Sorting through the unlistened to live recordings in my collection, I found a show from Jackie Leven, recorded in Essen, a year before he died. Jackie’s shows were as renowned for his storytelling as his singing, often laugh-out-loud funny, always in a thought provoking manner. Anyway, I spotted a description of this song introduction as being about Randy Newman, who I’m a huge fan of, but it’s also, as it turns out, about Joni Mitchell, who I’m an even bigger fan of. Not only that, but it features one of my all time favourite Joni Mitchell songs. So I figured I had to post it here and share it with the world. In my diary for four weeks ago is the rescheduled Jackie show at…
WHEN Laura Marling last visited Nottingham, a little over three years ago, she was a shy 18-year-old playing to a packed Rescue Room. Since then, she’s grown her hair, her band and her music, taking on new influences and widening her sound. Aided by a Brit award, she’s also grown her audience. The packed Concert Hall reminded Laura of her Quaker school assembly hall, and made her nervous. The lovely Don’t Ask Me Why merged into Salinas, at the end of which she broke a string. Marling abandoned the song, apologising for her lack of suave repartee while she changed guitars. She turned out to have some patter, though, telling us that she nicked the idea for the title track of her first album…
We arranged an overnight stay in Sheffield after a preview of the Crucible’s new production of ‘Democracy’ and booked to see a studio matinee of ‘Benefactors’ as an afterthought. ‘Democracy’ hasn’t opened yet, so I won’t go on about it much. Very good performances, good production and interesting subject matter, but not a great play. Too stodgy, too many people telling each other stuff that they already know. Too much politics to fit in. Still, I’d always rather see something that’s over ambitious and it gave us loads to talk about. I knew nothing about Benefactors before booking, other than – I suppose – that it was supposed to be a good play. And it’s sunny out, so I don’t have time to do it…
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS, ROCK CITY MARCH 7TH This review was written for the Nottingham Post. In the UK, the Dap-Kings are best known for backing Amy Winehouse on ‘Back To Black’, but their regular gig is with veteran soul singer Sharon Jones. An eight piece band, with two backing singers, the Dapettes, they played fifteen minutes of warm-up, including a terrific rendition of Howard Tate’s classic, Stop. Then Sharon Jones stormed on stage to sing He Said I Can. In a set dominated by tracks from recent live album ‘Soul Time’, Jones showed that, when it comes to funk, she’s the best in the business. What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes and When I Come Home were highlights, with audience members…
This is an extended version of the review that appeared in yesterday’s Nottingham Post, (the headline for the edited version wouldn’t have been my choice!) with added personal reflections. Over at the Playhouse, they’re reviving ‘Forever Young’, about a home for retired panto players. Each of tonight’s frontmen is in their early 80’s, yet none is ready to hang up his wind instrument yet. They can’t need the money, but is it love, or habit? A very full house came to find out. I’ve never reviewed a jazz show before, since I know my limitations and, while I go to several jazz gigs every year, I don’t have the breadth of musical knowledge to write well about them, so would rather fork out a few…