Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Location: Hauptplatz / Feldkirchen / Austria
Concert date: 08/24/2007
Attendance: 1100
Ticket price: 47.00€
Anyone who knows me knows that a Uriah Heep show, every single time I get the chance to see them, is a kind of personal music holiday: a day when the grin usually stays plastered on my face for ages, and my spirit hangs out somewhere “up there” for a good while after the gig is over. This year I’d already caught them at the Lovely Days festival in St. Pölten, where (naturally) they left a very good impression despite some minor technical hiccups with the PA. That was also the first time I saw them in their new lineup, with new drummer Russel Gilbrook. Uriah Heep had been a rock-solid lineup from 1987 until the start of this year, when the legendary drummer Lee “The Bear” Kerslake decided to retire because of illness. His spot behind the drums and on backing vocals was filled by the much younger Gilbrook. At first I was pretty skeptical about the swap, but once I saw him live for the first time, I could see for myself that he’s an excellent drummer with a mighty touch who doesn’t hold back on energy. As a backing vocalist he’ll still need some time before I fully accept him. At the same time, I think he’s brought a more-than-needed dash of youthful energy to a band that’s long past its prime. The key foursome are of course still in their places, aging like fine wine: guitarist Mick Box (the last original member and the band’s main driving force), bass player Trevor Bolder (one of the best bassists in rock history, ever since he started out in Bowie’s band Spiders From Mars), keyboardist Phil Lanzon (the best possible replacement for the legendary Ken Hensley they could have found, and an equally versatile keyboardist and backing singer) and the phenomenal singer Bernie Shaw (who in my opinion is only the third-best singer in their history, right behind David Byron and John Lawton, but is an excellent mix of the two and criminally overlooked). This is simply a band that can’t disappoint its fans even when they have technical trouble on stage (as at this year’s Lovely Days festival) or the weather gives them a hard time (as happened this night).
So let me get to the meat of the report, now that I’ve given everyone who wasn’t in the loop a bit of background on the band. Just when I’d almost killed off any hope of seeing them a second time in one year (by the way, the ticket price was murderous, which showed in the pretty meager crowd gathered on the main square in the middle of Feldkirchen), “the skies cleared after all”, and Aleš and I got to witness another show by the indestructible Heepsters. After a rough drive in a seriously “under the weather” car, we finally made it to the “scene of the crime” and took in the view of the picturesque town square, lined mostly with cafés and drink stands. Since two support acts had been announced, neither of which got me particularly excited, I decided to watch the goings-on from a distance until Heep showed up, from behind a table. The pleasant ambiance that had reigned until then was quickly ruined by the first of the two openers, who launched into some hopelessly out-of-tune blues that sounded like it had been dragged straight out of my worst nightmare. These off-key local hayseeds had the microphone strapped to a pitchfork, and still I felt zero pity for them, or for the more than half an hour of indescribably boring music they played. Their successors, who took the stage with clichéd power blues, at least showed they could play, even though I kept yawning like crazy and checking my watch. What stuck with me most was their singer, a veritable grey walrus next to whom even Lech Walesa would look like an elegant seal. Still, I have to admit “Papa Walrus” held up relatively well vocally, and the band gave its small crowd of followers exactly what they wanted. Some people, it seems, are just very easy to please.
Our wait was over a little after nine, when our “old acquaintances” finally marched on stage (this show was already my fifth encounter with them). And then something funny happened, something a starry-eyed fan could easily chalk up to the mysticism that has surrounded this band since the day it was born. Almost in the same breath as the legendary rock “shamans” kicked into “So Tired” (once again they had exactly the same set as last time, and I think it’s high time they freshened it up a bit, because I badly missed that special element of surprise I usually expect at most gigs), it suddenly started raining. Despite the ever heavier downpour, which eventually eased off a little, the crowd didn’t stop cheering on the legendary musicians. After a very well played but not overly thrilling opening, they continued with “Cry Freedom”, one of my favorite songs from the Bernie era. Bernie cracked a joke about the rain, while singing most of the songs better than I can remember in a long time, noticeably better than at Lovely Days. The others were in relatively good spirits too, though you could tell they weren’t thrilled about the weather. In the spirit of alternating between old and newer material, they carried on with “Fallin’ In Love”, which was the first to bring a breath of romance into the atmosphere. It’s always a pleasure to hear a treat from the Lawton era, and this time too we got a very decent performance. “Words in the Distance”, another of my favorites from the “modern era”, continued the streak of excellent renditions. The rain failed to wreck the great atmosphere and the interaction between stage and crowd. Bernie, as usual, quickly used it to get the audience more involved and singing individual vocal parts, especially the choruses. There’s no slacking off at a Uriah Heep show, after all. “Stealin” has always been that beloved Heep hit whose mischievous, cowboy flavor wakes up even the most checked-out person, and a song from the Byron era that seems made for Bernie’s voice. Of the newer material, “Between Two Worlds” followed. Then Mick grabbed an acoustic guitar and played the first chords of their legendary classic “The Wizard”, the true musical incarnation of positivity. I’ve been “in love” with this song since the first time I heard it, and even though the rain was hammering down hardest right then, I sang it from start to finish as usual. The pop-rock-flavored “Free Me” from the Lawton era, which the vast majority of the German-speaking world knows because it was their biggest hit in that region, was yet another key moment of close cooperation between the crowd and the band. This was followed by a few more highlights of the show. “Sunrise” was definitely one of them, a mighty song about a sunrise, which Bernie once again sang with incredible fire while I watched him with my mouth hanging open. To the great delight of many older fans who remember the band’s first steps, “Gypsy” was up next, their first classic from their debut album. As expected, this was one of Mick’s best moments, where he showed off a whole string of juicy solos. This night we also got a seriously extended version of “Look At Yourself”, with a jam in the middle between Mick, Trevor and Russel. Then came the peak of the main set with the masterful epic “July Morning”. This was Lanzon’s big moment of the night, as he put on a bravura show on the Hammond organ and mini Moog. Of course he wasn’t alone in delivering a superb performance, and the other members brought this timeless epic home to its end very well too.
That was the end of the main set. The Heepsters hurried back with the punchy “Bird Of Prey”, a song in more hard rock and metal territory, a very fitting pick for reviving those “sleepyheads” in the crowd whom the rain had managed to lull a bit. As usual, they closed the show with their two best-known and best-loved classics, “Easy Livin'” and “Lady In Black”, which was anything but a surprise. During “Easy Livin'”, the power in the main cable cut out, so we in the crowd, with only the drum beat to help us, practically had to finish the song ourselves, which luckily the vast majority of those present knew. Funnily enough, this was the second time this year I’d experienced something like that at a gig (at the Jethro Tull show in Pordenone, the performance even had to end early because of a dead main cable, and that also happened near the end of the set). Luckily the band quickly sorted out the unpleasant mishap. The power came back, so they could properly play the last song of the night, “Lady In Black”, the second acoustic moment of the evening, where the crowd sang the famous “ah-ah-e” in the choruses as usual. The band’s farewell was accompanied by long, enthusiastic ovations, and the Heepsters, true to form, kept thanking the crowd for their great participation. Mick wasn’t as generous with his picks this time as he usually is, since he only tossed them to his own side of the stage, but anyone who came mainly to enjoy the music didn’t lose much sleep over it. My lady friend wasn’t too happy about it, though she also agreed the show was played at an enviable level. In my memory, it didn’t top their show in Munich four years ago, but it definitely ranks among the three best I’ve seen them play. Some people up front complained that the vocals were poorly audible the whole time, while where I stood (near the mixing desk) the sound was simply excellent. If the ticket price had been even a little more humane, I’m sure there would have been a lot more people, not less than half a square. Ignoring that and the bad weather, I can confirm we once again witnessed a top-notch performance by some of the last surviving wizards of rock music, from whom you really can’t expect anything less than pure perfection.
Setlist
1. So Tired
2. Cry Freedom
3. Fallin’ In Love
4. Words In A Distance
5. Stealin’
6. Between Two Worlds
7. The Wizard
8. Free Me
9. Sunrise
10. Gypsy
11. Look At Yourself
12.) July Morning
—encore—
13.) Bird Of Prey
14.) Easy Livin’
15.) Lady In Black
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