Hector Gannet Live at Hall 2, Sage Gateshead

Went to The Sage to see Hector Gannet and reviewed the gig for Rocking Magpie.

Hector Gannet
Hall 2
Sage Gateshead
Saturday May 6^th2023

Before a guitar was strummed, a lone voice filled Sage 2; filmed in 1944 following the re-opening of Tyneside’s shipyards at the start of the World War 2 a cloth-capped Geordie states
”Tyneside’s busy enough today,
owldens and youngens hard at work makin’ good ships…
will it be the same again five years from now?“
The footage, courtesy of the North East Film Archive plays on a screen above the heads of Aaron Duff and his band as the music kicks in.
Tonight’s opener -The Launchwas taken from their 2020 debut albumBig Harcar- it’s a beautiful, largely instrumental track with only the haunting, echoey lines

‘When you’re ready to go, let me know’transporting us backwards.

Of course, this historic newsreel/live music territory has been richly mined of late by Public Service Broadcasting, but…

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Aldous Harding at Sage Gateshead

Went to the Sage Gateshead to review Aldous Harding for Rocking Magpie.

The Rocking Magpie

Aldous Harding
Sage 1
Sage Gateshead
Saturday, 22nd April 2023

Aldous Harding takes to the stage dressed in something akin to a black karate outfit, flat black leather shoes, her hair pulled tightly into a ponytail, her face seemingly make-up free. I
It’s a minimalist look, and this, coupled to her understated entrance sets the tone for what is to follow.
Despite tonight’s unglamorous façade, Aldous watchers know full well that her persona is an instrument of remarkable agility, her voice too – soft and gentle at times but it can also have a blowtorch intensity to it too.
Add to this the jagged lyricism of a young, surrealist poet and the simmering energy she quietly creates on stage soon starts to glow.
‘Lick my instep,
I miss the funk it leaves on me’
she sings moments into the evening’s opener, Ennui, one of nine songs she performs…

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What is it about Singer–Songwriters?

In terms of the live music experience I have recently been asking myself ‘what exactly is it about singer-songwriters that captivates me’; the solo performer on stage armed only with a guitar, more often than not an acoustic guitar, sometimes fortified with various sound effects and loop pedals, but nonetheless, a singular person up there … Continue reading What is it about Singer–Songwriters? →