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| Concert Review |  |
by Black Hitchcock |
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| (As posted to the Big Country Mailing List):
Here is my attempt at a thorough Nashville gig review...but I'm sure it won't compare to the one Ed Clark wrote (of the previous gig about a month ago!). I'm just going to type this as fast as I can (little free time at the moment, but I wanted to post a review), so forgive any typos and unclarity, please! This is right off the top of my head! Anyway, here goes: We (my friend—who's another diehard BC fan—my brother, and my brother's girlfriend) arrived at Caffe Milano at about 6:30...we were one of the first groups in there and we had a reservation about 10 feet from the stage. I was INSTANTLY pumped at the good seats we had! Right away, the "countdown till Stu appears" began…although I've only been a BC fan for two years, I'm a pretty intense one. The anxiousness to see Stu perform, and to possibly meet him, was too much to bear. I had butterflies in my stomach from the instant we sat down. Anyway, we basically chatted and kept a vigil until Stu arrived…the show started at 8:30, and as of 8:00 there was still no sign of the darn Scot! I was beginning to worry that he broke his hand and wasn't gonna show!! Somebody else arrived (a musician) who looked kinda like Marcus from the pictures I'd seen on the Blue Heeler website…I had a camera handy so I took a few pictures of this "Marcus" guy (quotation marks explained later). Anyway, at like 8:30 we still hadn't seen Stu…I was gettin' pissed (not actually pissed, but Ii thought Stu was playin' with me by keepin' hidden!:-) Anyway, some guy comes out on stage and announces that he's opening up for Stu and Marcus..I was just happy to hear that the boys would indeed be performing, so I didn't mind a longer wait. after a few minutes of Rusty, I happened to turn around and scan the Caffe quickly...I didn't even realize that my gaze had stopped on Stuart…standing at the back of the Caffe listening to the opening act…I told everybody at the table to look back, and we all said "there he is!" lemme tell you, after all the videos I've watched, and all the anticipation at seeing him live, it was REALLY weird to see him standing there…but really KICKASS!!! I was SO pumped to see him on stage:-) Anyway, we had to sit through about 45 minutes of this guy Rusty Miller…I can't judge his guitar playing skills cause I'm no musician, but he had a pretty ordinary voice and songs which kinda went in one ear and out the other. I was having trouble concentrating on anything the guy played, but let's just say he wasn't a real attention grabber! After Rusty finished his little set, it was "TIME TO GET IT ON!!" After a couple of minutes the band came out…and they pretty much just started in with the first song "Old Country Country". The guy standing next to Stu did the singing…and it occurred to me that THIS guy was Marcus…and NOT the guy that I had previously thought (well, it was pretty funny that the previous guy…who ended up playing the flute…got a fair amount of camera time!:-) The band consisted of Stu on guitar, Marcus on mandolin (and occasional harmonica, keyboard, and guitar), a flutist, a bassist, a violinist, and a congo-drum percussionist. The opening song had a real folky sound to it, and it was very catchy. Lemme tell you, Marcus can really SING!!! It's a far different, more polished style than Stu's vocals…Stu sings more from the gut/from pure emotion while Marcus has a really polished voice…I really liked Marcus' singing, but nothing is a substitute for Stu's vocal "emoting." Stu came in backing the vocals on the chorus to that first song…I was just awestruck in the moment. The song was really good! after that I tried to calm down and concentrate on lyrics and stuff like that, but it took about three or four songs for me to calm down and focus deeply on all aspects of the music. I won't give a song by song review, but Ii think three of the first four songs I liked ALOT…the other one wasn't bad, just not as good as the others. In between maybe the second or third song Stu's guitar lost its sound…so he had to play with the cord a bit to fix the situation (no major ordeal). Another thing I noticed was that in one of the songs that Marcus was singing (they pretty much just alternated vocals throughout the night) Stu JUST started to chime in on the chorus too early…before Marcus got to the chorus. Stu stopped himself before anybody probably noticed, but since I was watching him most of the time I caught it! a minor goof by the "Stuster"! anyway, after I got settled into the moment i was able to "truly hear" the songs better. I have to say this music bears little resemblance to BC, so I can't say that "if you like BC you will like this"…but I CAN say that I REALLY liked the stuff the guys performed. it was lyrically very strong, very catchy choruses, uplifting themes, and cool folky music. you could definitely tell the difference between the songs that were (in my guesstimation) written by Stu and which were written by Marcus. the songs that Marcus sung had lyrics that were sort of storytelling, while Stu's were a bit more abstract (as his usually are)… I have to say I enjoyed both songwriting styles a lot. Moving on (this is a pretty jumbled story but it's stream of consciousness), about 8 songs into the concert Stu broke into "The Travellers" and the rest of the band stood behind him backing him up with their various instruments. while this is not my fave BC song (I like it, but it's just not on my fave list), it was one of the best moments of the show. Stu owned the stage and the crowd really got into it…clapping along with the catchy guitar licking. I really loved this part of the show…GO STU!! A couple more songs (maybe two or so) and the band announced the "last one of the evening." After they finished they got a standing ovation and walked backstage. From Ed's review of the previous gig I had been hoping for an "In A Big Country" finale…Ii was crossing my fingers that they came back out for an encore but I was afraid that might be it! Well, I got my wish. It was one of the shortest encore waits…it was liked they went into the dressing room and turned around instantly to head back to the stage:-) When they came back out I was like "thank you Lord!" But the song they started playing was NOT IABC. I was starting to panic again, and I held my breath when they finished that one. Was that it? I hoped not…….and it WASN'T! Marcus made some kind of comment to this effect: "I grew up on this one", and I thought here it comes! Right then, Stu broke into the guitar part for the next song… and even though it was played very slow I recognized those first few notes INSTANTLY!! They were doing "In A Big Country." Lemme tell you…this is just SUCH a great song. Everybody I've ever talked to about BC remembers them for this one song, but it's not like other so-called 80's bands….they actually think the song is real cool (and not some lame cheesy tune). The merit is TOTALLY deserved. BC's original song ROCKS…but the version that night at the Caffe Milano was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I don't mind sayin' it, even though it may sound lame, but the song made my eyes water. Stu looked like he was enjoying himself so much…and it was that way the entire night! it was an absolutely amazing experience!! Anyway, after they finished they got another ovation and left the stage for good. Now the wait started: I wasn't gonna leave without doing all I could to get Stu's autograph! After a few minutes Stu came back out and started putting his equipment away…my friend and I got into the line that began forming and Stu announced he'd be back out after he finished packing up his gear. When he came back out, I was about fourth in line to meet him. I was SO nervous, but so excited! I don't even remember what it was like to shake his hand, but I have to say he was the most gracious, friendly person for our entire 3-5 minute conversation. I can't wait to see the picture taken of Stu and I…a photo taken by Mr. Ed Clark (from the list here—that's a whole other story!). My fingers are about to fall off here so I'll stop typing…sorry if this concert review was lame and hard to follow, but I don't feel like going back and "proofreading" it. It's stream of consciousness…and I'm sure I left a bunch of stuff out. But I leave you with these summary impressions:
I'm signing off now…going to ice my fingers! I hope everybody there at the Caffe last Friday had the time I had…and I hope all on this list who haven't ever gotten the chance to see/meet Stu someday get that chance! Take care all:-) |
