This was the second show I saw on my London trip.   I will be writing up the story of how this show unfolded, what went on during the sound checks, a few good stories and some pictures from both myself and Neil.  Watch for it soon.
 

 Robin Trower David Sinclair at the Mean Fiddler, WC2 WANDERING into a Robin Trower gig is to stumble across one of the lost tribes of rock. Thirty-two  years after he released his first album, the Catford-born guitarist remains  cocooned in an artistic bubble that has proved impervious to all outside developments in music and technology — don‘t even ask about fashion — since the mid-1970s. In those days, Trower bestrode the arena circuit in America,  where his heavyweight brand of post-Hendrix blues-rock proved more in tune  with popular taste than it did
in his native Britain. Now aged 60, and operating in substantially reduced circumstances, Trower has a new album out, aptly titled Living Out of Time. Like his show, it is more an echo of past glories than a reinvention. While you often find concerned parents waiting outside gigs these
days to collect their kids, at this show it was the other way round. But although artist and audience had grown grey together, not everything had stayed the same.
   The classic Trower trio, featuring James Dewar on bass and vocals, was a thing of the past even before Dewar suffered a stroke in 1987, leaving him incapacitated until his death three years ago.
In his place, Trower had recruited the bass player Dave Bronze and singer Davey Pattison, both
of whose credentials for the job seemed to hinge on an ability to sound uncannily like the late Dewar. Pattison in particular had Dewar’s macho, sub-Paul Rodgers vocal signature off to a T
and sang his bits about living in the Day of the Eagle and crossing the Bridge of Sighs with a suitably gruff swagger. But as ever at a Trower gig, the words and tunes were window dressing for a succession of long,  lovingly sculptured guitar solos. Typical of the pattern was Daydream, in which Pattison delivered a couple of verses then exited the stage for a good ten minutes or so, while Trower coaxed an endless succession of swirling, soaring notes,  hammered-on trills and howling bends from his trusty Stratocaster. Although several new songs were unveiled, it was nevertheless
a performance lifted straight from the Jurassic era of heavy rock. Unswerving in his course and defiantly true to his artistic vision, Trower has become fossilised as surely as the woolly  mammoth frozen in a block of ice. The world has left him behind, but there was  nobility in his stance. And as he embarked on another languidly constructed five-minute solo, he seemed comfortable enough
with his fate. Tour continues at the Brook, Southampton, Fri 22; Astor Theatre, Deal, Sat 23

The journalist rated this gig 3 stars out of 5: frankly, I thought it a stonking show, so would like to know what he  would rate 5 out of 5.  Re his comments about Dave and Davey: I don't agree.
Jimmy was a fabulous singer and a better bass player than first meets the ears.  But Bronzey is
real quality on the bass, as is shown by the people he plays with  outside RTB. The only singer Davey (to my ears anyhow) sounds uncannily like is Davey Pattison - funny thing that - and he has performed, over the course of his  whole career, imho to a much higher level than Paul Rodgers. Living Out Of Time  may be an apt title for where Robin is now but I for one am happy to be a
dinosaur music lover if the music is of the quality and emotion I witnessed last Saturday, and I"ll
be at the temple of great music tommorow night,  in Deal,  to pay homage to the master once again. T.C.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers! Hacks try to be smart to make up for their dull and uninspired writing, and comparison and criticism makes for  an easy option - so 1 out of 5 stars to the reviewer for trying. I bet if he knew  Bronzie's connection with a certain Mr C he would have had a completely different opinion, and it is only an opinion. Accentuate the positive I say - heaps of praise to Robin and the Band, Derek and every one else involved for pulling off a great tour, the physical, emotional and financial pressures of which must be massive and should not be under estimated. Martin H and myself had a fanatastic time last night at The Brook, which was packed with happy fans. The atmosphere was amazing - friendly and positve and RTB got a great reception and we managed to say hello to Robin and Davey briefly after the show so what more
could we ask for? We've been ratcheted up a 1000 notches in the happiness stakes now, however the anticipation of 20 years doesn't go a way easily and  we'll be at Deal tonight for the UK finale where we're going to have the time of our lives. JW

Before he had played a single note tonight our hero found himself on the receiving end of one of the loudest welcomes of this tour. And didn’t he just know it! Yes folks, Robin returned to London in triumph tonight. The show, our man’s first in the capital in fourteen years, sold out weeks ago.  But would he turn in a performance which topped his stunning albeit brief appearance at that ‘Night of the Guitars’ back in 1991?  Was the ‘Passion’ band in the same universe as the DLT power trio, last together live in London in 1980 for shows at Hammersmith Odeon and the University of London Union?
The answer was emphatically ‘yes, yes, yes’! It was, without doubt, a homecoming to remember!
Robin, Davey, Dave and Pete walked on stage just after 8.30pm to rapturous applause, clearly delighted at the response. Someone shouted out “Too Rolling Stoned”.
”Hang on!” whispers RT, reaching for his chromatic tuner. Seconds later comes the opening chord, bang!The band turn the ignition and we are away. Wow! There’s an urgency about the playing tonight and a sense that everything will go perfectly. This band is on a roll heading towards the finishing line of an absolutely sensational reunion, back on the road but this time playing in Europe for the very first and, hopefully, not the last time.
The highlights were Robin’s flowing solos at the end of signature tunes like ‘Too Rolling Stoned’, ‘Daydream’ and ‘Bridge of Sighs’, each night, totally different, nothing staying the same, improvisations of the moment, emotional, uncharted.
I do hope that one of the outputs of this great tour is the graduation of some of the numbers on ‘LOOT’ to ‘signature tune’ status by the fans. Every single song on the CD is tremendous. There really isn’t a duff song on there. Indeed, playing ‘em live just makes them stronger still!
‘Sweet Angel’ smashes head on, at the end, into a gratifyingly weird harmonic, which is not on the record. ‘Please tell me’ is straight ahead trademark Trower wah-funk stuff. There simply isn’t another outfit on the planet which does it like this!
There’s a majestic feel to ‘Another Time, Another Place’ tonight. Placed towards the end of the set it has an air and grace about it of great distinction.