Stray - The Boardwalk Sheffield 5th March 2002 & The Robin Dudley 7th March 2002
Firstly, I have to come clean. Until February 2002 I had never heard any Stray. I guess I had seen some of the albums around over the years, for Heaven’s sake, I must have considering the amount of time I’ve spent in record shops over the years but, and it is a big but, I had never actually heard anything by them. This does not appear to be unusual. No one else I have talked to in my circle of friends has ever heard, a) of them, or b) anything by them. Why is this so? Who is to blame?
This is a crime of the most heinous magnitude. Not since Hawley Harvey Crippen buried his wife in his basement (or did he?) has such a despicable crime been uncovered and exposed in the United Kingdom. Why have I been deprived of the talent that is Del Bromham all these years? Someone tell me. Go on, answer me! You, hunkered down in the corner, trying not to catch my eye! You, the hideously ugly one at the back who thinks I can’t see you, tell me! I demand that someone hangs for this.
This is a crime of the most heinous magnitude. Not since Hawley Harvey Crippen buried his wife in his basement (or did he?) has such a despicable crime been uncovered and exposed in the United Kingdom. Why have I been deprived of the talent that is Del Bromham all these years? Someone tell me. Go on, answer me! You, hunkered down in the corner, trying not to catch my eye! You, the hideously ugly one at the back who thinks I can’t see you, tell me! I demand that someone hangs for this.
Who is responsible? Why the Hell have I not been made aware of the delights of Stray at some point during the last thirty years? The band was formed in 1968 fercrissakes, someone could have pointed me in their general direction . Holy crap, Stray is a better kept secret than who killed Kennedy, damn it. No, strike that, I’ve got a better idea of who killed JFK than I had about Stray until the last few weeks. What? You think I’m a bit over the top about this do you? Do you really? Well, you were not present at Sheffield, Dudley or any of the other gigs that Stray did with Mountain then, that’s all I can say. Either that, or you’re the guilty party who has been keeping Stray to yourself over the years. Ha! Solved, it’s you! You’re the guilty one after all! Off with his head, Your Honour…
Alright, maybe the histrionics are a tad on the girly side. I’m not one to bear a grudge (actually, I am, but let’s not dwell on that) I just wanted to express how much an impression Del Bromham, John Bootle and Paul Watson had on me, in just two nights this week. Generally, in my concert going experience, which is considerable, support acts are crap. They pay to get on the gig and 99% of the time they suck major ass.
Alright, maybe the histrionics are a tad on the girly side. I’m not one to bear a grudge (actually, I am, but let’s not dwell on that) I just wanted to express how much an impression Del Bromham, John Bootle and Paul Watson had on me, in just two nights this week. Generally, in my concert going experience, which is considerable, support acts are crap. They pay to get on the gig and 99% of the time they suck major ass.
Occasionally, though, you get one which is worth going to see: Magnum supporting Blue Oyster Cult on the Mirrors tour in 1979; Blackfoot kicking off for The Scorpions on their Animal Magnetism tour: Rose Tattoo on Rainbow’s Difficult to Cure jaunt in 1982; Peter Green and John Mayall on BB King’s 1997 and 1999 tours, respectively; Man doing the honours for Colosseum in 1999: and Diamond Head opening for Budgie in 2002. Such blessed events come along so infrequently, that when they do, you want to tell everyone about it. The difference is that, in all the other cases, I knew the support bands before I saw them. It was no surprise that they were so good. Stray was a revelation of biblical proportions.
The power trio line up is one of my favourites and this one is one of the tightest I’ve seen. I freely admit that I knew few of the songs played, the only one I was 100% sure of, and that I could sing along to, was Houdini, because it is on Live at the Marquee. That notwithstanding, I figure that the set included All In Your Mind, I Believe It, How Could I Forget You, and The Rock, Earth, Cross Country and Years off what is undoubtedly a stunning new CD release, 10. I know there were others, I just don’t have any idea what they were.
Now I have to go out and track down thirty years worth of back catalogue.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
March 9th 2002
The power trio line up is one of my favourites and this one is one of the tightest I’ve seen. I freely admit that I knew few of the songs played, the only one I was 100% sure of, and that I could sing along to, was Houdini, because it is on Live at the Marquee. That notwithstanding, I figure that the set included All In Your Mind, I Believe It, How Could I Forget You, and The Rock, Earth, Cross Country and Years off what is undoubtedly a stunning new CD release, 10. I know there were others, I just don’t have any idea what they were.
Now I have to go out and track down thirty years worth of back catalogue.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
March 9th 2002
About the photos...
Not much to say. The photos speak for themselves. I was close, it was well lit and I took enough to make sure I got a couple of good uns!
Considering it was my first attempt at this band, they're not too bad. I look forward to the next time as I really was impressed by this band
Considering it was my first attempt at this band, they're not too bad. I look forward to the next time as I really was impressed by this band
