Graham Nash at the Union Chapel

Graham Nash
Union Chapel, 24 May 2016

First, this show had to have had the longest line I've ever seen at the Union Chapel before, stretching all the way back past the houses beside the old church. I guess that's what you get when you have a legend of Graham Nash's stature playing a relatively small venue for his first solo jaunt in the UK in years (in fact I'm not even sure he has toured solo here before). Secondly, the majority of the audience were of an older vintage, which I loved, it's nice to feel you are one of the young ones at a concert for once.

Best gigs of 2010

This year I don't think I've ever been so many seated gigs but I have to say it's been pretty nice to not only have a guaranteed place and not be pushed around but also have a nice little sit down during the show. I guess I'm getting old because I used to measure how good a concert was by the amount of bruises I sustained throughout. Maybe because of this there wasn't as many shows that blew me away (aside from the first three) but I have to say that overall I've seen some fantastic gigs this year and got to see a few legends in the process. So, in descending order, here's my 10 favourite shows from 2010 (with links to the original write-ups). Let's hope 2011 has just as many great concerts to look forward to.

10. Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses at Bush Hall

9. Robert Plant & The Band Of Joy at The Forum

8. She & Him at Koko

7. Crosby, Stills & Nash at Royal Albert Hall

6. Jeff Tweedy at Union Chapel

5. Elvis Costello at Royal Festival Hall

4. Joanna Newsom at Royal Festival Hall

3. Rickie Lee Jones at Union Chapel

2. Iggy & The Stooges at Hammersmith Apollo

1. Kris Kristofferson at Cadogan Hall

I Am The Rock Biography Queen

Although I've always read rock biographies, music books and autobiographies (interspersed with my usual fictional faves) in the past year I seem to have gone rock biography crazy. I've read loads, one after the other, and a great majority of them are tragic tales for some reason. Part of it is without a doubt because I enjoy increasing my rock and roll expertise but maybe, given the sad endings many have, part of it may be down to discovering that even those who seem to live impossibly cool and glamorous lives are not so impossibly cool afterall. Just like the rest of us in fact.
Whatever the reason, since I've read so many in the past 12 months I thought I've give a round-up of the music books I've read this year, and write a few things about each. Brace yourself, this is going to be long.

Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Royal Albert Hall

Crosby, Stills & Nash
Royal Albert Hall, 3 July 2010

Almost a year to the day that I first saw Crosby, Stills & Nash in the suitably magnificent setting of the Royal Albert Hall, I was back in the same place to see them again. This time I didn’t have quite as impressive seats (last time I was practically at the front), but was pleasantly surprised to find I was still quite near the stage but in the side stalls this time. I always forget just what an incredibly beautiful place the Royal Albert Hall is and how perfectly designed it is as a music venue, and to be fair I imagine no matter where you were sitting you would get a good view. But I must admit it is nice to be fairly close to your heroes where you can even hear their off-microphone banter on stage (my favourite being when Crosby responded to requests from the crowd saying “I’ll do all the ones I can remember” playing on his notorious drug-fuelled reputation and earning a huge laugh, to which Stills, off mike, pointed to Crosby’s tele-prompter and said “But you have that!”) .

Best & Worst Gigs Of 2009

I learned many lessons from all the concerts I attended this year, important things such as: Bob Dylan fans are grumpy, selfish and have short attention spans but Pearl Jam fans are kind, cool and generally awesome; The Troxy is the worst venue in London unless The Flaming Lips are throwing confetti around the place; Steve Martin is an amazing musician and even more surprising, still very funny; M. Ward really doesn't like cameras; Fleetwood Mac security for the front row is really strict at their shows but the guards can be worn down if you're persistent and appeal to their better nature; going to gigs really sucks when you are ill and, finally, Roger Daltrey of The Who is one of the nicest guys in the whole world. And with that, here are my favourite gigs of the past year. Click on the titles to bring you to my original review of each show.

The Best
1. The Mars Volta at the ICA

2. Neil Young at Hyde Park

3. Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Royal Albert Hall

4. Pearl Jam at Shepherd's Bush Empire

5. Faith No More at Brixton Academy

6. M. Ward at The Borderline

7. Steve Martin at the Royal Festival Hall

8. Fleetwood Mac at Wembley Arena

9. Wilco at The Forum

10. Neko Case at Bush Hall

The Worst
1. Monsters Of Folk at Troxy
2. Bob Dylan at the O2

Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Royal Albert Hall

 
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Royal Albert Hall, 1 July 2009

It would be a tough act to follow Mr Young after his jaw-dropping show on the weekend but if anyone was going to give it a try then I suppose his old bandmates Crosby, Stills & Nash were as good a bet as any.