Went to see Mike Scott and the ‘Boys launch their new US tour this week. It’s been 25 years since I last saw them, far away on another continent and it was one of my most memorable gigs. Sort of worried that the memory would be tainted by the time but I need not have worried. The venue was perfect, the wonderful Paramount Theater on Congress where all seats are excellent, sonics are good and the bar stays open throughout. The opening act, the Bluebonnets, were fine, quite fun once they found their groove and did not overstay their welcome. But the Waterboys were the business. A nice mix of old and new members, and that was true of the music too. Mike Scott is to my mind one of the great songwriters in rock and roll, and continues to write memorable, haunting songs while retaining his rock edginess. He was still cool, the riffs kept coming, and yes, he played almost everything I wanted to hear, including a rocking version of Glastonbury Song.
Highlight -- Mike Scott going over the piano then saying, by way of introduction, ‘let’s see if we can nail this one to the wall’ and hitting those familiar chords to Whole of the Moon. Cue crowd moving to the front, dancing in the aisles, singing along, sharing the pure joy of live music played well in a great space. New album now out, Modern Blues, I just ordered the vinyl version. Welcome back to a great band, it’s like they were never really away.
And this just in -- live on Letterman, or as live as TV allows....the real thing is even better:
Highlight -- Mike Scott going over the piano then saying, by way of introduction, ‘let’s see if we can nail this one to the wall’ and hitting those familiar chords to Whole of the Moon. Cue crowd moving to the front, dancing in the aisles, singing along, sharing the pure joy of live music played well in a great space. New album now out, Modern Blues, I just ordered the vinyl version. Welcome back to a great band, it’s like they were never really away.
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