CityLife

America performed an excellent show at the Bridgewater Hall full of their best known hits from the past. It was good to hear such classic songs as Ventura Highway and Don't Cross The River which were comparable to those of their compatriots like the Eagles in their hey day. From where we were sat in the stalls, the sound quality was amazingly good with brilliant harmonies complemented by some intricate acoustic guitar and keyboards.There was a nod of acknowledgement to George Martin who produced a number of their albums in the late 1970s with a surprisingly good version of the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby. After a number of ballads, such as Daisy Jane and the wonderful I Need You, the evening livened up with a rocky Sandman accompanied by slide show. The tempo was maintained with an infectious Sister Golden Hair before the classic Horse With No Name closed proceedings to a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Both Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell were very engaging providing just the right amount of background story and humour to add to their undoubted songwriting and performing talents. It was pleasing that they both stayed after the show to chat and sign autographs for their fans in the foyer for as long as people wanted to stay. Not many artists will do that these days.

Duffy continues to impress as she moves up another gear from her performance at the Ritz earlier in the summer. Last night, she controlled the stage strutting confidently, if at times a little comically, with little shimmies that Ronaldo would be proud of. The stage set was impressive and her song selection taken naturally from the excellent Rockferry album. Early highlights were singles Stepping Stone, with melodic support from the "Duffettes", and the powerful Warwick Avenue. The interlude with Syrup & Honey merging into an unexpected but delightful version of Wonderwall was exquisite. The music was enhanced by a string quartet complimenting that soulful voice. Her band were solidly professional but perhaps a little overbearing for the first few songs until the balance was restored. Duffy's quirky sense of humour makes her very likeable and the pantomime audience of Mums, Dads, boys and girls of all ages thoroughly enjoyed themselves singing along at every opportunity. We all loved Mercy, of course, and a chance to dance - yeah, yeah, yeah! Duffy left us with a 3 song encore, climaxing with the excellent Distant Dreamer. Hopefully the new year will bring as good a follow-up collection of songs as Rockferry before Duffy is ready to move up another notch to play arena gigs.

Eric Clapton delivered a set not just for his own benefit and enjoyment but also for that of a packed house of admiring and knowledgeable fans at the MEN Arena. It was again simply wonderful to marvel at a man who makes guitar play look so effortless as Eric truly makes his guitar cry and sing as if an extension of his very being. We had a good mixture of the blues, acoustic numbers and a selection of Eric's better known hits. From a moody Going Down Slow to the classic Key To The Highway, we were then treated to an incredible Old Love that deserved a standing ovasion. Then came a change of pace with a seated acoustic collection of Layla (not my favourite version but still moving), the lively Lay Down Sally and unexpected Dylanesque Not Dark Yet. The more familiar I Shot The Sheriff livened up the audience and Eric still found a new way to interpret this Bob Marley classic. A delightful Somewhere Over The Rainbow brought a tear to the eye before Harrison's rocky Badge and Before You Accuse Me led to a rousing Cocaine. Eric was well supported by a very accomplished backing band and even took a back seat to allow each of them solo spots. Special mention to Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon on keyboards that added so much to the polished sound. Peter Kay may be a very funny man but he sure knows his music heroes and I bet he wouldn't miss a Clapton masterpiece for anything.

James Taylor played a thoroughly enjoyable 135 minute set full of magical songs covering the full spectrum of his career. He was plugging last year's Covers CD mainly in the first half and it's fair to say some songs worked better than others. A delightful It's Growing, a surprisingly good Oh What A Beautiful Morning and a sublime Wichita Lineman that Glen Campbell would have been proud of were the highlights. However, attempts at the more up tempo Road Runner and the dreadful Hound Dog just didn't work. Of course, JT has been playing "covers" all his life and he excelled with Carole King's You've Got A Friend and Up On The Roof. Buddy Holly's Everyday also had a knowing audience singing along. His witty comments make him very engaging to the extent that sometimes, even by his own admission, certain introductions are longer than the songs themselves! Witness the intro to Sweet Baby James - a heartfelt story of the lullaby to his baby nephew. This just adds to a relaxed atmosphere and at times you feel you are talking to James in your own living room. At the end of the first half, he picks up the set list, turns it over to tell us what's coming up later on! No pretences, you get what you see with JT. Highlights come in the second half with Fire And Rain, How Sweet It Is and a fantastic Shower The People featuring old friend Arnold McCuller singing a marvellous gospel harmony.Overall an excellent value for money show. Come back soon James.

The Knott is an excellent old fashioned bar offering a wide selection of beers including a number of guest ales, fruit beers and the ever popular Marble brews such as Manchester bitter and Ginger Marble. The food selection is good with excellent quality. There are epicurean evenings on the 3rd Tuesday of each month when a themed banquet is a favourite amongst regulars and guests. Exceedingly good value so book early to avoid disappointment! Good selection on the juke box catering for a wide variety of musical tastes. Highly recommended.

I wholeheartedly agree that Eli "Paperboy" Reed has tremendous potential to live up to comparisons wiith the soul masters of the past - Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack and yes, even Wilson Pickett. His new CD "Come And Get It" is brimming full with good rockin' soulful belters like "I Found You Out", "You Can Run On" and the lively title track. Eli also demonstrates a thoughtful songwriting talent with beautiful laid back songs like the wonderful "Pick A Number" that deserves to be a worldwide smash hit. However good these songs are on CD, they really come alive when performed on stage. Eli's recent podcast with Daryl Hall on "Live At Daryl's House" showed off his full range of vocal and guitar playing ability as he matched Daryl note for note - no mean feat. Go check out the Paperboy - you won't be disappointed!

The Santana gig at the MEN Arena was indeed excellent value for money with a full two and half hour show. The reviewer captured the mood with a background of driving rhythms delivered by the 3 percussionists plus the two lead vocalists adding their tamborines & maracas. The haunting keyboard skills of David Mathews and throbbing bass of Benny Rietveld was the perfect backdrop to the searing guitars. We all came to see the main man of course and Carlos never disappoints. He makes guitar playing sound effortless as he switches from acoustic Spanish guitar to his more traditional electric guitars. The set consisted mostly of old classics that got the crowd on their feet from the start. Each song is an extended version and Black Magic Woman was a sheer delight played early on. Oye Como Va and Maria Maria kept us dancing and singing to the Latin beats - it's just so infectious. Cindy Blackman came to the front as Carlos proclaimed his love for her and she gave it her all with a drum solo on Corazon Espinado. Main drummer, Dennis Chambers, was just so cool on his extended drum solo taking time out to mop his brow, then take a drink whilst maintaining the beat with his feet. I thought he would go for the sandwiches next! The horns of Bill Ortiz's trumpet and Jeff Cressman's trombone added colour to the rich wall of sound. Singers Tony Lindsay and Andy Vargas shared songs and dueted but a surprisingly good She's Not There was sung excellently by guitarist Tommy Anthony who nearly stole the show. We were only treated to two songs from the new Guitar Heaven CD - namely a heavy Whole Lotta Love (that Led Zep would have been proud of) and Cream's Sunshine of Your Love. It was a pity Santana chose to omit his version of George Harrison's beautiful While My Guitar Gently Weeps but, hey, you can't have everything. The set closed to a rousing Smooth followed by Dame Tu Amor before the lengthy three, or was it four, song / tune encores. I will never tire of listening to the wonderful guitar playing of Carlos Santana who is a most gracious man spreading his heartfelt message of peace and music to the masses.

Bryan performed a most entertaining show in the intimate atmosphere of the sold out Lowry Theatre with just his guitar and a very talented pianist to accompany his extensive back catalogue. The ballads worked better with highlights being the classic Heaven, brilliant Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman and a singalong Straight From The Heart to close with. There were also some rousing songs with Back To You, Summer of 69 and Somebody that we all sang along to. Bryan is a very engaging performer with some amusing stories and a passable impression of Joe Cocker on When The Night Comes. Good new song Miss You ... A Little Bit also went down well. A most entertaining 2 hour performance enjoyed by a mixed audience but mostly females who just adore the Canadian rocker in this close up, laid back setting.

The Eagles put on a brilliant perfmormance of classic west coast songs that take us back to those hot summer days of the 1970s. However, it is refreshing to see the band invigorated as they also treat their adoring fans in the sold out MEN Arena Saturday show to newer material from the Long Road Out Of Eden CD. Opening with the lively "new" J D Souther song How Long, although it was written back in the 1970s, this set the scene for a most enjoyable evening. New songs were mixed with classics like the marvellous Hotel California (worth the entrance money alone) complete with Mexican trumpet intro and Joe Walsh guitar licks. Special mention to support guitarist Stewart Smith, described quite rightly by Glen Frey as frightenly good, who played some excellent lead guitar throughout the evening. Timothy Schmit's wonderfully light vocal on I Can't Tell You Why was followed by a moody Witchy Woman then classic Lyin' Eyes that we all sang along to. The first hour long half closed with Don Henley leading us through a rousing Long Run before promising to come back to play for a long time. We were not disappointed with the second half, opening up with a seated acapella No More Walks In The Wood highlighting pitch-perfect harmonies. The "credit card song" Take It To The Limit followed with Glen cracking yet more jokes. A lively Walk Away saw Joe Walsh take centre stage followed by a superb One Of These Nights, even if they did slightly foul up the intro - they are allowed one mistake! Joe had us in stitches with helmet cam on Life's Been Good which is a crowd favourite. The tempo moved up with an excellent Funk 49, singalong Heartache Tonight and closer Life In The Fast Lane. Only two encores of predictably early hits Take It Easy and Don bringing proceedings to an end with memorable Desparado. Thanks guys for another fanastic two hours and forty minutes of fabulous music. Sound quality was superb and we all went home happy. Come back soon.

Tina still knows how to wow an audience with a polished show full of our favourite songs, great backing band, fit dancers and lots of that Las Vegas razamatazz. Some great set pieces with the film songs (Hero & Golden Eye) when the supporting Ninjas added to the atmosphere. Tina gave us her best known songs plus a great Stones' Jumping Jack Flash / It's Only Rock 'n' Roll and Acid Queen from Tommy (not Won't Get Fooled again as reported). We just loved Proud Mary and Nutbush City Limits with Tina hanging from a platform overlloking her adoring fans. Quite simply - still the biggest diva, thanks Tina for a great show. Even at