Imagine Dragons @ Melkweg, 2 November 201

Imagine if at every concert you could get to the bar with ease……

Alternative rock, or is it indie rock, it is hard to tell the difference I guess. But what I do know is that following the release of “Night Visions” in 2012 this band exploded onto the musical stratosphere and they may be here for a while to come yet.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – HMH, 4 November 2013.

We're one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, Designed and directed by his red right hand.

Would we be in for a performance from someone resembling a caged animal or would the evenings main performer be just exceedingly theatrical? And the answer was it would be both.

Charles Bradley - Paradiso Amsterdam, 24 October 2013

No this would not be Gnarles Barkley or Charles Barkley, this would be Charles Bradley, a man who is about to turn 65 and has only now just started to sell out shows. Maybe I have a soft spot for this kind of story, as one of my favorite artists of all time did something similar to Charles, in that his album and touring came to him in his later years. And just as he managed to "make the big time" he was shuffled of this mortal coil. RIP Ted Hawkins.

CHVCHES - Melkweg Amsterdam, 22 October 2013

Every online music magazine and blog I have read in the past few months has had one thing in common. CHVCHES are the next big thing and the hottest ticket in any town they find themselves playing in.

And so it was in Amsterdam when they sold out the small stage at the Melkweg in no time at all and already have a show at the main stage Paradiso lined up for early next year.

Joe Henry and Lisa Hannigan - Highline Ballroom, NYC, 15 June 2012

In New Amsterdam or Old Amsterdam you couldn’t be disappointed with Joe Henry and Lisa Hannigan.

Joe Henry; now that is a performer who I feel I could never do justice with an attempt to describe him.

The Mountain Goats, The People’s Palace, Amsterdam 13 October 2013

I wish I was a good enough writer to describe to you what I witnessed last night.

I wish I was articulate enough to tell you about this show by The Mountain Goats and make you feel like you were there. To make you feel what I felt. 

If only I had the words to describe the unique texture and sound of John Darnielle's voice. Or even if I could use words like John does, as he introduced almost every song and made it come to life. It didn't matter if the song was about something as trivial as a computer game or as heartbreaking as the first morning after a break up - he engaged the audience as though it was both important that they understood what they were about to hear and also that they were entertained and amused by his dry wit and somewhat self-depreciating humor.

Jools Holland and the Rhythm And Blues Orchestra – Paradiso, Amsterdam, 13 April 2013.

A whole lot of Rhythm and not many people suffering from the Blues on this night in Paradiso.

What did I know about Jools Holland? Well for starters he was in the band Squeeze (or UK Squeeze for the Aussie readers) and then went on to front a TV show with Paula Yates (The Tube) and then after that his own show “Later….with Jools Holland”. On top of this I knew that he tours reasonably regularly with his band the Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which has from time to time included some pretty significant players.