The Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton
& New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth

Sat 7th & Mon 16th October 2000

Guildford Civic Hall & Martletts Hall, Burgess Hill, Sussex

Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd March 2002

Venues: The Gardner Arts Centre, Falmer, Brighton
             Portsmouth New Theatre Royal.
Dates: Sat 7th October & Mon 16th October 2000

I hadn't seen Judie Tzuke for years and went along to the Brighton gig purely for old times sake expecting not that much to be honest. How wrong can you be?  To say that I was pleasantly surprised is something of an understatement. I was so impressed I decided to go again the following week at Portsmouth and loved every second of it.

The set lasted nearly 2 hours and featured material from most periods of her career, including some brand new songs that are now being recorded for her next album.  Since I only have a few of Judie's albums from the mid eighties, I only knew about three songs in the whole show, but all the other material was so strong that I couldn't help but be drawn in.  Recent songs such as 'Wonderland', 'Secret Agent' and 'Bully', to name just a few, combine superb melodies with some great rock moments. Put these together with classic older material like 'Welcome To The Cruise', 'Sportscar', 'Understanding' and her 1979 hit 'Stay With Me Till Dawn' and it made for a very memorable evening.

Judie's voice is still as strong as ever and her band were totally 'on fire'.  Guitarist Dave Goodes is a stunning player and provided some superb solos including one very long one that was highly entertaining to watch as well as to listen to. Bassist Dale Davis was very soulful and melodic and played a lovely little solo spot too.  Drummer Paul Beavis is right on the beat and keyboardists Steve Smith (no relation) and Ali Kane are also superb.  Judie was also joined by a great young backup singer Mia Silverman.

This tour is now over but on the strength of these shows I will definatly be checking out some of Judie's recent albums.  If you ever liked Judie Tzuke in the past, check her out again now because she and her brilliant band have undoubtedly found a new lease of life and are producing their best music ever.

Steve  21/10/00

Venues: Guildford Civic Hall , Guildford , Surrey
             Martletts Hall , Burgess Hill , Sussex
Dates: Sat 2nd March & Sun 3rd March 2002

Setlist: Don't Look Behind You, Parallel Lives, Higher And Higher, Left Hand Talking, Days Like These, Two Mountains, Without Love, Sukarita, Late Again, Stay With Me 'Till Dawn, Let Me Be The Pearl, Indian Giver, The One That Got Away, Molly, Drive, Bring The Rain, Lion, One Minute, Bully, The Choices You Made.

Despite the uncomfortable seats at both venues these were two excellent gigs from Judie Tzuke's current tour in support of her album 'Queen Secret Keeper'. Joining JT on stage were a superb band comprising Dave P Goodes - guitar, Paul Beavis - drums, Brandon Fownes - keyboards, Jerry Meehan - bass, Graham Kearns - guitars, Mia Silverman - backing vocals with Judie's daughter Bailey helping out on backing vocals on a few songs too.

Apologies as the above setlist is not in the right order but I think it is just about complete.  As you can see, the shows contained the cream of JT songs from down the years with the sound and performance being virtually perfect and all the band members putting in a great show.

The highlights for me were 'Let Me Be The Pearl' with Dave's superb extended guitar solo and the twin lead guitars on 'Bring The Rain' with Dave and Graham letting rip some blazing guitar work of the type not seen since Thin Lizzy's 'Still In Love With You' - wow!

Paul Beavis was superb on drums and was particularly able to demonstrate his skills on the wonderful closing section of 'Two Mountains'.  New bass player Jerry Meehan was very good when I could hear him, but unfortunatly he was somewhat lost in the mix, perhaps due to the dual guitars.

Brendan Fownes was also very good on keyboards, as were Mia and Bailey adding nice additional colours to the music. Another special mention must go to Dave P Goodes whose guitar work is simply stunning throughout; he is a facinating musician to watch too, with his constant use of different synth like effects adding many naunces and subtleties to the songs.

Judie's voice was excellent and although she suffered from a couple of 'frogs' in the throat, it only seemed to emphasise what a great singer she is.  Too often I am in awe of the instrumental prowess of band members and can sometimes take singers for granted.  Imagine trying to remember all those words and notes and hit the naunces at the right time with the right phrasing etc. - Judie makes it sound easy, but I'm sure it isn't...

Although of course JT's studio albums are the source of all her great songs, over the years I often think that she and her band are at their best live on stage.  If you were unable to catch any of the shows on this tour I can recommend that you check out her recent live CDs 'Over The Moon' and 'Six Days Before The Flood' - also, look out for the planned Royal Albert Hall show that will hopefully happen later in the year.

Steve