Rock Orchestra

ROCK ORCHESTRA

Utilita Arena Birmingham: 23rd October 2026

It must be 30-odd years since i went to an arena gig... cos to be honest i'm not keen on them!... i prefer the club scene....

But saturday night i ventured into Birmingham to see the ROCK ORCHESTRA... and it was one of the most incredible jaw-dropping gigs i've ever seen... simply phenomenal musicianship...magnificently choreographed visual display involving lights and fire... 2 solid hours of high powered driving music covering many genres from rock to classical all given the unique Rock Orchestra style...

Words cant express how incredible this show is... photos and videos dopnt come close but hopefully these clips will give an idea of the spectacle and greatness of he performance...

Musicians drawn from around the world for their virtuosity, showmanship and commitment to deliver 2 hours of audio and visual brilliance... the show only stopped fro a short interval and we had over 2 hours of music... phenomenal energy from start to finish... i truly cant praise this too much... gig of the year... the decade.... the century...

keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues 

Small Fakers

SMALL FAKERS

IMV 17th October 2026

Another glorious saturday night party night at the The International Music Venue organised by Wake up promotions in the company of the incomparable Small Fakers - Small Faces Tribute.

One of the very best tribute bands around, and the only tribute to the Small Faces... and they have down to perfection.

They kick off with the early days of the band, with "Whatcha Gonna Do" and "Sha lal lal la lee" which have the audience singing along gleefully... then follows a stream of classic SF material fromm the early days.

After the break they are back with the later material including the absolute classic "Itchycoo Park" which has the audience roaring out lyrics followed by a a set from "Ogdens Not Gone Flake" along with "Red Balloon", "the Universal" "Here comes the Nice" and others...

As the set ends there are a couple of obvious omissions, but of course they come back for "Lazy Sunday" which is sung as much by the audience as the band and a riotous "All or Nothing" which brings a superb evening to a joyous conclusion

Up front Matt Bond has Steve Marriott down to a tee... is a superb frontman/singer/guitarist... while Neil(Ronnie) Jon (Ian) and Dan (Kenny) all deliver superb musicianship and contribute fully to the party spirit of the band. As a band the guys are superb, fully committed and assured they deliver the classic SF material with huge authenticity, assurance and musical brilliance... and put absolutely everything into making a wonderful, nostalgic party night for everyone...

Why would anyone else consider doing an SF tribute when this band has it 100% spot on generating a real party atmosphere and delivering superb music everytime

Absolutely superb night!!

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Andy Wales Band

ANDY WALES BAND

IMV: 18th October 2026

What a joy to be be back at the Donkey!! Three weeks after the re-opening this was my first chance to go... and i went with some trepidation, though i'd heard many good reports... when you've loved an institution over the years you just never know how you'll feel about the refurbishment... walking through the door the trepidation left me.. .the re-vamp is great... so many familiar faces and friends inside and the vibe as warm as ever...

The music today was from the superb Andy Wales Band, also playing their first gig for a while, and their first at the new venue... and it was clear how much it meant to them to be back.

Andy, along with the ever-present Christian and Nick were in imperious form.. kicking off with the full power instrumental "Full Tilt" which swung and rocked like mad, followed by their terrific version of "Tainted Love" and then rocked through a host of songs both new and old.. highlights of the set for me were "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" and ending the set with a simply wonderful version of "Summertime"

The second half started with a powerhouse version "Crosstown Traffic" and carried on delivering gem after gem including "Natural Woman"

I dont know what the penultimate song was... but it featured a scintillating guitar solo from Andy that surely ranks with anything i've heard in many a day... inevitably an encore, and it was a scorching "Purple Haze"

Throughout the set the always superb Nick Murphy's drumming was outstanding and Christian as always added absolutely top notch powerful bass playing, and a couple of vocals... Andy's guitar playing was as ever exceptional and the three blend together to make a superb exciting band delivering a superb set

Fabulous afternoon and so great to be back at the Donkey.

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Lady Maisery

 LADY MAISERY

IMV 14th October 2026

This was a lovely evening at the The International Music Venue being entertained by Lady Maisery. A new name to me, but so glad i went to the gig.. The band are a predominantly acoustic trio delivering a mix of beautiful original material and some well chosen covers and traditional songs. The band are multi instrumentalists featuring accordion, percussion, fiddle, banjo, guitar, shruti box (i think that is what it is called) and harp... even including a spot of step dancing! ... but for me the highlight is the three beautiful voices and wonderful harmonies throughout.The whole performance was beautifully relaxed, musically and vocally superb and totally assured... a real joy for me to be hearing such beautiful delicate folky music so beautifully delivered.An absolute joy of a performance

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Access to Previous Blogs

INTRODUCTION

Due to the vaguries and nonsense around META i can no longer access my original blogs to edit and add to - however they are still available to view via the old link

photalbumsbyrich.blogspot.com

All blogs from 1st October 2026 will appear in this site