Seventeen Nineteen, Sunderland
Sunday, 13th October 2024
I think that insufficient credit, or discredit, is given to the actual venues of concerts so I will buck that trend and start off with that.
Concert venues can be just bland names that range from former pub store rooms, that feel as if they still have the refrigeration units plugged in, through to giant corporate halls big enough to store the entire population of a small town where, once you are in there, made to take out a mortgage for a beer that tastes like it has just been recycled from the toilet, or a burger that, had it emotions, would be sad and quite possibly suicidal at the lost opportunity to be called food. Places that add nothing to the music and are forgotten even before you leave the buildings. However the Seventeen Nineteen certainly didn’t fall into either of those categories and added to the whole ambience and feel of Judie Tzuke’s show. A Grade 1 listed former church built in 1719 which had the dais/stage framed by Georgian era architecture that added to the beauty of the whole show, making it even more memorable. Rock concert stages would struggle to match such a background.
Right, now onto the concert itself. As the support act T.I.G.Y comprised of Judie’s daughter, Bailey, and her band guitarist, Chaz Thorogood, it was decided that rather than have them play the warm up set before Judie came on, she decided to subsume their set into her own so that they sung a selection of their songs amongst hers, while she provided backing vocals. A great idea which worked well as Bailey had a voice not dissimilar to her mum’s and Chaz sounded like a cross between David Gray and Chris Martin ensuring that the songs were of a similar quality and emotional depth. This ensured that the tone of the concert didn’t swing back and forth as different singers took control of the lead mic.
Having seen Judie Tzuke many times I knew pretty much what to expect when it came to musicianship and quality and I was not disappointed. Starting off with Unsinkable, from the superb Jude the Unsinkable album, she showed how she meant to go on. Well crafted songs that are full of emotions that leave the listeners feeling like they have lived the song themselves.
With many of the songs Judie gave the audience a brief history, or background, to them which added to the poignancy and heart wrenching effect. She didn’t need massive speaker columns or blinding light shows to keep the audience enraptured, her words and voice were enough to do that. Each song had its own depth which makes choosing stand out track difficult. When the history of the songs Place to Hide or London at Midnight were explained it was hard not to love them, but here the cover of John Martyn’s song May You Never was, in my opinion, better than the original and definitely knocks the Clapton cover into a poor third place. But Judie’s voice has the ability to make any song sound like it was made just for her so it was not much of a competition.
If, a song with lyrics inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem was possibly my highlight as the poetry and subject matter made the hairs on my arms stand on end and left me thankful that I had people in my life who care about me in the same way that the person in the song was loved.
Then there was her biggest hit, Stay With Me Till Dawn. What can I say about that song? Lyrics that many of us have experienced, or wish we could have, and given extra texture and depth by Chaz’s deft and intricate guitar playing.
Sadly, although For You was on the set list as an encore, they ran out of time but they finished the show with Safe which was penned as part of the Woman to Woman collaboration era and left me with an emotional high.
So, what more can I say about the night? I went expecting a great evening of music and was not disappointed. Her tour is running through to the end of December so, if she is playing near you, why not go and see her?
SETLIST
Unsinkable
Enjoy The Ride
Shoot From The Heart
Ladies Night
Primary Colours (Bailey Tzuke – Lead singer)
Only Way To Let The Light In (Bailey Tzuke – Lead singer)
Place To Hide
Caution To The Wind (Chaz Thorogood – Lead singer)
Luckier Than Me (Chaz Thorogood – Lead singer)
~ Interval
Rituals
Bring The Rain
Keeper Of The Sun
Monsters (Bailey Tzuke – Lead singer)
Evergreen
Ballad Of Davey Graham
May You Never
If
Stay With Me Till Dawn
~ Encore:
Safe
MUSICIANS
Judie Tzuke – Lead & Backing Vocals
Bailey Tzuke – Lead & Backing Vocals
Chaz Thorogood – Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals
Oscar Golding – Keyboards, Bass
LINKS
Judie Tzuke – Website | Facebook | YouTube | X | Instagram
