 |
|
||||||||
|
Home | Small Faces Story | Tour of London | Discography | Features | Members | Books | Links | A-Z | Contact |
|||||||||
| Search | What's New | |||||||||
|
|
The Small Fakers The Brook Southampton, 8 July 2016 This was the Small Fakers' first visit to Southampton for some time so it was long overdue. The Brook is an excellent venue although the crowd on this hot evening was smaller that one would expect, probably due to the time of the year. The band were on their usual superb form and they underlined why they have been so successful as a Small Faces tribute band. The evening was divided into two sets, basically Decca-period songs and Immediate-period songs. The break included a costume change with Matt switching to a Fender Telecaster similar to that played by Steve Marriott during the Small Faces' latter days (See Colour Me Pop footage). Hey Girl was a great opener and, hopefully, Matt will have the lines in the right order next time! All the Decca singles followed with the exception of Patterns as well as some b-sides and a few album tracks. The highlight of the first set was I've Got Mine which in a live context showed just how good and ahead of its time the song was. This early Marriott/Lane composition did not chart and led to Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman being brought in to write a hit, Sha La La La Lee. However, I've Got Mine was clearly underrated and Don Arden probably did not buy enough copies in record return shops! Keep this one in the set as it sounded amazing. After a short break the band returned in later 60s clothing with Neil and Dan demonstrating great taste in shirts. Always a favourite, Get Yourself Together kicked off the second set and was joined by two other tracks off the second album Talk To You and Happy Boys Happy. Neil took the lead vocals for Rolling Over, one of four songs off Ogdens. The evening finished with a run of four great tracks that prompted a good singalong amongst the crowd. Tin Soldier, Lazy Sunday and Afterglow always round off the evening well. One pleasing thing about watching the Small Fakers as they do more than just the hits. It is always good to hear album tracks, and not always the same ones. In addition, the ability to stretch out and take the songs further than the recorded version was highlighted in a superb version of Don't Burst My Bubble. Let's hope it is not too long before the band are back on the south coast.
|
||||||||
