ERIC BURDON and THE ANIMALS:  or NEW ANIMALS

 On Eric's  website it's announced as New Animals, but upon arriving at the venue the NEW on the banner on the wall is covered over and says ANIMALS

 A year ago we wouldn't have given it a second thought, it would have Eric Burdon and whoever was with him at the time, no big deal, but with all this dialog about  Ten Years After using the name without just one member being in the band (Alvin Lee) it now has become an issue.

  So now it's 7 / 22 / 2003 and we're waiting for Eric to take the stage, we arrived at 5:00 PM for this 8:30 show we and the band were the only ones there for the better part of two and a half hours, and now the house is full and we mean jammed packed. The warm up band The Banshees is finished and we're waiting patiently for the main attraction.

 Out comes the band followed by Eric himself, he pulls up a stool and sits down with microphone in hand, yep, that's Eric alright, that's his voice,  sitting down and singing. Eric is in control and checking out the vibe in the room, it’s warm and friendly so he loosens up quickly and checks out the other band members around him. The band is ready to rock and Eric is starting to feel the energy.

 Brigitte is in front of the stage with camera at the ready, so for the first 45 minutes of the concert everyone is allowed to take photos, but when the drum solo starts everyone with a camera is forced to stop shooting by security men—what a damn pity.   

 Eric has always surrounded himself with some of the finest musicians in the world and in turn they make him look and sound great. Over the years he has changed his musical directions more than once but Blues and Rock are always the basis, with a little Jazz period thrown in. During this gig a little reggae is apparent and some great violin playing from Martin Gerschwitz rounds out the sound for the evening.

   Songs include:

   House of the Rising Sun

   It’s  My Life

   Don’t let me be Misunderstood

   We've got to get out of this place

   Sky Pilot

    The usual Eric/Animals set.

 There were no music surprises or anything extraordinary as far as the show went, but it was being in the same room with Eric Burdon that was something to behold, something very special in the air.
Just to watch him perform and to  witness his passion after all these years is beyond belief and words. The man could just as well have sat there and talked to us for two hours and sing a song every now and then and the audience would have been just as happy just to be in his presence.

Review by Dave and Brigitte