On This Day 18/09/2013 Joe Bonamassa

On this day, 18 September 2013, guitar legend Joe Bonamassa played the Motorpoint Arena on his European Fall Tour.

An American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Bonamassa started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures, of which eleven have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart.

Bonamassa has played alongside many notable blues and rock artists, and has earned three Grammy Awards nominations. Among guitarists, he is known for his extensive collection of vintage guitars and amplifiers.

The live acoustic album, An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, was released as a CD/DVD/Blu-ray set on March 26, 2013. This concert marked the first time Bonamassa played a wholly acoustic show.

The acoustic ensemble that performed the show was assembled with the help of Bonamassa's longtime producer, Kevin Shirley. The concluding, three-night stand of Bonamassa's spring 2013 tour, occurred at the famous Beacon Theatre in New York City.

Over the summer of 2013, Bonamassa performed four shows in London featuring three different bands (and a horn section at one show), covering four different sides of his music. Each show had a unique set list. The shows were recorded for a DVD release, and the set of DVDs was released in October 2013 as "Tour de Force".

Setlist

Acoustic

Palm Trees, Helicopters and Gasoline

Seagull

(Bad Company cover)

Jelly Roll

(Charles Mingus cover)

Athens to Athens

Woke Up Dreaming

Electric

Dust Bowl

Story of a Quarryman

Who's Been Talkin'

(Howlin’ Wolf cover)

You'll Be Sorry

(Big Joe Turner & Orchestra cover)

Dislocated Boy

Driving Towards the Daylight

Slow Train

Midnight Blues

(Gary Moore cover)

Spanish Boots

(Jeff Beck Group cover)

Song of Yesterday

(Black Country Communion song)

Won't Get Fooled Again

(The Who cover) (Snippet)

Django / Mountain Time

Encore:

Sloe Gin

(Tim Curry cover)

The Ballad of John Henry

On This Day 15/09/1980 The Specials

On this day, 15 September 1980, two tone Ska pioneers The Specials played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens with support from The Swinging Cats.

The band were about to release More Specials, the band’s second album and released by 2 Tone Records in October 1980. The album peaked at No 5 in the UK album charts.

After the success of the band's self-titled debut, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak.

At the end of 1980, it was named the year's 32nd best album by the NME, and 31st best by OOR. In 1995, Melody Maker included it in a list of "great lost albums," having been chosen for inclusion by Simon Price, who wrote an accompanying essay for the album's entry.

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 1987, Rockdelux named it the 91st best album released between 1980 and 1986. In 2003, Mojo included in their list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums," while in 2007 they included in their list of "The 80 Greatest Albums of the 80s."

Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette.

The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.

On This Day 14/09/1995 Seal

On this day, 14 September 1995, British singer, songwriter and record producer Seal played Cardiff International Arena on his Holding The Sun tour.

He has sold over 20 million records worldwide. These include hit songs "Crazy" and "Killer", the latter of which went to number one in the UK, and his most celebrated song, "Kiss from a Rose", which was released in 1994. Seal is renowned for his distinctive soulful singing voice.

Seal has won multiple awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards; he won Best British Male in 1992. He has also won four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award.[7][8] As a songwriter, Seal received two Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for "Killer" (1990) and "Crazy" (1991).

His second album, self-titled, was released in 1994. A success, the album featured the singles "Prayer for the Dying" and "Newborn Friend", and later received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. "Prayer for the Dying" became a minor pop hit in the US, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. A third single, "Kiss from a Rose", performed modestly when released, but was later featured to much wider popularity when it was remixed for the soundtrack to Batman Forever. "Kiss from a Rose" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1996, becoming Seal's best-performing single on the US market (it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in late August 1995) and hit number four in the UK.

On This Day 13/09/2005 Jamiroquai

On this day, 13 September 2005, English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai played Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.

Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group has addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained as the only original member through several line-up changes.

Kay was influenced by Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Sly Stone, Gil Scott-Heron, and hip-hop and its culture. He was introduced to much of these influences in the mid-1980s by British club DJs. "I'd been into Stevie and all that… Then I got into the JBs, Maceo Parker and the Meters… I decided around that time to try to make music built around those loose, open grooves."

A 2003 compilation titled Late Night Tales: Jamiroquai under Azuli Records, also contains a selection of some of the band's late 1970s R&B, disco and quiet storm influences. Kay and the group have been compared to Stevie Wonder, with some critics accusing the band of copying black artists.

In response, Kay said "we never tried to hide our influences". The band references them as Kay maintained Jamiroquai's own sound: "it's about the style of music you aim for, not the exact sound. If you just sample Barry White or Sly Stone, that's one thing; to get their spirit is different."

On This Day 12/09/2003 Bert Jansch

On this day, 12 September 2003, Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle Bert Jansch played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Jansch was a leading figure in the 1960s British folk revival, touring folk clubs and recording several solo albums, as well as collaborating with other musicians such as John Renbourn and Anne Briggs. In 1968, he co-founded the band Pentangle, touring and recording with them until their break-up in 1972.

He then took a few years' break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians. He joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995. Until his death, Jansch continued to work as a solo artist.

Jansch's work influenced many artists, especially Jimmy Page, Mike Oldfield, Paul Simon, Pete Hawkes, Nick Drake, Donovan, and Neil Young. He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards: one, in 2001, for his solo achievements and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle.

In 2001, Jansch received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and on 5 June 2006, he received the MOJO Merit Award at the Mojo Honours List ceremony, based on "an expanded career that still continues to be inspirational." The award was presented by Beth Orton and Roy Harper. Rolling Stone ranked Jansch as No. 94 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003.

On This Day 11/09/1975 Wings

On this day, 11 September 1975, Paul McCartney and Wings played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre as part of their Wings Over The World Tour. It was the third date on the tour following concerts at Southampton and Bristol.

The world tour followed the release of Wings' bestselling album Venus and Mars (1975), while the follow-up album, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976), was completed after the band's Australian concerts.

Both Venus and Mars and Band on the Run (1973) were well represented in the setlist for the two 1975 legs. Songs from Speed of Sound were then introduced into the set in March 1976, and McCartney is known to have remarked: "Everything I have done since The Beatles split has been leading up to this."

Wings' line-up for this tour was Paul McCartney (vocals, bass, piano, acoustic guitar), Linda McCartney (keyboards, backing vocals), Denny Laine (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion), Jimmy McCulloch (electric and acoustic guitars, bass, vocals) and Joe English (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They were joined by brass and woodwind players Howie Casey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard and Tony Dorsey.

Setlist:

Venus and Mars/Rock Show

Jet

Let Me Roll It

Spirits of Ancient Egypt

Little Woman Love

C Moon

Maybe I'm Amazed

(Paul McCartney song)

Lady Madonna

(The Beatles cover)

The Long and Winding Road

(The Beatles cover)

Medicine Jar

Soily

Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)

Richard Cory

(Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Bluebird

I've Just Seen a Face

(The Beatles cover)

Blackbird

(The Beatles cover)

Yesterday

(The Beatles cover)

You Gave Me the Answer

Magneto and Titanium Man

Go Now

(Bessie Banks cover)

Junior's Farm

Letting Go

Live and Let Die

Call Me Back Again

My Love

Listen to What the Man Said

Band on the Run

Hi, Hi, Hi

On This Day 10/09/1986 Metallica

On this day, 10 September 1986, American heavy metal rock giants Metallica played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Damage Inc Tour.

The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer.

Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which is cited as one of the heaviest metal albums and the band's best work.

Link to recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oui7MymwaDc

Setlist

The Ecstasy of Gold

(Ennio Morricone song)

Battery

Master of Puppets

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Ride the Lightning

(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth

(preceded by Gung-Ho jam)

Whiplash

The Thing That Should Not Be

Fade to Black

Seek & Destroy

Creeping Death

Encore:

The Four Horsemen

No Remorse

(half)

Guitar Solo

Am I Evil?

(Diamond Head cover) (half)

Damage, Inc.

On This Day 09/09/1992 The Frank and Walters

On this day, 9 September 1992, alternative pop band, The Frank and Walters played Cardiff University with support provided by Radiohead.

From Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1989 and named in honour of two eccentric Cork characters.

Signing for the Setanta label in 1991, the group debuted with the release EP1, and the lead track "Fashion Crisis Hits New York" became an indie hit. The follow-up EP EP.2 was released soon after, which was followed by the band's signing to the Go! Discs label, where The Frank and Walters partnered with producer Edwyn Collins to record the Happy Busman EP.

They found success in the UK, and, following a tour in support of Carter USM, an Ian Broudie radio edit of the LP song "After All" reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 11. It reached No. 5 in the Irish chart. The group appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops in support of the single.

In September 2012 The Frank and Walters undertook a 20th-anniversary celebration tour marking their 1992 debut album Trains, Boats and Planes, and in May 2015 released a single titled "Look at Us Now".

The band embarked on a celebratory tour during October 2017, to mark 20 years since the release of their second album Grand Parade.

In March 2018, approximately 25 years after its original release, a cover of the Frank and Walters single "After All" featured in the TV series The Young Offenders, and subsequently charted at No. 2 in the iTunes downloads chart for Ireland. The band appeared and played the song in a later series of the TV show.