Post by therockdoctor on Oct 15, 2017 0:38:10 GMT
The second night of the short Aussie leg of the "Last Night of the Electrics" tour saw Quo returning to the Civic Theatre in Newcastle, home of their famous 1978 gig which led to the "First Night Stand" bootleg. The beautiful old theatre was a lovely place to see the band with its good acoustics, ornate interior, raked floor and wide balcony. With a capacity of around 1500, the 800-or-so fans were mainly confined to the floor area plus a few rows at the front of the balcony.
Our end of aisle second row seats (to the right side of the stage) held promise for accessing the front, but the venue's strict "no standing" policy was in place from the very start so it was a sit down gig throughout, apart from a few dancing at the extreme sides of the floor area. The policy was a real shame here as the crowd were really up for it and would have given the band a lot more had they had the opportunity to stand. Having said that, the band had upped their game since the previous night and Francis was energetic, relaxed and having fun despite claiming he was a "jetlagged old git"!
The setlist was the same as the night before and the "new" songs were a bit slicker, especially "Don't Drive My Car" with a notable vocal from Andy Bown. Dropping the drum solo might have removed the spotlight from Leon a bit, but he's playing out of skin so far on this tour, adding his own character to a lot of the songs, which is great to see. Just as at the Gold Coast gig, the band were in great spirits, stirring each other up and generally looking very relaxed. It feels like they can let loose more than usual in this territory and even the mistakes were greeted by wry smiles from Francis.
This gig was a step up in terms of the band's performance and it was such a shame that the venue's policy on standing spoiled it for audience and band alike (even Francis commented during Bye Bye that it was a shame we didn't stand up - it wasn't for the want of trying!). Despite the policy, the crowd were loud and appreciative and all the band made the effort to shake hands with us along the front of the stage as they left.
Our end of aisle second row seats (to the right side of the stage) held promise for accessing the front, but the venue's strict "no standing" policy was in place from the very start so it was a sit down gig throughout, apart from a few dancing at the extreme sides of the floor area. The policy was a real shame here as the crowd were really up for it and would have given the band a lot more had they had the opportunity to stand. Having said that, the band had upped their game since the previous night and Francis was energetic, relaxed and having fun despite claiming he was a "jetlagged old git"!
The setlist was the same as the night before and the "new" songs were a bit slicker, especially "Don't Drive My Car" with a notable vocal from Andy Bown. Dropping the drum solo might have removed the spotlight from Leon a bit, but he's playing out of skin so far on this tour, adding his own character to a lot of the songs, which is great to see. Just as at the Gold Coast gig, the band were in great spirits, stirring each other up and generally looking very relaxed. It feels like they can let loose more than usual in this territory and even the mistakes were greeted by wry smiles from Francis.
This gig was a step up in terms of the band's performance and it was such a shame that the venue's policy on standing spoiled it for audience and band alike (even Francis commented during Bye Bye that it was a shame we didn't stand up - it wasn't for the want of trying!). Despite the policy, the crowd were loud and appreciative and all the band made the effort to shake hands with us along the front of the stage as they left.