CityLife

Paul Taylor's gigs of 2008

NEW BLUES ICON: John Mayer

MOMENTS of jaw-dropping wonderment on Manchester stages this past year?

How about Mary J Blige at the M.E.N. Arena, hollering No More Drama – a plea for peace in a tumultuous life – then squatting down and beating the floor with her fists. Has anyone, short of Aretha Franklin in her heyday, delivered soul music with more conviction

Then there was the moment, at the same venue, when Stevie Wonder sparked up the funky riff of Superstition – one of several superlative moments in a gig which, on the minus side, also had too much infuriating chit-chat and momentum-sapping audience participation.

The most haunting moment of any gig, for me, was Joe Jackson performing new song Solo (So Low).

Even Jackson admitted this was a ‘wrist-slasher’, as he regaled the Bridgewater Hall with something resembling a suicide note pinned to a Chopin piano study.

But two gigs provided highlights from start to finish.

In May, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss treated the Apollo to the tastefully-dishevelled soundscapes of the songs from their Raising Sand album.

But they also put some bluegrass and yee-hargh into a clutch of Led Zep classics, with Black Dog and Black Country Woman acquiring banjo riffs and When The Levee Breaks coming propelled by twin violins.

You got the impression that Plant was on a pilgrimage to the source of the music he loves, and Krauss – the sweetest voice in any music genre today – was an elegant fellow traveller.

Then in June, John Mayer held forth at the Academy. Mutterings that we had a new Clapton on our hands were confirmed as Mayer delivered blistering blues guitar to I Don’t Need No Doctor and his version of Duffy’s Mercy. At 30, his songwriting talent is in its prime, as proved by the likes of Belief and Gravity. 

So Mayer’s young, good-looking, a great singer, fine guitarist, crafty songwriter, rich and – for that mad, gossip column of a summer – he was stepping out with Jennifer Aniston. It’s difficult not to hate the guy.