By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHEN?: Saturday 4 June 2022
We’ll be at Glastonbury Festival in 3 weeks’ time and we wouldn’t be surprised if Macy Gray pitches up on the strength of this 4pm main stage slot during which she absolutely achieves the goal of getting this 25,000-strong capacity party started.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Thursday 2 June 2022, tour runs to 18 March 2023
SETLIST: Leader Of A New Regime; Homemade Dynamite; Buzzcut Season; Stoned At The Nail Salon; Fallen Fruit; The Path; California; Ribs; Hard Feelings; Dominoes; Loveless; Liability; Secrets From A Girl; Mood Ring; Sober; Supercut; Perfect Places; Solar Power; Green Light; Oceanic Feeling; Helen Of Troy; Royals; Team
There is a moment during the piano-led ballad Liability when the music goes quiet three-quarters of the way through, a fan shouts ‘We love you’, Lorde looks genuinelly moved and the crowd responds with a crescendo of applause.
By Aline Mahrud
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, booking until 28 May 2023
SETLIST: The Visitors; Hole In Your Soul; SOS; Knowing Me, Knowing You; Chiquitita; Fernando; Mamma Mia; Does Your Mother Know?; Eagle; Lay All Your Love On Me; Summer Night City; Gimme Gimme Gimme; Voulez Vouz; When All’s Said And Done; Don’t Shut Me Down; I Still Have Faith In You; Waterloo; Dancing Queen; Thank You For The Music; The Winner Takes It All
Can 2 seemingly opposed theories co-exist? Could this celebration of live music be its biggest threat?
By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, tour runs to 6 October 2022
My admissions pre-review: I’m a sort of fair weather Heaven 17 fan plus akin to Princess Di’s statement that there were three people in her marriage, there are three people in my relationship. Me, Mr Humdrum and Martyn Ware.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Thursday 26 May 2022, tour runs until 12 November 2022
SETLIST: Night Call; Sweet Talker; Consequences; Sooner Or Later; Shine; Muscle; Play; Sunlight; Sanctify; Worship/Rendezvous; Desire; Hallucination; Up In Flames; Here; 20 Minutes; Eyes Shut; It’s A Sin; Crave; Starstruck; If You’re Over Me; King
Years and Years’ frontman Olly Alexander appears onstage in a see-through telephone box singing Night Call, the title track of his new 3rd album, and it immediately makes us think of Doctor Who.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Sunday 22 May 2022, tour runs until 16 October 2022
SETLIST: Suburbia; Can You Forgive Her?; Opportunities; Where The Streets Have No Name; Rent; I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore; So Hard; Left To My Own Devices; Single – Bilingual; Domino Dancing; Monkey Business; New York City Boy; You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk; Jealousy; Love Comes Quickly; Losing My Mind; You Were Always On My Mind; Dreamland; Heart; It’s Alright; Vocal; What Have I Done To Deserve This?; Go West; It’s A Sin; West End Girls; Being Boring
We popped our Pet Shop Boys live cherry in 1989 at the old Wembley Arena and this greatest hits gig means we’ve seen the duo, we think, 14 times across each of the last 5 decades.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Thursday 19 May 2022, tour runs until 24 May 2022
SETLIST: Trash; Filmstar; Lazy; By The Sea; She; Beautful Ones; Starcrazy; Picnic By The Motorway; The Chemistry Between Us; Saturday Night; It Starts And Ends With You; Killing Of A Flashboy; Can’t Get Enough; The Power; Flytipping; We Are The Pigs; The Wild Ones; So Young; Metal Mickey; Animal Nitrate; New Generation
Most of the gigs we go to these days are in London by Tube and it’s a joy to be able to walk door to door on a balmy evening from Raval to Poble Nou in less than 50 minutes.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Tuesday 3 May 2022, tour runs until 16 November 2022
GRIFF SETLIST: Say It Again; Walk; Forgive Myself; One Foot In Front Of The Other; Head On Fire; One Night; Shade Of Yellow; Black Hole
DUA SETLIST: Physical; New Rules; Love Again; Cool; Pretty Please; Break My Heart; Be The One; We’re Good; Good In Bed; Fever; Boys Will Be Boys; One Kiss; Electricity; Hallucinate; Cold Heart; Levitating; Future Nostalgia; Don’t Start Now
We arrive early at this venue because we want to see support act Griff who was named the Rising Star at 2021’s BRIT Awards and released her debut album last year.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Friday 15 April 2022
SETLIST: Felt Mountain; Paper Bag; Pilots; Deer Stop; Human; Hairy Trees; Road To Somewhere; Eat Yourself; Moon In Your Mouth; You Never Know; Black Cherry; Utopia; Lovely Head; Ride A White Horse; Strict Machine; Train; Oompa Radar
An hour into tonight’s show and singer Alison Goldfrapp announces from the stage that she wants to take a picture of the audience and instructs us to get to our feet.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Wednesday 30 March, tour runs until 6 March 2023
SETLIST: Take Me Home; Disco Inferno; Wild Forever; Over and Over; All Night Long; Hypnotised; Mixed Up World; Young Blood; There Are Worse Things I Could Do; Love Is a Camera; Dancing Queen; Get Over You; Lady; Groovejet; Sing It Back; Crying At The Discoteque; Like A Prayer; Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer); Murder On The Dancefloor; Our House; My Favourite Things
It’s hard to imagine this Kitchen Disco Tour being quite so successful if Sophie Ellis Bextor hadn’t broadcast shows live from her home on social media featuring her family during the Covid lockdowns.
