Phoebe Green @ The Cluny 28/11/22

We saw Sunflower Bean at Cluny 2 earlier this year, but amazingly this has been the first Cluny gig the three of us have been to together in 2022.

Andrew picked out Phoebe Green as an option to get us together to watch someone new. I heard her album for the first time this morning.

We managed to get there early for a good chat. A pint each (all different shades) and a burger and fries was the order of the day. We then headed into the venue to watch the support.

My pint on the right may look bad, but it was tasty!

There weren’t many in for the support act, but those that were had a little chilled out treat (and a slight chilly temperature). Nell Mescal played an enjoyable set with a The 1975 cover thrown in for good measure.

We headed out into the bar area to grab a coffee, but the machine had been switched off and seemingly couldn’t be turned back on. We guessed the nuclear reactor must have needed to fully cool before it could safely be turned on again.

At 9pm Phoebe Green and band (including her sister) took the stage. A tight and enjoyable 45 minute set followed. Considering I knew nothing, the set flew by. She has a good sound. Pretty and powerful. It reminded me of Pumarosa with some definite shades of Billie Eilish. I’ll definitely be throwing some tunes on my playlist.

I don’t have a lot more to add. This was probably the penultimate gig of 2022 with one more next month. It was a nice entry into a near full year of gigs (just January being covid affected).

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Lightning Seeds & Badly Drawn Boy @ Boiler Shop, Newcastle 11/11/22

We were looking for a November gig. The price of this one put us off having seen the Seeds last year, but it’s been over a 15 years since we last saw Badly Drawn Boy. You never know what mood Damon will be in and can never be sure how long you are going to get. Anyway, Ste & I took the risk. It was worth it!

Badly Drawn Boy took the stage in his usual unassuming fashion to a fairly subdued welcome. At the end of the first track Damon was clearly irritated with the sound. He seemingly couldn’t hear himself and was muttering into the mic and gesticulating to someone at the side. A few songs later he apologised for how poor it sounded and seemed like he was ready to leave. A warm reassuring reception from the crowd seemed to change things round for him and he settled in to deliver a career spanning set.

He probably played a perfect set for me. I’d happily have had Disillusion, but otherwise he played good versions of everything. He seemed to genuinely have a love for the area – reeling off names of places he visited as a kid. He noted at the last gig we saw of his in 2007, that he didn’t really like Silent Sigh, but he closed with it…and it was brilliant.

We met up just before the gig. No food planned, but consumed a pint of one of the decent ales that the Boiler Shop always have on offer.

We saw the Lightning Seeds last year at a local festival. They played a singles heavy set then, but this one was different with tracks from the new album and some deep cuts.

Ian Broudie has never had the most powerful live voice. It loses some of the shiny poppy element that the studio production gives, but he was in fine voice. The set drew heavily from their classic Jollification – 6 songs from that, but with 4 from the latest album and Dizzy Heights and 2 from each of their first two, you got a nice “sense” of Lightning Seeds history.

The encore was marvellous. A crowd sing a long with a cover of Be My Baby, followed by a full length version of Marvellous. They closed, in advance of the World Cup, with Three Lions. I shouldn’t still get goosebumps from the song, but I did. Amazing.

It was well worth the admission fee!

Quality double header gig tonight. The rather brilliant @badly_drawn_boy was up first followed by the supreme @Lightning_Seeds #agigamonth2022 pic.twitter.com/wV70QC43uA

— Chris Williams (@cwblueroom) November 11, 2022