Ian Hunter and the Rant Band ft. Mick Ralphs - The Limelight Crewe 13th May 2002
Setlist: One of the Boys / Once Bitten, Twice Shy / Good Samaritan / Knocking on Heaven’s Door / American Spy / Purgatory / Walking with a Mountain / Death of a Nation / Twisted Steel / 23A Swan Hill / Wash Us Away / Original Mixed Up Kid / Hideaway / Michael Picasso / Rock and Roll Queen / Death May Be Your Santa Claus / Roll Away the Stone / All the Young Dudes // Dead Man Walkin’ (Eastenders) / All the Way from Memphis / The Golden Age of Rock and Roll / Keep a Knockin’
Someone asked me recently if I ever gave bands bad reviews because all the ones they had seen of mine were complimentary. The simple answer is, an emphatic, ‘Yes!’ They are my speciality as a matter of fact. You see, I have an overactive bile duct and I can spew forth vitriol with consummate ease. What’s more, I enjoy doing so. Nay, it is a medical necessity that I do so. Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Someone asked me recently if I ever gave bands bad reviews because all the ones they had seen of mine were complimentary. The simple answer is, an emphatic, ‘Yes!’ They are my speciality as a matter of fact. You see, I have an overactive bile duct and I can spew forth vitriol with consummate ease. What’s more, I enjoy doing so. Nay, it is a medical necessity that I do so. Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
The fact of the matter is that I just don’t seem to go to many crap gigs these days. Most of the people I’m going to see are older, seasoned, veterans who, whilst they could, theoretically, still stink up a room as good as the next band, usually perform, even on a bad night, with a level of quality and professionalism that only comes with age and experience. Of course, on nights when there is a good crowd, in a good venue, you get a better than average show - and to be honest, I’m getting more than my fair share of those lately. Back in February, Budgie were kicking ass and taking names in the wilds of Wales, in March there was Demon, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Mountain and Stray, whilst just last week Pat Travers and Rick Derringer tore the roof off this very building. Last night, Ian Hunter brought his Rant Band to Crewe. (Reviews of all of the aforementioned gigs are available via the Gigs menu.)
Now, granted, Hunter joining forces with fellow original Mott-man Ralphs and playing together for the first time since Noah was knee-high to a grasshopper, is going to pull in some punters, that would otherwise be inclined to stay in and watch the first episode of Spooks on the jolly old BBC. But, even so, there must be something in the water here because Crewe is pulling down some superb crowds of late. Who’d a thunk it? At the beginning of the 21st Century, a Monday night in Crewe, packed to the rafters with rabid Mott the Hoople fans. There’s something faintly comforting in the sheer absurdity of such an eventuality, don’t ya think?
Now, granted, Hunter joining forces with fellow original Mott-man Ralphs and playing together for the first time since Noah was knee-high to a grasshopper, is going to pull in some punters, that would otherwise be inclined to stay in and watch the first episode of Spooks on the jolly old BBC. But, even so, there must be something in the water here because Crewe is pulling down some superb crowds of late. Who’d a thunk it? At the beginning of the 21st Century, a Monday night in Crewe, packed to the rafters with rabid Mott the Hoople fans. There’s something faintly comforting in the sheer absurdity of such an eventuality, don’t ya think?
I’m a Hunter fan of long-standing. Long before I discovered ELP, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple I knew all about Mott the Hoople. I remember seeing them on Top of the Pops and, if anything they were, alongside Nazareth, one of the first bands I ever liked, that weren’t what you would class as purely singles act. Albums like Mad Shadows and Brain Capers were light-years ahead of their time. Even today, still, no one really knows the words to Thunderbuck Ram, for sure, but, I’m digressing.
Ian Hunter, himself, stands out as an iconic character in the music business. He never seems to have a recording contract, yet, every so often, he releases an album of such sheer brilliance that you sit and wonder why he isn’t a household name, like so many lesser individuals. The Artful Dodger, from a couple of years ago, was one such recording, as was You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic before it and All American Alien before that. His latest offering, RANT, formed a large part of last night’s show
Ian Hunter, himself, stands out as an iconic character in the music business. He never seems to have a recording contract, yet, every so often, he releases an album of such sheer brilliance that you sit and wonder why he isn’t a household name, like so many lesser individuals. The Artful Dodger, from a couple of years ago, was one such recording, as was You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic before it and All American Alien before that. His latest offering, RANT, formed a large part of last night’s show
The songwriting is exactly the sort of quality you expect from Hunter, sharp, acerbic, biting glimpses from the disaffected, disillusioned and disappointed, former inhabitant of these shores. The live delivery is no less precise. Ex-Mellencamp guitar player Andy York, is complemented by the top-flight rhythm section of Ian Gibbons, Steve Holley and Gus Goad. Let’s face it, if you shopped around until the cow jumped over the moon, you still wouldn’t be able to get a better value for money band to back you than that! Add Hunter himself and Mick Ralphs to the mix and what you have is one Hell of a touring band, playing quality songs, both straight off the production line and pre-owned, that are as keen and finely honed, as a Toledo-Salamanca Broadsword.
Consider the list of ingredients for the show:
Consider the list of ingredients for the show:
- New material sharp enough to slice cheese
- half-a-set’s worth of archive Mott;
- a couple of classic covers:
- an authentic rendition of Knocking on Heaven’s Door
- a barnstorming version of Freddie King’s Hide Away
- a brace of songs from Dodger:
- 23A Swan Hill
- Michael Picasso (Hunter’s very moving tribute to Mick Ronson)
- Ian Hunter
- Mick Ralphs
- the Rant Band
In the flesh, Hunter comes across variously as Dylanesque social commentator, angry young punk trying to take on the world and good old baby-boom rocker. His inbetween song cheeky-chappie chat is most amusing and it feels more like a family gathering, than something you’ve paid to attend. Actually, it is much more enjoyable than a family gathering because:
a) you want to be at a Hunter gig
b) there is no squabbling, bickering and fighting at the corners of the room
c) you have a really good time
d) Mick Ralphs doesn’t try to hump your leg whilst you’re talking to him. Well not with me anyway.
All in all, this is one of the top gigs of the year, in my not so humble opinion. It may not have sported Rammstein’s pyrotechnics, Iron Maiden’s twenty-six lead guitarists, or the charisma of the latest, Wettonless, Asia line-up, but by God, it rocked like a bastard. From the opening clout of One of the Boys to the breathless conclusion of Keep a Knockin’, for 135 minutes, these chaps gave it their all. It may only be rock and roll and not the answer to life, the universe and everything, but it’s attending gigs like this one that make me realise just how much I like it.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
15th May 2002
a) you want to be at a Hunter gig
b) there is no squabbling, bickering and fighting at the corners of the room
c) you have a really good time
d) Mick Ralphs doesn’t try to hump your leg whilst you’re talking to him. Well not with me anyway.
All in all, this is one of the top gigs of the year, in my not so humble opinion. It may not have sported Rammstein’s pyrotechnics, Iron Maiden’s twenty-six lead guitarists, or the charisma of the latest, Wettonless, Asia line-up, but by God, it rocked like a bastard. From the opening clout of One of the Boys to the breathless conclusion of Keep a Knockin’, for 135 minutes, these chaps gave it their all. It may only be rock and roll and not the answer to life, the universe and everything, but it’s attending gigs like this one that make me realise just how much I like it.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
15th May 2002
About the photos...
When I went to this gig, I took along the camera but I wasn't hopeful. I didn't feel well. I had a sore eye and was generally feeling quite sorry for myself. If I hadn't bought the ticket in advance at the Pat Travers gig the previous week, I probably would not have gone, I felt so rough. Anyway, I was there, I was just going to hang around at the back and enjoy the show as much as I could.
Then, as I walked in, I noticed a short woman and a guy in a wheelchair and a gap behind them, in front of the right hand side of the stage. Well, I'm not beyond taking advantage of midgets and cripples, so I slid in there and these pics are the result.
Yeah, I know there are a lot of Ian Hunter, all very similar...only they aren't. Look carefully at them: they were taken throughout the gig. If you had been stood where I was, that is the gig right there!
Then, as I walked in, I noticed a short woman and a guy in a wheelchair and a gap behind them, in front of the right hand side of the stage. Well, I'm not beyond taking advantage of midgets and cripples, so I slid in there and these pics are the result.
Yeah, I know there are a lot of Ian Hunter, all very similar...only they aren't. Look carefully at them: they were taken throughout the gig. If you had been stood where I was, that is the gig right there!