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De
Montfort Hall, Leicester Last Update: 03. oktober 2003
Arthur may not be aware that in 1967, Jimi Hendrix played on the very stage on which he performed in Leicester yesterday. I was three years old at the time and missing the concert would not have been uppermost in my mind back then. But nothing would have kept my wife and I from attending the De Montfort Hall to see Love last night. I keep a daily log for my work and usually put the odd personal comment in there. This morning I wrote "Love concert last night. Utterly wonderful." I looked back to June 14th 2002. The entry there read "Love concert last night. Utterly wonderful." That was Wolverhampton, the first time we ever saw them. We saw them in Birmingham in September too. The sound didn’t seem so good but it was still a great concert. But last night was something really special. From other reviews we’d read here, we expected it to be good but drag out your thesaurus and look for all the words relating to ‘superb’ and you’ll have a pretty good idea of our feelings about it. I tried to remember the set list but all I can say for sure was that they played all of ‘Forever Changes’ first, had a quick break and then launched into ‘My little red book’, ‘Orange skies’ and, er, oh who cares ! The venue wasn’t packed but it was still a well attended concert. The support act played for about half an hour and received quite a good reception. Their name eluded me and so did their lyrics but they made, to my ears, a good sound. I think it was Bruce Springsteen on lead guitar but he seemed to be playing somewhat better than usual and we were quite a long way back…. Love arrived on stage at 8.45 and left after their encore at 10.35. Arthur was on top form and the string and brass section really made the sound of FC come alive, with Baby Lemonade perfectly pitching their volume to avoid losing the accoustic accompaniment. The second half saw the group at their usual peak. It’s made to look so easy by them that you forget just how complex and demanding the music is. If Jimi was looking down last night, Mike Randle would have made him proud (‘August’ – amazing !). One of the great guitar players performing today ? I think so. But that’s not to decry his illustrious colleagues. Arthur, you have a great band. There have been a few less than glowing words about the new song ‘My anthem’. It’s not Arthur’s greatest but then Bach had his less than perfect compositions too. Oh yes, these two names can sit happily together on a line on a page. Any complaints ? Well only that after introducing Mike ,Rusty and Dave, along with the string and brass ensemble, Arthur seemed to forget the name David Green (he’s your drummer, man !) so take a bow ! The only melancholy thought I now have is, simply, will I ever see them again ? Come back soon, Love. For my wife and I, you will always be ‘Utterly wonderful.’ Joe Greaves.
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