OMAR with SYJO & guests. Southampton Guildhall
July 15 2004

As Omar’s biggest hit ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ filled the Guildhall air, it was hard not to find anybody in the room with anything other than a great big smile on their face. This was an evening of classy, epic and breathtaking music-making by some of the most talented young musicians in the South. The Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra, on the surface, appears to be a group of eager school kids neatly attired with shiny instruments at the ready. How deceiving looks can be - as the saying goes never judge a book by its’ cover – these ‘kids’ played with the zest and verve of young, hip professionals giving the lead singers a warm and attentive backing, led superbly by their director Dan Mar-Molinero. Dan’s arrangements were lush, colourful and musical, bringing out the best in a huge ensemble which included a 20-piece big band and an 18-piece string section.
Omar seduced the audience with his rich vocals and laid-back delivery, it is not surprising to hear that he has just finished working on a 6th album featuring Stevie Wonder and India Arie. His raw energy on the funk influenced “I Guess” contrasted perfectly with his intimate jazz trio interpretation of “Satin Doll”. It is a shame such a talent is often ignored for the flash in the pan, cash-grabbing principles of the pop-idol generation. Tonight proved that quality is lasting.
The surprise highlight of the show belonged to local singer Laura Vane as she captivated the audience on a song written by Dan and herself entitled “Whenever, Whatever”. This was performing of the highest order, Laura’s passionate soulful voice floating elegantly over Dan’s delicate string runs and brass pads. Laura is definitely one to watch for the future.
As the event drew to a close, it was very pleasing to think that this level of musicianship and entertainment was home-grown talent. Southampton should be very proud that it has this much strength in depth, and so much of it so young! Congratulations and thank you to all those who spoilt the substantial audience with such great music, bring on the next time!
(Guest review by M Dutton)
 

JULIET TURNER/ PIERCE PETTIS, THE RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER 7/7/04

These acoustic evenings at the Railway really work. They manage to transfer the kind of attentive atmosphere that you find at the Tower Arts Centre into a city centre venue where music lovers can feel really comfortable.
Early arrivers had a real treat in the form of US singer-songwriter Pierce Pettis. Initially slightly intimidated at the small audience, he soon realised that absolutely everyone was on his side, and the performance was almost in the league of Bruce Cockburn, both stylistically and in terms of quality. There were numerous heart-stopping moments during which the proverbial pin could have been heard dropping, but one astonishing stand-out was “You Move Me”, the song he wrote for Garth Brooks. Such are the unexpected gems one can stumble upon on a rainy Wednesday night in Winchester.
“I’m not advocating promiscuity”, assured Juliet Turner, “but some of the B & Bs on this tour are so bad that I seriously consider picking any random man in the audience and asking him to take me home”. There would have been no shortage of takers in this audience, which hung in awe on her every word, but luckily, for reasons never explained, Juliet was spending the night in the Bishop’s Palace, presumably not because the Bishop had invited her back – or maybe he had, as a perusal of Juliet’s website reveals past performances at the Greenbelt Festival. Many of the between-song confessional introductions and explanations were frankly not particularly interesting, but that’s a matter of taste; personally, I prefer the Peter Bruntnell style of letting the songs speak for themselves. There was no doubt of the quality of the performance, though, and the songs grew stronger as the set went on, particular standouts being “ Burn The Black Suit” and Juliet’s show-stopper “Take The Money And Run”.
I wasn’t entirely converted to Juliet’s “female version of Brian Kennedy” style, but that, again, was purely a matter of taste. It was still a great evening out.
(Guest review by Oliver Gray. Photo copyright of Claire Edwards)

Jerry Lee Lewis & Chuck Berry, Portsmouth Guildhall.

TWO of the most mercurial talents in the history of rock drew an almost
sell-out crowd to this great venue. Both artists are getting on a bit now, and in Jerry Lee’s case it showed. He gave a rather listless performance; the
piano magic was still there, but the voice was tired and indistinct. But things did liven up for the last three songs, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On,” “Mean Woman Blues” and “Great Balls of Fire,” before Jerry kicked over his piano stool and creaked off.
But Chuck Berry was very much up for this gig from the minute he strode on stage to open with “Roll Over Beethoven.” Looking great for his years, he rocked through songs like “Schooldays,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Nadine” and a host of other hits in his one hour set. Backed by another guitarist, a drummer and a keyboard player, Chuck wisecracked with the audience, played a bit of blues and rattled through all those hits in style. If his guitar playing these days is a bit nonchalant, his voice is in fine form and he still has stacks of charisma. If Jerry Lee was a little disappointing, Chuck’s performance more than made up for it. But that’s only my opinion - I think most people in the hall enjoyed the whole gig and were just happy to see two rock legends on the same stage.

QUEENSRYCHE / HURRICANE PARTY
THE ASTORIA, LONDON.

Whenever you see a concert at the Astoria you are guaranteed a good night - the venue is intimate and friendly and the sound is perfect. Knowing I was in for a good evening I was still in for a shock when the support band made their  entrance on stage. There was no warming up to get the crowd in the mood - as soon as they started to play Hurricane Party hit the eardrums and caught the crowd straight away with their superb sound. Visually, too, they were up there with the “Masters of Rock.” Hurricane Party look to have a huge future in the world of rock; soon on
their way to the USA to sign with Sanctuary Records they have an EP coming out shortly.
Sanctuary got this cocktail combination of Hurricane Party and Queensryche just right for one of the best nights every in Queensryche’s career. Every track from their two most famous albums “Operation Mindcrime” and “Empire” was performed, and the crowd were blown away. It was impossible not to sing along to all their superb hits and even the well-trained operatic voice of Geoff Tate stopped in the middle of “Eye of a Stranger” so impressed was he with the crowd’s efforts. His voice was in great form, producing that perfect range that Geoff is famous for.
Touring with the Ryche is Mike Stone, no stranger on stage as he joined the band last year touring with Dream Theatre. Mike is the perfect guitarist to step into the shoes of Chris De Gambo - he has gelled in well with the other band members with his stage presence and also with his songwriting abilities. Mike was responsible for writing at least three on the songs on the last Queensryche album “Tribe.”
The only negative factor was that the evening was not long enough, with the crowd desperately trying to keep the Ryche’s on stage. Also, disappointed that they did not play “Silent Lucidity” but that did not tarnish a perfect night.
(Guest review by Claire Edwards. Photo copyright of Claire Edwards)

Los Pacaminos.
The Brook, Southampton.
16/6/04.