Ian Hunter & the Rant Band
Hall 2,
The Sage,
Gateshead,
UK
2014-09-28

Like a lot of folk who were lucky enough to see Mott the Hoople last year, I was completely bowled over by how good they (still) were, and most especially so by the quality of Ian Hunter's voice. He may not have the (so called) "technical brilliance" of some, but he captures you in a way few do. For me, he's a bit like Bob Dylan. An "oddball" sort of voice, but "wow"...he connects, and this combination of ethereal delivery, great hooks and vivid storyline lyrics add up to a unique synergy all of its own.

Whilst (following that opening salvo) I've somewhat spoilt the suspense some of you may have initially harboured along the lines of "so, was he any good then?", I hope it encourages more to make the time and effort to go out and "celebrate" every opportunity to enjoy Ian Hunter whenever he's passing your way.

At around 9.00pm the band members were cheered out one-at-a-time by a warmly enthusiastic audience to the backbeat of "(I'm The) Teacher". Following the relatively edgy opening tune we get a cheeky "'allo, 'allo, 'allo, 'allo" from The Artful Dodger and we're away...

Two hours of characterful rock & roll virtuosity passed in what seemed like a heartbeat, and whilst it was nice to hear a few "Mott" tunes, the real treasures (for me at least) came from his post-Mott material. "Once Bitten..." had the crowd singing almost from the off, "Comfortable" & "President" from the last studio album proved that Ian was still brimming with ideas and crowd pleasers ("President" being especially strong in the flesh). There were a lot of real "moments" to the main set, which concluded with a raucous "Sweet Jane", but from my perspective the pinnacle of the show was Ian's moving lament to Mick Ronson. "Michael Picasso" was massive...how he performs that so poignantly without faltering is mind-buggering...fabulous.

Happily the encore extended to more than just the formality of "a quick tune and away", but that said it was all over much too soon for the "experienced" audience (many of whom were clearly trying to re-live/resurrect their youth, no doubt making for some aching joints on Monday morning....). One of those gigs that you just didn't want to come to an end.

Modern, "cylindrical" room; Ground floor (standing) and two circular (seated) balcony levels that go all the way around.
600 Capacity � almost sold out.

SETLIST:

01 Intro
02 (I�m The) Teacher
03 Once Bitten Twice Shy
04 Comfortable (Flyin' Scotsman)
05 Something To Believe In
06 Now Is The Time
07 When I�m President
08 Boy
09 All American Alien Boy
10 Irene Wilde
11 The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll
12 Black Tears
13 All the Way from Memphis
14 Flowers
15 Wash Us Away
16 Michael Picasso
17 I Wish I Was Your Mother
18 Bastard
19 Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse)
20 Sweet Jane

21 Encore Break

22 23A, Swan Hill
23 Life / All the Young Dudes / (Miss) Silver Dime
24 Goodnight, Irene

Ian Hunter - vocals, guitar, keyboard
Andy York - guitar, vocals
Steve Holley - drums
Paul Page - bass
James Mastro - guitar, vocals
Dennis DiBrizzi - keyboards

Recorded By Lesterferget
A Rockin� Regimental Recording

Lineage :

SP-CMC-4U >
TASCAM DR-40 >
Sound Forge Pro 10 >
Trader's Little Helper (level 8) >
Torrent Site

Do yourself a favour and buy a copy of his "latest" live album "Live in the UK 2010". It's terrific!!
If you buy it from his website http://ianhunter.com/main/ or at a show, the "Goose that lays these Golden Eggs" will get a bit more out of it (and a fairer deal) than if you source it via "other avenues".