Salisbury,
Friday 4 March, was a triumph! - A concert review by
Linda Welch:
 I’d been to the Manchester gig on 20
February and I’d been a bit disappointed –
which is why no review from me for that particular show.
(The excellent review from Malcolm Knowles covers the gig
very well, so no need for me to comment further.)
The Salisbury concert, however, was a different show
entirely! Maybe it was partly due to the audience - a
group of about 20 women had come along for a birthday
party in full 70s gear and were determined to enjoy every
second of it – they were all in the front row.
SAILOR were on great form – although Pete was a bit
surprised when he came on stage and found a rubber pig
taped to his microphone! I get the feeling that the three
bands – our boys plus the Rubettes and Sweet –
are having a bit of a laugh between them all and maybe
the pig was part of that! Anyone else seen the pig at a
gig?
They played a very tight, slick set, and it seemed that
in no time at all the boys were leaving the stage, with
the exception of Rob, who played the "Sailor’s
Hornpipe" (my 12-year-old niece, Jasmine, whispered,
‘Did they write the theme for Blue Peter??’)
while the others disappeared. Of course, the SAILOR fans
in the audience knew what was coming, but I’d say
90% of the audience hadn’t seen a show on this tour
before so when the "Full Monty" started there
were shrieks from all around! I covered Jasmine’s
eyes, even though I knew they weren’t going to go
‘all the way’ but I live in hope (or should
that be in fear?).
One of the party in the front row threw a pair of
knickers onto the stage as they were leaving – how
did I guess it would be Phil who picked them up? A
strange trophy to add to the pig as a souvenir of the
Salisbury show! Their suitcases will be full of really
odd reminders of the tour by the time they’ve
finished.
This time I was the only one in the audience with maracas
– I’d taken some for Jasmine, too, but she was
a little self-conscious about being right in the front
row in her sailor suit (thank you, Ebay!) and decided
that maracas would be just too much (and the hat was too
much for her as well!)
After an excellent set from the Rubettes – including
their marvellous drum session – Jasmine and I made
our way out to the foyer to buy the Tsunami appeal CD and
get it autographed. She didn’t want me to introduce
her to them, but Rob spotted her sailor suit and asked
what was printed on her stripey tee-shirt. She showed him
that it said, ‘Hello Sailor’, spelled out in
red rhinestones, and he took a picture with his mobile
‘phone. I think she was secretly quite pleased,
although she’d made me swear not to send any photos
to the website in case her school friends ever found out!
I had the chance to say a brief hello to Sarah (good to
see you!) and James (likewise) before we took our places
again for Andy Scott’s Sweet. I had a quick chance
to introduce myself and say hello to Roger, Gill and
Nicola, also SAILOR fans, in the front row. (Hope you
enjoyed it all and managed to get back to Southampton
safely! And maybe see you at another gig?)
By this time, Jasmine
wasn’t too worried about her Aunty Linda getting up
and dancing and generally making a fool of herself, so
the last hour of the show was spent on my feet, rocking
with Sweet – a great show as always. I’d have
stayed on afterward to finish the collection of
autographs on my CD but it was getting really late and
Jazzie was getting a bit tired, so I hope to get the full
set later on during the tour.
Message from Jasmine - "I had a really good time
meeting the stars of the bands and I enjoyed all the
songs they played."
Jasmine will be 13 on 2 April (when I shall be at
the Basingstoke gig) and on the way home from the show
last night she announced that she now wants a 70s theme
party for her birthday!
Rock on, Jasmine!
And see you all in Bournemouth, everyone!
Linda Welch © 05 March 2005
|
in
Concert Photos
