The Wonderstuff Live Review

Raigmore Motel - Inverness - 24/11/06

Q - How can you try to explain why most of us thirty-somethings will still part with our hard earned cash to see an old indie band?

A - Because with The Wonderstuff you know it's money well spent.

The Wonderstuff were a band I discovered around the summer of 1988 when I was in a band myself and 'treading the boards' looking for what other breaking bands were doing and I had read some great live reviews about this band in the NME , Sounds and Melody Maker. I bought the 7" vinyl single "A Wish Away" and was blown away with the sound, melodies and riffs, so decided that this was a band I had to see live to see if if they could produce this live.
Well the answer was yes they could and have carried on doing so now for nigh on 20 years or so under different guises and line ups but still giving the same jumping party feeling performance.


With a half full venue on a Friday night out of town no wonder the band didn't do their usual 2 song encore followed by a 3 song encore and armed with a set that never stopped for an hour or so leaving just a few seconds between songs for singer Miles Hunt to draw breath was still a bit special for the old school 'Stuffie' , and many of the old classics still got everybody singing along and remembering a time when The Wonderstuff were the student's darlings.
With a new album to promote there was no doubt that a couple of tracks from it were going to appear on the night and both to me sounded quite good on first hearing but, as an old hand at their gigs as they say 'the old one's are the best'
and some of the songs I'll remember the gig by are "It's Yer Money I'm After Baby", "Golden Green", "Ruby Horse", "A Wish Away", "Caught In My Shadow", "Don't Let Me Down, Gently", "The Size Of A Cow", "Circlesquare" and "Cartoon Boyfriend".
All in all there's no-one better than The Wonderstuff at what they do...

The Charlatans Forever The Singles Tour

The Ironworks - Inverness 20/11/06

A sell out crowd at The Ironworks in Inverness witnessed a performance from The Charlatans that they will not forget for some time. Just to actually see them play the small venue again for me was worth paying a slightly overpriced entrance fee. As the band took to the stage and the music began the crowd began to bounce along to every beat and bass note that was pumping out. Enter Tim Burgess frontman and singer of a band that's been around for the past sixteen years churning out hit after hit and best selling album's one after another. For the full gig everyone in the venue was either dancing and singing along to every song or bouncing down the front with arms aloft in appreciation of a band who have built up a reputation as being a live act aswell as a studio band.


I've lost count over the years just how many times I've seen them live but they always put on a great live show and with a back catalogue bursting at the seams with so many good songs to choose from for the setlist. Here are just a few songs from what I can remember of the gig, "Forever", "Blackened Blue Eyes", "The Only One I Know", "Wierdo", "Crashin' In", "Can't Get Out Of Bed", "One To Another", "North Country Boy", "Just Lookin'", "You're So Pretty", "Love Is The Key", "A Man Needs To Be Told", "Impossible", and the three encore songs "How High", "Indian Rope" and "Sproston Green".