Re: Rock - what are you listening to?
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 6:11 pm
Don't forget to tell us about the Peter Green gig. Hopefully the Academy gig was just an off night.[/quote]JAW wrote:
Went down just after 6 to collect my ticket at the Olympia box office and who did I spy only the bould Peter walking out of the Olympia with a band mate and nonchalantly crossing the road!??! He looked really healthy and well, with not a care in the world. I turned round to my perplexed wife (she didn't go to the gig for obvious reasons!) and silently screamed at her 'Do you realise who that was, DON'T YOU?????' When I revealed his identity she silently mouthed 'Albatross'...... Anyway little did I realise that a further surprise was further on down the road.......at the concert, I mean.I duly took my place in the stalls.....in front of a big brute of a pillar?!?!? Of all the friggin' seats :-((( I did complain but I got offered the pick of the seats at the very top....I ran back down; what a horrible place, the stage looked like a tiny dot! Anyway I went back to my pillar seat and waited for Peter G. When he eventually took the stage at around 9, the sheer shock of hearing him explode into sound (on a beautiful white Gretsch) catapulted me into the only vacant seat in front of me and to the side of the blasted pillar. Wow, I was transfixed!!! I was still in shock by the end of the gig as he continued to confound and delight me in equal measures. He played beautiful renditions of familiar songs - Rattlesnake Shake, Oh Well, The Stumble, Black Magic Woman and a quite a few Blues chestnuts including a lovely reading of Rainy Night in Georgia, with a magnificent solo or two in EVERY song!!BTW he only used the Gretch for the first couple of numbers, changing to a blue Fender for the rest of the gig. We pulled the place down after the final number and Peter returned with the rhythm guitarist (second singer and main spokesman who made sure everything went smoothly.He did a great job.) and the two of them sat side by side on the empty stage - one pretending he was John Mayall! - and promptly sang a rare song that Mayall wrote called 'Sitting Out In The Rain'. Ah it was just lovely... I only heard that song for the very first time on the Vinyl Lover's label version of the 'Hard Road' album (a double featuring all of the Bluesbraker's material with Peter).It actually sounded very similar to a future Mac song called 'Leaving Town Blues', which incidentally Rory Gallagher covered on a tribute album to Peter just before he died. Peter later complimented Rory's version very highly indeed. I still haven't heard it!! Finally(!!) the whole band encored with a terrific version of Black Magic Woman where in the midst of all the solos from the rest of the rather fine band Peter decided to do his return solo with.......a harp!?!?! He took his time taking the harp out of its box and eventually blew it to kingdom come and back - WOW!!! Sorry for going on bit but really, can you blame me :-)))) A magnificent experience, made all the sweeter because it was totally unexpected....
