Swansea reflections - 4 June 2024
Jun 5, 2024 21:03:15 GMT
charles, vivfromcov, and 1 more like this
Post by tom92 on Jun 5, 2024 21:03:15 GMT
When I saw Status Quo at Wembley Arena two years ago, I thought it was one of the best Quo concerts I'd ever been to. Ever. Having been going for nearly 20 years. So going to Swansea on Tuesday, Wembley was always going to be a hard act to follow.
To be honest, it wasn't as good as Wembley, but I don't think that has anything to do with the band's performance, which was fantastic as always. I think at Wembley the set was more exciting for me. It seemed that the set then had been well thought through, spanning 5 decades from 'In My Chair' right up to the Backbone tracks to provide a perfect narrative accompaniment to the band's story. The 90s even got a rare 'shout out' with 'Twenty Wild Horses'.
This time, I don't think it's that Francis doesn't care about the set. I've never thought that, in fact I think the opposite, I think he cares deeply about every performance the band gives. But I think this time out, for whatever reason (maybe nerves about possibly not being physically fit enough to do the show?) the set has been fairly low down the list of priorities and that's on top of his usual character traits of stubbornness to change something that works very well. And for the likes of us that's of course a shame, highlighted by his willingness to change the set regularly on the acoustic tour and play songs there in full I would love to see a full-band version of live. A full band version of 'Rock n Roll' or 'What You're Proposing' in full would be brilliant.
At Swansea I saw a great rock show and I'd encourage anyone who likes Quo's music to get to a show. The band are as tight as they've ever been and are clearly having a great time. One real benefit of the acoustic tour is that Francis has been given a new lease of life on some guitar solos, notably 'Roll Over Lay Down' which has already been mentioned on here elsewhere. I am certain that trying that out for the acoustic tour in 2025, which I've seen they are considering, will have been a factor in rejuvenating Francis' enthusiasm for playing that solo. I also expect some of that credit needs to go to Andy the guitar tech as well, who was very visible at the side of the stage.
High points of the show for me were 'In My Chair' and the extended 'Down Down', I personally love the creativity of incorporating a jam of 'Rockin' On' during the breakdown in the middle of that song. A personal low point was the tickets I had, which I had assumed would be on the floor as they were stalls and instead the venue had an upper stalls section which sloped upward (the venue itself has a very steep back). I was hoping folks around us would get up as the band started playing but sadly remained seated, so I lasted about two songs before going down to the floor and standing on the sidelines where my friend and I basically had a private dance floor for the entirety of the show! That felt very surreal and took the shine off just a little bit I think.
I have tickets for the show in Taunton in August and am really glad I do, I wouldn't like this to have been the last time I'd see the band (if it is the last time...) just because of the awkwardness of our position on the night, but the show was fantastic as ever. These Status Quo songs.....they really just are great songs aren't they?
Like others the two tracks I could do without are 'Beginning of the End' and 'The Oriental' just down to sheer over exposure, but the band clearly love playing the latter and it did really get the crowd going, in its defence.
One final note: Francis was his usual dynamic self and ended a number of songs by sitting down on the drum riser in time with the final note for a bit of a rest! He's always been fantastic at poking fun at his own age and this was a brilliant example of that I thought.
I do hope the YouTuber Mr Rock n Roll gets to a show this summer, he would love it!
To be honest, it wasn't as good as Wembley, but I don't think that has anything to do with the band's performance, which was fantastic as always. I think at Wembley the set was more exciting for me. It seemed that the set then had been well thought through, spanning 5 decades from 'In My Chair' right up to the Backbone tracks to provide a perfect narrative accompaniment to the band's story. The 90s even got a rare 'shout out' with 'Twenty Wild Horses'.
This time, I don't think it's that Francis doesn't care about the set. I've never thought that, in fact I think the opposite, I think he cares deeply about every performance the band gives. But I think this time out, for whatever reason (maybe nerves about possibly not being physically fit enough to do the show?) the set has been fairly low down the list of priorities and that's on top of his usual character traits of stubbornness to change something that works very well. And for the likes of us that's of course a shame, highlighted by his willingness to change the set regularly on the acoustic tour and play songs there in full I would love to see a full-band version of live. A full band version of 'Rock n Roll' or 'What You're Proposing' in full would be brilliant.
At Swansea I saw a great rock show and I'd encourage anyone who likes Quo's music to get to a show. The band are as tight as they've ever been and are clearly having a great time. One real benefit of the acoustic tour is that Francis has been given a new lease of life on some guitar solos, notably 'Roll Over Lay Down' which has already been mentioned on here elsewhere. I am certain that trying that out for the acoustic tour in 2025, which I've seen they are considering, will have been a factor in rejuvenating Francis' enthusiasm for playing that solo. I also expect some of that credit needs to go to Andy the guitar tech as well, who was very visible at the side of the stage.
High points of the show for me were 'In My Chair' and the extended 'Down Down', I personally love the creativity of incorporating a jam of 'Rockin' On' during the breakdown in the middle of that song. A personal low point was the tickets I had, which I had assumed would be on the floor as they were stalls and instead the venue had an upper stalls section which sloped upward (the venue itself has a very steep back). I was hoping folks around us would get up as the band started playing but sadly remained seated, so I lasted about two songs before going down to the floor and standing on the sidelines where my friend and I basically had a private dance floor for the entirety of the show! That felt very surreal and took the shine off just a little bit I think.
I have tickets for the show in Taunton in August and am really glad I do, I wouldn't like this to have been the last time I'd see the band (if it is the last time...) just because of the awkwardness of our position on the night, but the show was fantastic as ever. These Status Quo songs.....they really just are great songs aren't they?
Like others the two tracks I could do without are 'Beginning of the End' and 'The Oriental' just down to sheer over exposure, but the band clearly love playing the latter and it did really get the crowd going, in its defence.
One final note: Francis was his usual dynamic self and ended a number of songs by sitting down on the drum riser in time with the final note for a bit of a rest! He's always been fantastic at poking fun at his own age and this was a brilliant example of that I thought.
I do hope the YouTuber Mr Rock n Roll gets to a show this summer, he would love it!
, and the fact they're still this good is testimony to everyone in the band's professionalism and enthusiasm, but particularly Francis. 