Paolo Nutini King Tuts Wah Wah Hut

There are not many times in your life that you can say you were in exactly the right place, at the right time with the right people but on Wednesday night at King Tuts in Glasgow this was certaintly true, I think its fair to say this total experience is unlikely to be repeated again and I still pinch myself on a daily basis to check if I was actually dreaming. I doubt there are enough superlatives in the dictionary that can truly do Paolo Nutini justice, its not just the killer looks, although few could not be drawn by them but it's the total charisma that seems to fill any venue he frequents whether its a small pub in Nottingham or a big Arena, if you are not completely mesmerised then you need to seek urgent medical assistance as you are a walking coma victim. Of course charisma and looks may get you noticed but if you have not got the talent to back it up you will soon be a distant media memory and this is where Paolo truly come into his own, I can only think of a handful of artists who have such a far reaching and diverse talent and these have far more years of experience, such is the artistry that we tend to forget this is a very young man.

As for the gig itself the only part that I could find fault with is the fact that all to soon it was over, never one afraid to slot in an odd cover or two Paolo regularly puts a new slant on other peoples songs makes them his own to such an extent that you forget the original, and when you add this to his own catalogue of songs which is as diverse as it is brilliant you can but admire an artist who can take on the might of the music business and stay true to himself and musical belief, this may mean you occasionally do not get the recognition from certain areas of the business but true critical acclaim will always be close by

However one very important part of this scenario is missing, The Vipers, in these guys Paolo has one of the best, I want to say backing bands but this does not do them justice, they stand strong and true beside him with a wealth of talent that would make them stars in their own right but without a hint of envy , they are all happy to let Paolo take his rightful place centre stage but their skills shine out all evening, would Paolo be famous without them, yes of course, would the performance be as good, without a shadow of a doubt no.

As with every gig a big part is played by the people standing next to you in the crowd, the one thing I have found in the music world is that true fans are just the best people ever, if you need a room for the night they are there, if you want a ride to the gig there is always a person there happy to step in, and who else can you share all your tales of travels and adventures with and not be thought to be ever so slightly unhinged... you all know who you are if I start to name you I am sure to miss someone from the great bunch of people I have met over the last 10 years so better to say to all the people I have met and the ones I am yet to meet thank you .

Will and The People Fan Club

THE TALE OF A CARDIGAN

This was another flying visit arranged at the last minute, in a hurry with very little planning just the certain knowledge that I could not miss all of Will’s European tour, missing any had felt like an act of treason, but even I sometimes have to interrupt my love of music with the day job, with the bonus of Mr Nutini the man who just oozes talent from every pore how could this weekend fail to be a success.

The problem with last minute plans is they inevitably lead to lots of miles and little sleep, however I have long subscribed to the view that you can never travel too far or loose too much sleep for great music and in Mr Rendle and Mr Nutini this is certainly the case, although to be totally honest it was for Will and Tills I made the journey and this is no disrespect to Paolo & Co as they were also worth every effort ,and more than we made, and as The Vipers contain my favourite guitarist no hardship is too much.

I have to say this is one of the worst venues I have come across as far as actually locating it, we must have walked for 2 hours and asked 20 people and still could not find the place, but then I am the person who went to NY and could not find The Empire State Building :-)… , however in this instance the only clue to the location was a sign in a car park and not a physical building, and later to our cost we were to discover why.

At last the entrance found we settled down for a long wait, a waste of a great city I know but given the choice of seeing The Coliseum or Paolo’s neatly clippered chest from the front barrier it’s a total no contest, but to me its all about the music really it was my gigging pals who were just wishing those buttons to come undone… not me ( OK even I did not believe that totally… Paolo is just the icing on the cake for me after seeing my favourite people perform )

The actual entrance was the nightmare you so often find in Europe.. it was open the gates and just run like hell in this instance for what seemed like ½ a mile, with the rest of the crowd having an average age of 12 it was a miracle I made it at all, and at times during the marathon it was only the thought of Mr Rendle’s great music and smiley face that stopped me from sitting down and saying ***** it and giving up, but there was just no way I was giving up on that front row spot and by some miracle I ended up on the barrier dead in front of Donny… bummer that was a real shame :-)

Will as ever was incredible, odd to see the change from full band to just Will with his guitar but to be honest I totally loved it totally unbiased person that I am, it worked, in fact it worked very well judging by the crowds reaction, however I was pleased when Tills came out as it really would not be the same without him.

Paolo gave a faultless performance aside from a couple of technical issues which seem to follow him wherever he goes, but I have never failed to be blown away by this young man and lets be honest he is very young but his professionalism and talent totally belies this, of course its not all about one person and Paolo has a great band behind him, no beside him and they complete the total package.

The rest of the trip consisted of , a few beers, no sleep, cold airport floors and arriving homes after 35hrs totally exhausted, was it worth it, you bet your bottom dollar it was, thanks to Lis,Jacq and Jane for being great gigging companions, but girls you have got to get your minds above those cardi buttons.. right I am off to view a video from Zurich , I am reliably advised it is well worth a watch ;-)


Finally a big thanks to Will & Tills for confirming my faith in you, and proving that being brave, independent and following your heart will eventually achieve what you so rightly deserve, recognition for being talented and focused and never prepared to compromise when it comes to your musical belief, this tour could not have been easy but you conquered Europe and found the positive in the negative

Will and The People EP available to Pre Order now ahead of release on 13th December

It Felt Like Coming Home

Last night in Manchester proved another defining moment in what has been a year full of some of the best of British Talent… it was simply like coming home to an old friend and I wondered why I had been away so long..

I will admit to being slightly apprehensive as to how the new line up would work out, as with many bands the loss of a lead singer leaves a big gap, and David’s departure had left some big shoes to fill... in Ste though they had just the person to do this, in him there was the experience and professionalism to know that you need to bring your own style to a band and not try and emulate previous singers, and this without a doubt he did putting his mark on songs that you previously could not actually imagine anyone else performing , and it worked.

As with any new line up it takes time to settle down and for everything to gel, but although it is early days it was obvious this was going to work. The depth of great material as always is so important and it’s in this that this band more than excels, I do believe they could sneeze and a winning melody would emerge.

Without doubt this band are one of the great unsung heroes of Rock that the UK seems to have problems acknowledging , we embrace Rock from across the Atlantic without a blink of an eye but we always seem to struggle to recognise the immense talent we have on the doorstep, and this does not just apply to Rock Music we have artists in the UK with legendary talent but they struggle as we seem to have a phobia about acknowledging this, however this was not really about my complaints about UK Music Industry but my continued admiration for some guys from Liverpool who optimise all that is great… fantastic material .. great delivery … the ugly stick missed them by a country mile, and they are the nicest guys you could wish to meet… and they are not slow to the bar…

Thank you 10 Reasons to Live it cannot be long before the UK eventually discovers what we have known for several years… you are one of the best Rock Bands around

North of The Border

Well this weekend was a big one for me lots of miles, somehow when Will and Co get mixed up with The Script lots of miles are invovled along with heaps of fun .
3am start Friday morning but if I had realised the doors for T in The Park do not open until 5pm I would have had a few more hours in bed, however no real damage done as I just slept in the sun in Scotland. Its a long drive but someohow time just flew past and it was a great day for driving hot and sunny it bode well for the day, a lot of traffic near the field but in general I was very impressed with the organisation and after 7 hours I racked up in my little parking spot... was interesting to watch all the people arriving to camp for the weekend.. I could never do it, well not unless someone carried it all and set it up people were just laden down with tonnes of gear.. they had sleds, they had wheelbarrows, one enterpising young lady even had a porter, well a marshall actually but she had persuaded him to carry all her bags.. well done.
At 5pm it was a stroll across to the tent to catch the guys in action... of course it would have been better had I been in the right tent.. but it is a big place and all tents look the same to me... found it at last and the first band took to the stage and unusually for me I actually remember their name " Saving Aimee" and they were pretty damn fine liked them a lot.. and so did the crowd although they had the advantage of being on before the main stage started... no such luck for Will just struck off at the same time as James Morrison.. unlucky, however I have always held the view that once you get the people to watch Will they will not be leaving anytime soon... rain would have been good but still a fair sized crowd enjoyed a great set... still not sure about the glasses Will but looking at a few of the people around you looked pretty normal.. crowd loved you that really does not need to be said but I just wished I could understand what they were saying :-) All to soon it was over and then its quick goodbyes you to catch your ferry me to travel back south, thanks for the Kyte video and thanks to Vagabond for the backing track lol ...at this point I was going to tell you about all the other great bands that were on as even I would not be that silly as to travel all that way just to see the guys.. oops I did there was just too much going on to decide so I chose car and head back down to Newcastle for day two... my oriiginal intention had been Eire and Oxgen but that was not to be .. but I sent the rain...................
Arrived at Whitley Bay at midnight before my gigging buddies arrived from down South... so it was sleep for me ready for day 2... The Script... Tynemouth Priory was a fantastic venue and what a setting photos did not do it justice.. my only worry I did not have a ticket but of course I got one so no issies there... was initially worried about the 3 mile ( well seemmed like it) run in the venue but very well organised and to prove that I still have a bit of life in me I got to the barrier first.. oh dear girls you need to get in training. Support was in the shape of Raygun & Yeah Yous.. bit of a deja vue Shepherds Bush .... Raygun were very good but not sure what extra they have to give that loads of other rock bands dont have, but a great act ,and well received, next Yeah Yous who I actally enjoyed way better than at Shepherds Bush dont know why just one of those things.
Then it was the main boys... being the 7th times I had seen them in 4 weeks not going to be too many surprises... I have to say though I thought Danny looked a bit under the weather and to be honest they all look like they needed a rest... they work so damn hard but you can see it is taking its toll... a very short set even by their standards about 56 minutes all done and dusted by 21:20!!! much as I love them they need to expand on this .. time for new material or at least pad the show out a bit , but more important time for a bit of a break to recharge those flagging batteries.
It was a rubbish journey home...bridge closures , road closures etc so crawled into bed 5AM !!!!!!!!!!and believe it or not there is some local festival outside my window and the tannoy is going.and I just want to sleep :-)...

What a differene a day makes

Saturday dawned bright and sunny.... you have to be kidding this is Festival time and it was absolutely chucking it down, did this dampen our enthusiasm .. well not for the music thats never gonna happen but any artists performance is very much crowd driven and if the only thing you have to draw off is a straggle of drowned rats its never gonna be easy... but as ever the consumate proffessionals that they are the guys gave us a great show and it was just a shame the rain kept people away but the people who did brave the rain really rocked it out. We did not wait around for the rest of the bands no disrespect to them but you do have to pretty special for me to stand around in the rain.
Sunday dawned.... rain again no surprise there so I began my long treck up North.. and no Dan just because somewhere is called Middlesbrough it does not have to be in the middle of the UK..I was a lone ranger on this trip... those guys in Take That have got something to answer for keep stealing my gigging buddy although as they are her long time favourites it just shows great loyalty which you have to admire, me the musical tart that I am have dumped all the other favourite bands for a bunch of Southern Fairies. however I know Elissa was gutted not to be there and she would have been had I not made her stay at home to do her homework .
As I got closer to Middlebrough I noticed a strange object in the sky... yes a glimpse of the sun ...not a lot but it was there and no rain............after dumping my car in the first car park( later I was to wish I had remembered the name of it) I headed for the centre of town where the stage was set up... to find people qeueing !!! so I spoke to a very nice security man and told him some extensive tale and he kindly let me through.. more to stop me rambling on I expect..yes I am sorry I forgot my pass but cant you see my shirt says I am a "Weirdo" ..he could not but agree with that one and I was in... a brilliant set up very well run and with the weather improving all the time it was looking good, after a little chat with the guys it was time for the gates to open... boy was I glad I was already in as towards me running at 500mph was most of the U18 population of Middesbrough... I can run with the best but I think these kids would of beat me lol...........
The first band on from Ireland were actually very good and the crowd seemed up for having a great time so I kind of guessed Will and the Guys would be able whip them up in to a frenzy of poggo dancing happiness.. next time do not do such a good job Will ... I nearly did not survive ;-)
When the guys came on there was actually a tentative few seconds when you thought is this gonna work but after about 10 seconds of Mr Sketchy the crowd were off and running, and dancing and singing and falling in love with Will and it just never looked back they have to be one of the best crowds ever and Saturday was just a distant memory... this was a difinative moment , the people of Middlesbrough were worth more than 10000 GA fans these kids really wanted to enjoy it.
It was brilliant to see the guys loving it as much as the crowd and who would not ... they do not need it but this is affirmation of their great talent and entertainment value... so thanks guys
A mad dash off for me, well once I found my car... but the planned trip to London was shelved , just several hundred miles too far and I was so in Salamander mode that even Dan Sells singing Love it when you call was never gonna get through to me... its official I am now fully addicted...