Nick Lowe great at the RFH despite terrible sound
Posted by Twangothan on 24 October 2007 - 10:36am.
Went to fantastic Nick Lowe concert at the Royal Festival Hall last night - the great man on fine form, and with a terrific new guitarist pinched from Van Morrison. But I have to ask if there has been a worse SOUNDING gig this year - awful booming bass and drums, Nick's guitar sounded metallic and harsh, and for a considerable amount of time there was a horrible high pitched buzz which generated a round of applause when it suddenly ceased - only to reemerge later. Our hero clearly wasn't aware of it as he commented on why we were applauding him whilst he tuned up! Shoot the sound man! And whoever "improved" the RFH acoustics at vast cost only to make them worse.
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Sound Advice
Don't shoot the sound man. He's the lead guitarist of North London pub rock sensations The Love Trousers who kick-started this year's Cornbury Festival! From where I was - up in the boxes - I thought it sounded wonderful. And with the aid of powerful binoculars I'm here to tell you that Lowe favours an elasticated brand of stylish suede shoe.
When I was younger...
...I had the need to see the shoes of members of bands that I saw live - somehow it made them seem more 'real' to me. I'm still curious now oddly enough, even though I have no interest at all in shoes or feet generally.
Murky shrine
Well I suspect a lot of the problem was where we were - 6th level frontish row - but it was horribly boomy and murky. We got into a debate about the point at which we started seeing people like Nick in reverant venues like the Barbican or RFH, as opposed to sticky beer scented places like the Town and Country Club RIP (I bought the great man a pint during a Carleen Carter gig there...) I'd kind of prefer to see him do 6 nights at the 100 Club than some walnut panelled shrine. Mind you , Sir Nick called himself the "reverse image" of James "Hardest working man in show business" Brown at the Haymarket (is that where it was?) Theatre back in the 90s when I saw him with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham - I recall he was joking about his "tour" of 2 dates.....maybe 6 nights is a bit much. Mind you, James Burton was brilliant there a few months ago.
Silk ties and 45's
I thought the sound was terrific (I was in row N of the front stalls), support act Diana Jones's voice sounded clear as a bell and the harmonies with her mandolin playing chum Beau Stapleton were just lovely.
As talented a musician as he no doubt is, I did think young Beau was out of the school of Ray Cooper in building his part up just a tad. Was all that mandolin waggling strictly necessary?
Does anyone know who the cool dude DJ was? I particularly liked the fact that he was using his silk tie to dust off his 45's.
My only disappointments with Nick Lowe was that it was over too quickly, he didn't play I Live on a Battlefield, Shelley My Love or So It Goes and that at the beginning of the show he appeared to hint at some special guests who then didn't materialise.
Could also have done without the smartarse in the audience who laughed loudly and knowingly at the Rick Astley line in "All Men Are Liars" and shouted "Ghastly" at the top of his voice a split second before Lowe sang it.
Otherwise, an absolute cracker of a gig.
Waggling
I think Mando Man was a student of the David Rawlings (as in Gillian Welch) school of stage moves - it's supposedly to do with "working" the mic on the instrument, and along the way looking a bit intense and slightly angsty.
The DJ?
I believe it was Rosco.
He's probably just..
pleased to be there,god bless him.
Thank God..
It wasn't the bass player.
The only sound issue I had
The only sound issue I had was with the buzzing. Anyone notice that Nick cleaned up the line in "All Men Are Liars" - "I'm here to tell you that RICK's a clown"?. It seems at this hallowed venue, the "P" is silent. I hoped he'd play "So It Goes" (doesn't he realise what this song means to our generation??) and my other favourite - "How Do You Talk To An Angel" off Abominable Showman - because I first heard it shortly after my daughter was born, and thus shovelfuls of sentimentality set in.
Anyone remember the guitarist's name?
Didn't catch his name "Gentleman Johnny blublublbulubulb" (that sound again)- ex-Van Morrison I think Sir Nick said?
Guitar player at Festival Hall
It was Johnny Scott on guitar with Nick Lowe at the Festival Hall.
Police
Worst sound I've heard this year, by far, was the Police at Twickenham.