EDIT 18/3/2011: Someone came here asking “what is Roy Wood doing now” and I noticed his site is down. I don’t know why. As far as I know he is still touring.
I went to Sheffield last night to see Status Quo , with Roy Wood’s Rock & Roll Band in support.
Roy Wood began his music career in the sixties – most famously with The Move , and in later years with The Electric Light Orchestra . But I remember him from my teenage years in his band, Wizzard .
Outwardly, he’s kept his age well – he doesn’t look that much different to the way he does in the videos they keep showing of Wizzard in its heyday on the cable music channels. But he’s also kept his voice.
He played a lot of the old, well-known songs – including The Move’s Flowers In The Rain, Blackberry Way, and Fire Brigade .
His backing band was quite impressive. I haven’t got a clue what their names are (look at his official site to find out ), but they consisted of backing/co-lead singer, four sax players, keyboards, bass guitar, and drums.
It seems this was only part of the full band he tours with – he has a seven-piece brass section most of the time.
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As you’d expect, he finished with Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday. The crowd had remained seated throughout the set (what can you expect from old people?) but they got up to clap and dance for this one. In fact, the only thing they didn’t do was get their lighters out and start waving them around!
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After the set was changed, Status Quo came on. Francis Rossi has been unwell – a number of gigs prior to this one had been cancelled or postponed (I think he has had bronchitis). He looked a little drawn, and Rick Parfitt did appear to be doing most of the vocals early on.
Now, I have to be honest – I’m not the biggest Quo fan in the world. I don’t dislike them or anything, and I do enjoy listening to them (I enjoy just about anything live. Except rap, of course). But a lot of my interest is based on two things. Firstly, they play guitars, and secondly, the are more or less legends in the music business.
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The set was actually very good. The animated back-screens worked very well, and the rest of the band was very accomplished (even if the bass player did look like someone you want to slap). Quo played most of their hits, either in full or in medley.
From a musical perspective, it was a very enjoyable night.
I like to people-watch when I go to these things – I mentioned the average age of the crowd at the last Queen concert I went to, and I always mention general behaviour and demeanour (who could forget all those children trying to take their own photographs on mobiles at the MGMT gig?)
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If anything, the average age of this lot was the highest yet. About three quarters of the way through the Quo set, many of them started to sit down – unable to cope with long periods of standing. But the overriding annoyance this time was the old-people smell. Specifically, old women’s perfume!
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I had two near me. One of them was wearing that sickly flat stuff that makes you feel sick, and another was wearing something that felt like you were having two nails hammered up your nose. God, it was overpowering. And that’s another thing I just reminded myself of: I’d say that more than 50% of the crowd was female.
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It was pleasantly easy to get out of the car park (only half the Arena had been used for this show, so there was only half the usual traffic – and a lot had come by bus anyway). It was also pleasantly cheap to park (£5). Compare this to when Rush played there – parking had been extended to cover a big field behind the Arena, and it took well over an hour to get out, and I think it cost more like £10 to park.
Anyway, enough moaning. It was still a good night, and a very pleasant way to end a year of live shows (I don’t think I’ll go to another this year).
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Oh. One more thing. I’m going to have to get a decent bloody camera, which can take pictures in low light with a fast shutter speed. Only a handful came out – it all depends on how still you can hold your hand and whether the subject moves. Mind you, this Sony is over 5 years old now.
Roy Wood began his music career in the sixties – most famously with The Move , and in later years with The Electric Light Orchestra . But I remember him from my teenage years in his band, Wizzard .
t seems this was only part of the full band he tours with – he has a seven-piece brass section most of the time.
Now, I have to be honest – I’m not the biggest Quo fan in the world. I don’t dislike them or anything, and I do enjoy listening to them (I enjoy just about anything live. Except rap, of course). But a lot of my interest is based on two things. Firstly, they play guitars, and secondly, the are more or less legends in the music business.
I like to people-watch when I go to these things – I mentioned the average age of the crowd at the last Queen concert I went to, and I always mention general behaviour and demeanour (who could forget all those children trying to take their own photographs on mobiles at the MGMT gig?)