Hi all from your slightly worn and wearying reporter. Sorry I don’t have time, with a house full of guests and Southampton to get to, to do any proper blogging today. But here’s a pretty full account of the show (though I don’t guarantee, given my current rate of progress towards brain death, that it’s all here or all accurate. I may well be having hallucinations by now).
The only touristic description of MK I’ve read says that nobody goes there. But The Stables is down a remote little country lane outside the town, and a lot of people make the pilgrimage there as it was opened by a famous British jazz couple – John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, sax player and singer, who lead a big band and had it designed for that kind of music. It’s a 350-seat theatre, with a very steep rake and a low stage (see later) so the band are in an intimate kind of bowl; everyone can see; and usually the sound is superb.
There were clearly some problems last night, though, where we were, the horns sounded absolutely superb, the solos better than ever, and it was a real pity South couldn’t hear himself, ‘cos he sounded magnificent to us. It’s also a pity that, having not seen them last year, MK evidently got unused to the Jukes and didn’t get up out of their seats, for the most part, until the encores – although me, Liz, Karin, Deborah, da Druids, Miss October and Kirsten, at least, were bopping in the aisles from early on.
Those familiar with the characters on the southsidejohnny.com board may be encouraged to hear that BrianB participated so fully in the show (shouting for a reprise of Reggae Sean and expressing concern for his fate in light of the monitor problem) that when Mickey, his wife, got up to deal with some beer glasses, South followed her up the aisle (BB following him) and she ended up being invited to join Bobby L on the keyboard.
Down to business: setlist:
Better Days
I Played The Fool
Passion Street
She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain
Bit of Happy Trails (RB)
No Easy Way Down
All Night Long
Rhumba & Coke
Without Love
Up On The Roof
Love On The Wrong Side
Don’t Call Me Baby
When Rita Leaves
Baby Don’t Lie/unknown blues (SJ)/ The Hunter (RB)
Shake ‘em Down
TTIFR
Coming Back
Blue Christmas (RB)
Rollin’ and Tumblin’
Tired Skin
You Don’t Know Like I Know
( bit of Chim Chim Cheree)/ The Fever
Trapped Again
Tequila
Mambo Italiano
All The Way Home/ Fire
So you see: it was one of those nights. South at one point made a speech about how sometimes, like in London, he knew just what he wanted to do and got it done (!) but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Except, of course, for some wonderful music and some truly great singing, which definitely did happen.
Bobby Strange supported and Sir Reggae Sean intro’d: then a great big drum roll brought on the South and Better Days. And the horns really did sound good in that room. Gin-soaked Boy had one of those atmospheric harp intros, nice organ, nice guitar, a swinging harp solo and, after a new final verse about “Milton Keynes, where nothing is real”, more atmospheric harp for the outro. After Passion Street, he demanded hush: “Somebody is tapping their feet. This is the Stables, you don’t tap your feet. You snort. ‘Cause you’re a horse”. (Clip clop sound effects from Joe B). “You got any horse songs?” This led to Coming Round The Mountain and an attempt by Ricky at Happy Trails, quickly reined in.
But then, No Easy Way Down sounded terrific, South singing his heart out and Joey playing a beautiful solo. All Night Long gave us more great guitar from Ricky, and Rhumba & Coke was special; terrific N’Awlins piano from BL, magic harp and a real hot trumpet solo from Chris. A bit of impro “Hey, baby, sometimes it’s all right, sometimes it ain’t like tonight/ But we’re gonna make it all right if it takes all night” had Joe playing the tom-toms as congas and the horns ending up playing alone on one note which South made them take up and down till it faded.
Without Love, sounding great as ever, led to an almost solo Up On The Roof, just piano, guitar and handclaps, lovely. Don’t Call Me baby was triumphant as usual, and then Rita was again taken almost a capella till the horns came in on the chorus, and Chris sounded specially beautiful in that hall. Baby Don’t Lie led into what may have been an improvised blues by South and then Ricky’s The Hunter. Shake ‘Em Down had more riotous piano from Bobby L, then a solo from Joey so forceful that it chased South off the stage and up the aisle (his first excursion of many) while the horns promenaded through the audience and up the aisle on the other side, ending with Chris blowing alone at the top of the stairs.
South commented: “You never know.” (At this point, someone shouted: “Can we party now?” and South, naturally said “No.” Unfortunately, this seemed not to be taken in the correct sense, ie the opposite, and people stayed seated. Shame).
After TTIFR, Ricky got called “the greediest guitarist we ever had: give him an inch and he takes 14 courses”. Castigating the “schizophrenic monitors – they have voices in them that sing back to me” SJ apologised that “we’re too loud for this place, we don’t dress right, we don’t act right”; then, to an audience member going “Aw…”: “and neither do you.” He announced that Sean and the others were taking the train tomorrow: “they’re taking the train to Swansea, and wherever we’re going, it’s not Swansea.” After that, anyone who came near him onstage got “I hate you” ending with “You’re fired. You’re all fired.”
This didn’t stop them whamming into Coming Back, nor him singing it fabulously, after which he announced it was time for a Christmas song and asked Ricky to do O Tannenbaum. He demurred, and we got Blue Christmas with great rock ‘n’ roll guitar. Then Ricky started Rollin’ and Tumblin’, on which South’s “Hey hey hey” and harp sent shivers up the spine. Tired Skin was wonderful (more Chris, hooray) and it was so great that they did You Don’t Know, with Bobby Lynch doing the duetting.
The start of Fever was interrupted by someone leaving their seat and South enquiring where they were going and trying to pinch their seat; he then messed around with the rhythms a lot and when Bobby went into the changes for the third line, indicated some different chords (BL: Hey man, I’m playing it right.” SJ: “So what? It’s a different right.”); Neal took a blistering solo; and SJ ended up singing scat. To me, his treatment was “tough, but interesting”. There was also a point where he went into “it’s quiet out there” and claimed he saw a whole list of Roberts (Kennedy, Ryan etc) but “not Robert Bandiera. Thank you, Jesus.”)
Trapped Again was also different, but interesting: treated as a ballad almost as in the acoustic shows, save for one full-on chorus, than back to ballad again. I kinda liked it that way, but I’m weird.
The encores started with SJ coming out with an ushers’ torch and exploring the aisles again, while Joey took over on Tequila. SJ eventually joined in and turned it into Mambo Italiano, which he sang to Ricky, who’d joined us on the floor in front of the stage. South proceeded to relieve him of the guitar, and to play it in increasingly bizarre tunings as Ricky danced with Miss October.
Despite the stops and starts, the crowd were still calling for more after that and they had to come out again; they started All The Way Home, which South turned into Fire. They did that great, and then All The Way Home was moving as always. I’d say there was something for everyone, and a lot of nobodies who did go to MK enjoyed themselves.
I want to thank the Jukes and their long-suffering crew yet again for giving us so much good music in adverse circumstances.