The Hollies at the Lincoln Motorhome Show, 21/09/2019
Sept 23, 2019 22:50:42 GMT
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Post by cameron on Sept 23, 2019 22:50:42 GMT
I was lucky enough to see the joint billing of The Manfreds and the Hollies at the Lincoln Motorhome Show this weekend. It was a very unusual venue choice for them, but the event marquee for the show was sold out weeks before the event even took place. With the average age of motorhome owner being 122 years old, it was definitely somewhere that made the Hollies seem very young! Peter Howarth remarked how he'd never played a gig before where someone was sat in the front row eating a packed lunch!
The Manfreds opened the show, who were actually a welcome surprise for me. Original frontman Paul Jones was there, as was his 1966 replacement Mike D'Abo. Paul still managed to confidently hit the high notes and seemed in really good spirits. Mike's voice was not quite as strong, but still very good. The format of their set was to take it in turns to play a song each from their era of Manfred Mann respectively, with Paul adding harmonica to Mike's songs and Mike adding additional keyboards to Paul's songs. They also featured their original guitarist Tom McGuinness and original keyboard player Mike Hugg. They were augmented by a new drummer, bass player and a guy who alternated between playing the saxophone and the flute. They took a couple of songs to find their groove, but once they found it, they were absolutely superb. A real tight jazz/blues group that bought refreshing new spins to the Manfred Mann hits we all know and love.
But top of the bill was the Hollies. I've never actually seen the Howarth-fronted Hollies live before, and I'm disappointed to admit that my main gauge of their talent was the 'Live Hits - We've Got The Tunes' CD, which actually put me off seeing them, because in a real live setting, they're really very very good. I guess the CD is poorly mixed giving them a weak sound and the segues between tracks didn't let Peter Howarth's on-stage persona and crowd patter come through. He was actually quite funny (calling the Motorhome event a "Campathon" at one point) and really engaging with the audience. Ian Parker got right down into the crowd at one point and came over to dance with the few hundred or so of us that were on the dancefloor. They bought with them a new gentle re-working of 'Look Through Any Window' which I loved, but the highlight for me was a new arrangement of 'Magic Woman Touch', which eclipsed the original for me. Tony played banjo on it and they took it at a slightly faster tempo and it just bought the song to life completely. I wish I could have got a recording of it, it was fantastic.
Tony was on top form, the live setting allowing him to let loose with extra guitar solos here and there. They just seemed to effortlessly pour off his fretboard and he still carries an awful lot of weight with their instrumental section, as he always did. Bobby is still very much the "powerhouse" as he once called himself. I was absolutely astounded at how much energy he had, especially compared to the rather sedate drummer that the Manfreds had, who must be around half Bobby's age. Right from the get-go, his drums were at the fore, loud and heavy sounding. Nothing at all like how they came across on the live CD. I was fixated on his mastery of the drum kit and how effortless he made it look.
They only played for an hour, rather than their usual two, as it was a split bill with the Manfreds, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of something unusual. I was seemingly the only one in the audience who knew all the words to 'Magic Woman Touch' and they also started with a slightly edited down version of 'King Midas In Reverse', which seemed a surprising number to start with. Apart from that, it was a non-stop hard-hitting punch of hit after hit, with the audience getting more and more into it as the set went on, possibly surprised at just how many of these hits are attributed to the Hollies. They have an arrangement of 'Carrie Anne' that to my ears had a trace of Graham's high harmony in it. I knew they played it with some kind of backing as the original steel drum solo comes in from the original recording, which was a very welcome addition after decades of trying to make that solo work on a keyboard! It was all very slick and well played. By the end of the evening, everyone was on their feet for the anthemic 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'The Air That I Breathe'. They reprised with a hard-rocking rendition of 'Long Cool Woman'. The audience was loving it; I've never seen so many geriatrics so animated!
All in all, I was seriously impressed. No, Peter Howarth isn't Allan Clarke, but he bought a new spin on the Hollies' hits to the show. I think he did really well. Bobby and Tony absolutely still have it, and the whole group was without doubt the slickest and tighest band that played across the whole event which went on for four nights. Definitely deserving of the top billing. I can't wait to see them again.
The Manfreds opened the show, who were actually a welcome surprise for me. Original frontman Paul Jones was there, as was his 1966 replacement Mike D'Abo. Paul still managed to confidently hit the high notes and seemed in really good spirits. Mike's voice was not quite as strong, but still very good. The format of their set was to take it in turns to play a song each from their era of Manfred Mann respectively, with Paul adding harmonica to Mike's songs and Mike adding additional keyboards to Paul's songs. They also featured their original guitarist Tom McGuinness and original keyboard player Mike Hugg. They were augmented by a new drummer, bass player and a guy who alternated between playing the saxophone and the flute. They took a couple of songs to find their groove, but once they found it, they were absolutely superb. A real tight jazz/blues group that bought refreshing new spins to the Manfred Mann hits we all know and love.
But top of the bill was the Hollies. I've never actually seen the Howarth-fronted Hollies live before, and I'm disappointed to admit that my main gauge of their talent was the 'Live Hits - We've Got The Tunes' CD, which actually put me off seeing them, because in a real live setting, they're really very very good. I guess the CD is poorly mixed giving them a weak sound and the segues between tracks didn't let Peter Howarth's on-stage persona and crowd patter come through. He was actually quite funny (calling the Motorhome event a "Campathon" at one point) and really engaging with the audience. Ian Parker got right down into the crowd at one point and came over to dance with the few hundred or so of us that were on the dancefloor. They bought with them a new gentle re-working of 'Look Through Any Window' which I loved, but the highlight for me was a new arrangement of 'Magic Woman Touch', which eclipsed the original for me. Tony played banjo on it and they took it at a slightly faster tempo and it just bought the song to life completely. I wish I could have got a recording of it, it was fantastic.
Tony was on top form, the live setting allowing him to let loose with extra guitar solos here and there. They just seemed to effortlessly pour off his fretboard and he still carries an awful lot of weight with their instrumental section, as he always did. Bobby is still very much the "powerhouse" as he once called himself. I was absolutely astounded at how much energy he had, especially compared to the rather sedate drummer that the Manfreds had, who must be around half Bobby's age. Right from the get-go, his drums were at the fore, loud and heavy sounding. Nothing at all like how they came across on the live CD. I was fixated on his mastery of the drum kit and how effortless he made it look.
They only played for an hour, rather than their usual two, as it was a split bill with the Manfreds, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of something unusual. I was seemingly the only one in the audience who knew all the words to 'Magic Woman Touch' and they also started with a slightly edited down version of 'King Midas In Reverse', which seemed a surprising number to start with. Apart from that, it was a non-stop hard-hitting punch of hit after hit, with the audience getting more and more into it as the set went on, possibly surprised at just how many of these hits are attributed to the Hollies. They have an arrangement of 'Carrie Anne' that to my ears had a trace of Graham's high harmony in it. I knew they played it with some kind of backing as the original steel drum solo comes in from the original recording, which was a very welcome addition after decades of trying to make that solo work on a keyboard! It was all very slick and well played. By the end of the evening, everyone was on their feet for the anthemic 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'The Air That I Breathe'. They reprised with a hard-rocking rendition of 'Long Cool Woman'. The audience was loving it; I've never seen so many geriatrics so animated!
All in all, I was seriously impressed. No, Peter Howarth isn't Allan Clarke, but he bought a new spin on the Hollies' hits to the show. I think he did really well. Bobby and Tony absolutely still have it, and the whole group was without doubt the slickest and tighest band that played across the whole event which went on for four nights. Definitely deserving of the top billing. I can't wait to see them again.