I
stayed there for the start of The Yardbirds, who were preceded by some clever
radio clips from the pirate radio days introducing their music. The band itself
was that "ideal blend of youth and experience" – the originals Chris Dreja and
Jim McCarty played alongside three very young guys – Andy Mitchell
(vocals/harmonica), David Smale (bass) and the quite awesome Ben King (who keeps
alive the traditions for legendary guitarists in this band – Messrs
Clapton, Beck and Page).The set contained all their hits, which were a strange
mix of R&B and psychedelia (remember that wailing backing vocal sound?) and
we were treated to Heart Full of Soul and For Your Love, as well
as a great four-man drum/percussion solo Again the
crowd loved them and insisted on an encore (the band knew they had over-run and
tried to stop themselves … well not too hard!)
Drummer Jim McCarty did have the grace to acknowledge
that Procol Harum were due on (now) and told the crowd they were about
to see “one of the great British bands”.
A
fractious-looking set-up followed with our crew looking decidedly
dischuffed at the tardiness of the Yardbirds crew breaking up their stuff.
But at 10.40pm it was time for the main event. A blonde
lady gave a two-minute introduction with only four words I could recognize –
Gary, Brooker, Procol and Harum – then the lads trooped on to a most
enthusiastic welcome from the now-filled performance tent for this, their
“marquee” band.
A
brief “Glad to be here” from the hatted Gary, then straight into Shine on
Brightly and then Homburg. Standing on the rail at the front I felt
the punch of every bass drum kick and heard it all with perfect clarity and
power. Many of my neighbours had decided to insert earplugs,
dished out free from bubblegum dispensers on the tent-poles – maybe the Finns
have an exaggerated view on health and safety?
My
notekeeping throughout the set was brief and awkward (and not scoring well for
legibility in the morn!) but I kept the setlist (as did Jens!) and made an
occasional annotation when appropriate, which I share with you now.
The
BtP website was mentioned with a warning there was a Norwegian in the crowd,
somewhere. Gary remembered the 60s looking for the Northern
Lights, dropping some acid and meeting 'the great norse God Valhalla'
... then we were into a spirited Beyond the
Pale. Geoff by now was best buds
with everyone in the front five rows, soloing in his bright tie-die shirt which
blended in beautifully with the front-of-stage flowers. One guitar sufficed for
Mr Whitehorn the whole evening (the pale blue one if you must know … sorry, I
don’t do guitar tech) A 'new song' One Eye on
the Future followed; (by the way there was no One-Eye in Europe this week)
then An Old English Dream (how does this start, asks Gary!)
Gary
then asked if “any of you were here last year?” and told them
that “We think you're the best audience in the world … so we
came back” The next one was to feature Geoff (“not on
vocals” he protested – an obvious reference to 2009) and we were into
The Devil Came from Kansas, a thundering success for both Geoffs
really.
A
wonderful Grand Hotel followed, stately and unhurried – one of about ten
songs tonight that the audience obviously had a particular fondness
for.
Gary explained the
band had just returned from an American tour supporting Jethro Tull – “remember
him, the guy with one leg who plays the flute?” so we had two American songs,
Wall Street Blues and The Blink of an Eye, with their contrasting
messages of the decade past. These have become fully
developed in the live set and allow the entire band to flourish and
blend.
Hooray! Robert's Box, always a
favourite for this doctor doctor. I just
love the fun of this, though I have yet to hear the band do the transition to
the ending perfectly, like what it is on the record.
"Being at a jazz festival, I thought we should do some
blues"… but not what I would expect – it was the blue moods of Strangers in
Space we were to hear, with a wonderful Matt Pegg solo, but everyone doing
well to make this a standout track again.
The
contemporary rap War is Not Healthy (I am starting to like this) is
followed by a new song – Yours if you Want It – perhaps a song for late
middle-age (surely not autobiographical?). I was asking
myself if this was Brooker/Reid but Jens tells me it was done in the rarities
show in London. It did however contain the phrase which might
have made it appropriate for this festival --
“Two left feet. Dance like a spaz.
The music I like… is jazz
...” . A fun song in
the great Procol tradition.
Pandora's Box got a cheer of recognition then we
heard the masterpice A Salty Dog.. “Are there any 'bus issues?” asked
Gary. “Here is a song for walking home to – watched over
by those from above” Naturally both were played
to perfection and, after a truly storming Conquistador as
"Gracias to all our amigos", the band went off to ecstatic
acclaim.
Whisky Train was the first encore song, with Geoff
Dunn given a chance to shine, before the unique and unexpected gift to this
faithful crowd – though only a few of us recognized what we were hearing
was both beautiful – and indeed unique. A three
verse AWSoP, but with a great guitar solo from Geoff between verses one
and two. I heard Cliff Goodwin doing
something similar (but shorter) with Joe Cocker (in a band with BJ Wilson
on the drums) but this was a first for me with Procol (and
sound engineer Graham confirmed he hadn’t heard this before either).
The
band by now were on their third set of introductions – Gary insisted each play a
little signature segment, before Geoff predicted that Gary would live to be
164!
Ten
minutes short of two hours, the band departed, much lauded and loved by this
large crowd of friendly Finns. I departed too, hugely
heartened by the performance and by the surprise extra ending to the evening.
And no midge bites either!
A
hot airless night in my cheap hotel, but the morning brought a trip down to
Helsinki by car then train and from there I am writing this for you
now. The band (and Jens and indeed Roland) move on to the next
venue – a free concert in Bergamo. Now how did a Scotsman
miss out on this?!
I
will send some photos when I can get the technology … possibly when I get home
on Sunday. I will be back with Procol
Harum in Copenhagen in January.
