Sunday 03 May 2026.

Sunday 03 May 2026. TAJ FARRANT live at The Garage, North London. Teenage guitar sensation is touring the UK to promote his debut album ' Chapter One'. Taj Farrant is an internationally acclaimed Australian guitarist and recording artist recognised for his explosive blues-rock style, technical mastery, and commanding stage presence. Emerging as a child prodigy, Taj has evolved into one of the most exciting young guitarists of his generation, blending fiery rock intensity with deep blues soul. ------------- Nice to be close up to the stage for this club show. CHARLOTTE CARPENTER arrived on stage at 8pm for her 30 mins set. Singer songwriter from Northampton with her electric guitar. Charlotte played good tracks from her album ' A Modern Rage' , including ' Like a Hurricane'. It is a family affair for Taj as his dad/manager introduced him , and his mum was on merch , and his sister played keyboards in the band. TAJ FARRANT arrived on stage at 9pm for his 90 mins set. Six musicians crammed on the stage tonight. Taj ripped into a blistering guitar solo for every track played , as he mixed tracks from his album , along with covers in his set. Covers of ' Ant No Sunshine' and his fave Stevie Ray Vaughn track ' Tightrope' were early highlights. Taj also made easy work of the Steve Vai track ' For The Love of God'. His own tracks including ' Crossroads' and ' Mumma Raised A Man' were really good too. The second half of the show included incredible moments. A cover of Jim Hendrix ' Red House' , had his friend Phil join them on stage , and we had several superb guitar solos as the three guitarists on stage trading licks. The finale was two extended instrumental covers of 'Purple Rain' and ' Parisienne Walkways', which showed what an amazing talent this young guy is. See my Facebook page for the videos of those two tracks. Bigger venues beckon on his next tour for sure . A really enjoyable top notch show. ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Saturday 02 May 2026...I went to two events today ... 2.30pm matinee show. THE PRODUCERS at The Garrick Theatre , London WC2. We have a nice view in the stalls, 10 rows from the stage. The show is on for 2 hours 15 mins over two sets of 75 mins and 60 mins. Richard Kind is superb in the lead role. Lots of great songs, dance routines and comedy . The obvious highlight song was ' Springtime For Hitler'. The mini orchestra are hidden upstairs above the stage. Max Bialystock (Richard Kind) is a producer that is long past his prime – producing stinker after stinker, he has to resort to coddling with geriatric women in order to secure funds for his productions. That is, until strait-laced accountant Leo Bloom comes knocking on his door, and inadvertently comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme, involving obtaining massive funds to bankroll a musical that is destined to fail, and hence being able to pocket all the money after the production suffers an early demise. After much convincing, Max manages to rope Leo into the nefarious scheme, and the search for the world's worst script begins. The two producers chance upon Franz Liebkin's incredibly ill-conceived pro-Nazi musical "Springtime for Hitler", and they also manage to convince the impossibly gay director Roger DeBris and his very "pink" posse to direct. In the meantime, the very sexy Ulla also comes knocking at their door, and after securing both a role in the musical and a job in the office, Ulla finds herself increasingly attracted to Leo. The entire venture seems destined for failure, but as expected, things do not go the producers' way, and they find themselves in an extremely sticky situation. A very enjoyable top notch theatre production. then LOVE with JOHNNY ECHOLS live at Shepherds Bush Empire. LOVE with Johnny Echols sees Arthur Lee’s ( RIP ) longest serving band set to tour the UK performing the classic songs from Love’s first three albums Love, Da Capo, Four Sail and of course the timeless Forever Changes. 2026 also marks the 60th anniversary of their debut album and the release of its follow-up Da Capo. Released in November 1967, Love's Forever Changes is widely considered a cornerstone of psychedelic rock and a masterpiece of the era, balancing lush orchestral folk-pop with paranoid, introspective lyrics. Despite poor initial sales, it is now revered as a top-tier classic. I saw Love with Arthur Lee at The Royal Festival Hall and The Guildford Festival just before he passed away. I saw Love with Johnny Echols at Shepherds Bush Empire in 2024. Johnny Echols is now aged 79. Arthur Lee died in 2006. --------------- An older crowd tonight , so the stalls is all seated. Level 3 is closed and not many in Level 2 , so maybe only 500 tickets sold. BIG SKY arrived on stage at 7.30 pm for their 30 mins set. A four piece with male and female sharing the vocals. CRYSTAL TEARDROP arrived on stage at 8.25 for their 35 mins set. The Crystal Teardrop is a British psychedelic garage rock band formed in Stoke-on-Trent, England, in early 2023. The band is known for a sound inspired by the mid-to-late 1960s, blending garage rock, folk-rock, and psychedelia. They played a really good uptempo set , and the female singer was very lively as she moved around the stage . The male bass player was also lively , as there were high kicks galore by him. LOVE with JOHNNY ECHOLS arrived on stage at 9.30pm for their 85 mins set. Six musicians on stage , with three guitarists , so a lovely 1960s wall of sound. Their singer has an uncanny resemblance to Arthur Lee. Sadly no brass section or strings tonight , which was part of their sound back in the day. Highlights played included ' Alone Again Or' and the last song of the night ' 7 or 7 Is' , which was a great uptempo punky noise . A very enjoyable show. Full LOVE setlist played tonight ... Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale My Little Red Book (Burt Bacharach cover) A House Is Not a Motel Gazing Can't Explain Stephanie Knows Who iQue Vida! Your Mind and We Belong Together You I'll Be Following Orange Skies Alone Again Or And More Andmoreagain The Red Telephone Live and Let Live You Set the Scene Encore : Signed D.C. Always See Your Face Wonder People (I Do Wonder) 7 and 7 Is ------------------------------- ------------------------------- Friday 01 May 2026. PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED (PiL) live at Watford Coliseum. PiL play the first of two UK warm up shows before their mainland Europe Tour. I saw PiL first ever ever UK show which was at The Rainbow on Christmas Day 1978. I have them many times since then. I recently saw a great PiL show at The Forum in Dec 2025. PiL toured South America in April 2025. Public Image Ltd (PiL) has announced an extensive 42-date "This Is Not... The Final PiL Tour" across North America, spanning September 2026 to March 2027, marking their first major run in the region in over a decade. It is held over two legs...two months in 2026 and two months in 2027. Support comes from Welsh indie rockers Trampoline , who are managed by music veteran legend Alan McGee. PiL are also managed by Alan McGee - Creation Management . This venue was closed for many years but reopened last year. I have been there a couple of times before. 2003 - Human League + John Fox. 2004 - Tony Hadley + Go West . ------------ The journey took a bit longer than expected so missed the support act. Nice to see my chum Matt , who had trekked up from Maidstone. Not sold out tonight , so maybe three quarters full. The standing area looks pretty much as it was 20 odd years ago , but all the other areas of the venue look nicely refurbished . Easy to get to the front , just a few rows from the stage. PiL arrived on stage at 9pm for their 1 hour 50 mins set. John is in top form with his vocals and his facial grimaces are fun to watch. Lu is pretty mesmerising with his very nifty guitar playing . The band all sound fantastic . It is pretty much a greatest hits set. An excellent show , and well worth the trek from West London way. Full PiL setlist played tonight.. Home Know Now Corporate World Destruction ( Time Zone cover) This Is Not a Love Song Poptones Death Disco Flowers of Romance Warrior Shoom Public Image Encore: Open Up ( Leftfield cover) Rise Annalisa / Attack / Chant (followed by band introductions and Happy Birthday to band members)

Posted 2nd May 2026