Out of 2022 – Into 2023

2022 followed in 2021’s wake, in that motivation continued to be lacking. Bizarrely, I had spurts of ambition and often planned a lot of things (& even started stuff), but then I just couldn’t follow it all through – #MindTheBand and #MindTheBard are two cases in point. I got some things written but it was like […]

Sound of 007

Never one to take the cheaper options in life, James Bond’s 60th anniversary celebrations began early with an intimate bash at the Royal Albert Hall, with roughly 5,000 in attendance for The Sound of 007 in Concert. Curated by prolific Bond composer David Arnold, the evening saw performances of a variety of theme songs and […]

Stereophonics: Oochya! (The Brighton Centre)

Saturday 26 March 2022 is a date that will live long in the memories of music fans across the world, being the date (for most) that heralded the news of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death at the age of just 50. A desperately sad day, though made incredibly special & poignant as the tributes […]

#MindTheBand 2022: Diary

This time round I’ll be out & about quite a bit each day, whether I’m off to work or on day trips, so I thought it would be worth the effort of the diary post idea for 2022. As always, my daily endeavours will find their way onto my Instagram stories, so do keep an […]

Challenge Week 2022: Mind The Band (Keeping Up With The Joneses)

For once, an idea that I’ve had up my sleeve for a little while – though that doesn’t mean it’s fully formed, by any means. As 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the Stereophonics’ first ever album release, Word Gets Around, I decided that the only possible theme for this particular challenge week was the Phonics […]

Kaiser Chiefs: Not Playing The Hits

One thing’s for certain: throughout this period of shutdown, Kaiser Chiefs have not been idle. If they haven’t been re-recording one of their most well-known songs with lockdown lyrics, they’ve been participating in listening parties and playing at Royal Albert Home. To top it all off, they’ve now performed a special gig which put the […]

The Wind + The Wave: livestream 1

I’ve been lucky enough to see The Wind + The Wave (Patty Lynn & Dwight Baker) in concert three times in just under a year: twice supporting Kelly Jones on his 2019 tour and once a few weeks ago, backed by a full band, supporting Stereophonics. They run their own podcast (The Dwight & Patty […]

Hurry up and wait…

One month ago today I was sat in a theatre for what I fully expected to be the last time for quite a while. SOLT had closed all of its theatres even as audiences were beginning to arrive; the United Kingdom government, when it eventually acknowledged we needed daily briefings, began doing them at any […]

The Script: Sunsets & Full Moons (O2 Arena)

Three Irishmen walk into the O2 Arena… No, this isn’t a setup for a terrible dad joke, but a description of my Saturday night! I’ve been trying to go to more gigs over the past couple of years, as music has been in my life a lot longer than theatre but I’ve managed to let […]

Seth Lakeman: A Pilgrim’s Tale (Southwark Cathedral)

Immigration continues to be a hot topic the world over, so it’s rather interesting to note that 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower – an early example of Europeans migrating to America. It wasn’t as simple a process as you might have expected; a selection of the travellers had previously […]