A fourth appearance to the Bordeline in less that two years is an indication of how lucky the Kevin Ayers faithful are these days. Having noted that Kevin and the band had just finished some gigs in Japan, I half expected a weary performance. Far from it, Kevin looked happy, energised and focused. A few moans about the lights of course but all good humoured.
So what was new about this latest installment of Kevin at the Borderline? Not much in truth. Marvin sported dark glasses and Alain now has a "pony tail type thingy" at the back of his head. Did I also spot some minor changes to one or two songs? It seemed that Everybody's sometime..blues has slowed down and Alain's guitar was more Oldfieldesque than previously. May I , too, appeared to have a minor makeover - with Marvins keyboard giving it a kind of Whole World feel to it. Could of course been my imagination, I'm not usually this sober at Kevin Ayers gigs.
The band was really tight last night, the songs rattled along, each one was a highlight and then (it seemed out of nowhere)drama. Suddenly during I Dont Depend On You Kevin stopped singing. Then he stopped playing. Then he looked at the audience, tapped his chest and left the stage. The band finished the song whilst the rest of us stood and worried. A brief pause then an announcement that Kevin "needed some air" and he's coming back. A 10 minute break and then a return for 2 more numbers, as energetically performed as the rest. Then we were greeted by Good Night and Sorry.. I'm sorry.
To borrow a soccer cliche, we experienced all the highs and lows in 90 minutes last night. Hope you are OK Kevin, no need to apologise. You and your band were outstanding last night.
From memory, songs as follows -- Feeling This Way, Champagne & Valium, Mr Cool, When your parents...., May I (break) Super Salesman, See you Later, Didnt Feel Lonely, Everybodys Sometim...Blues, Lady Rachel, Shouting in a Bucket Blues, I dont Depend on You, There Goes Johnny, Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes
WAWS thanks Steve for this report