Venue:
The Palladium, London.
Date: 21/10/2017
I’ll start by saying I had my doubts about the new album and the new line up, both of which were completely blown away by the show I’ve just seen. The vast majority of the set was made up of the former, and the latter proved what a mistake it is to try and second guess Mike Scott. The new material was given wings by the addition of a second drummer/percussionist two extra vocalists, and a sublime guitarist, who gave Scott the opportunity on some numbers to throw some Jaggeresque shapes, unencumbered by having to play guitar at the same time, and from beneath a magnificent Stetson.
Seasoned Waterboys watchers shouldn’t expect a greatest hits set by any stretch of the imagination, but new songs like ‘You Married the Wrong Guy, Rosalyn’ (including a chorus of what I suspect was the original title all along – “You elected the wrong guy President”) are given a makeover from the album versions akin to that you might experience by watching a film on your laptop and then going to see it again in a fully Dolby-powered big screen state of the art cinema (the sound was flawless throughout). ‘Love Walks In’ was a tour-de-force as impressive as any I’ve seen the band perform in it’s many incarnations, and the only misstep all night was the still unconscionable ‘Morning Came Too Soon’.
Mike Scott has reinvented The Waterboys in a matter of months as a big rock and soul review, and has finally hit that big target of managing to combine The Clash and Van Morrison into one, fantastic whole. The only victim of this process is long time fiddler Steve Wickham, who is occasionally deemed surplus to requirements (as, to be fair, is everyone else on stage at some…um…stage) however he still manages to shine brightly, especially during the seemingly impromptu banjo/fiddle knock up two thirds of the way in. He’s no longer the leather-trousered philanthropist, hymning paeans to Garageland, or the raggle-taggle tourist, but it would appear that Mike Scott’s road goes on forever.
The audience:
Fiercely loyal, desperate for ‘Whole of the Moon’. Not disappointed.
It made me think..
A Man is in Love.
Thanks, Skirky. This has made me buy tickets for Tuesday in Glasgow. I was wavering as I have 2 other concerts this week (Jason Isbell & Brandy Clark) & a “Day of the Dead” salsa night, but I knew I would regret missing the Waterboys. You’ve made them sound truly unmissable.
I see Brother Paul is still on keyboards. He was pretty, er, animated last time I saw them. Shame they weren’t down my way this time, they were great last time.
Hi Smirky nice review that has left me with regrets. Like a twat I double booked Waterboys and Richard Thompson. I opted to offload the Waterboys ticket for tonight mainly because the RT gig is local and Waterboys in Manchester.
I am having second thoughts now but too late now.
By the way Rosalind is not a new song – it was on his last album Modern Blues.
I saw Richard play last night in Saffron Walden – he was phenomenally good (though I say that as a Thommo obsessive who has never much enjoyed The Waterboys).
Dammit – I had ‘Rosalyn’ down as an “Out of all the Blue”-er. Now you mention it though…
Thanks @Gatz that makes me feel slightly better. I am an obsessive about both. Just played Thompson Rarities this am and that song They tore the Hippodrome down is excellent.
He’s played it on every date of this tour so far. The set list is about 70% the same each night with variations. Many are on setlist.fm if you’re curious, but I won’t link because if you’re like me you want the surprises and the thrill of recognising the first notes of an unexpected song. Enjoy!
@Gatz yes I am one of those geeks that looks at setlist.fm too – I have noticed a couple of times on this tour he has played Turning of the Tide which is one of my favourite of his songs. No doubt he won’t play it tonight.
Saw them live last year (in a terrible venue), they were very good, but The Whole of the Moon came across really flat live .
To be honest, I’d prefer it if they hadn’t played it, or at least not at such a breakneck pace. Fisherman’s Blues made the encore, in a retooled fashion, but you could almost feel them just wanting to go back to the original arrangement throughout.
Did he take Wickham off the leash for Purple Rain
Mr. Wickham didn’t really get properly off the leash all night. At one point he was on guitar and backing vocals.
Going to see them tonight at The Opera House in Manchester. Only seeing them once on this tour but I haven`t missed a tour since first seeing them at The Gallery in Manchester, 1984. Some great, some good, some not as good. In recent years very good.
I’ve seen them on every tour for the past few years and as the Baron says, they have been very, very good…however, I’ve been rather disheartened by what I ‘ve heard from the new album, and it has really put me off the thought of a show which will be ‘new’-heavy. That, and having no money whatsoever. 🙁