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The Stacey Brothers' Big Band Steely Dan Project: The Royal Scammers at Ronnie Scott’s, London – 20/01/2024

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  The Royal Scammers are a Steely Dan tribute band formed of Jeremy and Paul Stacey, and their 14-piece big band. I only came across these wonderful musicians a few weeks ago when I saw they were playing a six-night run at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, and managed to snag a last-minute ticket for the final night. As a massive Steely Dan fan who hasn’t seen the band since their last UK show in 2019, and with no upcoming dates on the horizon, I figured a highly regarded tribute band playing at London’s most prestigious jazz club was the next best thing.   Shortly after arriving at Ronnie Scott’s and being led to a front row table (where I was so close to the stage, I was practically touching the keyboard), the Royal Scammers arrived on stage and kicked off the set with a fabulously glossy rendition of ‘Peg’. While the unique vocal tone of Donald Fagen is unmatched, The Royal Scammers lead vocalist Andy Caine showcased a powerful vocal that fully delivered on the far-reaching range required f
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Roxy Music at the O2 Arena, London - 14/10/2022

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While I have been to many Bryan Ferry solo shows over the last decade, I had never seen him play as part of Roxy Music, alongside fellow band members Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson. I was therefore ecstatic when, earlier this year, it was announced that the band would be reuniting for an anniversary tour celebrating 50 years since the release of their self-titled debut album. Starting in America last month, the tour concluded last week with a run of shows in the UK (their first since 2011), culminating with a date at London’s O2 arena. Ferry has always incorporated a heavy mix of the Roxy catalogue into his solo shows, and while much of this material has taken on stripped back arrangements and relaxed tempos – perhaps to accommodate his softer vocal delivery in recent years – it was always a treat to hear favourites and unexpected rarities played in intimate venues with solid acoustics. With all this in mind, there was an element of concern mixed in with my excitement
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Sting at the London Palladium - 20/04/2022

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Last week I saw Sting play the penultimate date of a six-night residency at the London palladium. The concerts, which had been rescheduled multiple times due to the pandemic, were in support of his 2019 release My Songs – an album featuring reworked versions of Sting’s most popular tracks, both as a solo artist and as part of The Police. Having followed the 2019 setlists for this tour, which mostly mirrored the album’s tracklist, I was initially expecting a similar “greatest hits” style setlist for the London dates. Then last year, Sting released a new studio album titled The Bridge , half of which is now being incorporated into the post-pandemic My Songs tour setlists. Accompanied by Ukrainian cellist Yaroslava Trofimchuk, Sting opened the set with a hauntingly sombre acoustic rendition of his 1985 song ‘Russians’, which has recently been re-released to raise funds for Ukraine charities. His band then joined the stage to launch straight into a blazing ‘Message in a Bottle’, and
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Bryan Ferry - Royal Albert Hall 2020

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The last gig I went to was Bryan Ferry’s March 13th 2020 show at the Royal Albert Hall, the second of two dates at the venue. The gigs were Ferry’s final performances on a run of tour dates that would be cancelled due to the pandemic, and more poignantly, the final full-capacity events to take place at the iconic venue – and quite possibly anywhere else – prior to lockdown. The concerts have now been released on a live album with all proceeds being shared between Ferry’s band and crew members in an effort to support them during what has been an extremely challenging time for the live music sector. This live release is a welcome memento of what was my favourite Ferry show in recent years. While the musicianship is always excellent, the setlists in the past few tours had not differed all that much, with each passing tour offering up just a few new song additions among a sea of setlist staples. However, the 2020 shows were hugely refreshing with revitalised setlists that drew largely f
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The Silver Seas - Moonlight Road

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From the classic, well-crafted pop of 2006’s High Society and its follow-up Chateaux Revenge , to country inspired fourth release Alaska , the Silver Seas are a band who have continued to musically evolve with each new record. However, latest album Moonlight Road marks their biggest transition yet, with a shift towards a wholly electronic sound. On Moonlight Road , the acoustic pop folk and catchy melodies – elements that all their previous albums shared – have been replaced with programmed drums, keyboards and layered vocals. In this respect, the album bares similarities to Josh Rouse’s 2018 release Love in the Modern Age , a comparison that is perhaps unsurprising given Daniel Tashian’s involvement as a co-producer on Rouse’s record. However, whereas Love in the Modern Age draws influence from 80s music, Moonlight Road’s electronic arrangements take a more fresh approach. Long-time fans of the Silver Seas may initially find Moonlight Road to be somewhat jarring in places, such i
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John Mayer UK Tour - October 2019

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O2 Arena, London - 13/10/2019 O2 Arena, London - 14/10/2019 Manchester Arena - 18/10/2019 On his latest tour, John Mayer took the unique approach of forgoing a support act in favour of delivering two full headline sets. This is a very exciting concept that more artists seem to be embracing. A gig without an opening act allows the artist more freedom to play what they want, while pleasing fans with a more varied setlist. In Mayer’s case, with no new album to support since 2017’s The Search for Everything , the setlist possibilities were endless, adding a further sense of excitement to this tour. With this in mind, and as a fan of Mayer’s earlier work, I attended all three UK shows with the hope of hearing more rarities from his debut album Room for Squares and its follow-up release, Heavier Things to balance out his more recent material. The first of these shows at the O2 was solid; the overall performance showcased a decent mix of Mayer’s back catalogue, though the rarities
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Steven Wilson at the Copenhagen Opera House - 21/02/2019

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I’m pretty much a newcomer to the music of Steven Wilson. Though familiar with a few tracks from his former band Porcupine Tree, it’s only in the past few months that I have begun to explore his solo work, starting with latest release To the Bone and working backwards through his catalogue. I therefore attended Wilson’s recent gig at the Copenhagen Opera House as very much a casual fan looking to expand my ear on more of his music, in addition to hearing how the songs that I was familiar with, would transpire to the beautiful live setting of the Opera House. This gig was one of the final dates in support of To the Bone , an album which, while – as typical of Wilson – is dark lyrically, is not as conceptual as previous releases Hand. Cannot. Erase and The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) . Musically, To the Bone takes a more mainstream pop/rock direction – a perhaps brave departure from the prog rock genre that Wilson is renowned for. The set began with a short fil
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