John Coghlan's Quo - Tavistock Review

After clearly getting the touring bug again after the original Status Quo line-up reunited for some shows throughout 2013 and 2014, John Coghlan has been on the road again over the past few years paying tribute to the songs that made the classic line-up of Status Quo so successful. John Coghlan's Quo, as his current four piece are called, are almost like a Status Quo tribute band, but one that happens to be led by the band's original drummer. Throughout the 1970s Status Quo were one of the best rock and roll bands around, and John Coghlan's Quo remains faithful to the band's original sound, and only plays material from the band's 1960s and 1970s output, focusing largely on the bona fide classics from the mid-1970s. Despite his age, Coghlan is still a solid drummer, and the three musicians that currently accompany him are clearly big fans of Status Quo. Rick Abbs (vocals/guitar), Mick Hughes (guitar/vocals), and Rick Chase (vocals/bass guitar) have clearly studied the old Status Quo albums in great detail, and have mastered the band's brand of boogie rock perfectly. They are great foils for Coghlan, and help him to bring his past back to life with with authenticity. The band made their first trip down to Tavistock's The Wharf last November, and enjoyed the show so much that they elected to return again within a matter of months. Those of us who live in the South West are lucky to have a venue like The Wharf so close by, as there are many bands who seem to love playing there and who return again and again. Crowds are usually healthy there too, and this show was no different with the place nearly full to capacity. The only downside of this was the considerable heat, something which seemed to affect the band at times and did make the gig slightly uncomfortable - especially towards the end. This did not affect my enjoyment of the music however, as Coghlan and his band once again played through two sets of classic Status Quo numbers which was lapped up by the noisy and appreciative crowd.

The setlist was almost the same as the band's last trip to Tavistock, and got underway with the old Steamhammer song Junior's Wailing which Status Quo used to open their shows with back in the 1970s. Chase handled the vocals, as he did for all the songs in the set originally sung by Rick Parfitt and Alan Lancaster, and was helped out by the crowd as he did so. The upbeat blues of the piece really set the mood for the rest of the night, and things continued in this triumphant fashion from then on. I Saw the Light was the only song included that was not played at November's show and it went down well, before the slower blues of In My Chair brought out the band's chug and allowed Abbs to showcase how remarkably similar to Francis Rossi he can sound. The first set was made up of largely lesser-played Status Quo songs, with oldies like (April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays and Claudie giving the diehard fans in the audience something to really enjoy. One of the highlights of the first set however was a rendition of the ballad A Year. Status Quo are not exactly known for their ballads, but this is one of the better ones and Abbs sung it very well. It ended with an extended guitar solo from Hughes which allowed him to showcase his emotional playing. Hughes mostly stuck to Parfitt's rhythm parts during the evening, with Abbs handling most of the guitar solos, but A Year gave him a rare chance to show off a little. The heads down rock of Rockers Rollin' followed, and this took the show up the mid-point break. I was glad of the chance to take a quick trip outside and get some fresh air before heading back inside for a set of more well-known Status Quo songs. Caroline got the second set underway, and plenty more big hits followed. One of the highlights was a muscular take on Pictures of Matchstick Men, the Status Quo's first hit, before Paper Plane brought probably the biggest crowd sing-a-long of the evening. The crowd were encouraged to help Abbs out during the choruses, which of course they did and the band seemed pleased with the result. Despite the heat, the atmosphere throughout the evening was very good, and the large crowd had clearly come out to have a good time and sing some of their favourite songs. Coghlan got out from behind his drum kit at one point and gave a heartfelt speech about the late Parfitt, before dedicating a storming version of Rain to him. This has always been one of my favourite Status Quo songs, so it was great to hear it live again. Hold You Back and Big Fat Mama continued the boogie rock fest and brought the main set to a close, with the band leaving the stage afterwards to huge cheers. There was time for a one more however, and Down Down was chosen as the lone encore. The song is one of Status Quo's best known songs, so unsurprisingly went down a treat. Coghlan took to opportunity to solo towards the end, before bringing the band back in for a big finale - which seemed to go down well with the crowd. The setlist was (N.B. all of the songs below, unless otherwise stated, are Status Quo songs):

Junior's Wailing [Steamhammer cover]
I Saw the Light
In My Chair
Break the Rules
(April) Spring, Summer and Wednesdays
Claudie
A Year
Rockers Rollin'
-
Caroline
Roll Over Lay Down
Pictures of Matchstick Men
Paper Plane
All the Reasons
Rain
Hold You Back
Big Fat Mama
-
Down Down

Despite the band's setlist being very similar to their last show, I had a great evening in Tavistock with John Coghlan's Quo. It was great seeing some of the band's biggest hits played by one of the people who helped to create them with such an appreciative crowd. I hope the band return to Tavistock soon, and I hope next time they mix the set up a little and try a few different songs.