Metronome, Nottingham - Metronome, officially the National Centre for Music, Moving Image, Video Games, Live Performance and Spoken Word. Well, when you’re in a university building, every day’s a school day, I suppose.
Now, I’ve served plenty of time attending gigs in Nottingham, but never here, even though it opened six years ago now, and it still has the newness about it. Inside the venue, there’s a polished concrete floor that prevents anything from sticking to your feet. The stage is immaculate with anthracite grey cushion floor with no scuffs, rips or marks on it so either this place has recently been refurb’d or they’re very strict and roadies should beware ! ! There’s a mammoth sound and lighting deck set high on a riser at the back, …but no bar. Drinks have to be purchased outside and brought through – which is rather irritating as there’s only one door in and out. Anyway…
There’s a couple of dry ice machines doing there darndest to create an ambience and some atmosphere, but this place has more air conditioning than a Qatari Football Stadium and everything they pump out is given short shrift within seconds. There’s no stage barrier and no photo pit, so you can literally stand right in front of the stage and with a long arm you’re able to touch your hero and relish the moment - before Security spring in to action and exit you stage left, if you get what I mean.
No pit means Tog’s have to slum it with the paying public - oh, the shame, how will we ever cope - and we have to fight our way through the melee to get a good position. If this place packs out tonight, then multiple angles will remain on a wish list, and everything will be one dimensional. Such is life.
I was late in - only by ten minutes - but found myself stood behind two die-hard fans who were bang on time, and positioned front and centre and weren’t for moving, even taking it in turns to get drinks and ‘go for a wee’ so that no one - and I mean no one - stole their hard-earned position. Their reason, “Troy has a special twinkle in his eye” apparently. I can’t argue with this though, because they’ve paid their money and that gives them the right to stand where ever they want to, especially if they turned up before everybody to get there.
There are ‘no drinks on the stage’ signs strategically positioned every four feet across the front of the stage, emphasised with fluorescent orange gaffer tape - but partly covered over by the monitors and oscillating fans ! ! This place is a whole lot different to The Rescue Rooms and Rock City, that’s for certain, but can it deliver a true night of blues rock ? Anyway, it’s a good crowd and it’s three quarters full, from the off I’d say, but it’s all a bit subdued and it seems as if they don’t know how to behave at a rock gig. Maybe it’s just early though and the beer has yet to take effect.
Troy Redfern - Now, I’ve seen this guy half a dozen times or more in the last two years or so and he never gives less than 100%. He puts in the miles as has his own headline tour each year as well as a fair chunk of Support slots. Tonight, he’s accompanied by Nicky Waters on drums - another fella that puts in a shift, if his efforts a few months back in June, at The Live Rooms in Chester is anything to go by. Travelling light he has a stood-up kit, one tom, one snare and a 12” cymbal that’s about to be smashed like crazy - but will stand up to the challenge.
Redfern opens with ‘Shake’ and barely takes a breath before ‘Take My Soul’. Waters is beating the hell out of that make-shift kit, but it adds so much of an extra dimension to Redfern’s efforts that it’s well worth it. ‘Native’ comes next, which is becoming as firm a favourite as ‘Van Helsing’ in my book, but we don't get to hear it tonight, as Redfern chooses to go over his back catalogue with ‘Dark Religion’, from ‘The Wings of Salvation’ and a couple of tracks from ‘The Fire Cosmic, ‘Waiting for Your Love’ and the explosive ‘Sanctify’, a song that never ceases to impress me regardless of how many times I've heard it.
Being a support slot, we only get six songs from Redfern, but they’ve been spread out over forty minutes, and you do wonder where the time has gone, but it was a very good performance once again from this man and I look forward to seeing him on tour again next year.
Troy Redfern Setlist
Shake
Take My Soul
Native
Dark Religion
Waiting for Your Love
Sanctify
Philip Sayce – I first came across Philip Sayce a year or so ago now, at Band on the Wall in Manchester and couldn't help being in awe at the speed and dexterity at which this man can play a guitar. It hasn't got unnoticed by my good self however that only a couple of weeks ago when reviewing Dom Martin, I commented that “guitar playing isn’t all about playing at a million miles an hour, as impressive as that may be, but it’s when you play – and when you don’t – leaving the listener waiting in anticipation”. Tonight, I sort of, have to go back on those words because Philip Sayce starts at a million miles an hour and finishes ninety minutes later at the exact same speed – you wait for nothing. If a guitar can produce a thousand different notes Sayce will play every one of them and find a thousand more somehow, some way, but he will do it and will leave nothing out.
Tonight, he’s accompanied by the same two guys as last time, Sam Bolle, from Ventura, California on Bass and Bryan Head, all the way from Los Angeles, also Californ-i-a on Drums and they’ve no sooner walked on stage when Sayce blasts out a few dozen, quick riffs to make sure everything is in tune and then starts off properly with ‘Out of My Mind‘ before heading straight into ‘Bitter Monday’ where the pace drops momentarily half way through as Sayce stretches out a few notes from the break neck speed that he’s played at since he walked on stage. Nottingham has woken up it would seem and is really appreciative of this. Loud applause and cheers ring around our pristine venue and Mr. Sayce has started as he means to go on.
He takes a moment at the end to compose himself and to check that we’re all okay, and once we’ve confirmed that we are, he launches into an electrifying set of licks to start a mashed up version of ‘Steamroller’ and ‘Powerful Thing’, which blends straight into a cover of Don Covay’s ‘Blues Ain't Nothin' but a Good Woman on Your Mind’, “such a fun song to play” he says and one that was eagerly awaited (and expected) by Nottingham judging by the cheer that went up when Sayce announced it.
A rendition of Muddy Waters ‘Standin' Round Crying’ came next before another fan favourite, ‘Aberystwyth’ named after his place of birth, “because it’s an instrumental and we didn’t know what else to call it” and one where the facial expressions really come to the fore as Sayce has a different one for each note he plays, leaving you in no doubt that he literally feels and is part of every single one of them. Passion and emotion all wrapped together in one hell of a guitar player.
‘Lady Love Divine’ is up next but not before Sayce notices that “it’s feeling quiet in here”, and checks in with us again, “are you guys, ok?”, as he changes guitar for the first time. This is a new song, “written for my wife, together with Richard Marks” and he finds a bit of time to plug a range of talismans, that we’ll find at the Merch table after the show – makes a change from a t-shirt, I suppose. The one he’s wearing is a reference to “struggle and emerge” meaning there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Nottingham is quite receptive to this and is much more in the mood now.
‘This Is Hip’ is a John Lee Hooker song that Sayce listened to in the car with his dad who “told him all the names he had to listen to, to be good at guitar, such as Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Albert Collins and Jeff Healey”. This song heads straight into ‘Beautiful’ before another eagerly awaited fan favourite, ‘Alchemy’, all instrumental with bass solo thrown in for good measure and Sayce really challenging his guitar – and the silence of the crowd - to the max by playing it with the volume almost switched off and with a version of ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ sneaking in the back door for a bit of blues eccentricity. Just sublime.
By now certain members of the crowd were growing a little impatient at the lack of any Jimi Hendrix material so they launch into a football chant style version of “Jimi, Jimi, Jimi”, which doesn't go unnoticed by Sayce who replies “I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hendrix. This show wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for Hendrix” and it's then that he notices someone in the front row sporting a Hendrix T-shirt, and his reward for doing so is a fist bump with Mr Sayce.
Said member of the audience does get his wish however as the final track is ‘Manic Depression’, but he's made to wait for it a little longer, as Sayce performs ‘Morning Star’ first. As way of an encore the final tune is “As the Years Go Passing By” part of which Sayce sings without the microphone, showing that his vocals can be just as impressive as his guitar playing. This was a fine way to end a really good night, when once again, Philip Sayce delivered exactly what was expected – and some.
Philip Sayce Setlist
Out of My Mind
Bitter Monday
Steamroller / Powerful Thing
Blues Ain't Nothin' but a Good Woman on Your Mind (Don Covay cover)
Standin' Round Crying (Muddy Waters cover)
Aberystwyth
Lady Love Divine
She's the Music
This Is Hip
Beautiful
Alchemy
Morning Star
Manic Depression (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
Encore
14. As the Years Go Passing By
PHILIP SAYCE UK TOUR 2024
November
21 – Brudenell, Leeds
22 - The Glasshouse, Gateshead
23 - Oran Mor, Glasgow
25 - Band on the Wall, Manchester
26 - Metronome, Nottingham
28 - Fleece, Bristol
29 - Planet Rockstock, Porthcawl
30 - 1865, Southampton
December
3 - Colchester Arts
4 - Islington Assembly Hall, London
Written in association with Noble PR
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