WILKO JOHNSON BAND + NINE BELOW ZERO – ST. PETER’S CHURCH, BRIGHTON 30.7.22
Last night many of us went to church to celebrate the music of the indomitable Wilko Johnson as part of AGMP’s ‘This Is The Modern World’ exhibition.
Seeing Johnson and his band play at St Peter’s Church in Brighton seemed perfectly appropriate given his remarkable recovery from terminal cancer in recent years, as he said “Man, there’s nothing like being told you’re dying to make you feel alive”. This Saturday evening in late July the packed crowd were an excited bunch, mostly of a ‘certain age’ and many Dr Feelgood and Blockhead fans, who were looking forward to seeing the excellent original Dr Feelgood guitarist.
Johnson’s rebirth has resulted in him recording a number 1 album with Roger Daltrey (‘Going Back Home’), releasing ‘Blow Your Mind’, an album of new material and playing a sold-out show at The Royal Albert Hall which marked his 70th birthday.
For those ignorant of his history, Johnson was Born in Canvey Island, Essex, and was soon playing with Dr. Feelgood, an important band in the 1970’s pub rock scene. Johnson became the driving force behind Dr. Feelgood during their initial years, including the band’s first four albums, ‘Down By The Jetty’, ‘Malpractice’, ‘Stupidity’ and ‘Sneakin’ Suspicion’, all released between 1975 and 1977.
Wilko is famed for his sharp chop-chord strumming action which he calls the ‘stab’, and which was inspired by the Johnny Kidd and The Pirates guitarist, Mick Green. Wilko thus became a guitar hero and acknowledged forefather of punk, combining his intense scowl with a raised guitar, pointed like a gun, and signature jerky strut across the stage. Following a stint with Ian Dury & The Blockheads in the 1980’s, Johnson formed The Wilko Johnson Band which consists to this day of Wilko Johnson (guitar/vocals), Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Dylan Howe (drums/percussion).
How good it was to see the band emerge on stage and be greeted with warm cheers as they launched into their first number ‘I Love The Way You Do’ from his ‘Going Back Home’ album. ‘If You Want Me, You’ve Got Me’ was next up from the earlier ‘Barbed Wire Blues’ and quickly followed by ‘Take It Easy’ from his latest album ‘Blow Your Mind’. The appreciative and thirsty crowd drank in Johnson’s characteristic strutting and great guitar playing, enthralled by the intensity of his intimidating stare and songs both old and new, but the biggest cheers were for his Dr Feelgood songs and next up was ‘Going Back Home’, closely followed by ‘Roxette’, both Dr Feelgood songs and the audience sang along to both. ‘Keep On Loving You’ was next up, a favourite of mine in his set, from the album ‘Going Back Home’ and originally sung there by Roger Daltrey.
‘When I’m Gone’, in particular, showed off the considerable skills of Norman Watt-Ray’s bass playing, in what seemed an endless number culminating in an extraordinary bass and drum playing duet. Johnson’s guitar ‘shooting’ of the audience added to the intensity of the number. Bob Dylan’s ‘Can You Please Crawl Out of Your Window’ brought a change of style but the intensity remained in this performance. Johnson pleased the crowd by ending the night with two Dr Feelgood numbers, ‘Back In The Night’ and ‘She Does It Right’.
It had been great to witness the continued excellence of Wilko Johnson and his band, the moves may not be as sharply powerful and exhilarating as in younger days but the intensity, skill and professionalism remain. We had watched a reborn national treasure and we went home better for it, wishing Wilko many more years of music.
Wilko Johnson Band setlist:
‘I Love The Way You Do’
‘If You Want Me, You’ve Got Me’
‘Take It Easy’
‘Going Back Home’ (Dr Feelgood song)
‘Dr Dupree’ (Solid Senders song)
‘Roxette’ (Dr Feelgood song)
‘Keep on Loving You’
‘When I’m Gone’
‘Letting The Night Go By’
‘Can You Please Crawl Out of Your Window’
‘Everybody’s Carrying A Gun’ (Solid Senders song)
‘Back In The Night’ (Dr Feelgood song)
‘She Does It Right’ (Dr Feelgood song)
What a line up we were treated to last night, not only Wilko Johnson Band but also Nine Below Zero!
When you think of Nine Below Zero’s music you may think of a mix of rocking blues and punk, but there is so much more to their sound than that, as they defy categorisation by also playing R’n’B, soul, Cajun, funk and, you feel, anything that takes their fancy. They remain a very experienced, excitingly tight band who write and play a great variety of music not just competently but brilliantly, and here lies their greatest strength. Greaves’ guitar skill and Feltham’s excellent harmonica give the band their recognised sound and this combined with their song writing skills make them a must-see for every music fan.
In 1979 Nine Below Zero were named after a Sonny Boy Williamson II song by their manager. Their growing success soon led to them supporting both The Kinks and The Who on tour, but despite their emerging popularity they decided to split up in 1982. In 1990 two members reunited for a tenth anniversary concert, with the addition of two new band members, and this new line-up continued gigging and making albums throughout the nineties and noughties. In 2009, the band recorded their acclaimed and self-penned ‘It’s Never Too Late’ with Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze and over the last ten years have continued playing live Europe-wide and recording new albums. Their well of musical talent shows no sign of drying up.
First up on stage, an already packed venue welcomed Nine Below Zero as they played their first song ‘Zebulon’. ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ and ‘Can I Get A Witness’ were next and showed their finesse at playing Motown hits as well as getting the audience fired up. ‘Austerity Blues’ was next, a classic blues number with very relevant lyrics for us all today, Greaves’ guitar and Feltham’s harmonica swung strongly to the fore. A Dr. Feelgood cover ‘20 Yards Behind’ was a definite crowd pleaser and it was interesting to hear their version, which did justice to the original.
‘Recycle Me’ from their album ‘Avalanche’ with powerful vocals by Charlie Austen was a favourite for me, the harmonica curiously almost sounded like the saxophone on the album version. The other favourite for me was ‘Ter-Wit-Ter-Woo’, coincidentally also with Austen’s vocals, the whole performance was perfect and took us to another place. Answering the question in the lyrics ‘Do We Roll?’ I give a resounding “Yes We Do”. ‘Ridin On The L&N’, a Lionel Hampton cover, started as a harmonica instrumental which suddenly launched into an exciting rocking full band number, by the time this came to an end the crowd were nicely warmed up. ‘Pack Fair And Square’ and the fast ‘Eleven Plus Eleven’ rounded off their set nicely.
Band:
Dennis Greaves (guitar and vocals)
Mark Feltham (harmonica and vocals)
Charlie Austen (additional vocals)
Anthony Harty (bass)
Sonny Greaves (drums)
Tom Monks (keyboards and guitar)
Nine Below Zero setlist:
‘Zebulon’
‘I Can’t Help Myself’ (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)’ (Four Tops cover)
‘Can I Get A Witness’ (cover of Holland, Dozier, Holland song)
‘Austerity Blues’
‘20 Yards Behind’ (Dr Feelgood cover)
‘Recycle Me’ Charlie Austin vocals
‘Cold Cruel Heart’
‘Don’t Point Your Finger At The Guitar Man’
‘Treat Her Right’
‘Ter-Wit-Ter-Woo’
‘Ridin’ On The L&N’ (Lionel Hampton cover)
‘Pack Fair And Square’
‘Eleven Plus Eleven’
