I see a great show. Highlight is O Sinner, the opening track both of the CD and tonight’s show.

28 September – I remember seeing Gang Of Four on their first farewell tour at The Warehouse, Leeds in 1984.
They’ve played a few tours since then but this is the first time I’ve seen them. In a way I wish I hadn’t bothered. The show is entertaining enough but Andy Gill is the only original member left and the singer, who doesn’t get introduced, performs as though he’s impersonating Jon King on Stars In Their Eyes – close but not the genuine article. It’s like seeing Gang Of Four as their own tribute act.

Setlist: You’ll Never Pay for the Farm; Ether; Not Great Men; I Parade Myself; Paralysed; Anthrax; It Was Never Gonna Turn Out Too Good; Do As I Say; Damaged Goods; I Love a Man in Uniform; We Live as We Dream, Alone; To Hell With Poverty; Gift.

Encore: He’d Send in the Army; What We All Want; Why Theory?; At Home He’s a Tourist.

30 September – I’d advise anyone who likes The Charlatans to go see one of Tim Burgess‘ shows but don’t expect it to sound like The Charlatans. His solo albums are his chance to play other styles of music he likes. His latest album, Oh No I Love You, is a fine set of songs co-written with Kurt Wagner of Lambchop. Not surprisingly these songs form the bulk of the set list tonight along with some covers and Charlatans tracks. His backing band is three quarters of the support band and Mark Collins of The Charlatans.

The support are Hatchem Social, a four piece from North London. They’re OK but need to have a clearer idea of how they want to sound as at the moment it sounds like a mish mash to me. Their bass player, fact fans, is Riley Difford son of Chris.