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Gilbert is back on the road again for the completion of the UK/Ireland 2008 tour. Most of the familiar stage personnel are back but because the Stanford Quartet had a prior engagement they were replaced for one night only by new string quartet consisting of two girls and two guys. The string quartet plays a central role in the first half of the show and so with only two days rehearsals the new musicians were great. Paul Shelford is also on board looking after the audiovisuals. This part of the show has developed over the last year, especially now with the introduction of the Peggy Lee video, but more of that later.
The afternoon sound check didn't go as smoothly as it normally does because of a number of small technical hitches, which were eventually cured by Kevin and Francis on sound. This delayed the rehearsal and with there being new musicians on stage and the introduction of the "Can't Think Straight" video, the pressure was on.
It was nice to see Tony & Mary McGarland there. They didn't have too far to come from Omagh. John and Shirley Towers had further to travel from County Durham, UK. I'll see them again in Gateshead when they won't have to far to travel.
For the purpose of this report the personnel on stage were: String Quartet: Matthew Elston [violin], Rachel Steadham [violin], Nozomi Cohen [viola] and Tony Woollard [cello]. Band: Martin Ditcham [drums + percussion], Bill Shanley [guitars] and Nick Scott [bass]. Backing Vocals: Charlotte James and Niamh McNally. Saxophone, Flute & Harmonica: Julian Webster Greaves. Keyboard and Accordion: Mick Parker.
TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF MY TOE - [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxaphone] + String Quartet
A PROPER FOOL - [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + String Quartet If there is one thing that annoys Gilbert, it's when he forgets a lyric or messes up the tune. Gilbert always plays the first three songs of the evening before he greets his audience but because he messed up the verse: "Fool or not I can't accept. Justice isn't blind etc.
He explained, "I'll say hello in a minute but there was a mistake in that. When you write a song and have so many words, you forget sometimes. It happened here so I'm just going to repeat the part I got wrong." Which he did correctly to loud applause and then as usual he went straight into the next song.
MY PLACE OR YOURS - [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + Mick [Keyboard] Gilbert said "Well we finally got to Derry after some 40 years. It's really nice to be here. It's been a nice day, so I hope you enjoy the evening."
When the audience recognised the intro to "Nothing Rhymed" they applauded loudly, so Gilbert stopped playing and jokingly said "Next". This doesn't help Paul on audio visuals because he has already set the video to play and the false start messes up the timing.
NOTHING RHYMED - [From the album "HIMSELF"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + String Quartet + Nick [Bass] + Julian [Flute]
OUT OF THE QUESTION - [From the album "BACK TO FRONT"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Flute] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]" "When you have a catalogue that goes back, obviously there are songs that everybody knows that were successful and were played on the radio. This is one example of those and we will do it for you now."
MISS MY LOVE TODAY - [From the album "SOUTHPAW"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Mick [Keyboard] "As a lyricist I'm aware but not always but somewhat aware of the effect that lyrics can have on people. For example my two daughters in their twenties asked when I'd finished this particular track to if they could hear it. They had no idea what it was about. When my youngest daughter heard it she said it was terrible and asked how I could do a song like that because she thought that it was a song about me and my wife, their mother. It's not about us but that is what she thought. So it brought it home to me the effect that a lyric can have. The song is about a relationship that's gone wrong. I think a good lyricist doesn't have to experience a situation, he just need to have an understanding, to write about it. I reassured he that the song is not about us but I still don't think she believes me. [Audience laughter].
TAKING SIDES - [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Nick [Flute] "The Japanese have a slight problem with the title of the next song which is "You Can't Con-crete because they don't understand it. The funny thing is I was asked is this song about conning Crete in Greece [Con Crete]. It just shows you that you can get different types of view on the things you are writing about."
YOU CAN'T CON CRETE- [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Straight into 'We Will' with a count of 1-2-3-4.
WE WILL - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Bill [guitar] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] "This next song is interesting. When people talk about "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" [quoting verse] and ask what was John Lennon on when he wrote it. Well in the next song there is a verse that goes: Now down among the Partridge trees Lives a "Don" who loves his knees So much so he's framed them in a jar
What was I on when I wrote that?"
MR. MOODY'S GARDEN - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Mick [Accordion] + Julian [Voices]
I'M IN LOVE WITH LOVE AGAIN - [From the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + String Quartet "This next song is another example of a song that's some people's favourite."
SOMETIMES - [From the album "SOUNDS OF THE LOOP"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + Julian [Flute] Gilbert almost forgot to sing, missing out on "I want to tell you." The audience clapped along. Gilbert changed the lyric to sing "Now up in Derry, a chap named Perry."
OOH-WAKKA-DOO-WAKKA-DAY - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Flute] A cartoon featuring Gilbert is played on the screen at the back of the stage during the song.
CLAIR - [From the album "BACK TO FRONT"] Gilbert [Electric Piano] + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Harmonica] Gilbert left the stage to huge applauses.
STICK IN THE MUD - [From the album "FROBISHER DRIVE / IN THE KEY OF G"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxophone] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
CAN'T GET YOU TO LOVE ME - [From the album "A STRANGER IN MY OWN BACK YARD"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxophone] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
MAKE MY DAY - [From the album "PIANO FOREPLAY"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band+ Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxophone] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
NO MATTER HOW I TRY - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band+ Mick [Keyboard] Gilbert changed the lyric to sing quizzically "Is there a bank in town, is there a bank in town?."
"We'll do something tonight that we haven't done before, we haven't done this. So you have to bear with us if it all goes pear-shaped. Many years ago people used to say to me that you never do a duet. I was never really interested because being a solo writer, a solo performer, I didn't work with other voices but at the back of my mind I always thought that if I could do a duet, I'd love to do a duet with somebody like Peggy Lee. The reason for that is because I think with Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee is the greatest interpreter of female songs in the world. Both of them are no longer her. In the way that Sinatra and a couple of other people are the male interpreters of song. So I had this song and I sent it to Peggy in America and asked her would she like to sing it with me. So she rang me up and said "Yes". This was back in 1992 and Peggy was as young as a lot of you might remember her. Well we recorded the song in London and sent the tape to her to put her voice on it. Then we went to New York and filmed it for a video. It's very special to me and one of the things I'm really proud of. The record was not a great success but a lot of people liked it. So we are going to run it for you this evening and we are all going to join in. My voice will be live so don't think I'm miming because I have to sing in sync with the film. So here we go."
Gilbert sat on a high stool in centre stage for this song.
CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT - [From the album "SOUNDS OF THE LOOP"] Gilbert + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] The song went very well and the audience really enjoyed it.
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING - [From the album "HIMSELF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxophone] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] "This next song is a well known song but we have treated it differently."
WHY, OH WHY, OH WHY - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] "I had a fly helping during that performance, it was buzzing around. You don't see many of them on stage." [Audience laughter]
CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOU - [From the album "OFF CENTRE"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Flute] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] "A bit of country now...1-2-3-4-1."
HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU GOT - [From the album "BY LARRY / THE LITTLE ALBUM"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard & Accordion] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] Matthew stood to play a nice solo on this song.
PPINESS IS ME AND YOU - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Vocal] + Bill [Spanish Acoustic Guitar] + Julian [Flute] + Martin [Percussion] "Now the most important part of the show in one respect, when I introduce everybody to you. We have for the first time our string quartet. This is their first and only time to appear with us. They've really worked hard to fit in for just this one night. So I'd like you to give a big round of applause to each person." Gilbert introduced Matt, Rachel, Nozomi and Tony. Gilbert then introduced "the regular crew" as he called them.
THE MARRIAGE MACHINE - [From the album "A STRANGER IN MY OWN BACK YARD"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Charlotte [Vocal] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Flute] "This next song features Niamh in a duet with me. Niamh's mum is in the audience tonight. [Applause]. Charlotte normally does this song but both girls shared it as it turned out.
Afterward Gilbert said "Both Niamh and Charlotte are making their own records, so you saw them here before they made the big time."
WHAT'S IN A KISS? - [From the album "OFF CENTRE"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard]
SAY GOODBYE - [From the album "IRLISH"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Flute] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals] + Charlotte [Tambourine]
ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY) - [From the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard]
ENCORE
MATRIMONY - [From the album "HIMSELF"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Julian [Saxophone] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
GET DOWN - [From the album "I'M A WRITER NOT A FIGHTER"] Gilbert [Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Charlotte & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
STATS Gilbert played and sang 30 songs tonight representing material from 13 different albums. The breakdown was as follows:
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