Kim Simmonds (guitars, harmonica, vocals)
Nathaniel Peterson Jr (bass, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Live in Harelbeke, Belgium, April 15th, 2000
the REVIEW !
SAVOY
BROWN live in Harelbeke, Belgium – Saturday April 15th, 2000
Kim
Simmonds (guitars, harmonica, vocals)
Nathaniel
Peterson Jr (bass, vocals)
Ric
Lee (from Ten Years After – drums)
Savoy
Brown fans in general, and readers of Shades Of Savoy Brown in particular,
already know that Kim Simmonds is a First League guitar player and band leader.
Those who had the pleasure to meet him, know how nice a human being he also is.
Two months ago, when I first learned of Savoy Brown’s planned performance in
Harelbeke, Belgium, I asked Kim if he would agree to sign my huge collection of
Savoy Brown vinyls and CDs. Not only did he agree, but the way he treated us (yours
truly and a
friend of mine who introduced Savoy Brown's music to me 32 years ago), was
beyond all expectations. Not only could we attend the soundcheck, but Kim and
the guys later invited us in their private room backstage. No need to go into
details here, suffice to say that Kim
stopped eating his soup in order to carefully unpack my LPs and sign them one by
one, making comments on their excellent condition and giving his artistic
opinion on some of them ! He also signed some CDs and singles, and we talked
about various things (you know how a fan feels when he meets his idol and gets
to talk to him during 15 minutes – it’s like being in heaven). I then asked
Nathaniel to sign my copy of The Blues Keep Me Holding On, which he did with
great kindness. We then left the room, but at this point, Kim asked Nathaniel
– “did you sign Raoul’s CD ?". Another proof of Kim’s nice
attitude towards the fans.
Back in the hall, and the opening act (a Belgian band called Blink) entertained us with 60 minutes of pure 50s rock and roll (Gene Vincent style).
At
approximately 10.30 pm, Savoy Brown took the stage, generating a warm applause
when the promoter introduced them. They started with TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
(from Bring It Home) with Nathaniel on lead vocals. Next was A HARD WAY TO GO
(from Raw Sienna) with lead vocals by Kim – unusual as songs from the Chris
Youlden era fits Nathaniel’s natural voice better. Then came a long
instrumental intro to a slow blues number, that I recognized as being LITTLE RED
ROOSTER (from The Blues Keep Me Hanging On) as soon as Nathaniel began to sing.
Is it still necessary to say how good a blues singer Nathaniel is ? Back to Kim
on lead vocals, with FIFTEEN MILES TO GO (from Live And Kickin’) with an
excellent crowd reaction. Nathaniel gets back to his best “Chris Youlden”
voice next (and that is a compliment), with a splendid version of I’M TIRED
(from A Step Further). Time for Kim to switch guitars now, and announcing a
slide instrumental, which happened to be BLIND ALLEY (from his solo CD
Solitaire). A friend of mine begged me before the show, to ask Kim to play MR
BROWN’S BOOGIE (from Bring It Home), which is his favorite number from recent
years. I didn’t have to, as this was the song they played next (Nathaniel on
lead vocals). The rule of alternating rockers and slow numbers was again
respected, as they next stepped into STAY WHILE THE NIGHT IS YOUNG (from Raw
Sienna). Another excellent Nathaniel vocal performance. MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOAT
(from The Blues Keep Me Holding On) came next, with another fine vocal by Kim.
We then all stepped aboard the TRAIN TO NOWHERE (from Blue Matter), another
Chris Youlden era song sung by Nathaniel. Then came a very long medley; first
with Nathaniel on lead vocals for WANG DANG DOODLE (from Street Corner Talking).
Well in fact one can nearly qualify this as double lead vocals, as Kim added a
strong second vocal harmony on this one. The song was elongated to include a
long drum solo by Ric Lee, which was appreciated by the audience. There was also
a jazzy mood during some of the instrumental parts of this performance, which
reminded me of the jazzy moments of the Lookin’ In album. Next in the medley
came SAVOY BROWN BOOGIE (from A Step Further). Not a very long version
unusually, and soon the tempo was slowed down for CAN'T GET NEXT TO YOU (from
Street Corner Talkin') and then up again for another slice of SAVOY BROWN
BOOGIE. Kim then announced that it was over, and said thank you and goodbye. But
we all knew they would come back, and less than one minute later they were back
onstage for the encore. The intro to TELL MAMA caused a vivid audience reaction,
and Kim sang the lead vocals for this one, Nathaniel adding the harmony. A long
version of LITTLE WHEEL was the last song they played, and they then left the
stage for good.
An
excellent performance is the exact description for the evening, but I can't help
but feel that the show was shorter than usual. Well 115 minutes is by no means
short, but the last time I saw the band (in 1996) , they played for 160 minutes.
But there was no opening act in 1996, and with the band taking the stage at 10.
30 pm, one can easily understand why the concert didn't last as long as usual.
Unusual
also is the fact they didn't talk much between the songs; they only introduced a
couple of songs and the rest was done without the in-between-songs chat.
As to Ric Lee, well the least I can say is that he fits into the band's sound perfectly ! I just hope that he stays with Savoy Brown after the current European tour. But considering that the original Ten Years After have now reunited and regularly performs, it could be wishful thinking.
Another
unusual thing ? Well, they didn't
play Louisiana Blues ! And that is MOST unusual, as Kim said many times
that it is one of his all time favorite songs that he likes to hear and to play.
Maybe they planned to play it as the second encore, but as they didn't come back
on stage for that, obviously they couldn't play it....
Thanks again to Kim, Nathaniel and Ric for an excellent evening of excellent music.
MANY THANKS TO ERIC HAUTEKEETE (from Live Music) FOR HIS HELP.
Click Here for some SAVOY BROWN Rare Singles.....