Well, Ronnie Scott's certainly managed to price a fair few of the IM faithful out of this one. I can't blame them for being put off ... Why pay to be patronised and treated like you're doing them a big favour? With a pint of shandy and a glass of water for the best part of a fiver, no wonder they need to hi-jack your credit card number before they'll oblige you with table service!
We were lucky enough to get a half-decent seat, after making a fuss. Other poor souls had to be content to spend their hard-earned dough on sitting behind a pillar.
Gripe, gripe, gripe.
Anyway, Ian made his entrance at around 8.50pm. We gave him the best reception we could, although it was never going to live up to the December show. He launched into three brand new songs. They were all instantly likeable and typically lyric-packed. The man was on form as usual!
They were performed and, perhaps, titled as:
The initial 'cool' atmosphere was the perfect time to hit us in the face with these new numbers... and suddenly I, for one, was glad I was there to hear them given an airing.
Then back to the familiar stuff for the rest of the first set:
He then 'sent the next song out to Miss Jane Bowen' (?), the lucky girl getting a rare live rendition of I'm A Genius dedicated to her. I guess there would be few arguments about that title! (Acoustic / GI version)
'EIN, ZWEI.... EIN, ZWEI, DREI, VEIR' launched us into an acoustic Fire Inside My Soul. There was a stop where we all joined in to enforce the line 'and this guitar'... 'Thank god I didn't say Ukulele!' He rounded it up with a 'Light My Fire' outro.
Back to the acoustic for That's Why I Believe, topped off with a snatch of If Love Was Like Guitars to finish.
An hour had gone already! Ian announced the break and promised the second set 'May be unsparing'. Oh, the anticipation!!
I was particularly pleased to get acquainted with one of my fellow web site reviewers, Susie Fielding. We had a good old chat, and we also got to meet the BIG CHEESE of reviewers Paul Cole. REVEL, REVEL! Well, I was having a good time!
Carina came on and gave it her all, as usual. Again she said she was nervous but, even so, it was one of her best performances so far. What a cracker!
RS's managed to reinforce my opinion of them as being total gits, when I went to see if I could persuade 'Mrs Jobsworth' on the reception if I could have one of the promo posters stuck on the entrance glass. No... Not even though she agreed they'd probably be thrown away (or nicked by people with more sense than me for bothering to ask). Well thanks very much for being such an understanding pain.
Back came Ian and - BOY - was he in a good mood. If he ever needs a second vocation it seems comedy would be a good choice! Mokka gave him a low-key intro ' Ian McNabb, ladies and gents...' and Ian was quick to retort, 'Well I've had some intros in my time but what a build up....' Poor old Mokka!
He welcomed us all back. He reminded us that we'd all had a bonkers time at Christmas when we were last assembled at RS's. 'It won't be the same..' he pined .. 'Mainly cos it's February! January sucks, February still sucks, March sucks a little less, then the trees start to come out and we all go out and have a drink and it all starts over again...'.
The audience decided to make it a two-way conversation. Someone asked 'How's your mom?'. 'I think she's sick of seeing me ... especially here', he replied. 'She probably can't afford the prices' was my heckle. 'I don't want to get into that one', he said - 'anyway, I'm not cheap to keep, you know!'
And so the second set finally started with an acoustic / GI version of Camaraderie.
Acoustic / GI - Merseybeast. A new twist with the lines.. 'Now he's happy eating Pringles, as he shambles down to Netto'. 'Have you got Netto in Birmingham?', he stopped to enquire, 'Have you got Aldi?'... 'Morrisons is the one, though, .... I think it's fantastic that the family of the original Doors get to own a supermarket...'
The comedy continued when he struggled to get the right mouth organ for the next song - 'In a certain light I look like an outtake from my left foot' and 'It's brilliant for doing electronic take-offs' were the comments, as he made the crowd fall about laughing with a 'Sparky' impression.
'I can't wait to get to the stage in my career where you can't tell what song an artist is singing'. There then followed a hilarious short medley of Bob Dylan lines to demonstrate the point.
Then a treat - Heart of Gold. As he quite rightly said afterwards, 'Why not, it's my gig!'
His 'Musical Cohort', as Roy Corkhill was introduced, then joined Ian on stage. We were then informed that this (as he mulled over the first few chords of Little Princess) had superseded Merseybeast as a single by getting absolutely no plays whatsoever....
'And I've got to tell you that we've just heard that Emotional Party has gone chocolate. I'd be nothing without you.. I'm nothing with you..'
Thank god he can keep the good stuff coming for us few then.
A problem with the sound prompted him to tell the technician to 'Switch on the Mega Bass, but turn off the Dolby cos that's just crap! We've been in Tandy all day perfecting this sound!...'
They eventually got back to the music and they did an electric / base jamming session of Little Princess. This track just grows and grows on you. It is SO SEXY.
RC stayed on for another reverby rendition of Love's Young Dream. Great guitar but I'm not sure it gelled with the happy-go-lucky lyrics of LYD. They had a mega jam session during that one.
An electric, solo performance of EVANGELINE - with the crowd happily filling out the chorus as usual.
He was then rejoined by RC along with Mokka for Still Got The Fever. The Robbie Williams piss-take was given a new slant - 'Cos the bastard's still got my drummer'.
This led into a delicate 'You can't always get what you want.. Stop children, what's that sound, everybody knows what's going down' ending ..... you know, that old song they used in Forest Gump.
At this point I moved up to the front because some people actually left!!!! Definitely my gain.
Acoustic - Looking For A One True Love.
Quickly followed by Sex With Someone You Love (musically speaking that is), which was interspersed with comments such as 'CHEAP', 'GUILT FREE', 'NO EXPENSE', after each fade out line!
Then Ian did Stand By Me - 'One of the first songs I learnt to play on the guitar', he confided.
He then said good night and disappeared having done another hours worth.
Needless to say the crowd were soon howling for more and, during this, Ian was happy to wander around the club and climb back on to the stage down the front in what he called his 'Stevie Nicks' entrance.
He took up the Les Paul and was rejoined by Mokka and a facially hirsute RC. He took this opportunity to plug the web site and announced he'd just marked up 10,000 hits - 'Yeah, maybe in an alternative universe!'
He reminded us that the current acoustic tour is winding up in Bilston on 27th February . He announced a return to the 'thrashy stuff' and a new album in the pipeline too. When someone's question 'Will you be getting a band together?' was answered in the affirmative, a huge cheer greeted the news!
'These guys won't be in it', he joked of his companions, 'only joking - there always be a place for you in my music scene, honest', as he mouthed 'NO' to us in the audience.
The encore finally turned out to be the beautiful Bloom. Sad to say it got changed and a little curtailed. Shame.
Off he went, but soon reappeared as shouts of 'We want more!' echoed round the house.
'One more song and that's it', he threatened.
We were treated to an all too rare live version of Birds Fly, which was funked up with a super little guitar back beat. It was followed by a grateful thanks from Ian to the guy who chose to use it in the movie 'Scream'.
Then he introduced the inevitable finishing number as the 'Ian McNabb FC Cop Anthem', and we all joined in with 'Stone My Soul'.
Any innocent thoughts that RS's management were going to let us get away with another impromptu crowd rendition of SMS to get them to stay put were not to be proved right, as Ian, Roy and Mokka trouped off stage like three dwarfs doing the 'HI-HO SONG', as we all chanted out his latter day anthem.
House lights up and bouncers hounding us out didn't scare the few faithful who wanted to stay and get their clammy-hand-clutched-EP signed. It was a long wait and it took a lot of persuading to get the husband of my new found chum, Susie, to hang around. But it was worth it - as she got her first signed bits and bobs.
For the readers information, I whinged to Ian about RS's and I am very happy to report he promised it would be the last time - phew! Now, Ian - it's in black and white so don't you dare try and deny it!
So, see you all at Bilston for the last date of this tour and a proper stand-up and dance around affair!
Finally, I hope this has been a fairly accurate account of last night's proceedings for those who were unable to get there. There were many jokes and asides, which really made it all very enjoyable, the comedy coming second only to the fantastic musicianship coupled with that ever-improving voice.
See ya!
Trina
trinaheath@yahoo.com
Received 9 February 1999. Posted 10 February 1999.
This review Copyright © 1999, Trina Heath. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with permission.
The right of Trina Heath to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
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