Andy Fawthrop
Wish You Were Here
Apparently I’ve not reviewed a gig at The Southgate for a while, despite attending plenty of them over the last few months, including the wonderful Courting Ghosts last Saturday night…..
And, apparently, Debbie broke through the 400-gig barrier in early October, a major milestone which we allowed to pass without sufficient fanfare. And (apparently) there are plenty of gigs already booked for 2024. We don’t know how lucky we are in this town!
And, finally, apparently March 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd’s seminal album “Dark Side Of The Moon”. No – I didn’t know that either, but there you go.
Let’s try and put some of those omissions to rights.
So here’s the obvious warning – younger readers should probably look away now. We might mention stuff from 50 years ago. Don’t be frightened – some of the music was actually quite good!-
I’ve known Frome-based singer/ song-writer James and his work for a few years now, and I’m well aware of the two different sides to his musical repertoire – there’s the acoustic folky/ blues/ prog/ whimsical stuff, and then there’s barely-concealed Pink Floyd set. We were treated to the former earlier this year at the Gate, but now it was time to wheel out the big guns of prog rock. James, a huge Floyd fan, wasn’t about to let this anniversary pass without a major dusting-down of the whole album, and he’s been presenting this set throughout the year. Tonight was special though – this was the Gate, this was Friday night. The controls were set for the heart of the sun, and the interstellar overdrive was fully engaged.
The pub was absolutely rammed, which is a great compliment to the quality of the music on offer on a wet Friday night. And soon there were strange looping sounds coming from the stage as James set off on his journey. The first half contained lots of non-DSOTM numbers – Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here, and Comfortably Numb, the latter evoking just the first singalong of the night. Playing with few breaks, James clocked up 70 minutes of material in his opening salvo.
Then, almost before you could get another pint in, we were off on the main adventure – the whole of Dark Side Of The Moon *** (see below for the factual stuff). Got all of that? And here was James – just one bloke in a crowded Devizes pub. And that’s where the pedals and loops came in. Appearing to play only acoustic guitar and harmonica, James built up the songs through many layers, adding the vocals as the songs swept past. Each song was greeted with a cheer, and there were a good few singalongs. I’m not going to claim that Messers Gilmour, Mason, Waters and Wright “could have been in the room”, but he made a bloody good fist of it, simulating drums, keyboards, synthesisers, bells, clocks, and even making a passable attempt at Clare Torry’s amazing vocal sequence on “The Great Gig In The Sky”.
It was a tour de force, a stunning effort of both musical versatility, but also of concentration. How he had the time to smile and raise himself for some inter-song chat was amazing. He must have been exhausted, but he looked nothing but happy. It’s the music he loves, and it really showed.
As the final track died away, James was rewarded with a well-deserved cheer and huge round of applause. And he still had enough gas in the tank to give us an encore. What a performer. He did Devizes proud, and I think Devizes responded with full enthusiasm.
Great night, great gig.
*** A bit of background info. “The Dark Side of the Moon” was Floyd’s eighth studio album and was developed during live performances before recording began. It was conceived as a “concept album”
that would focus on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and also deal with the mental health problems of former band member Syd Barrett, who departed the group in 1968. The record builds on ideas explored in Pink Floyd’s earlier recordings and performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals that characterised the band’s earlier work. The group employed multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesisers. Engineer Alan Parsons was responsible for many of the sonic aspects of the recording, and for the recruitment of session singer Clare Torry, who appears on “The Great Gig in the Sky”.
The album centres on the idea of madness, exploring themes such as conflict, greed, time, death, and mental illness. Snippets from interviews with the band’s road crew and others are featured alongside philosophical quotations. It’s among the most critically acclaimed albums of all time and brought the group international fame, wealth and plaudits. As THE blockbuster release of the vinyl album era, it also propelled record sales throughout the music industry. It’s certified 14 times platinum in the UK, and topped the US Billboard for 984 consecutive weeks. It’s claimed to have sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it the band’s best-selling release, the best-selling album of the 1970s, and the fourth-best-selling album in history.
Future gigs at The Southgate:
Saturday 18th November Junkyard Dogs
Saturday 25th November Worried Men
Sunday 26th November James Oliver
Saturday 2nd December Lunabarge
Sunday 3rd December Jon Amor Trio + special guest Dale Hambridge
Friday 8th December Strange Folk
Saturday 9th December Black Nasty
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