Tonights gig was a suprise birthday present for Dave from Helen and we were lucky enough to join them. A birthday meal out meant we missed most of Henri Herberts set but his last song burst with the kind of rock’n’roll gymnastics you’d expect from the ex-JJR supremo .
This was Richard Hawleys final gig of his 18 month tour, in his home town, to a crowd who clearly loved him. I remember Marc Riley commenting that he thought Hawley had sold his soul to the devil because everyone seemed to like him – and the audience tonight was such a mix of ages, there was no way of catagorising them. His set was heavy with his newer material (which is quite heavy) with the odd oldie thrown in (but alas no ‘Born under a bad sign’ or ‘Remorse Code’). Funny and poignant between songs, it wasn’t the ‘dipped in chocolate’ experience I’d had the first time I saw him, but very entertaining nontheless. He seemed to have an endless array of guitars with a different one for each song, including one intriguing looking 12-string…..his guitar tech should’ve got a mention at the end! He ended as ever with ‘The Ocean’ and there were smiles all ’round.
Bob the Chiropodist