Letting the Music do the Talking
Chris Rea, Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, March 29th 2012
On stage, Chris Rea doesn’t talk much.
At least not in terms of chatting between songs, introducing any of the numbers or even coming up with a "good evening” or “hello.”
But that’s not a new occurrence.
A friend of mine, who last saw Rea some twenty-plus years ago on The Road to Hell tour, made those very comments and observations when I remarked I was going to Rea’s 2012 Glasgow gig.
My friend, who we’ll call Derek (because that’s his name), felt Rea was so devoid of any personality, presence or rapport that it was bordering on rudeness.
I can understand and appreciate how that may irk, but Chris Rea has always done his talking on stage through his music and in specific six-string terms through his quite brilliant slide work. Mr Rea can say more with that little tube on the pinkie finger of his left hand than many guitarists can with a plethora of chords and a flurry of fingers on the fret board.
As a contrast, support act Nell Bryden spoke to the audience between every song, giving some information about the tunes she was playing and how much she enjoyed Glasgow and Scottish audiences in general.
The Brooklyn born singer songwriter wasn’t just paying lip service – Nell Bryden has played two Celtic Connection Festivals in a row, genuinely enjoys playing Glasgow and is always well received up here.
Bryden played a short acoustic set, mixing a few songs from her last album What Does it Take? with tunes from her forthcoming release Shake the Tree, due in June. If the lead-off single ‘Buildings and Treetops’ is anything to go by, Shake the Tree should be well worth checking out.
And while her bright, up-tempo tunes got the biggest applause, the two strongest songs of Bryden’s set were arguably the most melancholic and poignant...
‘Mercy On Me’ was written after watching the documentary Fourteen Days in May, which was based on the story of Edward Earl Johnson and his conviction for rape and murder that led to his 1987 execution by gas in Mississippi (Johnson had always protested his innocence, claiming his confession was made under duress).
'Sirens,' written last year, was influenced by the terrorist attacks of 9-11 in 2001.
As it turned out Chris Rea didn’t have to worry about saying good evening, as drummer Kirt Rust and bass player Sylvin Marc did it for him with a powerful, loud and crisp introduction to ‘The Last Open Road’ from Rea’s 2011 album Santo Spirito Blues.
The crew responsible for miking up the drum kit and mixing the overall sound deserved as much applause as Rea and band got for an excellent show, because as soon as the beat of Open Road kicked in, everyone paid attention.
And the pulse and groove of Marc’s bass punched through the PA system so effectively I’m surprised it didn’t also punch itself through the back wall of the Clyde Auditorium.
Rea’s touring band is completed by keyboard players Neil Drinkwater and Max Middleton while Anto Drennan played second and rhythm guitars.
Drennan is a fine guitarist in his own right and got to solo out on a couple of the numbers.
The show featured many of what have become staples of Chris Rea’s blues-based sets over the last half-dozen or more years, with highlights including ‘Where the Blues Come From,’ (with Rea’s slide work complementing his husky vocal perfectly), ‘Stony Road,’ ‘Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 49’ and the quite beautiful Celtic blues of ‘Til the Morning Sun Shines on My Love and Me.’
Not that his earlier hits were ignored – his musical girls 'Josephine' and 'Julia' (written for his daughters) are always well received and the main set ended with the belting brace of ‘Stainsby Girls’ and ‘The Road to Hell.’
The latter featured its brooding introduction under fiery red spotlights while ‘Stainsby Girls,’ rocked up to the max and powered by the beefy 4-4 beat of Kirt Rust’s drums, nearly bounced the auditorium right into the adjacent River Clyde.
Although that lack of communication mentioned earlier is still part of a Chris Rea gig, he has been a little more interactive of late – introducing the band, creating more little shuffling dance steps across the front of the stage, encouraging the audience and getting them to do some dancing of their own (most notably during 'Stainsby Girls’ and the double-time version of ‘Let’s Dance’).
But as long as Chris Rea continues to let his music do the talking and it speaks this well, I will have no complaints. Actually, that's not quite true…
For a number of tours around two-thirds of the set-list has remained unchanged and, although great songs are featured throughout, the quality of material that exists in Rea’s back catalogue means it’s a little disappointing other songs don’t get a live outing.
And how only one song from the excellent Santo Spirito Blues can make the set-list almost demands a public enquiry.
That said, it was great to hear the rockin’ rhythm and shuffle of ‘Come So Far, Yet Still Got So Far to Go’ get an airing and the wonderful ‘It’s All Gone’ was a great finish to the night (closing out the three song encore that included ‘On the Beach’ and ‘Let’s Dance’).
Chris Rea was on serious form when he visited the Clyde Auditorium two years ago, but on this particular hot March night in Glasgow, with Rea vocally as good as I’ve heard him and performing a master-class in how to make a slide guitar sing, cry and wail, the man who lets his music speak for him outdid his 2010 self.
Great job, Chris – but get more Santo Spirito songs into the set.
And to my friend Derek – you missed a hell of a show.
And that’s not just talk…
Ross Muir
March 2012
Chris Rea, Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, March 29th 2012
On stage, Chris Rea doesn’t talk much.
At least not in terms of chatting between songs, introducing any of the numbers or even coming up with a "good evening” or “hello.”
But that’s not a new occurrence.
A friend of mine, who last saw Rea some twenty-plus years ago on The Road to Hell tour, made those very comments and observations when I remarked I was going to Rea’s 2012 Glasgow gig.
My friend, who we’ll call Derek (because that’s his name), felt Rea was so devoid of any personality, presence or rapport that it was bordering on rudeness.
I can understand and appreciate how that may irk, but Chris Rea has always done his talking on stage through his music and in specific six-string terms through his quite brilliant slide work. Mr Rea can say more with that little tube on the pinkie finger of his left hand than many guitarists can with a plethora of chords and a flurry of fingers on the fret board.
As a contrast, support act Nell Bryden spoke to the audience between every song, giving some information about the tunes she was playing and how much she enjoyed Glasgow and Scottish audiences in general.
The Brooklyn born singer songwriter wasn’t just paying lip service – Nell Bryden has played two Celtic Connection Festivals in a row, genuinely enjoys playing Glasgow and is always well received up here.
Bryden played a short acoustic set, mixing a few songs from her last album What Does it Take? with tunes from her forthcoming release Shake the Tree, due in June. If the lead-off single ‘Buildings and Treetops’ is anything to go by, Shake the Tree should be well worth checking out.
And while her bright, up-tempo tunes got the biggest applause, the two strongest songs of Bryden’s set were arguably the most melancholic and poignant...
‘Mercy On Me’ was written after watching the documentary Fourteen Days in May, which was based on the story of Edward Earl Johnson and his conviction for rape and murder that led to his 1987 execution by gas in Mississippi (Johnson had always protested his innocence, claiming his confession was made under duress).
'Sirens,' written last year, was influenced by the terrorist attacks of 9-11 in 2001.
As it turned out Chris Rea didn’t have to worry about saying good evening, as drummer Kirt Rust and bass player Sylvin Marc did it for him with a powerful, loud and crisp introduction to ‘The Last Open Road’ from Rea’s 2011 album Santo Spirito Blues.
The crew responsible for miking up the drum kit and mixing the overall sound deserved as much applause as Rea and band got for an excellent show, because as soon as the beat of Open Road kicked in, everyone paid attention.
And the pulse and groove of Marc’s bass punched through the PA system so effectively I’m surprised it didn’t also punch itself through the back wall of the Clyde Auditorium.
Rea’s touring band is completed by keyboard players Neil Drinkwater and Max Middleton while Anto Drennan played second and rhythm guitars.
Drennan is a fine guitarist in his own right and got to solo out on a couple of the numbers.
The show featured many of what have become staples of Chris Rea’s blues-based sets over the last half-dozen or more years, with highlights including ‘Where the Blues Come From,’ (with Rea’s slide work complementing his husky vocal perfectly), ‘Stony Road,’ ‘Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 49’ and the quite beautiful Celtic blues of ‘Til the Morning Sun Shines on My Love and Me.’
Not that his earlier hits were ignored – his musical girls 'Josephine' and 'Julia' (written for his daughters) are always well received and the main set ended with the belting brace of ‘Stainsby Girls’ and ‘The Road to Hell.’
The latter featured its brooding introduction under fiery red spotlights while ‘Stainsby Girls,’ rocked up to the max and powered by the beefy 4-4 beat of Kirt Rust’s drums, nearly bounced the auditorium right into the adjacent River Clyde.
Although that lack of communication mentioned earlier is still part of a Chris Rea gig, he has been a little more interactive of late – introducing the band, creating more little shuffling dance steps across the front of the stage, encouraging the audience and getting them to do some dancing of their own (most notably during 'Stainsby Girls’ and the double-time version of ‘Let’s Dance’).
But as long as Chris Rea continues to let his music do the talking and it speaks this well, I will have no complaints. Actually, that's not quite true…
For a number of tours around two-thirds of the set-list has remained unchanged and, although great songs are featured throughout, the quality of material that exists in Rea’s back catalogue means it’s a little disappointing other songs don’t get a live outing.
And how only one song from the excellent Santo Spirito Blues can make the set-list almost demands a public enquiry.
That said, it was great to hear the rockin’ rhythm and shuffle of ‘Come So Far, Yet Still Got So Far to Go’ get an airing and the wonderful ‘It’s All Gone’ was a great finish to the night (closing out the three song encore that included ‘On the Beach’ and ‘Let’s Dance’).
Chris Rea was on serious form when he visited the Clyde Auditorium two years ago, but on this particular hot March night in Glasgow, with Rea vocally as good as I’ve heard him and performing a master-class in how to make a slide guitar sing, cry and wail, the man who lets his music speak for him outdid his 2010 self.
Great job, Chris – but get more Santo Spirito songs into the set.
And to my friend Derek – you missed a hell of a show.
And that’s not just talk…
Ross Muir
March 2012
