My first gig for over a month; I was beginning to suffer from withdrawal feelings! The gig also afforded me the opportunity to meet up with old school-chum Steve Gash once more, his sister Joanne (whom I hadn’t seen since about 1976) and regular gig-goer Rob Mellor, all of which made for a memorable night out. 🙂
There’s also a ‘professional’ review of this gig at Metal Planet Music website.
Jayler
James Bartholomew (guitar, vocals) / Tyler Arrowsmith (guitar) / Ricky Hodgkiss (bass) / Ed Evans (drums & percussion)
Another band that was new to my ears, I primed myself by listening to their 6-track EP, ‘A Piece in Our Time’, on Spotify and a fine recording it is too. As a result, I was very much looking forward to seeing the band live.
The publicity machine tells us that “Jayler are a hard hitting energetic young rock band from the Midlands that produce a full-on energetic rock set. Inspired by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Greta Van Fleet, they leave the crowd screaming for more.” which all sounded very promising indeed.
What you actually get for your money is Led Zeppelin. I kid you not. And the use of the word “kid” there is highly appropriate too. When singer Bartholomew called out “How are ya feelin’?” I shouted back “OLD!!” because I did. These were just lads in their late teens at best. My pal Steve later chatted to guitarist Arrowsmith at the bar who revealed that he is 19 and that they had been together for three years already. Ah, the innocence of youth. As to the band’s name – and I’m guessing here – it looks like they’ve taken the names James and Tayler to come up with ‘Jayler’. I could be wrong of course.
Anyway… Led Zeppelin? Well, yes. Bartholomew declared that “we love the 70s and want to bring them back from the grave” and this they really do. Clearly styling himself upon LZ front man Robert Plant, both visually and sonically, he sported an open shirt and sang in Plant’s unmistakeable style, transporting me back to the raw Zep of the early 1970s. And Arrowsmith also clearly fancies himself as Jimmy Page-lite too, even down to bowing his guitar at one stage. The similarities in approach and song-writing (all their own material, by the way) were both uncanny and blindingly obvious.
And they were good. Playing out a necessarily short set of only six songs in thirty minutes they went down really well. It was very noticeable that there was quite a contingent of folk wearing black ‘Jayler’ t-shirts and it would seem that their band of acolytes is growing at a very healthy rate. It also struck me that the middle-aged chap in front of me, bedecked in the aforementioned t-shirt and giving it his all throughout their set could easily have been one of the lads’ dad! 😀
In conclusion, if you get chance to see Jayler, do; they are excellent. But I wouldn’t worry too much if you don’t catch them immediately because I think that they will be around for quite a while. They most definitely have a future in the game.
The setlist here couldn’t be more accurate; my grateful thanks go to Jayler guitarist Tyler Arrowsmith who kindly supplied it.
Setlist: Acid Rain; No Woman; When You Go; The Getaway; Lovemaker; The Rinsk
Kira Mac
Kira Mac (aka Rhiannon Kira Hill) (vocals) / Joe Worrall (guitars) / Phil Williams (bass) / Loz Reilly (drums & percussion)
And so to the main course of the night. I first came across this band when Kira and guitarist Joe Worrall played an acoustic set in support of The Sweet in December 2022 and they were very good albeit with a very short set. Back then I determined that I would hunt them out again if they ever played a full gig nearby, and so here I was!
The band’s publicity informs us that, “Kira Mac, the UK’s hottest rock sensation, is reinventing the classic genre with a a modern twist. Their music bursts with the raw power of old-school rock, fused seamlessly with contemporary flair, soulful melodies, and a generous dose of rock ‘n’ roll attitude. This dynamic band, a diverse collective of musicians hailing from various corners of the UK, serendipitously crossed paths in the heart of Manchester in 2018. United by a shared passion for crafting authentic music inspired by working-class struggles, they embarked on a journey to create something truly extraordinary. Kira Mac’s influences span the rich tapestry of rock and diverse musical genres. Their unique talent is honed from grassroots beginnings, rooted in an unbridled love for music’s eclectic and acoustic dimensions. Fronted by Rhiannon Hill’s powerhouse vocals, and Joe Worrall’s blistering guitar skills, and Bret Barnes’ bass playing, the band delivers a fresh take on rock ‘n roll songwriting with a distinctive sound. Kira Mac is poised to set UK stages ablaze once again, bringing their electrifying sound to festivals and live shows. Brace yourself for a rock revival like no other, led by the unstoppable force that is Kira Mac! “
And they were great. Kira is a really ballsy singer with one of the best female voices out there in the rock world right now. And she looks good too (yes, I know it’s a misogynistic comment but, let’s face it, it’s an image that she is keen to project) although tattoos are not to my liking, but I am obviously in the minority where they are concerned.
The tone for the next ninety minutes was set with the opening number, ‘Save Your Whiskey’, a power rocker which led into more songs from the band’s excellent debut album. In fact we got every song from the ‘Chaos is Calling’ album plus several new ones as yet not committed to vinyl/CD/stream (there is, apparently, a new album in the pipeline).
After a hectic first half dozen or so songs, concluding with Spotify‘s most-played Kira Mac song, ‘(Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman) Scorned’, we settled down for an altogether quieter, acoustic session, beginning with Kira on her own. I have to own up and say that this is where I went wrong in my recording of the song titles. I have no idea what Kira played on her own, but when she was joined by Joe Worrall I think that they played ‘Say Something’ by Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton, followed by their own ‘Back for More’, and ‘Imagine What We Could’ve Been’, (both songs taken out of the original KM sets and unlikely to be played again after this tour, apparently) before finishing this section with the Oasis song ‘Half the World Away’, but the order could be wrong. Maybe someone will be able to correct me?
And then the full band was back on stage and straight into some new songs and a few oldies. They were rockers, one and all, with a very raw, bluesy feel, songs which were going down really well with the audience. I don’t know how their album sales are faring, but one would guess that the CD and LP sales of their debut album, together with the streaming figures suggest that this is a very popular band, one that is on the up. They gig hard and fully deserve the rave reviews online for both their recordings and their performances.
Even though Kira was the obvious focus of attention, there were nevertheless opportunities for the other members of the band to hog a bit of limelight (with the exception of drummer Loz Reilly). Everyone up there was clearly having a ball as was the audience. There were cheers when required, “Hey!”s as required and the odd shout from the floor in response to things that Kira said, most notably when she told us about being ill for the few days previous and that she’d had an accident with the flies on her trousers. “Don’t you worry about that!” was the comment from the floor.
And what was the blonde girl dashing around the stage all about? Surely she could only have been filming for a DVD or YouTube? She was on and off the stage more often than a stressed roadie, circling individual musicians and catching audience reactions too. Perhaps something to look out for in the future? 🤷♂️
The final two songs of the encore came around too soon, although I will admit that my old back had given out long before then and I had retired to the balcony where I could sit for a while but still hear and glimpse the band through a forest of bodies.
All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable evening of great music with a really good band which is on the up, and an enthusiastic audience. What more could a rock fan ask for?
As to the setlist, it’s as accurate as I can get right now. All was going well until the acoustic section when things were changed around from previous lists featured on setlist.fm and from then on it just went to pot! I think that the second half is correct but if you know better then please get in touch.
Setlist: Tribute (Tenacious D taped intro); Save Your Whiskey; Dead Man Walking; Chaos Is Calling; Play the Game; No Way Out; Scorned; This Song (Kira solo acoustic); Say Something (Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton cover); Imagine What We Could’ve Been (Kira & Joe acoustic); Half the World Away (Oasis cover) (Kira & Joe acoustic); Whiskey on You (Kira & Joe acoustic); You Oughta Know; Hit Me Again; Hell Fire and Holy Water; Never Going to Stay; Mississippi Swingin’; Farewell; Climbing; Encore: Downfall; One Way Ticket
Paul Canning (acoustic guitar, vocals)
10cc were originally four highly talented musicians who composed short(ish) songs with great hooks and melodies, occasionally straying into prog-land (‘Une Nuit à Paris’, ‘Somewhere in Hollywood’, ‘Don’t Hang Up’, ‘Feel the Benefit’ etc.) and were also wonderful wordsmiths whose lyrics were always witty and clever. Gouldman is, of course, the only original standing member (how good would it be to see all of the four originals back together? 😢) although both Burgess and Fenn have been with the band since Godley and Creme walked away back in the late 1970s. Burgess had been touring with the band from 1973 as Kevin Godley stepped from behind the drum-kit on stage. I also have an LP by Rick Fenn, a collaboration with Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason with contributions by Dave Gilmour, and very good it is too.
As promised by the tour title, what followed was a blast through their greatest hits. Performed with enthusiasm and no little skill, the audience was captivated from start to finish, joining in with rhythmic clapping when appropriate and, by the end, up on their feet and dancing around. The band has so many great songs in their back-catalogue, I don’t think that they missed out any of their most popular ones. My personal highlight was the very proggy ‘Somewhere in Hollywood’ and I was delighted to see that this was accompanied by another specially produced Godley video featuring the man himself on lead vocals. Brilliant! That song came, of course, from the ‘Sheet Music’ album; it’s my favourite and it must be generally acknowledged to be one of their very best because the band played five songs from it.
As a footnote, I do have one little memory relating to ‘The Original Soundtrack’ which I recall buying somewhere around mid to late 1975 from what used to be Rowntrees department store (now part of the Brunswick Shopping Centre) at the top end of Westborough, Scarborough. This was a treat for myself as a reward for a traumatic after school visit to the dentist on York Place where I flaked out after an aborted extraction caused me much pain. I would love to be able to say that when I came around in a small side room I responded like Chevy Chase who, after fainting in the action-comedy film ‘Fletch’, asks the nurse…
Gong
me. So why did I attend this gig? Well, I’ll be honest – the fact that this was a ‘double-header’ at a bargain price, and it was relatively close to me in Nottingham was all the encouragement that I needed. You can, however, imagine my disappointment to discover only days after buying my ticket that they would play Lincoln just two days later, which would have involved a much shorter journey. Hey-ho.
Ozric Tentacles
Michelle Plum (guitar, vocals) / Nick B. Hall (guitar, vocals)
Their debut album ‘Thundercloud’ (Splid Records/Proper Distribution) was voted one of The Guardian and Observer’s Hidden Gems and their second studio album ‘The Ghost Of Noise’ was released May 2020 during the first lockdown to critical acclaim. They have built a loyal international audience through their live performances online and onstage.”
Their short, 30-minute set passed the time pleasantly enough, my personal highpoint being ‘Uniondale’, a story about life in South Africa. The pair were quite chatty and entertaining.
Even with the deaths of previous members Dave Swarbrick and Sandy Denny and the later migration of bassist Ashley Hutchings and guitar maestro and lyric-writing genius Richard Thompson the current line-up of Fairport still manages to read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of folk-rock Royalty. Simon Nicol (founder member and ex-Albion Band), Dave Pegg (ex-Jethro Tull), Ric Sanders (ex-Soft Machine and Albion Band), Dave Mattacks (ex-Albion Band, and many other artists) and Chris Leslie (session artist for many including the Albion Band, Ian Anderson and All About Eve) are consummate musicians all. But I have to confess that whilst I have always been aware of the band I had never been to see them. I also know the names of the albums that they made in the 70s: ‘Unhalfbricking’, ‘Liege & Lief’ and ‘Babbacombe Lee’ for example, but I couldn’t name you a single song that they had recorded, a sad situation that has now been rectified. 🙂
With obvious links to both folk and prog there was always going to be something in there that would appeal to me, hence my decision to finally catch them at this late stage of their career. The band had been touring for a few months presenting an ostensibly acoustic set, but as this gig promised the addition of Dave Mattacks on drums to liven it up even more (who knew that he could also play the electric piano and could double up as a ‘cheap’ percussionist with a circlet of bells around his left ankle?) and was ridiculously local for me (nine miles away) I decided to strike while the iron was still relatively lukewarm.
It was an interesting handover from Plumhall who had Fairport accompany their final song, the band then staying on stage and launching into long-standing set opener ‘Walk Awhile’ and from there on every song was loud, clear and enjoyable. If each song had a back-story, then we were told it (‘Hawkwood’s Army‘ was particularly interesting, as was the Ralph McTell connection behind ‘The Hiring Fair’), and the fact that the band interacted well with the audience was a real bonus (although I could have cheerfully done without Sanders’ session of crap jokes). Highlights for me were ‘Hawkwood’, ‘Hiring’ and the brilliant ‘Matty Groves’, which Nicol described as “a bona fide folk song with nineteen verses, all in the right order if you’re lucky, and only two chords because, let’s face it, that’s all you need.”
Brian Gulland (bassoon, trombone, crumhorn, recorder, keyboards, vocals) / Graeme Taylor (guitars, vocals) / Dave Oberlé (drums, percussion, lead vocals) / Rob Levy (bass) / Andy Findon (winds & reeds) / Clare Taylor (violin, keyboards)
And… forty-eight years! That’s how long it has been since I last saw Gryphon 
Gigs'n'Stuff 