Stereophonics
It’s been a blast, an occasion to truly savour in the Royal families back garden.
Prior to this evening, I had never seen Jake Bugg live but have seen both Blossoms and Stereophonics several times.
Post this evening, I have rather disappointingly still not seen Jake Bugg live but can at least add another notch to my gig tree for both Blossoms and Stereophonics.
Unfortunately, I got my timings for the travel arrangements very horribly wrong! It took me two hours to make a regular thirty-minute trip on any other regular day to the venue! Next time, I’ll be sure to be there promptly for when the gates open up, but sometimes other things and the best made plans just get in the way.
So, apologies Mr Bugg, but I did manage to catch the final three songs as we were checking in, and you were sounding just mighty fine. Five albums recorded and released now in just nine years is no mean feat for any musician, but it’s an even bigger achievement for someone that’s still so young, he’s only thirty-one!
Based on the reports of fellow gig goers that had got their timings right, apparently, he went down extremely well, delivering a very accomplished performance.
Seasoned campaigners, Stockport’s Blossoms are well used to supporting the big bands of this world, following previous support slots for the likes of Courteeners, The Stone Roses and The Killers, but they also have an extremely prolific recording career in their locker too, with five albums also to boot.
Of course they are not always the bridesmaid, more like the best man. These boys have turned out to be fine young men, always more than capable of putting a smile on your face with their classy songs and they always look quite magnificent during their live shows.
Playing with such big acts I am sure has enormously helped them to leapfrog their ability to think big, gain confidence more readily and ensure that they deliver a top-class set of the highest order.
Blossoms are purring with absolute class on a consistent basis, the more recent album, entitled Gary is probably their finest and most complete piece of recorded music since their self-titled debut album, which was released back in 2016.
The set list is a perfect mix of the old and the new, every track is a real treasure, once again the dress code matches the musical output, there is always something going on during their shows so much so that you find yourself very attentively watching their every move.
Lead Singer Tom Ogden is so damn charismatic, a real charmer with loads of interaction and he’s damn right handsome too, you are drawn by his every move as he moves himself around the floor throughout their one-hour slot.
Kicking off with Your Girlfriend and Perfect Me, it’s a dream start.
Tracks such as Getaway, Honeysweet, At Most A Kiss, Charlemagne and finally Gary, all help them to hit the right spots. What a brilliant set of songs.
For the final song, we are told about said gorilla getting stolen and recovered. The giant gorilla aka Gary is then wheeled out onto the stage, much to the crowd’s delight.
I am sure that they will have won over many new followers tonight and I hope that in the not-too-distant future they will be back here on the Kings estate, as the headliners playing to their own sell-out crowd. Just brilliant, thanks lads.
If the Stereophonics start with Vegas Two Times and they do, then they must’ve been listening to our prayers out here in the masses (well those of my daughter and myself anyway), some thirty thousand people are reported to be in here this evening and it does feel rather busy, making it the busiest event to be held here over the weekend apparently.
The joy starts to unfold as soon as the band enter the stage, it’s so good to see them once again and they don’t disappoint with the opening track and then for the next two hours, it’s a blistering spectacle.
This band, this band I tell you are really quite something else. Absolute quality from start to finish, one of the most polished and professional rock bands out there during the past thirty or so years. It’s a quite brilliant atmosphere as the songs pour out and ring around the grounds.
It’s a knockout set list covering all of the last fifteen years, including a couple of songs from the new album, Make Em’ Laugh, Make Em’ Cry.
Have A Nice Day, Hurry Up And Wait, Superman, Maybe Tomorrow, Mr Writer, Bartender And The Thief, plus the song that started it all for them back in 2010, Local Boy In The photograph. How about that for a decent sized sample of a back catalogue? And we are not done yet, we are further treated to Mr and Mrs Smith, Graffiti On The Train and Traffic during the twenty-three song show.
Kelly Jones looks amazing, still lean and very keen, he’s looking super sharp in his standard black leather jacket.
He tells a few stories, but none better than the conversation that he had with Mike D’abo the writer of Handbags And The Gladrags, we are informed that the royalties from the Stereophonics version not only paid for a conservatory but also a rather large house extension and some!
They wrap up the night with Dakota to send us all home absolutely beaming from cheek to cheek, despite the (pardon the pun!), Traffic.
It’s been a blast, an occasion to truly savour in the Royal families back garden. Roll on next summer.
