UFO - Concorde II, Brighton - 3.4.12

It'd been a while since I'd been to something 'lard' with proper guitar solos and ringing ears. So an evening at Brighton's Concorde II with the likes of Dirty Shoes, Heavy Metal Kids and UFO led by the ubiquitous Phil Mogg was never going to disappoint. And it didn't!

We got there slightly too late for Dirty Shoes - a pint or three of Dark Star seemed somehow more inviting. But the Heavy Metal Kids (for 'kids' read 'old people') set provided an excellent prelude to the two hours to follow (replete with Justin McConville proving that he can still give himself a good ass-kicking).

What a blistering set. Combining old and new tunes from their 40+ year back catalogue, Phil Mogg proved that being a pensioner doesn't mean that you can't still belt out the gubbins for whatever time it takes. Backed by the solidily of Paul Raymond and Andy Parker, newcomer Vinnie Moore proved admirably that he definately has what it takes with a 12-minute barnstormer version of 'Rock Bottom'. The familiarity of 'Doctor Doctor' filled the packed house for the second encore as midnight came and went. Curfew didn't seem to mean much for Mr Mogg on his home turf but sadly we had to miss out on the final applauds as our lift home awaited. If you want just a flavour of UFO live you could do no better than 2005's 'Showtime'.'Seven Deadly' - their latest studio album - was released in February. 

Gordon Giltrap

Ropetackle - Shoreham-by-Sea - 09/03/12

As gigs go, this was in many ways a new one on me. Several things. (1), no talking between tracks (in fact, no noise at all). (2), Two bars, no queues and Dark Star on tap. (3) Queues in the gents (4) polite clapping only (5) seats! (6) Interval with ice creams! But despite all that, this was a rare treat. Guitar craftsmanship at its absolute finest. An hour and a half of listening bliss followed by a short walk home and in before the call for last orders. Am I getting past it? I think not. UFO, Camille and Brother Ali still to to come and all before summer. Time for a bit of a lie down I think!

R.I.P. Ronnie Montrose

Ronnie Montrose was born on 29 November 1947 and passed away on 3 March 2012. Another sad loss to the world of guitar. Here he is on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1974 performing Bad Motor Scooter with Sammy Hagar (now with Chickenfoot). Rest in peace Ronnie.

R.I.P. Davy Jones

The best Monkee passes on! R.I.P. Mr Jones

Giles Robson & the Dirty Aces

One album I shall certainly be downloading when my emusic subscription refreshes for March is 'Crooked Heart of Mine' from Giles Robson & the Dirty Aces released last year. But if like me, you'd like a bit more now, the 'Blues Fury' CD on the cover of the April 2012 Classic Rock magazine includes the album version of this track. Enjoy!

Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride

I never had any interest in the London Weekend Television political show 'Weekend World' as a teenager, but the theme tune was amazing. Took me a while, but when I finally found out that it was Mountain's 'Nantucket Sleighride', I promptly went out and brought the album. Check out the bottom right-hand sleevenote with advice about how to play it. 

Ten Years After - Sssh

Been meaning to do this for a while - bit of an off-and-on mini-series on classic vinyl from my own collection. This is the inside sleeve of Ten Years After's gatefold album 'Ssssh' released on Deram in 1969. This was the first TYA album I purchased (second hand admittedly - but mint all the same). Seeing their performance of 'I'm Going Home' in the epic film version of Woodstock clinched it for me, and Alvin Lee's lightning-fast fretwork sold me on the band which would become one of the most inspiring in my formative years of music appreciation. There's a lot of good stuff here - from the opening 'Bad Scene' to the closing 'I woke up this morning'. But the penultimate track on side 2 is my Sssh favourite I think. The Stomp pre-dates 70's stadium rock by several years and yet somehow epitomises what so many bands to follow would take from the classic period of British blues rock to which this timeless album belongs.