review of RIDERS ON THE STORM   
Mean Fiddler, London, England       Sunday, June 17, 2007

review submitted by fan Gary

I got to the "Mean Fiddler" a hour or so before the Riders took to the stage.

I was very disappointed with the venue and in my opinion it was the worst venue I've ever been to, to see a band of that stature.  The boys deserve to be playing better gaffs than this shithole (Come on promoters, get it sorted).
 
That is the only complaint I had about the night.  As soon as Riders took to the stage, the shithole thoughts were replaced by thoughts of a heavenly nature.  Got my audio recorder ready as the boys come out to the usual breathtaking intro
 
Then the band kicked off with "Love Me Two Times" which sounded excellent.  It was the first time I got to hear Brett live and he came out storming, as did the band.  Nothing new there, although I've got to say the mic levels weren't at the best.
 
We followed straight into "Break On Through" with the band sounding in top form.  Ray then stormed into the "Dead cats dead rats" poem which sounded ace, and the crowd loved it, man.
 
Brett told the crowd "If there was ever a time to pull out a big fat spliff (doob), then now was the time" and then the band went straight into "When The Music's Over."  During it, Brett also pulled out a joint and said to Ray "We will be having some of this later."  Brett really got into every word, sucking the crowd in with him, and Robbie's guitar solo was amazing.

We then got the usual introductions from Ray introducing Brett first, then the monster himself, Ty Dennis, before introducing Phil Chen as 'our guy from Jamaica.'

 
Ray then gave Robbie the intro he deserves, saying "The best guitar player I've ever played with" before Robbie introduced Ray as "The guy who discovered The Doors and Jim Morrison walking down the beach," which got rapturous applause.

Back to the music and Ray gave a little intro before kicking into "Moonlight Drive/Horse Latitudes."   This was a great addition to the set list.  Once again, the band sounded great and Brett's vocals sounded top draw (and a little higher, as on previous tracks they were a little low).
The band kicked into "Wild Child" and again the band were on fire.  They seemed to be loving every minute of it (Remember when we were in Africa).
 
Robbie then got up to play a bit of flamenco guitar as the intro to "Spanish Caravan".  Now, as much as I love Robbie's guitar playing, I just don't think it sounds right in that kind of environment.  When you have a noisy crowd talking, they just don't mix ...  so myself, I think the band should drop it from the set.  I've heard it a few times at their shows and it just doesn't sit right, I am afraid.

As for "Spanish Caravan" itself, what a tune that is, exactly what you want to hear from Mr. Krieger.  His fingers were burning, he was that hot,  and Brett really did it for me on this tune, sounding so deep and, well, into it.  (As Brett said:  "Fucking beautiful")

 
It was time for the trip to the "Whiskey Bar" and once again, it was a very tight performance from the boys with Brett getting the crowd to participate in some arm waving banter.

Time for the politics from Ray.  He opened his little rant by saying "This is for the maniacs in Washington who get us into this world mess:  the crazy President and the evil Dr. Strangelove, Mr. Cheney.   Robbie then commented something about Kissinger being in on it as well (God love Robbie).   Brett then said "kiss my ass."   Ray said we're going to get rid of the fuckers before storming into "Five To One" which really kicked ass, and once again, Robbie's guitar playing was out of this world.

Then we went into a favourite of mine, "The Changeling."   This is a classic; Brett really stepped up to the plate on this one and it sounded great once again.

We then had "Touch Me" which was dedicated to James Brown and Jim Morrison.  The sex machine Ty Dennis, as Ray calls him, gave us the usual intro, a crowd favorite.

Brett said the band had one more for us, which was going to take us on a trip to Hollywood.  The band kicked into "L.A. Woman" which had the place rocking and I, for one, didn't want it to end.  Brett asked the crowd to sing it loud and proud ...not for him, but for Jim Morrison.   A great touch from a great man!

The band left the stage and a few people left the venue (silly silly) because as any Riders fan knows, the band always come back for a encore.
 
The rain started pouring out of the speakers, and the sounds of "Riders On The Storm" kicked in.  What a stunning, beautiful, emotional track to suck you straight back in.  It's just a pity half the crowd were talking shit all the way through it .  Some people:  HEY!
 
Then the boys pulled out the stools for a little acoustic jam.  Brett said if there was a favourite track on the set list, this was it: "The Crystal Ship."   I couldn't agree more:  what a tune, what a voice, what a band!

We then had the classic "People Are Strange."  This is the first time I've heard the band play it, and it got most of the talkers singing instead of waffling shit, so that was a good thing.

 
The last tune of the night was the one and only "Light My Fire," which Ray introduced as a track Robbie had written and something about it being number one in America 40 years ago.  What an end to a truly stunning gig!  The band were on fire and Brett was excellent.
 
For all those people who don't like Brett:  you needed to be at this gig; the lad did the job on all fronts.  His singing and his interaction were second to none and I, for one, am glad this is the man they chose to replace Ian.
 
I loved Ian but he has moved on to better things so it's time to hail the new arrival that is Brett Scallions.
 
Thanks to Brett, Ty & Phil but most of all, thank you to Ray & Robbie for giving me another top night in the company of two of the greatest rock "n" roll legends alive today.
 
Till the next time, people.

(thanks, Gary)

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