{"id":13011,"date":"2017-09-26T14:28:18","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T18:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=13011"},"modified":"2017-09-26T14:28:21","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T18:28:21","slug":"on-stage-wire-rolling-out-new-album-silverlead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=13011","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Wire rolling out new album, Silver\/Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Wire<\/p><\/div>\n

In the summer of 2015, Union Transfer 1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com<\/a>) hosted a show by Wire and the British quartet rocked the house.<\/p>\n

On September 26, Wire \u2014 Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Robert Grey and Matthew Simms \u2014 is returning to the scene of the crime to do it again.<\/p>\n

The show at Union Transfer will be the opening date on Wire\u2019s 2017 fall tour in support of its new album \u201cSilver\/Lead,\u201d which was recently released on the band\u2019s own label, pinkflag.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilver\/Lead\u201d is the 15th studio album from\u00a0Wire. It arrived on the 40th anniversary of their debut performance.<\/p>\n

Wire was formed in London, England in 1976 and has been going strong ever since except for a few years off in the early 1980s and a hiatus in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of Wire existing and not existing, we\u2019ve never officially broken up,\u201d said Newman, during a recent phone interview from his home in Brighton, England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1999, there was a pause when Bruce (guitarist Bruce Gilbert) left. But, we\u2019ve been at it pretty consistently since 1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur last four records have had crazy scheduling. We thought we had reached a three-year cycle. Then, we realized it was our 40th<\/sup> anniversary so we made \u2018Silver\/Lead.\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t follow the pattern. But, change become us. It was supposed to be a project and it became a proper Wire album. In typical Wire fashion, we had a lot of extra recorded songs from our self-titled album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wire\u00a0are one of the world\u2019s most ground-breaking bands with its influence acknowledged by bands as diverse as Blur, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. and Savages.<\/p>\n

But the band has never been interested in exploiting past glories. For\u00a0Wire, there is only ever one possible direction \u2013 forward.<\/p>\n

Although the new disc is being released on the band\u2019s 40th anniversary, \u201cSilver\/Lead\u201d is an album which has nothing to do with the past and everything to do with the here and now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about how Wire records are made is that they are about catching the moment,\u201d said Newman. \u201cThe Wire thing is never about the past. It\u2019s always about the present and the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to make a new album is mine. I\u2019m the record company and I tend to think about what kind of cycles we\u2019re operating on \u2014 when and how to release records.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded our last four albums at Rockfield Studios in Wales. It\u2019s a great studio where you live while doing the recording. Usually, a week is the longest we stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did the last one in two sessions and the second was a week and three days. When the recording is done, I take the hard disc, bring it to my studio and add to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I tend to write — I\u2019ll start writing six months before we go into the studio. I don\u2019t write songs when I don\u2019t have to. I don\u2019t touch the guitar when I\u2019m not using it. I don\u2019t sit around writing songs. When it\u2019s time to make a record, we know it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the period between finishing an album and releasing it, time gets very compressed. You have to plan it all beforehand. The touring period has to be planned well ahead. We talked about it a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though Wire is now entering its fifth decade, it is neither an oldies band, a classic rock group or retro.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do see ourselves as a contemporary band,\u201d said Newman. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to us. This is what we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Wire \u2014https:\/\/youtu.be\/yfiurED57iw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Wire show on September 26 will begin at 8 p.m. with opener Noveller. Tickets are $23.<\/p>\n

Wire may be a really old British band but an even older band from the U.K. will be performing in the area this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Wishbone Ash<\/p><\/div>\n

On September 27, the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) will present a show featuring Wishbone Ash.<\/p>\n

Wishbone Ash has been around seven years longer than Wire.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s eponymous debut album was released in 1970.<\/p>\n

Since then, Wishbone Ash has released albums on a regular basis and the total now 24 studio albums, 12 live albums, 10 compilation albums and 20 singles. The most recent was \u201cBlue Horizon\u201d in 2014.<\/p>\n

Wishbone Ash, one of the most influential guitar bands in the history of rock, has returned to America this month with the \u201cRoad Warriors North American Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again, fans will be able to enjoy live performances of the group\u2019s signature twin-guitar mastery and powerhouse rhythm section as the band present classics spanning its career and showcasing selections from \u201cBlue Horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n

True road warriors, each year Wishbone Ash logs around 30,000 miles — roughly equivalent to circumnavigating the earth. performances in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The current Wishbone Ash line-up features Andy Powell, guitar, vocals (1969\u2013present), Bob Skeat, bass, vocals (1997\u2013present), Joe Crabtree, drums (2007\u2013present) and Mark Abrahams, guitar (2017\u2013present).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a new guitar plater \u2013 Mark Abrahams,\u201d said Powell, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing theaters and clubs on this tour so it will be a good way to break him in. He\u2019s been with us five months but only 30 shows. This tour will give him 50 shows in the next six months. We wanted to give him a full palette of music so he can get into what the Wishbone Ash sound is. By the end of this tour, he\u2019ll be tested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest of the guys have been around for a while. Our drummer Joe has been in the band for 11-12 years and Bob, our bassist, has been with me for 20 years. It\u2019s a great rhythm section. We all get along really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

This tour is billed as the 2017 \u201cTough & Tender\u201d Tour. In addition to the high-powered, all-out rockers Wishbone Ash the band is known for delivering, the band will turn down the volume (but not the intensity) and treat audiences to acoustic versions of some of their classic hits.<\/p>\n

According to Powell, \u201cA great song is a great song — however it’s delivered. Playing acoustically allows people to hear the ‘bones’ of a song and how it might have been conceived in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing theaters and clubs also suits Wishbone Ash\u2019s audience \u2013 many of whom have been following the band for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur audiences are not leaping around anymore,\u201d said Powell. \u201cThis show has good dynamics. A good song can be interpreted different ways \u2013 electric or acoustic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 48 years, the band has such a huge catalogue. Going through the catalogue, we have enough material that we can play a different set from night to night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be stimulating for us too. We\u2019re always open to pulling out a few additional songs from the past. It\u2019s good to mix it up. But, whether it\u2019s electric or acoustic, we still rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Wishbone Ash \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Irou5W1gEq8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show in Sellersville will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29.50 and $45.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times In the summer of 2015, Union Transfer 1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com) hosted a show by Wire and the British quartet rocked the house. On September 26, Wire \u2014 Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Robert Grey and Matthew Simms \u2014 is returning to the scene of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4357],"tags":[3162,3065,6221],"class_list":["post-13011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-wire","tag-wishbone-ash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13012,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13011\/revisions\/13012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}