GIG REVIEW THE GET GO
GIG REVIEW THE GET GO
The Midlands got a rare (but very welcome) chance to see London’s favourite rock’n’blues trio, The Get Go in the cosy confines of The Red Lion in Shirley on Saturday night.
Gig Review The Get Go
Your London Guitar Academy gig reviewer, Paul Wood, was there to see the band in fine form in front of an appreciative crowd, assembled by Deep Joy promoter (and Get Go fan), Paul “Mezz” Merrick.
A regular presence at the annual Small Faces Convention pulled together by John Hellier (of Darlings of Wapping Wharf Fanzine fame), and with regular gigs at the semi-legendary Pelton Arms in Greenwich, the band regularly win over crowds with their strong sounding 60s/70s rock sound based on the likes of Humble Pie, Free and Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac.
But The Get Go are not a covers band – they’ve built up a set list which includes strong originals as well as a few choice covers. Although their initial CD release – the “Three’s A Crowd” mini-album was a 7 song set of covers, the more recent (and highly recommended) 13 track album “Typically English” contains 12 tracks of original material.
The band’s set in Shirley was a mix of material from “Three’s A Crowd”, “Typically English”, new material being recorded for their next release plus a few cracking covers.
The band comprise Stuart Farnham on vocals and guitar (he’s a leftie if you’re interested), Brian Hall on bass and vocals and Richard Metcalfe on drums and backing vocals.
Stuart Farnham has a distinctive (powerfully emotive) vocal sound and plays 60s/70s lead on his Gibson guitar. Brian Hall plays bass lines combining fluidity and power and is a good alternate lead voice on some of the songs. Richard Metcalfe gives his kit a good thumping all night long but still maintains sufficient energy to chip in with backing vocals when needed. All three play to the max with both Stuart and Brian having good front man presence.
Opening with a triple salvo of “Ain’t No Fool”,“No Love Inside” and “Two Time Loser” from the “Typically English” album, the band then introduced their first cover “Looking Back” (originally by Johnny Guitar Watson but readers of a certain vintage may also recall the blistering Dr Feelgood version!) before debuting a selection of new material sung by Brian and then Stuart.
Here’s a link to a live clip of the band performing “Ain’t No Fool” posted by the band from earlier this year:
“Holy Cow” (from the great Lee Dorsey) was followed by “Homework” (from “Three’s A Crowd), before some further well received new material.
Check out the band’s video for “Holy Cow”:
Heading into the midpoint of the set the band got the crowd rockin’ with a power crushing wah wah pedal heavy version of “Nut Bush City Limits” (Richard Metcalfe losing a drum stick in the process!) and a red hot “Mr Pitiful” to the delight of the Mod flavoured audience.
Concentrating on the “Typically English”and “Three’s A Crowd” albums for the final stretch, the band rocked through “Down The Line”, It’s Gonna Work Out Fine, Don’t Put Me Down Like This”, Sail On” and a rumbustious version of “Typically English” which threw in parts of “You Need Loving” (Small Faces via Muddy Waters/Willie Dixon) and a couple of lines from Humble Pie’s “Black Coffee”, before the main set closed with “Let Me Tell Ya”.
Here’s a link to the album version of “Typically English”:
With the crowd shouting out for more and promoter Paul “Mezz” Merrick putting in a request for Humble Pie’s “Thirty Days In The Hole”, the band did a neat side step, and played Humble Pie’s very crunchy “Fool For A Pretty Face” – which Stuart dedicated to Paul.
A really enjoyable night for the crowd – a number of which were seeing the band live for the first time. Hopefully they will be back in the Midlands next year but for details of upcoming gigs etc check out the band’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/thegetgouk
If the band is somewhere near you in London, go catch them!
The next Deep Joy promotion at The Red Lion in Shirley is Rattlesnake Jake on Friday 14 November. For details (and pictures from The Get Go show) see:
