| The
Sensational Alex Harvey Band have continued without the legendary
man himself - John Young went to see them play at The Bottom Line
in London |
My earliest
memories of Alex Harvey are a little scant in relation to their
70's heyday. I first became a convert in 1981 when I was involved
in a club in Liverpool and booked the late great Alex three
times prior to his death. So how do you replace a legend? Difficult
- yes - Impossible - no!
A hot and
sultry night in an Irish pub is not necessarily in my top ten
list of things to do but tonight is different - the Sensational
Alex Harvey Band are in town and some fun is guaranteed. The
line up is still much as before musically. Ted and Hugh McKenna
covering the drums and keys respectively - although the Mini
Moog is no longer present. Chris Glen on Bass and Zal Clemenson
on guitar with new singer Stevie who for some reason is referred
to as Jimmy which has somewhat confused his mother who is a
guest this evening. The Chaps (young men they are not) take
to the stage with Faith Healer - it's demonic bass line reverberating
around the hall (it's amazing what you can do with one note.)
But Zal's not happy - he can't hear the guitar and neither can
we! At last the appropriate fader is set to eleven and Zal bursts
forth in all his glory.
In fact as the glee factor sinks in Zal launches a pint of beer
from the stage into the punters below - one customer takes great
offence and lunges at Zal with a sharp implement causing severe
damage to Zal's hand and the gig grinds to a halt. After losing
enough blood to keep a hospital operational its back into the
set with a brief announcement that if that's what your pints
worth I'd have bought you a bottle of scotch.
OK problem. How do you re-establish audience rapport and participation
after such scenes of carnage? Solution - play on and win the
audience back over. The SAHB's are both heavy and musical at
the same time as is shown in "St Anthony" and the new number
"Stone Dead".
Entertainment is often sadly missing from some of today manufactured
acts - not so here. The on stage rapport, jokes and banter all
help to pull the audience into the frame of mind that its not
such bad thing to be seen enjoying yourself.
As the set continues with such classics as "Framed" - blues
at it's best and "Boston Tea Party" total audience participation
becomes the order of the day - we are hooked "Give my compliments
to the Chef" with its stilted offbeat riff is almost hypnotic
- and Zal's playing (despite injury) leads me to believe he
is without doubt one of the most underrated exponents of the
wooden plank on the planet. All too soon it's encore time and
the massed choirs of the Bottom Line join in with the authentic
"Delilah" complete with the now expected and exalted dance routine
from Chris and Zal.
After the show Zal was treated for his injuries and the exhausted
crowd went home very happy. My thoughts - well this band's a
bit like a wine maturing with age, in a world where there is
a distinct lack of melody, dynamics , excellent chord structures
and tasteful solos - you could do yourself a favour and go see
the Sensational Alex Harvey Band!
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