Siouxsie & The Budgiees and The Cureheads - Boiler Room, Guildford - 1st August 2025

I used to be snooty about tribute bands, but I've come to recognise that they can be a lot of fun and, even where the original acts from 40 years ago are still touring, sometimes better than the real thing!

So, it was that I bought a (modestly priced, another advantage!) ticket to see two tribute bands (which turned out to be a little less than two, more in a bit) at the Boiler Room in Guildford.

The bands were "Siouxsie and the Budgiees" and "The Cureheads" (tributes to the Banshees and Cure, respectively.

When I arrived at the Boiler Room, I was a little surprised to see a notice saying the event was sold out, but there seemed to be a lot of students in town and it was a Friday evening. Inside, though there were few people at 7:40, so I wandered into the garden and waited for a while.

I came back in a little before 8 and bought myself a pint of Guiness (at an eye-watering £8 - I know it helps support the venue, but bloody hell, that's expensive!) and found myself at the front of the crowd in the still quite empty venue.

Around 8, the band appeared. A couple of middle aged blokes (Phil and Nigel) on guitar and bass, a young drummer (whose name I didn't catch) and a woman, Ceri (probably of similar age to the guitarists, but it was hard to be sure in all the makeup and the wig - She went for an early Siouxsie look!).

They started with Israel, a hit, of course, and mostly played well know Banshee's songs, the musical sound was spot on, sounding exactly as they were played in period, but for me, Ceri's voice just missed sounding right. She can certainly sing, but she didn't sound like Siouxsie to me.

That said, it's hard to replicate a distinctive vocal sound and the songs were great to listen to (the sound was excellent, ever word was audible in the mix, which is rarely the case even for supposedly top flight acts) and everyone was undoubtedly having a good time, despite the heat, me included.

I can't recall the full setlist (and am yet to find one even for another recent gig), but they played Happy House, Christine, Arabian Knights, Wheels On Fire, Hong Kong Garden and other hits, all of which received loud applause and rightly so.

There wasn't an encore (I noticed "Dear Prudence" at the bottom of the setlist on the stage floor, so I guess they ran out of time - There was a bit of a delay with a drum kit malfunction), but after a break, about 9:15, the guitarist, drummer and bassist from the Budgiees appeared! Clearly, there was a degree (!) of overlap in these two bands.

For a while, I wondered if (in all the Robert Smith makeup), we might have Ceri back, but it was a different singer, Rabbit Schmidt (according to Wikipedia!).

I'd been impressed with the band's accuracy of Banshees sound, so it was great to hear that they sounded just as accurate playing The Cure tracks.

Of course, for talented musicians, the difficult bit of being a tribute band is getting the vocal sound to sound like the original and they definitely did this better than Ceri had managed, at least to my ears.

I have to be honest and say that I'm not a hardcore Cure fan and there were a lot of songs I didn't recognise at all, but they were (mostly) enjoyable and all performed excellently. The singer did quip a few times that if you'd come with a 'mad Cure fan', you'd recognise the next song.

The ones I was more familiar with included Lullaby, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, Let's Go to Bed and the twon in the encore, Friday I'm In Love and Boys Don't Cry.

The familiar songs were great and sounded very much like the originals to me, allowing for them being played live.

Overall, it had been a great night. Both bands (or versions of the band) were excellent musicians and they performed the tracks with skill and energy, rewarded by a packed house of enthusiastic gig-goers of very mixed ages (some were around when these bands were the new kids on the block, but some, like 3 probably teenage girls in goth getup in front of me, were definitely not even a twinkle in their parent's eyes in the early 1980s).

It was very hot (not quite as bad as when I'd seen The Beat a couple of years before, but I don't think I'd sweated as much since then!), but I'd only ventured away from the front of the packed crowd after the Cureheads main set finished and went home very happy with my night out.

A great night out for anyone who likes Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Cure.

Setlist:
Siouxsie and the Budgiees
TBC

The Cureheads - From another gig, but close
Plainsong
Pictures of You
Play For Today
A Strange Day
Torture
A Night Like This
Push
Lullaby
The Walk
Let's Go to Bed
Last Dance
Kyoto Song
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
A Forest
Encore:
Friday I'm in Love
Boys Don't Cry

St Vincent - O2 Academy, Bournemouth - 30th June 2025

St Vincent (or more accurately Annie Clark) is not a woman who you can easily categorise - You never know what she will do next.

With every album there's a new style/image and sometimes the shift is quite dramatic.

I'd seen her before, on the Daddy's Home tour, where the style was quite 70s and mellow.

They had been at Glastonbury the day before this gig, so I had an idea that this was going to be a hard-rock St Vincent and so it proved to be.

I arrived just before 8 to see one of two support acts just finishing, but I saw so little of their performance I can't really comment on it.

About 8:30, the expected support act, Cult oF Venus, arrived. This is just one woman with a flowing grey gown (a bit like a wraith!), long blonde hair and a box of electrics (which reminded me of the support act for Nouvelle Vague) although she also had an electric guitar.

Her sound was predominantly electronic and she was quite enjoyable, albeit rather etherial and the vocals were a bit lost in the mix (a near universal flaw with support acts!).

Some of the songs were quite melodic and she seemed to have a great voice, but then she'd tweak something on the box and there would be a discordant jar in the music - Odd, but interesting.

She got a good reception and deserved the loud applause when she finished.

We then had a prolonged wait for St Vincent, to the point at which people started slow clapping and whistling no doubt prompted by the fact that it was getting very hot in the venue, despite effective air con, but when the band did appear, at 9:30, that was quickly forgotten.

The tour was in support of the most recent album, All Born Screaming, so obviously we got a number of tracks from that, including the opener, Reckless.

This set the tone, Annie, wearing a grey jacket and shorts, over tights, with shoulder length black hair (rather than the odd blonde wig(?) of the previous tour) and her guitarist played with lots of thrashing and distortion, not heavy metal, but certainly on the loud end of rock.

"Fear the Future" (From her 'Masseduction' album) followed and then, possibly her best known song, "Los Ageless" (a great song and undoubtedly my favourite of hers) from the same album.

The stage looked bigger than I recall it from previous (many) visits to 'The Academy' (it was a nightclub of that name in my late teens/early twenties, so I've known it for many years), with a drummer to the rear right and a keyboardist to the left, and the guitarist and bass guitarist flanking Annie.

We then got another track from the latest album, "Broken Man" and then "Dilettante" during which she forgot to the lyrics and sang/spoke them for a verse, before the band joined in again for the rest of the song.

Another old favourite, "Birth in Reverse" and then "Pay Your Way in Pain", followed by "Flea" and "Big Time Nothing" from the latest album, sandwiching "Cheerleader".

At some point, I forget exactly when, Annie attempted to crowdsurf over the audience, but it seemed those in the front misunderstood her intention and they let her crash to the floor! She seemed ok, although jokingly pretended to have injured her back later on ("At least you have the NHS here").

She seemed pretty relaxed and convivial between tracks, probably talking more than most would have liked (perhaps we could have had another song or two), but it did make her seem a likeable performer, although in one manic moment, she hurled a cymbal stand from the drumkit into the crowd (this was more deftly handled than her, though, being caught by a couple of people before it could make substantial contact), so perhaps she was still a bit miffed about them dropping her!

"Marrow" from an earlier album, "Actor" followed and then "Violent Times" from the new album, which was a bit of a variation in tempo from the rest of the gig and excellent.

Another popular track, "New York" followed and then we had "Sugarboy" and a dramatic finale rendition of "All Born Screaming", the title track from the tour album.

By now we were close to the 11 O'clock curfew, but they came back for one more song, a stripped back "Candy Darling", demonstrating Annie's excellent singing voice after the loud and brash performance of most of the gig, although it had been apparent on some tracks.

Overall, the gig was, I expected, totally different to the last time I saw them. Noisy, thrashy, distorted guitars, even on the older tracks, but it was exciting and energy packed.

As on my first visit to see her, I'd worried that I may not like the performance after the Glastonbury coverage, but again, live, in a small venue, they were great and I'd happily go and see her a third time, if only to see the direction she takes next.

Definitely an imaginative, talented, artistic performer, but one who can put on a show that leaves you energised, entertained and excited.

Brilliant stuff from her and the band.

#stvincent

Setlist:
Reckless
Fear the Future
Los Ageless
Broken Man
Dilettante(Forgot lyrics of second verse)
Birth in Reverse
Pay Your Way in Pain
Flea
Cheerleader
Big Time Nothing
Marrow
Violent Times
New York
Sugarboy
All Born Screaming
Encore:
Candy Darling

The Police 3.0 - Acoustic Couch, Bracknell - 27th June 2025

Once upon a time, I was a huge Police fan.

I never really stopped liking them (and enjoyed Sting's solo stuff in the main), but somehow they dropped off my musical radar for a long while.

Recently, though, I spotted that a Police (and Sting) tribute band were playing in a venue near me, one I'd not been to before. The price was right, so I went along.

I hadn't been to Bracknell for decades, even though it is only about 15 miles from my home and I used to work there for many years - It was pretty unrecognisable to me and I had to use Google Maps to navigate the extensive shopping centre to reach what claimed to be the location of the venue.

All I could see was a very non-descript door, that looked like the outside of a fire exit from a shop or access to a machinery room, but a man standing outside asked if I was looking for the music venue and pointed at the door when I said I was.

Inside the venue is very basic, a large stage area at floor level dominates one end of the room, with a dance floor in front of it and seats and tables (some upturned cable drums) are around it. On the left, as you look at the stage, there was a reasonably large bar area, with very reasonably priced beer (£4 for a pint bottle of Doombar).

I'd arrived about 8:15, so had a half hour wait for the band to appear. I was stood by a pillar and didn't notice, but behind me the venue had filled up reasonably well, with probably 100-150 people by the time the 3 band members made their way onto the stage.

Thankfully (in my view), the 3 men make no effort to pretend to be 'The Police', just concentrating on playing the music.

I'm not a musically trained person, but the tunes sounded pretty decently played. The vocals were a little mixed, though, some sounding very Sting-like, others much less so.

I think 'mixed' is a good summation of the performance, some tracks (especially the more energetic, older ones) captured the spirit and energy of the originals while a few missed the mark.

They started with a Sting solo song, "If I Ever Lose my Faith in You" and then followed it with the Police hit "Message in a Bottle", which got a loud applause.

Most of the songs were singles (the gig was advertised as "The greatest hits of The Police and Sting", so fair enough) and of course, everyone knew them.

Some songs, "Walking on the Moon", "An Englishman in New York" (possibly the highlight for me), "Roxanne", "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "De Do Do" (a song I never liked) were really well performed and got a fantastic response.

I also particularly liked "King Of Pain".

A couple of songs fell a bit short, for me "Fields of Gold" and "Don't Stand So Close" particularly, but overall the songs were well performed and captured the energy well.

The sound wasn't great where I stood. Whether I picked a poor spot, they'd not done a great soundcheck or the venue's solid concrete walls, floors and ceilings don't help, I can't say. It wasn't so bad that the tunes weren't easily recognised, but the vocals were sometimes lost and some harsher notes seemed to dominate on some songs.

The band, though, were likeable and the gig had a very 'feel-good' atmosphere, with people clearly enjoying themselves.

The crowd wanted more and they came back for a last song "Next To You".

For a modest outlay, the Police 3.0 are well worth going along to see if you like the Police and/or Sting and I will keep an eye on the venue's website for future gigs.

Setlist:
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Message In A Bottle
Synchronicity II
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
(Spirits in the Material World)
Walking On The Moon
It’s Probably Me
Can't Stand Losing You
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Don't Stand So Close to Me
So Lonely
King of Pain
Driven to Tears
Wrapped Around Your Finger
Seven Days
Fields Of Gold
Every Breath You Take
Englishman In New York
Roxanne
Bring On The Night
ENCORE
Next To You
Setlist Courtesy of Police 3.0

Johnny Marr - 1865, Southampton - 19th June 2025

I can't pretend I was ever a great Smiths fan in period - I found Morrisey a bit of a tit (waving his gladiolis around, his fake hearing aid and his droning voice) and time has only soured me on him further, but I have come to appreciate Johnny Marr's contribution to the sound of the Smiths and also to Electronic, the New Order/Smiths spin off, and so it was that I found myself back at 1865 less than a week after seeing Heaven 17 there

Like Heaven 17, there was no support and I think this, too, was a pre-Festival season 'test' gig.

The schedule said the band would be on stage at 8, but it was about 8:15 (not too bad) before the 4 musicians appeared.

I'm guessing Johnny Marr dyes his black hair these days, but he still looks trim and fit.

I didn't expect to recognise many of the songs, having scanned back through previous setlists and never, to my knowledge, having heard any solo material.

That didn't really matter, though, as the songs performed where energetic rock performed with vigour and instantly catchy.

He started with a solo track "Generate! Generate!" and then a less well known Smiths track, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" before some more solo material including a couple of new songs, which sounded good and fitted the set well.

He then said "I'm going to play another new one" and we got the opening chords of "This Charming Man" to a roar of appreciation from the crowd, who I suspect were mostly Smiths fans, although quite a few obviously knew many of the solo tracks.

The set continued with a mix of solo and Smiths' tracks, all being greeted enthusiastically, but the latter far more so.

The sound, if I'm honest, wasn't the best, certainly not as clear as Heaven 17 had been the previous week and very loud (writing this the following morning, my ears are still ringing and muffled), which probably didn't help. I was probably about 6 or 7 rows back, further than I'd been at Heaven 17.

That said, the overall effect was energy packed and feel-good and all the songs were well performed and fitted together well. Overall, it was a 'rockier' set than I'd expected, but certainly enjoyable.

The set ended on "How Soon Is Now?" and "Getting Away With It" (the only Electronic song, which was a bit of a disappointment for me).

Obviously, we had the charade of them leaving the stage, although I'm sure a drink was needed, the venue's air conditioning was doing a good job on a very hot evening, but even so it was sticky in the audience and I'm sure not much better on stage.

The first song of the encore was an excellent cover of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger" and then he rounded out with The Smiths' hit "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out".

Marr commented a few times that this was the first gig in a while, but it didn't really show in any rustiness (perhaps it was apparent in the energy?) and I definitely left feeling glad I'd come along to see an artist who I may well not have considered before.

Most of the audience, though, were diehard fans and probably would have cheered as loudly if the gig had been awful.

Setlist:
Generate! Generate!
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before (The Smiths song)
Armatopia
Hi Hello
Spirit Power and Soul
Bring On the Noise (Live Debut)
How Come (Live Debut)
This Charming Man (The Smiths song)
Somewhere
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths song)
Down on the Corner (Johnny Marr + The Healers song)
Panic(The Smiths song)
Walk Into the Sea
Bigmouth Strikes Again (The Smiths song)
Easy Money
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths song)
Getting Away With It (Electronic song)
Encore:
The Passenger (Iggy Pop cover)
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths song)
#JohnnyMarr #TheSmiths #electronictheband #NewOrder

Heaven 17 - 1865, Southampton - 13th June 2025

About halfway through the first song, the instruments all died!

I was back at the 1865 for the second time to see a band I've listened to for 40+ years and who I've seen a couple of times before, but not for 13 years - My last time was in Bournemouth in 2012.

However, I kept seeing reviews saying how good Heaven 17 were in recent gigs and when I saw they were playing a 'pre-Festival' gig at the 1865 (where I'd enjoyed seeing Nouvelle Vague) I snapped up a ticket.

There was no support (rarely a loss) and the schedule said Heaven 17 would be on stage at 8:30PM.

I arrived about 45 minutes earlier, treated myself to a decent pint of beer at pub prices (If only more venues offered this option!) and found myself a few rows back from the stage with a decent view.

As the 8:30 'on stage' time drew nearer the venue filled up and, while I can't say for certain, it looked near capacity to me.

At 8:30 sharp, 3 women appeared and took their places, one behind a large keyboard setup at the rear of the stage and the other two behind microphones to the right (from our viewpoint).

A few moments later a man in a silver suit and a glittery fedora appeared, followed by a taller man in a baseball cap. Obviously most of the audience recognised them as Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory respectively.

Martyn doesn't look that healthy, if I'm honest, despite only being 2 years older than Glenn, who looked quite good, despite the long departure of that mop of golden hair that once was as much part of his persona as his voice.

However, Martyn has always been the background maestro of Heaven 17 (and BEF and the Human League!) and Glenn very much the 'front man'.

Quickly the beats started and I recognised a favourite of mine, "Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry".

Things were going well, Glenn's voice sounded strong, the music was hard to resist moving to (but few seemed to fighting the urge anyway) and then Glenn and the backing vocalists were signing acapella, accompanied by much of the audience.

I (and I'm sure much of the audience) thought this was deliberate, but then Glenn stopped singing well before the end ofthe song.

It seemed the master sound console had 'died' - Not a great start, were we going to get half a song for making the trip?

Luckily not, a few minutes of fiddling upstairs, while Glenn chatted with the audience and the keyboards came back and then the vocalists were singing into their mics and audible and then so was Glenn.

Sadly, they gave up on "Crushed..." and moved onto their next song in the set, although few complained as it was "Fascist Groove Thang" and the glitch was forgotten.

Glenn talked a lot between songs (by his own admission), but we got a set full of old favourites (most were from the first couple of albums), which was probably to be expected and suited a Friday night audience familiar with the band and keen to enjoy themselves.

The set seemed quite 'front loaded' with many of their best known songs early on.

We had "Play To Win", "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" (with an explanation that it was about going out in Sheffield!), "Come Live With Me" and "We Live So Fast".

As at Bournemouth all those years ago, Glenn and Martyn performed "You've lost that loving feeling" as a duo, something Martyn and Phil Oakey did in their Human League days. I could probably have done without that, to be honest, but it seems to be a bit of a 'party trick' for the duo.

After that, we had lesser known tracks "This is Mine", "And That's No Lie" and "I'm Your Money" and then the main set rounded out with "Let Me Go", a very energetic performance of "Penthouse and Pavement" (possibly my favourite H17 track) and then the inevitable "Temptation".

I'd have to say the female vocalist on this wasn't as good as the one had been in Bournemouth and it's not my favourite track, but the crowd loved it and it was energetic.

Glenn said they'd be back if we made some noise, to which the crowd loudly roared and Glenn joked "Not that much noise!"

The encore was 3 covers, sort of.

The keyboard player and Glenn returned first, to perform a slowed version of The Associates "Party Fears Too" in honour of Billy Mackenzie along with the revelation that Billy had given Glenn a whippet!

This was followed by a lively rendition of Bowie's "Let's Dance" and finally "Being Boiled", a song from Martyn's time with the Human League.

The audience loudly cheered and applauded and the lights came up.

So, had they still got it? Definitely! Glenn sounded good and, no doubt, the electronic nature of the music ensures that aspect doesn't disappoint.

An energetic, lively performance, enhanced by an enthusiastic audience meant this was a great night out.

#heaven17

Setlist:
Crushed by the Wheels of Industry
(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
Play to Win
Geisha Boys and Temple Girls
Come Live With Me
We Live So Fast
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
This Is Mine
And That's No Lie
I'm Your Money
Let Me Go
Penthouse and Pavement
Temptation
Encore:
Party Fears Too (Associates cover)
Let's Dance (David Bowie cover)
Being Boiled (The Human League cover)

Martin Fry - The Barn, Ringwood - 28th May 2025

I'd never been to a 'book tour' event before, but the promise of some music between the chat from Martin Fry, front man of ABC, tempted me

We were told there were to be no phones or cameras at the event, so I have no images or video from the performance, but as I couldn't find any reviews before I went I thought I'd post one.

I booked the event at a venue in Ringwood, a town I know fairly well, but had never seen a gig at. Frustratingly, a week or so after booking, I saw he was also appearing in my home town, which would have saved me some petrol!

The venue itself is part of a school (We'd have called it the Assembly Hall in my day, but it's a bit fancier than that). I was a few rows back, but the angle of the seating meant everyone had a clear view of the stage.

As we waited, clips from various videos throughout ABC's career played over an instrumental medley of ABC tracks - It was quite slick.

As you can see, a keyboard and guitar were setup to the left of the stage, with a leather stool centre stage and a comfy armchair and another chair to the right.

At 7:30 (this was no music gig timetable!), the keyboard player and guitarist quietly appeared and took their places and then the lights went down and a voice asked us to welcome Martin Fry to the stage.

Mr Fry is now 67, but is still looking fit and trim, unlike some of his contemporaries.

I forget now if they started with a song or did some chatting first, but he did all the songs from the stool and chatted from the red armchair, where he was interviewed by a bespectacled man.

We got ABC's first single "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow" and "All Of My Heart" from "The Lexicon Of Love", their iconic debut album, along with reminiscences of recording the album and the early days of the band.

Martin talked of their initial gigs in the UK and then touring around the world on the strength of the album and then coming back to Sheffield and the stark contrast that provided to their glamourous hotels and sights around the world, which impacted the style of their (difficult) second album, "Beauty Stab" - I'll admit it was a bit of a disappointment to me when it was released and didn't get played much, but it stands up better on relistening now, without the expectation of more of the same as "Lexicon".

They played "That Was Then But This Is Now" from that album and "(How to Be a) Millionaire" and "Be Near Me" from Zillionaire, which was a spell of greater success in the States for the band.

Martin then talked about his cancer and subsequent recovery, which fell between that and what I think is their second best album, "Alphabet Street", from which we got the famous "When Smokey Sings", the song that bought them back into the mainstream in the UK. Sadly we didn't get "King Without A Crown", one of my favourite ABC tracks.

A funny anecdote about Lady Gaga at the Royal Variety performance followed, along with some recollections of working with Hollywood and a significant missed opportunity to do so and then we had "Viva Love" from the "Lexicon of Love II" (Interestingly he mentioned it started life with the title "Lexicon of Lost Ideals", which might have lessened the burden of expectation the final title gave it) and a new song, "Never get to be the King" before the set rounded out with what Martin described as his signature song, "The Look Of Love".

Someone did video Look Of Love at another event on the tour

After a prolonged applause, Martin said that "It's all about the songs. The ones that changed the world like "What's Going On" and "Blowing in the Wind", but also about the ones you hear once and can never get out of his head and I'm going to pretend I wrote this one" and then performed the chorus of "Escape" by Rupert Holmes.

Sitting down the experience was quite passive, a dislike I have of all seated gigs generally, but in the context of an "Intimate Evening with..." it was acceptable - I've not been to see ABC for some years now, because all their gigs (with a full orchestra) are all seated, which I think is a shame and I wish Martin would tour with a more stripped back lineup again, although I'm sure the orchestral format is more lucrative.

I had no real expectation of the evening, imagining that it'd be a lot of chatting with a handful of songs, so the balance was a pleasant surprise and Martin's voice has held up well (As he mentioned at one point, there is 'nowhere to hide' in an acoustic gig) and I came away pleased I'd come along. #ABCMartinFry

Setlist:
Tears Are Not Enough
Poison Arrow
All of My Heart
That Was Then but This Is Now
(How to Be a) Millionaire
Be Near Me
When Smokey Sings
The Luckiest Man in the World
Viva Love
Never get to be the King
The Look of Love (Part One)
Pina Colada (Escape) - Rupert Holmes Cover

Skinny Lister - The Fighting Cocks, Kingston - 13th May 2025

"I tell people you're the most exciting live band out there today."

This is what I told Lorna of Skinny Lister I say to people about Skinny Lister, as we had a quick chat before the gig.

I first saw them at the West End Centre in Aldershot, where they literally burst onto the stage with the first note of their set and blew me away with the rest of it.

I've seen them since, but due to their relentless touring and recording schedule, recent gigs have nearly all been in the depths of December (It's the same again this year!), so when I saw they were doing an 'album launch' gig in Kingston (for Banquet Records) the day before my birthday with a CD copy of their new album included for just £16, it was a very easy decision to book a ticket as soon as they were available.

I had expected the gig to be at Pryzm, the nightclub/venue I'd seen all the other Banquet run events at, but this was just around the corner in the pub/venue called The Fighting Cocks.

I found the venue easily enough and there was virtually no-one there when I arrived, so I went back to the main bar, where the variety of beers was better, and purchased an excellent Stout.

The venue almost certainly counts as the smallest I've ever been to, making even the West End Centre seem capacious by comparison.

An email had arrived the previous day to say there was an 'issue' with their support and another followed early in the day to say "Man The Lifeboats" where the support - The presence of a support at all marked this out as unusual amongst the 'album release' events I'd attended, none of the others had one.

Two men appeared, one with a guitar and the other an accordian and they described themselves as "two-fifths of Man The Lifeboats" and started their set.

They are not dissimilar in style to Skinny Lister, 'Shanty Punk' being a term the Lister's termed but could equally apply to MTL.

They were lively, entertaining and quite humourous between songs. "We make a bigger noise with a drummer and two more members, but we go out of time a lot more, so this is probably as good as you'll ever hear us", the guitarist quipped after one song.

We even had an impromptu cèilidh at one point, stepping forward and back and clapping, although due to my location, I quickly gave up as I was mainly stepping on people sitting by the wall's feet!

An enjoyable 40 minutes or so passed with Man The Lifeboats, but, of course, we were here for the main event.

By 9PM, the venue was packed and it was feeling pretty hot inside, but that didn't stop the energy or enthusiasm of Skinny Lister or the audience, an interesting mix of 60 somethings and 20 somethings on the whole, all of who seemed to know at least most of the songs.

They started with a couple of songs from the new album, which I'd heard, "Yorkshire Belle", "Plough On", "Set Us Straight" (I hadn't heard that one before) and "Song From The Yonder" (the title track).

Then we had "Wanted", "Bristol Bound" (another new, very catchy, track) and then old favourites "George's Glass", "Tragedy in A Minor", "Unto The Breach", "Mantra" (better live than on the previous album, I felt), "13 Miles" (a great song) and numerous others definitely finishing out the 'official' set on "Rollin' Over", "Colours", "Cathy", "Company of the Bar" and "Trouble on Oxford Street" (their most famous song, perhaps and an energy packed one to finish on.

Lorna then, rather academically, asked if we were in a rush to leave and of course, got a resounding "NO!" and we had two more songs, one of which was a request from the crowd and a young man and woman picked from the crowd came up and joined in (The same happened with a woman who clearly didn't know the words to 'her' song earlier and for a bride to be, who did, for Forty Pound Wedding in the main set - hence the list below isn't 100% right for this venue) for Six Whiskies to end on.

With that it was nearing 10:30PM and as we left, we were presented with our signed copies (a really nice touch, which I hadn't expected) of the album in whichever format we had chosen.

So, were Skinny Lister still "The most exciting live band out there today"? It's a bold claim, but I struggle to think of a band who can so instantly engage an audience and deliver such an energy packed set from end to end, so prove me wrong!

Setlist: (From a different night, but close)
Yorkshire Belle
Plough On
Set Us Straight
Song From the Yonder
Wanted
Bristol Bound
George's Glass
Tragedy in A Minor
Unto the Breach
Mantra
13 Miles
Arm Wrestling in Dresden
Bold as Brass
John Kanaka ([traditional] cover)
Rollin' Over
Colours
Cathy
Company of the Bar
Trouble on Oxford Street
Encore:(more of a continuation really!)
Hamburg Drunk
Six Whiskies
#SkinnyLister