PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
I last saw the Quireboys in November last year which was a plugged in gig. It was a high energy show as always but their latest UK tour is an acoustic affair minus Dave Mc’ Cluskey on drums and Nick Mailing on bass guitar but the Live Rooms gig last Friday was no less intense as the frantic four of Spike Gray, Keith Weir, Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin wowed the full room. On entry it was a nice surprise to see Spike by the merchandise table greeting the fans as we walked in, and, as usual he was his usual charming, inebriated self.
The two acoustic solo support slots were taken up by the very well received Joseph Leo and Alx Green. The guitar technique of Alx had to be seen to believed! So it was time for the main band who just strolled on. All apart from Spike sat down on their stools who only noticed after the third song that he had one when he said he was “Fucking knackered already!”. ‘There She Goes Again’ was the perfect opener to get the crowd in fine voice followed by Spike starting a mass Happy Birthday sing a long for a female fan with a few tongue in cheek comments of course. ‘Devil Of A Man’ raised the temperature even higher as Spike acknowledged his roadie Kevin as “The man who brings me pints of Appletize onstage”.
An early inclusion of ‘Sex Party’ was announced as “Let’s get this fuckin song out of the way” cueing another loud crowd vocal. ‘Mona Lisa Smiled’ seemed more intense acoustically, making you smile one minute then tugging at the heart strings the next. ‘Monte Cassino (Lady Lane) was strangely dedicated to Spike Milligan with it’s ‘Kashmir’ like grooves rolling off the stage. A raucous ‘Have A Drink On Me’ was preceded by the quip of “The setlist is out of the window”. A show stopping ‘Whippin Boy’ was the perfect warm up to an audience dominated “I Don’t Love You Anymore” prompting smiles from the band.
“Paul Guerin on guitar and setlist” was the introduction to ‘Pretty Girls’ followed by Stubborn Kinda Heart from “Paul Guerin’s twenty song setlist” as he fired off some fiery slide guitar licks. ‘Sweet Mary Ann’ was another personal highlight as Spike said “It makes a change to have Keith sitting behind me, not a drummer” as the crowd responded with a Gene Simmons like chant of “Keith Keith Keith!”. Spike told of a new album coming out but they were not playing any songs off it “As we cannot remember any of them” as they launched into a highly charged ‘7’o Clock’.
The show ended with a huge ‘I Love This Dirty Town’ and a shout of “See you all at the bar”.
The Quireboys band line up :-
Spike Gray – Lead vocals.
Keith Weir – Keyboards.
Paul Guerin – Guitar.
Guy Griffin – Guitar.
Thanks to Tina Brookes and Friswell Photography for the use of their photos.
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