Does Bryan Adams look like Albert Steptoe?

A couple of days ago, we went to see Bryan Adams, the Canadian rocker, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto... OK its called the Scotiabank Centre these days but I still think of it as the ACC as do the signs heading in. Whilst it didn't confuse me, it apparently did Bryan Adams who was stuck in traffic a way away and decided it would be easier to walk and found himself confronted with signs to the ACC! Anyway we all made it, him 21 minutes late as the show started at 8.21 pm not the advertised 8 pm.

This is something I find inherently weird as rock concerts in the old days never ran on time. The time on the ticket was merely a first stab in the dark. I remember some venues simply saying "Doors Open at ..." instead of even trying to hazard a guess at what time things would kick off. I suppose it is all down to getting old and the venues themselves now having to adhere to health and safety standards, employment standards, cut off times and such. But anyway along with improvisation, things have changed.

It was a really great show. He got everyone up from the first song and kept it going for more than 2 hours with everyone on their feet, stomping, cheering and singing along.

I still cannot fathom why The Eagles didn't do the same only a couple of weeks ago at the same venue. They have a great catalogue and could easily have done so but seemed to actively chose not to.

Bryan has got older though. I remember him as a teenager I think in early MTV days doing 'Summer of 69', a great song on many levels. But he is in great nick.

There was a movie of him as backdrop walking through the Eaton Centre mall. Most people didn't recognize him but about half a dozen did and he stopped to shake hands or high 5 them. All in all he seems a thoroughly nice guy too. I like the fact that its still his original band from teenage days. Not many are like that. The first time I heard him live was at Live Aid in 1985. This set in fact... enjoy!

Anyway I still think he looks like Albert Steptoe. A bit.

Which One's Pink?

OK I know that this is a not so overt reference to a Pink Floyd tune and this blog is about the Eagles but it is relevant to a certain extent for only Don Henley, the drummer, is an original Eagle and the others who formed the ending group (excluding the backing band who were excellent of course) included two newish Eagles (Timmy Schmidt and Joe Walsh from 1973/4 or so, not so new then really) and two others who filled in Glenn Frey's shoes -- namely his son and a country music guy called Vince Gill who said that it felt odd at age 61 to be the newbie in the band.

Don Henley is the one in the middle

So Don Henley was the guy who sat at the back and sang the lead on maybe 3 songs. This is the setlist.

Seven Bridges Road  (Steve Young cover)

Take It Easy

One of These Nights

Take It to the Limit

Tequila Sunrise

Witchy Woman

In the City (Joe Walsh song)

I Can't Tell You Why

New Kid in Town

How Long (J.D. Souther cover)

Peaceful Easy Feeling

Ol' '55 (Tom Waits cover)

Lyin' Eyes

Love Will Keep Us Alive

Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away (Vince Gill cover)

Those Shoes

Already Gone

Walk Away (James Gang cover)

Life's Been Good  (Joe Walsh song)

Heartache Tonight

Funk #49 (James Gang cover)

Life in the Fast Lane

Encore:

Hotel California

Encore 2:

Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)

Desperado

Encore 3:

Victim of Love

**

It was curious to me that any time the audience got on their feet, the following song was downbeat so everyone sat down again. I couldn't fathom it really. The Toronto audience is loud, raucous and really wants to get on their feet and stomp. Any time the setlist allowed that to happen, they brought it down again and ended the evening with two really downbeat tunes.

Sounds like I'm being critical. This is the first time I've seen the Eagles and with only one being there it almost makes me feel that it could have been a tribute band. It was actually on Joe Walsh's tunes that the band really stretched out and I must say that I never thought I'd ever get to see the mighty Joe strut his stuff in such a way. He is a mighty guitarist and I still have no idea why on earth he'd want to join the Eagles in the first place.... obviously overlooking the monetary aspect. He is a far better musician that they are/were even and he clearly holds the band together these days.

Whilst I am on this subject I am also surprised how little Timmy Schmidt did too. He abandoned one of my favourite bands (Poco) in 1973 or 1974 for the Eagles and since that time has I think one song that he sings. With Poco he was a major contributor but of course the monetary aspect is very compelling and 40 years with the Eagles isn't too bad. He sang one song.

So everything else pretty much was sung by the younger Frey or Vince Gill. They did fine but they really aren't the Eagles.

I read the autobiography of Don Felder (one of the earlier guitarists) and have seen some biopics where of course Glenn Frey took much of the limelight. He was a very good talker. It must have been in one of those where he said that every show had to be perfect and every song had to be note for note from the album as that is what the crowd wanted, so that is what they are going to get. This show was exactly that too. Note for note. As I mentioned before it was only on Joe Walsh's tunes that there was any playing out, all the standards were per the album.

I hate thinking it because I paid so much for the tickets, but my overall feeling was that it was all a little dull.

Nearly forgot. My Eagles story.

Back in 1973, the Eagles played a show at the Oval in South London and there was a real buzz because they were this new, big thing. Tickets were GBP 3.50. Back then this was a lot of money as I watched Frank Zappa headlining the same venue for GBP 2 two weeks before. It was a full day show starting at midday running to midnight or thereafter. No curfews in those days, just endless breaks in between sets. Two hours for Frank Zappa! On the same bill as the Eagles was a no name playing his first major tour... Elton John, and I don't remember who else. I gave it a pass and played cricket instead! So catching up some 45 years later...

Dinosaur or Fossil

I read a review written on Tom Petty's new album today.  The conclusion was that he was still 'relatively' relevant which made him a 'dinosaur not a fossil'.  We went to TP's show last night at the Air Canada Centre so this comment was interesting.  Also in a trip that has seen us travel around the US and Canada quite a bit AND where we have taken the time to visit some museums, it made me think about history being 'relevant' and the characters in question being either 'dinosaurs' or 'fossils'.

This also relates to me too.

This being the digital age, there was a reader comment after the review which said why ask a Justin Bieber fan to review a Tom Petty album?  Decent question that made me chuckle but I suppose the come back to that is why not?  The modern reviewer views TP as a man of the past, or history.

Just as well that reviewer didn't consider Tom Petty's opening act last night, namely Steve Winwood.

Who?

Steve joined a Birmingham band in 1964 with his brother when he was 14 as singer and keyboardist and wrote a string of amazing R&B songs picked up by other acts: I'm a Man, Keep on Running, Gimme Some Loving.  He formed Traffic in 1967, then Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker coming out of Cream in 1969….

Unlike many other singers of that era, his voice has held up remarkably well.  Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey's for example aren't a patch on their heyday, clearly Steve sings within his range. 

But in terms of icon, Steve is a big one.

I saw him in Traffic 3 or 4 times the last being I think in 1977 or 1978 just before the band went into another lengthy hiatus.  Not many of my friends liked the band dismissing them as too boring or bland so I'd have trouble in finding people to go with. But they were brilliant live and to my mind pretty darn good last night -- check out Dear Mr. Fantasy below.

Unfortunately the arena was half empty and even for TP a few more came in but still it wasn't jammed like it was for the Queen show we saw here a few weeks back.

Tom Petty looked OK for a 60-something year old rocker.  At least he was standing … although a bit tricky to say whether he was weather beaten or not given the traditional rocker's life on the road.  His voice wasn't as strong as when I saw him last -- some 10-12 years ago -- but then again like Steve, he works within a range that works for him.  I was surprised to see him actually playing solos too.  He didn't before leaving that to his guitarist, Mike Campbell.  But this time he played some and then they extended out some tunes into some very nice interplay.  I call that progress.

From the Toronto Sun's review: they said pretty good and didn't mention dinosaurs more than once or twice.

Of course the audience sang along with the big tunes… me too and they were great to hear live.  

At some point, maybe even fairly soon, like Steve maybe TP will have to move his shows to smaller arenas.  The ACC is a huge aircraft hanger sort of place with people hanging off the walls… I am reminded of the nose bleed seats I'd bagged for the Carole King/James Taylor show a few years back when the music and the A/C units at our head level competed to be heard.  

Not quite nose bleed this time

But it was really nice to see them both back on the road, playing big halls to a lot of appreciative people.  Its probably all they know so better than sitting at home watching soap operas.

Not yet fossils.  Definitely.

Killer Queen

With the passage of time, all the bands that I used to follow in my teens, twenties and beyond are dying out, in many cases literally, as with Queen whom we saw earlier this week.  Minus Freddie Mercury (deceased 1991) and John Deacon (retired wealthy -- see Wikipedia!!) though so with a couple of session guys and the runner up in American Idol a few years back called Adam Lambert who did a really good job though.

I mixed him up with that guy on the current series of The Voice -- Adam something else -- which I think added to Viv's enthusiasm to go to the show with me!

I'd never seen them other than on video unlike Nick who'd seen them at Wembley in the 1980's when they were in their pomp -- he said they were brilliant, so I was interested to see for myself.  A bit morbid I know but I'm ticking off bands I missed out seeing from years ago who've restarted touring to make some money now that nobody's buying their records.

Playing at the Air Canada Centre, they were very impressive indeed.  They'd played here only 2 weeks ago and the demand and response was so strong they added another show at the end of the tour ... this one.

Older of course and interesting to see how the two remaining original guys would take to having someone else singing ... and taking much of the limelight.

Answer was to have extended drum, bass and guitar solos, the last particularly lengthy.  In the old days bands used to stretch out on long solos of course but that was because they didn't have many songs to play so they just strung them out.  Cream was the first to do this so their concerts could last longer than an hour and a bit.  Queen didn't need to do this as their song list is very impressive indeed and could have easily taken up the 2 hours or so with just great song after great song.  Here's the setlist:


Now I'm Here
Stone Cold Crazy
Fat Bottomed Girls
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited
Seven Seas of Rhye (the first song they played on Top of the Pops incidentally)
Killer Queen
Somebody to Love
I Want It All
Love of My Life
'39
These Are the Days of Our Lives
Bass Solo
Drum Battle
Under Pressure
Dragon Attack
Who Wants to Live Forever
Guitar Solo ...endless segueing into...
Tie Your Mother Down
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Show Must Go On
Bohemian Rhapsody

We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions


Interesting too the way they integrated video of Freddie Mercury into the show in the key songs you cannot imagine anyone but him singing -- Bohemian Rhapsody being a standout of this (see video from first ACC show, great stuff).

But as for the 4th original guy, the one who wrote that fabulous bass intro to "Another One Bites the Dust" and Freddie's coming out song "I want to break free"... well they didn't do them at all and didn't talk about him either.  Wikipedia's recent chit chat about this is quite revealing.

But as for my bucket list, well another one has bitten the dust.  And very well they did it too!

Yes, everyone was on their feet singing "We Are The Champions"