Venue:
The Lantern, Bristol Colston Hall
Date: 12/07/2015
This is the same set that this pair have been touring on and off for 20 years, but that’s exactly why everyone’s come in the first place – it’s not a gig where “play some new!” is likely to be heard. So they shamble on stage to warm applause, Dan Penn quietly berates the roadie for not adjusting his mic properly, then turns to Spooner and says “Ready Maestro?”, and we’re off.
What follows is 90 minutes of heaven for fans of Memphis music. Penn’s voice is still in good shape, while Spooner may give a good impression of a man who no longer knows what day it is, but he still plays the keyboard like it’s a extension of his body. Between songs we get anecdotes straight out of a BBC 4 rock doc, about the stuff they’ve written and the people they’ve worked with.
Highlights? ‘The Dark End of the Street’ obviously, and ‘I Met Her in Church’ is still one of the best secular gospel songs ever written. I’d never made the connection before, but the storytelling in many of these songs has parallels with Bill Withers – high praise indeed. After a final run through of ‘Zero Willpower’, they depart to a standing ovation.
The audience:
Mostly over 50s, and clearly marked out as Americana fans from their clothes. A bootleg tie was spotted.
It made me think..
You need to catch veterans like this while they’re still around – where is today’s equivalent who’ll be pulling a crowd half a century from now?
Nice review, thanks. Looking forward to the Union Chapel gig tonight.
Envy shining bright; will have to dig out the CD, Moments from this Theatre, and listen again. And again.
The astonishing thing I always thought was that recording was made when they were the bloody support act to someone or other who time has forgotten.
@retropath2 I might have remembered this wrong, but I think MFTT was recorded when they were touring with Nick Lowe.
Spot on, adman.
I saw them for the first ( & only time so far) at Her Majesty’s when they supported Nick Lowe. I already had my NL tickets when I heard them do a slot on GLR – I was sold 2 bars in to ‘ I’m Your Puppet’ & only as the interview went on did I realise I was going to see them as well. Chuffed to say the least!
Anybody gets a chance to ever check them out, cancel everything & do it.
I love this album, but I also heard that GLR show, having recorded it, and then recorded *over* it, and have regretted that saving of tape (or was it MD?) space every since – many searches on the internet have not turned up Dan Penn on GLR, but dear god, I wish they would….will dig out the CD later as a pale substitute
Nick who?
(Sorry, scurrilous remark but smiling as NL the butt of a Michael Weston King quip on sunday, comparing the shock of hearing Jackie Leven say he didn’t like Johnny Cash to that of discovering Nick Lowe was a tory, which he then retracted as a “joke”)
Yeah, Kaisfatdad and I saw DP and SO at Södra Teatern here in Stockholm on 19 December 1999 ( I just googled the date). Crikey … I can’t believe it was nearly 16 years ago.
They were great, of course. How could they have been anything else?
Yes, I still maintain that their gig at the Borderline – with Bobby Gilespie, Jason Pierce and Beth Orton all taking notes – was one of the best I’ve ever seen – made all the better by the fact I showed up without a ticket and was magically wangled on to the guestlist by a complete stranger in the Pillars Of Hercules. Every song was greeted with respectful silence like a sermon, and then cheered like a Wembley winner afterwards. Yes, catch them while you still can, and if their music really affects you, I defy you to hold back the tears by the time they reach Okd Folks. Me and Bobby were hugging at the end, which isn’t something that happens every day.
Saw them twice, long ago (maybe 18 years ago – can’t remember) in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lovely gigs.
If I recall correctly, Spooner’s Wurlitzer was mic’d up by pointing the mic at the piano’s teeny built-in speaker. Splendid!
And Spooner was in Neil Young’s band when last I saw him play here.
Pity there are no Scottish Penn’n’Spooner gigs on this tour.
I was in the main Colston Hall on Sunday night seeing Emmylou with Rodney Crowell. A spectacular night only sullied by the fact that DP and SO were playing 100 feet away. The Bristol Americana weekend was a great idea but the programming was a little bizarre. For instance, the mighty James Hunter Six played in the Lantern on Saturday night (not mentioned on any of the posters, leaflets, or website as being part of the festival) while the main hall was empty. Thankfully there were a couple of hundred folk there who had a cracking night but it didn’t feel part of a festival. Also, I’m sure there were many, like myself, who’d have loved to have seen both Emmylou and DP and SO, such a shame we couldn’t have had the opportunity to see both ie. schedule DP and SO for a slot earlier in the day. Hey ho, can’t really complain as Bristol had the Grillstock, Pride, Comedy and Americana festivals all happening over the weekend – nearly every weekend over the summer months sees at least one festival taking place.
I am looking forward to seeing them at the Sage Americana Festival in Gateshead this Friday. Still tickets left
Anyone attending for the weekend, don’t miss Della Mae on Sunday at the free outdoor stage. They are completely wonderful
I’m heading down from Glasgow to the Sage gig. I did the same when they played Newcastle the last time. When they came out for the encore Dan asked for requests. I shouted for “I Hate You” in my best Glasgow accent. Most everyone was a bit shocked and looked at me like I was mad. But that’s one of his best songs and he did with a smile on his face!
coming up on Friday, hope to be able to make it to this
Saw them last night in London. Beautiful stuff.
The Edinburgh gig Iain refers to is one of my all time favourite gigs. A tiny club called The Attic, an absolute joy of an evening. Moments From This Theatre is being reissued with a live DVD which is tempting even though I already have the album. Dan also self released a couple of albums which canbe purchased here
http://www.danpenn.com/order.htm