Review: Eric Cantona

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Eric Cantona at P&J Live, Aberdeen on Saturday 13th April 2024

When the “Cantona sings Eric” tour was announced, my Manchester United loving son immediately asked to go. This is one of the team’s legendary players coming to our town. The fact it was a concert was intriguing – can he sing? What does he play? Rumours that he is actually a very talented musician and plays lots of instruments were heard, someone said he had been on television but mumbled and his diction was not great. We decided to go along with an open mind and see what happened.

This concert is the first which has been held in Conference Suite 2 of the P&J Live, which is a smaller room upstairs. We calculated there were about 300 seats laid out and were thrilled to find we were really not far from where the instruments were all sitting on the stage. It is always nice to get up close and personal with musicians.

Eric Cantona supported by Concrete Kid at P&J Live — Conference Suite 2 concert layout

The support was a man, with headphones and an antenna, called Concrete Kid. He told us we could call him Joe and that his antenna brings the band to the speakers so we could hear it too. There was him, a guitar and lots of pedals he played with his feet. He did some very enjoyable songs including Summer Pearl, The Colour Green (the lighting changed to green for this one) and The Rebirth. Song For The Lonely is about when you are a parent and get to enjoy one of those rare moments when you are in the house alone in the evening and everyone is asleep and no one is asking questions. We got to sing along with Glorious Sun, he taught us the lyric “set sail to the glorious sun” and trusted us to do it twice in each chorus. He does swear a lot in person, and even in some of the songs, but his Glaswegian accent does not come through in his singing. He has some gorgeous lyrics, I totally recommend you looking him up on streaming platforms and giving him a follow on Instagram, where he describes himself as a psychedelic cowboy.

Julien Perraudeau the pianist, and Jeff Assy, a cellist, take to the stage to start with and play some atmospheric music before the man himself takes to the microphone. The stage set up is simple, the grand piano to the left, the cello to the right with Eric in the middle spotlight.

He comes on in a casual black suit, then adds a hat, and soon removes the jacket. I wonder if the red Cat boots are a nod to his past team. Certainly some of the audience are football fans with shouts of “ooh aah Cantona”, “Cantona is God” and “we love you Eric”. There was a very happy lady in the second row when he replied “I love you too”.

There is a playlist on Spotify of “Cantona sings Eric – First Tour Ever (Live)” if you would like to have a taste of what we heard. There was very little chat between songs and usually it was some of the lyrics of the upcoming song, or telling us about a song, such as the one in Spanish being about leaving a lady he loved. One song was written a few months ago but unfortunately the situation is the same, or worse, in Palestine. This invoked some chanting of “free Palestine”. His songs about love did not sound very different to those about war, they mostly have a “tortured soul” vibe: atmospheric and sung with so much feeling and emotion. Eric’s hands moved with the lyrics, fist punching the air on occasion, totally living his lyrics.

The set list for the evening includes 19 songs, but we did not get the encore. It did seem fitting to finish after You’ll Never See Me Again, and my son was thrilled to get pointed at as he filmed Eric singing I Want To See You. That was sent to his Dad and Grandda straight away! The Friends We Lost brought a lump to my throat, as who has not lost friends recently. The lyric that jumped out at me was “Laugh and drink with the vampires, The friends we lost”. Eric Cantona’s lyrics are thought provoking and obviously he has always had his own way of articulating things. Anyone who heard his UEFA Champions League draw speech in 2019 will be aware of this already. Widely labelled “bizarre”, the speech finished with: “Only accidents, crimes, wars, will still kill us but unfortunately, crimes and wars, will multiply. I love football.”

I can confirm that Eric did not play any instruments himself, although he did whistle during Of The Sun. Some of his lyrics were hard to hear properly, partly due to the lovely French accent and partly due to singing in three different languages, sometimes it was the sheer emotion smothering the words. However, even if this had not been a football god singing to us, we agreed that it was a unique and enjoyable experience. Obviously some people were only there to be in the same room as Cantona, but looking at it as a musical performance, it was really good. Julian and Jeff are very talented musicians and the trio work well together, totally coordinated and complementing each other. We would have been disappointed if this great man had come out and covered some pop songs, this was the creative side of Eric Cantona.

There are still many dates ahead of them in this tour, and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we did.

Future tickets.

Review: Bonnie & Clyde musical

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen on Tuesday 9th April 2024

Bonnie and Clyde at HMT with Owen — Raise a little hell

Everyone knows the names Bonnie and Clyde but how many of us know the story behind them? Nick Winston brings to life their story, as told in the book by Ivan Menchell. An ill fated couple, drawn to each other by the thought of fame and glory. This musical follows their relationships: with each other, with their families, and with the strong arm of the law!

It can be strange when a stage show starts with the end of the story, but this is certainly a case where we probably all know the ending anyway. Bonnie and Clyde are gunned down in their getaway car, which is a stark, jarring beginning to a musical. The blast of machine guns accompanied by bright flashes of light through the pitch dark certainly grabs your attention. From there the action goes back to when the couple meet and the songs start. Although we cannot say there are well known songs throughout this musical, there are some fantastic songs which are most fitting to the story. Don Black wrote the lyrics with Frank Wildhorn composing the music. Clyde singing Raise A Little Hell and Bonnie singing Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad have been stuck in my head since hearing them. A highlight was Bonnie and Blanche singing You Love Who You Love, intertwined in a duet whilst seemingly worlds apart from each other, even though each is in love with a Barrow brother.

Clyde Barrow is played by Alex James-Hatton with Bonnie Parker portrayed by Katie Tonkinson. Clyde’s brother is Buck, played by Sam Ferriday and his wife Blanche Barrow is portrayed by Catherine Tyldesley. All four of them are fantastic actors, totally suit their parts and have fabulous voices. Another stand out character is Jaz Ellington as the Preacher, who belts out God’s Arms Are Always Open and Made In America.

The set is seemingly simple but utterly effective as it swaps from a porch, to a jail, to a house, to a church, to a petrol station. At the start there are some items on shelves at the front which remain throughout and different items are pulled into the story at different times. The same cupboard belongs to different characters depending who is on stage at the time. All very clever, and seamless. As I watched it reminded me of the story writing principal that an item should only be mentioned if it is part of the narrative at some point. It is now amusing me that this principal is known as Chekhov’s gun, somewhat fitting in a production about gangsters which features many actual guns!

Although I had been unsure what to expect from a musical about bank robbers in America, this show gives a lot more. Bonnie’s poetry is woven through the narrative, she was not just a pretty bit of skirt who liked the naughty boy. In some ways it is quite tragic as she probably could have achieved the fame she desired so much in a much better way, if only she had met a nicer chap to lead her a more wholesome route. Bonnie and Clyde were only together for a couple of years before meeting their untimely, although most deserved, ending. However their legacy of crime will live on in stories like this, and as the musical’s website declares: “it would be a crime to miss it”!

Further information .

Personal note: I took my son to see this show and we ate in The Terrace upstairs beforehand. It was done up recently and is really lovely place to eat with great views across Union Terrace Gardens up to Union Street.

Dinner at The Terrace Bar and Cafe — Pre theatre menu

The service was great and the food was very tasty. Owen couldn’t chose between the fish and chips and the burger so we agreed to get both and go 50/50 on both – which gave us both the best of both worlds!!

Certainly a relaxed way to eat before the theatre as its just a meander down the stairs when its time for the show, but a lovely environment even if you’re not going to a show, pop in for a drink or a full meal!

Review: Lulu

Originally published on 5D Blog featuring photography by Dod Morrison Photography:

Champagne for Lulu at Music Hall, Aberdeen on Sunday 7th April 2024

Champagne for Lulu tour with Rachael Sage and Will Wilde — Lulu’s champagne

Advertised as “with special guests” we started the evening with Rachael Sage, a singer/songwriter from New York. She played brightly coloured guitars and a keyboard adorned with flamboyant scarves, in a brightly coloured outfit topped off with a floral headband. She was accompanied by Will Wilde on harmonica, apparently they wrote Sleep When I’m Tired together in lockdown – her in New York and him in Brighton! Rachael has a very unique sound, as well as looks, which includes clicking her fingers right by the microphone on occasion, and one song was her singing along to just claps. Her song Alive was dedicated to anyone going through challenging times, she wrote it to celebrate being in remission for cancer, 5 years and counting!

Lulu bounded onto the stage, after some footage of her career showed on the big screen, to the hit song Shout. She then introduced her little sister Edwina and they performed Heatwave, before Edwina moved to the backing singer microphone to one side. We then got the start of Lulu’s story of her life, from growing up in Glasgow, to being in a Sidney Poitier movie aged 16, to marrying a Bee Gee, to working with Elton John. She told us of so many pinch yourself moments in her life and how lucky she was, although she never mentioned how talented she is.

The Champagne for Lulu tour is to be her last tour, at 75 years of age, with a 60 year career of singing she thinks its time for saying goodbye to the road. She earned the champagne though, what a career and what a show! Each song was hand picked for a particular reason that she wanted to share it with her fans on this last hurrah. The production of the show was amazing, three of the songs saw her dueting with singers of the past – them on the big screen and her in front of it in full bouncy 3D! We had footage from the TV show An Audience With Lulu when she sang with Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, after their divorce. She sang along, sat at the side watching the clip with us. There was similar for The Man Who Sold The World with footage of David Bowie on stage singing, and she brought it to life for us. The videographer had both live Lulu and recorded Bowie on the big screen singing away to each other, it was rather surreal. A proper pinch yourself moment for some of us in the audience, or hairs on the back of your neck at least. The third was Tina Turner with I Don’t Wanna Fight, which she used at the end of her autobiographical movie. This was a world wide hit and happened after Lulu’s song writer brother assured her she could write her own songs – totally proving his point!

Other clips were shown on the back screen, we had Eurovision footage whilst Lulu sang her winning song Boom Bang A Bang from 1969 and there was a most splendid James Bond montage whilst she sang The Man With A Golden Gun. There were also gorgeous light effects with pretty patterns on the roof, not just focusing on the stage. It was quite an immersive experience.

There were many moving moments through the night as Lulu talked, and sang, us through her life story. She loves performing and sharing moments with an audience, and this was not just idle words, you could see it and feel it in her and the audience responded in the most amazing way. There were a few times she needed a moment to compose herself and we just clapped and cheered until she was ready to carry on, pulling her through and willing her on to the next hit! Her sister also helped a few times with some of the singing – the show must go on!

There was another special guest at the end of the first half when Nathan Evans treated us to a wee sea shanty, followed by a duet with Lulu for Scotland Is A Place Called Home. He was really quite brilliant too. Unfortunately Ronan Keating and Take That did not turn up but their songs were included. We’ve Got Tonight was performed with Lulu’s musical director and keyboard player singing Ronan’s part. When we got to Relight My Fire, the audience was on their feet dancing along, videoing clips and just having the time of their life – just like Lulu said she wanted to do with her final tour.

By the end of the night everyone was on their feet, applauding forever, loving this “wee lass from Scotland” with all our hearts. What a life she has had and what a night she gave us. A truly memorable experience that is one to Shout about, because Oh Me Oh My that girl deserves all the champagne she can get!

Further information.

Personal note: I did not want to go and see Lulu, I thought she had an annoying squeaky voice, but Dod told me we had to get passes and so I applied. I take it all back, as I said in my review, she was amazing. We all had a wonderful, amazing night and it was such an honour to meet her afterwards. Poor gal must have been knackered after 2 hour long sets but she still chatted, posed, took our selfies and we each got something signed. A true professional and now firmly in my heart. I LOVE LULU!!!

Review: CCR

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Clearwater Creedence Revival at Music Hall, Aberdeen on Sunday 31st March 2024

Advertised as the “Bayou Country” 40th Anniversary Tour with very special guests we were interested to find the support band were Man of the World: the Music of Peter Green. I enjoy Fleetwood Mac songs so was happy listening to some of their songs by these 4 talented musicians, including Remi Harris on the guitar. The lead singer played the bongo drums, a tambourine and the harmonica during their set. Oh Well and Shake Your Money Maker were especially enjoyable.

There was quite a break before the tribute band to world acclaimed rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival took to the stage. Despite some technical issues with the sound, the careful named Clearwater Creedence Revival gave an outstanding performance of some of those much loved songs. It started with Proud Mary and included Run Through the Jungle, Who’ll Stop the Rain, Cotton Fields and Down On The Corner. Graham Pollock on guitar took the microphone at one point to sing his favourite John Foggerty song Almost Saturday Night, and told us he was normally a butcher!

Lead vocals are by the formidable character of Peter Barton (previously of The Animals), with Alan Sagar on bass, whilst Geoff Hammond plays the drums. During the instrumental of the band’s version of Marvin Gaye’s Heard It Through the Grapevine Geoff played the balcony, a speaker and anything else he could hit with sticks! Utter genius of a drummer!

The audience was varied, from some young lads to many of the older generation. There were some people there with their parents, there were couples, several groups, and many were drinking happily. Unfortunately the ensuing trips to the bar and loo were rather distracting for those of us who wanted to just sit and watch the band. I’ve never seen such an active audience in a seated concert!

There was very much a party atmosphere and everyone was there to enjoy the music come what may. The set ended with the amazing Fortune Son and Have You Ever Seen the Rain, by which time we were all on our feet dancing and clapping. As someone born too late to see the original band I am grateful for the opportunity to experience their songs live by these brilliant musicians who pay homage to their twisted namesake in the best way possible!

Further information: https://www.manoftheworldmusic.com/ and https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/clearwater-creedence-revival-bayou-country-40th-anniversary-tour-very-special-guests/

Review: Cirque

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Cirque: The Greatest Show at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on Friday 29th March 2024

This show is obviously geared towards fans of the very successful Greatest Showman movie which a lot of us know and love. Some of us have watched it repeatedly and been to the outstanding live show with Hugh Jackman. It was interesting to think how a circus would transform onto a theatre stage and I must say I was impressed with the answer.

Dinner at Zizzis before Cirque at HMT with Owen — The Teenager and I outside HMT before the show

When we went into the theatre the stage backdrop looked like a monochrome room, with a small physical set at the front, of that room. Complete with a chair and a TV, it turns out that this is the home of a Mime, Christian Lee. When the show starts he comes in and turns on his black and white TV. There is a competition advertised on it to win a technicolor TV set. He enters the competition on his massive mobile phone and in come some people with a new TV. As he switches it on his little room set moves to the back of the stage as the technicolour wonders from the TV screen transfer onto the main stage in front of him.

It is a clever way of bringing the TV to life for the stage show. We then watch the brightly coloured performances with him, and set changes are covered by his room moving back to the front of the stage with him entertaining us whilst they set up the equipment behind him. This gives a story running through the show as well as not leaving any boring gaps for the audience.

The circus performers were amazing – we had juggling, trapeze artists, contortionist. Billy George on the Cyr wheel and LED wands had me transfixed whenever he was on the stage. Adam Boom twirled fire around effortlessly. Three ladies wowed the crowds with their aerialist work: Dione Hassell, Jennifer Van Gool and Sheonagh Leatherbarrow. Duo Eclipse spun round in breathtaking fashion on their roller skates. There were also fantastic dancers in amazing outfits.

All the songs were sung live, including songs from The Greatest Showman and other popular songs like Rocket Man from Elton John. I felt the singing was not as strong as the performers and costumes and sets but obviously it is nice to have live performers rather than just a recording.

Overall it was a most enjoyable experience and proved that you can have a circus show in a theatre setting!

Further information .

Review: Full Monty

Originally published on 5D Blog:

The Full Monty at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on Tuesday 19th March 2024

Many of us have seen the Full Monty movie, where several out of work steel workers decide to cash in on getting their kit off, after seeing some ladies going crazy over the Chippendales. The story of these steel workers has been under rated, especially poignant in today’s financial situation across the country, with so many people working for companies who are discussing redundancies. Perhaps times are not so different from the manufacturing industry massacre of the 1980s.

Unfortunately much of the audience seemed to be tipsy ladies wanting to scream at scantily clad men, and a bit oblivious to the parallels between the long standing story and today’s situation. We are more conscious now of men’s mental health issues but this story includes many of the struggles men face, not just in being made redundant but: having to maintain the wife’s social standing; having no friends and seeing no point in living; feeling completely ashamed of yourself for being “on the cuddly side”; or the trials and tribulations of being a father when you are separated from the mother and made some bad life choices. The advertising blurb for this play offers “a hot man for everyone”, which caused hilarity in our family Whatsapp group as I was going with my brother in law, but actually more importantly there is a story line for everyone. We have all faced the hardships of life and can all learn from each other, and from the characters in this story. The theme of friendship between men runs through and the power that friendship can bring to a group, helping them achieve the almost unbelievable.

Simon Beaufoy has done a fantastic job of translating the well known film into a stage play. This production has amazing staging, the steel work set twists and turns to become the varied backgrounds needed for the job centre, the Conservative club, the back of the pub. Looking like it was made of steel it keeps the origin of the story feeding through the whole play. As for the hanging scene, it was very realistic and had me gasping for breath myself. Nicholas Prasad was playing poor Lomper who was struggling to find his purpose, although ironically he was the one with a job at the start of the play albeit as an unfulfilling security guard.

The main actors all filled their roles perfectly, always difficult when the roles are well known from a film. The young boy playing Nathan, Rowan Poulton, was outstanding and deserved a standing ovation of his own. It really is a big part for someone so young but his talk to his Dad just before the show at the end of the play was perfectly delivered. Danny Hatchard played his Dad, Gaz and really pulled you through the emotions he experienced. Neil Hurst played the best friend and fellow crane operator Dave and almost had me thinking he was the actor from the film he was so perfect. Bill Ward was the older, supervisor come dance instructor Gerald, and probably the most surprising when the clothes came off! Ben Onwukwe added to the glorious cross section of mankind by playing the older Horse and it was fabulous to see him transform from the old man complaining about his hip, to the hip shaking stripper! Last to join the line up was Jake Quickenden who played the gym loving gay character Guy, and seemed to get the most cheers from the audience.

This is the ultimate feelgood night out and well worth the resulting ear worms of Hot Chocolate and Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff!

Further information .

Review: People’s Palace museum

Originally published on Mainly Museums:

The People’s Palace in Glasgow, Scotland

Just as a museum shuts to prepare for renovations, when it is expected to be a three year project, is maybe not the best time to review the museum. On the other hand, it will be interesting to go back once it reopens, which is aimed to be 2027, and do a comparison. The Winter Gardens, which are attached to the People’s Palace, are already closed ready for the upgrade. Both of these visitor attractions are connected to each other, sitting in the iconic Glasgow Green. It would be unfair to comment on the fabric of the buildings any further at this stage but I believe the changes will be remarkable. If you want to be part of the make over it is possible to donate towards it at: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/donate

The aim of the museum, which was begun in 1898, is to document life in Glasgow through the years. It has some fascinating displays and really interesting items. Set in a beautiful old traditional building, the People’s Palace gives an insight to the history of Glaswegian people. Arranged over 3 floors there are sections about tenement living, the effects of the war on the city, alcohol consumption and the making there of. There is a focus on music and the iconic Barrowlands venue with its brightly lit neon sign. This was where I saw my first ever proper concert back in 1994, Counting Crows, and I have been a live music junkie ever since so the Barrowlands holds a special place in my heart.

There is an activity sheet for children to complete, and there are various dressing up boxes around the museum with relevant items to match the display they are in. My son declined trying them out but I could not resist trying a few things on. A great way to make you feel more immersed in the topic, similarly there was a laundry display where you could use the “Steamie” items of a washboard and clothes wringer.

I had seen online that the museum held Scotland’s national treasure Billy Connolly’s trademark Banana Boots and it was quite a thrill to see them up close. A surprise display was about a local boxer Benny Lynch from the 1930s, not thinking I’d heard of him before I then saw a Gun CD cover for Gallus and sure enough I’ve seen that album cover numerous time before and not known that it was a sports star from my country’s history.

Free to enter this was an interesting insight into life in Glasgow through the centuries, and it will be interesting to go back after the renovations and see how much it has changed. We just need to wait until 2027 for the opportunity, here’s hoping the work all goes well.

Further information.

Review: Unfortunate

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on Tuesday 12th March 2024

Unfortunate musical — Programme and stage set

As a huge Little Mermaid fan I was immediately desperate to see this! Advertised as a parody I was somewhat concerned to see what they would do to my beloved story, and who would be playing the whole important role of the mermaid Ariel. The fact there is an over 16 warning also concerned me – this is a children’s story! However Shawna Hamic as Ursula was as if the part had been written for her, she was absolutely fantastic. Although this show actually started as a Fringe production in Edinburgh, many years ago, the current cast are all outstanding. My beloved Ariel was played by River Medway, the drag queen, which concerned me when I saw it in the program, but was actually incredibly fitting and I love this character more than the Disney princess I met in Florida. River Medway makes a stunning little mermaid, and when playing the fish tailed side of the character and crossing the stage had me in fits of laughter. I also loved the version of Part of Your World, the parody version is “Where The Dicks Are”, a slightly different slant on it and when Ariel pulled out the human items she had gathered you could not keep a straight face.

This production has been very cleverly written, with some hilarious lines, but unfortunately we struggled to make out some of the lyrics as the music was a bit too loud. Luckily my friend has found lyrics videos on Youtube meaning we have been able to enjoy the full genius of the lyrics. I had noticed a t-shirt on the merchandise stall saying “Masturbation, Chemical Peels and Rage: It Keeps You Young”, and indeed when Ursula delivered the line I laughed till the tears came out.

The set for this show is simple, although very striking, as it is done like the deck of a ship which doubles as Ursula’s underwater cave. The character of Ursula is a toilet sucker at the beginning, and it shows how much you are removed from reality during this show as it was only later that I wondered how toilets would work underwater with keeping the water and contents in them. The song Sucking On You is again hilarious. The costumes are also amazing, from Ursula’s tentacles to Flotsam and Jetsam’s neon jackets. Triton (Thomas Lowe) and Neptune had amazing fishy outfits – and were outstanding characters from the 80s power ballads to the inappropriate relationship between the father and his son, just genius.

The current world situation and financial difficulties that everyone is facing mean we all need a good laugh and this show certainly induces a lot of hilarity which is the best tonic. If you are not easily offended, and you don’t mind classics being tinkered with, get yourself a long to a theatre this week to see this genius show.

Further information.

Review: The Blockheads

Originally published on 5D Blog:

The Blockheads at the Lemon Tree, Aberdeen on Sunday 10th March 2024

Photos on 5D by J N Photography Aberdeen.

Sons of Descent were the support band, and were 3 well dressed gentlemen from Edinburgh. They were perhaps “an acquired taste” with a very electronica sound and some rather blunt lyrics. The set included songs: Look at the Sky, Your Lips Were Warm and Access is Denied – if their names are the most repeated phases. I actually quite enjoyed the latter and maybe would acquire a taste for them if I spent more time listening to them. I did almost buy their Know My Name t-shirt as it was rather cool, and only £5, they made a point of telling us about their very cheap merchandise…special deal of two for a tenner apparently…

The Blockheads supported by Sons of Descent — Sons of Descent

There’s always some songs that you think would be great to hear live and Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick is one that’s always been in my head as a prime suspect. Unfortunately I missed seeing the original line up with Ian Dury singing before he passed away 20 years ago but tonight was my chance to experience it live, with the rest of the band. My friend thought that Ian’s son was the new singer but it turned out to be Mike Bennett, who did a fantastic job, with great vocals. He had quite a stage presence and got the crowd going with yells of Oy Oy!

The band came on doing an instrumental and were captivating from the start. Dave the saxophonist was absolutely amazing – even playing two saxophones at once at one point. I do have a soft spot for a sax but he was outstanding. We had various hits from through the years such as Wake Up and Make Love With Me, Billericay Dickie, Reasons to be Cheerful (part 3!) and the controversial (banned by the BBC) Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. It was an energetic and highly enjoyable set by some very talented musicians. There seemed to be a good camaraderie between the original members and Mike, although Ian has been gone for over 20 years unbelievably so he has had time to settle in!

I sang along to a few songs, jiggled around for most of the set and was joyous for the whole of Hit Me! It did not disappoint at all, although it was followed by a lullaby sounding Sleep Francis that had me worrying about driving home! Understandably they did not leave us on that quiet note, the whole place went mental when we were asked if there were any Blockheads in, by that part of the set we were ALL Blockheads. The last song was an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm across the whole room and the applause was plentiful!

Further information.

Review: Nathan Carter

Originally published on 5D Blog:

Nathan Carter at the Music Hall on Thursday 7th March 2024

Photography on 5D by Dod Morrison Photography .

Advertised as Nathan Carter and his band, this concert is booked for two nights in the Music Hall which is other unusual for a singer. I was intrigued to see what this show would bring and we were not disappointed, the band are fantastic with five very talented musicians, and Nathan’s voice is quite something! He played accordion for many of the songs, whilst dancing around, and treated us to a few songs on the piano as well (in the second half he even had a sparkly jacket to coordinate with the piano!).

Born in Liverpool to Irish descent, Nathan performs a mixture of traditional Irish songs, some Country and Western music, and because he was in Scotland we got Caledonia and some other Scottish songs. There really was something for everyone, including Ronan Keating’s Say Nothing At All and the encore included Walk the Moon’s Shut Up and Dance. Such a brilliant feel good party song, everyone was on their feet and left with huge smiles. Music often hits an emotional note and this concert was no different Nathan spoke about his Nan, who is with him on tour, and then an instrumental was Lord of the Dance, which was played at my Nanny’s funeral and brought a wee lump to my throat. He also did the very moving Dear Elizabeth which he wrote based on a 200 year old letter from his ancestor Jack. My favourite song was definitely the last song before the interval, but I will leave you to discover what that is when you catch the tour! It really demonstrated his vocal range and just took your breath away.

Nathan Carter with Frankie — Nathan Carter’s stage set up

The production was very well done, they had the traditional “big band” idea of having the supporting musicians up on a stage behind the singer’s head. We even had a guitarist standing on the piano at one point to give us a solo in the spotlight! The lights were always on the person or people playing, and were very well done with pretty patterns on the roof, and different colours to suit the songs. The crew obviously knew what they were doing just as well as Nathan Carter and his band members.

Behind Nathan were big light up letters of his first name, in the modern fashion, so we could not forget that we were watching Nathan! When each musician had a solo they came down to the same level as Nathan, at one point I commented to my friend that the fiddler must get his steps in over the evening because he was up and down the stairs like a yoyo! I think once he actually missed his cue, the camaraderie between the band members was visible and you could see that they were having a laugh as they performed.

There were a few funny moments, such as when one of the song lyrics mentioned old people and the spotlight went on to the guitarist who is obviously a little older than the other members of the band. Nathan himself is incredibly fresh faced and young looking, although we did resist buying a cardboard cut out of him, or the calendar where he is in bed on the front cover! Certainly a lot of people had made purchases from the very varied merchandise stall, with several people sporting the pink cowboy hats with his initials on the front! We did grab a selfie with his lorry, which is definitely a first in my concert addicted life!

The tour continues to various other dates in Scotland and England and it’s definitely a night out worth experiencing – great fun, great energy and it was not just the three-year-old girl (who was at her first concert and got a shout out from Nathan himself) that left with a smile on her face. She and her father were on the front row and he was holding her up in his arms for the encore, when we were all on our feet, and her little face showed she was having the time of her life!

You could do too, if you get tickets now!

Further information.