Roger Taylor - Plymouth Review

As I mentioned on this blog the other day, the Pavilions in Plymouth is a sadly underused venue. The South West of the UK has not been a hotbed of live music since the Cornwall Colosseum closed, with Bristol often being the closest city that tours will hit up for those of us living in the area. Exeter and Plymouth have always occasionally hosted bands, but sadly those of us in the South West often have to travel to Bristol (or beyond) if we want to see our favourite bands live. One of the reasons that Plymouth may often be missed off bands' UK tours, especially tours by medium-to-large acts, is the reputation of the city's largest venue - the Pavilions. The venue-cum-conference centre-cum-ice rink (the swimming pool that also used to be included within the site closed many years ago) has always suffered from something of an identity crisis - as well as a reputation for poor sound. I remember seeing a few heavier bands in the venue in my teenage years, and the sound was often so muddy that it was hard to hear what was going on. This likely put some bands off from coming down to Plymouth, but at some point in the last few years the venue's sound system has certainly been improved. Sadly, however, this does not seem to have encouraged more bands to come down to Plymouth - especially those of a hard rock and metal persuasion. Before seeing Steve Hackett at the venue on Tuesday, the last concert that I went to at the Pavilions was Robert Plant back in 2017 - and he can hardly be called a hard rock act these days, as good as the show was. It is a real shame that the venue is not used more, as the turnouts to everything that I have ever been to there have always been strong, but sadly the South West has always suffered from being considered 'out of the way'. That being said, this week I have been to the Pavilions twice - as the venue has had a rare purple patch of late. As already mentioned, on Tuesday I took in a stunning performance by Steve Hackett - while yesterday I witnessed an equally excellent show from Roger Taylor. Taylor is, of course, more well known for being the drummer of Queen; but he has maintained a sporadic solo career over the years. Those familiar with Queen will know of his excellence as a songwriter and as a singer; and his solo work has allowed him to showcase more of his writing when breaks in Queen's busy schedule allow. Last year, like many musicians, he was stuck at home - and decided to use the time to write and record his sixth solo album Outsider. With Queen's next tour scheduled to take place next year, Taylor took the opportunity to arrange his first solo tour for around two decades to promote the new album - as well as to give a number of other songs from throughout his career a well-deserved airing.

Following a short and rather unremarkable solo set from singer-songwriter Colin Macleod, which did little for me but managed to elicit a strong reaction from sections of the good-sized crowd, Taylor took to the stage with his five-piece band - who proceeded to storm through a 21-song set with real vigour. Having spent most of his career sat behind a drum kit, Taylor is not always the most natural frontman - but his natural charisma still shone through. It helped that he was in fine voice throughout, and the mix was crystal clear all night which allowed him to shine. While the Outsider material is generally quite low key, much of the evening rocked. The opening anthem Strange Frontier was a great way to kick off the show with its rousing chorus and 1980s sheen, while the Queen oldie Tenement Funster was the first showcase piece of the night for Christian Mendoza (guitar/vocals). The Queen fans in attendance were always going to scrutinise Mendoza's recreations of Brian May's guitar parts, and his bluesy take on the material suited the vibe of the night perfectly - as well as Taylor's somewhat gruffer vocal style. That being said, however, it was not always the Queen songs that stole the spotlight. The show was a real reminder what a strong solo career Taylor has quietly been plugging away at. Hard rocking numbers such as the bile-filled A Nation of Haircuts and the gentle but no less bile-filled Gangsters Are Running This World were all early highlights - even if Taylor's customary rendition of the late Queen single These Are the Days of Our Lives was still as emotional as ever. It was certainly the Queen songs that proved to be the biggest sing-a-longs of the night however, as A Kind of Magic exemplified. The song saw plenty of singing from the crowd, with long-time Queen associate Spike Edney (keyboards/vocals) adding some great 1980s flourishes with his vocoder. Many of Taylor's solo tracks are much less upbeat however, but the set was well-paced to allow both moods to shine.

Surrender, which tackles dark subject matter, was a real showcase for the whole band on an atmospheric level - with multi-instrumentalist Tina Hizon singing some haunting sections which were a great contrast to Taylor's approach. To allow Taylor to take a brief mid-set break a powerful rendition of the Queen deep cut Rock It (Prime Jive) sung by drummer Tyler Warren then rocked the house; before the man himself returned to sing Under Pressure in tandem with Warren. Despite the show up to this point being excellent, it really felt like things were kicked up a notch with Under Pressure. The swaggering I'm in Love With My Car, which was not far behind, showcased the raw power of the band - as well as Taylor's husky voice. Another late highlight was the new More Kicks (Long Day's Journey into Night...Life) which was stretched out to include a lot of soloing and jamming from the band. The song is one of the few rockers on Outsider, so it worked well as a band showcase. Towards the end Taylor even sat behind a second drum kit and joined in with Warren - while Hizon laid down a great violin solo. Taylor did not drum much throughout the gig, and this session behind the kit was only his second of the evening. He made his short stint count however with a great drum solo trade-off with Warren, which was certainly more interesting than most drum solos, before coming back to the front of the stage for the acoustic-based Foreign Sand. This was to be the penultimate song of the main set, and it was left to the Queen classic Radio Ga Ga to end things in style. It was easily the highlight of the evening overall, as it was probably always going to be, with the whole crowd joining in with the customary clapping. It brought the main set to a powerful close; and the band left the stage to a lot of applause from those in attendance. There was time for a couple more however, and the band came back out to rock through a couple of covers. I would have preferred to hear a couple more Queen deep cuts really, but the versions of Rock and Roll and "Heroes" performed were still fun. Rock and Roll in particular was strong, with Warren nailing the signature drum groove, while "Heroes" was somewhat reworked into a more earthy, bluesy arrangement which suited Taylor's voice. It was a fun end to a varied and often powerful set that demonstrated what fun Taylor and his band are having on this rare UK tour - and I think that it is fair to say that everyone went home happy. The setlist was:

Strange Frontier

Tenement Funster [Queen material]

We're All Just Trying to Get By

A Nation of Haircuts

These Are the Days of Our Lives [Queen material]

Up

Gangsters Are Running This World

A Kind of Magic [Queen material]

Absolutely Anything

Surrender

Man on Fire

Rock It (Prime Jive) [Queen material]

Under Pressure [Queen material]

Say it's Not True [Queen + Paul Rodgers material]

I'm in Love With My Car [Queen material]

Outsider

More Kicks (Long Day's Journey into Night...Life)

Drum solos

Foreign Sand

Radio Ga Ga [Queen material]

-

Rock and Roll [Led Zeppelin cover]

"Heroes" [David Bowie cover]

When some members of famous bands go on solo tours, sometimes the crowd are just waiting to hear the few big hits that they know. That was not the case with Taylor's excellent Plymouth show however. Many of his solo tracks were some of the evening's highlights, and the inclusion of a few Queen classics and deep cuts felt like an added bonus rather than the reason for buying a ticket. This goes to show the overall quality of Taylor's solo albums - and also of his excellent live band that has been assembled for this tour. Everyone on stage seemed to be having a great time throughout, and it is a shame that following this run of dates it will probably be quite a while before Taylor heads out on the road under his own name again. I am glad that I made the effort however, as the evening was excellent - and I will certainly be getting much more stuck into Taylor's solo albums over the following months.