Garry finds himself rockin’ all over the world – well, Wolves Civic Hall, anyway
I love nothing more than going to see live bands up and down the UK, but you really can’t beat seeing a couple of damn good bands playing on your doorstep at the wonderful Wolves Civic Hall, this place holds so many memories for me after seeing my first gig here in November 1980.
Having been added to the bill a couple of weeks back I was more than a little chuffed to see the brilliant Cats In Space live for the second time in three weeks, the Cats are an absolute treat and tick so many boxes, to say these guys are tight is an understatement….these guys should be sponsored by Tupperware, they are airtight!!!
The forty minute setlist was a perfect balance from the two Cats albums with tracks such as ‘Too Many Gods’, ‘Timebomb’, ‘Scars’ and the rollercoaster epic ‘The Greatest Story Never Told’…..I love this band and it’s safe to say that by the end of the set they had grabbed many more fans.
I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen Quo….it’s easily a dozen times at least, they always deliver and tonight was no exception, the 90 minute set was a three bar bluesy rock & romp through their extensive and brilliant back catalogue.
The band opened the show with ‘Caroline’, ‘Something Bout You Baby I Like’, ‘Rain’ & ‘Little Lady’ without stopping to draw breath…..that is the way to announce yourself to a crowd and it was clear to see the 3/4 capacity crowd was well up for a proper pre xmas knees up.
I recently interviewed Francis Rossi for one of my radio shows and he was in real good form, as he was tonight in Wolverhampton, he had the crowd laughing from the moment he took to the mike, his appetite for playing live is still there and it looks like it will be for a few more years, much to the pleasure of the Quo army.
We were treated to so many Quo classics such as ‘Softer Ride’, ‘Hold You Back’, ‘Railroad’, ‘Down The Dustpipe’, ‘Wild Side Of Life’, ‘Paper Plane’, Roll Over Lay Down’……some albeit included in a medley of Quo belters….and that’s the kind of back catalogue some bands can only dream of.
The 2017 version of Quo includes Richie Malone who had the unenviable task of replacing the sadly dear departed Rick Parfitt (Absolute Legend) and I must say he slots in perfectly, he’s a fine player and a real good guy who spends the whole gig with a smile on his face, it’s a different Quo without Rick but it’s a real good kind of different and both times I’ve seen this current line up I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Leon Cave on drums joins Quo stalwarts Andy Bown & Rhino Edwards and together the five guys give a proper powerhouse performance of these superb Quo classics and are lapped up by this noisy crowd…..whoever said that Quo were finished certainly hasn’t seen them recently.
‘Down Down’, ‘Whatever You Want’ & ‘Rockin All Over The World’ bring the main set to a close with rapturous applause before the band return for ‘Burning Bridges’ (a track I’ve never liked on record but love hearing it live) and ‘Rock ‘n Roll Music/Bye Bye Johnny’…..what a show!!!
This tour was originally the ‘Aquostic’ tour but was changed to electric after it was obvious that the UK favours the ‘Plugged In
& Rockin’ version of the band…..and after the performance here in Wolverhampton and from the reports of other shows on the tour it’s clear to see there is still a lot of life left in this band…..and also the Quo army, I for one can’t wait until next time!!!
Garry Foster
Unchained: Tuesday’s 10pm-Midnight
Prog Rock Files: Thursday’s 10pm-Midnight
101.8WCR FM & online at http://www.wcrfm.com
