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Concert
Review by Nick Morgan |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
ALABAMA 3, The Astoria,
London, October 11th 2005 |
| What
better place to start a congested autumn season
of Whiskyfun concert reviews than the crumbling
majesty of Charing Cross Road’s Astoria theatre?
Did you know that the Astoria began its life as
a pickle factory, owned by Crosse & Blackwell,
now famous as manufacturers of that most English
of tracklements, Branston Pickle (which, I’m
assured by those who know, Keith Richards always
takes with him on tour with the Stones)? |
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Why,
even Charles Booth visited the place when conducting
his famous survey into life and labour in London
in the late nineteenth century. In 1927 it reopened
as a cinema and went through a variety of guises
before ending up as one of London’s leading
gay nitespots and a regular venue for leading bands,
under the management of the Mean Fiddler Group.
Apparently it’s listed for demolition when
a new tube station is built at Tottenham Court Road
– all I can say is that if the new station
isn’t built soon the whole place will simply
fall down.
And talking of falling down, what better band to
start with than Whiskyfun’s favourites the
Alabama
3, who remarkably have been on the
road on a punishing schedule promoting their new
album Outlaw since we last saw them in Glasgow in
May. I have to say that from start to finish what
we got was a show that can only be described as
slick (not a word one would normally associate with
a band of self-styled Brixton anarchists) and very
different from the one we’d seen in May, or
their most recent Glasgow gig the week before this
(as my Argyll correspondent assures me). |
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Following
a short set from the feisty (Zoe) Devlin Love and
harmonica player and part-time A3 member Nick Reynolds
(he’s the son of Bruce, you know, the Great
Train Robber) we were treated, after a rapid stage
set up, to a troupe of burlesque dancers strutting
and, err…, showing their stuff. I hope the
poor social worker who got so offended by flesh
at the last Astoria gig wasn’t here for this
– as it was only going to get worse. The band
then mostly assembled for their Mobyesque Robert
Johnson sample ‘Me and the devil’ (from
their ‘rare’ album Zero Tolerance),
during which front man for the night D Wayne Love
gave us a short insight into the walk he’d
taken along the Thames that morning, complete with
vultures and all, apparently a sign that the devil
is really coming for you. |
With
an apparently incapacitated Larry Love last to take
the stage, and remaining seated all night, the band
kicked off with ‘Too sick to pray’ as
Larry was ministered too by an increasingly unclothed
vamp (Samantha Love, unless I’m mistaken).
Now I’m not surprised if Larry’s manic
style of joint-breaking limbo dancing has caught
up with him, though it certainly didn’t stop
him from using his hands and arms for all they were
worth to whip the audience into a frenzy. But with
Larry a little to the rear D Wayne stepped to the
front, and led, if not with his chin, then certainly
with his mouth. “That was a blues classic
from Jimmy Johnstone folks. Now did you know just
what Jimmy’s role was in the great victory
of the Lisbon Lions in ….” He also told
us later that “Jock Stein said change must
come from the barrel of a gun”, which somehow
I could just about believe.
Anyway they shot through a bevy of classics as if
they were throwing out the family silver (‘Don’t
go to Goa’, ‘U don’t dance 2 tekno’,
‘Woke up this morning’ and ‘Mansion
on the hill’) before Outlaw tracks ‘Up
above my head’ (by this time wee Devlin was
back on stage belting out vocals like a, well…,
pickle factory worker), ‘Honey in the rock’
and ‘Have you seen Bruce Richard Reynolds’,
with the ex Train Robber making his customary London
appearance for his narration at the end (“the
Whiyld Bunch”). And although I’m not
claiming that this is a complete set list, I’m
sure they didn’t play ‘How can I protect
you’, typically perverse as it’s not
only a catchy tune, but also their latest single.
|
| The
main set was brought to an end with sensational
versions of ‘Bullet proof’ and the anthemic
crowd pleaser ‘Hypo full of love’. It
was about this time that the girls got back on the
stage too. For the short encore Samantha tastefully
unclothed herself of a Native American Indian’s
outfit during ‘I’m Johnny Cash’
and predictable mayhem ensued with ‘Mao Tse
Tung said’. |
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Not as long as the past few gigs we’ve seen,
but very well balanced in terms of songs, strong
efforts from everyone in the band (the wraith like
Spirit, guitarist Rock Freebase and percussionist
Sir Real Love seemed to stand out) and from our
usual Astoria position, a nicely judged sound level
(could they have turned it down this time?). What
more could one ask. Oh yes – and if you’re
asking what all the fuss is about then why not ask
Santa (yes, it’s that time of year already)
for a copy of the just released live DVD Hear The
Train A' Comin, recorded here at the gig we saw
last December. If you’re lucky enough to get
it, this is what you should do on Christmas Day
evening. |
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At
bedtime, call up to your partner with some plausible
excuse like, “sorry darling, I just want to
watch another re-run of the Queen’s speech
on TV’, then shut the doors, wedge them closed
with any available upholstery and soundproof them
with a handy mattress. Load the DVD, but before
you press play ensure all volume controls are turned
up to full (including the sub-woofer), and you might
want to make a few pin holes in some of the speakers
just to get that real Astoria feel. Then pour a
glass of your favourite, charge your plate with
seasonal pickles, and let the fun begin. - Nick
Morgan (photos by Kate) |
Check
the index of all reviews:
Nick's Concert Reviews
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