And Now- Bob Geldof

Live at Newark
Sunday 04 November 2001
by Eddy Treloar

Having seen Bob and the band at Bar Cuba in Macclesfield on Tuesday 30 October (a close to 200-mile round trip), I had a slightly shorter journey down the A1 from Leeds to Newark, this time with my Uncle Michael, who had seen the Rats supporting Thin Lizzy in Dublin way back in '77. My girlfriend Suzanne didn't come to this gig - in Macclesfield she ended up pouncing on Bob at the end of the night - "I just wanted to mother him" came the excuse!

The whole atmosphere was different - rather than a pub, this time Bob was playing in the grandly titled Palace Theatre. And we weren't greeted by bouncers in bow ties - the doormen were tiny and middle aged, scarily supported by Hell's Grannies searching entrants for cameras and/or recording equipment. We were robotically informed that the support act would be on stage at 7:30 prompt, performing for half an hour, followed shortly thereafter by the main act (that's Bob to you and I), who would perform until 10:30 (were we in Theatreworld? Yul Brynner was nowhere to be seen!).
We collected our tickets and then went back out into the real world - we found the nearest chippy and filled our bellies.

On returning to the theatre I spoke briefly to Mick Owen, who, after our enthusiastic purchases on Tuesday, had decided to bring as much old merchandise as he could. Even Mick seemed less at ease in the formal environment. I asked him if he would consider giving an interview for the website - watch this space!!

Michael and I took our seats on the front row of the balcony - yards away from a cool gang all wearing Happy Club hats (I later found out that this was Mike Snowmanfrost from the fan club with his entourage).

The support tonight came from Donna Terenzi - if you haven't heard her music then her choice of cover versions will probably give you a strong indication of her style - after opening with Suzanne Vega's "Luca", Donna also played The Eurythmics' "You Placed A Chill" and closed the set with The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" - played "her way". In amongst the covers were Donna's own songs - "Life", "B to C" (which I thought she should have called "G to D", which seemed to be her favourite chords), the excellent "Take Away The Blue" and "Bulletproof".

Donna had a lovely, if indistinct voice and a mono-rhythmic guitar style. However, the excellent "Take Away The Blue", as well as her banter between songs, show that she definitely has the potential to blossom. She may have been better suited to the Bar Cuba venue, just as Tuesday's support - the witty posh boy Richard Berry - would definitely have been better suited to the theatre audience.

After a short break, the lights were dimmed and on came Bob and the boys, coolly strolling on stage and taking their places to huge applause. The band launched straight into "The Great Song of Indifference" and the atmosphere picked up straight away. Half way through, the drums kicked in, the guitars were cranked up and the band double-declutched up a couple of gears. The song ended in true Rats style with a crescendo of noise and then, without a pause for applause, the boys launched straight into "Too Late God" from Bob's last album "The Happy Club", with poignant prophesying lyrics interrupted only by an excellent slide guitar solo from Johnny "Guitar" Turnbull. Back then to "The Vegetarians of Love", again hardly breaking for breath, another upbeat number - "The Chains of Pain". This time it was Bob Loveday's chance to warm up with a tasteful violin solo.

The audience (not a crowd - we were in a theatre, lovey) applauded warmly and Bob decided the time had come to greet the audience - in true Bob style. "I have to apologise for my fucking hair again," he began, laughingly adding that he felt like a "lame Steve Marriott". Bob went on to explain that his hair had gone straight at the gig the night before (in Northampton) from sweating, then added that he wasn't sweating yet tonight, which, he told the audience, was their fault. Quite right too!

It was then time to introduce the band - to his left stood a stoical Pete Briquette, cool as ever. Next to him, looking like a slightly younger Father Jack ("Drink! Girls! Fek!") stood Bob "Lovepump" Loveday on violin and mandolin - tatty string vest (Macclesfield bar) replaced by Bermuda shirt (Newark theatre). Behind Bob on drums sat the solid Ravanelli-like Niall Power ("You may have seen him playing drums when Westlife were last in Newark," Bob joked). To Bob's right, next to Niall stood the bearded Alan Dunn on keyboards and accordion, and, finally, next to Bob at the front stood the man who used to play guitar for Ian Dury, and even played on the "Get Carter" soundtrack - Johnny "Guitar" Turnbull.

Next up came "A Gospel Song", a slower, more intimate number now the audience had been defrosted. Alan warmed his fingers with a head-nodding accordion solo, then it was straight into "A Sex Thing", complete with Bob nearly asphyxiating himself singing "All I really want is your love baby, all I really want is your love baby, all I really want is your love baby". The complex Irish melodies in the first harmony break worked wonderfully (better than on the album), with the band sounding like a celtic Beach Boys, followed by more than a passing nod of respect to The Bee Gees' "Staying Alive" during the final verse and final middle eight. Great fun!

Bob then walked back again to "The Vegetarians of Love", with a fine version of "Walking Back to Happiness" that really bounced along. By now the band were well and truly in top gear, with rip-roaring guitar and keyboard solos, followed later by another accordion solo from Alan.

It was time again for Bob to banter with the appreciative audience - he apologised for forgetting the words to "A Sex Thing" (not that I noticed!), explaining that he had written the words to the wrong song - "Walking Back to Happiness" - on his hand.

Bob was now ready to open up and play some tracks from "Sex, Age & Death" (already my favourite "solo-Bob" album), opening with the album's opener - "One For Me", which I am sure that many of the audience's Parkinson-friendly members had heard once before. This was not one for me - one of my favourite tracks from the new album - the first to be played tonight, was ruined by a suddenly poor mix. The drums were far too dominant, I struggled to hear Bob's voice and then the keyboards jumped up in the mix, virtually drowning out Johnny's tasteful (as ever) guitar solo. Bob then turned Pink for "Mudslide" - a track that would have graced "The Wall". This extract from "Sex, Age & Death" ended with "The Birthday Suit" - all in all a bit of a disappointing section of the gig simply because of a very poor mix (possibly due to the very different types of song on the new album, with very different production).

It was now time for the band to play a song everyone knew. The pinstriped jacket was off, revealing a cool red shirt with white polka dots. "You'll know this one," Bob told the mike. As soon as Alan played the first notes at the top end of his keyboard the whole theatre knew what was coming. The descending arpeggios, extended from the original, announced the arrival of "I Don't Like Mondays". This was always going to be a high point of the evening for most of the audience and Bob did not disappoint. He paced the stage, flitting about in a world of his own, lost in the raw passion of the song - this was an emotionally charged Bob, the years falling off him. Had the Rats been there, with Bob strutting about it could have been 1979 all over again - as good as the current band is, this song was Bob and I wanted to see Johnnie Fingers hammering the keyboards as only he can. It was still a fantastic version though. "Its good that song and it works still," Bob remarked, and nobody in the theatre disagreed with that!

"I'm a perfectionist," Bob told us as he strapped his guitar back on ready for the next track. Someone near the front, thinking it was the theatre's pantomime season come early, pointed out that Bob was mixing stripes (suit) with spots (shirt). "They go with my hair," he told her. As Bob went on to explain that he has gaffer tape on his guitar at G, B and another point (if anyone there caught what he said, or knows where, please tell me!) the heckler carried on with her "Oh no it isn't!" and "Behind you!" - Bob cut her off mid flow with an irritated, "You're not being paid!" to a huge round of applause!

It needed a great song well performed to follow "Mondays", and the band didn't disappoint. Next up came "Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee)" where the whole band let rip with accordion, violin, keyboard and guitar solos all belted out with gusto, while Bob attacked his Gibson acoustic (one of two identical acoustics he played during the evening), snapping a string and then swinging about so much the strap fell off! Another Rats-esque ending (the band were very very tight) brought huge applause and it was straight into "Attitude Chicken", played with Ratitude. Again, the mix let this one down a little, with Bob's vocals too low. We were still treated to a cracking keyboard solo and a cool Arabian style ending, tastefully garnished with a pluck on a violin string by Mr Lovepump.

Bob now stood centre stage with a harmonica, an instrument I think he should play more often, and it was time to showcase another track from "Sex, Age & Death" - this time a track the band didn't play in Macclesfield - the hard-hitting "Inside Your Head". This was most definitely not a disappointment - the mix was fine, John's fast yet subtle guitar parts worked extremely well and the emotion of the lyrics worked better live than on the album - another powerful performance, with controlled backing by the band, allowing Bob the freedom to rant.

The next track was introduced as "a sort of contemporary song … topical", then added that it was actually written 12 years ago! It was, of course, "The End of the World". Bob Loveday provided bass backing vocals as the band performed acoustically. The calm before the storm - without warning it was "Rat Trap" - all eyes on Bob, with the exception of two. Mine. I have to watch Pete during this one, waiting for that bass riff to kick in as Pete nods his head about, swinging his torso to and fro like his feet are nailed to the floor. Classic! (Watching Pete on "Rat Trap" would be like, I imagine, watching Johnnie on "Mondays".)

"Rat Trap" raised the roof - a perfect way to end the gig - before the band even looked like leaving the stage they got a standing ovation from an overwhelmed audience. Bob Loveday played the saxophone solo, virtually note for note, on his violin! I could never have imagined it if I hadn't seen it - Bob has with him now a fine bunch of musicians, and, if the inside cover of "Sex, Age & Death" is anything to go by, a close knit group of friends.
As the band left the stage, virtually everyone in the theatre was standing to applaud a fine performance by Bob, looking revitalised and years younger (music as therapy?) and the rest of the boys, all of whom had clearly enjoyed themselves.

Yielding to the unabating applause the band came back onstage and performed their encore. A stool was brought on for Bob to sit on for the next song - "This is the Val Doonican bit," he joked, going on to explain that the next song was easier to play sitting down, as the guitar part was quite tricky. Bob then turned serious for a brief moment and told the audience that this song was the story of one particular day, saying, "I'm sure you've read about all that shite that's happened over the last 6 - 7 years with me. The 10:15 is the time of the last Eurostar from Paris where I managed to get away for a day."

There was total silence in the audience as the band played the closing track from "Sex, Age & Death" - "10:15". Everything seemed to be going fine until shortly after the line about "She read a poem by Baudelaire", when suddenly Bob shouted, "STOP!" Then in annoyance with himself added, "I'm fucking this up - I wanna get it right." After a brief, awkward pause, the band started the song again, from the beginning. This time, it was perfect, with an excellent guitar solo and understanding backing from the band. When the song ended there was huge applause - it was the most emotional moment of the night and, for me, the high point.

Next the tempo was picked up ever so slightly by an excellent version of "Pale White Girls" (all of the new songs were very well received despite the poor mix during some of them). "A Hole To Fill" was next with another fine solo by Bob Loveday and then it was time for a b-side - "Huge Birdless Silence" (all the other solo tracks were from Bob's last 3 albums - he didn't perform anything from "Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere"), by which time the audience were bouncing again, and then laughing once again, this time at Bob's stupid singing at the end.

Finally, it was da capo, with the band launching into a frenetic instrumental version of "The Great Song of Indifference" that got faster as it went on. Pete was at the front now, foot on the monitor headbanging away and having the time of his life, Bob was scanning across the crowd, rolling back the years and getting the audience to join in on the "diddle dies" ("Your turn!" … "My turn!"). A thunderous ending to what was clearly going to be the last song of the night brought another standing ovation and the band left once again to rapturous applause (or should that be "Rat-turous" applause?!). There were enthusiastic calls for yet another encore, quashed only by the house lights coming on.

The gig was over. Not as enjoyable as Macclesfield, primarily because of the venue, but also partly because of the audience. I doubt that many of them would have gone to the same concert had it been in a pub, or a venue such as Bar Cuba - these were theatre goers, talking loudly about "wonderful" Italian restaurants that "one really must try. This was not a "another pint, mate?" type of audience. However, this seems to be the type of venue that Bob is now looking to perform at, and, judging by the total attentive silence in the audience while the band performed songs such as "10:15" I can fully understand why. Next stop Tamworth in February!

And so back to the merchandise stall, where I spent far too much money. Uncle Michael took pity on me and bought me a "Happy Club" hat and then it was time to go home, on a high, talking Michael's ear off all the way home!

Bob's set:
The Great Song of Indifference
Too Late God
The Chains of Pain
A Gospel Song
A Sex Thing
Walking Back to Happiness
One For Me
Mudslide
The Birthday Suit
I Don't Like Mondays
Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee)
Attitude Chicken
Inside Your Head
The End of the World
Rat Trap
…encore…
10:15
Pale White Girls
A Hole to Fill
Huge Birdless Silence
The Great Song of Indifference

Donna Terenzi's set:
Luca (Suzanne Vega)
Life
You Placed A Chill (The Eurythmics)
B to C
Take Away the Blue
Bulletproof
Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)

All Credits: Eddy Treloar

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