Magnum - Backstage Munich 13th October 2009
Setlist: Cry To Yourself / Take Me To The Edge / Brand New Morning / The Moonking / When We Were Younger / No One Knows His Name / Dragons Are Real / A Face In The Crowd / We All Run / Les Morts Dansant / All My Bridges / All England's Eyes / Vigilante // Don't Wake The Lion / Kingdom Of Madness
What? No pictures? You went to a gig without your camera?
Yup, I did, Sparky… Shock! Horror! Gasp! I was in-between cameras at the time and I didn’t want to take the Fuji S100FS, which is a great camera for gig pics, but it was snowing and I didn’t want to be walking around with that big camera, in that part of town, and I couldn’t be arsed taking a bag. Unlike me to be so apathetic, I know. What ya gonna do? Busiest season… Besides, I have a few pics of little Bob from the gigs he did with Demon… That said, I have been taking pics at gigs now for nearly ten years and I always regret not taking one now, afterwards… Nyich.
If you know me, you will know that I have always been a big Magnum fan, ever since I first saw them supporting Blue Öyster Cult on the Mirrors tour, back in ’79. I was looking forward to this gig because Magnum is always a good live band and their appearances in recent years have not exactly been a regular occurrence.
t was nice to see Tony Clarkin on the stage again, looking noticeably slimmer than last time I saw him; he looks well and it’s nice to see that he still has that razor-sharp, economical guitar style that gives Magnum’s sound such attack, allowing Mark Stanway’s keyboard to add the frills that characterise their music. Al Barrow holds down the bassline beautifully and, with the living legend that is Harry James on drums, make up a powerful rhythm section that keeps everyone in time and on track. Bob Catley is always a class act, still with that fantastic voice of his and distinctive style and presence.
The songs in the set leaned heavily towards new material, and if I am honest, as good as the new songs are, maybe leaned a little too much to songs I just didn’t know. For anyone who has been out of touch with Magnum for a couple of years, the bias towards new stuff failed to properly engage a segment of the audience; I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this. Either that, or maybe they could have played another 15 minutes and given us, say, How Far Jerusalem, Days of No Trust, On A Storyteller’s Night, or even Rockin’ Chair, or All Of My Life; something for the old people who were there back in 1979 through ‘83. I’ll admit, it is pretty lame criticism but, for my money, I don’t think it’s too much to expect half the set to be old stuff, you know, for old people.
It’s very hard to fault Magnum, and always has been, although I have tried here... They are one of those bands that are so damn good that it’s hard to understand why they are not super-colossal and playing football grounds. Musically, they are just that damn good. The songs are well crafted by young Mr Clarkin and well performed live. The audience that goes to see them are all avid fans and make a lot of noise and, rarely, do they not sing-along most of the time. It’s just one of those things that you have to accept that some really good bands are just destined to not make it to that last step of the ladder and achieve the levels of fame that other bands (many with much less talent) seem to gain. Nevertheless, the world is still a much better place for the fact that bands like Magnum are still kicking against the pricks and putting on shows like this one.
Next time guys, just remember the demographic of your audience. ;-)
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th October 2009
Yup, I did, Sparky… Shock! Horror! Gasp! I was in-between cameras at the time and I didn’t want to take the Fuji S100FS, which is a great camera for gig pics, but it was snowing and I didn’t want to be walking around with that big camera, in that part of town, and I couldn’t be arsed taking a bag. Unlike me to be so apathetic, I know. What ya gonna do? Busiest season… Besides, I have a few pics of little Bob from the gigs he did with Demon… That said, I have been taking pics at gigs now for nearly ten years and I always regret not taking one now, afterwards… Nyich.
If you know me, you will know that I have always been a big Magnum fan, ever since I first saw them supporting Blue Öyster Cult on the Mirrors tour, back in ’79. I was looking forward to this gig because Magnum is always a good live band and their appearances in recent years have not exactly been a regular occurrence.
t was nice to see Tony Clarkin on the stage again, looking noticeably slimmer than last time I saw him; he looks well and it’s nice to see that he still has that razor-sharp, economical guitar style that gives Magnum’s sound such attack, allowing Mark Stanway’s keyboard to add the frills that characterise their music. Al Barrow holds down the bassline beautifully and, with the living legend that is Harry James on drums, make up a powerful rhythm section that keeps everyone in time and on track. Bob Catley is always a class act, still with that fantastic voice of his and distinctive style and presence.
The songs in the set leaned heavily towards new material, and if I am honest, as good as the new songs are, maybe leaned a little too much to songs I just didn’t know. For anyone who has been out of touch with Magnum for a couple of years, the bias towards new stuff failed to properly engage a segment of the audience; I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this. Either that, or maybe they could have played another 15 minutes and given us, say, How Far Jerusalem, Days of No Trust, On A Storyteller’s Night, or even Rockin’ Chair, or All Of My Life; something for the old people who were there back in 1979 through ‘83. I’ll admit, it is pretty lame criticism but, for my money, I don’t think it’s too much to expect half the set to be old stuff, you know, for old people.
It’s very hard to fault Magnum, and always has been, although I have tried here... They are one of those bands that are so damn good that it’s hard to understand why they are not super-colossal and playing football grounds. Musically, they are just that damn good. The songs are well crafted by young Mr Clarkin and well performed live. The audience that goes to see them are all avid fans and make a lot of noise and, rarely, do they not sing-along most of the time. It’s just one of those things that you have to accept that some really good bands are just destined to not make it to that last step of the ladder and achieve the levels of fame that other bands (many with much less talent) seem to gain. Nevertheless, the world is still a much better place for the fact that bands like Magnum are still kicking against the pricks and putting on shows like this one.
Next time guys, just remember the demographic of your audience. ;-)
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th October 2009