The Hollies - Concert Review

Preston Guild Hall, 26^th April 2003 - by Peej

Short Version: Fan-wonderfully-Tastic!

Long Version: The moment I stepped into the Guild Hall, I knew that the concert was going to be a huge success! I'd been lucky to meet 5 out of 6 Hollies before the show- I'll have to arrive earlier to catch Tony next time- and I'd found all the members very friendly and fantastic!

As soon as the house lights dimmed, intro music to the concert was played and I was able to pick out familiar guitar riffs from some of the earlier Hollies hits. The guys came onto stage to applause and with great energy launched into Long Cool Woman, this was well received as were the "wall- to- wall hits" that they played. The guitar solos, although mostly played by Tony and some by Alan, were wonderful.

The guys were on top form and Carl swung his microphone so many times I was sure he was going to drop it, but he never did! Carl's humour and jokes were great, he connected very well with the audience and is a great front man for the group.

When Carl, Ian and Bobby left the stage we were treated to Listen to Me and Gasoline Alley Bred by Tony, Alan and Ray. I was blown away by the Listen to Me introduction, I think it was acapella, I'm not sure but it still blew me away.

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Peej, Bobby and Spev

@Some of the bands lesser known hits in Europe were played to us including Blowin' In The Wind as written by that Preston local; Bamber Bridge Bob but then we were told later by Carl, that Bob had come from somewhere else. Blowin' In the Wind was fantastic as was the Baby with Tony's electric sitar pulling the audience into the music. Fantastic!
Alan Coates' Butterfly was perfect. I quite enjoy Graham Nash's version but watching Alan perform this song in complete control of the audience was fantastic. Alan did break a string at this concert, which Tony remarked on and said it would petrify him if that happened during a guitar solo but as Alan replied, his strings were cheaper!

The audience were also treated to Tony's banjo work! Tony picked up the banjo and played it, eventually joined by Bobby, but I didn't notice what happened, I had never heard such wonderful banjo playing in all my life! Again, Tony drew you into the music he was playing and the audience appreciated this a lot. This led to a very energetic version of Stop Stop Stop, it's a shame no-one danced to it because I'm sure that's what was expected of the audience. Speaking of the audience, they were asked to participate during Blackberry Way as Carl held out his microphone stand trying to get the audience to sing. He got a very welcome response to this!

The other musical talents of the band members were shown to the audience. For We're Through, Ian Parker donned a miners lamp and his piano accordion and wandered through the stalls, much to the delight of the audience. Carl Wayne also showed us his skills on the keyboard. During Bus Stop, Ian Parker donned his piano accordion again but this time swapped places with Ray Stiles and started to kidnap his stuffed toy dog; Shep. Moving slowly round the back of the stage with Ian, Shep soon ended up in front of Bobby's drums as Ray returned his position to notice the dog's disappearance. playing was amazing.

Having mentioned all of the band except him, I know I wouldn't get away without mentioning Bobby- his drumming was fantastic all through the night as he accompanied the guys with such energy and spirit. I noticed his concentration at his work as the percussionist as well, during Soldier's Song. As he worked through the various bits of percussion and then onto his drums, he added a very eerie atmosphere to this fantastic song.

I also want to add something about the lighting now because that was fantastic and really made the show special, especially during Soldier's Song where the strong reds really emphasised the song.

There were many dedications during the night. For example, Blackberry Way was dedicated to Roy Wood. One other dedication was of Carrie-Anne to Graham Nash. As the lighting changed to give a Caribbean feel to the song, the guys played the famous chorus singing their 'doo doo' and then from the audience we could hear Graham's trademark 'Hey Carrie-Anne' top vocal line being played and that really brought a thrill to the song.

Eventually, the crowd was up and dancing during Ray Stiles' singing of Tiger Feet and after such a bouncy tune, came He Ain't Heavy and then It's In Every One of Us!

These got the audience swaying together and many shouts of more, more!

Unfortunately, the band had to leave us at some point! It was a thoroughly enjoyable night and well worth all the money I paid to come to Preston from Newcastle to see it!

Keep it going guys and I look forward to seeing you all in November!

By Peej.

Setlist

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