Richard Hawley (agin) at Palma Castle:
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That’s a great looking venue. Ah, the joys of living in Europe……
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Amazing place. 250 people 95% of which were locals who didn’t really know who they were watching.
We had a holiday out of it and spent 6-days there but it was far to hot for me at 35-degrees.
We got to meet him after both gigs and managed to get the setlist of the second gig.
It was like having him play a 1-2-1 event for you it was that personal.
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Yellowjackets at Ronnie Scott’s - 27 / 07 / 2023
I knew these guys could make great music and recordings together so to finally see them perform at my favourite small venue was an opportunity not to be missed. Myself and my music / hi-fi buddy Adrian were very happy with our seating position (as shown below - no performance pictures allowed) and as is the norm there, the sound quality at the club was near perfect. Needless to say the performance was exceptionally good, with each group member showing their abilities and skills as required, while they all were clearly enjoying the gig too!
Bassist Dane Alderson has more than filled the shoes of Jimmy Haslip, which is no mean feat - but he also has brought his own box of tricks to amaze the audience - which he did several times!
Drummer Will Kennedy was also astounding, with his tightness, variety and delicacy of touch (when required), and I was lucky enough to have a few words with him after the gig - a super nice guy.
Saxophonist Bob Mintzer and Pianist Russell Ferrante both exuded their abundance of talents with amazing solo’s and improvisations.
As we left Ronnie’s we stood outside for a while and as the crowd disappeared I noticed someone approaching from down the road… and it was Russell! Naturally, we took the opportunity to thank him for the fantastic gig, and all the music he has given us over the years. Had a lovely conversation with him about his music - Adrian had seen him play in the early 80’s in the backup band for Randy Crawford, which got us all talking about Robben Ford which was very interesting. Again, a super friendly guy and our encounter sealed a very memorable and happy day.
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Waiting for The Clientele to come on stage at Rough Trade East. Listened to new album earlier it’s fab, bargain ticket with Vinyl LP thrown in, already had it on preorder from Bandcamp digitally.
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Just back from two wonderful nights at the Cafe Oto seeing Han-Joachim Roedelius with Tim Story and Christopher Chaplin (son of Charlie).
These were my 41st and 42nd gigs of the year to date and no doubt about it these were the warmest and most charming gigs of the year. Roedelius is one super decent nice guy and was great to spend quite a lot of time talking with him over the two nights.
Beautiful electronic ambient sounds.
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Likewise was also there this evening, had a chat with the man himself before heading off, lovely experience.
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Last night Lady Blackbird at Koko London. Great fun. Stood behind Richard E Grant in the queue outside to get in. I don’t like to get my phone out at gigs, but thought I should take a quick snap. For some reason the lighting on stage turned everything into a weird blue effect on the phone.
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Interesting- his brother Eugene (recording engineer) worked with Bowie & Queen.
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On the Beach. At. Well. The beach !
Kid Kapichi supporting, and Royal Blood headlining. Something about homecoming gigs that are always special. Absolutely blinding performance
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Tonight, Glastonbury Abbey for Lightening Seeds & Texas.
A tad cool, weather wise, but the promised storm didn’t materialise.
The bands, sound and setting were excellent.
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Dreamland in Margate this evening with my bezzie @Endon. First up was the Happy Mondays. Wasn’t expecting much but they were great - some fab tunes with top notch swearing! Didn’t take themselves too seriously and were all the better do it.
Then followed by Primal Scream. I’ve seen them several times but this was just the best. Great crowd and real connection with the band. Just euphoric at times and everything you want from a live band. Straight into my top 5 concerts of all time. Just sensational
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You’ve even captured a Turner-esque sky in the first shot.
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Why thank you!
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Had a rough fortnight with my Dad taken into hospital and after a week, sadly passing away at the age of 86. We then had his partner staying with us and this has been understandably hard.
Once she had returned home, the Hi Fi could be used again. Snow Dog and I noticed that we were literally bouncing around the house to Editors EBM album - it certainly hit the mark! So knowing they were playing at a festival this last weekend, we made a mad plan to give us both a break.
A 500 mile round trip to Darlington followed to see Maximo Park and the mighty Editors - including a detour to hug the Angel of the North. Storm Antoni produced some big drops of water from the Angel’s wings but miraculously the rain eased off sufficiently. I was driving so …
Snow Dog loves Maximo and Paul Smith was on excellent form. Love ‘Girls Who Play Guitars’.
I posted about an earlier Editors gig as warm up to their time on the festival circuit but this show was cathartic, helped by a great position, the rain stopping and a very friendly crowd.
Tom Smith has become a captivating frontman, not the shy young man we first saw at The Joiners Arms in Southampton many many years ago.
Back home, cremation this week. Spirits lifted. Give ‘Strawberry Lemonade’ a blast - I will be!
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Wow! What a turbulent and emotional rollercoaster you’ve ridden recently.
Having lost my own father @85 in 2020 in a surprisingly sudden manner, I can understand some of what you may have been through.
Never heard anything by “Editors”, which I’m correcting now by listening to EDM as suggested and very good it is too.
Here’s hoping that the events of this week aren’t too challenging for you all.
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Big emotional week hope everything works out. Take care. 
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So sorry to hear this. I lost my Dad last year, so know how you feel. Take time to heel, and look after yourself and your loved ones
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