DAWN FRENCH

How exciting to have to National Treasure that is Dawn French come to Newcastle for her stage show, Dawn French is a Huge Twat. 

I have loved Dawn from way back with the Comic Strip, The Young Ones, and French and Saunders. Then absolutely fell in love with her as The Vicar of Dibley. I also loved her two more recent series, Delicious and The Trouble with Maggie Cole. 

She is a wonderful comedian and a great actress, but also just a charming, and beautiful person. She always seems to be her authentic self and this tour was a perfect example of that. The tour was stories from her life, the weird and strange, and occasionally bad things she has done....to show we are all human.

And she did not disappoint.

We had decent seats about halfway back at my beloved Civic Theatre. It was also a 6pm start, which was quite lovely. The theatre was packed and there was a lot of love in the room.

She told stories in rough chronological order with a large screen for images or videos to showcase the story. What a life she has had, people she has worked with and things she has done. 

And she was bloody funny, which goes without saying, but really, she was really funny!

She looked amazing and just held the entire theatre in the palm of her hands. Stories about her starting out in television and film, and silly things that happened due to her being so young and green. 

Some were short and silly, some were long and involved and hilarious. The story of her and Lenny Henry dressing up as Michael Jackson and his chimp, Bubbles for Elton John's 60th birthday bash, was just batshit crazy but oh so funny. 

The story of her replicating her infamous disappear in a puddle of water skits from The Vicar of Dibley on morning television...against her better judgement, was funny but horribly real, spoiler...she hurt herself quite badly.

We loved her story about auditioning for Mama Mia the film, and not really being able to sing and then sending herself up with French and Saunders is a perfect example of her keeping it real.

There were stories we had heard before and many we had not, especially her being part of an opera, which was most divinely funny. My goodness, the photo of her decked out for the Opera was sensationally stunning. 

The ending of the show was also quite amazing, but that would be too much of a spoiler.

I was lucky enough to purchase the second last signed copy of her book, and left the theatre feeling like I had been given a long warm hug from a dear old friend.

THE CHURCH

Last night a group of us took a punt and went and saw The Church at The Civic Theatre.

I say took a punt as they have not played for a while and it would appear Steve is the only remaining member, there is a drummer he has had since the mid 90s, but none of the original line up. This sort of thing always leave me concerned.

And Steve can be cantankerous.

I saw them once back in the day and they were great and I have seen Steve solo a few times.

This concert was billed as The Hypnogogue World Tour. The Hypnogogue being a new album, I was curious.

After another amazing meal at Menya Makoto, we headed to the theatre. We immediately could see it had not sold out and there were a LOT of empty seats in front of us. The tickets were a bit exy for a Aussie band. 

We commented on the many empty seats and waited for them to start.

Out they came to thunderous applause and they played an unfamiliar but ok sounding song. But something felt wrong, they sounded flat and a little off. Halfway through the song you could see a roadie trying to get Steve's attention. I had initially thought the small audience and many gaps put them off, but it was a tech issue. So much so they had to go off stage for a small amount of time while it was fixed. Not a great start understandably

It was not a long break, of course the bogans in the audience had to go out and get more booze. I really will never understand the human race. The amount of people heading in and out to the bar was very distracting and rude and may have influenced the evening for the band.

They came back on after a few minutes and restarted the concert.

They sounded much better. But this first half lacked something, even with the tech fixed. I appreciate and enjoy the laid-back guitar focused pop/rock that is The Church, but I am no way a huge fan. I don't know every song, but I do know a lot. They played a mix of hits and popular songs mixed in with songs from the new album. 

This first half was mostly the atmospheric guitar songs, and that was fine, but as an older audience, it kinda made you (me) sleepy.

The main problem was the new album - it was actually quite good, but it was a concept album and high concept at that. It was obviously made to play as a whole, as concept albums are meant to. And this is how they should have started the concert. 

The concept was a dystopian future - highly original (I jest!) - about a thing called The Hypnogogue that can pull songs out of people's heads and a musician goes in search of it. This is a very very basic explanation, Steve had many many more highly detailed explanations. I am still unsure if he was being amusing or serious. The thing reeked of just out of high school, early University wankery. But the songs were quite good, despite the long winded explanations before each one. Having said that, it was lovely to hear Steve being affable and chatty, as opposed to his usual cantankerous self.

About 80 mins in they took an interval, which is odd for a rock concert. As my friend said, if Springsteen and The Stones can play for 3 hours + straight, surely they can do a tight 90-120 mins gig. 

A lot of people left during the interval, which is a shame as the second half was much better. Still nowhere near great, but better. They played a lot of the more uplifting and rockier/pop songs in this half. They sounded a little more together in this half. 

I've seen a lot of concerts and lucky to only have a handful of bad ones to report back about. And I am picky, when I pay big bucks for something I want value for money. This was not bad, it just wasn't great.

I think the venue was not suitable, something smaller, more intimate - Lizottes or even the good ole Cambridge (where I think I saw them way back when) would have been a better choice.

They most definitely should have played the concept album in full and in order for the first half, I would have enjoyed that rather than the disjointed mix of songs that were pulled together. It was like they had an amateur who had never written a set list or made a mixed tape pull it together.

They didn't need an interval, but if they played the concept album first, took a small break and then came back to play the hits in the second half, well, that would have been perfect.

Please don't think I hated this concert, I really didn't, I enjoyed it but it left me feeling a little cold to be honest. I cannot rave it was brilliant or the best thing I have seen because it simply was not. I have seen them before and they were better. Thing is this is a new and youngish band, you cannot replicate the original sound and for some very odd reason (especially for a band known for guitar music) they had 2 drummers that added nothing special to the music. One drummer is sufficient, but whatever. That was the least of their worries.

They played Under the Milky Way mid way through the second half. They probably should have saved that to go out on, but I get not making a big deal of their biggest song. It did sound great, better than anything else played, but then it is a great song, better than anything else he ever wrote. I loved seeing all the bogans in the audience finally awakening and getting up to dance - to that one song, and then sitting down again as he played a slower, less dancey song. 

My personal favourite, Almost with you, was also played in this half and it sounded good. The jangly guitars not quite as good as they used to be but close.

It finished just before 11 and we were done, but the audience wanted more (really!?!) and they came back on and played Reptile - which Andrew loves and sounded great and You Played, an ok song that they stretched out for way too long. They had worn out their welcome with me, I was done, we left before they finished the song - as many others did.

We all debriefed as we walked back to our car, we didn't hate it but didn't love it. Something was missing or off. We all agreed the venue just didn't work for them and the many empty seats in the audience was probably off putting. I explained my theory of playing the new album in it's entirely and everyone agreed.

Maybe we are getting too old and cynical, maybe you can never revisit old faves, I am certain - from observations - that many people enjoyed the evening far more than we did. Although that could have been the alcohol they consumed, lol. But we do see a lot of gigs and listen to a lot of music. They WERE good, just not as good as they could have been.

STICKY FINGERS SHOW

Back in February I had the pleasure of seeing Tim Rogers, Tex Perkins, Adalita and Phil Jamieson in concert at The Civic Theatre doing the songs of The Rolling Stones. Specifically, their seminal album, Sticky Fingers - you know the one, the one with the zipper!!

Never a fan of tribute shows, I resisted these kind of shows, until I saw a Beatles one at The Opera House some years back. It was remarkable and I was hooked. 

But!!! It must be a good range of artists and a good set.

This was...obviously!

We have been starved of gigs during COVID so we were excited taking our seats upstairs at The Civic Theatre.

Tim Rogers, dressed in sparkly emerald flares with a purple velvet jacket, swaggered out for the opening - Brown Sugar. A song The Stones have retired, but it worked. Tim, a long time Stones fan, had obviously been practising his Jagger moves for many decades and he had them down pact. He was on fire. He would only get better as the night proceeds.

He then introduced Tex Perkins, who owned Sway. Tex was quite emotional towards the end of the song, saying he didn't think he'd ever be back on a stage again. It was quite sweet but he was obviously unstuck, in a way that featured all evening. He sung and performed perfectly, but he didn't have a lot to say and seemed not quite himself. 

Adalita joined him on stage to sing Wild Horses as a stunning duet. She seemed to be comforting him and propping him up a little. Bu their performance was top notch.

Phil Jamieson then took the stage for a cracking version of Can't You Hear Me Knocking. 

Each of their voices picking the right song to sing, it really was something to behold and hear. And the backing band was something else, all top grade musicians that enhanced the performances and sometimes sold the show!

This section continued with You Gotta Move, Bitch, I Got the Blues, Sister Morphine (totally killed by Tex), Dead Flowers, and Moonlight Mile.

We were just warming up.

After the break, it was a perfect selection of their best hits over the decades.

It just got better and better!!

Here's where my memory fails, I cannot remember every song nor the order they came in and for some who sung what. But it was next level for sure!

Phil Jamison bounced out and started the set with Start Me Up! He also did a great version of Miss You.

Adalita did a beautiful version of Ruby Tuesday, Tim introducing her and telling us his daughter was named for that song. She joined Phil on a rocking Beast of Burden.

Tim also did Let's Spend the Night Together and Jumpin' Jack Flash (or was it Phil!?)

Tex rocked out Paint it Black, Sympathy for the Devil and Angie, the later was stunning.

My highlights were towards the end of the show. Adalita and Tim did a church worthy version of You Can't Always Get What You Want and then Tim pretty much stole the show with his sensual, sexual and length version of Midnight Rambler. It had to be seen to be believed!

Then they all hit the stage for one of my top five faves, Gimme Shelter, freakin' amazing.

The final song is one I guess the audience wanted, but I can live without, Satisfaction. I guess that has to be sung, I would have preferred it to finish with the powerful Gimme Shelter, but I loved the show so much, that was a very small negative.

If this tours again, I'd be there again, and you should go too. It will make you smile and feel alive!!!