2018: THE YEAR IN MUSIC - LIVE!!!

 Well, that was a doozy. Another 12 months have been and gone and 2018 has now been consigned to the annals of history. But what a year it was. A veritable treasure trove of tremendous tunes and thundering live performances. As is traditional here at No Static Towers, I will be looking back at the best of everything with these next two posts of mine. First up, it's my end of year round-up of the best gigs that I was lucky enough to attend over the last 365 days or so. As usual, there was a few that slipped through the net. A rather nasty chest infection put paid to Elbow's appearance at The O2 as well as Arcade Fire's 'Infinite Content' extravaganza at Wembley Arena. I also had to cry off from Ride's 30th Anniversary acoustic show in early December which was a real kick in the teeth. And, due to tickets being like the proverbial hen's teeth, The Cure's massive Hyde Park gig in July was another one that passed me by. However, I still managed to fit in some absolute blinders and - if you'll permit me - here's my rundown of my gigular activity of 2018, all topped off with my absolute favourite gigs of the year. To the bar!

January and February were pretty quiet when it came to braving the elements and heading out on the gig trail but the first event of the year for yours truly was an absolute spellbinder. Justin Vernon brought his latest iteration of his Bon Iver collective to Hammersmith in late Feb for an astonishing 8-night residency at the Apollo and pretty much turned the hardest of hearts into mush.

Most of 2016's divisive '22, A Million' opus was performed, followed by earlier classics from Vernon's first two albums. It was, of course, those songs from his debut collection - the remarkable 'For Emma, Forever Ago' - that hit home the hardest but, in truth, the whole performance was a thing of wonder. He's back in the UK in the summer, headlining the All Points East festival, and I recommend you grab a ticket - sharpish.


March brought us a proper old school indie-disco night out as the 'Love From Stourbridge' travelling carny hit Shepherd's Bush with Miles Hunt and his current Wonder Stuff posse co-headlining with the fantastic Ned's Atomic Dustbin. Great fun was had by all as Hunt and the Ned's pumped out the classics while ageing indie kids threw themselves around with no thought at all as to how their backs might feel the following morning. Glorious. The following month saw a rare performance from criminally underrated singer/songwriter David Kitt, who travelled from his Irish homeland to regale the faithful with a stellar set at the tiny Borderline club in the middle of Soho. I've been listening to Kitt and his wonderful electronica-infused folk music for almost 20 years now and how he hasn't managed to hit the big-time is beyond me. His nearest comparison is probably David Gray and, as much as I like the bulk of Gray's work, Kitt's songs leave him in the dust. This Borderline performance was a case in point. Backed up by Michele Stodart from The Magic Numbers on bass guitar, Kitt's songs soothed, caressed and hugged in equal measure. A fabulous gig.

May and June were packed to the gills with stupendous showings from the finest husband and wife fronted garage rock band from France in Perpignan's magnificent The Liminanas who followed their excellent 'Shadow People' album with a frankly mind-melding gig at The Garage in Islington, and early 90's grungegaze rockers Swervedriver who thrilled their hardcore fanbase with sterling renditions of their classic 'Raise' and 'Mezcal Head' albums just down the road at The Islington Academy. June also saw the return to the UK of reformed Bostonian college rock faves Belly, touring in support of their lovely third album 'Dove'. Once of Throwing Muses and The Breeders, Tanya Donnelly led Belly to a brief whiff of fame and fortune in 1993 with the superb 'Star' album - featuring alt-rock classics Feed The Tree and Gepetto. The band split after a second album in 1995 with Donnelly going solo. However, after a successful reformation tour a couple of years ago, the original lineup headed back into the studio and have carried on from where they left off. The summer tour was a triumph and the Shepherd's Bush gig was a joyous affair. Elsewhere in June - and thanks to some prodigious use of the 'refresh' button on my phone - I was able to bag tickets for two of the biggest gigs of the summer as Dave Grohl and his mighty Foo Fighters set up camp at The Olympic Stadium and Cincinnati's answer to Radiohead - the truly special The National - headed up the second weekend of Victoria Park's All Points East Festival and were ably supported by some other huge No Static At All faves in The War On Drugs, Future Islands and Spoon. The Foos were on thunderous form and showed that they are pretty much in a league of their own when it comes to globe-straddling, enormo-dome playing stakes. But, as fantastic as their gig was, The National's performance was quite extraordinary. After a day of solid sets from the aforementioned War On Drugs and Spoon in particular, Matt Berninger's crew of doomy art-rockers finished up their touring schedule for 2016's brilliant 'Sleep Well Beast' album with their biggest headline show in the UK and put in a magnificent shift - with Bloodbuzz Ohio, Fake Empire and the outstanding The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness stealing the show. So, in regards to huge, outdoor corporate monster gigs, I think The National shaded it.

Into the late summer then and there were flying visits from two of my absolute faves. Ex-Galaxie 500 linchpin Dean Wareham brought his latest Luna set-up to Islington for a sparkling set of new tunes and early classics. Featuring his wife Britta Phillips on bass, tracks like Moon Palace and the astonishingly superb 23 Minutes In Brussels proved that this gang of Velvet Underground inspired janglers are still a vital force almost 30 years after their inception. A few weeks later down in the West End at Heaven, San Francisco based psych-rockers Wooden Shjips - led by the fantastically bearded Ripley Johnson - settled in for a groovesome two hours of gnarly riffs, fuzzy vibes and spacey visuals. A heady trip was had by all.  And there was just time before 2018 came to a close for some returning 90s indie heroes. Seattle's great lost band - The Posies - thrilled the faithful with a barnstorming set at Islington's Academy that was weighed heavily in favour of their masterpiece from 1993 - the glorious noise that is 'Frosting On The Beater'. Head honchos Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow - who have been steering The Posies ship through choppy waters for nigh on three decades - were on splendid form, not only musically but also when it came to raconteur duties. The gig was a laugh-riot, with the duos war stories of their failed attempts to hit the big time interspersed with some incredible tunes. Flavour Of The Month in particular was a real high-point. And finally, up at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, Boston power-trio Buffalo Tom hit town to promote their excellent new album - and first for almost 7 years - 'Quiet And Peace'. I've been a HUGE fan of the Tom for many years now - indeed, their 1992 opus 'Let Me Come Over' still nestles snugly in my Top 5 Albums Of All Time - and I was thoroughly looking forward to this one. As usual, the boys didn't disappoint. With Bill Janovitz crunching away on his guitar and singing lustily, while bassist Chris Colbourn and drummer Tom Maginnis kept things ticking away solidly beside him, classics like Velvet Roof, Taillights Fade, Sodajerk, Summer and the magisterial paean to a lost cat that is Larry sounded better than ever. Come back soon, chaps!

   
But, as good as all the above gigs were, there were ten gigs I attended this year that were even better. So, as is the norm round here at No Static Towers, it's time for a list. Eyes down for my favourite shows of the last 12 months!

10: THE THE 7/6 The Troxy

The return this year to the musical stratosphere of cult singer/songwriter Matt Johnson and his rolling conveyor belt of The The alumni - which at one point in the late 80s included Johnny Marr - was serious cause for celebration. During the 80s and early 90s, Johnson wrote and released four albums of  sublime quality - 'Soul Mining', 'Infected', 'Mind Bomb' and the utterly wondrous 'Dusk' - and any music fan with a brain and a heart will have found much to love across those records. After a patchy Hank Williams covers set in 1995 and a solid return to his own songwriting in 2000's 'Naked Self', Johnson slipped off the radar focusing on soundtrack work and family life. He reappeared in 2016 with a one-off single for Record Store Day and the response was so overwhelming that this reformation tour was a no-brainer. Sadly, just before the first of three London dates, Johnson's father died and although naturally devastated, he decided to plough through. Subsequently, all three dates were extremely emotionally charged, but this night in particular held special reverence for Johnson, taking place only a few streets away from where he was born and raised. Featuring old The The bandmates DC Collard on keyboards, Earl Harvin on drums and James Eller on bass, the lineup was completed by a Johnny Marr recommendation - ex-Primal Scream axeman Little Barrie Cadogan. Anticipation and expectation was understandably high within the room as Johnson and co strolled out on to the stage and - as the rousing ovation died down - launched straight into the doomy state of the nation address Global Eyes and the strident, politically charged Sweet Bird Of Truth. After that rousing double whammy, it was one humdinger after another as classic 80s alt-pop anthems like Heartland, The Beat(en) Generation, Armageddon Days, Infected and This Is The Day had the rapt audience bellowing away lustily whilst harking back to long-lost student days. Johnson's later soundtrack work rubbed shoulders with the hits perfectly and the band were on solid form whilst Johnson regaled us with emotional tales from his life in music as well as paying a heartfelt tribute to his dad. The set was gloriously 'Dusk' heavy, which was fine by me as it's one of THE great 90s albums - and hearing songs like the thunderous Dogs Of Lust, the janglesomely joyous Slow Emotion Replay and the spine-tingling Love Is Stronger Than Death live on stage for the first time in almost 25 years was simply superb. The night ended - as you would expect - with a rattling run through the still fabulous Uncertain Smile before Johnson and his band rounded things off with 'Dusk's eco-friendly anthem Lonely Planet. As hundreds of souls joined in for it's final lyrical warning - "If you can't change the world, change yourself" - I was reminded yet again what a brilliant songwriter Matt Johnson is, and how sorely missed he's been. Don't leave it so long next time Matt!

   9: MATTHEW SWEET 18/12 Islington Assembly Hall

My final live event of the year was also one of the best. Georgia native Matthew Sweet finally returned to European shores after almost a two-decade absence to promote his recently released 'Tomorrow Forever' album. I first saw Sweet back in 1993 when he put on a sterling show at the long lost Mean Fiddler club in Harlesden. He was touring the UK on the back of the previous year's 'Girlfriend' opus and as I was seriously head over heels in love with that album at the time I popped along to see if Sweet could translate its crisp power-pop and chiming jangle to the stage. He did not disappoint. Live appearances in this country since then have been non-existent so the announcement of this gig in Islington was manna from heaven to me. I still absolutely adore 'Girlfriend' to this day - it's one of the most underrated albums of all-time in my opinion - so the thought of hearing some of it's tracks live after all this time was more than enough to get me out on a chilly December eve. Sweet is a different proposition these days - the wide-eyed and whey-faced skinny troubadour of 93 has been replaced by a chunky and grizzled man-mountain - but that keening, melodic voice is still there and, backed by ex members of the criminally underrated Velvet Crush, Sweet put on a stormer of a show for the small but thoroughly fanatic band of followers who had braved the elements to come out and see him. There were showings from most of his albums - there have been 9 since 'Girlfriend' - with 93's Time Capsule and 95's Sick Of Myself standing out in particular. Some excellent new songs were performed and although obviously quite nervous, Sweet was on hilarious form with jokes and asides peppering the set. However though, it was all about the 'Girlfriend' tracks with the band performing six of it's stellar tunes. If there's a better opening salvo to any album released over the last thirty years or so than 'Divine Intervention', 'I've Been Waiting' and 'Girlfriend' itself,  - all performed magnificently at this gig - then I've yet to hear it. An absolute barnstormer of a gig.

 8: JOHN CARPENTER 16/10 Shepherd's Bush Empire

Legendary horror movie auteur John Carpenter - he of Halloween, The Thing and Escape From New York - first brought his travelling movie soundtrack show to the UK a couple of years ago, pitching up at East London's Troxy theatre on Halloween night and putting on a truly tremendous show. The gig was so good that it made No Static At All's Top 5 gigs of the year and the fact that this even better return performance has only made it to Number 8 just shows how strong the rest of the Top Ten is. There was no real change to the set-up this time round - at 71, Carpenter is unlikely to mix things up that often - and anyone lucky enough to witness the 2016 gig would have noticed only minimal tweaks. Carpenter was front and centre again, prodding away on a keyboard and flanked by a four-piece band that also included his son Cody on guitar and keyboards. The giant 3D screens were also there, projecting classic clips from the films as each theme was played. The band once again donned dark sunglasses in homage to 'They Live' whilst Carpenter recited scripted intros to each piece of music. But, as expected as all those moments were, the smaller venue made for a more intense atmosphere and gave the themes for 'The Thing', 'Assault On Precinct 13' and 'The Fog' in particular a real sense of creeping dread and impending doom. There were debut showings for the themes to best-forgotten horror comedy 'Body Bags' as well as the latest instalment in the 'Halloween' franchise, but it was the classics that raised the roof. The original 'Halloween' still chills the spine and I will go to my grave maintaining that the 'Escape From New York' theme is one of the greatest pieces of movie music. After the 2016 gig I didn't expect Carpenter to put himself through another gruelling touring schedule so soon but I'm so glad he did as this was a wonderful evening.
    

 7: ENDLESS BOOGIE 16/11 Moth Club

More No Static faves here as the tremendously thrilling Endless Boogie returned to London for their annual blues-infused psych-rock shindig - this time at Hackney's splendidly scuzzy and crackingly cramped Moth Club. I've seen this seasoned bunch of rock and roll journeymen a fair few times in recent years - and they're back again in May - and the words 'bad show' just aren't in their lexicon. With frontman Paul 'Top Dollar' Major - and his extraordinary mane - snarling away at the mic and trading astonishing guitar licks with fellow axesmith Jesper Eklow, while completely locked in rhythm section Mark Razo and Harry Druzd thunder away behind them, an Endless Boogie show is one of the most purely enjoyable nights out you'll ever have. If you ever get a chance, beg borrow or steal to get a ticket. Ostensibly still touring 2016's mighty 'Vibe Killer' album, this gig - as is the norm with The Boogie - veered off into all kinds of different directions with only two of the aforementioned album's tracks getting an airing. The fact that the title track moved and grooved away for about half an hour before morphing into the outstanding Back In 74 and then careering BACK into itself - all within the first 45 minutes of the gig - is neither here nor there. This is what Endless Boogie do - exactly what it says on the tin. And the memory of myself and my equally refreshed gig compadre bouncing around to the gargantuan glory that is Smokin Figs In The Back Yard for another solid 25 minutes or so - whilst all the while the rest of the hot, sweaty throng around us were grinning from ear to ear and lost in their own musical reverie - will stay in my ageing cerebellum for some time to come. Utterly fantastic.

6: MARK KOZELEK 11/10 Union Chapel

As per usual when it comes to a No Static At All list of any kind, there has to be room for Mark Kozelek. Kozelek is my favourite living singer/songwriter, and could well be better than some of the dead ones. Since the early 90s and his Red House Painters days, he's been an essential part of my music listening life and his immense back catalogue is a thing of utter wonder. In recent years he's moved away from his slowcore indie rock roots and focused on more acoustic based music and a songwriting style that many consider bloated or boring. Personally, I find it mesmerising and magnificent in equal measure. Kozelek tours when he wants to these days - he's his own cottage industry essentially - and pops over to London at least once a year. Last year's gig at Shepherd's Bush was a three hour masterclass in how to piss of your least interested fans with fifteen-minute long songs that hadn't even been released yet, spoken word monologues about cats, screaming, shouting and generally ornery behaviour that caused walk-outs and complaints about the ticket price. It was, quelle surprise, one of my favourite gigs of the year. This time round, back at one of his favoured venues in the Union Chapel, Koz was promoting the first of his two releases from last year in the self-titled double album from last January. As usual though, he barely touched that particular album focusing instead on a bunch of tracks from the soon to be released 'This Is My Dinner', as well as recent odds and ends from EPs and collaborations. He rarely plays anything older than a couple of years these days and prefaced the gig by responding to some joker in the audience who shouted out for 1992's Mistress by comparing playing those songs to having sex with an old girlfriend from high school - interesting in theory but ultimately hugely unsatisfying. Ably supported by Ben Boye on keyboards and Ramon Fermin on guitar, Koz patrols the stage - looking more and more like a down-at-heel preacher - every so often berating someone in the audience for checking their phone or not showing enough attention. Vocally, he's never sounded better - his deep and rich tone adding an emotional heft to songs like Daffodils and This Is My Dinner that few can match. There were big laughs too - 'Linda Blair' was hilarious. For me, it was another stunning performance from a artist who - although he may never reach the commercial and critical heights of 2014's 'Benji' - will always be the most interestingly unique songwriter we have.

 5: THE WAR ON DRUGS/SLOWDIVE 13/12 The O2

Adam Granduciel and his current War On Drugs collective - now expanded to a 7 piece - have had a rather remarkable few years. After 2014's stupendous 'Lost In A Dream' sent them soaring into the public conciousness, the follow-up opus from 2017 - the even more luxuriant 'A Deeper Understanding' - was not only their debut major label release, but hit Number 1 across the globe and allowed them to take the step up into the big leagues and headline arenas everywhere. So much so that after 18 months of solid touring, this final date of said tour saw them selling out the cavernous O2 Arena in North Greenwich. And, if this performance was anything to go by, stadium gigs must be next on the agenda. Firstly though, there was the not so small matter of a one hour support slot from shoegaze legends Slowdive. Riding high in recent years after their reformation and excellent self-titled fourth album, Neil Halsted, Rachel Goswell and the rest of the band breezed through a splendid set that gave equal time to old favourites like When The Sun Hits and Catch The Breeze as well as excellent new songs such as No Longer Making Time and the mind-melding Star Roving. The perfect starter to the main course. Even though, on record, the expansive widescreen Americana of Granduciel's War On Drugs vision seems tailor-made for large arenas, I was a bit apprehensive at first that it might not connect with such a large audience. I need not have worried. Opening with the driving, propulsive Holding On, this was supreme fare from first to last. The band were perfectly in sync and the connection between the songs and the crowd was intense all the way through. Granduciel's stage persona hasn't changed since the early years - he still hides behind his hair and his guitar solos - but when the majesty of these songs sweeps you away with each new glorious key change, it doesn't matter. The high points of the most recent album - Pain, Up All Night and the blatant Dire Straits homage Nothing To Find - were all brilliantly redesigned for this huge space, but for me, it's still 'Lost In A Dream's trio of utter masterpieces that keep bringing me back to that album, five years on. Both the expanded live renditions of Red Eyes and An Ocean Between The Waves were something to behold, but the almost 15-minute version of Under The Pressure - all pulsing motorik rhythms and crashing percussion that built and built to a climax from the gods - was worth the price of admission all on its own. Marvellous stuff.

4: TEENAGE FANCLUB 13,14,15/11 Electric Ballroom

In celebration of the recent re-release of all their Creation Records albums on vinyl, Glasgow's finest exponents of the mighty jangle - and one of Great Britain's best bands, full stop - decided to test their mettle gig-wise by embarking on a three-night residency in various cities across the UK. The London leg saw the band - comprising of the three principal singer/songwriters in guitarists Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley and bassist Gerard Love, as well as extra guitarist Dave McGowan and across these three nights all three previous drummers in Brendan O'Hare, Paul Quinn and Francis Macdonald - playing all five of their Creation releases in full. Night one saw them rattle through 1991's fantastic calling card and still highly influential 'Bandwagonesque' and the slightly more knotty follow-up 'Thirteen' whereas on night two the faithful were privy to the twin peaks of the band's career - 1995's hit-laden 'Grand Prix' and 97's pastoral and homely 'Songs From Northern Britain'. If you managed to make it through to the third night, then 2000's farewell to Creation - the much maligned 'Howdy' - and a pick and mix of B-Sides and covers was the soundtrack. Before all of this though, the band released a statement to say that founding member Love would be leaving the group at the end of the tour to concentrate on family life. Subsequently, there was a real feeling of goodbye to these gigs. Even though the remainder of the band are continuing on throughout the following 6 months or so, with former Gorky's front man Euros Childs taking over from Love, something will have been lost for me. Teenage Fanclub's major selling point has always been the perfectly matched three-part harmonies of Love, Blake and McGinley - like a Caledonian Crosby, Stills And Nash - and that's before you even get to the songs. As was proved across these three excellent gigs, I can't imagine going to see a TFC gig without hearing Love sing the wonderful Sparky's Dream. Or the sublime Star Sign. Or the divine Don't Look Back. Love's songs were always the soothing balm next to Blake's more grunge-infused rockers and McGinley's soul-searching ballads and things won't quite be the same without him. For now though, if this is TFC's last stand then it was some way to bow out. Hearing deep cuts like Alcoholiday, Guiding Star, Winter and Verisimilitude live for the first time in years was a very special thing and there were certain points - particularly during the astonishing guitar-led coda of Blake's magisterial Neil Jung halfway through the second night - when I may have left my body and traveled to another plane. And answers on a postcard please if you can think of any British band of the last thirty years who have written a more perfect love song than McGinley's Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From. What a band. 

3: PIXIES 30/10 The Roundhouse

 Boston's alt-rock legends the Pixies returned to London last autumn for a very special 5-night residency at Camden's venerable old Roundhouse venue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their first two releases - the sparky and still shocking Come On Pilgrim mini-album and the full-length follow-up, and one of the best albums of all-time, Surfer Rosa. I reviewed this gig in full in a previous post but suffice to say this was an exceptional gig. Lead singer Frank Black has somehow after all these years managed to maintain that primeval howl of his - his vocal performance on the night of Caribou was nothing short of astonishing - and with guitarist Joey Santiago in coruscating mood whilst Dave Lovering on drums and 'new girl' Paz Lenchantin on bass and vocals kept things bubbling at the back, this was the Pixies on some of the best form I've ever seen them. Where Is My Mind, Vamos and Gigantic had the crowd moshing and singing away with gleeful abandon, but it was deeper cuts like the tremendous Ed Is Dead, River Euphrates and the frankly bloody brilliant Brick Is Red that thrilled my bones. There has never really been a band like the Pixies and, even though their influence hangs heavy over most alternative rock of the last three decades, there probably never will be. They're as good as it gets. A big, big love.

2: ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER
           22/5 Electric Ballroom & 29/10 Koko

Two absolutely storming appearances from my favourite new band here, as Melbourne's finest janglesmiths hit The Big Smoke firstly in May to essentially keep the momentum going after their incredible first shows in 2017.  The Ballroom gig focused on that year's two EPs - which reached Number 2 in my end of year round-up 12 months ago - and was another astounding 90 minutes of melodic indie and joyous shuffling alt-pop. I've said it before on this blog, but I can't remember being so enamoured with a group for a long, long time. Probably since the heady 80s peak of R.E.M., The Smiths and the Pixies. The step-up to a larger venue didn't seem to phase the lads and added some heft to tunes like Clean Slate, Wide Eyes and the mighty French Press. Principal front trio Joe White, Fran Keaney and Tom Russo shared vocal duties and interchanged guitar riffs left, right and centre as the gig progressed and with bassist Joe Russo and Marcel Tussie connecting it all behind them, the quintet locked themselves into a groove and didn't let go. There was room for a trio of tunes from the forthcoming debut album - 'Hope Downs' was released a few weeks later and hasn't left my headphones since - and it was obvious that the songwriting chops shown on those first EPs were still very much there. And then some. October's performance just down the road at Koko was an even more celebratory affair, as the response to 'Hope Downs' had been pretty much universal praise since it's release. Again, I waxed lyrical about this particular gig in a previous post but my feelings about it haven't changed. if it wasn't for a certain rock band from Seattle, then this would have been my gig of the year. The 5 rollicking and rambunctious minutes when RBCF played An Air-Conditioned Man may well indeed be the single most enjoyable gigular moment of this year. Stupendous.

1: PEARL JAM 18/6 & 17/7 The O2

It was always going to be this wasn't it? Even when I was attending these two nights I knew nothing would come close enough to beat them - although Rolling Blackouts gave it a very good go. Seattle grunge legends Pearl Jam don't come over and play the UK that often - their last appearance over here was a monumental all-dayer at Milton Keynes Bowl in 2014 - but when they do they pull out all the stops and really go for it. There was no new music to promote - save an internet-only single called Can't Deny Me - so these gigs were trailed as celebratory fan-favourite career retrospectives. And in that respect, Eddie Vedder and the boys didn't disappoint. My recent post on the life and times of Pearl Jam featured a thorough review of both these gigs so have a little scroll back through these blog pages and indulge. Both nights were however, pure rock masterclasses in how to give your fans everything they want. The first night was a more mellow and ballad-heavy affair, mainly due to Vedder's throat problems which caused the band to reschedule the second date. Once recovered though, that second night was possibly the best I've seen them since their very early days - their 'Ten' era gig at ULU still holds pride of place for me - and they kept at it for almost three and a half hours, shattering the curfew and dipping deep into their remarkable catalogue. All the hits were present and correct of course - even the most fanatic of PJ followers would have felt short-changed if they didn't get to hear Alive, Even Flow or Jeremy - and highlights included Rearviewmirror, Given To Fly, Wishlist, Footsteps, In Hiding, Breath and a stunning and emotionally-charged Black which could well be their finest song. Most bands that are nearing the 30-year mark of their tenure are usually going through the motions and relying on past glories - I'm looking at you Jagger - but Pearl Jam get better and more vital as each year passes. If it's another four or five years before they return to the UK then on this evidence it'll be more than worth it.

  

   

VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK.
(Scratch that...)
VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM  'OH BABY'

Next week, I will be posting my annual Top 50 Albums Of The Year list and, as is traditional, it's time to take a little look back at last year's champions and see what they've been up to. The first half of 2018 was pretty hectic for James Murphy and his LCD Soundsystem crew as they toured solidly in support of the mighty 'American Dream' album. There were massive gigs for them all around the globe and - over here - a huge all-dayer in East London's Victoria Park supported by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix and many others. There's still no word on any new music that might be forthcoming but, as a farewell to the whole 'American Dream' promotional treadmill, a video for it's opening track was released in the autumn and promptly blew my mind. Directed by Looper and The Last Jedi helmsman Rian Johnson, this 6 minute clip for the stupendous Oh Baby is about as good as videos get. Starring Hollywood royalty in Sissy Spacek and David Strathairn, this mini-film sees the couple invent a teleportation device that will undoubtedly change the world. Unfortunately, things don't go according to plan. Spacek and Strathairn are utterly riveting in this and if Oscars were handed out to music videos, then this would sweep the board. It left me speechless on first viewing and it touches me more than most full-blown movies do. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece. 
"There's always a side door, into the dark..." 

LIVE REVIEWS!!!

(Featuring two of the best gigs of the year!!!)

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER: Koko 29/10

Regular readers of this here little blog will no doubt remember that around eighteen months or so ago, I waxed lyrical - in a major way - about a new combo I had discovered that went by the handle of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Their debut EP - the magnificently wonderful 'The French Press' - was a six-song collection of all the finest things that classic indie-rock has to offer. Janglesome guitars, shuffling drums, swooning bass, crunchy riffs, searing solos, three-part harmony vocals, key changes from the gods and choruses to die for. Truly, all human life was here. The fact that they almost bettered it on their second release - the seven-song 'Talk Tight' EP - just proved to me what a very special band this bunch were. Hailing from the perma-sunny climes of Melbourne, the group are comprised of the three principal singer/songwriters - all of whom also play guitar - Fran Keaney, Tom Russo and Joe White, who are ably backed up by Russo's brother Joe on bass and drummer Marcel Tussie. Forming in 2013 and touring solidly since, by the time of last year's two releases they came across to me as pretty much fully formed and with a confidence that belied their short time together. Fusing early 90s style alt-indie with a jangly backbone that brings to mind The Byrds and The Smiths having a good old-fashioned pow-wow, there are also traces of The Velvet Underground, Teenage Fanclub and The Go-Betweens within their glorious punch-the-air-in-joy tunes. It was fair to say that by the time the band came over to the UK for their first London gigs last autumn I was champing at the bit. Those first two gigs last September - at The Lexington and The Moth Club - were as tremendously exciting as almost anything else I witnessed last year. Indeed, by the time of my 2017 Live Review, only the extraordinary 3 hour rock masterclass of Metallica's O2 show was good enough to keep RBCF off the top spot. The guys then went back home to finish the recording of their debut album before returning to the UK in May of this year for another barnstorming show at Camden's Electric Ballroom before the 'Hope Downs' LP  hit the shelves in June. A stupendous batch of ten brand new songs, the album is - to my ears at least - one of the finest debuts of modern times and has a pretty fair shake of making it to the pinnacle of my Albums Of The Year List which I'll be posting in early January. Chock full of tunes and brimming with vim and gusto, 'Hope Downs' is an absolute blast from top to bottom with tracks like the insanely catchy Talking Straight and the barreling groove of An Air-Conditioned Man moving the band on to a different level of brilliance. I've said it before and I'm more than happy to say it again: I haven't been this impressed by a band since I first heard R.E.M. and the Pixies almost 30 years ago.

And so to their return to London at the end of last month - and what a return. After stealing the show at various festivals across the summer, RBCF hit the venerable old KOKO theater basking in the hugely positive reviews and rave notices for 'Hope Downs' and put on a show of quite thrilling intensity and utterly joyful abandon. Playing to completely sold-out venue, and obviously having the time of their lives, the guys were on fire from first to last. With Keaney, White and Tom Russo front and centre and locked into their spiralling guitar grooves whilst Joe Russo and Tussie's wondrous rhythm section glided away behind them, the fun never stopped. Pretty much the whole of the new album was aired with the aforementioned An Air-Conditioned Man taking pride of place for me and stealing the show, although Mainland, Exclusive Grave and Sister's Jeans came close with their heady mix of Pavement-esque alt-rock and Orange Juice inspired jangle. The two EP's weren't short-changed either and there's a real sturdiness now to earlier tracks like Wither With You and the wildly exciting Clean Slate. Talking Straight and French Press were the singalong highlights for most of the audience and there was the sense of a real moment in this band's trajectory too - I can't remember a more celebratory atmosphere among the band and the crowd. Indeed, this was a gig that harked back to that febrile alternative period of the early 90's when any group with a couple of guitars and a ramshackle appearance looked like they might become world-beaters. RBCF could most definitely become one of those bands - and if they keep writing songs as utterly fantastic as Fountain Of Good Fortune (which on tonight's showing could be the greatest song of all-time) - then the sky's the limit for this very special combo.

SETLIST:

The Hammer
Clean Slate
Wither With You
Talking Straight
Sister's Jeans
Sick Bug
An Air-Conditioned Man
Colours Run
Exclusive Grave
Bellarine
Julie's Place
Mainland
Fountain Of Good Fortune
French Press

Time In Common
Wide Eyes


PIXIES: Roundhouse 30/10

The history of the mighty Pixies is pretty much common knowledge by now, or at least should be, but here's a brief primer: Formed in the late 80's in Boston by University of Massachusetts alumni Charles Thompson, Joey Santiago and Dave Lovering, the trio were joined by bassist Kim Deal after she answered an ad placed by Thompson that asked for a fan of  "Husker Du and Peter, Paul And Mary". With the original line-up locked in and Thompson changing his name to Black Francis, the quartet went out on the road where their bizarre meld of melodic alt-rock, Latin influenced rhythms and scuzzy grunge found huge favour among the more discerning listener. Quickly signed to 4AD - everyone's favourite esoteric indie label - the band released mini-album 'Come On Pilgrim' in 1987. Stuffed to the gills with extraordinary songs, the album ranked high on pretty much everybody's end of year lists. Nothing much had sounded like it before but it's influence has been felt countless times down the following three decades. With Francis screaming like a banshee throughout and his and Santiago's duelling guitar lines and brain-rattling riffs fusing perfectly with Lovering's crashing drums and Deal's fluid bass-lines, the quartet sounded as if they'd been doing this indie-rock thing for years. Francis' lyrics were new and exciting too, covering an array of disturbing and outre subjects like extra-terrestrial beings, incest, biblical violence and loads more other stuff to scare the parents. After the release of 'Pilgrim' the fun never stopped. 1988's magnificent 'Surfer Rosa' was another collection of utterly spellbinding songs and the following year's 'Doolittle' was possibly even better, containing those timeless indie-disco classics Debaser and Monkey Gone To Heaven.

The quality control dipped slightly with 1990's 'Bossanova' - although it was still better than any other alt-rock album of that year - and by the time of 1991's uneven 'Trompe Le Monde' rifts had started to appear within the ranks. Francis split the band not long after, changed his name to Frank Black and embarked upon a fitful solo career. Deal - who had butted heads with Francis the most - jumped straight back into the fray with her new project The Breeders and enjoyed massive sales with 1993's stone cold classic 'Last Splash' album, featuring the glorious Cannonball single. Santiago and Lovering both drifted through various projects and all four members watched from afar as their legacy grew throughout the nineties. The band were never commercially successful in their heyday but their critical cache was huge. So many bands who enjoyed massive success and acclaim afterward would cite the Pixies as inspirations - the most famous of course being Kurt Cobain who stated on many occasions that he was "ripping off the Pixies on Teen Spirit". So, although the band had always turned down offers to reform before, it was no real surprise when Black and Deal buried the hatchet in 2004 and along with Santiago and Lovering, embarked on what has become a pretty never-ending jaunt around the world that has made them millions and allowed then to record two new albums of material. Kim Deal eventually left in 2013 and has since been replaced by former A Perfect Circle/Zwan bassist Paz Lenchantin who has done a sterling job ever since. The new music - especially 'Head Carrier' from 2016 - is excellent but nothing quite matches those early albums so, after touring 'Doolittle' in full in 2009, this year's thirtieth anniversary of 'Surfer Rosa' now sees Black and the gang revisiting those early songs for a five-night stretch at Camden's Roundhouse before heading to South America for more dates. So, do all of those weird little tales still stand up?

Oh yes - they do. And then some. Visceral, unhinged, twisted and deranged, songs like Caribou, Vamos, Ed Is Dead and Nimrod's Son - with it's still shocking "you are the son of a mother fucker" refrain - smack you round the head and scream in your ears straight away as 'Come On Pilgrim' gets a full airing. Thompson - who has now reverted back to his birth name - has somehow still managed to hang onto that astonishing screech of his and his demented howl of  "REPENT!!!" in Caribou is monstrous and wonderful in equal measure - like an insane gospel preacher who gives you candy after scaring the bejeezus out of you first. 'Pilgrim' is followed by a cover of Lady In The Radiator Song from David Lynch's Eraserhead movie - no surprise as Lynch's rather askew worldview is obviously favoured by the band. 'Surfer Rosa' then follows and what a stunningly original suite of songs it still is. Wild, weird and wondrous, this is music that will never date and will be influential for decades to come. Crazed cacophonies of ear-bleeding brilliance and mad, whirling dervishes of sound, songs like Bone Machine, Broken Face, Cactus and Break My Body are as good as anything in the popular music canon of the last 50 years. But it is, of course, that three-song string of magnificence in the centre of 'Surfer Rosa' that cemented the Pixies place in the pantheon all those years ago and still raises the rafters today. River Euphrates and Where Is My Mind? cause mass singalongs, giant communal hugs and moshing aplenty in the heart of the scrum but it's Kim Deal's glorious Gigantic that hits hardest. The song hasn't been performed since Deal's exit - Thompson graciously conceded that she performed it best - but due to this event's conceit it has to be played tonight. Lenchantin does an excellent job of filling in (although Deal's laid-back insouciance is sorely missed) but it still boils down to that incredible mix of guitars during the song's instrumental coda - Santiago and Thompson bouncing off each other musically and firing riffs back and forth and hither and yon. It's sublime stuff. Indeed, musically tonight the band are on top form. Lovering's pounding beats filling the room with thunderous power and Santiago proving yet again that his left of centre solos and off-kilter riffing is as unique as ever. Thompson is in excoriating voice all night - and hats off to him for whatever regimen he's keeping up to allow that scream to still do it's business. As usual, there's little to no interaction with the audience - they were never renowned for being chatty - and even the spoken word interludes on 'Rosa' are read out by Thompson on a piece of paper. But as always with this very special band, it's all about the music. Following the call and response wails and yelps of Brick Is Red, there's a healthy encore of B-Sides and current band favourites - Um Chagga Lagga from 'Head Carrier' was especially welcome - before they take their bows and prepare for night two. Thrillingly brilliant and utterly tremendous, the Pixies are still walking their own path and showing everyone else what needs to be done.

SETLIST:

Caribou
Vamos

 Isla de Encanta
Ed Is Dead
The Holiday Song
Nimrod's Son
I've Been Tired
Levitate Me

In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song)

Bone Machine
Break My Body
Something Against You
Broken Face
Gigantic
River Euphrates
Where is My Mind?
Cactus
Tony's Theme
Oh My Golly
Vamos 
I'm Amazed
Brick Is Red

Build High
Down To The Well
Rock A My Soul
Um Chagga Lagga
Into The White
Planet Of Sound

ARETHA FRANKLIN 1942 - 2018

The Queen Of Soul left us this month, at the age of 76 and after years of ill-health, but what an extraordinary legacy she leaves behind. No other female singer - let alone soul singer - has come close to her stunning range and her incredible ability to convey so much in her performances. Not only was she an astonishing vocalist, but she was also an incredibly talented songwriter in her own right, as well as a splendid interpreter of other artists songs. And she could play piano like the best of them. Her peerless body of work she released on Atlantic Records between 1967 and 1972 is as good as anything you'll ever hear, and set the stall for countless others to follow. Throw in her civil rights activism and her refusal to bow to record company interference and you're looking at a true feminist icon and an artist of real import. Her music, influence and that wondrous voice will endure through the ages.
R.I.P. Aretha.
                                    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
An outstanding performance here of Aretha from 1968 belting out one of her signature anthems in a club in Amsterdam full of burgeoning beatniks that, from the looks of them, are just about to embrace the 60's to their collective bosom and never let go. Aretha gives it her absolute all here - the sweat pouring from her face as the band slink and sway behind her. Utter class.

From the classic US television show Soul Train, this clip shows Aretha - along with her regular backing trio The Sweet Inspirations - getting deep, down and funky in quite glorious style. From the 'Young, Gifted And Black' album released in 1971, this is one of my favourite Aretha tunes. That bass-line alone is enough to get your toes twitching. And just check out those dancers. Outta sight!

And finally, I just had to have this in here. As a skinny little white boy growing up in Surrey in the 70s and 80s, my exposure to soul music was quite limited. I knew of Aretha and other classic Stax and Motown artists - having heard the odd tune on the radio - but I never witnessed the full-blown Franklin effect until I saw The Blues Brothers in 1982. For a good 6 months or so it was one of the only video tapes in the house and myself and my brother used to watch it religiously - so much so that we can both still quote it verbatim. This scene has always been a favourite - with Aretha pretty much ripping the film to shreds with her performance. As a postscript, her husband in the movie - one Matt 'Guitar' Murphy - also recently passed away, so I'd like to think they're both standing their ground over the old "Four fried chickens and dry white toast" dilemma up there in rhythm and blues heaven. Magnificent.


             R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 

PEARL JAM: POWER,PASSION AND PRIDE
Why Seattle's Last Men Standing Are The Band Of The People

Earlier this summer Pearl Jam - alt-rock superstars, grunge veterans and with almost 30 years of experience at the rock and roll coalface - embarked upon their first European tour in almost 5 years, pitching up at London's O2 Arena for two highly anticipated nights that sold out in minutes when they went on sale last winter. I was lucky enough to grab a ticket for the first night of this double-header and then, when the band had to unfortunately cancel the following night's gig due to vocalist Eddie Vedder's throat being shot, I was even luckier to bag a spot at the rescheduled date a few weeks later. The two gigs put my 'Pearl Jam Attendance' record into double figures and were, without doubt, the best performances I've ever seen them give. The band are now back in the USA where they are winding the tour down before heading back into the studio to finish off their forthcoming 11th album - a record that according to bassist Jeff Ament contains "some of the best stuff we've ever recorded". Proof, if any were needed, that Pearl Jam are as relevant today as they ever have been. With most of their grunge-era contemporaries consigned to the scrap-heap, attempting new musical directions or - in some tragic cases - no longer with us, Pearl Jam keep rolling on and doing things their own way. A true band of the people.

The history of Pearl Jam is oft-told but bears repeating. In the mid-80s, the only band in Seattle that were worth listening to was a combo called Green River. A raw and punky crew, they combined their short sharp tunes with a thick, sludgy edge - a sound that eventually paved the way for grunge. After a solid debut album and a distinct lack of commercial success, the band went their separate ways - vocalist Mark Arm and guitarist Steve Turner going on to form Mudhoney (who, wonderfully, are still with us and readying their new album 'Digital Garbage' as I type) whilst bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard hooked up with the hugely talented - and hugely flamboyant - singer Andrew Wood in a new project they called Mother Love Bone. Fusing 70's glam and early 80's post-punk with the late 80's heavy metal sound of Guns N Roses, MLB were on the cusp of something very big indeed when tragically, just before the release of their debut album 'Apple' in 1990, Wood died of a massive heroin overdose. He was 24. Devastated by his loss, and at a total crossroads musically, Ament and Gossard got together with Wood's best friend - Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell - who had written a batch of songs in tribute to his fallen comrade, and together with his drummer Matt Cameron, the quartet recorded an album together under the moniker Temple Of The Dog.
Playing guest lead guitar on that record was a recent friend of both bands - Mike McCready. The standout cut on the album - the haunting ballad Hunger Strike - featured a co-vocalist by the name of Eddie Vedder, who had recently started writing songs with Ament and Gossard after sending them some lyrics he'd written whilst bumming around and surfing in his home state of California. During the recording of the Temple Of The Dog album, Vedder, Ament, Gossard and McCready - along with drummer Dave Krusen - were writing and recording a batch of their own songs that eventually became their debut album 'Ten'. After dropping the early name Mookie Blaylock, the group settled on the name Pearl Jam, signed a deal with Epic Records and quickly found themselves selling out venues across the US. The musical landscape was changing rapidly, especially in the hard rock arena, and in late 1991 along with the recent breakout success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and Soundgarden's 'BadMotorFinger', Pearl Jam's 'Ten' became the third mega-selling grunge album - eventually topping 15 million sales. Those early songs the band had written together were the spine of that album - Alive, Jeremy and Even Flow - and all became classics, still regularly popping up on radio stations across the globe in 2018.

Throughout 1992, Pearl Jam were ubiquitous - headlining festivals all over the world and hoovering up awards left, right and centre - culminating in a clutch of MTV Video Awards for the coruscating single Jeremy in 1993. By this time the grunge scene was imploding in on itself, and after Nirvana's Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994, Pearl Jam took a conscious decision to distance themselves not only from the scene that was almost destroying them, but from the music business in general. After kowtowing to their record company for the previous few years - rush-releasing their second and third albums 'Vs' and 'Vitalogy' - the band took a long-deserved break. Indeed, an interview Vedder gave to the British music press in early 94 - not long after Cobain's suicide - during which he trashed his dressing room, covered his face in charcoal and intimated that he would be next, set alarm bells ringing with the rest of the band and it was a good two years before they re-emerged with the looser, experimental and more ramshackle 'No Code' album.

1998's 'Yield' was a more cohesive affair, returning to the classic songwriting of 'Ten' with evergreen classics like Given To Fly and Wishlist popping up in setlists to this day. During this mid-90's period, the band went through an almost Spinal Tap-esque revolving door of drummers with Dave Krusen replaced by Dave Abbruzzese in 1992 who himself was replaced by former Red Hot Chili Pepper Jack Irons in 1995. Irons himself vacated the drum stool in 1998 and was replaced by Soungarden sticksman - and former Temple Of The Dog drummer - Matt Cameron, who has now played with Pearl Jam longer than both his stints with Soundgarden combined. The next couple of albums - 2000's 'Binaural' and 'Riot Act' from 2002 - were touched with darkness and anger, encompassing as they did family breakups, 9/11 and political upheaval as well as the band's ultimately unsuccessful attempt at boycotting the Ticketmaster monopoly on ticket prices. 'Riot Act' in particular couldn't help but be influenced by Mike McCready's serious alcohol addiction and the Roskilde Festival tragedy of 2000 when 9 fans were crushed to death during the band's headline performance. An event that affected the group so deeply that they contemplated retiring after it happened. They carried on though, and after completing their contract with Epic with a Best Of, a B-Sides collection and some reissues, they signed to J Records and released the 'Pearl Jam' album - sometimes referred to as the 'Avocado' album - which was a return to the short, snappy and in-your-face sound of 'Vs'. Another huge worldwide tour followed and this has been the norm ever since.

 'Backspacer' appeared in 2009, and the band toured it solidly for a couple of years before returning with 'Lightning Bolt' in 2013. Both of these most recent albums have been not only commercially successful but critically too, giving the band a kudos that they haven't had since their early career. 2017 even saw the band inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the first time of asking. All the while, the band have continued to do everything their own way. Recording, producing and releasing all their music from their base of operations in Seattle, they even oversee all the band merchandise from a nearby warehouse. Albums are released when they want them to be, videos are a rarity, and interviews are relaxed affairs that the group are happy to involve themselves in due to the non-existence of a meddling record company. They fit their band-time in around their families - not the other way around. And even though there have been huge globe-straddling tours, the odd hit single (Last Kiss reached Number 2 in the USA in 2000), and award ceremony wins and nominations along the way (2 Grammys won with 13 other nods as well as a Golden Globe nomination in 2004), Pearl Jam have remained steadfast to their principles and values of what being a rock band is all about. They made it through the grunge hurricane and have survived to tell the tale. With Nirvana long gone, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell no longer with us, Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots moving on in different directions after tragically losing their own frontmen, and bands like Screaming Trees, Hole, Tad, Bush, Moist, Paw and many others falling by the wayside, Pearl Jam really are the last men standing.

My own personal journey with the music of Pearl Jam began in the summer of 1991. I was living out in Sweden at the time and the family I was bunking with had the nascent MTV Europe plugged into their TV system. One of the videos that kept popping up on screen during those few months was that stunning Temple Of The Dog single Hunger Strike. Due to my occasional perusal of the weekly heavy metal bible Kerrang back in the UK, I was well aware of who Chris Cornell was but the other vocalist was a mystery to me. At first I thought this might be Cornell's new band and that Soundgarden may have split up - this was in those heady pre-internet days so I was totally unable to find out any information until I returned home. Once I did get back I returned to my record store job and quickly sought out the Temple Of The Dog album. I also found out the story behind the record and that the second vocalist on the song - one Edward Vedder - was now the lead singer in a new combo called Pearl Jam. A few weeks later I was lounging around at home watching late night telly - The Late Show on BBC2 in fact - when the show's presenter introduced a new rock band from Seattle who, in her words, were "following in Nirvana's footsteps". Nirvana had recently crashed the UK in some style with both their album 'Nevermind' and it's parent single Smells Like Teen Spirit storming the charts and pretty much changing everything. This new alt-rock sound from the Pacific North West was my very own punk rock and I was lapping up anything and everything that had a similar sound. Pearl Jam's performance of Alive on that late night broadcast was utterly incendiary and I thought about nothing else for weeks.

The single was finally released in the UK in early February of 1992, the album 'Ten' a few weeks later and then, on the 28th of that month, I found myself in the midst of a steaming, sweat-drenched throng at London's University Of London Union as Pearl Jam ended their first British tour in extraordinary style. They ran through the bulk of the album, as well as future fan favourites like State Of Love And Trust and Footsteps, before almost bringing the roof down with a thunderous rendition of Alive. With Gossard and McCready riffing away like mad and the rhythm section of Ament and Abbruzzese hunkered down at the back of the stage, Vedder proceeded to surf the crowd, climb the rafters and hang off any piece of masonry he could get his hands on before dropping into the adoring melee below. It was astonishing stuff and, I dare say, everybody who was there that night has remained solid and faithful fans of the band ever since.
Since then, I've been lucky enough to see the band at Finsbury Park twice - first, as part of an indie-rock all-dayer that also featured The Cult, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, PJ Harvey and many more - and secondly, supporting Neil Young in the rain. I've also caught them at Brixton, at Wembley Arena twice, at Hyde Park and at the cavernous crater that is Milton Keynes Bowl. Each time I've seen them live they've been even more phenomenal than the time before - putting on shows that more often than not stretch to three hours whilst dipping into their vast back catalogue to air deep cuts and rarities that never fail to cheer the ever-increasing fanbase. Last month's O2 gigs were no exception - both nights hovered around the 180 minute mark with the second performance pushing three and a half hours. Vedder and the boys were open to requests from the audience, with seriously deep cuts like Breath - from the Singles soundtrack - and the Victoria Williams tribute Crazy Mary seeing the light of day for the first time in over two decades. Across the two nights all the big hitters got an airing of course - Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Black, Given To Fly, Daughter, Animal, Last Kiss - and there was room for a healthy selection of covers from their own personal heroes. Neil Young's Rockin In The Free World, The Who's Baba O'Reilly, I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty and All Along The Watchtower by Hendrix.

 Throughout both gigs the band were on magnificent form, not only musically, but with their interactions with both sets of fans. Vedder apologised early on the first night for his vocal troubles - sinking a large bottle of 'grape juice' throughout proceedings to ease his pain - and even though his ails were obvious, he powered through manfully. He was fully recovered by the time of the rescheduled date and the gig was a wilder, heavier affair because of it with less ballads and acoustic interludes and way more gargantuan riffage and ear-shattering screamage. Mike McCready in particular was outstanding on both nights - his guitar work inspiring awe from the gathered masses. He has, very quietly, become one of the best axe-men in modern music. Both gigs ended, as they were always going to do, with breathtakingly barnstorming renditions of Alive which - 26 years on from that hot and sweaty night at ULU - were just as magnificent and emotionally uplifting as ever. And, just like I did in February of 1992, I stumbled home with my shirt drenched and my ears ringing and a huge, beatific smile across my face.
Pearl Jam - I salute you, chaps. Thanks for everything.

ESSENTIAL PEARL JAM PLAYLIST

TEN: Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Black, Porch, Deep, Release, Garden, Why Go, Oceans
Vs: Go, Animal, Daughter, Rats, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Rearviewmirror, Indifference
VITALOGY: Spin The Black Circle, Not For You, Nothingman, Better Man, Immortality
NO CODE: Hail Hail, Who You Are, In My Tree, Off He Goes, Smile
YIELD: Given To Fly, Wishlist, Do The Evolution, Faithful, Low Light, In Hiding
BINAURAL: Light Years, Nothing As It Seems, Rival
RIOT ACT: Love Boat Captain, I Am Mine, Thumbing My Way
PEARL JAM: Life Wasted, World Wide Suicide, Come Back, Inside Job
BACKSPACER: Got Some, The Fixer, Just Breathe, Unthought Known
LIGHTNING BOLT: Mind Your Manners, Sirens, Lightning Bolt, Future Days
B-SIDES/RARITIES/FLOTSAM: Breath, State Of Love And Trust, Footsteps, Yellow Ledbetter, Crazy Mary, Last Kiss, Dirty Frank, Hitchhiker, Fatal, Wash, Dead Man, Strangest Tribe, I Got ID, Hunger Strike (Temple Of The Dog), Hard Sun (Eddie Vedder Solo), The Face Of Love/The Long Road (Eddie Vedder And Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)