In Their Prime #1 – Sonic Youth 1986-88

Any long-standing artists are bound to enjoy some creative peaks (and troughs) over the course of their careers. It’s those peaks that sustain your interest when their output tails off – the hope that they will reclaim former glories at some stage. So, to initiate a potential new series, I’m starting with Sonic Youth and…

A Bit of Theatre – P.J. Harvey live

Photograph by Caroline Binnie P.J. Harvey – Edinburgh International Festival – The Playhouse, Edinburgh – Monday 7th August 2017 It’s been a very long time since I attended a rock show at the Edinburgh Playhouse. In fact I don’t think I’ve seen a show there since R.E.M.’s ‘Green’ tour in 1989. The Playhouse was a…

More Disney than Psychedelic Rock – Mercury Rev live

  Mercury Rev with the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra and Simon Raymonde – Sage One, Gateshead – Wednesday 12th July, 2017 Rock bands playing with orchestras? To someone of my advancing years that screams 70s and prog rock (and not in a good way). But one of our favourite live bands, Mercury Rev, doing precisely that…