Status Quo

So off we went to see Status Quo in Portsmouth. It was a wet and windy night, and the traffic was dreadful, especially around Stonehenge. Fortunately, we took a journey break at a friend's place in Winchester, cooing over their absolutely lovely new baby. But there was work to do, and somebody had to do it ...

I'm not (nor have I ever been) a Status Quo fan. But I sort of appreciate them for what they are - or rather, what I thought they were: a good times, singalong band with more than a handful of okay-ish hits under their belts, capable of putting on a good show. I saw them open the Live Aid show at Wembley years ago, and ever since then 'Rocking All Over the World' has had a special place on my sentimental chart (regular visitors to the Animal Disco will know that I have charts for pretty much everything). After seeing them in Portsmouth, though, I think I'll have to give even that chart a serious rethink.

Status Quo have been rockin' around the block for almost 40 years. They're survivors of both changing trends and unfortunate personal experience. They have a massive loyal fan base and as a result, they're massively rich. In other words, they're in a very privileged position. Why, then, did they appear on stage looking as tired and bored as as a group of mechanics after a long day in the garage? With not an ounce of charisma between them, the two frontmen Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt lumbered their way through a weary collection of past hits, barely making eye contact with the audience and chatting amongst themselves the whole time (possibly about whether they wanted mashed potatoes or chips with their steak pie and mushy peas after the show). There were no surprises - the new songs sounded exactly like the old songs, and the old songs sounded clunky and laboured.

"Our new CD is just out", Rossi told the audience at one point. "You can buy a copy in the foyer".

Oh for goodness sake! Does Rossi really need to squeeze another few bob out of the good folk who have kept him in pies for almost four decades? Where's the spark, the life, the joy the ... I don't know, the bloody gratitude? I'm probably not doing a very good job of putting all the anger that I feel about Status Quo into words right now as I'm a bit hungover from last night (details of that little get together to follow tomorrow-ish), but a couple of you have asked me what I thought about the gig. So to summarise as best I can, here we go-o:

Anybody who makes a living doing what they love is extremely lucky. If that living is largely wrought from strangers who appreciate your work and support you in what you do, you have a duty to thank them. In my opinion, Status Quo have turned into a bunch of ungrateful old pub singers way past their prime who take their fans and their position in life for granted. Humble? They don't know the meaning of the word. Thud, thud, thud, clunk, clunk, clunk ... the sound of cynicism personified.

There! I've got that off my chest - thanks for bearing with me! I'm off to feed this hangover with comforting mushroom risotto and an evening in front of the TV now ('Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares' - wa-hey!). Then it's an early night for me, as tomorrow I have some serious deadline-busting to deal with. But before all that, I just want to say thank you to the kind folk who have left comments here - it really makes my day to hear from you! I promise I'm not always this grumbly - we'll be dancing again tomorrow.

Happy Monday! M x