When big bands come to small gig venues, it’s invariably a great night and, The Bluetones at Water Rats was just that. Filmed for Vintage TV, the Hounslow massive rattle through an hour of their greatest hits.
Any Rik Mayall fan will tell you that, the best things about their live shows were the cock-ups. Mayall’s wit and charm would shine brighter in these mercurial moments than during anything scripted. For this reason, we hope Adam Devlin’s guitar failure makes Vintage’s edit. It showcased frontman Mark Morriss in all his comedic glory.
It’s striking just how many charting singles they play tonight (and how many they don’t). Especially in Water Rats, a venue synonymous with This Feeling and their new music nights. So many new acts walk through these doors with great tunes and attitude, but, in the long run, to no avail.
Radio and TV outlets need to wake up to the new talent available. The indomitable Caffy St Luce and Heather Ferguson are here tonight, they dedicate their lives to breaking bands, these outlets should be trusting them (among others) as they did with The Bluetones in the 90s. Otherwise, they are denying generations of music lovers a chance to go on journeys with their favourite bands. The highs of the top 10, the lows of the fading 5th albums, and then their glorious live comebacks when the kids have grown up.
This just leaves us to say, in the Bluetones immortal words, “So it’s on with the show”.
Image coutesy of https://twitter.com/markpinsent