Live Performance Review
Chichester Cathedral - 19 July 2003
By Rita Veitch
After
travelling through several pretty towns and very traditional
English villages the tall spire of the cathedral could soon be
seen from miles away. We
arrived in Chichester a little while later and made the short
walk to the cathedral. It is a large, impressive building built
in Norman times around 1085. Chichester itself is a fascinating,
historic place. As
we got there we could hear the band playing in the cathedral,
perhaps a soundcheck or a rehearsal. The sound from outside was
incredible. It was amazing hearing the music so loud and clear
through the cathedral walls. It gave the whole place a lovely
atmosphere and something, I have to say, that was very
unforgettable. I knew we were in for a good evening. We
walked round; admiring the buildings and taking in the various
art exhibitions that were taking place in the grounds. On the
lawn they were serving refreshments, Pimms etc. Very English! We
then took our seats in the nave. The people in the side aisles
(the 'cheap seats' as Bob put it) had the benefit of large
television screens to make up for the obscured view. The
audience were a mixture of people from children right through to
the elderly. From women in evening dress to me in my jeans! From
what I could see the cathedral looked packed. The
band came on stage just after 8.00 p.m. Bob, looking resplendent
in his pinstripe suit and polka dot shirt. He looked relaxed and
happy. He started off by commenting on what a privilege he
considered it was to play in such a place. He indicated that
they would need to try and play a bit quieter because of the
venue - for all of 2 bars of music and then back to full volume
launching into Great Song of Indifference. Bob
told us that Alan Dunn was the theologian of the group and had
been advising them all on the dos and don'ts of performing in a
cathedral. With Bob's usual colourful language and his
references to gay priests I'm not sure that he took any notice
of that at all! They
then took us through approximately 27 years of music right
through from the Rats stuff and Bob's solo material, breaking
from time to time when Bob spoke to the audience. He was very
animated and amusing explaining the influences for some of the
songs, often from places he had travelled to with the Rats. The
atmosphere in the cathedral was amazing. The building was
beautifully lit and the evening sun could be seen streaming
through the colourful stained glass windows. As the evening
progressed it gradually became darker inside. Bob
explained, before playing 3 tracks from Sex, Age and Death, that
it was embarrassing to perform these in front of an audience as
they are written about such a difficult period in his life that
unfortunately is so well known to everyone. He explained that he
would need to go 'inside himself' to sing them. For this section
he sang .'One for Me', 'Mudslide' and then 'My Birthday Suit'.
That song always gets to me. The first time I heard it I was
almost in tears. This time it was as emotionally charged as
ever. This
series of songs was followed by 'I Don't Like Mondays' which at
the end Bob described as 'Chichester's Saturday night karaoke!' Bob
took requests from the audience. The first one was for 'Me and
Howard Hughes' which they started playing and then Bob decided
they couldn't remember it well enough. Somebody requested
'Banana Republic' and Bob decided it must be Pete's brother as
Pete had co-written it with Bob. They played that followed by
the also requested 'Joey's on the Street Again'. The
main set concluded with 'Rat Trap' which is always wonderful to
hear and a great song to finish on. The audience had clearly
thoroughly enjoyed the show. By the end everyone was on their
feet. After much clapping, shouting and cheering, the band
returned for a 3 song encore. With
the rousing chorus of the Great Song of Indifference at the end
of the encore Bob encouraged the audience to 'lift that medieval
masonry' and we certainly had a good go. Everyone was dancing,
clapping and stamping their feet. It was absolutely fantastic!
Great music and a phenomenal venue. Prior
to the gig we had heard that Bob would come out and sign
autographs 15 minutes after the show so a crowd of us waited
patiently. Within a very short time we were ushered into a
building across from the main part of the cathedral and waited
in turn to meet Bob. He seemed happy, relaxed and was looking
good. He was happy to chat and was gracious and charming to
everyone. It was such an honour to meet him again. I got him to
sign the photograph I had purchased and had my picture taken
with him. I commented to Bob that the gig was 'brilliant, as
always'. All
in all it had been a
brilliant evening. Bob had been fantastic with the audience,
chatty, funny and in fine voice. The band musically were very
tight and polished. Bob and the band certainly know how to put
on a good show and they really had put absolutely everything
into the performance. Bob started the evening by commenting on
how it was a privilege to perform there but I think by the end
it was us who felt privileged to be there. The
full set list was:
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