Review by Alan Steenson for MPM
OK, so I’m a Status Quo virgin and despite being subjected to their tunes by my father and friends over the years I never had the opportunity, or frankly the need to ever see them… but tonight I thought …ah sure why not… its wet cold and I could be sitting indoors in the heat, what’s the worst that can happen?
Well before I get stuck into tonight’s festivities, I thought I better check out what I’m going to see… all I knew about Status Quo apart from owning 12 Gold Bars Vol 1 and 2 which to be fair is anything anyone could need was they have been on to go since the late 60’s and have been ever present as a live act for the past 50+ years.
Since the sad loss of Rick Parfitt back in 2016 I was very interested to know who took his place in the lineup, as it turns out Parfitt replacement (of sorts, as he was pretty much irreplaceable) was by a Dublin lad called Richie Malone and at 38 he is a good 30 years younger than the rest of the band.
So, let’s see if this youth can inject new life into the well-seasoned Status Quo.
We made our way to Botanic Gardens in the pouring rain, and managed to find shelter whilst the Downtown Radio Dj’s subjected the crowd to their banal humour but at least a decent set of songs to get everyone in the mood.
The rain eventually stopped as if the Gods of Rock deemed it unsuitable, Quo entered the stage accompanied by an instrumental soundtrack which if I can remember rightly included an extract from ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ which was their first hit back in 1968…and with minimal fuss the band entered stage. All dressed in white against the black plain backdrop which looked great… at least we could see them all!
Francis Rossi was at least dressed in a black waistcoat for those eyes that were failing to tell the difference between him and the rest of the band.
And… off we go straight into the smash hit ‘Caroline’ with its instantly recognisable guitar riff intro that people assumed that’s all Quo were famous for… and to an extent they were right, but for me I was just in awe of how bloody good it sounded.
Rossi instantly struck up a rapport with the crowd commenting on the cold.
They started the second song of the evening ‘Rain’ and I thought … “Really lads are you tempting fate too much here?”… but thankfully the only thing that rained down was another classic Quo track with heavy drums at the end that could rival any thunderstorm that threatened. ‘Little Lady’ followed…. a song that I had not heard before and as I was only 6 in 1975 when it was released, I can at least have an excuse, Richie took lead vocals on this track and did a good job with clear lyrics, Parfitt would have been proud.
After the song Rossi confessed that it was his birthday the following day so obviously the crowd responded with the usual rendition of Happy Birthday to You, much to his embarrassment… On with the show with ‘Softer Ride’, a real bluesy number sounding something right out a chain gang from the 1930’s with brilliant harmonising all round. and lyrics saying ‘I aint gonna work no more!’
‘Beginning of the End’ from 2007 was a song I didn’t know but sounded fresh and carried on that bluesy theme. Up next with its ‘celtic’ guitar sound was ‘Hold Ya Back’ another classic from 1977 brought a strong reaction from the adoring Quo fans at the front… clearly a fans favourite.
Rossi then addressed the crowd saying it had been a while since touring and spent a good while for the next number practising which was a melody of a number of Quo songs including the classics ‘What you’re Proposing’ and ‘Somethin’ bout you Baby I Like’ and 4 other songs that I really didn’t know at all, but all fitted seamlessly into this section of the gig.
‘Oriental’ was next from 2002 and whilst it was a new song and one, I didn’t know, it was without doubt one of the highlights of the evening for me, brilliant and probably not very PC lyrics, but delivered with punch and clarity and is now on my own playlist as a result.
Up next was ‘In My Chair’ another strong bluesy number and onto the classic Quo track ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ and at this point the sky finally cleared cutting us all some slack with the knowledge that the rain was not coming. The band adopting the traditional ‘Quo’ guitar stance during instrumental parts, still looking that they are enjoying every single second.
Now for those readers who aren’t aware ‘In the Army Now’ is a song that I hear regularly on the radio… not in the UK…But in Poland where it was an absolute smash (my other half is Polish), anyway off I popped to get a better view and quick video for my Polish friends and Quo delivered a brilliant rendition of this mid 80’s classic, they better be jealous! On with more hits with ‘Roll Over Lay Down’ and one of my favs ‘Down Down’ with pretty much every able-bodied person was dancing to from front to back, with no time to rest the dancers had to bounce along to ‘Whatever You Want’ and then the timeless ‘Rocking All Over The World’
Quo left the stage for two more songs to finish the set ‘Burning Bridges’ and finally ‘Paper Plane’
Overall, the lights were great the band are as tight as anything I have seen, I’m only sorry I took this long to finally get round to watching them. The weather held off, and people left with a smile on their face…. The Quo, simply put, are that hot mug of soup and a warm blanket on a cold miserable day.. and there’s somethin’ bout that blanket I like.
Photography by Darren McVeigh for MPM
