A TOUGH DECISION HERE. I'VE JUST FOUND THIS POST THAT WAS DESTROYED BY SOMEONE THE FIRST 10 MINUTES I POSTED IT LAST YEAR. WHICH IS WHAT LED ME TO STOP BLOGGING FOR SOME TIME SINCE. UNFORTUNATELY THEY WIPED OUT ALL OF MY TEXT FOR THE EVENING'S PERFORMANCE. THAT WAS A CHANGE AS THEY NORMALLY REMOVED VIDEO OR PHOTOS. THAT MEANS I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS PLAYED. BUT I'VE DECIDED THAT SOME OF THE PHOTOS AND PERFORMANCES WERE WORTHY ENOUGH TO BE SEEN.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME AT ACAPELA FOR BOTH AUSTIN LUCAS AND THE DREAMING SPIRES. THE SPIRES FORMED AUSTIN'S BACKING BAND FOR THE EVENING. BUT BEFORE THAT, THEY PLAYED THEIR OWN SET.
THE GUYS WERE ON GREAT FROM AND THEY DESERVED A BIGGER AUDIENCE THAT NIGHT. BUT THEY GAVE IT THEIR ALL AND AS OTHER GIGS AROUND THE COUNTRY PROVED, THEY WERE WELL RECEIVED.
SO I WILL LEAVE THIS JUST AS IT WAS BEFORE THE WORDS WERE REMOVED. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS.
Tonight was a unique opportunity to see one of the UK's best bands up close and personal. The gig was being held in The Acapela Studios in a little village outside Cardiff called Pentyrch.
It's housed in a converted chapel which still has some pews both downstairs and upstairs and is a perfect space, especially for acoustic based music. Tonight's performance reminded me very much of one those MTV Unplugged shows which were a huge success a few years ago.
The Christians now comprise of Garry Christian (Vocals), Joey Ankrah (Vocals/Lead Guitar), Neil Griffiths (acoustic Guitar/Vocals) and Mike Trigg (Keyoards). They are still making albums, their latest being, We, released in 2015. But tonight we were treated to an almost complete Greatest Hits show.
The band, looking extremely comfortable in this foursome, perched on their stools, started the show with an accomplished and soulful cover of Bob Dylan'sI Shall Be Released.
They had the crowd on their side within one song and the enthusiastic applause continued throughout the performance.
It would have been so easy for the band to slip into the promotion of their latest album, We, which is very good indeed. But they chose to give the audience exactly what they wanted with a succession of songs that were more or less The Christians Greatest Hits. It was a move that paid dividends as the Sold Out Acapela heard singing as it had probably not been heard since its days as a chapel. The audience knew every word and sung along on many of tonight's songs. They didn't need the encouragement of Garry Christian but he gave it anyway.
So, for the next song we had the sublime Born Again, which highlighted the harmonies that are still present within the band.
The Christians have had enough hits to warrant a Greatest Hits album and the next song Perfect Moment was one that was included on the band's Best Of album released in 1993, showing that they could still produce a song in that year as good as any of their 80s tunes.
The band were clearly enjoying tonight's show and the witty banter between themselves and the audience only enhanced the jovial atmosphere within the hall.
A big cheer wnt up as the opening phrase to the next song, Words, rang around the walls of the studio. The crowd sat silently to this one as they drank in the fabulous lead vocal of Garry Christian. He still has a voice like velvet.
It was a case of severe audience participation for the next song, Greenbank Drive, as the band hit their stride in giving the audience another of their biggest hits.
Tonight was a show of two halves and the band finished part one on a high as they sang another of their best known hits, the anthemic, What's In A Word. Again with the audience singing along with great enthusiasm.
After a swift drink, it was back into the fray as the opening notes of another huge 80s anthem, Forgotten Town, rang around the chapel. It's delightful to hear all of these fantastic songs again, many written by former Christian, HENRY PRIESTMAN who now has a very successful solo career. The songs are full of a social conscience and have lost none of their power and insight over the years.
As if to prove that the band have not lost their social conscience, the next song is from their latest album, We, and is about the 96 Liverpool football fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough.
Big Red Sky provided one of the show stopping moments as the band projected a film of the fight the families of the 96 fought to get justice for their departed loved ones. It was a very moving moment.
Here is that video.
How do you follow that? Well, if you're The Christians, you pick one of your biggest hits as we are treated to another superb singalong to the fantastic, Ideal World. If ever we needed this song - it's now - and the audience reaction is just fantastic.
It's now hits again for the last three songs of the evening as the band play The Bottle,Sad Songs and then end the set with the superb Hooverville. Again, a song that has lost none of it's power over the subsequent years and is as relevant today as the day it was first released back in 1987.
The song brought an end to the second set and a standing ovation from a Sold Out Acapela. But there had to be an encore.
And why not leave the audience on a high. The Christians chose their biggest hit to end the show tonight, a great cover of The Isley Brothers classic, Harvest For The World. As you can see from the video below (from tonight's performance), it was a great singalong moment and was the perfect ending to a very excellent show.
The day after the gig, the band announced another date for 2017.
I've got my ticket already.
Do yourselves a favour and go and see a great band who can still cut the mustard on their own terms. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
And when you come back next year guys, how about playing MY favourite Christians song - the majestic Man Don't Cry?
Ever since recording the first Sanctuary album back in 2014, Rob Reed has been imagining how he could present the music in a live context. This year, with the release of the Sanctuary 2 album, Rob finally found a way to present Sanctuary that he was happy with.
And where better than in the Sanctuary of Progressive Rock - Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio.
Hidden away in the village of Box in rural Wiltshire, Real World is set in a beautiful set of buildings in a lovely manicured garden with streams and weeping willow trees. You can immediately see why Mr Gabriel decided to set up his musical home here. It truly is a stunning venue.
With state of the art technological facilities, you can also see why Rob Reed decided to hold the live debut of Sanctuary in these hallowed surroundings.
The two shows were presented as a matinee performance and then an evening performance.
I chose the afternoon performance to be able to see the studio in all it's glory.
We were warmly welcomed as we booked into the reception area and collected our programmes.
Rob wanted to keep the debut shows small and selective so Real World was the perfect venue and you could palpably feel the excitement and anticipation build as the audience was led into The Big Room ready for the performance.
Both of the shows were being filmed for hopefully a forthcoming DVD release so it was strictly No Cameras and Phones Off - so sorry, no photos of the gig itself.
Rob didn't want to skimp on the quality of the music presented live so brought together 11 of his musical companions including his Magenta band colleagues.
The musicians for today's performances were:
Robert Reed - Guitar, Keyboards, Tubular Bells, Percussion & Vocoder
Chris Fry - Acoustic, 12 String, Nylon & Electric Guitar Martin Shellard - Electric Guitar, Nylon Guitar & Banjo Dan Nelson - Bass Guitar Jonathan 'Jiffy' Griffiths - Drums & African Percussion Tim Lewis - Keyboards, Vocoder and Low Synth Nigel Hopkins - Piano
Simon Brittlebank - Marimba, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Timpani &..... Tubular Bells
Angharad Brynn - Solo Voice Vocal Chants - Christina Booth, Fran Murphy, Lorraine King & Ffion Wilkins
Firstly, as you might expect in this venue, the sound quality was first class. You could hear every instrument perfectly which must have been quite an achievement to produce as they were plenty of them.
With Rob Reed at centre stage, with a keyboard and electric guitar, the 'band' started with
Sanctuary 1 - part 1.
Both Sanctuary albums are absolutely delicious. I'm assuming by reading this review that you are aware of what Rob Reed was trying to achieve with the Sanctuary album releases. If not, you might like to check my review of Sanctuary 1 to see what we were all listening to in The Big Room.
There was always the temptation that Rob would choose to recreate the album note for note but to his credit, Rob allowed himself the creative space to interpret Sanctuary beautifully for the stage. Don't get me wrong, the music is very much the album but with added dynamics that only a live performance can give. Sanctuary 1 had minimal live drumming on it, Sanctuary 2 has much more. But the added rhythm that the drums provided on stage drive the piece along beautifully.
I really can't express in words how much hearing these works live has meant to me. My vocabulary isn't that big but hearing that guitar soar and those glockenspiel notes twinkle just brought a tear to my eye.
Also a special mention here for the ladies who provided the human vocal touches this evening. They were spot on and just sounded heavenly. And Angharad Brynn, with her solo vocal performance was just sublime.
Although the music is based on the template of Tubular Bells and the early 70s albums, those albums were far more melancholic, as a mirror of Mike Oldfield's personality. The Sanctuary releases are much more optimistic and joyous and it really showed in today's performances.
You could really see all of the musician's were enjoying themselves immensely as there were smiles galore. Mr Reed, a shy individual at the best of times, ran the show like a true ringmaster, counting in the sections to the musicians using both his hands and facial gestures.
As the final acoustic guitar notes of Sanctuary 1 Part 1 drifted off there was a quiet that held there, just for a moment, as the audience took in exactly what they had just witnessed. Then they erupted in applause.
The smile that Rob Reed gave just lit up the room. And I couldn't have been happier for him. All the hard world that had gone into planning today's performance had just paid off. Big Time.
From the front row, I could see Rob's nervousness to the reaction just slip from his shoulders as he probably realised that the works he had released over the past two years DID actually work as a live performance.
Next, Rob and the musicians performed a small piece of Sanctuary 1 - Part 2 before the main event of the complete Sanctuary 2 album.
Sanctuary 2
I haven't completed my review yet for Sanctuary 2 (there is a reason that will become clear later in the year) but suffice to say it is another beautiful piece of work. Even more dynamic and beautifully sonic than Sanctuary 1.
I visited Rob in his studio while he was working on it and the phrase that I used of hearing the early mixes was that it was like Sanctuary 1 but wearing velvet and brocade. I wasn't far off.
Buoyed with confidence to the reaction of Sanctuary 1, Rob and the musicians gave their all while playing both sides of Sanctuary 2. I could see it in their faces as they smiled throughout the performances.
Once again, a special mention to the ladies vocal performance which has a greater presence in Sanctuary 2.
Sanctuary 2 is richer in approach than the first album and this gives every musician on that stage a chance to shine.
It would be easy for Rob to take the lead performances for himself but in the spirit of generosity that pervades the performance, he gives all the musicians their chance to shine.
While Rob didn't leave his position for Sanctuary 1, the temptation became too much (planned, I'm sure) as he stepped behind Simon Brittlenbank's section to play Vibraphone, a Sleigh Bells Stick and Tubular Bells.
On the album, Simon Phillips mans the drum-kit but tonight young Jonathan Griffiths stepped up to the plate and put in an absolutely sterling performance.
With two excellent guitarists on stage I was pleasantly surprised to see Rob doing so much guitar work. Known as a keyboard player, Rob had to learn all of the instruments played on the Sanctuary albums and he is a much better guitarist than he thinks he is.
Suffice to say that Sanctuary 2 Parts 1 & 2 are performed magnficently and the musicians left the stage with a standing ovation ringing in their ears. It was great to see the smiling faces all around the room, not only on the stage but in the audience too.
Everybody in that room knew what they had just witnessed and were so glad to be there.
There just HAD to be an encore and as the lady vocalists came back onto the stage masked up with animal faces we knew what was coming next.
Rob and the musicians played the title track from the Willow Song EP with the glorious vocals of Angharad Brynn sealing the deal.
After another standing ovation, the musicians left the stage for the last time to thunderous applause.
The end of a very special performance indeed.
Following the end of the performance we all left The Big Room where the musicians were on hand to talk and have photos taken and sign the albums and cds.
The buzz among the audience was that we had all been present at something very special indeed.
I know that Rob and the musicians have performed in some very large venues and been a part of major music festivals but I think that all of them will hold today's performance close to their hearts.
Rob must be extremely proud of what he has achieved with the Sanctuary projects, both recorded and live.
And they had the opportunity to relive that performance all over again in the evening.
With Rob's attention to detail, I'm sure the DVD will be a fitting monument to today's very special performances. So let's hope for a full Blu Ray presentation in 5.1 Surround Sound - then everyone else might just have some idea of what it was like to be there.
The word Legend is used much too often in Musical circles but tonight at The Convent we had a 'Real' Musical Legend with the appearance of Jimmy Webb.
But firstly...
The Man below is Matthew Roberts - who, with his wife Charlotte, has breathed new life into The Convent in South Woodchester near Stroud. It would take some venue to get me to drive the almost 2 hours from South Wales on a as regular as possible basis but The Convent is the best venue I have attended in my many years of attending gigs. It is a very special place tucked into the gorgeous Cotswold countryside and is building up a fantastic reputation among musicians and audiences alike. And not only is it a fantastic place to play and attend gigs - it also has the added advantages of being able to broadcast the gigs all over the world via absolutely brilliant internet broadcasts. Added to this, it has some exceptional recording facilities. Oh, and throw in a very unique hotel experience too.
And it's all down to Matthew, Charlotte and their exceptional team, who make you feel so welcome.
Tonight, Matthew announces that this show with Jimmy Webb is the first in a series of ICON performances coming to The Convent. I can't wait to see what Icons Matthew is bringing to The Convent in the future. But he's keeping it under one of his many literal hats at the moment.
What can you say about Jimmy Webb? Jimmy is one of the most distinguished songwriters in the world. He's had so many hits that we'd be here all night singing them.
He's worked with most of the major players in popular music and tonight is an opportunity to hear Jimmy singing his own songs with just a piano accompaniment. In probably exactly the same way as they were originally written over the last 60 years. He also tells some insightful and entertaining stories about the people he has worked with.
During this review, I will include some videos of the songs that Jimmy performs tonight. Some by Jimmy, some by other artists with Jimmy, some by the artists who have had the original hits with the included songs.
Jimmy opens the show with one of his biggest hits - The Highwayman - a huge hit for the Country supergroup of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson aka from then on as The Highwaymen.
I will not spoil the show for anyone who has yet to see it by unveiling the stories that Jimmy tells throughout the evening but I will mention some of the people he discusses. Such as Waylon Jennings with this song. Here it is performed by Jimmy and the wonderful songwriter Paddy McAloon from the band Prefab Sprout.
The Highwaymen performing The Highwayman
There is always something special about seeing a performer like Jimmy - a songwriter who has given other artists some of the biggest songs of their career. There is a beautiful vulnerability to these songwriters when performing their own songs. And you get variations in terms of the songs' presentations and performances. Shedding new light on some of the most recognised songs in the history of recorded music.
Jimmy will always be known for his musical relationship with Glen Campbell. This began in 1967 with the song By The Time I Get To Pheonix, of more later. But second song tonight is another of the huge songs from Glen Campbell, Gavlveston.
Here is Glen's original promo from 1968.
Another fruitful relationship for Jimmy was with the vocal group 5th Dimension. Their biggest hit comes up next - introduced by Jimmy as 'Are you old enough to remember the Nimble Advert?'
As with all of the songs tonight, Jimmy regales us with some excellent stories related to either the song or the artist.
Jimmy is such an unassuming and genuine guy. This comes across in his performance tonight. I had to almost pinch myself tonight just to remind myself that this guy on the stage has written ALL of these fantastic songs we were privileged to be listening to tonight.
And The Convent suits this performance beautifully with the glorious surroundings, superb sound quality and The Convent Grand piano.
The next song we are treated to was a hit for the great singer Art Garfunkel, who knows a thing or two about Iconic songwriters. It's called All We Know.
Is Jimmy Webb still relevant you may ask. Well, a quick answer is YES. Take the recent Kanye West song with Rhianna called Famous. This song heavily samples one of Jimmys's best songs - which has been a hit for many artists including the gorgeous version by Nina Simone.
Go and do what you wanna do is Jimmy's next song tonight.
Here is a link to the Kanye West song Famous, if you're interested in hearing it.
I would have traveled the two hours today - just to hear Jimmy Webb perform the next song. It it one of my favorite songs of all time. It was a massive hit for Glen Campbell. It's Wichita Lineman. And Jimmy's version is SO different from Glen's but just as compelling.
And here is tonight's performance. Just magical. It got the biggest standing ovation of the night.
I could do a whole Blog piece about Witchita Lineman so I just can't resist slipping in Glen's wonderful version. Jimmy talked a little of Glen's current state tonight. He saw him recently and stated that the place he know resides is just beautiful. I'm Glad :'(
Jimmy has had hits across all genres of music. This one he described as a puppy rescued by Judy Collins. I'll leave it at that. It's another of my all time favourite songs - and it's a real jewel :)
Here we are again, lucky enough to be able to see the night's performance thanks to Matthew and his team at The Convent.
The Moon's A Harsh Mistress.
Here is Judy's version,
Up next is a song from Jimmy's 2005 album - Twilight Of The Renegades - a lovely version of How Quickly.
What can you say about the next song tonight? One of the most enigmatic songs of all time. And it became a hit several times over. For differing artists from different genres. I remember hearing it for the first time and being completely blown away by it's baroque majesty and varying sections, come to think of it, it is almost Prog - I was in my very early teens. It was sung by the actor Richard Harris. It was MacArthur Park.
And here's Donna Summer's supreme 18 minute version. Get Dancing!!!!!!!
Obviously, Jimmy's version is much intense and personal tonight and he bangs away at those chords with a focused abandon. And it brought the house, or in this case The Convent, down. It also completed tonight's set.
But we weren't letting Jimmy escape without an encore. An Jimmy duly obliged with his first big hit as a songwriter - By The Time I Get To Phoenix, which proved a huge hit for Glen Campbell at the start of his solo career.
Here's a performance by Jimmy way back in 1971 on the superb Old Grey Whistle Test.
So, a supreme gig by a true Legend of music. The first of The Convent's Iconic Artist performances and what a way to start.
The artists who play The Convent always do a soundcheck. Tonight, Jimmy performed a song at the soundcheck which wasn't included in his show. But it's such a gorgeous version, I thought I'd include it for you.
If These Old Walls Could Speak.
With The Convent's superb recording facility, you can watch this whole show online for a small price at the link below. I can't recommend it highly enough.
This was my second time seeing Karnataka in 2016 - and my first time visiting the Acapela Studios venue in Pentrych, Cardiff.
The venue is an old converted church which Welsh Harpist Catrin Finch has turned into a studio and venue. And she and her team have done a great job.
The first time I saw Karnataka this year was at The Globe in Cardiff which is a rock venue with no frills. They were excellent that night but I was so looking forward to seeing them bring their Secrets Of Angels Tour to this most intimate of venues.
With only two more live dates to go in 2016, Karnataka were clearly up for tonight's show before they head off back into the musical ether to conjure up what will hopefully be the follow up to award winning album Secrets Of Angels, which they play in its entirety tonight.
Now with the stable line up of Founder Ian Jones (Bass) Enrico Pinna (Guitar/vocals) Cagri Tozluoglu (Keyboards) Jimmy Pallagrosi (Drums) and the sublime Hayley Griffiths (Vocals) the band have clearly tightened up over this tour and are now an even more formidable live unit.
With Cagri up on the pulpit and the band tucked nicely beneath him they kick off the show with the opening track from the Secrets album - Road To Cairo.
It's a fantastic opening song full of power and energy and it gets the crowd on their side from song one.
It is great to see that the gig has attracted fans from all over the UK and not just from Wales and the South West of England. Many of the fans here are ardent supporters and have seen the band many times in all types of venues from intimate ones like this through to the festival circuit.
The band seem perfectly at ease in this type of venue and the open floor in front of them allows both Hayley and Enrico the chance to show off their skills as they move into the space and nearer to the seated audience.
On June 25th the band played a special gig at the O2 in London which they filmed for a future dvd release. If it's anything like their last live dvd release - New Light - then we're in for a treat.
Although the band play the whole of the Secrets Of Angels album tonight there is still some room for earlier classic songs from the previous albums such as Moment In Time and Forsaken.
It's great to see how much the band has grown over the last 5 years, especially Hayley Griffith who was once again just fantastic tonight. She has become such a confident front person for the band and links all of the musical magic that swirls around her. She has what seems to be boundless energy and her ability to sing and dance around at the same time is truly mesmerising.
There is even time to showcase a new song Twist Of Fate which bodes well for the next album.
Keeping to the template of the rest of the tour - the show is split into two halves. This gives the audience a break within the two hour and twenty minute show but also gives Hayley the chance of a costume change.
Part two is just as special as Part one and opened with the epic Serpent & The Sea from The Gathering Light album.
It's always difficult trying to write a review for another performance from the same tour, especially with a similar set list but one thing I have to say is that the band have improved even from the high standard they set for themselves at the start of 2016.
Karnataka have found that almost telepathic communication that the best bands develop over the years to produce a slick and assured performance. And this is exactly what they achieve in this evening's performance. The interaction between all the members of the band - even Cagri who is playing The Reverend for the evening placed up in the pulpit. Very often forgotten, unless you happen to be Sir Richard Of Wakeman. Cagri provides the colours and textures for Enrico and Hayley to weave their respective magic and he does this in spades tonight.
Ian Jones is the founder and rock of the band and his solidity and bass lines are a joy, especially in the more complicated musical passages. As principal songwriter, often with Hayley these days, Ian's role in the band cannot be underestimated.
Enrico Pinna is a guitarist of immense taste - I know this as he likes Pat Metheny - and during the evening he underpins most of the music with his sparking and sympathetic guitar playing. He is on excellent form tonight.
In Jimmy Pellagrosi, Karnataka have found a drummer with skill and personality. Often rising from his seat to play upright, I can honestly say he is the most musical of drummers I have seen live since Keith Moon of The Who slipped off the mortal coil.
Indeed, he enjoyed having his moment in the spotlight as he came into the centre of the floor to take the loudest applause of the evening. It was an unexpected and joyful moment - not the sort of thing you expect at a Progressive rock gig. It was more in common with the sadly missed Paul Hester of Crowded House, who would keep Neil Finn on his toes for every Crowded House gig.
A nice touch this evening was Hayley coming across to wish a couple in the audience a Happy Anniversary and even give them a card signed by all the band. A very nice touch indeed.
The highlight of this tour has been the showstopping performance of the title track Secrets Of Angels. It is 20 minutes of pure drama and ecstasy for this old music lover.
The first time I heard it live it brought me literally to tears. And do you know what, it happened again.
It is a truly breathtaking piece of music and is Hayley's chance to prove what an amazing voice and vocal range she has. Absolutely astonishing. It brought the longest standing ovation of the night and rightly so.
The encore for this performance was another highlight from the Secrets Of Angels album - the lovely Feels Like Home.
It was brilliant to see the band surpass the excellent performance they gave back in April at The Globe.
Tonight, they took the opportunity to come and and talk to the fans after the show - sign albums and autographs and even get some photos taken. They are really nice people and are truly appreciative of their fans. They realise the distance that some of the fans have taken to get here tonight and make sure they talk to them and thank them for their support.
So, it was a chance to say goodbye to Karnataka for 2016 and let them go and write and work on their next opus. They have already promised some live dates in 2017 - so if you get a chance, go and see them, they are one band you really must see live Music Lovers.
