Peter Steward

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Concert Reviews

Over the years I have attended numerous rock concerts and for many years wrote and edited a rock music column in the Norwich Evening News under the glorious title of "Here and Now." I still go to the University of East Anglia, Norwich Waterfront and Norwich Arts Centre when I can although I have been rather more selective in recent years.

In this section I will try to recall some of the concerts I have attended and tell you about the only time I have left a concert before the end, concerts that have been a huge disappointment and artists that have surprised me.

It all started back in 1972 with possibly the two best gigs I have been to, both in the same year. Both were important for introducing me to the music first hand of what were to be two of my most important musical influences.

One of the concerts took place at Harlow Playhouse and the other at Harlow Technical College where I was studying journalism at the time. Thanks for the marvel that is the Internet I have been able to date these two events.

The first I have covered at length elsewhere on my site. November 13th, 1971 was the first time I had seen Barclay James Harvest. They instantly became my favourite group and have maintained that status to this very day. The other concert was David Bowie at Harlow Playhouse on March 20th 1972.

I remember vividly that performance. So below from the mists of time to the present day I will start to build up my concert memories. I will miss many, but be patient as the memory needs additional fuel at my age. Some of these reviews have appeared on various other web sites.

November 13th 1971 - Barclay James Harvest - Harlow Technical College.

It was a long wait. I don't really know what I was doing there anyway. The college's social secretary Steve Clarke told me he had signed an interesting band by the name of Barclay James Harvest. Steve, like me, came from Norwich and went on to become a respected rock critic. I was at a loose end that evening so decided to pop along.

I seem to remember there were a succession of bands, all of whom I thought were BJH. They were all interminably boring and I very nearly went back to my digs. Thankfully I stayed. I have to vote this my greatest gig ever if for no other reason than it changed my musical life forever.

In modern day parlance I was simply blown away by their prog rock. I pretended to a friend that I knew their music (that's the kind of thing you do when you are 19, not wanting to sound ignorant). I agreed that Mockingbird was sublime without having heard it.

After 35 years I still think Mockingbird is sublime and now I've heard it hundreds of times!!!! I loved the performance, I loved the "exploding" organ at the end of After the Day, I loved the whole feeling of theatre. It was a night to remember and one I will never forget. I have written at length about BJH on this site, but this really was a musical experience of the best kind.

March 20th 1972 - David Bowie - Harlow Playhouse

I had been a Bowie fan from my schooldays - but that was the Bowie of Space Oddity and the pseudo Anthony Newley period. None of that could prepare me for this appearance. Bowie was sensational.

I'm sure his act was split into two. The first half featured him at the piano, mainly doing material from Hunky Dory (which today remains my second favourite album of all time behind Barclay James Harvest's Once Again). It was a subdued and beautifully poignant set.

The after the break we were treated to one of the first glimpses of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I remember Trevor Boulder's ridiculous side-burns, Mick Ronson's superb guitar playing but above all Bowie's regenerated presence. This was electric with a capital E and my rock world would never be the same again. At the time I had no idea that I was in the presence of real genius. It wouldn't take time to find out.

May 21st 1973 - David Bowie - Norwich Theatre Royal

Excerpt from diary written at the time: "I went to see David Bowie concert which was very disjointed and loud and he did nothing with the acoustic guitar and gave no encore. Apart from that on several of the songs he just missed the notes completely. Afterwards I drove home and went to bed at 11.40 p.m."

If memory serves me correctly I attended the second of two evening performances which sounds as if it was just too much for his voice.

May 24th 1973 - Monty Python at Norwich Theatre Royal

I remember this as a tremendously fun evening. As soon as John Cleese walked on stage the audience broke out laughing. Vividly remember the Dead Parrot sketch and the concert got a mention in Michael Palin's diaries. Made the following entry in my diary at the time - "The show was really funny and a good tonic." and that really sums Python up.

June 2nd 1973 - Tempest at Lowestoft South Pier

I believe that Tempest were a hybrid super group combining jazz and rock. Reading through my old diaries shows me that after the concert I went back stage to meet them to do a report for the local newspaper on which I worked at the time. My diary entry records the following - "After a couple fo drinks we (myself and John Andrews another reporter) went backstage and talked to the group which consisted of John Hiseman, Alan Holdsworth, Ollie Hassell, Paul Williams and Marc Clarke. They turned out to be an extremely loud and raucous group." I presume the last remark was a comment on them as human beings and not their music.

March 15th 1998 - Jimmy Webb - Cambridge Corn Exchange

On Sunday 15th March, 1998, I enjoyed one of my defining musical moments when I attended an Evening with Jimmy Webb at Cambridge Corn Exchange.

The evening had a kind of surreal feeling thanks to the fact that only about 150 turned up. I found this difficult to come to terms with. Here was arguably the greatest living songwriter, playing in the heart of England and just 150 people there to listen to the genius of his music.

Through the evening, however, I gathered the distinct impression that the artist himself is happy playing small, more intimate venues and this certainly came over in the wonderful rapport he had with what was a small but very knowledgeable audience.

I have never looked upon Jimmy as a performing artist - believing his voice to be two tremulous and too thin to carry off his songs. How wrong I was. His interpretations of his own songs was masterful and his piano playing stunning.

It is rarely that I focus 100 per cent on an artist, all too often there are distractions. Not with this concert. During the songs you could hear a pin drop - such was the spell that this man wove. And at the end I was left with the feeling that we had only heard such a minimal part of this great man's output. So many great songs were left out, that it was all too easy to want so much more. Above all it made me realise the stunning output of songs from this man's pen over so many years.

Above all I will remember the concert for his own versions of MacArthur Park and The Moon's A Harsh Mistress - both were better than any version I have ever heard even eclipsing Richard Harris' "Park" and Judy Collins' "Mistress."

It was a wonderful night - far exceeding my expectations.

At the risk of being pretentious I have elected Jimmy Webb into my own Music Hall Of Fame which is designed to give my reflections on those artists who, over the years have musically meant the most to me and had the biggest effect on my life. Jimmy Webb will join the following initial list of inductees: Harry Chapin, Barclay James Harvest, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Phil Ochs and Pink Floyd.

For each inductee I hope to build up my particular memories of their music and what is has meant to me. I will also include links to what I think are worthwhile sites on the artists.

Jimmy Webb is one of the few artists who has his own web site which can be contacted at Jimmy Webb

You will find plenty of news and views on this site and I have actually e-mailed him personally on a couple of occasions and received replies which suggests that he really cares about his fans.

On my own site I am attempting to log Jimmy's songs - a vast job as there have been so many versions of some of his classics. I would like to hear from anyone who can add to my list. Have a look at it at Jimmy Discography

My memories of Jimmy Webb's music go back to my teenage years, although it must be said that I'm only six years younger than the man.

I have to take you back to a bungalow where I lived with my parents just outside Norwich. I remember taping MacArthur Park on a reel to reel machine and listening to it virtually every day, particularly when helping with the washing up!

For some reason that song still embodies the sunshine of springtime for me particularly with those opening words: "Spring was never waiting for us girl, it ran one step ahead as we followed in the dance." That apart much of the lyrics were incomprehensible - much like some of my earlier poetry.

That, however, added to the power of MacArthur Park. So many people have tried to define it over the years. I prefer to just enjoy its mystic feeling. Here was a song that destroyed the three minute single mould. The fact that it got played on national Radio One spoke volumes for its originality.

I simply loved it to bits and, as you will see if you look at my all time top 100 tracks on this site you will see that the Richard Harris version has only been eclipsed by one other song.

There are a number of songs which helped develop my love of music and MacArthur Park is right up there at the top.

I can't remember at the time whether I was aware of Jimmy having written the song, possibly that came later. At that time I was probably more interested in the voice of Richard Harris. There is more about Richard Harris as a singer at the following link Richard Harris

This was shortly before I left home to attend journalism college at Harlow in Essex. I well remember buying a number of Richard Harris albums around that time including "Love Songs", "A Tramp Shining", "The Yard Went On Forever" and "My Boy." I loved each and everyone of them and suddenly became aware that most of the tracks were written by Jimmy Webb. So I transferred my allegiance to the songwriter as the instrument of providing Harris with such wonderful songs.

"A Tramp Shining" and "The Yard Went on Forever" have now been released on CD as the Jimmy Webb Sessions. The songs are still wonderfully poignant and just as important to me.

Jimmy writes difficult songs with many key changes and this is so evident on "A Tramp Shining". The quirky side of his writing is evident again on the title track of "The Yard Went on Forever." But by this time Jimmy was showing that he could write simple songs that stayed in the mind. One of these from "The Yard" album was the wistful "That's the Way It Was."

At college most people laughed at my love of Richard Harris apart from one soulmate who enjoyed his music. Gradually as we talked our emphasis moved away from the Irish singer to the "guy who had written the songs."

I think it was this point that fostered my love of finding out about the writers of songs as well as the artists. Suddenly I realised that here was a man who could provide heart-rending melodies. What came out on disc by various artists was the sum of his many parts.

That's what slightly annoyed me at the Cambridge concert. If Glenn Campbell or Art Garfunkel or any of the other artists who have recorded Webb classics appeared they would have sold the venue out almost immediately. Here we were in the presence of the genius who provided their material and the place was barely one-quarter full.

The guy I sat next to looked around him: "Some people have no taste" he said. My reply was simple: "The ones in here have very good taste, the ones outside don't." He simply smiled and nodded.

Anyway I digress. The college experience of the Webb works spilled over into my working life where music came a vital part of my relaxation process. I automatically bought albums with Jimmy songs on them - even without hearing them. His name on the credits was good enough for me and if he produced them so much the better. The only other producer I would buy without hearing the product is Van Dyke Parks.

It was in this way that I bought an album by The Supremes, produced by Jimmy and featuring his material. Now I have never really liked the Supremes, but this album was excellent particularly for the song "Where Does Brown Begin."

My love of Jimmy's music has continued over the years although I must admit that some of his solo albums have left me a little cold although "Lands End" is very enjoyable.

On that March night in Cambridge many of those memories came flooding back. I was left to reflect on the past but also to look forward to many more golden Jimmy Webb moments.

Today, thanks to articles in the likes of Q magazine and the New Musical Express, Jimmy is becoming something of a cult artist and his ability as a songwriter is perfectly highlighted by the diverse collection of songs written by him on a new Compilation "And Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain." The title is a reference to one of the many obscure lines from "MacArthur Park."

November 9th, 2006 - John Lees' Barclay James Harvest - Norwich University of East Anglia

From November 13th, 1971 at Harlow Tech to November 9th, 2006 - that's how long my Barclay James Harvest "career" spans.

Back in 1971 they forever set the standard for me for rock music. Little did I think that almost 35 years later I would be listening to the self same songs. I imagine that at the age of 19 I didn't even have a concept of what 35 years was!

So I had a feeling of almost light-headed euphoria as I waited with friends for the UEA appearance.

It is many years since I last saw BJH. I think it might even have been their 25th anniversary tour and it was a sobering thought that three-fifths of last night's band probably weren't even born when John and Woolly were writing most of these excellent songs.

The band was tight without destroying the spontaneity of the playing and John, hunched over his guitar in typical style, was spot on all evening.

Woolly was a real star - playing to the audience and seeming to enjoy every minute. He made reference to returning to Norwich and certainly I have seen the band at least five times in the city at three different venues.

As I listened to the likes of Galadriel, Mockingbird, The Poet and After The Day I tried to transport myself back to how I felt in 1971.

Today I cannot remember much about that defining evening - who I went with, whether I had too much to drink, how I got home - but I do remember being "blown away".

More than anything this 2006 concert taught me that you cannot return to the past but you can keep the memories alive.

If I have one criticism of the show I would have liked to see John smile a few times. He seemed to be struggling to enjoy the evening (something I'm sure that wasn't the case) and I would liked to have heard more from him and more about the songs that have meant so much to me over the years.

It was almost as if the band was actually Woolly Wolstenholme's Barclay James Harvest.

Musically it was excellent. Mockingbird has undergone a number of changes over the years, none of which have destroyed its beauty and Medicine Man was blistering. Suicide? was another highlight and The Poet/After the Day brought a fitting climax and should have been the last number. That's only a personal preference, however, as Hymn has never been a great favourite of mine.

I was sorry that She Said wasn't included. I had seen the set list before the evening so knew exactly what to expect. It is sad that there is no longer such a thing as a genuine encore in rock music. The return to stage to play one, two or three more numbers seems nowadays to be totally planned rather than spontaneous.

But these are all minor moans in what was a memorable evening.

Ray Davies - Brighton Conference Centre 2007

I have a thing about frontmen who either trot out meaningless drivel or treat the audience with disdain by virtually ignoring them. Great bands and artists communicate with their audience. And nobody does it better than Ray Davies. This evening was a delight.

I had previously seen Davies in his one man show (a slight misnomer as he was accompanied by a guitarist) in Norwich. That night he wove his songs around a story of his life. I was expecting a similar thing at Brighton, but this turned out to be a full electric band and excellent they were too.

It is a strange thing that bands can be put together who as far as musicianship goes are hugely superior to the original. It is difficult to think of the original Kinks being this good although sadly I never saw them to be able to make a valued judgement.

Davies worked his way through all the classic Kinks material - hit after hit after hit - that reminded us that here was a genius of British/London songwriting and a man who has influenced so many others. Whether Davies is the greatest writer of the Biritish rock song ever is debatable but he's certainly up there with the best.

Above all the great thing about this event was the way in which Davies inter-reacted with the audience and the amount of fun he seemed to be having - a consummate professional still at the top of his game.

And just when we thought it was all over, the audience had stopped dancing and the lights were starting to go on, he returned to inform us he had forgotten to play one song. We were then entertained to the greatest song ever written about London "Waterloo Sunset." I for one went home very happy and singing that particular song for the rest of the night.

December 19th, 2007 Rick Wakeman - Norwich Cathedral

What a huge disappointment this turned out to be. Billed as Rick Wakeman in Concert gave an entirely wrong impression. I am aware that my views on this concert will not be shared by the majority of a very attentive audience who were more than happy with the concert and who gave the ensemble a standing ovation at the end. The setting was as magnificent as Norwich Cathedral always is but we knew we weren't in for a rock concert when a middle aged man started proceedings by telling us where the fire doors and toilets were located. At that point it felt more like being on an aircraft than being in the presence of one of the world's greatest keyboard players.

I was aware that there would be a Christmas feel to the concert as this had been underlined in the local press when I purchased the tickets. I wasn't quite prepared, however, for an entire evening of carols and mainly Christmas music that became little more than a professional carol service.

Wakeman accompanied readers, singers and choirs without ever showcasing his ability. I longed for him to let rip on a keyboard solo but the closest we got was a replication of his work on Cat Stevens' Morning Has Broken. Indeed any one of thousands of keyboard players could have provided the accompaniments.

Yes musically it was fine, but the whole evening was soulless and having spent £50 on two tickets (I accept that the money went to Cathedral funds) I was rather disappointed to have to pay an additional £2 for half a polystyrene cup of mulled wine.

December 20th, 2007 The Blockheads featuring Phill Jupitas - Norwich Waterfront

If Rick Wakeman had been soulless the same couldn't be said about the Blockheads 30th anniversary bash at Norwich Waterfront. It does say something for the allure of Ian Dury that the last time the band played the city they sold out the UEA, but this time could only manage to much smaller Waterfront venue and it wasn't full.

This was, however, a raucous and excellent evening. Jupitas filled Dury's shoes as well as any man could and had an excellent repartee with the audience. The band was as tight as ever with Norman Watt-Roy proving once again that if there is a better bass guitarist on this planet I have still to see them.

The band worked their way through virtually every Dury classic. As Jupitas said at one point it was a great honour to sing the lyrics of the great man. Dury's music is timeless and, with Chas Jankel, he wrote some of the greatest fun pieces in British rock music.

And they played for just short of two hours which isn't bad in these days of bands getting in, getting on and getting out. Of course with plenty of swearing and obscenities being thrown around it wasn't one for the faint hearted or for those easily offended.

The support act was a London singer-songwriter by the name of Tony Carling. He started off okay with a couple of mildly amusing ditties before becoming very samey and going on for far too long. In the end I think he amused himself more than the audience.

June 9th, 2008 Judy Collins - Norwich Arts Centre

To start with I couldn't believe that one of my all time musical heroes would be playing Norwich Arts Centre as part of a very short tour of England. Whoever books acts for this venue is a musical genius.

I didn't actually believe that Judy would appear until she was physically on stage. It just seemed too good to be true.

And the concert was as good as I had hoped for. Judy Collins connected with her audience in the way that only American artists seem to be able to do. It was a highly knowledgeable audience who sang along with many of the songs. Judy was a very modest and gracious host and an example to the younger generation of singer-songwriters who seem to have so little to say and who say it in a rather aggressive way.

Judy took us on a musical journey through her back catalogue from her days as a raw folk singer to the mature material of the later stages of her career. It produced a wonderful evening of music featuring songs by Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Harry Chapin and Judy herself. Anybody reading my pages will know of my love for Jimmy Webb and Harry Chapin and so this was always going to be an outstanding evening and so it turned out.

Judy's voice cracked on a couple of occasions but that really didn't matter. When you have material this strong, a wonderful stage presence and an obvious love of what you are doing it comfortably papers over any small cracks. When I told people that I was going to see Judy Collins many of them said "who." That is a comment on the intransigence of music. I suggest these people get hold of one or two albums and give them a serious listen to uncover an endearing artist who has been performing since the 1950s.

August 1st, 2008 The Feeling - Newmarket Racecourse

An outdoor setting after evening horse races at Newmarket and a very strong one hour set from one of the poppiest and most successful bands of the last couple of years. There is a homely feel about the Feeling prompted by the fact that most of their songs are instantly recognisable and well crafted. Newmarket in the open air was an excellent setting.

Reviews of the following will appear once I have tracked dates down etc

Barclay James Harvest - Norwich Theatre Royal

Barclay James Harvest - University of East Anglia ( two concerts)

Barclay James Harvest - St Andrew's Hall

The Handsome Family (Norwich Arts Centre)

Mike Baxter (Norwich Arts Centre)

Joan Baez (Cambridge Corn Exchange)

Josh Ritter (Cambridge Corn Exchange)

Spiritualised (Norwich UEA)

Muse (Norwich UEA)

John Stewart (London)

The Strawbs (King's Lynn)

The Strawbs (Norwich Arts Centre two concerts)

The Editors (Norwich UEA)

World Party (Norwich UEA)

Starsailor (Norwich UEA two concerts)

Franz Ferdinand (Norwich UEA)

The Von Bondies (Norwich UEA)

Don McLean (Norwich Theatre Royal)

Tom Paxton (Norwich Theatre Royal)

Art Garfunkel (Norwich Theatre Royal)

Ray Davies (Norwich St Andrew's Hall)

Ray Davies (Brighton Conference Centre)

Cord (Norwich Arts Centre)

The Crimea (Norwich Arts Centre)

The Zombies (Norwich Arts Centre)

I Am Klute (Norwich Arts Centre)

Scissor Sisters (Norwich Waterfront)

Cooper Temple Clause (Norwich UEA)

Biffy Clyro (Norwich Arts Centre)

Ralph McTell (Norwich Theatre Royal)

Ralph McTell (Norwich St Andrew's Hall)

Longview (Norwich Waterfront)

Mostly Autumn (Norwich Waterfront)

Mostly Autumn (London)

Pendragon (London)

The Enid (London)

The Rapture (Norwich UEA)

Lindisfarne (Norwich UEA)

Lindisfarne (Derby)

Chris Rea (Derby)

Gene Pitney (Norwich Talk of the East)

Glen Campbell (Norwich Theatre Royal)

Moody Blues (Ipswich Regent)

John Martyn (Norwich UEA)

Ian McNabb (Norwich UEA)

Al Stewart (Norwich St Andrew's Hall)

Bert Jansch (Norwich St Andrew's Hall)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Norwich UEA)

Leo Sayer (Norwich Theatre Royal)

The Dooleys (Norwich Theatre Royal)

The Saw Doctors (Norwich UEA)

Divine Comedy (Norwich UEA - two concerts)

Duke Special (Norwich UEA)

Black Box Recorder (Norwich Arts Centre)

The Coral (Norwich UEA - two concerts)

Ian Dury and the Blockheads (Norwich UEA)

Tom Baxter (Norwich Arts Centre)

The Blockheads (Norwich Waterfront)

Tina Dico (Norwich Arts Centre - 25th February 2008)

James (Norwich UEA - 18th April 2008)

Judy Collins (Norwich Arts Centre - 1st June, 2008)

Fleet Foxes (Norwich Waterfront)

Okkervil River (Norwich Waterfront)