Live : The Grateful Dead (Santa Clara, CA 27/06/15)

Disclaimer, i wasn't there physically but i was there spiritually maaan. In other words I had to make do with the live web feed but thats the closest i will ever come to seeing the Grateful Dead live (unless i can find a bucket of cash before the final shows in Chicago early next month). Its the 50th anniversary of the forming of the band and 20 years since the death of Jerry Garcia and the final concerts of the Grateful Dead. To add a proper full stop to the story the surviving 4 members of the band and some friends have got together for 5 final shows.

Its formless and well formed, a fluid psychedelic jam of blues, funk and rock. Songs begin reasonably familiarly before heading off into sonic exploration. Like a guitar shaped Voyager probe. It all sounds amazing too and the visuals accompanying the music were also gorgeous. The only glitches being Phil Lesh's microphone seemed to be playing up but the guitars sounded fine.

Cream Puff War was the highlight if one can pick anything out like that, that dates back from the very first album. Indeed much of the first night of five's songs came from the early Dead period. Maybe this also brings the 60s to a close too? But no, the legacy lives on and will mutate and grow into many other forms. The originals are getting old now but younger generations have taken up the baton and taken it in new directions.

Live : The Ritas / Flowers / The Rileys / Pale Man Made (London Sebright Arms March 02 2013)

Four indiepop bands blasting out your eardrums in the dungeon like basement of an East London boozer, there is nowhere else i would rather be. Tonight we saw elements from the past, present and future of indiepop. Or something.

The Ritas started the night off. Ironically The Ritas are based in Birmingham like me but the first time i get to see them live is in London. The Ritas are two sassy women and a sometimes misbehaving drum machine producing razor sharp punk pop. They started with "Glitter and doom", one of my favourite songs from the last few years and it was totally amazing. They ended by invading the audience area. PUNK ROCK!

Flowers will have a record out soon on Cloudberry, they could be the next big thing (well in indiepop terms anyway). Punky and poppy with great female vocals. They had a few problems with the instruments (which i think were all borrowed) but shone through with some blistering pop tunes.

The Rileys, C86 originals, were back after a long absence (they said 17 years, really so long?) Drumless due to illness but no less lovely were their often folky pop songs. They loved being back and that just reflected the glow from the audience.

Pale Man Made ended the night, what a great band too. Tight and throbbing with indie pop power. A driving melody accompanied by waves of guitar noise. A storming end to a storming night.

Live : Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin (Birmingham Symphony Hall October 18 2012)

And in a bit of a departure... some folk, country rock in an acoustic setting. In fact i have been a fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter since i was a teenager and as those years are (ahem) some time ago i thought it was about time i saw her live. Here the two singer-songwriters were without their bands, just them on stage with a bunch of acoustic guitars.

And it was great, despite being in a (nearly full) big hall the feel was intimate. Carpenter mentioned how the two of them often just played songs to each other in their kitchens, this was a bit like that only sans coffee. The banter between the songs was great especially from Colvin, the little stories adding much to the songs that followed. As for the songs, they were a mix of old and new and performed well. Carpenter plugged her new album quite a lot (which is brilliant by the way) but there was a cheer when the golden oldie "This shirt" was played. That indeed was a song off the first album of hers i bought so many years ago...

Live : Ladyhawke / She's So Rad (Birmingham Glee Club May 06 2012)

Its been over three years since Ladyhawke first came to people's attention with her debut album and its blend of 80s retro and indie pop. Finally she is following it up, this tour to help herald her return. And that return will be very welcome if the new material presented tonight is anything to go by.

Maybe looking slightly nervous Ladyhawke came out on stage, her microphone stand bedecked with fairy lights and then ploughed straight into a mix of beloved tracks from her first album and her next.

Highlight of the night was probably the electro-pop attack of "Magic" though the new song "Blue eyes" also scored highly on the awesome-ometer. The night finished with a rousing "My delirium" and that was it, no encore though i think everything was pretty much covered.

There is a pop superstar in this picture but you need to look closely.

Starting off proceedings were She's So Rad, a New Zealand shoegazey indie pop band. I'd not heard of them before a few days ago but i'm a definite fan now. Reverb heavy pop noise = sure win! The vocal mix needed a bit of sorting out but the guitar noise was terrific. I'll have tinnitus for days i'm sure.

Live : The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (Birmingham HMV Institute June 14 2011)

Being a bit old i don't go to that many gigs these days and have not been to a proper gig in a sweaty crammed room as opposed to stadium rock in a giant arena or something (i jest i haven't been to any of them either!) for some time. I keep meaning to change this state of affairs but procrastination and laziness get in the way...

However when my current favourite band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (which i'll shorten to POBPAH here after as i am lazy) came to town i decided to go and see them. I knew i would regret it if i didn't, just as i regret not going down to London to see The Orchids earlier in the year.

I've never actually seen my "favourite band" live before (though for some reason have seen The Farm), obviously that could never happen now with Nirvana and Brighter for various reasons, and as i said above i regret now not going to see The Orchids so the fact i was going to see POBPAH added to my anticipation. I did feel a bit nervous though. What if i was the only old person there in a sea of hipsters? What if they weren't quite as good as the uber-awesome they were going to be in my dreams?

Why did i worry? POBPAH exceeded any expectations, they are just brilliant in every way. There were quite a few people there my age and even a few old punks... and plenty of hipsters too natch.

As they played through the songs i love like "Come Saturday" i was overcome with a feeling of happiness and contentment, and left with joy... and tinnitus. Yes it a bit loud but i decided to refrain from asking them to turn it down a bit (would have been a bit of a faux pas). There was plenty of fuzz noise and distortion, Peggy's keyboards were a bit hard to hear as were Kip's vocals at times but the band were tight and full of energy.

The support acts were quite good, Rogue States are a local band and are promising, their singer needs to stop shaking his sweat everywhere though. I've not heard of Fanzine before but am a fan now for sure, great indie pop noise.

I so hope POBPAH come back again soon. I'll take a proper camera with me too, my camera phone could only manage the below: