Monsters of Rock: The Quireboys - Manchester Evening News Arena 20th November 2002
Hello! Hurray!
No, Alice hadn't sneaked on with Spike and Nigel, The Quireboys were in town! For myself and as it turned out, Herself, my firstborn girl-child, this was where the night's entertainment really started. I've loved The Quireboys for years, yet surprisingly, I realised that whilst I knew all but one of the songs they played, I couldn't actually be sure about the titles of most of them. The vinyl disappeared years ago and I haven't got the CD reissues, so my only access to their material is their 1990 Donington set, which was broadcast on Radio 1 back in the days when you could actually listen to R1 without having had a lobotomy and twenty-seven pints of lager first, and a set that they played at The Rock Night Music Weekend, God only knows when that is from.
No, Alice hadn't sneaked on with Spike and Nigel, The Quireboys were in town! For myself and as it turned out, Herself, my firstborn girl-child, this was where the night's entertainment really started. I've loved The Quireboys for years, yet surprisingly, I realised that whilst I knew all but one of the songs they played, I couldn't actually be sure about the titles of most of them. The vinyl disappeared years ago and I haven't got the CD reissues, so my only access to their material is their 1990 Donington set, which was broadcast on Radio 1 back in the days when you could actually listen to R1 without having had a lobotomy and twenty-seven pints of lager first, and a set that they played at The Rock Night Music Weekend, God only knows when that is from.
The unusual thing about my lack of precision in the song title department and my daughter's complete lack of foreknowledge of Quireboys material, made absolutely no difference to our level of enjoyment in the slightest, which in itself, is unusual. Normally, when you don't know anything by a band, your enjoyment is not as great as, say, it might have been had you been familiar with their back catalogue. However, you occasionally see or hear a band where such trivialities matter, not one whit. Such a band is The Quireboys. They exude an easy familiarity both musically and personably, which instantly makes you feel as though you have listened to their music since your were in the womb. Partly, this is due to their (more than a passing) resemblance to the Faces and partly it is due to the wonderfully cheeky lyrics and catchy, singalong choruses. You can't help but tap your toes, clap your hands and sing until you are hoarse. Unless of course, like the guy in front of us, you're dead. What is it with people at arena gigs? It is unnatural to sit down at a rock gig. Not only is it unnatural and it is unhealthy. You can't sit down when The Quireboys are on stage; you'll get piles, or something.
History was well represented with Hey You, There She Goes Again, I Don't Love You Any More and the welcome inclusion of Tramps and Thieves, as well as a couple from the recent This is Rock 'n' Roll CD. A short but perfectly formed set was nicely rounded off with the eternal crowd-pleaser, 7 o' clock. I would have liked to see them come back for one more, but really they didn't need to. They had already made their statement very effectively: The Quireboys are back in town and they're better than ever.
From my point of view, it re-acquainted me with some music I hadn't listened to in a while. As for the little pit bull to my right, she added another must-buy CD to her list. I've already given her the serial number for the CDs. It's quite nice when the offspring get to an age where they've started buying stuff that isn't just popstar-in-a-box type crap. I can actually borrow her CDs for weeks-on-end now.
Arsechickens and nipple-donkeys! The dirty, dribbling one came back on stage to launch an eloquent, impassioned and well-reason argument against Robbie Williams and I, for one, agree with him. Bring me Robbie's empty head and I'll show you a plant potholder.
One positive thing about the Monsters of Rock show was the organisation with regard to the actual show. All of the bad things at this event were solidly down to the atrocious Manchester Evening News Arena. As far as the show was concerned, I could not fault it. Well, OK, there's Krusher, but he's never going to get any better, so why bother? I've been listening to him since the days of his BSB show and he is just the same. He is beyond hope or redemption! Seriously, the production was slick and beautifully put together and ran like clockwork. Congratulations to all concerned on that side of things.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
22nd November 2002
History was well represented with Hey You, There She Goes Again, I Don't Love You Any More and the welcome inclusion of Tramps and Thieves, as well as a couple from the recent This is Rock 'n' Roll CD. A short but perfectly formed set was nicely rounded off with the eternal crowd-pleaser, 7 o' clock. I would have liked to see them come back for one more, but really they didn't need to. They had already made their statement very effectively: The Quireboys are back in town and they're better than ever.
From my point of view, it re-acquainted me with some music I hadn't listened to in a while. As for the little pit bull to my right, she added another must-buy CD to her list. I've already given her the serial number for the CDs. It's quite nice when the offspring get to an age where they've started buying stuff that isn't just popstar-in-a-box type crap. I can actually borrow her CDs for weeks-on-end now.
Arsechickens and nipple-donkeys! The dirty, dribbling one came back on stage to launch an eloquent, impassioned and well-reason argument against Robbie Williams and I, for one, agree with him. Bring me Robbie's empty head and I'll show you a plant potholder.
One positive thing about the Monsters of Rock show was the organisation with regard to the actual show. All of the bad things at this event were solidly down to the atrocious Manchester Evening News Arena. As far as the show was concerned, I could not fault it. Well, OK, there's Krusher, but he's never going to get any better, so why bother? I've been listening to him since the days of his BSB show and he is just the same. He is beyond hope or redemption! Seriously, the production was slick and beautifully put together and ran like clockwork. Congratulations to all concerned on that side of things.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
22nd November 2002