Shouting, standing, boogieing in the boxes, and – of course!
– singing along, the crowd out for
Chas & Dave on Wednesday night were perhaps the rowdiest that Richmond
Theatre’s seen for a while, with the theatre turned for the duration of the
show into pretty much the equivalent of
an East End boozer.
The great love and affection that many have for Messrs
Hodges and Peacock has dimmed not a jot over the years. And it’s not hard to
see why, for the duo’s “rockney” mix - boogie woogie, skiffle, pub singalong, a
spot of music hall - is as distinctive as it is irresistible, a throwback to
vibrant working-class culture that still feels
surprisingly fresh. In fact, in doing their own thing so
brilliantly, honestly and unapologetically, I’d argue that Chas & Dave – sampled by Eminem, covered by Tori, parodied by The Two Ronnies, openers for Led Zep and inspiration to Libertines - are
pretty much as punk as you can get.
Whipping briskly through the two-hour set, the pair – accompanied by
Chas’s son Nik, dynamic on drums – were in storming form, delivering a
mix of covers and originals that passed from New Orleans to Edmonton Green (via
Margate, natch) and demonstrated the strength of the pair’s musicianship, which
has so often been overlooked. “We’re gonna be doin’ everything tonight,” Hodges
promised, and the pledge was pretty much kept up, as the set started with their
70s material, including a cover of Clarence “Frogman”
Henry’s “I Don’t Know Why (But I Do)” and a rollicking and rapturously
received “Gertcha”.
The pair are great at covers, actually, giving each song
their distinctive stamp and performing the (mostly US) material without recourse to American accents (take heed Adele et al., ya fakers). A chunky “When Two Worlds Collide” (from their new album, That's What Happens [2014]) was
sublime, showcasing the interplay of Hodges's great piano-playing with Peacock's supple bass at its best, while arrangements of “My Blue
Heaven” and “The Sunshine of Your Smile” were also pleasingly inventive.
Still, it’s their own material - quirky, funny, full of affectionate detail and rapid-fire word-play - that most have really come to hear, and the second half – beginning with a double of “London Girls” and “Margate” that drove the young woman in front of us into near-orgasmic raptures of delight – was simply a blast, offering a break-neck “Diddle Um Song,” a cheeky “Rabbit,” a spontaneous “That’s What I Like Mick (The Sandwich Song)” when someone called for it, and that immortal kiss-off “Ain’t No Pleasing You”, before "The Sideboard Song” brought the night to a raucous close.
If there’s a criticism to be made, it’s that the pair tend
to go full throttle for the whole show when
modulating the set with some quieter numbers (as their albums tend to do) might
give a fuller sense of their artistry. That artistry should not be underestimated,
though. And neither should the cathartic, empowering potential of a
mass singalong of “Ain’t No Pleasing You.” Catch 'em where you can. Altogether now…
No comments:
Post a Comment