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10th Small Faces Convention 2006 15th October 2006, The Carling Academy, Islington, London. An excellent Small Faces Convention as usual. It benefited from moving to a larger venue. There was a good view of the stage, unlike the Marquee last year. Beer was fizzy rubbish but at least it didn't run out this year! The organisers need to be congratulated on finding this new venue, The Carling Academy. There was free parking in the streets although the need to catch the last tube from Angel meant that, by the time Boss took to the stage, many of the crowd had rushed off. Some new bands for the Convention must be a good thing. Biff Bang Pow made an excellent start (Biff Bang Pow - can't stop them!). Mark Joseph was a breath of fresh air through having slightly different arrangements of well-known songs. One of the down-sides of the Convention is hearing the same song played again and again. We all love Get Yourself Together but six times in one evening is plenty. The idea of developing a new arrangement for the song may have upset some but at least it provided some new interest to some much-loved songs. Ronnie Lane and Humble Pie spots were provided by Keith Smart and Dave Cairns. Keith Smart has played the convention several times and his rendition of Ronnie Lane classics as well as The Universal must have pleased the watching Stan Lane. Dave Cairns was the guitarist in Mod favourites Secret Affair. With the ubiquitous Dean Rees on keyboards he played a Humble Pie set including Four Day Creep and I Don’t Need No Doctor. A cut-down Who’s Faces played a short set with Matt Bond from Jensen who is truly a reborn Marriott. Let’s hope we see him again at the Convention. This line-up is known as Caine and included a superb version of Every Little Bit Hurts. With Bond leaving the stage, Who’s Faces returned with Rob and Noel and played the usual excellent set. Jimmy Winston is the only Small Face who plays at the Convention having appeared on stage in front of Small Faces fans a number of times. With his daughter on backing vocals, Jimmy was given a warm reception as befits his continued support. 17 Black played one of the best sets of the night. The inclusion of a horn section allowed them to tackle songs such as Eddie's Dreaming, Collibosher and Wide Eyed Girl on the Wall. This was ambitious and didn't fully come off but it was almost there so hopefully next year....... Few were left to see Boss but their set sounded good until I left myself for the drive back down to near Bournemouth. Roll on 2007, hopefully back at this venue. Well done to John, Dean and everyone who helped to organise it and to all the bands that played.
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