Still Dancing Down That Stony Road...
Chris Rea - Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, 2nd April.

Having missed a Todd Rundgren show earlier this year and then missing a Popa Chubby gig in Glasgow in March due to my recovery from pneumonia, I was Donald Ducked if I was missing the sold out show by Chris Rea up at the 'Armadillo'.

My better half Anne had also arranged for us to stay at the hotel next door to the venue in one of the 'Club' rooms no less, so no hurrying back down the road was called for at the end of the evening (the weekend away was, in effect, an early Birthday present).
So thank you Mrs Muir for the hotel treat and relaxing weekend, and thanks very much Mr Rea for a rather stonking concert.

Rumours of this being a 'Greatest Hits' tour (based on a 'Best Of' album being released at the end of 2009) was, thankfully, just that, and Chris Rea and band were still on their best slide blues rhythm and rocking behaviour. A few hits were of course thrown in for good measure, but the power of the blues dominated.
It was a relentless set with Rea - clearly interacting with and acknowledging the audience, but never taking time off to talk to the crowd - delivering around 105 minutes of great music.

For those that don't know, Rea was diagnosed with pancreatitis (cancer) some ten years ago and was given a 50/50 chance of survival, but not only did he come out the other side alive and relatively well (you hardly ever fully recover from such serious illnesses), he immersed himself in the blues and found a new lease of musical life through it.

It was envisaged that his 2006 tour would be his 'farewell' shows, but he was back out on the road in 2008 and, even with onging health issues, here he is again doing what he does best - it's clearly a form of medication for him, and a pleasant bonus for his fans.

Many may know him for his hits such as 'Josephine', 'On the Beach' and 'Stainsby Girls' (which got a blistering extended outing), but I'm glad to say this was predominately a blues crowd who came to listen, appreciate, and whoop and holler a little to the likes of 'Stony Road', 'Somewhere between Highway 61 and 45', and 'Easy Rider' - which is not to say there wasn't a little dancing and boogie shuffling goin' on down the front for the encore featuring the aforementioned 'On the Beach' and the obligatory 'Let's Dance'.

Chris Rea is also one of the finest exponents of the slide (blues) guitar you'll hear in the modern era, and here's to many more years of him Dancing down that Stony Road with six string in hand.

Ross Muir
April 2010