I saw the infamous Simone concert at Ronnie Scott's where she came on stage 45 mins late dressed in an dirty old raincoat carrying a plastic bag , she stood by the piano scowling at the audience swore and shuffled off stage , she came back after 15 mins to polite applause and did a very iffy set with no encore, but did a storming version of this
Absolutely, had you seen her at Ronnie's you would not had said so , but I saw her at about 6 yrs later at the Hammersmith odeon and she was brilliant not only vocals but piano and her band were so tight
You tell her (rather you than me) . [ One day Trevor Jackson (Playgroup) may fully tell the story of him + her + Feist in a hotel room with a d*ldo ... ] .
I have seen one or two 'off' nights of great musicians at Ronnies. On the other hand if you are there when it gels it's amazing. Like Spurs really
I know what you mean having seen Van Morrison many times and watching Spurs since the 60s I saw Davy Graham when he made a comeback , knew something was wrong when his " warm up "act played all his well known songs , when he came on he was out of his head , told a couple of filthy jokes and played some terrible songs , fell off the stage and was carried out by a couple of roadies , he sadly died weeks later but I can at least say I say him and still love his early albums
For those who like a bit of live music from the better end of what the late 70's/80's has to offer and if you aren't put off by a bit of camping....I give you... https://www.stonevalleyfestival.co.uk/stone-valley-south-line-ups/ Boomtown Rats, Skids, Undertones, the original Sham 69, Hugh Cornwell, Blockheads, Big Country plus lots of Ska, Mod and Madchester acts for £55.74 (including booking, etc.) across 3 days. This bargain is Ware...? That's right,....Ware..... I've booked our tickets and the tent is ready and waiting.....and I don't like festivals. See you there.
So Big Country without Stuart Adamson, Blockheads without Ian Dury, Undertones without Feargal Sharkey and High Cornwall without the Stranglers. And even worse the Boomtown Rats do have Geldof. Do you have any idea what you'll be getting?
It's in the nature of punk bands to have break ups and band members not to live long lives. There's a regular shift in many long standing acts. On one of The Damned Facebook sites, there was an attempt to list all members across the "44 years of Anarchy, Chaos and Destruction". The number is currently something like 35 and there's a drummer missing right now. I've seen all of the above without the names mentioned and they've been great. Also, I saw The Buzzcocks gig without Pete Shelley and was massively disappointed. The Clash were over and done when Mick went and without Dave, The Damned would be done or in real trouble. I can't hide the fact that Mrs B and I have paid £300+ to go to The Damned reunion gigs in London and Manchester (first and last nights) and the original line up shows can be very special. However, bands like The Stranglers, Ruts DC and The Undertones are still a bloody good night out, even without integral members. I guess so much of life isn't perfect...it just depends upon whether you are prepared to put up with Bob Geldolf... .
