Searchers in America

[edcal]

Any reviews or comments from last night re: the Searchers playing their first in a series of concerts in America, 2004 Edition?

[budrocket]

Aside from some minor sound system gaffes, GREAT show last night in NYC! I haven't seen the band live since the Sire days, & while I miss Mike Pender, man they put on a fantastic, high energy show. They seemed to be having a great time, joshing around on stage, & of course Frank Allen is, as has been noted here before, an excellent front man & compere. He even gave a shout out to Tim in the audience when he couldn't remember what Lp "Four Strong Winds" came from. Probably made his night <g>

Nice having a 4th harmony voice back in the mix, that makes a big difference. McNalley is an excellent lead guitarist (though I do miss the frenzied rhythm scrubbing on some tunes). The club was packed, the audience was enthusiastic, all around a great show, & the band gets extra points for graciously coming out & meeting with the fans afterwards.

Since Beatles comparisons are inevitable when you talk about the Searchers, I was thinking last night that Macca could never do what the Searchers did last night, & that's his loss -- they don't have the baggage, & there's something great about the intimacy of a nightclub (albeit packed to the gills) & being able to personally interact with the room that you won't ever get in football stadiums.

I really hope they can make it back out here one day.

That was the sugar, now here's the medicine...that ghastly guitar synth as GOT to go, it's extremely cheesy & just sounds dreadful. Doing songs off that awful German techno album was ill-advised as well, I'd much rather hear "Popcorn Double Feature," or even "Farmer John" (now look-a here).

And is it just me, or is Spencer starting to look like Curly Howard?

bw

***************************************
BUDDY WOODWARD & THE NITRO EXPRESS
"Honkytonk, Bluegrass, Roots-Rock & A Damn Fine Potato Salad"
[email protected] - http://www.buddywoodward.net

[royclough]

Thanks for this Buddy, I recently told John to listen to the BBC sessions disc and think about doing Popcorn,hopefully they may do it. What about the Springsteen number Seven Nights To Rock, take you by surprise.

[budrocket]

Hi Roy, after reading your comment to that effect here not too long ago, I thought about "innocently" mentioning the same thing to McNalley last night, perhaps adding a little covert weight to your argument, but alas I didn't get the chance, as the band & the fans got pushed out by staff into the main bar area, which was pounding with some horrible dance music played at a volume at or near the threshhold of pain.

Seven Nights to Rock...good set closer, but not really being a Springteen fan I didn't recognize it...& there I was, wracking my brain trying to remember just which Eddie Cochran or Gene Vincent song it was & thinking perhaps my memory was failing me <g>

I could have done without the Gary Puckett & the Union Gap cover, however...why not do one of your own? There were shouts in the audience for "September Gurls," honestly I'd rather have that or (insert your favorite album track here) than, "yoooooung girl, get out of my mind..."

But I'm quibbling. Lord knows if or when they'll come back, & I had a GREAT time (trapped behind a support beam as I was for most of the show).

bw

***************************************
BUDDY WOODWARD & THE NITRO EXPRESS
"Honkytonk, Bluegrass, Roots-Rock & A Damn Fine Potato Salad"
[email protected] - http://www.buddywoodward.net

[jjr]

The Searchers apparently played a shorter set at Mohegan Sun (I compared notes with Paul Gedney and Jo Ann Vieira, who saw both shows). They did an hour and twenty minutes (the Management had another band lined up for @ 11 PM- why, is incomprehensible to me.). The show was tight, the sound was excellent, and the boys were in great humor. I really enjoyed their take on Brooks and Dunn, and it was the first time I heard "Tambourine Man"-excellent (and John should sing more lead. He has a great voice).I also enjoyed "Seven Nights to Rock", although like Buddy, I had no idea who wrote it- I thought it was some long lost Chuck Berry. They were , as usual, extremely patient and friendly with their fans ( I sat with folks from South Carolina who traveled 800 miles for the show. There was another guy from Macon, Georgia).They also had a decently organized song order- the show moved pretty well.To me, the highlight was " Hearts in Her Eyes"- a great job that really sent a current through the audience. Unfortunately,it was the only SIRE song they did. That being said, some quibbles.

I enjoy audience participation as much (well maybe less) than the next guy. But the sing-alongs came a bit too early and often for me- and they go on too long for each song. I still think they have to work on the finale more. First, ditch the medley. They'd already played all of them. Second,they might re-think the material. They did some great potential closers back when- "Ain't That Just Like Me", "Tricky Dicky", "Don't You Know", "Farmer John", and if you want covers, "Johnny Be Good", "C.C. Rider", and "What'd I Say" coming to mind. Do two or three, instead of one long one. Finally, ditch "Pomp and Circumstance". If it had run any longer, I'd have been looking for a commencement speech. And I would love to hear more album cuts and Sire stuff. But it was a GREAT time. Hope they come back soon.

[tim]

The Cutting Room show was just great. My first time of seeing The Searchers in NYC and the venue had my favourite sort of atmosphere going for it. "Every River"' "Hearts In Her Eyes" were just some of the highlights. I hope they go back to the U.S.A. next year for even more shows (so that I can plan a longer visit!).

[royclough]

Update on "Seven Nights To Rock" whilst The Searchers started to do this after John McNally heard Springsteen do the number, it is apparently not written by Springsteen but is an old Country song released by some guy called Moon Mullican in the mid sixties. You live and learn as they say.