Hello,

If you've ever suffered through one of my mini-reviews then you'll know that I'm not usually stuck for some drivel to try to describe how wonderful I find live music.
This time I'm floundering because so many others have written about Wilko's situation and what he and his music mean to them so much more eloquently than I could do in a month of Sundays.

I've seen this band about ten times or so and I don't think that they've ever played better: this isn't said through sentiment though. I overheard some punters saying that "...at least he was going out on top...", which I suppose you could say. It's just so f**king unfair.

These shows were all about the music and the cancer was never mentioned outright. There were two moments that I recall that sent a shiver through me, though- when Wilko was caressing his Tele he did sing that he would be with his wife Irene soon...of course f**king cancer took her life a while back too. And during the final extended version of 'Bye Bye Johnny' he also told us that "...the train will come for us all...", complete with a knowing glance. Couple that with the way that he said "...thank you, goodnight...and good-bye..." and it's difficult not to let your emotions get the better of you.

Thanks to the two audiences too: the racket they made was frankly ridiculous, hah-hah! Glasgow was even worse (or better) and was rewarded with another song...the band looked stunned at the ovation to be fair. Maybe they'll use that in the live DVD which I'm hoping is/has been shot. Nailed on, no?

Right, that's it then except for a crazy amount of photos- I hope that I don't piss off BV too much but this won't be happening again. Indeed we will not see Wilko's like again...

The photos are from last Friday at Holmfirth, and the video is from Glasgow the following night.

































































Cheers,

Simon.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-11 01:58 by SimonN.

Wonderful and heartbreaking pic Simon.

Lovely pic Simon.
Looking forward to your usual good review . ><

I was at the London gig on Wednesday. Absolutely wild crowd, packed to the rafters and Wilko gave us a storming set. It was a happy and uplifting occasion. Jimmy Page was spotted there as was Danny Boyle. Alison Moyet joined him for the encore. I have met Wilko several times and he is a great bloke, incredibly well read and full of great quotes and stories. Doesn't surprise me in the least that he's refused chemo. Cos he's the ultimate hero thru and thru.

Awesome gig from start to finish. Particularly poignant, 12 min versionof Johnny B. Goode for an encore and a simple 'goodnight, and goodbye' with a wry smile to end. A perfect goodbye that was all about the music.

Damn, I meant to go to this, it's only a few miles from my house and completely forgot. Wilko is a true legend and I wish him all the very best.

Great photo. Can't wait for more my friend. I'm very envious of you guys 'across the pond'. I've contacted the Grammy Museum here in L.A. to strongly suggest they fly him over for an interview/performance. The museum has not really documented this genre/history of music for it's archieves and it's an opportunity that should not missed.

Scotty,
Irvine, CA

Thanks for the fantastic post, Simon. I was at the Glasgow gig and it was tremendous. Yes, it was a good old Glasgow audience that used to be the norm in the days of the old Apollo (now long gone, but it was where I first saw Wilko with the Feelgoods). I was down at the barrier at the ABC and can see my head bobbing and arms waving on your video. The last three times Wilko's played Glasgow, it was in the smaller of the two ABC halls, capacity about 350. For this gig, he sold out the 1200 capacity main hall in a morning!

The show and the atmosphere were so electric that it was easy to forget the reason for the tour - exactly what Wilko wanted, I suspect - and it was a bittersweet experience. There's a lot of songs that have been part of my life since I was a teenager that I'll never hear being played by their originator again.

Thanks to Wilko and the band for such a fitting farewell. I'm off work today, so will post a couple of photos later.

Hi TB,
Great words...that sums it up for me. Amongst all the folk who will miss The Man, I feel for Norman Watt-Roy especially - he has known and played with Wilko forever.
It was a privilege to have been there.

Cheers,

Simon.

Nice pics and reviews again, simon.

Cheers.

Quote
SimonN
Hi TB,
Great words...that sums it up for me. Amongst all the folk who will miss The Man, I feel for Norman Watt-Roy especially - he has known and played with Wilko forever.
It was a privilege to have been there.

Cheers,

Simon.

Thanks Simon. Agree with your sentiments about Norman. This short series of gigs must have been a real emotional roller coaster for him (and Dylan). Looking at my photos of the gig, Dylan seems to have his eyes on Wilko at every stage of the gig.

Never got round to posting photos yesterday - such is the way of a day off work! Will put them on later and bump this thread.

BTW, the gig got a five star review in the Herald (Glasgow printed broadsheet). I would have been really surprised had it been anything different given the way the band and the audience fed off each other.

Glad you enjoyed your visit to Glasgow. Would have bought you a drink had I known!

Hi TB & Mike,

Cheers for that- I know what you mean about posting photos, time-wise...it always takes (me) far longer than it oughta, hah-hah!
Totally right about Dylan eyeballing Wilko 100% of the time, and frequently smiling too. Bittersweet indeed.

It occured to me when I was on the way to the show that you had posted that you would try to be there and I did look on IORR for your e-mail but it was a non-starter. Sod's Law says we were stood about 15 feet away!
Looking forward to more photos...

Cheers,

Simon.

As promised last week, here are a few shots of Wilko's Glasgow gig. Found it really hard to get decent shots on my wee camera due to the low lighting and Wilko's right hand - very difficult getting a shutter speed fast enough to capture it and I've dumped a lot due to the blurring!

Anyway, hope you enjoy these. The shot of him waving is during Bye Bye Johnny when he and the audience were waving goodbye to each other. The smile and the peace sign shot was literally two seconds before he left a Scottish stage for the last time. A fantastic gig in which artist and audience were Hell bent on giving each other a good time.


Footnote: I've been having trouble getting these to load - having a bit of a bad technology day, I'm afraid. If any of these don't work, I'll fix them later because I'm going to the pub!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-16 19:13 by teleblaster.

Hi TB,

Perfection plus. Wow!
I'm already in the pub.

Cheers,

Simon.

Cheers Simon

Let me know if you're ever coming north for gigs. Next one I've got is Ian Hunter trio at Kinross on Saturday.

Email is fergusiain@hotmail.com

Heading to the pub now - maybe some free Guinness for St Patrick's night?

Iain

Thanks TB and Simon for getting those great piccys to us.Wilko sure has given the fans a great farewell and vice versa.
Saw a great programme on The Feelgoods on BBC 4 last night.Kept me up till gone 2a.m. over here in Spain and it was great.

Quote
teleblaster
Cheers Simon

Let me know if you're ever coming north for gigs. Next one I've got is Ian Hunter trio at Kinross on Saturday.

Email is fergusiain@hotmail.com

Heading to the pub now - maybe some free Guinness for St Patrick's night?

Iain

. Ian Hunter? Jealous me......

Quote
midimannz

Quote
teleblaster
Cheers Simon

Let me know if you're ever coming north for gigs. Next one I've got is Ian Hunter trio at Kinross on Saturday.

Email is fergusiain@hotmail.com

Heading to the pub now - maybe some free Guinness for St Patrick's night?

Iain

. Ian Hunter? Jealous me......

Will post a full(ish) report, hopefully with photos.

Quote
teleblaster
Cheers Simon

Let me know if you're ever coming north for gigs. Next one I've got is Ian Hunter trio at Kinross on Saturday.

Email is fergusiain@hotmail.com

Heading to the pub now - maybe some free Guinness for St Patrick's night?

Iain

Good pics thanks.

Important Announcement:
Due to health reasons, tonight and tomorrow night's Canvey Island concerts have been cancelled. An official announcement from management will follow shortly. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience for those fans that have already made their way down to tonight's concert.

[www.facebook.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

Hi Deltics,

Yeah, I have just read that with a heavy heart. Wilko would not have taken that decision lightly, I'm sure.

Sending every best wish to you...

Cheers,

Simon.

How sad. Wilko did say he wouldn't do any shows unless he was feeling fit. He cancelled Canvey Island on the last tour as well, I think. He wouldn't want to miss these gigs. Pointless speculating if he'll reschedule. It's still to sink in fully about Wilko, particularly after his recent energetic performances.

Wilko joins Madness onstage at the final broadcast from BBC television centre on Friday night at about 52 mins:

[www.bbc.co.uk]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"