The UK Connection-Our End of 2023 Recap: Favorites, Trends, and Dislikes
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- Опубліковано 29 гру 2023
- Join Pete Pardo, Simon Bray, and Steven Reid as they as look back on 2023!
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My favorite program on SoT! Thank you, gentlemen! I have a beer with you every episode. Humor, intelligence and great topics. Happy New Year to you all.
Thank you very much indeed! Happy New Year to you and thanks for watching!
Thank you all on SOT for everything that entertained us this year . Wishing Steven, Simon, Pete, and everyone on the channel a very Happy New Year and all good things to come in 2024!
Thank you guys for a wonderful years entertainment. Agreeing to disagree and having fun at the same time is the chemistry you bring to this show.
Delighted to have a UK Connection show, and long may it continue gentlemen, cheers to you all from Northern Ireland
And sheers to you too. Thanks for watching!
I tell you I truly look forward to this show on the Saturdays you all have it. Such an entertaining group of guys. Humor. Knowledge and just a great interaction.
I só love the UK Connection… it makes me SMILE every episode, it’s the Three Musketeers.. three guys that couldn’t be more different.. thàt’s the key.. I get a special beer and a ‘drink’ with each episode and it’s qualitytime èvery single episode.. goosebumps.. And unfortunately what Steven and Pete said about the aggression and ‘it’s all about me’ attitude @ concerts, the supermarket and so on.. so very thru… we experienced it more than ever this year. Hopefully things will be better very soon. Happy newyear to you guys and all the musicfans here @ Sea of Tranquility
Happy new year and thanks for watching!
Spot on Simon!!! I inherited a few Simple Minds LPs from a mate (RIP) this year and New Gold Dream has now become one of my favourite albums of all time! I'm even off to Birmingham in a few months to see them. I'd totally discounted them for the last 59yrs!
And Stephen....Gary Numan, yes! Saw him at a festival this year, totally brilliant. I would challenge any rock/metal fan to not enjoy him live. Very heavy, very industrial! Outstanding live show!
Gary Numan, yes yes yes, great artist, been releasing great albums for ages now.
His last four albums are brilliant and recently he even featured his daughter.
Enjoyed your company more than I should have. Thank you, gentlemen.
Cheers and happy new year in advance to the crew and all the viewers who watch the UK Connection regularly 🍻
And to you too!
Always loved Gary Human' music, he emergency landed his plane in the field next to our school in the early 80's ( not the reason I love his music I hasten to add ), I kept with him all the 'barren' years - he's got talent and he was always more than just a 'synth' act. Great to see him have a resurgence the last decade or so. Early Simple Minds - 1st six albums are magnificent / I always excused them for going for the bucks and arena stuff, just ignored it.
Have just bought 'Hotel' off Discogs to check it out. !
Love the Gary Numan story! Enjoy the Hotel album.
Top three shows of the year were
1. Hawkwind
2. The Winery Dogs
3. Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers
Hawkwind was at Royal Albert Hall. I couldn't believe my luck that my trip to London overlapped by ONE day with the Hawkwind gig. It was my last day in London. Amazing show in a beautiful venue.
Huge Cheers to Steven for mentioning Ian Hunter. Thank you Sir !
Even if I did nearly forget!!! What an idiot I am!!!
Thank you, Steven, for acknowledging the great documentary on Gary Newman, 'Android in La La Land'. His debut album, 'The Pleasure Principle', is a classic, and it was great to see him resurrect his career after almost giving up. Simon, sorry, but VH fucking rules! Get it straight, bro! Lol. Great show as always, gentleman, and happy new year. 🤘🍻
Happy New Year to you too. Yes, that Gary Numan documentary was a great way to discover what an interesting, talented and genuinely decent chap he is. One of the best things I've seen all year.
Thanks for the shout-out for Suzi Quatro, Simon. 👍
Brilliant 👍 well done SOT for 2023 and see you in 2024, happy new year ❤
Yes finally someone has mentioned Gary Numan his last three newest albums are awesome. I've always been a fan since the tubeway army but lost interest during his rnb background singer phase but later in the early 2000s he discovered his new material and now his sound is amazing. So ty finally a mention.yes!!!
My pleasure, thanks for watching! And yes, those latest three albums are fantastic.
I'm surprised that the UK connection is not a fan of Simple Minds. I am 51yo and his bands has been in my life since the early 80's and kinda enjoy pretty much all eras. "Live in the City of Light" is a classic live album for a non-rock band. Cheers !
Have a Happy New Year Simon and Steven. Pete also.🎆
And to you. Thanks for watching!
My wife and I saw Toto about 6 years ago at The Arcada in St. Charles, Illinois and loved it. So glad to have seen them with a Porcaro in the band. Also glad to see them with Paich.
Seeing Blackberry Smoke again on their European tour was great. They've become my favourite band.
And a great band they are too!
Love you guys happy new year all! Great point Pete made here about cover band shows way outselling great EXISTING bands - it’s true here in Portland unfortunately, we needed more at Wishbone Ash 2023! People, please support live and non-cover music! As well as good cover music ….
Thanks for the shows all year round. Another peculiar show as I understand it. Let's see!!!!
Thanks for all the comments and support throughout the year. All the best!
Another great show guys! All the best for 2024! Cheers, Graeme.
Thanks Graeme. All the best!
Totally agree with Elegant Weapons, the Girlschool, and KKs Priest ""Sinner Rides Again"" are my top 3 & a mention of Acatrazz "Take No Prisoners"" was also a brilliant release. Also have all 4 on cd & vinyl, so great commitment to these great bands.
Thanks Steven for recommending the Scaramanga 6 album Chronica, I'm playing it now. An excellent and intriguing mix of all sorts of genres, a strong post punk vibe as well, with hints of one of my favourite bands Wire
My pleasure. Glad to hear you're liking them!
A great show to end the year.
albums not released this year:
1. Killer Be Killed’s two releases (2014 & 2020)
just stumbled upon them this year: Max from Soulfly, Greg from Dillinger, Troy from Mastodon & either a Mars Volta or Converge drummer
2. Fires in the Distance - Echoes from Deep November (2020)
first heard their new album this year & went backwards to this one (Connecticut band)
3. Bleed From Within - Uprising & Fracture (2013 & 2020)
first heard them last year (Shrine) & finally listened to these two (Scottish band)
4. Powermad - Infinite (2015)
I never knew they’d re-formed much less released an album, really gets going after the first two tracks, great record
Happy New Year gentlemen! Been a fun 2023 and looking forward to more UK Connection in 2024. Today I am having a Sammy Terry Kolsch from Scarlet Lane Brewery, Indiana. 🍻 I’ll have to finish the show tomorrow. Family will be here soon for our Christmas. Had to delay a week. Take care gentlemen.
I remember Sammy Terry, the horror movie host! I used to be able to pull in his show from Indianapolis when I lived in Cincinnati.
Wild River Brewing here in Southern Oregon has a nice Kolsch. Cheers🍻
Cheers Scott. Enjoy. Happy New Year (and Merry Christmas!)
Been a numan fan for years...his first 4 are essential.
Hi Pete and Simon and Steven great fun with you as always, just wanted to wish you all a very happy New year ,and I really appreciate the time and fun with all of you 😅
Happy New Year David. Thanks for all the comments and support throughout the year!
Great show, really enjoyed it. My top 3:
Host - IX
Enslaved - Heimdal
Tygers - Blood Lines
Happy New Year to you, guys, i absolutely love your show. Another big Gary Numan fan here, a hugely influential artist. My album of the year was by Tesseract and gig of the year was Marillion at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, where i blubbed all the way through 'Care' 😂😂. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Karen. Happy New Year! Yes, the Tesseract album is excellent. I gave it a shout out on the In The Prog Seat end of year round up.
Love the show !
But for me, as Not-Native-English-Speaker, Steven is a real challenge.
But I'll do my very best ; )
HAPPY NEW YEAR for You and Your families out there.
Its not perfect but you could switch on the subtitles when Steven is speaking. In my opinion his Scottish accent is not that strong, certainly compared to other Scots I could think of, but appreciate foreigners may have trouble with this accent.
Happy New Year to you too! Really appreciate you watching our ramblings, especially seeing as my accent isn't the easiest. It's just as well that talk so much sense! lol!!!! Cheers!
Happy and Safe Holidays Gentlemen!
Happy New Year to you Drew!
Happy/ HEALTHY to the great Saturday afternoon trio here in NJ. USA 🇺🇸. I will admit / I saw only 0ne concert 🎵 in 2️⃣3️⃣and it was with Pete/. Rich ( Petes brother) &. Jack T and hanging with those 3 was the equivalent of a daily concert. Thanks guys. 👍💯
Thanks Gary, wish I was at your show of the year!
@@glenfinston704 👍💯
All the best Gary. Thanks for all the support and comments throughout the year on this show and right across the whole channel. It really is hugely appreciated.
@@TranquilityFireReid / thanks to you/ and for all your great insight ( knowledge and fun ( laughs) - Pete has stated your great importance. IF, there is another SOT fest- I can tell you right now- the usual suspects “ have you ranked way up there as a fan favorite “ // we would love to have you here in NY. The best my friend 👍💯
@@garyjoyce2160 Thanks again Gary. Doubt I could make it over for any future SOT Fest, but you never know. If it happens, fingers crossed!
Forgot to mention…..Hitten and Atack good listens. Great show guys. Peace.
Yes, the Atack album is a real grower. Love Lee Small's vocals!
Great video gents! Happy new year to you all!
I only saw 2 gigs this year, I've not been very well, but they were both amazing! First was terrorvision in Bradford, and the next was Paradise Lost at the same venue. Both bands I've seen loads of times and they both showed they've still got it!
My favourite reissue of the year is Horslips - more than yoh can chew. Absolutely love horslips, a massively underrated band, and box set is phenomenal.
Stuff from not this year that I've just got into is less albums, because I don't think i could choose just one by each, and more just bands. And they are: Chicago (thanks Pete!), Villagers of Ioannina City and, completely outside the SOT paradigm, Talk Talk!
Top 3 albums of the year, and there were loads to pick from:
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Apocalypse or Dawn of Eternal Night...
Elegant Weapons- Horns for a Halo
The Fierce and the Dead - News from the invisible world
Svalbard - The weight of the Mask (Yes i realise thats 4 and not 3 but... shut up!!!)
Here's to another fantastic year, see you all soon!
Great stuff Matt. Cool lists there - oh and nothing wrong with Talk Talk!
My favourite end of year show. Damn, I wish I'd seen Elder. They played local to me but I couldn't make it. Great to hear they were top notch, Steve. Happy New Year all! Here's looking forward to TTSO :)
Got one of Elder albums and it is fantastic but did not know they played over head in the uk sick or what
Agree with Steven. Saw Elder in San Francisco and they were phenomenal.
Happy New Year Gentlemen
Happy New Year Daniel. Thanks for watching!
Great show. I’ll do my top ones to save time. Biggest whinge - Winery Digs tee shirt cost more than the ticket. How did that happen? Best concert - Steelhouse festival c/w Elegant Weapons, The Damn Truth, plus lots of other great festival bands. Steelhouse is on top of the mountain in South Wales that plays to a classic rock paradigm. Found an amazing album by The Pineapple Thief called Dissolution, a great piece of prog. My favourite album of the year was Bloodlines by Tygers of Pan Tang. I’ll stop there.
Top 3 previously released but I just got it; in order of buying and listening.
Rush - Hemispheres
Chicago - CTA
Rush - Farewell to Kings
And those are edging out
Tull's Aqualung at #4 and Priest's Sin after Sin at #5. Thanks for another year of fun content. Looking forward to another year of fun shows from this Channel. Cheers 🍻
Those are some great albums from the past. Thanks for watching!
Happy new year from Florence Italy🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻
Happy New Year to you. Thanks for watching!
@@TranquilityFireReid Since the very beginning. Thank u
@@user-bb2er3yr4p Very much appreciated!
Great categories👏👏
Great episode as always. My top 3 reissues / boxes are: 1) history kinda pales when it and you are aligned - The Dream Syndicate (40th anniversary box for The Days of Wine and Roses); 2) Too-Rye-Ay As It Should Have Sounded -Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners; 3) Standing In the Light - 25 Years of Stone Foundation. My top 3 albums discovered in 2023 but previously released: 1) Distant Satellite - Anathema (which has led me to the full discography of a band new to me); 2) Why The Long Face - Big Country (which led to a rediscovery of the early Big County albums and filling in the rest); and 3) Rhythm of the World - The Cowsills (the remaining siblings of the 60s family top 40 group which formed the blueprint for the Partridge Family - AOR with great harmonies that strongly reminds me of Bob Welch era Fleetwood Mac).
Hello gentlemen, no idea when I'll get a chance to listen to this, as I'm in London all day tomorrow and then of course it's Hogmanay, so I just want to be among the first to say thank you for all your shows this year which have never failed to be anything less than highly entertaining. I look forward to more of the same next year, so I'll raise a pint of Old Hooky to Simon, a 14 year old Highland Park to Stephen and Pete, nothing American in the house, so it'll have to be just a Guinness and a heartfelt shout of "Lang May Yer Lum Reek" (ask Stephen...)
Happy New Year guys, have a good one!
Maybe see you in Manchester with Stuart sometime in the middle of next year. Have a great 2024!
And to you Iain. Thanks for all the comments and support throughout the year. All the best!
@@scottcampbell1888 You too! Yes, meeting up is one of my resolutions! All the best
I too never really got Van Halen , glad for kindred souls. As a teen in s wales in early 80s everyone worshipped them but I was more than happy with angus and Co
Always enjoy a beer watching you guys, brilliant watch.
Any of the UK contingent watch the maiden future past tour this year ?
Thanks Ricky! I'm a huge fan of vintage Maiden but think my days of going to see them are probably over now. All the best!
@@TranquilityFireReid my first time seeing them I took Simon's ethos of seeing bands before the die 😮🤣. All the best look forward to all your content in 2024.
@@rickyweatherill6021 Oh, if you'd never seem them before it was a no brainer to go and see this tour. They are still a great band and one of those that we all need to see at least once. Cheers!
I could probably never see them again especially at the prices they charge but if I hadn't seen them I would be at the front of the queue.
@@simonbrayfromsot1375 £75 quid I believe, felt like I got my money's worth definitely a gig to remember. The support wasn't much cop. Merch is getting ridiculous £40 for a t shirt that shrunk after one wash 🤔.
As ever, a great combination of topics to see out the year, and much to agree upon (and some definitely not)
Pet Hates- some crossover- ticket prices, or rather the Ticketmaster rip off of dynamic pricing, merch pricing & availability- too expensive as venues taking up to 25% cut, as well as overpriced vinyl being the only music to buy (yes Haken that's you and £70 for blue vinyl of Fauna with not a hint of the CD on sale). UK tours that are an English date only- lots of bigger bands passing Scotland over, Within Temptation, Tool, ZZ Top. Though we don't help ourselves with ULEZ zone in Glasgow, Edinburgh to follow and city/night time entertainment being hollowed out, and now the plan to add a levy to ticket sales- on top of the 4 existing book on fees we often pay on top of the original ticket price.
Gigs of the Year- slightly diverge from Steven- Elder were fantastic (not overly keen on Slomosa) but not the best gig of my year- my top 3 Riverside top, Lifesigns 2nd, 3rd Tyketto/FM/Dare triple bill, and will concur with Simon about quality of Danny's voice- they were first on the bill at the Garage and were back for Winterstorm in Troon- for a very good reason.
Reissues of the year- none that really applied so it's quoting a live album as the only one that springs to mind- Lifesigns live in the Netherlands.
Album of the Year. Empyre- Relentless, Moon Safari- Himlabacken Vol 2, Uriah Heep- Colour & Chaos. Nearly included Albert Bouchard and glad Steven gave it some love as saw Joe & Albert last year in Glasgow- and had a blast and criminally underattended, which comes full circle with earlier comments and sentiments on the show.
For bands/albums I only listened to/discovered during 2023, (ok sought out because of SoT) - Elder, Ne Obliviscaris (just misses out on top 3 gigs of the year- absolutely phenomenal) , there are a couple of support bands that could be included but I'm going for a North Carolina Southern band, playing a co-headliner tour with Sons of Liberty. Preacher Stone- absolutely blew me away, consider me converted
First of all, I'm excited for the next UK Connection show because I'm sure the topic will get a lot of hilarious stories out of you three! Second of all, I'm kinda scared for the future of the music industry because of the rising costs of physical media and concerts, and AI becoming popular. However, 2023 was another great year for new music. I got into The Black Crowes and have all of their eight studio albums now, attended more concerts than I ever have in my entire life, and bought a few new releases that really surprised me. I wasn't planning on seeing Rival Sons live this year, but I did and they're my favorite concert from 2023. I've mentioned my favorite new releases in a different comment, but yeah, what a great year for new music and 2024 is looking good as well with Saxon and Lucifer releasing new studio albums in January!
Excellent edition folks, love the spread of topics.
Gig wise, it was great to bump into Steven at a Scaramanga 6 gig at the beginning of the year. For the record, neither of us were boxing with anybody despite an impossibly tall fellow contriving to stand in front of just about everyone else!
If you haven't already, check out The Bites live. Insanely enjoyable.
Albums of the year Ian Hunter - Defiance Part 1
Philip Seth Campbell - City Lights
and equal third place:
Greta Van Fleet - Starcatcher
Crown Lands - Fearless.
I'm willing to forward my thesis on why tribute acts are indispensable for your consideration 😉
Hey Mike. It was good of you to come and say hello at the Scaramanga Six show. They were great weren't they!
@@TranquilityFireReid thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact, if the stars aligned, I'd consider a trip down south to see them.
On a different note, you making an appearance at Cats In Space in Bathgate?
@@mikebruce3933 I certainly will be Mike. Looking forward to it!
One more thing: my best "re-find" this year is Memory Serves by Material . I bought the vinyl in 1979-80. My vinyls are gone, and I finally found an affordable CD copy. Check it!
Steven, so knowledgeable and funny, love that guy
See you again in 2024👍
Thanks for all the support and comments throughout the year Francis!
@@TranquilityFireReid 😄👍
The UK Connection is one of my favourite shows on SOT. Thank You Steven, Simon and Pete! I'm just going to list here my favourite albums of 2023, and they are unranked. You guys listen to a lot more metal and prog than I do, and I grew up with the music of Yes and Genesis, and Deep Purple and Sabbath and Alice Cooper and Zeppelin back in the 70's, and then later got into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. But there is another side to me. I've been performing semi-professionally as an acoustic guitar artist for over 40 years now, although I have been in a couple of rock bands, so I kind of have this division between my softer folky side and my more rocking side, if you can understand that. So my tastes are quite diverse. So here, in no particular order, are my favourite albums of 2023.....1. Arkells - Laundry Pile 2. Colony House - The Cannonballers 3. Darkride - Darkride 7 4. Dizzy - Dizzy 5. Evan Rotella - Happy To Be Here 6. Great Lake Swimmers - Uncertain Country 7. Gunship - Unicorn 8. Half Moon Run - Salt 9. Jake Mathison - Carnival Town 10. Metallica - 72 Seasons 11. Metric - Formenterra II 12. Paul Rodgers - Midnight Rose 13. Rival Sons - Lightbringer/Darkfighter 14. Robin Trower - Joyful Sky 15. Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds 16. Ron Sexsmith - The Vivian Line 17. Stephen Stanley - Before The Collapse Of The Hive 18. The Gaslight Anthem - History Books 19. When Rivers Meet - Aces Are High 20. William Prince - Stand In The Joy 21. Yes - Mirror To The Sky 22. Yusef/Cat Stevens - King Of A Land, and a late addition, bringing up the rear, 23. TALK - Lord of the Flies & The Birds & Bees. Many of these bands are Canadian, and some are alternative rock, but I'm sure you will recognize some names in there. My tastes are often very different from what I see on SOT, but I always check out the stuff that you recommend. Steven made me discover Magenta, who I just love, Their singer, Christina, put out a solo album this past year, called "The Barstool Prophet." It's got some great tunes on it, especially the title track.
Happy New Year guys, love this little show looking forward to more in 24!
Cheers John. Happy New Year to you!
Great show as always guys! Are there any album releases that you are looking forward to this year? Thanks for the look at the Cheap Trick Box Set Simon, that's on order 🙂
Enjoy! I have 😊
Hotel - Thanks for the tip Steven.
Hope you like it!
Only seen two concerts this year.
1. Haken (w Arch Echo) at Concord Music Hall in Chicago. Bargan of the century. $30 to get in, GA show. Small venue and it was filled to capacity. One of the best live shows I've ever seen.
2.) Dreamsonic 2023. Dream Theater /Devin Townsend / Animals As Leaders. This was at the Hard Rock Casino in Gary, Indiana. Nice venue. I paid for a front row corner seat so I'd be in front of John Petrucci. Much more than the Haken concert, but good value considering three bands. Devin Townsend was a surprise, really good live act. That said the venue was maybe half to 2/3 full. Great show but surprised of the low turnout.
Simon, that man cracks me up. REM, road trips
I will only do the first two categories, for now:
Pet Hates:
3. Covers in all settings. Live, on CD et.c.
2. Bands that only have t-shirts as merch. How many t-shirts to these bands think we need?
1. People that pay these ridiculous ticket costs. That people pay these prices is more annoying to me than the price itself.
Best Live Shows: I think I have seen 60-70 bands this year. My favorites:
3. Exciter
2. Suffocation
1. Church of Misery
Status Quo will be probably touring the last time in the UK and Europe 2024 😢
Thank you for the tip
Going down to Memphis on vacation in July was awesome! Seeing Graceland was awesome. Although the career museum was way better. Seeing Elvis's Golden Records and his jumpsuits. He also had a car/motorcycle collection Beale Street was the place to be! Music plays every day. All day and all of the night. Seeing the Walk of Fame with the blues & rock stars also awesome. Sun Studios was very unique but important to the rise of rock and roll. The Stax Museum was the best museum by far. Another record label, but this time doing more on the soul side with some R&B. What Sun Records did for the 50s, Stax did for the 60s/70s. Stax Records was more interactive and seeing the records plus Issac Hayes's car was awesome. The Blues Museum wasn't much, but it was still fun to see though. They have the Hall of Fame, which is cool. Beale Street was the place where all of the musicians would go to the bars/restaurants and listen to blues music. Live music was everywhere on Beale Street. Elvis even has his statue which is awesome. He would come down there and listen to the blues and was even good friends with BB King. I ate the BB King's Blues Club and their burger was delicious. I also ate at The Arcade where Elvis would go out and eat. It's still in business and a popular place in town. Their French toast was crunchy and I loved it, the best French toast I ever had. If you get a chance to go to Memphis, eat at those two places. And also check up Tom's Barbecue and Deli, in which Guy Fieri stopped in to check on the restaurant on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. There are other resturants that made it on the show too, so check some of them. The Elegant Farmer is now The Farmer.
To Pete's point the cover bands rule the circuit here in Australia and have for awhile. One of my mates was in an original band whose albums were being well received and reviewed overseas but had to put the band on hold to play in cover bands to get paying gigs.
Thanks guys for any entertaining show and for another great year.
I am in agreement with all your moans. For me ticket prices,merch and physical product is getting expensive.Steven you mentioned fighting at Blaze Bayley gig in Glasgow and I was there as well and yes it is a worrying trend .Thought Blaze handled it well. Hopefully won't see any more of this behaviour.
Favourite gigs for me ,Europe. Mostly Autumn and Mike Tramp.
Albums of the year .I would agre with you all about Elegant Weapons,a really good album Ronnie at his best.
Alo enjoyed Uriah Heep Chaos and Colour. Kks Priest as well.
Steven you were lucky to get to Kks Priest gig ,I had tickets and a hotel booked but couldn't get a road out of Blairgowrie to get to it. Completely gutted. At least UA-cam came to rescue and showed some highlights.
Keep up the good work and all the best for 2024
James
Yes, Blaze did indeed handle it very well and better than most would I guess, but it kind of changed the night from there on in. You could see the band continually looking over to see if things would kick off again, because the tension kept simmering in that area of the venue.
Oh, I wish I'd seen Mike Tramp. Last time I saw him he was in the much underrated Freak of Nature.
There was meant to be 4 of us going to the KK gig, but like you one of them was in Blairgowrie and one is from Gleneagles, so in the end only the two of us made it. Ironically the road from Perth to Glasgow and back was pretty much perfect, but those minor roads were all still badly flooded. Sorry you missed out.
Mike Tramp was excellent played White Lion tracks ,I picked up album got it signed and had chat with him after gig. Really nice guy.
I agree with you Steve. I want to buy the new Mount Atlas cd. I refuse to pay 25 dollars shipping for a 16 dollar cd
New Ian Hunter album? Well, now you are talking! 🎉
Can't believe that I nearly forgot to mention it. It's bloody well brilliant!
I can't really say I've discovered any new to me bands that I like by tuning into the UK connection. But I listen anyway. What the hell is wrong with me? Lol Happy New Years to you all.Cheers !🍻
IQ are playing in Bury in less than 3 weeks, I hope Steven and Simon have got their tickets.
That's too far for me to ravel Gordy, but chance would be a fine thing, as they say.
There's a chance I might see Gryphon at the same venue but I know nothing at all about IQ😢
@@simonbrayfromsot1375 Watch Pete and Stevens excellent ranking of the IQ albums. "I'm back" 😂😂
Fans are the biggest problem with ticket prices. I'm thinking about McCartney and Springsteen fans that will mortgage their own houses to see their holy idols. They keep concert tickets at astronomical prices. Merch prices are out of control, largely because of venues demanding a percentage of the band's merch sales.
Exactly Scott. Anyone paying these prices for any band is only feeding the problem and while we all continue to do that it isn't going to change. I'll admit that I paid more than I was comfortable with to see KISS one last time but that's the last time I'm breaking the bank for a gig I think.
Todays beverage: Space Dust IPA from Elysian Brewing Company 8.2% abv
When I wore my SOT Space Whales T to see Brit Floyd during the summer people kept asking what kind of music the band Sea of Tranquillity played...
Cheers everybody🍻🎉
Haha! How did you explain what we do Unc??
@TranquilityFireReid funny, my response disappeared. But what I told them it's my favorite UA-cam channel and since it was a Floyd crowd, recommended 'in the prog seat'.
Happy New Year Steven🤓👍
I was lucky this year, in that I saw several really good live shows. Now mind you, they were all free! My friend's mom gambles, and as such she gets perks from the casino, which includes concert tickets, and now that we have the new 5000 seat OLG Stage here in Niagara Falls, we are getting some really big name acts. His mom doesn't want to go to the concerts, so I have gotten quite a few through him, and a couple the two of us went to together. So this past year I saw Mickey Dolenz, the last surviving member of the Monkees, doing his tribute show to his bandmates. It was a nice show, and he had a great backing band. At the OLG I saw Cheap Trick, Incubus, Dogstar, Joss Stone, Rick Springfield and The Hooters. All the shows were excellent. We also had Peter Frampton and Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening, which I didn't go to, but got great videos of courtesy of friends of mine who went. It's so nice now, not to have to drive to Toronto or Buffalo to see the big-name acts. I can be at the casino, from my house, in about ten or fifteen minutes, park at the venue I regularly play, which is across the street, and see the show, then come back for a beer or two after the show before I go home. It's fantastic. One other show I went to was up-and-coming Canadian alt-rock band Dizzy, who are from Oshawa, Ontario. Girl singer and three brothers backing her up, at a small venue is St. Catharines called The Warehouse. Great show, with two opening acts. These are just young kids (to me, at 67 years old) but I can see the talent and the potential, and they were great live and have a good repertoire of original tunes. God bless them.
Great show as always gentlemen. Now on to the Top 3's:
Rants:
3. No decorum at shows at all. From phones up the whole show, to just pushing and shoving one's way aggressively through crowds; just future attending discouraging.
2. Postal costs for any physical product it's just simply out of control.
1. Ticket prices. $40 this year was $25 just last year. Talking about cashing in; someone's on the take. I still don't think it's for the band's benefit either.
Live Shows:
3. Haken
2. Tool
1. Steve Morse Band
Top 3 (first time listening not from this year):
3. Lalu - "Paint the Sky" (2022)
2. Sergeant Thunderhoof - "This Sceptred Veil" (2022)
1. Made of Water - "Hydrosphere" (2019)
Top 3 Reissues:
3. Planet X - "Anthology"
2. Marillion - "Seasons End"
1. Porcupine Tree - "Deadwing"
Top 3 2023 New Releases:
3. Haken - "Fauna"
2. Mondo Drag - "Through the Hourglass"
1. Sherinian/Phillips - "Live"
Just a heads up. Some of the Tull boxsets are out again at a reasonable price. I got Songs from the wood and Minstrel in the gallery for 50 euros each. I also got Marillion Misplaced and Clutching at straws for 55 each. I couldn't afford the eBay prices so it was a nice surprise.
That's a good shout. I slept on those 2 Tull boxes and Aqualung but have managed to snag all 3 of the re-issues.
@@TranquilityFireReid Patience pays off hahaha. I will order Aqualung with the next paycheck. I hope it is still there Happy new year!
I've only gone to a few gigs this year and they have been at large venues. No idea about the smaller venues in my area.
Huge Church of Misery fan. My personal favorite is Master of Brutality.
Tull Broadsword awesome Stephen
I also agree with Simon about the price to see huge bands / artists at stadiums or venues like Hyde Park where tickets for Bruce Springsteen and when Billy Joel played there started at over £100 going up to a £1000 pounds !
I remember seeng Queen with Adam Lambert at the 02 just before Bohemian Rhapsody film was released and then after Covid the same seat was FOUR times more expensive for tge same seat ! Why ? !
I'd be interested to hear what Therapy albums Steven isn't keen on. There's albums that have of theirs I'm not so keen on, but overall they've got a pretty strong discography.
For the first few minutes I thought the UK connection was being presented by Pete with Sid James and Kenneth Williams
Ooooooooooo Matron!
@@TranquilityFireReid Ah.... Not so much James or Williams, more Hawtrey.
@@lordprefab5534 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Something you all missed but in fairness it was only released in mid December - Pallas (The Mesenger). Wow just Wow
Enjoying the show with a rater more-ish Badger's "Golden Champion", 4.5% and with "hints of elderflowers" apparently!
2023 Pet Hates:
3. Being a year older!
2. Availability of physical product - definitely getting harder to find some bands.
1. Vinyl prices
Best Live Shows:
3. Gun
2. Lazuli
1. Tyketto
Top 3 Album discoveries:
3. Pattern-Seeking Animals - "Pattern-Seeking Animals" (2019). Completely passed my by at the time.
2. Magic Bus - "Magic Bus" (2010). Fabulous Canterbury styled stuff that was recommended to me.
1. Karl Sanders - "Saurian Exorcisms" (2009). Weird but really liked this after buying because of the cover!
Top 3 Reissues, Live etc.
Only one really springs to mind for this category, New Model Army - "Sinfonia". The combination of NMA and an orchestra shouldn't work but does!
Top 3 Albums:
3. Ozric Tentacles - "Lotus Unfolding"
2. Gong - "Unending Ascending"
1. Hawklords - "Space"
That's it from me, have a great New Year all, looking forward to 2024 and more UKC nonsense!
Great lists there Jim and I do like a Badger's Golden Champion. Haven't had one of those for a while.
I need to revisit that NMA album. I didn't really connect with it when I listened to it (quite a few times) for review and I love them. Maybe next time it will click. I also need to check out Karl Sanders, that's a new name on me. All the best and thanks for the comments and support throughout the year!
My pet peeve alongside ridiculously high ticket prices is putting shows on sale incredibly far in advance. The example of the Almighty putting tickets on sale 2 years before time is lunacy. I have no idea if I'll even be alive by then!
I think their idea is to try and start the same tradition for St Andrew's Day as SLF have for St Patrick's Day at the Barrowlands, but yeah, it's madness to be asking people to buy tickets that far in advance. Funnily enough I was speaking to a friend about exactly this yesterday.
Great wrap up guys!
I’ve got to get some KISS Rum!
I agree with Pete that the popularity of tribute acts is disappointing. Go see bands still out there doing it!!
Concerts
Steve Morse Band
Saratoga Jazz Fest
Toto
On to 2024!
You owe it to yourself to get that KISS Rum Eric!
Happy New Year guys!
Pet hates are prices of gigs, merch and albums.
Only gig this year was Weedeater in Glasgow. Fantastic!
Pre 2023 albums
Black Hole - Land of Mystery
Def Leppard - High n Dry
Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed
Reissues
Magnum - The Jet Years
Motorhead - Another Perfect Day
Saxon - Any of the reissues!
Top3 for 2023
Dopelord - Songs for Satan
Bongzilla - Dab City
Green Lung - This Heathen Land.
Motorhead's Another Perfect day is a fantastic album got a 1st pressing or I would buy the 3 vinyl album box set or the coloured vinyl
Happy New Year Rusty! That is a mighty fine list of albums you have there!!
Happy New Year, Steven, hope you enjoy the KISS rum after the bells!
@@RustyfaetheShire I certainly will Rusty. Have a good one!
Steven, I share your pain. It seems the golden age of collecting CDs has unfortunately passed. Prices are rising and so many (classic) albums have gone out off print (in Europe at least). I feel the state of the CD market kinda forces me towards music steaming, which I have avoided so far (except for UA-cam).
Yes, that is exactly where I find myself Jarrett, unfortunately. Thanks for watching.
My main gripe of 2023 is that it seems more and more bands are releasing LPs shorter than 40 mins. Cmon guys, one more song please.
Yes, there's concise and then there's releasing an EP and calling it an album!
Simon Mojo Magazine is still good for guys our age.
Another fun and informative UK Connection. Surprised Gary Numan was mentioned, he has made alot of great music.
I have only bought 3 new albums this year; Haken, Tull - Rokflote and Rain - Radio Silence. 2 or 6 reissues if you count the last quarter re-releases of the Marillion and Tull catalogue.
Albums bought but not released last year. Early Glass Hammer really good as mainly instrumental. The first and most recent Magic Pie albums, Gentle Giant, several Anekdoten albums From Within being a favourite, 6 Gazpacho albums, the last two by The Tangent, the first few Frost* albums, some Pendragon compilations and IQ live albums, just to name a few.
Pet peeves of 2023: 1.) people telling me I'm not listening to new music, it's new to me. 2.) Splitting of long tracks into individual sections. 3.) Chapter setting on live albums. This is an on-going thing, but I was listening to the live disc from The Minstrel in the Gallery box set and the fake intro to Aqualung is at the end of Skating Away, aswell as several intros to songs being at the end. The intro should be at the beginning.
Anyway all the best and a good New Year for everyone.
Gary Numan is fantastic seen him live but haven't got any albums by him but have an album by Magic Pie and they are fantastic to found them on UA-cam this year they were doing live show shows on a cruise ship
Great stuff Dai. To me there are no rules, enjoy music how you enjoy it - and those are some great albums you got this year. All the best and thanks for all the support and comments throughout the year!
@@TranquilityFireReid Thanks.
I nearly didn't buy the Broadsword set as I was fairly happy with the previous version, but yours and Pete's review persuaded me and somehow I managed to get a copy together with the Thick as a Brick set for £65.00.
SoT I feel is a great source for ideas for music to discover or rediscover. And although, I watch most of the shows here. My favourite is The UK Connection for many reasons.
@@daicullinane7746 That sounds like a real bargain you got there Dai!
@@TranquilityFireReidit was. The way the multibuy discount worked out it, they were almost paying me to have the Thick as Brick set.
About certain bands touring , same here in Australia very often get Aust Tour announced from some bands, but only Eastern States Melbourne Sydney. Queenland no Perth where I am. Was pretty bad years ago and got a bit better but unless really big like Iron Maiden who are doing a full Oz tour in Sept. But missed out on UDO Accept and Anvil came to Oz recently but left Perth out, and believe even some years back BOC only played New Zealand ?? go figure.😬 and also agree about vinyl prices are crazy.$70 $80 Aust for single lp are mad
The flip side to my previous comments about the price of concert tickets …
The top UK bands Suede and Manic Street Preachers are on the same bill playing local to me in Margate , Kent , and the price of the ticket is …£59 which I think in the current climate is a good deal to see both these bands
I agree with Pete on poor attendance at non Mega band shows. I saw Immolation at a club that held less than 200 people. I stood 7 ft away from the band. I still can’t t believe it.
What is it about dark beers on cold winter nights? I stepped away from my usual and had a Terrapin Beer Co. Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, ABV 9.4%
Sounds good Kyle. Cheers!
Hi Steven, where did you get the Shadows CD ? I saw it on Amazon but it was digital only.
I bought it from their label's bandcamp page, Sentient Ruin. Took a while to come but it arrived safe and sound.
With regards to concert attendance years ago I went to see skinny Molly 17 people there I got talking to the barmaid who told me "Coldplay" had played the previous night and it was packed, obviously not the real Coldplay!! Now I've found myself going to tribute bands wouldn't have dreamt it in the 80s when I was seeing every band going
I agree about the price of CDs now . I’ve just bought the latest excellent by Moon Safari but it cost me £24 plus p& p. Why ? And why isn’t it a mainstream purchase via HMV , Amazon or a normal price and release via my local independent store ?
Exactly Christopher! Thanks for watching.
Bandcamp i like only bit pricey if product from US .
Bought t shirts etc .
And for black metal etc buy direct from labels.
Yes, shipping prices are the real enemy I think.
Stephen one thing to mention is postage from Europe Nuclear Blast use to be €8 now €20
Yes! Exactly. It's just killing the ability to buy their releases but if that's what it's costing them, I'm not sure what the answer is. Either way we're on a slippery slope now I think.
@TranquilityFireReid Exactly Brexit and pandemic didn't help, and the likes of Finland, Norway and Sweden postage rates are crazy and we're in Europe, Ken Golden is always talking about postage from Europe on The Professors picks.
Thats why I love Bandcamp at least we get smaller new bands and can support with buying t shirt and cd.
Patience may be the word, I didn't buy all Tull box sets at release now picked up 4 for less than £100 brand new yeah.
@@747jono Yes, I agree, although shipping from bandcamp can also be a killer depending on where the band hail from. I suppose we and they can only keep doing our best to support the music we love.
Not just Europe, I've been wanting to by the albums of a band from Mexico I got into this year - The Warning. You can only buy their albums from their website, but once you put on the postage the cost doubles, so I just can't do it.
Great show to finish the year. Agree with Steven & Pete that since the pandemic people's sense of morals and decency have gone. Also agree with Simon about the cost of concerts and merchandise. Pete made a good point about people not going to see 'smaller' bands. My album of the year is Fauna by Haken. One other thing to add is that I am not a fan of Ronny Romero. There are just some voices that are terrific for some people and leave others unmoved.
I'm with you Kenny. I mentioned it on the ITPS show, Fauna is also my album of the year. I think it might be my favourite from them and they've been superb right from the very start.
Yes Steven, Haken seem to go from strength to strength and long may it continue. I saw you shaking your head as Simon mentioned Simple Minds but I will have to give them album a try. I have never listened to any Simple Minds albums but I will give it a try as Simon was very enthusiastic about it.@@TranquilityFireReid
@@kennycraig6769 Yes, in fairness I heard a lot of good things about their newest album when it came out and I pretty much dismissed it through my disinterest in them. Looks like I need to give it a go.
I listened to Hotel, you can listen to Simple Minds, Steven!
@@simonbrayfromsot1375 Awwwwwww...... Uncle Simon, do I haaaaaaaave to????????