[Heeplist] Uriah Heep @ BB Kings NYC

[Pete Wharton]

What a rubbish review, Bob, where's all the detail :-)  Nah, you know I'm
just joking, glad you had a great time and got to meet the band too.  I
shall have to reprimand Mr McLaren for not telling me he was going over
there though! Oh and Kev & Yvonne are most definitely visible on the Koko
DVD Bob, you weren't wrong.  For info, in the UK, the ski hat with woolly
ball is called a bobble hat :-)

Cheers,

Pete

-----Original Message-----
From: Heeplist [mailto:heeplist-bounces at travellersintime.com] On Behalf Of
Bob Winward
Sent: 01 March 2015 18:47
To: Heepsters Mailing List (Travellers in Time)
Subject: [Heeplist] Uriah Heep @ BB Kings NYC

Right now is the morning after, going to see Uriah Heep live always creates
fond memories.  This time since it is winter, I took a bus round trip of 160
miles or 256 kilometers.  The bus station is literally across the street
from BB Kings.  Also, an added bonus, I had Susan buy the tickets (she just
turned 62) and we both got the Senior Discount. So instead of $78  for
regular fair we got it for $35, saved enough to buy an Outsider tshirt!!
Susan and I arrived about 5 PM at the venue, and I quickly sought out the
guy who gives out the numbers for when doors open, they seat by number.  We
then went downstairs and met up with JC Richards and Bryan Gartner, the
former is on our list here.  We chatted for a while and then moved to the
bar where we found Ian McClaren and Pauline from the UK and Rich
VanHeepenburg from Brooklyn with his lovely wife. ³There was so much to do,
so much to say, as we listened to the Elvan orchestra play²  (actually a
Stevie Wonder cover band doing sound check, but I turned a blind eye towards
that).  Kevin Jones and Yvonne arrived and it was great to see them again,
last time was at HV2008 in Spain, but I could swear I caught a glimpse of
them in the Koko DVD.

Closer to 6, when doors open I heard there was a guest list, and they got
wrist bands and were allowed to enter before the numbers were called.  Sadly
I was not on the list, but those who were, and the ones who had lower
numbers too,  made mad dashes for seats close to the stage.  This being my
4th Heep show at BB Kings, you pick up some wisdom, and I chose a table
center stage towards the rear that was elevated (like a split level)  I
found out last year, you can see over all the heads  a few feet below, and
the sound is best there!   A nice lady with Georgian accent sat at our table
and she was joined by someone last minute who was willing to accept a
ticket.  That young lady wore a ski cap with big wooley ball at top and did
not take it off.  That later was a source of irritation for me as it blocked
my view of Mick.  However she left after 3 songs, not liking Heep.  We were
also joined at our table by a couple who had done the rock cruised and fell
in love with Uriah Heep so being from New Jersey, they came to the show.  It
was sort of comical for me, as he would lean over and whisper info about the
band to me, that he obviously must have recently learned in his google-ings!
By the way, I also got to talk with our list moderator Mac Steagall up from
North Carolina.  Him and I went upstairs, and hit the merchandise table.  I
acquired an Into the Wild mouse pad (my mouse actually moves faster on
screen now, and not all mouse pads are good mouse pads)  an Outsider tee
shirt and program.

This Heep visit was different, the venue had a support band lined up, and
they came on at 8.  The musicians sounded quite talented with dual lead
guitars, a cross between Iron Maiden and Megadeth.  However the vocals were
too loud and I did not know any of the songs of this band called Awaken.  At
one point the lead singer said to the audience, what would you like to hear
next?  Several of us yelled out ³Uriah Heep²   They played an hour, and
while I thought the songs may have potential, there was not much melody or
harmony and I was there to see Heep!

Heep came on at 9:10, I cannot believe how fast the crew got Heep¹s gear on
stage and set up.  The lights came on to Russell, alone at the drum kit
pounding away,then some crushing keyboards and thumping bass.  Next Mick
came onstage and started the opening guitar licks of Speed of Sound, moments
later when vocals kicked in there was Bernie appearing out of nowhere.  He
sounded great to me even though he made some joke about sounding like a
strangled cat.  This was my first live look at Davey on Bass.  I will do no
comparisons, Trevor was a legend, Thain a category all by himself and Wetton
a superstar presence.  I was very pleased with Davey, he moved around a lot,
smiled quite a bit, and plays the bass strings very fast and effortlessly.
I noticed right away that between him and Russell, Heep¹s Sound is much more
pumped up then it ever was!  Yes those 2 could do an Allstate commercial
together, ³We will pump you up² (lol!!!)  (Sorry some American humor, anyone
for a discount double check?)  Hanging Tree was next up, but the beginning
was disappointing compared to the opening licks of the original off of
Firefly.  However it rocked, and being I have never seen this song before
live, and it is my ring tone on my iphone, I did enjoy!!  Next up was The
Law, my least favorite song initially on Outsider, but now one of my
favorites.  This is where Davey¹s bass really stood out.  Another thing I
noticed as night progressed, the heep harmonies are nicely blended, not as
high note sounding as classic heep, but very smooth, so I was unable to pick
out individual voices, but could see who was singing what, thus answering my
own unanswered questions to the list over the past year.  Outsider, Sunrise,
Stealin¹ in that order came next.  Then came Magician¹s Birthday.  Wow, they
pulled it off, it was great.  Especially the treat of the long guitar/drum
solo in the middle of the song.  I did however think the vocal interplay
towards end of song was not as powerful as I expected.  It was between
Bernie and Phil, and Phil sounded low in the mix.  It could have been
soundboard issue.  What Kind of God came next, I guess I have not listened
to Wake the Sleeper in a couple years, it was a treat.  Then up came One
Minute, tremendous version.  Before the song, Bernie said something about
Alice Cooper playing the song on the radio, I didn¹t really catch what he
meant.  Can¹t Take that Away is unbelievable live, I was blown away by it
and vote it the top performance of the evening.  Next up July Morning, Davey
shined as did the rest of the band, then Lady in Black.  As usual, like
Stealin¹ earlier, a ton of audience participation.  And the crowd knew the
words to these tunes!! (unlike the support band, when the vocalist turned
his mic to the crowd and there was no response)  The band then left the
stage, and I heard some folk around me, muttering about no Easy Livin¹, but
see this is where knowing your band and knowing prior set lists is an
advantage.  I knew they would be back out.  They came on a few moments later
and broke into Gypsy.  Nice version, as its a great song.  Somehow they did
not stop playing and rolled Gypsy right into Easy Livin¹.  One thing I
forgot to mention earlier, it was after one of the first couple songs,
Bernie had a heckler yelling ³Lets Go²  So Bernie, said ³whats the matter do
you have a bus to catch².  I turned to Susan and said jokingly, maybe he is
thinking of us (bus to catch) because she commented I kept looking at my
watch.

The whole show, 14 songs was just about  1 hour and 30 minutes.  So it was
about 10:45pm and I knew Susan and I had to catch an 11:30 bus back to NJ,
even though the bus station was a One Minute walk from the venue, it still
felt like one more hour, one more day.  I chatted with Brian West the guitar
tech and he said the band would need time to unwind before they see anyone.
I went over to Kevin & Yvonne Jones, Ian and Pauline.  I had Susan take a
few pics of myself with Kevin and Ian.   So about 11:05 pm, I was standing
where I know is the entrance backstage.  There was a big burly guard there,
but I thought, hey, it¹s worth a shot.   So I took out my drivers license
and handed it to the guard.  (what did I have to lose, for $15 and a trip to
DMV I could get it replaced)  I asked him to show the guitarist and ask if I
can speak with him briefly.  He said what is his name, and I said Mick Box.
Moments later the guard came back and waved Susan and I in and said stand
here.  Mick came over gave Susan a big hug, of course I tried to jump in
first.  Then she was asking him about his family and son.  Whey do women do
that, when I had so many music questions to ask lol!  Anyhow, I told him how
much I enjoyed the show, Koko DVD and Outsider.   I told him what a great
choice Davey was and by the way, could I meet him.  He said yes, and went to
get Davey.  Davey comes out and says yes I know you from facebook.  He is
very likeable, easy to talk with and fits right in.  So I got some pics with
Davey and Mick, then Phil and Russell came over.  I talked with them each
briefly got some pics.    Then it was off to catch the bus, happy that I got
to see everyone but Bernie, got some pics , saw old heepster friends and an
ass kicking Heep show!!


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