impromptu prompted gig attendance

howdy pop pickers

well, that was somewhat unexpected. i had what i believed to be my first gig of the year all lined up, look you see, but alas it got postponed due to "illness". no doubt this was down to the vagaries of the quite modern plague we have had kicking about, but no one said so. of course not, for it would be rude. whereas that one has been rescheduled (or if you like rearranged), off i went to a different one, first, then. and not necessarily one i chose to go, or was particularly aware of. 

how do i best word this? basically, or in essence, when friends and verk colleagues have asked how it came to be i went to a gig, my standard, stock answer was "my Dad made me go". this perplexes some, for here i am, on the (sort of) cusp of 50, with said Dad over on the other side of the world. exactly how is it that he can wield such power? those who ask have not met him. dear friends who have met him do tend to refer to him, lovingly, admiringly and with respect, as a sort of The Godfather figure, only more powerful and indeed more scary. 

so yes, then, at quite short notice (i got told to go approximately but nearly exactly seven days before i went) off i went to see my first gig of this year, Andy Fairweather Low with his band, the Low Riders. 

a not entirely unreasonable question from a certain demographic of my readers here - say, the majority of you under 50 - would be who he? well, most famously he was in (or out of) a band in the 60s called Amen Corner. in turn they were best known (arguably) for two specific songs, Bend Me Shape Me and their biggest hit, If Paradise Is Half As Nice. since then, Andy Fairweather Low has had a most decent career, both as a solo artist and, if you will, "guitarist for hire". of the latter, undoubtedly the most famous such appearance was on the celebrated, almost genre creating Unplugged album off of Eric Clapton and them what did MTV when MTV did music. 

indeed i did, as i am coming to be quite used to, go to this gig on my own. alone, if you will. well, with such short notice for it and me being on my travels for most (if not all) of the time before it, i didn't quite see how i could find time to explain to someone who he was and invite them along on the off chance they may say yes. the gig was all of a few minutes (less than thirty, at the least) walk from my lodgings in my place of exile, so to me it was just being off for an evening stroll with a musical diversion. sure it would have been nice to have someone with me, but one can only play the hand dealt. besides, ideally, the gentleman who insisted i attend would have been the only companion i can think of what would have made the night all the more better. 

certainly i attracted some peculiar looks from my fellow audience members, or if you will other patrons of the venue. maybe this was due to me being alone, or apparently being the only one interested in going outside for a cigarette, but most likely as i was (by some distance) the youngest member of the audience. by about ten years, at a guess. no, i am not used to being the junior in a social setting. 

the above picture is from the first set (of two), which i am reasonably confident you can work out was an acoustic one. it was 45 to 50 minutes or so, and kind of a sensible way to get things on the go. some lovely songs were played, and Andy (if i am now on first name terms with him) was quite eloquent in engaging with us, the audience. 

once that was done, and we had a very cigarette and drink friendly interval (twenty minutes or so, give or take), on we went to an electric set, or if you will a rock and roll concert. duration was probably a good hour or so, i wasn't really counting. 

damn, if Andy isn't an excellent guitar player. few things in life can be as enjoyable as a surprise experience of seeing a 73 (soon 74) year old go absolutely full tilt jimi hendrix with a guitar. well, except he didn't play with his teeth or set it on fire. at least i did not observe such. 

yes, i did some video of it. also yes, some sharing below. i did take quite a bit of video whilst there, immediately forwarding it on to Dad (the concert venue having wifi was most useful), since, after all, it was his wish to have been there and his instruction for me to be there. 

here we go, then, from the latter stages of the rock set, with Tequila. 

some of you will no doubt have noted (if you played the whole clip) that at the end there it's clearly and unmistakably the start of Peter Gunn Theme, much beloved ever since it's frequent use in The Blues Brothers. there is a space / size / time limit on doing video to send my messages, but i did my best to start recording again as soon as possible. 

which means that a considerable chunk of the rest of Peter Gunn is here, below, for your entertainment. 

my review of this one, leaving aside the surreal nature in which i ended up at it in the first instance, was that it was a really, really good, fun and enjoyable gig. that Andy is ferociously talented is something i say only to show what stating the obvious. he is also a funny, witty and charming gent, with lots of good tales to tell and forever ready to be self-deprecating on doing all this at his age.

if you've popped by here on a search for details on if it's worth going to see Andy Fairweather Low, and the superb Low Riders, on tour, well, i think the answer is above. absolutely yes it is, i very much enjoyed the night out. even, or despite, me doing so on quite short notice. 

for clarity, yes, indeed the "big two" off of Amen Corner do get a play. also some excellent tunes off his entire career, which i may well go and invest in tapes (or discs) of. 

not so that my next, at this stage second, gig of the year will be the one that i had reasonably expected to be the first of it. another one has turned up, but more on that as and when it happens and after i have been in attendance. well, assuming you come back to read of it. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!