Rock legend
Paul ‘The Voice’ Rodgers needs no further introduction and it was great having had the pleasure to see him play live not only once but twice in the same month!
The first event took place at the new Under The Bridge venue on April 13 and was hosted by Planet Rock, who invited a selected audience to an intimate acoustic gig with Rodgers. Before the first song, fans had the opportunity to submit questions, which were read out by Nicky Horne in an onstage-interview. One of the questions was whether Rodgers was worried about filling
Freddie Mercury’s shoes as the new
Queen frontman. “It’s not so much the shoes that worried me” he joked, “but the lurex jumpsuits”. Laughter throughout.
Then he played the first number of the afternoon,
Free’s ‘Soon I Will Be Gone’. Paul Rodgers has always been known for his exquisite, clear and powerful voice and there wasn’t the slightest evidence that over the years, his vocal talents might have diminished. To hear Rodgers play acoustic brought his voice even more to prominence and it was a real treat. Next came ‘Feel Like Making Love’ (
Bad Company) and he also introduced a new song called ‘Take Love’. In between, Nicky Horne proceeded with questions from fans (all of whom were amongst the audience) and Rodgers said that although he lived in Canada for many years, it’s always great to come back home to the UK. Last number was the wonderful ‘Seagull’ for which he was accompanied by Canadian musician Markus Wolfe of King Karma on second guitar (who also made a guest appearance at the Rodgers show at Royal Albert Hall).
Despite the brief set, there still was time for a little signing session afterwards (and for admiring the many framed photos of rock luminaries on the venue’s walls). After so much rock magic and colourful spotlights, it was particularly depressing to step back into the grey daylight the outside world had to offer.
Only two weeks later it was off to the second Paul Rodgers event – not acoustic this time and held in the magnificent Royal Albert Hall. As befits such grand occasion, Paul Rodgers had several surprise guests up his sleeve as well as a super-duper power band that included
Todd Ronning on bass,
Howard Leese on guitar and
Jason Bonham on drums (who, during the course of the show, treated the audience to a killer drumming solo - showing off his impressive skills).
The evening started with support acts
Jasmine Rodgers (that’s Paul’s daughter) and
Joe Elliott’s ‘Down ‘N’ Outz’ (please read separate review).
After a brief interval, Paul and band took to the stage and kick-started the night with ‘Walk In My Shadow’ (
Free), the first of many songs from Rodgers musical back catalogue spanning over four decades. ‘Wishing Well’ was only the second number in and already the audience got up from their seats to groove along.
After another
Free number, ‘Mr. Big’, Paul introduced his new song ‘Take Love’ (which he had already performed at the Planet Rock acoustic gig). Then one of the first surprise guests was welcomed by Rodgers for a duet that turned out to be an absolute highlight: statuesque soul singer
Mica Paris. Mica and Paul belted out ‘Be My Friend’ as if their lives depended on it. Indeed, it seemed like the battle of the voices took place. A scorcher of a number performed by two passionate artists who both are blessed with incredible vocal skills. Combined, they were pure dynamite and set the stage ablaze with their energy.
The atmosphere was electric and the musicians interacted incredibly well with the audience. What was really surprising though was not only the sheer amount of fans from yesteryear who had flocked to see Rodgers play, but the considerable number of young music enthusiasts among the crowd (young girls especially – or had they come for Joe Perry?). Really, it was a joy to witness.
Rodgers remained in top form with the
Bad Company tracks ‘Run with The Pack’, ‘Shooting Star’ and ‘Rock N Roll Fantasy’ while Howard Leese and Todd Ronning (with his trademark Stetson) equally worked their instruments in a rocking manner that displayed fabulous riff work without dominating the overall musical arrangements.
In between all that rockin’, Rodgers threw in a rather mellow acoustic rendition of ‘Seagull’ but things soon rocked hard again with the
Hendrix covers ’12 Little Wings’ and ‘Angel’. If you think that things could not have gotten much better, let me tell you they did. Another surprise guest entered the stage, namely none other than
Bad Company founding member
Mick Ralphs, who promptly performed ‘Can’t Get Enough’ with his compadre of old. What a rock n roll moment!
There was no stopping now, although the set was officially over. Of course it wasn’t over, after all, what are encores for. And Rodgers treated his fans not only to one additional song but three – bringing the evening’s grand total to a proud eighteen. Are this guy’s lungs made of steel? You tell me!
‘Ride On A Pony’ was the first encore, by which time everyone was simply riding on a high, never mind a pony. However, all hell broke loose when the first chords to one of Free’s biggest hits – ‘All Right Now’ – kicked in. The audience cheered and danced along as if all was one big family party. Absolute final number of the night was ‘The Hunter’ and after rapturous applause the punters streamed into the chilly night, seemingly happy and in high spirits.
A truly outstanding concert with some of the most awesome rock classics ever, performed by one of the greatest rock singers ever.
(Photo of Paul Rodgers courtesy of T. Gosling @ Unique-PR)
‘Like’ our Award Winning facebook page and be entered into a draw to win 1000 CDs including rare, signed and promotional copies here!