Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Mods - Friday 23rd October - Tooting & Mitcham FC

Continuing our regular visits to see Johnny Warman and the boys - this time at the home of Tooting & Mitcham FC - a new venue for me. Pre show, we checked out the delights of Mitcham - the best pub by some distance was the "Hooden On The Green" with excellent darts facilities and attractive staff. Some of the others were a bit rough and ready, but by no means unfriendly. 

The gig itself was of the normal excellent standard. It appears (unfortunately) that guitarist Steve Byrd has been permanently replaced which is a shame. He's even been removed from their website, so I wonder if there was a falling out? That said, his replacement - Gary Grainger - is also one hell of a guitar player, so it was interesting to check out his playing and try to pick up a few tips! We'll look forward to seeing the band again in 2010.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Mott The Hoople - Friday 2nd October - Hammersmith Apollo

Met up with a couple of colleagues by the River before Richard joined us. Had a good chat about record collecting, gigs and the usual rubbish - it turns out we were in the company of a serious Mott The Hoople fan in Steve! Many beers later - and having skipped the support - we were inside for the much anticipated reunion. 

I thought it was a little rough around the edges to start (not surprising), but got better later on. The band did look old though! Ironically, Ian Hunter (70) and Mick Ralphs (65) looked in better nick than the others who were 60 or below. I wonder if that's because they've been musically more active over the last decade? Drummer Dale Griffin wasn't well enough to play most of the set, but did appear for the first encore.

Sitting behind us we spotted Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) and Paul Guerin and Guy Griffin from the Quireboys. Jimmy Page and Mick Jones were also in attendance and I suspect there were a few more "faces" dotted around.

I was gutted to find out that on the Tuesday Joe Elliot (backed by the Quireboys) was the support act, playing a selection of Ian Hunter / Mott The Hoople classics. Why don't they publish these things beforehand! 

Setlist
Hymn for the Dudes
Rock and Roll Queen
Sweet Jane
One of the Boys
Sucker
The Moon Upstairs
Original Mixed-Up Kid
I Wish I Was Your Mother
Ready for Love
Born Late '58
Ballad of Mott the Hoople
Sweet Angeline
Walking With a Mountain
The Journey
The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll
Honaloochie Boogie
All the Way From Memphis
+
Roll Away the Stone 
All the Young Dudes
Keep A-Knockin' (But You Can't Come In)
+
Saturday Gigs