Concert - The Stables, Milton Keynes - 29 November 2006
Review by Keith Lewcock
This is a not a review in the normal sense of the word, as until recently I did not know that this web site existed, or that it had reviews posted on it. So this is only a recollection of my impressions of a very special evening.
I have been a fan of Beverley and her music since her first album, but the only performances I had seen were two televised concerts from the Symphony Hall, Birmingham and In Session at Air Studio, London. Both great shows, and I'm glad that I was able to record them on video. Since the Mixed Emotions album I had assumed that she had given up recording and touring to concentrate on her family, so it was with some excitement that I happened to notice on The Stables website that she was appearing there in November 2006.
The capacity of the main auditorium is 400, and I guess that that about 85% of the seats were taken. The first surprise was that the stage contained only a grand piano, guitar and bass guitar amplification — no percussion, keyboards or microphones for backing vocalists. So what would the line-up be? The question was soon answered by the appearance of Ian Bairnson (guitar), Felix Krish (bass guitar) and Simon Willescroft (saxophone). Ian and Felix I recognised from the televised concerts, plus I had seen Felix demonstrating Fender basses with the late Alan Murphy of Level 42 in 1986 — but no Frank Mead on sax who seemed to be such a strong part of the band in the videos. The second surprise was the appearance of Beverley in a long dark evening dress and a stunning new hairstyle, somehow quite different to what I had expected. She set the scene for an informal evening by commenting on how many of us were in the audience, and then introducing her Mum and Gran who were seated near the stage — a nice touch.
I wish now that I had paid more attention to exactly which songs Beverley sang, but the whole evening was such a treat that it flew by before I realised it. Suffice it to say that the set was chosen mainly from her first album and Love Scenes, plus some new material. There were many pleasant asides from Beverley that gave an insight as to why songs were written, her family, her thoughts on Molly (now a bass player, apparently!) bringing home her first boyfriend, plus banter with Felix. It was almost like having your own private concert. The musicianship was superb, as to be expected from such seasoned professionals.
After the show had finished I stopped for a chat with Ian and Felix, who were both friendly and willing to talk. Making my way through the empty auditorium into the foyer, I saw Beverley signing autographs and chatting with some fans. I suddenly realised that I had brought my own three albums for such an eventuality, but had left them in my car. Afraid that I might have missed my opportunity, I ran out into the car park and retrieved them, then ran back into the foyer just in time to present them to Beverley. By now out of breath and wheezing well, I managed to ask her to sign the CD covers for me — if she was wondering why I was in a near state of collapse she was too polite to ask! When I had recovered sufficiently, I asked her why Frank Mead was not touring with her — the answer was that he was already on tour with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings — and also was there any chance of a new album? Well, I had to ask, didn't I! (The answer was "Maybe" and I said, "I hope so"!). I found Beverley very approachable and it was a great end to a great evening.
Keith Lewcock