Updated: 8 Oct 2010
Turn Me Round
Promised Land
New World
River/Down By The Sea
The Flower And The Young Man
Ghosts
Autumn
Sad Young Man
Just Love
Shine On Silver Sun
Hero And Heroine
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold/Round And Round
Lay A Little Light On Me/Hero's Theme
Lay Down
Where Silent Shadows Fall
SATURDAY, 2 OCTOBER, THE PLACE, HAMILTON ON
To my fellow countrymen who believed that catching Strawbs in New York, Lakewood, Pawling or other venue during the September U.S. segment of the current tour was sufficient: My condolences. Last night's performance in Hamilton, ON blew even the B.B. Kings AS performance away with an electric and electrifying performance that--face it--is the reason we got so obsessed with these guys in the first place.
Now, I know what you're thinking: You've seen the electric band before. Well, my brothers and sisters, you ain't seen them like this before. You missed a whole bunch of jaw-dropping Strawbs firsts: two new additions to the line up in the form of John Young and drummer Tony Fernandez (or is it accurate to refer to Tony as a "first" when it's actually a return engagement for him??); the audience was deluged with a bunch of totally NEW old songs; it was the debut of the highly-publicized performance of Hero And Heroine in its entirety; and Cousins sported a very cool black brocade 3/4 length top coat for the first set (yes, it WAS over that damn red shirt that he probably sleeps in, but not everything can be brand-spankin' new).
I have three words for you: "The Promised Land". If Chas did nothing else in the band's history, that contribution would still place him damn near the top of the pack in my book. And last night they did it live and it was a powerhouse with Cousins singing the lead throughout. In fact, I still don't know which song triggered my greatest gasp, that or "Turn Me Round" which was their opener and kicked the completely sold out and very knowledgeable Strawbs crowd into a total frenzy which was maintained throughout.
A few words on the latest addition to the ES lineup: we all know Tony Fernandez from his days with the band in the late 70s and from the Heartbreak Hill lineup at Twickenham. He brings a different feeling to the band than Rod. He's a solid drummer who is obviously way familiar with the music but adds cool little flourishes like stopping a cymbol...cymble...cymbel--how the hell do you spell that word??? [cymbals - DG] --with his hand in perfect unison with Lambert's guitar. Aside from his musical contribution, he's a great social addition to the band
This isn't John Young's first appearance in the Strawbs world after all--turns out he opened for John Ford a year or so ago on Long Island...and I was there! The guy's got a fabulous resume, with work with Asia, Bonnie Tyler (and Ray Davies came to hear him once!) and it shows. Did some terrific things on "Ghosts" and nailed "Autumn" in particular. Unfortunately--and I wasn't watching at the time, one of his keyboards crashed to the floor at one point prompting Cousins to announce he was fired even before the second set. The audience overrode Cousins, and I'm happy to say he's still in the band. Don't expect flashy hair flipping and wobbling keyboards from John, he seems to concentrate completely on the music and turned in a fine first time performance last night.
Set lists aren't my thing but my and Dorie's recollection for the first set is: "Turn Me Round", "Promised Land", "New World", "River/Down By The Sea", "The Flower And The Young Man", and "Ghosts"--but not in that order and we might have missed one.
The second set was the long awaited Hero And Heroine in its entirety. A super A for effort and the crowd responded tremendously. I'm just not sure it's my cup of tea. We're talking ENTIRE Hero And Heroine in the order it appears on the album and they did it superbly. But should they?? Do we REALLY--and this could just be me--want to use up valuable live performance time on "Sad Young Man"?? "Hero And Heroine" was INCREDIBLE as it always is performed electrically, but wouldn't we want to leave with that in our heads instead of "Hero's Theme"?? The set was incredibly interesting particularly as it was the first time they performed it but I'd hate to see it become a regular thing.
A funny request from an audience member at the conclusion of the H&H Set: some guy yells "NOW DO ALL OF GHOSTS!!!"
Fortunately, we didn't have to leave with "Hero's Theme" as our final song--two encores, "Lay Down" and "Where Silent Shadows Fall" followed the standing ovations.
I've posted a few of my photos in the Photos section of WW, including a rather unfortunate one of John Young where it looks like a gun's being pointed at his head, and I apologize for the bad one of Tony--it was pretty difficult to get him behind all those drums and cymbols, cymbels, cymbles, whatever. [cymbals - DG !]
Okay. I'm tired now.
SUNDAY, 3 OCTOBER, PETER'S PLACE, GRAVENHURST ON
Great show at Peter's Players. Hard to describe the warmth and uplift from this band. I was hoping for a lot and I got it. Thanks.
SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER, AEOLIAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, LONDON ON
We were very lucky folks who attended the Strawbs show at the Aeolian Performing Arts Center London Ontario. What a great venue, I believe the band would concur, to see such a great band. This historic building in the up and coming "old east community" was the perfect spot. The room was full, some standing at the back. The band was hot. I last saw the "electric" band here in the early 70's in a hockey arena. Great show with Mott the Hoople warming up that night, but venue to venue there was no comparison. There was a feeling of calm leading up to the performance. Nice little bar to get a drink and head back to your seat. Perfect Monday night out. London thanks the guys for adding us to the Canadian tour. Rock on.
Photo by S Ferry - more of his photos
TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER, HUGH'S ROOM, TORONTO ON
Photo by Peter Rowe - more photos from Peter
Turn Me Round
New World
The Flower And The Young Man
The Promised Land
Ghosts
So Close And Yet So Far Away
The River/Down By The Sea
Autumn
Sad Young Man
Just Love
Shine On Silver Sun
Hero And Heroine
Midnight Sun
Out In The Cold/Round and Round
Lay A Little Light On Me/Hero's Theme
Lay Down
When Silent Shadows Fall
THURSDAY, 7 OCTOBER, OUTREMONT THEATER, MONTREAL QC
After 2008's sold-out performance at Cafe Campus, the Strawbs were invited back to Montreal to play in a much bigger venue, the majestic Outremont Theater. The old elegant concert hall suited the band and the music much better this time and the turn-out did not disappoint.
The boys came out blazing with a raunchy version of "Turn Me Round" (from Deep Cuts) followed by the classic staple "New World" which Dave Cousins always nails with his insatiable vocals. The mellower "Flower And The Young Man" (also from Grave New World) gave some respite before a one-two punch of Chas Cronk's powerful "Promised Land" (from Nomadness) and another classic, "Ghosts", both hair-raising renditions during which Dave Lambert was absolutely on fire ! The delicate "So Close And Yet So Far Away" (also from Deep Cuts) allowed the band to catch their breath before the rocking epic "Down By The Sea/The River" (from Bursting at the Seams) closed off the first set.
The second set featured the highly anticipated and never done live before, entire Hero And Heroine album, which the band hit out of the ball park. So intense and professionally executed was this performance, in the exact order of the studio album, that the crowd responded ovation after ovation. The set ended with a reprise of "Round And Round" with Cousins again nailing it with seemingly supernatural vocal power, and fans clamoured for an encore while the pre-recorded "Hero's Theme" blared in the background. The Strawbs returned with the classic "Lay Down" and a heart wrenching rendition of "Where Silent Shadows Fall" (aka The Valiant Soldier from the latest studio album Dancing with the Devil's Beat).
Kudos to the new old guys, John Young and Tony Fernandez, who were both rock solid. All in all, an extremely satisfying performance which left most fans giddy. Our sincerely appreciation to the band for the monumental effort in putting together this show and performing it to perfection.
Attended the Strawbs show last night at the fabulous Outremont Theater in Montreal, what a great venue for a Strawbs concert. Now this being the seventh time I have seen the Strawbs (Acoustic & Electric) the first time being in the 70's, my expectations were limited to a good enjoyable show with little surprises.
Boy was I wrong , this show was by far the best I have ever seen from the Strawbs complete with a Dave Cousins voice like I have never heard before. Cousins' stage presence was outstanding along with Dave Lambert in top form.
The opening number "Turn Me Round" simply blew the crowd away with its powerful guitar riffs and the incredible voice of Cousins. This was by far the best opening number I could have wished for and have ever witnessed at a Strawbs concert. As for the other members of the band , hats off to you all for a superb evening of music. The band is simply getting better with the years.
For those of you who did not attend you definitely missed out on one of the best shows of 2010 in Montreal.
Ce fut un plaisir tout-à-fait renouvelé de retrouver des Strawbs aussi en forme qu'en voix d'autant que le gracieux décor du théâtre les habillait plutôt bien. Le menu musical d'hier soir était simplement prestigieux; jouer H&H en intégralité (et en haute fidélité) ne pouvait que soulever fiévreusement l'assistance à d'aussi nombreuses reprises. Déjà là, il y avait matière à rassasier le plus pointilleux des fans. Ajoutez à cela, des classiques présentés avec une énergie toujours aussi contagieuse. Des joyaux du répertoire rarement présentés sur scène, sinon en première. Avec des intros guitare-clavier bien fignolées comme celle ouvrant The Promised Land. Que demander de plus? Si ce n'est que d'avoir à nouveau l'opportunité de revivre d'aussi bons moments souvent ...au cours des 30 prochaines années (..dixit DC).