News and Reviews: 30th March 2003

Teenage Cancer Trust Concerts Royal Albert Hall. Mon 24 March 2003 . Coldplay and Richard Hawley . Coldplay did a superb 90 mins set feat all the best songs from their two albums .They are now so confident on stage . Support Richard Hawley did a pretty boring 45 mins set . Tues 25 March 2003. Eric Clapton and Nigel Kennedy.Eric Clapton did a 90 mins set with drab pub rock blues and r n b for the first hour before he got stuck into " Cocaine " " A Whiter Shade Of Pale "(with Gary Brooker singing ) and Layla. Nigel Kennedy did an interesting 60 mins set with his Polish jazz outfit . Wed 26 March 2003. Richard Ashcroft and Roger Daltrey .Richard Ashcroft was a lot better than expected with loads of great songs and a stunning finale of " Bitter Sweet Symphony " without the strings but with more of a dance feel to it . Roger Daltrey Allstars included Gem ,Noel and Liam from Oasis , Kelly Jones (Stereophonics ) Paul Weller and Roger himself with everyone having a go on vocals . The Kids Are Alright - Roger Daltrey, Dont Wanna Talk Tonight - Noel G, Shadow Of The Sun - Paul Weller, One Way Road - Noel G, Butterfly Collector - Paul Weller, Size 9s - Kelly Jones, Traffic - Kelly Jones, Songbird - Liam G, Magic Bus - Roger Daltrey, Liam also came on for one song with Richard Ashcroft. Thurs 27 March 2003.The Doves and Asian Dub Foundation .Doves are more concerned with writing quality songs than actually looking and dressing like rock stars thats for sure but they do have some really good tunes and Roger Daltrey came on with them at the end to sing Whos " The Seeker" . Asian Dub Foundation did a really lively set but got a bit of stick for their non stop anti war rantings . Friday 28 March 2003.Supergrass and Ash . Supergrass did a good 80 mins set with loads of catchy tunes but they appeared a bit jaded after their recent American tour . They made great use of the giant screen behind them that they used on their last tour which mixed video clips and live footage of the gig taken by mini cameras on their equipment. Ash did a good 70 mins set which included 2 brand new songs . Saturday 29 March 2003.Madness and Aswad . Fair to say Madness fans created a better atmosphere than all the other 5 nights put together . Madness did a great 90 mins set similar to the December 2002 UK tour with the screen behind the stage showing clips of Ian Dury and Madness videos.RAH has never seen so much dancing. Aswad did a pleasant 60 mins pop reagae set . Roger Daltrey confirmed that The Who would be playing at next years show.

Posted 30th March 2003