I got to the venue around 7.30 p.m. and took our seats upstairs in the third aisle. 

 

Now the lights dimmed and we are told the band are taking the stage, then the usual intro "O Fortuna" kicks in, which gets the blood flowing every time.

"Love Me Two Times" is the opener and it's party time all over again, and great to hear the band live once again.  We then hit "Break On Through/Dead cats,dead rats" which was ace.

"Love Her Madly" is next in the set and it is great to hear it so early in the set list.  We then have a monster version of "When The Music's Over".  Brett & Ray introduced the song, and Brett asked the crowd did they smoke some weed before the show?  Ray also mentioned that they visited the Camden Town drug shops before the gig.  The performance of "When The Music's Over" was unreal; the band were tight and Robbie's playing was top draw, what a showman!  Brett also put all his energy into every word and it's the best I've seen him with the band.

 

We then had the band introductions:  Ray introduced Brett Scallions as "The mother fucker", Ty Dennis as "El monstro", Phil Chen as "the guy from Jamaica, Rasta man", Robbie as "The best guitar player he ever played with", and Robbie introduced Ray as "The man from Chicago, the home of the blues".

 

Ray then said they were playing a song for the hippies and went into his usual banter about George Bush & war and wanting peace, which led nicely into "Peace Frog" with its killer riff and Robbie's stunning solo (love it every time).  The song seemed to be cut short like the boys got a little lost somewhere.  Ray then hit us with a little keyboard intro which led into "Moonlight Drive" which was followed by Ray doing the "Horse Latitudes" poem.

We were then treated to a fine performance of "Wild Child" by the band with another fine piece of playing from Robbie (He is numero uno). The band also seemed to stop suddenly on this track but it is only the second night of the tour, so I shall let'em off  :D

It was time for a drink and we hit the "Whiskey Bar", and just like last year, the crowd started the arm waving banter which looked cool from where I was sitting.  It's certainly a crowd favourite.  We then hit "Back Door Man" and as all Riders/D21C fans know, this always steals the show (well, it does for me, anyways).

 

Ray introduced the next track and dedicated it to all the fascists, and then talked about Tony Blair & George Bush and said they were both "fucking Condoleeza Rice" to which Brett replied, "That's a sick thought, Ray" (proper funny banter). This led into "Five To One" which lifts the roof off the place every time.  Robbie's playing just gets better and better.

 

For the next track Robbie pulls out the flamenco guitar and treats us to a solo performance before the band rejoin him for a stonking version of "Spanish Caravan".

 

A bra then landed on the stage which ended up on Robbie's guitar  :LOL:   Ray thanked the person whose it was, and Brett asked the person to prove they owned it.  The lady in question did that, to which Brett replied "I've just seen some London titties and I like it".

Ray dedicated "Touch Me" to numerous artists including the Lizard King himself, whom he said was a sex machine with a world famous tool.  They delayed the song whilst a problem with Robbie's guitar was fixed with the usual sex machine intro, then soon enough "Touch Me" lifted us out of our seats (stronger than dirt indeed).

 

Brett introduced the next song "L.A. Woman" as the last one during which we has some stage invaders.  A few were caught and thrown out (Booooooooo), others managed to stay on the stage and have a dance with Brett before stage diving back into the crowd.  Brett also asked the crowd to shout out loud for "Mr Mojo Risin" which was a great touch from a great performer.

 

The band left the stage, and Ray's brother then pumped the crowd up before the band came back on stage to play a two track encore starting with "Riders On The Storm", which really stole the show for me (amazing).  Ray thanked the crowd on behalf of Jim.

 

We then had the finishing track "Light My Fire" with each band member doing there own solo parts.  During Ray's solo he kicked his stool away and started playing with his foot, which got the crowd downstairs going crazy.  Robbie gave us his usual fine solo, as did Ty & Phil.

 

And that, my friends, was another Riders show in London for me and my mates. This was a better venue for the band with a very knowledgeable crowd.  I can only hope if they come back later in the year or sometime in 2009, they choose this venue again (if not better).

 

Maybe one day I shall see them in Liverpool (I can dream); if not I shall just have to keep on traveling like the littlest hobo. I'd like to say it was emotional, but it was so much more :D

SET LIST:
O Fortuna
Love Me Two Times
Break On Through / dead cats, dead rats
Love Her Madly
When The Music's Over
Peace Frog
Moonlight Drive
Horse Latitudes
Wild Child
Alabama Song
Back Door Man
Five To One
Touch Me
L.A. Woman

encore:
Riders On The Storm
Light My Fire