Jon Hill
Looking out of place in the front row since 2008.
- A common theme of gigs at @bedfordesquires.bsky.social is the quality of the whole bill. Outstanding support from #KateGoreAndTheScreamers and #UglyOzo last Saturday, before an excellent headline set by @ttssfu.bsky.social. The reaction to “Upstairs” felt like the start of something big.
- Waiting for this year’s 2nd gig to start reminds me to reflect on the 1st: @publicimageltd.bsky.social, last week, at @cambridgejunction.bsky.social. Lydon the frontman is still Lydon. Still spits the lyrics. Still harnesses the anger. Still raises goosebumps when the opening bars of Rise ring out.
- My musical 2025 in one image. 52 shows, on stages in Cambridge, London, Bedford, and - for one night only - Cologne. See the alt text for details! Thanks to the artists, venues, technicians, and promoters represented here; and to the others doing similar work all over the country. Roll on, 2026! ❤️
- Finally - finally! - got to see a #ThePopguns gig, at @thelexingtonlondon.bsky.social on Saturday night. I’ve been hooked since hearing Still Waiting For The Winter on the Indietracks 2014 compilation. That they played it just made the night better still.
- For one still early in her career, Jojo Orme - #Heartworms - has remarkable control over the stage, the crowd, and the space she performs in. Utterly compelling at Scala on Monday night. Style and substance, and songs that stay with you.
- My Christmas cards by @happytoast.co.uk arrived and I could not be more delighted by them.
- I really appreciate it when bands like @young-knives.bsky.social bring the things you associate with a big venue - custom lighting, banners, huge flags - to a place like #ThePortlandArms. It makes everything else about the show bigger too. Just like it did last night.
- It was good to catch up with #LowGirl touring their new album at #ThePortlandArms in Cambridge last night. Two years since they played the Blue Moon, the bigger room really suits their sound: inventive, melodic indie with sharp production.
- If Vanessa from Virgin Records had been at @cambridgejunction.bsky.social last night, she’d have seen exactly why the #LotteryWinners sold it out weeks ago. A great show, an easy affinity with the crowd, and a touch of class as they paused their set to play Sally Cinnamon in tribute to #Mani.
- When @dublonde.bsky.social played Scala back in February, I said how much I’d enjoyed it despite them not being fully fit. Well, on Wednesday night they came to Cambridge’s #PortlandArms, firing on all cylinders. Great show - and candid stories - to a packed house.
- Last night’s @diymag.com showcase at @thelexingtonlondon.bsky.social was a genuine double-header, with the room full long before the music started. I enjoyed #ShesInParties when they played Cambridge back in October, and they were every bit as good here. (1/2)
- Is there already a term for a gig that you took a bit of a chance on, but it turned out to be great? If not, I’m calling it a “Betty Taylor”, after #BettyTaylor, who were just that at #TheGrace in London last night. They’ve come a long way to play! Go and see them. You will not regret it.
- A very welcome Tuesday night visit to #TheBlueMoon in Cambridge by #lilo (pron. lee-lo), who brought along their full band as well as their songs and harmonies. Folk, indie, a dash of country, and good humour despite a broken-down tour van! Nice evening, that.
- From note 1 of song 1 to the last strains of the not-an-encore, @despjournalist.bsky.social were on superb form at a very full, very warm @thelexingtonlondon.bsky.social last night. A band - a voice - that I could never tire of hearing.
- It does not feel like nine days since the triumphant return of #JohnGrant to @cambridgejunction.bsky.social - immediately preceded by the equally triumphant return of #Lynks. In different ways, both outstanding at what they do. I’d see either again in a heartbeat.
- The second instalment of #ShinyNewModel festival at @cambridgejunction.bsky.social last Saturday. Great addition to the local live music scene. Kudos to @greenmindgigs.bsky.social and all the acts who took part. Highlights for me? #BlueCinema, #PanicShack, #HomeCounties, and #ShesInParties.
- I part ways from the @allodarlin.bsky.social tour at this point, but #EartHHackney was a great place to leave it. Different production (and loads of different songs) from Tuesday. Special guests! But the same joy. And they still played Capricornia. ❤️ Glasgow; Manchester - look after them, yeah?
- Also, @allodarlin.bsky.social have tour posters that would grace any wall. Buy them for your friends!
- Tonight’s @allodarlin.bsky.social gig at Nottingham #OldColdStore was full of the joy that keeps me - and so many others - coming back for more. Some very welcome surprises on the set list, too. Anticipation already building for Thursday…
- A really lovely gig by @kathrynwilliamsuk.bsky.social at @cambridgejunction.bsky.social last night. A new album and a huge catalogue of songs to draw from makes for shows that are as fresh and engaging and charming as ever.
- Without a doubt, the hottest ticket in London last night was the UK debut of #ErikaVikman at #TheGarage. Language is no barrier when you - and your band - perform like that. Fantastic, friendly crowd and a show that I’ll remember for a long time.
- We are _so_ ready. ❤️
- Especially after missing out first time round, I remember the euphoria of the first #Sleeper reunion shows. Eight years on, their live sets incorporate new songs and revisit old ones with the same vitality. A quality gig at Camden #ElectricBallroom last night.
- Four albums in, @thebeths.bsky.social are at the point where, if they played everyone’s favourite song, they’d be on stage for three hours or more. It also means that the normal-length set they played at the Roundhouse last night was full of everything that’s great about them. I love that band.
- There is something very special about a big room full of people falling completely silent to listen to _that_ moment of a show. It happened more than once during Black Country, New Road’s hometown gig at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Wednesday night. Emotional, that one.
- Not for the first time, my immediate thought after going to a @nerinapallot.bsky.social gig is that I’d quite like to go to another Nerina Pallot gig. Two excellent sets at a sold-out @storeysfieldcentre.bsky.social last Saturday. She’s the kind of artist that room was made for.
- Last night’s @bambaranyc.bsky.social gig at #ThePortlandArms - a masterclass in taking advantage of a small venue to interact with the crowd and bring them into the show. Loud, and sweaty, and dynamic in all the right ways.
- It is always a pleasure when @thisisthekit.bsky.social visit Cambridge. Fab show at @storeysfieldcentre.bsky.social on Sunday night. Could just be me, but I thought they rocked a little harder than usual. Kate Stables channeling her inner Ian Anderson, perhaps?
- Some bands struggle with where to place their big songs in the setlist. @men-without-hats.bsky.social have a neat solution. Play it at the start. Play a longer version at the end. And play the power ballad version in the encore. Tonight, at The Garage, we could dance, and we did want to. Safely.
- Just before the end of his set at @cambridgejunction.bsky.social last night, #AlanSparhawk had some words for the crowd: “We made a life and a family out of what you gave us. Thank you.” A fitting close for a show that had by turns been soft, and surprising, and loud, and intimate, and emotional.
- We know how hard it is for touring musicians at the moment, so big respect to @joanaspolicewoman.bsky.social and her outstanding players - Will Graefe and Jeremy Gustin - for coming to the UK and playing @cambridgejunction.bsky.social on Tuesday night. It was a really, really good one.
- Really lovely atmosphere at #ThePortlandArms in Cambridge last night for @nellmescal.bsky.social’s gig - friendly and supportive and inclusive. And not only did the crowd know all the words, but they sang along _in tune_! A pleasure to be there.
- Andrew Castle said that the King Of Spain is watching from the Royal Box, which can’t be right because Ashley Giles is nowhere to be seen. #Wimbledon
- A rare full-band outing and a headline set for #PaulGoodwin at The Blue Moon in Cambridge last Tuesday night: more songs and richer arrangements. And there’s something about his voice that makes you believe every word he sings.
- I got home late tonight. Found this waiting for me. For the first @allodarlin.bsky.social album in over a decade, sleep can wait. #BrightNights
- I first saw #TheBoyLeastLikelyTo at #Cornbury back in 2008. It was an absolute pleasure to be at #BushHall last night for a celebration of The Best Party Ever. Balloons! Prizes! BC Camplight anecdotes!
- I’ve kicked myself for missing a couple of London shows, so I was very pleased to see the #PortlandArms on C Duncan’s itinerary for his latest tour. A solo set with a clever mix of the electronic with the acoustic. A thoroughly lovely evening.
