By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Friday 23 August 2024, festival runs through Sunday 25 August 2024 (press pass)
Storm Lilian didn’t have a ticket, but she certainly queued up all night to get in.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
WHEN?: Tuesday 20 August 2024, show also runs twice on 27 August 2024. RUNTIME: 60 minutes (no interval)
Malone won this year’s Olivier for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Operation Mincemeat and here encores with the best song from that show Dear Bill.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
SETLIST: Old Friends; No One Is Alone; There Is Nothing Like A Dame; Fever; (When I Marry) Mister Snow; It Might As Well Be Spring; In Buddy’s Eyes; Losing My Mind; Rent (Outtake); With So Little To Be Sure Of; Children Will Listen; Before The Parade Passes By; So Long Dearie; You Gotta Get A Gimmick; Send In The Clowns; Being Alive; Kramer’s Song
WHEN?: Monday 12 August 2024, tour runs in the US through 23 November 2024
Yesterday was the hottest day in the UK so far this year and Peters certainly raised the temperature even higher in London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Lightning Seeds setlist: Change; Sugar Coated Iceberg; Sense; Perfect; Whole Wide World; You Showed Me; Lucky You; Pure; The Life Of Riley
Madness setlist: One Step Beyond; Embarrassment; The Prince; C’est La Vie; NW5; My Girl; The Sun And The Rain; Hour Of Need; Wings Of A Dove; Lovestruck; Run For Your Life; Bed And Breakfast Man; Shut Up; Round We Go; Mr Apples; House Of Fun; Baggy Trousers; Our House; It Must Be Love; Madness; Night Boat To Cairo
The Uptown Festival returned for its 2nd outing on Blackheath in south-east London and Camden’s ska/pop band Madness were the suitably raucous headliners.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHEN?: Friday 26 July, tour runs through 29 November 2024
SETLIST: Girl Goodbye; Hold The Line; 99; Pamela; Jake To The Bone; Georgy Porgy; Burn; I’ll Be Over You; Stop Loving You; Little Wing; I’ll Supply The Love; Little Wing; A Thousand Years; Stop Loving You; Home Of The Brave; With A Little Help From My Friends; Rosanna; Africa
It’s a perfect summer night for an outdoor gig and this American super group arrive on stage shortly after this unusual venue’s advertised 9pm opening time.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Sunday 21 July, tour runs through 28 July 2024
SETLIST: Agnus Dei; Montauk; Millbrook; Sanssouci; He Loved; Peaceful Afternoon; The Art Teacher; Old Song; Early Morning Madness; Gay Messiah; Ready For Battle; So Long, Marianne; Poses; Dinner At Eight; Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk; Going To A Town; Hallelujah; La Complainte De La Butte
Tomorrow is Wainwright’s 51st birthday and the only gift he asks from us is our forgiveness that he’s not playing the song Barcelona from his debut album.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Thursday 18 July 2024, co-headline tour runs until 19 July 2024. Suede booking until 23 August 2024. Tickets Manics booking until 24 August 2024 Tickets
SETLIST: Manics: You Love Us; Everything Must Go; Motorcycle Emptiness; This Is Yesterday; You Stole The Sun From My Heart; To Repel Ghosts; Little Baby Nothing; Your Love Alone Is Not Enough; Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier; A Design For Life; La Tristessea Durera; Walk Me To the Bridge; Kevin Carter; Orwellian; From Despair To Where; No Surface All Feeling; If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Suede: Turn Off Your Brain And Yell; Trash; Animal Nitrate; The Drowners; We Are The Pigs; The Only Way I Can Love You; Still Life; New Generation; Film Star; Antidepressants; Saturday Night; She Still Leads Me On; Shadow Self; The Wild Ones; So Young; Metal Mickey; The Beautiful Ones
The concept of a two-for-one deal is well understood and tonight a couple of bands who rose to UK chart-topping fame in the 90s each complete 17-song sets.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: (work in progress)
WHEN?: Monday 3 June 2024, running through 26 June 2024 RUNTIME: 70 minutes without interval
Released in 2023 Gervais’ comedy special Armageddon was the global number 1 most-watched show on Netflix but, as he explains here, it takes a great deal of nights like these to hone new material and see whether it lands before taking it out on tour proper.
By Aline Mahrud
WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
WHEN?: Friday 31 May 2024
SETLIST: Today, Tomorrow, Sometime, Never; We Know Better; I Can’t Imagine The World Without Me; Iris Art; Father, Ruler, King, Computer; Fear Of Flying; Car Fiction; Worms And Angels; Insomniac; Natural Animal; On, Turn On; If The Dogs Don’t Get You, My Sisters Will; Scream; Great Things; King Of The Kerb; Dark Therapy
We 1st saw Echobelly on a balmy Sunday afternoon at Glastonbury playing 9th on the bill behind Oasis (8th), Chumbawamba (6th), Pulp (5th), Radiohead (3rd) and Blur (2nd).
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
SETLIST: In The Name Of Love; Science Fiction; Lies; Lay Your Hands On Me; Runaway; If You Were Here; Shooting Star; Psycho Killer; The Gap; Day After Day; Sister Of Mercy; No Peace For The Wicked; You Take Me Up; Who Can Stop the Rain; Doctor! Doctor!; Hold Me Now; We Are Detective; Storm On The Sea; Love On Your Side
WHEN?: Friday 17 May 2024, tour runs through 28 July 2024
We tell Bailey before this gig that the 1st concert we ever went to was the Thompson Twins at the old Hammersmith Odeon, now the Eventim Apollo, on our 14th birthday 40 years ago and he’s genuinely thrilled.
