Midge Ure Trinity Theatre Royal Tunbridge Wells

Midge Ure

Trinity Theatre

Royal Tunbridge Wells

27th April 2011

Before I get on to Mr Ures performance I will give a mention to Midge's support act.

Like Midge singer Laura Kidd, who goes under the act named She Makes War, was performing acoustically. But that's just about where any similarity ends.

I don't know how to describe her type of music although some have described it as gloom-pop or punk-pop.

I have to be honest and say whatever this sound actually is it didn't exactly rock my boat. But then again I hadn't actually gone to see Laura in the first place.

That isn't to say she isn't extremely talented. In fact she is, as far as I know, pretty unique. Vocally and on the guitar she was excellent, even if I didn't particularly like the tracks. But her forte is the unique way she provides her own backing by recording her own lyrics at the time and building up a backing track.

I found this very clever and interesting because it's not as if she diverts away from the song to do this. It's a gradual build up to a multiple Laura Kidd vocal backing.

Laura was friendly and actually quite confident with crowd dialogue too. But the one thing we thought strange was that she never actually introduced herself. She said she had her CD's on sale in the interval but never said who she actually was. Whether this was an oversight I have no idea but I do think that as an artist you are probably more likely to shift your merchandise and get remembered if people know who you are.

So whilst I didn't like Laura's music I am sure many, especially those far younger than me, will appreciate her unique style. Why not give check her music out at http://www.shemakeswar.com/ ?


Midge Ure

Absolutely bloody brilliant - the end!

OK I suppose I'd better write a little more.

The ex-church building, The Trinity Theatre could have been purpose built for Midge's vocals. Everything seemed to have been fine tuned to give the best acoustics I have ever heard in any venue. I think it helps that Midge can deliver some of the best loud, never shouted and immaculately clear lyrics of any performer. Vocals that sounded perfect in a setting that once only got to appreciate churchgoers singing Sunday hymns!

With Midge performing a good variety of his solo tracks, cover versions and Ultravox hits this show had plenty of content.

Ultravox will always be the group with which he is associated with but in his solo show he proves that he does not need anybody else to entertain you 110%.

Sticking with the theme of Ultravox work is underway for a new album to be released in the next couple of years. It was refreshing to hear that  this is to be made up of new material rather than just rehashing the old hits. The group don't want to do what so many come-back acts have done and just resurrect what they left 25 odd years ago.

If you can impress somebody who wasn't even a fan of Ultravox in the first place it's a good sign. My wife was convinced she wasn't going to enjoy this but now can't wait for him to do a return visit. She assures me this is down to the vocal performance rather than the hug she got from Midge after the show.

One thing I did notice as Midge progressed from track to track was how his lyrics are mostly about the very negative things in life. As most artists get their lyrics from personal experiences I am sure there must be a Midge Ure track buried somewhere that reflects brighter times. Not that I care, as long as the music is good and the lyrics impressive that's all that's important.

In this case it wasn't good, it was all absolutely bloody incredible and all the better for being performed in such a wonderful building in an intimate atmosphere with the sell-out 350 strong crowd.

Come back down south soon Midge!

Incidentally if you are interested in what those autographed playing cards are all about click the image and look at the details on Flickr

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