This was a vintage Ayers performance before a scant but highly appreciative audience.
Beforehand I enjoyed chatting to the band. 'Twas good to hear that the Japan tour was a success. Marvin enthused about the strength of the upcoming songs but they were missing from the show tonight. We did have the 'Big Bamboo' which went down a storm with the uninformed ladies at the edge of the hall. I do hope Kevin puts this on the new CD.
The 'Kevin Ayers Band' is absolutely perfect for Kevin's style of music. Alain gets better with every tour. Is he as good as Mike Oldfield? Well I am beginning to think so. His solos are terrific, more emotional than last year. I wonder if he is a superstar in the making?
As usual the set bristled with variation. There was a bit of reggae, plus the bluesy numbers and of course the 'rivmic' tunes, such as 'There Goes Johnny' and 'Super Salesman.' Kevin closed the first set with the haunting 'Lady Rachel' which worked well. At the break I chatted to several people who had not seen Kevin before and they were impressed. One guy was there because he liked an Ayers track on an old sampler LP, another hadn't seen him since the mid 70's. Marvin said the Brighton concert had been awesome.
Tonight was the standard set minus 'May I.' 'Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes' was back in its rightful place as the showstopping encore. I drove home with a big smile on my face. Thanx for a great gig guys!
WAWS thanks Richard for this report