Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Gusswerk / Salzburg / Austria
Concert date: December 19, 2009
Attendance: 1,000
Ticket price: €44.00
This time a foursome of sworn music fanatics hit the road for Mozart’s city, where a proper pre-Christmas concert spectacle was on the cards, courtesy of two legendary bands from the days when rock music was still young and, above all, was almost without exception played and written with heart and soul. In the birthplace of the famous composer, which also boasts a rich tradition of salt mines and breweries, a joint tour with two headliners sharing the stage on equal terms rolled into town: hard rock old-timers Uriah Heep and the masters of melodic prog rock Manfred Mann’s Earthband. That was reason enough for a decent chunk of our countrymen to turn up around the Gusswerk hall, a former church bell foundry, before the show, having decided to spend their Saturday at a concert party rather than in front of the TV with a mountain of popcorn and the sounds of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. The lively pre-show action featured watching the soundchecks of both bands, a short interview with legendary Manfred Mann’s Earthband guitarist Mick Rogers, and the presentation of a bottle of Slovenian wine to the no less famous Uriah Heep guitarist Mick Box, so we were in a very good mood when the concert kicked off.
Before the two main attractions, though, we unfortunately had to sit through a painful and thoroughly botched set by the little-known German glam/pop rock outfit Micky Monroe. Their stage show was spiced up with a heaping gallon of needless posturing and kitsch. The whole band came across as totally unrehearsed, like some patched-together, failed experiment of Dr. Frankenstein’s, since it often seemed that all the members had been forcibly rounded up from the four winds and, accordingly, had completely mismatched musical pedigrees. Besides his sugary hairdo, the bandleader, Micky Monroe himself, “stood out” mainly for his extremely weak vocal abilities, while the bassist would surely have been better off earning his crust with 50 Cent or some other reincarnation of 2Pac Shakur.
Perhaps the most unpleasant surprise, though, was the guitarist, who, apart from textbook-by-the-book scale running, delivered nothing, and accompanied his stroll up and down the fretboard with a surplus of posing that would make even Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen blush, the two guitar virtuosos whose technique and moves he tried, unsuccessfully, to imitate. During the last number, when his guitar went dead after a sudden pop from the PA, he became totally lost and started wandering helplessly around the stage, to the point where he almost stirred up some sympathy. The male half of the audience paid a fair bit of attention to the rather cute dark-haired backing singer (she forgot her chest somewhere on the coat rack), but she was there purely as decoration, since her contributions in the choruses sounded more like meowing than singing. Not even her “erotic” dance moves helped lift the mood, and a striptease probably wouldn’t have made things any better. The greatest irony of this “Frankensteinian” lineup was the plain fact that they tried by any means to create an atmosphere charged with eroticism, even though their music came out completely castrated.
Somehow we managed to survive the opening concert suicide, which, if nothing else, set off a few very welcome salvos of laughter, and then it was time for the first of the evening’s two rock giants. Despite celebrating their fortieth anniversary and the venerable age of all the members, with the possible exception of the newest one, drummer Russell Gilbrook, Uriah Heep still perform with undiminished stage energy and a desire to lift the spirits of all their loyal followers. Tonight the Heepsters didn’t just have excellent sound, they were also in exceptionally good form, helped no doubt by the fact that this was the last show of the tour and a perfect reason to push even harder. Not even the two opening “incidents” that happened the moment the band marched onto the stage spoiled the thrilling performance. Someone in the crowd had put an inflatable S&M doll with a sign reading “for Mick” onstage, right in front of Mick’s microphone. He reacted to the provocation in his typical calm style, in a jokey, self-ironic way, after which the roadies carried the grotesque doll off the stage without any fanfare. Then there was a minor hiccup with the PA, which delayed the start of the show by about five minutes.
The problem was soon fixed. Mick apologized for the trouble and the Heepsters finally got the chance to go all out with the breakneck hard rock burner “Wake The Sleeper”, the opening track of the current studio album of the same name. This time they played only three songs from it, in complete contrast to last year’s tour, when they performed the new album in full. Vocal good-time guy Bernie Shaw is at the very least excellent at every show, but this time he was in an especially good mood and surprised with some longer, high-flying stretches of his vocal cords (for instance in “Sunrise” and “Gypsy”), while his indispensable stage charisma, along with Mick’s standard “shamanic” gestures, contributed greatly to the cheerful vibe that took over the jam-packed hall.
There were no big surprises in terms of song choices this time, but nobody really expected any, since Heep stick more or less to the same setlist on every new tour. Besides the brand-new “Only Human”, which they used to present their latest release “Celebration”, it was mostly long-standing classics. After a long time, “Return to Fantasy” and “Free ‘n’ Easy” were back in the classics medley. Mick introduced the latter as usual, as one of the first metal songs when it first appeared in 1977 on the cult album “Innocent Victim”. Here Mick got the chance to fire off the opening “metallized” guitar licks that form the core of the song, which was written during the period when the Heepsters were flirting with disco and pop.
Otherwise, as always, Mick delighted mainly with his signature wah-wah solos, during which the guitar “shaman” once again conjured up a generous helping of spiritual gestures. The touching ballad “Rain”, which also doesn’t show up all that often on their concert setlists, drew heartfelt applause from the crowd. It replaced “The Wizard”, which they played on November 26, 2009 in Munich. They also cut “Corridors Of Madness” and “Bird Of Pray” from the list. Curiously, we didn’t hear the popular cowboy anthem “Stealin'” that night either, one of those indispensable Heep classics that usually never miss a show.
One of the best moments of the set was, as usual, the melancholic-majestic epic “July Morning”, during which some of us let our imaginations run wild, picturing it as the perfect chance for the legendary keyboardist Manfred Mann to appear onstage as a special guest on the mini Moog, since he did play on its studio version. That would surely have spiced up an already nearly flawless show, which the Heepsters crowned with the totally predictable closer of the main set, “Easy Livin'”, and the standard encore “Lady In Black”, where the whole audience joined in on the chorus, as always. The old cats once again demonstrated a wonderful combination of perfect tightness, spontaneity and the positive energy that reigns throughout the whole band, and left us with a heaping dose of inner contentment. They made the most of the stage conditions on offer and the superb sound.
Many in the crowd used the short break, which served for changing over the stage, before Manfred Mann’s Earthband came on to fill their lungs with fresh air and refresh themselves with a drink, since the hall had no ventilation and was thick with tobacco smoke (Austria still hasn’t adopted a smoking ban), which is the one big criticism aimed at the organizers of the show. By the time the next rock giants came on, the elongated hall had already started bursting at the seams as far as how packed it was.
Manfred Mann’s Earthband opened their set in as punchy and confident a manner as possible, with the immortal adaptation of Springsteen’s “Spirits In The Night”, announcing an evening of evergreens from almost four decades of existence (five, if you count Manfred’s r’n’b period from the sixties). The bandleader was first in the spotlight. The legendary South African keyboardist was in good spirits that night, unlike at the Munich show, so this time he didn’t try to hide completely behind a stack of keyboards. He didn’t forget to put on his trademark hat either, as he ruled confidently over his keyboard wizardry, mainly on the mini Moog and Hammond organ, from which he coaxed a colorful array of improvised sounds.
Mick Rogers remains a fantastic guitarist who, besides outstanding technique, cultivates a keen sense for laying down extremely juicy and melodic guitar licks on a bluesy foundation. On top of that he’s still an excellent singer, which he demonstrated best on the “adopted” hit “Father Of Day, Father Of Night”, where he confidently took over the lead vocals. Besides the two original members, Mann and Rogers, the most enthusiasm was stirred up by the outstanding performance of new singer Peter Cox, who has successfully continued the tradition of such vocal greats as Chris Thompson and Noel McCalla. The charismatic Cox cultivates a strong soul approach in his singing that fits the whole MMEB legacy perfectly, and he backs up his excellent vocal abilities with a bunch of fitting stage grimaces and gestures.
Manfred Mann and his buddies (completed that night by bassist Steve Kinch and drummer Jimmy Copley) love to improvise, in true progressive rock tradition, so it was no surprise when individual songs were spiced up further with completely spontaneous improvisations, in which you could see best just how strong an instrumental chemistry binds this legendary outfit together. From songs that mostly contain r’n’b and blues motifs, they often manage to build proper prog rock epics. Longtime fans were especially delighted by the performance of the ancient classic “Captain Bobby Scott” from the MMEB debut, which came out way back in 1972. Another of the highlights of the set was the evergreen “Don’t Kill It Carol”, a rearranged classic by Mike Heron, which they stretched well past its expiry date with a pile of witty improvisations.
The hall boiled over completely at the first bars of “Blinded By The Light”, yet another immortal adaptation of a Springsteen classic, which in MMEB’s hands became one of their three biggest hits, while the next big smash, “Davy’s On The Road Again”, even stirred up some dance moves in the most nostalgic members of the audience. Their most popular and recognizable hit, “Mighty Quinn”, they saved for the encore as usual. A wry satire on a popular film actor, it’s the only hit they kept from the original sixties Manfred Mann legacy, first presented in rearranged form on the album “Watch” (1978). Ever since, it has remained the high point of all their concert performances. Along the way they slyly slipped in a motif from another sixties Manfred Mann classic, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, after which they also worked the main riff of the Deep Purple standard “Smoke On The Water” into the song’s outro. Manfred, Mick and the rest of the Earthband left an outstanding impression and left many in the hall wishing they’d played at least another half hour.
The good sound of both bands owed a lot to the fact that Gusswerk is an elongated hall, which means the sound doesn’t scatter. It’s very hard to compare the two rock giants, since they’re bands cut from completely different cloth, but in the end Manfred Mann’s Earthband managed to reap a slightly bigger salvo of enthusiasm than the Heepsters. That’s partly because they’re a band that turns up on Austrian soil less often than the Heepsters, who tour every year, which makes it all the greater pleasure to catch one of MMEB’s rare shows near us. The evening in the company of the two rock giants was definitely one of the highlights of this year’s concert season, which means that everyone there will be linked to it by plenty of positive impressions and pleasant memories for a long time to come.
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
URIAH HEEP: 1. Intro 2. Wake The Sleeper 3. Return To Fantasy 4. Only Human 5. Book Of Lies 6. Sunrise 7. Rain 8. Free Me 9. Free N’ Easy 10. Gypsy 11. Angels Walk With You 12. July Morning 13. Easy Livin’ —encore— 14. Lady In Black MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND: 1.Spirits In The Night 2. Castles Burning 3. Martha’s Madman 4. Captain Bobby Scout 5. Shake, Rattle & Roll 6. Father Of Day, Father Of Night 7. Dancing in The Dark 8. Don’t Kill It Carol 9. She Was 10. Blinded By The Light 11. Davy’s On The Road Again —encore— 12. Do Wah Diddy 13. Mighty Quinn
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