The Quireboys - Bristol Review

The Quireboys' acoustic shows seem to be becoming my traditional Christmas wind-down. In 2016 I saw the band in Rushden in December, and last year the rockers came down to my home town of Plymouth. Both of these shows were the last of their respective years and, because why change a good thing, that tradition has carried forward in 2018. The Quireboys often perform a run of acoustic shows just before Christmas. While their unplugged sets are not quite as good as a fully-fledged Quireboys rock show, the magic is still very much there. The band perform these shows without a bassist or a drummer, so their songs are stripped right back to the bare bones. Sometimes it is hard to imagine loud rock bands flourishing in an acoustic environment, but The Quireboys have made it work over the years. The band's unplugged shows are loose, fun affairs that at times throw the rule book out of the window and let spontaneity flow. This particular show, which took place at The Fleece in Bristol, was the band's last show of the year. It was my fourth of their acoustic shows, and sixteenth overall, and contained all of the magic that I have come to expect from a Quireboys show. The band are one of my favourite live bands for a reason, and I never need much persuasion to go and see them. While travelling up and back to Bristol a couple of days before Christmas might not have been wise, the trip worked really well. Travel and accommodation were cheap, which made the decision to see The Quireboys for a fifth time this year pretty much a no brainer. You are always guaranteed a great show from frontman Spike and co., and it seemed that many took the opportunity to see the band playing in one of Bristol's finest venues.

Before The Quireboys' set however, the growing crowd was treated to two support acts. Singer-songwriter Steve Mercy was up first, and warmed the crowd up with half an hour or so of pleasant acoustic material. One-man-and-a-guitar acts are not really my favourite type of shows to see, but Mercy was not band and managed to hold my attention throughout his set. While I thought some of his lyrics were a little twee, his songwriting on the whole was pretty strong. It is quite rare for me to enjoy an act of this nature, but Mercy was one of the better ones that I have seen in my time.

The main support came from Bristol-based southern rockers Sons of Liberty who, despite also playing in a stripped down fashion, impressed. Southern rock is not something usually attempted by British bands, but Sons of Liberty seem to have a good understanding of the genre. Despite the riffs being played on acoustic guitars, the groove and boogie of the band's songs still shone through. Frontman Rob Cooksley had just the right demeanour for a southern rock frontman too, with the right mix of grit and soul in his voice - and this allowed him to carry the band's material really well. All throughout the band's half an hour set I was trying to imagine what the band would sound like in full flow. I have a feeling that Sons of Liberty could be a band that I could become quite a big of, so I am going to make an effort to check out the band's recordings soon so I can hear the band plugged in a rocking!

Despite two enjoyable support slots, the band everyone was here to see was still to come. At 9pm the four core members of The Quireboys took to the stage, and what followed was just over 90 minutes of acoustic rock 'n' roll, as well as plenty of laughs and banter. While the setlist was very similar to last year's acoustic set in Plymouth, this was still a very enjoyable show. The band opened with three numbers from their 1990 debut album A Bit of What You Fancy, with the early single There She Goes Again making for a strong opener and allowed the crowd to help the band out vocally early on. I am not sure that Spike sounded quite as strong vocally as he usually does, with the year's long touring schedule seemingly having caught him up, but he still led the band well through a fourteen song set that was filled with many real fan favourites. An early highlight for me was the old non-album track Devil of a Man which always goes down well at the band's acoustic shows, before the more recent offering Mona Lisa Smiled was greeted as warmly as many of the old favourites. Soloing on an acoustic guitar is not always that easy, but Paul Guerin (guitar/vocals) managed to lay down a flurry of notes during the instrumental section. He handled pretty much of the lead guitar throughout the show, with Guy Griffin (guitar/vocals) content to sit back on his stool and strum the songs' chords - and occasionally adding his sarcastic, dry sense of humour into Spike's between-song stories. Another favourite of mine, Beautiful Curse, was another highlight. The song is perfectly suited to the stripped down format, and it was well-received by the crowd despite it not being one of the band's better known pieces. Possibly the moment of the whole evening for me however was a stunning rendition of Late Nite Saturday Call, one of the finest tracks from the Homewreckers & Heartbreakers album which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. I believe the song actually sounds better in this sparser format than it does on the original album, and Spike's raw voice carried the emotion of the piece perfectly. A couple of songs from the band's famous debut album followed, before Spike whipped out his harmonica for a rousing rendition of their most-famous song 7 O'Clock. This brought the main set to a close, and the large crowd erupted into cheers which eventually brought the band back out for a couple more. Two more older numbers followed, including the beautiful ballad I Don't Love You Anymore, which featured lots of fantastic piano playing from Keith Weir (keyboards/vocals). There was a long instrumental section which allowed him to showcase his skills, and the band even slipped a little section of The Rolling Stones' Fool to Cry into the song. It was left to Sex Party, a song which I had not heard the band do acoustically before, to close the evening out and as expected there was plenty of movement and singing from the crowd. The setlist was:

There She Goes Again
Misled
Roses & Rings
Devil of a Man
Mona Lisa Smiled
Hello
Beautiful Curse
Whippin' Boy
Have a Drink With Me  [Spike solo material]
Late Nite Saturday Call
Sweet Mary Ann
7 O'Clock
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I Don't Love You Anymore/Fool to Cry [The Rolling Stones cover]
Sex Party

While it would have been nice if the band had shaken up the setlist a little and included a couple of lesser-known tracks for this latest acoustic trek, this show in Bristol was still a fun night out and a great way to close out 2018 as a gigging year. I hope to get to see The Quireboys again next year, and with a new album called Amazing Disgrace on the way it is set to be another busy year for them.