Author: Jernej Vene
Venue: Casino Perla / Nova Gorica / Slovenia
Concert date: July 27, 2006
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: 1000 SIT
22.10 – 23.40
Brit Paul Young is known as a great 1980s pop singer. Who doesn’t remember hits like Come Back And Stay, Everything Must Change, Everytime You Go Away, Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home), I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down and the rest? Not all of them came from his pen, of course, but he breathed a different, yet interesting, soul into them. The folks at Nova Gorica’s Perla look after their guests with an entertainment program too, and we’ve caught world-class stars there a few times, on top of a small sea of Italian ones. Personally, I was most blown away by Canadian Gino Vannelli’s show six years ago (he might come to Ljubljana this winter, we’ll see…). The news that Paul Young was coming was a surprise, but my buddies and I gave him a chance anyway.
Fifty-year-old Paul Young was seriously ill a few years back and lost his record deal too, so during the break he gathered some friends who dig tex-mex (country mixed with Latin music, played along the border between Texas and Mexico) and country from the American Southwest. The first joke is already in the fact that the band is made up entirely of Brits and Scots. They’ve put out a few records of their own, too. Basically, these are seasoned studio and touring musicians with years of experience behind them. Guitarist and singer Drew Barfield wrote songs for Go West, Joe Jackson, Paul Young and Level 42; Melvyn Duffy plays pedal steel guitar, has worked with Jimmy Nail and Leo Sayer, and toured with Robbie Williams; bassist Steve Greatham has worked with Joan Armatrading, Julio Fordham and Chris De Burgh; Scottish accordionist Matt Irving has played with Lords Of The New Church, Squeeze, Chris Reo, Jools Holland, Roger Waters and Manfred Mann. Maybe the most prominent of all is guitarist and singer Jamie Moses, Young’s longtime friend, who has spread his guitar skills around Pretenders, Mike & the Mechanics and Chaki Khan, Gary Barlow (ex-Take That), Mici Paris, Tony Hadley (ex-Spandau Ballet), Pete Townshend (The Who), Karl Wallinger (World Party), Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company, Queen) and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics).
After an instrumental cowboy theme to open, the gentlemen, decked out in cowboy boots, worn-out jeans and hats, got us moving with Little sister (written by Pomus and Shuman), popularized by Ry Cooder. I don’t doubt their instrumental chops, but the show came across as pretty pathetic, because they were quite hoarse with each other. Good thing there are four lead vocalists and two more on backing vocals, because Paul Young alone couldn’t have pulled off the songs on the program. On top of that, he also plays electric and acoustic guitar, which he could stand to practice a bit from time to time. From song to song, the atmosphere got more and more grotesque for a serious listener. The guys did entertain the crowd with more or less witty gags, assorted dance steps and imitations of the Southern US dialect, but they didn’t win me over. With every song I was laughing harder. I reckon some local lads from Zajčja Dobrava would play just as well, if not better. And what’s left of Paul Young, the pop icon of the eighties, is truly sad. We can forgive him the health problems, but not the burnt-out voice that can’t hit a single high note anymore. In cases like this, crafty musicians fall back on the old trick: drop the song into a lower key and the problem is gone. Los Pacaminos, though, seem never to have thought of that in all their years of career. Uffff. Then the choruses in some songs were sung rhythmically very poorly, which poured fresh oil on the fire of our dissatisfaction. A buddy asked me who’s singing now, and I said I wasn’t sure, so he replied that whoever wants to sings…:-))) The whole thing looked like the Mojmir terrace in Savudrija in 1972. Jamie Moses kept having trouble with his amp, which wouldn’t behave and kept producing loud feedback (squealing). Twice, waitresses Barbara and Nevenka came up on stage (Moses kept saying Novenka, so we helped him say her name right once) and brought trays full of tequila. The guys emptied them in no time and then topped up generously with local green-label beer. They sank deeper and deeper into an alcoholic haze and musical ruin. By the end, the only ones still applauding were a group of five Italian female fans, who were over the moon just to see Paul Young live for once. Jamie Moses even threw an empty bottle at his tech at one point, but the guy didn’t catch it and it all smashed to pieces….Brrrr. Los Pacaminos play a sea of covers, and the only thanks they deserve is for educating the younger audience. For a bit of schooling, you can read the name of the original artist next to each song title (thanks to Dragan Bulič for the pointers). Anyway, you didn’t miss a thing!
Setlist
1. Little Sister (Elvis Presley, later Ry Cooder)
2. My My My
3. Manana
4. Tequila (The Champs)
5. Little Bit Is Better Than Nada (Texas Tornados)
6. He’ll Have To Go (Jim Reeves)
7. Nothing You Can Do
8. Poor Boys
9. The Highway Patrol
10. Saved (LaVern Baker)
11. Do We Want The Same Things?
12. Tequila (once more:-))
13. Guacamole (Texas Tornados)
14. I Told Her Lies
15. Belle (Al Green)
16. Woolly Bully (Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs)
—encore—
17. Save The Last Dance For Me (The Drifters)
18. La Bamba (Richie Valens, later Los Lobos)
19. Los Pacaminos (to the tune of Guantanamera)
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