Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Rock City, Nottingham

 Supported By Night Beats

Tonight Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are back in Nottingham to mark the 20th anniversary of their third studio album ‘Howl’ but first, from Texas, we have Night Beats who sadly do little for me. 

I find them quite repetitive and tedious playing some form of Country and Western garage music. The crowd reaction isn’t helped by them not being very talkative. In fact, no one speak to us at all until half an hour in when the lead singer announces a song he wrote with BRMC’s Robert Been. 

Been comes on stage to play piano on it, at first standing up and then occasionally kneeling. After that he picks up the bass guitar and stays until the end of their set as they play another three songs. He even contributes on vocals and suddenly their set gets a lot better. 

So, to BRMC who tonight become the latest one of my favourite bands to play one of my least favourite albums in full and in this case not in order but I clearly shouldn’t be selfish. Everyone else, including the band, clearly rate the record as one of their best. 

We kick off with ‘Devil’s Waitin’ played in the dark by someone dressed as a monk, with the hood over their head. It’s all very atmospheric. This is Peter Hayes while presumably Robert Been is still getting his breath back from his sojourn with Night Beats. 

Then they’re both on stage for ‘Shuffle Your Feet’ with Leah Shapiro joining them on drums before Been takes the lead on ‘Howl’. As usual, from there onwards, they share the spotlight on guitars and vocals. 

The show features, as you would expect, almost every track from ‘Howl’ along with many other non-Howl crowd favourites such as the likes of ‘Red Eyes and Tears’, ‘Beat the Devil's Tattoo’, 'Spread Your Love', 'Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll' and 'Berlin'. All more my sort of thing.

They also slot in an impromptu performance of ‘Windows’ from the ‘Baby 81’ album which they admit they haven’t played in a long while but then run out of time and have to truncate the rest of the Howl section. 

 They finish with ‘Shadow’s Keeper’ and head back into the shadows. 

Babyshambles, Rock City, Nottingham

Supported by Sweet Return, Another Day & Max Bianco

Utter chaos is how we used to describe any Peter Doherty gig and to a point that’s how I would describe tonight but its all to do with trying to cram as many bands onto the roster as possible. 

 On the bill tonight we have Another Day who are preceded by a guy reading a rather long poem which I’m not sure was an effective use of their stage time. He then gets to play tambourine and maracas while the rest of the band get lively. Notably they don’t let him near the microphone again. The actual lead singer finishes the set with a back flip, which is impressive and a much better exit than their entrance. 

There's also Sweet Return who are pretty decent and do a song with the Babyshambles Drew McConnell on vocals. They leave a very good impression on the crowd. 

There was also Max Bianco, who apparently was on earlier but no one was here then. So, they invite him back for one more song before the Shambles come on. 

So, chaos so far but the chaos that once accompanied Doherty’s bands is now long gone. Tonight Peter Doherty describes his own band as dependable and he’d be right. We are thoroughly entertained by the grown-up version of the Babyshambles we last saw over ten years ago. They even look, whisper it, rehearsed. 

They kick things off in an energetic manner with ‘Killamangiro’ and ‘Delivery’ for what is the liveliest crowd I’ve seen at Rock City for a long, long time. It’s totally brutal down the front. 

Doherty himself is in fine form and, much as he was with the Libertines here last year, having the time of his life. Looking better and slimmer than for a long time. He’s even drinking orange juice. Between songs he keeps referring to the massive folder of Rock City gigs that he’s pinched from the dressing room where they have it on display. He shows it the crowd as he namechecks many of the great artists to have played here. 

The set includes everything you’d expect from the band, working through the albums 'Down in Albion' and 'Shotter's Nation' alongside 'The Blinding' EP but totally forgets the totally forgettable 'Sequel to the Prequel', their third ‘might have been more of a solo’ album from 2013. 

They close the main set with the new single ‘Dandy Hooligan’ with his wife Katia on a blow keyboard thingy (is that called a melodica?) and the whole thing with a raucous ‘Fuck Forever’, which Doherty dedicates to someone who should have been here tonight, founding member Patrick Walden who tragically died earlier this year. 

Heaven 17, Octagon Centre, Sheffield

Storm Claudia ensures I have a vile drive up for Heaven 17’s hometown gig at the Octagon Centre in Sheffield. The venue is sold out but is still roomy. Perhaps that's deliberate for us oldies.  

Tonight's support comes from Rusty Egan’s disco. Egan was the drummer with Visage as well as being in many other bands. Tonight, being a DJ is almost all there is to it as he plays the hits of the 1980s. He does play us one track from his new album which is called ‘Stranded’ which apparently he has recorded with Peter Hook and he tells us he wants to film us for the video. So, we all wave. There is no sign of Peter. 

Then at ten past eight someone comes on stage and taps him on the shoulder. Clearly telling him he's ran out of time and to get off the stage. So, he does. 

There are minimal stage changes to do between bands as he didn’t have much kit and Heaven 17 don’t use fancy things like guitars, so there’s none of them to tune either. But hang on. Is that a guitar I see? Wasn’t these fancy guitar things the reason Martyn Ware left the Human League? 

But then I’m distracted from my thoughts as the lights drop and ‘Crushed by the Wheels of Industry’ thunders from the stage. This has always been a favourite of mine but my first thoughts tonight are WTF is Martyn Ware wearing. Closely followed by my second thought that Glenn Gregory still has a very strong voice. I try to concentrate on the music without being distracted by Ware’s jacket and his fedora.  

The two of them are joined on stage by two backing singers, Rachel and Kelly, along with keyboard player Florence Sabeva. The other ex-Human Leaguer, Ian Craig Marsh, left the band in 2006. 

‘We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang’ is next and aligns with the message Gregory’s chest. It is a song that shouldn’t be relevant these days, referencing as it does a rogue President of the United States in Ronald Reagan, but obviously it is. Then it’s ‘Play to Win’, the song that got them on ‘Top of the Pops’. 

Between tracks, Gregory and Ware banter with each other. They talk about the old days, the Human League, and the fact they met up with Phil Oakey today in Fagans Irish Bar. They say they tried to get Phil to guest with them tonight and do ‘Being Boiled’ but they failed. He wanted to rehearse whereas they were just happy to see how it went. Then they play ‘Geisha Boys And Temple Girls’ which is about a night out in Sheffield. 

An excellent ‘Come Live With Me’ is followed by Gregory doing the first part of ‘We Live So Fast’ on an acoustic guitar. Wow, I didn’t know he could play and he was really good. Then we blast into the full version. 

The set list comes mainly from their first two albums but their second, non-album, single ‘I'm Your Money’ makes an appearance but is curtailed when someone is ill in the crowd. Then once everyone is alright again we get a sing-along to ‘Let Me Go’. 

 

At the end of the main set they leave the three girls alone on stage to start ‘Temptation’ while Martyn Ware gets some big feathers on. 

After a short break, Gregory and Florence Sabeva start the encore with ‘Party Fears Two’. This is a song by The Associates that they sung at Billy MacKenzie’s memorial. It’s a little bit emotional. 

The next song, a cover of Bowie’s ‘Let's Dance’ is just plain odd and then they close with the previously mentioned ‘Being Boiled’ but without Phil obviously.   

This is the first time I’ve seen Heaven 17 live but then they didn’t even do a tour until 1997. Ok, so I’m still thirty years late to the party but I’m here now.

Feeder, Academy, Leeds

I arrive at the Academy and the queues are massive. It takes ages to get in which is inexcusable really but I eventually get in, get down to the front and even get a pint. However, I have already missed half of the support band. It was 7pm doors for a 7:30pm support act. That never really works until your venue is tiny. The Academy is far from tiny. It’s only at this point that I realise that I may booked through 02 Priority. Which I thought was just priority for getting a ticket and not queueing but I think I may have been able to queue jump. Next time! 

 

The support band are called Everyone Says Hi and are a super(ish) group named after a David Bowie song. They feature Nick Hodgson the former drummer from Kaiser Chiefs, Pete Denton the former bass player from The Kooks, Ben Gordon from The Dead 60s, Glenn Moule from Howling Bells and local Leeds guitarist Tom Dawson. They are decent, extremely competent but very dull. 

And so to Feeder playing their 2002 album ‘Comfort In Sound’. This is the first night of the tour and therefore their first ‘album in full’ show after constant nagging from their fanbase. Although I must say not particularly for this album but it’s an understandable choice for a first stab. This is the album that finally catapulted them into the big time and the arenas. The record has been remastered for the occasion and there will also be a live album, which is another first for the band. 

It is also an emotional album for everyone as it was the first one written and released after the suicide of the band’s drummer Jon Lee when we weren’t even sure that the band would continue. It’s a fragile record about lived experiences and tonight they turn this into an almighty attribute to Lee. 

 

We’re in order so that means we’re straight into ‘Just The Way I’m Feeling’ for which having the lyrics up on the big screen makes it even more moving. Meanwhile the band remain mute as regards talking to the crowd for the duration of the album. A decision that makes it even more dramatic and emotional. They simply get on with it, with no fuss but plenty of style. 

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m no great fan of full album shows, as all bands have albums with stuff we want to hear again but also stuff that are fillers. I’d much rather bands just dig out the rarely played oldies that people are asking for but I also get this is about savouring a whole body of work and tonight their performance of it is flawless. 

 

Among the ones that everyone has been wanting to hear again are ‘Find The Colour’, which comes with great visuals of Jon Lee, and ‘Forget About Tomorrow’, a potent reminder to appreciate every day. Both of which were singles back in the day. Personally, I am particularly stoked to hear the glorious ‘Helium’ played again. 

The last track on the record is ‘Moonshine’ and, at its conclusion, we are left with a huge photo of Jon amid loads of claps, cheers and chanting until the lights finally go out. Once again, I’ll use that word - emotional. 

The playing of the album was much better than I expected and, to be fair, totally blew me away. So that shows you how little I know about playing whole albums. However just when you think they can’t top that, the encore steps things up a level. 

 

It starts predictably enough with a totally acoustic solo ‘High’ from Grant which is as sublime as ever, followed by the ever present ‘Feeling a Moment’ and a pumping ‘Pushing The Senses’ but then we get two never played b-sides from the ‘Comfort In Sound’ era. 

‘Feel It Again’ is in many peoples Feeder top 10 but has only been played once ever at a festival. It sounds amazing tonight. While ‘Opaque’ has never been played before and is just awesome. Both tracks were b-sides to ‘Come Back Around’ which was the opening single from the album and their comeback record after Jon Lee’s death. So, all very appropriate and now I can die happy. 

One finally twist tonight is that while they finish with the usual tumultuous ‘Just A Day’ they don’t play ‘Buck Rogers’ and, you know what, nobody dies. 

Despite my misgivings this has been their best set in years. Comfort In Sound, it’s all around. Indeed. 

Belly, Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

Tonight Belly are at a sold-out Rescue Rooms as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of their second album ‘King’. 

There is no support act and as we wait for the band to play the first of two sets we listen to an oddly Kim Deal heavy selection of warm up music. 

Then they come on stage to play the first of two sets which sees them perform ‘King’ in full in its original order including the likes of the very rarely played ‘L'il Ennio’. 

‘King’ was released in 1995 and was meant to be the album that built on the success of their first in 1993. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen for them and Tanya Donelly broke up the band a year later. 

It wasn’t until they got back together ten years later that their third album ‘Dove’ was recorded in 2018. Which was the last time they were in Nottingham and as bass player Gail Greenwood says there seems to be plenty of repeat offenders here tonight. 

The songs still sound great today and while I’ve always thought I preferred their first album, now thirty years on I’m not so sure. The likes of ‘Puberty’, ‘Superconnected’, ‘Now They'll Sleep’ and ‘Seal My Fate’ all sound amazing this evening. 

After just a 15-minute break they come back on to play a second set throughout which Donelly repeatedly apologises for messing up and starting songs in the wrong key. Not that we’ve noticed. 

 

The set opens with the b-side ‘Thief’ but thereafter leans heavily on their debut album ‘Star’ as they rattle through ‘Dusted’, ‘Gepetto’, ‘Low Red Moon’, ‘Slow Dog’ and ‘Feed the Tree’ with ‘Human Child’ from their third album ‘Dove’ in the middle. Then they close the set with another off ‘Dove’ in ‘Shiny One’ 

They return for a one song encore, the slow building ‘Full Moon Empty Heart’ and then that’s it for another bunch of years.