Hi folks , sorry about the delay , I meant to write my review of the Glasgow gig last week ……..
Like most of us , I’ve seen Chris many times, (First time in ’86,) and as has been said before , we have had a fairly static set-list for almost a decade .....
That could be seen as totally negative , but it does bring many benefits ....We now have possibly the most dramatic live versions of Easy Rider , Stony Road and Somewhere Between Highway 61&49......Chris’ solos and the tightness of the band made these tracks as indispensible as the big hits he is forced to keep in the set-list .......
My next comments may offend some of my fellow fans , but I mean well , and have Chris Rea’s thoughts foremost in my mind ....
About half-way through an electric performance by Chris , and because of an apathetic response from the crowd , Chris gave up , and clearly went through the motions .....
I don’t remember ever feeling so bad for a perfomer.....poor man , it was embarrassing .......
Despite a blistering display of musicality , and with Chris pulling out all the stops , an incredible number of my fellow Glasgow audience were clearly at the wrong concert .........As was mentioned by Bluehood , there was a very large number of “older” people at the Glasgow concert , though that really should not be relevant .....Older people go to see Springsteen ,Jools Holland , Elton John ,line –dancing etc , but they don’t just sit and act as if they would rather have gone to the bingo.....There were people in the front row who DID NOT clap at the end of some of the songs......
My wife and I were seated in the third row from the front , so we could see every look and all the body language from all the band members .........things did not bode well right from the start , because , apart from us and the lady beside us , no-one in the front three rows seemed to know any songs apart from the hits ..............No cheers of recognition for anything but the hits , no applause for wonderful solos .
The point of no return for Chris came during Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 49 , when the audience failed to acknowledge the wonderful guitar solo by new guy , Anto Drennan ........I have checked youtube to see if this happened elsewhere , and it did , but the response at Glasgow seemed to hurt Chris ......He waved at the crowd to give a belated cheer to the guitarist , but Chris looked totally exasperated , sickened and angry ..........
After that , not one band member smiled , or even moved , including Sylvin , who stayed right at the back , and knew better than to mess around with the boss in a bad mood ....Chris , despite his earlier efforts , gave the Glasgow crowd exactly what they gave him .......as little as possible .....yeah we got the “too old to dance” schtick , and the Stainsby Girls “shooting” with guitar routine .......but it was lifeless..........possibly the disadvantage of being so close ........you can see it go wrong .....
I have scoured the internet to hopefully find evidence to back up my review , and the best I can find is a clip from Road To Hell , which came shortly after Highway 61....
If you scroll through to 7m 11 secs , as Chris turns his back , the look of boredom and disgust are clear .......and the odd way he throws the plectrum ........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl6NUA6vKjM
Not every performer can drag their audience with them on their musical journey , but my goodness , if this is common , he needs a rethink ........Hopefully a new manager can get him a more appreciative audience , younger or older , as long as they turn up for the MUSIC.......
Seasick Steve is almost 10 years older than Chris , yet plays Glastonbury , gets on “cool” TV shows , and gets the RIGHT crowd , albeit smaller , for his music, ......
It reminds me of a wonderful quote from David Bowie , in the aftermath of LiveAid , when every band seemed to be able to fill stadiums ..........
“I spent 15 years developing an enigmatic image , and here I am , selling out Wembley Stadium ..........to an audience of Phil Collins fans !!!!!!!!!!!! “...
There seems to be a problem , and I think that is the reason Chris was so exasperated ......I think deep down he senses that much of his audience have no interest in the music he is playing .... Maybe he’d still rather have the sell-out crowds , but it certainly looks as if it hurts him.....
As the lights came up after “Somewhere Beneath The Stars “ , and it was clear that it was over , I heard a crowd member sarcastically shout “Goodnight Glasgow” , in reference to Chris’ exit without a word ..........No more than they deserved........
Oh , and did I mention that Chris and the band were awesome ........
Alan T