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SPOOKY
TOOTH CONCERT REVIEW by Dave
and Brigitte
June
5, 2009 Melle, Germany
Arrive
at the venue, later than we usually like, park
the car and walk towards the door. Who do we
see on the other side of the foliage but our
good friend Reinhardt with a friend in tow. A
joyous way to start the evening.
Brief
introductions and in we go. We meet Siggi
Allert for the first time who is the booking
agent for the German band JANE. (Thank you
Siggi for putting me on the guest list!).Waiting
in line, I notice a woman smiling at us, she
and her 17 year old daughter were there at the
Ten Years After concert in February and it’s
good to see them again. Also in this friendly
mix is Thomas, whom we see at many different
concerts, most memorable was with Ten Years
After, Canned Heat and Iron Butterfly in
Paderborn. The last one we come across is
Achim Repp (Rockart Fotos).
Our
new friend is Marlon “Sibusiso” Klein
(Studio, Mastering, Musician and Producer).
For
a Friday night the venue is not as full as I
expected it to be. We hang around chatting for
fifteen minutes and then the band hits the
stage right on time. No fanfare and no
introduction they just walk on and we all
applaud their entrance. The band takes their
places in a quiet / solemn way. No rush, and
very similar to us, just getting the feel for
the place.
Right
from the start you can tell that Gary and Mike
are working off each other and waiting until
each other is settled in before beginning. In
fact the entire band is working off mutual
respect. Mike Harrison does most of the
talking and welcomes us to the venue and this
concert, then introduces the first song
“Waiting For The Wind”.
During the song I’m thinking about
how these guys looked back in 1969 and how
they look today.
Mike
is total snow cap, white short hair. Gary
Wright has a receding hair line and a bald
spot on top, but he never had really long hair
to begin with. In the vocals you can hear a
strong Steve Marriott influence coming through.
The band is very tight and professional.
Looking at Gary’s profile he struck me as
looking a lot like Clint Eastwood in Play
Misty For Me. The rest of the band is in the
background working hard.
Set
List:
- Waiting
For The Wind
- Sunshine
Help Me
- That
Was Only Yesterday
- The
Wrong Time
- Feeling
Bad
- Too
Close To The Fire
- Tobacco
Road
- Heartache
- Cotton
Growing Man
- Wildfire
- I
Am The Walrus
- Hangman
Hang My Shell On A Tree
- Evil
Woman
- (Encore)
Better By You, Better Than Me
- (Encore)
Love Is Alive
In
between songs Mike talks to the audience. He
has a great sense of humour, and after
introducing “Sunshine Help Me” he said
under his breath, “they wouldn’t know it
anyways”, because he was taking the time to
explain which album it was from and what the
song was about. Mike Harrison was right, most
of the people here tonight weren’t even born
in 1968-1969-1970. It wasn’t a condescending
attitude, he was just stating the facts. Mike
and Gary were gentleman throughout the show,
and afterwards at the merchandise table.
They
signed cd’s, album covers, allowed photos
and gave the audience a lot of respect. It was
mutual, we all loved them too.
They
did the show in two sets, taking a twenty
minute break in between. No one minded, and it
was good for us and the band.
Both
sets were pretty much the same format. A
little rocker, followed by a slow number, and
then another ballad and then a rocker again.
One fan even called out for “Better By You,
Better Than Me” very early in the first set….Mike
and Gary both asked the band to be patient,
with Mike even adding that he was an impatient
man himself, which made us all laugh and Gary
too. That is part of what made this band so
special, they were honest and real. They were
very professional and personable. They are
experts and relaxed. When Mike picked up a
tambourine and used it on the next song, he
didn’t shake it around, or bang the hell out
of it, he was subtle and poised. He used it to
add texture to the music and not to be a
prominent player in the song, as most people
would do. Mike and Gary took turns, thus
keeping an ongoing dialogue going that also
fuelled the momentum. When Gary sang, and
reached the high notes with his falsetto voice,
the veins in his neck stood out as if to the
bursting point. This band wasn’t slacking
off no how / no way, they all worked
their collective asses off every minute on
stage.
The one thing that stands out in my mind,
is that this is a happy band. No one looks
bored, no one looks at their watch, and no one
is in a hurry to get through the set list.
This concert was far from sold out status, but
you'd never know that from the energy the band
displayed or their attention paid to the
people who were there to see them.
Tom
Lyons (Son of Ten Years After founder Leo
Lyons) is the Technical Support for the band
this evening. As he's on a brief break from
his duties with Ten Years After. When asked,
Tom did confirm that he'll be going to the
United States with TYA for the 40th
Celebration of Woodstock 1969. The band kept
him running throughout most of the show,
dealing with the usual little problems that
occur.
The
band saved their three best songs for the end
of the show 1. Evil Woman 2. Better By You,
Better Than Me 3. Love Is Alive. The
last two being performed as encores. The band
was consistant throughout, gave it everything
they had to give and everyone standing on the
floor or on stage were drenched in joy.
The
band came out later to sign autographs at the
sales table. New and old cd's were avaiable,
plus a dvd of the band.We picked up a cd
called "Nomad Poets" a live cd
recorded here from two of their concerts here
in Germany, from 2004 and with a different
line up. Brigitte kept moving around the room
to get some great photos. Gary and Mike were
both gentlemen to everyone there. After the
room cleared the ones left gathered around one
of the tables and we had a chat while
the equipment on the stage was being packed
away for the next show, in the south of
Germany. Tom Lyons came over to vist for a few
minutes before he left, our other friend
Thomas was with us, Volker, Marlon, Brigitte
and I. After forty five minutes it was time to
leave. We left happy, with many warm
feelings and memories of a wonderful night of
music and friends.
A
lesson of the band's history:
Shifting
Members:
This
band has had so many member changes over the
years, that it’s right up there with Savoy
Brown.
I
never realized all the people that have come
and gone through here. The only consistent
person in the band is Gary Wright and even he
has flown the coop at one time or another.
Second most consistent member is Mike
Harrison-vocals and keyboards. Bass player
extraordinaire Greg Ridley left at the bands
height to join Humble Pie with Peter Frampton
(The Herd), Steve Marriott (Small Faces), and
Clem Clempson (Colosseum).
A
Hodge Podge of Random Notes:
Mike
Patto replaced Mike Harrison – Drummer
Bryson Graham – replaced Mike Kellie on
drums – and somewhere along the line Bryson
Graham joined up with guitarist Alvin Lee from
Ten Years After to play on Alvin’s (then)
new solo album “On The Road To Freedom”
1973. He also joined Alvin and his band for an
appearance on The Midnight Special television
show on November 30, 1973 as a backup singer
on
1.Carry
My Load 2.Rocking Till The Sun Goes Down 3.
The World Is Changing.
Mike
Patto joined Spooky Tooth in 1974 for “The
Mirror” album. Mike on vocals and keyboards.
Gary
Wright released his solo album “Dream Weaver”
in 1975 and it went platinum.
Guitarist
Luther Grosvenor guitarist for Spooky Tooth
left and changed his name to Ariel Bender.
Art
– Supernatural Fairy Tales was released in
1967 It’s
All About Spooky Tooth – Released in 1968
Spooky
Tooth - Two - album was released in March of
1969
Spooky
Tooth - “Ceremony” was released January
1970
Spooky
Tooth – “The Last Puff” – released in
1970
Spooky
Tooth – “Tobacco Road” – Released in
1971
Spooky
Tooth – “You Broke My Heart So I Busted
Your Jaw” 1973
Spooky
Tooth “Witness” released in 1973
Spooky
Tooth – “The Mirror” was released in
1974
Spooky
Tooth – “Cross Purpose” was released in
1999
Spooky
Tooth – Comic Violence was released in 2000
Spooky
Tooth – BBC – Sessions was released in
2001
Gone
But Never Forgotten:
Greg
Ridley – Born October 23, 1947 – Died in
Alicanti, Spain on November 19, 2003 at age 56
from complications due to pneumonia.
Mike
Patto – Succumbed to throat Cancer – Born
Michael Thomas McCarthy on September 22, 1942
and Died on March 4, 1979 -
He was only 36 years old – vocalist
with the “Bo Street Runners” with Tim
Hinkley on keyboards ans Mick Fleetwood on
Drums.
Steve
Marriott – Born –January 30, 1947 and Died
on April 20, 1991 in a house fire at his home
in Arkesden, Essex
Jim
Capaldi – Born Nicola James Capaldi –
August 2, 1944 – Died January 28, 2005 from
Stomach Cancer
Who
Was Spooky Tooth:
Three
English Musicians and one American
Mike
Harrison – Vocals, Keyboard and Harpsichord
Luther
Grosvenor – Guitar
Mike
Kellie – Drums
Greg
Ridley – Bass
Gary
Wright – Vocals, Organ, Keyboards (The
American – Born April 26, 1943 New Jersey)
Part
One Conclusion:
I
can’t believe all the connections between
musicians and different bands associated with
Spooky Tooth.
Bo
Street Runners, Mike Patto, Joe Cockers Grease
Band (Alan Spenner and Chris Stainton), Mick
Jones (Foreigner) Henry McCullough (Wings)
Greg Ridley, Humble Pie, Hinkley’s Hero’s
– Alvin Lee solo projects
Ten Years After and Spooky Tooth were
on the same concert bill. Then break these
bands down into a family tree and you’ll
find the branches spread out far and wide and
touch a majority of British Blues Bands –
including Fleetwood Mac Jim Capaldi and
Traffic, then you’ll see exactly where those
sacred roots lead. Spooky Tooth left few
untouched or unaffected.
Pedigreed
Past: 1970 - 1974
Spooky
Tooth was one of the best and most important
progressive bands in England.
Produced
by Jimmy Miller (Rolling Stones)
Engineer
Glyn Johns (One of the best in the music
business)
Spooky
Tooth – were one of Island Records finest
acts, although they never scaled the heights
of fame and fortune that they truly deserved.
They were most popular between August of 1970
and September of 1974
Spooky
Tooth Today:
Gary
Wright – Keyboards and Vocals (from New
Jersey)
Mike
Harrison – Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica and
Tambourine ( born September 3, 1945 in
Carlisle, Cumberland – England)
Steve
Farris – Guitar (from Nebraska)
Shem
Von Schroeck – Bass New Jersey)
Tom
Brechtlein – Drums (Long Island, New York)
Now
three Americans and one English man – just
the reverse of the original line up!!!
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