Classic Rock Show @ Cliffs Pavilion, Southend

Classic Rock Show, Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, Thursday 25^th January 2013

I got two free tickets (courtesy of Grapevine) to one of the best tribute bands in the country/world, Brit Floyd, but not on one of their usual Pink Floyd tribute tours, this time they were doing stuff by other bands like AC/DC, Springsteen, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Fleetwood Mac. So here's my review of The Classic Rock Show. (This review is also on GrapevineLive.co.uk)

At the risk of creating some sort of ‘ode to cover bands’ I am going to start this review with a personal belief... Cover bands are important. There are people that see the word ‘covers’ as a derogatory term, suggesting that a musician is somehow not very good because they choose to play songs previously recorded by others. However, without performances like Thursday night’s Classic Rock Show at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff I would never had experienced some of the best songs ever recorded being played live by expert musicians with the production values to match.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Cliffs, but it wasn’t long before I was settled in for a huge set of Classic Rock tracks. I picked up my two complimentary tickets (courtesy of Grapevine) at the box office and it wasn’t long before my buddy and I were sitting in row G as the opening notes of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ chimed from the stage.

The set list was based around the ten biggest selling albums of all time so each song was going to be a favourite, but amongst the Back in Blacks and Money For Nothings that have been performed by many of the cover bands I have seen in the past there were some songs that very nearly surpassed the originals and are seldom heard in the pubs and clubs on a Saturday night. This is mostly because of the eleven singers and musicians in the show, with the line-up changing from song to song to give each track that unique and definitive sound, which is quite an achievement when the set list features so many different styles, like the simple heavy rock of AC/DC to the much more complicated ensemble required for ELO. Of course having that many talented individuals on stage can often be a double edged sword, yes you get the ability to perform complicated, multi-layered tracks live with two keyboards and three guitarists, but sometimes having that many instruments on stage at once can be too busy as each instrument competes against the other. Fortunately the level of professionalism on and off stage meant the sound was spot on for every song they played and that became apparent when the band played Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell (the full version, none of that radio edit nonsense) which received a rapturous applause as all eleven performers were on stage for the first time that evening.

The final performance of the first half was Comfortably Numb, from Pink Floyd’s The Wall album. I didn’t realise at first, but much of the band play in Brit Floyd, the Pink Floyd tribute band, and after seeing that performance of Comfortably Numb I would say I would very much like to see them as Brit Floyd. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of the evening. The extended guitar solo was epic and the whole theatre loved it.

A short break to reflect on the first half and the thing that seemed to intrigue me most was the production valOf course, finding out the band are mostly Brit Floyd explained why there was such a big production laid on for us but I was still amazed by the lighting, projections, roadies, musicians and number of guitars. It was a proper show for people (like me) that will probably never get to see the original artists performing live.

Second half was much like the first, brilliant. More excellent songs done excellently and even a quiet moment for Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet which, amid the bright lights and guitar solos of the other songs, gave everybody a chance to really appreciate the level of quality on stage as each little detail was performed to perfection, even ELO’s Mr. Blue Sky had all the effects and ELO-ness it required to sound as good as (if not better than) the original.  I’m sure by now you realise I enjoyed myself immensely.

The last song of the evening came in the form of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, which had the whole ensemble on stage and had plenty of hand clapping and a few sing alongs in the crowd. Having two of the guitarists play ‘that’ solo,in unison, face to face, sounded great and was just another testimony to the quality of guitar playing up on stage. A huge applause followed the band as they left the stage and the applause kept going, morphing into a uniform beat and returning to full on applause as the band returned for an encore beginning with a cover, of a cover, Joe Cocker’s version of The Beatles’ ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’, then The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ capped off a brilliant night of brilliant songs by a brilliant band.

Well, it wasn’t quite over as our complimentary tickets had an after party sticker enclosed, so after a bit of standing around awkwardly as the band wound down with their friends and family we had a short chat with one of the two lead singers (But it was only a short chat because I had work in the morning, such is my rock and roll lifestyle). He clearly likes what he does and is obviously appreciative of Brit Floyd and their promoters doing the tour, because without a good promoter these kinds of shows just can’t happen, which would be a great shame because it was a fantastic demonstration of just how good live music is, whether it be original songs or tried and tested classic rock tracks.

The Classic Rock Show is still on tour all over the country, more info and tickets can be found here >> http://www.theclassicrockshow.com/tour-dates