Richard Hawley

We've not been to many gigs this year, but the top 5 recent ones (in no order) have been

1 Vintage Trouble at The Plug, Sheffield

2 BB King at The Royal Albert Hall, also saw at MEN and Sheffield Arena

3 David Grey at Sheffield City Hall and the arena (City Hall was better)

4 REM, Sheffield Arena, Nottingham and Brixton

5 Buddy Guy, Manchester

Looking forward to seeing Jake Bugg and The Eels next year

JD McPherson, Borderline
Justin Townes Earle, Rescue Rooms
Si Cranstoun, Rhythm Riot
Ryan Adams, Notts Concert Hall
The Crookes, No Direction Home

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The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously

In no particular order - mainly because ive probably only been to about 5 gigs this year

Nicole Atkins @ The Stone Pony
Martha Wainwright @ Shepherd's Bush Empire/St George's Chucrch, Brighton- both great for different reasons, Brighton slightly edging it out for being with a couple of friends and having another mega talented friend open for Martha and dedicate a song to me causing a few people to look at me a lot
The Raveonettes @ Oxford Art Factory in Sydney
Cults and The Drums in Sydney
Lana Del Rey in Sydney - before you scoff, she was actually pretty good and had a great string section

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The sound of loneliness makes me happier

In some kind of order...

Jason & The Scorchers @ The Greystones
The Lucky Strikes @ The Greystones
Quiet Loner @ Sacred Trinity Church
Amanda Shires @ The Greystones
The Deadly Gentlemen @ The Greystones
Whitehorse @ The Greystones
Chuck Prophet @ The Greystones
Cam Penner @ The Greystones
Southern Tenant Folk Union @ The Greystones
The Revival Tour @ Club Academy Manchester
Last Harbour/Tomorrow We Sail/The Listeners @ Shakespeares
Neil McSweeney @ The Lantern Theatre
Otis Gibbs @ Henry Boons
Matt Andersen @ The Greystones

Jason & The Scorchers was far and away #1. I tried excluding gigs i put on to get it down to 5 but that still left me with 8. And it was a ballache to get it down to this many. I could mention any number of other WagonWheel nights that i can barely get a gnats chuff between them and that list. Mention should also go to Roaming Son and Big Convoy/Mat Wale but i've seen them both so many times it's hard to pick just one gig (or remember which was which more to the point!).

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http://www.wagonwheelmedia.co.uk
http://www.last.fm/user/TheWagonMaster

"you ain't afraid of no alleyway when you are the thing in the dark"

Brilliant wasn't it. I was right up in front of Russel.

Highlights this year Elvis Costello, Chris Isaak, Sparks and Leonard Cohen. Didn't go to much. In fact the only shite gig was John Cale.

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breakingtunes.com/thechoirinvisible/

John Cale was shite? Why?

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Give me the beat boys and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock and roll

It was just tedious. Zero engagement with the audience. All songs completely forgettable. Just looked like a glorified jam session with very uninspired musicians. Some people I was with just walked out. Quite disappointing, although I will admit ignorance of most of his work outside the Velvets, not that I was expecting any.

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breakingtunes.com/thechoirinvisible/

I don't know much of his solo work either, but whenever I've heard anything I've always liked it.
Let's hope the show you saw was just a blip...

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Give me the beat boys and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock and roll