Concert reviews:

The Argus Tour 2009

Setlist (chosen from): Why Don't We; Blind Eye; Rest in Peace; Lady Jay; The Pilgrim; Persephone; Phoenix; You See Red; Time Was; Sometime World; The King Will Come; Leaf and Stream; Warrior; Throw Down the Sword; Blowin' Free; Living Proof; Jailbait

Greece 5-9 January

Greek tv studio

Martin Turner Diary:

Last time we went out there it snowed in Athens - very rare! This time - got up at 5am to snow here. Made it down the hill in a lightly laden van - just. Main roads were OK so got to Stanstead with Dave (new drummer) and who do we meet in the car park - Ray and Danny. Good timing!

Slept on the flight, met promoter at Athens airport, hotel, off to gig, soundcheck, bite to eat, gig at 10.30pm. Great gig, good to be back in Greece but I hadn't bargained on Dave's daughter Cassie - what a Minx. She is a lovely gal, runs a bar with her ol' man in Athens, so, its "gotta go back to the bar for a wee drink", despite not getting finished at the gig till 1.30am. She was thrilled to see her Dad and beer after beer arrived along with some wonderful food, then the shots started arriving and I'm thinking "Oh God, here we go". Staggered back to Hotel about 5am, which is when we started out if I remember right.

Martin and Dave's daughter Cassie

Day 2 - in Athens again - Man, I could sleep all day, I did most of it and now it's "Have I seriously got to play a gig tonight in this state?" Of course it was fine, better than night one, and then its back to Cassie's bar and do it all again.

Day 3 - up early for a nice little svenhour schlepp up north to Thessalonika. Wel,l after a nice long drive cramped up in a little bus we deviated from the schedule to pop out to a TV production which was located in a kind of industrial estate on the edge on Thesalonika. I met the main chap last year when I did an interview with him for radio and I understand that him and his friend now host a satirical show ripping the mick out of current events, the government, politics generally and anything else they fancy.

Of course, given the recent shooting of a young 15 year old lad and the outpouring of frustration generally it was no surprise when they asked us to perform " Warrior". I wondered if "Lullaby" might be a better choice to try and calm things down a bit but no, we gave em both barrels although the sentiment expressed doesn't seem to have got them back out chucking petrol bombs around, thank God. There is in Greece considerable angst among the populace about the unjust educational system, lack of decent wages, corruption with the Police and fuddy duddy government. I did get my ear bent somewhat when enquiring - I've become very fond of the Greeks and clearly they deserve better, hopefully it will come.

Back to the TV station - it being located where it was and the fact that they had been working a long day when we showed up, there was a lack of refreshment available and I managed to sing OK on the run-through but I searched all over for a drink and could find nothing. I do need a bit of throat lubrication, so when we did the actual recording my vocal chords were as dry as a nun's knickers. I did the best I could under the circumstances but I havnen't seen the show - hopefully it was OK. I do remember there being a rather provocative young minx in the make-up room who was posing in front of the mirror - she is a co-presenter apparently. I did get me hands on her for a minute.

Greek TV studio

One more thought - there are two ways of looking at the TV, one is at the screen and the other is at the camera. You don't get paid for looking at the screen, mores the pity, we'd all be rich if you did !

Thessalonika - lovely city, even better gig, decent hotel, finally got a good shower! Successfully captured some plastic boxes to put sticky Baclava in for UK

Day 4 - up early and scoot back down south to Petra. Boy, food on the road was great and you wonder what must people think when they come to the UK and stop for a bite at our motorway establishments? Petra gig was a whacky one - dodgy stage, rinky dink gear, noddy acoustics, but we did the biz and they seemed to love it, so all good.

Athens, Greece

Day 5 - off to Agrinio. Different, kinda tight little club run by a good bunch, fantastic decor, skulls on the walls, fascinating toilet graffiti etc. Gig was well - intense, packed, had a geezer 2 feet in front of me singing all the Argus lyrics very loud and out of tune. Hard work for me, I did think about whackin' him in the head with me Viking longship but I didn't. They all smoke in Greece - indoors, lots of it this night. As I took a breath to sing some twonk hit me full on with his exhaled smoke and I got it in stereo owing to the over zelous DJ in charge of the smoke machine. That sweet hooligan (Dave's daughter) had driven over from Athens for the last gig and so it was "we have to go find a bar afterwards". "Ugh, just one drink for me, hot chocolate," I said. The beers flowed for hours, then the shots - we had a lovely last night. On arriving back at Hotel, 5.30am-ish, I realised we have to be up early again so just had time to repack bags before breakfast. Got loaded into two vehicles and as our driver left a garage he clipped the kerb and the back tyre promptly deflated - so did we on realising we've now gotta unload all bags and instruments to get the bloody spare wheel out. Despite a bent wheel brace we got back on the road somewhat late now and had a stimulating ride through the mountains then down a 2 lane highway with trucks 18 ins on either side and us flying down the middle at 90mph. The motorway into Athens was looking good until I saw a bloke walking out into the outside lane with his hand up in that "Halt" gesture. I'd noticed we were doing 160 clicks which is 100mph and I thought this guy must be out of his tiny mind expecting us to stop. It was the long arm of the law he was holding up and he did have to leap out of the way as we slammed on the anchors. I went out with our young driver and we managed to negotiate a reduction of the 480 Euro fine and 6 month ban. Tell him we are an English rock band, late for the sky, puncture, hang over etc. Young stroppy cop, proud of uniform and pistol on his belt, but he came through and did the driver for 70 Euros and forgot the ban. Even got to the airport on time - all good. I'm thinking that Gypsy woman must have meant it when she said I had a charmed existence. Later that day back to Blighty and a good cup of tea with my mad family.

Ah, but I do look forward to the joys of the road again soon,

Love to all,
Martin

Cardiff, The Globe 20 Feb 2009

Fan Reviews:

Great show in Cardiff last night. A new venue to the area, a nice place already attracting some big names. The crowd were very spirited and gave the band fantastic support.

And what of MTWA themselves. Martin announced the tour onstage as being theat NEAT tour - Never Ending Argus Tour. So as this is more of a continuation of last years tour rather than a new outing, it would be unrealistic to expect too many set changes, but the first set was kept fresh with the addition of "Phoenix" and "Persephone", replacing "Time and Space", "Lost Cause" and "Everybody Needs a Friend" from last years Argus shows.

The band get better each time I see them. Ray was solid as ever - he really has become MT's secret weapon, his playing is now so dependable and never disappoints. Danny again proved what a worthwhile addition he is to the band especially vocally. And of course all eyes were on new drummer Dave Wagstaffe. How would he fit in? Well, rest easy. He is the perfect choice. Close enough to the Steve/Rob style, yet adding enough of his own style to keep things fresh. Nice looking (and great sounding) rack-mounted kit as well. Rob is a tough act to follow, but Dave did not let the side down. Only criticism would be that his vocal mic was not high enough in the sound mix. When he could be heard he was clearly putting out some great harmonies yet much of the time his vocal seemed to be much lower than the rest of the band in the mix. The sound quality overall though was fantastic, MT's voice loud and clear and each instrument clearly defined. Nice work Mick the soundman.

As for MT - what can be said that hasn't been said before. The guy simply epitomises everything that was GREAT about Wishbone Ash music. Keep up the great work Mart, your band is like an oasis in the Wishbone desert. Hope the rest of the tour goes as well as this first gig, and hope to get to at least one more.

Oh, almost forgot. In the sartorial department, MT left the trademark white suit at home and instead sported black jacket, flowery turquoise shirt and black leather trousers. He looked every bit the classic rock star.

Lee Van Streem

Last saw MTWA at Cheltenham last Oct. on the Classic Legends of Rock Tour. Was so impressed I came to The Globe at Cardiff. Have a mate in Rhondda Valley who also came to Cheltenham. Absolutley brilliant! Sound clear as a bell and there was much singing and dancing along to the band. Great venue. Intimate and well laid out with long bar at the back.

Yeehaa! MTWA are on in the Rhonnda Valley March 26th. We'll be there. Taking my mates 16 year old son this time. Guarantee he'll be impressed. So three generations to see MTWA. I first saw Wishbone Ash in Cheltenham about 1970. Pilgrimage was just out I think. Don't try and guess my age!

Pete Studd

Glasgow, The Arches 25 Feb 2009

Fan Reviews:

Well, the latest stretch of new live dates is off to a flyer!

Wow, what a night. MTWA were in fantastic form at Glasgow - and rockin' in full effect too. I just got home and a few notches have definitely been shaved off my hearing, which is just as it should be. A great rock 'n' roll band.

It was a pleasure to watch the boys tonight. They obviously have such a lot of fun playing together - literally, when Ray and Danny did the playing-each-others-guitars bit of fretboard tomfoolery, which had everybody grinning. Mart himself ("On bass, Miss Martina Turner," sez Danny during the band intros!) was in full rock star mode, looking cool in quickly-removed jacket, hair ornamentation and a shirt Tom Selleck would have been proud to sport during his Magnum PI days. The MT pipes were in good order, as were all the lads' throughout the show, but of course the acapulco ending to "Warrior" in particular was hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck stuff.

First set included "Rest In Peace", "Why Don't We", "Lady Jay", "The Pilgrim", "Persephone" and for me the track that was the highlight of the night, "You See Red". The band were tight and powerful all night, with the volume level pushed just to the edge of distortion and no more - hard and crunchy, so well done to Mick on the desk, but "You See Red" was just unbelievable. Danny's a great singer too, as he proved taking the Laurie vocal part here. Loads of stage presence from Danny too - what a great find he's proving to be.

Dave Wagstaffe keeps up the great tradition of MTWA singing drummer and was rock solid as one half of the engine room. Loads of vocals from DW in fact - I've still never worked out how skinsmen can do that.

Ray is incredible. Some player, and I love it when he gazes ceilingwards and gets lost in the moment - happened a few times at the Arches. Cosmic, mate!

Second set was Argus, of course, the order as on Aegus: Through The Looking Glass. "Well, that's it, innit?" said Martin at the end of "Throw Down The Sword". "Or did we forget one? Oh yeah, I remember now - that song about blowing something.'" Yak yak.

Audience response was brilliant too - right through, to be honest, but particularly on the Argus material. Much grinning and shaking of heads in pleased disbelief from those around me quite a few times tonight. Great crowd who were very vocal, specially on "Blowin Free".

The band were operating under a strict 11pm curfew so it was "Jailbait" for an encore (cue another even louder singalong) and then off. I'd say there were about 200 of us in one of the cavern-like dungeons under Glasgow Central Station. The sound had nowhere to go and just bounced straight back off the walls. Nice. The Arches was looking great, I must say - my first time inside for 14 years and the revamp has paid dividends. A smart venue.

Well played, Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash - 10/10 for performance, song selection, stagemanship and enthusiasm.

Cheers,

Nizzy.

Just back from the Arches. Stange gig, I think, largely due to some eccentricities of the venue. Doors opened at 2000hrs but instead of going through to the room itself we were left in another bar just outside the room. Just before 2100hrs people started to drift through and having been hovering near the doors, my son and I managed to get down in front of the stage to find the band ready to start the show. They broke into "Why Don't We" as the audience continued to make their way in.

I had mentioned in a previous post about the Arches being a bigger gig than the Ferry but the band were playing in a smaller room in the venue. You wouldn't notice it was small as the lighting was such that I'm sure the band couldn't see much beyond the front of the stage. And with an over-exuberant smoke machine and pretty inadequate lighting, the band must have been difficult to see by those further back. The front lights were generally off during performance, with only lights at the side of or behind the players resulting in them looking like silhouettes for much of the time. Wasn't such a problem for me being down the front, but it also impacted on the pictures that Martin (my son, not MT) was taking.

I got the impression that the stage setup was not entirely to the bands liking and I think it took a few numbers to settle in. However, "Lady Jay" hit the heights and the band clicked in fully after this. One disappointment was that we didn't get "Phoenix". Not sure if this was because of any curfew requirements but it was a shame as this was one of the two numbers I hadn't seen performed by MTWA before - I'd have preferred "You See Red" to have been dropped leaving "Phoenix" to finish the first set but that's just a personal (and selfish) opinion. "You See Red" was in any event sublimely played anyway.

The interval was pretty short (perhaps suggesting the time limitations were curfew-related) and, as before, much of the audience were wandering back in as "Time Was" kicked off. All of Argus was as good as ever, although I think the damned smoke machine was impacting on Martin on a couple of occasions. They managed to get it switched off eventually.

All in all, an excellent evening's entertainment but with the edge knocked off a little by some of the venue's little oddities. Better quality lighting and being able to see more than six feet in front of ourselves would have made a huge difference. I think the turnout was larger than had been at The Ferry last July and being in a smaller room made for a better atmosphere (non-smoke related this time)

Allan Heron

Newcastle, The Cluny 26 Feb 2009

Newcastle

Fan Reviews:

It were great! Sorry - I've only got a minute to write this but.... we got a great opening set; featuring "The Pilgrim", "Rest In Peace" and "Persephone" and then the Argus set. No surprises then for us regulars but a very good crowd indeed cheered the band to the rafters. I took another another first time MTWA attendee and he was awfully quiet for the whole first set. I asked him what he thought and he said it was f***ing amazing!

It would be nice to think Martin stands in front of the venue to welcome each of us in (as he did) but in truth it is of course the anti-smoking law that enforced MT to act as both doorman and main event! He did both jobs very well; lovely fellow as he is!

Keith Stoddart

York, Fibbers 27 Feb 2009

York

Fan reviews:

A great gig by this band who just keep getting better. Excellent sound out there in the crowd from Mr. Howett for a venue which certainly wasn't designed with acoustics in mind. Martin was on good form - musically and in terms of banter with the audience; Ray playing blindingly (even if he did have an ugly spider sitting on his guitar headstock); Danny continues to surprise and delight with his great humour and demonic fretwork (and warbling) and, having been worried about missing Rob, Dave is an excellent replacement and a thoroughly nice guy to boot (although you wouldn't actually do the latter when you see how big he is).

Howard Johnston

Something like my sixth MTWA gig since 06. I came with three friends, one of which was a recent convert based on a listen to Argus. Unfortunately we arrived half way through "Why Don't We" so we didn't have the chance to cherry pick a position. The stage could have done with being a bit higher. Good head views but a bit awkward to see any fret work. The venue was a bit concrete and that's the only way to describe it.

The gig itself was great: as always. Really pleased to hear "Rest in Peace" which I liked from first listen to Locked In. "Lady Jay" was powerful. I especially enjoyed the harmonising on this one. Would have liked to heard "Phoenix" but I guess I'll just have to wait.

Argus as a whole is beautiful and the time just seems to fly by. Wonderful playing and singing. I've seen this band a few times now. The gigs get better and better. The audience reaction gets better and better. The "2,3,4" bit in "Blowin' Free" resulted in much pogoing from the audience. I've not seen that before.

My friends were very impressed. The new convert was buzzing and would love to see this band again. Hope to get to another gig very soon.

Steve L

Liverpool, Baby Blue 1 March 2009

Fan reviews:

Travelled down the M62 last night for this in the company of my brother, who has been a WA fan back in the 70s, but not seen or heard anything since then . Baby Blue is located at the Albert Dock warehouse complex, (which you may remember from Richard and Judy's TV show a few years back where that daft Fred bloke used to do the weather forecast jumping around his floating map in the dock). The venue was in the basement area and had a distinct feeling of being a 'cavern' which was quite fitting for being in the home of the Beatles.

Set list as above with, for me, "Lady Jay" and "Persephone" being the standouts in the first half and "Sometime World" and "Warrior" the standouts in the Argus set. Very enthusiastic crowd, knew most of the songs and generally had a great time. The band's rendition of the set is now outstanding and it's hard to believe that Dave on the skins is a new addition. His drumming was faultless, and my only concern for Dave was that he would bang his head on the low roof at the encore. He is a tall guy!!

But never mind my comments. My brother had been a bit sceptical in the car on the way, and why not? Why should these guys be much good after all this time. But he was absolutely knocked out by what he saw and heard, amazed at the quality of the playing, singing, tightness of the band, and how easy they made it look. But most of all how much they were Wishbone Ash, as he remembered them.

Martin H

Absolutely bloody fantastically perfect!

This band is absolutely cooking and it was a brilliant night (even the Baby Blue Community Choir didn't put Mart and the boys off what they were doing)

Best moment - all of it. Funniest moment - Mart trying to take his specs off and forgetting he'd taped his in-ear monitors to them!

Mike Spooner

The day after the Liverpool show, Martin Turner, together with daughter Melody and MTWA sleeve designer Howard Johnston visited the famous Cavern Club. The picture above left shows Wishbone Ash included in the "Wall of Fame" which has the name of every band who played there inscribed (Wishbone Ash played there in April 1970)

The Three-tles - Melody and Martin Turner meet local hero outside the Cavern Club, Liverpool

All Cavern pics by Howard Johnston

Derby, Flowerpot 5 March 2009

Fan reviews:

What a fantastic night it was! The Flowerpot isn't the best venue for acoustics, but Mick rose to the challenge and did a sterling job. A great sound from the band, with every note clearly heard and Martin's bass exactly where it should be in the mix.

Keith Buck was back for this one, and it was great to see him pairing up with Ray again. Rob Hewins was in the audience, so we could have had an MTWA Mark 1 reunion, but didn't. New drummer Dave was very impressive (and very tall).

What can I say about the music? "Why Don't We" a nice tight opener as usual. "Rest In Peace" was the best I've ever heard them play it. And the end solo of "Throw Down The Sword" is sublime. The only small criticism I'd make is that the setlist is becoming a little familiar. A couple of new additions would have been nice. But then that's coming from someone who sees the band 2 or 3 times a year, and I suppose I'm not a typical fan.

Anyway, great gig. Next up hopefully Worcester

Alan Bloor

I just wanted to thank Martin and his band for a fantastic show at the Flowerpot. I've followed Wishbone Ash since New England but this was the first time I'd ever seen Martin's band. MTWA played easily the best WA show I've seen since the Laurie Wisefield days. I came with three friends who were not big fans but they all went home converted. Thank you Martin, thank you all the guys in the band. We will be back.

Chris D

Southampton, The Brook 6 March 2009

Fan reviews:

Fabulous set from Martin and the boys at the Brook last night. What can say that others havent said about the shows so far. The band just gets better and better. The new drummer Dave Wagstaffe is fantastic, probably the closest in sound to Steve Upton of all WA drummers yet, which was fine by me. The place was packed, at least double the numbers from the time I saw them here in November 07, with the upstairs balcolny and bar open this time. Highlight for me was "Phoenix", beautifully performed. Up until recently only one guitarist has ever pulled this off for me (Ted), but Mr Willson, you nailed it perfectly, you're a star.

If there was one criticism it would be that the Argus themed set is now getting a little stale and I will welcome the time when the NEAT tour (Never Ending Argus Tour) ends and the band get back to playing a more wider selection of material from all the albums. I found myself missing songs like "Everybody Needs a Friend", "Time and Space", "Sorrel" and "Lifeline" and of course there are many more that would be worthy of inclusion - give us some different Just Testing or No Smoke songs next time, Martin. But, I'm speaking as one fan who's seen the band several times. For anyone seeing the band for the first time last night was probably just the ticket. At least we got a new joke (and a couple of old ones - the dyslexia and "Warrior"-poof skits being reeled out again....), MT saying "Leaf and Stream" was written by Steve Upton about some Dutch dyke constructer named Lee van Stream.

Blowing Free

Media review:

In my opinion, The Brook in Southampton is one of the best venues in the South of England. The sound system is second to none, though I must confess I have been there before when the volume was teetering on painful. It is has a high stage, so that wherever you stand in the auditorium, and whoever is standing in front of you, you still have a clear view of the performers. In addition, there is also a mezzanine, once the designated smoking area, but now there's tables and chairs up there for the more sedate concert-goer. The mezzanine floor runs round three sides of the building, allowing you to get right up above the stage and still get a brilliant view. There's a bar on each floor as well, so you don't have to spend all evening running up and down the stairs.

The Brook attracts some pretty big names and many bands return again and again. Amongst the regulars are both Wishbone Ash and Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash

Martin Turner, original Ash bassist and singer, formed Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash in late 2005. All four original Wishbone members have rights to the name "Wishbone Ash", though Andy Powell continues to trade under that name. Both Andy Powell's and Martin Turner's line ups are equally brilliant. It would be very hard to say which was better, but if pushed, I'd have to say that Martin's has the slight edge. Andy Powell's band are still very much active, writing and playing a lot of new material so there's less time to keep the fans happy with older material.

Martin Turner's band though sticks to their original ethos: to play almost exclusively the classic tracks from Wishbone's back catalogue. Trouble is, in almost fourty years, Wishbone have produced a vast wealth of absolutely beautiful songs, so there are far too many songs for one band to play in any one night. Martin Turner and his band have recorded two live albums from their recent tours, and yet hardly any of the songs that they played at the Brook are covered by either album.

If you ask anyone to list their favorite ten Wishbone tracks they may include "Lifeline", "Cosmic Jazz", "Outward Bound" and so on. Well, all of those you'll find on the live albums. Tracks that people will almost certainly list amongst their favorites, though, are "Phoenix", "The Pilgrim", "Jail Bait", and every single track from their Argus album.

And that was precisely what the band played on Friday.

There aren't many albums that are such classics that they would warrant being played live some thirty years later. Fairport Convention's Leaf and Liege, and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon are the only two other albums I know of where this has been done. Both of these, though, are one off events, whereas this is the second year now that Martin been playing Argus in its entirety to packed out audiences. In fact, Martin is calling this tour "NEAT", standing for Never Ending Argus Tour, and let's hope it never does.

Martin Turner exudes charisma. All four of them exude talent. Dave Wagstaffe, on drums, only recently joined the band, (December last year), and Danny Willson, guitarist, joined last summer, but together, with Ray Hatfield, also on guitar, they are extremely tight. Yet they still had fun. At one stage, Danny came over and started to play Ray's guitar at the same time that Ray was also playing it. During a short percussion solo, Ray picked up a bottle and tapped that so as to join in. All very entertaining.

For the first set, they played various old favorites, then for the second set, rather than playing some Elvis, as someone from the audience wittily requested, they played Argus in it's entirety. They made one slight change to the running order, moving "Blowin' Free" to the finale, so as to end on a crescendo. They have recently re-recorded a studio version of Argus, released as Argus Through the Looking Glass, and they've made the same change to the running order there too.

It was obvious how much they enjoyed playing, and the audience loved it. The applause after the first track was louder and longer than many bands get as a call for an encore.

Pete Bradley, Fatea Records magazine website

Wolverhampton, Robin 2, Bilston 7 March 2009

Fan reviews:

pic: Linda Raymond (Bilston) [ more photos ]

I showed myself up to be a very sad person by standing right at the front at least 30 minutes before the show was due to start, but I'm short and wanted to get some photos...so that's my justification.

The set was as listed and, as it is only the third time I've seen MTWA, I really enjoyed it. I LOVE the rocky version of "Rest In Peace" and "Lady Jay" is quite special to me because I come from near Jay's Grave on Dartmoor and know the legend very well. "The Pilgrim" was my highlight from the first half...Maurice's playing at the beginning was just beautiful. "Phoenix" was excellent and contained an interesting accompaniment from MT on the J2O bottles! Superb first half which built up the excited anticipation for the Argus set to come.

The crowd were very enthusiastic and appreciative and the friendly bunch down at the front were great fun! I'm going to give my other half a mention here as it was nice to have his company...he was not well enough to come with me in July. His favourite "Time Was" was well up to standard and I thought that Martin's bass playing was particularly stunning on this one.

For the record, the a capella bit was present at the end of "Warrior" - well done, Martin, for managing to have three colleagues with good voices. Maurice looked a bit more relaxed playing the Argus material - I'm showing my ignorance because I don't know his background - but he did great job last night. Danny is a very hard act to follow and I did not envy Maurice having to fill his shoes. Ray played a fabulous set from start to finish - I enjoy his playing even more each time I hear him. I couldn't see Dave very well from behind his huge drum-kit but I could certainly hear him - he is a very powerful drummer and sounds to be settling in well. Martin was a complete star all night - great playing, superb vocals and his usual fun self on stage.

pic: Linda Raymond (Bilston)

The end of the set was explosive - "Blowin' Free" is one of my all-time favourite cheer-up songs and it really got the crowd going. Followed in the encores by a fantastic "Living Proof" and "Jailbait" - MTWA truly got the Robin rocking as Martin instructed.

All in all - an evening of fabulous music, fun and a great atmosphere. Thanks to Martin and Ray for taking time to sign my CD at the end. Brilliant!!!

Linda Raymond

pic: Ian Allsop (Bilston)

Ipswich, Regent Theatre 13 March 2009 (special guests of Golden Eaaring)

Fan reviews:

What a pleasure to see MTWA again. Set was restricted as support band but the whole of Argus was played beautiifully. Thank you Martin for keeping the memories of many great times alive. They had a pretty good reception and there were a lot of fans waiting for Martin in the Foyer during the break

Golden Earring were pretty impressive too - amazing light show and a set of almost 2 hours. The audience were old heavy and hairy incuding the ladies, but provided a great atmosphere. Obviously a large contiingent from Holland.

Oldtimekopite

London, Shepherd's Bush Empire 14 March 2009 (special guests of Golden Earring)

Fan reviews:

The band came on, to be greeted with a real big hand of applause. I must say I was really curious how the band would sound, it's been a while since I saw them last, and at that tme Rob and Keith were still in the line up.

To start of with Danny, he totally convinced me. The harmonies are so much better with him in the line up, and also his guitar playing is excellent. He really looked comfortable, like he has been playing those songs for ages. Also the clowning around between him and Ray was a nice addition.

Then Dave, it's so ungrateful to be the man on the skins. The guitar man always gets his place in the spotlight; the drummer has to earn that with hard solid work. Couldn't catch him doing anything wrong. When "Blowing Free" was played I saw the potential and power that Dave can bring. You really delivered mate, especially considering the time you've been in this band.

Than about the gig itself. I was really impressed with what they did. Mart's voice was better than I've heard before. Allthough the set list is not my favourite one (I've heard too much Argus from various sources the last half year), they really excecuted it to perfection. Different but good.

The crowd, including some 50 odd, crazy Earring fan countrymen of mine really seemed to enjoy what was brought on stage. Nowhere did I get the impression that it was "just" a support band that was tolerated. Allthough the majority of the people clearly were there for the Earring, Mart and the other boys got all the appreciation they deserved.

Walking around between the punters in the period between bands gave the all round impression that the show was appreciated by all.

I had the time of my life and am fortunate enough to do it all over again 3 times next weekend.

Willem (Blixa)

Melody and Martina Turner (pic Maria Lundy, Shepherd's Bush)

Belgium and Holland 18-22 March 2009

live pics: Francis Nicoll (Verviers, Belgium)

Belgium

Fan reviews:

Right, just back home from the second leg of the tour over in Holland.

So...Thursday night I was on my way to the Kade in Zaandam, where MTWA was to have it's first gig of the Dutch tour. I arrived early, the band plus sound wizard Mick had gone out to have a bite, but the people at the venue believed my honest statement that I had come to do the merchandise. Any coffee Mr. Blixa? Yes thank you love, much appreciated.

Maybe some 30 minutes later I saw both Mick and Dave enter and was shown by them where to set up shop. I must say that venue had a nice spot for doing business, right after the main entrance, so no escaping the thing.

Setlist from memory, before the break, "Why Don't We", "Lady Jay", "Persephone", "Pilgrim", "You See Red" and, off course, "Phoenix". First time for me to hear that last one from this outfit, and I must say I really liked it. Just a solid 10 minutes or so version without any unnecessary stuff.

Short break after that and then the the whole Argus was played with "Jailbait" as an encore. The most positive I've got from this evening is the comment from a lot of the punters. All in all everybody was very impressed by the band. Lots of folk saying "yeah, this is what my old vinyl sounded like". No knowledge whatsoever what has been going on in Ashland, but satisfaction all around.

I was introduced to Danny and Dave, whom I had not met before, and yes, they are both perfectly nice guys. Ray really surprised me by giving me his solo effort King of the West, which after listening on the Friday I really liked. Not all of it but there are some really gems on there. Very much worth getting that one. Not much more to report on the Thursday event, save that we had a good time after the gig and the boys were nice enough to drop me at my hotel, much appreciated.

Mick at the controls

Then comes Friday - last year the band had a very good crowd here, so I was anxious to see how many showed up. At first, not as many as I had expected. People kept on coming though and after all it really was a good number that turned up. It turned out to be a very appreciative crowd. The reception was fab and Mart and the others seemed to enjoy themselves on the stage. Setlist was the same as the day before, with the addition of "Living Proof", now I can hear that song everyday, so, thank you guys, loved to hear that one.

This band has grown, the harmony vocals were the thing that stood out for me last Saturday in Shepherd's Bush, and these last two days proved me right, it is indeed so very good to hear. From standing next to the stage today I had a perfect look at Dave behind his kit: his force is not missing anything. Don't expect him to do something fancy (though he might surprise us all in the future) but never expect him not to deliver. A very solid and sound performance, this man has to grow on you. I know in my case he already succeeded in doing so. And a very nice gentleman on top of that.

My thanks to the staff at the Boerderij, this is the kind of venue you want to play if you're in a band, yes professionals, but also dedicated music lovers, I got all the cooperation in the world for the merch, sound and lightning were great, assist with equipment 100%. Thanks you all, enjoyed your place.

Tomorrow I'll give it a miss, but I'll be back on sunday in Weert.

Willem (Blixa)

Holland - Crossing the Zuider Zee

Cwmparc, Parc Hall 26 March 2009

Fan Reviews:

It was the first time I had been to the Cwmparc Hall and what a wonderful little venue it is. Small enough to have an intimate feel but large enough for the band to play at a decent volume. Acoustically it is superb.

The setlist was a dream and for me the sound the band created was the true Wishbone sound. It was like a journey back in time. The vocal harmonies were great and the guitar work sublime. It was my first time to see MTWA and I was not dissapointed. It was nice to hear the songs sung by Martin, and he delivered on every song. But the one thing I noticed more than any other was the actual enjoyment and fun the band had while performing and that definately reached out to the 150 or so people in the audience.

I hope its not too long until the band return to the valleys.

Neil

I'd been looking forward to this gig for ages. Well, since seeing MTWA at The Globe, Cardiff in February! My third MTWA gig in six months. I have a friend in Tonypandy, so there were three of us including his 16-year old son.

Cwm Parc Hall is a nice old building which was originally a working men's club (for the miners I think). While we waited for the band to start, I spotted Ray Hatfield talking to some friends and signing his autograph. People were shouting for "Blowin' Free£ at the beginning and later Danny played just the first note and they all cheered. A knowledgable crowd.

As usual, the band were superb, swapping riffs and having fun. In the quiet bit in "Phoenix", Ray brought out some spoons and attempted to play them!
The sound was as usual very clear and you could hear all the vocals and harmonies. We could all feel Martin's bass lines thudding in our chests. A great gig and plenty of people up and dancing at the end to "Jailbait". Do they ever have a bad gig? I very much doubt it. We all agreed it was a great night and the teenagers comment was "they were awesome". Praise indeed from the younger generation.

Pete Studd

London, 100 Club 27 March 2009

pic: Howard Johnston (100 Club)

Fan Reviews:

The intro music - brilliant by the way….might have to steal that idea.
"Why Don’t We" was great - was a bit sceptical that Mart was singing it not Ted, but it was great!!!
"Blind Eye" - great. Classic!!! I loved it. Well sung and played.
"Rest In Peace" – was much better live than on the record (and I actually quiet like the record)
"Lady Jay" – brilliant, is Laurie Wisefield in the house?!
"Persephone" – went to the bar, got more beer.
"The Pilgrim" – sounds like Live From Memphis turned up full blast.
"You See Red" – fantastic.

Argus set was amazing. Missed "Throw Down the Sword" (at the bar – again). The acapella part in "Warrior" was stunning and the vocal harmonies in "Time Was" blew my mind!!! "Living Proof and "Jailbait" as encores – again just brilliant. Really outstanding…..sounds like all those live recordings of the mk1 and 2 line-ups.

Martin was on top form, a real inspairation. Dispite being a guitarist I watched him more than the guitarists!! What a master, what a legend and what a singer! He was a great bloke the whole night through, he must be a lot of fun to live with!

Keith – brilliant. He played and sung great! Shame one of the guitarists didn’t use a Gibson guitar instead….perhaps would have fattened up the sound just a touch more.

Ray – another shining star. He hasn’t got Andy's touch on guitar but what he does have is soul and energy…..what a great player again, vocally strong.
Dave – wow……he made it look effortless…..great vocalist too.

The club was small but great acoustics. The beer was crap. The cups were plastic. And if you stood still for too long you’d get stuck to the ground. Isn’t it great?! I felt like I was back in the day. The trip home was long….. but we had Lost Pearls and the new Argus cd (I noticed Dad sang along on a few tracks. I think we may have a new fan in the making)

Thanks once again to every one who made this possible. The band for keeping theflag flying. And cheers to Mick for taking me backstage and of course Martin and his lovely family for being so hospitable.

Ben Barker

Another wonderful performance. Good to see Keith again and the new drummer (Dave) was excellent. I took a mate along and he is becoming a big fan now (we also went to the Hogs/Focus gig at Shepherd's Bush).

There were a couple of things that really stood out for me in the evening. Firstly, some of the songs seem to be developing "new dimensions" even though they are nearly forty years old. The stand out song in this respect was "The Pilgrim" - which was just gobsmackingly brilliant. "Persephone" was wonderful too.

In a similar vein, the degree to which the band are re-interpreting Argus seems to be increasing too. I saw the set at Sutton Boom-Boom Club last year and that seemed to me then to be a much more faithful rendition of the original Argus. But some of the arrangements of the songs were significantly different on Friday, I think - of course, I may be imagining things (what do you all think?). I also feel that Ray's playing has something to do with it all as well. He just seems to be going from strength to strength now - he looks increasingly confident on stage is really letting rip on the solos now.

Great to hear it was a sell-out too - this band deserves nothing less.

Stockwell Pete

Worcester, Huntingdon Hall 29 March 2009

Worcester

Fan Reviews:

I'm not too sure of the number of MTWA gigs I've been too - I think it's somewhere around 12 or 13 now - and they've always been excellent. But sometimes the venue means that it's extra special - and last night was one of those occasions. Huntingdon Hall is possibly my favourite venue of all the ones I've been to in the last few years. It has character. It has seats. And most of all it has brilliant acoustics. I was sat directly in front of one of the speakers, about 3 feet away, which can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable, but last night it was perfect. Every note wonderfully clear, and Martin's bass could be felt as well as heard - just how I like it.

This was the first time I'd seen Maurice play with MTWA (though I did see him with his own band at Ashcon once), and I have to say that Martin is very fortunate to have such talented people to call on when Danny is unavailable. I'm no guitar afficianado, but I know what sounds good and what doesn't, and in my opinion the boy done good. For those who care about these things, Maurice was playing a Gibson. I was particularly impressed with his rendition of "Phoenix". Those solos require the player to play with feeling, and that certainly came across. He didn't do very much singing (and Martin took all the lead vocal on "You See Red"), so I thought maybe singing wasn't Maurice's forte - but then he stepped up and did the Wetton bit on "Throw Down The Sword" and it sounded great. Dave's drumming was very solid, Ray played to his usual high standard, and Martin's singing was top notch. In the last two gigs I've seen, I've noticed a nice bit of banter developing between Martin and Ray, as befits the two senior members of the band.

Highlights? Well, everything really. But if pushed I'd say that the "Throw Down The Sword" solo gets me every time. Whether it's Ray & Danny, Ray & Keith or Ray & Maurice, it's shivers down the spine time, and as far as I'm concerned they could play it for 3 times as long! I always thought that solo was the highlight of an Andy Powell set, but MTWA have pushed it to new heights.

I overheard some very positive comments being made in the bar at half time, so it's not just us forum obsessives who are impressed by this band.

I hope some more gigs get added between now and August, but if not then next stop Shrewsbury.

Alan Bloor

Journeyed across from Wales to catch this one, mainly because I'd heard great things about the venue. Neither the venue or MTWA let me down. The Huntingdon Halls has superb acoustics. In fact I don't ever recall hearing a better sound balance at an MTWA gig. The band were on top form. I don't think I've heard MT's voice sounding stronger. While I've never been disappointed by his vocals at any show I've been to, there are nights where he pulls out all the stops and takes things to a new level of perfection. Tonight was one of those nights. MT was pitch perfect and singing with great emotion throughout. Dave Wagstaffe now seems comfortable in his role and is contributing more vocally than he was at the start of the tour when I saw the band in Wales, and Maurice was a reliable stand-in (I do think Danny is the finest guitarist/vocalist to grace the MTWA stage left position yet though!). One thing Danny's absence did result in was a version of "You See Red" sung by Martin, which has to be the best version of the song I have ever heard - there is just something about WA music sung by Martin (be they his songs, Ted's songs, Laurie's songs). For me the versions with Mart on lead vocal always seem to top any previous renditions. He is not billed as the definitive voice of WA without good reason! His singing in "Phoenix" tonight was a revelation too - the strength and clarity on the opening lines was real shivers down the spine stuff. So, another great night with MTWA, as they continue to go from strength to strength. Full house too, the only seats I could get were up in the Gods near the back.

Lee Van Streem

A late review from me, but just wanted to say this was another great MTWA gig. I echo the comments about Mart's voice (in the opening of "Phoenix" he just SOARED). It's never sounded stronger IMO. Maurice filled in well, although I think Danny is my fav of the various MTWA axemen. Agree with LVS that "You See Red" sounds even better with MT on lead vocal though. I love the strong MTWA harmonies but would always prefer to hear MT sing all lead vocals.

Blowing Free

Whetstone, All Saints Arts Centre 19 April 2009

Fan Review:

Whetstone is a leafy London suburb and the All Saints Arts Centre is located behind an impressive old church. A rock gig felt a bit incongrous here but apparently the place has a long history of bands playing.

Maurice was deputising for Danny, the first time I have seen him play, and he did a nice job, particularly with the Argus material. Mart was on form as ever and Dave's drumming work was cool and understated. I particularly enjoyed "Blind Eye" and "The Pilgrim".

The only blip was Ray. He told the worst joke I have heard in ages and I trust he was made to sweep up afterwards as penance. His playing was superb as ever though. The crowd in general seemed knowledgeable and appreciative and, as ever, loved all the material played.

My only real negative comment is a selfish one and that is that I would now like to see the band do a set list without the Argus stuff. Not much chance of that though. Maybe you can have too much of a good thing.

Martin H

Ashington, Fell 'em Doon Club 25 April 2009

Fan Review:

Last night a small traditional workingman’s club in a quiet corner of an old ex-mining town was lit up by a splendid performance by the world’s foremost exponents of authentic classic Wishbone Ash music. The band - this time with Maurice again stepping in on guitar - rocked the packed out concert room with the now familiar (to us anyway) two sets. The opening sequence featured a crackling “Pilgrim” and “Phoenix” before climaxing with a spirited “You See Red” with Argus beautifully recreated in the second half. The highlight was probably “Throw Down The Sword” which finished to a brief hushed silence then an explosion of applause from an enraptured audience. The encore saw several dozen fans up and dancing along in front of the stage, accompanied by Martin who jumped down into the throng to cut a rug with a clearly delighted bunch of women (he is such an old rake!) The final sequence saw “Living Proof”, an unscheduled “Blind Eye” (which was despatched as tightly as I’ve ever witnessed it) and finally, all too soon, “Jailbait” brought down the curtain on another great evening.

The club seems to have partially reinvented itself as a rock venue with the likes of Maggie Bell and The Animals due to play soon and with 200+ people packing in it seems destined for success. The band were, as ever, generous and entertaining before and after the sets with Martin in particularly good form recounting anecdotes about John Lydon and much else; and the band seemed relaxed and happy after their recent continental tour. Another hugely enjoyable evening. Roll on my next encounter with this magic band.

Keith Stoddart

Media Review:

Ashington was jumping with anticipation and there was an air of excitement within the music loving fraternity of this once coal mining village. The venue was sold out with people contacting me 30 minutes prior to the show requesting tickets for this fantastic show……sorry, SOLD OUT!

Home grown talent ‘MO-Maurice’ stood in for Danny Willson and echoes of his inspiring, brilliant melodic guitar and complimenting harmony’s with ‘Ray Hatfield’ are still fresh in my mind! Well Done ‘MO’, we are not worthy!

A two-part set with varied selection of material from historical classic Wishbone Ash albums certainly did not disappoint the local fan base.

For any Wishbone Ash fans out there, this is a must see band. If you fondly remember 1970’s Wishbone, you will not be disappointed. In fact you will be nostalgically enthralled, inspired and content as I was tonight.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mick Curtis and Les for a wonderful job in promoting and organising this fantastic gig.

Local media review

Worms Festival 12 June 2009

Danny Willson review:

Here's a quick review of the gig from MY perspective.......

Compact outdoor mini-festival in a small square in the shadow of the cathedral, beautiful setting, very warm hospitality from the promoter & stage crew. Great food, fridge full of essential liquids, nice hotel (although we didn't actually get to spend much more than a couple of hours in our rooms!). 3 bands, us first, then Les Holroyd's Barclay James Harvest, followed by the Leningrad Cowboys.

Sun goin down as the opening chords of "The King Will Come" trip off the nimble but ugly and stubby fingers of our own King of the Vest, nice vibes from the crowd, happy faces singing along ("in ze fire....."), happy band, felt good & sounded good. The local Wormsters were enjoying the show and some of them wriggled their way to the front to get a better view of Martin's eyeliner only to be disappointed as it had been confiscated at the airport along with big Dave's lip gloss. Those airport officials with their anti-makeup stance are wholly responsible for the slovenly look of today's popstars. How are we supposed to maintain our glamorous image? It's alright for Girls Aloud and Mariah Carey and Graham "Warrior" Norton. They earn millions and can afford to have a bag of makeup waiting for them at every venue. Oh, how the other half live....

Anyway, rant over. Back to the gig. We went down a bomb. Came off feelin great, promoter very happy, audience shouting "encore" which is a french word that the Germans have borrowed and have decided to use until they come up with their own. As you know, we in the UK have for some years been using the word "more" which, along with a few ear-piercing whistles & heavy foot stomping, seems to have the required effect when attempting to persuade the exhausted artist back onto the stand. Mind you, we Brits are guilty of borrowing French words too, lest we forget. For instance "rendezvous". There would be much ink saved, and consequently it would be better for the environment, if everybody used the word "meeting" instead. And what about "soixante-neuf"? Look at all those letters....we should just say 69. Its only two taps on the keyboard, meaning your hardware will last a good deal longer, which can only be a good thing in these credit-crunch times. The only exception to the rule is "bon appetite" which is far more labour-saving than saying "I hope you enjoy your meal". Maybe one day some literary genius will come up with our own phrase for "bon appetite". Something along the lines of "beautiful appetite" or "nice appetite" perhaps.

Anyway, rant over. Back to the gig. So yeah, we came off stage to heartwarming applause, approached the dressingroom fridge & took some bottles therefrom, handed them to Ray, who is our designated bottletop remover, and greedily poured the contents south with a cry of "prost" which is the German's own word believe it or not and means "cheers lads, well done, all the best, happy new year". Its one of those rare cases where we Brits, and the environment, would be better off using a foreign word instead of our own long-winded phrase, but I doubt it will happen. Its one of those words that only works in its native tongue. Try it with your own tongue if you get the chance & you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, back to the gig. Les Holyroyd's Barclay James Harvest hit the stage next. The Wormians loved 'em, they went down a storm. Atmospheric music in a very atmospheric setting. Then came the Leningrad Cowboys. I cant even begin to describe this band. Well ok then.......long pointy shoes, long pointy fringes, many many band members, well-known songs played in a circus/heavy metal kind of style, outrageous costumes, great and bizarre show. Never seen owt like it in me life! Again the assembled Worms loved 'em & writhed their slimy hermaphrodite bodies in time to the strangely entertaining spectacle. Top gig.

Anyway, back to the hotel bar where we whiled away a very pleasurable few hours with a gathering of Cowboys, Harvesters, promoters & crew. Couple of hours kip and back to Frankenfurter Airport for an early flight back to dear old Blighty.

Phew, I'm off to bed g'night all!

Danny

Reepham Festival 1 Aug 2009

Martin Turner review:

Reepham was good. It was a major schlepp to get there - we'd probably still be looking for it but for SatNav. The rain held off for the performance, just, and we went straight on using the van as a dressing room. Went down well with the 3-400 crowd and sold a few albums after we had performed. On the way back we drove through a lot of rain, it was hard work but by the time we got to London it was pretty dry again. Very sweet little event out in the countryside!

Martin

Bedford, Rhythm Festival 23 August 2009

Fan Review:

Once again Rhythm Festival provided a wonderful weekend of entertainment and fun. A fantastic series of performances whetted my somewhat frazzled appetite for MT and Co. Amongst others the Eric Bell Band (he did a nice tribute to Rory Gallagher), Ducks Deluxe and Eddie and the Hot Rods (the latter surprisingly stealing the show IMO) stick out. Not to mention the mighty Alabama 3!!

An enthusiastic welcome greeted MTWA as the band eased into their set with their first two numbers which were warmly received. The sound, to my ears at least, seemed very clear....so far, so good....

Ray "Cool Dude" Hatfield looked like he meant business with his wrap-around shades and Danny oozed charm with his warm smile and tasty axe licks - were we loving this or what? Naturally "Time Was" got the crowd going and got me off my backside. There was no looking back as MT swept through several tunes from Argus. My only disappointment was that before I knew it, the band were blasting through their encore, "Jailbait", and leaving the stage to much applause! Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana, as they say. Unfortunately, although I got plenty of pics of various bands, I was so involved with MTWA I did not get any shots in.... apologies, very unprofessional. There again I am a rank amateur so that figures. It was nice to hear MT acknowledge Gary Carter's hard work so I was able to put a face to his name - well done mate!

Looking over at the Rhythm Festival forum, There are many comments saying how much they enjoyed the band and how they should have appeared on the main stage. I have to agree, although I quite like the intimacy afforded by the Alternate Stage.

Stroud Man

pic: Francis Nicoll (Verviers, Belgium)

All on-tour photography by Ray Hatfield, Danny Willson, Dave Wagstaffe and Mick Howlett, except where otherwise stated.

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