Thursday, May 20, 2010

Francis Rossi - Sunday 16th May - Her Majesty's Theatre, London

OK, hands up all those who thought this was going to be an evening of pleasant, but dullish country-tinged pop tunes from "that bloke from Status Quo". Wrong!

It's fair to say that those in our group (all Quo fans) were treating this with a bit of trepidation. We needn't have worried. From the opening bars of a bluesy "Caroline", the audience were on their feet and the excellent band reeled through a selection of material from Rossi's new solo offering "One Step At A Time" and Quo obscurities. The real joy was hearing those delights which Quo never or rarely play. I've moaned often enough about their static setlist and yet here is the man who many believe to be the main architect of that policy, deliver a great selection. It just shows what can be done when some thought is given to it. Of course, it helps when the band are as solid as they were here.... Rossi jnr on one guitar and the annoyingly good Freddie Edwards on another perfectly complementing FR himself (well, I'm guessing he helped teach them both to play!).

All in all well above expectations and probably more enjoyable as a result than some of the times I've seen Quo. Let's hope there is more to come!

Setlist
Caroline
Claudie
All We Really Want To Do (Polly)
You'll Come Round
Crazy For You
Old Time Rock 'N' Roll
Strike Like Lightning
Tallulah's Waiting
Here I Go
Tongue Tied
Blessed Are The Meek
My Little Heartbreaker
Electric Arena
One Step At A Time
Marguerita Time
Rolling Down The Road
Diggin' Burt Bacharach
Sleeping On The Job
Twenty Wild Horses
Can't Give You More
+
Don't Waste My Time

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