Francis Rossi - Friday 2nd May - Epsom Playhouse

Brief review:  Our first of 2 trips to see the 2025 version of Francis' solo tour. The setlist is slightly updated from previous tours and there is definitely less chat and more music. Of course most would prefer a full Status Quo show, but if this keeps him performing this well then what's not to like. Don't Waste My Time was a particular favourite as well as the lesser-played Twenty Wild Horses.

Also nice to spot Bob Young sitting just in front of us, co-writer of many of the songs played.

Venue and View:  Stalls, a third back on the left.

Setlist
Pictures of Matchstick Men
In My Chair
Spinning Wheel Blues
Wild Side Of Life
Gerdundula
Claudie
Don't Waste My Time
Rock 'n' Roll
Break the Rules / Down the Dustpipe
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)
+
What You're Proposing
And it's Better Now
Someone Show Me Home
Twenty Wild Horses
Tongue Tied
Roll Over Lay Down
Rockin' All Over the World
In the Army Now
Down Down
Caroline

Francis Rossi - Tuesday 16th May - Epsom Playhouse

Brief review:  Quo frontman plays acoustic career spanning set. It’s proving popular with the mature crowd.

Venue and View:  About a quarter of the way back on the left

Setlist

Set 1
Pictures of Matchstick Men
(April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays 
Spinning Wheel Blues 
In My Chair 
Gerdundula 
Rock 'n' Roll 
Claudie 
Break the Rules 
Down the Dustpipe 
Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again) 

Set 2
What You're Proposing
And It's Better Now 
Nanana 
Tongue Tied 
Marguerita Time 
Rockin' All Over the World 
Paper Plane 
Caroline 

Elio Pace - Wednesday 12th October - Epsom Playhouse

Brief review:  The fact that this was an "albums" and not "hits" show was well advertised. Despite that, many had not got the memo! Whilst they may have left frustrated, I enjoyed hearing Elio and his talented band tackle 2 of Billy Joel's lesser albums. Sadly even Elio couldn't turn "Big Man on Mulberry Street" into a classic, but that one song aside, I really enjoyed the performance. I believe 2 more album shows are due for next year.

Venue and View:  Rear left, decent view

Setlist
[THE BRIDGE]
RUNNING ON ICE
THIS IS THE TIME
A MATTER OF TRUST
MODERN WOMAN
BABY GRAND
BIG MAN ON MULBERRY STREET
TEMPTATION
CODE OF SILENCE
GETTING CLOSER
+
[TURNSTILES]
SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD
SUMMER, HIGHLAND FALLS
ALL YOU WANNA DO IS DANCE
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
JAMES
PRELUDE / ANGRY YOUNG MAN
I'VE LOVED THESE DAYS
MIAMI 2017 (SEEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT ON BROADWAY)
+
[ENCORE]
SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Quadrophenia Live! (The Goldhawks) - Thursday 9th May - Epsom Playhouse

One Liner: Decent Live run through of the mod classic from the Goldhawks with a couple of Who classics thrown in for good measure at the end. Good sound and vocals.

Elio Pace - Thursday 11th May - Epsom Playhouse

Elio Pace plays a local show at the Epsom Playhouse Theatre. This is the third time I've seen his interpretation of the Billy Joel songbook and as previously, the songs are performed with skill and passion plus some interesting background on how they were written and musical influences. It's obvious that Elio is a huge Billy Joel fan and his solid band (including current Queen touring bassist, Neil Fairclough) complement the excellent piano work nicely. Well worth the short trip.

Setlist
Prelude/Angry Young Man
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
My Life
This Night
The Longest Time
Vienna
And So It Goes
Leningrad
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
New York State of Mind
Root Beer Rag
She's Always A Woman
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
+
Goodnight Saigon
Allentown
Captain Jack
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
Honesty
She's Got A Way
An Innocent Man
Just the Way You Are
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
We Didn't Start the Fire
The River of Dreams
Tell Her About It
Uptown Girl
+
You May Be Right
Piano Man

Elio Pace - Thursday 7th May - Epsom Playhouse

Having seen Elio previously in Sutton, we knew that Richard would enjoy his "Billy Joel Songbook" show and dragged him along to this. The show is a fine run-though of classic Billy Joel material, interspersed with stories about the songs and the musical make up of them. The band had changed a bit since our last viewing, but provided excellent backing to Elio's piano skills and fine voice.

We had decent seats and the only disappointment was that the venue wasn't fuller. Maybe the fact it was Election Night put people off?

If you are a fan of the Piano Man, you should do yourself a favour and check this out in a theatre near you.

http://www.eliopace.com/

The 80's Rocked! - Friday 5th November - Epsom Playhouse Theatre

I wasn't sure whether to include this in the Blog - after all it's a theatre show rather than a gig as such. That said, it's all music and when we booked up we were expecting Harry from Thunder to be on drums. A shame then that some sort of contractual dispute meant all the band members were changed without explanation at the last minute!

We started in the Wetherspoons in Epsom (and were the oldest people there by some margin). We were then pleasantly surprised to find a nice bar in the theatre - and drinks were allowed in the venue. Just as well!

So, the show? H'mmm. Well it was certainly "entertaining" - if not always for the right reasons. The band was acceptable, the 3 vocalists (sharing mic duties) were OK - in fact "Wardi" (from Oliver/Dawson Saxon) was good - and I saw him years ago in Shy! However, what made us keep laughing out loud was how the other 2 clearly didn't know the words for most of the rock classics they were singing. Despite referring to song sheets on the stage and cries like "Everybody knows this one...", they clearly didn't! If they can't get the right words to "Summer of '69" or "Hammer To Fall" or even standard Bon Jovi stuff, then why play them?

If you were being picky (I am!), then there were a good 4 or 5 songs from the 70's too! All in all, the smallish (100?) crowd were entertained, but the band need to invest in a "Rock Classics of the 80's" songbook for Christmas!