Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Dom pristaniških delavcev (Teatro Miela) / Trieste / Italy
Concert date: 05.05.2011
Attendance: 300
Ticket price: €26.00
John Waite, the great AOR vocalist of the golden age of the eighties, best known for the huge evergreen hit Missing You, a successful solo career and a short stint in the AOR supergroup Bad English, put out his new studio album “Rough And Tumble” (2011, Frontiers Records) this January.
“Rough And Tumble” is a great new achievement from Waite, finally ending the four-year gap since its predecessor “Downtown: Journey Of A Heart” (2007). It’s been a long time since John moved from Great Britain to the US. About all that still ties the musician to the British isles he once called home is a proper English accent, which he pointed out himself at the afternoon press conference held in the hall’s foyer before his show.
The opening slot of the evening went to local act AbbaZabba. For this occasion only, the band played as a duo, and in this stripped-down version they were a full-on surprise. If you love “sad”-sounding bands, starting with R.E.M., a bit of Jeff Buckley, and the new-wave alt rock stuff that “borrows” the organic-sounding semi-acoustic guitars of that “old-school The Byrds” sound, this is for you. Excellent vocals, excellent handling of English lyrics. For an Italian, truly excellent. A powerful voice with a slightly throaty edge won everyone over with its deeply felt delivery, dominating for 40 minutes. They flew by in no time. To everyone into modern indie rock, I recommend checking this band out. You won’t regret it. For Italy, definitely a standout when it comes to indie rock! Although let’s be honest, AbbaZabba belong on a stage as an opener for U2, not in front of John Waite’s melodic rock.
John Waite took the stage with a classic lineup. A quartet, that is. John Waite (vocals), Kyle Cook (guitar), Tim Hogan (bass) and Rodger Carter (drums). The rhythm section is actually unchanged. John came through with the same guys on his visit to Graz two years ago, which the RockLine crew of course didn’t miss. The new name in the band is guitarist Kyle Cook, who came to John from Matchbox Twenty and replaced his predecessor Jimmy Leahy.
The small hall is obviously meant for puppet shows and plays. It has a few little lamps, so the intimate “cabaret” atmosphere is taken care of. Luckily the seats on the floor were nicely filled, while the balcony, which could take another 100 or so people, stayed completely empty. Still enough for a feeling of warmth and being wanted.
John kicks off with the debut “Ignition” (1982) and the song Change. Straight up, no detours, with a direct rock attitude! The view was pretty much standard. John, whose hair has grown back lush after two years since our last meeting, once again in an elegant suit! On his left bassist Tim Hogan, who could stand in for one of the Ramones brothers, drummer Rodger Carter in a hat at the back, and on John’s right the “Rockabilly” kid Kyle Cook, who you might think had wandered into the wrong gig (judging by looks)! The band had taken a minor hit the day before in Munich, where the guys were left without two guitars and two amps after the show. Yep. Looks like people are happily stealing in Germany too. Anyway, they apparently didn’t manage to steal Kyle’s cherry-red Gibson Les Paul, because the guitarist wielded it deftly at the Trieste show too.
John Waite confirmed that his vocals have kept every trait of a great rock singer. The recognizable timbre, the exceptional sophistication especially evident in the calmer moments, like the dark Sucide Life and Downtown, which John introduced as the heavier numbers, though the band loves playing them on stage. Fuel was poured on the fire right at the start with The Babys cover Back On My Feet Again, while the album “Rough And Tumble” got its moment of glory through Evil, Mr. Wonderfull and Better Of Gone. Somewhere in the middle things got lively in the little hall thanks to the Bad English classic Best Of What I Got. In the second half of the show John returns to the new album with Love’s Goin’ Out Of Style and If You Ever Get Lonely. After a drum solo, which more or less served to give the other three a breather, the guys come back on stage. Each with a bottle of beer, and they don’t forget to bring one to Rodger Carter too, who was panting behind the kit in the meantime. Overture into John’s mega hit Missing You. What was interesting is that Kyle reworked the opening guitar riff and played the first chord in minor. As soon as John came in with the vocals, Kyle also cut in with the right chord. The effect of this change passed the test with flying colors! As expected, this was the point where the hall hit its peak noise level, which the excellent new song Rough And Tumble kept up afterwards. The nicest surprise of the night was Whenever You Come Around, which originally belongs to American “country guy” Vince Gill. Of course John approached it in full rocker fashion. The intensity of the show held its fiery stance through the obligatory encore too, when Every Time I Think Of You and the closing Head First by John’s band The Babys rang out.
A great setlist, geared toward promoting the new album, in an intimate club atmosphere with excellent acoustics. An hour and three quarters of pure playing. Interestingly, John pays no attention to keyboards whatsoever. Raw rock n’ roll backing is enough for him. John is a great interpreter and an outstanding stage performer who wins you over instantly with his charisma and dynamic movement. He still holds up convincingly, in line with the demanding high vocal standards, and takes on every vocal range. He doses out the lines with emotion and cunningly builds up the theatricality of the songs. He certainly doesn’t shy away from the spices he inherited from the soul acrobats either, using them to masterfully refine individual lines and lift the dynamics of the live performances.
This was one of those rare concert nights when all of us melodic rock and AOR fans got our money’s worth. John Waite is today the only musician who can delight music nuts with live performances of Bad English and The Babys material. For that reason alone, a real rocker is obliged to attend his show. Add his excellent solo studio work and there’s no reason for anyone to miss him. This year there aren’t many melodic rock gigs anywhere near our parts, so John Waite’s visit conjured up a little joy for the few “still living” AOR fans, and quite a few of the people at this show came from Slovenia too. John Waite is clearly in outstanding form. Let’s hope he keeps up the promotion of his new studio effort and that his road leads him back (at least) close to our neck of the woods again soon.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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